Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.
Author Note: Wow, just wow. I did not expect to get as many reviews for the last chapter as I ended up getting! It's always nice to get feedback, and I truly appreciate the time people have been taking to let me know what they think.
The story is picking up now, as Naruto is out of the orphanage and into the forest, and you have caught a glimpse of what is going on inside the seal. This chapter will be significantly larger than the last, as Naruto's absence now becomes known.
I thought about breaking this chapter into two parts, but Amedao told me it worked better if I kept it together instead.
BADGER
Chapter 06
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat once more behind his desk, having come in early that morning to see a fresh stack of papers sitting there to welcome him.
Several sticks of incense burned in the far corner of his office in a vain effort to cover the smell left behind by the many, many dirty diapers that he had been forced to change the night before. While it warmed his heart that at least one other member of the Sarutobi clan was alive in Konoha to carry on their legacy, he had barely gotten any rest last night while watching over the infant on his own. He could only thank the Kami that his grandson's caretakers had returned from the festival in time for him to get any sleep at all.
Tired eyes looked over yet another request from the civilian council asking him to approve an increase in the number of missions being taken by Konoha's ninja forces in order to bring more money into the village. This was one of the most difficult parts of being the leader of a Hidden Village, when you had to decide whether or not to risk the lives of those depending on you for guidance.
Sarutobi sighed and turned his head to gaze out the window of his office, his eyes roaming over the rooftops of the village that he had sworn to protect with his life. Heavy winds had swept through the village late last night, bringing with them the heavy clouds that now loomed overhead, thick with the promise of rain. Even though the sun had already risen over an hour ago, the village was gray and dreary, a sharp contrast to the moonlit Festival from the night before.
While their numbers were slowly recovering from the losses suffered during the Kyuubi attack, they were still struggling to cover what obligations they had already, and what few warm bodies they did have to spare were already in danger of burning out from near constant deployment. There was no feasible way to take on any more work than they current had, especially since they were now having to rely upon two man teams of Chuunin without any Jounin supervision to complete many of the borderline C-Ranked missions deemed too dangerous for the greener Gennin teams.
Coming to a decision, he grabbed his pen with a deft hand that defied the ache in his joints that even the best medical Jutsu could not prevent, writing his denial at the bottom of the page. With practiced ease he lifted his seal of office and stamped it on the document before placing the seal back on its ink soaked pad, making his refusal official.
Watching the ink dry on the paper reminded him of another seal that belonged to someone else who had unknowingly pledged themselves to the defense of their village on the day he was born. Poor Naruto had no idea of the burden that he carried, and how his sacrifice kept the village safe from the fury of the Kyuubi on a daily basis. It was a shame that he had not been able to visit the boy during the Festival, as Naruto had a wonderful time the year before when Sarutobi had taken the entire orphanage to see the puppet show.
Deciding to see if he could visit the boy now that he was not stuck watching over Konohamaru, Sarutobi raised a hand in a subtle signal, summoning one of the hidden ANBU guards to his side.
"Mukade (Centipede), please go to the orphanage and ask Matron Wamura if she can spare young Naruto Uzumaki for a few hours today for a visit with me?" Sarutobi asked the insect-masked ANBU.
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Mukade replied, disappearing via Shunshin to complete his mission.
Knowing that it would take several minutes to hear anything back from the ANBU, Sarutobi turned to the next paper in his stack, noticing that it was a message from Jiraiya, who few knew was the head of Konoha's information network. During recent months the Sannin had come across rumors of an upswing in bandit activity along the southern border of Fire, and was planning to visit the area to investigate these claims further.
While the thought of increased bandit activity was disturbing to the Hokage, he had to consider that his student might have less than honorable reasons for heading south this time of year. Even at this time of year the waters of the South Sea were warm and inviting, the currents sweeping over the deep volcanic fissures beneath the waters making the shallow beaches a popular destination even during the winter. Doubtless a large amount of this 'research' would be of the Icha Icha variety.
Thinking of those books, Sarutobi contemplated taking a break with his copy of the most recent volume hidden in the lower drawer of his desk before the thought was interrupted by the sudden return of Mukade. Frowning as he realized that the ANBU had returned without Naruto, he leaned back in his chair and pinned the nervous man with a long gaze.
"Lord Hokage, I regret to inform you that Naruto is not in the orphanage," Mukade reported. "When questioned, Matron Wamura advised that the child has been deemed mature enough to live on his own, and was 'allowed' to move out late last night during the festival."
Raw and unfocused Killing Intent filled the office as the Hokage heard this report.
"They kicked a five year old child out of the orphanage at the beginning of winter," Sarutobi asked, his voice deceptively calm.
"Yes, Lord Hokage," the ANBU answered. "I did an immediate search of the property myself to be sure, and found no sign of the child's presence. His room had already been emptied out by the time I arrived, and shows recent signs of cleaning on all the surfaces with disinfectant. It looked as if they tried to erase any trace that he was ever there, my Lord."
Taking a deep breath, Sarutobi placed his hands on the surface of the desk and slowly stood, a grim look on his face. Wood scraped on wood as his chair was pushed away by as the back of his legs pressed against the seat, sounding harsh in the sudden deafening silence of the room.
"Summon ANBU agents Ookami and Inu, then detain the Matron in her own office until we arrive," Sarutobi commanded the man.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Mukade replied with a quick bow before disappearing with another Shunshin.
Silence filled his office once more, the wind caused by the ANBU's teleportation Jutsu causing the smoke rising from the incense in the far corner to dance in the shifting air currents. Picking up Jiraiya's report he began to read it again in a vain effort to calm his mind, though his thoughts kept drifting to the missing child that he thought of as a second grandson.
If only I had gone to visit him last evening, Sarutobi thought to himself. If I had been there, I doubt that the Matron would have dared to kick the boy out of the orphanage. Although it is strange that she dared to do so even without my presence to stop her, surely she did not think that she would get away with kicking a Clan Heir out into the streets? Unless...
"She didn't know," he spoke aloud. "She must have thought that Naruto was the child of civilians, placing him under the rulings of the Civilian Council instead of the Ninja Council."
Konoha's law system was separated into two distinct branches out of necessity, with the Civilian Charter on one side dictating the rules and punishment deemed fit for civilians, while the Clan Charter covered not only those men and women who had graduated the Academy to become Ninja, but also the children of recognized Clans. It was forbidden for the Civilian Court to try a case involving any parties covered by the Clan Charter, even if it was a domestic situation where the laws matched word for word.
One of those very important differences in the law books was that the orphanage was not allowed to dismiss a clan heir without express permission from either a member of that same clan, or the Hokage himself. Since Kushina had been the last known living member of the Uzumaki Clan, and Sarutobi knew for a fact that he had not accepted any requests to turn Naruto out into the streets, this meant that Matron Wamura had committed treason.
He would like to find out why.
Sensing the subtle rise of Chakra in front of his desk signaling an incoming Shunshin, the Hokage placed the report he had been staring at for the last few minutes back on the surface of his desk, leaning his head so that the brim of his hat shadowed his eyes. Moments later a figure arrived in his office, the burst of chakra smoke released by the teleportation Justu shadowing their form.
Years of practice allowed him to recognize the outline of Ookami (Wolf), one of the few members of the Inuzuka Clan actively enrolled in the ANBU, and Konoha's best tracker-nin. Standing beside her leg was the lean, wolf like form of her ninken (ninja dog) companion, whose keen nose would be leading the hunt for the missing Uzumaki.
As the mist faded it revealed a white porcelain mask framed by spiky brown hair, two fang like marks tracing down the cheeks of the wolf shaped mask matching those tattooed on the face hidden beneath. While most ANBU took great effort to hide their true identity beneath their animal masks, there was no way for the Inuzuka to hide the identity of their ninken, making the mask little more than a badge of office for the woman.
A snorting sneeze came from the ninken that stood at her side, the chakra mist still trying to cling to his black and gray fur. Golden eyes gazed out from his wolf like face as the ninken inspected the office, taking a long moment to look over at the far corner in distaste before sneezing again in distaste.
"You called, Lord Hokage?" Ookami asked.
"I did," Sarutobi replied, eyes still shadowed by the brim of the Hokage hat on his head. "I asked for Mukade to have both you and Inu (Dog) report to me immediately. Do you know why Inu has not answered my summons?"
"He's on a mission in Tanzaku Gai right now," she explained.
"That is unfortunate, but it is good that you and Kuromaru are available," he stated, speaking of her ninken companion. "I have need of your tracking skills in a mission of the utmost discretion. If you could, please take a seat and remove your mask so that I can explain what is going on."
Nodding at the odd request, Ookami removed her porcelain mask and clipped it to her belt, revealing the tomboyish face of Tsume Inuzuka, curiosity evident in her slitted eyes. Sarutobi waited for her to sit down, Kuromaru taking his place again at her right hand side.
"At some point during the Festival last night a young child was forced to leave the orphanage, apparently with only the clothes on his back," the Hokage explained. "I have had Matron Wamura, who is the civilian in charge of the orphanage, detained within her office pending our arrival. From there I will need you to follow the boy's trail so that we can find him, preferably before anything bad happens to him."
"What's so important about this pup?" Tsume asked. "You normally call me in if there is a nuke-nin (missing ninja) to track down."
"The child we are speaking of us none other than Naruto Uzumaki," he explained, watching as her eyes widened in shock, her slitted pupils narrowing. "You understand then the need for secrecy in this investigation. It cannot become common knowledge that Naruto is missing, not only because he is the only heir to the Uzumaki bloodline, but also because of his status as the Jinchuuriki. Our rivals would stop at almost nothing for the chance to get a hold of the young boy, if for no other reason than to mould him into a weapon aimed at our throats."
"But the pup is only five years old," Tsume snarled. "And they just kicked him out into the streets in the middle of the night at the beginning of winter? What are we waiting for?"
Behind her gruff attitude the Inuzuka Clan Head was still a caring mother, and the thought of kicking out a child that young to fend on their own brought out all those maternal instincts that she denied she had within her. She had been one of the ANBU assigned to escort the orphans to the Academy grounds during the previous year's Festival, and it was easy for her to remember the innocent joy on the young boy's face as he watched the puppet show from his seat at the Hokage's side.
Her own son Kiba was the same age as the pup, and it was not difficult for her to imagine what could go wrong if he was sent out on his own, Inuzuka or not. No, there is no way that any child that young could fend for themselves in the wilderness beyond the earthen walls of the village. Knowing what the villagers thought about the boy made it unlikely that he would have any better chance to survive inside the village either.
Tsume had just enough time to put on her ANBU mask before they all disappeared from the office in a simultaneous Shunshin, the force of their departure causing the smoke from the now forgotten incense sticks to dance once more.
Even with the dangerous line of work that many parents in Konoha had, the life of a ninja being anything but safe, there was only one actual orphanage in the entire village. Whenever a child from one of the Clans lost their parents it was common for the clan to have their own arrangements for the care and training of these children, keeping their Clan traditions strong. Therefore, most of the orphans that ended up at the orphanage were from civilian families, or came from small ninja clans that did not have the resources to be able to take care of the children themselves.
When Sarutobi arrived with Ookami at the front gates they were greeted by the sight of a large two story brick building, large windows looking out from the beige painted walls. Excited shouts echoed from a small playground off to the side where several of the children that lived there were busy playing with each other in spite of the cloudy weather.
It looked like a pleasant place to live, and the smiles on the children's faces were a sharp contrast to the severe frown that lined the Hokage's face as he walked towards the entrance of the orphanage, the ANBU and her ninken companion following close on his heels. As they approached they could hear the sound of voices approaching from within, unimpeded by the currently twin doors of the entrance.
"I'm just saying that it's not fair I have to do the Katon (fire) Jutsu every time we get trash detail," complained the voice of a young boy. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep pumping out fire like that without having it explode!"
"That's the entire reason I have you practice on garbage," responded the voice of an older man. "Being able to throw out large exploding fireballs in combat will be useless unless you have the endurance and control to last out the fight. More than one Konoha ninja has died because they ran out of Chakra in the middle of a battle and did not have other skills to back them up. Relying on Ninjutsu alone can be a fatal handicap."
"At least you weren't stuck shoveling ashes all morning," a girl's voice grumbled. "I swear, this stuff better wash out of my clothes or there will be hell to pay."
As the voices neared they finally came out into the gray morning light, revealing a Jounin instructor and a trio of young Gennin fresh out of the Academy from last year's graduating class. Walking next to the Jounin was the boy that had been complaining about holding his fire Jutsu had the familiar black eyes of an inactive Sharingan, and was wearing the familiar dark blue clothes of the Uchiha Clan. On the Jounin's other side were two glaring girls, soot covering them from the knees down, and dark smudges on their faces from where they had wiped away sweat with ash covered hands.
Upon seeing the Hokage standing outside the doors they froze at his unexpected presence, then snapped taught in a salute.
"Lord Hokage, was there something you needed of me or my team?" the Jounin asked.
"Not that I am aware of," Sarutobi answered, eyeing the exhausted Gennin. "What was your mission here at the Orphanage?"
"Standard D-Ranked garbage detail," the Jounin replied. "There was a last minute request from the Orphanage to have a large load of trash burned in their incinerator as it was full from last night."
"I see, carry on," Sarutobi instructed them.
"Yes, Lord Hokage," the man bowed before leading his students off in the direction of the assignment office.
That's odd, Sarutobi thought to himself as they entered the building. I could swear I handed out the exact same D-Ranked mission just two days ago right before the Festival.
Turning his mind back to the more pressing concern of the missing child, he led them down the wood paneled hall, Kuromaru's long nails clicking on the waxed floor. They passed several members of the orphanage staff on their way through the building, the subtle Killing Intent leaking off the outwardly calm Hokage causing them to quickly clear the way for his passage.
No doubt there wasn't a single member of staff that was unaware of the fact that the Matron had been locked inside her office on the Hokage's orders, the not so subtle presence of Mukade standing outside the closed door in full ANBU regalia warning anyone else from approaching. When the Hokage and his party came into view the other man snapped to attention, eyes facing forward behind the mask on his face.
"Has there been any trouble?" Sarutobi asked.
"None, Lord Hokage," Mukade replied. "Matron Wamura has been most cooperative, though my Kikaichu tell me she is more confident than she appears for some reason."
"Interesting," Sarutobi muttered to himself. "I will see her now. Mukade, continue to stand guard outside. Ookami, I want you and Kuromaru to join me inside, in case you can get any clues that I might miss."
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Both ANBU replied.
With a subtle hand sign, Sarutobi commanded Mukade to open the door for them, revealing the inside of the office. Books lined the right hand wall, while the left wall held several diplomas and accolades, as well as numerous framed pictures of the woman shaking hands or standing beside many of the higher ranking members of the Civilian Council. Windows looked out on the playground from behind her desk, casting the woman herself in shadow from where she sat in her chair, a subtle attempt at enforcing her will upon anyone entering the room that failed utterly in the face of the Hokage.
With a subtle flicker of a Raiton Jutsu that had taken months to perfect Sarutobi forced the overhead florescent light to turn on suddenly without even reaching out to touch the switch on the wall, ruining the shadowing effect with the sudden wash of white light. Matron Wamura flinched as the light revealed her, the pinched look around her mouth tightening when her gaze passed over the large canine that had joined them in her pristine office.
Ignoring the low chairs that sat in front of the woman's desk, Sarutobi walked past the wall full of pictures to stand in front of the window, forcing the Matron to decide whether to keep facing Ookami or turn towards where he now stood. If she wanted to play a game of control, she would soon realize she was holding the losing hand.
"Imagine my surprise when I found out that Naruto Uzumaki is no longer living in this orphanage," Sarutobi said, breaking the silence. "Would you mind telling me where the boy might be found?"
"That... boy has been deemed mature enough to live on his own," Wamura said, obviously just stopping herself from calling the child something less tasteful. "It is well within my right as the Matron to make this decision, as the Charter clearly states that a child can be allowed to leave at any point after their fifth birthday. I see no reason to have my morning disturbed by this business, and I will be filing a complaint with the Council on how heavy handed it is for you to have your ANBU lock me in my office like this."
Ookami tilted her head to the side in confusion, unable to believe the woman's stupidity.
"You have no idea what you have gotten yourself in to, do you?" the Hokage asked her, turning to look down at her in curiosity. "According to the Charter the only legal way for you to have dismissed the boy was if you had written permission from either myself, or a recognized member of his family. Surely you must be aware that ignoring this law can be considered an act of treason?"
Sweat began to bead the Matron's forehead as she seemed to visibly age before them.
"But... but the Councilor showed me the law yesterday during our meeting!" she stuttered, eyes darting for a moment to one of the pictures on her wall. "Surely the law could not have changed in that short amount of time!"
"Ah, and now we get to the heart of the matter, it seems," Sarutobi muttered, his dark eyes pinning her to her chair. "Tell me, was this Councilor from the Civilian or Clan branch of the council? Things have to be handled entirely different based upon your answer to this question."
Matron Wamura was silence for several moments, obviously trying to decide which answer would have the best chance of getting her out of trouble. Her eyes darted again to the pictures on the wall, something that she saw there causing her to visibly relax in her chair, her decision suddenly made.
"I-it was a Civilian Councilor," Matron Wamura answered.
She had falsely assumed that if it was one of the Civilian Council that told her, then her case would of course be handled by the Civilian Courts. Her 'good friend' on the Civilian Council that had shown her the law the day before was currently the presiding judge in that court, and would of course make sure that nothing stuck to her. After all, it was his idea that allowed her to free herself of the burden of the Demon Brat.
"I see, and their name?" Sarutobi asked.
"I am not at liberty to say," she quickly replied. "Confidentiality agreements and all that, I'm sure you understand."
"Not in this case, no," he shook his head. "You seem to be under the impression that any confidentiality agreements with a member of the Civilian Council is of any consequence during an investigation being held by the Clan Council. I am afraid that you, and your friend, are in a great amount of trouble."
"But the Civilian Charter clearly states-"
"Whoever said that Naruto Uzumaki fell under the Civilian Charter?" the Hokage snapped, interrupting her denials with a burst of Killing Intent that froze her breath. "Surely you must have known what the boy means to this village, the burden that he carried within him? You must have seen his file at least once during his stay here as part of your duties as the Matron here. Did you not see the papers registering him as a member of the Uzumaki Clan?"
Taking a deep breath the Hokage calmed himself, trying his best to ignore the stench of urine that now lingered in the air around the woman. Glancing at the picture on the wall that Matron Wamura had been continuously looking at, he repressed a snort upon seeing the overfed pink faced man that he recognized as being the head judge of the Civilian Courts.
Shaking his head in disappointment he left his standing place in front of the window and made his way towards the door of the office, ignoring the whimpering woman as he passed her desk. Tsume's slitted eyes peered at him from behind her Ookami mask as he neared her, barely visible through the holes in the porcelain.
"Come, Ookami," Sarutobi said. "We have a child for you to find."
"Yes, Lord Hokage," she replied, opening the door for him.
Mukade looked over as they exited the room, the subtle buzzing of his Kikaichu hive telling the Hokage that the ANBU had heard everything the woman had said through the thin door, and was less than pleased. While the Aburame was normally a very calm man, anyone showing obvious disrespect for his Hokage caused him great anger. Sarutobi would not want to be in that woman's shoes.
"Mukade, I need you to escort Wamura to Inoichi over at Torture and Interrogation," he commanded. "Let him know what you have overheard, and tell him to see to it that we get a confession from her over exactly who it was that gave her the false confidence to go against my wishes."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the ANBU agent responded, walking into the office and closing the door behind himself.
Moments later they heard a high pitched scream followed by the sound of air being displaced by a Shunshin.
"Do you think he used his Kikaichu Shunshin on her?" Ookami asked with a hidden smirk.
"It would at least put her in the right mood for where she is going," Sarutobi growled.
Noticing a woman in civilian garb standing nearby he recognized her as one of the orphanage staff and flagged her over. Although she was obviously nervous to be in their presence, especially after overhearing the words said there in the hallway just moments ago, the dark haired young woman did come over when asked.
"Is there something that I can do for you, Lord Hokage?" the young woman asked.
"Yes there is, miss?" the Hokage probed.
"Asami," she answered.
"Thank you, Asami," he smiled, trying to calm her down. "I need you to bring us to Naruto Uzumaki's old room. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course!" Asami responded, glancing first at Ookami, then down at the large ninken standing next to the ANBU agent. "Right this way, please?"
Following the nervous young woman down the hall they were lead to the back of the building, their path bringing them past the open door of the kitchen and the sounds and smells of lunch being prepared for the children. In the middle of that hall was a single closed door, seeming almost forgotten between the kitchen and a large bathroom at the end of the hall. Asami opened the door and stood to the side in case they needed anything else from her, allowing them to enter the room.
To their dismay the entire room was stripped bare, the windows on the far wall standing open to help air out the smell of disinfectant cleaners. It was obvious that the furniture had recently been moved, as there were spots on the waxed wooden floor where the feet of a dresser once stood to one side, with marks from where a chair had been in front of a desk against the other wall.
"I apologize, Lord Hokage," Asami said from outside the room. "Matron Wamura had the cleaning staff come in early this morning and remove everything from the room and put into the incinerator, even the clothes and pictures."
"And the furniture?" Ookami asked, watching Kuromaru wander around the empty floor trying to catch a good scent. "They even took out the furniture?"
"It was... highly unusual," Asami nodded, looking sad.
"Wait, taken to the incinerator... damn it!" Sarutobi growled. "They just completed the mission to burn everything in the incinerator before we got here. If only we were a bit quicker..."
"There was no way for us to know, Lord Hokage," Ookami said, examining the underside of the window sill. "Just because it made our job harder doesn't mean it made is impossible. Oi, Kuromaru, come here will ya?"
Looking over at his partner, the ninken swiveled his right ear at the tone on her voice, the left ear missing from a previous battle. Nails clicked on the wooden floor as he trotted the few feet to her side to see what she was looking at, watching as she pulled out one of her kunai and dug something out from beneath the wooden board of the window sill.
After a few moments of careful digging to make sure that she did not damage her find she was finally able to slip a piece of paper from where it had been carefully wedged between the boards, revealing a small and slightly worn looking photograph of a young girl. Kuromaru spent several moments sniffing at the edge of the paper to see if he could get a good scent from it before nodding to the Inuzuka.
"I think that was enough for me to recognize his scent," Kuromaru growled out in a deep chested voice.
"D-did that dog just talk?" Asami stuttered in shock, staring at the smiling face of the wolf like ninken.
"Yeah, Kuromaru here sure is awesome, isn't he?" Ookami said, smirk hidden behind her ANBU mask. "Smarter than my ex husband, that's for sure. Hey, do you recognize the girl in this picture?"
"Let me see," the younger woman asked, reaching for the picture.
Asami spent a few moments examining the picture in the light of the open window, careful to hold it by its edges to as not to disturb the evidence. Recognition spread across her face when she saw the twin buns on top of the dark haired girl's head, and the familiar trim of a qipao-style blouse.
"That looks like Tenten," she told them. "She and Naruto were good friends and always hung out together, at least until she was finally adopted. He must have missed her terribly to have hidden a picture of her like this in his room. He tended to put his bedroll beneath the window here, so this would have been close at hand while he asleep."
Nodding to himself the Hokage remembered the young girl from his visits to the orphanage over the last year. She had never been far away during those visits, almost as if she were looking out for Naruto like a big sister, making sure that the Hokage didn't do anything to hurt the boy.
"We had better get started on following the boy's trail," Ookami told him, interrupting his thoughts. "It looks like it might rain soon, and that would make it a pain in the ass to try and track the boy down."
"Very well," Sarutobi nodded. "I will return to my office and allow you to continue your search. Report to me once you are done, with or without Naruto."
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Ookami said, bowing quickly before running to catch up with her partner who had already departed the room following the faint trail left by the boy the night before.
Sarutobi took the small picture from Asami's hand and looked at it himself, recognizing the young girl in the picture from the last time he had visited the Higurashi weapons shop to get some replacement kunai. He was glad that the girl had managed to get adopted by the shop owner, as Dan Higurashi was one of the most dependable men he knew. She would be happy in her new home, and Sarutobi only wished he could say the same for young Naruto.
Taking one last look at the picture he carefully placed it within a hidden pocket in his Hokage robes, dismissing the young staff woman with a nod before returning to his office with a quick Shunshin. There was little he could do at this point but wait, and hope.
Kuromaru led the way back through the halls of the orphanage, ignoring the excited shouts from the children as seeing the big dog wander through the building. With all of the children present it would be next to impossible to catch any true trail, which was compounded by the fact that Naruto had lived here for nearly five years before getting kicked out late last night.
Their search truly began when they reached the front gates, when the ninken's keen nose found the spot that Naruto had spent some time standing in after being removed from the building, forcing Ookami to have to jog to keep up with her partner as he broke into an ambling trot, pausing here and there to make sure that they were still following the right path.
It was common knowledge among ninja that your scent trail was not some magical line drawn upon the ground as you moved, it tended to move on its own, pooling in low lying areas and spots of shade and damp. Even though the boy had not touched the gutter of that house, and had not spend any time on the porch of another, the subtle clues that Kuromaru's nose found there let them know that they were on the right path.
One of the prime skills of a tracker, other than a good ninken with a strong nose, was understanding what was going on in the mind of the person that you were following. That was why it was often so difficult to follow someone who was suffering from a mental illness or had some injury that was addling their senses.
As they passed through the heart of the village they were greeted by the sight of people cleaning up from last night's festivities, taking down decorations and sweeping debris from the cluttered main roads. Temporary shop stalls made of wood and canvas were in the process of being broken down for transport, the merchants that owned them shouting orders at the young men and women doing the back breaking work for them.
At one point one of the merchants shouted in surprise when they took a step back and tumbled over the strong back of Kuromaru, falling onto the muddy pavement with a thump that knocked the wind from their chest. Rolling back to their feet, the rotund merchant looked down at the muddy water now staining their colorful clothes, and turned to raise a fist at the ninken before seeing the porcelain mask of the ANBU staring at them.
"Ah, heh, no harm done, right?" the merchant muttered, lowering his hand and brushing the front of his clothes as if that was what he meant to do all along. "Nothing a little washing can't take care of... I'll just be, ah, over there..."
Rolling their eyes at the man's panicked retreat, the two of them continued following the missing child's trail through the village streets until their trail eventually led them to the target practice field in front of the Ninja Academy. It took several moments for the ANBU to wrack her brain to figure out why the child would have come here, when there were better places to take shelter in the alleyways they had passed by.
Sudden realization filled Ookami, bringing an unfamiliar ache to her chest when she realized that the pup must have remembered coming here during last year's festival to see the puppet show with the Hokage. He must have thought that the Hokage would be there again this year, and had gone in search of him.
"He didn't spend long here," Kuromaru muttered to her, sniffing a patch of grass that carried the boy's scent.
"No, he wouldn't have to, once he realized that Hokage wasn't here," she nodded. "Let's see if we can find out where he went next, shall we?"
Nodding, the ninken spent several moments finding the trail again, heading down some of the narrower streets that ran parallel to the heart of the village they had passed through earlier during their trek. Luckily for the child had hugged close to the walls at this part of his journey, often brushing against them and leaving a strong trail for Kuromaru to follow.
People were quick to get out of their way when they saw the ANBU trailing behind the large black ninken, giving them free passage as they followed this trail for several blocks before coming to a stop next to a small tavern. Several shards of broken pottery littered the ground here, and there was an obvious stain from cheap alcohol on the wall from where a jug hat been thrown.
"What can you tell me?" Ookami asked her partner.
"He stopped here for quite some time, perhaps several minutes, before moving on," Kuromaru muttered to her, searching the immediate area with his nose. "Judging from how the cheap drink hit the wall and ground, the boy was already on the ground when the jug was thrown. I don't smell any blood, so I doubt he was physically hurt, but the scent of despair is thick in the air here."
"This tavern is the closest place to get a cheap drink if you live near the part of town that had to get rebuilt after the Kyuubi attack," Ookami noted. "I'd be surprised if it didn't smell like despair here, especially after the festival last night reminded everyone of what they had lost."
"I never did understand the purpose of this festival," Kuromaru said, looking at her with his yellow eyes. "Why celebrate on the anniversary of a great loss?"
"Because it was a great victory as well," Ookami said, looking at one of the fox and badger banners that still hung from a nearby building. "It's a reminder that even though we did suffer great losses, our village still stands, and there is new life to be celebrated."
Shaking his head at the silly human sentiment, the ninken picked up the next scent marker, leading them away from the silent tavern towards the outskirts of the village.
A drop of water landed in Ookami's spiky hair, causing her to pause for a moment and look up at the gray clouds overhead, noticing that they had become much darker even though the hidden sun had risen well above the horizon by this point. Another drop of water joined the first, before the skies seemed to open up above them in a sudden and heavy rainfall.
"Great, wet fur," Ookami muttered to herself, looking back down at her companion. "Luckily that nose of yours isn't bothered by a bit of rain, right?"
Kuromaru huffed at her before bending his nose back to the ground, easily following the trail in spite of the weather. Wet paws splashed in the occasional growing puddle as he led her further away from the center of the village, soon nearing the large earthen walls that loomed overhead as they approached. It was looking more and more as if they would not find the boy within the village itself, but Kuromaru had not mentioned finding any other scents following their path, making it unlikely that someone had taken the child in the night.
A pair of Chuunin guards stood watch over the narrow gates that led out into the forested hills outside Konoha, one of them standing under an umbrella with a smirk on his face, ignoring the glare aimed at him from the other guard. After all, it wasn't his fault that the other man hadn't thought to grab an umbrella after looking outside and seeing the clouds there.
Ookami didn't even pause as she walked past the pair, her mask and ANBU armor all the identification she needed to pass as she followed behind her partner.
Even though she was doing a good job of hiding it, she was worried about the boy they were following. A lot could go wrong in just one night, and the forests outside the village were not the safest place to be if you were a five year old child. It had gotten bitter cold last night, the first warning that this winter was going to be an unpleasant one. For a five year old the cold would have been unbearable, especially if he didn't have proper clothes to wear, and the heavy winds last night would have stripped the heat right out of his small body.
Last month had been unusually dry, causing a heavy carpet of fallen leaves to pool in the low places of the forest, a riot of orange red and gold coloring the woods around them. Normally this would have been a boon for them in their hunt for the child, as his scent would have been blown into these low places and stuck there, trapped beneath the leaves. Unfortunately the winds last night had moved everything around, and Kuromaru was having a hard time finding out where the boy had gone.
They had just begun to despair until he caught a fresh scent on the bare bark of a tree where the boy must have leaned there, tired from the long walk. Hope renewed they searched the immediate area, ignoring how the heavy rainfall was turning the once dry leaves into a slippery morass beneath their feet.
It soon became apparent that the boy had wandered in circles for a bit at this point, leaving small clues here and there throughout the area, often crossing his own path several times. Navigating a forest could be difficult without training, and doing so at night had obviously been too much of a task for a five year old suffering in the cold.
Normally they would not have this much trouble tracking a small child through the woods, but there was one important factor working against them. Most scent trails were made by the constant fall of dead skin cells shed by the body as you move, and the scent they followed was from the natural decomposition of these cells, which were unique enough in scent for the trained ninken to match it from one spot to the next.
Unfortunately for them, the small trace of Youki that traveled through the Jinchuuriki's body caused his dead skin cells to decompose much faster than anyone else's, making it hard to find all but the best clues. By the time that they had reached the woods it had been over twelve hours since the boy had been sent away from the orphanage, and the combination of strong winds moving the leaves the night before and the heavy rain were doing their best to destroy any chance they had for finding the trail.
They had to come to a final stop in a small valley overlooked by a large tree, the entrance to a small badger sett visible part of the way up the hill. Noticing that this was the only obvious shelter in the area, Kuromaru loped over and stuck his nose inside for several moments before pulling his head back.
"I think he might have crawled in there at some point last night, but I don't smell him in there any longer," Kuromaru told her, trotting back to her side. "There are a couple of badgers inside there, but no human children that I can smell."
"Dammit," Ookami said, her shoulders slumping. "This is the first time we haven't found someone in years. Why did it have to be now, why this boy?"
Kuromaru had no answer for her question, but he did feel his own kind of guilt, having failed to find the pup. He wished there was something he could say or do to make his partner happy, but short of finding the boy he did not have any ideas.
"Let's... let's search around a bit more," Ookami said, looking around the forest. "Maybe there is something we missed."
"As you wish."
They had failed.
After several more hours spent combing the woods for any clues of the boy's presence, they had been forced to return to the Hokage's office with nothing to show for their efforts other than rain soaked fur and clothes covered in mud and leaves. When Tsume took off her ANBU mask it was obvious to see that she had been crying, the skin around her eyes puffy and red as she locked eyes with the Hokage.
She had reported all of their findings, describing every step of their search as they had followed the boy's trail through the village. She told him about the boy's visit to the Academy grounds and her suspicions that Naruto had been looking for him there before he had wandered through the back streets of the village before ending up in the forests outside Konoha. She told him how the trail had faded, unlike any other trail that they had followed before.
She told him that they had failed.
Sarutobi sighed as he sat back in his chair, fighting the tears that threatened to spill from his own eyes as the sound of rain hammering the windows filled his office. Looking out at the storm that hovered over his village, he imagined that the skies themselves were crying at their loss, before shaking himself out of his moment of depression.
Even though they had failed to find young Naruto, they had also failed to find the boy dead as well. From what he understood about the seal, the Kyuubi would have already escaped and begun rampaging again if the boy had died, so he could only assume from the lack of destruction raining down on them that Naruto was indeed alive.
Unfortunately they couldn't spare the numbers needed to fully comb the forests for the missing child, even if they could afford the attention that would bring to the fact that they had managed to lose him in the first place. They would have to keep his absence unknown for as long as possible, in the hopes that the boy would show back up before it became an issue.
A plan began to form in the Hokage's head.
They would spread the rumor that the Hokage had rented an apartment for Naruto somewhere in the village, and have some of the most trusted ANBU Henge into the child so that they could be sighted around the village. In the mean time they would keep an ear out for any rumors or sightings that would lead them to where Naruto might be.
At this point it was more important that they make sure that the boy was healthy and safe than it was to return him to the orphanage, even though it should be safe enough now that that poisonous woman was out of there and in the hands of T&I. He could only imagine how horrible this experience was for the five year old child, and he hoped that this did not scar the boy for life.
Still, since the child was not only an Uzumaki, he was also the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Both factors combined meant that the child had better than even odds of surviving in the wilderness so long as at least some shelter and food could be found.
Hearing Tsume shift uncomfortably reminded him of her presence.
"Neither of you did anything wrong," Sarutobi told them. "I had a feeling that tracking him down would be difficult, which is why I chose the best tracker in all of Konoha for the task. If you were unable to find him, then nobody could."
"I... thank you for your kind words, Lord Hokage," Tsume said in a formal tone. "But it still feels like I failed you... and Naruto."
"If we hear any rumors about his whereabouts I will make sure that you are immediately informed," Sarutobi assured her. "For your efforts today you will be given pay matching an A-Ranked mission, and a few days off to spend with your children."
Blinking her tired eyes in surprise, the woman gratefully accepted this offer, having imagined her own son Kiba lost alone in the woods like that while searching for Naruto. She felt guilty leaving him in the care of his sister Hana for as long as she did, and having a few days off would allow her to make it up to her family. No doubt they would get tired of her gruff attitude after the first day, but that was also what part of being family was about.
Sarutobi suddenly laughed, breaking her from her thoughts with a puzzled frown on her face.
"I can just imagine Naruto walking through the gates a few months from now," the Hokage chuckled, "covered in sticks and mud, asking to be taken to Ichiraku's for ramen because he's hungry,"
They both knew it was hopeful thinking, but it still brought a chuckle from Tsume and Kuromaru as well.
Unknown to them, Naruto was exactly where the trail had ended, deep in the heart of the badger sett. When Hachimitsu had begun channeling her Yin chakra through him setting off the chain reaction through the roots of the chakra tree the first of many changes had taken place, causing his new scent to fool the keen nose of the highly trained ninken.
And so, young Naruto slept, not knowing how close he had come to being returned to the Hokage's side.