Three days have passed since the assassination attempt. No other assassins were found during the sweep of the village. During those three days, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze stayed in the hospital in an unconscious state. During his stay, the only people who visited him were his family and friends. Currently, Minato Namikaze was sitting next to his son, replaying over and over what the nurse told him two days ago in his head.

Flashback

Minato Namikaze has just arrived at the hospital with his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, walking in right behind him. The first thing they noticed was the oldest son laying in the hospital bed, a crimson soaked bandage wrapped around where his left arm should have been. Looking over to the nurse that was in the room, Minato asked her frantically, "What happened to him?" He had gotten the details from Fugaku minutes before, but he wanted to hear the extent of the damage from a professional. Mean while, Kushina walked over to her son's side and held his good hand, silent tears falling from her eyes.

"The only major injuries he received from the battle was the severed arm. It was a clean cut, but the lightning he surged through the blade fried his nervous system through the entire arm and shoulder making it nearly impossible to fix. Sadly, Tsunade would be the only person that could possibly save it, but by the time she is found and brought back, it would be to late," she stated sadly. "He won't be able to be shinobi."

Hearing the news, Minato collapsed into the chair, shell-shocked at the news. He cursed himself for sending the ANBU home early. He hated himself for leaving his kids home all alone. He thought it would be fine, that they would be safe.

Flashback End

He should have known better.

He and Kushina had many enemies. Between Kumo and Iwa alone, he could count over thirty important people that could send assassins after him and his family and hated him enough to do just that. He made a mistake and now his son was suffering for it. Soon the door behind him opened.

Looking back, he saw one of the elders and an old teammate of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura enter the room. With bandages wrapped around most of his face and his right arm crippled, most people would mark him off as unthreatening.

Most people would be wrong. Despite his appearance, this man was still as dangerous as he was in his time as Tobirama's, the Nidaime Hokage, bodyguard.

Walking into the room, aided by his cane, he pulled up a seat and sat down next to Minato. "You should give up on him," Danzo said simply, not beating around the bush. He never did that. He was like a good spear, straight to the point. "He's useless as a shinobi, and with you being the strongest of the village, it would look bad for both you and Konoha as a whole if one of your children were weak," he clarified at the end.

Minato sat there, staring at his eldest child. "He almost died, trying to protect his younger brother and sister," Minato said after a period of silence. "If it wasn't for Itachi and Fugaku, he just might have died, too. How can I abandon him after all he has done Danzo. He almost ended up like Sarutobi. Dyeing to protect what was precious to him. If he was your son, would you abandon him?" Minato asked as he looked the man next to him in the eye.

Without a second of hesitation, Danzo nodded his head in affirmative. "If I was in your position, I would. I would hide him away from the world, or maybe cut all ties with him all together. I would make sure the other villages didn't learn of this. The strongest shinobi of the so-called, 'Strongest Nation,' siring a weak, crippled child would make us seem weak. Add to the fact that the strongest kunoichi in our village is the mother would make it even worse," he said as he stood up and walked through the door before he stopped. Never looking over his shoulder, he added, "They will also see him as an easy way to get to you," and left.

Thinking over what Danzo said, Minato had to admit, though he hated himself for it, that he had some valid points. Some of the other four Great Nations would take this as a sign of weakness and capitalize on it, and he would bet his hat and robes that all of them would try and take him out to hurt him. Placing a hand on his eldests' hand and giving it a tight squeeze, he whispered, "I'm sorry son," and walked out the room.

As he closed the door, he stood there, hands in his pockets and sighed. "It's not nice to eavesdrop Fugaku," Minato said, never turning towards the man leaning against wall next to Naruto's room, arms crossed over his chest and a steely look in his eyes.

"I didn't try to, I came to check up on Naruto for the kids, and to tell you that the T&I department isn't getting shit from the assassin. We looked through every Bingo Book and haven't found a trace of him. Inochi even looked inside his mind and found it wiped, blank, empty. Almost as if he was a doll, or a puppet and was being controlled the whole time." he said, never leaving his spot on the wall. "Now then, are you honestly going to go through with what Danzo offered?" he asked the blonde man.

"It's for the best," Minato said sadly. "It's to protect both him and..." he never got to finish because he was quickly slammed against the wall be Fugaku. In less than a second, five sword blades were held at his heart, throat, temple, spine and stomach by the ANBU guarding Minato. With a signal from Minato, they pulled back their blades but kept them ready since Fugaku still hasn't let go of Minato's collar.

"Don't you dare call abandoning him the best thing you can do. If that is true, than you might as well do the same to the twins," he said, letting go of Minato and heading towards the door to Naruto's room. Before he opened the door though he looked back at Minato one last time. "If abandoning your child is the best you can do when they need you the most, then what kind of parent are you?" he asked as he walked into the room.

Uchiha District
Two Days Later

Kasumi quickly shot out of her house and down the street towards the district's exit. She was finally able to get away from Mikoto, who has been trying to keep her and Ayame's minds off of what happened to Naruto. Itachi has, again, submerged himself in his training, making sure he had no time to think about anything else.

As she exited the District, she quickly made another turn and headed towards Ichiraku's Ramen Bar to pick up Ayame. The two decided yesterday that they would see Naruto today and they were going to make sure it happened! Arriving at Ichiraku's, she waved to Ayame, who was standing outside, and jogged over to her.

"Come on Ayame-chan, let's go!" Kazumi yelled as she grabbed Ayame's wrist and started puling her along. Eventually, Ayame found her footing and started running with Kazumi towards the hospital.

When they did get there, they slowed down and checked themselves in to get visitor passes before heading straight towards Naruto's room. Grabbing seats when they got in, they each sat on opposite sides of Naruto, Kazumi on the right, and Ayame on the left.

After a moment of silence between the two girls, Kazumi looked up at Ayame, her teary eyes meeting the same across from her. "It's going to devastate him when he finds out about his arm," Kazumi said as she reached up and grabbed Naruto's hand. "His dream was to be the strongest ninja to ever walk the Elemental Nations. He knew since he was young that he was in his parent's shadows, and since then, that has always been his dream. To step out of their shadows, and be seen by the light. Now though, without his hand, he would be lucky to be a Shinobi at all," she finished as her head fell onto his arm, tears freely falling from her eyes.

She stayed like that for a few minutes until she felt movement underneath her. Looking up with her red-rimmed eyes, she noticed that Naruto was starting to wake up. As he looked up, he noticed the red rimmed, black eyes starring down at him. As he sat up and raised his right hand to wipe away a tear that flowed own her cheek, he suddenly noticed a strange lightness on the left side of his body. Looking over, his eyes widened when he didn't see his arm.

"Kazumi-chan, Ayame-chan, what happened to my arm?" he asked as images assaulted his mind. The assassin in Kazumi's room, him grabbing hold of him, the lightning clad kunai coming down on him, and the agonizing, blinding pain that shot through his left arm.

"The assassin took it off before help could arrive. It was damaged beyond repair and the doctor said it couldn't be saved. It's a miracle that you still have feeling in your left side at all," Kazumi explained, trying to explain what was happening without having sound to bad. She could tell just by looking at him that the news was killing him. His long blonde hair fell in front of his eyes, shadowing them from her sight, but she could notice him squeezing his hand tightly, and the subtle flexing of the muscles around his left shoulder. She wasn't sure why he was doing it, but she guessed he was making sure it was true, and that it was all just some sick joke.

When he did realize that it was true, he fell back onto the hospital bed, empty eyes starring at the ceiling. His dream was gone. Everything has done, preparing for the day it came true, wasted. All of it taken away by one kunai. He gave an empty chuckle, devoid of all humor. Ironic that the thing he was practicing that day was the thing that ended it.

As the three sat in silence, the door opened as Itachi and Fugaku walked in.

Seeing that Naruto was awake, Itachi walked over with a sad smile. "Welcome back Naruto," Itachi said as he pulled up a seat and Fugaku leaned against the wall near the window.. "I thought you weren't ever going to wake up," Itachi joked, trying to lighten the mood. Seeing that it wasn't helping, he quickly decided to shut up.

After a full five minutes of silence, Ayame stood up from her seat. "Come on guys, I think it would be best to let him be alone for a little bit," she said as she walked towards the door. Turning back towards the others and seeing they weren't moving, she gave a low sigh and went back to her seat. If they were going to stay there, then so would she.

After another minute, Naruto finally spoke since the discovery of his missing arm. "Can you guys just give some time alone?" he asked them softly. "I need some time to think," he said, sadness dulling his usually bright blue eyes. As he started to zone out again, a thud was heard as Itachi shot up from his chair, knocking it over in the process. Grabbing Naruto by the front of the hospital gown he wore, he hefted him halfway off the bad so they were face-to-face.

"Damnit!" he yelled as he shook Naruto, shocking both Ayame and Kazumi. "Who the hell are you and what have you done with Naruto!" he yelled again, a look more serious then ever seen on his face before today. "The Naruto I know would never let a little flesh wound like that keep him down!"

"He's missing his arm Itachi-nii," Kazumi deadpanned.

Not being deterred in the slightest by his sister's comment, Itachi continued. "The Naruto I know, would stand back up, and become so powerful, he wouldn't need both his hands to take down anyone! He would become so strong, that even though he had one arm, he would be able to fight off someone like Madara Uchiha, or Hashirama Senju!" he finished as he tossed Naruto back down and turned on his heels. "Let me know when that Naruto comes back," he said as he opened the door to the room. Stopping just before he left, he said one last thing to the blond.

"Let me know when my best friend comes back," he said as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

As everyone looked at Naruto, they weren't shocked at what they saw. Naruto was shell-shocked to say the least. Was he really letting this take over him? Was he really letting this, flesh wound, beat him?

As Naruto thought that over, Fugaku decided he would finish what Itachi started. "He's right you know," Fugaku said as he leaned against the wall. "I remember when I first met you Naruto. You were full of life, full of energy, but most of all, full of conviction. You would've taken on the world back then if it meant reaching your dream. Now, you're not even a shell of what you were back then," he said with a sad chuckle. "Are really the boy I remember from two years ago? Are you really the one that was brave enough to kiss Kazumi right in front of me?" he asked, causing Kazumi to blush at the memory and Ayame to glare daggers at her.

As Fugaku got up to follow Naruto he turned to the boy one last time before leaving. "Now get over yourself Naruto, and prove all of these doctors wrong," he said with a hidden smile as he left. Hopefully Ayame and Kazumi would pick up on what they were doing and take over.

As Naruto thought over what the two said to him, Kazumi was focused on something else, or more specifically, Itachi's voice in her head being transmitted from the communication seal on her arm.

"Listen Kazumi, I'm not sure if you picked up on it or not, but Tou-san and I have a plan to get Naruto back on his feet," Itachi said, via seal. "It's like forging a sword with Naruto, Kazumi. I melted him down, Tou-san shaped him, now I need you to cool him down, harden his resolve, and find a way to let Ayame know what she has to do," Itachi said as he cut the connection.

Giving a sigh, Kazumi turned towards Naruto. Seeing that the emptiness in his eyes was gone, Kazumi was beginning to think the plan could work. "They're right you know," Kazumi said to him, getting his attention. " I still remember the first time I met you Naruto," Kazumi said as she remembered the past.

Flashback

It was a few months after the Kyubi attack, and the village was still recovering from the destruction. As a four year old Kazumi walked down the road next to her mother Mikoto, who was carrying a baby Sasuke, she saw a mop of golden blond hair out of the corner of her eye. As she turned, she saw a young boy, probably as old as her big brother Itachi, sitting on a bench next to the nearby park. His sapphire blue eyes were staring at the Hokage Monument behind her and a small smile was etched onto his face. She decided she wanted to meet him. Running over towards the boy, she jumped onto the spot next to him.

"Hi, I'm Kazumi Uchiha," she said as she smiled brightly at him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze," he said as he returned the smile. "Nice to meet you Kazumi."

"What are you doing out here all alone?" she asked generally curious. He didn't look like an orphan so she assumed he must have one of his parents nearby.

"My tou-san is working right now and Kaa-san was taking my little brother and sister over to the Nara compound," he explained. "And right now, I'm trying to memorize the faces of the people who I'll get stronger than," he added as he jumped up. "That's my dream, to become the strongest shinobi this world has ever known!" At this point Mikoto and Sasuke walked over to the group in time to hear Naruto's exclamation.

Hearing his dream, Kazumi couldn't help but giggle slightly. "You sure do aim big don't you," she said as she smiled at him. Holding out her hand, she gave a beaming smile to him. "Let's be friends Naruto," she said to him.

Naruto smiled back and shook her hand. "Yeah, let's," he said.

Suddenly, baby Sasuke leaned out of Mikoto's arms and put his little hand on top while gurgling happily.

Flashback End

"What happened to that person?" she asked him. "What happened to the boy that swore he would be the stronger than every face on that mountain?" she half-yelled as she pointed towards the Hokage Monument, clearly visible. "What happened to that boy, that wanted to leave the shadows of the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot Habanero?" she asked as she turned to leave. Stopping at the door and turning back for a moment, she saw Naruto's head held down and Ayame watching her leave.

Seeing her chance, she traced on the wall with her finger, 'Your turn,' three times to be sure she understood. Seeing the nod, Kazumi walked out the door and left.

Letting loose a sigh, Ayame stood up, kneeled on the bed, and quickly maneuvered Naruto so his head was now resting her lap. For a moment, Ayame just sat there, combing her fingers through his golden locks. As she looked down, she noted that his eyes showed signs of deep thinking, most likely about what the other three have told him.

"Ayame," Naruto said after a while of silence. "Am I really that pathetic?" he asked her.

"No you're not," she replied gently. "You're just going through a rough time," she said as she tenderly stroked his cheek. "They weren't trying to hurt you Naruto," she explained to him. "They were trying to help you back onto your feet, to help you out of this rough patch. Those three just aren't as good with words as they could be," she said with a small smile.

"Yea, those three are pretty blunt, aren't they?" he added with a small smile of her own.

"Like you can talk," she said giving a small laugh. "You're not exactly mister elegance yourself."

The two shared a laugh at Ayame's comment. Little did they know, though, Itachi, Kazumi and Fugaku sat outside the doorway, also laughing with them.

The next day, Fugaku could be found heading to his clan's mailroom to see if any letters have arrived for him. When he checked, only one letter was in his box. Inside read,

Dear Fugaku
I write this letter to let you know that I am back in business and have cleared any trail that the Royal Guard could have followed. I hope to see you around here soon old friend.

Signed
Kizan Shima