With Konoha on the edge of war, Naruto was sent to aid an ally in a different fight, and went missing in battle. His friends are sent to find him, but what they didn't expect was to find him deaf, mute, and silent as the grave. Whoever the fool was that said "silence is golden" was sorely mistaken.

Printed Words

"Talking"

"Thoughts"/ "FlashBacks"

The Loudest Silence

Chapter Four

Shizuka, the Silent Village

Hundreds of miles away from the Hidden Village of the Leaf lay a vast valley, sinking deep into the earth, as if something had taken a giant scoop out of the green land. It was here that the Sasaki clan had decided to start their humble little dwelling years ago, when the odd people had decided to move away from their mother village, Konohagakure. But after a few decades, families began pouring into this new place, Shizukagakure, all of them people who had experienced hardship or loss, just wishing for a place to start over; which was exactly what the village founded by the Sasaki clan provided. Soon, the few decades the new additions to the Sasaki family spent in the quaint little ditch turned their shire into a bustling town, filled with vast structures and great opportunity for many folk.

The bigger the city got, the bigger the Sasaki clan got, whether it be through weary travelers stopping for a rest, only to fall in love with the calm and happy lifestyle the people indulged in, or from the many marriages and families having children and getting their start.

Every place you could go was crowded beyond belief. You'd be lucky to find a shop with fewer than ten people at any given time. Businesses were booming, old friends greeted each other merrily as they went about their daily routines, and to an outsider, it would be nearly impossible to tell that war had raged through the city, only weeks prior.

"This place is huge…" murmured a stunned Kiba as he tried unsuccessfully to find even the tiniest break in people as they hurried along every street. "How the hell are we supposed to find Naruto in this mass?"

"I had no idea this place would be so massive…" Sakura said apprehensively. "I thought Shizuka was a break off of people from Konoha, but this…" she waved a hand, motioning to thick mass jostling their way around the Konoha nin, "This place has near as many people as we do! They're all just…squished together!"

"Indeed, finding Naruto, if he's even here, may be more of a challenge than we originally thought," Kakashi said evenly, his arms crossed as he surveyed the crowds with a careful eye. "We'll split up into groups and take different areas of the city. The sooner we find Naruto, the happier we'll all be."

"Mou…are we starting now?" Ino said with a little whine, her exhaustion making itself evident through her voice. "We ran for two weeks straight to get here! Can't we rest for tonight? Naruto's been here for nearly two months now, one more day won't make any difference!"

"You can't know that for sure!" came Hinata's voice from the front of the group, her eyes giving the blonde girl a small glare that seemed frightening from the usually timid girl. "Every second counts in a mission, you know that!"

"Maa…Hinata's right," Kakashi said coolly, ignoring the pleading look of sympathy from the Yamanka kunoichi. "Until we can be certain of Naruto's whereabouts, we can't afford to stop any longer than is necessary."

"Then why don't we go instead of standing here like gennin," Sasuke spoke irritably, causing the copy nin's cool grey eye to slide to him appraisingly.

"I suggest we divide into three groups," Shikamaru spoke up, the usually lazy genius now alert and focused in a way he hadn't been since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. "We'll be able to search more thoroughly that way."

"Right," Kakashi said in a commanding tone, Neji, Chouji, Kiba, and I will find the morgues and search the unidentified deceased persons lists. Lee, Tenten, Shino, and Ino will go to the hospitals and medical centers where the war victims are being treated. Hinata, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Sasuke, you four search through the streets and inns. If the casualty list was too high, some residential places may be housing incapacitated people. If by nightfall you haven't found anything, report back here, and we'll plan from there. Find Naruto…or any information on his whereabouts. And if you do see him…for god's sake, don't let him out of your sight!"

Eight Ninja flickered off at once, each heading to their own destinations. Hinata leaped upwards to the rooftops, byakugan activated, and Sasuke did the same with his sharingan, headed in the opposite direction. Shikamaru slipped into the flow of the crowd, already interrogating shop vendors, and Sakura turned to do the same.

An image of Naruto's smiling face flashed before her mind's eye, his ever present smile lifting the corners of his mouth, and his eyes the same color and brightness of the morning sky. Sakura closed her eyes as she allowed the image to fill her mind, and she felt her throat close in fear of what state they might find him in, if they even found him at all.

If they lost Naruto…

Sakura felt hot tears well up behind her eyes once again, but she forced them down angrily.

They wouldn't lose Naruto. He was their friend…and the pillar that kept everyone together. With a new determination, Sakura turned back to glare at the mocking blue sky.

'Don't worry Naruto…' she silently promised the blond in her head, 'We'll find you…just hold on!'

It wasn't until the following day that their search brought any results.

When the dejected shinobi returned after six solid hours of searching through files and photographs, examining the hundreds of still unclaimed bodies, combing through every shop and street corner, and interrogating countless people, all of whom it seemed were to busy to provide any real help, the twelve were no closer to finding their friend. When they each shared their observations, they made an extremely unpleasant discovery.

Of the massive city that their fellow ninja had last been seen in, they had only searched a tiny fraction.

The disheartened search party forced their tired bodies up with the morning sun, and set out to begin the search anew, hopeful that somewhere in the miniscule amount of ground they'd be able to search today, something…anything might point to Naruto.

To Sakura, searching through the streets was aggravating. Of all the places that she knew should be combed through, this was at the bottom of her list. What were the chances of finding her former teammate like this? Wandering the streets in a random game of cat and mouse…if Naruto were here, inside this city hidden in the silence (an ironic name for the loud noises of the people crowding every section of the streets) would he really be walking the streets? If he could, Sakura had no doubt that he would return to the village, to Konoha. It was his home…they were his home!

Sakura let out an angry breath of frustration after her ninth failed attempt at interrogation today. The woman working the shop hadn't said a word, only making a strange gesture with her hands before turning back to her sweeping.

"Yes…thanks for your time! You little…" Sakura grumbled angrily as she moved on from the weird woman. Closing her eyes, she brought her hands to her temples to ward off her oncoming headache. "I'm getting nowhere!" she groaned to herself.

Upon opening her eyes, a flash a gold assaulted her vision.

"Eh?" Sakura blinked harshly as she tried to pinpoint the source.

Off in the distance, almost completely hidden by the crowds of people walking the street, a mess of bright blond hair bobbed in and out of sight, its spikey texture sticking out in every direction.

Sakura was moving before she consciously told her feet to move.

"N-Naruto?" the strangled name came from her throat. She began to push her way through the knot of people, making painfully slow progress towards the head that was still moving away from her.

"NARUTO!" Sakura forced out, louder this time, desperate to catch the blond's attention. But the person didn't even turn their head in acknowledgement.

Her shoves became more violent and Sakura desperately tried to wade through the thick sea of people, no longer caring that they were all civilian. However, no amount of force was getting her any closer to her target.

"Oh, for god's sake! NARUTO! PLEASE WAIT!" she screamed. The only reaction she received were odd glances from some of the people around her, but the person slipped from her sight, and fear rose up in her throat to choke her.

"Oh, screw it!" she muttered venomously, and with a leap, she attached herself to the side of a building with chakra, and began to run forwards, searching for that golden blond hair that she had only ever seen on one before.

There!

Standing in the shade of a cart vendor's umbrella, smiling at a man who seemed to be motioning to him, Naruto was there.

Alive.

Happiness swelled up inside her, and, ignoring the gasps of surprise and awe of the people on the street as they saw her running sideways on buildings, she called out to her childhood friend, tears threatening to overwhelm her.

"NARUTO! YOU BAKA! UP HERE!"

The man running the stand ceased his strange movements to stare at Sakura, and Naruto turned his head as well.

Brilliantly blue eyes widened in surprise as they took in the sight of the pink haired kunoichi running towards him. A wide, shit eating grin twisted up the corners of his whiskered mouth, and then the young adult turned…

…and began to run off, dodging expertly through the crowds of people.

"…eh?" Sakura's step faltered, so surprised by the blond's sudden flight. Her confusion mounted as he turned to glance over his shoulder, sticking out a pink tongue through his teeth.

"EH?" she yelled.

She too began to run, following the future Hokage, but damn it all if he wasn't fast!

"Sasuke, Hinata, Shikamaru!" Sakura cried, pressing the talk button on the radio placed in her ear. "I'm in the west side of town…come now! I've spotted Naruto!"

Not bothering to wait for the replies of her teammates, Sakura pushed down her bewilderment and focused only pumping chakra into her legs to keep up with the yellow blur. Now if she could only figure out what the hell was going on!

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for being so patient with me while things were rough!

Baby ducky and his mommy are doing just fine! His mommy and daddy can take him home for the first time in three days, and his big sister is quite excited to see the little duckling at home.

Thank you ALL for your patience and support, your prayers and well-wishes were very much appreciated!

Expect a new chapter soon! Also the reason behind Naruto's weird behavior! ^-^

~Ducky