Chapter V

The Unexpected Return

During the weeks following the incident, with the help of Sunagakure and a few small neighbouring countries all victims of these attacks, Konohagakure had devoted countless resources to find any clues—even insignificant—that could lead on a track. In the early days, several groups were sent to search the entire Land of Fire. Strangely, only the Hidden Leaf Village was affected by this phenomenon and fortunately, the other surrounding towns had been spared. Of course, Kakashi and Team Seven consisting of Sai, Sakura, and Hinata were among the units. It was Kakashi himself who asked for the Hyuga for her Byakugan; it was futile to mention that she herself was upset by the disappearance of the sapphire-eyed teenager and that she was also ready to do anything to find him.
Sadly, the first week had yielded nothing … neither the next nor the one after…

In all, a month had passed since the incident.

By week three, Tsunade had greatly reduced the resources allowed to the case. So blindly, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack and that, she had understood it. Reluctantly, she had to accept that without the slightest element, it was futile to keep going with such relentlessness which only brought growing and overwhelming despair. Two or three teams were still assigned to this impossible mission, but communications continued, on the lookout for a missive containing information to move the situation forward.

In these teams, that of Hatake Kakashi was not one of them; Godaime preferred that he remain available in the village, for its defence, but also to come in reinforcement if there was something new… However, the Copy Ninja sank day after day in darkness and the man—cursing his weakness—withdrew into himself and into solitude. So much so that he had not plunged his nose back into one of his favourite books. The others didn't see him much, and even Sakura couldn't talk to him. Either they found him in front of the Memorial Stone or on the verge of collapsing caused by an intensive training which worried his comrades, including Hokage the fifth.

The more time passed, the more his psyche seemed to deteriorate and become unstable; to a point to believe he had fallen back into this period when he was running after his own destruction… As long as he refused to open up to others, there was nothing to be done. Tsunade had tried to send him on a mission to occupy his mind, but Kakashi declined on the pretext that he wished to be available when this whole situation would finally move forward.

That being said, this last month remained particularly dark for many, but life being life, they had to move on…


Dawn had just rose over the village. The summer breezes made this morning cold, which the sun had not had time to warm up; the inhabitants gradually woke up and began their routine before going to work or contributing in some way to the community. While they still had the privilege of having a hot drink and letting the body stretch slowly, for Izumo and Kotetsu, it was something they had dreamed of doing for several days. Assigned to guard the large gates, they had to be there at sunrise. Since the recent events, they had not had any holidays and the two chūnins were getting more and more tired.

The ebony-haired one could hardly stop yawning when only an hour had passed, not to mention that he was much less alert, just like his partner.

"I can't bear it anymore," Kotetsu grumbled, covering his mouth with his hand before crossing his arms and taking a more comfortable position. "I just want this day to end as soon as possible to finally relax."

"With the luck we've had these past few days, we'll be lucky if we're not awake tomorrow morning," Izumo added with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"Since that event, Godaime has even assigned a night shift and just like us, they are washed up…"

"Hm, hm…"

A silence settled. The two watched the children run through the streets as a flock of screaming birds passed overhead. The two shinobis almost came to look forward to the next middle-class exams where they would be freed from the drudgery of the doors or wishing to go on a mission; even a terribly mundane level E to forget the unhealthy boredom that their role as prolonged guardian created.

Turning his head towards the forest, Izumo noticed a staggering figure far away. Due to the distance and the sun, he was unable to recognize anything. He nudged his comrade to get his attention and then told him to do the same. When his onyx eyes caught sight of it, he stood up to have a better look. After a few moments, the person fell to the ground—still out of reach for any identification. A single visual exchange, and the two men quickened their pace; a common thought that said person might need help, even immediate care.

However, when they arrived there, their hearts skipped a beat and both froze; they struggled to understand or believe what they saw. They recognized Uzumaki Naruto collapsed on the ground and unconscious. He had been missing for almost a month and the chances of seeing him again were slim, even improbable; to a point that some people had convinced themselves that he was lost for good. At first glance, the young teenager seemed in poor condition; drops of sweat beaded profusely on his forehead; he was breathing heavily through his mouth with a rapid but regular tempo; his clothes were dirty and ragged; blood stained his skin and attires; dark circles hollowed out his excruciatingly thin face even more; in his trembling right hand, he was firmly holding his headband with the symbol of a leaf. Izumo and Kotetsu couldn't observe the blond any longer since they noticed that he was also badly injured. The boy had left almost imperceptible traces of hemoglobin in his wake, dripping from a deep gash on his right arm and one on his abdomen. His other hand was terribly black and scarlet from compressing the stomach wound which was now bleeding again at an alarming rate.

"Call the medical unit now!" Kotetsu ordered his brother-in-arms as he rolled Naruto onto his back to apply pressure to the said wound using a piece of cloth he tore from the orange, tattered outfit. "May Godaime be informed immediately!"

Izumo nodded, and, wasting no time, rushed to Konoha to find help to save the teen's life.