A/N: Hey everyone, here is the next chapter. This chapter is fairly short compared to the previous chapters. It's mostly just to lead everyone into the next arc of the story, as well as to provide an update as to what happened during the time skip that occurred in-between the last chapter and the upcoming one.

One person asked if Naruto had consumed any psychologists during his time fighting Gentek, to which I ask the following. Considering that they routinely conducted inhumane and insane experiments on human beings and were creating a virus to give soldiers super powers, do you honestly think that they actually HAD any psychologists in the staff? And if they did, would YOU trust any that would work with people like that and not have them all locked up, or trust anything coming from them?

Plus I don't know anything about psychology besides common knowledge, so I won't be including anything like that.

I don't own Naruto. Slavery is illegal.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Demon/Large Summon Speech"

'Demon/Large Summon Thoughts'

Jutsu/Skills

Chapter 4: Prelude to Return

-Two Years Later-

It's been two years since Naruto was adopted by the Ravens, and Naruto is now ten and a half years of age. During this time with them, he's grown quite a bit both physically and in ability. Naruto is now rather tall for his age at 4'6", and his body has the lean musculature of an athlete that was fairly well defined. Almost all of his baby fat is gone due to all of the training he puts himself through, making him look more like Minato that he would prefer.

In this time, he had gotten even closer to his new family, and learned more about them. He saw even more the silent strength with which Jim seemed to do everything, and how he was always willing to help wherever he could. It was more than strength of arms, but an inner strength of will aligned with a good heart. More than anything else, he saw that Jim was a good man.

He was currently a machinist in the local factory; having retired from active duty in the military he chose a quiet life for the most part. He still kept up some training, but it was mostly out of habit more than anything.

He had tried to help Naruto in his training with modern day tactics and strategy, but seeing as the number of military personnel that Naruto had already consumed meant that he had more experience and training than Jim, it was an exercise in futility, although Naruto did appreciate the gesture and the interest that Jim showed. It was far more than Minato had done.

In Mary he had the mother he always wanted. She would fuss over him and always seemed to want to smother him with her love. He found out that she had a habit of singing in the shower, quite well actually, as well as when she cooked or did most tasks. Her cooking was excellent, and she even learned how to make ramen for him for special occasions. She was his light, always bringing happiness and joy to all around her. She never seemed sad for long, unless it was for someone else.

In his sister May, Naruto found his greatest friend and supporter. Since he didn't go to school, for the obvious reasons of having consumed all the knowledge he needed, as well as not having any documentation, he hardly knew anyone else his age. So to keep him from being socially awkward, she would introduce him to her friends, and invite him every time she went out. She introduced him to new music, movies, and fashion. She encouraged him to go out and have fun occasionally instead of always training.

Together, they formed the core of his world, and he couldn't be happier. He finally had that which he had always desired, and he was not going to take it for granted. He cherished every moment he had with them.

This was not to say that there were no issues. He argued and fought with them as any child would with his family. But he loved them and he knew that they loved him, and they always made up with each other.

In regards to his training, when May left in the mornings for school, he would head to his training grounds in the mountains. With his speed, the trip was quick and he was isolated enough to not worry about any watchers.

During the last few years, he had managed to fully control Kurama's chakra. He was now able to instantly activate his fox shroud at the specific number of tails that he desired, and could instinctively control it to produce extra limbs or use the tails for attack and defense. He could also activate the golden cloak in an instant without having to first go through his fox shroud.

As for his skills with Kurama's chakra, Naruto managed to master the Bijudama. Using the fuinjutsu knowledge he gained from the memories of Mito Uzumaki, Naruto modified a cave he found that was near his most isolated training grounds and reinforced it with seals to prevent any signs of his training from reaching the rest of the world. In there, he could fire… well, not full powered blasts, but ones strong enough for him to get a feel for it. He managed to figure out the trick to firing a blast from his hands, and could now fire them from either hand. He hadn't quite yet managed to fire two blasts simultaneously, but he figured that it wouldn't take much longer.

One thing that he was determined to figure out a way to do was to use the golden portion of Kurama's chakra without having to go into his cloaked form. As cool as he thought it looked, he knew that it was too inconspicuous and that it would make him stand out like a sore thumb. After all, a light bulb is not the stealthiest item in the world, so glowing like one won't help him stay hidden. So he decided to try to find a way to access Kurama's full chakra without any sign of it being done. After a lot of trial and error, he managed to limit the transformation to the limb that the chakra was being used in. It took a lot of work, but he's getting there. He hoped to finish hiding the signs of activating Kurama's chakra within the next year.

Add all that to his review and practice of seals, going over and learning the jutsus in both Kurama's memories and in the scrolls he copied from Minato's library, and his mastery of three different nature transformations for his chakra, while achieving a high proficiency in the other two, and he had become quite the powerhouse.

Still, Naruto knew that there's always something out there that can take everything away from you, and with his newfound family, that was the last thing that he wanted to risk. So he continued to train, determined to become the strongest ever. Not for fame, but to protect the people who saved him from the hell of loneliness. To prevent himself from ever going back to that place ever again. And to protect their happiness.

After having finished another day of training, Naruto quickly made his way home from the mountains. It was evening and the stars were beginning to come out by the time he arrived. He entered the house to find the rest of the family in the living room watching TV. This was a fairly normal event, which on average would not have even caught his attention. However, seeing the grim expressions on everyone's faces caused him to pause.

"Hey, is everything all right?" Naruto queried his family. They looked at him with concern clear on their faces, and then Jim indicated for him to take a look on the television.

Naruto walked around the couch where everyone was seated, and saw that there was an emergency broadcast going on. After a few moments of watching, Naruto felt his knees go weak from shock and he had to struggle to not fall to the ground. He played close attention to the report.

"Once again, this is David Marksfellow reporting live from just outside New York, where it is being reported that another outbreak of the Mercer virus is being reported." said a tall, brown haired reporter with a mustache. "It's unknown right now the extent or which the virus has spread, but officials have already placed the entire city under quarantine, and have locked down the city. They are clearly remembering the events that occurred two years ago, and are taking this new outbreak very seriously."

"While the full extent of the virus outbreak is still unknown, we have begun to receive reports on the basics of the plan that the government is using to stop the progression of the virus before it gets out of hand. According to the report, New York will be sectioned off into three 'zones' to prevent the virus from spreading. In the first zone, also known as the Red Zone, is where the infection is heaviest and the focus of security is being placed."

"The second section, known as the Yellow Zone, is where there is some infected activity, but is for the most part infection free. Everyone that is suspected to possibly be infected but is not showing signs of infection, will be kept in this section until the virus has been neutralized."

"Finally the last division is the Green Zone. This area is infection free, and is also where the base of operations for overseeing the quarantine is being held. Everyone that is confirmed to be free of infection is moved to this zone to protect them from infection, and to prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible. As of now, we are currently unable to reach a member of the quarantine unit for an interview or a press conference, but we are reaching out…"

Naruto tuned out the rest of the report. Everything that he had experienced just after being infected by the virus had just come to nothing. He had fought to eradicate the virus, and to prevent the loss of lives, but it seems that his efforts were for not. He clenched his fists.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted through gritted teeth. Everything he did back then was useless. All of the sacrifices he made, and all of the people he sacrificed, were to destroy the virus and keep it from ruining lives. But then THIS happened.

Naruto wasn't a fool. Based on the size of the quarantined zones he could tell that this wasn't a case of someone being admitted into the hospital and the staff there discovering a new case. The outbreak was massive in New York, and for it to suddenly appear and spread so quickly meant that it was done on purpose. Someone had preserved a sample of the virus, and had now unleashed it on New York. Already, he could hear the reporter on the television dubbing the city with a new name, New York Zero.

Naruto's family looked at him with concern clear in their eyes. They all knew the full story of the events of the last outbreak, and knew what hearing this latest news would do to him. Jim left the couch and walked over to Naruto. Looking at him for a moment, at how he was stiffly holding himself, Jim suddenly swept Naruto into a large hug.

"It's OK son. It's not your fault. You did all that you could, and you saved a lot of lives. It's not your fault." Jim kept repeating similar lines like these over and over while wrapping Naruto in a warm embrace. After a few moments of this, Mary and May came over and turned it into a group hug. Tears started running down Naruto's face, but the rest of his body began to calm down.

After a few moments of this, he indicated to his family that he wanted to move and they let him go. He took another look at the TV, and then walked outside. Mary made to go after him, but Jim held her back.

"Leave him for now. He'll be all right, but he needs a few moments to himself now to sort out his mind." Mary looked worriedly at Jim for a few moments, but decided to trust him in this. Out of al of the family, Jim seemed to be the one who knew Naruto the best. While they could tell that Naruto loved each of them deeply, Jim just seemed to be able to read Naruto like a book and always knew how to best deal with him.

Outside, Naruto climbed onto the roof of the house and lay back so that he could gaze at the stars. This is the one activity that he had enjoyed doing since he was a child, looking at the stars and imagining that each was a possibility. A chance for things to be different, where he could find happiness. He let his imagination run wild while gazing at the beauty of the twinkling lights in the sky.

Now however, he wasn't finding the peace that he once had. His mind was whirling through the information that he just learned, and couldn't seem to settle on anything. He thought hard about the news, and considered carefully his next step.

One option that he had was to do nothing. He could ignore what was going on and focus on living a peaceful life with his family. He had more than earned it, and he knew that they would not judge him for choosing this. In fact, they might even prefer this over him risking his life.

On the other hand, he knew that he was one of the people who were best suited to stopping whatever was going on in NYZ. Not only could he not get infected… again… but he had advantages over everyone else, both naturally thanks to the virus, and by training as a shinobi. He could do things that for others exist only in the realms of their imaginations.

If he went, he could find out what happened, and make sure that it did not happen again. If the outbreak occurred due to some idiot with an agenda, then he would end him and any followers that he had to prevent another repeat. If this is some sick test run by Blackwatch or some other agency, he would destroy it and bring their activities to light to discourage any imitators. He could potentially end it for good.

But that would also require him leaving the family that he always wanted. The family that he finally managed to obtain. There was no way in hell that he was going to bring them with him, if he had to he would knock them out and steal the car to keep them from going. He was not going to risk them being infected or getting killed; he would watch the world burn before that happened. So he would have to leave them behind.

Naruto's mind went over the choices over and over, thinking carefully about what his options were. In the end however, it came down to a question of 'Would I be able to look at myself in the mirror if I didn't at least try?' After being on the roof for a few hours, he dropped down and went inside to let everyone know what he had decided.

He had a journey to prepare for.

A/N: Chapter four is complete. That's right; Naruto is going back to New York for the events of Prototype 2. I bet from the chapter name you all thought that Naruto was going to return to the Elemental Nations, right? Sorry to disappoint, but that's only going to happen after the end of this arc. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

As a heads up, I'm also starting a few new stories, so updates for this story will most likely not be speedy. I'll update the most quickly the stories that catch my interest the most (currently it's this one), but I will still be working on all of my stories. To reassure everyone, I will never abandon any story, although I may take a break from one if there is no inspiration currently for it. Check my profile to see what the upcoming stories are and feel free to send me a message as to what you think about them.