The figures just stood there as if trapped in time. Heavy torrents of pouring rain drenched their unmoving features. The two parties merely looked at one another, well one of the two parties actually. The blond kid still faced the ground as if it's the only thing in the world that's visible. His wet bangs overshadowing his eyes. Some of the ANBU were already motioning for their weapons. Normally the sight of a 15 year old boy wouldn't faze one of Konoha's ANBU squads so easily; if this was an ordinary 15 year old boy. They were facing a 'demon' as they put it. The ANBU captain sensing the building tension decided to act first.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" he had his suspicions, but the Naruto he knew couldn't have…

"Gomenasai…" the blond boy sputtered raising his head interrupting Yamato's thoughts.

He was crying. Though the rain water was also trailing the sorrowful expression on his face; Yamato could see his tears…

He slowly got up dropping the kunai he held in his left hand.

"I-I ha-have t-to go…" he muttered rather weakly, stuttering."….gomen…"

He started running. Alarmed, two of the ANBU blocked his path. He then ran towards another direction, to be blocked again by the same ANBU. He kept on running in different directions only to be blocked again and again.

"Naruto!" Yamato cried out in desperation. Naruto glanced at him but still didn't stop.

'He's not listening. Naruto you leave no me no choice 'He went through a couple of hand seals and cried out "Shichuurou no Jutsu!"

A prison made of wood erupted from the ground and trapped the rather frantic Naruto.

"Now, Naruto, what are you doing here?" he asked in the kindest voice he could muster. He didn't really want to push it knowing Naruto's current situation, but what he saw demanded answers. And he was not just about to let someone who 'probably' saw the murderer slip through. Though there was a faint wracking in his mind telling him Naruto was more involved than he thought, but he shrugged that thought off.

"Ano…Yamato-san...gomen…" his voice almost a whisper.

'There it is again…that's the third time he said sorry… Naruto what are you sorry about?"

His trail of thought was interrupted as a group of Konoha's medic team arrived with several ANBU escorting them. The medic teams were not only responsible for healing and treating the wounded but also taking care of dead bodies. How they got used to their jobs was beyond him. ANBU normally dispose of dead bodies by burning them or feeding them to wildlife. They didn't really have to clean them, except maybe for high- priority missions where it involves the cleaning of bodies pertaining to their bloodlines; so its secret is kept safe.

"I knew it!" one of the medic-nin stated as a matter of factly, "that demon brat!"

Some of the ANBU looked at him with affirmation.

Yamato chose to ignore him as he turned to face Naruto.

"Naruto. You're…!"

-he was cut-off as the Naruto he was talking to earlier was beginning to dissolve into liquid.

'Mizu bunshin?'

"Hurry, surround the area! Capture him alive! Alive! Got that?"

Some snorted as they heard him say 'alive', but followed his orders anyway. The ANBU disappeared in different directions. Nobody knew that that was the last time they'll see the blond kyuubi container for a long time…

4 Days after disappearance…

The Godaime took the news of the incident the hardest. She just couldn't believe that her 'brother' would leave them. Despite the urging of the council to place Naruto in the bingo book's most wanted list, she insisted that Naruto was not the murderer contrary to most of the populace would say of course. She was one of the few who believes Naruto's innocence. There was Sakura along with the former rookie nine and Gai's team. Those who knew Naruto such as Jiraiya, Kakashi, Iruka along with some jounin and chuunin, and there was Yamato, who was there during the incident and also the one who made the report. Despite what he has seen he denied the council the liberty of putting words into his mouth. He insisted that it was not Naruto, for which he was dismissed before he even got the chance to finish his report.

She was so lost in thought that she did not notice the presence of a silver shinobi in front of her.

"If you keep brooding like that your henge might come off."

Jiraiya didn't take the news too well too. The news that his blond pupil has gone AWOL has taken Jiraiya by surprise. He didn't think Naruto could leave Konoha much less slaughter innocent civilians. He shrug the news as folly at first he heard it until a bird a message bird from Konoha arrived.

"Jiraiya! How long have you been there?" Tsunade to say the least was startled to not notice Jiraiya. If it was an assassin she would've been dead by now.

"Long enough to sneak a peek at your-" BAM! Jiraiya flew through the doors of the Hokage's office. Two ANBU sweat dropped as they saw Jiraiyas twitching figure lying in front of them. They were starting to think that Tsunade might be the strongest of the three Sannin.

"I don't have time for you perverted jokes Jiraiya!"

A few minutes passed…

"Now that's aside…" she stated looking at the recovering figure of her former teammate standing in front of her.

"I want to know what you think…" her voice panned with seriousness.

"Well, he couldn't have lost control over the Kyuubi, otherwise you could've felt its chakra…and besides that seal was made so that the Kyuubi couldn't control him."

"Then are you saying that he killed those people?"

"No! Of course not!" Jiraiya was irritated that she could even ask him that. He could hear a grumble from Tsunade. He knew that she was also having a very hard time.

"Yamato!" Tsunade shouted at no one and at that Yamato appeared in a poof.

"What of the kunai that you found?"

"According to the lab the kunai held the blood structures of several of the victims…" he trailed off at the end "…but the kunai do not match the any of the wounds of the victims"

He paused for a while before he said "Also… I haven't mention this in my report, but Naruto said he was sorry several times…"

"Sorry?" Tsunade asked confusion written on her face.

"Sorry? Sorry for not being able to protect them?" Jiraiya added.

After their discussion Yamato left first and then Jiraiya. Tsunade gave an order not to be disturbed.

Tsunade took a photo out from her deskdrawer. It was her with Shizune and Tonton, and… the blond boy she considered as her brother. A single tear fell from her eye.

'Naruto… where are you? Please…come home' She then broke into sobs.

Not far from the borders of the Fire Country…

Two voices echoed in a dark cavern where light was never present. The faint sound of water roaring could be heard from a distance. To those near and heard that would mean they were near a body of water.

"….and you could do that?" the first voice barely audible.

"I believe we can come to an arrangement, after the Kyuubi is extracted of course" the second voice said with a hint of malice"

"Then I agree"

TBC