Chapter 3

Intense Investigation

Tsunade rushed down to the hospital when word reached her office of an incident involving Naruto and Sakura. When she arrived at the room holding Naruto, it was already quite crowded. Several doctors were examining the patient. Kakashi was present. There were also two ANBU standing in one corner, identified by the distinct masks they wear.

"Report" was all Tsunade said in a stern voice as she entered the room. Everyone looked towards her immediately.

One of the doctors spoke up. "Naruto Uzumaki was found lying in a hallway along with Sakura Haruno. They were both unconscious. Some kind of fight took place between them. Witnesses say Naruto pushed Sakura through a doorway. Suddenly he appeared to become very ill and fell to the ground. Sakura rushed to his aid but her injuries were too extensive and she fell moments later. That is all we know at this moment."

"What are their status?" Tsunade tried to keep a professional tone even though she had great concern.

"Naruto has no visible injuries and appears to be in some sort of coma. He has not woken up since the incident and attempts to revive him are not working. Due to obvious concerns, he is currently being restrained with the strongest wrist and ankle chains currently available." The doctor motioned to one of the ANBU in the room. "It was at the request of the ANBU black ops."

"And Sakura, where is she and what is her condition?" Tsunade was glad that someone seemed to be on top of the situation.

"She sustained injury during the altercation. Her treatment is taking place in the next room over. You will have to go there for further details."

"Kakashi come with me." Tsunade motioned towards him, turned around and walked out the door. Kakashi followed close behind.

"What do you make of this?" Tsunade suspected that Kakashi might have started his own investigation.

"I have checked out the area where the battle took place and interviewed several witnesses. It appears to have gone down as the doctor said. In addition, one witness said he heard growling shortly before they entered the hallway. With his attention already focused in the general area, he saw Naruto the moment he exited the room. I asked for a description of Naruto and he told me orange pants, black jacket, yellow hair and red eyes" Kakashi opened the door to Sakura's room and allowed Tsunade to go in first.

"Red eyes? I want you to go and get..." As Tsunade entered the room she had no need to finish her sentence.

"Yo Tsunade, quite a situation we have here." The legendary Sannin and toad sage Jiraiya was already in the room.

"What are you doing here, why are you not watching over Naruto?" Tsunade's eye twitched. They were not on the best of terms at the moment. On top of that, she was concerned of possible motives for him to be in a room other than his fallen apprentice.

"Naruto won't be waking up for the foreseeable future. It is more important that Sakura gives us more detail on what happened. The witness reports are very worrisome but are far from a complete picture. Unfortunately her condition prevents that from happening."

"Doctor, tell me her injuries." Tsunade walked over to the bed and began her own examination as the doctor spoke.

"She received severe contusions all along the back and behind her legs when being pushed into the wall. The pain most likely overloaded her brain and forced her into an unconscious state. We have healed most of the damage and she should be waking up soon. There will be no permanent damage." The doctor was a little annoyed that Tsunade didn't appear to be paying much attention.

"That diagnosis appears to be accurate. She is in no serious danger." It wasn't that Tsunade did not trust the doctor, she couldn't help herself. Sakura was like a daughter to her and here she is lying in such a helpless state.

"It looks like all we can do now is wait for one of them to wake up." Jiraiya began to walk towards the door

One hour passed. Then another. Then two more. The waiting was agony for those who knew, and that club was growing rapidly. Rock Lee was one of the first, trying to push past doctors to get near Sakura's room. Ino Yamanaka showed up a short time later returning from a mission. She heard the hokage was at the hospital and tried to make her report. Might Guy came to help console his former student. Then Neji Hyuga and Shikamaru. They were all forced to wait in the lobby though as ANBU were prohibiting visitation. Everyone except essential personnel were allowed to see the two patients.

Approximately 13 hours had passed since the incident. Sakura was beginning to regain consciousness.

A doctor peered out into the hallway. "Excuse me Hokage-sama, Sakura Haruno is waking up."

Like lightning Tsunade, Kakashi, and Jiraiya were inside the room. The doctor almost lost his balance as they rushed past him. The three were at the bedside in seconds, watching Sakura open her eyes.

"Wha...where am I?" She was disorientated. Such was to be expected when just coming out of a short coma.

"You are in the hospital. There was some kind of fight between you are Naruto. Do you remember that?" Tsunade was greatly relieved that her student was finally awake.

"I...I remember. I was trying to get help for Naruto and forgot to check my injuries. I ended up collapsing." Sakura was slightly embarrassed that she lost her head. Perhaps she could have healed her own injuries. As she tried to sit up, pain from her back caused some discomfort. It would have been difficult to heal her own back, she thought.

"Please don't move. We need you to tell..."

"How is Naruto?" Sakura didn't give time for Tsunade to finish the sentence, suddenly realizing she had no idea what his condition was.

Kakashi thought he was the best one to break the news. "Naruto is in a coma and there is not telling when he will be waking up." Sakura looked up and for the first time realized that Kakashi and Naruto's sensei Jiraiya were also present. Curiously, there was also an ANBU in one of the corners behind them. "Not to pressure you, but we need to know what happened."

"Of course" Sakura sat up slightly and looked down at the white sheet covering her. "Tsunade-sama sent word that I was to perform a physical on Naruto. I went down to the lobby and escorted him to an examination room. After a routine physical, which found nothing wrong, I proceeded to check his chakra, as specifically instructed. Naruto was doing his best to avoid that from occurring. A few moments later I discovered I was actually examining a clone."

"A clone?" Jiraiya said.

"Yes. When the clone disappeared Shikamaru walked in dragging the real Naruto. I put him on the table and used the restraints to prevent him from pulling another disappearing act. He absolutely refused to perform any jutsu and would not offer an explination. I had to persuade him." Sakura was worried what they would think about the next part of her explanation, so she paused.

"What exactly do you mean by that? How did you persuade him?" Kakashi was the one to speak up now.

"I sort of...um... hit him...in the face..." Sakura sank down in the bed again.

"Well that is understandable." Tsunade didn't seem very concerned with how her apprentice operated. Jiraiya just stood there picturing what it would look and, more importantly, feel like. Perhaps he could work something into his next book.

Sakura breathed an inner sigh of relief and continued her story. "He still refused so I hit him again. Then a third time. It wasn't all that hard, he has taken much worse punches from me before. But after the third one he appeared to be knocked out. And then..." She stopped again. It was very difficult to recount the events.

"Then what?" Kakashi seemed oblivious to Sakura's mental state. He was never very good at telling what a woman was feeling.

"Shut it Kakashi, Give her a moment." Tsunade could tell that this was a difficult ordeal for her apprentice. But they needed to know.

"Naruto opened his eyes and they were red. He reached up, grabbed my throat, and tossed me. Eventually we ended up out in the hall. He raised his arm to attack me again but stopped. Then he stumbled backward and passed out. That is all I remember." Suddenly, Sakura jumped out of bed and began fast walking towards the door. "I want to see Naruto." She exited the room.

"Something is clearly wrong with the Naruto's control over the Kyuubi. There is no way he would attack in such a manner, even though she was beating him up." Jiraiya tried to focus on the crisis at hand but it was very difficult with the scene he was just presented. It would be the highlight of his next Ichi Ichi Paradise novel.

"It also appears to be connected with his chakra and refusal to perform a jutsu." Kakashi could see the slight twinkle in Jiraiya's eye. He could not wait to read his rendition of such an event.

"Kakashi, go down to the lobby and retrieve Neji Hyuga. Bring him to Naruto's room at once." Tsunade stormed out of the room, shacking her head in disgust. She knew exactly what the two perverted men were currently daydreaming about.

Many friends were currently sleeping in the lobby. Even though it was mid-morning, they had stayed up most of the night waiting for news. One by one they eventually fell asleep in rather awkward positions. The only ones currently awake were Lee and Ino.

"...then I finished him off with a Leaf Hurricane. They were no match for the power of youth. Great ninja must be experts at Taijutsu. Trying to get by with only Ninjutsu or Genjutsu is a big mistake..." Lee was summarizing his latest mission to Ino. She wasn't very interested in this or the last 5 missions he spoke about. She nodded every few moments making him think she was listening. When in truth the nodding was from a lack of sleep. If he stopped talking for more then 10 seconds she would definitely not be awake.

Kakashi walked into the lobby and surveyed the scene. It was packed full of people in various sitting positions. Most were sleeping. Lee and Ino were having a conversation in the corner. He walked over to where Neji was slumped down in a chair and shook him awake.

"Neji-san, Neji-san, wake up." Kakashi was not very polite in his violent shaking. It was more of a lack of courtesy then urgency.

Neji opened his eyes. "Stop that. I am awake." He pushed Kakashi's arm away. People touching him in any manner was not appreciated.

"You are needed upstairs. Hokage-sama is requesting your presence." Kakashi turned around and was startled to find Lee now in front of him.

"Kakashi-sensei, what news do you have?" Lee could tell something important was happening. A moment later there was a small crash from behind with someone calling out with a sharp "Oww". Ino had fallen out of the chair and landed face first on the floor.

"Sorry Lee-san, I was only sent to retrieve Neji-san." Kakashi tried to take a step around Lee.

"Why? What is happening? What happened last night? How is Sakura-san? Is she going to be ok? What..." Lee was shooting off questions so fast he didn't leave Kakashi time to answer. Not that they would have been answered if he had.

"I'm sorry Lee-san, at this moment I can only tell you Sakura-san is awake and doing fine." Not wasting any more time he got around Lee and out of there quickly. Neji was already gone.

Lee stood for a moment, fired up from the news that Sakura was in good health. "If she is healthy then there is no reason why I can not see her." Ino stopped rubbing her face and looked around. Where was Lee?

Back in Naruto's room everyone had gathered, including Neji.

"Neji, I want you to examine Naruto with your Byakugan. Tell me what you see." Tsunade figured this was the best way to get an idea of what was happening inside Naruto.

"Of course Hokage-sama. Byakugan." Neji stared blankly in Naruto's direction. His eyes quickly unwrapping the outer layers of Naruto, allowing him to see the chakra network within.

"This can not be. I don't see anything." Neji was bewildered by what he saw. Or rather didn't see. Everyone has chakra flowing through their bodies. Where was Naruto's?

"What do you mean you don't see anything. We need something more specific." Neji turned to see the toad sage addressing him.

"I don't see any chakra flowing through Naruto's body."

"That...is impossible. If there is no chakra in a person then they die." Kakashi wished he could see for himself. Then remembering he could, he lifted the headband off his left eye. He began to gaze intensely at Naruto with his red Sharingan eye. "Neji is correct. I can't see any chakra resonating inside Naruto's body."

Neji started a closer inspection of Naruto, observing with as much detail as he possibly could. Looking over each leg, his arms, his head, his chest. "Wait. I see...I see a minuscule amount of chakra. It is so tiny that it could easily be overlooked."

Kakashi's eye could not provide that much detail. To him, Naruto appeared to be a lifeless corpse. Sakura stepped towards the bed and applied her hand over Naruto's heart. "I can feel his chakra, it is unimaginably low. It also feels as if it is decreasing." Sakura could not contain her emotions, she had a very frantic look on her face and her voice was beginning to crack.