Chapter 3: A Broken Mind

Disclaimer(author is sitting there surrounded by lawyers with various lawsuits) Oh I guess your right. I don't own Naruto, my bad…

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Naruto let her go," Jiraiya told his, he could only assume, old apprentice.

"I said not to say that name." He pushed Sakura away. "How do you know that name anyway?"

"Naruto?" he glanced at Sakura who was now standing behind Lee. His eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Why can't we say your name?"

"S-Sakura," he croaked out. "How can this be? No, not again. I don't want to see this again." He dropped down onto the ground holding his head tears now streaming down his face.

"Jiraiya, that can't be Naruto. It just can't," Tsunade glared at the boy who was posing as Naruto. "He died."

"We never found the body," Jiraiya pointed out. "Don't you remember that jutsu sensei told us about? Sunpou no jutsu?"

"Sunpou no jutsu? What the heck is that," asked Kakashi.

"It's a jutsu that sends someone to a different dimension. Eventually the jutsu wears off or is stopped and the person returns. That or they die and all that returns is a body," Tsunade explained quietly, staring at the boy on the ground. "But it's impossible to learn. All traces of the jutsu were destroyed."

"You don't think Orochimaru could figure out how to do it," Jiraiya asked as he took a step towards Naruto.

The group of ANBU just stared not knowing what to say or what to believe. The young boy on the ground couldn't be their friend he just couldn't. He was far too small, quiet, and the frightened look in his eyes was something they had never seen from the hyper active ninja.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya approached they boy slowly, speaking in a gentle voice no one would have ever thought he possessed. He put a hand on Naruto's thin shoulder.

He flinched away from the touch. "G-go away. Your not really here so just leave me alone," Naruto screamed. "I don't want to see this again so just go away and leave me alone."

Sasuke followed Jiraiya's lead surprising everybody. "What don't you want to see again," he quietly asked, making sure not to touch the boy.

"This, any of this. It's not real. They are all safe at home. Please tell me they're safe."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sasuke?"

"Naruto," he frowned as he saw the boy flinch at the name of his best friend.

"Please don't say that name." The boy was begging now.

"Why not?" Sasuke was getting frustrated. If this boy wanted to pretend to be his friend then why flinch at the mere mention of his name.

"Because you'll be dead before dawn if she hears you."

"Who is she?"

"Shhh you don't want her to hear you."

"Okay I've had about enough of this." Everybody turned towards Kakashi. He stood there his visible eye glaring at the blond still on the ground. "You," he pointed to the boy trembling on the ground, "what is your name and business here? And don't lie."

Kakashi gasped as his eye met the sparkling blue he thought only one person could have. These eyes were different from the ones he once knew, so full of hope and determination, now full of fear and pain.

The boy didn't say anything so Tsunade took over. "There is only one way to know for sure if this is Naruto. We have to check and see if the seal is there."

"You have to have him mold chakra. I don't think that he will do that for us," Jiraiya explained looking at the boy who was still staring at Kakashi.

"Fine then. Ino check out his mind."

With the command the blonde simply started doing the hand signs to enter into the other blonde's mind. Over the years she had learned how to enter someone's mind and collect information. It came in handy while doing interrogations.

When she finally entered into his mind she couldn't help but gasp. She had never seen anything like this. Usually a person's mind would have walls with certain doors that someone could go through and lights so that she could see around. As she looked around she saw the walls crumbling and a faint flicker of light barely enough to see what was in front of her. She walked a little closer to the walls to examine them. To her it looked as if there were large claw marks all along the ruins. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but she was pretty sure she knew that at one point in time the mind she had entered did belong to Naruto. After seeing the damage she just wasn't sure if it was still him.

The she rounded a corner and found a huge cage. It was flung open and the seal that once held it together was in shreds.

"You shouldn't be here."

Ino turned to see and eleven-year-old Naruto standing behind her. "Why not?" She could feel the tears in here eyes start to fall as she looked at her friend the way they all had remembered. The eyes however were the same eyes the boy that they found had.

"Because she'll know you're here."

"Who are you talking about Naruto?"

"The witch." Two simple words meant all the difference in Naruto's mind. His eyes started to cloud over and a shrill laugh rang through his mind while the flickering light died. The ruble from the once strong walls started to fly around them both hitting Ino in various places leaving bruises and scratches.

It only lasted for a minute or two before Ino felt herself being dragged back to her body.

"What's taking her so long," Sakura asked worried about Ino.

"Hey if it really is Naruto she is probably wondering where all the empty space is from," laughed Kiba.

"That's not very nice," Hinata reprimanded quietly looking at the two people in front of her. It was common for both Ino and the person she entered to loose consciousness while she performed this particular jutsu.

"Guys something weird is going on," Shikamaru said examining his girlfriend. Bruises were starting to show along with a few scratches.

"Pull her out of there," Tsunade commanded.

Shikamaru nodded and went to work performing the jutsu Ino had taught him just incase something like this had happened. Not long after he started Ino regained consciousness.

She sat up and looked around frantically, until her eyes fell on Naruto and she scrambled towards him. His eyes were open, but that was the only indication that he had rejoined the land of the living. Ino pushed away from Shikamaru, who mumbled "how troublesome," and made her way towards the small boy on the ground.

"Naruto, wake up Naruto." When no response came she started shaking him. "Naruto come on it's not real it's all in your head now wake up." It didn't work. All of a sudden an idea came to her. "She's not here Naruto. She won't heart you or anyone else but you have to wake up."

"Ino what's going on?"

She turned to see Sakura pulling her hair into a ponytail and kneeling next to Naruto.

"It's him Sakura."

"Are you sure," asked Tsunade from behind both of the girls.

"I'm sure. It is or rather was him at one time."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Both girls looked to find Sasuke on Naruto's other side. "His mind. I don't know how to explain it but it looks broken."

"What about Kyuubi," asked Jiraiya.

"It's gone."

A/N : So any questions so far… 'cause if you don't I got a few for ya. Like who's "The Witch"? What did she do to Naruto to make him act like that? How the heck is Kyuubi gone but Naruto's not dead? (Gosh my grammar sucks) Find out the answers to the questions and more…not next time but eventually.

I do not swear. Therefore there will be no swearing in my story… I realize that some of the characters do swear but I choose not to. That is one of the reasons they are a little OOC

Another thing that will make everybody OOC is that Naruto (someone who never had a real childhood and who has just gone through something very traumatic) will act a lot like a kid (except during certain parts of the story snicker) and it will bring out the protective side of everyone. Especially Sasuke.

Looking for a beta reader because well my grammar sucks, as stated above, and my spelling is horrible… if interested please send me a private message and I will get back to you…

Oh yeah…PLEASE REVIEW!!! Please?