I know it's not much guys, but I wanted to at least give you something just to know that this story has not been abandoned ^^

Chapter 24

Sarutobi's head ached. It had been a while since he had to do so much reconnaissance. And the information he gathered had left him weary. Very few of the shinobi in active duty were loyal to the leaf. ANBU was lost to him. Maybe a dozen ninja in the corps were left who weren't under Danzo's influence. The younger generation were left unaware of the silent power struggle. The old man sighed. May as well be honest with himself; there wasn't even a struggle. Peace had made him complacent, and not willing to face a war, even a civil one, he had ignored all the signs. He had bowed before Danzo as a sapling bows before the wind. He was ashamed of himself. What would the other Hokage say if they saw the state of the Leaf now?

Danzo. The man had changed dramatically from when they were gennin together. Sarutobi remembered a hot headed youth, who was dedicated in trying to outdo him. But one thing was for certain, he loved the Leaf. And yet, here he was destroying everything they had built. When had he changed?

His best chance lay with the jounin. The ones that had been trained when he was still a teacher. He would have to use them from now on. He planned to regain his pride as the Third. He will claim back his village. He would have to be careful, the small amount of activity the information gathering he had just done had already drawn attention to him. He may have gone lax in his politics, but living in a military village, ones skills rarely got rusty. The Third Hokage focused his senses. From the skill they had at hiding their presence, they were ANBU. Seals designed to be triggered when an excess of a certain amount of weight were applied to them were hidden in every tile of the roofing of the Hokage tower. Minato was nothing if thorough when he upgraded the security on the tower. Too many good ninja were assassinated in their very homes as being in a familiar place has a nasty habit of making one lower their guard.

Sarutobi stretched. It had been a while since he'd seen his son, time to pay him a visit.

…

The clearing was bare except for a young girl. Her long brown hair flowed down her back and her bangs were held off her face by a clip with two circles. Her clear brown eyes kept an unwavering gaze towards the east. A slight breeze ruffled her pink kimono, cooling her from the warm day, and still her eyes did not move from the gap in the trees.

From that direction, the sound of footstep could be heard. Her excellent hearing told her it was a group of six people. From the way their feet fell, they were not in the happiest of spirits. Anticipation coiled in her stomach. Not many people came this deep into the forest. It was known as the hunting grounds of the Elder Foxes, anyone who ventured here, never returned. Yet the footsteps grew closer still.

And how did they get this far? Foxes are extremely territorial; any stranger who trespasses on their land is dealt with mercilessly. And now six people were moving closer, the dragging footsteps could be because they were injured, but her gut told her it wasn't that. She should have listened to her mother, she shouldn't have left the manor.

As regrets whirled within her head, the group of people came into view. Two were children her age, three were adults and one was slightly older than the children. One of the adults, a women, held a pig in her arms. Other details were lost as she focused on the boy approaching her. A purple diamond shone from his brow and intricate designs were painted over his face. His bright blue eyes were dull, but a small spark shone deep within them. On his back a body length sword was strapped, resting with the sense of comfort that only someone who knows how to use it could possess. His clothing was black but dirtied with travel, his bright blonde hair a beacon amongst the dark colours.

The boy stopped a few feet away from her. They regarded each other with faces that gave nothing away. The breeze that had cooled her died down and everything was still. Her hand twitched towards her kunai holster.

The boy saw the movement and a large smile broke out across his face. The girl took a step back. The smile was horrible. It was full of despair and agony. His eyes remained that dull blue, as if his soul had left his body. This was a broken boy, who was trying to cover up his damage with a smile.

"Hi. Would you happen to be Yakumo?" The bright tone was forced, and it wasn't lost on her. Or on the boy's companions, from the way they frowned and clenched their fists.

"I am." She said nervously. She berated herself within her mind. She got distracted by the boy and had forgotten about her situation. She was alone, away from her manor, with six unknown ninja. She was outnumbered.

The boy smiled more, she repressed a shiver. "I'm friends with Uroko, your mother. Could you take us to her?"

That shocked Yakumo. This boy knew mother? Was it the truth? Maybe he was lying to get her to lead him to the manor so he could attack her clan? She had been told from birth that they were a special clan with a powerful kekkai genkai. One which she had inherited. She would not be the downfall of her clan.

"What do you want with mother?" Yakumo asked, braver than she felt. She would stop these people if they planned to hurt her family. Subtly she gathered her chakra. The boy's smile faded and with the most serious tone she had ever heard, told her his purpose.

"I need the aid of the Kurama clan."

…

Sasuke watched the blonde boy silently as they walked towards what he assumed to be the home of the Kurama clan. Naruto had told them of his plan to go to this clan and ask for help. He had no idea why this clan was so important, only that it was in the centre of the forest where the Elder Foxes were rumoured to live. He also had no idea of why he was following the group. He should have returned to the village the second he was able. He had no time to go gallivanting off into the unknown, he needed to train, he needed to defeat him.

Wait.

Defeat him? When had it become defeat? He needed to kill him. Slaughter the man who mercilessly slaughtered his family. He shouldn't be thinking of defeat, only destroy. He stopped his silent observation of the blonde enigma and turned his attention inward. He examined his feelings. The desire to get revenge was still there, and it still burned just as strongly as it had before, but next to it, there was a new feeling. It was warm, not as consuming as the fire of his vengeance was, but was nearly as strong. And it was linked to Naruto.

He looked closer at the feeling and it filled him. He had only ever experienced this feeling once before, and that was years ago when he was a child. It was the feeling he got when he was with his brother. Was this friendship? He had never experienced friendship before, he had people who counted him as a friend, but he had never considered them as friends. His wounded soul closing up to everyone around him, never letting anyone close. And yet, here was this boy who he had known less than a week who he considered a friend.

He remembered when he had this thought before, and he almost rejected it as violently as he did back then, but stopped. He had learned so much about Naruto, so much which made him so similar to himself. Both their tortured pasts, and how they were still suffering. The feeling was so warm. He liked it, he decided. It didn't burn him like his vengeance did, but filled him up. He would almost say he was happy.

Except every time he looked at Naruto's face, he felt happiness wither and die. A smile was plastered there as if painted on. His tan skin was a sickly pale and dark circled hung under his dull blue eyes. He was acting strong for those around him, but on the inside, he was a broken wreck. He knew a week wasn't long enough to get over the loss he had suffered, but he had hoped. Sasuke sighed. Looks like he would be following his new friend and helping him until he had gotten his family back. He knew this would be a giant step back in his plan for revenge, but somehow, he didn't care. He didn't mind.

He would do it for his friend.

A low growling made him stop. The rest of the group did as well. The sound came from all around them. They were surrounded. Sasuke stretched his senses but could not feel the presence of the creatures that were making the noise.

"Don't bother brat." Zabuza said gruffly, his hand resting on the enormous sword. Sasuke looked at the bandaged man. "Even I can't sense them, no point in wasting energy. Prepare yourself." The Uchiha nodded, pulled out a kunai and got into a defensive stance. He didn't notice, but he placed more weight onto his back leg, ready to sprint to Naruto's side should he need help. He didn't notice but Zabuza did. He nodded in approval.

The group tensed as the owners of the growls came into view. Foxes. Dozens of them, each with a blood red coat. Their hackles were raised and their teeth bore menacingly. Naruto felt something pull painfully in his chest. Each of these foxes had more than one tail. The resemblance to Kyuubi was obvious and it made him feel his loss more keenly.

"Who dares trespass in our forest?" A female voice demanded. A woman appeared behind the many foxes. Her hair was styled similar to Yakumo, but her outfit was one of a Leaf jounin. Her clear brown eyes gazed intently at the group before widening in surprise as she recognized most of them.

"Hey Uroko," Naruto smiled weakly, lowering his kunai.

"Naruto! What are you doing here? The entire village has been put on alert and the Hokage is looking for you! Wait, never mind. Come, you can tell me what's been going on at the manor." When the foxes realized that the woman knew the intruders, they melted back into the foliage. Even though they couldn't been seen, the force of their gaze still weighed heavily on their shoulders.

…

He needed a plan. The entire village was in chaos. Thirteen squads of ANBU had been deployed to look for Naruto. Usually no one knew what the ANBU were up too, but when this many were deployed at once, for the same mission, word gets around quite quickly. Especially when they start making their moves public.

Kiba grabbed a flyer. They had been raining down from the sky by the messenger birds since dawn. What he read shocked him. The face of Naruto glared up at him, wanted by the advisors for kidnapping the heir to the Inuzuka and Uchiha clans, injuring many ANBU as well as being the incarnation of the Kyuubi.

Kiba sat down heavily. He looked over the village from the head of the Third Hokage. The monument was abandoned; the entire village was in uproar and desperately searching for Naruto. Shit. This made things so much more difficult. He scratched his stomach absently, the seal itched. He would start with Shikamaru and Chouji. They were the people he knew best, having spent a lot of time in detention with them. Then he would try his new team. Hinata was shy, but she was good. He knew that from her offering to help him with his training. It's why he was so good at being able to sense things. Shino he didn't know, the guy was quiet, but he didn't seem bad.

But first he needed a plan. He couldn't just walk into the centre of the village and find his friends; ANBU would jump him the second he set foot within the gates. And he had no doubt in his mind they would do whatever it took to get information out of him. He didn't know the advisors, but he knew of them and the stories he had heard gave him chills. Especially that Danzo character. He was known as the War Hawk. The things he did to claim that title were bloody and merciless.

Akamaru whined and Kiba smiled down at him. Perfect, Akamaru wouldn't get accosted by ANBU. Nobody would notice a dog wondering around the village. He set his puppy on the ground.

"I need you to bring Shikamaru and Chouji here."

The puppy yipped in acknowledgement and ran off. Kiba made himself comfy and waited for his friends, idly scratching his stomach again.

…