AN: To reply to this story's only review so far, from one "LordDarkFluff"; What I said in the summary serves a dual purpose. 1. I have absolutely no interest in writing smut, it's just not the kind of person I am, and I put that there to let people who enjoy the mainstream form of ABO that this story is possibly not for them. 2. This story was written for exactly one person in this entire world, and I want absolutely no chance of it getting struck down by someone like CU before she sees it. Check my profile for more information.
Chapter 4
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighs deeply, feeling his age like never before.
They stand in what must have been a cave, once upon a time. Lots of debris, maybe a structure of some sort at one time?
There is blood everywhere. He can see what remains of some bodies. A pair of feet are sticking out from under a boulder and an arm a bit further in.
He gestures to his Anbu to investigate some of the bodies, wondering what exactly has happened here.
And where Naruto is.
That is his first priority now.
Everyone in the village had felt the Chakra explosion a little while ago. Even the civilians.
Hard not to. It had been less than a decade since the Kyuubi had rampaged through their village. Suddenly feeling that oppressive Chakra again, had sent many people into hysterics.
And who can blame them? He remembers the aftermath of last time, the trauma even his shinobi hadn't been able to hide away.
The devastation, the losses, the chaos,...
Even Hiruzen had felt panic grip his throat when that blast of Chakra had reached him in the Hokage tower. It had been like a Shockwave, tearing though the village, shaking everything up.
Not unlike what an earthquake would do.
He had immediately send Anbu to Naruto's home, only to have it reported empty.
By the time he and his shinobi had reached the spot the chakra burst had come from, they had been too late.
The Kyuubi's chakra had disappeared. Almost as if it had died. Or had been resealed.
And isn't that a troubling thought?
Yet he could still feel the aftereffects of it in the air.
It is a strange feeling. The killer intent is still hanging around. Yet it is clear the Kyuubi is definitely no longer around. Whatever happened here, there is only some sort of echo hanging around.
Itachi-kun looks pained, fists clenched next to him as he stands next to his Hokage. The boy had been giving his report when the chakra burst had reached them, and knowing the boy is loyal to the village above his clan, Hiruzen had not hesitated to bring him along. Having a Sharingan user, one whose loyalty to the village could not be denied, there when a potential confrontation with the Kyuubi could happen, seemed like a good idea at the time.
"Find Naruto." is all Hiruzen can say. Because no matter what happened here, and he will need to find out, Naruto's well-being comes first.
It will take hours for him to even start to accept that Naruto is gone.
The whole place is filled with the aftermath of what the Kyuubi's Chakra has done here.
It seems impossible for the Kyuubi to have released this much Chakra without breaking free from the seal.
Or doing some serious damage to it.
It worries him.
Because they may just have lost a Biju. What a disaster that would be...
And with Naruto not here, still not having been found, they have no idea where to start looking.
Jinjuuriki don't survive their Biju's extraction for long. Even Uzumaki.
Hiruzen doesn't know a lot, but he knows that much and he sends a quick prayer to the afterlife, hoping Naruto is happy now, with his parents.
Hiruzen still can't believe no one noticed Naruto getting taken. How is it possible? The boy had Anbu guards. The boy had neighbors. Extracting a Biju from their host is usually not something done in a few seconds, unless the seal has been previously weakened. How long had Naruto been gone?
And how had no one noticed the boy missing?
He grits his teeth, trying very hard to not let his shinobi notice his distress.
He has failed Naruto quite spectacularly. The entire village has.
And Hiruzen knows he will never be able to make up for his mistakes. Never, but he will spend the rest of his life trying.
He'll need to deal with the Anbu. To think, his personally selected elite force may have looked away as the boy disappeared...? Or they possibly haven't noticed the boy had been missing, for who knows how long. Either way, something went very wrong there.
He will need to get to the bottom of this. Make sure the right people are punished. And maybe, it is time to make his village realize exactly who they have treated so badly. He has done his best, despite what people may think, to make sure that Naruto had been cared for.
The orphanage had thrown Naruto out several times, no matter how much Hiruzen threatened them, or bribed them. The village administration had refused the proposal of the creation of a so called orphan fund after the Kyuubi attack, just because Naruto was considered an orphan as well. No landlord agreed to take the boy in, they had refused even Hiruzen before he could even bring up the subject.
So yes, he is a bit disgusted by his own village.
Hiruzen had bought an entire apartment building, and set Naruto up rent free into the building.
He had been unable to find someone willing to be a concierge, like a sort of live-in handyman, so he had asked his nephew. She'd taken the job, part-time, and given how other people refused to move into the building, that had been enough.
Now, he wonders...
Will people feel different, even guilt, if they know exactly who they had treated like this.
He will never regret not telling the village who exactly Naruto's parents are. He can't. With so many people knowing, it would have been inevitable for enemy ninja to find out. And while officially the war is long over, he doesn't doubt some of the other villages would seize an opportunity like that.
As the Hyuuga incident a few years ago had proven.
But a part of him wants the village to find out. To realize who they had cursed as a demon, while idolizing the boy's father. That same part can't wait to see the horror and realization settle in.
…
Clearly, it is beyond time he passes his hat on again.
He had not been ready to become Hokage again, the night of Naruto's birth. Hiruzen had been retired, dammit! Last thing he wanted was pick up that hat again. He has earned his retirement.
He had meant only to be back in office until someone new could have been appointed. Given how the village had reacted in the aftermath though, and the village council's inability to even select a candidate, he had been officially reinstated. He hadn't wanted to risk the newest Hokage being like the rest of them, and mistreating Naruto even more.
Though, in the end, Hiruzen hasn't been better. What exactly has he done to help the boy, in the long run? He could have retired, and raised the boy himself. Not sure the clans and the council would have approved. Danzo certainly wouldn't have.
He sighs.
"Hokage-sama, this one is still alive!" Hound calls his attention back to the present.
He snaps towards his Anbu, as they haul a very injured man out of the rumble.
For a second, they all watch stunned. Then the man opens his eye, his left one, and a Sharingan spins into being.
Itachi is beside the man in the next second, bloody fingers clutching a red eye as he glares at the Nin dressed in a black cloak with red and white clouds.
The man screeches in pain, and Hiruzen has to hide his wince. That has to hurt.
Itachi really had ripped that man's eye without a second thought.
"Take him to T&I. And get Ibiki on him." Hiruzen orders and Hound and Cat disappear with the still screeching man. Itachi stares at the eye in his fingers, a dark look on his face.
"That man..." Hiruzen can hear the rage in the usually calm and peaceful teenager. "If he is, actually, an Uchiha..."
"We won't jump to conclusions. We will get our answers. Ibiki always get answers." Hiruzen tries to console Itachi a bit.
"Danzo won't let this go. My clan..."
And Itachi is right. Danzo, who has been looking for a while with suspicion to everything the Uchiha do, will jump on this opportunity.
Their sensei had never liked the Uchiha, which given the situation, had been completely understandable. Senju Tobirama had never singled the Uchiha out in a negative way despite that. The clan had always been treated as other clan had in the village, even after Tobirama-sensei's death. Until the Kyuubi attack. Until the Kyuubi showed up to wreck their home, a Sharingan spinning in each eye.
Hiruzen knows of the trouble that has caused. The suspicion that has fallen on the Uchiha clan. Their own proud response, and he has to be a fool to not suspect Danzo has a hand in the current situation. Because to push one of the founding clans of their village to rebellion? That is not just a big coincidence.
This though, this proves that either the clan is a lot more... involved in the whole Kyuubi mess, just like the rumors say. Or, that someone outside the village is laying blame. A rouge Uchiha, or someone who stole a Sharingan eye. It is rather suspicious that the man from before only has one eye.
But Hiruzen can use this. If this isn't actually a plot of the Uchiha clan to get the Kyuubi, and overthrow him, then he can use this to repair relations between the village and the Uchiha clan.
Hiruzen eyes Itachi. The boy is still young, too young actually, for what he has in mind. But if Ibiki unearths news of the Uchiha clan's innocence in any Kyuubi related plot, then he can make things official. Inform the clan, pacify them and make them a promise. Written, if necessary. Itachi can start training, if the boy accepts, that is.
He'll probably need to deal with his old friend too, if this plan is to succeed. In a permanent way.
Such a pity. Nothing to be done about though. Danzo will never suffer an Uchiha as Hokage.
Still, if everything works out as he hopes, no drastic measures will need to be taken concerning the Uchiha clan. Despite what Danzo thinks, or is trying to force.
And if he handles what happened in this cave in the right way, no one even needed to know Konoha had lost the Kyuubi. No other ninja village would see weakness in Konoha. They would have no reason to break their fragile peace.
This whole situation is giving him a headache.
Hiruzen can only hope that, whatever happens, he will be able to go back to enjoying his retirement in a few years.
He is getting too old for this...
AN2: This is all I have pre-written at this time, expect a bit of time before ch5 is uploaded. Could I have spaced out the four chapters better? Yes. Would I if given the chance to do that over? Probably not.