(Two days Later)
Kakashi and Itachi walked into the Hokage's office with a defeated look on his face.
"Ah Kakashi-kun, Itachi-kun, tell me you found Naruto-kun" the Hokage asked pleadingly.
"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, we looked everywhere, search parties are still looking but not even the Inuzuka search teams can find any trace of him, all that we know is he left the village with someone from Konoha. And they were skilled enough to loose any hunter ninja or tracking team's we sent after them" Kakashi said.
"Then I guess it is too late... I'm sorry Minato, I have failed you in every way" the old Hokage said sadly.
"But in my thinking only a tracker is capable of doing this so I think the culprit belongs to either hyuuga clan, uchiha clan or inuzuka clan" said Itachi
"Possibly but first conduct search in entire fire country and surrounding area." said third hokage
"But this will draw attention of council and others" said itachi
"Don't worry about them, I do not want to have to tell Jiraiya about this. I promised both Minato and Jiriaya I would keep you safe Naruto, I am sorry where ever you are" Hiruzen said as he looked out over the stone faces of the Hokage monument.
"Hai hokage-sama" said both of them and disappeared in sunshin
"I hope you're alright naruto-kun" said third hokage to himself as he gazed at potrait of fourth hokage.
(Land of Forest)
A feral haired man carrying a large sack was jumping from tree to tree. 'Hehehe as a five year old kid he will never make it back to the vilkage, that is if he ever found his way out of these deep forests' thought the ninja as he smirked victoriously
Suddenly there was movement in the bag he was carrying. "Oh so you are awake again, but don't worry I wont need to knock you out again, I think this would be a perfect place to leave you. After all I still have a mission to do, and I wouldn't want to upset Hokage-sama would I" the man said before jumping down from the tree and tossing Naruto to the ground the bag opening around him.
'Would you look at that all the wounds me and my companion have given him are already healed, well not that it matters' thought the man
"Hey I know you, I have seen you in jiji's office with inuzuka clan head" yelled naruto
"Looks like you got me, but how will report it to hokage that Inuzuka Shinto kidnapped you and dumped you away from konoha" said shinto with a smirk
"So what now are you going to kill me?" said naruto and glared at the man with all the courage he could muster
"Nahh, I wouldn't risk releasing the beast living inside you little demon, otherwise I would have killed you" said shinto
"Fuck you, I am going to come back and tell jiji about it" said naruto
"Well then I will see you after years that is a big if" said shinto and jumped away quickly after punching naruto once more and undoing his bidings, he disappearing through the trees leaving a five year old naruto alone.
(Hours Later)
Naruto awoke in the middle of a forest floor his head was ringing. "Oh man what happened to me?" Naruto asked himself
"Nothing kit, you were kidnapped by that inuzuka bastard and he left you alone in a forest" he heard kurama say
Then it all came flooding back to him. The kidnapping, being carried in a large bag and every time he woke up being knocked back out. And finally being dumped in the middle of a forest completely alone. He started crying immediately
"How am I going to go back?" said naruto out loud as tears started to flow from his eyes.
"Don't cry naruto-sama, we are here for you" he heard tsukuyomi say
"But I don't even know where I am and how to get back home" said naruto as he didn't even bother to stop his tears as he was alone in a large forest and he was afraid.
"Don't worry naruto-sama, look it this way you can began your new life withou anyone hating you" said amaterasu
"But what about jiji, tuechi-jiji and ayame nee-chan?" asked naruto
"Don't worry kit, they will understand your decision" said kurama
"So what now?" asked naruto
"Keep walking, first we have to find a road or some human to give you some food and place to live" said kurama and naruto nodded and started walking as fast as his five year old legs would take him.
(Two Days Later)
Itachi was standing in front of the Hokage with Kakashi. "So how has the search gone? Any sign of Naruto-kun yet?" Hiruzen asked.
"It has been over four days now and there is still no sign of him. It is obvious to me that who ever the culprit was, has a great understanding of how the Konoha Hunter and Tracking Ninja teams operate. I suggest it is probably someone from inside either of those branches" Itachi informed the Hokage.
"Has there been any ninja go Awol in the last few day's?" Kakashi asked.
"No all ninja are accounted for" the Hokage informed the Copy Ninja.
"Then may I suggest you look at what teams left the village that night, and have a team search along any expected routs they may have taken." said itachi
"Well let's see if I put together both of your suggestions we have three teams and two solo missions that left on the night that Naruto disappeared. There are two tracking teams that I sent to look for Jiraiya as he has not delivered a report in a few weeks, a hunter team that had reports of a sighting of Orochimaru. Also Shisui Uchiha has been sent to deliver a reply to the rebels facing the Mizukage's forces, to inform them that we cannot give any direct support but will supply some weapons and funding. Finally Shinto Inuzuka has been sent to Taki to deliver a message to the new ruler there, Shibuki I believe his name is" Hiruzen said.
"If it is one of the teams then it will mean that this has been planned for some time. However Shisui and Shinto are both highly respected members of there clans and are loyal to Konoha" Kakashi said.
"We will have to send teams out to follow the path of each of them, I still do not want to think about the prospect of any of them betraying Konoha like this" Hiruzen said.
"We will send our teams our at once Hokage-sama" Itachi said and gave a respectful bow before leaving.
"I wont rest until we find him Hokage-sama" Kakashi finished before leaving after Itachi.
(Land of Forests)
Naruto had been walking almost non stop for the past four day's, and all he had found to eat were several berry's on a bush while that kept him going for awhile were not enough to defeat his hunger.
Kurama kept him away from other scary animals as he called them, he thought of giving up several times but kurama and others encouraged him to kept going, even his small legs were tired now and were feeling pain, his hunger started to effect his walking and determination.
But eventually after four days of walking he found a road.
"Finally a road" said naruto in between his huffs
"naruto rest for a bit, your body can't take it anymore. Even with my chakra healing your nutrient requirements you'll fall unconcious in next few hours" said kurama as he was clearly worried for young naruto.
"Ok let me look for a tree close to road" said naruto and quickly looked for a tree around but as he looked around he saw a cart arriving in distance towards him, noticing that naruto ran towards the cart as fast as he could muster right now but fell on the ground when he hit a small stone on the road.
"Please Help me" was all naruto whispered as darkness consumed him and he fell unconcious
Minutes later, the carriage came along. A small boy sat at the front seat holding the reigns, he was about the same age as Naruto and had shoulder length black hair that was tied up into a pony tail slightly to one side of the back of his head so he fell over one shoulder.
"Hey there is a kid in the middle of the road! Mom Dad, come quick" the boy yelled upon seeing Naruto.
"Who is it Gisei" said a woman who had long black hair that ran down to her waist.
"I don't know, look he is passed out in the middle of the road" the boy said.
"Oh my would you look at that, he is so young, why is he out here all alone" the mother said and grabbing the reins of the carriage she forced the horses to stop. "Kenpei-kun help me with this boy" the woman yelled as she jumped down onto the road to inspect Naruto. 'oh my god look aat him, he looks like he hasn't had anything to eat in days, just how long has he been out here.' she thought as she checked Naruto's vital signs to make sure he was still alive.
"Is the boy still alive Manako-chan?" a short man with curly brown hair and thin glasses asked as arrived beside her.
"Yes he is, but for how long I do not know, he seems to be holding on by a thread, he needs water and some food" Manako replied.
"Well let's get him into the carriage, we have water in there, and we will have to feed him yogurt until he regains his strength" the man said and picking up Naruto bridal style rushed him into the back of there carriage.
It was over a day later before Naruto eventually stirred. 'uhh where am I?' Naruto thought before he opened his eyes to find himself inside a rather luxurious room that seemed to be designed to double as a bedroom and dining room.
"you were saved by the people in carriage and we are their home as of now" he heard kurama say in his mind
'kurama?' asked naruto
"Indeed, good that they gave you some liquid food" said kurama
"You will be fine in few days naruto-sama" said senbonzakura
'Yeah, I am glad they saved me' thought naruto before hearing a knock on the door.
"We will see you later naruto-sama and be careful" said amaterasu as naruto mentally nodded to his tenants.
"Hello is anyone here?" asked naruto out loud which seems to get someone's attention
"Ohh mom, dad he is awake" said a voice which naruto thought kind of similar to him.
A few moments later, a child of naruto's age entered the room along with a woman and man.
'So they are the one's who saved me' thought naruto
"Oh thank kami you are alright" the mother said, concern etched through her voice.
"Thank you for helping me. But can you tell me where are we?" asked naruto
"We are currently in our home in Land of Forests. What is your name kid? Where are you from?" asked the man
"Tell him only your name, no surname" said kurama
'But they saved me?' asked naruto
"Your surname hold so much power anyone would like to get their hands on you" said kurama
"I am Naruto and I am from konoha" replied naruto with a sad tone.
"Konoha? How did you get this far away from home?" Manako questioned.
Naruto went on to tell them the story of his kidnapping and how he was dumped in the middle of a forest he had never seen before.
"Oh my that's is just horrible, why would anyone treat a child like that?" Manako said disgusted at what happened to the young blond.
"keep my existence a secret kit for now" said kurama calmly in his mind to which naruto agreed
"I don't know, not many people seem to like me for some reason, parents keep there children away from me so I cant make friends and almost everyone who isn't openly showing me glares of hatred just ignores me all together" Naruto said.
"What about your parents? How do people treat them?" Gisei asked.
"I'm an orphan. Hokage-Jiji said that my parents were hero's that died the night a giant fox, Kyuubi, attacked Konoha." Naruto said sadly.
"Well you can stay with us until we can find a way to get you home, right mom?" Gisei said.
"I suppose so, why don't you find him a change of clothes, since his current clothing were dirty and mostly torn from various places" Manako said.
"Can i stay here for the time being?" asked naruto
"Sure you can, don't worry you'll be fine" said manako
"Thank you" was all naruto said in reply
"You're going to love it here, there is so much to do. I am going to teach you all the things I do for fun around here" Gisei said enthusiastically.
"Sound's great!" Naruto said happy that he might finally have found a friend.
(Back in Konoha, 1 week later)
The old Hokage had given up, anyone who had seen him was sure of that. Not only did there search for Naruto turn up nothing but everyone that had left the village had returned and there was no reason to question any of them, the only person Hiruzen was slightly suspicions of was Inuzuka Shinto, because the tracking team said that his scent was different that normal and at one point he seemed to make a shadow clone so he could continue on in two different directions. But that was not enough to send him to Ibiki over. And the tracks of one of the vanished after around a mile so he supposed he had just sent a clone to scout a possible alternative route.
There was also the problem that both of the teams that he had sent to find Jiraiya, had returned empty handed. This was not an unusual occurrence by any means, but if there was anyone who could find Naruto when nobody else could, it would have been his old pupil.
After yet another week of searching the old Hokage was forced to give up the search. It had also become clear that Naruto was missing to the villagers, and there were several party's that had been going on almost constantly. In fact as much as Hiruzen hated to admit it, the village was the happiest it had been since Minato was named the Yondaime. 'what will you do if you saw this sensei, village turning up against one innocent child, minato will you still protect these people considering what they have done to your son' thought old hokage as he stared down at potrait of old hokages.
(At Uchiha Compound)
The heavy atmosphere of the Uchiha Compound pressed on Itachi Uchiha's shoulders as he returned home. The village's distrust and constant surveillance of the Uchiha weighed heavily on the clan, and tensions were reaching a boiling point.
Itachi's day had been exhausting. Between his ANBU missions and his father's incessant demands to spy on the Hokage and gather information, his mind was stretched thin.
As he stepped into his home, the familiar scent of home cooking greeted him, but it did little to ease the turmoil in his mind. "I'm home, Mother," he called softly.
From the kitchen, Mikoto appeared, her face lighting up at the sight of her eldest son. "Welcome home, Itachi-kun. How was your day? Have you found any clues about Naruto-kun's whereabouts?"
Itachi sighed, removing his sandals and stepping into the main room. "No, Mother. But I have my suspicions about Inuzuka Shinto. He's been actie strangely on one of the mission, but I don't have anything concrete yet."
Mikoto's expression faltered, worry shadowing her features. "Please find him, Itachi. I won't be able to face Kushi-chan in the afterlife if I don't at least try to bring her son back to safety."
Itachi placed a reassuring hand on his mother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Kaa-sama. I'll find him. I promise."
Mikoto gave him a small, grateful smile but hesitated, her hands fidgeting. "Itachi… there's something else I need to talk to you about. Something I've kept hidden for a long time."
Itachi tilted his head, his brows furrowing. "What is it, Kaa-sama? Does it have to do with Father? Has he confirmed his plans?"
Mikoto shook her head, her expression darkening. "No, Itachi. This is about something much deeper. Something you have a right to know."
The seriousness in her tone made Itachi sit down, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What do you mean?"
Taking a deep breath, Mikoto looked at her son with a mixture of guilt and sorrow. "Itachi… Fugaku is not your father."
Itachi's eyes widened in shock, and his Sharingan flared instinctively. "What are you saying, Kaa-sama?"
"Please, let me explain," Mikoto said, her voice trembling. "Before I married Fugaku, I was in love with someone else. Someone kind, brave, and strong. That man was Minato Namikaze."
Itachi's breath hitched. "The Yondaime Hokage…?"
Mikoto nodded, a faint, bittersweet smile crossing her lips. "Yes. Minato and I loved each other deeply, but he was already with Kushina. We all talked, and we decided to share our love. It wasn't conventional, but we made it work. One night, I became pregnant with you."
Itachi clenched his fists. "So,Yondaime Hokage is my real father? Why kept it hidden mother? Why we are still here in this clan if he is my father?"
"Yes," Mikoto admitted, her voice cracking. "But things didn't go as planned. Fugaku challenged me for the position of clan head. He conspired with my cousin Naori to ensure I lost. They poisoned me, and with my pregnancy weakening me further, I couldn't fight back. I was forced to marry Fugaku while Minato and Kushina were away on a mission."
Itachi's mind raced, his voice barely above a whisper. "And where did Sasuke came from?"
Mikoto's expression hardened. "Sasuke isn't your full brother. He's your cousin. Naori and Fugaku had a child together—Sasuke—but to secure their power, they passed him off as mine. I raised him as my own because I couldn't let him bear the burden of their conspiracy."
Itachi looked down, his Sharingan spinning as he processed the weight of her words. "And Naruto? If Yondaime is my father, then Naruto…"
"Naruto is your younger brother," Mikoto confirmed, tears streaming down her face. "Your true brother. Both Minato and Kushina knew the truth, Itachi. They wanted to protect you and planned to gather enough evidence to expose Fugaku and get us out of here. But… the Kyuubi attack happened."
Mikoto's voice broke as she continued. "Minato and Kushina died protecting the village, leaving Naruto behind. After their deaths, I went to the Namikaze compound to retrieve the documents they had gathered, but everything was gone. Kushina must have suspected the village and sealed everything into a scroll, likely within a second seal placed on Naruto. But… I could be wrong, maybe it's hidden somewhere but it doesn't matter, I want my family."
Itachi looked up at his mother, his heart heavy. "You want to reunite our family, don't you, Kaa-sama?"
Mikoto nodded, her voice trembling with desperation. "Yes, Itachi. I want my family back. You, me, and Naruto—our true family. Please, Itachi… find your brother. Bring him home, even if he doesn't want to come we will go to him and leave konoha. I need to see him, and I need him to know the truth before it's too late."
Itachi stood, his resolve solidifying. "I will find him, Kaa-sama. No matter what it takes, I will find Naruto. And when I do, we'll reunite our family."
Mikoto placed a trembling hand on his cheek, her eyes filled with hope. "Thank you, Itachi-kun. You are my pride, my hope, and my strength. Never forget how much I love you."
For the first time in what felt like years, Itachi allowed himself a small, genuine smile. "I won't forget, Kaa-sama. I promise."
With those words, he stepped out into the cool night air, the weight of the truth heavy on his shoulders. But in his heart, a flame of determination burned. For his mother, for Naruto, and for the legacy of the Namikaze and Uchiha clans, Itachi vowed to protect his true family, and bring them together once more.