I WENT BACK AND CHANGED A SMALL DETAIL IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, PLEASE RE-READ IT SO THIS ONE LINE I WROTE IN THIS ONE MAKES SENSE

x

x

x

x

x

An overwhelming amount of positive response to the first chapter, I won't fuck it up, I promise

No action in this chapter, as it's a setup for future arcs. Also, I want you to read the end notes (if u skip them).

CHAPTER 2

NEW WORLD/HOPE

Kabuto Yakushi took pride in his abilities as a shinobi. He was listed as an A-ranked Jounin of the hidden sound, was the right-hand man of one of the greatest shinobi to ever walk the earth, and had the medical abilities only trumped by Tsunade of the Sannin. Those were some of the few things he was prideful of. Most importantly, he took pride in not being able to feel fear, barring one man, and death.

He ducked under a flying desk, the wooden object crumbling as it slammed under the wall. He was on his knees, bowing his head in front of his master. He trembled, fear striking his heart as Orochimaru raged. The Snake hybrid screamed, in rage of losing the Uchiha boy that had so willingly chosen to follow him, in pain due to the damage inflicted by his former master, who died by his hands. The very hands that shot a jolt of pain through them every time he so much as twitched his fingers.

He screamed, in agony, in fury, in frustration, and every other negative emotion. You name it, he was feeling it. His eyes snapped back at the young jounin, who dared not to look anywhere but the ground. He clenched his jaw, steeling the barely adult boy before him with a gaze that promised murder. His voice dropped to its lowest octave.

"So... You tell me that possibly the most valuable asset I've ever had my hands on, one that would make me the greatest shinobi, since Hashirama Senju, disappeared without a SINGLE TRACE?"

His voice was progressively rising, and by the time he was done talking, he was screaming at the top of his lungs. He took short, ragged breaths as he sat back down on his throne, exhausted, but still furious as he awaited an answer.

"Y-Yes, Lord Orochimaru... He's just... gone..." responded Kabuto. He tried to maintain his calm facade but as he spoke, his voice cracked from the fear that gripped his heart. That didn't seem to please the Sannin, but he sighed, choosing to stare out into the wall, deep in thought. He had calmed down somewhat, but the rage he felt was still feeling like lava ran through his veins.

"I see... You mentioned that they were fighting at the Valley of the End, correct?" Asked the Snake sage, his voice distant as his genius mind ran a hundred miles a minute.

"Yes, My lord... By the time I had arrived, both were gone. There was a bright flash, b-but the valley... It was as if they weren't even there..."

Dread crept up his spine when he was met with silence as an answer, his head creeping up to look at his master with a pleading expression. "My Lord I-I swear I'm telling the truth... I would never lie to you, after all that you've done for me!" Despite his whole body feeling weak from fear, conviction entered his voice as he said the last part of his short speech.

Orochimaru knew that his trusted right-hand man hadn't done anything wrong, but he needed to take his anger out on someone. Luckily for the medic, he was too valuable to dispose of. He looked down at the ever so slightly shaking form of Kabuto and narrowed his eyes. Before he could even think about it, Kabuto spoke out of line, doing the thing that could very well be the end of him.

"M-My Lord I-"

"Kabuto."

Orochimaru's voice carried a sense of finality that sent shivers down Kabuto's spine. He inhaled, holding his breath for a few seconds, and released his breath, reminding himself that killing his assistant was really not worth it. The silver-haired man clenched his jaw in fear, swallowing the ever-growing lump in his throat

"You need to learn to bite your tongue." He narrowed his gaze before speaking again. "Dismissed."

Kabuto merely nodded, and stepped calmly outside of his master's quarters. Once he was a few rooms down, he bent over, holding onto the wall for support as he emptied his stomach. He kept throwing up until he was dry heaving. He took deep, labored breaths as he clutched his stomach. Once he had somewhat calmed down, he pressed up against the wall, sliding down its surprisingly smooth surface. His eyes were wide in horror. He had truly believed he lost his life with that slip-up.

An empty bottle of Sake found itself shattering on wooden floor, having gotten tossed aside, following the fate of the other 3 bottles that were kept in a hidden compartment of the Hokage's desk. Tsunade had an empty expression on her face as she stared out into nothingness. Her eyes were puffy, and the skin around her facial features was colored a light pinkish hue, caused by hours of crying, till she had no tears to shed anymore.

She slowly sunk into her chair, her gaze lifting upwards. She clenched her jaw, a swirl of emotions passing through her all at once as she choked back a sob. Loss, anger, and most prominently, a deep sense of failure. She'd felt this way twice before in her life, and this particular feeling had a special kick to it. Survivor's guilt can break even the toughest people, and it seems it had come back for round three. She truly considered letting it win this time. But she couldn't. She had taken the role of leading one of -if not- the greatest ninja village of all time.

Convinced to take up that role by the very person who was the root of her sadness.

She choked back another sob. Even after downing four entire bottles of sake, she was still feeling the emptiness caused by loss. She read over the report one more time, hoping, praying to every deity she could think of to have somehow misread the scroll in front of her. A wave of disappointment washed over her. She sneered, and threw the scroll against the wall, watching as the roll bounced off it and unfurled onto the ground, sinking even deeper into her chair.

To add insult to injury, the last loyal, although that title was up in the air, Uchiha, had also not come back. Even though they didn't find their bodies, Tsunade didn't want to hope. She knew that it would get crushed, and she wouldn't even dare to think of Naruto, the boy who had so annoyingly warmed his way into her heart, was out there. He was dead, and she knew it, because most people she gets attached to receive the same fate.

Then her mind wandered to the necklace. That accursed necklace that seemed to leave a trail of death behind it. Everyone who wore it had died, the only exception being herself. Just as she was about to drown further in her depression, a knock was heard from the office's window. It slid open, and a tall man slowly made his way in, closing it behind him. Tsunade turned around, not bothering to put her guard up as she already knew who it was. His long, spiky white hair was a welcome sight, as she gazed at him expectantly.

"I have good and bad news." He said, his tone tinged with seriousness, a rare occasion for the man.

"...Good-?" Tsunade asked. Though, it was more of a choke, saliva that she hadn't swallowed stayed in her throat, causing her already cracking voice to crack even further, as she beckoned him to explain.

Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should tell her now, really taking in her appearance for the first time, but decided to speak.

"Naruto's not dead."

Tsunade froze. She gazed up at Jiraiya with wide, unbelieving eyes. Her breath quickened, trying desperately to fight back the surge of hope that was rushing through her body.

"N-No... You're lying..." She didn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth, and Jiraiya knew it.

"His name is still visible on the summoning scroll," Jiraiya stated. The slug princess knew very well what that meant, but her grief clouded her sense of reason. Her hand shot out, wrapping her hand around Jiraiya's wrist, squeezing tightly as she stared intently into his eyes. "Don't lie to me, Jiraiya..."

He had prepared for this. He placed his hand gently on hers, staring back down into her brown eyes. The action made her heart rate quicken, although she didn't know why. "Tsunade... He's alive..." The sincerity in his voice broke through the wall of grief in her mind. Tears started prickling in the corners of her eyes, and her lips twitched upwards. For the first time in the past week, she had felt something other than sorrow and guilt.

Then came the waterworks

She crashed into Jiraiya's chest, her arms wrapping around him in a death grip, quietly letting out sobs of happiness. Jiraiya looked down, a rosy tint coloring his cheeks as his lips pulled up in a small smile of his own. His mind started to wander into dangerous territory, and he mentally whacked himself, shelving those thoughts for another time. He could count the people that Tsunade would act like this for on one hand, and he was impressed at how quickly the brat made it to the top of that list.

She pulled herself back, a blush coloring her already pink cheeks even further. Jiraiya appreciated the sight, knowing full well that it would be years before he saw it again. She sniffled, regaining her composure, morphing her face into a practiced poker face, although a tiny smile was still visible. She wiped her tears, looking up at the toad sage.

"What about the bad news?"

"We still haven't found any traces of them... It's like they vanished..." Jiraiya trailed off. He still couldn't understand why or how, and it frustrated him to no end.

Tsunade nodded. The bad news didn't even manage to put a dent in her lifted spirits. "I see... What do you think?"

Jiraiya paused, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. He took a deep breath and looked into Tsunade's eyes. "My leading theory is that Orochimaru took both of them..." A slight hint of doubt colored his face as he trailed off. "But even then, the fox would've left a trail of chakra..."

Tsunade's expression hardened. "That bastard could've very easily come up with something to cover it..." Her eyes narrowed, anger starting to bubble up inside her again. She was pissed. Scratch that, she was furious. And to think there was a time when she actually considered healing that son of a bitch. She would find him, and she would kill him, already planning the torture she would put him through.

With a flair of her chakra, a shinobi came into view. The silver vest, the sword perched on his back, and his porcelain mask marked him as one of Konoha's ANBU operatives. He kneeled in front of the desk, his head bowed in respect. "My Lady." Stated the man in a voice void of emotion.

Tsunade turned her gaze on him. "Lion." She said in a commanding tone, causing even Jiraiya's back to straighten. "I want you to gather these shinobi. I want them in my office within the next hour." She said in a tone that left no room for argument, handing him a scroll. The man nodded and body flickered away, following his leader's orders.

A beeping noise rang in Sasuke's ears as he started to regain consciousness. He shifted slightly, stretching out his body, his spine making a satisfying popping sound. As he was getting his eyes used to the piercing hospital lights, the hospital's sterile stench invaded his nostrils, causing him to scrunch his face. He slowly sat up in his bed, taking in his surroundings. A surge of panic washed over him as he went over his thoughts. He sent a pulse of chakra through his body, relaxing slightly after sensing no poison, or at least one he was familiar with. Still, his body didn't give out the telltale signs, and that was enough for him, for the moment at least.

Naruto looked over at the shifting form of Sasuke. His lips twisted to a slight smirk. "Took you long enough," he said, the smirk audible in his voice. He had actually only woken up a few minutes prior, but he wasn't going to let Sasuke know that. He watched in confusion as a weary look overtook Sasuke's features, tilting his head slightly to the left. "Uh... Sasuke? What... Are you doing?" He said, his previously teasing voice now replaced with one of genuine confusion

"Shut the fuck up" Responded the dark-haired teen, his voice was harsh, maybe a bit harsher than he intended. Naruto scowled, his eye twitching in irritation. "What did you just say, asshole?" Asked the blond, ready to jump off the bed and fight him if he had to.

Sasuke only shook his head, letting out a soft sigh. "Right... I forgot you're the most backwards shinobi ever." He looked up again, seeing Naruto's confused expression. "We have no idea where we are, we were knocked out cold by someone who, I don't even know how they got the drop on us, could have easily poisoned and killed us, and you're just, going with it?" He wanted to bang his head against a wall. He didn't hate Naruto, and looking back, he wondered if he ever truly did, but by the sage, he was a mentally exhausting person.

Naruto had the decency to look terrified, realizing that, yes, what Sasuke was saying was indeed correct. He quickly reached down for his weapons pouch, grabbing nothing but air.

"Damn it, bastard, you're right." Sasuke rolled his eyes, despite the serious predicament that they were in. He noticed a window, and made his way to it. The heart monitor let out a flat beeping sound, the suction circles that were once on his chest dropping uselessly to the floor. As he tore open the curtains, he saw that it was nighttime. That meant they had been out for only a few hours. He cast his gaze down, noting that they were about 6 stories up. They weren't expecting them to escape, and were they not shinobi, they most likely couldn't.

"Get up... we're leaving." Said the Uchiha in his usual monotone. Naruto wasn't convinced. "Eh... with our hospital gowns?" He said in confusion, tugging on his own gown to accentuate his point. His hand quickly shot to his forehead. Instead of touching metal, his hand touched the soft skin of his forehead. His lips twitched into a sneer. At that point, that forehead protector still was Iruka's gift, and he'll be damned if he let anyone get it. He still had the cloth in his bedroom, damn it!

"They took my headband!" Exclaimed the blond, his anger rising in his voice. He made to get up, his own heart monitor letting out the same beeping noise, but before neither of them could move, the door slid open, slamming into the stoppers with enough force to send it sliding back a few inches, and a bald man stepped through. He was wearing a white coat, symbolizing him as the doctor. He had a frantic look on his face as he scanned the room. He quickly let out a sigh of relief as he realized that both boys were alive.

Before he could speak, Naruto pointed an accusatory finger at him, his eye twitching in irritation. "Give us back our stuff, or we'll take them by force!"

The doctor's eyebrows raised. He was about to scold them, telling them that they were still not fully healed and needed to rest, and was clearly expecting anything but that reaction. He had dealt with eager-to-go teens before, so he was quite experienced when he wanted them to quiet down and let them do their jobs. His voice took on the tone of a parent scolding a child. "Get back in bed, right this instant." His eyes leveled them with a stare that would make most teenagers shut up.

Keyword being "most".

Sasuke reached out to feel the man's chakra. He had to concentrate, but eventually, he found a small source. It was smaller than a regular civilian's and he wondered if that was how, whoever it was, managed to get the drop on them. He saw as Naruto was about to bite back with what he assumed to be an insult, and quickly cut him off.

"We're fine. Please, let us leave." It was hard, but he managed to keep a mostly respectful tone in his voice, even though he wanted to say the very same things Naruto was about to say. The doctor didn't waiver. "I'm afraid we can't do that. We still have to run some scans on you, also, I will need you two to fill out these forms with your name, address, and a parent's or guardian's contact information."

When Naruto heard they couldn't leave his frown deepened, his dislike for the place growing by the minute. When the two shinobi heard what they had to do, their expressions changed. The blond lowered his gaze, his golden spiky locks casting a light shade over his eyes, reminding himself that this time around, he truly had lost his parents, even if they weren't truly alive. Sasuke's expression didn't change, but a pang of hurt spread through his chest, like a fire burning his heart.

"I see. We will. Thank you, doctor." Sasuke took the forms out of the doctor's hands. As the doctor closed the door behind him, the raven-haired teen sat on the edge of his bed. He wrote down his name, and simply drew a dash on the rest of the entries, not being sure what else to do. Naruto quirked an eyebrow in question. "I thought you weren't a backwards shinobi, so why are you giving your name out just like that?" He asked, his teasing tone holding an undercurrent of genuine interest.

"There's no point in lying. Your name, and my name, hold no importance in this world. To them, we just seem like kids that are way in over their heads. Besides, cooperating with the people that get to decide our future here will only do us good." He looked up from his paper to look at Naruto. "And before you ask, we're trying to find our way back home. Breaking out and putting a target on our backs will only slow us down."

"AARGH!"

Splinters flew everywhere as a palm tore through a wooden training dummy's body. Neji had been training himself to the ground ever since he was discharged from the hospital. His once neatly tied back long brown hair was clinging to his sweat-covered face, his chest rising up and down as he panted, trying to regain his breath. Around him in the dojo were tens, if not hundreds, of similarly sized dummies, all meeting the same fate. He glanced over at the circumstantially formed friend group on the ground taking a breather before they continued their hellish training.

Kiba, Choji, Shino, Lee, and Shikamaru had all taken Naruto's loss hard. They felt disgusted. Disgusted at their weakness, not being able to save the person that deserved such fate the least out of all of them, disgusted at the world at large, and most importantly, at Sasuke, because if it weren't for that stuck-up fucker then they wouldn't be in this predicament. Neji's fist clenched. He walked over to the group, sitting down next to Kiba, slightly leaning on his back as he leveled his breath.

The group all had various expressions on their faces, all of them ranging in the negative emotion scale. From sadness to anger. Even though it was their first day of training like this, every single member felt ready to go, no matter how exhausted they were. They weren't going to let any of their friends receive the same fate as Naruto, never again.

The dojo's door slid open, and a masked shinobi stepped through. He paused for a fraction of a second, being taken aback by the fact that every person he was looking for happened to be in the same room together. Six pairs of eyes landed on him as they watched him wearily. The Sand infiltration started with enemy shinobi masquerading as ANBU, so they still were on edge whenever they saw one.

"Good, you are all here. Lady Hokage has requested your presences, be in the Hokage's office as soon as possible." Said the man, body flickering away once he finished informing them. They all sat in silence for about a minute, still tired from their harsh training. "What could... Lady Hokage... Want from us?" Asked Kiba in between pants, the tiny puppy that sat atop his head yelped in a tone that somehow managed to convey agreement.

"You heard the man... Let's get our asses over there." The voice came from an unexpected source, as Shikamaru rose from where he was sitting. His face was steeled with a calculative expression, much like his father's, barring the scars. The pineapple-haired boy had done a complete 180 in the past week. Don't get it twisted, was still the second laziest person in the world, with first place going to his father, some things just were less troublesome to bother doing.

He was met with various looks of surprise, and it made a vein twitch in his forehead. "Get up, damn it!" The rest of the Sasuke Retrieval Squad, without their key member, scrambled to rise to their feet. They made their way through the streets of the leaf village, exuding a commanding air, as civilians, Genin, and even some Chuunin made way for them to march through.

The privacy seals activated as soon as the boys had stepped into the office. Gone was the playful aura of the Slug Princess. In front of them was a war-torn, grief-ridden veteran who was craving snake blood with every fiber of her being. She leveled the shinobi in front of her with an icy glare. None reacted in the way she was expecting them to, and she smirked inwardly, happy that she had indeed made the right choice.

"Good, I was starting to doubt whether you all were capable or not." Neji stepped up, his voice filled with nothing but respect. "Lady Tsunade, what is the reason for our summoning at this hour?"

Tsunade looked intently at every single shinobi in the room. She took a short breath, closing her eyes momentarily before leveling them with an even icier gaze. "The information you are about to be privy to is classified as S-Rank. Do you understand the implications of that?" Despite them being trained to kill with no mercy, essentially becoming heartless, tried as they might to force it down, they all had a look of interest mixed with surprise on their faces.

Receiving nods of affirmation, Tsunade paused, partly for dramatic effect, and spoke.

"Naruto Uzumaki is alive."

The room went dead quiet, and everyone looked at their leader with various expressions of shock, surprise, and most importantly, hope. Hope that caused their heart rates to quicken as a surge of adrenaline rushed through their bodies. The silence was broken by Lee, voicing the thoughts of everyone in the room except for Tsunade. "Wh... Where-"

"We don't know."

And just like that, their hopes were crushed.

"But we know for a fact that he is alive, and I'm very positive about where he could be." She paused to let her words sink in. "Now, that is not all. Starting tomorrow, you six will be trained to the ground." She leveled them with a somehow even colder icy glare. Some of the more weak-minded, like Choji and Lee, started to fidget under her intense gaze. "You will be trained to the ground, day in and day out, harder even than our ANBU, because you lot have potential. So much potential that I just cannot let you undermine your training. Furthermore, once the time is right, and we've located Uzumaki, you will lead the retrieval mission. Am I understood?"

A few hours had passed since the doctor had given them to fill out those forms. Naruto and Sasuke were engaging in small talk, a rare occasion for the raven-haired boy. They were interrupted as the door slipped open, expecting the doctor to walk in. Instead, they were met with a familiar face, an unfamiliar one walking shortly behind him.

The man stood at 6ft, wearing an all-black costume, the only hint of color being the white scarf hanging around his neck.

The other man stood a few inches shorter, and had cropped black hair, with an oversized trench coat draping his body

"My name is Eraserhead, this is Detective Tsukauchi, and I have a proposition for the two of you."

Both boys' eyes widened in recognition, well, more like slightly lifted eyelids in the case of Sasuke, as they took in the man. Naruto leveled the man with a glare, quickly getting up to a fighting stance. Sasuke moved instantly, reaching Naruto's bed in less than a blink of an eye, and forced him back down. "Are you fucking crazy?" Whispered the Uchiha through clenched teeth. Naruto narrowed his eyes. "He's the guy that attacked us, what did you expect me to do, bastard?"

Sasuke sighed. "Have some common sense for once in your life you idiot." He responded in his signature monotone, which only made Naruto angrier, but he relented under Sasuke's intense gaze, instead choosing to level the newcomer with a glare.

Aizawa watched the exchange with his eyebrows raised. He was surprised, and a little amused at their bickering. He spoke up, using the same tone he used to shut up his class. "If you're finished name-calling each other I would like to speak with you." He said while narrowing his eyes, although you couldn't quite see it, due to the fact that his eyes were rarely not narrowed.

The two boys looked at him, one with an expectant look, and the other with a flat stare, a hint of curiosity shining on his face.

"What you two did was illegal, and it could lead up to six months in Jail."

Naruto's sneer deepened. "So we should've left those guys die then?" Asked Naruto. Sasuke was indifferent to the fact, but he was still curious about the answer, as people in this world seemed to care about casualties.

The man's expression didn't change from his signature deadpan, but he inwardly smiled. "No, and that is exactly why I'm here. See, I just so happen to teach at the #1 Hero school in Japan, and we would like to offer you an opportunity to enroll in our hero program next year." As he finished his speech, he got neither of the reactions he was looking for. Instead, he was met with two questioning, and distrusting stares.

"And why is that?" Asked Sasuke. Naruto sometimes knew when to shut up. Diplomacies was one of them, so he knew better than to speak over his friend.

Aizawa smirked. "Your DNA tests showed no matches. Rare, but not unheard of. Also, the names "Uchiha" and "Uzumaki" are not in our databases. You wouldn't happen to lie about your identities, would you?"

"No, we haven't" Responded the Uchiha.

Aizawa turned to look back at the detective. Receiving a nod of affirmation he turned back, continuing his speech. "By all means, you two do not exist. So I'm giving you two choices. Come with us, and you will be provided with a two-bedroom apartment, and the opportunity to enroll in one of the most prestigious hero academies in the world, or I could hand you over to the police. The two kids that formed out of thin air, with powerful quirks, and defeated a villain all by themselves, in police custody. It will go over worse for you. We can get this swept under the rug, I can't promise that if you don't come with us."

Both boys were mad. They so desperately wanted to just brute force their way out of this damned hospital, but contained themselves. They wanted to go back home, to see their friends... Staying out of as much trouble as they could was the way to go here, and they knew it.

The long-haired man watched as they still hesitated, and allowed his voice to soften just a tiny bit, enough to be barely noticeable. "Even without all those factors... You two still have what it takes to be heroes... Especially you." Aizawa turned his gaze to Naruto, his blue eyes losing their intensity, surprise taking over at the sudden praise. "I watched from the shadows... You were worried about the other boys' safety over your own. That's what kids lack nowadays... I can confidently say you will become some of the best heroes this country has seen."

Naruto's lips started to morph, slowly stretching out into a smile. "Kay, I'm sold. I will become the greatest hero, Believe it!"

Aizawa grinned, looking at the blond in approval. Sasuke couldn't help but stare at him, a quizzical expression forming on his face. The erasure hero turned around, heading to the door. "You will be discharged tomorrow morning. I will pick you two up myself. Have a good night." He closed the door behind him, the two boys falling into silence. Sasuke broke it, his eye twitching as he looked at Naruto.

"The greatest hero?" Asked the raven-haired boy, his coal-black eyes piercing the blond's ocean-blue ones. Naruto put his hands up in defense. "We were gonna go along with it anyway, right? 'Sides, it ain't like we're gonna figure out dimension traveling immediately... So might as well have fun while doing it!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he mumbled out a "Whatever" in begrudging agreement. He smirked, looking at Naruto funny. "You do realize you signed us up for school, right?"

Naruto was about to bite back, but before he could do that, Sasuke's words processed in his head, his eyes going wide in horror

"What... Have I done..."

Sasuke couldn't help it. He laughed uncharacteristically for a few seconds, reminding himself of who he was as he regained his composure. However, it felt oddly good. Maybe change was something he'd give a shot.

Yo imma be honest, please tell me if the end scene is badly written, it is currently 11pm as I'm typing this, and I just wanna put this out. If it is, again, please tell me, because I WILL rewrite it tomorrow.

Now, I don't have a concrete plan for this story, so any plot recommendations are welcome and will be taken into consideration. (except for harems)

Last time's review goal was smashed, so I'm aiming higher this time.

Story won't be updated till 25 reviews (spam won't count so don't even bother)