Uzumaki Naruto?
It has been a week since Uzumaki Naruto went missing.
Sasuke Uchiha, the only survivor of this clan massacre was sorting out paperwork when Naruto was reported missing. After a week, not even the hair of the blonde was seen, and he was worried sick.
He stood up, and decided to take in the fresh air outside. Being cooped up too long in the office isn’t doing him any good. Him and his own thoughts don’t mix very well.
Sasuke decided to take a walk along the woods. Ever since he was appointed as the Hokage’s Second Advisor, he barely had time to go out into the woods, let alone train. It was as if Naruto was doing his training for the both of them. Everyday, the blonde’s strengths never seem to amaze him, although Sasuke would never tell him that straight to his face in a million years.
But right now, as his feet were bringing him deeper into the forest, he felt a horrible feeling inside his gut. Trusting his gut instincts, he let his feet lead the way, despite him having the feeling that he would discover something bad.
He scanned the surroundings, but nothing was insight. Grumbling to himself, he activated his Sharingan, cursing to himself as he knew it would drain his chakra a lot faster. A large distance away, almost at the outskirts of Konoha, it looked like he spotted something.
His walk turned into a brisk jog and finally, he ran towards the object that he saw. Whatever it is, he knew it wasn’t an ordinary deer or animal. His gut feeling became stronger the closer he got.
Finally, he arrived at the place where he saw something. What he saw almost made his stomach drop.
It was Uzumaki Naruto, the person he tried looking for the past few days. But his condition is awful. Multiple stab wounds to the stomach, and there was a knife lodged to his heart. Some parts of his skin turned purple due to the ropes cutting off his circulation.
He might as well be dead.
Sasuke went through an internal battle within himself, and after a while just staring at his limp body, a gurgle could be heard. It sounded more rough, and guttural. It was almost as if that sound came from an animal because it sounded so unlike Naruto.
“Uchiha…” it growled, and for a second, Sasuke froze in shock since the voice was just so deep. He then registered the voice as Kyuubi, which made Naruto’s body as his vessel. He sighed in relief, happy that the boy wasn’t actually dead.
“Bring the boy back, he hasn’t got much time, and so do I.”
Sasuke nodded and tried to keep his cool. He released Naruto from his binds, half carried and half dragged his body towards their village. The sky was darkening thankfully, so not many people were going to witness Sasuke Uchiha carrying Uzumaki Naruto’s body out of the woods. That was going to raise a lot of questions from the people.
He knew where to go first. He carried the blond with full determination, even though he felt sick to his stomach to see his friend in such a condition. Even though his limbs were about to fall off from Naruto’s dead weight. Even though he could feel the dried blood on Naruto’s skin.
Who did this to him? Naruto would have at least put on a good fight. Whoever the person is, he or she won’t be able to take him down with a simple knife. Sasuke Uchiha let his thoughts run widely for speculations, afraid that if he stops, he would think about other unpleasant things.
Unless he let his guard down. That thought popped into his head. But why?
It was as if Kyuubi could read his mind. The demon spoke up, using Naruto’s body as a way of communication. Sasuke shuddered, not used to the foreign feeling or the harsh voice that was going to fill his ears.
“Your traitorous friends were the one who did this. Explains a few things, doesn’t it?”
The blacked haired stopped walking at the sudden revelation. Come to think of it, he didn’t see Sakura and Kakashi at all last week. He has been too caught up in his job and too worried for Naruto that he hasn’t even considered the possibilities that they may be involved.
He sighed, and guilt overwhelmed him. He was a terrible Advisor indeed, if he couldn’t even find his own friend. Because of him, Naruto is dying and may or may not actually be saved.
“Hey kid, there is no time for you to be brooding. Bring the boy somewhere so he could be treated. Think after.”
Well, the Kyuubi may be a demon asshole who tried to destroy their village, but the creature did have a point. He has to push away all his thoughts until Naruto is safely treated. Sasuke looked up at the Tower, relieved to see the lights were still switched on. The Hokage always liked to stay late, anyways.
They were almost there.
Sasuke heaved the blond’s body up the stairs, and arrived at the main door. And finally, finally, they arrived, to be greeted by the Hokage’s First Advisor.
“Sasuke! Is that-”
The blacked haired Uchiha nodded, and the both of them brought Naruto’s flaccid arms on each side of each person’s shoulders. Sasuke was internally grateful that somebody was finally helping him carry Naruto’s body, especially someone with as much strength as the First Advisor.
“Hokage-Sama!” Sasuke entered the office, and addressed the Hokage as respectfully as he could muster. He was beginning to feel tired and drained, and all he wanted to do is sit down and rest. But he couldn’t do that. He had responsibilities. He had a job to do.
“Uzumaki Naruto was found at the outskirts of Konoha, in the deep forest around two hours ago. I discovered his body and proceeded to bring him here. Nobody except for you and The First Advisor has known about this-”
“Sasuke, quit being so professional alright,” the ponytailed boy said, his eyes narrowed dangerously at Naruto’s heart. “Stab wounds, and what is that, marks from circulation loss, I presume?”
The Second Advisor nodded, and continued. “When I found him, he was tied up on a tree. Fortunately, he isn’t dead yet, but his life is draining out of him as we speak. We need medical attention immediately.”
“Then why didn’t you bring him to the hospital? Surely, you know better, Uchiha-”
“Damn it, Shikamaru, I can’t!” Sasuke finally lost control, and slammed his fist onto the table. Naruto was still slung on his shoulders, motionless. He was glad the blond couldn’t feel him shaking, couldn’t see him in his moment of weakness. “They got him.”
Shikamaru was stunned. A thick silence filled in the office. After a few seconds, the Hokage released a heavy breath, and said, “The Akatsuki is on the move, huh?”
“Damn right they are. And guess what? They brought our friends with them. Kyuubi told me. They turned their backs onto us, Shikamaru. Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake. What the hell-”
“Sasuke.” Shikamaru faced the Uchiha, his gaze boring into him. His voice was full authority, which was rare. That made Sasuke stop, his usually stoic and expressionless face filled with overwhelming emotion.
Sasuke Uchiha rarely lost his cool. And judging by how Naruto was found, the raven must have used a lot of his chakra by utilising the Sharingan, which imposes powerful emotions towards people they care about. And the only person Sasuke truly cares about, right now, is Naruto.
Hence, the emotional mess. But he would not let Sasuke fall apart now. As complicated as that person may be sometimes, he was still his subordinate, his friend. All three of them have been through a lot together, from the fighting tooth and nail in the major war to losing both of the Legendary Sannins to rebuilding Konoha from ruins. Naruto included.
And right now, the Akatsuki is on the move, bringing two of Konoha’s most valuable assets. They can’t back away now, not after the things they went through. It would all be a waste. All those troublesome efforts.
“Bring Naruto to Shizune. She would know what to do. Naruto will rest in the guest quarters as for tonight. Tomorrow, you will bring Naruto to your house. You would take care of him, and besides, the likelihood of people visiting the Uchiha complex is very rare. In addition to that, Shizune will come to your house every week and check his progress. This would be kept in utmost secrecy. Only me, Choji, and Shizune will know of this matter, I assure you.”
Sasuke nodded, and him and Choji brought Naruto next door towards Shizune’s office. Her eyes widened and she paled considerably, only for a second. After that, she quickly fetched her medical kit and got to work.
Her movements were quick and precise, and she didn’t even tremble, all thanks to Lady Tsunade’s apprenticeship. Because of Naruto’s dried blood, she had to cut his orange jacket, revealing his half healed wounds. It looked ugly, even to Sasuke.
After several minutes, Shizune managed to close up Naruto’s wounds. After wrapping his stomach and chest area with multiple layers of bandages, she sat down in exhaustion, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt.
“Those wounds are beyond unimaginable. Not to mention his blood lost. He would be long dead if it wasn’t for Kyuubi’s chakra helping him heal. He was on the brink of death. If you found him sooner than that time, he would have been gone for good, with or without Kyuubi.”
She looked at Naruto with a sad expression on her face, placed a large jug onto his bedside table and gave Sasuke a strained smile. After walking out of the door, Choji also wanted to take his leave, insisting that it is already late and that Sasuke should get a proper rest after today’s ordeal.
God bless Choji’s soul.
Finally, he was alone. Sasuke let out a loud sighed, which filled in the empty room.
Naruto did look considerably better, although he had better days. His tanned face was uncharacteristically pale, almost as pale as his skin. His whiskers were almost invisible, since no color has reached his face yet. At least the rising and falling of his chests could be seen, indicating that he was still alive.
Sasuke’s eyes caught something shiny. It was the knife that was lodged into Naruto’s heart. He picked it up, and recognized the symbol engraved on the metal immediately.
It was the Uchiha symbol.
It means that his brother too, was there when those traitors decided to finish him off. He did the finishing blow. That knife, it was a warning. Or maybe there to mock him, out of spite.
Sasuke felt himself shaking, and cursed every single curse word he knew of, blood boiling. He wanted to just hunt down those three bastards and kill them in the worst way possible.
But no. He can’t do that, not for Naruto’s sake. First of all, his friend is in a distressed state. Pulling any sudden stunts would stress him out even more. He also almost died, all alone. That must be a pretty depressing thing to face. Besides, that dobe is too forgiving. He would never let Sasuke kill Sakura and Kakashi easily, even though they tried to kill him. Tch.
Besides, they would need a proper plan to overthrow Kakashi, Sakura and the Akatsuki.
Sasuke let out a shaky breath, closed his eyes and rested his head on the chair.
They had lost the battle, but they definitely would not lose the war. He was sure of it.