28

"Knock Knock..!!"

An Anbu knocked on the door twice and then waited for the sound of permission to enter.

"Come in..!!", The third Hokage's voice was heard, and the Anbu got in.

"Hokage sama, elders", The Anbu bowed and kneel on one knee.

"Speak", Hokage asked biting his smoking pipe.

"Sir. Chunin Raizel is back from his mission and is waiting at the door"

"What! You said he is still alive!"

It was neither the third Hokage nor Danzo, but elder Homura instead. He was very confused as to how a mere Chunin survived.

"Yes sir"

Danzo and Hokage glanced at each other while Homura suddenly laughed for some reason, "Let him in", Hokage ordered as he leaned back on his chair.

"Hai", The Anbu just blurred.

Raizel walked in soon after, his complexion is were as stoic as before.

"Hokage sama, Elders", Raizel knelt down on one knee.

"Get up, how was it, is the task completed?", The third Hokage asked.

"I... failed", Raizel said regretfully

And as predicted! Hearing that Raizel did not complete the mission, Elder Homura immediately became excited and asked loudly, "If the mission failed, How dare you come back? Why didn't Yagura detain you!"

"Well let's talk about it, how did you get out of the mist?", Danzo asked looking calm.

"Just when Mizukage Yagura was about to arrest me, the three tail beast suddenly went on a rampage. I took advantage of the chaos and fled"

"What a joke, even if the Tail beast went on a rampage, you won't be completely unguarded by them. Say the truth, did you defect?", Danzo sighed, Homura is getting too excited.

"Hiruzen, It's best to be sure about this. It's better to send him to the torture department, they will surely figure it out"

"..."

"Alright. That's enough Homura, Raizel since you failed in your mission, you are to be prisoned for two months. You are dismissed"

...

Soon after Raizel was imprisoned in Konoha's prison ward along with all kinds of people in there, the most common ones are the thieves and some insignificant rebels.

After the Anbu responsible for his transportation locked him, Raizel took a deep breath, and only after the jailor went away, and not sensing anyone around him did he react.

"Yin!", He muttered

After his call, a goshawk suddenly swooped down from the window and landed on Raizel's shoulder.

Using his finger he rubbed its cheeks, "Go", Raizel said as he rolled up the paper and bind it into its claws and the Goshawk flew away.

The goshawk disappeared into the sky.

...

Somewhere far away, a man with white long hair was peeking inside the wooden fence from a little hole for one eye. His grin was very perverted.

It's amazing how the man doesn't realize a kid who puts the cat on the man's back, "You pervert!", The kid screams with a high-pitched voice which is so unlike him, "There's a pervert peeping here!"

Then... chaos descends.

There are buckets flying around to hit the man; he yells, the cat digs its claw on the man's neck and scratches his ear as well as his face before it jumps away, the white hair man yells more.

The kid runs. And before anyone could understand, the man was yelling furiously, "Come back here brat!"

In a dark alley. A masked Anbu wearing a hooded cloak was leaning on the wall, waiting for the arrival of the kid and the white hair man, and soon his wait was over, "Long time no see. Jiraiya sama"

The white hair man, known as Jiraiya glare at the man with anger and scoff before he stops running behind the little kid who merely was working for some money from this man

The Anbu chuckled inside his mask, "Forgive what I did. There was no other way. The leader said that no one could see me"

Jiraiya stares at the Anbu, "Ghost did?"

The Anbu nodded before throwing the rolled message that Ghost sent him through the messenger bird towards Jiraiya, "Understood", Jiraiya frowned, "You can leave"

"Is there anything I should reply back to the leader..?!", The Anbu said and Jiraiya sighed.

"There is no need...!"

...

~~Outskirts of Konohagakure~~

Dark cloud hover over the chaotic sky, rumbling the thunderous roar that announces its approach; darkening and blinding the eye with their gloom. The pitter patter of the rain upon the land becomes a downpour as a shadow descend on the rooftop from above — a sound inaudible to those within, yet producing an unmistakable impression among them.

"You came", A shadow from within calls out to the stranger as the white haired man turned to look at him, "Jiraiya sensei", the shadow of the man stood before the white haired man...

"Weren't you supposed to be in Jail?!", Jiraiya asked...

"Technically I still am...", The shadow aka Ghost answered with a shrug.

"That's true I guess", Jiraiya replied, "So, what is it that requires such urgency that I must come here in absolute secrecy..?!"

Ghost looked at the white haired man intently with his deep set eyes. "There's a chakra I sensed while in Kiri", he began to explain

"So..?!" Jiraiya said staring at the masked man...

"The chakra I sensed, it was of Obito's", Thunder roared above their heads causing the white haired man to be startled as they stared at each other...

"Obito is dead", Jiraiya declared as his eyes became narrow...

"Yes, he is dead", Ghost said to the white-haired man as if what he just wasn't contradictory, "However, the chakra I sensed belongs to Uchiha Obito for sure, or someone might have fooled me...!"

Jiraiya watched in disbelief, "Is that even possible...?!... Fooling you I mean..."

"Not in the slightest", Ghost said firmly.

"Who else knows about this...?!" Jiraiya asked while sighing

"Other than you and me. No one", Ghost told him, "Not even Hokage or Danzo..!"

"I see..." Jiraiya said looking up at the sky tiredly. The rumble brightened the sky above them, "Keep it that way..."

Ghost nodded, "I will but there is something else as well...!"

"What?!"

"Do you know anything about the red clouds?..." Ghost asked.

"My spies have seen a few people in Amegakure wearing robes with red clouds embedded in them", Jiraiya asked, "They are secretive so we don't know much about those people yet"

Ghost nodded, "They might be Akatsuki. I am not sure though. Also, Obito might be working for them. I need some details"

"Sure, I'll ask around and try to find out something", Jiraiya said...

"You might want to be very careful on this one...", Ghost told him...

"Why..? I don't understand..." Jiraiya replied

"Obito's chakra, and the chakra I felt in kyubii that night two years ago... They are the same..."

Jiraiya shook his head as if trying to clear the fog from his brain... "You are not making any sense...?!" he blurted out, "Obito would never kill his teacher, I've known him for a very long time and there is no way he is capable of doing such things, not by nature or by strength..!!"

Ghost looked at the white-haired man as thunder boomed again, "...It's up to you whether you wish to believe me or not. I won't mention Obito in my report till you are clear", He said and vanished from the rooftop...

Thunder rumbled in the distance...

...

The rain fell heavily upon the rooftops of Konoha as a two-year-old kid, Naruto was thrown out of the orphanage and into the raging storm without a single grain of food. No one ever gave him a kind glance, he is a monster after all. The Kyubi spawn. They didn't know why he wasn't dead yet. Why was Hokage sama not killing the boy instead of putting him in an orphanage? This is what it means to be weak in this world, no one cares about you, and only your fate matters...

The little boy merely stood up on his feet and took a deep breath while staring at the pouring rain for a while. The wind blew his little blonde hair but he barely felt it anymore. He didn't scream or cried, he just left with heavy steps that he took through the dark night. Rain fell upon him, soaked his clothes, and washed away his tears. All he wanted now is to run far from Konoha. But where would he go, he is alone in this cruel world anyway.

The masked Ghost blinked into existence with a flash of thunder on top of the building behind them, watching them hit the little boy before throwing him out...

His eyes stare at the matron with ice-cold eyes, "Kill her...", He said to thin air.

"...As you wish", A voice that echoes the very bottom of the abyss responded back out of nowhere.

Under the dark canopy of the stormy sky, chaotic forces clash beneath. A flash of lightning, and thunder booms in concert, and his shadow was gone once more.

...

"Hello beautiful", A voice echoed while scaring the matron to death, She looked around confusedly only to see a figure slowly coming out of nothingness. "Wha-", she screamed and blood rushed up her throat before she was killed by the knife through her heart.

"...W-why?!..." She spoke in between breaths with a last cry of pain while her life ended abruptly.

...

Some times later, the rain finally stopped, and Rai, a civilian boy, wandered down a few streets until he found a closing market that sold fruit.

Then stopping and staring openly at a small alley, he dashed in and noted the dumpster and disturbance of the ground.

Rai sighed, 'This has to be it, I guess', looking around, Rai made himself comfortable in the spot, before curling in on himself and pulling his sleeves over his hands.

Pulling out the kunai from his pants pocket, he scratched the words 'Home Base' into the dumpster side with a twisted smile, slipping the kunai into his pocket again.

Maybe he was going insane. Either way, it was with a shiver that Rai huddled into himself, attempting to sleep. It could still be worse.

"There he is!"

"Don't let him get away!"

Eyeing the little, and huddled blonde figure that suddenly dashed into the alley and crouched behind the dumpster in front of him, Rai winked, The little boy did not understand, and with a surprise, the men tore past them, shouting threats after the boy in front of them.

Rai smiled amusingly after seeing the little boy looking in shock at his twin that was running in front of those men. The boy jumps a foot in the air and turns to Rai, eyes wide.

"Yipe!" He froze as they made eye contact, taking in Rai's huddled position.

Dressed in a tatty shirt and a pair of shorts, with shoes that appeared too big for him. After a moment of silence Naruto, as Rai knew him to be, relaxed somewhat, though he knew that the boy would be gone at the first signs of hostility.

"Who are you Nii san?" He finally asked, voice quiet but eyes suspicious.

...

On the other hand, the men finally huffed as the boy stopped in an alley.

"Huff. Huff. You sure know how to run kid, now you are done"

"Heh. We will be the ones who will finish what the fourth Hokage could not. What do you think, they will consider us a hero then?", Another laughed

"Does that matter? As long as I kill this monster, I will be happy regardless"

Many came forward with a grin and weapons. Ready to kill the little devil in front of them for killing their family. But what made them surprised is that the little blonde showed no sign of fear instead... he wasn't even flinching.

"Package is safely delivered to the leader: Begin phase two", Naruto suddenly said

"What are you...

The civilian couldn't fully say his sentence when a silver light came straight in from above, and a Kunai struck his head. The blood and flesh flew freely and the man tilted his head as he fell down.

There was chaos as the alley suddenly went dark with no light whatsoever.

"What is going on-"

Two black-clothed men with their faces covered in masks jumped in on the civilians from above and killed them with the weapons in their hands. The scream of these civilians before dying was horrifying.

There was utter chaos, and the previous hot-headed civilians who were fortunate enough to survive the first attack because of their large number, ran for their lives while screaming.

They weren't successful though, Naruto came in a straight line from behind, and when he comes to a standstill in front of them, the civilians fell one after another.

Naruto flicks his sword to splash the blood on it. He turn back and looked at the masked assassins, "Clear the area of any evidence, and let's get out of here"

"Hai"

...

"Rai. You?", The boy chose not to answer, instead, he kept his mouth firmly clamped shut and proceeded to watch the old brother in front of him very carefully.

Rai looked over the whisker marks on his cheeks and smiled slightly. He looked rather adorable...

"How old are you?", He asked

"I...", He counted on his finger with a very serious expression, and after some time, his eyes gleam as he showed 4 fingers to Rai with a grin, "I am 2 this year. Jiji taught me this"

Rai chuckled

"What are you doing here Nii san?"

Rai blinked at the straightforward question then scowled lightly, "About to sleep, thank you. You woke me up"

He flinched slightly, "Sorry, but... Why would you sleep here? Don't you want to go home?" He asked.

"Obviously, I would love to go home", Rai offered lightly, dark sarcasm dripping from his voice, "If I had one"

Naruto slumped slightly, eyes softening, "Oh." The two stared at each other in silence, Rai uncurling very slowly under Naruto's watchful gaze.

Naruto finally looked away, kicking the dirt. "I don't have a home either"

Rai paused, "Nowhere?"

"None" Naruto looked at the big brother in front of him, "I used to live in the orphanage, but..." He frowned and looked away, rubbing his bare arms. "They didn't want me there anymore" Rai watched him shiver in the cold for a moment.

"I... I'm sorry that I barged in. I just-I mean", He sniffled slightly and crouched down, fiddling with the dirt.

He looked at the little blonde with a smile and reached out an arm.

"Come here"

Naruto flinched and looked at the man in front of him, standing and backing away a little.

Rai frowned, "Come here"

Naruto shakingly came, and closed his eyes, hoping for a beating, But he opened his eyes in shock as he saw the older brother in front of him rubbing his head with a big hand.

Rai smiled as he took his jacket, and wrapped it around Naruto. Rai almost shivered but held it in.

However, Naruto looked at him with feelings unknown as he plopped himself next to Rai, huddling into his side.

"... You look cold..." He murmured. Rai merely wrapped his arms around the little boy.

Curling around the man's lap, The 2-year-old nuzzled his head in the big brother's chest.

Rai smiled gently before pulling food out of nowhere, "Here, I am already full, so..."

Naruto's eyes shined as his dumb mind didn't even consider thinking where the food has come from; he just ate with his mouth full, he was starving for a while now...

Raizel chuckled as Naruto finished munching his food like a hamster and snuggled yet again. A flute appeared in his hand out of thin air with Naruto oblivious to this... as he put the flute on his lips.

Judging by the shaking of the boy's shoulders it was clear that the young boy was lonely.

Rai blow into the flute and with just a slight noise, Naruto instantly felt relaxed as his nervousness dissipate almost immediately. His mind became tired while listening to this ethereal song, his eyelids became harder and harder to open as he fell asleep before he could even speak a word...

...

"Leader", A masked man bowed next to Rai who was cuddling next to Naruto.

Rai looked at the masked man, "..."

"There is a problem. Hiashi Hyuga killed Cloud's diplomat", The man bowed down

"Why?"

"The diplomatic meeting was a hoax. They wanted to kidnap Hyuga Hinata. But Hyuga Hiashi killed them in turn. And now, higher-ups seemed to abandon the Hyuga clan"

Rai frowned. "We can fight Cloud"

The masked assassin shook his head, "It's not whether we can fight cloud or not. It's that the Hyuga clan is gaining too much momentum these days. This is just an opportunity to suppress them"

These idiots, why do they not understand, Because of their greed Konoha will have nothing left anymore, "I understand. What about elder Homura?"

"As you expected. He hired someone to poison your food. I think Chunin Raizel will die tomorrow morning in the prison ward. They might even stage it as a suicide"

Rai sighed, "I expected nothing less from them..! Is the orphanage cleaned up?"

"Yes. We left no clues of our trace. I reckon they will find the matron's body tomorrow morning"

"Good, the Anbus responsible for guarding Naruto. Make them disappear too, We have no need for elites like them who can't even do their work properly. Again, do not let anyone find out"

"Yes. Should we also arrange the settlement for the boy?"

Rai shook his head, "Hokage would probably take care of it. So, leave it at that. Here, Get this Hokage sama", Rai handed a scroll to the man, "It's all the information I have found on Kiri and Akatsuki... Go"

The shadow nodded, "Can I ask you something before leaving...?!"

"Speak"

"Why are you so concerned about the boy? Ever since the boy was born, you are always watching over him like some kind of a guardian angel. Even when you go on a mission you always leave a shadow clone to look after the boy... Isn't it better to just let the boy..."

Rai glared at the Anbu

"I apologize for my imprudence", He bowed with his head low before he turned into the mist and disappeared from sight.

Rai looked at Naruto's little sleepy head with an impassive face. Naruto Uzumaki, Kushina sensei's son, in her last letter she asked him to look after Naruto as his little brother and that's what he did. He has always looked after the kid.

The entire reason Naruto never slept starving was that he was always there, even though Naruto never knew; but Ghost was always watching over him, feeding him, taking care of him, he was always there whenever Naruto needed him, like today...

...

When Naruto woke up the next day, he found himself lying on the ground shivering in cold. His head was all fuzzy with no recollection of what exactly happened the last night. Naruto does not even remember how he got here in the first place. There are very few things that he could remember but even those are pretty fuzzy.

It was making him wonder if he was having a dream instead. Ghost stood on the rooftop watching little Naruto slowly making his way towards Hokage tower.

Ghost's hand was holding the jacket that he put the cold Naruto in. As he turns around and left towards the prison, where another persona of his, Chunin Raizel, will end up dying by eating the poison.

...

Hokage was frowning in his office, this morning they found the orphanage matron dead in the most brutal way possible, and his two Anbu shadows responsible for Naruto's protection disappeared in thin air. No matter how much he tried, he could not find those two. Alive or dead.

Who did this? of course it's him, who else could do this for Jinchiruki, every other Anbu other than Kakashi would rather have Naruto dead rather than protect him.

The reason why this happened though, God knows, but it's not strange to think something must have happened to the kid last night, and thus he retaliated in response...

"Something happened last night. But what?", Hokage muttered

"Jiji", Naruto barged inside.