Chapter 4
"What happened." The Sandaime Hokage asked as he marched through the white halls of the Konoha hospital.
"Unknown." Inu replied. "He slept as usual, woke up, marched to the bathroom then he started screaming."
The legendary Shinobi shot off question after question as he walked barely waiting for the response to be over before launching into his next one.
"Genjutsu?"
"None that I could detect?"
"Poison's? Hallucinogens?"
"Initial results are negative. More thorough testing is being conducted as we speak Hokage-sama."
"Current status? The seal's integrity?"
"Stable as far as we can tell, on both counts though we've called in the expert in order to verify."
The old monkey nodded, about to ask another question before he heard the sound of a struggle. His and Inu's heads jerked up ever so slightly before they were both rushing down the hallway, the Anbu's sword emerging from its scabbard with a glint of polished steel.
The door was thrown open to reveal two nurses, a doctor and four Anbu lined up infront of them, forming a semi-circle around a blond child clutching a surgical blade to his chest.
"What happened?" Hiruzen questioned, his voice unchanged from its usual calm tone.
"He woke up and started struggling Hokage-sama." One of the Anbu answered. "He took doctor Koku's scalpel from his coat pocket."
"Cut me good when I tried to grab him too." Another Anbu, a younger one, said, showing off the blood drenched glove on his left hand, an open gash in his palm. "He's fast."
"Old man?"
The Jinchuuriki's frightened voice brought Saru's eyes to him, the soft brown orbs softening their placid look to one of mild concern.
He stepped forward, past the line of people to get in close to the boy before he knelt infront of him. "Naruto-chan." He cooed at the four year old holding out his hand. "Naruto-chan come here."
The boy's white knuckled grip on the surgical knife tightened even further, and for a brief instant he thought the child might actually try to strike out at him.
Then the boy launched himself forward with a hysterical cry hugging the Sandaime so fiercely Sarutobi could actually feel his robe ready to tear as the toddler cried into his chest babbling nonsense he couldn't understand.
Only one thing stood out.
'They're gone! They're all gone!'
Who they were and where they could have gone the Hokage didn't hold the foggiest notion. Picking up the boy he whispered softly trying to calm him as he stared straight at Inu, his top Anbu already taking up the assignment as he signaled orders to his men. Naruto's apartment and habitual locations would be searched thoroughly for any clues that could be found.
Waving the doctor away Sarutobi commandeered a stiff backed chair, settling himself down with Naruto still crying all over him. The Sandaime took a breath, letting himself sigh as he waited for the boy's hysterics to calm.
He shouldn't have been surprised when Naruto's sniffles finally faded into restless sleep, the boy's features scrunched up in discomfort. He considered waking him but in the end decided it'd be best to simply ask the boy tomorrow. He doubted he'd just forget.
Suddenly the door opened, revealing Sarutobi's old student, bringing a weary smile to the aging Kage's face.
"Is he alright?" The sannin asked stepping into the room and plucking the child out of Sarutobi's arms to place him on the bed, hands raising his shirt to find the seal on his navel.
"Physically he's fine...but as for what happened to trigger these emotions we cannot say." Sarutobi admitted. "Half of me is starting to think this was just one very vivid nightmare- perhaps I should call-"
"This was no nightmare." His student flatly interrupted.
That turned Sarutobi's face into hard, chiseled stone. All laxity vanishing at the man's voice. "What's wrong?"
"The seal's empty. The Kyuubi's gone."
-0-
It was twenty minutes later that Sarutobi found himself marching into the bowel's of Konoha's interrogation department, Naruto lay blissfully asleep, wheeled through on a hospital bed, kept unconscious by influence of a genjutsu.
This day had gone from routine, to worrying, to downright terrifying and he needed answers and he needed them now!
Out of a side hallway Inoichi, half delirious still waking from whatever sleep his men had dragged him out of stumbled into view, still visibly trying to get his bearings before Sarutobi grabbed him by the shoulder and all but shoved him towards the direction they were walking.
"Prepare yourself for a mind walk." The Hokage demanded brusquely. "I need to know what he's done, I need to know where he's been who he's been with, what he's been eating right down to how many times the boy's breathed today Inoichi."
Knowing better than to argue, the Yamanaka clan head simply nodded, following the group in his sleepwear.
By the time they reached the chamber Inoichi was fully awake, barely even taking his place at the foot of the bed before he formed his handseals.
Three seconds later his eyes opened, a bewildered expression decorating his face.
"What's wrong?
"His...brain...its..." The elder Yamanaka actually seemed to be struggling to find the words. "Twisted."
"What exactly does that mean?"
"Its like...pretend his mind is a stick straight and thin, you follow it in one direction and leave in one direction. Now toss a hundred other sticks that look and feel the same but with subtle differences, ontop of it, group em together, mix em up and now try to find the exact same stick you had originally. It'll be near impossible.
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