Chapter 2

"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.

"What could do that."

"I have no idea."

"Then get an idea! I have a continent's worth of suspects right now and I need that list narrowed. So either think of something or walk in there and find out what happened!"

"I can't do a mind walk like this. I follow the memories then follow them back. Trying to go in here I'd risk just trailing off the 'path' so to speak, in either going forward, or coming back. It could lead to false information, me getting stuck in his subconscious psyche for far longer than would be healthy for either of us. And that's just the better outcomes of a botched mind walk. Whoever your looking for evidently knows enough about Yamanaka clan techniques to devise this pretty ingenious counter. Its as though someone fabricated an entirely new psyche and drove it into his skull. My suggestion is to look through any records you have regarding people that know mind manipulation techniques."

"And pray its not something someone came up with on their own." The professor all but hissed before turning to look at the Anbu to his left. "Tell Inu to widen his search parameters to include long term village residents, this could be a domestic case where someone found access to the Yamanaka clan scrolls."

Inoichi gulped, catching the Hokage's eye but not daring to say a single thing. The message was clear.

His clan was now under heavy scrutiny as well.

If something didn't fall into its place in the investigation...well...he didn't really want to think about that.

Just then another of the Anbu had the courtesy to step into the room in full view before approaching the Hokage.

"Sir we've discovered something."

"Speak."

"The village barrier teams reported an anomaly. Their most sensitive sensor nin could feel it for an instant. They couldn't identify what it was but-"

"Investigate further. Cross reference with patrol groups of chuunin see if anyone reported anything odd last night."

"At once."

"Hokage-sama." Inoichi stepped forward. "We should tread very carefully with Uzumaki-san. If I'm right and this new...fabrication of memories is right on top of his old ones he could be very confused when he wakes up."

"That would explain why he attacked one of my Anbu." The Sandaime hummed.

"Soon enough his real memories should prove more formidable than these new fabrications but until then his behavior might be a little erratic. I suggest when he wakes up you be there, along with some familiar faces if possible."

The aging Hokage nodded. "I'll see to it Inoichi."

-0-

The cage is empty.

The massive bars that had loomed over him years ago when he first stepped foot into this place, still stand.

Only they hold vigil over a hollow.

There is nothing within. There is only the churning water beneath his feet, the echoes of its sound bouncing off the cold walls.

He cannot see Kurama. He cannot hear him.

He can't even feel an echo of his presence.

His friend is gone without so much as a footprint to have ever indicated he was here.

-0-

When Naruto opened his eyes the sun was already high in the sky, the light filtering in from the outside world.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position, groaning at the stiff soreness in his joints and muscles. Rubbing at puffy, tear crusted eyes as his thoughts tried to organize themselves.

He looked down, at his too small hands, looked at this room that just seemed too big.

He was here. He was alive and he was here...

And they were all gone.

Why hadn't they told him?

Why?

He could have tried to push the channeling seals more! Refined the displacement matrix, tried to integrate some kind of chakra storage seal into the design!

He could have done something!

Why didn't they fucking tell him!

His hands clenched into tight fists. A white knuckled grip as his fingers clench so hard his nails threaten to break the skin...

But only threaten...

He can't even do that anymore.

He sobs, the fury and strength leeched out of him, leaving only despair.

Not even Kurama...

And now he's here.

Alone again...

There's a hand grasping his and Naruto jerks, startled to realize someone had snuck up on him.

It'd been a while since people could do that.

He looks up, expecting to see a nurse only to find a surprising face.

"Baa-chan!?"

Tsunade, as young and beautiful as ever, frowned. "What happened to Tsunade nee Naru-chan?"

Naruto blinked, confused. He'd never known Tsunade when he was a kid!

Did he?

The blond woman's lips pursed. "These memory issues must be pretty bad." She muttered to herself before sitting down on the bed at his feet. "What do you remember about me kiddo?" She asked even as her hands glowed with that familiar scanning technique as she hovered her hands over him.

"Uhh...you're Tsunade-baa...err...nee?"

She nodded, chocolate orbs observing him carefully.

"And you-" He paused, noticing something. "Hey where's your necklace?"

The slug sannin blinked. "My what now?"

"Your necklace! That green jewel! The Shodaime's necklace where is it!? I don't have it so you should!"

"Naruto that necklace belongs to Dan. You've seen him wearing it forever."

Naruto felt himself reeling, straightening on the bed as he stared at her. "That Dan guy's alive?'

Now it was Tsunade who's face seemed to go slack with shock. "That Dan...Naruto, he took you and Shizune to see Koyuki Kazahna's latest movie last week!"

The two sat in mutual disbelief for a moment before Tsunade huffed, resuming her scan. "When they find whoever screwed with you kiddo they better give me ten good minutes alone with 'em."

Naruto sat confused and bewildered. Now he knew something was wrong! Even if Tsunade hadn't left until after he was born, something he highly doubted, and they simply hadn't met before there was no way that Dan guy should still be alive right now!

His mind wandered back, trying to recall all that was said when they were designing the seal. Wishing, not for the last time that he could have someone smarter than him that he could talk with!

They were supposed to be a team!

Could...could things have changed?

Sasuke, Sakura and he spent months talking about all the changes any misstep could bring...but their discussions had only been about changes after the point of their arrival, not before.

But could just them coming back in the first place, by itself, change things?

It was unnatural! Something like this had never happened before so trying to theorize about its effects had been something akin to shooting at the sky praying to hit something on the way down.

It'd been a miracle they got as close as they did.

If things had changed, how many? How far? How drastic? How the hell could he prepare for Tobi or Obito or whatever the hell he called himself without his friends? without Kurama? And without even the goddamn security of at least having an idea about what could happen!?

"Naruto!"

He came back to the waking world with Tsunade hovering over him, his heart pounding in his chest and blood rushing through his ears, the gentle eddies of her healing chakra washing over his small body

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I have to get out of here!" He said moving to sit up again when Tsunade's hand shoved him back down.

"You're a four year old kid who all but had a panic attack not two feet away from me! You're not going anywhere until you explain what you're thinking about right now!"

He let out a laugh, a quick bubble of hysteria that threatened to keep going before he reigned it in.

Explain?!

Oh yeah he'll get right on that! Just give him twelve years to get back to the point they've got to do this again and he'll jot down all his notes for her!

He laughed a little more.

Tsunade's face showed genuine concern. "Come on kid stop. You're really scaring me now!"

That sobered him up, but the lack of illogical euphoria left him only with the crushing anxiety of this whole debacle. "I'm sorry baa...nee-chan."

-0-

"We've found nothing."

"That's not like you Inu. Do you need another twenty four hours?"

"There is nothing Hokage-sama." Inu assured. "He spoke to no one unusual, the toxicology reports came back negative, Hyuuga have looked over his chakra network to check for any recent manipulations, all visitors within the last week have checked out, everyone he spoke to checked out. The only lead we have to go on is that minor barrier fluctuation and no one in the corps knows what that could be."

"I cannot ask you to stop searching."

"I understand. I'm just informing you that at this stage, the likelyhood of us finding anything is nearly negligible.

"Just do everything possible. Leave nothing unturned. In the meantime I want you to devote yourself and your best ANBU to guard Naruto at all times until further notice. You'll work in shifts. The rest of your men, will hunt down a list of all possible mind manipulators outside of Konoha. Someone on this continent knows something!"

"Understood." Inu vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"You're pushing him hard." The Sandaime's second and remaining student commented with a grin as he stepped out of a nearby wall with a smirk.

Sarutobi kept walking, approaching the door. "There has to be an explanation. If not, they managed to infiltrate every layer of our village defenses completely undetected. Even I would have trouble to do something like that and I designed the system!"

-0-

Her eyes moved to the door for a second and it was enough to warn Naruto that someone else was coming a second before the door opened.

"-not they managed to infiltrate every layer of our village defenses completely undetected. Even I would have trouble to do something like that and I designed the system!" The Sandaime said to someone before stepping into the room, smiling gently at the boy on the bed. "Naruto-chan."

Naruto smiled, genuine relief filling his face at something wholly familiar and long missed. "Jiji!"

Then the smile dropped from his face, the fear gripping him as the unmistakeable form of the snake sannin stepped through the doorways, a gentle little smile tugging at his own features. "Hello Naruto-kun."

It didn't take Inoichi to see the sudden tension that gripped the boy, and it was Tsunade that spoke. "Naruto...you remember Oro-kun don't you?"

Naruto licked his lips, swallowing as he nodded still glaring at the man. "I do."

Tsunade frowned. Turning to look over her shoulder. "These memory issues seem to range and, whoever did this was really good."

"Other than his hostility to me what other odd behavior has he shown?" The snake sannin questioned, crossing his arms with one hand on his chin, curious.

"He thought Dan was dead, seems to have completely forgotten about him..like he never even existed for the last four years."

That made the snake sannin raise a slender eyebrow.

Tsunade nodded. "My reaction too. The only one who's memory seems to be unaltered is sensei. Even that might not be true on further inquiry."

"Be glad sensei. Your enemies haven't stooped so low as to turn the aggression of a toddler on you."

Sarutobi gave a short chuckle from somewhere in his throat.

"Ok look." Naruto said scratching at his head in frustration. "I remember Ero-sennin so lets just bring him here too!"

"Ero-who-now?" Tsunade glared.

"Jiraiya!"

Immediately, Naruto knew something was wrong. All three of the rooms occupants went stiff with shock, Tsunade went pale and even Orochimaru seemed as though he'd just been sucker punched.

"Naruto..." Sarutobi began, choking on the words. "Jiraiya's been dead for almost twenty years."