Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Valley of End ❯ Gone, but not really ( Chapter 4 )

 

Chapter 4-Gone, but not really

 

They had been traveling for hours; and every half an hour Kakashi would make them stop so that Sasuke, Neji, and Kiba could rest. (They too had been injured at the Valley of End. But Tsunade needed shinobi for this mission, so they had to send the two even though they were still recovering.)

“Um, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Yes, what do you need Sakura?”

“Well I thought that we were going to meet Jiraiya-sama.”

“We are. We are going to meet him at the forest of Kenshi.” Sakura looked up in horror.

“But Sensei, that is in the Sound country! We are their enemies, what if we get caught? Why do we have to meet Jiraiya there?”

“Sakura, we are meeting Jiraiya there because he thinks that that is where Naruto might be.” Kakashi tried to explain.

“But why the hell would Naruto be there!?” Sakura's voice rose with every word.

“Sakura, you didn't actually think that Naruto was gone because he wanted to go for a trip, did you?” Kakashi chuckled lightly.

“Well, I, um, I guess that I never really thought about it.” Sakura admitted.

Kakashi looked at Sakura. He noticed that her face was full of worry, and concern.

“Sakura, let me tell you everything from the beginning…”

 

“Tsunade-sama!” An Anbu ran into the Hokage's office.

“What is it?!”

“Tsunade-sama, Kakashi has returned.” The Anbu replied.

“Well, what's the matter then?”

“Well you see, Hokage-sama, when Kakashi thought that he had caught up to Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, well, he only found one of them.”

In her mind, Tsunade was secretly hoping and praying that it was Naruto that Kakashi had found.

“Well, which one was it?” Tsunade yelled.

“Hokage-sama, the one that he found, was…Uchiha Sasuke.”

At that moment, Tsunade felt as if everything in her life that was precious, was gone. She thought about Naruto, and about his dreams. She remembered how hard he had trained, just to be acknowledged. She especially remembered when they had first met, and when she bet him that he couldn't learn the rasengan in one week. She remembered the look on his face when he had heard her bad-mouthing the previous Hokage's. She thought about his childhood, and how he was treated; and how she had wished that she could have been with him, so that he didn't have to grow up, feeling the true pain of loneliness. She thought about her hopes and plans for him in the future. And especially, when she thought of him, she thought of her brother, and of the man that she once loved. At one point in time, she realized that she loved Naruto; just as much, and most likely more, than a mother loves her own child.

“Tsunade-sama? Tsunade-sama?” Tsunade looked up to find the Anbu trying to get her attention. “Tsunade, are you all right? Tsunade!”

Tsunade began to panic. She kept loosing her balance. Tears started flowing down her cheeks. She fell to her knees, put her head in her lap, and started to sob.

After a moment she looked up are told the waiting Anbu,

“We…we have to find him! I want, all of the available shinobies out searching the area. We have to find him!”

The Anbu immediately ran out of the room and started gathering ninja. When he was going back to the missions' office, he ran into someone that he would have never expected to see. It was one of the three great nins. It was Jiraiya.

“Jiraiya-sama! Come quickly!” the Anbu shouted to him. Jiraiya looked up at him thinking `do I know you? Why are you talking to me?'

“Jiraiya-sama, please hurry.”

“Why do I need to hurry? What's going on?” Jiraiya questioned him.

“It's Naruto, he gone missing.” The very second that Jiraiya had heard that, he sped as fast as he could to the Hokage tower.

When he got there, he found Tsunade on her knees and crying. He went over to her and put his arms around her. She looked up at him with puffy eyes. She held onto his arms and cried in his shoulder. Jiraiya gently rocked her back and forth until she could stop crying.

 

The group of ninja stood in the Hokage's office, waiting for her orders.

“I want everyone searching a five mile perimeter at the Valley of End. We are going to send shinobi in groups of three. We will search until we have more information. Right now I am going to go speak with Hatake, Kakashi about the details. Now go!” the ninja ran out of the room, heading out to go search. Jiraiya stayed behind though.

“Tsunade, there are a few things that I might be able to find out through my connections.”

“Like what?”

“Well for one, if Naruto was killed,” Tsunade flinched when he said that, “or if he was possibly taken by someone.” Jiraiya said to her.

“Why would anyone try and take him?”

“Tsunade think about it. Naruto is one of the Jinkchuriki! And not only that, but I am sure that there are some people out there who still hold a grudge against the Kyuubi.” Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with a worried expression on her face.

“Don't worry about it,” Jiraiya said to her, “let me handle it. I will go gather as much information as I can. In the mean time, I want you to get some rest.” Jiraiya smiled at her.

“All right.” She returned his smile (although hers was somewhat fake)

As Jiraiya started to gather his things and walk out the door, he turned back to her, with a serious expression on his face. He said to her,

“Tsunade, I care about him to. So don't worry, I will do my best to find out anything about his location.” With that he left the room, closing the door gently behind him.