The truth revealed

Kakashi reached the valley where the two boys had fought fiercely, his face filled with shock at the devastation before him-only the enormous stone statues of Madara Uchiha and the First Hokage still stood intact.

"I smell a lot of blood down below," Pakkun said, and the two began making their way to the bottom of the valley.

Kakashi could still sense the foul chakra of the Cursed Seal lingering in the air, along with the Nine-Tails' demon fox chakra. "Can you tell what happened here?" the silver-haired Jonin asked his summoned companion.

"Most of the blood here is Naruto's. But I also smell a third person, someone who only showed up near the end of the fight." Pakkun's words made Kakashi's eyes widen instantly.

"So Naruto had to fight two people at once?" Kakashi asked gravely.

"No. Judging by the scents, Naruto used the fox's chakra in this fight, and Sasuke used a stronger form of his Cursed Seal. From how strong the scents are, Naruto must have activated at least a two-tailed Chakra Cloak to defeat this Uchiha... That was when the third person appeared." Pakkun followed the scent, finally stopping beside the deep crater where Sasuke had been smashed into the ground.

"Even I would have trouble facing Naruto with that much nine-tails chakra unleashed. You're saying the third person only appeared at the end?" Kakashi looked utterly bewildered, unable to understand how a Jinchūriki in that state could have been defeated so easily.

"It looks like Naruto regained control after defeating Sasuke and withdrew his Chakra Cloak. After using such an enormous amount of demon fox chakra, he must have been exhausted. There was no way he could summon that much power again so soon. He's still just a child, after all," Pakkun said.

"So he was completely defenseless." As Kakashi spoke, they reached the spot where Naruto and Kabuto had first clashed. Something suddenly occurred to him, and he urgently asked Pakkun, "Pakkun, do you recognize this scent? Could it have been someone from the Akatsuki?" He still clung to a sliver of hope. If it had been the Akatsuki, Naruto would at least still be alive. They would not kill him yet.

"I recognize this scent. I'm almost certain it belongs to Kabuto Yakushi. This is where they first clashed, but from the scene here, it looks less like a fight and more like one-sided torture." Pakkun continued forward, following the increasingly heavy trail of blood.

Looking at the pools of blood on the ground, Kakashi thought, Judging by the pattern of the bloodstains, Kabuto waited until Naruto barely managed to stand up each time before attacking again. The bastard was utterly deranged.

The two followed the blood trail all the way to the river, where it vanished completely.

"The blood trail ends here. It looks like he was thrown into the river. Sasuke also woke up then and delivered one final blow before leaving." Pakkun's voice was full of sorrow. Just then, rain began falling from the sky.

"The rain will wash away the scents soon. Sasuke must be far away by now. Come on, Pakkun. We'll follow the river downstream. We have to find him." Kakashi tightly clutched the torn Chunin Vest, as though it were his only lifeline in a raging sea.

They searched for several hours before finally giving up. The river's current could not possibly have carried Naruto any farther, but the rain had washed away every scent. Even if Naruto was still alive, they could no longer find him.

"Come on, Pakkun. We need to return to the village and report." Kakashi sounded utterly despondent. Even after seeing the two Chidori holes punched through the vest with his own eyes, he still clung to a sliver of hope that Naruto was alive, lying somewhere on a riverbank downstream.

Several hours later, at Konoha's gates.

The two Chunin guarding the gates sat in their booth, watching the battered retrieval team return. Every member was badly injured. Only Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee could still barely walk, but even they were on their last legs, looking as though they might collapse at any moment.

Choji and Neji were being carried by the two Jonin who had set out with Kakashi.

"Whoa, you guys are really badly hurt... Where's Naruto?" Izumo Kamizuki called out to Shikamaru as he passed, but Shikamaru remained silent. Without answering, he followed the team straight toward the hospital.

"Damn it. Looks like they took a real beating this time," Izumo muttered, watching the team disappear into the distance.

The hospital.

Shikamaru sat on a bench in the corridor, waiting for the results of Choji's and Neji's surgeries.

"Still sitting here looking so miserable?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Temari? What are you doing here? Leave me alone." Shikamaru still sounded dejected.

"I'm not just going to leave you alone. So your mission failed, and your teammates got hurt. That's a ninja's lot in life. Grow up. Stop acting like a little crybaby. At least they're still alive, aren't they?" the female ninja from Sunagakure said.

"You're such a pain," Shikamaru said, leaning against the wall. Just then, the operating room door opened, and Tsunade walked out.

"They're both fine. Choji simply depleted his chakra severely. The wound in Neji's side is deep, but neither of them is in any danger. They'll make a full recovery in a few weeks." With that, the Hokage turned and headed to her office.

The Hokage Building.

Tsunade had just sat down and taken a bottle of sake from her drawer when a heavy knock sounded at her office door.

"Come in," she ordered. The door opened, and Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, entered with a deathly bleak expression.

"Kakashi, where's Naruto?" Tsunade asked immediately, already filled with the worst possible dread.

Kakashi said nothing. He simply took out a sealing scroll, released the seal, and pulled out Naruto's Chunin Vest. Then he slumped onto the sofa, his face devoid of life.

"Oh, God... How did this happen? These look like they went straight through his body. What ninjutsu did this?" Tears instantly spilled from Tsunade's eyes. She felt as though she had lost everything all over again. Was she truly cursed? Everyone she loved would leave her in the end, except for that utter pervert.

"It was Chidori." Kakashi's voice sounded hollow, as though he had no soul.

At that very moment, Yugito walked in. She had come to ask whether there was any news of the team sent to retrieve the Uchiha Rogue. "Lord Hokage, I wanted to ask about Naruto-kun and the others..."

Before she could finish, she saw the sobbing Tsunade and the torn, blood-soaked vest.

Naruto-kun... No, how could this happen? Why did it have to be him? I only just told him I loved him. This can't be happening. Sasuke Uchiha, I swear I'll kill you with my own hands.

As those thoughts ran through Yugito's mind, silent tears were already spilling from her slit-pupiled eyes. She staggered, then turned and ran out of the office as fast as she could.