Naruto the Scarecrow

Chapter 4

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood next to his office window, looking out over his village. As his eyes surveyed the place that he had fought for his entire life, he couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. 'In ten minutes it will be the fifth of August,' Hiruzen hated that date. It was the commemoration date that poor little Naruto had been abducted from Konoha; this approaching fifth would be the third one.

Holding the position of Hokage, Sarutobi knew that it was his responsibility to care for and guide the people of the Hidden Leaf but the weight of that responsibility was getting heavier every year. Realising that moping over the date was not going to accomplish anything, Hiruzen stepped over to his desk and switched on his lamp. His desk flooded with light while the rest of the room was barely visible with flickering candles. Not bothering to turn the rest of his lights on, he attempted to continue his paperwork while he sat alone in the darkened office. Unbidden, Hiruzen's thoughts returned to his dead successor and his failures.

Not only had he failed Minato by not fulfilling his final wishes but he had also failed Minato's son, Naruto, in so many ways. Naruto had been an innocent boy, full of life and not understanding the burden he carried within him nor why the villagers hated him so. While Hiruzen knew that Naruto was not the most popular figure in the village, he had never truly known the extent of his people's animosity.

Their true feelings were made very clear to him when not even two days had passed after the kidnapping when the people, mainly ignorant civilians, started talking amongst themselves. Not about how tragic the forcible removal of an innocent boy was but about how relieved they were that the 'Demon Brat' was finally gone and that their village was once again safe.

When the second anniversary of Naruto's disappearance and presumed death happened, a majority of the civilians and a small number of Leaf shinobi held a small celebration, revelling in the fact that the monster that had caused so much suffering had perished.

When Hiruzen was informed of this by his Dog ANBU, he felt disgust flow through his body. The next day he announced to the village his disappointment in them. He then chose to reveal the true parentage of Naruto, having kept it a secret due to the massive bounty that the Village Hidden in the Stone had placed on Minato or any of his family. Thinking that Naruto was dead meant that there was no longer any reason for his silence on the matter, it also gave him a small sense of relish when they suddenly realised the extent of their actions as well as the repercussions of them.

After the truth was released, a profound change swept over the village. Although still forbidden to talk about Naruto's special tenant, everyone suddenly felt very small. All of Hiruzen's reasons as to why Naruto was not a demon but a hero who jailed the demon everyday at great effort was revealed to the adult population. A profound shame descended on the village with many of the most zealous anti Naruto villagers in turn becoming pariahs.

Sighing softly to himself, Hiruzen was broken from his dwelling of past events by a knock on his door.

"Enter," he replied and Jiraiya stepped through into the Hokage's office. Jiraiya did not look quite as cheerful these days anymore. The sudden vanishing of his godson had possibly weighed more on him then even on Hiruzen himself.

"Sensei," Jiraiya began before shutting the door behind him while also clicking on the ceiling light. "I have some vague news that you need to hear. One of my sources informed me of a group called Akatsuki. They're a group of S rank missing ninja that have come together and are performing large scale criminal acts. There's also a whisper of a rumour that Akatsuki are also after the demon containers. Although I don't know if that's true I do know that Akatsuki are very real and very dangerous. However, if what is being rumoured is true, then it's possible that these guys are responsible for Naruto's disappearance."