Hello everyone, how are you this fine day? I hope this chapter finds you well. I'd like to thank everyone who commented on the last chapter, and I hope this chapter is as well received.

A quick note, the first part is a little dark, but it does lighten up after that.

Now, without further delay, let us dive right into

Chapter Two: Set In Motion

-A Hero, Broken-

Lightning Country: Mountain Side Village

It was high noon, and the streets were mostly deserted. This wasn't normally the case, but lately people just didn't feel like leaving their homes for anything other then an absolute emergency.

That said, it was a bit of surprise for the those looking out their window to see Muramasa, the town doctor, walking towards the town square. Well, a partial surprise anyway…

Muramasa stopped in the center of town square, his head bowed with his hair hanging down and hiding his face. Tears dripped down to the dry dirt at his feet as he wept.

The wind from the nearby mountain howled, just as it had for nearly three weeks. The sound it brought made him shudder as he drew the large bottle from his coat pocket. Quickly unscrewing the cap, he proceeded to empty the contents of the bottle onto his head, the liquid stinging his eyes and burning his nose as it soaked his cloths.

He did this with a second bottle, and then a third. As he was halfway through the fourth bottle, he was interrupted by a shout of surprise. Turning, he saw his wife running towards him from down the street. But she was too far away; he knew she'd never get there in time.

"Mura-kun! What are you doing! Stop! Please! Somebody stop him!" Hisane called out desperately, cursing her slow legs for not carrying her faster. She saw her beloved reach into his soaked pants pocket, and withdraw something small and shiny.

By now she was close enough to gag on the stink in the air as she met with his tearstained eyes. She felt the wind go quiet, and she heard perfectly as her husband whispered "I'm so sorry." before flicking open the lighter in his hands.

It didn't take more then a spark to ignite his kerosene soaked body, setting him alight like a matchstick. He vaguely heard his wife scream in horror as she ran to him, but it was already to late. As a doctor, he knew he wasn't going to survive this….

Those who had watched from their windows turned away as another good man died before their eyes. They knew there was nothing they could do for him. All they could do was pray they weren't next.

From above, the village chieftain looked down from his office window as his former friend became kindling. He fought the urge to vomit as he called in his new secretary. He'd had to find a new one in a hurry after the old one beat himself to death with a hammer.

"This can't keep going on!" he shouted gruffly, turning to face his secretary. "For nearly three weeks now my people have been dying left and right. We've done everything we can to appease that damn spirit, but nothing is working!" he sat heavily behind his desk, before pouring himself a glass of sake. "Send word to Kumo. We need someone to deal with this thing right away, or there might not even be a village by next week. I've heard they've got two jinchuriki, so they should know how to deal with a malevolent mountain spirit."

The secretary quickly wrote down the request before hurrying out of the office. Not ten minutes later, a hawk, the fastest in the village, flew to the village hidden in the clouds. All who saw it go prayed it made its journey quickly. The town could not last much longer.

-A Hero, Broken-

Hidden Leaf:

Team Eight shuffled awkwardly as they waited in the Hokage's office, currently vacant of its leader. The three had certainly changed over the years: Hinata's coat was now lavender, and she was actually a rather competent fighter. Kiba may not have changed much, but Akamaru was now far too large to sit on his head (in fact the dog had been forced to wait outside for his partner). And Shino… well… The Aburame had taken to wearing a hooded coat, and darker sunglasses. And that was it.

And though they had been standing there awhile, they weren't worried in the slightest. It wasn't hard to guess where the village leader was, as it was the same spot she spent every moment not in her office:

Naruto's Room.

Ever since he'd entered the coma, the woman had nearly taken to living there along with Hinata, and occasionally the woman from the local Ramen stand (though their friends and family did their best to make sure that didn't happen). She still ran the village with great efficiency; but now it wasn't totally uncommon for meetings to start late because someone needed to go and fetch the Hokage.

Maybe it was a little sad and obsessive to be watching over a boy who, as some had said, was unlikely to ever wake up. Those people often found themselves picking their teeth up off the floor. No matter how unlikely, Tsunade said, she would never leave his side again. He was like family dammit, if not better! After she said that, no one had the heart, or the courage, to try and dissuade her further.

The creaking of the old door heralded the arrival of said Hokage and her assistant, and all three former genin saluted smartly. Surprisingly Tsunade had a small smile on her face, in her hands a broken seal that seemed to bare the crest of the Fire Daimyo.

"Madame Hokage, you're smiling!" Hinata said, before slapping a hand over her mouth. But it was true; and to see the Hokage smile was a rare sight nowadays.

"Yes," Tsunade said, sitting down behind her desk and laying the mission scroll down alongside the other. "This is a message from the Fire Daimyo himself. Apparently he's decided that 'recent events' have warranted an increase in Konoha's military budget. He hopes that it will make future incidents far more unlikely, and perhaps save many lives if used properly."

It was obvious what 'recent events' meant, but it was the second part of the statement that got everyone interested.

"When he says he'll increase our budget, how much exactly does he…" Kiba trailed off expectantly, his curiosity peaked.

Tsunade smirked "He's doubled it."

There was stunned silence for a moment. Then another moment. "That is a quite a lot of money." Shino said, his monotone voice ringing out in the quiet office.

Tsunade gave a light laugh "You're damn right it is. And I plan to use it for exactly one purpose"

"Not clearing your gambling debts I hope" Shizune teased, earning an annoyed look from her teacher.

"No" Tsunade said, her eyebrow twitching "I plant to use it to make some long needed adjustments around here. Ones that will most certainly benefit the village as a whole." she said, purposefully keeping her plans a secret (though one might hazard a guess that it was because she had none… but those who thought that knew better then to speak it).

"Right" Tsunade said, slamming her hand down on the desk, making everyone jump "I didn't call you all here to talk about the budget! I called you here for a high priority mission." this got the assembled ninja to straighten up.

Tsunade opened the second scroll she'd brought in "Apparently Sea country has experienced a series of vicious pirate attacks for nearly two weeks. I want you to go there and put a stop to it by any means necessary." she said, looking each of the eye with a hard stare. The three nodded back, they knew that meant that if necessary, they were to kill to accomplish the mission "Good, glad you all understand. I have already informed one Anko Mitarashi, and she will be meeting you at the East Gate. By all accounts these pirates are unusually tenacious for non-ninjas, and she's familiar with Sea Country. You have one hour to prepare." she finished.

The three nodded, and Tsunade dismissed them with a nod of her head. The three shushined away back to their homes to gather their supplies for what could prove to be a difficult mission.

Tsunade sighed as she leaned back in her chair, feeling every one of her years, no matter what her genjutsu made her look like. As weird as it was, she wished Jiraiya was here, just so she could have someone to talk too. Sure there was Shizune, but Tsunade just felt like being nostalgic, and Jiraiya was one of the few people she could do that with.

She swiveled her chair to face the large window overlooking her village. Yet even as she stared out at it, her mind was already back in the hospital room; thinking of any solution she might have missed that could bring Naruto back from the abyss.

-A Hero, Broken-

A Village Twenty Miles South of Hidden Grass:

The man sighed as he walked through the village. It wasn't so bad here. Sure the sun was too bright, the humidity was a killer and there were far to many people for-

"Hey watch it!" a large man snapped as he shoved past Naruto.

The man cracked his neck… far to many rude people for his taste. "1" He thought, before continuing on his way.

Anyway, outside of a few folks, this place was kind of nice. Maybe he'd stop and have something to-

Splash

The man was suddenly hit by a stray water ballon. Turning his head, he saw some kids had been playing, and he'd been unintentionally caught in the cross fire. The man took a deep breath, his knuckles popping as he clenched his fist. He could feel the water evaporating off his body as he started heating up "2"

No biggy, just kids being kids… stay calm… The man walked into a nearby restaurant. He was quickly seated, where he ordered his favorite dish: Ramen. As he sat back and waited, he tried to remain calm, to keep his cool. But he was already wound up, and he knew it wouldn't take much more for him to lose his grip.

But there! He could smell its scent on the breeze, his beautiful Ramen was coming to save him. He could see his waiter walking towards him, and he knew everything was going to be alright.

Then his waiter tripped. The bowl went flying through the air, landing in the surprised man's lap. The hot broth burned him, even as the noodle splashed in his face…

The man heard the waiter trying to apologize, but in his head… "3. Third strike." The man ground his teeth, the table smoldering beneath his hands.

The man's eyes turned crimson red. And Anger finally voiced his displeasure.

-A Hero, Broken-

Bird Country:

"What exactly are we looking at here?" Shikamaru asked as he looked over the dead body. The years had been good to him, and despite being a little taller, Shikamaru didn't look significantly different. The body before him though was grotesquely emaciated, as were the two bodies next to it. These were all symptoms of being terribly starved, which was odd in a land of plenty like Bird Country…

"Just the latest in a series of bizarre murders" Toki answered. Normally the ruler of a land would not be in such place, but with the odd goings on, she would make an exception.

"Murder? These three just look like they starved to death." Ino said, slightly farther away from the bodies then Shika and Choji. Something about not wanting the smell of death on her new cloths. Ino had certainly matured over the years. While she kept the purple in her outfit, she'd traded in training bandages for fishnets.

"They did starve to death." Toki said, narrowing her eyes slightly "But they managed to do it in a house with a full pantry not twenty feet away."

That got the three ninjas attention. "That's part of why I called you here!" She snapped "These bodies were discovered just an hour before this man-" she gestured to the body beside her "was found. The autopsy shows he ate dango until his stomach burst."

"So what's going on?" Choji asked "These can't be suicides, can they?"

Toki sighed as she sat down "That's what we thought at first, but… " she buried her head in her hands "It's like the whole towns gone insane! Earlier today my chief financial officer apparently fell asleep on a park bench, and no one has been able to wake him up since! One of my guards was beaten to death with a brick, and the only excuse the culprit could come up with was 'he bought the hat I wanted.' " Toki said in a rush, the bizarre events of her village having taxed her leadership abilities more then one might have thought.

Ino blinked "That… is certainly odd." she said, getting a glare from Toki.

Shikamaru rubbed his chin "Troublesome is more like it." he muttered, his mind whirring through anything that could have caused these things "It sounds like it might be some sort of genjutsu compelling people to do these things."

"So you do believe that this isn't natural! That someone is maliciously attacking my people!" Toki said, standing, her eyes wide.

Shikamaru nodded "I do believe that someone, or possibly a group of someones may be involved. Understand that further investigation will be needed." he turned to his teammates "Come on, as troublesome as it is, we'll need to canvas the city and interview the people around town. Maybe someone's seen something." Orders given, he quickly left, Ino right behind him.

Choji stopped, turning to give what he hoped was a comforting smile to the distressed ruler "Don't worry, we won't rest until your village has peace." Choji said. Choji had changed the most out of the three. He'd gotten much taller, and bulkier. However, it was almost all muscle. He'd taken to wearing battle armor similar to his father's, and had let his red hair grow out.

As Toki watched him go, she was indeed comforted by his words. Yet somehow, she knew things were going to get worse before they got better…

-A Hero, Broken-

Wind Country: Desert outside Hidden Sand:

Sasori watched as Deidara flew off towards the Sand village, where hopefully he'd be able to apprehend the Sand Demon Shukaku's vessel. He'd better be quick about it too, Sasori hated waiting.

The puppeteer wasn't sure why they were even bothering. After the fiasco with the nine-tails, hadn't the statue been destroyed? Hadn't all their hard work these many years been undone? By all accounts, it could take years for the demons to come back to the mortal world. Why bother hunting down the vessels now? Maybe he was going soft, but it felt like they were making the lives of the jinchuriki more difficult for no reason.

But both Pein and Konan were adamant that this is what they needed to do. That they would store the spirit of the remaining tailed beasts until they could create a new container to hold all of the demons. From there, they would watch the world and wait for the demons inevitable return.

All of which boiled down to him sitting here, in the sand, at night, alone. Great.

"Hi there!"

Sasori nearly jumped as the cheerful voice actually started him. Whipping around, he got a good look at who was actually good enough to sneak up on him. What he saw made his eyes widen. His real eyes, not the ones he had on the massive puppet he wore.

It was a dead ringer for the Nine-Tailed jinchuriki! Sorta. While he did have the same basic body shape, the hair looked like it was crayon yellow. The whisker marks which had marked the boy, Naruto, as the Kyubi's vessel, were stretched and curved. Sasori had a hard time of deciding if they looked more like half smiles, or cat whiskers.

Finally, the eyes. Instead of the pure blue the boy had possessed, these were an electric, neon, bright, lime green (and yes, that many additives were necessary). They were physically glowing in the dark for Kami's sake! And the pupil was not black; rather it was pink. Odd.

All of that, plus the small fact that he had watched the Kyubi vessel get killed, made him realize that this could not be the Naruto Uzumaki back from the dead looking for revenge. Although maybe that was the case, stranger things had happened…

Either way, he found he had no reason not to kill him, post haste.

End Chapter

Well, what did you think? A lot is going on, and a lot will happen in the future; and this is only the first glance of the various Narutos settling in on the world.

If you enjoyed what you read, please review. If you didn't, well I'm sorry to here that. Please, no flames. That said, I hope to see you all back for chapter two, when we get first contact with the Narutos and the rest of the world!

Until Next Time...