Chapter 4

In a secluded part of the forest, near the mountain tipped with snow, there is a cave deep underground. The rocky walls glistened with tiny lights than ran on chakra, leaving barely enough room for a weapons arsenal attached to the wall.

In the middle of the dim room, was a blonde haired boy. His skin was black and blue, and he was bleeding from long scars on his back, put there by a chakra infused whip. Blood covered his rusted orange clothes, and dirt and grime covered him from head to toe.

Two chains, also slightly rusted, were attaching the boy's hand to the ceiling, tightly pinching his wrists and leaving no room to escape.

The boy in question, was miserable. His chakra was drained, his stamina was gone, and he was pretty sure his leg was broken. There was no way for him to escape this prison, let alone even attempt to fight back. For years, he was stuck here, not living, but not quite dead. Trapped in his thoughts, forced to watch as every once in a while, a masked man stuck a needle into him and stole his blood. What for, he could never guess.

Somewhere behind him, the blonde could hear a door creaking open. A masked man dressed all in black approached him once again.

"Hello, Naruto, miss me?" His voice was deep and distorted, obviously not his real one. When Naruto didn't reply, he kicked him in the stomach, earning a grunt from said boy. The man crouched down, leaning forward to whisper in his ear, "Well, I missed you."

With that, Naruto felt a needle roughly pierce his skin. Gritting his teeth, Naruto raised his head just enough to glare at the man, before losing consciousness once again. The last thing he heard before he totally blacked out was the sound of his own voice laughing.

~~~

"So? What happened?" Sasuke blinked, knocked out of his thoughts. He was walking home after a long day at work, thinking about last night's events. "Oh, hey Hinata."

"So, what happened last night? You seem out of it."

Sasuke looked at her. There's no reason to get her involved. I might as well figure this out myself. "Nothing. He went to the forest to finish up his paperwork. I ended up falling asleep." Hinata nodded. "Yea, that's what I thought. Sorry you couldn't figure out what was bothering you."

"It's fine. Maybe I was just overthinking things."

"Don't worry about it Sasuke. Maybe you're just stressed about the divorce." Sasuke grimaced, then sighed. "I bet your right. I'm going to get some sleep."

"Good night!"

Hinata left, leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts again. He sighed again, arriving at the apartment he was staying in. Until they got the divorce settled, this would be his home, since Sakura would stay at the Uchiha household with Sarada.

Sasuke walked into his temporary home, locking the door behind him. With a sigh, he flopped down onto his bed. What was Naruto doing in the middle of the woods? Not to mention how he used a clone to finish all his work while he wandered off somewhere. Next time, I should follow him. But what if it were a big misunderstanding? If I turned out to be wrong, I'd never forgive myself.

Sasuke sighed, turning over in his bed. It doesn't matter. Next time, I'll follow him again, and this time I'll get to the bottom of it. Satisfied, Sasuke wrapped himself in his blanket, letting sleep take over him.