Hey there, DarkSoul16 here, this will be the first chapter in my new story. This is going to be a Semi-Dark, and powerful Naruto fic. Naruto won't be dark during the whole story, but he will have his moments, consider it more of a doing what needs to be done attitude, I feel they can be fairly similar in some cases. That's pretty much all I can think of as a first chapter Authors note.

I do not own Naruto, or any other Anime I may take ideas or characters from during the writing of this fic.

Cold… wet… empty… I'm sorry that I failed you… Sasuke… Sakura-chan. Naruto thought as he lay, half dead, in the valley of the end. Sasuke was long gone, off to Oruchimaru in his quest to gain power to kill his brother. Hopefully the others are alright, Naruto thought with a low chuckle, as he felt the Kyuubi's chakra slowly enter his system to heal his broken body. In the end… I wasn't strong enough, he thought, before he faded in unconsciousness.

-Konoha Hospital, 2 days later

Naruto woke slowly, taking in his surroundings. White ceiling, large curtain, shitty smelling food… must be in a hospital, he thought as he opened his eyes and attempted to sit up, only to be stopped with a loud clinging sound, looking down, Naruto's eyes widened. Hand cuffs, what the fuck is going on here, he thought, before he heard the door open, and Jiraiya walked in.

"Ero-sennin… what the hell is going on here?" Naruto questioned.

"I wish I knew kid, I saw Kakashi enter the village carrying you, before a group of ANBU arrived and took you from him. When I came to check on you the room was guarded and I was told that you were being restrained. I went to ask Tsunade what was going on, but she said it was out of her control, apparently, word of you using the Kyuubi's chakra to fight Sasuke spread quickly, and the council voted to keep you restrained till they could question you." Jiraiya explained sadly.

"B-but I had to!" Naruto protested.

"I believe you, but unfortunately, no one was there to witness the fight, so there is no one to confirm your story, and you know how the council is." Jiraiya said, making Naruto hand his head. "Trust me brat, I'm not the only one upset about this, Tsunade, Kakashi, and a lot of your friends are upset as well, especially that Gaara kid from Suna who helped Lee fight that kid from the Kaguya clan."

"Really? What about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, but the look Jiraiya gave him said all he needed to know. "I see, I expected as much…"

"Try not to beat yourself up over this brat, while no one might have seen the fight, Kakashi and I went to the Valley of the End to possibly find clues as to what happened, I can tell it was a hard fight." Jiraiya said, trying to reassure the young blonde. "That's why after all this blows over, I'm going to ask Tsunade to take you on a three year training trip to train you."

"You would do that Ero-Sennin?" Naruto asked

"You bet brat, now get some more rest, I'm going to go let Tsunade know you have woken up." Jiraiya said as he stood up and made his way to the door. "And for what its' worth, I'm sorry about your friend brat." With that said, Jiraiya left, leaving the blonde alone again in his room.

-Hokage's office

"Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama is here to see you." Shizune, the Hokage's personal assistant, said as she poked her head through the large double doors.

"Send him in Shizune." The Hokage replied.

"Tsunade-hime, the brats awake now. Please tell me we can take those stupid hand cuffs off him now." Jiraiya said as he sat on one of the couches in the office.

"I wish we could Jiraiya, but the council voted to keep them on until we could get the full story from him." Tsunade replied with a sigh.

"To hell with what the Council says Tsunade, the brat almost died fighting that stupid Uchiha brat and he is the one who is being punished for it!" Jiraiya shouted.

"You think I don't know that!" Tsunade shouted back, tears welling up in her eyes, "You should know how much that brat actually means to me! I don't know what I would have done if I let someone else close to me die."

"I know, and I'm sorry my princess, but you're the Hokage, isn't there anything you can do for him?" Jiraiya asked, he knew full well that Tsunade cared for Naruto like a mother would, although she would never admit it to anyone.

"The only thing I would be able to do for him is call a council meeting when he is feeling up to it, then everything will go back to normal." Tsunade said, and then called Shizune in. "Shizune, let the council members know that Naruto Uzumaki has woken up, and that we will hold a council meeting as soon as he is feeling better."

"Of course, Tsunade-Sama." Shizune replied before quickly leaving the room again.

"I hope they will be able to look past their hatred and be able to make a rash decision." Jiraiya said as Tsunade brought out a bottle of Sake and poured them both a glass.

"Me to, Jiraiya, but for some reason, I can't help but feel something terrible is going to happen." Tsunade replied.

-Konoha hospital, later that afternoon

If things had been a little different… would our roles have been reversed...Sasuke, Naruto thought as he stared out his hospital window. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the door open, and in walked his friends, minus Sakura.

"H-hey guys, how are you all doing?" Naruto asked.

"We should be asking you that Naruto-kun." Replied Ino, "You came back the worst out of everyone."

"I guess, but due to… certain circumstances, I recover a lot faster than normal people would." Naruto replied, still looking out the window.

"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" Asked Ino

"Well…" Naruto started, but was interrupted.

"You should tell them brat, they are your friends and they deserve to know." Came a voice from behind everyone, as Jiraiya walked in, followed by the rest of the Jounin sensei, and surprisingly Anko.

"But Ero-sennin… I thought it was supposed to be an S classed secret." Naruto replied, making a few people wonder what could be so important about Naruto to be labelled as such.

"True, but the fact remains that they are your friends, and they would eventually find out anyways, and I can guarantee that it would be better for them to find out from you, rather than someone who would isn't very fond of you." Kakashi cut in, making the other adults in the room nod, along with Gaara.

"Fine…" Naruto said, and then looked at Gaara, who gave his a slight nod and a small, but slightly reassuring smile. "You all know about what happened with the Kyuubi right?" Naruto asked.

"Of course we do, the Yondaime killed it when it attacked Konoha." Kiba replied.

"That is what they teach you at the academy, but it is not the truth." Naruto replied, earning startled looks from the kids in the room, minus the Suna trio.

"W-what do you m-mean N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Genuinely interested in what this would have to do with Naruto.

"The Kyuubi is too powerful to be defeated by a human, so no matter how strong my former student was, there was no way he would have been able to kill it." Jiraiya explained.

"Right, so he did the only thing he could have done, he sealed it away inside of a newborn baby." Naruto continued, and noticed as both Shikimaru and Shino perked up. Seems like they might have figured it out, Naruto thought.

"Why a newborn baby? Why Couldn't he seal it into something else?" Kiba asked.

"The amount of Chakra the Kyuubi would have given someone who had fully developed Chakra coils would have been enough to kill them, he needed someone whose chakra coils were still in development." Kakashi explained, making Naruto nod, before continuing on.

"Again, right, Gaara, Temari, and Kankouro already know, and it seems that Shino and Shikimaru already figured it out," Naruto started, making a few around the room look to who Naruto listed, "but for the rest of you, that baby… was me. I have the Kyuubi, the strongest of all Biju, sealed inside of me." Naruto explained, making the room go deathly silent. The room was silent for a few moments, before Neji finally spoke up.

"During our match, you said that you know what it was like to be branded, I ignored you, thinking it was just some ploy to get my mind off of the fight… but you truly do… I'm sorry Naruto." He said, shocking many in the room.

"T-that's why the villagers were always mean to you as a kid." Shikimaru said, earning a nod from Naruto.

"B-but Naruto-kun, you said that Gaara, Temari, and Kankouro already knew, w-why would you tell them b-before us?" Hinata asked, a little hurt at the thought of Naruto trusting people he had just met over them. Surprisingly, it was Gaara that answered for him.

"Because just like Naruto, I also have a Biju sealed inside of me. However, unlike Naruto, I never had any friends growing up, everyone was afraid of me, which is why I turned out how I did. But thanks to Naruto, I am different now."

"The fact that I have the Kyuubi sealed inside of me is the reason I'm in the situation I am right now. During my fight with Sasuke, I had to use the foxes Chakra when he activated his cursed seal level two. But in the end, it still wasn't enough, and I was left half dead in the valley before Kakashi-sensei found me." Naruto said.

"H-half dead?" Ino asked, a little shocked, "You looked perfectly fine when you got back to the village!"

"Err, Kakashi-sensei, could you undo the top portion of my hospital gown for me?" Naruto asked, Kakashi was a little taken aback by the question, and after a moment of hesitation, undid the top half of Naruto's gown, and pulled the left side back. Everyone present gasped at the sight of the scar Naruto had, mere inches from his heart.

"W-what did that to y-you?" Hinata stammered.

"The Chidori, it is an A ranked assassination Jutsu." Kakashi answered lowly. "It's the technique Sasuke used on Gaara during the Chunnin Exams…and it's my only original Jutsu… I… I taught it to Sasuke, in hopes that he would use it to protect his comrades, but instead he almost killed one with it."

"That bastard!" Kiba shouted, "No one hurts one of my friends and gets away with it! I'll kill him if I ever see him again!" The rest of Naruto's friends all nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys… but… what about the Kyuubi, y-you guys aren't afraid of me right?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata started, making all in the room look at her, wondering what the shy Hyuuga girl was going to say. "D-Do you really think that we would think any different of you, just because of something like that. Y-you should be seen as a hero for what you hold back. You're a great person Naruto, putting everyone else before yourself; if you were the Kyuubi you would never do that."

Naruto was stunned, no one had ever said something like that to him before, he couldn't put into words how happy he felt at that very moment, so he just gave her the best smile he could muster up, effectively making her blush.

"Hinata is right Naruto, this doesn't change anything about you, we are still your friends, and will be there for you whenever you need us." Tenten explained, earning nods from everyone else present.

"T-thanks everyone, you have no idea how much this means to me." Naruto said, but before anyone could say anything else, the door was opened, and an ANBU walked in.

"Naruto Uzumaki, we are here to escort you to the council chambers, as well as Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi." The ANBU said.

"But the meeting wasn't supposed to be until Naruto was fully recovered." Kakashi protested.

"I'm sorry Kakashi, but the Council wants this matter settled immediately, please follow me." The ANBU said, before taking the cuffs off Naruto, and escorted him out of the room, followed shortly by Kakashi and Jiraiya.

-Council Chambers

"Naruto Uzumaki, do you know why you have been summoned here?" asked one of the elders.

"Yes," Naruto replied, "I'm here to recount the story of my fight with Sasuke in the Valley of the End."

"Alright, then please, proceed Naruto." Tsunade said

And so Naruto recounted his story of fighting Sasuke in the Valley of the End, everything he could remember, down to the slightest detail.

"So you are saying that you did use the Kyuubi's chakra during your fight with Sasuke, am I correct?" Homura, one of Tsunade's advisors asked.

"Yes, during my one month of training with Jiraiya of the Sannin during the Chunnin exams, he had trained me in using its chakra, as you saw during my fight with Neji. He explained that the Yondaime's seal is designed to allow me to use the Chakra of the Kyuubi, but at the moment I can only control one trail of its power. When Sasuke activated his level two cursed seal I had no choice but to use as much of the Kyuubi's chakra, but as you can see it still wasn't enough. I almost died trying to bring him back, I'm lucky the Kyuubi heals me, or I would have died for sure." Naruto explained.

"Well, now that that is finished, Naruto should is free to go." Tsunade said.

"Hold on a minute, Tsunade-sama, even though Jiraiya said the seal is meant for Naruto to be able to use the Kyuubi's chakra, we cannot simply overlook the fact that he used it on the last surviving Uchiha." Homura said, earning a few grins from the civilian side of the council, as well as a couple on the Shinobi side.

"He forced me to! He left the village and I was ordered to bring him back whatever means necessary!" Naruto shouted.

"Hold your tongue brat! You will not speak unless given permission!" one of the civilian council members yelled, earning glares from a few of the clan heads, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

"Regardless of what your orders were, you almost killed the last surviving Uchiha, but even using the Kyuubi's chakra you failed, and now Sasuke is gone." Homura stated.

"Now wait just a minute Homura!" Tsunade shouted, "The retrieval team fought very hard to bring that spoiled brat back, a few almost lost their lives! Besides, what would have stopped Sasuke from leaving again given the chance?"

"While that may be true, there is no proof that Sasuke would have left again, or was under the influence of the curse mark when he left. Who knows, maybe he will come back on his own in the near future." A man covered in bandages said.

"That isn't a great argument Danzo-san, if the curse mark was meant to control people why would Anko not be affected as well?" Jiraiya replied. "Being the only seal master left in Konoha, and having personally taken a look at both Sasuke's and Anko's seals in the past, while it is true that a lot of the seals influence is based on its users hate and anger at the start, there was nothing that lead me to believe that the seal could control someone."

"While I do not disagree that you are the only seal master left in Konoha, people tend to make mistakes. It is possible that you overlooked something, or maybe Oruchimaru had it hidden." Danzo replied.

"You seem to have a fair bit of knowledge about this seal, Danzo-san." Tsunade said, eyes narrowing.

"What are you implying Tsunade?" Danzo asked, his lone visible eye narrows as well.

"Nothing, Danzo-san, and that's Tsunade-sama to you, do not forget that I am the Hokage, and leader of this village." Tsunade replied, earning a grunt in response from Danzo.

"Back to the main topic at hand, I believe that it is only fair that we punish the Uzumaki boy for his use of the Kyuubi's chakra, in his attempt to bring Sasuke back." Homura cut in, making Naruto sweat slightly.

"What, oh prestigious advisor, did you have in mind?" Jiraiya asked sarcastically.

"After careful consideration with a few members of the council… we have come to the agreement that it would be best to banish the boy." Homura said, gaining a sick grin, like the rest of the civilian side of the council.

"You can't be serious!" Tsunade shouted, as she slammed her fist on the table.

"We are very serious, Tsunade-sama. The boys continued use of the Kyuubi's chakra is starting to make not only the civilians, but some of our shinobi restless. I think it would be best for everyone if the boy left." Danzo said.

"If Naruto is banished… then I'm cutting all ties with Konoha." Jiraiya said, shocking everyone in the room.

"You cannot do that Jiraiya-Sama, we need you here!" Homura yelled.

"I don't care what you think! Naruto is my student, and the only reason I came back to Konoha to begin with… besides… I owe it to his parents." Jiraiya stated, earning a shocked look from Naruto.

"Y-you knew my parents… this whole time… and you never told me!" Naruto shouted.

"I'm sorry Naruto; it was decided a long time ago by your father that I could tell you only when you came of age. I promise you Naruto, I will tell you when we finish this." Jiraiya said, Naruto hesitated for a moment, and then nodded in understanding.

"Alright, Ero-Sennin, I trust you." He said.

"I will not have Naruto banished, just because a few civilians and Shinobi are becoming restless, it is their own damn fault for not trusting the Yondaime's sealing. Besides, they have always been cautious of the boy, why is there a difference now?" Tsunade asked.

"The boy was never able to access the Kyuubi's chakra before, the time in wave was just written off as an accident. But now, the boy has been trained in how to use it. Even with Lord Jiraiya's training, the boy himself stated earlier that he can still only handle so much before losing control. What if he becomes like that Suna Jinchuriki, Gaara?" Danzo asked, earning a few nods around the room.

"Gaara's predicament was different, from the time that boy was born he was trained to be a weapon, not having any friends, and always having to watch his back for any assassins his father had sent after him." Kakashi explained, he had heard the story of Gaara's past from Naruto after the Chunnin Exams.

"While that may be, the villagers have already had to deal with two Biju attacks on the village, and have grown restless. We cannot risk Naruto losing control like that." Homura stated.

"I say we put it to a vote, then go from there." Danzo suggested.

"No! I will not allow this to happen to one of my Shinobi!" Tsunade shouted again, but fell on deaf ears.

"This matter includes the entire villages safety, Hokage-sama, and while you may be the leader, times like this require a vote on such matters." Danzo replied.

"I'm sorry… Naruto." Tsunade said under her breath. "All in favor of banishing Naruto Uzumaki please raise your hand." Instantly the entire civilian council raised their hand, having waited a long time for this chance, followed shortly by Danzo, and Homura. The only ones to not raise their hand, were the Shinobi side, as well as Tsunade, and her other advisor Koharu.

"It would seem that we have equal numbers." Tsunade said with a grin.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, but I cannot allow this boy to remain in the village." Came a voice from the Shinobi side. Shocked, Tsunade turns her head, and her eyes land on the pale, cold eyes of one Hiashi Hyuuga.

"Hiashi-sama has voted to have Naruto banished, we win…Tsunade." Homura states, bringing Naruto, and the rest of the Shinobi council out of their shock.

"How could you Hiashi!" Tsume, the head of the Inzuka Clan, shouts angrily.

"I'm sorry, while I personally hold nothing against the boy, having him stay here is causing civil unrest, which could eventually lead to a revolt, and a civil war within Konoha." Hiashi stated calmly.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi all hung their heads in sadness, knowing they were completely powerless in this situation.

"Naruto Uzumaki is hereby banished from Konoha, and will be escorted out of Fire Country early tomorrow morning." Danzo said, triumphant smirk on his face.

"A-after everything I've done for this village… this is how you repay me!" Naruto shouted. "If it wasn't for me, this village would be in ruins because of the Ichibi! You're all fucking cowards who run from their problems, or find the easiest way out of them, instead of fighting for what is actually right!"

"Naruto… please don't make things any worse for yourself." Tsunade said sadly. "I can't stop this, but I am the one who gets to choose his escort, I do not want any unwanted "accidents" or "abductions" to happen on his way out." Tsunade said, eyes shifting to Danzo quickly.

"Y-you're just going to let this happen Ba-chan?" Naruto said

"I'm sorry Naruto… there is nothing more I can do for you. I wish there was, but right now I can't." Tsunade said sadly.

"Jiraiya, please take Naruto to his home to collect anything he might have that is valuable, and bring him to my office later." Tsunade said. "This meeting is hereby adjourned." The Civilian council grinned in triumph as they watched Naruto be escorted out, making Jiraiya glare at them, as well as Kakashi.

Outside the Council Chambers

"I'm sorry Naruto… I failed to protect you again… and failed as a sensei." Kakashi said sadly, as he Shunshined away, leaving Naruto and Jiraiya alone.

"E-Ero-Sennin, w-what is going to happen now?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know brat, but I meant what I said in the Council room, I am done with this village. I'm coming with you; I'm still your teacher after all." Jiraiya replied.

"Naruto-kun!" Someone up ahead shouted, looking up Naruto saw all of his friends waiting for him up ahead, which only made him hang his head in sadness.

"N-Naruto? What's wrong?" Hinata asked.

"I-I've been banished… from Konoha… I'm leaving tomorrow morning." Naruto replied, making his friends stop dead in their tracks, eyes wide in shock.

"Y-you're joking right?" Kiba asked.

"He isn't Kiba." Came a voice from behind Naruto and Jiraiya. As everyone looked behind them to see the rest of the clan heads, aside from Hiashi.

"M-mom, how could you let this happen?" Kiba asked angrily.

"It wasn't her Kiba… she was the one who stood up for me. The one who cast the final vote to have me banished was Hiashi…" Naruto said, as he glanced at Hinata to see her reaction, which was pretty much instantly.

"F-father… N-no." Hinata stammered as she felt her legs weaken, and tears started to fall from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but what Naruto said is true. At first we were at an even vote, which would have gone in Naruto's favor, but at the last second your father changed his mind, and voted for Naruto to be banished." Said a man with long blond hair.

"I'm sorry everyone… Hinata-chan. If only I had been stronger, this would never have happened." Naruto said sadly, only to be shocked when he felt a small body slam into his, opening his eyes Naruto saw a patch of indigo hair buried into his chest, and felt his shirt slowly start to become moist.

"D-don't ever s-say that, Naruto-kun." Hinata stammered.

"Hinata-sama is right, Naruto-san, after everything you have been through, you are easily the strongest out of all of us." Neji said as he watched his little cousin cling to Naruto with all she had, as the others around him nodded in agreement, sad looks on their faces.

"Thank you everyone." Naruto said, "You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that."

"When do you leave Naruto-kun?" Ino asked.

"I'm not sure, after I get things from my apartment; I'm supposed to meet Tsunade Ba-chan in her office. But I know that I'm being escorted out of the country tomorrow morning." Naruto replied.

"Well… how about we all get together later, for one last night together kay?" Ino asked, making Naruto smile slightly.

"Thank you Ino… I'd appreciate that." Naruto said, as he waved his friends goodbye, and continued on his was to his apartment.

"I-I can't believe they would do that to Naruto-kun." Ino said disbelievingly as they watched his retreating form.

"He should be seen as a hero." Shikimaru stated sadly, he had always considered Naruto to be one of his closest friends besides Choji.

Unaware to them all however, Hinata had slipped away, angry with her father, and was going down a similar thought train as Naruto. I can't be away from Naruto… I need to be with him… and he needs to know how I feel. She thought, unaware that she had already made her mind up on the matter.

Hokage's Office, sometime later

"I can't believe they would do this to Naruto-kun." Shizune said as she sat on the couch in Tsunade's office.

"Stupid bastards don't realize what they have done. If someone else was to get their hands on Naruto-kun… It would be very bad for Konoha." Tsunade replied, before she heard a knock on her door.

"Enter!" Tsunade said, and in walked Naruto, and Jiraiya shortly after. Shizune rushed to Naruto and embraced him in a tight hug, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Naruto… I wish I could do something for you." Shizune said as she felt Naruto return her embrace.

"It's alright Shizune-chan." Naruto said.

"Do you have everything you need, Naruto-kun?" Tsunade asked?

"Hai, Ba-chan." Naruto replied

"Tsunade," Jiraiya started, "I meant what I said in the council room, I've decided to leave with Naruto, and there is nothing you can say or do to stop me."

"But Jiraiya!" Tsunade started, but was cut off by Jiraiya.

"No, my Hime I'm sorry, but I owe it to Naruto's father, to at least watch over, and train him. You should understand what I mean. I can't just let Naruto leave without being properly trained. I was going to take him away on a training trip away from the village soon anyways, this just makes things easier." Jiraiya said, making Tsunade nod her head slowly, she could understand Jiraiya's reasoning, but that doesn't mean she had to like it.

"Fine… I believe there would be nothing I could do to keep you here anyways… just… promise to take care of him." Tsunade said as she looked at Naruto sadly.

"Don't worry, my Hime, I will make sure he grows into a fine young man." Jiraiya said.

"Alright, again Naruto, I'm sorry that this happened, and I have already picked your escort, please send her in Shizune." Tsunade said. As Naruto turned his head, his face paled, and his eyes grew wide.

"C-Crazy Snake Lady!"

And that's it, next chapter I hope to have a few surprises, if not at least one, and if none of you are surprised… then I guess I'm lucky I still have beer… heh… heh… yea. Anyways, this is my third story I've posted, its' amazing how well my mind seems to work when I've got music, food, and good drink, as well as two other people who have helped me in the past few days gain ideas for this story. Snake1980, and as always Leaf Ranger, helped me refine and create the idea for this fic, and characters I plan to put in it. Seemingly as this is a very busy time of the year for me for work, updates will come and go, I'm not going to set a schedule, because I know I will not be able to keep to it. As for my other story, The Fourths Legacy, I have someone going over it to give me their input on if I should actually re-write it, or just salvage what I have and continue with what I have. On a side note, if anyone would be willing, or know someone who could, create a cover image for my story, I would appreciate it greatly.