Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.
Description: The seal has been destroyed and Naruto fights for control of his body. When he awakens three years have passed and he makes a decision which forever changes the fate the world.
Author's Note: I've been working on this story for a while and decided it was time to finally publish it to get some reviews! My first Naruto Fan Fiction, Jiraiya's Choice, has been going very well and I had this idea for a story one night and got to writing it. For those who read Jiraiya's Choice I will be focusing on that more than this story until it is complete so the updates for this story will not be as fast as the ones for Jiraiya's Choice.
Also a few notes about this story: Sasuke is still with Konoha and several people who are dead in the canon are currently are alive because of the many changes in the storyline. Please review with constructive criticism and not flames, this isn't supposed to be held close to the canon, it's me branching away from it to create something entirely new. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1: Naruto's Inner Battle and Decision
Three Years Ago
Naruto had been 13 years old when he had faced Gaara of the Sand and won a resounding victory for his home against the sand jinchūriki containing Shukaku. Sadly though things did not turn out well for the young shinobi after the battle ended, while he was victorious and Gaara was freed from his mental prison of anguish and solitude Naruto was not so lucky.
It took several months for anyone to notice due to the subtlety of the injury and it was shortly after Tsunade had taken the mantel of the fifth hokage that it happened. Up until then Naruto had seemed fine, he was happy, ramen eating, energy filled Naruto, but as they learned, the injury was not a physical one. Shukaku had left one final strike, but not on Naruto's body, it was on the seal which contained his brother, the nine tailed fox, Kyūbi no Yōko.
The fox, realizing his opportunity had waited, widening the breach slowly from the inside, weakening it while allowing the outer seal to seem intact. No one, not even Jiraiya the Toad Sannin, noticed the seals strength was fading, the Kyubi was patient and willing to wait. And then when he was prepared, he had attacked.
It had happened suddenly, the cage burst forth within Naruto and the seal was destroyed, a huge amount of chakra suddenly erupted from the boy and the fears of the entire village were realized in that moment. But after all those years of fear, anger, hate, the villagers watched as the body of the boy called Naruto Uzumaki simply fell to the ground, his eyes closed and body limp.
Sakura, his friend, screamed as Naruto fell and caught him, laying him on the ground.
"Quickly! Call Lady Tsunade! Call a Medic! Hurry Damn it! Someone get help!" She told those around her and she began to check her friend's vitals.
There's nothing wrong damn it! I don't understand! I can't find anything! Why did he fall unconscious? She thought to herself.
Sakura remained by her friend's side until Lady Tsunade arrived minutes later in the company of Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha demanding to know what happened.
"We were walked along and he was laughing at some stupid joke he'd made and we were just talking and he suddenly fell. I felt this huge burst of Chakra from him and his eyes closed and he simply just fell down!"
Tsunade ordered Naruto to be taken to the hospital immediately and called her old comrade Jiraiya to come see to the boy.
It was very late when Tsunade and Jiraiya stood looking down at the boy in the hospital gown. However the most startling characteristic wasn't his blonde hair or blue eyes anymore, it was that the seal which had existed on his stomach for 13 years was now gone as if it never existed.
Jiraiya looked on studying where the seal had once been. He placed his hand over Naruto's stomach as he probed trying to find its remnants. After some time he managed to locate the seal, it was in pieces and he was finally able to force those remnants to the surface on the boys stomach but it was disorder and chaos, the seal was beyond repair.
"The seal's broken, damn it! I can still feel it there but it has been broken. How did I not notice before now that it was so damaged?" Jiraiya said he put yet another hole in the wall.
The white wall of the hospital room nearest Jiraiya had many holes in the shape of his fist giving mute testament to the toad Sannin's anger and frustration. He had failed to protect Naruto as he had promised Minato he would those years ago and the emotion was like a torrent inside him. He would rather have faced Orochimaru a thousand times over than this.
Tsunade attempted once again to calm her old comrade. She placed a hand on his shoulder seeing the tears running down his face. She knew how he felt, helplessly looking at the boy who had a gift to worm his way into your heart. There was just something about him that made you want to bet on him.
"But why is he simply unconscious? Shouldn't the Kyubi no Yoko have escaped the moment the cage broke? Why is the village still standing? You know seals better than I do Jiraiya, what's holding him back?"
He thought for a moment, going through the possible reasons before coming to the most logical conclusion, "There's only one thing I can think of, Naruto's fighting him. And if he is, he's the only thing standing between us and the release of that demon."
Even when everyone else has failed you, you're still standing there holding back that monster. This village truly doesn't deserve you Naruto, thank you for being your father's son, Jiraiya thought.
Jiraiya looked at his comrade seriously, "No one can know about this Tsunade, if the village were to find out they would kill him! I think Naruto was pulled inside his own mind when the demon was released and I think he's fighting it. We need to give him time, if anyone can beat that beast its Naruto." Jiraiya told her and Tsunade nodded to him.
They had both witnessed the tenacity of the boy and knew his spirit was too strong to give up willingly. If there was a way to beat the monster, Naruto would find it, and if not he would never stop fighting. They knew it was a risk, they knew it was a long shot, but they chose then and there to place their bet on Naruto Uzumaki.
And so the decision was made and while there was no official announcement rumors went out that Naruto Uzumaki had been injured gravely on a mission and fallen into a coma and was unlikely to survive or awaken. And to both Jiraiya and Tsunade's distaste the entire village began to celebrate, believing the Kyubi no Yoko was gone and would die with the boy. They celebrated for days and Tsunade only looked on with anger and hatred in her heart for every villager who drank to Naruto's future death.
"YES! The Demon's going to die! We're FREEEEEE!" A cheer went out, "FINALLY! THE DEMON'S DEAD!" Naruto's friends watched with anger as the village took the next week off from work, as many shinobi, kunoichi, and civilians packed the bars and drank to the poor health of their friend.
Tsunade watched as village celebrated the death of a boy. She sank back into the chair which her grandfather had once sat in as tears began to wash down her face. She took a small bottle of sake from her desk and drank from it. Her anger was a storm and everyone knew she hated the way the village reacted to the spread of Naruto's condition.
"You never deserved that boy Konoha," Tsunade said to herself as Ton-ton let out a mournful oink in her lap.
The truth, however, was very much as Jiraiya suspected. Even at that moment a small boy faced the most powerful of the nine tailed beasts. He wore an orange jump suit and had spiky blonde hair, and he wore a forehead protector signifying him as a member of the village hidden in the leaves.
Inside Naruto's Mind
"Damn you Kyubi! Why can't you just sit still like a good boy and let me pummel you!" Naruto shouted to the giant fox who floated across from him.
Inside his mind Naruto floated in what looked like open space. There were no clouds, no blue sky, no land mass or anything. It was simply open and empty space filled with a red and blue haze. If Sakura could have seen him she would have made some joke about his being an air-head. But right now the young boy was more concerned with the monster in front of him.
The nine-tailed fox demon stood before Naturo in all his glory. He was gigantic, a blood-red orange color tinted his fur, his eyes were an ever changing yellow, red, and orange. His fangs were as large as Naruto and his claws were the size Naruto's legs. He glared at the boy, finally free from his cage and knowing the only thing standing between him and freedom was the small child before him in an orange jump suit.
"Where would the fun be in that kit? HAHAHA, I am the greatest of the nine beasts and I am FREE! I will destroy you and transform this body into my own and I will finish what I started that day so long ago, this village will be destroyed and there is NOTHING you can do about it kit! HAHAHA" The giant fox loomed over Naruto and vanished only to appear in front of Naruto.
Naruto dodged the claw and fangs of the demon only to be thrown back as the foxes tailed whipped around acting as if on their own accord.
Damn it! I have to watch all nine of those tails too! It's like their alive! Naruto thought to himself as he poured his power into the palms of his hands.
"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he flew at the Kyubi no Yoko and slammed both his attacks into the beast's chest. In his shock there wasn't even a scratch on the fox, Naruto quickly dodged a claw and several tails moving further away from the fox.
"Was that supposed to hurt Kit? HAHAHAHA You'll have to do better than that, this is going to be too easy!" The Kyubi told him as it roared in delight.
While the fox was free and immensely powerful they were fighting in the one place Naruto could match the foxes power, his own mind. They were quite literally battling over his body and soul. But while the fox might have immense power, the battlefield entirely favored Naruto.
Within his mind Naruto could try any jutsu he wanted, so long as he understood the mechanics of the jutsu he could make it work. It wouldn't even be difficult for him. He had no limit here, no fatigue, no chakra limitations, and no physical body to hold him back. But then, neither did the Kyubi and as the Kyubi was pure chakra anyway it made it almost impossible for Naruto to hurt the monster.
There was almost no damage from the attacks. Naruto tried again and again, using speed and his smaller size to avoid the Kyubi's attacks while he struck him with Rasengan after Rasengan but none of them even seemed to phase the fox. He tried summoning thousands of clones but they were destroyed by the hundreds by the monstrous tails. Nothing he did seemed to so much as make a dent in the Kyubi no Yoko.
This is going to take a while, Naruto thought to himself as he continued his on-going battle with the demon.
3 Years Later
"Hi! Here to see him again? Did you bring a new book?" The nurse asked the pale skinned girl in front of her.
Hinata Hyuga, Heiress to the Hyuga clan blushed deeply and nodded. She had long black hair with blue highlights going down to mid-back. She wore a fishnet body suit underneath her white t-shirt which was covered by a purple jacket with white sleeves and purple cargo pants. In her arms was a small package, a book, and a small bundle of flowers. She blushed at the question and nodded.
"I-I th-thought he m-m-might like, um, an ad-adventure s-story." Hinata said holding up the book for the nurse to see. The nurse smiled at the girl and finished checking her in as she left the entrance and walked to room 215 in the long term care ward.
"Who was that?" A young nurse asked the older one who had checked Hinata in.
"That? It was Hinata Hyuga, she's been coming here every day she isn't on a mission or busy, so usually almost every day and visiting Naruto Uzumaki, she always brings a book and reads to him. She says she thinks he can hear her and hopes it'll help him wake up. She's been doing it ever since he got here three years ago. She also always brings fresh flowers, the poor girl, she must really love that boy." The nurse sighed as she told the sad story about the girl.
Ever since Naruto had fallen into his coma Hinata had come to visit him. She would collect flowers from the forest and bring them with her every day and make sure the windows were open so sunlight could pour in. At first she had cried with regret hating herself for not doing something or helping him, then later she hated herself for not talking to him and telling him how she felt and had prayed every night that he would open his eyes.
When she had first started coming to visit him she had simply sat there looking at him, then after a few weeks had started to hold his hand, and then she had decided that maybe he would like to hear something other than doctors and occasionally Lord Jiraiya, so she talked to him and brought books to read. She told him about the village, everything that was happening, how Lee had managed to get Sakura to finally go out with him and they were happily dating and how Temari and Shikamaru had a long distance relationship going, how Gaara had become Kazekage, when Neji had become a jonin and even the rumors that Iruka and Anko were now seeing each other.
She mentioned Jiraiya and Tsunade when she had news of them and Kakashi and Gai as well and how they were still as comical as ever with their eternal rivalry. She knew he was good friends with Lee and would tell him about how the boy was advancing greatly in Taijutsu even had his body restored thanks to the healing abilities of Tsunade. She told him how Akamaru had grown so big Kiba was able to ride him and that Shino had managed to say two full sentences once.
Most of the time she read him books, usually something she thought he would like or something suggested by Kakashi or Tsunade. No one had the heart to tell her the chances of Naruto waking up were less than a percent. They couldn't take the hope from the girl who was so devoted to him. Her father had complained time and again she should be training to become the clan leader, not spending time at the hospital but she simply had ignored him. Her family had threatened her with the caged bird seal and they told her they were already planning on her marrying someone of their choice. Her feelings didn't matter to them, they simply didn't care about what she thought, she was nothing but an item to them.
All these things she told to Naruto, about her family, the village. She had told him how they had celebrated when he had fallen ill and how angry she was at them for it. She had tried so many times to tell him her feelings, but even unconscious she couldn't bring herself to say how she truly felt. She made sure he always had fresh flowers in his room and would open his window on sunny days to let the light and fresh air in. She devoted most of her time and energy to being with him.
When Naruto had entered the coma she simply had stopped doing anything, she stopped seeing her friends, teammates, family. If it wasn't a mission or something very important she simply ignored it now. Her friends worried about her and had tried to get her to go out with them, but she refused. At night she had trained when no one else was in her family's dojo and during the day she was seen at Naruto's bedside.
Her friends and some of her family thought she had completely lost it. That she was insane and tried to convince her to let go but she refused. She had a faith in her heart he would come back to her. And even as Hinata opened the new book and began to read Naruto stared down the monster before him.
"I will not let you win Kyubi, I have precious people out there who I'm going back too. You know we can continue until the day I die and then I take both of us with me so why don't you just give up like a good boy. But no matter what you. WILL. NOT. BEAT. ME!" Naruto ended his statement with a shout as he fling himself against at the monster.
In his mind, and because of the constant battle, Naruto had been forced to learn through the years and create many new techniques, all in attempts to stop and either destroy or reseal the fox demon, and all had failed. The demon was either too smart or too powerful, and he simply was fighting a stalemate. There was no way to force the demon back into the cage and it would never follow Naruto there willingly. So Naruto was forced to learn about the Kyubi no Yoko like no one had ever before.
And all of those years of watching and learning were finally going to pay off. Naruto had a new plan, he knew that even if he was to chop the demon's head off it wouldn't end, he had already tried several times, the monster had no physical body it was energy, the same as Naruto and if it was within a different setting Naruto would have simply been destroyed by the overwhelming power of the nine-tailed fox. Yet there was a key different between Naruto and the Kyubi. Naruto's power came from everywhere while he realized the Kyubi was different, he had to have some kind of source of energy.
At first he had tried to simply overpower the beast and will it back within its cage but that hadn't worked. The monster had laughed, it was too immense for him to will away and its power too great. It was part of him and trying to will it somewhere was like trying to move his heart with his mind, it wasn't possible. But Naruto knew there had to be a way to stop it, and he had waited, watched, and listened.
And it was listening to Jiraiya that had given Naruto an idea as he charged the Kyubi again, the Kyubi struck with his claws, which Naruto easily dodged, and then he attacked with his fangs, his mouth closing around Naruto who jumped into the mouth of the monstrous demon and down his very throat into the belly of the beast.
The demon stood shocked for a moment, never before had the boy tried this and suddenly he realized the danger of the move but before he could react, Naruto forced his way into Kyubi's body and ripped his way through his stomach to his heart. He struck at the heart of the fox, he tore it open with his bare hands and the fox howled in pain, the first true pain he had felt in years as Naruto attacked the very source of his power.
"So that was your plan kit, it won't work, I will not die from that!" The Kyubi told him as Naruto blasted his way from the fox's heart with his rasengan.
"No, but now I have your heart, the source of your power and while you might reform in mere moments elsewhere, guess what Kyubi, I figured something out about you. You may have no physical body but you do have a power source and if I seal this away you go with it. So guess what big boy, it's over!" Naruto flung the already dissolving heart he had torn from the fox into the cage in the sewer of his mind.
As the heart landed the Kyubi roared and Naruto watched as the image of the great fox was dissolved and was pulled within the cage. At the moment the fox was entirely within the cage Naruto sealed it replacing the old seal his father had created on the gate. He had had plenty of time to think about the sealing jutsu and listened as Jiraiya had explained the seal used by the fourth hokage to Tsunade over the years and how it worked. Of course, they thought he couldn't hear but he had, and it had paid off.
Naruto had had to wait for so long, running different attacks, slowly repairing the seal using shadow clones while he kept the fox busy until this day, the day when the seal was ready and he would be able to attempt to force the fox's power source back into the cage. Naruto had learned that while he couldn't destroy the fox he could attack its power source but without a killing strike or sealing it away the fox would reform moments later and the battle would continue.
Naruto was so tired, he had expended so much energy fighting the Kyubi. While his body might not have felt physical exhaustion from the battle but his mental exhaustion was incredible. The fox had merely tried to outlast him, pushing his mental capacities to the limit until he knew Naruto would simply shut down. But Naruto had proven resilient to the creature, even more than the Kyubi had expected. And after nearly three years of constant fighting he had finally managed to overcome the Kyubi no Yoko and would be free of the never ending nightmare.
But before Naruto could do anything he heard the voice that had haunted him in battle for three years.
"Well done kit, you've managed to trick me back in here and even improved on the seal," The kyubi let out a dark chuckle, "But it matters not, I will be free one day again, and I will eat you and finish destroying this village. One day kit, remember that." He told him and Naruto glared at the beast within the cage before turning his back on him and walking away.
Naruto wanted nothing more than to sleep, he wanted to drift into oblivion and let himself rest but he knew there was someone waiting for him. He had listened to her voice every day for the past three years and he couldn't wait a moment longer to look at her with his eyes again.
Hinata had one hand holding the book she was reading and the other resting on the arm of the chair she sat in next to Naruto's bed. She was reading a book given to her by Lord Jiraiya, The Tales of a Gutsy Shinobi, he said that he knew Naruto would like it.
She knew what people said about her behind her back, that she was clinging to a hope that was extinguished years ago, and that she should let go, that she had died and was an empty shell now but she simply wouldn't listen. Back when Naruto had first fallen into the coma a lot of people had come to visit him, Lee, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Sasuke, Kakashi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Iruka, even Anko had stopped by. But as time went on they had slowly dwindled.
With each passing week the number grew fewer and fewer until only Hinata still came daily to see him. She knew he was in there, she knew he was fighting to come back, and she wouldn't give up on him, she couldn't.
Naruto has never given up on anything or anyone in his life, I know he won't stop now, he'll come back, she thought to herself as she turned the page.
She stopped reading the book for a moment and looked at the young man before her. The doctors couldn't explain it but there had been no atrophy of the muscles, which they thought was odd, although Jiriaya seemed to know the reason behind it. Jiraiya had said it was because of a constant flow of chakra to the muscles that seemed to be forcing them to remain in a state of training growth. He couldn't explain why the chakra was flowing the way it was though. He had grown a lot since he had fallen into the coma and his hair was longer now. But his face was the same as always and even as he slept she saw the boy she had fallen for so many years ago.
"Naruto, please come back to me, p-please. I need to tell you something, something I should have said a long time ago." She told him quietly and before she began to cry again she returned to her book.
But as Hinata was beginning her book again she felt something on her hand and looked down to see his hand covered hers and she gasped and dropped the book, not daring to move as she slowly moved her gaze to his eyes which were open. She stopped and the world seemed to freeze around her, she couldn't breathe. She was terrified if she even blinked she would find herself imagining what was happening in front of her. Tears collected in her eyes and began to fall as she thought this was simply another dream and she would wake up next to him to find his eyes still closed.
Why can't this dream ever be true? Hinata thought to herself still refusing to move her blink or even breathe. Even if it was a dream she wanted it to last as long as possible.
As the first tears began to fall she felt his hand on hers squeeze. And he squeezed a second time, harder. And her eyes widened, she felt it, it hurt slightly from the strength of it. And shock went through her system as she realized she wasn't dreaming!
"Hunuitu… uh uve.." Naruto tried to speak but the feeding tube was causing his trouble. His face scrunched as he tried to figure out the problem. He then attempted to move his other hand but Hinata was already there slowly pulling the tube out of his throat. She knew she shouldn't be doing it but she couldn't let it stay there.
He's awake, Oh God He's awake! She thought to herself and tears began to fall down her cheeks as she removed the tube from his mouth.
"Hinata, I love you too." His voice was barely a whisper and as he squeezed her hand with all the strength he could muster. While his muscles had not atrophied as they should have they were not used to movement and he was still very weak. Her tears began to come down in droves and she cried in joy as she threw herself into him and wrapped her arms around him. She had prayed this moment for years, and now it was here and she couldn't imagine anything better in her life.
While everyone saw her actions as futile they never realized that she was right, Naruto could hear her. And every day and night he struggled to suppress the nine-tailed fox, every moment he fought, every day he heard her voice and he heard her reading to him, and it gave him strength. There weren't many things to give a guy hope when he was looking at a giant fox every second of every moment and her voice was his link to the outside.
But more importantly he realized something, he had been such a fool. He had chased after Sakura for years and thought she was so amazing and beautiful but when he had fallen ill she wasn't there. Yet here Hinata was the one sitting by his bedside every day. He had time to reexamine his memories and realized how the girl must have always felt, if only he hadn't been so blind. He cursed himself for being a fool and would redouble his efforts to defeat the Kyubi so he could have the chance to talk to her again.
The nurses outside heard the commotion and came running to look into the room and saw Hinata holding Naruto in her arms. At first they thought the worst, that the boy had died, but then they saw his eyes were open and the old nurse who had welcomed Hinata merely stated what was on everyone's mind. "It's a miracle."
The doctors and nurses immediately began to run test's on Naruto and ask questions and summoned lady Tsunade.
The messenger arrived minutes after being sent to the Hokage's office, "Ma'am, Naruto Uzumaki is awake."
Tsunade's eyes widened at the news and realization and dispatched the messenger to get Jiraiya and have him meet her at the hospital as she left her room and went that way herself.
So the brat finally woke up, now to find out what the hell happened those years ago. She thought to herself.
Back in the hospital they had attempted to remove Hinata from the room but Naruto had thrown a fit, even though his muscles had not atrophied he was still terribly weak and after being in an out of body experience for so long and he had trouble controlling his muscle functions entirely. As the nurses tried to lead Hinata from the room he had grabbed her hand and refused to let go.
"N-n-naruto I-I'll g-go, I-I can w-wait ou-outside" Hinata had said while the nurses and doctors nodded.
"She'll only just be outside, we simply need to finish a few tests," the head doctor had told him.
"If you make her leave I will go through all of you to get her back," Naruto told them with complete seriousness in his voice, pushing chakra from his system and causing several instruments to break in order to emphasize his point.
The hospital staff wisely allowed her to stay and she held his hand through most of the tests they begun to run. It was not long after before Tsunade arrived and ordered all of the staff out and began to remove the needles and instruments connected to Naruto. It did not escape her notice that Hinata was there and holding his hand.
"So, since I know you're in fine condition and these tests all concluded that quite thoroughly. Want to explain where you've been the past three years brat? You were supposed to be working to take this job off my hands."
Naruto smiled and coughed a bit as Hinata placed a drink to his lips. Naruto's ability to control his body was returning quickly but he was still unable to do more delicate things and his time spent in his mind had reduced his ability to understand and control actions requiring more finesse, they had given him a glass of water to parch his thirst when he woke up only to have him crush the metal cup in his hand when he tried to lift it to his lips. He simply was going to have relearn a lot of his control over his motor skills.
"He was inside his mind, fighting the Kyubi, right kid?" A new voice said from the doorway as Jiraiya stood there looking at his old student.
Naruto nodded and recounted his tail for them.
"It was like being hit by a rasengan at full power in the gut, the gate suddenly burst open and I felt the Kyubi coming out. And it wanted blood, it wanted my body, it wanted to kill everyone. So I cut myself off from my body and it put us into a kind of mind-space. It was the only thing I could think of to stop it. We were both just stuck there in my mind and we fought, my god, we fought every moment it seemed, neither of us tired and we were so evenly matched, it never ended.
"It was a nightmare, his tails and his fangs, he taunted me and I couldn't find a way to finally beat him. There was no physical body to kill. So I had to listen to you guys when you talked about the seal and try and learn how to rebuild it myself, it took three years of sending clones to study the seal and listening to you guys but I managed to repair and even improved it some.
"I figured out that even though I couldn't kill him if I could get ahold of his power source, I could throw it back into the cage and lock him up. So I let the Kyubi eat me and I… I tore his heart out and threw it back into the cage and sealed it. He thought I was going to dodge, I had made sure I used to the same move and always avoided him, he fell for it."
Naruto shuddered as he remembered the years in his mind. The constant fighting for survival, the beast always there, never being able to rest, just fighting over and over again. Hinata squeezed his hand light to remind him he was no longer caught in the terrible battle again before continuing. He turned to her and looked into her pale lavender eyes.
"I could hear you, everything you said, I heard every word. You saved me so many times Hinata. I wanted to give up so much but your voice every day, it gave me the strength to go on. I never stopped believing I would get to see you again. Thank you for reading to me, for being with me. You saved me."
Naruto finished and Hinata began to cry as Tsunade and Jiraiya stood by and watched. They both smiled softly at the two of them. Tsunade convinced the hospital to allow Hinata to stay for the night and she sent a messenger to inform her father that Hinata was working late with Tsunade on an assignment and would not be home that evening. She then retired to speak with Jiraiya, after he inspected the seal and determined it was in no danger of breaking.
"From what I can see you did a great job on repairing the seal Naruto. And I see you overlapped it again to make it stronger, nice work. It's very impressive and looks even stronger than before," Jiraiya told them as he made his final pronouncement.
"You'll be here for a last a few more days while your strength returns, then we'll see about getting you with a new team. We had to replace you on Kakashi's team but I am sure we can find you a spot or they'd want you back. So take some time to get yourself back to normal and we'll see you at the end of the week," Tsunade told him with a smile.
Tsunade and Jiraiya left the room with smiles on their faces and quietly closed the door to give the two occupants some privacy.
Naruto held Hinata's hand and looked at her before speaking, Naruto had made a decision while in his mind over the past year, "Hinata, I heard everything you said, including the things about your father, your clan and how the village celebrated thinking I was going to die. I thought about it a lot, and if we stay here they'll never allow us to be happy. They won't want us to be together, your family and the village. They'll be upset that I'm still alive and the glares and anger will start again. I don't want to go on more missions, I am tired of destroying, I want to build something.
"Hinata, you became my heart while I fought the Kyubi. And I can't imagine myself without you. Hinata, I want to leave Konoha, I want to go somewhere and find peace and build something better. I know its short notice and I know it's I shouldn't be asking this but I want you to go with me. Please, please come with me Hinata."
Hinata looked at the man before her and remembered all the things she said about her father and how the village had celebrated for a week when he had fallen into the coma and were told he would most likely not survive or be revived. She thought of how her clan was planning on forcing her to marry some random person of their choosing. She had no choices in her life here, she had thought about leaving as well but she would never leave Naruto, he was worth staying for.
And now Naruto wanted to leave, he wanted to go elsewhere, he wanted to find a place where they could be together and no one else would ever bother them. He was ready to stop fighting, he was tired, and he just wanted to be with the woman who had never stopped being there for him.
Hinata remembered the times in the past three years when her father had admonished her for visiting Naruto or the Council had threatened her with the caged bird seal if she didn't cease her actions. And now he was awake, and he looked so helpless laying there holding her hand so gently. He had listened to every word she had said, her time had not been wasted the way her family claimed, the man she loved was before her and he was asking her to leave everything behind.
Hinata made the single most important decision at that moment, she nodded to him and agreed to leave Konoha with him. Naruto smiled and began to slip out of the bed at which Hinata protested.
"N-naruto, sh-shouldn't you w-wait until y-you're stronger?" She asked him. She saw he was having trouble standing and she couldn't help but want him to lay back down and rest.
"No, we have to go, we must leave now before anyone else learns I'm awake. Once they do we'll be watched every day. I'll lean on you as we go, we can be far from Konoha by morning and no one will know."
He began to reach for some clothing that had been brought by Jiraiya, he had been told he wouldn't be fit in any of his old clothes anymore and, with a bit of help from Hinata, was able to get dressed.
He was soon wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a white shirt and there was a black jacket along with it with red swirls on the shoulders and back. His hair was longer now, reaching his shoulders but retaining its spiky appearance. He looked at his forehead protector and put it in his pocket instead tying a black band to hold his hair out of his eyes.
She nodded to him and he placed an arm around her leaning on her for support and the two flew out the window and into the night. The first to discover they were missing was Tsunade who came to check on them in the early morning. She was shocked to find that Naruto was not in his bed and Hinata was gone as well. She immediately dispatched search teams to both of their homes.
The only thing they found was a note in Hinata's room.
Dear Father, Tsunade, and friends,
We are sorry for leaving without a good-bye, but this village will never understand us. We will never be accepted for who we are. We simply want to live in peace now, no more fighting, no more anger, no more glares, we just want peace. I'm sorry I cannot fulfill my promise to you Granny, but my heart is elsewhere now. Please, do not come after us.
Hinata & Naruto.
Their friends were sent out immediately to locate them but without success, wherever Naruto and Hinata had gone they simply didn't want to be found and nothing their friends and loved ones could do could change that.
Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, Kakashi, Tenten, Neji, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai, Asuma, Jiraiya, and even Iruka and Anko all joined the search. They went to every village and tried every known road and direction but no one had seen or heard of their two missing friends. After months of searching they were forced to finally call their teams back and resume normal missions with a standing order to continue looking for their friends on their missions.
Hiashi exploded in anger when he heard his daughter had run off with the demon. The entire clan erupted in outrage at the thought of their bloodline possible being contaminated. But after no one could find either Naruto or Hinata they were forced to wait and many hoped the pair died before Hinata could condemn their clan with her actions.
The news of Naruto's disappearance was kept as a highly classified secret and a rumor was started by the ANBU that he had died in his coma. After revealing what had happened to the council Tsunade had been forced to agree that it was best for the village if they never knew what had transpired. Secretly Tsunade also knew that a rumor that Naruto had died would help him and Hinata escape without notice. The only ones who knew the truth were the Hokage, Naruto's friends, Hinata's direct family, and the council. It was considered an A-class secret. To the world, Naruto Uzumaki was dead and Hinata Hyuga considered a missing ninja.