Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Naruto.
Part 1
He was tired, so very tired of it all. He was only an eight year old boy and yet he was already sick of the way his life had turned out. The glares of hatred he had to deal with every day, the horrible treatment he received in the ninja academy, being overpriced for the cheapest of foods, he could go on and on with what he faced daily, but the mere thought was tiring.
He was thankful, incredibly thankful that he hadn't had to deal with any physical abuse. He knew that the Hokage looked out for him as much as he could - which really wasn't saying much considering the old man's position - and that anything that could've happened to him physically was put to a halt by the watching ANBU. It was a small relief that there was one or two shinobi that tried to help him. It wasn't much but it still meant something.
Though, the ANBU couldn't be everywhere. One of the main problems was that the academy instructors tended to be rougher with him than the other students, they wouldn't answer his questions, and refused to help him in classes, or sometimes a random rock was thrown at him from other students and they did nothing.
With each new incident the frustration he felt built more and more and now he just couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't pretend to be so happy, so cheerful all the time. Not after what had just happened no more than two days ago.
Two days, he thought sadly. It seemed to him like it had just happened a few minutes ago.
Two days ago he'd thought he'd done it, that he'd finally made a friend. He had been at the park, sitting on the swings when she came up to him. A young girl with platinum blond hair that he recognized from the academy, Ino, her name was.
She had asked him a simple question, well, simple to her. 'Why are you by yourself?' She asked. He was a bit stunned, that Ino of all people was talking to him. After all, she had seemed completely enraptured by that stuck up teme Sasuke, to notice anyone else, along with most of the other girls in the class. But here she was, talking to him, with a kind smile. And so, he answered. And they talked.
They talked about a lot of things, some things that were very trivial, and other things that were a bit more personal. They talked until her father, a man with similar hair, wrapped in a ponytail, came to get her. She said that they would meet up with him tomorrow.
For the first time in a long time, he was hopeful. And as it turned out, she did turn up, just like she promised. They talked some more and played quite a bit. This went on for quite a few weeks and he really felt like he had finally -after so long- made a real friend.
Then one day, as they played in the park, she grabbed his hand and started dragging him away. She said that she had something special that she wanted to show her new friend. After walking for a bit, she had put her hands over his eyes saying that it was going to be a surprise. He was so excited because no one had ever done anything like this for him. After walking a bit more they stopped and she told him to keep his eyes closed.
He'd thought he heard something like a giggle, but put it off as just some other kids playing nearby. It was only a moment later that he noticed the giggling turning into full blown laughter and he couldn't help but open his eyes to see just what was going on.
He was surprised to find kids from his academy class, mostly the girls, standing around him passing around pieces of paper and laughing and pointing at him while reading off some of his most personal secrets. He stood, completely mortified and unable to comprehend what was going on when he felt something wet falling on him.
They had completely covered him in orange paint. He looked up when he heard a familiar laugh among the others and saw, to his dismay, that it had been Ino that dumped the paint on him. She laughed as she said "That's what you get for making fun of Sasuke-kun and trying to beat him!"
The other girls giggled and cheered as they threw insults at him, supporting Ino completely in torture.
He could only stand in shock before the feeling returned to his legs and he ran. He ran faster than he ever had in his life and for the first time in a long time, he cried. Cried because the betrayal ripped at his chest and the painful loneliness returned to his heart.
But now, two days later, he was contemplating what he wanted to do. He didn't seek revenge on Ino, because all this had showed him was that he would never be able to make any friends here. No matter how much he loved the village itself, and the old man, he couldn't stand the people who inhabited it and they couldn't stand him.
With his mind made up, he knew he had to get out of here, and he had to get out of here now.
Part 2
One of the good things about being who he was, was the fact that he had street smarts. He knew things such as when the merchants from other countries would be coming and going and he knew how to use this to his advantage. Oh of course merchants would come and go at random times of the year, however, there was one week in which there was a bit of a convention, if you wanted to call it that, that was held in Konoha every year.
That was the time of the year where the streets would be flooded with so many merchants it would be easy to get lost in a crowd. It would also be a hectic time for the ninja as they would try to coordinate their movements and end up completely failing.
There would be such a mess that no one would really notice if he slipped out among the crowd when it was time for them to leave. It was perfect. Now the only question was... Where was he going to go?
Part 3
The Land Of Whirlpools.
It was quite a shock to him when, in his search for a place to escape to that he came across the name of a hidden village called Uzushiogakure no Satoor The Hidden Eddy Village.
Curious, he researched it further and found something that only cemented his decision to leave Konoha. As it turned out, there was a clan that occupied The Land of Whirlpools where the hidden village was located.
The name of said clan was Uzumaki. The clan got their nickname "village of longevity" from records about their long lives. That wasn't the only think special about the clan, as they were also known for their knowledge in the art Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing.
Interestingly enough, they were distantly related to the Senju clan, one of the founding clans of Konoha, with whom they had an alliance with. They also had a part in helping bring the hidden leaf village into creation, which was honored through the spiral he had seen worn on Konoha shinobi, and even on the clothing of some civilians.
Which begged the question, why treat someone from a clan that helped found their village in such a despicable manner?
Which brought up the next question, why hadn't anyone told him about this before? The Sandaime surely had to have known about it.
It should've been covered in his history class, a class where he always pretended to sleep in. Someone should've told him, even if it was as an insult, saying that he would never measure up to the Uzumaki of the past, anything would've been better than just not knowing.
Unfortunately, he was unable to find more information from the library (he managed to sneak in), other than the fact that the place had been destroyed a long time ago with the survivors scattered to the winds. Looking at the map he had stolen from said library, it would be an enormous hassle to get to Uzushiogakure.
He would have to travel to the edge of Fire Country, past Otafuku Gai into Wave Country and then take a ferry to The Land of Whirlpools, if there was even a ferry going that way.
And this was if, and that's a big if, he managed to get out of Konoha undetected. But, maybe, if he could make it to The Land of Whirlpools, maybe if he could make it to Uzushiogakure, he'd find something from his family. Something left behind, their history, anything, and it'd be worth it.
Part 4
The turnout was better than he could've hoped for. So many merchants had, quite literally flooded the streets of Konoha, much more than any previous year.
You'd think that with this being a ninja village that they'd have this organized better, to root out the possibilities of spies sneaking in.
But, he wasn't going to complain seeing as how he was trying to get out of the village, and the chaos would only aid him. He had been saving as much money as he could these past few weeks, picking up money he found in the street and maybe taking a few wallets from some civilians. But only from the really nasty ones he crossed paths with, because he did have some morals after all.
Today, he was going to try and double his money pot. There were so many people it'd be ridiculously easy to pick a few pockets. He saw so many different shops and people yelling at others for bargains it was perfect conditions to steal from the distracted civilians.
He didn't think he'd ever seen so many people losing their heads. Except for when he pulled his pranks. That was different though. In a spark of brilliance, he got the idea to try to scout out which merchants were leaving for Wave Country, or at least Otafuku Gai.
Luck was on his side when it turned out that many of them were, in fact, heading towards Otafuku Gai, as there was going to be a gambling competition taking place there soon.
This whole convention continued for two weeks, two long weeks where there were many fights over clothes, drunken exploits, and regretful nights before the merchants started to leave.
Naruto knew that he had to leave with the biggest crowd to lessen his chances of being caught. So the day after the first group of merchants left, with his things packed, he managed to sneak into one of the many caravans leaving the village, one that actually contained a scroll, among other things that detailed where they were headed. And according to the scroll, just like he hoped when he scouted out, they were headed for Otafuku Gai.
Naruto grinned. He was finally leaving this cruel village and his tormentors behind. It was time to start a new life and hopefully find some friends, friends that wouldn't trick him and be cruel like Ino.
Watch out world, Naruto Uzumaki was finally free!
Part 5
The Sandaime sighed wearily. It had been six days since the convention and he couldn't be more tired of dealing with all the paperwork it had caused. His normal two or three stacks had expanded so far that they created a wall around his desk, furthering his dismay at the thought of one day dying buried underneath it all.
He literally hadn't left his office in days. Now that the load was lessening, he felt that he had at least earned himself a break. Getting up, and stretching his weary bones, he made his way out of the building, and outside into the warm air.
He made his way through the village, greeting the many people who noticed their Hokage taking a stroll. Passing by a familiar ramen stand, the Hokage couldn't help but think about a young blond ball of energy that he hadn't seen in quite some time.
Deciding to take a visit, he made his way over to the blonds apartment wondering what he had been up to. He hadn't seen him in quite a few weeks due to the convention and the aftermath. Knocking on the door, he waited a moment to give him a chance to answer.
He knocked a few more times before the seeds of worry began to sprout. Naruto always, always opened his door by the second knock. He knocked one more time before he decided to just break the knob, he'd get if fixed later, and cautiously entered the house.
It was surprising clean, seeing as though Naruto could be rather messy. It was too clean, he thought as he made his way through the house, there were things missing and it looked like it hadn't been lived in for at least a week, if not longer.
He did a quick sweep of the house just to make sure it was empty before rushing back to the Hokage Tower and bringing out his crystal ball.
The ball was connected to the invisible barrier that covered the village and allowed him to see anyone at any given time if they were actually in the village. As he tried to lock onto Naruto's unique signature, he slowly but surely realized that the boy was no longer in the village.
Well, this wasn't good.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think!
