Hello there. This is my second story that I have written. It was inspired by all those Western fanfics that I read. I know that credit goes to ChrisM2011 for being one of the original writers of this story, but the first one I read was from SnafutheGreat. This intro belongs to VFSnake, and yes, I did get permission to copy it. Lots of crossover characters. Here's my attempt at it, and it has my spin on it. A bit different from the others I'd say, but thats my opinon. So Enjoy and review!
The Continent of the Elemental Nations is much bigger than people realize, as it was once part of a much larger land mass than the maps that are shown today. If one was to look at the map, they would see that the map doesn't show what is in the west, beyond Iwa and Suna, beyond the Country of Earth and Wind. For you see, all of the Elemental Countries are located at the eastern side of the country as a whole, and what lies beyond those two countries, is a giant wall, stretching for miles, from the most northern part of the continent to the southern part, completely sealing the East from the West. It is this wall that holds back the violence from the West spilling over to the East. When comparing powers, the West were superior from the East in every way, whether it would be technology, fighting styles, or even powers. The comparison between was so huge that it was like having a huge demonic dragon reigning over his land versus a small frog in his small well. Nobody, from the Kages of shinobi villages to the Daimyos ruling over their domain, would risk crossing this wall. Even the legendary Uchiha Madara himself dared not to cross over the wall in fear he would draw attention to even one war hardened factions there.
Beyond this massive wall, a wall that was forged during the time of the Sage of the Six Paths by the Sage himself were warlords, samurais, shinobis, assassins, and even demons that all fought to protect their own individual territories from their rivals. It had been the reason why the Sage made this wall in the first place, as he knew the East would easily be consumed by the powers of the West without the wall. Years later, the Uzumaki Clan from Whirlpool were commissioned by many Feudal Lords of the East to use their mastery of the Sealing Arts to cover the walls with seals to prevent deterioration and strengthen it. Before he died, the Sage of the Six Paths proclaimed that if the conflicts of the West was brought over to the East, more than one-half of the East would be wiped out before a proper counter response could be mounted.
Of course, legends and myths fade through the passage of time. The warnings were ignored as the East believed themselves to be powerful, perhaps invincible. Nobody dares to cross over, though. Why would they? There was no point in going over to a war-torn land to conquer if they believed nothing of value could be obtained. Through time, warnings were ignored as the arrogance and stupidity of the East grew. Until a single incident would become the catalyst that would completely shake the very foundations of the East.
And that specific incident came on a day when Uchiha Sasuke decided to defect from Konoha to join Orochimaru, but failed to accomplish that goal thanks to the effort of one Uzumaki Naruto, and was brought back to Konoha. The two had fought each other in brutal battle, as Naruto was on a mission to bring Sasuke back to the Leaf, while the Uchiha's own was to slay his pursuer for greater power. Naruto had suffered two Chidori to his chest but endured the lethality of the Jutsu, and the pure torment that came along with the rest of his injuries from the battle to return Sasuke back to Konoha. On the last clash of Chidori vs Rasengan, Naruto used two tails worth of chakra to overwhelm Sasuke. The blond shinobi hoped his actions would prove that he was not a monster, was not the Kyuubi, and most importantly, finally prove himself worthy of Konoha's recognition. The Council, composed of 11 civilians, 11 clan heads, 2 advisers, and the Hokage, would finally acknowledge him.
He was sadly mistaken.
(Flashback begins)
"Genin Ninja #012607 Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade said in a dull voice, not trusting her voice, "It is my duty to inform you that a vote has taken place, and a majority decision of 17-8 has been made in the Council to strip you of your rank and banish you from Konoha, effective immediately. The reason being is that you have inflicted grievous damage to the Last Uchiha despite your mission. You have until next sunset to leave the Leaf village, and should you ever return... you will be killed on sight." Another reason that Tsunade didn't say out loud was that everyone had felt Naruto use the Kyuubi's chakra and was afraid of the fox getting loose, even though the Fourth's sealing ability would never allow it.
Naruto had been summoned to the council while still sporting many injuries from his battle. The Council didn't even allow Naruto to recover from his wounds before being banished. Naruto looked crestfallen at this statement as he looked around at the Council. The civilians and advisers all had smug looks on their faces, enjoying the fact that the "demon brat" would finally leave, the curse would be gone. Danzo had two votes, as he controlled the Shimura and was the current voice for the Uchiha until Sasuke was of age, and used them to banish Naruto. He had his own plans, of course, of forcibly recruiting the jinchūriki into Root while he was no longer in the village's sight. The last clans to vote for the banishment was the Kuruma and Inuzaka clan, who had thought Naruto was the Kyuubi, one through popular opinion and the other by instinct and smell. The rest of the clan heads looked at the voters in disdain.
Tsunade looked like she was about to cry as she saw Naruto's heartbroken face, and resisted showing any emotion in front of the heartless bastards who ripped Naruto's dreams away from him. Naruto slowly took off his headband before laying it on the floor. He reached to take off his necklace, only to be halted be Tsunade.
"Keep it. It's yours, and I hope it'll protect you," Tsunade said, tears already leaking out. Naruto left the Council room, heading back home to pack up.
(Flashback Ends)
Before the Council was dismissed, the 17 voters quickly also revoked the Sandaime's law about Naruto being the container of the Kyuubi, allowing the young generation to learn the truth. The news spread fast amongst them, and reactions varied from one extreme to another. As Naruto walked back to his home to pack, he saw the rest of the Konoha 12, excluding himself and Sasuke.
"That baka deserves to die for hitting Sasuke-kun.!" ranted Sakura.
"Agreed. We should go find that demon and kill him!" Ino shouted, agreeing with Sakura.
"He was the fox all along, I should have known. I could smell that scent off him, he should've died," growled Kiba.
"HOW UNYOUTHFUL! NARUTO HAS LIED TO US AND WAS THE FOX!" exclaimed Lee.
Naruto was already crying and almost lost hope, contemplating suicide when a voice he thought he would never hear say this rang out.
"Shut up Lee," said Neiji coldly. Lee looked shocked at this statement and was about to argue when he saw Tenten also staring coldly at him too.
"He is like me, no worse off than me. He has a seal like mine, except worse. Even with this Caged-Bird seal, I am acknowledged among the people as a shinobi and a prodigy, Naruto has a seal that holds the Kyuubi at bay, and yet many people in this village despises him. And yet, into sinking into despair, he kept defying his fate as a scapegoat. He even forced me to see that Fate was, indeed, a bitch and that I should not go along with it."
"Even I am familiar with seals, as I use it for my weapons. A scroll holding a kunai is not the kunai itself. Naruto is still Naruto, while the Kyuubi is inside, sealed away," added Tenten. "These idiots can't even tell the difference between a scroll and a kunai."
Hinata was crying, although Naruto was unsure why.
"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru. He also believed Naruto was not the Kyuubi but was currently unable to form words as he was too mad. Chouji stood behind Shikamaru, eating his way through his fourth bag of chips.
"Thank you," said Naruto silently, as he left for his house.
Shino was forgotten in all this.
The news spread fast among everyone that Naruto had been banished, and the majority of the citizens were celebrating. Shinobis and kunoichis were getting rowdy and celebrating the fact that the demon that had plagued them for so long was gone. Only a few citizens and shinobi were depressed that a shinobi was being banished for doing his job. As night fell upon the town, people were still celebrating. Naruto, however, was gathering his meager items into his pack and getting ready to leave. Kakashi and even Jiraiya, his two teachers he thought he could depend on, never showed up to even say anything. As he was about to cry himself to sleep, somebody knocked on his door. He didn't want to get it, guessing that it was one of the people who hated him, but the knocking became insistent.
He got up and opened the door and yelled, "What do you want!? Can't you leave me in peace?"
He looked up and saw it was Hiashi, clan head of the Hyuga clan. Behind him was Hinata, who was blushing and poking her fingers together, as she didn't know why she was here either.
"May I come in, Naruto? I promise I won't hurt you," stated Hiashi.
Stunned at this, he let them both in before closing the door. After Hiashi came in, he quickly closed all the windows and blinds before placing a silencing seal on the walls.
"This conversation never happened Naruto," stated Hiashi seriously. Naruto gulped, not knowing why he was here.
"I have come to ask you for a favor," Hiashi said, surprising both Naruto and Hinata. "I need you to take Hinata with you on your exile."
Hinata started to cry and tried her best to stop the tears. 'My father doesn't even want me anymore.' she thought sadly to herself. Naruto was mad. How could a father abandon her daughter like this? The next statement, however, surprised both of them.
"I do not have much time anymore from preventing my daughter from being branded with the Caged-Bird Seal. I do not wish for her to be locked up in a cage and sent to a loveless marriage all to increase the Hyuga's wealth. I have tried my best, but the elders have decided against my decision to brand her and sell her off to someone. I would rather have her fly freely with someone whom she loves and become a missing-nin than to see that happen." said Hiashi. He lowered his head to the ground bowing to Naruto. "Please! Protect my daughter!"
Naruto was astounded that someone of Hiashi's status would be willing to bow to him while Hinata was surprised and felt loved. All those years of insults within the Hyuga clan and her father actually loved her, even if his actions did not seem like it.
"I promise I will dattebayo! But why me? I thought you hated me?" Naruto said.
Hiashi laughed at this, scaring both pre-teens. "I could never hate you. You are the son of my best friend."
"You know my family? TELL ME PLEASE!" interjected Naruto, desperate to learn about his family. All his life, people told him how he was unwanted, that he was abandoned. The Third Hokage always said differently but never revealed his heritage to him.
"Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to on the risk of treason." spat Hiashi. Naruto seemed to despair at this.
"I believe this is over. On a side note, I'm going to suddenly become absent-minded and drop something and never remember it at all. It MIGHT contain information about your family, though it would be best if your read it after you have left the village." Hiashi said as he stood up and "accidentally" dropped a scroll in front of Naruto. "Hinata, come. We have much to prepare."
As they left, Naruto was left stunned on his bed when he suddenly went into a trance and appeared in his mindscape. He looked around and saw the Kyuubi staring back at him.
"What do you want?" asked Naruto coldly. The Kyuubi could only sigh, "I guess it is my fault your being banished, Kit. Though I never understood why you wanted to be Hokage of this forsaken place."
Naruto remained silent at this. It was true he wanted to be Hokage, but would never see it. Even if he hadn't been banished, he realized that the people would never allow him to become Hokage due to their hatred for being the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi.
"My point being, is, as an apology, I'll help you train using my power." said the Kyuubi. Naruto instantly didn't trust him, but said he would consider it.
That night, Naruto wasn't alone as he thought he would be. Teuchi and Ayame closed down their shop for the day and brought ramen to try to cheer Naruto up. Iruka came along with them, as they were all frustrated that Naruto had been banished for doing his job. In the end, all good things came to the end as sunrise came too soon. Naruto had packed all his belongings before preparing to leave. He left quietly out of Konoha, as he did not want to stay there any longer. Hinata had already been snuck out earlier by her father and was waiting at a tree where they had agreed to meet. After meeting with Hinata, both took one last look at Konoha before traveling west. The plan was to travel to Suna, where they might be able to find sanctuary. Before they even went one mile out, they were intercepted by two people they never expected to see.
Neji and Tenten were waiting by some trees, with gears packed and seals ready to go.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Naruto.
"N-Neji-Nissan? Tenten?" stuttered Hinata, terrified they were there to bring her back.
"Relax, we're going with you," stated Tenten.
"Hinata-sama, I have sworn to protect you. I can not protect you if you leave, so I will accompany you," proclaimed Neji.
At this, both Naruto and Hinata started to have tears in their eyes. They tried to convince them to go back, that they would be fine, but were unable to do so. Instead, they decided to stop after moving ahead a little more to allow Neji and Tenten more time to think about their decision before going too far out.
The night quickly fell upon the four travelers, so they decided to rest at an opening they found. Naruto tried to convince Tenten and Neji one more time to head back, but both were stubborn. Neji swore to protect Hinata, and Tenten wanted to go with Neji while leaving Konoha's corruption. Since she was also an orphan, she wasn't really leaving anyone behind. Suddenly, some bushes shook from behind them. Grabbing their kunai and going into taijutsu stances, they met... Hanabi and Konohamaru.
"BOSS! ONEE-SAN!" cried out Hanabi and Konohamaru, both of them going to Naruto and Hinata and hugging them.
"What are you two doing here!? You need to go back, it's not safe!" yelled Naruto.
"I'm not leaving you boss!" cried out Konohamaru.
"I didn't want to be alone, Hinata Nee-san!" said Hanabi as she cried her eyes out.
After letting tears flow out of all of them, Naruto finally asked the question that had popped out of their minds. "How did you find us?"
"Some ninjas lead us to you, they said they were going to help you," said Konohamaru.
At this, they all froze. Inside Naruto's mindscape, the Kyuubi suddenly yelled out "Kit! DODGE!"
"MOVE!" yelled Naruto. As they all moved, the ground they were standing on was suddenly filled with shurikens and kunai.
Seeing how close to death they had just been, Hanabi and Konohamaru couldn't stop shaking. Ten shinobi's with Anbu mask and the ROOT sign on their masks appeared.
"Naruto Uzumaki, you will accompany us back to Danzo-sama where you will be trained for his greatness," stated their leader in a monotone voice. The shinobi looked around and saw the others. "Three Hyugas, One Sarutobi, and an orphan. You will all come with us for training with Danzo-sama too. You do not have any choice."
"I'm not going back to that hell hole!" yelled out Naruto as he took a fighting position. Everyone took up fighting positions until there was another interruption, making the situation seem worse.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Kyuubi brat!" said Kisame.
"Naruto, come with us," said Itachi with an emotionless voice.
'Crap, this couldn't get any worse,' thought Naruto.
"Hmph. Let me takeover for a while and I'll show them what it means to mess with me, the Lord of Foxes!" shouted the Kyuubi. Naruto shook his head. He couldn't trust the demon to protect his friends yet.
Suddenly, one of the ROOT Anbu made a hand seal, causing Neji to suddenly collapse in pain. The man removed his mask to show that he was a main branch Hyuga that had come under the disguise as a ROOT Anbu.
"Hahaha! Not only can we get rid of the weakling heirs of Hiashi, but we can also put the Branch family in their place!" laughed the shinobi.
"Neji!" the young shinobis cried out. "GOO, LEAVE ME! S-SAVE YOURSELVES!" roared out Neji as he clutched his forehead.
"I won't leave you!" cried Tenten.
'What do I do?' though Naruto. Everything was going bad, and a deal with the devil or a miracle could save them now.
Said miracle suddenly came crashing through some trees.
"INCOMING!" shouted a figure before crash landing right into the middle of all of them. The Akatsuki members watched in amusement, young shinobis in confusion, and Root without any emotion. Soon the dust cloud cleared out and a young man with slick black hair combed back with a few stray hair in front of his forehead came out from the crater he had created. He had a yellow tank top, blue wushu pants, and green wristbands. His brown eyes, though, told them that this was a warrior.
"WOOT! New jump record!" yelled the figure, clearly ignoring the situation he was in. He looked around before spotting Neji, who was still on the ground clutching his forehead. He was clearly assesing what was wrong with him. Naruto and Hinata took positions in front of him while the rest were still trying to get Neji up. Before anyone could move, he suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of Neji. Before anyone could do anything, the man around removed Neji's headband and was curiously peering at the Caged-Bird Seal.
"Cool. Souvenir," said the man as he put a piece of paper on Neji's forehead. Before anyone could figure out what was happening, a loud ripping sound could be heard, followed by a scream of sudden pain.
"Did he just put a piece of sticky tape paper on the brat's forehead?" asked Kisame curiously.
"Bastard!" growled Naruto as he tried to tackle the man with Hinata, who completely dodged it without much effort.
"Wait! Look at his forehead!" exclaimed Tenten in shock. Everyone looked and saw that instead of the Caged-Bird Seal, there was now just a red mark on Neji's forehead.
"What!? Impossible!" growled the Hyuga. He ran up to the man to try to deliver a jyuuken strike to the man's heart. Before he could, though, a foot ended up right on his face.
"Nice job running into my foot," joked the man as his leg was stretched out in front of him. Frustrated, the Hyuuga swiped the foot away and tried to hit him, but the man was too agile.
"You're within range of my divination! Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!" yelled the Hyuuga. Before the first palm even went off, the man grabbed the Hyuga by his wrists, effectively stopping the attack.
"Hope your ready for a beat down cause HERE IT COMES!" shout the man as he broke both the Hyuga's wrist. The shinobi couldn't' even react as the other man tossed him down before laying a barrage of fists that even Itachi had trouble seeing with his Sharingan.
"Well that was boring," said the man before looking around. At this, all the Root Anbu jumped into action. Hand seals were blazing through all of them, hoping to use a long range jutsu to finish this dangerous man off.
"Fire style, Fireball Jutsu!" yelled out many of them. Soon, nine fireballs were flying towards the man, who was just standing there.
"W-Watch out!" yelled Hinata. She couldn't stand to see someone who had saved them die.
Naruto was about to use his Shadow Clones when the Kyuubi spoke up, "Kit, watch carefully."
"Huh?" grunted Naruto. The Kyuubi continued, "This man isn't ordinary. He might be even more powerful than me."
Before Naruto could comprehend what the Kyuubi just said, the man shifted his position a bit so that his left part of the body was facing towards the ROOT shinobis. His left hand was covering his right fist that was behind his body. As the fireballs came closer, he threw his right fist out in front and yelled out "SHOTGUN!"
Without the use of any hand seals, the man's hand glowed bright blue and started shooting out many tiny blue blasts from the fist. It went right through the fireballs, extinguishing them and hitting all the ROOT ninjas. Within seconds, they were all dead.
"Well, that was easy," said the man while rotating his arms around. He looked at the others, who were still in awe of him. Seeing this, he started bragging.
"I'm awesome right!" said the man while his nose seemed to be growing longer. Everyone sweat dropped at this.
Itachi was the first one to shake it off before turning his attention back to Naruto, although he still kept a wary eye on the man.
"Come with us Naru-" Itachi stopped and noticed something wrong with this picture. Naruto no longer had a headband, which was weird since he wanted to become a Hokage from past facts. There were two clearly unmarked Hyugas and one ex-marked Hyuga, and two other random people. None of them seemed to be on a mission, but rather were trying to... run away? Before he could contemplate this further, the man suddenly stood between him and the children.
"Listen, buddy, I don't know why you want these brats, but if you want them, then you have to go through me first," stated the man as he pounded his fists together.
Kisame looked gleeful and was about to attack when Itachi suddenly raised his hand first, cutting off Kisame from attacking. Kisame glowered at Itachi, but lowered his sword.
"Naruto, explain. Are you no longer a shinobi?" Itachi asked.
At this, Naruto lowered his head in shame and tears, confirming that it was true. At this, Itachi took a step forward and turned to Kisame.
"This is where we part ways," he stated. Kisame looked at him confused.
"I made a promise to protect Konoha and uphold the Fourth's wishes. Clearly, Konoha has fallen from its grace, but I will not fail the other one. Leave if you do not wish to fight, for I do not wish to have to kill you."
Kisame looked at Itachi as if he was crazy before sighing and sitting down.
"I may have joined Akatsuki for fun, but even still, you're still more fun to be with. I'll go with you and leave Akatsuki."
Itachi stood still for awhile before acknowledging Kisame's decision before turning to the man.
"Thank you for protecting them."
"No problem," replied the man, "Whats wrong with blonde, though?"
After everyone got comfortable around the campfire again, Naruto explained his story to all of them. After finishing his life's story, the man looked like he was ready to march to Konoha and destroy them.
"My foolish little brother," muttered Itachi, "It looks like he has fallen further than I imagined, along with Konoha."
"In that case, why don't you come with me?" said the man. Everyone looked at him, thinking about before they decided the ask the big question.
"Where are you from?" asked Tenten, who had Neji's head on her lap.
"From the West, over that giant wall," stated the man. Everyone froze. They had been educated that anyone from the other side of the wall was dangerous. Kisame looked even more excited to fight him now.
"H-How d-did you wind up here?" asked Hinata.
"I jumped. Was doing a jumping contest against my friend and I took a bit too far" stated the man. "I can protect you guys. Although I admit, you Easterners really are weak. Not much of us bother going over the wall since it usually repels most of us, but I'm an exception. Though I warn you the West is really chaotic. Lots of fighting almost every day."
They all looked at each other before agreeing to go with him. Naruto, Hinata, Tenten, Neji, Hanabi, and Konohamru didn't have anywhere else to go now. Itachi was going to protect the Fourth's Legacy, and Kisame was more excited to see the West, where he had heard that there were people even more powerful than him Everyone packed up after sleeping at night and left in the morning.
This is where it begins. This is where Naruto and his friends go to the West, where they never see the Elemental Nations until much later.
This is where Naruto grows up, and along with his friends, becomes Emperor of the West.
"By the way, who are you-dattebayo?" asked Naruto.
"Right never introduced myself. I'm the badass in my land. One of the strongest people in my land. The name is-"
HAHAH CLIFFHANGER! GUESS WHO IT IS! Although based on his description, I'm hoping some of you guys will guess right who this is, should be pretty obvious As to why Jiraiya and Kakashi never showed in this chapter up, It'll be revealed next time.. in Rise of the West.
On a side note, you might notice I also write the fanfic: Final Fantasy X: With a Machina twist. No, I am not abandoning that story and will still be doing weekly releases. This story will most likely be a monthly release. If it gains a lot of popularity, I might go for 3, or even bi-weekly releases, but the FFX story will be the main one I write.
