It has been a while since I've written, College Finals and the looming threat of being evicted have eaten up almost all my valuable time. Fortunately I found a source of inspiration. and I have started on a new story that will hopefully not disappoint. If you would like to see the map that I use for the Geography of the Elemental Nations, you can find the link on my profile. So without further adieu I present the first chapter of The Hero, The Wanderer, and The Prisoner.

It had been three weeks since the combined armies of Iwa and Oto attacked. The last three weeks were spent picking up the pieces, both literally and figuratively. Konoha had lost many good shinobi during the invasion. Much more that of only Oto had attacked. The one that hurt the members of team seven the most was Sakura. The pinkette had pushed both of the boys out of the way of an exploding tag at the cost of her life. And ever since the mass funeral and memorial service, Naruto and Sasuke hadn't left their homes.

In general the most damaging effect of the invasion was the loss of the Hokage. He fell in battle against the Otokage; Orochimaru. He didn't go down without a fight though; he managed to drag the arms of Orochimaru and the soul of the Tsuchikage to the belly of the Shinigami by using himself as a sacrifice.

When the council of Elders convened alongside the shinobi council to choose a new Hokage they chose Kakashi. While he may not have been the most powerful of ninja in the villages employ, he was the most ready to lead, after all, they were at war and there was no time to go chasing down the two remaining loyal Sannin in the hopes that they would accept the job. And this is where we find ourselves now, three weeks after the invasion and at the final meeting of team seven before Kakashi is inaugurated as the Godaime Hokage.

Naruto walked down the street towards the bridge his team meets at. His mind was not on the road though, no, it was on the fresh war with Oto and Iwagakure. He thought back to his times training with Jiraiya. The stories that were told to him about the Second and Third Shinobi wars sent a shiver down his spine. War was a horrible thing. Naruto knew this himself; he had after all just lost a team mate in the opening bout in this conflict, which was shaping up to become the Fourth Shinobi war. He arrived at the at the bridge early and sat down on the railing. No one else was there yet so he waited.

Sasuke had vowed after the massacre that no one would ever die for him again. When Itachi was about to murder Sasuke, his mother Mikoto Uchiha had jumped in front of the sword strike, giving her life in exchange for Sasuke's. The event had left him scarred for life. He had issues getting close to other people for fear that Itachi would kill them to get at his little brother. So when Sakura had pushed him out of the way, and subsequently made it impossible for her to escape the exploding tag, it pushed and prodded at his already cracked psyche.

Sasuke had vowed after the massacre that no one would ever die for him again. When Itachi was about to murder Sasuke, his mother Mikoto Uchiha had jumped in front of the sword strike, giving her life in exchange for Sasuke's. The event had left him scarred for life. He had issues getting close to other people for fear that Itachi would kill them to get at his little brother. So when Sakura had pushed him out of the way and subsequently made it impossible for her to escape the exploding tag, it pushed and prodded at his already cracked psyche, causing him to come to a conclusion, An epiphany that would rock the world to the core.

War like the war that his country just entered has no purpose. It is fought for no reason. People may claim that it is justice, but in reality it's just revenge. The same kind of revenge that he seeks against Itachi, That circle of hate would take the world nowhere. The nations were like petulant children. They wanted things they couldn't have, and then struck out at each other when they couldn't get what they wanted. The system was cracked, outdated, and he would have no part of it. He would leave the village behind.

'Peace must be found, for my soul, the soul of Sakura, and for all those who lose their lives needlessly because of the system. I will find a way, there must be a way, it can't be found within the walls of this monument to senseless slaughter though. So I'll leave, I will forge my own path forward.'

Sasuke looked down the path towards the bridge he was supposed to meet his teammates at. He saw his friend and surrogate brother Naruto sitting on the railing, seemingly meditating, more likely trying not to think about Sakura and the war. And suddenly Sasuke was hit with a wave of fear. Not for himself, but for Naruto and his sensei. They would both have to fight in this upcoming war. He wished Naruto well as he made his decision and turned around heading towards the Uchiha clan compound, intending on packing his things for his journey.

For thirty minutes Naruto waited, waited for his teammate, waited for the sound of Sakura's final scream to leave his ears. He heard a sound to his left, it was his sensei. Kakashi had a grim look on his face as he looked at his orange clad student. He was left with a sense of sadness; he knew what was to come. He had experienced the Third Shinobi war first hand, and lost both his teammates in the conflict. He could empathize with the young man in front of him, young and forced into a war that he had no choice to fight, knowing that his friends and allies may not see the next day.

"Where is Sasuke?" asked Kakashi

"I'm not sure, he is thirty minutes late, and he is never late." replied Naruto

Kakashi looked troubled, he knew the death of his third student has hit them all hard, but to be late to a pre-arranged team meeting was serious. He would have to go find him later and see if he could talk his student out of his funk. "Well I will have to tell him later." He switched from the voice of a teacher to the stern voice of a commanding officer. He pulled out a pair of letters and started reading the first one. "Naruto Uzumaki, you are hereby transferred off of Team Seven and formally transferred to Shinobi Group West, 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, Charlie Company. You will ship out in five days for your new posting at the border of Grass Country. You have until noon on the fifth day to say your goodbyes and pick up your standard issue equipment from the shinobi armory."

Please read and review. Any comments are wonderful even the flames. They help me heat my ramen =). Oh ya, before I forget, at the end of this fic, anyone who can guese where my insperation came from this gets a lifetime supply of cyber cookies. Along with a mail order tiger, with shipping and handling of course...