DISOWNER: I don't claim Naruto.

Chapter 1 - Prologue

"So, what now?"

The Hokage sighed. "He's already gone. Not surprising, I guess, after that
'welcome'. You've seen him when he came back, haven't you? You must have
noticed. The electric burns on his chest, and the way his jacket was torn?
Doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. And they have the audacity
to claim he drove the Uchiha away and killed him on purpose! He's probably
hurting the most from this! And they dare place that traitor above him. Hell,
they'd probably even take Itachi back, just to get their hands on a precious
Uchiha!"

Tsunade spat those words, then calmed down and continued in a somber tone, "I
can't do this anymore, Jiraiya. I'm in office for only two weeks, and I hate
this village more than ever. Ironic, isn't it? He brings back their Hokage,
and the first thing they do is exile her little brother."

A heavy silence enveloped the room, and lingered for a few minutes. Finally,
Jiraiya spoke, a small, sad smile forming on his face: "I can't let my idiot
apprentice wing it alone, you know. Akatsuki is still after him, and I doubt
Orochimaru will take just take this sitting down. You know how vengeful he
becomes when he doesn't get his way. I have an idea where Naruto may go, so
I'm gone first thing tomorrow." He paused. "I've known you for a long time,
Tsunade. You said it yourself, he's your little brother, and I can see he's
more important than anything to you. Come with me."

More silence.

It was not that Tsunade needed time to make up her mind. Her mind was made up
the moment she saw Haruno Sakura, of all people, throw the first punch. It
was, in a way, unerstandable, but she would gladly rip her apart even now,
were it not for the simple fact that Naruto, for whatever reason, still cared
about her then. But it was one thing to make the decision in her mind, and
another to say it out loud. To abandon, and betray one's home village, that
she could not take lightly. But Konoha was not her home anymore, was it? It
was Naruto who brought her back, and Naruto was the only thing that held her
here. Now that he was gone...

She sighed again. "I will. Just...we can't let them off so easily, can we?
They deserve punishment, if only a token gesture."

Jiraiya smirked, an odd sight. "Yeah. And I have just the plan. Hanging around
the greatest prankster since Arashi has some useful side effects, it seems.
I'll go make preparations in the library, and...some other places. Can I trust
you to take care of the scrolls in your office?" Tsunade nodded. "Alright.
We'll meet three days from now at dawn, there's a dango shop two miles from
the north gate. And bring his family scrolls, would you? He deserves the
truth, no matter how painful it will be. Or what we know of it, at least."

"Fine. I'll prepare things here, and then check up on her. Who knows,
after last night, she may want to come as well. She's probably the only person
we can trust with this in this entire kami-forsaken village, and I think
Naruto needs a friend his age. I'll see you tomorrow, dismissed."

After Jiraiya had gone, Tsunade cradled her head in her hands. Half a week
from now, she would be an S-Rank missing-nin like her little brother, and kami
help all who would dare to come after him.

It had been an hour since she awoke, tears still flowing freely down her
cheeks. How could this happen? How could people be so...so...blind? The hero
who saved them during the sound invasion, the boy who saved the village again
when he brought back Tsunade-sama, how was it even possible that they would
still hate him? How could they even hate him in the first place?

A knock on the door brought her back to reality.

"Y-yes?"

The door opened to reveal...

"Tsu-tsunade-sama..."

"How are you today, Hinata-san? Let me check up on your injuries."

The diagnosis didn't take long. Hinata's injuries had been minor, thanks to
a few Hyuuga branch house members that came to her aid, and, albeit
grudgingly, dispelt the mob that had gathered to lynch the 'demon brat'.

"Well, physically, you're fine. But...I can see you're upset. No wonder there,
I guess...you care about him, don't you? It's written all over your face."

Hinata blushed bright-red. Her voice forsaking her, all she managed was a
small nod, before she stared at her knees again.

Tsunade smiled inwardly. It was obvious how the Hyuuga heiress felt about
Naruto, even to one who had never indulged in such things herself. She knew
right then that Hinata would never do anything that posed only a slight
possible threat to Naruto, and made up her mind to take her along, if she so
desired. With a few handseals, she erected a sound barrier around them. In a
serious voice, she addressed the girl.

"Hinata, I feel like you're the only person I can trust with this, save those
who are already involved. The council has declared Naruto an S-Rank
missing-nin yesterday night."

Hinata was shocked. 'How...why...S-Rank? What..."

The Hokage laid a hand on her shoulder. "Easy, girl. Easy. You and I both know
he does not deserve it, and that it doesn't make any sense, since the same
council exiled him earlier that day. But...seeing what I'm about to do, I
can't change that. Tell me, how far would you go to help him?"

Hinata took a minute to regain her voice, flushed even deeper than before, and
answered meekly: "I...th-there's nothing...I-I would d-do a-anything. H-He's
a he-hero a-and..."

Hinata fell silent, but Tsunade knew what she wanted to say. "Good. Forgive
me, but I had to be certain. I have a request to make. I will stress this is
not an order, but if you decline, I beg you to not reveal this to anyone, for
his sake. Can I trust you with that?"

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama. I-I w-wouldn't harm Na-Naruto-kun. I-I couldn..."

"Good. Jiraiya and I are going to leave Konoha tomorrow, and search for him.
The two of us will probably be able to protect him, until he is strong enough
to do so himself, but...he will need a friend." She took a deep breath.
"Hinata, I'd like you to come with us. Right now, you are the only person I
trust enough to even propose this. Be aware, if you come along, you'll be
branded a missing-nin and hun-"

"When do we leave?"

Tsunade smiled.