Ok i decided to make a story that would be a little different. In this story Naruto still hasn't found anyone to call a friend nor met the Hokage yet and has been kicked out of the orphanage at age five. And I don't want to spoil the rest of the chapter to you guys so without a further a do I invite you to read The Ravens Apprentice.
The full moon was shining bright over the empty streets of Konohagakure as a single silhouette of a man could be seen running atop of the rooftops. He was covered in blood and sweat and was speeding on his way out of the village after he informed the elders and Danzo that the deed was done and only a single Uchiha was still alive. Even though he was able to kill his father and mother he just couldn't find the cold heartedness to assassinate his own little brother for something he didn't even know about.

As he was reminiscing the events of the night he heard sobbing coming from an alleyway and cautiously decide to check on it while performing a Henge to cover the blood that was on his cloths. As he drew closer to the sound he was able to see the shape of a small child who was holding himself in the fetal position while rocking back and forth mumbling gibberish that he couldn't make out.

In a split-second decision he decided to approach him carefully as to not scare him and finally got his first good look of the child. He had a shirt that was several sizes too big for him that was covered in mud, pants that had tears on the area of the knees, and shinobi styled sandals. When he saw the face of the boy he saw tear streaks on his cheeks which bore whisker-like marks, and blue eyes that were partially hidden by the bangs of his blond hair.

'He looks like a miniature Yondaime', thought Itachi as he was finally in front of the boy. 'I wonder why he's out at night and dressed in those types of rags'. Itachi decided to slightly touch him on the shoulder to get his attention and decided to ask him the questions that were on his mind.

"The orphanage...sniffle...said there was no more room for me and...sniffle...decide to kick me out", responded the boy. Now this left Itachi puzzled considering the size of the orphanage in Konohagakure was one of the biggest buildings in the whole village. There was no way to fill up the orphanage of that size, much less have to resort to kick out a kid that looked to be five years old. Now curious he decided to ask the boy his name. "Excuse me but might you tell me your name?", asked Itachi while maintaining eye contact with the boy.

"sniffle...my name is Naruto...Naruto Uzumaki but most of the villager just call me demon", responded Naruto.

'Ahh that explains it' thought Itachi. 'That must be why he was kicked out. Tch can't believe some of the naïveté of some of these people. How can they think this poor little soul could be an all powerful demon, he looks to innocent to kill a fly how can they compare him to that bijuu.' In that moment that he was thinking Naruto started looking over the young man in front of him.

'He looks strong', thought Naruto as he looked over the armor the man wore and his black shinobi outfit that consisted of a tight short sleeve shirt, black pants that had a pouch on his left leg and standard issue black shinobi sandals. He then proceeded to see the mans handsome face which had black eyes and a leaf forehead protector and noticed his long black hair that reached his shoulders wit a band that kept his hair down his neck. When he noticed the mans hair he also noticed that he had a sword, that he thought might be a wakizachi strapped across his back. All in all in Naruto's opinion he seemed like a perfect example of a strong ninja. 'Wow', thought Naruto 'I wonder who he is'.

"Um excuse me sir but who are you", Naruto said in a polite tone even though he was still sobbing. He noticed that the man looked like he suddenly remembered where he was and decide to answer him.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha and pardon me for my short lack of attention.", responded the now proclaimed Itachi.

Now that Itachi took another look at the boy he decided to come up with a decision that would effect the world in ways that none would've thought possible. After he debated with himself of the pros and cons that this idea came with it he made up his mind.

"You say they kicked you out right Naruto?". A nod was his only response so Itachi continued. "What was your dream for the future then".

" All I really wanted was for people to acknowledge me and befriend me but with the way they treat me I can tell that isn't going to happen ever", replied a sad Naruto.
" Ok then Naruto-kun if someone offered to teach you in the way of the ninja what would you do with that power?"

" I would protect all of those that would be precious to me ", replied Naruto without even having to think of an answer. Now this answer pleased Itachi, so he decided it was time to inform the boy of his proposition that he had on his mind. After thinking it through one more time he decided that it was time to voice his idea. 'Besides', thought Itachi, 'it's not like anyone would miss him and the Hokage would probably think that when he was kicked out he must've been killed or decided enough was enough and ran away.'
'Now it was the moment of truth', thought Itachi. " Naruto-kun how would you like to leave the village with me and become my apprentice."

Now Naruto knew that when something is too good it's probably not true but he was still interested to hear Itachi out. "What would you get out of it Itachi though...you must have your own reasons to do this but if they're ok then I would like to leave with you", asked Naruto cautiously but with a little of hope in his voice. Naruto was use to people acting nice to him just to hurt him so knew to not just jump on board without being careful.

"The reason I ask you is that I'm already about to leave the village myself but when I saw you I recognized you. I know of the hardships you go trough day in and day out. All these hardships and you don't even know why do you?", which caused a shake of his head so Itachi decided to continue " I would tell you the truth along with many other things. Another reason is that I'm about to die, not soon, but in time I will die either by another ninja or more than likely...I would die because of my illness. I would to teach you all I know. All my jutsus, all my techniques, and everything else I can teach you in my time. I wish to do this so you'll be my legacy.", replied Itachi.

Naruto considered this and decided he would agree. The man spoke with power in his voice but he could hear the truthfulness in his voice as well as see it in his eyes. So with that in mind he said "I would be honored for you to teach me...sensei.", and offered him a full smile that made all of Itachi's worries of this stunt go away. 'He will go far...farther than anyone can possibly imagine', thought Itachi. So without a further ado he nodded to Naruto and motioned for him to climb on his back. As soon as Naruto got settled he thought that he was lighter than a kid his age should've been. Not too mention shorter than he should've been too. 'I wonder what they fed him when he was in the orphanage. Scraps and leftovers no doubt.' with a shake of his head he headed to the North gate and stealthily passed it without alerting the guards. 'Well it's now up to me to fix that and I sure as hell am.'

Now that he was a couple miles out of Konoha he decided to come up with a plan. He needed to know where to head because even with all the items and food he had stored in his various storage scrolls he knew that the food would only last him and his companion, which he noticed dozed off on the way, a week or two at best. In the end though he decided to head toward the border of fire and waterfall country (the country takigaure is in) and would buy more supplies from the various small villages on the way, including a change of clothes for Naruto since he needed something better than those rags of his.

With that in mind he sprinted through the night with only the moon, various wildlife and Naruto to accompany him.