This story is not mine. It comes from an author you all know. read the end notes to figure out who.
Philosophical thought of the chapter
One choice.
Many believe that events occur because of multiple events occurring. Yet they forget that it comes down to a single choice. That one choice creates a butterfly effect and changes everything.
For example, Hinata's choice to try to improve herself and impress Naruto did land her in the hospital gravely injured, but she didn't see that she had begun to change. Neji was shocked that she kept on fighting. Naruto saw her in a new light.
End thought
Naruto rechecked his supplies, trying to hold back tears. He was exiled from Konoha for very biased reasons. Yes he used Kyuubi's chakra, but he did it to protect himself and everyone. But that didn't matter to the oh so wise council of Konoha. No, instead of being praised for saving the village again, he got the extremely short end of the stick and was exiled. He didn't even get a chance to talk to Hinata about her confession. They tried to take the Toad contract, but he was the new Toad Sage. The council couldn't unless he went berserk. Tsunade was drinking herself into a coma and he left fast enough after the exile that he didn't see everyone's reaction to the Kyuubi chakra.
He now stood the giant bridge named after him. As he began to walk along the shoreline on the Fire Country side, his tenant spoke up. Contrary to what he told Jiraiya and the others, Kyuubi and him had become friends; friends that occasionally tried to tear each other's throats out, but friends none the less.
"Kit, where are you going?"
'I don't know, fuzzy. I don't know.'
Kyuubi crossed his legs in contemplation. They traveled a while longer before a thought popped into the biju's head. "Kit, we need to find a map. A really old map, like Sage of the Six Paths old."
'This had better not be a trick to get me to release you.'
"Hate to burst your bubble, meat bag, but I will be getting released. But my power won't."
'Huh?'
"Kit, there are creatures older than even me that can make what I did and what Pein did look like child's play. But they are peaceful; very peaceful and very clever. They choose champions to do their battles and bestow upon them gifts. The island that they live on is not on any map except for the Rikudo Sennin's. I think there would be a good place to start your rise."
'My rise?'
"Yes, ramen for brains. You are going to be a champion even if I have to eat one of them. You are going to be a wastelander." Kyuubi smiled toothily behind the seal. This was going to be interesting.
Three weeks later
The situation in Konoha was a mess. The council thought that they would be able to ask for help from their allies to recover, but that was proven wrong. Yuki no Kuni canceled their trade contract along with Nami and Taki. Taki even went so far as to put a kill on sight order on all Leaf shinobi. Suna was pulling out of their treaty and Tsuki no Kuni did the same.
In the council room, everyone was yelling back and forth while demanding that Tsunade track down the now exiled sage and bring him to justice. Tsunade was about to burst when Sakura beat her to it. "SHUT UP!" the pinkette roared. Everyone froze. "You blame Naruto about the other countries breaking off their treaties. Do you even know who it was that fought hard enough that they wanted to be allies with us?"
"But of course!" one fat merchant exclaimed. "It was Kakashi Hatake!"
"Mah mah," Kakashi's voice was heard from one of the windows near the ceiling. "It wasn't me. I was on those missions, but it wasn't me."
Shikaku slumped forward trying to piece it together when recent events lined up and it was crystal clear. Looking around, he could see that Shibi and Hiashi realized the same thing. He hit his head on the table. "Fuck. We are fucking screwed."
Tsunade looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"Look over the mission reports. The Wave Mission of guarding Tazuna the bridge builder was assigned to Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke. According to the report, their bridge was named the Great Naruto Bridge after Naruto fought to save their country and changed their hearts. The new treaty with Suna came after the invasion, where Naruto defeated Shukaku and became friends with Gaara-sama. Taki was after we assigned Team seven to escort their leader to their village. There was an attempt to steal one of their village secrets and Naruto defended it without a second thought. Yuki no Kuni was connected to the mission of escorting their current Daimyo. Naruto fought and defeated their previous leader and was able to make the actress turned Daimyo open her heart. Tsuki was the escort mission of the then daimyo's son and grandson. Naruto showed them true leadership and fought an odd shinobi that could turn anything he touches into stone. Looking at the mission reports, do you see what lines up?"
Silence met him.
"Don't strain yourselves. I'll tell you. Naruto was the one to help us gain those treaties. When word got out that you exiled him, those treaties left with him." He glared at the civilian council, the ones behind the exile. "We could have kept those treaties and a stellar shinobi with us, but because he used it's chakra, you exile him. HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN A HERO'S WELCOME!" Shikaku roared at them as he slammed his fist into the table. "I don't care if what you say. Naruto may be forbidden from coming onto Konoha territory, but he will be able to find sanctuary in the Nara's herd grounds."
The reaction to this news was wide and varied but somewhat constant. The clan heads began to emit KI while the civilian council began to squirm. Hiashi was gripping the handles of his chair tightly. Hinata was at home crying herself into a wreck over the fact that he was exiled. While he was harsh on his daughter, that did not mean that he didn't have paternal instincts and the one currently raging was the one to kill/horribly maim the fools/bastards that made his hime cry.
"There is more." Danzou spoke up. All heads turned to him. "Yondaime-sama gave ROOT information to destroy back when it was still active. I can honestly say now that I am glad I didn't destroy it." He snapped his fingers and a ROOT agent appeared next to him. "Remind me, what is your name?"
"Mashi Yuno."
"Mashi-san, please retrieve file 626-666. Tell the guard that it is no longer necessary for him to guard there."
"Hai."
The agent vanished for several minutes before reappearing with 2 files, one being yellow and the other colored blood red. "Thank you, Mashi-san. You will be receiving a bonus for this."
"Hai, Danzo-sama." The agent shunshined away.
The crippled war-hawk turned to face the council. "These files are the only proof that Yondaime-sama has an heir. I was ordered to never let them see the light of day, but in light of recent events, I think that I am exempt from those orders. This contains the birth certificate for him and for his wife, their marriage certificate, and his son's birth certificate." He held up the yellow file as he said this. He then placed it on the desk in front of him and placed a hand on the blood red. "This file contains his will and his wife's will. Hiruzen was named as the controller of the estates, and Anko Mitarashi was named as the replacement should anything happen to Hiruzen. I am allowed to read the wills, but execution of said wills is left to Mitarashi-san."
"Why her?" Hiashi asked curiously.
It was Kakashi who answered. "She was trained by the heir's mother after Orochimaru's defection. She was the only one who would train her when she came back."
The fat merchant from before snorted. "And how would you know?"
Kakashi's eye narrowed. "I was present for the marriage ceremony. I was one of the few privy to his personal life. I was there to watch my sensei sacrifice himself to do what he did to save this village. Because I was an orphan, Sensei actually approached me to join their family. I stalled, not knowing what to do or choose. Then Kyuubi struck." He turned to Danzo. "I'm glad you kept them, my copies were burned after I 'commited' them to memory. But enough reminiscing, read them."
Danzo nodded. He opened the first folder and passed the mentioned papers to Tsunade. She scanned over them. Suddenly there was the sound of wood shattering as the Slug Princess' legendary strength broke the arm rest of her chair. She grew teary eyed as she read on. Slowly, the papers were passed around the room, creating different reactions between the civilian council and the shinobi council. The shinobi half were saddened and outraged at the news. They had let a true diamond in the rough slip away. The civilians were shocked and confused primarily, as one of the female representatives grew furious as she read the marriage certificate. Sakura braced herself as the documents were passed to her by a sobbing Shizune. Tsunade had taken the liberty back when she was beginning to train under her of informing her about Kyuubi's status in Naruto. Scanning over the documents, tears sprang up as her free hand moved to cover her mouth.
In a way, Life was and is a very cruel being. Sakura had lost her father in the Kyuubi attack 16 years ago and never knew how he had died. Her mother, Ko Haruno, was a civilian but had managed to glean enough knowledge of seals to know the difference between Naruto and Kyuubi. Growing up, Ko had told her to be nice to Naruto, but Sakura was swept up in the hatred that the other victims held. Now, looking at the pictures, she wondered what would have happened if she had been nice to the orphan.
The pinkette passed the documents on to her sensei, who in turn took them and handed them back to Danzo. He opened the last file and said, "As you all know, neither of them liked formalities, so the wills are rather short. They left everything that they owned to him, along with access to their bank accounts when he becomes chuunin." He shuffled the papers and an extra slip of paper was revealed. "Oh, what is this?" One of ROOT appeared beside him and picked the paper off the ground carefully. Both aged and young (You really couldn't tell with the mask on) recoiled in surprise before Danzo let out a hearty laugh. "Hiashi, my friend, Hitomi has proven her guile and stealth even in death. I can't believe I missed this!"
Hiashi sat ram-rod straight and glared at the war hawk. "What do you mean?"
Danzo smiled, a rather creepy thing considering his scars and normal demeanor, but it was a smile full of mirth. "She went behind your back and secured someone's future. Two someones in fact." He shook his head. "Tsunade-sama, when will you be announcing this to the village?"
Tsunade contemplated dates with Shizune before she gave an answer. "3 days. I will announce it in three days."
Later that evening
Hiashi knocked gently on the door to his eldest daughter's room. Hanabi told him that she had been crying or sleeping the entire time he was at the council meeting. She was an utter wreck, especially since she never got an answer to her confession to Naruto. Looking at the event now in hind sight, it was a good time to say it, but it was a fool's errand. He smiled before hiding it as a branch member moved behind him. He had proposed to Hitomi while they were in the middle of being ambushed by bandits. After wards, she bopped him on the head and smothered him in kisses. The only people that saw were her two teammates and his own teammates. None of them spoke of what happened during that hour.
A soft 'Enter' was heard and he opened the door with as much grace as he could along with his face the pinnacle of calmness. But said mask nearly shattered when he saw his daughter's face.
He had seen her eyes show determination to prove herself after every brutal training session. He had seen bravery, wonder, love and a hint of lust whenever she looked at Naruto or spoke about him. The head of the Hyuuga clan had also been a witness to her doubt, her nervousness, her fear and her helplessness. But the look in her eyes now was pure defeat, sadness, and mourning. Her indigo hair was mussed up and uncared for with tears stains running down her face. Taking a good solid look at his first daughter, he saw that she had inherited her mother's natural beauty. But the Hyuuga council managed to somewhat squash that gem into the ground. He softly shut the door behind him and quietly activated the silencing seals enscribed in each room of the Hyuuga clan home.
Her eyes widened at the sight of him and she moved to sit without her stuffed fox while attempting to wipe her eyes. "F-F-F-Father-"
Her greeting was cut short as he embraced her. "It's alright, Hina-hime. Let it out."
She was stunned for several seconds before more tears welled up as she felt her father's acceptance of her in his arms. He had not called her that since her mother died. Sniffling, she slowly began bawling into his shoulder as Hiashi rubbed his hand gently up and down her spine. Both shared Hinata's pain.
2 hours worth of sadness later
Neji poked his head in to see Hiashi sitting with Hinata's slumbering head resting on his lap as he gently brushed her hair. The Juuken prodigy opened his mouth just as Hiashi said. "If the council is summoning me, tell them I am unavailable for the next 3 days."
Looking dumbfounded, Neji could only say. "Hai. What should the reason be?"
Hiashi smiled. "Repairing ties with family."
3 days later
Hinata was kneeling in her mother's garden, just taking in the peaceful surroundings when she heard Tsunade begin her speech. She leapt up to the roof in order to get a better spot to hear.
"Citizens of Konohagakure, I come before you with spectacular news and grave news as well." Tsunade began. "We have found recent evidence of that Yondaime did not bring in to light before, during or after the Kyuubi attack with my sensei. Yondaime was married to one of our most prominent shinobi. Minato Namikaze was married to one Kushina Uzumaki, who many know better as the Bloody Habanero." Cries of shock echoed throughout the gathered before Tsunade called for silence. "There is more. In the very file we found their marriage certificate, we found three birth certificates. Two of them belonged to Yondaime and Kushina. The third certificate belonged to…"
Tsunade paused dramatically, nearly pulling the villagers out of their seats. She had to laugh mentally. She could see why Sensei did this all the time in his speeches. It was fucking hilarious.
"Their son."
The effect was immediate. The entire crowd was in uproar to find out the heir's name and location. After 5 minutes of letting the villagers run around like chickens with their heads cut off, she called them to silence. "Before I get to the grave news, we also found a marriage contract for their heir and one Hinata Hyuuga."
Hinata froze. She was to be married to the heir of two of the greatest war heros Konoha had ever known? But what about…
"But this happy news comes at a price. Their son was born the night of the Kyuubi attack. He did not die," She reassured the crowd. "But he no longer lives among us. His name is…" Pausing yet again, she relished in the control she had over the crowd before relenting.
"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, the recent exile and newest savior of Konoha."
Hinata's mind froze. Her legs gave out as she suddenly became seated to the roof. She was to marry Naruto? Why did Yondaime –sama seal Kyuubi into his own son?
"Many of you are in denial of this, but let me remind you." Tsunade thundered at the objective crowd. "One of the values that Minato held close to him was that he would never ask someone else to do something if he could do it himself. He sacrificed a normal life for his son and his own life force to seal Kyuubi and wanted him to be seen as a hero; someone who was keeping the beast from hurting us. But no one followed his last wish. I hope you all reflect on your actions. And Hinata, if you are listening, you are one lucky lady. I think he is 9 inches." And with that, Tsunade left for her office.
Hiashi would later find Hinata on the ground in the garden with a massive nose bleed and a serene smile on her face. After getting her inside, he failed to see one of the stone dragons puff into smoke.
Naruto jumped slightly as the memories from his Shadow Clone he had left in Konoha came to him. He looked up at the sky and smiled slightly. 'That is interesting news.'
"You're telling me kit. You struck fricking gold. Betrothed to a Hyuuga, and a hot one at that! Man, I can just see the sex now! Did you know that Hyuuga women are screamers when-"
'Can it fox and help me empty this thing!' Naruto bellowed at the fox as he and 2 other shadow clones bailed water from the leaky boat he had 'borrowed'.
"Oh, would you look at the time! It's time for my nap! See ya, kit!"
"KYUUBI!" the blonde jinchuuriki screamed at the ocean sky before getting back to frantically bailing the sinking boat.
3 years later
Gaara looked over the paper in front of him. It was a request from Konoha to reestablish the trade treaty that he had made back when Naruto was still with them. His gaze flicked up to look at the new Konoha ambassadors for all countries that had been in contact with Naruto.
Hinata had approached Tsunade with the request that she be allowed to take over that position. While she was a clan member, she had learned that in order for her to marry Naruto, when they found him, she was free to leave the clan and join his. She agreed to follow through, but Naruto had disappeared off the face of the Elemental Nations. The closest lead that they had was that someone matching his description had stolen a fishing boat that was scheduled to be decommissioned. Beyond that, all they knew was that he had gone to sea.
His 'fiancé' had grown into a near replica of her mother. Her hair reached her slim waist and her figure had many men lusting after her and a lot of women seething with jealousy. This was due to her engagement to the last Namikaze heir and her stunning figure. She now wore a neon orange jounin vest along with a lavender tanktop and blue and orange capris. When questioned about the color scheme, she replied that anyone could hide in black, but stealth specialists could hide in any bright color they wore. ANBU agreed with her, considering how much Naruto managed to get away from them.
Her partner in crime, Konohamaru, became her assistant in trying to get back the lost treaties that had left with the whiskered boy. He and Hinata both had started to prank the village in true Naruto fashion, Konohamaru and his corps more than Hinata. They were working their way slowly on most of the countries, but Suna and Wave were the hardest to regain the treaties.
Gaara placed the sheet on his desk and steepled his fingers. "This treaty leans towards my advantage and your disadvantage. Why?"
Hinata responded crisply. "We wish to regain the bond between our two villages. That is the starting treaty. If you wish to adjust it to make it more even, we are willing to agree to whatever you choose."
"You drive a tempting bargain." The ex-jinchuuriki muttered loud enough for the other occupants to hear. "Inform Lady Tsunade that we will go to a non-aggression pact and move on from there. Trade treaties are for the civilian councils only and cannot use clan money. Are we clear?"
"Transparently." The Konoha ambassadors replied in unison.
Gaara flicked through hand seals and activated the silencing seals around his office. "On a different matter, we may have found Naruto's location."
Hinata nearly bowled him over. "Where?"
"It's just a rumor, but sailors from our Port City were found floating in a dingy about 150 kilometers from their shipwreck. Their story is that their ship was caught in the middle of a storm and they hit a reef. Ten of them made it off and they landed on an island. One problem they encountered was that this island was primarily a desert from what they saw. They could not find a supply of fresh water and nearly died. One by one, they collapsed from dehydration. The final two were coherent enough to see a man in rusty armor and tattered clothing appear and check their vitals. When he was checking the person closest to them, they swore that they saw crystal blue eyes and blonde hair along with 3 whiskered shaped marks on his face. They collapsed and later awakened to find themselves in their boat with a supply of water and food." Gaara described after prying her gently off of him with his sand. "I questioned them as best I could, but the rest of them were saying that they were delusional."
"And the island?"
"Not a clue where it is. We have poured over all of our charts and cannot find it. I'm sorry."
Hinata just smiled and planted a kiss on the red head's cheek. "It's fine. I know he is alive. That's enough for now."
Konohamaru opened the door. "We need to go. Tsunade will want to hear about this."
Gaara nodded in understanding. As the two left, he pulled the next sheet of paper from his moderate stack of paperwork.
(Insert line here)
Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead as the duo ambassadors reported their partial success. "Well, that's good news. On a side note, Hinata, you have been requested for a mission. You and the rest of team 8."
Hinata raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"Escort. He said that if you make a good impression, he may be able to arrange for an alliance with a close friend of his and ours. Personally, I think that it's a bullshit mission, but he paid a pretty penny." Tsunade pulled out the mission request form. "He said that he will meet you by the bridge to Wave and that he is rather easy to find. While that is a little close for comfort with the war going on, you should be safe. But tread carefully. Contact me whenever you can. Dismissed."
Time blurred as the ex-heiress to the Hyuuga clan gathered her mission supplies and met her team. They all had been briefed before the indigo haired woman and immediately took off as she hit the ground next to them.
Kurenai had her hands full with trying to raise her son along with team 8 and team 10. Shikamaru helped the most, but everyone pitched in. With her team, Shino had gained more beetles to use due to his soon ascension to clan head and was still wearing the rain coat, hood and shades combo that he wore after Naruto got back from his training. Kiba and Akamaru were slated to fight Hana for the right to become clan head. Akamaru was massive now, the size of a large wolf. Kiba rode on his back from time to time, but never for too long. They ran for a while before making camp in the setting sun. After gathering fire wood, Kiba looked at the Hyuuga. "Any news on Naruto?"
"Some." She then proceeded to tell them about the rumors that Gaara told her about. Kiba nodded as he accepted this and Shino spoke up.
"Odd. Uzumaki-san's behavior, if the rumor is true, is most illogical."
"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.
"He has successfully managed to disappear off of the face of the earth, and a group of stranded sailors managed to find him only to be put back out to sea? Uzumaki-san has never abandoned anyone in their time of need with very few exceptions." Shino elaborated. "Something is wrong with that picture."
Akamaru woofed in agreement. Kiba nodded. "Akamaru agrees, but he says that perhaps that's because he knows about the war and is trying to avoid it."
"Again, it's illogical."
"But he has always come out of the battle with something someone else wants." Hinata broke in. "While most of Konoha wants him back, who's to say that he hasn't changed? Maybe he doesn't want to come back and is content to let us know that he is alive. Being exiled is certain to change anyone."
"But not always for the better, Hinata-chan." Shino reminded her. "Not to mention now that he has a fiance that he was not informed about. He has every reason to come back."
"I know, Shino-kun. I know." She sighed as they settled into their sleeping bags for the night.
As the camp slumbered except for Akamaru keeping watch, they missed seeing a pair of amethyst eyes watching them from the tree tops. They blinked once then vanished.
Akamaru perked up at sudden leaf movement, but settled back down when his senses told him no one was near. Unfortunately for the hound, a single creature managed to flee.
Following Morning
They arrived to a misty bridge and an odd creature sitting of a staff seemingly meditating. Kiba pointed to the animal and was about to speak when it said. "Keep pointing that finger and you will not be able to point in the future." Kiba jumped a mile as said creature appeared on his arm, amethyst eyes blazing. "Are we clear?"
Kiba nodded his head rapidly before the creature sat back and laughed. "Ha, that was fun. You are the team?"
Shino nodded. "Yes. I am…."
"Shino Aburame of the Aburame clan, Hinata Hyuuga of the Hyuuga clan and fiancé of the MIA Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru of the Inuzuka clan." The creature rattled off with a huff of annoyance. "I am well aware of who you are, otherwise I would have been stuck with another team. But moving on, my name is Kurama the Kitsel. I am the mixture of a kitsune and a weasel. No, it was not my mother's fault." Kurama said before picking up his staff and walking towards the main land. "You three are helping me set up some seals for a valley. It's a wild life refuge and poachers are still getting in and harming the wildlife. If we manage to finish quickly, I'll talk to my friend about a possible treaty between you and him." The odd creature suddenly picked up speed. "Come on, let's go!"
Kiba smiled at the thought of a race as the shinobi took off after the creature. As they ran, they noticed that the odd thing was no longer in front of them.
"YEEE-HA! COME ON, AKAMARU, LET'S SHOW THEM ANIMAL SPEED!" looking over at the large dog, Kurama could be seen riding him like one would the horses that pulled a majority of the carriages found in their nation. Akamaru barked his assent and began to move even faster.
"Oh, it is on!" Kiba howled as he went to the ground to keep pace.
Shino flipped through some handseals and intoned, "Aburame art: Scarab form." His beetles flooded out of the access holes hidden beneath his coat and covered him until his appearance was similar to that of the legendary scarab beetle. The carapace opened up to reveal wings as he took to low altitude flying.
Hinata was about to voice her annoyance at being left behind when she felt herself getting picked up. Looking down, she saw Kurama on some type of metal board holding her. He looked at her and winked, "Can't leave the pretty lady behind, now can we? I'll ride shotgun, just don't hit anything."
She set her feet down slowly. They dropped back as she got accustomed to handling the board. After about 10 minutes of nearly slamming into trees and scaring the shit out of a herd of deer and Kurama, she managed to catch back up to her two teammates. Akamaru led the way, as they passed Konoha and the Valley of The End. After several more hours of this running, Kurama had them pull over and said, "That's far enough for today. We'll rest for the night and make the rest by foot."
"Really?" Kiba cried. "We're not there yet?"
"Nope. You see that mountain?" the odd creature pointed towards the mountain range south of their position. "Just past that is the valley that we are headed to. There is a tunnel leading to it through the mountain, but it is well hidden. Only myself and a select few know about it. Soon, you will know as well."
As the team gathered up firewood and made their tents, Kurama slipped a parcel into the bottom of Hinata's pack and then quickly pulled a book out of his own pack and positioned himself on his staff. 'You play a risky game, my friends. To help them, but only when all hope is lost. I see too many pieces to this puzzle and not enough time to put them together. But we have pulled off the impossible before. The time of the Biju has passed. The dawn of a new era is just around the corner. But only you can usher it in, mi amigo.'
Okay, as i said at the beginning of the story, this idea is not mine.
this idea belongs to kyuubi-phoenix1600
they tried to access their email shortly after Basic in Chicago only to discover that the account was hacked and password was changed. with that they lost access to their profile here along with the ability to publish more chapters for The Hidden Village of Dragons, Legends, and Outcasts.
They will be sharing this account with me for a time. as of right now, they will take over the account on July 7th, 2012 at the time of 1201 on the Eastern Sea Board.
they apologize for not posting sooner and thank all of you for supporting their decision to join the Navy!
Read and Review! kyuubi-phoenix1600 will see these as well.
Ja ne!