On Your Mark…
If anyone happened to pass by a certain part of the forest surrounding Konoha, they would have been met with the sight of a large group of identical orange clad preteens beating a silver haired chunnin to a pulp. No harm done though. He was a traitor after all. Another man with a bleeding leg sat against a nearby tree gawking at the sight before him, a growing pride in the student he had come to consider a brother.
Finally, the group dispersed into smoke leaving only a single, tired 12-year-old boy named fishcake. Naruto turned to his teacher and frowned at the blood.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei, are you okay?"
"Mm. Though I should probably get to a hospital." Iruka paused, studying the blonde, before smiling and reaching into his pocket. "Naruto, close your eyes."
A metal clink and the feeling of soft fabric covering his forehead, Naruto opened his eyes and bear hugged his teacher. Iruka chuckled.
"I think shadow clones can replace your regular clones, neh? Congratulations on passing, Naruto."
Naruto left for home once he had made sure his sensei would get medical treatment and slowly walked through the village memorizing everything as he went, the moon silently lighting his way. Naruto choked as his throat began to constrict with unshed tears.
"Isn't it supposed to rain when bad things happen? Or was that a lie too?"
T.T
Sarutobi stared down his foe with a grim smirk and determined glare. "Hah. There is nowhere for you to run! Now you shall pay for your sins!" Before the Hokage could destroy the villain known as paperwork, an eerie chill crept down his spine causing him to look up.
"…At least I'm not drinking tea." The right window to his office slammed open.
Now before I continue, allow me to explain something to you. There were only two things that could truly worry the Professor Sarutobi. The first was a large explosion within the village and the second…
"Hokage-sama!!"
…was a wide eyed and panicking Hatake.
"What happened?"
"It's Naruto! During the bell test he turned into a shadow clone!" Sarutobi fell out of his chair, dignity be damned. He rubbed his temples.
"Kakashi, I already informed you that he knew the shadow clone technique."
"I know that! But he never showed up again. I couldn't find him, he wasn't anywhere! I can't find Naruto in the village!" The hokage paled, signaling for the Anbu hidden in the room to search for the boy.
"…Oh, no…" Sarutobi ran from his office, Kakashi following close behind. The jounin picked up his pace when the Hokage's frantic mumbling became clearer. The two finally came to a room covered in security seals with shelves of scrolls all around. The hokage rushed over to a large green and yellow scroll mounted on a column in the center of the room and gave it a hard punch causing it to vanish in a puff of smoke.
"Kakashi…call off the Anbu. I have a meeting to attend to."
T.T
"You see?! You see?! It was a demon! It'll give away our secrets!"
"Not just that. It'll probably attack us."
"Will you idiots shut up?! Does nobody use their brains anymore?!"
"He is not a demon, but taking the forbidden scroll is dangerous to the village's security."
"Mm."
"If anything, he probably panicked."
"Panicked?! Why would that demon's taking of our scroll be a cause of him panicking?!"
"SHUT UP!!"
The council of Konoha silenced themselves, once again turning their attention to their leader. Sarutobi nodded and sat back down next to Homura and Kagura. Ever since the meeting started, everyone—shinobi and civilians alike—had argued over what to do, the biases of whether or not Naruto was a demon going around like wild fire.
"Now. If you have anything to say, say it one at a time and clearly." A civilian stood up, an angry glare pointed at the Inuzuka for an earlier comment.
"The…brat stole the scroll nearly a week ago and you did nothing to punish it. Why did you trust it? Look what it did!!"
"He." The civilian shifted his glare to the voice, a jounin wearing all black being flanked by two Anbu.
"…What?"
"The boy is not an it. And he did not steal the scroll from his own ideas, the traitor Mizuki tricked him into it so watch what you say."
"Thank you, Ibiki, you may sit." Sarutobi paused when Kagura stood.
"While that is true, the boy still took the scroll out of Konoha, thus endangering our village's security. He must be found and brought back before an enemy realizes what has happened. I suggest putting him in Konoha's personal bingo book with orders to bring him back, not kill. Details as to why will be kept quiet. Is this acceptable to everyone?"
Tsume bit her lip before standing.
"Not to be rude, but I suggest that those that are sent after the boy not be bias toward what he contains. Even if you put down those orders, he may still be maimed beyond fixing if what has been said here by council members means anything."
Kagura nodded and, after reexamining the council, reseated herself. "That will be all then. You are dismissed."
T.T
Meanwhile, a week's run away, Naruto sat beside a large river. He had been moving non-stop for days until he came to this river and was now stuck. Not to mention he somehow remembered everything that had happened in Konoha prior to his bunshin popping out and was extremely confused.
It wasn't like he wanted to steal the scroll, but he doubted that anyone would really believe that he wasn't a traitor like Mizuki so he ran. He looked up at the river again. The boy sighed. You see, his decision to leave was rushed so he didn't have time to pack. He had no food, meager supplies, and one set of clothes that he had been wearing for 7 days straight. And now, he was stuck, confused, and homesick. The runaway glanced at the scroll beside him and shrugged.
"Maybe I didn't read everything about the shadow clone thing." Unsealing the Scroll, Naruto read the entire passage about the technique and grinned. "Whenever one pops out, all the ones left remember whatever they did. So…Kakashi sensei probably told the old man and the old man probably has to tell…the…council…uh, oh."
Naruto looked around the scroll at the large river blocking his way. Hmmm. He looked back down at the scroll and began to unravel it. Hey, if it had a cool jutsu like shadow clone then it could have a build-a-bridge-over-a-huge-river jutsu too…right?
After reading through ten jutsu that he would really want to try out later, he came across a section labeled "Chakra Control." Normally, the blonde would immediately ignore the useless exercises, but one of them happened to be labeled "Water Walking." Naruto grinned.
"It's not a bridge, but it sounds a heck of a lot cooler! Let's see. 'To walk on water, focus chakra to feet at a constant rate.' Hah. Piece of cake!"
Putting down the scroll, the boy stepped up to the edge of the river and concentrated his chakra to his feet before stepping onto the water…promptly falling in. Naruto sputtered to the surface and climbed onto shore dripping wet and grumbling. He once again picked up the scroll and made sure to read the entire section like he did with the shadow clone. Blushing, he pulled off his clothing except for his trunks and walked up to a tree concentrating his chakra to his feet again and tried to run up it. He stuck for two steps before slipping off.
"Ugh. I guess it kinda worked. Well, at least now I know why Iruka sensei always told me to pay attention. How the heck did I miss the bold warning? No wonder kiba said I sucked."
Kiba...I wonder if I'll ever see him again? Or anyone for that matter.
"…I really am an idiot aren't I?"
Agreed.