"Naruto…ran away?" asked Sakura. She then felt her heart stop for a few seconds when she heard what Iruka had just told her. She looked at Iruka with eyes full of shock, worry, and sadness. It was as if her heart had been ripped out and torn apart. "What…do you mean…he ran away?"

"Well…" said Iruka

Flashback: Not too long ago at Jiraiya's gravesite

"I tried, Iruka…I really did..." said Naruto, with cracking voice. "But…every time I try to apologize…she just ignores me…" He then looked down at the ground. "I think she hates me now…" He then started crying. Iruka looked at his young friend. He had no idea what to do or what to say to him, as he had never experienced this pain before. Naruto rubbed the tears from his eyes. He looked at Iruka with a sad smile.

"Iruka…I've decided…to run away…"said Naruto to Iruka, whose eyes were full of shock when he said that. Is this the same Naruto? The one who never gives up? The one who says that he won't run away from any problem? "It's obvious that she hates me after I said all that to her…She'd be better off without me anyway…"said Naruto, with a sad smile. He then let tears fall down his face. He then turned around and proceeded to walk away.

"Naruto, wait!" yelled Iruka. He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, but he just disappeared on contact. 'A Clone?!' thought Iruka. 'I've got to stop Naruto from making a big mistake!' He then ran to the village, looking for Naruto. He first checked Ichiraku Ramen, but he wasn't there. Then, he checked the training ground, but he wasn't there either. 'Damn it! He's not here either!' thought Iruka. 'Am I too late?' He then ran to Naruto's apartment. 'He's got to be here!' He then slowly opened the door, walked inside, and closed it behind him. He was shocked to see that the whole place had been emptied. The fridge was empty of any food, especially the ramen, the bed was made, the dresser and closet was empty, and the whole place was cleaned of any trash. "No…I'm too late…" said Iruka. "Naruto…"

End Flashback

"Naruto…" said Sakura. Tears started to well up in her eyes. Iruka went up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Sakura…I'm sorry…" said Iruka. Sakura just looked at Iruka. He knew what she was going through, sort of. He had been like a father to Naruto, and she had been like a mother/wife to him. She soon spotted an envelope underneath the pillow on Naruto's bed. Iruka moved out of her way as she reached for the envelope. As she pulled out the envelope that had her name on it, her hands started to shake. She also started to sweat a little, worrying what the note might say.

"Open it…" said Iruka. Sakura nodded and slowly opened the envelope. She then reached inside, pulling out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded the piece of paper at a steady pace and started reading it as soon as she unfolded the whole thing.

~Sakura

By the time you read this, I will have already been gone. To be honest, I didn't know whether I've should written this letter or if I should've just left without writing this letter. At this point, you'll probably never see me again. You'll probably hate me even more than back when we were kids now that you found out that I left without telling you.

The reason why I left was to finally bring Sasuke back to Konoha, seeing as you'll probably be better off with him and not me. You always talked about him since, even if you were with me. You always talked about how handsome he was, how skilled he was, and how smart he was. You always said my skills were good, but not as good as his skills. You always compared me to him, saying that Sasuke was always the better ninja, and that he was always a step ahead of me. Another thing was when we were on our first date; I overheard you talking to yourself, saying that I somehow remind you him. I know you probably know it already, but every time that you talked about Sasuke, it killed me a little on the inside. I felt as if my heart would fall apart, with one piece falling off every time you mentioned Sasuke.

I don't know if this will have any affect in any way, but after I bring Sasuke back to the village, I'm going to leave Konoha for good. I don't care if it means not becoming Hokage. What would be the point of becoming Hokage if you'll be with Sasuke the whole time? There wouldn't be a point in becoming Hokage if it meant the one you love won't be by your side. I'm sorry I made you read this, but I wanted you to know what I felt inside. Sakura, just remember that no matter what you do or where you go, I will always love you from afar. I'll miss you. Good luck and good bye.

Sincerely,

Naruto

P.S. It wasn't really Shikamaru who accidentally groped you three years ago while we were at the village, Sungakure, on an A-Rank mission. It was me and I'm sorry for that.

Sakura just froze at what she had just read. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. She felt as if she was being suffocated by her emotions: sadness, guilt, pain, sorrow, worry, and maybe a little anger. She felt hopeless and broken on the inside. But most of all, she felt the pain Naruto felt each time she talked about Sasuke: heartbreak. She then fell to the ground, holding herself and feeling the hot tears fall down her face like a landslide. Iruka walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura…" was all he could say. She turned and looked up to him. "We'll find him Sakura…and bring him back here…" Sakura nodded at him, and calmed down a bit, though the tears were still flowing.

"Thank you…Iruka…" said Sakura.

Meanwhile, Naruto was at the Valley at the End, standing on the head of the statue of the first hokage. His fists were clenched, as he stared at a mysterious figure on the other side on top of the statue of Madara Uchiha.

"It's time we settled this…" said Naruto to the figure.

"Indeed..." said the mysterious person. "But understand that I will not spare you this time…"

"I intend to keep it that way…" said Naruto. The figure opened his eyes, revealing them to be red with black dots.

"Let's do this, then…" said the figure.

The two pulled out a kunai and jumped at the same time at eachother.

To be continued….