I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 1 of Crushed
A/– Thanks for the reviews, guys.
shadows24- Thanks. =)
hellzanetruesdale- Thanks, I'll try to work on the chapter length. ^_^
chaos nutter- Thanks a lot! :D
Naruto Namikaze the Legend- Thanks for pointing out the dialouge– I wasn't sure how I would make it. I wanted to get a little bit of bashing on Sakura so she'd get over Sasuke, I'll try to explain some more this chapter. I was thinking that same thing about him being attacked by ANBU, but, seriously, is Danzo that stupid to send out his ANBU when he knows Naruto is stronger than everyone [maybe everyone] in the village? I did that whole 'exposing you to the villagers and shinobi' thing to 'crush' his spirits and THEN attack. Thanks for your review!
lindon2- Thanks.
Onward with the story!
'What can I do now? Where will I go?' he thought to himself.
A light drizzle started while he was walking down the seemingly endless road. The soft rain patted down his once-wild golden hair. If you looked at him, you wouldn't notice anything peculiar about the sad boy. But, if you stood next time to him, you'd notice the thin path of tears rolling down his cheeks.
'I am a shinobi.. I must not show emotion.' he reminded himself.
As he continued to walk down the road, his mental train of thought was finally stabilizing. He regretted not to say goodbye to Sakura. He knew, though, that he had been harsh in judging her about her crying.
'Naruto.. It's you I'm worried about.' he remembered her saying during the mission to save Gaara, his fellow jinchuuriki.
'Could it have been me she was worried about again? Did she run off to cry because Sasuke joined Akatsuki and now had to come for me?' he was now feeling down again.
"Sorry about this, Sakura-chan.. I'm sorry.. I never intended to act like this.." he mumbled in a low voice.
The blonde continued walking down the partially soggy road. Of, course he knew that one of Danzo's cronies were behind him waiting for a chance to strike.
"You, behind the tree," he said without glancing back, "stop hiding."
"You're insulting me by thinking that I wouldn't notice you." the blonde teen continued.
"Ah, Uzumaki-kun, I am sorry for this, I have no ill feelings towards you. But, orders are orders. Danzo-sama sent me to assassinate you" the once-hidden ANBU with a cat mask said.
Naruto quickly pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it down. The ANBU was, at first, startled. He knew that Naruto defeated Pein. Why'd he use a smoke bomb when he clearly had an advantage? A Naruto stealthily dashed out of the smoke and hid behind a tree. Once the smoke cleared Naruto was in plain sight, it seemed as if Naruto barely moved. The cat-masked ANBU was confused, but.. orders are orders. The two went off with basic taijutsu. Catface noticed Naruto seemed to be stalling and it gave light to a new question:
"Uzumaki-kun, is this how you defeated the leader of Akatsuki, Pein?" he curiously asked.
"No." was his full reply.
Quickly, he drew out a new smoke bomb and threw it.
"Dispel." the clone with strange yellow eyes and a dark orange-red pigment around his eyes mumbled from behind the tree.
'It seems like he's a Katon type.' Naruto thought, 'Maybe I'll be able to fake my death if I trick him' Naruto thought to himself.
"Fuuton: Gusts!" Naruto called out.
The ANBU quickly noticed that these gusts wouldn't be stronger than his Katon jutsus.
"Katon: Great Fireball Technique!" roared the ANBU.
When it collided with the gusts, the Fireball massively grew in size due to Naruto pushing out as much air as he could. He wasn't afraid of this since he was in sage mode. Before the impact hit him, Naruto asked a small favor of the ANBU
"Catface, please relay my earlier message to Sakura-chan.. This is a dead man's wish."
"Your wish will be granted. I'm sorry for this, Uzumaki-kun." Catface said with a sad tone, he knew this was a ninja worthy of respect. He knew that Naruto Uzumaki was not the Kyuubi. He knew the blonde was a hero, but he had to obey his orders.
"Arigato.." was the dead man's last word.
The fireball had grown greatly in size by this point, about 30 feet high. And it was really, really, really hot.
The attack collided. There was a 50 foot crater, the center being where Naruto once stood. All that was left of him was a singed Konoha headband. The black cloth around it was completely fried, just a small portion remained. The ANBU decided to take the blonde teen's headband and gift it to the pink-haired ninja. It would be a memory of him, she would need it to get through his death.
"The Kyuubi, Sakura.. He used 8-tails and was deemed a threat to the village" Ino said while staring at the ground.
"E-Eight?!" Sakura gasped in horror.
"Yes, Sakura.. Eight." the long-haired platinum blonde replied with a monotone voice, her eyes still glued to the ground.
"What can we do about this, Ino?" the pinkette asked as she proceeded to wipe tears from her eyes.
"I don't know, Sakura."she replied in the same depressed monotone voice.
"Where's Naruto now?" was pinky's quick response.
Ino, finally lifting her eyes from the ground, looked deeply into Sakura's emerald green eyes with sorrow and replied,
"He's gone, Sakura. He left about a half hour ago.."
The pinkette was crushed by this news. She thought to herself 'I could've been with him if hadn't left to think about Sasuke's joining Akatsuki.' Though, deep down, she knew she was afraid that Naruto would be attacked by Sasuke.
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed and and Catface was now standing next to the pinkette and the platinum blonde. A burned headband dangling in his hand. Sakura quickly noticed this and said,
"Whose headband is that?" she had an idea of whose it might be.. and why it was burned.
"Your comrade's. I was ordered to assassinate him." the ANBU said to her, not taking his eyes off either.
"W-what happened?" Sakura asked wearily.
Ino had another look of disbelief and thought 'Naruto's..? No way.. It can't be..'
"Uzumaki-kun was completely burned by my Katon jutsu.. He asked me to relay a message to you." the man with a cat mask said to her in a calm voice. He continued,
"He said 'Sorry about this, Sakura-chan.. I'm sorry.. I never intended to act like this'."
The pink-haired girl broke down once again.. Losing Naruto too was just too hard for her to bear.
She couldn't even make out any words. The ANBU, not being able to stand there any more, pulled her hand towards himself and placed the 'deceased' blonde teen's headband in her hand.
"I am sorry for this inconvenience, please take this. This was Uzumaki-kun's." Catface said before disappearing just as fast as he came.
Sakura was now a even bigger mess than before. All she had left was Ino and the rest of her friends to support her.
Catface appeared in front of Danzo and said,
"Sir, the assignment was completed."
Danzo smugly replied with,
"Very well. You are dismissed."
"Hai." was the ANBU's reply before he shunshined off.
'Well, maybe now they'll leave me alone' Naruto thought while running at high speeds, sage mode greatly helping in that department.
'I need to find a new life.. A new purpose." was his last thought before continuing to run wherever he pleased.
End of Chapter 1!
How was this, guys? I tried to tie up a few loose ends. Sorry if it's a bit off. I know this is only 1200 words, I'm working on it. Review!