AN: Thanks for the reviews; I hope you enjoy chapter 2. As always, reviews are appreciated. \AN

Nukenin

Chapter 2: Exodus

"THE VILLAGE IS UNDER ATTACK!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, tightened his grip on his desk as one of his shinobi incited the very panic he had been hoping to avoid.

"ANBU. Sound the alarm, withdraw our troops from the search for the Uzumaki boy, and secure the village. No one gets in or out without my express permission."

Two black-clad shinobi immediately appeared on the ground in front of him, right knee and fist pressed to the floor.

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

With a barely perceptible nod, Hiruzen dismissed his two ANBU captains, returning to his desk with a sigh.

'Naruto, wherever you are I hope you're alright. I'll send out a tracker team to find you and bring Mizuki in as soon as I deal with this attack.'

Somewhere in the forests around Konoha

Naruto pushed his body to move faster despite his pounding heart and burning lungs, nearly falling out of the treetops when he heard voices only a few hundred yards in front of him.

"…God damn demon brat, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in on this atta-."

"Raina! If I want to hear your opinion, I'll ask for it. Keep your senses sharp, I thought I heard something."

Naruto swallowed and desperately attempted to calm his racing heart; thinking quickly, Naruto dropped soundlessly off of his branch and landed lightly on the forest floor, performing a quick henge to transform into just another decaying log.

A soft tapping was the only sign that the Konoha ninja were now passing directly over his head.

"I swear it was right about here."

Naruto's heart threatened to burst out of his chest as someone spoke only feet from his hiding spot. Naruto almost lost control of his henge as a low, dangerous voice washed over him.

"Leave it for the trackers. We need to bolster the village's defenses first."

Naruto let his breath out slowly as the soft tapping of the Konoha ninja leaping through the forest disappeared into the distance. Naruto waited a few minutes before dropping his henge and leaping back into the trees, his mind focused entirely on one word: trackers.

After several hours of running, Naruto collapsed at the edge of a stream. Dragging himself into the shallow water, Naruto stripped off his orange jumpsuit and boxers, taking a kunai to both and cutting them into long strips.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Without a word, each of the bunshin took a piece of cloth from the original and tied it around one of their ankles before disappearing into the forest. Alone again, Naruto suppressed a shiver as he began to wash himself in the stream's cold waters. Soaked to the bone, the blond boy withdrew a small sealing scroll from his kunai pouch, and quickly unsealed his spare jumpsuit. Swallowing hard, Naruto dunked the clothing in the stream's cold waters for several minutes before reclothing himself and begin his long trek up the stream.

Hokage Tower, Konoha

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared impassively at the door in front of him, his hand on the door's handle.

"Hokage-sama…"

With a tired sigh, Hiruzen allowed his shoulders to sag and looked back towards his best academy instructor.

"Iruka, I'm sorry for this."

Before his subordinate could respond, Hiruzen turned back towards the door, squared his shoulders, and made his way into the council room.

"Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen nodded to the assembled council members and took his seat at the head of the table.

"As I'm sure you're all aware at this point, nearly eight hours ago Uzumaki Naruto stole the forbidden scroll from the Hokage tower. Approximately five hours later the Hokage tower suffered damage from three separate explosions."

Raising his hand, Hiruzen forestalled the inevitable accusations and slurs.

"Chunin instructor Umino Iruka, please step forward."

Iruka swallowed as everyone's attention shifted to him, stepping awkwardly into the center of the room.

"Umino-san, please recount your experiences for the council."

Squaring his shoulders, the brown-haired chunin looked directly at the Hokage and did his best to ignore both the pain from his injuries and the palpable tension in the room.

"When it was announced that Narut—Uzumaki-san had stolen the forbidden scroll, I was among those ordered to retrieve him. I stumbled upon Uzumaki-san just south of the village. When I confronted him, he stated that he had been practicing one of the jutsu from the scroll and asked if he could now graduate from the academy…"

Iruka's voice faded away as several of the council members snorted in disbelief.

"As if we'd let that dem—"

The Third Hokage's fist hit the table in front of him with a resounding crack. Turning to the civilian council member with the gall to open his mouth, Hiruzen fixed the man with a glare that promised considerable pain.

"Hantaro-san, if you cannot keep your comments to yourself, I will personally throw you out of this meeting."

Sending a grateful look towards the Hokage, Iruka pushed on with his story.

"While I was speaking to Uzumaki-san, I was ambushed by chunin instructor Mizuki."

Iruka felt the temperature in the room plummet as every clan head leaned forward and began releasing killing intent.

"Mizuki proceeded to inform Uzumaki-san that he held the Kyuubi within him; Narut—Uzumaki-san went into shock at Mizuki's revelation. Mizuki took the opportunity to attack Uzumaki-san and, while I was able to shield him, I was seriously injured in the process. Uzumaki-san fled the clearing with Mizuki behind him. I managed to bypass Mizuki and henge into Naruto in a stalling tactic; Mizuki took the bait and attempted to obtain the forbidden scroll by posing as me. When I saw an opening I attacked, but was able to do little damage to Mizuki."

Iruka let out a sigh of relief as several of the clan heads smiled at him and gave nods of approval.

"Naruto arrived just as Mizuki was about to finish me, using the kage bunshin no jutsu to generate over a hundred clones and defeat Mizuki."

Despite the situation, Hiruzen felt a small amount of pride as the expression of every other ninja on the council dissolved into shock.

"What? Why is that important?"

Hiruzen chose his words carefully, savoring each and every one.

"The kage bunshin no jutsu is a jonin-level technique, but to generate that many clones would be a difficult task for even me."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as several of the civilian council members opened their mouths—and stopped abruptly, their eyes flickering towards the clearly agitated Hokage.

Nato, the senior civilian representative, leaned forward and locked eyes with Iruka.

"Are you sure of this?"

Iruka gave a single quick nod.

"Then, please continue."

Iruka stiffened, preparing himself for the worst.

"After Uzumaki-san's performance, I judged him to be at at least genin level and so attempted to present him with my hitaite. Instead of accepting, he knocked me unconscious."

As the last words left Iruka's lips, the council room erupted into chaos.

"ENOUGH."

Hiruzen met the gaze of every other council member before speaking.

"Thank you, Umino-san. You are dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

Iruka bowed to the village leader before turning on his heel and disappearing out of the room.

"As of this moment, we have the traitor Mizuki in custody, but have found no sign of Uzumaki Naruto. We can only conclude that he has fled Konoha."

"Have the hunter-nin been deployed?"

Hiruzen locked eyes with his oldest and most powerful detractor, Danzo's only visible eye narrowed in anger.

"Of course not. Uzumaki-san was not a ninja, and so cannot be properly classified as nukenin (missing nin)."

"But Umino-san did give him a hitaite, marking him as a—"

Hiruzen turned towards Nato, a small amount of surprise showing on his face as the most levelheaded civilian councilor made his stance clear.

"Uzumaki-san wasn't informed he had graduated; he was not a ninja."

Hiruzen's voice held a note of finality that Danzo was entirely unwilling to accept.

"You know that's a lie Sarutobi, and it's about time this village faced the truth. Uzumaki-san is the jinchuriki of the kyuubi—he was shinobi from the moment the Kyuubi was sealed into him. We cannot allow a rogue jinchuriki with a grudge against Konoha to roam free or, even worse, to fall into enemy hands. That boy has become a liability and if you do not retrieve him, I will personally take action."

Hiruzen felt his retort die as the other council members—even his trusted clan heads—began to nod.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but the boy is a threat. In all likelihood, it's Uzumaki-san who attacked the tower."

Hyuuga Hiashi's statement ended the discussion; raising his arm weakly, Hiruzen summoned his most trusted ANBU captain.

"Tenzo, you are to join with tracker team 1 and retrieve Uzumaki Naruto…alive if you can, dead if you must. He is henceforth classified as nukenin."

Three Months Later…

Somewhere in the Land of Tea

Naruto's cloak whipped around him, the driving rain doing its best to soak the already cold and tired boy. Slowly lowering the hood that protected his head, Naruto allowed the water to wash down his face, rinsing away the grim that covered his cheeks and turning his hair into even more of a mess than it already was. With a long sigh, Naruto ran a calloused hand through his long locks, still mildly uncomfortable with their brown color. It was a necessary sacrifice though, just like the rags he wore as clothes.

After a few months on the run, he had learned that it was the little tricks that really counted; disappearing and hiding didn't require fancy jutsu...mostly. The real key was to blend in, to look like anything but yourself. With a half smile, Naruto recalled some of his more devious measures for distracting the hunter-nin that had harried him during his first month and a half. It must have been exceptionally hard trying to track him down when he had a tendency to appear in every major city in the land of fire…at the same time. If he had to bet on it, he was quite certain that his ANBU tails had been doing far more running that he had.

After taking another moment to enjoy the rain, Naruto pulled his hood back up and began running further into Tea country. It had been over a month since his last encounter with tracker-nin, but it didn't hurt to be careful; keep moving, stay sharp, stay alive. They were simple rules, but they had worked well so far. Leaning forward, Naruto pumped more chakra into his legs and boosted his speed, his feet now leaving barely a ripple on the surface of the river he was following.

Hokage Tower, Konoha

Hiruzen raised his head wearily, glancing at the secretary that had interrupted the monotony of his paperwork.

"What is it Shizua?"

"Tracker unit 1 has returned, captain Tenzo is waiting outside."

Shizua smiled as the elderly Hokage immediately sat up and a nearly extinguished light returned to his eyes.

"Send him in."

Bowing, Shizua returned to her post outside the Hokage's office, holding the door open for the masked ANBU in the waiting area.

"Tenzo, report."

Hiruzen watched as the man in front of him gave a single nod and began to recount the past three months of his mission. After twenty minutes, Hiruzen noticed the man's legs beginning to tremble and quickly gestured him to a chair.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. As I was saying, Uzumaki has improved significantly since our first few encounters; it's clear that he retains the forbidden scroll and has spent considerable time both studying it and other resources that he has…acquired. Indeed, his thefts have become the only reliable way to trace him. He uses the kage bunshin no jutsu extensively to hide his true location, often appearing in cities that are hundreds of miles apart at the exact same time. The first few times he pulled that stunt were quite…exhausting."

Despite the severity of the conversation, Hiruzen felt the need to laugh at his unfortunate ANBU's plight; bringing his mirth under control, Hiruzen instead settled for an understanding smile.

"In all honesty, sir, we haven't been close to him in a month and a half, and at this rate the only way we'd find him is if he slips up or we get lucky."

Despite his exhaustion, Tenzo noted the hint of pride that flashed through his Hokage's eyes at his words; mentally filing the information away, Tenzo continued with his recommendation for the mission.

"I advise terminating active pursuit, at least for the moment, and placing a bounty on him."

Hiruzen paused, meeting Tenzo's eyes with a calculating look.

"Captain Tenzo, at what level would you gauge Uzumaki's skills?"

"To be safe, I would classify him as a mid-B rank. He's clearly at least a high-level genin, and with the forbidden scroll it's possible that he has a number of powerful jutsu."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding. Tipping his head forward to hide his face in the shadows of his hat, Hiruzen finally allowed a smile to appear on his face.

"In that case, I accept your suggestion, Captain Tenzo. Active pursuit will be terminated, and a bounty will be placed on Uzumaki on the order of 1,000 ryo with a ranking of C."

Hiruzen's grin widened as Tenzo stiffened in his seat.

"That was your suggestion, was it not Tenzo?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Standing, Tenzo bowed to his superior, a grin of his own hidden behind his mask.

Somewhere in the Land of Sound

"Are you positive?"

Orochimaru's fingernails gouged thin lines along the arms of his chair, his black hair masking his face as he leaned towards Kabuto's lieutenant, an entirely mediocre black-haired man.

"Yes, sir. According to rumors, the Hokage hasn't been as active of late and willingly allowed the village hidden in the waterfalls to host the chunin exams instea-"

Orochimaru's hand tightened around the sound nin's neck, lifting him off the ground; the unfortunate man, still staring at the chair where the snake sannin had been seated moments before, began to kick futily.

"What are you planning, old man?"

Orochimaru continued to consider the Sandaime's choice for several seconds before turning absently back to the man in his grasp.

"Ku ku ku…you'd don't look so well…"

Orochimaru's hand flexed and the man's neck snapped with a sickening pop; throwing the corpse to the side, Orochimaru walked out into the torch-lit hallway.

"I suppose I'll just have to be patient, ne sensei?"

Somewhere in the Land of Rivers

Jiraiya reread the letter for a fourth time, cursing Konoha, his sensei, and most of all himself.

Leaning back in his chair, the toad sannin dipped Hiruzen's letter into the fireplace next to his table, watching until it was completely consumed by the orange flames.

"I'm sorry, kid. I should have been there for you…"

Across the room, Kiki saw the unmistakable white mane of her best tipper. Quickly pulling her shirt just a tad lower the buxom waitress made her way to his table, putting a little extra sway into her steps for his enjoyment.

"Hello, Jiraiya-sama. Would you like your usual?"

Jiraiya absently glanced at the waitress before standing.

"Sorry, but there's someone I have to find."

Naruto landed soundlessly on a wide tree branch, his position giving him a complete view of his targets—from the looks of it a group of leaf genin on their first trip outside Konoha. Naruto had been tailing them in the land of Tea for nearly two hours, simply waiting for their smokestack of a sensei to leave them alone. Despite himself, Naruto let a feral grin slide across his face.

'Too easy.'

Crossing his fingers, Naruto created four shadow clones before beginning to creep towards the genin's campsite.

Sitting with his teammates, Shikamaru watched their fire slowly consume a stick, scorching the once living plant black. With a long sigh, Shikamaru glanced at his teammates. Choji was a good friend and a good person—just not much of a ninja. The boy was currently munching through a bag of potato chips with gusto, completely unaware of the outside world. Beside him sat Ino, the current bane of his existence. The girl had a tendency to act like the team leader—except, of course, when it might require her to work. With another long sigh, Shikamaru turned back to the fire. He was so totally dead.

"Hiya!"

Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were on their feet instantly, kunai drawn.

"Come out!"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, frantically searching for the origin of the voice; the black-haired Nara finally caught sight of movement just beyond the light from their campfire, movement that quickly resolved itself into a young boy with wild brown hair.

"Who are you?"

Choji held his potato chips protectively against his chest and eyed the new arrival warily.

"You mean you don't recognize me? I'm hurt! I remember you…Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji…"

Stepping forward Naruto gave the genin a good look at his face.

"Naruto!"

Naruto gave Choji a smile, nodding his head.

"Got it in one, Cho—"

"Kagemane no Jutsu: Success"

Shikamaru held his hands above his head, forcing Naruto to do the same.

"I don't know what you're doing here Naruto, but it can't be good. Choji, get Asuma-sensei."

Naruto gave the team of genin a wide grin.

"Nice try."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as the Naruto in front of him disappeared with a soft pop.

"BEHIND US!"

Shikamaru's warning was too late as Naruto's three remaining clones placed their kunai against the genin's throats.

Stepping out of the shadows to the team's left, Naruto examined his catch. At an almost imperceptible signal, all three clones drew a second kunai.

"Any last words?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened at the sudden change in Naruto's voice; gone was the warm, friendly tone he had used earlier. Naruto's voice was hard, cold, and unyielding. Shikamaru slowly closed his eyes, understanding that the boy in front of them intended to end their lives.

Naruto watched as Shikamaru closed his eyes, waiting for the killing blow. On either side of him, Choji and Ino were openly weeping, whatever they might have said utterly lost in their tears.

Shikamaru heard kunai strike both of his teammates, their bodies hitting the ground with soft thuds.