Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Blissfully ignorant

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as she finally left the forest behind. Well, technically, she was still in the forest, but she'd reached a narrow road and the fact that she didn't have to climb over gigantic roots and drag her feet out of muddy holes made all the difference. She'd only been walking for a few hours, almost blind in the darkness until the sun rose, and she was covered in mud and her clothes had green stains all over them. So often, she was tempted to just take to the trees and fly through the forest, but she'd heard somewhere that ninjas could sense that kind of stuff and she didn't want to risk getting dragged back. She was vaguely aware that people needed to have some sort of paper to leave the village, cause it was a ninja village and stuff, and she didn't have that paper so she'd get in trouble if she was caught.

Not that she thought anyone would care that much about her leaving, she doubted anyone would even notice that soon. Old Man Ichiraku would, after a while at least, of that she was sure. Old Man Hokage too, maybe. Regardless, she didn't want to go back, she wanted to see the world and meet new people and find a family, so no turning back.

"No turning back, dattebayo!" she yelled out loud and punched her fist in the air.

But it was nice to imagine that they actually wanted her back. Wistfully, she imagined being a princess – or even better, she had some amazing hidden power that everyone wanted, and she was running for her freedom, and every ninja in the village was chasing after her and trying to catch her, but she'd be smarter and cooler like a real shinobi, and she'd always stay ahead of them and not get caught. She giggled to herself.

"Alright!" she grinned cheerfully. "Let's go!"

She started running along the road. She wasn't the fastest in school, but she never really got tired. She could run an hour or two. And if her daydreams of ninja chasing her helped her run faster, well, that was a good thing, right?

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Back in Konoha, teams of ANBU were dispatched. Most of them started scouring the village, a scant few scouted the roads in and out of Konoha. Only one of them, lead by ANBU Dog, a shinobi with gravity defying silver hair who wore a dog mask, thought to search in the forest. The other members of his squad were doubtful of this plan, because what kind of child ran into a forest at night? Besides, this part of the forest wasn't even anywhere near any of the village's exits. It wasn't like some little girl had the skill necessary to get over the patrolled village walls unnoticed. And no one had that much dumb luck.

But they chose not to say anything in the face of the grim determination ANBU Dog exhibited.

And they were glad they hadn't when they found Uzumaki Naruto's trail in the forest.

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The road got boring after an hour, or at least she thought it was an hour. She kind of forgot to pack a watch, but it wasn't like she had had any plans besides 'Go-on-an-adventure-and-find-a-family' to begin with, so it didn't really matter. It wasn't like anyone was waiting for her anyways.

She had all the time in the world.

Naruto perked up when she heard water close by. She ran a few steps and reached a small bridge over a merrily burbling creek. Grinning, she crossed the bridge and then jumped down to a rock that sat in the middle of the creek. Squatting, she quickly splashed water into her face and washed off the worst of the grime. Then a mischievous grin lit her features and she jumped in fully, clothes and all, because who'd tell her to not do it? She could do whatever she wanted. She could even leave the boring road and follow the creek into the forest. It had to lead somewhere, right?

Grinning, she kicked her sandals off and put them into her backpack. Then she started walking again, her feet splashing through the water. It felt nice on her feet, even if it was a little more exhausting.

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A mere ten minutes later, a group of three masked shinobi, led by a man with a dog-mask and gravity-defying silver hair, stopped by the bridge. ANBU Dog sniffed the air.

Naruto's scent had been getting harder to follow, becoming one with the forest more and more, and on the firm road it had been hard to find her light footsteps. Here, her scent was hardly noticeable anymore. But his keen eyes saw the small clumps of caked mud Naruto had left when she crossed the bridge.

With a flick of his fingers, he signaled the direction they'd take to the team. With a blur, they sped forward, following the road.

Naruto would soon be found and brought back to the village.

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After a while, the creek broadened into a stream and then evolved into a small river. Naruto put her shoes back on to walk along the riverside. Not following the road had been a good decision. The scenery was pretty, plus she always had something to drink.

She dropped to sit on a rabbit shaped rock and pulled out a chocolate bar from her pack. She didn't get to eat chocolate much, but this was a special occasion – her first time out of the village! And successfully outrunning ninja pursuers, even if they were only imagined! Naruto was sure that this was the exact kind of situation that Ayame-neechan had given her the chocolate bar for. Now if only she had some ramen… She had a few cups in her backpack, along with her few clothes, a bag of potato chips and another chocolate bar. Then she had a bit of rope, her cute sleeping hat that was a gift from Ayame, too – it had eyes and ears, dattebayo –an old switchblade she'd found, a book about ninja stuff, wrapped in plastic bags in case water got into her backpack, and a few forks. She had no way to get kunai, so those would have to be her weapons. And she had a pot that she could cook water in that she could pour into her ramen cups, and then, agonizing three minutes later, she'd have the best meal on the face of the earth, save for the original Ichiraku ramen. Nothing in the world could beat that.

She sighed, a bit somberly. She'd really miss Old Man Ichiraku. But he was better off without her around. Because of her, people disliked him too.

She'd miss Old Man Hokage, too, but not as much. She hadn't known him long, she'd only met him a few times when he came over to give her her allowance and when he'd treat her to dinner. Old Man Ichiraku on the other hand had become a fixture in her life. The first time she'd met him was when she'd still been living in the orphanage. He'd sent Ayame-neechan – someone else she'd miss dearly – out to give her a bowl of noodles after she'd stared hungrily at the ramen stand for an hour, lured there by the delicious scents, but unable to pay. She'd been coaxed to sit at the bar a few days later. It had been so new to her, being invited and offered to eat.

Later, when she'd been kicked out of the orphanage for good and nowhere to go, she'd come there often, too, but only if she'd found somewhere to clean the dirt of the streets off of herself. Ichiraku's was special to her, she couldn't go there all dirty. What she lived off the rest of the time… well, she preferred not to think about it.

It astounded her what people sometimes deemed as inedible and threw away.

She'd gone to Ichiraku's more often after she'd been given her apartment. She'd been a small, thin, spindly thing back then, a few months ago. Now she was still thin and small, but not that spindly anymore, she'd become rather… wiry. She had a lot more energy, too.

Speaking of energy, she had to get moving, or else her imaginary pursuers would find her, and that she'd have to think up a daring-escape-daydream, and she'd rather keep dreaming of staying ahead of her enemies, be they in her head or not.

She started walking again, her imagination already spinning new scenarios. Maybe, it wouldn't just be her village's ninja following her to bring her amazing hidden power back into the village, maybe some evil folks were after her, too, and they'd start fighting over her and throw fire bombs at each other and shuriken and do clones and stuff, and while they fought, she'd make a daring escape.

She giggled to herself.

Her mind came up with the strangest things sometimes.

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ANBU Dog's team was travelling back the way they came – there had been no trace of Naruto and the only explanation was that she'd gone into the forest at some point. Dog had even brought his dogs out, but so far, they'd found nothing.

Suddenly, a five-man squad of ANBU appeared in the trees to their right. They wore the standard ANBU uniform and masks, but Dog recognized none of their chakras, and the way they held themselves tipped him off that something wasn't quite right.

They were Danzo's people, he realized. Members of Root.

"Have you found any lead on the jinchuuriki?" One of the new arrivals asked in a stilted, mechanical tone.

Dog shook his head curtly in the negative.

"We will be joining you as you track the jinchuuriki," the Root member said.

Behind his mask, Dog narrowed his eyes. "You may take Bull and Bisuke to aid you in tracking Uzumaki Naruto," he stated, waving at two of his dogs.

"Our orders are to join your squad and track the jinchuuriki."

And deliver her to Danzo, I bet.

"The Hokage's orders were for the teams to spread out and search for her. One large team is inefficient," he stated coldly.

"Our orders were clear," the Root shinobi said.

"And who gave them to you?" Kakashi asked, abandoning his Dog persona. "You won't touch Uzumaki Naruto."

The Root member instantly blew a fireball at Kakashi, and chaos ensued as the two teams battled each other.

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It was nearing evening and Naruto had been hiking along the river for a few hours now. She'd found an apple tree and the sweet fruits had been her lunch and would be her dinner and next breakfast, too, as she had packed as many as she could into her backpack. Whistling, she skipped forward, barely tired. The forest was nice, the weather was warm, birds chirped and no one had glared at her all day.

Her eyes followed a particularly interesting looking butterfly, and then suddenly her foot caught on something. "Aaah-mmpfh!" she cried as her face hit the dirt. Scowling, she sat up and inspected what she'd tripped over. Her face lit up.

It was a boat. Well, not really a boat, more like half of a hollowed out tree, but who cared about the details? She grinned and set to dragging the piece of wood to the river, then she jumped in and used a stick to push the makeshift-boat all in. At first, it only moved sluggishly, but then it started to pick up speed. She laughed happily as she held her face in the wind.

This, she mused, is what freedom is like.

Smiling, she pulled out another apple and started munching on it. When she was done eating, she leaned back, using her backpack as a pillow and stared up at the passing green canopy. The hours of travel catching up with her, she was slowly lulled to sleep by the sounds and rocking of the river.

Naruto woke up when something hit her vehicle. Groaning, she sat up, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around blearily. Unfortunately, it was night already, so she couldn't see anything in the darkness. In the distance, she heard a loud roaring sound that came nearer rapidly. Waves hit her boat and she grabbed the sides in an attempt to steady it, not that it helped. She attempted to stand up so she could jump out, but the makeshift boat was jostled again and she fell back on her backside with a cry of surprise. The dull roaring sound was now so close, it was deafening. She could feel her boat accelerate. A thought hit her and she hastily strapped her backpack on her back lest she lose it.

Suddenly, she felt the boat move – it was tipping over, it was falling, and she was still inside, oh no, help, please, anyone! "Ahhhhhhhh!" she screamed in terror as she plunged down the waterfall. Then there was an impact and pain, pain, pain and all went black.

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The river carried the unconscious Naruto further and further, out of the forest and through fields, under bridges and past small villages. The sun rose and made its way across the sky until it sank again. Naruto did not wake and it was only by chance that she did not drown.

And it was only by chance that she was always hidden underwater every time a shinobi searched for the missing jinchuuriki near the river.

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Something was tickling the back of her mind, a sort of urge to get up stand move wake UP! and Naruto shot up, gasping. She hardly had any time to take in her surroundings – some sort of beach she had washed up on – before she bent over and started coughing up water. Her stomach contracted painfully and then expelled everything that she had eaten prior to falling, not that it had been much. Whimpering, she felt around for her backpack and was glad when she found it still strapped to her back, although one of the straps had snapped. She ripped the whole pack off her back and dumped all its contents out. Ravenous, she grabbed an apple, then another and after that she devoured the remaining chocolate bar. It made her tummy hurt to eat all that so fast, but at least it filled her up.

She inspected the rest of her belongings. The book had actually survived, surprisingly enough. Her ramen, however, had not. They'd gotten all soggy with river water and looked awful.

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled. "Stupid river!" she kicked at the water. Scowling, she got up on her feet. She was wet, she was cold, she fell down a waterfall and worst of all, her ramen were gone. She wanted to go home.

But there was a part of her, the part that always told her not to give up and to keep smiling, that simply refused. She couldn't give up after just a day. She shook her head vehemently. "No! No going back!" she growled out, determination shining from her eyes.

Besides, she didn't know the way back. She didn't even know where she was.

But what did she have to return to anyways? An empty apartment and a ramen stand. The latter was actually tempting, but it wasn't enough. She'd set out to find her very own family, and as much as she loved the Ichirakus, they weren't family. No one would be waiting for Naruto to come home.

It wasn't like the village was in an uproar over her disappearance.

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The village was in an uproar. Or rather, the ones that knew what had happened were in an uproar – the information had been classified. Uzumaki Naruto, container of the nine-tailed demon fox, had been missing for over two days. The Sandaime Hokage had called a group of hand-picked ninja of Tokubetsu Jounin rank and up together.

"Uzumaki Naruto must be found," he said. "If she fell into enemy hands, it could prove disastrous for the village. It could even bring about war. Your mission is to track her and bring her back by any means possible."

He relayed further instructions for the ninja and handed out mission scrolls. Finally he sent them to a group of shinobi from the Torture & Interrogation unit that had been tasked with analyzing and dissecting Naruto's personality and mindset.

When they had left, he let out a weary sigh. He was too old for this job. To think he had failed Minato-kun so gravely… all it had taken was one inattentive ANBU guard and now Naruto-chan was out there all alone and unprotected. He didn't dare imagine the things that could happen to her…

He looked up when someone entered. He already knew who it was for few dared to walk into the Hokage's Office uninvited.

"Danzo," he greeted his old friend and rival cordially. "I received the most peculiar mission report from Kakashi-kun. He claims your shinobi attacked his squad. Due to injuries, the team could not continue the mission."

"Hiruzen," The other returned much less cordially. "The jinchuuriki must be found and trained properly. It is obvious the village has been much too lenient with her. She is out of control."

"Danzo. Your Root soldiers attacked my shinobi and they were out of the village on an unsanctioned mission." Hiruzen said, a steely undertone in his voice. "It is not Naruto-chan that I worry about being out of control."

"Hiruzen," Danzo gritted out, his one eye narrowed. "Everything I do, I do in the village's best interest. The jinchuuriki must be retrieved at all costs, that is why I sent out my soldiers to assist yours. As for them attacking Kakashi's squad, they will be interrogated and dealt with."

"They are dead," Hiruzen informed Danzo. "They used self-destruction seals when their capture was imminent."

"A pity." Danzo said impassively.

"You will call your shinobi back, Danzo," Hiruzen ordered.

"Of course," Danzo answered. "By your leave, Hokage-sama." The man turned around and left the room.

Hiruzen sighed again. How he longed to order Danzo to disband Root… but they were necessary for the village's protection now more than ever with the Uchiha's growing dissent and Naruto's running away. And Danzo did only have Konoha's best interests in mind.

But he would be keeping a much closer eye on his old friend.

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Naruto stayed at the small beach for a few hours to let her clothes and backpack dry in the sun. But now she was eager to get moving again.

There was just one thing bothering her. Her hair that normally hung to her back in a fun mess of golden-blond spikes had gotten hopelessly matted in the river, with branches and algae knotted into it. She'd tried to wash it in the river and comb it with her fingers since she forgot to pack a hairbrush, but it was no use.

"It's just in the way anyways," she said to herself, if only to break the unnerving silence. In Konoha, there was always noise somewhere, but here only the water's rushing was audible. She grinned and pulled out her switchblade. "Here goes! Sorry, hair!"

Chop. A blond lock fell to the ground. Chop. And another. She felt a sting of sadness, but she shoved it away.

Chop, chop, chop.

When she was done, she ran her hand over her chopped hair – it felt spiky and uneven, but sort of soft, too. The breeze on her neck was nice, too.

"I bet I look like a boy now, dattebayo." She grinned. "Heh, no more hair-pulling!"

She got up on her feet and stored the switchblade away. Then she grabbed her backpack. "Alright! Uzumaki Naruto, setting out!"

Her journey had only just begun.