XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
2 months after Naruto's disappearance
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tsunade looked down at the papers in front of her. Paperwork. She hated paperwork, but this was different.
Once she signed this, she would hate herself.
"Naruto..."
She pressed her pen to the page and signed her name.
It was something that hurt her more than she could have imagined.
She'd just declared Naruto, the one she considered a little brother, an S-class missing nin.
'I'm sorry Naruto. I know you wouldn't harm anyone, but the council won't hear it. The way you left, the power you have. They won't let you be. And I just signed the papers that could mean your death.'
She grabbed the bottle of Sake to her left and drank long and deep until there was a knock on the door.
Tsunade sighed knowing full well who this would be. "Come in Sakura."
The pink haired girl opened the door lightly and moved in through the relatively small space she had created. "Umm, Tsunade?"
She shook her head. "No, we haven't found Naruto yet, and I'm discontinuing the search parties."
Sakura's eyebrows flew up in shock. "WHAT? You can't do that! We have to get him back!"
Tsunade shook her head again. "No we don't. He left without orders, even if it was perfectly justifiable under the circumstances. As Hokage, I've been left no choice but to declare him an S-class missing nin. If we bring him back now. It will be under the charge of treason. All we can do is hope we never find him."
Sakura's blood boiled in rage. "You gave him a death sentence, and you dare to say that?" Sakura looked at Tsunade with her hands clenched tight enough to draw a drop of blood. "I'll be going now." Sakura made her way out of the office before slamming her fist against a wall leaving sizable cracks that were apparent even on the othe side. "Naruto, I'm sorry."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
19 days later with Naruto
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
He sat quietly on top of the small house where he was staying. His eyes turned toward the sun and his arm covered by gauze and his sleeve, not to mention the glove that hid his hand.
He looked over at the pile of wood stacked next to the building and the axe waiting to be used. He dropped down to the ground and started moving wood next to it before removing it from the wood prison that held it. He started chopping.
What do I do? I can't go back. But I can't just stop. "DAMMIT!" He threw the axe across the clearing not noticing how far it embedded itself in a tree. "WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! ANSWER ME! MY LIFE'S GONE, TELL ME WHAT TO DO?" He slumped to his knees. "Somebody, tell me."
"Die."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He automatically jumped to the side as the kunai that had been aimed at his head cut through his sleeve and into his flesh. He turned to see the familiar mask of an ANBU member and the unmistakable curves of a woman. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Simple. I'm doing my duty as a Shinobi of Konoha." She rushed forward and went to kick him in the chest. Naruto managed to jump backwards and avoid the blow. Unforunately, he didn't see the kunai that had been launched by the kick in time to dodge. It ripped through flesh and muscle as it lodged itself in his shoulder.
He grunted in pain. "What the hell are you talking about?" He watched her carefully as she unslung a sword from her back.
"Simple. You're a missing nin. And since I found you. I have to kill you." She ran forward again and punched Naruto in the face sending him flying backwards. A puff of smoke appeared revealing it to be wood. The ANBU swung around holding her sword outstretched and cut across Naruto's stomach before he could react.
"They declared me a missing nin? No, you're lying." He jumped backwards and started making handsigns until several shadow clones appeared. They charged forward, one went to kick her in the stomach while another flipped over her kicking her in the head and a third went after the sword. The ANBU easily cut through the first Naruto and it vanished before the kick could connect. The second one bounced off her head as his boot connected with her face, and the third grabbed her sword. As he ran off he put his hand to the hilt and stopped while turning. The woman already had a second sword in her hand. "Where the heck did that come from?" That's when he saw the ninja scroll sticking out of her pocket and he remembered TenTen "Ahh crud." He held the sword awkwardly as she ran at him. Her sword sliced down and Naruto brought his up to fend off the blow. The metal clanged and Naruto flew back as she kicked him in the stomach. Thanks to his incredible stamina and phenomenol healing rate, he fared better than the tree he hit. A scroll rolled to his side opening while it did so. It was him, a picture of him and the order signed by the Hokage herself. "No." His eyes stayed on the scroll as the grass was crushed on her journey towards him, her blade gleaming as the sunlight bounced off it, and her hidden eyes gleaming with bloodlust toward the demon that had killed her father so many years ago.
She pressed the blade against his neck as his mind struggled to take in what should never have been. "Any last words?"
Naruto looked up at her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
He felt like he was falling. Only his body didn't come to a stop. It kept moving until he stopped in front of a barred cage.
The Kyuubi looked at him from behind them.
"Child, you cannot let her destroy you."
Naruto looked sadly at the demon. "And why not."
"You are young, your time is not yet over. You must live."
"I don't have anything to live for!"
"Then you must find something. I will not allow you to destroy us. Become stronger. Become faster. It's all within your grasp. All you have to do is live."
"I'M A MISSING NIN! Any ninja who sees me is honor-bound to kill me."
"Then be Ninja no more. Be different. And to ensure your success, I shall give you a gift. Your blood holds more power than you know boy, if you chose the right mate, then in several generations the children of your clan would have become powerful in their own right. I shall activate that potential. Now go. Fight. And live."
From the cage hidden within him a surge of energy went through his blood and the gift was bestowed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Naruto looked up at her.
And his eyes glowed.
