Uzukage

Summary: 12-year-old ninja failure Uzumaki Naruto escapes from Konoha after the village council ordered him executed. Running into two old friends of the past, Naruto begins his own hidden village.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto.

Begin Flashback

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! IRUKA-SENSEI!!!!!!!!!" screamed Naruto into the harsh night as blood red chakra started pouring out of him.

And then, a voice.

Kill.

The demon within him whispered. Kill the traitor. Unleash your anger. Revel in your fury and his doom!!!

Possessed, Naruto's body jumped into the air, his blinding red aura shooting sparks into the sky as his wounds healed at unheard-of speeds. He rocketed off a tree trunk and, taking giant leaps, went from tree to tree at amazing speeds.

"MIZUKI… WHERE ARE YOU??!!" He roared into the night sky as he trailed the direction where the traitor had run off. His chakra lashed out, smelling for Mizuki's scent.

Immediately, he caught a whiff about a hundred meters from his location. Rocketing off once more, he closed the distance in a matter of seconds.

Mizuki was quietly laughing as he looked over the scroll's contents. "Ooo… Kage Bunshin… Rasengan… Edo Tensei… my my this looks delici-"

POW!!!

Mizuki's head was slammed into the air as he tumbled over, screaming in pain as he turned to see his attacker.

His eyes widened significantly in fear as he stared face to face, eye to eye, with the slitted red-eyes that had haunted Konoha for years…

"ARRGGHHH!!" he shouted. "GET AWAY FROM ME, DEMON!!!!!"

"Mizuki… I will rip your body parts off one by one, and then roast you on a BBQ grill until your heart melts into blood… actually, no, fuck it, I'll just KILL YOU LIKE YOU DID IRUKA-SENSEI!!!!"

And with the burning image of the Kyuubi's eyes ingrained into his mind, the traitor Opotsu Mizuki screamed his last breath as a chakra-boiled hand ran through his chest and ripped out his still-beating heart, crushing it, blood gushing out and forming pools at Naruto's feet.

As revenge was served, the Naruto's body rapidly tired as the Kyuubi chakra faded, his eyes turning normal and his body becoming less feral.

"Iruka-sensei…" he whispered into the night as his knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

-End Flashback-

Naruto woke up with a refreshed body and mind. The wonders an afternoon nap can do for me…

Rumble.

It was a gigantic rumble, something so loud and so ferocious that anyone within a mile radius could hear it.

Naruto jumped up and whipped his head around, trying to see where it was.

Rumble.

The smaller and softer one alerted Naruto to the location of the rumbles:

His stomach.

I'm HUNGRY!!! His mind and stomach practically shouted together. He hadn't eaten since lunch the previous day!!

Rampaging through the sack, Naruto quickly found two Dango (Rice Balls) Sticks along with a can of salted fish. Thanks, old man… he thought as he ravaged into the food like a starved wolf.

Maybe I should get out of this location, lest those crazy ninjas come back again and start making impossible promises and horrible puns…

Clearing up his scent by washing himself at a nearby stream, he leaped onto a tree and began running, as fast as his legs would allow him.

-Flashback-

Splash.

"Wake up, shitface!!" A powerful and painful kick to the stomach. "I said, wake the hell up!!!"

As Naruto opened his eyes, feeling the cold, damp floor for the first time, he felt another foot, even more powerful, this time slamming against the back of his head.

A blinding flash of white erupted within his mind as he screamed in pain.

"Good, the dumbass is up." Naruto looked up into the eyes of a coldly smirking Ninja with a headband of the leaf. "Now brat, listen carefully. The village council has ordered your execution for the deaths of Umino Iruka and Opotsu Mizuki, in addition to stealing the priceless forbidden scroll containing Konoha's most secret jutsus. You're a monster to them, and even with Hokage-sama's veto, the council has overruled him in an unanimous vote to send your sorry ass to hell."

Naruto's eyes widened in fear. He looked around the dark storage room, seeing dusty boxes labeled "Kunai Inc." and "Shruikens R' Us." Another box said "Handle with Care, contains Explosives." And apparently, the only other presence besides himself was this… man.

The man looked old, with narrowed eyes and messy white hair. He had a smirk on his face, and his hands fingered a mid-sized shruiken. But despite the markings of his age, he had powerful arms and a muscular chest.

"Now, I don't disagree with them. You're a monster, a demon in my eyes as well. In fact, if I wanted to I could kill you right now and save you the torture of looking into your fellow classmates' and villagers' betrayed and cold eyes as you are burned alive with a Katon jutsu."

Naruto gasped weakly. "B-but… I… I didn't kill Iruka… a-and… Mizuki… told me to…"

He was interrupted.

"Shut up. Do you really think Konoha gives a shit whether you were innocent or not? Do you really think the fucking primps who've been after your blood for 12 years, from the day you were born, who are seated in the high council gleefully reveling in their victory, would give a SHIT if you were innocent? No. You are a demon, an evil monster, and you must be cleansed."

Naruto didn't say anything. He simply stayed on the ground, in a slightly laying position, weakly supporting himself with his arm.

"And to make matters worse, you actually let your kyuubi chakra pour out. The whole east side of the village felt it. And everyone knew, they knew, that it was you, and guess what? The first ANBU who saw you… also saw you rip out dear Mizuki's heart in cold blood, with the chakra of your demon. Great job, brat."

Naruto's heart sank as the cold feeling of impending death washed over him. There… there is no way… I can appeal… there is no way… I can live…

He looked into the eyes of the old but strong man. "Kill me then… old man… I would rather die here… than in front of the people who hate me…"

I don't know where I am or who this guy is… but it doesn't matter, none of it matters…

The man was silent for half a minute. And then he spoke.

"I'm not going to. I'm going to let you live. I've planned out an escape route that you can take, behind this storage room is a secret entrance to a tunnel that was built long ago for smuggling explosives. When you reach the end you will come out into a clearing that will be about three miles from Konoha. From there, you will travel east, and depending on where you are going, you will be headed toward the Wave Country. Crossing the water will lead you to Kirigakure, where you could pursue a ninja career. Or, you can turn north, where you will enter a relatively new village called Otogakure. Either way, you will be safe from pursuers in either village."

Naruto was shocked as he took in the information. This man, this old man with crazy white hair, who just moments ago had been laughing at him and calling him a demon brat, was now… helping him… live.

"But… why…" Naruto whispered. "Why… are you helping me?"

The man reached an arm to a table, and pulled off a dusty old picture settled on it. He placed it in front of Naruto without a word.

Naruto looked at the picture. There were three figures in it… a smiling woman with black hair, a white-haired child who was kneeling on the ground, and another older, white-haired man who had an arm around the woman and a hand on the child's shoulder. The caption read, "The Opotsu Family – Chinteka Vestra, Opotsu Mizuki, and Opotsu Renda."

Opotsu Mizuki

With a jolt, Naruto came to the startling realization that this man in front of him…

Was Mizuki's father.

The man interrupted his thoughts. "I knew my son had turned evil a year ago when my wife was drowned in the bathroom, about a week after my business was officially bankrupt. I didn't have evidence that Mizuki had killed his mother, but I knew, I knew, somehow, that he had played some part in Vestra's death. I wanted to kill him, but the little bastard lied to the Council and told them that I killed her. There was no proof for him either, however, and so the village council passed a restraining order for both of us. Since then, he has lived on the west side of the village, while I have this shabby warehouse to live in. Brat… you did me a favor today… by killing my bastard of a son."

Naruto simply stared. Mizuki… his teacher… was so evil… that he would murder his own mother and try to get his own father executed??!!

"This warehouse used to be part of my business, Opotsu Weapons Co. However, Shinko Tenone and his darn Shinko Ten Arms Factory crushed my business in the competition, and so I had to smuggle in kunai from Kirigakure in order to sustain my business. Needless to say, I soon went bankrupt, but the tunnel that I used is still here."

No wonder there were so many boxes of weapons

The old man seemed to have soften as his mind went over the memories of his past. He almost seemed… nice. But then, as quickly as it had appeared, his nice expression soon turned into a sneer as he glared at Naruto.

"So… brat… are you going to take this chance or not? You can either run your ass out of my house right now, or you can wait while I call the ANBU to arrest your little face and smoke you alive in about eight hours. It's about four in the morning right now. You have about an hour under the dark to make it as far away from here as you can, and then we'll just hope that you're far enough from this village when the sun rises."

I have to run. This is my only chance.

But… where would I go? What would I do? Will I ever come back? These questions plagued Naruto as he pulled himself together.

But then he saw Iruka's dying face in his arms, and heard Iruka's last words… "Achieve your dream as Hokage Naruto, or any Kage… and never… never forget… you are just a container for the Kyuubi… you are not the real monster… the real monster wouldn't cry over a dying person… Naruto… never forget that I believe in you… and always…believe…in…your-sel…"

With that thought in mind, Naruto's face hardened into a determined expression as he realized… Iruka-sensei… you sacrificed yourself so that I could live on… if I let myself die I would be dishonoring your name and your will forever. Iruka-sensei, wherever you are… thank you… thank you… for giving me the chance, and the WILL, to LIVE!!!!!

With a nod towards the old man Opotsu Rendan, Naruto rocketed off his feet, preparing to run the escape for his life.

BANG!

Until he crashed head first into a wall.

"We're inside, dumbass! The trap door is over there." A laughing Rendan pointed at a small door near the corner of the room, covered by books and boxes. "Oh yea… before you go, I prepared you a small knapsack of some food and a blanket. It won't last you long though, so I recommend you head for a village, unless you know how to hunt or cook. Naruto nodded sheepishly, muttering a quiet "thanks." He grabbed the bag, opened the door, and with a last wave to a surprisingly… smiling Rendan, Naruto disappeared, sliding down and then running as fast as he could through the underground tunnel.

-End Flashback-

The sun was setting. As it grew darker, and slightly cooler, Naruto came into a clearing.

He held his breath in awe as he marveled at the sight before him. A slight breeze tickled his hair as he walked out of the trees and onto the sun-streaked grass billowing along the plains.

This is… beautiful… he thought as he breathed out.

Naruto was standing at the edge of the forest. Ahead of him was about a mile square of relatively flat grass-littered plains. To his left, he could see the ocean in the horizon, to his right, was a stretch of water with land behind it. And ahead of him, about a mile away, was the sea, the vast and powerful ocean. I think I'm on a sort of… peninsula…

Naruto smiled. There was not a soul in sight. It was simply him, and nature. He created a few Kage Bunshins and sent them to scout the exact borders of this peninsula, as well as a few more to scout the woods behind him, to make sure that no pursuers had followed.

This place is so beautiful… how is there no one here but me? Well… whatever… I guess this is where I will make my camp tonight.

After he had set up camp and ate the remaining rice balls and fish, he ordered a few more Kage Bunshins to go hunting. Wow, this jutsu is so useful…!! Naruto thought as he contentedly settled onto his blanket, using his folded knapsack as a pillow.

His earlier scouts had returned back. West of him was the Fire Country, whose borders he had just passed an hour ago. East of him was the vast ocean. And south of him was the sea, but if one traveled further they would end up in the Wave Country.

He chuckled – that was where he was supposed to go. But he had forgotten, and obviously, ended up here instead. But here, he thought, is better.

Naruto smiled. A Kage Bunshin scouting the woods returned back and told him that there were simply no human presences north or west of him for the nearest twenty miles. The border of the fire country was far off, and as long as he didn't go near it, he wouldn't be chased by Konoha shinobi any time soon.

As he pulled the blanket over himself, Naruto let out a loud yawn. Summoning two more Kage Bunshins to patrol and guard, Naruto slowly fell asleep once more after a long, hard, but very interesting day. If no one finds me… I just may stay here for a very… long… time… were Naruto's last thoughts as he met the warm embrace of peaceful slumber, the first one he had in a long time.

A/N: Naruto has settled down, and he will start his future village on that peninsula :)

If you're wondering where it is in the Naruto world, go to

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8099/mapofnarutojp3.jpg

Yes, I did take an image of the map of Naruto's world and I drew on it. So it is not my own drawing, the actual URL is

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8461/map9sz.jpg.

Just giving credit where it's due.