Hey guys, thanks for anyone who's already reviewed and thanks to everyone who's favourited and alerted this story. I will continue whether I get reviews or not, but I do love getting them. So if anyone wants to make my day, just sent a little review my way :D It's always appreciated. My friend James asked me if the other jinchuuriki will be in the story later, after their bijuu's have been taken. The answer is yes and no. Some of them won't, but Gaara, Yugito and Killer Bee will - I'm still not sure about the other jinchuuriki, I don' think they will. So drop me a review and let me know what you like, what you don't like - and tell me if the chapters need to be longer, I think they do.


Chapter Three- Farewell Konoha

''But Hokage-sama, why would Naruto leave the village? He just became a ninja, and he can't be the Hokage if he's not even here...someone must have taken him, there's no way Naruto would just run off like this. It's just not like him- we have to send out a search party.'' Iruka said hurriedly.

Naruto had never turned up to be assigned a team and when Iruka had gone to his apartment to check if he was okay later on, he found nothing but rubbish and a cold air of silence. Looking around, Iruka discovered there was no food in any cupboards, the fridge was empty, the closet lacked clothes and even his bedrolls had been taken as well. At first Iruka had suspected villagers being overly cruel to Naruto, as usual, but upon further inspection, he had found a letter on Naruto's bedside table.

''Iruka-san, please show me Naruto's letter. It could hold the key to his whereabouts.'' Sarutobi said, his voice leaving no room for negotiation. They both knew that something big had happened, whether Naruto had been taken by some strange force, or whether he had left of his own accord.

Iruka handed him the paper without a word. Sarutobi read in silence.

Dear Iruka-sensei, Ojii-san, and who ever else might care

I've decided to leave Konoha and make my own way in the world- that's right, as a missing-nin. I didn't want to leave this way, but trust me, it was the only way I could do this. I recently found out that I am the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and that's why I've been hated by the villagers. Upon talking to Kyuubi, I discovered he's not as bad as everyone makes out. He's a little impatient, and kind of bossy- he's trying to tell me what to write right now! But that doesn't matter. Kyuubi-san told me that there's a group of S-rank Missing Ninja called the Akatsuki out there. He won't tell me everything, but he says that in a few years they're going to start trying to collect the bijuu. I can't be in Konoha when they try and come for me- I can't bring that upon the town. So I've left Konoha and become a missing nin. I'm sure Iruka is worried, and probably you too Ojii-san, but don't be sad. Kyuubi-san told me he's going to teach me the way of the shinobi and I'll be really strong. Then I'm going to make it my mission to stop the Akatsuki- I can't let them get the bijuu.

So Iruka-sensei, Ojii-san, I'm sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye, but I know you would try and stop me. Hopefully we'll meet again in the future. And I'll be even stronger than the Yondaime then, believe it!

Goodbye,

Naruto.

By the end of the second reading, Iruka was in tears again. Naruto had finally done it...he'd found out about his jinchuuriki status. The thing that surprised Iruka most was his apparent conversation with the Kyuubi. What if it was the foxes fault he left? What if he was trying to lure him out to where he wouldn't be protected and then force his way out of his prison? No, that wasn't possible, bijuu never lie- if he told Naruto that he was going to train him to defend himself from the Akatsuki (whoever they were) then that's what he would do.

''Hokage-sama, what can be done? We can't put him as a missing nin! He's only been a ninja for one day.'' Iruka pleaded- he knew being a missing-nin gave a ''kill-on-sight'' marking for ANBU, and he knew some of them would take the chance to kill Naruto without a second thought.

''Iruka-san, it is the only way. He may have only been a ninja for a short time, but he is still a ninja. And when a ninja abandons their village they must become a missing-nin, whether I like it or not. I'm afraid that I don't have the control over this situation. It was a law set down by the Shodai himself...'' Sarutobi replied, as he pulled out Naruto's citizenship file. Finding the correct page, Sarutobi began filling in the details that would officially make Naruto a missing-ninja.

''But there has to be some way! He can't defend himself from ANBU and Hunter Nins and you know that!'' Iruka tried to plead.

''Iruka, I really do wish I could, but there are fundamental laws even the Hokage can't bend. I can give him a head start of a few days, but eventually the Hunters will have to go, and I can't really stop them.''

''I know...I know...I just wish there was something we could do.''

''So do I Iruka...so do I.''

With Naruto and the Kyuubi, around 40 miles outside Konoha.

''Hey Kyuubi, can we slow down now? I've been running for hours and hours, and I need to grab something to eat!'' Naruto asked

''I suppose we're a good distance from the village now. We can make camp for the night, and I can begin your training whilst you sleep. I will begin modifying your body very slightly to allow you to go undetected by Hunter Nins and I shall increase your muscle mass slightly, to make training easier.''

''Aww thanks Kyuubi-sensei, you're really nice. I don't get why the villagers don't like you.'' Naruto plopped down under a large tree and began to build up a tiny fire from the surrounding twigs and small branches. Pulling out a cup of ramen, he set some water from a small stream on to boil in his kettle. Sealing scrolls were really very useful things. It took a while for the water to get hot enough to soften the noodles, but before too long Naruto was munching on some of his favourite ramen. If there was one thing he was going to really miss in Konoha aside from people, it would be Ichiraku Ramen...the cup stuff just doesn't quite compare.

''So Naruto, tonight is the night you are a missing ninja. You have begun your journey to becoming the greatest ninja to ever walk this Earth and there's no turning back now. What do you think about it?'' Kyuubi found himself inordinately curious about the young ninja's thoughts.

''Well, it can't be that bad. You're going to help me out, and we're going to help other people- it can't be that bad, right? I mean, as long as we don't hurt any good people then I'm okay with it.'' Naruto replied between mouthfuls of ramen.

The Kyuubi went quiet, thinking over Naruto's words before; ''Naruto, I think I should tell you something about the Ichibi no Shukaku. He's going to be the first bijuu we retrieve, and he will be three landmarks for you. One, he will be your first captured bijuu. Two, he will be the easiest to capture, due to his level of strength being below that of any other bijuu. And three, he will be the most difficult for you to mentally accomodate. He's insane Naruto, and will attempt to make you insane as well. Don't worry, I can hold him back for any time you are concious, but when you come to visit me or recieve training, he will be inevitably difficult to deal with. If you can mentally adjust to Shukaku, you will be fine with the rest of the bijuu.''

''Hehe, I'd be really angry too if my name was Shukaku too! He's got such a funny name. I bet he'll be fun to annoy.'' was Naruto's response.

''That's right Naruto, poke the bear with a stick and see what happens.''

''I won't really. But anyway, I'm off to sleep so we can start training in there. I want to be the strongest ninja ever, and the quicker we start training, the quicker that can happen. So Kyuubi-sensei, teach me everything you know!''

Timeskip of 5 years. Naruto is now 12, and has been training with Kyuubi. He has the skills of a high level Jounin at this point.

''So Kyuubi, what now? I mastered the new jutsus and now I'm bored.'' Naruto asked. He had grown taller over the years, although he was still pretty short- his hair was still the same spiky blond but it came down over his nose now, due to a lack of scissors in the wilderness. Truly it should have been longer but Kyuubi had tried to keep it stunted as much as possible. They had made much use of natural resources over the years, and by now Naruto could survive off of practically nothing more than what you could find in the average bush.

''Naruto, you have done well with all our training as of now. It's time to prove how far you've come from the dobe you were when you were 7, and capture the Shukaku. Starting tomorrow, we will be heading to Suna in Wind Country, where Shukaku resides in the current Kazekages son. Truly, we will be leaving earlier than I had expected us to- I thought we would spend a few more years out here, but honestly, you have grown a lot quicker than I had expected. The jinchuuriki is called Gaara no Sabaku, and he isn't very friendly because he was hated even more than you in your childhood. However, Shukaku's abilities prevented him from beatings.''

''Hey Kyuubi, what is his ability then? Tell me, tell me!''

''No, I shan't, you will discover it yourself upon meeting the Jinchuuriki. Also, I believe we need to stop you eating ramen everyday. At this rate all our fitness training will be for naught, and you will enter Suna heavier than that Choji child from the academy.''

''HEY! Don't be mean to Choji, he was a nice guy. Either way, don't talk about ramen like that. It's blasphemy.'' Naruto huffed, face turning red.

''Fine, if you think so, but it doesn't matter. Right now, you are going to run through drills of every single jutsu you know before you can do no more. We need to see how much chakra you have- your resources are large but still we need to have an accurate measure for going up against the Shukaku. This will be your first direct confrontation with a bijuu, and it will be stronger than any of the Hunter nins that have been sent after you in the past.''

It was true, so far every Hunter Nin that had been sent by Konoha to capture Naruto had returned either completely dead of heavily damaged. This led to rumours around the village that Naruto had already been possessed by the Kyuubi, and was killing using it's demonic force. Iruka and the Sandaime knew it was completely ridiculous, but that didn't mean they could change the villagers minds. Even they had mild doubts- how else could a 12 year old boy kill several experienced Jounins?

Four hours later, after Naruto had finally passed out from chakra exhaustion, the Kyuubi took control to move his body back to his den which was made in the base of a large tree.

The Next Day

The next day, Naruto woke up feeling refreshed. His nice sleep had replenished nearly all of his chakra, and he had only run out after hours of using Jounin and above techniques, including C, B, A, and he occasional S rank ninjutsu and even some Onipou specialist Jutsu's he learnt from Kyuubi. For even elite ANBU that feat was impressive, but for someone who was essentially still a genin, it was a mindblowing achievement.

After a quick breakfast of Naruto's favourite food- ramen- they packed up camp and started east. Kyuubi had been to the Wind Country before, once or twice, and knew that if Naruto pumped chakra into his feet, he could probably reach Sunagakure in a day or two, rather than the three or four it took from Konoha. Living directly on the boarders are really handy for people who love travelling to places and hate long journeys. As Naruto ran, quickly entering the blistering desert, he repeated all of the jutsu's he knew, all of the fighting techniques from Kyuubi's own taijutsu style - Foxes Claw - and all of the facts he had ever learnt about the Ichibi No Shukaku. He knew not to provoke it, he knew not to directly threaten it and he knew not to try and fight it head on. If it came down to that, he would simply need to unleash some of Kyuubi's chakra and crush the sand demon.

Yet he still hadn't been told what his special ability was. He knew it must be impressive if the villagers hadn't been able to get Gaara, but it was as much as mystery to him as why the Akatsuki wanted to take over the planet like the plot to some 80's B-movie in the first place.

''Kid, I have to tell you something. If you end up fighting the Shukaku, use as many Suiton jutsus as possible.''

''Why's that Kyuubi? You told me that the Suiton Jutsu's were the weakest ones in offence.''

''They are, to most, but against a being made of sand, they are one of the most effective choices in subduing them. Remember, you cannot kill the Shukaku, so try and get Gaara to voluntarily supress it whilst I work the seal to transfer him from Gaara's mind to my own. And remember, it will be chaos in here until I can calm him down.''

''You've told me this a million times Kyuubi-sensei, stop repeating yourself.'' Naruto sighed heavily

''This journey is taking too long. Let me give you some of my chakra. It will make us go even faster, and it will allow you to save your own chakra for extracting the Shukaku. The regular sealing is difficult enough, but the sealing we will do won't kill the host, which means it will be even more difficult.''

''Fine, go ahead.'' Naruto replied.

It wasn't long before Naruto and the Kyuubi saw a large tower looming on the horizon. As they bore closer, Naruto removed the red chakra from his feet and replaced it with his own. He could sense a large chakra signature from inside Suna. It was obviously the Shukaku.

Naruto shuddered...if that was the size of chakra in the one tail, getting the eight tail would be torture. But he just thanked Kami above that he wouldn't have to seal the Kyuubi in himself- the Yondaime already did that job.