Naruto; But this is a fanfic.
Sasuke; There aren't even any pictures.
LC;...You should not cross me.
*Scene turns dark*
*Scene opens again to reveal both Naruto and Sasuke taped to opposite computers wearing headphones.*
LC; Now...I will torture you using the most horrifying, soul sucking, video ever.
*Pushes button starting Barney movie*
Both; NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Disclaimer; They brought it on themselves but that doesn't mean I own them. Though I did enjoy their pain.
Chapter 6; Toads, Slugs, and Break Outs.
Tsunade and Jiraya could hardly believe it when Naru appeared on the front step of the house they were staying in. Of course, they could hardly believe it was Naru at all because of her new look.
Only the pig tails and whisker marks remained unchanged.
"Don't tell me you guys have been mooching off Tazuna all this time." Naru groaned good naturedly. One could never tell with the sannin.
Without giving a single warning, both sannin in question ran to her and proceded to squish her out of existence between them.
"ACK!" She gasped. "Can't breathe! Need air! Isamu! Help!" She cried desperatly. It was bad enough being hugged by one sannin at a time, both at once could crush bones.
Isamu didn't know what to do. On one hand it looked like lady Uzumaki was being crushed to death. On the other it was extremely hilarious and he could barely keep a semi-straight face seeing her being squished like that.
"Isamu I'm serious!" Naru choked. "Do something before I need to wear a full body cast!"
Finally making a decision, he walked forward until he was looking up at the two old people and trying to figure out how to get them off his mistress.
"Lady Uzumaki, I'm not to sure there's anything I can do to make them let go." He said hesitantly. He didn't like dissappointing people because it normally ended in pain. He knew Lady Uzumaki wouldn't hurt him, but he wasn't sure about anyone else here.
Thankfully for Naru, both sannin let go once Isamu made his presence known. At first they stared blankly at his gills before turning back to Naru with eyebrows raised.
"This is Isamu." She introduced them, rubbing her bruised ribs. "Isamu, these are Jiraya and Tsunade, the sannin."
"Naru Uzumaki if you knew where we were why didn't you come visit and tell us you were alright!" Tsunade demanded angrily.
"Because I've been busy training myself and building a village?" Naru tried, shrugging playfully.
Both sannin looked again from Naru to Isamu and back again.
"Most unpredictable ninja alright." They muttered ruefully.
Inside, Naru caught up with all of her old wave friends. "Our economy has inhanced enough that we no longer need trade with Konoha to sustain ourselves. Now we're primarily trading with Suna." Tazuna reported to her joyfully, sipping from his sake.
"That's good news." Naru said kindly. "Glad to see your all back on your feet!"
"Where have you been anyway gaki?" Jiraya asked curiously. He'd used his entire spy network but had never gotten anything more solid than a rumor.
"Mostly I've been travelling but my home base is in the Dead Lands." She told him. "I'd be happy to show you Uzu no Sato later. I actually came here because I'm trying to remain in the know about what Danzo's been up to lately. He made contact with me a while ago actually."
Naru told them about how Danzo and two ROOT had confronted her outside her village gates. "What I want to know is how did the hokage leave his village without anyone noticing? I seem to recall hokage's weren't suppossed to leave the village unless going on some important meeting with other kage."
Jiraya sighed before answering. "Danzo hasn't exactly been playing by the book." He said slowly. "He's made a lot of changes to the rules. Konohagakure isn't what it used to be. Everyone is suffering."
"How's the old gang." Naru asked gravely, her fists clenching painfully in her lap.
"Anko was captured for nothing other than being Orochimaru's former student." He began. "Iruka was arrested for teaching about the will of fire. Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai have gone into hiding in the forest of death. Many of your old genin friends are in the rebellion under Shikamaru's leadership and doing okay." He paused, worrying how Naru would take the worst news. "Naru, Danzo is holding Konohamaru to train him to become the next generation of ROOT."
The result wasn't anything like he expected it to be. Maybe Naru had changed since her banishment. Maybe she wasn't the same lovable bundle of sunshine. Being tossed away like an unwanted toy could do that to a person after all.
He shouldn't be too surprised. That didn't mean he couldn't try to help though.
"Lady Uzumaki, you told me stories about how you could rival ANBU with your stealth." Isamu pointed out shyly. "Can't you sneak in and save those people?"
"I knew there was a reason I kept you around!" Naru hugged the boy tightly. "Your a clever kid ya know that?"
So it was settled. Naru would sneak in just as the Ichiraku couple left the village. They were sick and tired of living in a village that had harmed them more than help, so they were packing up the noodle cart and headed to Wave.
Naru made a mental note to ask if they wanted to come to Uzu no Sato later. But first, she had precious people to save.
Ibiki Morino respected two things in his life. One, was loyalty. Both Anko and Iruka had that in spades. What kind of dung did Danzo think he had for brains anyway? No way those two would ever betray the village! The second thing he respected, was a person. A young girl named Naru Uzumaki.
His reason for respecting her was simple enough. He'd been her proctor during the chunin exams. He'd watched, amazed, as she banished the fear of the other genin with a few sentences. It took something to do that. To completely banish someone's fears. Naru Uzumaki had that alright, she had it coming out of her ears!
He looked into the cell where Iruka was trying to urge Anko to eat something. They had some old bread and a little water, but not much else in the way of nourishment.
The next day, Danzo would be inspecting his cells. Danzo expected these two to be dead. Ibiki could never kill fellow nin. He had to find a place to hide them or a way to get them out of the village.
Sighing to himself about how troublesome this was being, he turned to start climbing the stairs up to the T&I HQ. What he saw standing in the door frame at the top of the stairs was enough for even him, a hardened army veteran, to gape in surprise. Or really, who was standing there.
The light almost made her skin glow, her hair looked to be aflame, and her soft saphire eyes glowed in the dark.
It was none other than Naru Uzumaki.
Seeing Ibiki had finally noticed her, Naru walked down the stairs two at a time. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say the village ANBU have actually 'relaxed' since I left." She joked around. "I barely had to try to get past them. You need better security Ibiki."
"Naru Uzumaki what are you doing here?" Ibiki demanded quietly. If anyone found out she was here, he'd have to kill her because of that stupid law Danzo passed. Ha! That girl did more for this village in a year than most nin were able to do in a life time! Trade with Wava, good relations with Crescent and Snow, and a strong alliance with Suna! All gone when she was banished!
"Oh, the usual, wreaking havoc wherever I go to protect my precious people." She said cooly, standing at the foot of the stairs. "And you seem to have two of them in that cell there."
A light bulb suddenly appeared above Ibiki's head as he got an idea of how to save Anko and Iruka.
"Naru, you can get them out of the village can't you?" He asked her urgently. "Because if so, I need you to get Anko to Tsunade, she's the only one who can help her."
"Well it's a good thing I have Tsunade on stand by for when I get out of here." Naru muttered. "Ibiki, I have someone else I need to find before I come back for these two. When I get back, it'll be with Konohamaru."
He watched Naru climb the stairs before looking over at his sleeping comrades in the cell. For the first time in a long time, he felt there was a sparkle of hope yet.
Because Naru had been left in the rain, but she still offered shelter to the ones she loved. Because she was willing to help Konoha even after what it had done to her. That was just how she was made. To save those she cared about and destroy what stood in her way.
Naru slowly made her way through the village. She walked calmly through the sewers. Technically, she was walking on the roof of the sewers, but the same principle applied.
If she remembered correctly, she was directly under the hokage tower. Now all she had to do was figure out where she'd hidden that secret entrance into the tower. It was something only the sandaime had known about. Something he himself had shown her so she could travel about without being attacked by angry villagers.
She leaned against an odd stone, activating the trap door to swing open. "Figures I could only find it on accident." She muttered angrily, climbing the steps.
Inside, the place was crawling with ROOT. This was where she had to be careful. ROOT were a lot better than ANBU. They never let their guard down, so she would have to keep her guard up.
Several times she had a close call. She finally managed to find out where exactly Konohamaru was when she heard a chunin talking about hearing someone's screams of pain from inside.
She crawled through the vents until she could look down into the room. It looked like some kind of torture chamber with a bed. On the bed, nursing several wounds, was Konohamaru.
"I won't let him break me." Konohamaru murmured to himself. "I won't lose myself. I'm Konohamaru of Konohagakure, grandson of the Sandaime! I won't lose to some stupid old man!"
Satisfied they were alone, Naru dropped from the vents to land by the foot of the bed.
"Konohamaru, it's me." She said, rubbing the burning forhead of her friend. His eyes opened but they were unfocused. He was really sick.
"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here before you know it." She whispered encouragingly. "Danzo won't be able to hurt you anymore."
Carrying Konohamaru on her shoulders, Naru climbed the wall and opened the secret passageway on the wall. Inside, she crawled until she found the slide.
The slide would carry them down before landing them in a dumpster down below. Not Naru's first choice for a landing space, but the best that she could do on short notice. Besides, crawling through the vents is one thing, dragging a hallucinating Konohamaru behind her is another.
After being sure no one was coming to investigate their loud landing, Naru cautiously poked her head over the edge of the dumpster.
Not a single person in the alley. You gotta love people's habits of ignoring strange things. Looking down to where Konohamaru was sleeping at her feet, she decided to get him to Ibiki as a first objective.
Luckily no one liked going down the sewers or they would have been caught in the first five minutes. Konohamaru continued murmuring to himself in whatever his dream was about.
Loading him onto her back carefully, she performed a quick double henge to make it look like she was an older woman carrying her grandson home. Guarding herself carefully, she made her way through the village. No one thought to question the grey haired old woman with her young grandson on their way home.
Naru carried Konohamaru down the T&I HQ stairs to where Ibiki was waiting for them. "I didn't think you could do it." He muttered. "But I guess that's why your the most unpredictable ninja."
"So Ibiki, you staying in Konoha or making a break for it?" Naru asked curiously. Personally she had no idea how she was getting away with so many unconcious passengers.
"I'm still loyal to the village." He watched one blonde eyebrow rise at the comment. "I meant loyal to this village's true ideals. The will of fire can't be extinguished, no matter what Danzo wishes."
Naru nodded respectfully before unlocking the door to the cell.
Iruka looked up when he heard the key in the door. This was it, he was going to be executed. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that Naru would never see how far her home had fallen.
Anko managed to pull herself closer to Iruka, who gladly pulled her into his arms. He wasn't going to beg for mercy. Neither was Anko. They were shinobi. They were strong.
"Iruka-sensei, Anko, can you stand?" Umino could not resist the urge to open his eyes. He could hardly recognize his beloved student. She wore clothes that a real shinobi would, not that awful orange jumpsuit, an improvement. Her blonde hair was held up in a bun to keep it out of the way. Two senbon held the bun in place.
She'd gotten taller.
"N-Naru?" He could hardly believe this was his adopted daughter. Only the whisker marks were the same. "What are you doing here!" He demanded angrily. "If your caught then every ninja in the village will have to attack you!"
"Iruka-sensei, you were the only one able to find me when I was just an academy student." Naru reminded him amusedly. "Don't you think it was strange a chunin could find me when ANBU couldn't?"
Anko slowly opened her eyes. After being under arrest for three months she'd begun to lose hope of getting out. The only thing that kept her breathing was Iruka's gentle encouragements.
"So are you going to slowly rot away until Danzo comes in the morning or are you going to let me get you out of the village?" Naru asked concernedly.
Anko's wounds looked infected and hadn't healed right. She needed help fast. It is a good thing Wave wasn't very far away.
"Naru, where would we go?" Iruka asked. He'd be willing to follow her anywhere, so long as Anko got help.
"Well, first we'd go to some friends of mine waiting nearby." She said mysteriously. "I won't say where now, mainly because the head of T&I is right behind me. But after we get Anko, you, and Konohamaru fixed up we're going to my place. Uzu no Sato."
"Wait, Ibiki Morino is right behind you and your busting us out?" Anko asked quietly. Her throat was hoarse and it hurt to move but she needed to understand Naru's insanity.
"Aw come on, Ibiki's not that bad." Naru laughed. "He's a big softie who happens to not hate my guts! Besides, he hasn't turned me in yet or attacked me, or stopped me from opening the door, or from breaking into the hokage tower, or-" She paused, thinking. "Actually, he hasn't done anything."
Ibiki shook his head as he watched Naru make clones to carry Anko and Konohamaru. She and Iruka, who was greatly weakened, would run there.
"Bye Ibiki!" Naru said happily, walking out the door and into the now fallen night. Ibiki shook his head one more time before he made some tea. So Uzu no Sato did exist did it? Why did it not surprise him that Naru Uzumaki was the one to find it? The place one could only get to if they were extremely stubborn and had lots of chakra?
The place was made for Naru.
By the end of the hour, Naru had succesfully led them out of the village without raising the alarm. She felt kind of bad about leaving Ibiki on the spot like that, but he could take care of himself.
Besides, Danzo would be wary of him. Ibiki knew almost as much as the hokage about the inner workings of the village. It would be a bad idea to either banish or eliminate him.
He would be alright.
They stopped to camp for the night. It was nearing midnight when Konohamaru opened his eyes. "Where am I?" He muttered tiredly, not sensing anyone who wanted to kill him nearby.
"Well, well, well, sleeping beauty rises." He gasped and bolted upright, looking around frantically. There, against the tree to his right, sat Naru Uzumaki, boss.
"Boss I can't believe your here!" Naru grunted as she now held about 90 pounds of genin. "You wouldn't believe what's been going on here! First Danzo tossed out Tsunade, then she and the other sannin left to look for you, then Iruka was arrested!" He kept it up until he told her everything that had happened in the nearly two years since she left.
"Konohamaru, I know." She said gently, rubbing his back soothingly. "I know everything about what happened in Konoha." He just kept sobbing about the horrid training Danzo had put him through. "It's okay, he can't get you now. Your safe for the time being."
"But, where are we?" He asked, wiping away his tears.
"In a forest on the way to Wave." She answered him. "Anko and you both need Tsunade to look over you. Your both a little sick."
"But, the village!" Konohamaru protested. "We have to go back and over throw Danzo to save it!" Why didn't his boss see that? Why was she abandoning the village? She'd promised to be hokage!
"Konohamaru, we can't go back." She argued just as fiercly. "It was a risk getting in there to save all of you. We might not be so lucky a second time!"
"But you promised to be hokage!" He knew he sounded like a spoiled brat, but he had to remind her of that. She never broke her promises! To anyone!
"Konohamaru, it wasn't my real dream to be hokage." Naru said softly. It was morning now, and they were travelling to Wave through the trees. Two clones were carrying an unconcious Anko through the forest. "My real dream was to be accepted. I used to believe being the hokage meant the villagers had to accept me. But now I have people, new friends, that accept me and know about everything."
He didn't know though, and that hurt him.
"So what!" He demanded, keeping up with her easy pace. "Your leaving behind your old friends, your precious people, for your new ones!"
"Konohamaru if that were true I wouldn't be here helping you all get to Tsunade to be healed!" Naru snapped angrily. "I have new commitments, new promises to keep! I'll help my friends in Konoha as much as I'm able, but I can't fight your battles for you! If you want to go back and join the resistance, your doing it without me!"
They arrived back at Wave. Tsunade treated their wounds and illnesses. During that time, Konohamaru brooded over what Naru said. He couldn't believe she was just going to forget them like that! How could she!
After a week, he finally decided what he was going to do. Before anyone woke up that night, he left the house. He was going to get stronger then go over throw Danzo to protect his village!
He didn't need Naru! He didn't need her to hold his hand! He could do it himself!
Unbeknowst to him, Naru had watched him pack up and leave in silence. It hurt her to see Konohamaru suffering like this, but he had to make his own choices. He couldn't rely on someone else to make them for him.
Two tears fell from her cheeks as she watched him run away in the opposite direction of Konoha. He was just a genin, but he was now a missing nin.
She hung her head before going back to bed.
Iruka had been amazed in the changes Naru had undergone. It wasn't just on the skin either. She had matured greatly. Sometimes she spoke more like an old army veteran then a fourteen year old child.
It hurt him to see her happiness and innocence so marred, but he knew it would've happened sooner or later. Konohamaru worried him more. While the way Naru had brushed him off had been harsh, he knew it was necessary, just as she did. Konohamaru had to learn not to rely on someone else's power.
He had to get his own.
When everyone joined Naru in the kitchen for breakfast, she asked them what they planned to do now. Even the Ichiraku couple were present.
"We heard your starting your own village." Tseuchi prompted. "Got room for a ramen shack?" Naru chuckled before telling him there was plenty of room so long as she got to be the first customer.
"It's been way too long since I had Ichiraku ramen!" She proclaimed, almost drooling at the prospect. "Your both welcome!"
"We got nothing better to do squirt, so why not let us tag along?" Jiraya asked rhetorically. Tsunade nodded before taking a sip of her sake.
Iruka and Anko agreed to come as well. They left later that day, leaving behind tear filled good byes with Tazuna's family.
For a solid week they travelled for as long and as fast as they could. Naru's month was almost over and they had a long way to go.
They made it with a day to spare.
!
LC; Yep, end of chappie six!
Naruto; Geez, you made Konohamaru run away!
Sasuke; Isn't that the opposite of your original plan?
LC;...Well...kinda, yeah.
All; *Facefault*