Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The Switch

This was it. The final straw. He risked his fucking life to keep a promise. No not just him. 4 others did as well. Kiba, Neji, Chouji and Lee. And what does she do? She screams at him and punches him because he couldn't bring that traitor back. That's it. He was done with his mask.

"You are nothing but a demon Naruto. I wish you would have died when the Kyuubi attacked," screes Sakura. The hall is silent. Complete utter silence. Like the calm before the storm. Shikamaru and Ino were sitting beside Naruto and were frozen.

'….no…no….no…NO…. NONONONONO!' Shikamaru was in a state of complete alarm.

"…. demon huh. So, you finally show your true self Sakura. Honestly it was just a matter of time wasn't it? You think I am a demon don't you Forehead girl?...very well then. A demon I will be," Naruto says and walks towards Sakura.

"N…. N…. Naruto?" Sakura says with trepidation. "You want me dead…sorry to say that won't be happening. Instead…you will have to settle for your own," Naruto says as he plunges a kunai into Sakura's throat.

"NARUTO! SAKURA!" Shikamaru and Ino screamed. But it was done. Sakura lay there choking on her own blood and dying while Naruto walked away. "W-w-wait Naruto! What did you do?!"

CLAP! THWACK!

"So? Now do you know what a demon is?" asked Naruto in a cold monotone voice. Shikamaru, Ino amd Sakura took a minute to recover from the horrifying scene or rather illusion they just saw. Naruto gets up and walks away from the three. If the trio had had some control over their minds at that moment, then they would have realized that Naruto wasn't supposed to have the ability to cast genjutsu at all.

Naruto continues to wander through the village, thinking about his life in the village for the past 13 years. 'Why do I put up with this crap? Honestly what is it that is preventing me from leaving this godforsaken village for good anyway? It's not like they want me around. Nor do I like them back. Sure, I have a few people I honestly like from the bottom of my heart and they too like me. But I can count those people on my fingers. So…what the fuck should I do? If more people like Itachi are coming after me, then staying in the village is not going to help me or anyone else as my growth curve is brilliantly flattened. No. I will not be an easy prey. I won't remain weak. It's time I became selfish. I have done far too much for others. Besides I already broke two promises, right? What's a few more?'

Having thought all this, Naruto marches towards the Hokage office, fully aware that this will easily be the greatest turning point of his life.

"You sure Naruto?" Tsunade asks.

*Positive," Naruto replies.

"What do you think Jiraiya? Is this the right thing to do?"

"Honestly, I was going to ask you the same thing Naruto asked. So yes, I am in full agreement with the kid," Jiraiya answers.

"Well then, when did you want to leave Naruto?" Tsunade asks with a raised eyebrow.

"As soon as my chest wound will be healed enough, I guess," Naruto shrugs.

"Hmmm…fair enough. It will heal in 2 weeks. After that you will leave for 2 years- "

"Five"

"WHAT! No way kid you don't have that much time!" Jiraiya exclaims.

"And why not?"

"Well... Sasuke has only 3 years before he becomes Orochimaru's new host."

"…and?"

"Well, you wanted to save – "

"No. That ship has sailed. Sasuke left of his own choice. And I can somewhat understand his perspective. So, no. I don't care about saving him," Naruto says with a hint of irritation in his voice.

Tsunade and Jiraiya are stunned. 'D-d-don't tell me the kid is actually going back on his word,' Jiriaiya thought worriedly. 'Well, this is new. And in a way good. But way out of character,' thought Tsunade.

"No. Scratch the timeframes. You, Naruto, can come back to the Hidden Leaf Village only when you are strong enough to beat Kakashi in a one-on-one fight with his sharingan. Either that or you master the toad sage mode perfectly. Is that alright Jiraiya?" Tsunade says.

"I agree to the conditions. But what is this sage mode?' Naruto asks.

"I will explain it to you gaki. Very well Tsunade. I think Naruto can do what you said within 3 years easily. So Naruto, heal up properly. We are going to Mt. Myoboku after 2 weeks." Jiraiya says.

"Understood. Ja ne," and with that Naruto walked out of the office.

Kakashi who was hiding in the shadows had heard the whole conversation between Naruto, Jiraiya and Tsunade. It perplexed him to no end as to what triggered this sudden change in Naruto. Sure he knew the mission wasn't a complete success…but this was very much unlike Naruto.

"You can come out now Kakashi," Jiraiya said. Kakashi appeared in front of the two sannins in a swirl of leaves. "Well, Kakashi, you heard what Naruto said. What do you make of it?" Tsunade asks.

"If you ask me Lady Hokage, I think a switch has been flipped inside Naruto in a manner of speaking. And…. well…simply put, by the time he will be satisfied with his progress and level of strength…we would probably need to summon Lord First or Madara Uchiha at their full power to be able to even land a hit on him….. and even then, it may not work," Kakashi surmised.

Tsunade simply smirked and replied, "No doubt about that. Jiraiya if you feel like you can't devote yourself to his training 100% then leave him with the toads. They will do just fine. Dismissed."

Jiraiya simply nodded and flash stepped away with Kakashi following suit.

All three of them had the same thoughts going through their heads as they left each other alone –

The Shinobi world is going to torn asunder by a maelstrom of the name Naruto.

Author's Note: So this is the first fanfic I am writing. I really don't know how to rate myself but I guess I am a decent enough writer...Well you guys will be the judge of that. I won't limit myself to Naruto fanfics. I have a couple chapters chalked out, but I will take some time to re-read the Naruto plot. Also, I may delete several arcs, especially the fillers.

Anyways, review and let me know what you felt about the first chapter of The Crimson Storm!