Summary: After losing all faith in the Leaf, Naruto and Sasuke decide to leave. After searching for help in the mountains of Earth Country, they meet a man who will change their lives. PLEASE READ THE NOTES!

Notes: Gatotsu!Sasuke, Hiten Mitsurugi!Naruto, maybe others if they decide to teach it to others. Slow burn. Kenjutsu!Naruto and Sasuke, Good!Kyuubi, Good!Sasuke, Fuinjutsu!Naruto and Sasuke. No Akatsuki. Obito, Madara, and the Rain orphans died. More Naruto politics. Non-leaf ninja!Naruto and Sasuke. Based on the deleted story If You Must Paint Your Future by Plasma Writer and the discontinued story The Hunted (2013) by MangaMan250. Battousai!Naruto and Mibu Wolf!Sasuke.

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Chapter 1: We Will Survive

A six year old Naruto watched with a sad face as the other kids pointed fingers at him and called him names. All he did was ask to play kickball with them and they started bullying him. He looked at the red kickball in his hands and threw it off to the side, not caring if it hit someone. Naruto started walking in no particular direction, not caring where his feet took him. He just wanted to get away from the hateful glares and mean words. 'Why do they hate me?'

Naruto found himself outside the city but not outside the walls. A nice, green, forest with tall and thick trees and most importantly as he soon came to realize; no one to bug him. Trees can't punch you and grass can't call you a demon. He started running. Not away from the village, but rather all around the forest. He finally found a place where no one would bug him. Not even those masked people the old man thinks he doesn't notice.

'Where were those morons anyway?' He wondered. Naruto stopped running and kicked a small rock that was in his way but it didn't go well. He hurt his toe and cursed loudly. That turned out to be a big mistake because there was a squad of chunin nearby that really hated his guts and knew that he was alone. Bad combination.

Naruto started running the moment he saw the five green chunin vests but it didn't do him a lot of good. They caught up to him quickly and the first thing they did was kick him in the ribs. The sickening crack only gave them more energy. Naruto went into the fetal position and closed his eyes in pain. 'Where are those masked people when I need them?!'

Now matter how much pain Naruto felt, his head was clear enough to know they stopped. Decided to take the chance, he opened one eye and saw something he'd never forget. A man just cut down two chunin in seconds with just a katana.

"Who are you!?" Yelled the third one.

"It doesn't matter. You won't live long enough to remember it." The man in a white cloak slaughtered the rest of them. "I am sorry you had to see that, child." The man was gone before Naruto could give his thanks.

"Who...was that…?" Naruto asked himself. Naruto stopped speaking after his ribs violently protested that action and continued to lay there. But it was getting dark and he would be eaten alive if he didn't get moving. But at the same time, did he want to move? It would be so much easier and so much more fun to just fall asleep and let himself be eaten by wild animals. There was enough blood to attract predators and there was no one waiting for him back in the village. 'Yeah.' He thought. 'I'll just lay here for now.' Naruto started to drift off to sleep but before he did, he had a stunning realization. 'I don't care if I die or not. All I care about is how.'

The next morning

Naruto woke up in the exact same spot as before but all of his injuries were healed and they didn't even scar. The cuts on his body were gone without a trace and his formerly broken ribs no longer hurt. The only thing that didn't heal was his shirt. Naruto got up and brushed himself off with one thought in mind. 'I don't know how or why I heal so fast but as long as it continues to do its job, I really don't care.' Naruto walked back to his apartment with many depressing thoughts on his mind.

Naruto was being chased again and they were ninjas too. Like last time, he tried to run but he didn't get very far. They did the same thing but worse. It got to the point where he blacked out half way through it. And when he thought he came to, he saw a giant sewer and he was standing on water. "So after they finished torturing me, they dumped me in a sewer. Wonderful…"

Naruto kept walking for what felt like hours when he stopped. He saw a cage with very complex symbols and kanji on it. Against his better judgement, he walked towards it.

"So my jailer comes to visit me. How thoughtful of you…"

Naruto jumped. The voice was deep, loud, and clearly sarcastic. "Who are you? What do you mean?" Said Naruto. His tone was clearly panicked.

"Come closer and find out."

"Do you promise not to kill me?"

"No."

"Then I have nothing to lose."

The fox was surprised for the first time in 1,000 years. A human who was not afraid of death. Hell, as the boy got closer, he noticed that the boy seemed to be in a hurry to die. 'Interesting. He will stop at the gate and I will not attempt to kill him. He is too interesting to kill.'

Naruto finally got to the gate. "Alright, I'm here but I still don't see any-oh." Naruto found himself at a loss for words at the end. The great 9-tailed fox was standing inside the cage but it didn't appear to want to kill him like the most people. "You know, I walked up to this cage in hopes that I would die but guess that plan failed. So what do you want, Kyuubi? If you're after my life, then take it but if you want something else, I don't know what to tell you."

'He really is a most interesting container.' "No. In fact, I want you to survive. Because if you die, I die."

"I see. If I can't die...is there a way to escape this hell?"

The fox thought for a moment. "Yes, but not alone. You must find someone who shares your opinion. If you try to leave this hell hole alone, you won't make it very far."

"I see. Then I guess I better get to it. Hey uh...How do I get out of here?"

"Dive into the water." The fox lied but it was a harmless long term prank so there wasn't really a problem.

Hospital

The third Hokage stood by Naruto's hospital bed. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto glared at him. "What do you think?"

"Fair enough. Seeing as you'll all healed up, you may go now."

Naruto nodded. "See ya, old man." When Naruto was out of the hospital grounds, he smirked. "You're damn right I'll be going. It's just a matter of time."

Meanwhile with Sasuke

Sasuke threw a kunai at Itachi's picture in anger. The Uchiha Massacre as it had been dubbed, just happened a few days ago and it was done by Itachi. But before he left, he tortured Sasuke with Tsukiyomi where he would watch Itachi massacre the clan for 72 hours inside the jutsu even if it was only a second in the real world.

Sasuke threw another kunai handle first at the wall but the sound it made was...odd. It sounded hollow. Sasuke's developing shinobi instinct told him to investigate. He knocked on the wooden wall a few more times and confirmed his suspicion. There was something behind this wall.

Sasuke grabbed his kunai and began to sloppily carve out a hole big enough for him to fit through. He almost cut his fingers off multiple times and sprained his wrist but he got through. He found a staircase that went down into a dark room. Not wanting to go down there without a light, he grabbed a torch that was on the wall and ignited it.

As Sasuke began to descend, he noticed these weird symbols on the walls that he was unable to read. He figured he would need his sharingan but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was investigating this bunker and seeing if there was anything useful.

When he finally got to the bottom, he found several notebooks belonging to clan elders, his father, and his brother. Sasuke clenched the fist that wasn't holding the torch. Now matter how much he hated his older brother, he was man enough to know that his brother was strong and way stronger than him. So that was the one he picked up first.

"Journal Entry #1 Age: 7 Rank: Genin

Father and Mother are training me into the ground. I graduated at the top of my class in the academy and even though my parents are proud of me, they want to be better than anyone else. I have met their expectations, hell, I've surpassed them but it just isn't enough for some reason.

My teammates hate my guts and to be honest, I hate them too. They're worthless and only know the basic three and they always question sensei's orders. I can't wait to make chunin so I can be rid of them and do something other than those overrated chores."

Sasuke found himself addicted. He always thought that his brother had it all. The attention, the training, the friends, the this, that, and the other, but he was wrong. So that begs the question; Why did he do it? He said it was to test his abilities but if that was true, he would have gone after the Hokage or the ANBU or even launched a one man invasion just to see what would happen. So why did he do it?

"Journal entry #2 Age: 9 Rank: Genin

You imbeciles! Because of you, I have to wait another year to take the chunin exams! My teammates are once again proving themselves to be morons. If I didn't need them for the chunin exams, I would kill them myself on our next boring C-rank and claim that we ran into some random rogue shinobi that sensei couldn't handle and I am the only survivor. There is nothing wrong with being physically weak. That's something that can be easily fixed. But my teammates are adamant on proving that physical strength means nothing if your IQ is -200.

Journal entry #3 Age: 9 Rank: Genin

Because I didn't become Chunin, Father has been putting more and more pressure on me to succeed and I'm getting tired of it. All this training is beginning to get to me and I'm afraid I may snap one day and do something rash. On the other hand, I was able to let out some steam when we were told to clear out a bandit camp. I must admit, I don't like killing but it was oddly satisfying to slaughter people who don't belong in this world after the hellish training my father puts me through. But at least it pays off.

Sasuke almost dropped the notebook. 'Itachi started showing signs of insanity long before the massacre. This does make a bit more sense.'

"Journal entry #4 Age: 11 Rank: Chunin

I finally made chunin and my father has told me that I need experience now. And while I agree with that, he's making go on mission after mission after mission and it's burning me out. Six bandit camps, four escort missions, five assassination missions, two diplomatic missions, and one internation incident started by Rock all in the span of six months. I am developing anger issues and I put two of my clansmen in the hospital when they were just delivering a message. They'll be fine, but I don't think they'll want to be on the same side of the continent as me."

Journal entry #5 Age: 12 Rank: Joinin

I've made jonin and it's only gotten worse. To top things off, the Uchiha are losing political power and I am afraid they might do something rash. The Uchiha aren't known for their patients.

Journal entry #6 Age: 13 Rank: ANBU

I have been accepted into the ANBU and the ANBU has accepted me. The clan is proud of me but once again, they're pressuring me to do better. On top of that, they're planning a revolt. I have told the Sandaime about this and he ordered me to try and talk Father out of it and to spy on them. I will follow orders but I believe that the clan is too far gone and something will have to be done. May God have mercy on us all…."

At this point, Sasuke did drop the journal. This journal explained the massacre but it didn't explain the torture. At that moment, he found his hatred for Itachi dwindling. Itachi did what he had to do for the village. Sasuke picked up the journal, and read on.

"Journal entry #7 Age: 14 Rank: ANBU Captain

This will most likely be my final entry. I was unable to stop the coup and the Sandaime is out of options. The coup will take place in a few hours and I've been ordered to massacre the entire clan. I knew for fact I would be hunted down but I want Sasuke to be the one to kill me. I will use Tsukuyomi on him and make him relive the massacre so he will hate me and eventually kill me. I have a special sharingan called the Mangekyo sharingan that I got by killing one of my clansmen when they attacked me. I will tell Sasuke to take the life of his best friend to get the same eyes as me.

Journal entry #8 Age: 14 Rank: ANBU Captain

As it turns out, the Sandaime was too soft to order such a thing so Danzo did it for him. But I told Danzo that if he went anywhere near Sasuke, I would sell village secrets for a dime per dozen. That man is a monster, far worse than any man, woman, or child on this planet. This is the final entry in my journal. I must complete my mission now. I'm sorry, Sasuke….Maybe next time…."

Sasuke broke down crying after that. He was sad and angry, but for the time being, he would focus on being sad. So he cried for several hours.

When the tears stopped flowing and the sadness went away, anger took hold of him. "You know something, Itachi. I don't hate you. It was a shit plan but you had little choice. I'm sorry Itachi, but I cannot fight for a village like this." At that moment, Sasuke made his choice. He would leave the village as soon as possible and he already knew who to go for. He never realized that his eyes turned red with one tomoe in each eye.

The next day

Sasuke was walking down the streets when he bumped into someone. "Oof! Watch where you're-oh. It's you." It was the village's most hated and the boy he was looking for.

"Yeah and what of it? Are you gonna beat me too?" Said the sunkissed blonde.

Sasuke was taken back by this and immediately shook his head. "No. But I need you to come with me."

"Why?"

Sasuke smirked. "Because I have an offer you can't refuse."

Naruto follows Sasuke into a dark alley where they sat down on some crates. Sasuke looked Naruto dead in the eye. "I won't lie to you, Naruto. Every man, woman, and child in this village knows your name and 95% of them hate you. That being said, I have an offer for you. Run away from the village. No one will bother to go after us and if they do it'll be too late."

Naruto widened his eyes. 'This is perfect. I really lucked out on this one.'

"Yes you did. Take the Uchiha's offer."

'Kyuubi?'

"No shit, sherlock. Now give the Uchiha your answer."

Naruto mentally nodded. "I accept but we need to leave at night. We'll never make it past patrol range if we leave now."

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. West gate, 11:00 PM, pack the bare essentials and whatever you can carry."

"Why the west gate?"

"Because the Leaf will start the next shinobi war if the Stone finds Leaf ninjas in their territory. And remember, were civilians."

It was genius really. Earth Country is the one place they can't go without starting a war. Every other place is either an international incident or just dick move. Except Water Country. People stay away from that place just because that place is locked down so tight, no one from any village has been able to get in or out.

"True. All we need to do now is wait."

At that moment, both boys made an oath. "We will survive."

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