Chapter 2

Naruto slowly woke up from his slumber. Looking around, he noticed no one had come to visit him. Slightly sad at the thought, he swung his legs over the side of the bed before he stumbled in pain to the chair beside his bed. He grabbed the tattered jumpsuit that was on the chair, put it on and he walked to the door. He was getting out of this god forsaken hospital one way or another. He immediately threw a Henge on and walked outside. He continued all the way outside. He simply walked down the street, sensing for any of his friends. Maybe they were busy, yeah that's right, they didn't forget about him. He continued to draw blanks until he found his sensei's chakra in a bar at the end of the street. He walked in and found seven jounin sitting at the bar. However, before he could say hello, he caught word of their conversation.

Kakashi's day had sucked. After yesterday's successful retrieval mission, he had spent nearly all of his time at the hospital. He stayed with Naruto until his condition was clear and then he visited every genin's bedside. After visiting them all, he fell asleep inside Sasuke's room. He was awakened by the sound of Sasuke's screams of frustration in his failed attempts to escape his bed. Kakashi was forced to interrogate his student on what happened and he was disturbed by what he had been told. Sasuke truly went all out on trying to kill Sasuke and if it wasn't for that 'red chakra' then Sasuke would have escaped. It meant Kakakshi was faced with a crossroads. He could attempt to save his star pupil and the 'Prince of the Village', or he could save the 'Demon of Konoha' and possibly lose the Sharingan. He was faced with internal struggle but Kakashi decided to do what every other man would do in his situation. Get drunk off sake and then make a reckless decision. So here he was, drinking his third saucer of sake surrounded by his friends at the bar of a pub.

"Hey Kakashi. How you feelin' buddy?" Asuma questioned cautiously.

"I'm, well I'm tired. I have a tough choice to make and I don't know what side to pick."

"Well maybe we can help," Anko butted in.

"Yeah. You always give us advice and now it's our turn," Kurenai added.

"Well, I need to choose between Naruto and Sasuke."

"What do you mean to choose between shorty and broody.?" Anko questioned.

"Well Sasuke said Naruto used Kyuubi's chakra. That means the council will attempt to prosecute Naruto, but Sasuke attempted to leave the village. I have to choose between saving Naruto and putting Sasuke in jail or lessening Sasuke's sentence and Naruto possibly getting put in jail or worse." Kakashi explained.

"Well I don't see what's so hard about this. Clearly saving Naruto is the better option." Asuma stated.

"I know, but Sasuke has too much potential to waste in jail. Na-"

"Hold up. Before you say anymore, are you attempting to say Naruto is expendable?" Anko asked dangerously.

"Honestly. Yeah. He's loud, shows little to no potential, wears orange for heaven's sake and he doesn't train at all. His taijutsu is sloppy, his genjutsu is nonexistent, and he only uses two ninjutsu. He relies on the Kyuubi's chakra in tough situations and he constantly puts his teammates in tough situations." Kakashi defended.

"You, Hatake Kakashi, are a hypocrite. Let me ask you something. As Naruto's sensei, have you attempted to fix these flaws? Have you done anything but stand and watch?" Kurenai demanded.

"I attempted to teach him tree walking, but once he did it once, he never attempted to better himself." He stated.

"That's because no one's ever taught him better, you idiot! No one has been a part of his life long enough to teach him how to do anything properly!" Anko screamed.

"Huh, well when you put it that way, it sorta makes sense." Kakashi sweatdropped.

"I can't talk to you right now Kakashi," Kurenai stated.

"Me neither." Both men could only watch as both women left them at the bar before going to sit at their own table.

"That was low Kakashi, and I hope you at least apologize to Anko." Asuma said.

"Hai," he muttered in response.

If any of them had turned and looked at the door, they would have seen a blonde, blue eyed genin standing there with tears in his eyes. They would have seen how heartbroken look in his eyes and the painful limp he seemed to walk with. Perhaps one of them could have helped him, perhaps one could have set him straight.

But none of them did.

Tears dropped from Naruto's eyes. This sucked. Everything sucked. A lot of sucky things had been said to him, but coming from Kakashi-sensei, it seemed to suck a thousand times more. He just wanted someone to hold him for once. He just wanted a hug, so he took off towards Baa-chan's tower. 'I might even get a hug from Shizune-nee,' he thought. He continued thinking about what Kakashi said. He knew that he was a failure, he knew he needed help, but how was he supposed to improve without it. He didn't know how to ask. Why couldn't everything be easier?

"Ignore the cyclops. You were working at a fourth of your potential. Go speak to the hag and explain the seal to her. Explain everything that you remember and explain all that I told you. She will be able to get you the help you need."

Naruto nodded his head sadly before he quickly cut the connection between him and Kurumi. He upped the pace and reached the tower in five minutes. He quickly walked upstairs, ignoring the Anbu and chunin he seemed to walk past. Reaching the top of the tower, he noticed Shizune-nee wasn't working and decided to just walk into the office. However, the sounds of yelling deterred him from being rude. He stood next to the door, stuck his ear against it, and listened.

Tsunade was pissed, and I mean P-I-S-S-E-D! Neji's recovery was an expected two weeks, Choji's three and possible therapy, and then Naruto's ranges from a month to even a medically induced coma. She had spent all of last night dealing with the council and there calls for Naruto's banishment or execution and the Uchiha's happy welcome. She was tired, sober, and dealing with Jiraiya. Three very bad things.

"What you're basically saying is you want to leave Naruto alone to deal with this?" she surmised.

"Gulp. Well when you put it that way, it sounds bad, but no. I planned on taking him on a training trip."

"Exactly. Why aren't you anymore?"

"Hehe. Well, my plan was to focus on the Kyuubi's chakra and get him used to drawing on its power. Maybe go over taijutsu and improve his use of the Rasengan." Jiraiya explained.

"Explain to me why you still can't do that now."

"Well, according to Kakashi, Sasuke was a much better ninja than Naruto, even with my help. So in order for Naruto to beat Sasuke, especially when Sasuke went Level 2 Cursed Seal, I estimate Naruto would have to have used at least three tails, maybe four. However, now that I have said it aloud, I'd say definitely four to carry Sasuke all the way back to the village and out run Kakashi."

Remember when I said Tsunade was pissed, well now she was furious. "So you have no faith or belief in your student!" she screamed.
"Well, he's not really my student." Jiraiya stated meekly.

"Take that back!" Tsunade roared.

"What do you want me to say?" Jiraiya roared back. "He is a terrible ninja. He's loud, he wears orange, he has no strategy, has no skill. He only uses two jutsu and that's only because he has huge reserves and he only uses one correctly. He was the dobe at the Academy and he is probably still the dobe of the genin now. Tsunade, if you swore on Nawaki and Dan to answer truthfully, and then I asked you if you felt Naruto was a decent ninja, what would you say?" Tsunade mumbled back an answer. "Sorry I couldn't hear you."

"I said no," she screamed. "He does not make a decent ninja, but he has no one. I am at least trying to better him. You and Kakashi need to step it up. Your his, Kami be damned, sensei's. Hell your even his godfather. What the hell is wrong with you two? What would Minato and Kushina say? That's why I'm giving you three months before you take Naruto on at least a year-long trip and he better come back as a jounin level shinobi or not even Sarutobi-sensei's teachings will save you."

Jiraiya sighed before he nodded in agreement. "Very well. I will see what I can do."

"Good. Now-" Tsunade started. However she was interrupted by the opening of her door. "Yes Shizune."

"Well, I came to see if you were drinking Tsunade-sama. I also came to ask why Naruto came running out the tower crying. He ran so fast I didn't get a chance to ask what was wrong."

Tsunade and Jiraiya both paled before they looked at one another. "How the hell is he out of the hospital. I saw him and he was in the early stages of coma. How much do you think he heard?"

Jiraiya looked down sadly. "Knowing Naruto's luck, all of it." Jiraiya sighed before he began to walk out the door. "I'll go find him and talk to him. Don't want him to do anything stupid." With that, the Gama Sannin was gone, leaving Tsunade with a confused and extremely angry big sister, the worst of their kind.

"You have five seconds, Tsunade-sama, to tell me what was said or I will take all the sake in all of Hi no Kuni and burn it right outside your house." All Tsunade could do was gulp and shake in fear.

Naruto was already packing a bag. He couldn't stay here any longer. No one loved him, trusted in him, or even believed in him. He was done. His resolve, his gut, his will. It had all crumbled away. Yet their words began to build a new one. A new will, a new resolve, a new heart. They wanted him to be like Sasuke, well then fuck everything he would be. He would show everyone that he was Naruto Uzumaki and that they shouldn't have fucked with him.

"Where are you gonna go gaki?"

Kurumi's interruption quickly shook him from his plans. Where the hell was he gonna go? He couldn't go to Nami or Haru and possibly endanger Tazuna and his family or Kiyoko. He couldn't go to Suna and risk getting an already unstable alliance, Iwa was a hell no, Kumo was a no simply because he knew next to nothing other than Neji being an asshole was partially their fault, and Kiri was still in civil war.

"Well, you could always go to that snake."

Naruto nodded his head slowly. That could actually work. He could learn quite a lot from the Hebi Sannin and he could help a lot of people by monitoring the Hebi's actions. Now all he needed was some sort of bargaining chip. Naruto stayed there thinking for about 34 seconds before the single greatest prank popped up in his head. Naruto allowed a malicious smirk to come across his lips before he began to put the plan in action.

"I used to hate you gaki, but this plan of yours has officially changed my views. You have officially earned my respect Naruto."

'Huh, well thank you Kurumi-chan. I thought of it because of you.'

"Please don't make me blush. Such a devious plan all because of me, such flattery is unwanted from a tiny mongrel like you."

'Don't you dare allow a tree to grow up your ass like Sasuke and his stick or I'll dump this idea faster than the teme does Sakura.'

"Hmph." With that, Kurumi drew herself back into Naruto's mind and Naruto began to draw up his plan.

An empty apartment was all Jiraiya found. He searched everywhere, from the Hokage Monument to Ichiraku's, Kakashi to Training Ground 7, Iruka's house to Sakura's. He couldn't find him and now Jiraiya was starting to panic. As a last resort, he went to Naruto's apartment and found it empty. There was nothing of good use in it. The wall was peeling and had holes in it, doors were ripped off their hinges, and graffiti was painted all over the apartment. All he could find was a letter and a scroll atop a broken table. He turned to run back to the Hokage's Tower but found Tsunade already there with a couple of Anbu behind her.

"Uchiha Sasuke has vanished from his hospital room. I came here to inform Naruto, but it seems he is not here. Did you not find him?" Tsunade stated.

"No, the only thing worth anything or could even function properly is this scroll and letter."

"Dammit," she muttered. "Well let me see what it says." Jiraiya handed her the letter and he watched as her emotions quickly changed from pissed to heart broken in a second. She handed him the letter and took the scroll before she quickly ran out of the apartment to cry. Jiraiya looked down at the letter before he crushed it in his hand.

"Dammit Minato. I'm sorry Minato, I-i-i truly failed you. I don't know who told him, but he knows and now my chance for redemption is gone. For that, gomen Minato, gomen." With those final words, Jiraiya left the apartment for the gates so he could catch either of the runaway genins. Either one of them would brighten his spirits because he really needed to hit something. As he left, the letter slowly fell to the floor. It read,

'Dear Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and Kakashi-san,

I have written this letter to humbly thank you for the words of kindness that you spoke to me with. You all wanted me to change, and yet Hokage-sama was the only one to attempt to do so, even if it was miniscule. Kakashi, you wanted me to be like Sasuke, so I left the village. My dream was to become Hokage and prove to everyone that I was Naruto Uzumaki, or should I say Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, not the Kyuubi. But everyone has made sure I never will, so I promise all three of you to surpass them. I will take Hashirama's strength and make it look comparable to a fly swatter, I will master suiton ninjutsu to a whole nother level and I will create more jutsu than the Nidaime, I will master and perfect all five elemental natures and take kenjutsu to a level the Sandaime's bōjutsu could never reach, I will master my father's techniques and make them better than he could even dream of, and I will make your strength technique weak compared to my natural. I will surpass all of them, this I swear. I will finish this goodbye with a lesson, a lesson for all three of you. If we see each other again, then perhaps I can explain it to you.

A man stuck in the past is weak. Why? Because he can never move forward. A man stuck in the present is weak. Why? Because he neither learns from his past nor plans for the future. A man stuck in the future is weak. Why? Because he is stuck looking at the future to see the moments and opportunities around him.

Konoha's Demon Brat,

Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze

P.S. Inside the scroll is a storage seal containing a letter. Please give it to medic nin Kiyoko Shimizu, room 304, and tell her it's from her Oi.

"Kukuku, what an unexpected visit? What can I do for you Naruto-kun?"

"I have some to make a deal with you, Hebi-Sannin."

"OH, is that Sasuke-kun with you. Oh my, what would Sarutobi-sensei say. Kukuku"

"It's simple. In exchange for the Uchiha here, I will become your right hand man after 18 months of training."

"Hmmm." Orochimaru hummed. He quickly ran through every scenario where this couldn't benefit him in some way, and well, there wasn't one. "Very well, but why 18 months and what exactly do you want Naruto-kun?"

"I admit that my skills are not even mediocre at best and I can assign the blame to Konoha, but honestly it's because I was an idiot. I have seen the errors I have made and I plan to change them, effective immediately."

"Kukukuku, I see, but you still haven't told me what you wanted," Orochimaru whispered, applying a good amount of Killing Intent on Naruto.

Naruto could feel the intent, but he shook it off. Orochimaru was powerful, but Kurumi-chan's intent was a thousand times worse. "Thanks." 'Shut it.' "Well, I need five things in exchange for Sasuke. Five things that are easily within your power." Seeing Orochimaru's nod to go on, he continued, "The only thing I wish for you to actually teach me is your taijutsu."

"Ahh, I see. You have seen the extreme usefulness my taijutsu provides when dodging blows, especially heavy blows. Smart. Please continue."

"I would like unrestricted access to your library. Whether it be jutsu or theory, anatomy or politics, social skills or seduction." He paused at the sight of Orochimaru thinking, but he decided to push on. "I wish for the final 3 months of my training to be done in the ruins of Uzu. Fourth, should I make any friends, I wish to be able to help them should I be doing something you deem not important. Finally, I would like if you could send your infiltrator to gather my father's techniques for me. They should be behind his portrait in the Hokage's Office. It contains some sort of Ketsueki Fūin attuned to only the Hokage's blood."

Orochimaru nodded along. "Yes, I have seen Sarutobi-sensei use the same seal. Very well, I will comply with all of your demands. However, at the end of your 18 months, you must be able to beat Kabuto and if you fail, I will kill you myself." With those words, he applied every once of his Killing Intent on Naruto, but he was pleasantly surprised to see the boy was not even phased.

"Very well. Thank you for your hospitality Orochimaru-sama. You will not be disappointed. Here is your Uchiha and if you will excuse me, I will get straight to training."

Orochimaru waved his hand, signaling the boy to leave before he turned to Kabuto who stood in the shadows. "Did he sense you?"

"Indeed"

"Kukukuku, what do you make of the boy Kabuto-kun?"

"He will make a valuable weapon. If he had the talent to learn the Rasengan in a month as an absolute idiot, then I can't wait to see what he does as a true shinobi."

"Well put Kabuto-kun, kukuku. Go grab the vial of Tsunade's blood we have and go get Naruto-kun's jutsus for him. After that, send word to Guren that she finally has a worthy sparring partner."

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama." With that, Kabuto sank into the ground and took off towards Konoha. Orochimaru simply sat on his throne and began to adjust his plans. He would definitely need to find ways for both Naruto and Sasuke to prove their loyalty to him. He would also need to keep an eye on the Uchiha. The boy was already mentally disabled because of his bastard of a brother, but the loss to Naruto-kun might have done some more damage. "Kukukuku, it seems no matter what side you're on Naruto-kun, you cause everyone problems. I can't wait to see what you both become. Naruto-kun. Sasuke-kun. Kukukuku."