okay! so! without further ado, let the chapter begin! (yay!) haha. okay scratch that. some comments. this is the last chapter for voting! no more after this! so vote! VOTE LIKE THE WIND! okay i'm done. onward! (for some reason the little line separator thingy doesn't seem to work, so don't blame me.)

A gentle breeze blew, allowing the untamed, spiky hair of their leader to sway with it. Naruto's rigid, ocean-blue eyes were filled with a spark of hope, lighting the party's path. They were close to their destination, at least, according to what Shikamaru said – and the Nara was never wrong... Well, almost never. Naurto muttered to himself thinking about the Chuunin Exams. Quickly, he refocused himself on the present. It was too exciting to miss out. He was starting his own village – a fresh, new village that he himself would rule. A new system the likes of which the world had never seen. Yes, this was exciting.

The rubble on the mountain was shaky and unsettled, making it all the more difficult for the elderly to progress. Climbing over one last boulder, Naruto scanned the sight before him. This is it... This is will be the beginning of the Uzumaki Clan, home to a new village... A village of peace, force only if necessary... A village of multiple clans, using all sorts of elements... With equality... This is it... Naruto felt a strong hand placed upon his shoulder. For an instant he would've liked it to be Sakura's hand... He wanted her to be the first to see this sight, but it wasn't. Looking back, he saw her walking with Lee, an arm wrapped around his waist.

"So... Do you like it?" Shikamaru asked with a touch of dry humor in his voice – his eyes not missing the slightest detail. He knew what was going on, and on top of that, the Nara had an unnerving ability to sense exactly what went on in others' minds.

Chuckling, Naruto replied, "You know me well... Yeah, I love it."

And the Nara did – he knew Naruto was struggling to keep his focus away from the pink haired kunoichi who was at this time aiding his very rival and best friend. A difficult situation for anyone... But more so for one who is about to start a new country...

It was a large valley – completely isolated and incredibly difficult to locate – mainly because the mountains surrounding had never yet been touched – not even during wars, at least, not for very long. This was the region known as Death Valley, a large forest of No Man's Land squeezed between the two strongest countries since the World War between the Leaf and the Rock occurred, the Wind Country to Southwest, but mainly Mist and Leaf. A large waterfall was in the front of it, gushing into a placid delta-like landscape, only it was surrounded by mountains. Naruto was curious to see where all that water ended up. Probably underground somewhere... Hot springs were there as well – a rarity to see waters of that temperature next to such a large body of surface water. Yeah, it probably goes underground and gets heated or something... It was very scenic and the view was spectacular. There was plenty of open landscape as well as trees to provide housing. But Naruto wasn't planing on tainting the beauty of the land for housing. No, there were plenty of jutsus which could accomplish the task.

As more people arrived at the location, 'ooh's and gasps could be heard.

"Well team. Time to go down."

"Descend? How? It's too hard for a lot of people."

"Nothing a little wind can't solve." Naruto looked onward past the waterfall and smiled. "Or sand..." Gaara... Naruto heard Temari's angry voice in his head growling "That's Kazekage Gaara to you." But it only made him laugh more. What the Nara ever saw in that girl he would never understand.

Gaara stood in a monumental pose, erect as ever next to the grandeur of the landscape around him. Fitting, really – one of such a high rank deserved it, but... Humility had never been one of Gaara's attributes... Naruto thought as the edges of his lips curled upwards. Around him were many, many people – all the other farmers and such who were soon to join this new village. It made sense – who else would be able to escort such a large number of people without a high death rate. Kazekage Gaara was well feared by now.

Naruto jumped over to the other edge. "Gaara!"

He could Temari's voice echo "Kazekage!"

"Naruto." Gaara formally gave his hand.

To others, it might have seen cold, but Naruto had learned to read the quiet boy's shy emotions. In fact, Gaara was quite expressive of his emotions if one took the time to read them. They say the rest of your body can act, but the eyes are connected with the soul. And Gaara's certainly was. His eyes smiled at Naruto warmly. It was just a matter of shyness – and Gaara had been an outcast all his life before Naruto beat the crap out of him. He was overcoming it, slowly but surely.

Naruto returned the shake and they began lowering the villagers slowly... Well, Gaara did it slowly. As for Naruto...

"Naruto-san, Naruto-san! Throw me, throw me!" The kids cried.

"Okay!" And with a huge gust of wind, the kids were thrown up into the air and were free-falling fifty feet on to the ground only to land on a safe gust of air which buffered a nasty fall. "Next!" Naturally, this only worked for the kids... and a couple others.

"Come on, Lee-san! Let's go!" Sakura said. "It'll be fun!"

"N-No. I-I refuse. I mean, it would be quite inconsiderate to leave the villagers and elderly unguarded. I-I shall stand watch." He said, his eyes growing ever bigger looking at the frightening drop. Finally, he was pushed off the cliff by Sakura, and his height ever elevated by Naruto's wind. "AAAAH!" Finally reaching the ground safely, he lay on the ground caressing its soft, smooth texture.

"Damn, Lee. Next time you do that, take off your stupid weights. Man, you're so heavy. Come on Sakura-ch – san!" Naruto couldn't call her -chan... Not while she was someone else's.

Sakura heard it fully. The new honorific stung deeply. In all her nineteen years of life, Naruto had but called her one thing. "Sakura-chan." It showed his undying love for her, always. She knew it he had no malicious intentions, merely respecting her space... But it hurt, hurt badly. She liked to have Naruto as that safety buffer – knowing that no matter what happened she had at least one man who had undying love for her... But that's all he ever war... I used him as merely a buffer... Naruto, I'm... I'm sorry... And I promise from now on, I'll be more independent... And so Sakura jumped off, trusting her self to Naruto's wind. It comforted her, softly caressed her skin. Naruto gave her the best ride of all. He lifted her high enough to see the whole landscape – a bird's eye view. Naruto put himself in the wind – whatever he would have wanted to do, the wind, controlled by his chakra did for him. Caringly, it stroked and smoothed her hair, caressed her cheek, touched her face. The feeling was like never before... It was freedom, and yet she wasn't – merely a puppet of the wind; she had everything, could see for miles, and yet was unable to claim it... To give herself up to something like that... To give her body, mind, and soul... It was wonderful. She wasn't actually touching something, and yet she was safe. Before she had even realized it, she felt her toes tapping the ground. She smiled at Naruto and mumbled a "Thanks." Gently, she helped Lee who was still feeling sick. Looking back, she saw him still looking at her.

He quietly mouthed an "I'll always look after you..."

She looked away. She couldn't... wouldn't... Not while she was Lee's...

Everyone saw the sight before them, and everyone's hearts sank. The adults knew damn well what was going on, and it completely broke the mood. Naruto lowered everyone else in the same way, and soon enough, all were safely in the valley.

First thing was first: begin constructing shelter. There were many plans – many suggested using their element, be it sand, or wind. Gaara's plan was construct an underground village. Using his power to manipulate sand and earth, they could easily accomplish it and they would all be safe. Naruto himself had a plan of using the kyuubi's infinite chakra to build a floating city, but it would collapse once Naruto was dead. The third plan was to use the trees.

Finally, after a long and hard vote, the majority led onto the trees. They would be a village which lived in trees. "Very well. But how are we going to build this city?" Shikamaru asked.

"I may have... peeked at the forbidden scroll and Yamato-san's jutsus... Heh..." Naruto confessed, turning red. Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing. "All right, all right. Sheesh..." Naruto had enough.

The construction took roughly a month – meanwhile Gaara quickly made some rough shelter underground where they all had enough space for bedding and their personal belongings. The packed food easily lasted for a mere month, as many had brought enough to last three months, just in case.

And in the end, with the help of the many shinobi from Leaf, Sand, Mist, and even Lightning, their new home was complete. The trees were large – very large, in fact, and they easily supported the houses. The entire complex was surrounded by seals which would trigger if anyone had malicious intentions against the people in the village or anything in the village. They had used every seal known to them for protection. As long as you were nice, you were welcome. The living quarters were very spacious, and because they were such a small population compared to the size of the forest, each house had enough space for a luxurious sauna/spa, a very large dining area and fine beddings. Naruto used Jiraiya's "packing jutsu" which was used to stuff very large things into smaller areas to make the houses. So from the outside, each house was only ten square feet. As for the nearby hot springs, Gaara helped clean it up and make it usable. They were a population of pretty much near a thousand people, living in a very large valley. Things would be quite good for quite some time.

As for the farmlands, they divided about one quarter of the valley for farming, and decided the rest would be imported. For now, the amount of farmland they had would suffice. Each family had more than an acre to grow food and support itself. This acre was inside their own houses. As for the building that kept the actual farmland, it was used for exporting. Next to the waterfall they set up a large gym which would be used for the ninja academy for all levels. They segmented it so that no genin would be training next to a jounin and get hurt. Next to the living quarters was what was known as the fun area. Shops, parks, festival grounds, etc. All placed there.

"Should it really be segmented like this?" Sakura asked. "I mean, it feels kind of strange. One area for each thing... It's kind of..."
"I know, but because we're such a small village, security is our number issue. Konoha can easily amass an army of shinobi larger than our entire population. Besides, it's not all that bad. We have seals connecting everything to other places. We have everything Konoha has, just the placing is different. They can afford to be on ground. We can't." Shikamaru explained.

Naruto looked at his new village. It was wonderful. "Hey, guys... What should we name this village... And call ourselves?"

Silence.

Suddenly, they all began laughing. They were so busy constructing, they had never even thought of a name. "So, who should decide?"

"Well, we have no ideas first. I say we all give ideas, and the one that gets the most votes, we'll go with that!" Naruto said. There seemed to be no objections. And as the votes were tallied up, Naruto read the piece of paper. "Village Hidden in Nature: Ametsuchigakure." Well, that's one I haven't heard before. Still, it's rather appropriate. "So I guess all of us shinobis are now Forest nins? Any objections?" Naruto looked at the suggested logo for the headband. Simply a pine tree next to a river. Seemed easy enough.

There seemed to be none. After all, a name was a name.

"Then in that case, our representative clan will the Naras. After all, they specialize in nature, right Shikamaru? You grow those deers, and you know the whole circle of life stuff. Plus, they're a lot nicer than other representative clans like the Uchihas." Naruto said thinking about Sasuke. Immediately realizing his mood was going down a wrong a path, he changed his mind.

Shikamaru was red. "What? I have to be the representative?"

His parents were beaming. "That's great! It'll teach you a lot, Son."

Ugh... There goes my Shogi time...

"Sweet! So Shikamaru's my advisor. Awesome! Thanks Shikamaru!"

I never volunteered... Shikamaru looked like he couldn't go any lower.

They immediately set up a hospital facility next to the gym, and the busy ninja trainings began. Those were already ninjas from other countries maintained their ranks, but for the new academy students, Naruto made a new test for Genin, Chuunin, and Jounin. Everyone was assigned a new sensei and partners after Naruto watched them spar. They had all brought enough money to sustain themselves and so their economy would be fine. Naruto maintained an isolationism policy, refusing all alliances until they were stable enough to maintain themselves. After all, they were a child learning to walk. Before one could accept help, one had to try and stabilize.

Naruto made the teams and final decisions about who would become what. The farming community along with the shops were doing fine on their own, busily unpacking and setting up prices accordingly. After all this was a new currency, so to speak. They were still using Ryo, but because they were a new country, they were starting on fresh slate. No debts, no inflation, no credibility either. They were paving the path for the first time, and didn't want to start off on the wrong foot. All the prices were low – for everything. Food, clothes, weapons. He kept everything at a much lower price than the other countries. At first, many complained, as the profits wouldn't be enough, but seeing that everything else had a rather low price as well, everyone made more than enough money to sustain themselves, and competition would ensure prices stayed low.

As for the hospital, he left everything in the hands of the head nurse, Ms. Haruno Sakura, of course. She was busily conducting exams to see who would or would not become a medic nin. As for the academy, he split the classes into four catagories – genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and mission tactics. The fourth part was inspired by none other than Ero-Senin himself. Leadership is very important, and it's proven the younger you are, the easier it is to learn. So why not start with the kids, right? All of his Jounin friends received pupils, except Shikamaru who stayed to help him. Lee, though he now had pupils, became Head Administrator of Taijutsu – merely observing and correcting the curriculum if necessary. Shikamaru himself became H.A (Head Administrator) of mission tactics, Sakura H.A. of genjutsu, and ninjutsu? Why Naruto himself. Naruto had a knack for learning ninjutsu, and he wanted to help his village in every way he could.

That night Naruto slept on his fluffy bed happy. He had just become Shodaime kage. Tomorrow brought hope. It was the first day of the village. He made it into a holiday – kind of like Independence Day. I need to enjoy the sleep while I can. Won't be long before I get to be like Baa-chan. Heh... Although the council here is much nicer considering we're all from different villages, and the power is balanced out evenly, so no matter. Plus, this village is much smaller thank Konoha, so I doubt I'll be as busy...

Naruto couldn't have been more incorrect.

All around the countries word spread like wild fire. There's a new village which has everything for a super low price. They had a seemingly infinite amount crops all for such incredibly low pricing standards (all thanks to the packing jutsu, of course.) People flocked over to the valley, only to discover nothing. Soon enough Naruto let people come in, little by little for their commerce until it grew. During peak season people often made more than their life savings. And the new competition knocked stole other villages profits like vacuum suctions.

All was going well – all but one area:the shinobi area. Of course, missions were going fine, and their new village had a great reputation for successful missions. Rarely did one fail. However, all the other villages were doing the same.

"Naruto, we aren't getting ahead in anyway against the other villages." Shikamaru noted.

"Oh, don't worry. We will. After all in just a couple of months –"

"The Chuunin Exams..." Shikamaru smiled.

"Exactly. Our replacement war results will speak for themselves."

"One problem: sixty percent of our population is shinobi. This exceeds by far every other shinobi village. Don't you see the problem?"

"Well, yes. We may not have enough food and other recources, but my packing jutsu fixes that." Naruto said, oblivious to his subordinate's point. "What?"

"Naruto... Pay attention. We have 300 genin for the upcoming Chuunin Exam. Konoha has increased their final tournament to let in 100 people since we last took it six years ago. However, 200 will not make it. Now while we may still have a greater number than the other villages, our goal is not to defeat them, but to excel at our own growth. For that we need high percentage success rates."

"Ah, relax. There's a reason I made allies with all of our neighboring countries... And it's only to put Danzou on edge. We will send all of our genin to different countries. For now, we'll send this batch to Konoha. Later, six months from now, we'll send the ones that didn't pass to Mist. Six months later, to Wind country with Gaara. Unfortunately, by the time the third batch will have gone to Wind, another batch of genin will come from the academy. But it's the best we can do. 60 success rate is better than all the other villages. Besides, we only have so many this time because so many were already Genin when they moved here. Our next batch won't be as large. So the percentage will be even higher. Either way we're blowing the other guys out of the water."

"Hm..." Shikamaru said, deep in though. Naruto's really serious. He may look like he's fooling around, but he put a lot of thought into this... I doubt he made it up just now. He was awake all of last night.. Heh... He'll be a good kage for sure. But I'm afraid of Konoha... Danzou won't take lightly to us stealing profit and defeating them. He won't care for alliances... When the time comes, we may have to declare war on Konoha... That won't be pleasant. Especially since Naruto has roughly half of Tsunade-sama's temper... In this case, even half will be deadly. How does Shizune-san do it... He voiced his thoughts aloud regarding Danzou and Konoha, but Naruto didn't answer.

"I'll think about it..." I want to... get it off my mind for now...

Taking his kage uniform, he walked over the fun area where he saw children playing. He smiled, longing for one of those carefree days again. The grass was cool, gently waving in the wind. The beautiful waterfall could be seen in the background, it's ever flowing thunderous water heard by everyone softly. Kami-sama had blessed today, for the sun shone brightly, spreading its rays of warmth over all those carefree minds that ran around. Naruto drifted into a flashback about Konoha...

Naruto watched the kids run around.

"Come on, Ino! Let's play tag!"

"Fine. SAKURA'S IIIIT!"

As if on cue, they all dispersed from 'it.' They danced around with flowers in their hair while running as fast as their little feet could carry them. Sitting in the cool shade, Naruto longed to run with them... Just once. To be carefree like that – to have friends... To not worry about a single thing... To feel the wind on his face with people he trust... The meaningless laughter and giggles that somehow made sense to them at that point, but ceased after the playing stopped... Just... once...

"Naruto-sama!" Naruto was awoken by a voice.

"Hey Ikari! What's up?"

"Naruto-sama Naruto-sama! Come play with us!"

"You want me to play?" Naruto asked in a teasing voice.

Simultaneously, the six or seven heads nodded up and down.

"All right... I guess I could put away my work and CATCH YOU!" Naruto ran after them and they all giggled, running away as fast as they could. Soon enough Naruto rounded up all the little bundles of joy and threw them up into his trusting element. With chakra, he managed to give them a good roller coaster, bouncing and turning and spinning with his every whim. Finally, they all huggled around him, giving a thank you hug.

"Again again again!" they chimed.

Naruto laughed. "Again?"

"Mm-hm!" they nodded.

They have no idea how much energy that took. Nevertheless, Naruto agreed. "All right, but this is the last time." With the instant cheering Naruto threw them up again as they shook their little feet, trying to see could 'eat the most air.' Three hundred "Last time!"s later, Naruto lay on the ground, panting.

Eventually, he resumed his walk, and approached a slightly older batch.

"Hey, what's up guys?"

"Naruto-sama! Finally, come on!"

"Come on where?"

"Truth or dare of course!" the girls said.

He raised an eye and looked at the boys.

"He agreed!" one boy pointed to the other.

Laughing, Naruto agreed. "Fine, let's play. But I go first."

"Fine."

"Um... Kira, truth or dare."

She gulped. Normally, no one would play with a kage. In fact, they would deliberately avoid the kage. But Naruto wasn't like other kages. In fact, they all got to know him quite well in his acceptance speech that he was a major pranker. And she knew this. "Truth." Then again, Naruto did love teasing people, and he kept up with all the latest rumors. Crossing her fingers, she closed her eyes, praying.

"All right." Naruto began thinking. She was a lightning person. "So, we all know you used to go outside during a thunderstorm and try to catch lightning because your jutsus wouldn't work."

She turned red. "Yes... The question?"

"Well, we also all know that your first kiss Naomi, on accident... I think, when you were practicing your jutsus..."

She gritted her teeth. Man she was going to pound him. "Yesh..." Tomato.

"Did you electrify her with your shocking lips?"

She let out a sigh. That was it. Thank Kami-sama. "No."

"So you used tongue! I can't believe it!"

"What? I didn't... I didn't say that!"

"Well, you were charged up with electricity, and electricity goes to the highest conductive, active area – while kissing, either the lips, or... your tongue. Why? Because Naomi was also charged up with the same charge, and so she didn't get hurt meaning it had to go inside her. Surface contact would've still burned her... You put something inside her... Tongue..." Naruto smiled.

Caught. "Okay fine!" She was red with rage.

Wow... It actually worked... Heh, and all that crap worked! I can't believe it, I was lying through my teeth... I am so good... Naruto put on a smug face.

"Naomi, your turn."

"Naruto-teme..."

Naruto smiled. "Bring it."

"Truth or Dare?"

"Dare..."

There was excitement now. Everyone knew of Naruto's crazy dares... And all the kids knew of his screwed up love life. "Okay, then... I dare you to kiss Sakura Sensei –"

Naruto turned pale.

Oh, was revenge sweet. "In front of Lee-san..." she finished, smiling evilly.

"Remind me why I'm doing this again?" spoke quietly.

"Because if you win, she has to do your laundry for a year... And if you do it without telling Sakura Sensei it was a dare, you are crowned king of all dares and pranks..." The boy whispered back.

Naruto gulped. "And if I die?"
The boy shrugged. "Tough luck."

Naruto turned white. Shit... Crap... Fuck... This was not good... Naruto confidently walked up to Sakura, who was talking to Lee. "Oh, hey Naruto! What's up?"

"Naruto-kun! You are lit with the spirit of youth today!"

"Um, yeah, okay guys... I'm really sorry about this – it was a dare..." There goes my crowning of king of all dares and pranks... And here goes my life. Naruto moved to grab Sakura, but she moved back to get a scalpel and Lee moved in to hug Naruto... Naruto's lips landed flat on Lee's. Naruto poofed away that instant.

3...

2...

1...

"NARUTO-TEME! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

"Run!" and he ran off along with five genin following him.

Naruto to went to bed that night in peace. His village had repaired the missing hole in his heart – to a certain extent, and he was sure more bandages were to come. It was something Konoha never did for him. Naruto not only retained his old friends, but made new ones. That night he had a dream...

Naruto looked at the Grand Gates of Konoha, and for the first time, felt proud. He was a kage, entering one of the most powerful countries. As he walked through the streets of Konoha in fine silk clothes, people awed at him. Yes, he was getting respect, but he no longer cared for how much these villagers gaped at him. No, he was a leader of his village – and he would lead his village to success. He no longer desired Konoha... And for the first time, he wasn't sure if he really was going to come back or not. Love? Yes, he loved his village... He always would... But he wasn't sure if the village loved him anymore. He would die for it – any day, without thinking... He would simply take his life and jump off the cliff if it saved Konoha... But now he had a duty – a duty to his village, to the people of the village, and to himself. If necessary, he would move on...

Waking up to a start, he found it was already six o' clock. Damn it...

"Danzou-sama, it appears there's a new village allied with the Sand."

"A new village?"

"Hai."

"You mean the one stealing all our trade?"

"Eheh... Well, yes."

"So, we already knew of this?"

"That's... That's not where it ends, Danzou-sama." The messenger gulped. "It appears they have declared an alliance with all their neighboring countries – Wind, Mist, and Lightning... They pretty much are allied with all of our allies... We're going to have to consent with them. And... They are participating in the upcoming Chuunin Exams."

Danzou almost fell over. "What are they, another Sparta..." he mumbled. "They're a new village, how many new genin can they have?"

"That's what is troubling." Tsunade now came in. "It appears they specialize in military, and they have a sixty percent population of shinobi... They have three-fourths ours, and since their curriculum has a mix of all nations' jutsus... Including ours... We may face problems." Tsunade surprisingly smiled. "Well, Danzou-sama, since it was your idea to exile Naruto, and it's his village, and now that you have taken all authority from me... You deal with the problem. We're losing 30 profits from other trades a month to them alone... Apparently they are mass producing all goods, though I have no idea where they get all that land. And now a shinobi crisis. Good luck." And she walked off happily.

Danzou frowned. This was not going well – to say the least.

Naruto stood in front roughly three hundred genin. "Well guys, this is what we've been waiting for. Each time has one medic, a defense, and an offense. To say the least we are much more prepared than the other villages... This is what you've been training for. The Chuunin exams. You left your villages for all different reasons, you have all different cultures, and you have come from all different locations... But we're in this thing together now. We've worked hard to earn our place among the five great nations. And yes, we're not a threat yet – we're barely something people can notice. But we've risen faster than any village before, and we will keep rising. So although we're so different, that's what makes us unique. Everyone of you have been taught jutsus from all different locations, techniques from various clans, strategies from differing great minds... All in all, you're prepared for everything. This is your chance to shine, your chance to make a starting appearance – and all in all, I have on thing to say. And that is... Let's kick ass!"

A thundering roar followed Naruto's short speech, as they each, three by three stepped into Naruto's seal which transported them to Konoha. In fact, Naruto had placed so many seals he ensured the only way in and out of the valley was by seals and jutsus. The Chuunin Exams were to begin, and Forest nins would earn a place in the world – a very high place, soon enough...

yay! that's it! so submit votes now! '' sorry. anyways. yup yup, hoped you liked it. narugaara moment in there as well as a narusaku and a tiny narusasu (when naruto thinks about sasuke, but has to force him out of his mind ''). so, yeah. harem until this point. and the final pairing is -- narutome! (wait, i'm a guy...) never mind:P we'll find out next chappie. but vote!

current score: narusaku winning by 1! come on gang! we all love narusasu, right! vote:P i'm biased, yes. no i'm kidding. either one works find for me. BUT! keep this in mind.

if narusasu -- leesaku. if narusaku, gaaralee... yeah... and sasuke will go cry in a corner and die. :P yeah. '' but i may/may not cut out gaaralee, depending on how the story progresses. (may be we can vote again!) :P well, hope you enjoyed. special thanks to my beta, Sir Whirly! (first chappie that has been beta-ed! yay me!) well, that's why it took a little longer than last time. '' so sorry.