MPDMPDMPD: Right now.

Guest: No, they are not. That would be way to cliche.

Jose19: So I have made my decision. Naruto will not be learning the Rasengan. BUT, he'll get something that's equal to it kind of.

Depression

The night was quiet, deathly quiet. An unpleasant feeling had settled over the Village Hidden in the Leaves, possibility because of the blood red moon above them. The moon was larger than normal and gave off quite the eerie appearance. It practically radiated blood lust, and the horror stories mothers used to make their children go to sleep at night seemed to be very real to even the most hardened of shinobi.

Or perhaps that was the actual blood lust that was over the village.

Hiruzen's eyes glowed with righteous fury in his office. He was absolutely livid. The oppressive aura that gained him the title 'Shinobi no Kami' (God of Shinobi) had even scared off the ANBU from watching the elderly man. He had ordered them to leave, and if his mood was anything to go by they did not want to piss him off even more. Hiruzen was old but he was not an idiot, he knew what had happened.

"Danzo," Hiruzen seethed, raw anger being released into the air. The temperature in the room seemed to drop another twelve degrees. The elderly man was patiently waiting for his escort to arrive. He was furious and he would no longer allow Danzo to be let off the hook for his transgressions. A knock was heard at his door and he allowed entry. His voice was full of tranquil fury.

Kakashi Hatake, Might Gai, Asuma Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Yamato - also known as Tenzo - stood before him as the door opened. Hiruzen looked over them all, pleased with his strike force. The old man has chosen them all very selectively, either because they had previous knowledge of ROOT, personally cared for Naruto, or were just plain loyal and powerful. Hiruzen stood, revealing his powerful form. No longer was the Kage garbed in robes that represented peace and tranquility. No, he was in a full suit of armor, and he was fully functional. Hiruzen did not have to explain anything to any of those who showed up at his door, he simply nodded to Tenzo who nodded. "The entrance to his fortifications are in the Uchiha District."

Hiruzen's rage increased nearly tenfold. "He would dare desecrate the dead! Itachi sacrificed much to save us! I will not allow Danzo to desecrate The Uchiha Clan's resting place and Itachi's home!"

Jiraiya frowned at Hiruzen, looking at the man with concern. "Hiruzen...about Itachi...are you sure you want me to do what you asked? We will lose our informant in the Akatsuki." Hiruzen shook his head. "I have another member on that case. Bring Itachi home."

Jiraiya nodded. With that Hiruzen opened the window of his office and let his pure killing intent flood the entire village. It was more of a warning to the civilians than anything else. A warning to stay inside no matter what they heard. The shinobi also took this as a warning, although one with a different meaning.

To be prepared to fight to the death and show no mercy while doing so.

Hiruzen breathed inwards before he vanished. Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, Tenzo, and Jiraiya followed.

(-The Blonde Fanalis-)

Naruto stumbled through the thick forest, completely exhausted. The beautiful kimono his great grandfather had given him having been sealed into the scroll on his back, and the necklace was around his neck. He had been wandering through the dense forest for three days now and was just now beginning to see it slowly die down to the flat lands he saw when he climbed a rather tall tree. Beyond that were massive mountains, so tall that they almost literally broke the sky, piercing clouds and blocking the sun itself. When he saw it Naruto had idly wondered if the mountains were higher than even Kumo was.

Naruto sat down on the ground, leaning against a nearby tree. He was drained. He hadn't eaten in days, only his pure will to survive sustaining him. The Kyuubi and whatever entity that awakened his Kekkei Genkai had been silent as they clearly wanted him to conserve his energy. As he rested he thought back to his time in his home, a home that he idly realized he could never return to. At the thought Naruto stopped his heavy breathing and frowned, remembering all the dear friends he had met.

Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Iruka, Hiruzen, and even the bratty Konohamaru, he missed them all. He had always thought he would be able to be there with them, to protect them, to cherish them, to grow strong with them. They were family in his eyes, and the family the young blonde had only so recently created had now been torn from him by the very man he had thought of as a grandfather.

Naruto vehemently shook the thought from his head, a single tear trailing from his eye as he thought of Hiruzen. Fury raged in his heart as he thought of the man, righteous fury at the man banishing him for something he did not commit. Fury at himself for accepting the unjust punishment, and fury at Konoha for accepting it. However, Naruto also felt fury for being incapable of helping the elderly man when he knew the man was not acting of his own free will.

He couldn't have been.

Hiruzen would never abandon him, or so Naruto had thought. The old man had cared for him for so long, and had even known about his affliction with the Kyuubi, yet he had not judged him like all the other villagers. The old man had taken Naruto out of the orphanage and raised him in his own home for a brief period before giving him an apartment. The Kage had given him a stipend in which to survive off of, he had given Naruto the encouragement to pursue his dreams, the encouragement to become a shinobi, a Hokage. Because of that Naruto had always viewed the old man as a stalwart figure in his life, an infallible barrier that protected not only him, but everyone in the village.

And yet Naruto couldn't help feeling that all of that had merely been a lie.

He felt that it was merely an act that Hiruzen had put up to make him hurt.

And it hurt.

Naruto shook his head, tears freely flowing from his eyes. He glared at the ground as if he could remove all of his problems if it would just disappear. He glared so much that his eyes hurt, they burned, they formed the illusion of Hiruzen in front of him. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he saw the old man, the old man that had for so long attempted to protect him, to keep him alive - the old man that had tried to betray him.

The old man that had betrayed him.

Naruto clenched his fists in outrage, blood being drawn as his knuckles turned white. Naruto raised his fists and slammed them into the ground, his tears making the ground slightly spongy to the touch. His body shook violently as he felt his stomach upturn and he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the forest floor. Yet nothing was in his stomach to begin with other than a burning, vile acid. Naruto spat, the image of Hiruzen returning as his emotions continued to clash in turmoil. His chakra flared violently his rage causing him to lose control.

Naruto screamed to the heavens, anger rushing into his very soul. He couldn't believe it! Hiruzen, the man who was his guardian had...forsaken him...and then soon afterwards tried to kill him. Naruto couldn't stand the thought. It was to heavy a burden for his mind to bear. Naruto's mind changed subjects to cope, however the pain was not even remotely less.

Naruto screamed to the heavens as he thought of Sasuke. He was the only person that had actually even cared enough to come after him. Naruto couldn't put the thought passed him. The member on his team that he despised the most was the one he came to visit him. His beloved Sakura didn't even care enough to wonder. Naruto had always known that she didn't much care for his constant attempts for her affection, but he hadn't thought she would be glad that he suddenly disappeared.

And Kakashi! Kakashi was supposed to be his sensei, his teacher, caretaker, protector in case Hiruzen couldn't. Kakashi hadn't even bothered to defend him. Kakashi was the one who had sent in that false report. Kakashi was the one that had caused the entire shebang Naruto realized as he glared at the sky. Naruto couldn't believe it. The man who had taught him the value of teamwork had spit on that ideal, likely because of a damn bijuu. Naruto snarled at the thought.

The Kyuubi and its previous actions did not make him! He was blind as to why everyone was blind to that. A bijuu did not make the human, the human themselves did. Yet Kakashi, for all of his teamwork spouting bullshit couldn't even see passed that. Naruto snarled in outrage, his tears and blood soaking into the ground. Naruto sat there, basking in his emotional turmoil. His exhaustion had increased tenfold yet it had also completely disappeared. His hunger and thirst were not longer relevant thoughts. Only the Hidden Leaf was.

(-The Blonde Fanalis-)

Kakashi slammed his hands on the ground, his spinning red eye ominously glowing in the artificial darkness his previous jutsu had created. The earth to the sides of him shot downwards, crushing the shinobi within before they even had a chance to scream. Not that it would have mattered. Tenzo had led them to the least populated area of the ROOT headquarters to enter, where the majority of the members were asleep. Kakashi's eye swirled as he saw large amounts of blood trickle out from the now extinct barracks. He didn't even feel a remote amount of pity.

These were shinobi that had betrayed the Leaf and worked for Danzo.

These were shinobi that had betrayed Naruto. And for that they would pay with their lives, no matter who they happened to be.

Kakashi could clearly remember when Sasuke approached him, rather late in the night. At the time the Hatake was idly impressed Sasuke had managed to find him.

(-Flashback-)

"Kakashi."

Kakashi turned, stopping his ritual of staring into the Memorial Stone in front of him, to see his most promising student looking at him. Kakashi instantly recognized the thirst in Sasuke's eyes, the thirst for an answer. It was so bright it burned.

"What is it Sasuke?" Kakashi did not joke around with his student. It was quite obvious that the Uchiha was fairly serious about whatever question he wanted answered. "Naruto...he left the village earlier today...he was hunted by ANBU. He told me that he was banished...what the hell is going on? He said that it was because of the Kyuubi...what the hell is going on Kakashi? One of my teammates was just forcibly removed from the village that he loved!"

Kakashi watched Sasuke with wide eyes, both eyes widening for two very different reasons although Sasuke couldn't see the second. The right eye was widening at the fact Sasuke was showing so much emotion. He had never seen the boy be so emotional, or even care about his teammates as much as he was now. Kakashi supposed it was because this was something akin to the Uchiha Massacre. The boy had been left alone once and clearly had no desire to be left alone once again.

His left, hidden, eye widened at the news of Naruto being banished. His eyes narrowed instantly however. "Sasuke...Naruto told you this news correct?" Sasuke snarled at the avoided question yet he still nodded in hopes it would lead to an answer. Kakashi frowned, the movement obvious even with his mask on. "I'll answer your question later Sasuke. The Hokage and I need to have a talk. And Jiraiya needs to be informed."

Before Sasuke could stop his sensei he had disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

(-Flashback-)

Kakashi felt slightly bad for leaving Sasuke hanging like that, but he knew that the Uchiha was not ready to know the reason behind Naruto's banishment. Naruto had only told him his speculations from what Kakashi could garner, despite how accurate those speculations seemed to be. Still Kakashi knew Sasuke couldn't handle the emotional stress in his emotionally unstable state.

Kakashi at least had a way of relieving his.

The ominous red eye moved towards a sound as he heard men screaming and clambering for weapons before he heard death cries. He didn't even have to guess who it was. Hiruzen was not pleased and was making no effort to hide the fact that he was storming the building. Kakashi couldn't blame him. Danzo had to know that they would be coming for him because of the actions he had committed.

A scream from his other side, this one much louder pierced the darkness. The ominous red eye closed as it smiled.

Clearly Jiraiya had the same train of thought. Kakashi stood, his red eye snapping open and trailing the massive chakra signatures he noticed moving through the area. He felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Kakashi, Hokage-sama has decided to move onto the next area. This area will likely have much more combatants within." Kakashi nodded at Tenzo, allowing Hiruzen's spy in the ROOT forces to lead the way. Kakashi was never more grateful to Tenzo than at this moment. Tenzo led him into a rather bright room with drab walls. In front of them was Jiraiya, Asuma, Gai, and Hiruzen all with some sort of blood on their clothing. Kakashi paid it no mind, as he himself was sure he had blood on him. He didn't really care either way...the blood with only serve as a reminder of the actions Danzo and the other elders had committed. Tenzo reached down, forming a particular handseal and touching the trapdoor on the floor. Suddenly exploding tags lit up around the room before they fizzled out, inactive. Tenzo nodded, opening the trapdoor and slipping into it. The others followed quickly.

They landed in a rather wide underground passageway, eerily similar to a sewer. Tenzo pointed directly in front of them. "In about five minutes of walking that way we'll encounter a ROOT guard change. We'll have to kill them before moving onto the next area. This is a side tunnel. If we move to Danzo's inner sanctum we can reach the main headquarters. That is also where we will be able to destroy the entire fortress."

Hiruzen frowned as he followed Tenzo, completely furious despite hiding it well. "Tenzo...I had no idea that ROOT was so large. Why did you not inform me of this? They've been raising their own personal army in here." Tenzo frowned. "Danzo was very meticulous in his information. It was only in the passed couple of days that I managed to get this information, and that was purely because I was sneaking around. Danzo left minimal contact with his operatives until and after the incident with Naruto Uzumaki. Even before then I wasn't very welcomed in ROOT. It was hard to maneuver around."

Hiruzen nodded at the words. He could accept them. He understood what it was like to be a spy, from previous experience. It was no easy task to get all the information, and you usually couldn't get everything necessary. At best a spy could remove three or four traps an invading force would find along the way, nothing substantial as shinobi often planted a plethora more than that.

"Hokage-sama," Gai began. "If I may ask what is going to happen to the other to elders?" Hiruzen frowned. "I've already had them detained. I will be declaring martial law to the shinobi and having them executed for treason. It will likely be a private execution. In the meantime word of martial law cannot leak out to the civilians. The other villages would pounce on even the thought of the Hidden Leaf being in danger."

Jiraiya frowned. "We cannot keep up the facade of having a Jinchuriki forever sensei."

Hiruzen sighed, his age showing on his face as his anger dissipated, being replaced with weariness. "I realize. We must tread carefully. The Hidden Leaf is very close to destruction. Forming alliances is a necessity, meaning we will likely be working with the rebel forces of Kirigakure. Also, our genin must be stronger. I plan to send out a meeting tomorrow to all jonin and chunin, stating that they will go into war time preparations. I want everyone on high alert. Also, Jiraiya, as I sent in my letter to you, I want you to organize a group of elite tracker shinobi to get Naruto back."

Jiraiya nodded. "I know you want Itachi to be a member...still I would like to take Kakashi." Hiruzen shook his head. "Kakashi would be immensely useful, but we can't risk him. We need him to teach young Sasuke to master the full capabilities of his eyes before the Chunin Exams. It is particularly important that we make a strong showing this year. I recommend asking an Inuzuka, maybe Hana or one of the more promising members."

Jiraiya sighed, nodding his head. "Don't worry Hiruzen...I'll bring my godson back."

Tenzo raised his hand, instantly silencing all conversation between the powerful shinobi. They all tensed, but heard nothing. However, they trusted Tenzo, who took a step backwards. They remembered that signal. He had warned them of it before they went into the assault as a warning just in case his sneaking around wasn't good enough.

It meant there was an ambush.

"Nice try Hiruzen...but if you think this is enough to defeat me and my operatives you have another thing coming."

Hiruzen glared as the tunnel suddenly lit up in a flash of light before it dulled instantly. However, dark splotches covered his vision, but he did hear the rushing of many feet. Hiruzen smirked. "It is you who underestimate me Danzo...I do not rely solely on my eyes." Hiruzen raised a hand, unafraid of the shinobi rushing towards him. He was the Hokage, and to him they were mere ants. Hiruzen rushed forward, carving through them like a hot knife through butter. Soon afterwards his allies followed, assisting him. Danzo watched the interaction with despondent eyes, clearly uninterested in the lack of capability his shinobi were showing. Danzo sighed. "Sai...get us out of here. Konoha is a lost cause. We cannot save it from its destruction. And bring down the building with you."

A young boy cloaked in shadows nodded as he drew on a small sheet of paper. Suddenly a lion made of ink shot from the paper in front of Danzo. Danzo nodded at Sai. "Remember...stay hidden. You shall remain the snake in the fallen leaves. The majority of our forces our elsewhere. If you ever need inform us of anything...you know what to do." Sai nodded, a purely fake smile on his face. Danzo frowned at the expression but said nothing. He knew Sai was faking it...but it still bothered him. The lion then roared and rushed off. Sai smiled another one of his blasphemous smiles and drew another one quickly riding off in that one. He reached the exit and smiled, touching the wall and sending a pulse of his chakra through it. He then shot out of the base as explosions suddenly began to ring out.

Danzo looked back at the collapsing ground with a neutral look on his face.

"You were a good rival Hiruzen...that much you deserve."

Danzo then looked outwards as the lion raced across the ground, the trees around him merely a blur of motion. If anyone had been there to pay attention they would have noticed the brief flash of pity on his face before it was snuffed out.

(-The Blonde Fanalis-)

Naruto walked through the forest, looking at the ground instead of where he was going. He stumbled often, crashing into trees and falling to the ground quite often. Each time he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet, his right palm - covered with a black flame-like marking that Hagoromo's shakujo had instantly become when he awoke from his conversation, standing out as it pushed against the grass. Naruto slowly rose once again, leaning against the tree he had crashed against. He had been going through the motions for several hours, and was clearly exhausted. He looked up at the night sky, shivering in natural fear as he heard a wolf pack howl in the distance.

Naruto didn't even register his primordial fear that was ingrained in his DNA. Wolves had hunted humans viciously in his homeland, and the sound of them even being near sent a chill down his bones. However the flame-like pattern comforted him, sending a pulse of warm chakra throughout his system. Naruto relaxed into the chakra. If it wasn't for it he would have collapsed from exhaustion a long time ago.

Naruto slowly began to slip back into his thoughts, the constant motion he was using to distract himself no longer an option of distraction. The thoughts of his betrayal, of his bullshit sentence rushed back into his head and slammed into him like a freight train. It was at that moment that he heard a deep growl. Naruto turned on his heel, adrenaline immediately rushing through his body as he glared at the dark form in front of him.

"A bear," Naruto groaned out weakly as he stumbled. His motions were barely conscious. He was swaying and weak due to hunger, and he felt rather light-headed. His breathing was labored and even he noticed his accelerated heart beat. Naruto groaned, looking behind him for the briefest of moments to see the approaching edge of the forest. It would only take a few more minutes to escape the prison. Once he did that he knew he would not have to deal with bears, especially not with ones as abnormally large as this one.

The bear was a whole foot larger than he was, and was a midnight black. He had never encountered something so dangerous in the wild in his entire life. Naruto groaned, losing his balance for a brief moment before his thoughts came back together. Why a bear that large was in this area wasn't even a concern of his, only surviving was. He didn't care about the ecosystem of the forest at this point, he cared about killing the bear or getting away from it.

The bear then pounced, roaring as it prepared to latch its powerful jaws into his neck, ripping it apart with its muscles and teeth in an explosion of gore, muscle, tissue, and blood. The bear snapped its jaws.

It reached nothing but air.

Naruto's body moved without his own jurisdiction, and unknown to him his eyes glowed a deep scarlet, his pupils not vertical slits. Naruto smiled as his exhaustion immediately vanished, and he was rejuvenated with intoxicating power. He glanced at his right palm to see the black-flame like markings extended over to his entire palm under the influence of whatever power he was using. Naruto smiled as he decided to test out his new found power. He slid one leg forward and forced his dominance over the world around him, enslaving it. The world bent, cracking under the boys chakra as it expanded outwards. Naruto smiled when he saw his actions, the small corporeal creatures made of pure chakra rush towards the bear. He knew that he couldn't do that naturally. He didn't have the control.

The Kyuubi snorted. 'He's good with manifesting the Spirit...still it's strange. He uses it on a subconscious level. It's as if it's ingrained in his DNA or something.'

The foxes slashed at the bear, tearing into the thick muscle with unnatural ease before it forced them to dissipate with a few good strikes from its powerful limbs. The bear snarled, blood trailing from its wounds but otherwise no worse for wear. The foxes had truly only done superficial damage. Naruto snarled at the bear, chakra steaming off of his body and forming a golden fox behind him, the foxes eyes glowing a deep crimson.

Naruto snarled, slashing forward, his body moving with a such a fluidity that he should never have been capable of. He easily avoided the bears swipe and racked his claws - for his nails had extended - across the bears hide, roaring all the while. The bear cowed, however it snarled at Naruto soon afterwards. The wound seemed to have actually hurt it. The bear roared, yet Naruto scoffed and roared an even more powerful roar. A roar that no fox could naturally create, one that declared his dominance over the creature. The bear froze up at the sight, and when Naruto took a step forward it dashed away in fear.

Naruto smiled at the bears retreating form, picturing Hiruzen's face where the bear once was. Hiruzen's wise old face was suddenly replaced by Kakashi's face. Naruto snorted at the picture of it, disgusted with the man. He couldn't believe Kakashi had the nerve to hide his face behind a mask after all the crimes he had committed. A twisted, morphed smile that left a crazed appearance on his face.

Naruto slowly started to chuckle, a morphed sign that was clearly not normal for any human to have, no matter their mental stability. In that moment Naruto realized something about himself.

Naruto hated Hiruzen.

Naruto hated Kakashi so much more.

(-The Blonde Fanalis-)

Hiruzen looked down at the large hole in the ground that was covered with debris. He glanced to see his allies standing next to him, none the worse for wear. Kakashi, Tenzo, and Asuma looked slightly out of breath but otherwise they were fine.

"Danzo got away," Tenzo mumbled. Hiruzen frowned, nodding. "A sad reality. However it is undoubtable that he has now fled from Konoha. Even he would not be so arrogant as to believe a simply ambush like that could defeat us. We will gain our opportunity to strike out at him in vengeance once again. In the meantime you all have your duties. Workload will not be increased to remain normal to the other villages, however I expect your training schedules and those of your students to grow exponentially. I want thew ANBU on high alert and hunting Danzo down. I will be writing a bounty on him. In the meantime, Jiraiya get Itachi back home. My eldest is already on his way to infiltrate the Akatsuki. Gather your task force and start hunting down Naruto instantly. Are we clear?"

The members of the team nodded. "Dismissed," Hiruzen said, his eyes closed. They all vanished in a blur of motion. Hiruzen sighed as he moved back towards his home once again. He had a lot to take care of, especially considering he couldn't write a retrieval note to his allies. Hiruzen had been paying close attention to Sunagakure and he noticed their wavering ties in the alligance. It was one of the reasons he was so hopeful in gaining Kirigakure as an ally, if all went according to plan. Hiruzen was expecting Sunagakure to go back on their alliance soon, and he was sure it would be a rather large event when they did. That would be the time when they needed to show their strength the most.

But Hiruzen had bigger things to worry about, namely getting his grandson back.

Hey guys its Kuma Akuma. I hope this chapter is up to your expectations. I think I did a relatively good job, especially with Naruto's depression as I don't commonly write those. He's going to be stuck in his little funk for a long time when it comes to Konoha. Now don't think he's gonna be a dark character, because he's now. He's going to still be bright and chipper to his friends, but remember that he was betrayed (in his point of view), and thus he is going to be colder and less trusting of others. It will take him longer to warm up to people, and he will always hate Konoha in my story. There will be a couple shinobi from Konoha he can tolerate, but obviously Kakashi and Hiruzen will not be one of them. In his point of view they betrayed him and lied on him, especially Kakashi. If anything Naruto's going to attempt to kill both of them. I also hope you guys are satisfied with how I handled the Danzo situation. In my opinion there was no way Danzo didn't know they were gunning for him. He would have set an ambush because of the fact that he got rid of Naruto and he knew that Hiruzen would figure it out. He had to flee the village, and attempt to kill Hiruzen in the process. His plan partially failed, but now he has more time to plan to take over the Leaf village once again. If you don't realize it by now, Danzo will be a major villain in this story. Personally though I can't wait till this stories sequel. It's gonna be even more epic than this in terms of convoluted plot, because this has quite the convoluted plot. Now that I think about it I put more Magi element in than I thought. You still don't have to watch Magi to understand (although I recommend it because Magi is amazing), but it would give you more insight on characters personalities (although those will be slightly different. They will have gone through different circumstances). Next chapter Naruto meets the Fanalis slave girl. Anyways, onto the future my folks!