The Fox Tail Army (Kitsune Shippo Beirikugun)

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

'Time to check on Naruto. He is usually up at this time because of his ultra-fast healing ability and I hope all of his injuries are okay and the incident did not leave any mental damage. How much can a young kid handle all the pressure and stress from the constant glares of the villagers? I cannot even fathom all the horrors that have plagued his life since he was a kid and to add salt to an injury, he was almost killed by his best friend. Damn, I'm getting too old for this.' Tsunade thought as she walked towards the solitary ward of one Uzumaki Naruto. He was given his special room because none of the patients wanted to be using the same room a demon was using.

Tsunade opened the door cautiously, peeking to see if the young boy was still sleeping. An empty bed greeted the Hokage and she was put into panic mode immediately, thinking that some assassin or even the Akatsuki kidnapped Naruto right in front of their noses. Not a second passed until her eyes rocketed at a letter lying on top of the untouched mattress. Her worries were dashed away expecting a note that might indicate that Naruto was already in the ramen shop that he truly loves.

She picked it up and read:

To whom it may concern,

I hope I did not cause panic by leaving without notice. Do not worry about me cause I am free now and happy too. It is about time I made this village be free of a burden that they had to endure for almost 13 years. I know that you want me to stay Baa-chan (if you are reading this but if not then give this to the Hokage pleeaaasseee…) but I cannot live like this. I want to be strong and be recognized by people that like me but not (tear drop. can't read the next few lines) Well, tell the rest of Rookie 9 that I'm gone and you can tell them about the Kyuubi now. Bye!!!!!!!!!!

Her face was ashen and she quickly held her resolve and called the ANBU for a search and retrieve mission.

"Alright! As of yesterday, a genin ran away from Konoha and I want all of you to retrieve him unharmed if possible. Repeat and I say repeat again! DO NOT KILL HIM! Understood?"

"Yes Hokage-sama" the ANBU captain replied unenthusiastically. Then they left.

Weeks have passed and Naruto was still missing. The search was called off, even the best trackers couldn't even find a trace of him and Pakkun, Kakashi's dog summon, was deployed too but it was all for naught.

Flashback

All of the Rookie Twelve (including Sasuke) were called to the Hokage Tower, expecting some answers on the whereabouts of their blonde compatriot.

Tsunade stood up, preparing for a small speech, tightening her fists and inhaling a deep breath " Yesterday, one of our promising genins defected from the Leaf. Some of you are wondering why but do not worry there will be some answers. One of the reasons why Naruto left was when one of your own, here, betrayed him", paused Tsunade awaiting their reaction.

NO! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE DWINDLING! I SHALL FIND OUT WHOATROCIOUSLY SNUFFED THE BURNING FLAMES OF MY ETERNAL RIVAL AFTER NEJI AND SASUKE! WILL YOU HELP ME FIND PERPETRATOR MY FAIR FLOWER SAKURA-CHAN? , asked Lee with his eyes burning with enthusiasm to be release from its confines.

Shame faced, Sakura admitted that she did it while still defending herself with the reason of defending her 'Sasuke-kun'.

"He tried to hurt Sasuke-kun. No! He did hurt him so bad. I could still see his bruises and scratches from days ago when they fought. See how much a menace Naruto is? He must have cheated while fighting Sasuke-kun. No way that baka could defeat him, after all, he is the last Uchiha," Sakura stated smugly, her confidence returned since she started speaking.

Not realizing the disgusted and shocked faces of her teammates; she went closer to Sasuke, who also glared at her.

Ino, her best friend in childhood asked her cautiously, wondering if this was the same Sakura that she knew. Her Sakura was not this shallow and narrow-minded girl, was she? "What did you actually do to Naruto that made him leave the village?"

"UHMMM…" Shikamaru cleared his throat to get their attention, "I might be able to tell you, or would Tsunade-sama care if she just tells us"

"Okay, here is the report. Along with the villagers and several of our higher, ranked nin along with Sakura (raising here eyebrows towards Sakura) attacked the battered and bruised Naruto. While sporting numerous gashes and a gaping hole in the chest, he managed to fend them off while not harming them until I got there," Tsunade read with a no non-sense voice.

Everyone look shocked except for the somber Shikamaru and Tsunade. Another exception was Hinata; she was burning with fury, barely able to restrain herself from pouncing Sakura. Still clenching her teeth, she was about to relax until the pink-haired kunoichi looked at Hinata, commenting why she was red in the face and said, "You must be happy he's gone now aren't you? When he was always near you, he makes you faint."

Suddenly all of her wrath broke out like a dam bursting pouring all of its emotion in one fell swoop.

SLAP!!, the sound echoed across the room. "How could you say that?? He was the bravest boy in this village. He stood up for his beliefs throughout his life. I watched him stand up from the taunts and the beatings from the villagers. He still smiled. SMILED! Why did you do that to him? He liked you as I… I like him", faltered Hinata after she said that, wondering why she did not declare her feelings to Naruto sooner.

After the incident, the rest the team, still shocked, kept away from Sakura.

A month passed

Now, we find Naruto on one of the islands of the Wave, isolated from civilization, a huge gap separating land from land. It was the farthest one with an expansive corral reef that stretched for about a mile in circumference, not allowing any ships to come through and dense jungles surrounded him, teeming with diverse lesser demons. This was the place were Kyuubi wanted him to train for this place was from an ancient civilization long gone, destroyed by itself with its destructive maniacal weapons of mass extermination.