Author's Ramblings: Sorry for the delay folks, I got stuck helping my family prepare for new year's eve, and later got roped into helping prepare a part for the same occasion. Anyho, I've finally finished it, so I hope you enjoy it

Chapter 3 : The Night of the Escape Part 1

(Two weeks later)

He was running like mad, running as fast as his legs could carry him. A grim shadow loomed from behind, engulfing him in a miasma of fear , and no matter how fast he ran he just couldn't escape it. The world around him blurred by quickly, and far ahead he could see a figure dressed in white, beckoning him forward. The face, just like everything else was blurred, invisible to him. And just as he was about to grab hold of the hand offered to him, he felt a sharp stabbing pain. He looked down to see the tip of a blade extending from his chest...

He jerked up from the bed. His hands were shaking, his body covered in a tin sheet of cold sweat. He took a look at the clock, reading 2:31. Just two and a half hours of sleep. Or nightmares more likely. Still shaking, he walked over to the small stove he had installed, drawing a seat to it to warm up. He placed a small pot filled with water as well, opting to rummage through his supplies for tea until the water was boiling.

He rubbed his hands in front of the glowing fire, chasing the shivers away. He gingerly extended his right arm, a number of strings flying from it to capture one of the thicker shirts he had lying about, a long-sleeved, black turtleneck. He gave a short, barely perceptible pull, bringing it to him, and putting it on. While such displays were next to useless in combat, they were incredibly practical to use. The other hand picked up a small cup for the tea, bringing it to hand just in time to fix some up.

He would go to sleep again soon, but for now, he really needed the warmth of the fire next to him, at least until the shrill horror of the dream fled from him.

Why was he dreaming something so weird? And what did it mean? He had no answers to either of the questions, and then there was the feeling that something would go terribly, irrevocably wrong. And soon. He pulled a short sip from his teacup, pondering over the meaning of the feelings running through him, and trying his best to keep them in check. More than once, his sense of danger had saved his hide during training from what might have been a debilitating blow... neither of his three friends went easy on him during spars. And now, he was sure that the same sense was trying to warn him of something that was about to happen, but what?

'What does one do in a situation like this? Do I continue normally, as if nothing happened, or do I try and prepare for a completely unknown danger?' he silently mused, entranced by the flames before him.

'It's never a bad thing to be cautious. I'll prepare.' he finally decided.

Giving up the warmth of the place next to the fire, and taking one last longing look at the bed, Naruto went to prepare his arsenal for the worst possible scenario he could think of: war.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he walked over to the form of the large puppet, and continued the last minute repairs. He thanked heaven that he had enough stamina and endurance to go without sleep for a night without any problems.

He feverishly worked until dawn, having long since completed the repairs, he had turned to the various equipment in his workshop. Various substances, some explosive, some corrosive, carefully prepared for use and sealed into either scrolls, or small seals carefully added to his clothes. Kunai with hollow handles and blades, filled to the brim with solidified explosive paste along with a thin ignition tag that would detonate it.

He took a look at the clock once he was finished. It was six in the morning by now, just the proper time for a light breakfast and the start of his daily exercises. Whatever happened, happened. He had done all in his power to prepare

(06:00, Nara family estate)

Shikamaru lazily opened his eyes in the comfort of his bed. While it was not the most comfortable bed in the world, it did just fine as far as he was concerned. The alarm that was just about to go off was instantly switched off, and a single pebble flew over to the light switch, turning the lights on. The sun had already come up a bit, but since his room faced the north, he didn't get much light inside, and that suited him fine most of the time. Apart from when he was feeling lazy as hell and he had a shitload of stuff to read. Naruto had summarily kicked his ass yesterday, and he was stupid enough to let it happen. His father understood what Shikamaru asked of him perfectly, and supported it. However, the resources granted to Shikamaru were limited. Shikaku had merely smiled as he passed a large set of ten scrolls on various subjects that would be of help to his son.

"Why did this have to be so annoying?" Shikamaru thought out loud

"Because you want to keep up with your friends" came the completely unwanted response, courtesy of his mother, who brought in his breakfast. He had planned to work all morning on this and every minute was precious. For a lazy kid like him, it was enough to make his mother worry for his mental health

"Thanks mom." he sarcastically commented. "Mom?" he asked as the woman turned to leave the room.

"Yes, dear?" she turned back. For a moment Shikamaru thought about asking her about the thing that was bothering him, but decided against it.

"Nothing... sorry." he spoke, and turned to the scroll he had begun reading, dubiously titled 'A hundred ways to kill with wire'. He buried his feelings of troublesome events to come in the maters before him.

(09:00, Location Unknown)

Artificial light poorly illuminated the corridor as a single person walked down them. It was an old man, with graying black hair. He walked slowly, with a limp, his left hand clutching a long wooden cane. The other arm was wrapped in bandages, held tightly against the body, while a second set of bandages covered his right eye. The unassuming old cripple was in fact Danzo, the acting commander of the ROOT forces. A cunning, and very dangerous veteran politician and former shinobi, who hid his tracks well as he plotted his way to power over the decades.

And the plot he had in mind now was of great interest. A certain boy had come across a piece of knowledge he was aware of for quite some time, but was unable to track it down regardless of the resources he employed. And now he decided it was time to use the well oiled political machine that was the council of Konoha to take it for himself. All he really needed to do was pull his influence and/or blackmail material to convince a number of members to come to the right decision. The council would fall down on the young Uzumaki to reveal where he acquired the knowledge belonging to another village, while his own men would sweep in to take it for himself as soon as he revealed everything. The way he had set things up, Uzumaki Naruto would have no choice but to do so, or face punishment for treason. And to add to the pressure, he intended to send a certain subordinate of his to attack him, and disable him permanently tonight.. The messages were dispatched, the move was made. Now, all that remained was for the plan to come to fruition.

Yes, he had everything planned out, but what Danzo didn't take into account was the living incarnation of Murphy's law that was Naruto Uzumaki. If something could go wrong... it sure as hell would, especially if it was supposed to go against him.

(09:30, Training Ground 43)

Along Konoha's edges was training ground 43, greatly favored by the young Uzumaki for the simple reason that it was very rarely, if ever used during the day, being the favorite nighttime training spot for ANBU veterans.

Still, it was his favorite training spot for a while now, mostly since he wasn't disturbed there. He never practiced his puppetry skills outside the workshop out of caution... it would do him no good if his enemies knew what to expect of him, therefore the skills were practiced with great deal of secrecy, bordering on open paranoia. If his late and great sensei had anything to say on the account of it, it would be shortly this: Can it be called paranoia if there are people out for your life?

The place was simple in concept, an abandoned construction site with a lot of open areas and usable surfaces, one of those special ones used for urban training. Shinobi rarely worked in the few larger cities that were scattered throughout the elemental countries, but the training was still a welcome precaution. The terrain was somewhat similar to the forests surrounding Konoha, due to the number of surfaces around, and provided a welcome distraction for the young blonde, who buried himself in physical exercise eagerly.

He had kept his senses keen throughout his walk to the area, and noted the person following him, the same ANBU that had been following him around for two weeks now, making occasional contact in civilian clothes during the night. He was also rather sure that he knew because she wanted him to know, a that fact while annoying, was also welcomed by the blond... he really didn't mind the company as he trained. But she remained distant, watching over him rather than joining.

In a moment of inspiration, he had packed food for two that morning. He really didn't expect her to show up, but he didn't really mind. So, after he finished the physical part of his exercises around noon, he pulled out the second package of food, rice with meat and vegetables, along with a spare pair of chopsticks, placing them on a relatively concealed, but still visible spot in the training ground before taking the other with him for a short walk. To his pleasure, he found the food missing when he returned, a slight disturbance in the dust the only sign that anyone was there. He made a small smile before going to his bag to dig out the scroll on jutsu he had taken for the day. It was a copy of the original one, as he didn't want to remove any from the workshop. He unrolled it slowly, reading the many notes he had taken once more. He had most of it memorized by now, but the very detailed descriptions of jutsu mishaps weren't something he was interested in experiencing.

The title of the scroll was simple, written in large, slightly slanted letters, 'Unusual Clone Techniques'. He had been looking forward to this for a while now, and after over two months of researching the fine details, he was finally ready to start training them, because unlike the usual elemental clones, these were actually a combination of multiple simultaneous techniques molded into one action. The other techniques on the scroll, such as Object Clones, were relatively simple, while others, such as the Afterimage technique, required skills he didn't yet possess, such as Shunshin

The first one he found on the scroll was also the only one he hadn't managed to do yet, the Mist clone jutsu. The description shortly stated that it's primary purpose was scouting, and rarely combat, because of the fact that it could turn into mist and back into it's solid, condensed form a number of times before dispelling. It's main weaknesses were wind and fire, both dispersing them with ease. A side note also claimed that in highly humid areas, the jutsu became truly devastating because the clone could regenerate from the air moisture.

Giving himself a nod as he reread his notes, he pulled out a small bottle of water, unscrewing the stopper and pouring it into a small plate. Considering he was still learning to do the jutsu, every aid was welcome. Fine tuning and mastering could come later. The jutsu consisted of just one hand seal, relying more on the user's ability to mold chakra to make it more combat effective.

Placing his hands carefully int the position of the handseal he whispered "Mist Clone jutsu", he focused his chakra in the way the description instructed, drawing out a fine mist from the plate of water, and roughly forming it into his own shape, letting out a groan when it broke down. He always had trouble with clones. Silently cursing his lack of skill, he went to work, ignoring the passage of time as the entire afternoon passed by

Yugao watched Naruto train with great interest, while still keeping attention around. She was surprised by the small gift of food he left behind. It was a thoughtful act, one she appreciated. Of course, she only ate it after checking for poison. Interest or not, she played by the rules... most of the time.

The attempts to perform what seemed to be a clone jutsu unknown to her interested her, just as much as his nearly insane drive to succeed did. Whereas most chunin would be dead from chakra exhaustion, Naruto was still working, progressively improving as the day went by, going from being completely incapable of forming the clone, to finally completing the jutsu six hours later, a tired but satisfied smile covering the boy's face. But he didn't stop there, he kept practicing, and within three hours, to her shock, he completely eliminated the vocal component, and improved the creation time down to less than a second, making it fully combat viable. Nine hours of relentless work, a dedication she had rarely seen in anyone. If he had trained like this since he started the academy... she shuddered at the though. The sheer concept of the jutsu he performed made it at least a C rank, one he had made usable within an impressive nine hours. And what did he do after it? He packed up the equipment, careful not to leave behind anything, and started reading the next technique in the scroll while walking home

She made a smile behind her mask, quietly following Naruto as he went on home.

(20:30, Office of the Hokage)

Right now, the office of the honorable Hokage was probably the most dangerous place to be within the village, due to a thoroughly mad Sarutobi Hiruzen. The reason for his rage? The accursed council had once more gone behind his back, and made a decision that he could neither veto nor fail to execute, as the absolute majority of it agreed.. He knew well who's greedy fingers were pulling the strings behind the council this time. Danzo.

Naruto was either to surrender the foreign teachings he had acquired for study and subject himself to the tender mercies of the council, along with being under constant surveillance later on, or be executed for treason. There was a third option he was aware of, one he didn't like in the least, but it was a better choice than the previous two, if only by a small margin. Right now, he regretted listening to the advice of his two former teammates eleven years ago concerning the boy's heritage and everything. Gritting his teeth together, he let out a small, short pulse of chakra, aimed to contact one of the most reliable people he had at his disposal. If they wanted war, by god they would have it. He would remind them just why he was called God of the Shinobi, and was still feared by his enemies, despite his advanced age. With a wicked smile on his lips, he prepared a set of scrolls, sealing them up in another one, and giving them to Tiger, one of the senior ANBU operatives in Konoha. The reason was that he knew he could trust the man with this important mission. As long as the council couldn't reach Naruto before he put the final signature on the decree, he could leave Konoha and be unaffected by their decision. It would likely break the boy's heart, but it was either that or what was best described as a prison without bars. And the signing wouldn't be done by morning if he had anything to say about it.

"Tiger, I need you to find and bring two people to the Sarutobi estate, as fast as humanly possible. Naruto Uzumaki and Yugao Uzuki. If anything goes terribly wrong, I want you to give Naruto this scroll and escort them to the northern gate"

(21:15, Naruto's old apartment)

With a light screeching sound, the door of Naruto's apartment opened, revealing the young boy behind them. The apartment was suitably empty, the sound of footsteps echoing as Naruto walked. He remembered leaving a few cups of instant ramen here should he ever need them. Idly dropping the backpack he carried on the bed, he walked over to the kitchen, preparing the food when he noticed something odd. He knew he had cleared out most of the stuff from this place, leaving behind only a few empty scrolls, a couple of cups of ramen, and a few other bits and pieces. He knew however, that he certainly did empty his hidden stash and closed it. So why was it open now? He knew few people would bother entering the place, as he was never there. Tensing up, he pulled a kunai in his hand, the fist clenching around it tightly as he descended into a half crouch. Something felt off.

He walked over to the small floor plate that concealed the stash, and was shocked at what he saw. Before him were plans, defense plans to be precise. He knew because he had seen such things before, Sarutobi having shown him a few heavily outdated once, from before the last war. These however, were brand new, most likely made very recently, and very accurately.

He knew he hadn't stolen such plans, and that the Hokage would certainly not give any to him, but when he noticed another object next to them, the pieces fell into place. It was a diplomatic pass... for Suna. Along with a small storage scroll. What Shikamaru said just a day ago came back to him. Wasn't puppetry exclusively a Suna technique? The plans and pass would indicate that he was a either a spy or a traitor, most likely the second. He also had a feeling that someone wanted to get their hands on his workshop and the knowledge contained within. And the final stroke came when he sensed a presence in the other room.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you are hereby placed under arrest for treason. Come quietly" the distinctively male voice ordered. Yeah, right. Three things passed through Naruto's mind at that point. One, the timing was too damn perfect, somebody wanted him either dead or imprisoned... which was pretty much the same. Two, he had only two choices, stay and die, or run and maybe survive. And three, he likely wasn't going to see his friends again. As Shikamaru would aptly put it, troublesome.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yugao was silently cursing as she watched the... unique scene unfold in front of her. She hadn't seen Naruto fight yet, being only present for his training sessions alone so far. But what she had seen was insane, an academy student should not be able to counter an ANBU operative, even a rookie one, and yet... she didn't think anymore. Her job was to protect him regardless of the threat, and if what Sarutobi told her was true, it was the least she owed him.

Naruto was running for his life, that much was obvious, as the man hadn't given him as much as a chance to surrender, immediately going for the attack. A setup, he realized, but that part didn't do him much good, as he kept trying his best to dodge and out think his opponent. There was a reason why the ANBU were the village elite, as Naruto sported a number of cuts and bruises along his arms, along with numerous tears on his clothes. The only reasons he was still alive was the fact that he had unsealed the Guardian to protect him while moving. There was little doubt in his mind that this was a do-or-die situation, and every inhibition he may have had towards killing someone or issue against using all of his skills was long gone even before the first slash he survived from the man.

The few jutsu he knew were next to useless against his enemy, as his speed was simply to low to properly execute them. Weapons? To slow as well. His only options were instant traps and the puppet. Right now he was regretting not picking the high speed motion exercises.

The ten strings were still attached to points along his spine, allowing him to control the puppet. The battle was strangely silent, only interrupted by the occasional sound of metal meeting metal, or rarer flesh.

He dodged quickly, managing to avoid a low blow from the short ninja-to the ANBU used, using the Substitution jutsu to replace himself with a ready puppet to avoid the follow up blow. He had only then noticed that both were a distraction made by a clone, as the original appeared behind him blade prepared to slash at his throat.

It was in that moment that Naruto for the first time in his life accepted that he was going to die. There were no tears, no saddened whimpering, though there was little time for that. Right now, no matter what he did he would be unable to stop an opponent so much stronger. He merely closed his eyes, and awaited the blow to come and end it. He nearly chuckled at the relief he felt.

Which is probably why he was so surprised when the blow failed to come. In fact the only sound he heard was a squelch, and the sound of a blade leaving flesh, along with the feeling of warm droplets hitting his face. He apprehensively opened his eyes, coming face to face with the corpse of the man who had just a few seconds ago tried to kill him... and above him was another ANBU, female with a cat mask. He immediately recognized her as the same woman who'd been watching him since that night two weeks ago, Yugao Uzuki.

"Cat-san?" he asked in a somewhat tired voice, still panting from the tiredness. He wasn't ready for a fight against someone that much stronger... for all his skills, he might be able to outwit and defeat a chunin, but strong foes he couldn't beat yet, for the simple lack of combat experience he didn't stand a chance. He knew then and there that his life would have been over had it not been for her.

"Are you alright Naruto?" she asked in that muffled but concerned voice. She wasn't even thinking about the fact that the man she had just killed was an ANBU operative. Yet.

"Yeah...these are just scratches." he responded, finally calming down, and proceeding to seal up the puppet, rubbing the blood from his face in the process. He felt surprisingly calm, though he was sure it was the adrenaline in his system which helped him

"What happened?"she calmly asked, her mind already filling out some of the blanks.

"I've been set up and declared a traitor." Naruto seriously answered, pulling out the documents that were placed in his apartment. "I found these inside my old apartment"

Yugao took a careful look at the plans and pass placed there, along with a small storage scroll which she had little doubt contained travel supplies fit for desert travel. She knew this because similar things were made for deep cover agents at times. However, she also had little reason to believe Naruto would be responsible. The scenario he offered was a reasonable one, and while no overly surprising, thanks to the Toad Sage's spy network, they had a rather good idea of most foreign spies in their midst, effectively allowing them to feed false information, which was also one of the reasons that Konoha survived the strategic fiasco that was the demon attack eleven years ago. It also meant that someone wanted Naruto out of the picture very much, and combined with the knowledge that she possessed because of her assignment, she was beginning to get a much clearer picture than the one Naruto probably had. And it worried her considerably. Add to that the fact that she had just killed another ANBU. Things had just gotten very complicated.

"Cat-san, I think we need to move" Naruto offered, but was stopped by a hand on is shoulder. He swallowed hardly, turning around to meet the expressionless white mask of Tiger of ANBU. It was official, things had gone to hell.

Yamato, alias Tiger of ANBU was a generally calm man, with measured reactions. What he had seen had broken most of that controlled image. If the Hokage hadn't warned him that something might go wrong, he would be going crazy on them, but he reasoned that this was what the aged man had in mind when he said trouble. He rechecked the scroll in his pocket once more before jumping down from his vantage point on the nearby roof. The things he did for his job. Making an on-the-spot call, he proceeded.

"Naruto Uzumaki I presume?" he asked, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. When the boy responded with a short nod he continued "I have instructions from the Hokage for you. You and Cat are to follow me to his estate, as well as receive this scroll. I'd suggest we move from here before you read it."

Naruto nodded once more, and so did Yugao. Tiger knelt down with a small scroll and sealed up the body of the fallen ANBU. The situation would be thoroughly investigated in the morning, but for now, speed was of the essence, as he could feel a number of people approaching. Even if he didn't know everything that transpired here, it was too goddamn convenient. With a short signal, Cat placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder and the three of them vanished from the street, leaving just before a small group of five shadows landed in the same spot they were standing moments ago.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Dad, are you sure about this?" Asuma Sarutobi questioned. Hiruzen was a flurry of activity ever since he came home, an angry scowl covering his face once he entered the study. On the desk was a pile of scrolls, each of them bearing different labels, though they were unreadable to him.

"Asuma, right now there's nothing else left for me to do. I owe him at least that much. And I certainly don't intend to let that man get anymore power. I've been a fool one time too many." he spat out, not really aimed at his son, more of a rant to keep himself from stopping his work. He hadn't intended to do this originally. He knew well that the boy's father was Minato Namikaze, the late Fourth Hokage of Konoha, he also knew damn well that there was no other choice for the container, since his wife Kushina was the only one that had given birth that day. He had made a number of plans to help the boy, but most of them either failed, or were impossible to execute due to the fact that his resources were overstretched.

His train of thoughts was stopped by the sound of a knock on the front door.

"They're here" he quietly spoke.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

By now, the rush of adrenaline that kept Naruto calm was long since spent, and he had truly began to panic, worried both about his own fate and about that of his savior, the ANBU Cat, better known as Yugao Uzuki, considering that he would likely be labeled a traitor and she as well. Cold sweat had already covered his back and neck as they entered the Sarutobi estate. He had already expected everything to go to hell, the disappointed face of the old man, and he doubted his case would be believed. Sure, just go around saying that the most well-reputed members of the village were against you, as he was quite sure it was the decision of someone high up.

Both Tiger and Cat remained silent during the trip. While Tenzo was curious as to what had happened, he knew better than to ask questions as he guided them. The hokage would sort things out.

Yugao was concerned as well, she had killed a man, who was very much a colleague of hers. It was a fact to be concerned over very much, and due to her position, the best she could expect if things went bad was life imprisonment.

The trio finally reached the study, escorted by one of the servants that worked at the estate. Inside awaited them the weathered face of the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, flanked by his oldest son, Asuma.

"Hello Naruto, Cat, Tiger" the old man saluted them, his voice betraying the exhaustion of his old age. However, the eyes showed something far different, a burning intelligence and cunning that would and had scared many throughout his many years of life.

"Sir" the two senior ninja saluted, while Naruto remained silent, but worried.

"Take a seat, I was partially informed of what happened. Naruto?" he asked, and the way he said it left no room for discussion. He took a deep breath to steady himself before starting, leaving nothing out

"Fine jiji. I got back from training, deciding to visit my old apartment to get something to eat. Inside I found this" he offered the items he retrieved "Now, we both know that there's no way I could steal the plans, hell I wouldn't even know where to look." he stated truthfully, hoping that the old man would believe him. The disarming but sad smile the old man offered worried and calmed him at the same time.

"I know Naruto. However, take a look at this" he returned, passing the boy a piece of paper, the written decision of the council. He watched the boy read it, face progressively turning from sad, to stunned, to enraged.

His head dropped, his bangs concealing his eyes. He dropped the paper, fists clenching, but the only real sound were his teeth.

"Bastards" he whispered in a low voice, for the first time angry, hateful "calling me a traitor. And for what?"

It was the first time any of them heard him talking like that. It took a lot for Naruto to lose his nerve, but this... this was the straw that broke the camels back. He didn't care about the ignorance of fools, as long as they left him alone, he didn't mind. But to be set up like this just because someone wanted his knowledge? A betrayal that made his blood boil. The others remained silent, though Cat chose to put a supportive hand on his shoulder. It took him a full minute to regain his composure, and the others waited for him to do so before continuing

"So what happens now?" he asked, though his voice was far colder then before.

"Several things, potentially" the older Sarutobi responded "I heard about that killed ANBU, and while I know that no one had given orders for him to apprehend you, I am certain that Danzo has already taken this into account. Your first option would be to stay here and face trial... considering the council will be judging you, and that the old bastard has blackmail on more than half of them, I wouldn't be looking forward to it, as you'd either end up in jail, which is less likely, or you would be branded and under 24/7 guard, only to be used as a weapon... And Yugao here would have a great deal of trouble because she helped you, and would likely end up the same way if not worse for the death" he explained, his voice positively annoyed.

"And the alternative?"

"Exile." he spoke. Naruto remained calm on the surface, while inside his mind was in turmoil. He hadn't considered that option, but it was there, though he wasn't looking forward to something like that

"The only chance you have of actually avoiding that would be leaving Konoha. Both of you. That way you can't be legally prosecuted because of certain loopholes in the law, which pretty much state that you would have to be personally receive a signed version of this decree. No one invokes it, but it's there. You will officially at least remain a ninja of Konoha Yugao, while you Naruto have no such issues,and you will both be free, as long as you don't return to Konoha publicly." Hiruzen stated. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry Naruto, Yugao. Right now this is the best that I can do for you"

Naruto felt his fist clench unconsciously, a rage building up within him the likes of which he had never felt before, but he let it go, as hard as it was. This was neither the time nor the place for acting like a little brat. He felt the hand on his shoulder acting similarly to his own, and he knew that Yugao wasn't feeling good about this either. Who would be? He placed his own hand over hers in a silent show of support. For better or worse, he reason that they were in this mess together.

"How much time have we got?" she asked, her voice sullen even through the muffling of her mask.

"Three hours at best" Tiger responded this time "The corpse won't be discovered for a while more, but that's all we can get you without creating even more of a mess"

Naruto moved to the couch sluggishly, moving more like an old man than a youth of eleven. He felt that way too. Across from him, Yugao Uzuki, minus her mask was sitting down, looks similarly tired. She knew things like these happened, but like always, it was to someone else. Now that it struck her, what was the last thing she had left was destroyed.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked tentatively, trying to take her mind off the mess.

"We?" she asked, a slight hint of anger present in her voice"It's your fault we're in this mess in the first place!" she shouted at him, losing all control over her emotions. She wanted him to fight back, anything for a chance to divert her thoughts from her current state in life. But Naruto, he merely dropped his head, and retorted in a broken voice

"I know. And there's nothing I can do to mend things. I'm sorry" he spoke. She could feel her heart clench. It wasn't right, she lashed out at him for no other reason than because she felt burdened herself.

An awkward silence descended on them after that both merely watching the other, each hesitant to speak.

"Any ideas what to do next?" she asked, breaking the silence, and taking a sip of the tea they were offered. Naruto was beginning to calm down, if only a bit, the cogs in his mind once more turning

"I...I think we should stick together, at least for now." he spoke "There's safety in numbers, and it wold be easier to gather resources to survive this way"

"Okay." she returned "What about your workshop?"

"I'll seal up everything there before we leave. I'm not going to leave it here. What about you? Do you have anything you wish to carry?"

"A few trinkets, but I can't reach most of them." Yugao answered him, a slight hint of sadness present in her voice.

"Sorry" he once more apologized, but she waved it off. No use crying over spilled milk.

"Let's just focus on what we can do, alright? I'd suggest we split up and gather what we need, and meet at the northern gate in an hour. It's the least guarded, and I think Hokage-sama will help us out a bit." she offered, while Naruto nodded, his own sense of determination to survive kicking in.

The two of them stood, each picking up their respective belongings before walking towards the door, where they found the old Hokage waiting them, holding a single scroll in his hands.

"I am sorry it has come to this" he spoke quietly "I have ensured that you can pass the northern gate unopposed. Apart from that there is little I can do. But before you leave, Naruto..."he stopped for a moment

"You know that secrets have been kept from you for years now. This scroll contains all the answers I can give, plus a few gifts, but please don't read it until you are at a safe distance. Also, if you intend to travel somewhere, I would suggest Waterfall country. It should be relatively safe there, at least for now" Hiruzen sagely advised, while Naruto nodded, taking the scroll, and tucking it under his vest. It was probably at this point that Naruto's self-preservation instincts kicked in, arguing that if the Hokage knew that Waterfall was a friendly country, then so would the others. And he somehow doubted that someone who went to such lengths to get him would be bothered by legal issues. As he and Yugao went out of the estate, he heard the old man speak once more

"Please be careful" he spoke softly, a single tear coming from his eyes. Naruto couldn't help but smile. As angry and betrayed as he felt, the aged Hokage cared. He knew the old man wasn't omnipotent, and that the Hokage's power was absolute only on paper.

"We will" he answered, stopping a few steps later "Hey old man?" he asked, never turning back "Tell my friends I'm sorry, and thanks for everything" he added as the two of them walked on into the night, parting ways seconds after.

xxxxxxxxxx

The blond boy rushed as fast as he could down the stairs of his workshop home. Right now he had one objective alone, and that was the saving of the legacy his dead sensei left behind. If someone went so fat against him to get it, logic dictated that he should not leave it behind, if nothing else, to spite whomever was responsible. Naruto wasn't into vengeance, but he wasn't stupid either.

Considering the limited time frame he had available, he opened the only faucet there was in the workshop, letting out enough water to form several water clones. It was a relatively simple technique, excellent for manual labor as well as combat. He sent three of them to carefully gather the training scrolls and arrange them on the first of the several large storage scrolls he had prepared. He thanked the heavens that he studied sealing in detail, figuring out how to seal a storage scroll within another one without any damage to it's contents. At he same time he rushed towards the other equipment, the small smithy and the workbenches. He intended to leave an empty, useless room behind him.

Numerous strings made of chakra flared from his body... while these were useless for the fine manipulation that puppets require, they were ideal for the simple things he needed now. He pushed his chakra into the large scrolls he had prepared for the trunk with his clothes, workbenches and the smithy, making the objects disappear in a cloud of smoke, while the scrolls gained symbols depicting the objects sealed within.

With great efficiency, Naruto stripped the room bare within less then fifteen minutes, leaving nothing but empty bookshelves, the spartan bed and a single faucet. Content with his achievements, he took the large scrolls, sorting all of them on a smaller one, making one last check over the entire array to make sure it would work properly, before sealing them up. He then took off part of his clothes, leaving his upper torso bare.

The last action was to pick up a quill and some ink, writing the storage array on his chest, and putting just enough chakra to seal up the scroll there. He redressed himself, giving his home of four years one last look, deciding to pull another 'prank' on whoever got unfortunate enough to have to come in here. He set up five exploding tags along the walls, tying them a to a piece of ninja wire and setting it multiple times over the sole entrance to the room before leaving. There was no one to tell him he couldn't have a bit of fun now and then. Anything to get his mind off of things now.

Without giving things any further thought, he rushed out, keeping a low profile as he moved towards the northern gate.

(22:30, Konoha's Northern Gate)

Yugao waited patiently for her apparent partner to arrive. She really didn't want to think about it, focusing more on the present as it was easier to handle the current destination than the issue of their immediate exile from Konoha. Her hands were still shaking, and she was nervous as hell. She had packed up everything in her home,anything that could be used to track her, and she had even persuaded Tiger to help her out by cleaning up her bunk at ANBU headquarters, which he did admirably, even delivering the one precious thing she kept there, the photo of her and her sensei and superior in ANBU.

Still, she kept mentally going through the things she had with her, making sure everything was there, though in reality she was doing it to stop herself from even considering that she would no longer return to Konoha. The fact still hadn't sunk in. The lists changed from items packed, to the shinobi villages and the names of their respective leaders, then moving on to the listings of major cities in those until she finally ran out of subjects. She finally chose to think about the one thing that remained. Naruto Uzumaki.

And as if by magic, the subject of her thoughts appeared, cautiously stalking between buildings. She was surprised at the skill he used in sneaking. His steps were made carefully, making little to no noise, choosing the best route, while sticking to the shadows. She felt that if she wasn't looking for him she wouldn't have noticed.

"Ready Cat-san?" Naruto asked casually, though his voice was visibly strained.

"Don't call me that" she softly responded "My name is Yugao, Naruto. And yes."

Naruto quietly chuckled as the two of them started going, silently slipping past the conveniently empty northern gate. Both remained silent as they kept a slower pace northward to distance themselves from Konoha. Yugao was impressed by the boy's effort to keep up with her, even if he lacked several of her skills that made such journeys a lot easier. They would get nowhere at this rate.

"Stop for a moment" she ordered.

"What?" he instantly responded, eyes locked onto her own.

"We're moving too slow. I'll show you a trick so that we can move faster" she quickly explained "You know how to channel chakra to specific parts of your body, right? I've already seen you do both the Wall walking and Water walking. So, instead of putting out a constant stream, or a short pulse, try sending out a short burst through your feet as you jump"

She was pleasantly surprised to find Naruto an eager pupil, as the moment she finished talking, he dropped into a half-crouch, focusing his chakra as advised into his feet, and jumped, letting the built-up chakra out. She stifled a laugh when she realized that he had used far, far too much chakra and ended up slamming himself through a tree, and yet it was nowhere near enough to be detected. He grumbled as he dragged himself back to her, cursing about miscalculations.

"A bit less chakra Naruto" she jokingly commented as they started walking onward, Naruto still testing his skill, starting from the minimal amount of chakra this time. To their combined surprise, it only took him half an hour to figure it out properly... it wasn't the fact that it was difficult to do, just that it demanded more chakra than your average genin had. Silence reigned once more as they took to the trees, Naruto making practice of his new ability while Yugao watched the almost child-like enthusiasm the boy displayed at the practice. Still, it surprised her that he instantaneously reacted to a passing wolf in mid-motion, sooner than she had detected the animal.

The events since they left had been keeping her attention away from any of the problems. She found the experience oddly refreshing. The boy was sharp, quick on his feet and talented, not to mention surprisingly kind, as she had found out, despite the somewhat rough and cold exterior

'Well, at least things won't be boring.' she idly mused as she followed him, slightly surprised that she did so without a second thought

Author's Notes: Finally! It took me forever to write this part. Regardless, here's the newest chapter of the story, and the last of the introduction part. The second part of this will be about their escape... and leaving.

There are a few important details to state. First, about Yugao and Naruto not giving much of a reaction to their exile... it's simple, Yugao is an ANBU, and she has sufficient mental conditioning to control herself most of the time, and to maintain control for the sake of her survival. And as for Naruto? He modeled himself after a veteran shinobi, but never building the loyal devotion that most leaf shinobi have. He's loyal first to his friends, then everyone else, so being banished doesn't strike him as hard as it did Yugao

A few other details to keep in mind. Naruto has a heap of encyclopedic knowledge, though a lot of it isn't practical because he hasn't had a chance to use it. Yugao on the other hand has nothing but practical knowledge drilled from her shinobi career so far. (I consider things such as the information on current affairs practical knowledge for ninja simply because it is :P)

And finally, I will be giving a somewhat more detailed listing of Naruto's skills in the next chapter.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As I have already said, the really crazy part starts now.

Read and review:P