A/N: This is my first try as an author so bear with me. English isn't my first language so don't hesitate to pm me with any fault you find, I am always eager to learn.

I am glad most of you enjoyed the way the fight went last chapter, I was afraid that people would be disappointed that Naruto didn't walk all over Kabuto and Orochimaru. For those who were, I'll say it again, Naruto is still a chunin with almost no real life experience. He is no God yet, this is the journey that turns him into one that is interesting.

Now on the same matter, I will just reveal that he still has a lot more to work on :)

Therefore the 3 years skip that leads to Shippuuden will happen. It may not be 100% training like in canon and I may or may not fully detail it, so you will just have to continue reading to know.

Anyway, welcome to the next chapter of Kaze No Kami.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other manga for that matter.

Chapter 18: Leaving the Leaf

Naruto and his group decided to take the long route to go back to Konoha. As none of them had really recovered from their battle with the traitorous snake, they decided to take it easy until they reach Konoha.

Consequently, they stopped at every hotsprings, taverns and gambling houses on their way back to the Leaf. Jiraya usually disappeared as soon as they arrived in a new town, supposedly going to scout the area for any potential danger but you could almost always find him near the hotsprings. Tsunade just went for the taverns to order their most expensive sake or just spent her time losing money at the local gambling houses. That only left Naruto and Shizune trying to prevent their master from doing those stupid things.

As they finally made it back after two long weeks in front of the main gates of Konoha, everyone had different reactions at the sight of the giant doors.

Jiraya had a lecherous smirk on his face, most likely ready to go explore the less recommended area of the village. Naruto was relieved to have finally come home after successfully completing his first A-rank mission as a chunin. For Tsunade and Shizune however, it was the first time in more than a decade that they set foot in the village. Shizune tried to comfort her master as memories of the past and her losses came back rushing at her.

The chunin guarding the gates were surprised at the sudden appearance of not one but two of the legendary sannin, they informed the group that Sarutobi had been expecting them for quite some time now and ordered for them to immediately report to the Hokage tower as soon as they arrived.

Hokage office

They all arrived in front of the office of the Hokage using Shunshin, and before Shizune could require a meeting with the Sandaime with his secretary, Naruto just kicked the door open as usual before going inside. Jiraya just followed his disciple with a smirk while Tsunade and Shizune were stunned at the blatant disrespect towards the Shinobi no Kami.

"Hello Jiji, I'm back from my mission !" Yelled Naruto as he stepped inside the office.

"Nice to see you back my boy, I assume the mission was a success seeing the guests you have with you." Replied the old man.

"It has been a long time sensei." Said Tsunade as she saw her old teacher.

"It's good to be back Hokage-sama." Added Shizune.

"Very well, I welcome you all back. Now Naruto I know you weren't the highest ranking shinobi on this mission but I'd like to hear your report anyway, consider it a training as your new duties as a chunin will have you lead your own teams in the future, you will also have to do this at some point." Announced Sarutobi.

Naruto was not used to receive all the attention like this, from a room full of people of Kage level no less. He was red with embarrassment while the others were looking at him with smirks on their face, realizing that there was indeed something that could effectively shut the young exuberant blond up.

Naruto finally managed to regain his composure, took a deep breath, then started to report on what had happened on his mission. The meeting with Itachi and Kisame, then the tracking of Tsunade that led them to Tanzagu Gai to finally finish with the battle against Orochimaru and Kabuto.

As Naruto finished his report, Sarutobi had to frown again at the interference of Orochimaru. He was already aware of Naruto meeting Itachi and his associate when Gai came back. He took a moment to gather his thoughts then addressed the people in front of him again.

"You did good Naruto-kun, I'm very proud of you and the mission will go on your record not as an A-rank but as a S-rank one due to the interference of two S-class missing shinobi of our village."

"Tsunade, as you already know, I am stepping down. You will be the next Hokage after me and the official coronation ceremony will take place next week, we need time to get the officials to arrive in Konoha to announce it. I have a few things for you to do in the meantime, we will discuss about them in a moment."

"Jiraya, I want you to investigate the group that Itachi belongs to, their goals are obviously linked to Naruto so I want to know more about them. You are to leave as soon as possible but we need a report at least in a month."

"Tsunade and Shizune, you will both head to the hospital as soon as possible. There are still lots of injured people there waiting for treatment, and especially a group of genin and chunin who just came back yesterday after some disturbing events I will reveal to you now."

After this Sarutobi motioned for everyone to get comfortable, then started to report the event that went on during the week that led to the situation they were in right now.

Apparently in the same time Orochimaru tried to get Tsunade to join him and heal whoever he wanted her to heal, he also sent a group of shinobi called the 'Sound Four' here in Konoha in order to convince Uchiha Sasuke to join him. It seems they managed to infiltrate the village quite easily and successfully convinced the last loyal Uchiha to join their master. He was seen leaving the village freely by one Haruno Sakura his teammate and long time loyal fangirl. In her defense, the girl did try to stop him but he easily knocked her out and she was found the following morning unconscious by a patrol.

Sarutobi then took a short pause in his tale to let everyone assimilate what happened so far.

Tsunade had to frown at her old teammate who once again tried to harm the Leaf while Jiraya was wondering what the snake wanted to do with the Uchiha heir. Naruto had no particular reaction to those events, sure he didn't really like to associate himself with Sasuke but he never wished for anyone to become slaves to Orochimaru.

After the short recess, Sarutobi continued with the report. According to Sakura's testimony, Sasuke and the Sound Four had less than a day ahead so he organized a track and pursuit mission with the sparse elements he had at his disposal. Team 9 and 10 were available, Aburame Shino would temporary replace Naruto in Team 8 while Sakura would replace Lee in team 9, this made a total of three genin teams with a newly appointed chunin to lead them in the person of Hyuga Neji for Team 9, Nara Shikamaru for Team 10 and Aburame Shino for Team 8. The jonin sensei were all occupied with other mission at that moment.

According to the reports, the track and pursuit teams managed to catch up with the fleeing group in less than a day, apparently the Sound Four had to carry Sasuke's body who was inside a wooden box with strange markings on it, making their pace much slower than normal. As to why Sasuke was in that box no one really knew. The Konoha's forces even came in contact with the team from Suna who took part in the chunin exams by pure coincidence. As a sign of good faith between allies, the team from Suna joined them in their mission to recover the Uchiha.

With the firepower they had and the advantage in numbers, they managed to wipe out the Sound Four members. However as they were about to retrieve the box containing the body of Uchiha Sasuke, it suddenly opened and from it came out a very different Sasuke. He was a lot stronger and faster that what they could remember of him. Team 8, who was the only one around him when the box opened since all the teams chose to split in order to neutralize the four bodyguards, was not able to stop him from leaving.

Sasuke managed first to incapacitate the surprised Hinata and Kiba, the final fight took place at the Valley of the End at the borders between Fire and Rice Country. Shino was the one to face his teammate from Team 7, Sasuke ended up injuring critically Shino with a lightning jutsu that made everyone in the room frown knowing who he learned it from. Sasuke ended up leaving towards Rice Country where the Konoha forces could not follow him. The rest of the rookies were escorted back to Konoha, some more injured than the others but the one needing the most attention was Shino.

Sarutobi finished the report then urged Tsunade and Shizune to head to the hospital and take charge once there. He dismissed Naruto and Jiraya after that.

Konoha Hospital

Naruto decided to follow Tsunade and Shizune to the hospital, guessing that most of his comrades were there and especially his team. Jiraya decided to go his way, though he took the direction of Konoha's hotsprings.

Once at the hospital, every medical staff immediately recognized Tsunade, she decided to go to the central office and from there organize her work for the following days with Shizune. Naruto went to the receptionist and asked for the rooms of the rookies and especially his teammates.

It turns out that thanks to Gaara's intervention and his siblings, most of the rookies were safe with only minor injuries. The only one who really needed Tsunade's help was Shino. He had been stabilized but he still needed emergency treatment.

Naruto had been happy to see Gaara again, it seemed that he was on much better terms with his family that last time. He thanks them all for their help even if Gaara said that he didn't need to, saying that Suna was Konoha's ally.

The jonin sensei started to arrive too, Kurenai was relieved to see that her team was alright. Kakashi though had a sad look in his eyes, he realized that he failed his team as a teacher. His student betrayed the Leaf and in doing so he also critically injured his own teammate. Gai and Asuma tried to cheer him up but he just went to visit Shino then left without saying a word to anyone else.

After seeing that everyone was alright or in good hands, Naruto finally decided to go home.

Naruto's apartment

That night Naruto couldn't sleep. He thought about the last events, his meeting with Itachi and Kisame, his fight with Kabuto and then how Orochimaru almost killed him if it wasn't for Tsunade.

"You can't sleep Naru-kun ?" Asked Natsuki through their link.

"I was thinking about my dream Na-chan, to become the Hokage has always been my dream, even before I knew that my father was the fourth." Replied Naruto.

"What about it ? Is it not your dream anymore ?" Natsuki asked a little confused by her mate's words.

"It's not that, I still want to become Hokage, the best there ever was. I just can't help but feel that I'm not strong enough. I need to become much more stronger than this if I want to be able to protect my precious one. The day I finally find a way to free you, I don't want to be a burden to you. You are the most powerful bijuu but there's a man with powers strong enough to control you, I can't let this happen, I won't let this happen." Confessed Naruto.

"So that's what on your mind and keep you from sleeping … Listen to me. You will never be a burden to me, there is no risk of that man ever using his powers to control me again either. When I was forced out of your mother, I was weak and unprepared. That's how he could surprise me, I will not fall for the same attack twice believe me." She replied to him.

"Okay I believe you, but I still want to become stronger. You may feel that I'm strong enough as I am but I can't help but feel the need to know that not only you but everyone that's precious to me is safe too." Naruto said with conviction.

"Then there is only one way, you have to train. It may be a good idea to distance yourself from Konoha, from your life as a ninja for a while. You've come a long way in your mastery over your bloodline, but there is still more to be done. If you stay here you will be constantly interrupted in your training to become stronger." Analyzed Natsuki.

"But where should I go ? There are some strong people out there who want my head, and now that Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru only God knows what the snake is doing with his new toy. They both pretty hate my guts." Replied Naruto.

"We will think about it later, try to get some sleep for now. There's still some time before you have to make a decision." Said Natsuki as they both went to sleep.

Hokage office – One month later

It's been a month since that night where Naruto vowed to become stronger for the sake of his loved ones. During that time, Tsunade took charge and became the fifth Hokage. Sarutobi became her only adviser as she decided to fire the two others while Danzo managed to integrate the civilian council by some loop hole with his "youth centers".

Tsunade was currently sitting behind the Hokage desk, Jiraya had just come back from his investigation mission this morning. As the news also concerned him, Naruto had been summoned by Tsunade to her office to hear the news from Jiraya. Sarutobi was also present in the room as Naruto arrived oblivious to why he was there. After sealing the room, Tsunade motioned for Jiraya to start his report.

"From what I could gather with my spies, it looks like there is an organization called Akatsuki whose goal is to gather all the bijuu, for what objective I don't know yet. They are composed of S-rank missing ninja from all villages with no distinction. I can only say so far that we know Uchiha Itachi from the Leaf and Hoshigaki Kisame from Kiri are active members while Orochimaru was at one time a member as well but decided to leave them." Started Jiraya.

"Now about our friend the snake, it seems he managed to successfully open the door to immortality. By a complex process, he is able to transfer his soul into the body of a host. Then he takes total control of that body and the soul of the previous host simply vanishes as a result. My guess is that he wanted Tsunade to heal whoever he had planned to take as a host in the event that he couldn't get the Uchiha." Continued Jiraya.

"According to my spies, both sides require long and complex preparations in order to perform what they intend to do, therefore my estimation is that we have a three year preparation time in front of us before any side decides to move again." Finished Jiraya.

"Did he … you know 'took' Sasuke's body ?" Asked Naruto.

"It seems the Uchiha did not arrive on time and Orochimaru had to transfer into another body in the mean time. So it's safe to say that he too, has three years before him." Replied Jiraya.

"That's also one of the reason we are all here today Naruto." Spoke Tsunade.

"Seeing what's ahead of you in the future, we feel it is essential that you too prepare for the future." Added Sarutobi.

"Consequently you will become my full time apprentice for the three years to come, I will take you out of the village and will train you to become Konoha's best during that time. I have already informed Kurenai about this and you will be placed on the reserved list from Konoha's ninja during that time." Finished Jiraya.

Naruto's eyes widened at all this, it was perfect he would get to do what he discussed about with Natsuki. With Jiraya by his side he would not have to fear all the time that others might come to harm him even if he seemingly had three years of peace from his worse enemies.

"When do we leave ?" Asked Naruto with a smirk.

"We leave tomorrow at dawn, go pack ant take a good look at the village, you won't be see it again for quite some time after that." Replied Jiraya.

"I'm going to miss you Jiji, Ba-chan." Said Naruto as he went to give Tsunade and Sarutobi a hug.

"We"ll miss you too brat, and I hope that when you come back the pervert will have teach you how to properly address your superiors." Tsunade said with a smirk while Sarutobi chuckled.

"You're not my superiors, your my precious ones !" Said Naruto as he finally left, no to be seen around Konoha again for the next three years.

A/N: Decided to squeeze the Uchiha retrieval mission, one thing I don't get is why none of the kunoichi got to go with them at the time. Is it Kishimoto's sexism talking again because I thought that they could have been useful to them.

Anyway as mentioned, it's time for the three years skip. I'm still debating over if I will actually show what happens during that time or to directly skip to the Shippuuden era and then use the infamous flashback jutsu on you all.

I guess we'll see next time. As usual please Read & Review.