Naruto Uzumaki and the Legendary Sannin Chapter 7: The Flight From Konoha, a Harry Potter + Naruto Crossover fanfic

"Blah": Talking

'Blah': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'Blah': Harry talking to Naruto

Hello, everyone! It's great to be back and I got a new chapter for you guys! I'm kinda confused why no one has voted on what magical creature Naruto runs into, but I guess I'll stick with what I had in mind originally then. I'm really sorry that it took such a long time to get this chapter posted but I had a few problems with this chapter that needed fixing.

I want to give Leaf Ranger an honorable shout-out for helping me out with some of the mechanics of certain Harry Potter items mentioned in this chapter and for helping me out with fixing the scenes that I wrote involving Danzo in the previous chapter. The previous chapter remains the same, but this new chapter should clear a few things up. He was such a great help to me and I still greatly appreciate it :) Go check out his stories and follow him if you haven't already.

A lot of stuff happens in this chapter, so I hope it doesn't feel overstuffed. But I worked really hard on this chapter and I only hope you guys like it. Be sure to let me know what you guys think and show your support, it really means the world to me to read your reviews, guys.

Reviews are welcome and wanted!

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto

Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling

Chapter 7: The Flight From Konoha

Naruto's feet slammed into the wooden floor of his old bedroom, in his old apartment. He took a minute to breathe as Danzo's words still echoed in his ears. Once his vision was as clear as it would be, he didn't waste another second and created five shadow clones. He had them dash to the windows and doors and locked them down with advanced nonverbal charms. The clones remained at their stations with their wands ready, searching for the ANBU due to arrive. Naruto's heart raced in his chest so hard that he could feel it throb in his eardrums. Within a few short moments, the soldiers with the animal masks would arrive and have him killed. He tried his best to focus on what he needed to do next, but his mind raced. Even if he weren't killed in a few moments, the ANBU would soon discover his ultimate secret as Naruto noticed all the evidence of his secret activities scattered all over his former home: There were documents, elixirs, books, cauldrons, and a monstrous book hidden inside his closet that attacked whoever or whatever it could see when released from its confines.

He had to hide it all, but he couldn't fit everything under his bed or under the loose floorboard. The ANBU would search his entire home and would discover all the items and elixirs he had hidden ever since he utilized his magical abilities. Naruto looked over to his beaded rucksack while his heart raced faster, this time with a mixture of fear and adrenaline that burned his chest.

The blonde-haired shinobi scrambled as fast as he could and searched for all the evidence he could find so that Danzo and the ANBU wouldn't be able to use his information or discover what he was. He would have to evacuate his entire apartment, take all his possessions with him wherever he would hide next and then abandon his former home once and for all. He considered the idea of burning down the apartment, but that would was cause more trouble than he needed.

So the wizard shoved all the trinkets he had collected and treasured all around his former home, but started with the kitchen. He removed the plants, which included Gillyweed, dittany, asphodel substitute, and the rare water lilies from the Forest of Death. He rushed to the cabinets, refrigerator, and the old breadbox to collect all the potions and drafts he had brewed and had them inserted at the ends of the beaded rucksack, so that he wouldn't smash them while on the move. Once he was done with that, Naruto dove under his sink, collected his cauldrons, and had them inserted as well. This was followed with all his ingredients, measuring instruments, and various other trinkets that he used to make his elixirs.

Once the kitchen was cleaned out, Naruto bolted to his bedroom and removed all the books from his desk, shelve, and from underneath his bed. He moved on to his other documents he had stuck on the walls, which included various pictures of magical creatures and instructions on how to create Felix Felicis. The blonde-haired teen then went on to his closet and started to insert his entire footlocker into his beaded rucksack, which contained The Monster Book of Monsters. He then took all his clothes from inside the closet and other various items and had them muffle the sounds of the violent textbook as it thrashed and snarled inside the footlocker. Once the feral sounds were muted out, he dove underneath his old bed and removed all the items he had hidden, which included several Decoy Detonators and the abandoned model of a Sneakoscope he wanted to make five years ago. Naruto had all these items inserted into a secret section in his rucksack so that no one other than him could find them if he were ever searched at random. The blonde-haired teen then moved to his drawers before he realized he had all of his clothes at Iruka's house.

Naruto looked over his former bedroom and failed to see even one trace of evidence linked to his ultimate secret scattered all over his abandoned home. It now looked like a normal, abandoned bedroom. The blonde wizard assumed he had collected all the evidence he had and so he abandoned his former bedroom. He searched the other rooms and then the kitchen one more time before he checked the clock.

It was almost time for those ANBU to arrive at his door. He looked to the window and noticed it was sunset. Naruto bolted out of his bedroom, unaware that he had left behind an old sketch of the mark of the Peverell family crest on the floor.

Naruto hid beneath his invisibility cloak before he Disapparated into the alleyway across the street. From there, he scaled the walls with his chakra while he was still underneath the cloak. He had to make sure that Danzo meant what he said and stuck around. Naruto waited on the roof, as the sun sank into the forested mountains. The skies soon became darkened with a mixture of warm and dark colors, and that's when Naruto sensed them. He looked down and there were three ANBU that appeared and entered the back door of the apartment building. Naruto covered his mouth with his hands; afraid the trained soldiers could hear him breathe while he watched them march inside.

The blonde wizard watched them search his former home and heard them from the distance as the men stationed themselves in the shadows and waited. He had seen enough, and the invisible teen turned where he stood and vanished.

A small number of civilians in the street heard the most unusual noise that scared them half to death. It almost sounded like a bomb went off as civilians jumped and shrieked. But those who were alarmed at the sound turned their heads at the source and were confused when it would seem that nothing had happened. When the attention towards the center of the street vanished, Naruto moved under his cloak and dashed to the apartment building behind him. He ran up the outside stone stairs, and wouldn't stop running until he reached Iruka's front door. Naruto then removed his cloak and started banging on the door, desperate to get inside before someone could see him and too panicked and stressful to think to use his magic or Apparate inside.

"Iruka! Let me in!" he shouted, "IRUKA!"

When no one answered, Naruto started to slam his fist hard against the door in desperation. He felt the blood drain from his face and the hairs on the back of his head were raised. Naruto looked back, terrified if one of the ANBU were about to come out from nowhere and attack him. Naruto looked back at the door and he started to scream, unable to calm down as he slammed his hand on the door.

"IRUKA! OPEN THIS DOOR! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! ANIKI!"

At last he had heard the sound of hurried feet from the other side of the door and it unbolted. Naruto ran inside and collapsed into Iruka's stomach while the door closed shut behind him and clicked with the automatic lock. The small but distraught teen began to sob into his older brother's chest, while the man looked shocked, confused, and alarmed at the child's unprecedented actions. Naruto sobbed as Iruka lifted him in his arms and carried him over to the couch with ease.

"Naruto, what's the matter," he asked, "What happened?!"

The teen answered him between uneven breaths, "He... He's back! H-He w-wants to kill me! I-I-I-I-I heard him! I-I saw him! Mum tried to warn me about him! He wants to kill me! I'm not safe in Konoha! I don't know what to do! He's gonna kill me!"

"Naruto, calm down," the older chunin asked with stillness while he looked like he was about to hurt someone, "Who are you talking about?"

The blonde wizard answered him after he sniffed, "Danzo, Danzo Shimura… He's back and he sent the ANBU to assassinate me…"

"What?!" the tan-skinned chunin asked as he froze and stared at his child.

A few minutes later, Naruto had created several shadow clones and stationed them at the door and windows. While the clones were stationed around the house, the real Naruto told Iruka everything he had witnessed. Naruto told him about the visit to Sarutobi to give him the medicine and then he revealed the details about Danzo Shimura's surprise return to Konoha and his intention to have Naruto murdered.

"You're sure about this?" he asked.

The teen nodded his head, "He was with one of his subordinates… one of those ANBU at the will reading. He was with this short one who wore a different uniform with red fasteners on his shoulders. So were the ANBU that came to the old apartment… They were gonna wait for me… And then they were gonna…"

Iruka rubbed his back, as Naruto was about to break down into sobs again.

"I-I-I'm here now but I have no idea what to do with those ANBU all over town."

The chunin looked to him and said, "It'll be fine, otōto. You're gonna be fine…"

Just as Iruka said that, he took a minute to think about the situation and thought back to some of his own lectures to the older students. He had to think back to his own experiences on missions and whatever he knew about assassinations and jinchuuriki.

"Wait a minute," he held Naruto back and asked, "Why would Danzo do something so idiotic? I mean, if you were killed in the village wouldn't that unleash the… the… You know…"

Iruka hesitated, as he didn't mean to be insensitive with Naruto's jinchuuriki status.

"The Kyuubi?" asked Naruto, and then he said after he received an explanation from his other older brother, "No, if I were to die, that monster would die with me. Harry's magical chains in the mindscape will ensure that the monster is bound to me like that… But to be honest, a monster spirit like that can't be killed because it's like a living mass of chakra. It would be revived after I died but it could take years before it can regain a fraction of its true strength again. It's a little bit similar to You-Know-Who in his weakened form before he returned to power in Little Hangleton graveyard."

The chunin seemed convinced that Danzo's actions wouldn't have resulted in repeating the Kyuubi attack on Konoha, but then he asked, "Even so, why would Danzo even want to kill you? If he's still upset over what happened at the will reading, he could have simply expelled you from the Shinobi Program. Killing someone in our military with such massive chakra reserves would be a really stupid move, especially given our reduced numbers and the risk of another village attacking us in our weakened state. I'm pretty sure, given Gaara's origins, that there are more giant tailed beasts out there and other villages have monsters like that at their disposal."

"I don't know," said Naruto while he shook his head, "Maybe he thinks I'm not worth the trouble. He was convinced that I was out of control when I used the demon chakra in the Chunin Exams."

Iruka was forced to ask, "Do you think maybe he was bluffing when you heard him?"

"He wasn't bluffing," the blonde rookie answered with no doubt in his mind, "Danzo had no idea I was there in the room with him. And even if he was bluffing, why would he say all that stuff and ordered the ANBU to finish me off?"

"I don't know," admitted the chunin as he shrugged, "To scare you, or maybe to make you look crazy and get you to publicly accuse him of misdeeds that you couldn't prove happened? Maybe he wanted to scare you out of the village or something?"

Naruto told him, "If he wanted to get rid of me, I don't think he would want to risk other villages obtaining the Kyuubi. I think he'd sooner have me killed than risk that… As a matter of fact…"

Iruka almost laughed at the face Naruto made when he said that last bit. But the situation was too serious and dangerous for him to even crack a smile. The shadow clones at the windows didn't see ANBU outside but still had their wands drawn. The real Naruto tried to relax that he had dodged a bullet, but the realization he came to daunted on him.

"But what do I do now, aniki?" asked the blonde teen, "I have to leave the village and save the Sandaime! If he recovers, Danzo won't become the Godaime and he'll be forced to stand down as his replacement! But I can't do that unless I leave the village and I could get killed if I'm seen! He might not kill me publicly in the streets of Konoha but he could have the ANBU stalk me after I leave and kill me while I'm on the road!"

Iruka took five minutes to take in the gravity of their predicament. After those five minutes, he left to retrieve some blank documents from his bedroom office and set them down on the coffee table. Iruka realized he had to exile his little brother into the wild to find Jiraiya all on his own. Such an act could be seen as treason if Danzo intended to have Naruto assassinated. But his little brother was worth the risk. It tore him inside to help banish Naruto, but he hid his discomfort well as he focused on the blank sheets on his table and wrote outlines and maps. He had to focus on how to sneak Naruto out of Konoha and make sure he wasn't seen or detected until he was too far to be targeted. Iruka finished an outline of the main gate when he looked to his little brother.

"We need to smuggle you out of the village," he said in a serious tone, "What did you bring with you from the old apartment?"

Naruto showed him the beaded rucksack and told him, "I took everything with me…"

"Took what?" asked the somewhat bewildered chunin, "Your shinobi tools? Books? Wand? Clothes? Tent?"

The teen answered, "All of it's in here. I was in a rush and I was terrified. So I took everything I owned and shoved it in here. I used an Undetectable Extension Charm on this in case of emergencies."

Naruto shook his rucksack and surprised Iruka when he heard the various contents rolling around inside. But then he raised an eyebrow when he heard a curious sound that made his little brother and his invisible companion turn flat-faced. All three of them heard the sound of a footlocker slammed open and heard a series of feral snapping sounds from a monstrous book as it broke free of its confinement and shredded all of the other books Naruto had in his rucksack.

"That damn book..." he cursed.

Naruto, Iruka, and Harry spent the next hour at the coffee table with documents scattered over the table. The three of them mulled over the table and wrote out strategies and ideas on how Naruto could escape the village and make a break for the town where Jiraiya was waiting.

While the two shinobi sat down at the table, Naruto revealed the invisibility cloak to Iruka. The chunin certainly was surprised as he stared at the fabric in awe and practically drooled with childish wonder. With trembling hands, he asked if he could hold it and practically melted as he squeaked. Ever since he dunked his head into the Pensieve, Iruka was fascinated with all sorts of magical items as he wished he could have seen Hogwarts and experienced that magical world himself. The invisibility cloak was one of the things he wished he could have experienced the most and now he had one of them in his hands as he watched his arms vanish underneath it.

But as soon as Naruto called out to him, he snapped back into reality and went to work on how to smuggle his little brother out of the village.

At first, the idea of an escape attempt seemed effortless, because Naruto could simply Apparate somewhere outside the village or Apparate to the secret meadow and take the portkey out to the beach on the southeast shore of the Land of Fire. But Harry stood firmly against Apparition and using a portkey.

The older sorcerer insisted that Apparating outside the village would expose them to bandits, missing-nin, or even Orochimaru's Oto-nin. The loud crack of Apparition could attract unwanted attention. Creating a new portkey was a good alternative but it wouldn't work. Naruto and Harry had combined their magic to create the first one and had used a recent documented photograph of the location in order to set the desired destination. But Naruto had never been to Pleasure Avenue before nor had he ever ventured far enough out west of the village to make a new portkey without possibly attracting the attention of the patrol units that encircled the village. Jiraiya's map was detailed, but it didn't have a photo of the town nor did it describe visual examples or detailed locations for Naruto to land in a safe or discrete manner outside the town. He could still create and use a portkey but there was no way for him to pinpoint a desired destination close enough to Pleasure Avenue with the map alone. Using the old portkey was out of the question too, as he would have been set farther back southeast, the exact opposite direction he needed to go. Even if he did venture that far back, it would take him weeks to make it to Pleasure Avenue on foot and ran the risk of being spotted, attacked, or captured.

(A/N: I wasn't exactly sure what limitations a portkey have but I think it would stand by the same requirements as Apparition where a person must visualize their destination to successfully go there, meaning they would have to have been there before or at least have had a clear visual of the location, none of which Naruto has)

Desperate to leave as soon as possible, Naruto tried to persuade Harry and Iruka that he was willing to make a portkey in the direction closest towards his destination and secure his invisibility cloak. He insisted no one would see him arrive and even if a patrol unit or a group of bandits saw him, they wouldn't immediately find him. He then said, as a fail-safe, he could make shadow clones to spread out in every direction to confuse his possible pursuers. He even proposed he could run off in the opposite direction from where he wants to go and double back to throw people off. But Harry and Iruka didn't agree to the plan, as neither of them wanted to risk Naruto being in such grave danger. Naruto was free to Apparate back to Konoha if his elaborate escape attempt failed, but he certainly wouldn't be able to reenact that plan a second time.

The blonde rookie tried to argue that he would be careful but Iruka insisted that Naruto should follow Jiraiya's directions. The directions the Sannin left behind detailed an elaborate road whose entrance was hidden a few miles west down the road leading out of the village. The secret road ensured he would remain safe if he followed the directions in exact detail and wouldn't risk any exposure to the threats of the outside world. Harry started to agree with the chunin, as the secret path was their safest bet, but there was one major problem: in order for Naruto to find it, he had to leave at the main entrance of the village and follow the road until he found the hidden entrance that the Sannin described in vivid detail or he would never find it. In order to do that, Naruto had no choice but to sneak out through the front door… with Danzo's ANBU hidden in the shadows in search for him.

Naruto and Iruka worked together to think of how Naruto could sneak out for the next half-hour. The first idea that came to mind was for Naruto to use the cloak to sneak out through the main entrance but even he thought that was too obvious and decided to think of a more elaborate scheme.

"How about you go on a mission or something and I hide inside my beaded rucksack?" suggested Naruto, "You can take me out, far from Konoha, and once we've reached a certain distance out west, you can drop me off and I'll make a break for Ero-Sennin's road while under the cloak."

Iruka thought it over but shook his head, "That's clever. But I'm the head instructor at the Academy now, I can't go on missions whenever I like. Besides, even if I could leave for a mission on such short notice, I'm probably going to be searched before I leave. If that happened, I would be caught trying to smuggle you out, even if I hid your rucksack inside my backpack. I would be interrogated and you would be captured and questioned about your magical, bottomless bag, assuming Danzo won't simply have you killed after you're publically seen going into custody. You would be exposed and Danzo could make up any story he wanted to get rid of you at that point."

"Then I could disguise myself as you and pretend I'm going on a mission," the blonde teen suggested but the chunin interrupted him.

"No," he stated with a stern voice, "That wouldn't work. You can't transform into me and not cause a whole mess of trouble. There are cameras at the entrance and the camera would find me when I'm supposed to be at the Academy. I can't be at two places at once. I'll probably get in a whole mess of trouble. The same holds true no matter who transform into."

"Okay," the teen said as he shook his head, "then I'll transform into someone else that I'll knock out and disable to cameras before I'm seen. I'll turn into someone that hates me, like Ebisu, or some random older shinobi that would never want to help me in a million years. Or a random civilian-"

The chunin shook his head and said, "You don't understand. That still wouldn't work. Ever since the invasion, there have been a whole bunch of new procedures set in place with leaving and entering the village. Back then it could have been possible but not now…"

Iruka took another blank sheet started to draw another sketch of the main entrance. He drew several small circles around the gate and labeled them with cartoon dogfaces and animal masks. He then drew the booth where shinobi and civilians had to check in and out and drew two chibi faces of the two chunin that stood guard at that station. Iruka pointed his instrument at the booth, the mutts, and then the ANBU.

(A/N: Didn't notice it until now, but Iruka is quite the artist, isn't he?)

"If Izumo and Kotetsu can't see through a transformation, then the ANBU and their bloodhounds will. Those mutts are stationed at the entrance with a few ANBU to handle them. Those canines were trained under the Inuzuka clan and could sniff out a fake in a heartbeat. A civilian might cause less suspicion and seem like less of a threat, but a fake is still a fake and the mutts will notice."

Naruto let his head fall into his hands while he looked in between more sketches and strategies. He tried to figure out if it was even possible to escape with his life and his loyalty to the village intact. All seemed hopeless to him as the pressure to save Hiruzen Sarutobi and the threat to his own life took its toll on him. He almost broke down under all the stress until he felt his companion rest a hand on his shoulder and his older brother sit down next to him and rub his back.

"What are we going to do then?" the teen asked, "I could Confund the guards and the dogs with a shadow clone hidden under the cloak, but the mutts might sniff me out before I even get close… unless I could bewitch them at a distance, but I don't know..."

Back in the mindscape, Harry mulled over his desk in his office and navigated around the office that he had trashed in the process of his collaboration. He hovered over the Pensieve and reviewed several of his memories for a solution. He mulled over his memories of his most stressful and mind-numbing missions from his time on the run and how his enemies and allies had eluded him and the highest securities of the old wizarding world. He reached a hand inside the silver basin and then he froze when he looked over the incident at Gringotts Wizarding Bank when he and his friends had broken into the Lestrange Vault. He then slammed his hand into his face and cursed.

"GOD, I'M SO OLD AND THICK! HEAD'S TOO FULL OF STUFF! I NEED A BIGGER HEAD!"

Naruto lost focus and froze while he listened to his companion. Iruka noticed the blank look on Naruto's face. He raised his brow when his brother's face switched emotions and became full of warmth and relief as he returned to the real world. Naruto then stood and ran over to his rucksack and searched its contents. Naruto dove into the contents, tossed aside old kunai and ruined books in search for an item that he had stored near the bottom. He reached down into the furthest reaches of the rucksack and removed a full cauldron. Iruka looked surprised and impressed while he watched Naruto slide out the rest of the cauldron and noticed the thick mud-like drink stored inside.

"So that's how Santa Claus does it all in one night," the chunin commented in a much needed comic relief, "Santa was a wizard!"

The blonde rookie levitated the cauldron to the table and Iruka identified the contents. He raised half his brow as he stared at the mud-like liquid, and tried to remember what it was. It took him a few moments before the chunin remembered this potion from several memories he witnessed in the Pensieve.

Naruto looked to his brother and asked, "You think this could help?!"

"Yeah," he replied, "I think it could!"

Several hours later, at the break of dawn, there were two shinobi hidden in the shadows across the street from the back of the Ninja Academy.

Naruto and Iruka had Disapparated from their home seconds earlier in order to carry out a secret mission. Iruka was hunched over a trashcan, as he still wasn't used to the uncomfortable and instantaneous sensation. He tried his best not to vomit and focus on the mission while Naruto searched inside his rucksack for the cloak. Once the teen found it, he used his wand to extend the size of the material in order for Iruka to wear it. The chunin then shook his head and continued to lookout for the ANBU while he scanned the school from a distance. When Naruto finished the extension of the cloak, he muttered to his older brother and the man crouched down to his level.

"How are the shadow clones at the house doing?" he asked with a low voice.

The teen answered, "I don't know. But Nii-san will do his best to check in and keep us updated. We'll know if those ANBU sneak in and Nii-san will tell us if it's unsafe."

"Good," he said, "There's no one out there except for some of the other teachers."

Naruto asked him, "So it'll be the two of us under the cloak, then?"

"I would never miss out on a chance to do this," the chunin smirked for a short moment and then he grinned childishly, "We shinobi have to learn how to hide in the shadows, but when do we have the opportunity to turn invisible like this?"

Naruto climbed onto Iruka's back and then he tossed the cloak over them both. When the cloak made contact with their skin; the two of them vanished out of thin air. Iruka then carried Naruto on his shoulders, feeling his fingers clench the shoulders of his uniform like a mechanical vice. He then huddled towards a broken mirror next to the dumpster and examined his reflection once he parted the cloak. He saw his head floated in midair until he slid back under the cloak and vanished all at once. He smiled whilst under the cloak and stood straight, while Naruto made sure that the cloak didn't fall off either of their heads. The chunin marched out of the shadows and towards the school without a sound. Iruka made sure Naruto was secure and then crossed the street and made sure not to collide with the fellow teachers around the reconstruction site. He noticed the front entrance doors and waited for a teacher to walk inside and sneak in unnoticed. He browsed around the first floor corridor where there were no windows around and searched for a broom closet. Iruka reached out of the cloak and slid inside the first closet he found. Once inside, Iruka removed the cloak and let Naruto down on the floor.

"We made it," smiled the small rookie, "Remember the plan?"

"Yeah, he should be in the main office right now," said Iruka, "We should be fine using him. He's here in the offices so often, no one would remember him if he ever went on a mission. It's probably for the best, the little guy has worked so hard he could use a few hours of extra sleep."

Iruka checked the door and waited for his little brother to hide underneath the cloak. Once Naruto was invisible, Iruka walked out the door as if he didn't have a care in the world. He walked around the halls, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he searched around the corners in an aloof manner until he walked upstairs to the main offices. Once he reached the main office, he saw Hikaru-sensei as the rookie teacher checked out all sorts of files and reviewed Iruka's new curriculum schedules. The man looked exhausted, like he hadn't had much sleep in over a week. Iruka leaned into the office in a somewhat cartoonish manner and beckoned to the fellow teacher.

"Hikaru-sensei," he called out, "Could I talk to you downstairs for a minute?"

The black-haired shinobi flinched in a nervous manner before he stood and bowed to his boss.

"Yes, sir! Iruka-sensei, sir," he started, "I was almost finished with the last of the schedule documents."

The tan-skinned chunin smiled and nodded, "That's good to hear! But we need to cover a few more additional details downstairs. It's not too much. Care to come with me for a moment?"

"Sure," the chunin followed Iruka but seemed nervous as the two of them walked down the stairs and asked, "I suppose I'm not about to be fired, then, am I?"

Iruka couldn't hold back a smile at Hikaru's formal attitude and timid nature, "What ever gave you that idea?"

"Can't be too sure... I don't wanna to be thrown out of a window is all," the shorter chunin half-smiled to be friendlier to his boss.

The tan-skinned chunin snickered as the two of them exited the stairs and marched down the hall. Hikaru walked close to the side of the hall with the broom closets as he failed to notice one of the doors was left slightly open. Iruka soon looked towards one of the unused classrooms on his side of the hall and caught Hikaru's attention.

"What's that over there, Hikaru-sensei?" he asked the rookie teacher.

Hikaru blinked as he asked, "What?"

The oblivious rookie instructor didn't know what hit him when a distinct flash of light burst behind him and he fell backwards.

"Rainbows and sunshine…" he mumbled, before he fell into a deep and blissful slumber.

An invisible Naruto caught the teacher and carried him back while Iruka grabbed the legs and followed into the broom closet. Iruka rested the unconscious Hikaru on a collection of unused sponges while Naruto emerged from under the cloak and tucked his wand back into his sleeve. The rookie shinobi and the more experienced chunin teacher left soon after Naruto had taken a few black hairs from the unconscious instructor's head. Naruto and Iruka both made sure Hikaru would be comfortable when he regained consciousness and Disapparated with a sign outside the door that said:

DO NOT DISTURB!

The darkness that compressed Iruka overwhelmed him like it did three times before and he still wasn't used to it. Once it was over, both he and Naruto returned to the apartment with a loud crack and collapsed onto the familiar wooden floors.

"Owww," moaned the chunin.

But then he heard a sound come from underneath him, "MRPH!"

Iruka realized that he had landed on Naruto and rolled off of him fast. The blonde teen took a breath and stood as a shadow clone arrived to his aid and took the black hairs of the rookie instructor. The blonde shinobi tossed the cloak on the couch and closed in on the kitchen where the shadow clone with the hairs had stored the Polyjuice Potion in several bottles. It took one of the bottles of the thick, bubbling mud and cringed at the smell and texture of the drink. It now occurred to the real Naruto that this would be his first time ever drinking Polyjuice Potion.

Iruka hovered over his brother looked down at the potion and felt a little bit sick as well.

Based on the color and texture, he didn't want to imagine what it would taste like, "You're going to drink that stuff?"

"Mmmm," nodded the blonde teen with disgust, "I'll have about one hour before I change back to normal. So I better make this count."

The chunin watched as the teen dropped the hairs into the bottle and watched as the potion hissed and frothed. The mud-like texture transformed into a shade and texture that resembled a dull, strawberry smoothie. The potion then steamed as Naruto looked into the bottle anxiously before he took it with him to the bathroom.

"I'll be right out," he said, "I'm a little bit self-conscious about this stuff. I don't know what this'll do to my stomach."

Iruka answered, "Fine by me."

The teen closed the door behind him and took a whiff of the bottle. It didn't smell as bad as he thought and drank half of it down in a single gulp. He was surprised with the taste once he managed to take it in and was almost tempted to taste it one more time. The potion almost tasted like maple syrup blended together with sliced ham, fresh from the local deli, and mashed peaches. It was a little bit gross but somewhat pleasant at the same time.

Iruka stood outside the bathroom and asked, "How does it taste? Is it as bad as it looked in the pot or what?"

"Not too bad," answered Naruto, "It kinda tasted like peaches and-"

Without warning, the contents in Naruto's stomach churned and felt as if his insides were filled with live snakes. Naruto doubled over and moaned as he collapsed onto the closed toilet seat for support. Iruka heard the sounds from the other side of the door and became concerned at once.

"You alright in there," he asked, "What's up?"

Naruto answered back, "I'm fine!"

But the blonde teen was afraid that the potion wouldn't work and feared that it had been poison to him. But then a new sensation occurred that helped reassure him that the potion was working. Naruto started to feel a burning sensation spreading throughout his body. The heat was so intense that his skin seemed to bubble like hot wax. He looked down at his hands and saw his flesh did start to bubble like hot wax. While his skin boiled, he felt his bones soften and change. Naruto then felt all his clothes begin to feel tighter and realized he started to increase in size. He felt his bones cultivate and harden, while fat and muscle started to fill him out into an adult figure. It didn't take long before his coat tore at the shoulders and chest as the sides of his trousers started to split and expose his bare skin. He felt other parts of his body grow while other appendages started to shrink with some pain. His hair started to recede into his scalp and he could hear a faint crinkling as his hair changed in color and structure. Naruto could feel and see his fingernails beginning to recede deeper and thicken, while his vision slowly sharpened. His eyes were replaced with new ones with much better vision. He tried to stand up but twitched in pain when he noticed his feet were now four sizes too big for his zori sandals. Naruto winced as his waistband dug painfully into his frame and burst out of his signature orange and blue tracksuit. His sandals burst apart as well as the tattered remains of his clothes fell to the floor. Naruto breathed in freedom and took a second to look at the remains of his old outfit with little remorse.

'There goes another one of the tracksuits...'

'Oh, what a terrible waste.'

The blonde teen looked into his reflection and examined his new appearance with reflective interest. Naruto examined his cheeks, rubbing one of his new hands over his almost square-shaped head while he ran his fingers through his new black hair. Naruto observed the details of his forehead and noticed that his scar and subtle whisker marks had vanished underneath fair skin. He blinked his beetle-black eyes with a satisfied smile stretched across his somewhat broad face. The potion was a success and he was now identical to Hikaru Furi, even down to his smell. Hikaru was not in the best shape, as he had a soft layer of pudge in the middle, but didn't lack muscle beneath that.

Iruka knocked on the bathroom door and asked, "Is it done, Naruto?"

"Yeah," he responded with his normal voice, "I think I ruined another tracksuit though!"

The chunin smiled and opened the door a crack to hand over the extra uniform, "I believe this will solve that predicament."

Naruto took the uniform while Iruka waited back at the living room. In the bathroom, the rookie tossed his old clothes in the trash and ignored Harry when he whistled at him in his boxers. Naruto soon slipped on the standard-issue shirt and pants that belonged to Iruka, noticing the uniform was at least two sizes too large for him even in this adult form. With a bit of magic he shrunk it down at the sleeves until it fit and he zipped up the green vest. Naruto then tightened his headband before he collected his wand. He looked in the mirror and started to feel like a real shinobi now that he had the uniform.

As soon as he was dressed, the teen walked down the hall and patted into the living room to find Iruka on the couch. He turned his head and stood up, as he was surprised at how flawless Naruto's transformation was. He could tell if one of his students were under disguise with a jutsu, but as far as he was concerned, Hikaru was right in front of him, standing in his kitchen but with a wand in his hand. Hikaru then shrugged at the other chunin with an expression that he was used to seeing on Naruto's face.

"Be honest with me here," the black-haired teacher asked with a child's voice, "How do I look?"

Iruka smiled in amusement and said, "I wouldn't think if it was you under there, if I didn't know you… But is your voice supposed to sound exactly the same after the transformation?"

Naruto's voice cursed out loud while Hikaru stomped his foot down in frustration, "I knew I shouldn't have added extra leeches to the mix!"

"Ewww," the older man cringed at the mention of that one particular ingredient, "You drank leeches?!"

Hikaru frowned in irritation and Iruka heard Naruto talk back with a flat tone, "Oh, come on. It's not that bad. Besides, the leeches melted in the cauldron, aniki."

Iruka shook his head as he approached him and inspected the details of Naruto's new face, "I can't believe that's really you in there… Hikaru would never talk to people with that tone of voice. Well, not to me, at least."

"Excellent," he said, "All I have to do is act as awkward as I was when I was little and no one will suspect me. No sweat."

Naruto didn't waste another minute and hulled the rest of the bottle, the cauldron, and Jiraiya's map into his rucksack while two of the shadow clones arrived to assist him. As one of them paced around the room, Iruka watched Naruto; uncertain and worried that he was about to leave soon. The chunin didn't know what he would be able to do after he left. Iruka didn't know whom he could talk to about it, or whom he would be able to trust after what he learned about Danzo. Not to mention, he wouldn't be able to sleep well if he knew, somewhere out there his Naruto was outside the wall with no one out there to protect him. Iruka wasn't worried about thugs, bandits, or junkies, but more worried that people from their own village, soldiers that were trained to kill on sight, would be out there too. Iruka felt useless, as the chunin wanted to keep Naruto safely hidden until things worked out and the situation blew over. But he knew that wasn't going to happen. Naruto's best hope was to venture out there and find the Sannin as fast as he could. He could only hope Naruto and Jiraiya would find this medical-nin and put an end to this whole conflict. He tried to look brave but even Naruto could tell how stressful this whole experience must have been for the chunin. He couldn't fool him.

Iruka asked in a more relaxed tone, "How long does this stuff last again?"

"Less than an hour, given the differences in the ingredients I used to make the potion," the disguised rookie informed him, "But I still have more in this bottle in case I run out of time."

Naruto hunched his beaded rucksack over his shoulders, clicked the locks and clicked the buckles as he faced Iruka. The chunin looked over at Naruto and wasn't distracted from Hikaru's face while he approached him.

"I'm so sorry that I asked so much of you, Iruka-aniki," said the teen as he tried to sound confident but faltered, "I can't even imagine how you must be feeling right now over this mess… But I promise I'll come back as soon as I can and I'll get rid of that old bastard Danzo… I don't know how long I'll be gone but I swear I'll be careful and I-"

Iruka reached out and rested one of his hands on Hikaru's shoulder and said with a warm smile, "It's ok, Naruto. You didn't ask too much of me. I promised I would take care of you and I stand by my promise… It's not my nindo, but I swore that I would keep you safe when I took you in, didn't I?"

Naruto smiled at his adoptive sibling when he sounded and looked more confident, but then he frowned when Iruka looked more somber and serious.

"I know I could get into a lot of trouble if Danzo ever finds out about what I've done or what we know about him now… I'm sure there are mind readers like Aoba in the ANBU too… But you're worth it to me," he said as he smiled again but then looked more serious and concerned, "Just promise me that you'll do everything you can to help find that medical-nin and… and come back alive… Do that for me, Naruto."

"I will," the real Naruto answered and made the chunin smile, "I promise…"

Iruka nodded, but then he noticed Naruto frown as a remorseful expression arose on his face. But before he could ask him what was the matter, the shadow clone behind the chunin had tears in his face as he aimed his wand at the back of Iruka's head.

The shadow clone then muttered in heartbreak, "Obliviate!"

The end of his wand illuminated with a subtle white light as Iruka's face relaxed. His eyes became unfocused and a subtle twinkle shined within them while his hand slid off from Naruto's shoulder and he wobbled. The chunin lowered his own shoulders and became disoriented and unbalanced like a child that was about to learn how to walk. The real Naruto moved in fast and lowered Iruka down to the couch. The chunin sat down and soon fell into a deep slumber. Iruka looked peaceful and exhausted while the shadow clone burst into smoke and fresh tears ran down Hikaru's face as the clone's memories were transferred to him.

He said in a cracked voice, "I'm sorry, aniki…"

'You did an excellent job in following my directions, Naruto. Well done…'

'I shouldn't have done that to him.'

'But now Danzo can't hold Iruka responsible for our departure. His memories of the last eleven hours have been erased and the shield we placed on his mind should protect his memories of magic from outside access as well.'

'You call that protecting him?!'

'If someone from the Yamanaka clan were to look into his mind, they wouldn't find anything that will leave him in danger for helping us or knowing the truth about Danzo.'

'Aniki won't know what happened to me, Nii-san! Iruka will be so worried… he'll think I've been kidnapped or something worse.'

'I know, but it was for the best. Iruka will be safe now and he will have an alibi if he's ever questioned. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Iruka Umino fell asleep on his couch after a long day at work yesterday.'

'I never wanted to use magic on him. Not like that, not ever.'

'It's better than the alternative…'

Naruto didn't even want to think about what could have happened to the poor chunin if Danzo questioned him. Neither one of the wizards were happy about what they had done but it really was better than leaving Iruka completely defenseless after everything he had done and sacrificed for them. Iruka's peace of mind wouldn't left better off either way, but it certainly seemed better than leaving him and let Danzo capture and torture the chunin if his actions were discovered.

'You're probably right, Harry… We should probably get going now…'

'I'm sorry about this, Naruto...'

'I know, Nii-san...'

Naruto walked over to Iruka as he slumbered and embraced his older brother as best he could before he left, "I'll come back alive, aniki…"

The wizard headed for the center of the room and took the last shadow clone in the room at the hand. He then turned on the spot with a sharp snap of a cloak and a loud crack in his wake.

When his feet slammed into solid concrete, Naruto remained hidden in the shadows an alleyway located several blocks from the main entrance into the village. He hid his shadow clone behind a few old trashcans while he peered through the alley and checked for any signs of the ANBU. Once the coast was clear, he returned to the darkness with his shadow clone.

'Remember the plan. Keep that shadow clone hidden under the cloak at all times until we're clear. Don't speak to anyone unless absolutely necessary. If you need to make a fast escape, be prepared to Confund or bewitch anyone that gets in your path at a second's notice. From this point on, I am giving you permission to use any means necessary to ensure the success of our mission… That means I'm giving you permission to use the Unforgivable Curses if it's absolutely necessary.'

'Excluding the Avada Kedavra and the Cruciatus Curse, right?'

'Naturally.'

Naruto had no objections to that. And so he removed the silver cloak out of his beaded rucksack and threw it over his shadow clone. With the clone out of sight, the teen hid his wand and walked out of the alleyway. When he stepped out of the shadows and blinked into the rising sunlight, he ran into a civilian that smiled and nodded at him.

He said with a warm voice, "Hello there!"

"Good morning," the rookie said with his normal voice.

The unidentified civilian seemed confounded at the sound of Hikaru's voice before he shook it off and walked towards a restaurant for breakfast. Meanwhile, the wizard hidden in Naruto's subconscious smacked himself in the face and clenched his teeth as Naruto forgot about the obvious side effect of the brew.

'Your voice hasn't changed! Remember?! Try to sound a little bit older from now on!'

'Right. Gomenasai.'

'It's all right. But you could've given yourself away for making a mistake like that if it were the wrong person. You were lucky but make sure it doesn't happen again.'

'Fine,' he thought, 'Let's do it.'

Naruto started to walk down the street, but he stumbled once or twice since Iruka's sandals were still oversized even in his current form. Not to mention it was difficult for him to walk now that he was a lot taller and he felt unbalance. To make the situation easier on him, Naruto was able to slide his wand out of his sleeve and aimed at the sandals. He used a charm to shrink the shoes down a few sizes and enabled him to walk like normal. But as Naruto strolled down the street, the teen decided that Polyjuice Potion was not a more effective method for a shinobi to assume someone else's identity. He never took into account that the transformation was both external as well as internal. He had the exact same physical capabilities and health conditions as the one he transformed into. In this form, he felt heavier and somewhat winded, which made it obvious that Hikaru did not train or workout as often as he should. It became no wonder to him why Hikaru became an assistant instructor.

Naruto shook his head after he stumbled once more and focused on his mission. The teen looked around him to see other shinobi and civilians going about their business while he also noticed that there were more ANBU around, mixed in with the crowds. The citizens around him remained oblivious to the soldiers hidden in the shadows and blended with the mothers with their children and husbands. But Naruto could see them and noticed most of them wore the red straps on their shoulders. It was the same distinct feature as those ANBU that he saw with Danzo under his command.

'These ANBU soldiers must all work for Danzo; the ones with the red straps.'

'Remain calm.'

'Believe me, I'm doing the best I can here, Harry.'

'Here comes the gate.'

Naruto looked up and recognized the old gate he could see from his old bedroom. He cleared his throat and continued to march forward, as if he had nothing to hide. The disguised rookie held his head high and kept calm once he got close to the entrance. Naruto was still amazed at the massive size and incredible height of the awesome manmade structure. Even while it was still damaged and worn down from the recent invasion, the monument still captivated him as he stood so close to it. He took one minute to wonder when he would ever be allowed to come back home and then went ahead with his mission.

Naruto studied the additional security measures and saw four normal ANBU stationed at the entrance, each with a canine at their side. Naruto used his thoughts to command his shadow clone to move in and the clone bewitched the ANBU and their canine companions. With their masks on, no one could tell the ANBU were Imperiused as the canine unit were disoriented from the use of a concentrated Confundus Charm from a distance. None of them were able to sniff out friend or foe, as the clouds above their heads seemed a lot more interesting. Meanwhile, the real Naruto looked towards the booth and recalled the last time he was here. Back when he and his teammates were under the protection of their sensei. He felt cold for one second, taking in the fact that he would be without protection once he set foot outside the wall. But like his earlier nostalgia, he killed his fear and walked towards the booth.

He recognized Izumo and Kotetsu immediately. Izumo was managing the front desk while his partner was in the back room watching the footage from the cameras stationed all around the area. Kotetsu was also sorting out several tall stacks of paperwork and files. Naruto spotted the television screens and then looked towards the area around the booth and the main gate and found the cameras mounted all around him. He was about to walk within the sights of the cameras before Naruto used his telepathic link with the shadow clone and disabled the cameras. He didn't want Hikaru to be in trouble if he was caught on camera when he was supposed to be sleeping in a broom closet at the Ninja Academy.

Naruto waited until he saw the television screens in the back flicker and then turn to static without Kotetsu's notice. He then walked over to Izumo at the booth, while he was writing down on some documents with a ballpoint pen. The chunin remained glued to his seat and kept his attention and focus on his paperwork until Naruto cleared his throat in order to attract his attention.

"Ahem..."

The inattentive chunin looked from his documents and realized someone new had arrived. Naruto made sure that his arms remained at his sides while he spoke to Izumo in a much deeper voice this time.

"I need to leave for a mission... sir."

Izumo shrugged his shoulders and went back to his documents and asked, "You've been to the elders and had the mission information finalized?"

Naruto smiled and said, "Yes, sir! I'm ready for my mission, sir!"

"Great," said Izumo, the rookie froze still and then his stomach churned when the chunin asked, "Wanna show me some ID?"

The fake chunin cracked a a small but confident smile as he showed his frog wallet from his birthday, "Yes, sir!"

Izumo looked at Naruto and the wallet with some confusion before his face took on a dazed look as he took a breath of fresh air. Izumo's face remained blank while the Naruto shadow clone lowered his wand and slid back into the cloak behind the chunin. Izumo looked at the disguised rookie and cracked a light smile.

"That's an excellent photo there," he commented, "Too bad I can't fix mine."

The rookie shrugged and then said with a laugh, "Heh! I suppose I'll be off then!"

"Good luck on the mission!" shouted Izumo before he sat back down and returned to his documents.

As Naruto walked towards the entrance, he looked over at the ANBU and the mutts. The mutts were still distracted and whined a little bit while the ANBU remained dazed. He looked back at the booth and saw Kotetsu stare at the static-filled television sets with a blank look on his face while he drooled. It wouldn't last forever so Naruto marched onward, careful not to walk too close to the ANBU and breezed through the main entrance. But the rookie didn't let himself relax, not for one minute as he walked down the road and looked back at the entrance to see his curses start to wear off. He could hear Kotetsu shout and complain about the television sets and call someone over to fix it. It caught the attention of the ANBU at the entrance as one of them noticed their mutt was acting strangely. Naruto didn't dare quicken his pace or make a break for it and continued to walk normally. But that didn't stop his face from turning red as his ears felt like they were on fire. He tried to suppress it, but he couldn't help it, and continued to move forward.

The rookie looked back when he couldn't hear the sounds of those few individuals. To his amazement, he couldn't even see the people and the main entrance looked like a model in the distance. Naruto took one sweet breath of relief and dashed as fast as he could down the road with his shadow clone.

"GO ON!" he shouted, and the shadow clones he had under invisibility cloaks dashed in random directions into the woods around them.

If the mutts caught his scent, it would be followed into a random dead end, if all went well. Once the real Naruto was alone, he continued to run and took out the map.

'WE MADE IT! I can't believe we got out! DATTEBAYO!'

'You said it! Now let's get the bloody hell out of here!'

Naruto and his invisible companion ran as fast as possible into the woods. The wizards found Jiraiya's secret road, hidden behind what was believed to be a massive rock covered in vines. But between the vines was a tunnel that led into a much darker area in the wild woods as Naruto stared in awe. He soon drew out his wand and continued after he had illuminated it. As soon as he vanished into the secret road and the vines settled, an ANBU unit appeared and searched the area. But not one of them ever noticed or found the secret tunnel.

Back at the Hokage's office, Danzo Shimura sat back and smiled as he sat in the warmth and comfort of the chair he sought to sit in for decades. He smiled and let the white fabrics of the ceremonial hat brush against his face while one of his assistants filed the stacks of documents for him. The office had been cleaned of most of the documents that once flood the room and all of Sarutobi's silver instruments and trinkets had been removed. The shelves were filled with scrolls, books, and an assortment of small weapons. Danzo drank some extravagant tea and turned his chair to look outside. He soon stood and left his tea alone on the desk. He looked out the window with his back turned to the doors before he frowned and one of the ANBU, the one with skin as white as snow arrived and bowed his head.

"Danzo-sama, there is no sign of Naruto Uzumaki in the village," he said with no emotion in his voice.

The old man continued to look out and asked, "He isn't at the Umino residence?"

The ANBU with white skin shook his head but continued to bow to the old man.

Danzo commented, "That is strange."

"Sir, do we still have permission to eliminate Uzumaki on sight if we find him in a discrete location?" asked the soldier.

"Eliminate?!" the old man blinked and turned around with his one eye opened wide before he forced himself to relax, "You idiot child! I wanted Naruto Uzumaki to be captured, not killed. You were supposed to leave a body double of him behind at the old apartment as soon as he was incapacitated. Uzumaki's 'death' was meant to be fake, so he would appear to be dead in the public eye."

The masked soldier lowered his head and all he could say was, "Please excuse me, sir, I misunderstood."

Danzo frowned at the ANBU and turned his back on him. He was relieved that the soldiers had not killed Naruto on sight but his absence didn't help him relax.

"We need Naruto Uzumaki alive for the Kyuubi sealed within him," he said as he touched his useless arm, "As much as I do despise him for what he's done and as dangerous as he could be, he is still a valuable asset… If that blasted Hiruzen and Kushina would have let me condition him into the ROOT while he was still an infant… But it isn't too late. With Kushina buried in the earth and Hiruzen on death's door, Naruto Uzumaki can still be conditioned into the perfect soldier. Konoha will need his abilities to ensure our protection and maintain our longstanding dominance over the other nations… Suna tried to harness the monster sealed within Gaara, but failed, as that unstable creature was a slave to his emotions and was not conditioned as well as he could have been if he inducted into ROOT."

Danzo would have reached for his tea before another ANBU arrived and bowed low to the old man. The former adviser continued to stare out the window and frowned as he sensed whom it was under his command that arrived.

"Anything new to report, Fu?" asked the old leader.

The soldier named Fu wore no mask and had auburn-colored hair. He wore a short black coat with red straps on the shoulders, and a red short kimono under the coat with a black sash.

Fu bowed his head to the old man and said, "There's still no sign of Naruto Uzumaki at his old apartment. For that matter, he has not been seen anywhere else in accordance to his usual pattern."

"Where in the world could he be?" asked an embittered Danzo, "Someone like that doesn't vanish out of thin air…"

Fu then asked after some hesitation, "Sir, could Orochimaru be behind his disappearance? After the incident at the Forest of Death and the Chunin Exam finals, he might have seen the value of the jinchuuriki and now might desire it to fuel his own ambitions after the losses he sustained during the invasion. We could contact him and demand-"

The old man looked intense for a moment and turned to look at Fu. And in one instant, Fu's muscles constricted and he remained motionless. The ANBU couldn't breathe as he looked down at the floor and tried to clench his throat.

Danzo hissed, "You will be silent, Fu... Orochimaru is not one of our most trusted allies, but even that fool would not be so reckless."

The old man motioned to the smaller of the two ANBU and the rookie moved to the door and activated a seal that cut all the noise from the office. No one outside could have heard them but the rookie ANBU did so to win his master's favor after his earlier mistake. The white ANBU returned to the center of the office and faced the old man out of respect. Danzo nodded his head and Fu collapsed onto the floor breathing as if he had run a mile through the forest and back.

"Orochimaru did contact us recently and requested we hand over Naruto Uzumaki to be conditioned for the ROOT," said the smaller ANBU, "But we all know that Orochimaru was never interested before when he was contacted and requested to condition Uzumaki shortly after he was orphaned. You said so yourself, Danzo-sama, that Orochimaru could have had other intentions in mind for the jinchuuriki when he sent us his most recent message."

Danzo frowned and nodded, "It is possible that Orochimaru could desire Uzumaki for his demonic abilities after he witnessed the Chunin Exam finals… At first, he desired Sasuke Uchiha for his Sharingan to obtain ninjutsu easier, but now I see what he could do if he had Naruto Uzumaki on his leash as well. A Sharingan user and one of the most powerful demons known to mankind at his disposal would spell absolute devastation."

Fu had calmed down and faced his master as he watched him stride across the office and look out the window. Danzo stared at the wall and then looked over it to see the mountainous terrains of the north.

"We cannot allow our allies to have more power than we do," he said and then Danzo admitted, "But Orochimaru wouldn't have sent in one of his men to abduct Uzumaki and not expect me to retaliate. I know, for a fact, that he isn't that stupid or desperate."

The smaller white ANBU was then forced to ask, "Then who could have been responsible for his disappearance if not Orochimaru? Could Naruto Uzumaki have defected?"

"No," answered Danzo, before he pondered over the situation and tried to think of a solution to at least hold off whatever disaster could result in the turn of events, "I'm not sure. For all we know, he could be out in the woods somewhere. But until we find out, we must not let word of this slip out. We don't want the other villages to know that we have lost our jinchuuriki."

The two ANBU stood when Danzo turned around and stared down at them with a cold frown.

"Do whatever is necessary to make sure the news of his absence does not leave the village walls," he ordered, "We must maintain order."

Fu left without a word but the smaller rookie ANBU remained behind to talk with Danzo alone.

"What do we tell Orochimaru?" asked the white ANBU, "He still expects an answer from us."

Danzo thought it over for five minutes before he made a drastic decision, "Inform him of Naruto Uzumaki's absence. We will need his scouts to locate him if he's somewhere outside the village. Tell him, if he finds him alone out there in the wild, he must return him to me at once. But be sure to warn him that if he does anything but deliver him back to me unharmed and untampered… then I will unleash everything I have at my disposal upon him."

Danzo's voice had turned dark at the end of that official statement, as if the ANBU were able to express that emotion through his mask or voice. But the threat would have been enough to tame Orochimaru if he wanted Naruto for his own intents and purposes.

"It will be done, sir," said the ANBU as he bowed, "I will not make a mistake this time."

Danzo remarked, "See to it."

And the ANBU vanished out of thin air. Danzo then took his cane and walked back to the window to look outside. He continued to frown, as he couldn't relish in his throne as much as he did earlier. Danzo frowned further as he heard Koharu and Homura arrive behind him, surprised to see the former advisor back so soon.

To Be Continued…

There we have it! I can only hope that you guys enjoyed it because I worked my ass off on this chapter.

This addition had a ton of revisions made to it over the last two years, while I was writing the previous books in the series. I'm certainly glad that I finally posted it and, again, I hope it turned out well :D

I understand that Danzo trying to craft Naruto into a weapon is a pretty common route to take, as it has been used before in many fics. But I hope I wrote it in a way that was still entertaining and I have a lot more planned for Danzo's character in this universe. There's still a lot about Danzo's past to be explored as the series goes on. I did reveal that he tried to induct Naruto into the ROOT before but Kushina and Hiruzen prevented him from doing so. I won't reveal anything more, but I will say that Danzo's past is different from the original manga with only a few details staying the same, so I hope I can keep you guys entertained :D

But next time, we're going to see Naruto outside of Konoha with no sensei or Sannin to protect him with Harry as his only companion. AND we're going to be introduced to a familiar fan favorite character that I'm sure a lot of people are looking forward to seeing. But we will also have Naruto interacting with a little more of the magical elements to be found in his world as he journeys into the wild.

I look forward to reading your reviews and I'll work as hard as I can to finish the next chapter! Thanks a million, everyone, and show your support!