Naruto Uzumaki and the Legendary Sannin Chapter 8: Exodus, 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! I'm back with the latest chapter!

I'm very sorry that it took me longer than I said it would to write this one but work has been keeping me busy, and I'm not always able to write whenever I want to. I also kept editing this chapter a lot because I had a lot of seconds thoughts and made a few last-minute changes to better construct the chapter. I realized there was not a lot of dialogue between Naruto and Harry in this chapter, so I had to make a few changes.

This chapter primarily deals with Naruto on his own with Harry as the two wizards travel in search of Jiraiya. I re-read a lot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in preparation of this chapter, and also re-watched Part 1 a few times to help inspire me. In an earlier draft, I originally had an idea to have Naruto jump on board a moving train, but then I realized that Jiraiya probably wouldn't ask for Naruto to do something so stupid and dangerous if he's following his directions.

Hopefully, you guys like it and I really look forward to reading your reviews! Azeroth44 will be back next chapter! He couldn't help me out with writing the introduction this time ^^" But the next chapter, he said, he does not want to miss out on! :D

Reviews and welcome and wanted!

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto

Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling

Chapter 7: Exodus

Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the reservoir and waited for Naruto and Kakashi to turn up for their latest mission. Sasuke had entered first and rested beside one of the arches. He crossed his arms in a fit of boredom as he felt a slight headache when Sakura arrived and offered her usual greetings. She blushed, cheered his name loudly, and said hello while Sasuke nodded his head and said no more.

But while the kunoichi relaxed over the opposite rail of the bridge, she remained unusually quiet. After the usual greetings, Naruto would often show up and scowl at his dark-haired rival, but he never showed as expected. Sakura wondered for a while if Naruto forgot about meeting with the team again. She frowned and scowled as her inner-voice commented on the situation.

'CHA! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT IDIOT?! If he forgot about our mission again, I'LL PULVERIZE HIM!'

But then her normal thoughts weighed in on the matter, 'Naruto normally never shows up this late or forgets about our missions. He lives for adventure, even if it is borderline manual labor. Kakashi-sensei really let him have it last time he failed to show up… I can't imagine what he'll do if Naruto is a no-show for the second time…'

While Sakura looked over her shoulder to smile at Sasuke, she looked back at either end of the bridge in search for a familiar mess of blonde hair. She started to frown before she looked down at her feet and thought back to her earlier confrontation with her former best friend from the Yamanaka clan:

Ino had asked how she, Sasuke, and Kakashi had celebrated Naruto's birthday and the pink-haired girl had frozen in shock. She realized too late that she had missed it completely. Sakura felt immensely guilty that she had forgotten about her teammate's birthday. Ever since then, she debated how she was ever going to make it up to him and hoped Naruto didn't resent her for it. She did think about how her mother was baking dumplings later that day and wondered if she should visit Naruto's home with an entire basket full of them. But before she could think of a plan, Kakashi had arrived in his usual manner on one of the arches of the bridge.

"Hello there, team," announced Kakashi before he whisked down to them in seconds.

The silver-haired shinobi earned Sasuke's undivided attention while Sakura looked over her shoulder and worried about her teammate. Kakashi took notice of Sakura's search and realized the team was missing one particular member.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked, and when no one answered, he sounded exasperated and started, "Don't tell me he-"

Sakura unexpectedly blurted, "Naruto is sick, Kakashi-sensei!"

The masked shinobi blinked at the kunoichi student while she blushed a bit.

"Hmm?" mused Kakashi.

Sakura had never lied to a teacher before in her life but it seemed like the best time for her to do so, to make it up to her teammate, "Naruto called me on the phone last night to tell me he wouldn't be in for a few days. He has the flu and he sounded pretty gross on the phone, but he insisted would be back in shape very soon, stubborn idiot. I'm going to stop by his house to drop off some extra dumplings my mom baked."

Just then, Sakura turned to face the Uchiha heir and asked, "Would you like some, too, Sasuke-kun?!"

"No," answered a cold Sasuke, "I don't have a sweet tooth."

Sakura lowered her head in disappointment, relieved that her lie was convincing but genuinely disappointed about his answer. Kakashi shrugged at the whole thing before he crossed his arms and addressed his students on another issue.

"I guess it's for the best," he said, "Danzo-sama returned from his… exclusive mission a lot earlier than expected, and so he and the other elders asked me to do a few select missions with the other jounin from time-to-time. I'm afraid that means time between our missions could be a bit extensive."

Sakura relaxed and nodded, while Sasuke seemed somewhat determined when Kakashi glanced at him. While Kakashi did have a few important missions under his belt, it meant he and Sasuke were able to continue their private training sessions, as usual. Kakashi seemed to have completely forgotten about Naruto and led his two students to another mission anyway, set to receive a low D-Rank assignment. All the while, Sakura still looked over her shoulder from time to time, hoping to see Naruto running over to her and the others; blonde hair a mess, out of breath, and his clothes muddled.

But he never showed up and the kunoichi was forced to focus on her work. Sakura frowned and wished she would see him soon.

Back when Naruto was a little kid, he used to think the Land of Fire wasn't a very big country based on the maps he had seen in his textbooks or depicted on posters at a school supplies store. The Land of Fire depicted on most maps was always colored red with sizeable dots to indicate cities or small towns with a few arrows to identify mountainous areas or blue lines to show rivers. Those maps made the nation he lived in seem small and simple. But after Naruto climbed the tallest tree he could find, he saw, firsthand, that the land was virtually endless. The blonde rookie was left speechless after he looked over the forest and saw the woods stretch on for hundreds of miles in all directions. The land seemed more like an endless green ocean, full of the sounds of millions of birds, insects, and the occasional moans of a few wild animals. The land was rich with flora as the forest flourished and seemed to shift, like the waves he rode on the boat to the Tazuna's bridge. Like the ocean, the forest was full of life as Naruto could hear birds singing all around him while thousands of insects clicked and snickered, hidden in the trees, suckling on the nectar of plants and flowers. On the horizon somewhere down south, a flock of birds flew in the air and soared over the trees in search for new branches to settle on. The wind blew in Naruto's face and offered his short black hair a cool breeze.

He smiled for one more blissful moment, finished his search, and climbed back down.

'I couldn't see the bathhouse from here. We should continue to head north and check again.'

'Good idea. We should be able to see something in another hour or so. We still have a few mountainous areas to reach before we're expected to find it anyway.'

'I didn't see any of the mountain ranges described on the map, Harry, not a single mountain in sight.'

'We should see something soon if we keep moving.'

Naruto nodded and checked for the mark he left on the trunk of the tree to make sure he went in the right direction. As he traveled north on the hidden trail, he stumbled upon the tall face of a cliff with a sizable waterfall gushing down into a very large pond. He smiled in awe as the sun shined through the trees and reflected off the cool, clean surface of the water. As Naruto excitedly approached the pond at the base of the waterfall, his stomach lurched painfully, causing him to wince and hunch over while he shuffled and stumbled.

"Ohhhhhh," he moaned.

The hour was over. And the rookie felt his sandals become loose on his feet, almost tripping him. His chunin uniform was suddenly a lot more spacious as he shrank back to his normal height and width. Naruto moaned and fell to his knees at the base of the pond. He looked down at the water's surface and watched in amazement as his hair grew as his natural blonde color was restored. His blue irises shined after he blinked while his scar and subtle whisker marks arose from under his now slightly tan skin. Naruto's face returned to its normal shape as the Polyjuice Potion wore off. The pain in his stomach vanished and the blonde wizard breathed in relief while he examined his oversized clothes.

"I can't walk around in these," he said.

Harry approached Naruto in a somewhat ghostly image to him as he looked down at the short wizard with a fake, comically sad frown, 'And here I thought you looked so handsome in that uniform.'

Naruto cracked a smile before he unzipped the uniform. He tossed aside his chunin attire until he was in his underwear. The blonde wizard took a few minutes to cool off with the fresh water from the pond. He noticed the fish at the bed of the pond but Naruto felt no need to whisk them out and start up Teuchi's stew kit. Once he was clean, Naruto grabbed one of his tracksuits but then hesitated to wear it.

"These aren't exactly the best clothes for me to wear if I don't want to be noticed," he said, as he was about to toss them.

But then Harry sat beside him and nodded, 'Yes, but don't ditch them now. If we're forced to camp out on this journey, we're going to need something to start up the campfire.'

The blonde wizard snickered and threw the horrendous outfit back into his beaded rucksack. He then found some trousers, a t-shirt, and a dark hoodie. He also stashed his headband for good measure but not before he stared at the metal plate for a minute. Naruto thought about Iruka and worried when the chunin would notice he disappearance. The blonde rookie tried not to think about it and threw the headband deep into his rucksack, covering it with more clothes and a book about toadstools. He then shot up from his rocky seat beside the pond and marched down the road. Harry followed suit but also secretly worried about the trusted chunin as well.

Naruto and Harry traveled for hours but the bathhouse was still nowhere in sight. The two wizards hiked through endless forests but eventually found the mountainous terrain described on the map. Soon after, they were forced to climb a few rocky hills that gave them a good view of the area around them; there were fewer trees in the area but that bathhouse was still nowhere to be found. Naruto and Harry crossed through a small valley of tall grass and received a few lacerations from the blades brushing his feet and toes. The blonde rookie and his ghostly companion entered the forest again and took a few breaks for water, food, and for Naruto to tend to his bloodied feet.

"ARGH! It stings!" he winced, "I knew I should have bought sneakers or boots or wore some socks, at least!"

'Mind the volume,' his older brother reminded, 'You never know if there are missing-nin within hearing range.'

'No worries, I'm armed to the teeth.'

The blonde-haired wizard had his wand drawn out more often than his kunai or his sword while he traveled. Without his teammates around or other Konoha shinobi, he was free to use it whenever he wanted. After his feet were healed, Naruto used his wand to levitate some rocks and threw them into the woods for amusement. But the fun didn't last forever when Harry reminded him their break was over and continued along the hidden trail.

At sunset, the bathhouse was still nowhere close, so Naruto and Harry were forced to camp out for the night. The wizards selected a nice area at the base of an oak tree to rest. The area was surrounded with thick trees, so dense that the light from their campfire that the protective enchantments would have been considered overkill. The blonde wizard still drew his wand and used the same enchantments he used on the mission to the Land of Waves to shield him and his teammates from sight.

He annunciated several times as he circled the area and crossed his wand over a dozen times, "Protego Totalum! Salvio Hexia! Repello Muggletum!" until the shield around their camp solidified and Naruto became invisible to the world.

That first night alone for Naruto was not unlike the time he was lost in the woods in the Land of Waves. Harry was there to keep him company while he wrapped himself in a blanket, set fire to one of his useless tracksuits and cooked a stew with Teuchi's cooking kit. It took him over an hour to mix and cook the milk, carrots, canned potatoes, and cheese with seasoned and salted pork. As soon as it was done, the food was very warm and surprisingly delicious, so good that it almost made Naruto forget about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. The warm stew quickly filled his stomach and made him feel somnolent.

"That was a pretty good stew, given the circumstances," he murmured out loud.

'It sure looked appetizing. I might add it to the list of foods I have to try out as soon as I find a new vessel.'

"Write it down next to Ichiraku ramen and Iruka-aniki's branzino!" the blonde teen smiled.

The older wizard smiled with a tired look stuck on his face. Naruto could feel as if his older brother sat beside him and leaned into the sensation. Exhausted from his travels, stress, and the mention of Iruka's most exquisite meals, Naruto thought about the chunin as he dozed off.

"Do you think I should have left him a note?" he asked, "I should have left him a note…"

'We didn't have a lot of time,' answered the older wizard regrettably, 'Besides, if we did, we probably would have tipped Danzo off about our departure, assuming his goons ransacked the apartment for our whereabouts… I wish we didn't have to leave him like we did, Naruto, but we can't dwell on those thoughts. We have to move on and hope we find Jiraiya soon.'

Naruto leaned back against the oak tree, his wand still clenched tightly in his hand as the world around him darkened and blurred. He tried not to think about Iruka while the darkness brewed around him. And even while he let sleep begin to overwhelm him, Naruto couldn't stop dreading what in the world Danzo Shimura was plotting now.

He wasn't able to dream that night as the blonde-haired rookie slipped into the mindscape to plan out the next day with Harry. The two wizards still had a long journey ahead of them before they could secure their safety with the Sannin. Hopefully, they would complete their mission soon and figure out what to do with Danzo, assuming it would ever be safe enough to return home again.

Back in Konoha, the citizens noticed the difference in the village with Danzo as the Godaime Hokage Candidate almost immediately; throughout the village, the citizens noticed the unusual increase in the number of ANBU seen in public and stationed around the entire village. There was a masked soldier at every street corner and stationed around each block throughout town. Konoha felt a little bit safer from the threat of outsiders, but the increased presence of the ANBU was unsettling. These masked soldiers were better known as the silent killers of the night that embodied the darker side of the shinobi life. The ANBU were also known as the Hokage's bodyguards, a secret service, assassins, and spies. So it was no shock that a lot of people in Konoha were not entirely comfortable with so many of them walking around in the open all of a sudden.

Danzo had made several announcements with Homura and Koharu in the first day of his new position already. The new Hokage Candidate decreed that several select shinobi would be forced to leave their rookie teams should their skills be required for a select mission. Even several of the teachers at the Academy would be forced to leave the school and their classes to complete missions. It wasn't too bad as far as regulations were concerned. But a lot of shinobi felt that with someone like Danzo Shimura as the Hokage Candidate, new regulations and sudden last-minute announcements would soon become a regular occurrence, and would only grow more unreasonable as Danzo continued to sit comfortably in his new seat of power.

Iruka Umino was one of countless shinobi to doubt Danzo would be an effective leader, unlike the Sandaime. Worse of all, he was worried sick about Naruto when the old man returned so much earlier than he was expected.

Later that afternoon, Iruka returned home as soon as he learned that Danzo was back in Konoha. He opened the door to his little brother's bedroom, but no one was there. Iruka then checked the bathroom, his bedroom, and Naruto was nowhere to be found. The tan-skinned chunin checked the kitchen for a note but there was none to be found. He waited on his couch for about an hour or two and still Naruto never returned home.

After his missions, Naruto would usually return home at around sunset. But dusk soon settled in and Iruka was a lot more worried than usual. Fearful of how Danzo could corrupt Naruto's career, he stood and rushed over to check Naruto's bedroom a second time. The chunin expected the blonde teen to Apparate inside at any moment. But after a few minutes, he decided to quit sitting around and start looking for him. He first visited Ichiraku Ramen, but Teuchi claimed he hadn't seen the boy since before yesterday. The ramen chef suggested Iruka check Naruto's old apartment. He did, but the old apartment was barren. It was right around that time Iruka started to feel his stomach start to ache. He knew Naruto wasn't due to leave for Jiraiya for another day and the blonde rookie wouldn't leave without saying goodbye or at least leaving behind a note. It wasn't like Naruto to leave home without a word.

The chunin tried to calm down and think rationally. Iruka tried to be optimistic about the situation, believing his former student might have decided to find the Sannin earlier than originally planned, after all, Danzo had returned to Konoha much earlier than he originally anticipated. But if Naruto made such a sporadic decision, he would have at least let him know that he left so he wouldn't be worried like he was now. He would have at least left behind a note, but the chunin searched the entire apartment bare and not one note was found.

Iruka decided to check the training grounds to see if Naruto was hiding out or if he overexerted himself while training and hiding out. But there was no sign of him anywhere at any of the places where he usually worked on his ninjutsu or his sorcery. The secret meadow was empty, the chunin went back to the house and no one was there, he went back to Ichiraku and Teuchi shook his head and frowned when he saw Iruka approach the bar. The chunin checked the Hero's Memorial, Kushina's grave, he checked the top of the Hokage Faces, the bathhouses and no one there had seen him.

After the chunin left the bathhouses, Iruka went into a panic overdrive. He couldn't sit down, relax, or think straight as he tried to rationalize what had happened to his precious little brother.

There was something about Naruto's absence that didn't settle well with him at all. Iruka couldn't explain it, but his brother's disappearance disturbed him. It felt like he had forgotten something very important but he was unable to put the pieces together. The whole situation stressed him out to no end, as he still had no idea what had become of his adoptive younger sibling. Iruka felt the need to find someone to help him find the boy and as soon as possible.

The tan-skinned chunin was fortunate when he ran into Anko after she returned home from her mission and stopped at the Amaguriama for a well-deserved snack.

She noticed him and waved after she paid her due with a mouthful of dango, "Iruka!"

The kunoichi smiled with delight at her boyfriend's sudden arrival, but the chunin looked and sounded more worried and unsettled than she had ever seen him when he quickly approached her, "Anko, it's really good to see you, but have you seen Naruto anywhere?!"

"Umm, no, I haven't seen him in a while," she answered while she nibbled on a wooden senbon, feeling a little bit miffed that her lover didn't welcome her back home with a kiss first, "Shouldn't he be home right about now?"

"He's not at home. I searched all over the village for him. I have no idea where he is," he almost shouted, "He was supposed to go on a mission with Jiraiya-sama, but wasn't due to leave until tomorrow! It isn't like him to leave without a word and no one else in the village has seen him!"

Anko felt a little bit worried too but tried to be optimistic, "Do you think he could have passed out while training in the fields?"

"I've checked all of his usual spots," answered the chunin while he shook his head, "Besides, he always calls it quits at around sunset and goes to the bathhouse or Ichiraku afterward."

Anko asked him, "Have you checked those places already?"

"Twice," the chunin answered, "And he wasn't there either! I checked every possible place he could be and I couldn't find him! I looked all over the house for a note and found nothing! I have no idea what to do, Anko! I don't know if something might have happened to him or not!"

The kunoichi actually looked fairly alarmed now. Anko knew Naruto would never defect from the village and she would have known if Naruto left when she returned from her own mission.

There was one possible explanation for Naruto's disappearance that she could think of: he could have been abducted. It made sense, as he was a jinchuuriki and the village was in a weakened state, so a skilled shinobi could have snuck in and took him for the demon fox sealed inside of him.

Anko hoped with all her heart that it wasn't the case and turned to the chunin with a more serious look.

"We're going to have to report this," she said, "If he's missing, we have to alert the authorities right away, Iruka!"

The chunin calmed down for one second and nodded with a frown. Iruka and Anko soon vanished from the street and search continued with increasing woe.

Several hours later, Naruto and Harry awoke at the first break of dawn and continued on their mission. The blonde rookie checked the map and double-checked the directions while Harry took the time to look around and make sure no one was around outside the barrier before the enchantments were broken down.

'We should reach that blasted bathhouse by this afternoon if we hurry.'

Naruto thought while he hulled his beaded rucksack and started to march, 'I bet we could have been there a lot sooner if we rode on a broomstick.'

'You're not seriously thinking about constructing one, are you?'

'Why not?' the blonde rookie dared to question while he double-checked his supplies on the road, 'We already made an invisibility cloak. So why stop there?'

'I'm not sure if you knew this, Naruto,' the older wizard stated as he walked beside his little brother, 'But most shinobi are not accustom to seeing someone mounting an airborne cleaning device.'

'Yeah, whatever,' the blonde rookie moaned as he rolled his eyes, 'But it sure would have saved us a lot of time if we flew. Not to mention it would have been a ton of fun.'

Harry couldn't help but concur with Naruto a little bit as he secretly craved the excitement and thrill he longingly remembered from his lifetime, 'Yeah, it would…'

'I'm curious now,' the blonde rookie blurted out, 'In the future, if we are somehow accepted in the shinobi world as sorcerers and we don't have to hide our abilities, could we form a Quidditch team?'

'As truly amazing as that sounds, Naruto, I don't think it's very likely. We couldn't start an international tournament or something like the Quidditch World Cup in a world like this. I mean… We would have to allow other hidden villages their own broomsticks to make it an international event. And without more sorcerers around to regulate the proper use of magical items, the other hidden villages might very likely use broomsticks for airborne warfare or something much worse. And I don't even want to get started on how tensions are still high between the villages, making it impossible to fairly regulate a cooperative international organization that isn't the Chunin Selection Exams.'

'Okay, what about an annual local tournament held in Konoha?'

'That could work,' he nodded with an amused grin.

Hours dwindled on while Naruto and Harry continued to travel on foot. The blonde-haired wizard followed the directions until the late afternoon rolled in. He stumbled out of the woods soon after and discovered a wide dirt road, lined with tracks.

Naruto and Harry reached the checkpoint on their map and soon ran down the road as fast as possible. With a boost of chakra, Naruto almost turned into a blur when he sprint north before he came to a screeching halt. He heard the sounds of people and a little bit of bustling up ahead. Naruto saw a few farmers seated on a horse-drawn cart travel down the road ahead of him. But with the intense speed Naruto ran, the farmers were the ones more terrified when the blonde-haired shinobi zoomed past them.

"Comin' through!" he shouted in an upbeat tone to let the farmers know he wasn't a threat.

A trail of dust and dirt followed in his intense trek before it settled and he found what he believed to be the bathhouse. Naruto beamed when he read the sign that said, "Wandering Oaken's Sauna Resort… And Trading Post" but his smile soon faded when he noticed the entrance was boarded and tape crossed the doorways and windows. There were warning signs erected all around the area, much to Naruto's confusion: It seemed like the bathhouse was condemned.

The blonde rookie was worried, as this place was where he was supposed to be the one rest stop where he could relax for a night before he moved on to Pleasure Avenue.

Naruto tried to figure out what had happened to the resort and had some luck. He saw another farmer travel down the road headed south. The man was tall and wide, but seemed harmless as he carried a sack of flour over his firm shoulder and wore one of those wide straw hats. Naruto made sure he didn't resemble a dangerous shinobi or some threatening punk before he approached him, more as a curious traveler.

"Excuse me, sir," he called out, "What's going on here?! Isn't this the bathhouse?"

The farmer seemed surprised to see someone as young as Naruto travel about on his own and then looked towards the building, "Bathhouse? I hate to be the barer of bad news, kid, but it was condemned earlier in the week. Apparently, there's been some serious volcanic activity in the hot springs. It's too toxic to bathe in the waters, so the bathhouse was shut down and relocated."

"What rotten luck," the blonde wizard almost cursed under his breath and asked, "Where is it now?"

The farmer shrugged before he caught the sack of flour when it almost slipped off and said, "Nowhere around here, that much I know for sure."

"Oh, man," the blonde teen sighed as he tried to think of what to do next.

The farmer frowned at Naruto's reaction, "Gomenasai."

"It's fine," the blonde teen insisted before he asked, "But is there a motel somewhere close around here?"

The man shook his head and informed the teen, "Afraid not. The closest one should be a few miles down south from here. There are a few old farms at the base of that mountain to the east where it's safe to camp out and stay out of sight from bandits, but I wouldn't take the risk. Those farms were abandoned. Folks around here are convinced the land is haunted."

"Haunted?" the teen asked with an intrigued expression.

The farmer nodded, "Yeah. I heard a bunch of rumors, claims from dozens of local farmers around here, all of them claiming to have seen omens of death roaming around the old farms. Most of the merchants and families around there relocated. I haven't seen these… omens, but this one merchant I knew owned one of those barns. He had recently been through some terrible accident where one of his workers was killed in an avalanche. He saw the man die right in front of him, so he was really torn up about it. Soon after, he started to lose it when he claimed the horses of death were stalking him, galloping to claim him next… We all know that tailed demon beasts exist in our world, so I wouldn't be surprised if those horses of death turned out to be real. You wouldn't catch me dead hiding out in those old barns to find out, though."

Naruto stared at the farmer as he listened to his tale. As soon as he was done, the blonde teen nodded and thanked the man for his help. The rookie shinobi turned in the direction of those barns mentioned and couldn't help but feel a little adventurous.

"Horses of death, huh?" he asked.

He then heard Harry say with a wide smirk, 'Sure sounds tempting.'

The blonde wizard sat down on the seat of a chopped down tree trunk and took a look at the map. He found the barns on the map, not too far from his current location, but the barns were outside of the safe range of Jiraiya's hidden trail. Naruto was curious to see these omens of death the farmer mentioned, but he also figured the abandoned barns might actually be a decent place for him to sleep if he was careful.

'It's a little off the beaten track… But we'll come back here first thing tomorrow morning and continue on the trail again. Does that sound good, Nii-san?'

'Fine with me. We do need a place to sleep for the night.'

With a beaming smiled, Naruto tucked the map back into his beaded rucksack and made his way to the farms.

For an hour, Naruto ran through the woods, hoping to reach those barns before it got too dark. When he finally exited the woods and saw the vast expanse of smooth farming land, the blonde teen spied the abandoned farmhouse and several barns and stables.

"We made it!" he cheered out loud.

But then he frowned and flinched when he heard a distant boom of thunder. Naruto cursed under his breath when he felt cold droplets of rain kiss his face.

"Where the hell did this storm come from?!" he cursed and ran towards one of the old stables, "There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning!"

The rain soon poured down in torrents, leaving Naruto soaked from head-to-toe and fuming as he slammed the wooden door shut behind him. He turned around but the whole world flashed white before he found himself on the floor.

"Oww…" he moaned.

Naruto realized he had bonked his head hard on a loose wooden support beam and fumed with frustration. He stood and threw his beaded rucksack down near the driest area he could find and drew out his wand.

"Son of a bitch!" he mumbled.

The wizard tried to calm down as he felt blood trickle down his forehead and tried to remember the charm to emit hot air from his wand. Exhaustion hit him hard from his travels and he decided to sit down beside his rucksack and take a breather while he waited for the fresh wound to heal over.

'Naruto…'

'Gimme a few minutes.'

'Naruto.'

'Just a few minutes.'

'Naruto!'

'What?! What is it?!'

The blonde-haired rookie didn't need his older brother to tell him what was the matter, when Naruto felt something scratch, suckle, and lick the wound on his head. His skin turned white and he almost had a heart attack before he let out a terrified shout.

"AHH!" he screamed before he bolted from his seat on the floor and ran across the stable with his wand and a kunai, "WHAT THE HELL?!"

He turned around; prepared to launch the nastiest curse he could think of at a bandit or one of Danzo's ANBU. But Naruto was not confronted in such a manner. He would have relaxed, but he discovered it was a wild animal that had caught him off his guard. But the creature he saw was no animal he was familiar with: It was a tall, black horse with thick, scaled sides, like a lizard. The horse-like creature looked somewhat emaciated and a little bit sinister as it stared at Naruto and licked its teeth. As Naruto stared back at the creature, he noticed it had a slight dragon-like face with glittering white eyes without pupils, as if it were blind. The creature's skin was like dark leather, similar to a bat. Whatever the beast was, it seemed to be wet as he suckled on the blood it had collected from Naruto's wound. The strange creature shook it's head to shake out water from the rainfall outside, but then the creature's sides swelled out and Naruto almost shouted when the beast unveiled a retractable set of thick, leathery, bat-like wings as rainwater dribbled and shot out everywhere around it.

Naruto stared at the beast, lowering his wand and his kunai when he thought he recognized the creature. Before he knew it, the door on the further end of the stable creaked open and at least five more of them straddled in and wandered about, stopping and staring at Naruto curiously while a few of them let out a series of low howls and cries. All of them had bat-like wings that stretched and waved to rinse out the water from the bodies.

"Horses of death…" the blonde rookie stammered.

He then heard Harry mutter, while he identified the beasts, 'These… These are thestrals…'

'THESTRALS?!' the blonde rookie shouted in his mind.

Naruto stared at the dark creatures and couldn't believe it; he had stumbled upon another creature native to the wizarding world. The blonde teen had studied thestrals before with Harry years ago and saw them in the Pensieve several times. He knew that thestrals were very unique magical creatures and dead clever; they were rather harmless to humans despite their carnivorous diet, as evidenced when the first one licked up Naruto's blood. The others sniffed the air and looked towards the blonde-haired teen as their nostrils followed the same scent, but none of the thestrals advanced on him. He knew that thestrals were pretty much subservient to wizards and often followed orders if they were at least properly trained.

The blonde teen felt the wound on his head heal over and steadily walked over to the beasts, his face frozen in awe as he smiled with childish excitement.

"You're thestrals," he shouted, "I don't believe it!"

The blonde wizard marched toward the thestrals but all of them flinched and cautiously backed away, as if Naruto were about to attack them.

"Oh! Don't be scared now! I mean no harm," he stopped and raised his hands to show the thestrals that he meant no harm, he carefully creped over to his rucksack and relaxed as he searched for food and earn their trust, "You want some food?"

'What do thestrals like to eat?' he asked.

Harry answered, 'I saw Luna serve them raw meat once.'

'Strange choice,' he responded.

The older wizard smiled in remembrance to one of his dearest friends, 'She was unique. You would have loved her.'

Naruto rummaged through his rucksack and fished out the leftover, uncooked beef he used for his stew. He took a handful and watched the closet of the thestral perk up with excitement, as it's tail wagged about like a dog. Naruto teased the tall creature when he raised his arm and made it hop, expecting him to throw the food and catch it. Naruto then tossed the meat high in the air and the thestral stood on his hind hooves and snatched the meat in it's mouth, greedily and messily gobbling it down it's throat before it belched.

Naruto chuckled and thought, 'Looks like Luna was right.'

The thestral he fed soon galloped up to Naruto slowly and the blonde-haired teen reached out to comfort the cautious creature, rubbing its face tenderly and murmuring kind and comforting words.

"There we are," he said, "You're a good thestral, huh?"

The blonde teen was then surprised when the other thestrals sniffed him curiously, peaking inside his beaded rucksack for more delicious meat. The hot breath from their nostrils tickled and bombarded Naruto without end, causing him to laugh.

"Heheheh! Cut it out! Heh! Well, it looks like I have a lot of mouths to feed then! Hahahahaha! Who's next?!"

Naruto eventually settled down in the stable. He used his magic to fix the structure and make it more warm and welcoming… at least as welcoming as a horse stable could be. The blonde wizard used his magic to conjure a warm fire in the middle of the stable and dried his clothes. After he fed the thestrals, the creatures took an immediate liking to Naruto and wouldn't leave him alone. The blonde teen did his best to keep them under control when they became more playful and affectionate. And while Naruto was able to see them so close, he and Harry noticed how different they looked from the thestrals seen in the Pensieve; these new thestrals seemed to resemble normal horses more and seemed much less emaciated than an average thestral. Not to mention the wings of the beasts could retract and meld into their bodies. Most of the time, Naruto forgot these creatures even had wings as he interacted with them more and more.

Distracted while he studied their wings, the thestrals tried to sneak into Naruto's bottomless rucksack for extra food. He snatched the rucksack from them and whined, causing the creatures to let out a few strange, but humorous howls and belches. As Naruto rode on the back of one of them and rubbed its neck, the blonde rookie caught his reflection on a broken window. When he noticed his reflection, it occurred to Naruto what made thestrals such unique creatures; the hair from their tails had magical properties and could be used as wand cores, but they were also only visible to people who have seen death.

Naruto soon realized he had seen death as well. He let himself down from the back of the thestral he rode and thought; he had seen more than his fair share of death than any wizard from the wizarding world would have ever seen in a lifetime.

Naruto remembered he had witnessed Haku final moments of life before she passed on, he shivered when he remembered Gatō's gruesome execution at the hands of Zabuza, before the Demon of the Mist himself collapsed and bled to death beside his late apprentice. Naruto also recalled the number of deaths he had witnessed at the arena and swallowed sadness as he recalled how he had come to terms with Hayate's demise.

Sometime between those deaths, the events enabled Naruto to see thestrals and he saw them now gathered in the stable for warmth and shelter from the storm outside with him.

In remembrance to the number of deaths he had witnessed in the last ten months, it forced Naruto to realize how different and truly dangerous the shinobi world was when compared to the wizarding world he viewed in the Pensieve: No child in the wizarding world would have had to bare witness to the level of violence and death as Naruto had so far. The world outside of Konoha tall walls was a world full of people who were prepared to kill without a second thought, whether for food, wealth, power, revenge, pleasure, or for a mission. Not to mention the number of leaders from other hidden villages who were willing to risk going to war over obtaining a kekki genkai.

It sometimes disgusted Naruto how barbaric the world he was born into could be. But he soon remembered that the magical world wasn't exactly perfect either. Sometimes the world of wizards and magic could be more horrific in certain aspects. The Death Eaters came to mind and some of the more dreadful practices of the Dark Arts made Naruto feel sick to his stomach. It made him sick to think that someone from that world would even think to develop a fraction of the arts he had learned about over the years.

In some aspects, neither world was free from violence or death and had their own problems. Though it comforted Naruto to know that despite those negative aspects, each world had a strong sense of benevolence. The blonde wizard tried to focus on that and pushed all other thoughts aside while he sat down.

One of the thestrals soon decided to move in on Naruto curled down around him. It looked like the thestral wanted attention but was also exhausted. Distracted from his inner thoughts, Naruto blinked and smiled at the creature in warmth, as it seemed to look at him, expecting to be pampered next. The blonde-haired wizard let out a tired chuckle and ran his hands over the creature's leathery black face.

It was no surprise to him that simple people like those farmers would view such fantastical beasts as monsters or demons. But Naruto never recoiled from them, as he seemed to understand them to some degree; thinking about death and the loneliness these creatures felt, both in the shinobi and wizarding worlds took him back to the darker times of his earlier childhood.

Naruto reached out to the thestral that rested down beside him and ran his hand over its beak and ran down its slender neck. The dark creature leaned into his touch while Naruto heard it let out a delightful but hideous moan and then it squawked. The sound made Naruto blink with surprise but then he leaned back in and doted the creature.

Another thestral walked close to Naruto and snuggled behind him. The creature allowed the blonde-haired teen to rest beside it on its melded wings. Naruto accepted the invite and leaned back as the fire he started died down. The blonde-haired rookie was then surprised when another bat-like wing spread out and covered him like a Gothic blanket. Naruto smiled at the creatures around him and relaxed as most of them had settled down and gone to sleep. The rookie shinobi was overwhelmed with drowsiness and snuggled with his new friends as the last embers went out.

The storm outside continued well into the night but soon cleared up over the farm. The clouds parted and the moon filled the abandoned stable with silver light. Naruto was fast asleep, as were the pack of thestrals he befriended. But sometime in the middle of their slumber, one of the creatures raised its head and turned to the direction of the forest. Two others awoke and did the same, while Naruto remained oblivious and continued to snooze. One of the thestrals let out a strange noise while the others nodded and let out similar sounds. All of them were awake now and the one Naruto was nestled with retracted its wings and caused him to stir and whine.

"Hmmm," he moaned, "What is it, Buttercup?"

His older brother's voice broke out and he said, 'Naruto, wake up!'

"What is it?" he asked as he clicked his back and shook his face and forced himself to wake up.

The blonde rookie noticed the thestrals all look in the same direction. He drew out his wand in caution, but before he had a chance to question what was the matter, he heard a voice. It was a human voice, but it sounded more like a distant echo as it called out one word; "Naruto…"

"Huh?!" the teen blinked.

He heard the voice call out his name once more, in the same distant tone, "Naruto…"

"What is that?" he asked out loud, "Is someone out there, Nii-san?"

'I don't know,' the wizard answered, as he couldn't sense someone close to the stable outside, his sense were somewhat blurred and he couldn't detect chakra or some random animal, though he warned his little brother all the same, 'Your wand, Naruto.'

The blonde wizard stood, as did the thestrals and remained still as statues. Naruto readied his wand and took slow, careful steps towards the door in the direction of the thestrals' attention. He reached out and opened the door a crack. He looked outside and couldn't see anyone out there in the dark. He did notice how quiet it was outside as the sounds of the forest seemed to have been put on mute.

Naruto raised his wand and dared to call out in the open, "Hello? Is someone out there?!"

"Naruto…" he heard the voice one more time

Frustrated, he shouted, "Who's there?!"

And in one sudden moment, Naruto heard the sound of a sharp whistle. His scar blazed hot for a split second and then he ducked as his instincts screamed for him to run. A massive shuriken whizzed over his head and sliced several strands of blonde hair before it struck the wall of the stable behind him.

"RUN!" he heard a voice in his head scream and did so.

Naruto rushed back to the stable and swung the door open hard. He dove inside and as he was about to shut it closed, he caught several figures dressed in the familiar uniform of Otogakure no Sato.

He then waved his wand and shouted, "COLLOPORTUS!" and the door to the barn closed shut.

Several shuriken and dozens of kunai struck the closed door with the blades pierced through the wooden surface. Naruto went into a frightful overdrive, while the thestrals panicked with him and neighed like there was no tomorrow. He rushed over to one of them and was able to calm them down. In a rush, he came up with a little plan and hoped it would work as he collected his rucksack and looked over his shoulder.

Back outside, the soldiers from Oto were not numerous. About five of them surrounded the stable and had located their target.

One of them said, "It's him! Surround the stable and prepare for one hell of a fight, gentlemen!"

"He's got nowhere to run," one of the others stated.

But then another Oto-nin added, "Don't be so sure! We have no idea what this kid is capable of!"

As soon as that sentence was uttered, a loud crash caught their attention as one of the thestrals burst through with Naruto straddled on its back. The Oto-nin stammered in shock at the random sight of such a fearsome creature, none of them were prepared to see. Two soldiers were so dumbstruck; the two of them were kicked off their feet and then trampled under the rest of the thestrals that followed.

"YAH!" shouted Naruto as he stormed into the woods on the back of his stead, "THAT'S IT! KEEP GOING!"

The leader of the team shouted, "AFTER HIM!"

"HE'S GETTING AWAY!" one of them shouted.

Naruto had no idea how the thestral understood what he wanted or how he was able to calm them down like he did. But it didn't matter to him as he galloped into the darkness and tried to escape.

The forest on horseback was like a maze of darkness and a sea of terror that night for Naruto Uzumaki. The thestral galloped with incredible speed, galloping so fast that Naruto and the creature looked like a blur to the Oto-nin that tried to follow close behind. Naruto trusted the thestral and let it take him far into the forest until he lost his pursuers. It didn't matter which direction he went, so long as he kept moving and ditched the Oto-nin. He had to lure them far from the direction of the bathhouse, far from the hidden trail on Jiraiya's map so that he wouldn't run into them again.

"I GOT HIM!" he heard one of the Oto-nin shout.

Naruto felt his scar burn for a fraction of a second and then he ducked his head down. He felt the cold blade of a kunai cut the skin on the side of his neck, not too deep, but it continued to whiz passed him and vanished into the woods ahead of him.

"DAMN!" the same Oto-nin shouted.

Naruto then drew his wand, looked back to see three Oto-nin pursue him and screamed, "STUPEFY!"

He struck the Oto-nin that attacked him in the head and the man crashed headfirst into an oak tree. Naruto focused back on the road and held on for dear life. He heard kunai and shuriken whizz around him but thunk into thick tree branches instead. All the while, his thestral sped through the woods and turned in random directions. At each turn, Naruto used another curse and tried to knock out each Oto-nin, but missed.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" he shouted.

And then he heard, "He's headed toward the bridge! CUT HIM OFF! BLOW IT!"

Naruto didn't have time to comprehend what to do before the thestral burst free from the forest and arrived on a wide wooden bridge over what appeared to be a chasm. The thestral galloped hard and fast across the bridge but Naruto blinked when he spotted one of the Oto-nin ahead on the other side. He then noticed the soldier tamper with something before he ran in the opposite direction. After the Oto-nin disappeared, Naruto felt an intense heat and an intense flash of white light burst behind him, followed with a series of loud booms that made his ears ring. Another Oto-nin had set explosives on the bridge in an attempt to cut off Naruto and the thestral, but the dark creature was too fast and stomped down hard on bridge before it collapsed beneath its hooves. Naruto was almost thrown off from the force of the bombs but his trusted stead moved its neck to hold Naruto in place and continued to gallop ahead. The dark beast made a noise that sounded like a neigh of surprise as it looked back at its rider. Naruto looked ahead and noticed the forest seemed to cut off. He blinked again and then he noticed he and the thestral were approaching a cliffside at top speed.

"Oh no," he muttered and then shouted, "TURN AROUND! LOOK OUT!"

But it was too late to make a sudden turn and the thestral galloped harder and faster than ever.

"ARGH," the blonde shinobi screamed as he swathed his arms around the creature's neck.

The thestral then kicked off the earth and spread out its bat-like wings. Naruto and the dark creature took off into the air and soared across another chasm. Naruto felt the wind on his face, but the ride was so much smoother. His stomach felt like it had fallen out of his body as he expected to be falling to his death right about now. But it didn't feel like he was plummeting towards the unforgiving ground. Feeling a bit brave, he opened one of his eyes and then he stammered in shock: his thestral had spread its wings and was flying in the air.

Naruto heard one of the Oto-nin behind him scream, "DAMMIT!" and he smiled with his mouth wide-open as he drank in the sights. He saw a few more barns in the area, scattered between seas of forests, low mountains, and chasms.

The thrill of his first flight on the back of a winged creature didn't last forever as the thestral swooped down and landed back into the forest. The beast continued to hurtle far from the Oto-nin and rushed deep into the woods. Naruto couldn't hear even a muffled echo of their murderous, frustrated voices and let out the breath he had held in for a while now.

Naruto couldn't believe what had happened in such a short amount of time; he had discovered thestrals, befriended them, was attacked in the middle of the night by Oto-nin, outran an exploding bridge, and took his first flight. The blonde wizard couldn't help but smile and look back to check and see how far the last Oto-nin was behind him now.

"Hahahaha," he laughed, "We did it! I can't believe all of that happened!"

The blonde wizard turned around but failed to notice the thestral had lowered its head as it sped beneath a low branch.

"Oh," was all he could utter before the branch slammed into his face and the world went black.

Naruto moaned with his mouth full of blood when he regained consciousness. He blinked and rolled onto his side as he let the blood spill out. The delirious blonde-haired teen checked his mouth to make sure he still had all of his teeth. He still had all of his front teeth, though he did lose at least two of them from the blow he took. Naruto's face felt like someone had hit him with a Beater's club.

Tears threatened to run down his face as he tried his best to brave the intense pain. While he tried to let it heal, he looked around and realized not a lot of time had passed since he passed out. The skies between the trees indicated that sunrise was around the corner and his thestral seemed to have run off without him. Naruto frowned but then he panicked as he remembered the Oto-nin that chased him.

The blonde-haired shinobi flinched and whirled his head when he heard the distinct snap of a branch. He looked over the hill ahead of him and held his breath when he saw two men approach. The Oto-nin had arrived and Naruto scrambled as fast as he could for one last desperate escape attempt.

"There he is!" one of them shouted.

Naruto found his beaded rucksack and scooped it in his hands. He heard kunai and shuriken thrown as him and sprint as fast as he could behind the closet tree. He heard the kunai driven into the thick trunk behind him and tried to think of a plan fast.

'What do I do?! What do I do?! WHAT DO I DO, NII-SAN?!'

'GET OUT OF HERE!'

The Oto-nin rushed after the tree Naruto took cover behind. The blonde-haired wizard almost screamed as the two men hovered over him for less than a second. Naruto then did the first thing he could think of and turned on the spot before he was killed.

With his beaded rucksack locked in an iron grip, Naruto entered a world of darkness. As soon as he was released from the familiar, uncomfortable tunnel, he opened his eyes but his world was a hurricane of chaos. He knew he had Apparated far above his desired destination as he fell and tumbled down from the darkness. His vision alternated between a whirl of trees, water, clouds, and earth, in near-constant succession. Naruto caught the sight of a lake before he slammed down into the water, headfirst. The blonde-haired rookie shook about in confusion beneath the water before he swam back to the surface. Naruto shook the water out of his ears and hair and took a minute to breathe before he remembered where he landed.

'The Land of Waves?'

"Yeah," he wheezed, "It was the first place I could think of…"

Naruto swam towards the closest shore of the lake where he, his teammates, and Tazuna witnessed Zabuza and Kakashi first clashed. Their tools and weapons used in the battle still remained but Naruto had no desire to collect them, all he cared about was that he was alive and had escaped from those lunatics. The blonde-haired rookie waddled out of the water as the weight of his soaked clothes forced him collapse down to his knees. He soon crawled out of the lake and panted before he rolled onto his back and watched the skies brighten and welcome in the morning.

The blonde-haired wizard lay on the shore of the lake as the birds chirped and the wild sounds of insects returned to his world. He and Harry didn't know how those Oto-nin were able to locate him but the two wizards deduced how it was possible for them to find them.

Naruto berated himself, "Protective enchantments! I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT THEM!"

'It's fine, Naruto. We all make mistakes,' his older brother reasoned, 'But we're alive and that's what matters… As soon as we're done resting here, we can Apparate back to the bathhouse and move on… Though from now on, let's make better use of that invisibility cloak.'

"Good idea…"

Countless miles to the north, Konoha was surprised when a thick mist tumbled down from the mountain and shrouded the entire town. It was a result of the recent thunderstorm that brewed last night. So the ANBU were stationed on the defense, if some reckless intruders decided use the mist as a cover to sneak in.

One team of ANBU on patrol in the mist had sensed someone was close. It was an entire team of Danzo's secret ANBU that drew their swords and moved in on the attack. But the ANBU would not be discovered for several hours to come as the team was annihilated. The two individuals that eliminated the ANBU moved through the mist without making a sound.

The intruders were two cloaked men with straw hats; one of them was taller than the other and carried what appeared to be a thick sword wrapped in white bandages, the other was shorter and carried no such weapon.

The two men breezed through the mist and entered the village without effort; the one sign that made it clear the two men were real was a single distinct chime of a bell, as the shorter of the two let it weave back and forth from his straw hat.

The tall man commented, "Konoha's defenses were reduced from that Orochimaru invasion, but it looks like these fools at least have the decent sense to utilize their ANBU in a time of crisis, though not as well as it could have."

"Pathetic…" the shorter of the two commented when he looked back at the lifeless bodies of the ANBU.

The taller man seemed to crack a wide smile as he said, "You sound more alive than I'm used to… You still hold a little bit of affection for this blasted village?"

"No," answered the shorter of the two, "None at all…"

The taller of the men looked ahead and said, "Let's make this quick. It shouldn't take us too long to find the jinchuuriki…"

To Be Continued…

And so ends the latest chapter with Itachi's return! :D Jiraiya will be returning to the story soon, for those wondering!

I'm going to do my best and finish the next chapter as soon as I can, but I make no guarantee as to when exactly it will be out. I will try to put out a progress update on my deviantart account from now on (uzumakidoctor123) but I will not post a daily update. I will most likely announce when I am close to finishing it or halfway done. It's something new I've been thinking about trying out and I hope that it does work out.

I really look forward to your reviews, folks! :D