I have a new story out called Red Eyed Wolf! It's about a Kakashi who's much stronger than canon, for reasons I don't wish to divulge outside of the story. Please check it out!

Trying to break the world record for most times having Naruto wake up in a hospital to start a chapter.

Naruto sat up, sweat on his forehead, gasping for breath. He'd just been in the longest dream of his life. Maybe nightmare would be a better term. He looked around his surroundings, not feeling the soft sheets of his bed. Instead it was the smooth concrete of his mindscape.

He turned around, standing to his feet as he did so. The nine tailed fox slumbered away behind the bars of his cage. Or at least he appeared to. Over the years, Naruto had gotten pretty good at telling. The Kyuubi was only pretending to be asleep. Typical.

Naruto put a hand to his head, trying to stave off the headache. He nearly lost his balance just from the effort of trying to stand.

"Oi, Fox. How come I feel like I got hit by a train?" Naruto said. His memory was fuzzy through the haze of pain and information. The fox huffed at him, seemingly upset. It took Naruto far too long to figure out why.

"What the hell kind of technique did Itachi use to do this to me?" He said. The Kyuubi only grunted again.

Naruto tried again. "How did he stop me from using your chakra? I didn't know a genjutsu like that could even exist." The fox growled, deeper and angrier than before. It lazily slid its nearest eye open.

"The sharingan is powerful, as disgusting as it is. A master of it can enslave tailed beasts. It can see into your psyche and control me through it." Naruto didn't know if foxes could spit, but he was sure the Kyuubi would at that moment if he could. The hatred resonating from the fox had never been so strong.

"Oh… I didn't know that," Naruto said, some of that childhood innocence leaking into his voice. "I'm sorry about that. I wouldn't have used your chakra if I knew."

"It matters little now, Brat. It was not the first time, and it will unlikely be the last until I wipe the sharingan from existence." The fox mumbled, closing its eye again. In moments like this, Naruto knew he wouldn't get anything else from his roommate. "It's time for you to wake up. The emotions coming from your room can only mean bad news." The fox finished.

Naruto wanted to question him about the Sharingan and how he could sense the emotions of the room when Naruto wasn't even awake. He didn't like the way the Kyuubi had said it though. He pushed chakra in a familiar pattern, willing himself to wake up.

This time, when he gained consciousness, he was in the waking world. He was lying in a hospital bed. He absentmindedly resolved to never have to wake up in one again. His room was less full than he would have expected, but that was no real issue. Tsunade was there, running glowing hands over him. Jiraiya was in the corner of the room, looking more serious than usual. Kakashi was in the corner, completely silent and emotionless. He might have been asleep.

None of his friends were there. Neither were any of the members of his team, which was odd. Maybe they'd been sent on a mission, he had no idea how long he'd been unconscious.

"Geez, this isn't my funeral is it?" Naruto asked, trying to lighten the mood in the quiet room. "I'd like to think there'd be a lot more cheering if it was," He joked, looking around the room. "And snacks."

Nobody laughed. It wasn't the first time a cheesy joke had fallen flat, but usually he could at least get a pity smile out of Pervy Sage. "What's going on?" He said.

"Naruto…" Tsunade started. She looked like she couldn't find the words..

Jiraiya put a hand on her shoulder, trying to take over for her.

"Kid…" He couldn't seem to find the words either. Naruto's heart sank and his stomach felt like it was in his throat. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

It was Kakashi's voice that broke the news, a fury in it that none in the room had ever heard from him.

"Sasuke left the village six days ago."

His words were calculated, as if he was reading from a perfectly crafted mission report. Naruto didn't believe them.

"A retrieval team, composed mostly of your graduating class, was sent after him," Kakashi said. "Several shinobi were seriously injured by what we thought were his kidnappers. Neji and Kiba are still recovering. They'd likely be dead if Suna didn't show up to aid them." Kakashi said, his composure wavering.

Despite all the burning anger in his voice, and the robotic way he delivered it, a tear streamed down his visible eye.

"It was later discovered that they were agents of Orochimaru." Kakashi explained. Sasuke went with them willingly. Hinata chased him down, and from what I can gather, the two of them fought it out in the Valley of the End." Kakashi said. His voice cracked, and so did the facade. His body shook as he finished the report.

"Sasuke put a chidori through her abdomen. I arrived soon enough to provide emergency medical aid. She's still in critical condition." Tears poured out of Kakashi's eye like a waterfall. He looked Naruto right in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." He said. Silent sobs racked the jonins body, but Naruto didn't notice. He refused to notice. He refused to believe what he heard was true. He flushed his chakra system, ignoring Tsunade's warnings. He had to still be in the genjutsu. He had to be. This was some sick concoction Itachi was forcing him live through.

Sasuke wouldn't leave the village. He wouldn't leave him. He wouldn't hurt Hinata…

Except, Sasuke hadn't been himself of late. He'd been short tempered and impatient. He'd been snapping at his friends and teammates. He'd even used a chidori on what he thought was Naruto. And all that was before Itachi came to town.

So many emotions passed through Naruto in the silent minute that followed. Disbelief turned to anger, turned to sadness, to rage. He felt them mix and mingle. He forced himself out of his bed onto all fours, dry heaving. He was sick to his stomach.

He tried to flush his chakra system again but nothing happened. His rage shot through his system and he screamed. It was a pitiful sound after having not used his vocal cords for two weeks.

"No." He said.

"No!" he slapped his own face, trying to wake himself up.

"NO!"

Jiraiya put a hand on his back, trying to reassure him and stop him from hurting himself. Naruto shrugged him off, standing shakily. A searing pain shot through his head. He shrugged it off, tapping into the kyuubi's chakra all too easily in his emotional state. Just enough to override the pain in his head and strengthen his body.

He leapt through the window, shattering it as he did, and began running. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't stop. He was suffocating in emotions, and he had to outrun them before he drowned.

He ran until he started thinking again. He had no idea where he had ended up as he crashed to his knees. He slammed his fists into the ground. His knuckles broke on the rock. The pain felt good. It sharpened his awareness. Felt like it grounded him to the real world. He smashed them into the rock again. The jolt of pain brought him out of his daze.

His vision straightened, and he found himself on top of the Hokage monument. Just behind his favorite spot, the 4th Hokage's head. He felt ashamed at the moment, thinking that his father would be disappointed in him. A strangled scream muffled by sobs left his throat as he tilted his head back to the sky.

"I always said the view from my office was the best in the village." A calm voice slowly drawled from behind him. "The truth is, I was just jealous that I was stuck down there, when the real view was from up here."

Naruto turned around to see the Third Hokage. He wore a simple black robe, trimmed in cream. It was similar to what he used to wear as a younger shinobi. He no longer wore the mesh body armor though, and his ensemble more closely resembled the hokage robes than they did his shinobi fatigues from back in the day.

"Jiji." Naruto said. Tears began flowing from his eyes. His chest felt so tight, he grasped at it. The sobs that escaped him were not befitting of a shinobi of his power level. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not care. He saw a child he considered a grandson in pain. Immense pain that he should not have to face. Hiruzen knew something of this pain. Orochimaru leaving had been like losing a son. Now Naruto had lost a brother because of it.

Naruto felt the embrace of the third Hokage as an arm wrapped around him and pressed his head into his chest. He sobbed uncontrollably, the sounds muffled by the old man's robes. For how long he did not know. Time felt weird after his Tsukuyomi experience. He finally got control over his breathing, and focused on a more immediate and physical problem than his emotions.

"Your arm." He said, concerned.

Hiruzen chuckled. "Yes, most of it is missing. I'm told I'm only here to complain about it because a certain genin used his chest to divert the blade." He held up his arm, sleeve hanging limply just before the elbow. He phantomly turned over his hand, as if contemplating what was no longer there.

"I believe Konohamaru would like to thank you for that, by the way. He insists he is capable of defeating me now that I'm down a limb." The old man smiled nostalgically. "At least that's what I think he said. It was hard to tell through his crying." He'd had a near death experience and yet Naruto thought he looked younger than he'd ever seen him.

Naruto just looked at him, dumbfounded. He felt so much calmer from the old man's presence. He couldn't even begin to understand it.

"Sasuke is gone." Naruto said after a contemplative silence.

"So I've been told." Hiruzen replied, a wistful look taking over his face.

"I don't know what to do." Naruto sniffled, still affected by his previous sobbing.

Hiruzen sighed, aging years in that moment. "During my tenure as Hokage, we have had 573 ninja go rogue." Naruto's eyes widened at the number. Hiruzen agreed with his surprise, nodding. "More than ten per year. Most just can't handle the shinobi lifestyle, and run off to be civilians outside of the village. It's been my position to let them be after tracking them down." He looked out over the village, reminiscing on his career as Hokage.

"Some don't believe in what the village stands for, and seek other means of employment. Thieving, mercenary work, gangs. They are put in the bingo book. Typically they don't warrant their own hunter-nin squad."

He sighed again. "Then, there are those that leave because they have a goal, one they do not believe they can achieve while in the village. Orochimaru wished to unlock the secrets of all ninjutsu. He ran despicable, inhumane experiments to get there. Itachi, I believe, wishes to test the limits of his power." Something seemed off about that to Naruto, but he continued listening. "The thing that they all have in common, is that they don't care for the village or anybody in it."

"That's not Sasuke." Naruto tried to argue. "He cares about us." The encompassing term covered him and his team, Kakashi, and perhaps even Jiraiya and the other genin.

"That's the same thing Jiraiya argued about Orochimaru. I was too naive to see the truth and agreed with him at the time. Some small part of me still wishes it to be true." Hiruzen said. Naruto's face fell. There was a moment of silence.

"I'd like to think I've gained a great deal of wisdom in my old age." Hiruzen continued. "And that I'm adept at setting aside personal feelings when assessing a situation."

"And you want me to try to do the same?" Naruto asked, sadly. "I don't think I can, Jiji."

"Actually, it's quite the opposite." Hiruzen said, confusing Naruto. "You are capable of extraordinary things when you let personal feelings guide you. They strengthen your will in a way that is not common. Your mother was much the same." Hiruzen chuckled, memories of a fiery red head invading his mind.

Hiruzen took a few seconds to straighten his words, making sure not to misspeak. "I advise you to guard your heart, but never stop following it. Know that Sasuke may be gone for good, but do not give up on him so easily. Be ready to do what is necessary for your village and those you care for, but do not wish for it." Hiruzen said, sagely. "I do not believe Sasuke is the same as Orochimaru. He may have left of his own will, but his mind has been twisted by his brother and my former student. The mark that is on his neck is no small matter. I regret not taking it more seriously."

"But I'm not strong enough to fight someone like Orochimaru or Itachi without the Kyuubi, and they both brushed its chakra aside like it was nothing." Naruto said, unsure of where to go from here.

Hiruzen smiled again, a sly one that indicated he knew something the rest of the world did not.

"Sasuke has gone off to find a trainer he believes can elevate his skill to a level he can't attain here." Hiruzen said. "I think it would be felicitous if you showed him just how strong a ninja of the Leaf can become." He winked at him.

"I don't know what the hell that means, Old Man." Naruto said, some of his usual spunk returning. "But I sure do like the sound of it."

Hiruzen chuckled again. Oh to be youthful. "Come, let us go visit our Hokage and see what can't be done about that. I have the perfect sensei in mind." Hiruzen smiled, winking at him.

Naruto looked at him curiously, but the elderly man was already slowly descending the mountain. He could do nothing but follow.

—-

The meeting with the Fifth Hokage was informational for all parties. Naruto was given a more detailed account of Hinata's condition, as well as the condition of the rest of Sasuke's retrieval party. He was happy to hear they would all survive and have full function of their bodies. He was then filled in on the Sand team coming to their aid. Apparently his fight with Gaara had turned over a new leaf for the young jinchuuriki, and he had saved Rock Lee.

Second on the agenda, was Naruto filling them in on his perspective of the fight with Itachi and Kisame. He revealed to them, to the best of his ability, what Itachi had said within both genjutsu experiences. The Hokage and her closest advisors; Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Shikaku, and Kakashi, found it very troubling. The Akatsuki being after the tailed beasts was a frightening prospect. Itachi threatening that they would come back for the nine tails even more so. This brought up Hiruzen's opinion of Naruto's training, which brought them to their current conversation.

"You want him to take an apprenticeship?" Tsunade asked. "That would be a big loss for the village. Plus he's already trained under Jiraiya."

"I'm aware of this, but what he is to face in the future is a burden traditional training will not prepare him for, I'm afraid," Hiruzen responded.

"We can't afford to have Jiraiya saddled with training an already capable shinobi. We need him on missions."

"Why yes, I agree. Jiraiya is much too important." Hiruzen had that sly smile on his face. It irritated Tsunade to no end. He always was too childish for his intelligence.

"Kakashi either. We can barely fill our quota as it is." Tsunade said, taking the bait because she knew he wouldn't continue without it.

"Ah, so we can't afford to use an active shinobi to train him, but most inactive shinobi don't have the requisite skills?" Hiruzen said. It clicked for Tsunade.

"No. Absolutely not," she said forcefully. Hiruzen's childish grin only widened.

"If only we had a shinobi skilled enough to mentor the boy. Perhaps one that has experience training strong shinobi. Maybe even one that has held the position he so badly wants." Hiruzen tapped his chin with his one remaining hand. "But such a shinobi would be invaluable to the village, no? They would be running S-rank missions non stop. Unless we could find one that had forcibly retired from active duty due to injury. Hmm."

"You're not training him, sensei. You're not even supposed to be out of your hospital bed." Tsunade huffed.

"Ohh Princess Tsunade, do not think for one second that just because I'm missing an arm and retired, that I couldn't give you a run for your money right now if I wanted to."

Tsunade rolled her eyes both at the use of her nickname and her sensei's exaggeration.

"Naruto is the only ninja that can take advantage of the amount of jutsu I have to teach. I have to pass them down to somebody or I'll be forgotten." Hiruzen put on a pouting face that truly was not befitting of him. The third hokage playing victim. Who would've thought.

Tsunade really, truly had forgotten just how much of a character Hiruzen could be without 50 years of being Hokage weighing on his shoulders. Or an entire village to run.

"Besides," Hiruzen continued, ignoring everybody. "I'm the only one who can leave the village. You said it yourself, Jiraiya and Kakashi are far too valuable to pull off missions. They couldn't possibly undergo a training trip."

"Hold on." Tsunade interrupted. "Who said anything about leaving the village on a training trip?"

"What?" Hiruzen questioned. "You'd rather leave the boy exactly where the Akatsuki will look for him? Sending him on missions that are logged and filed in a system that no doubt has spies? What better alternative than roaming randomly across the nations with no sort of paper trail that can be betrayed?"

"You expect me to not only pull one of our most valued assets off of missions, but to let him roam the land completely untethered and untracked? Maybe I should have you admitted to the psych ward, old man." Tsunade said.

Hiruzen only smiled at her, pulling out his pipe. That was a bad sign for her, that usually denoted victory when he had a smile on his face.

"The boy summons toads, dear. We'll stay in touch. It's about time Jiraiya spent a substantial amount of time in the village anyway. You two can catch up." He gave a knowing smile that went over most of the heads in the room. The smallest of pink tinges showed on Tsunade's cheeks.

Hiruzen turned to Naruto. "We will depart in 4 months time, that should give us plenty of time to reach Kumo for the next chunin exams. I suggest you use that time wisely."

"He can't apprentice outside of the village as a chunin, Sensei. You know that. I thought that was why you delayed his promotion in the first place."

"You delayed my promotion?" Naruto asked Hiruzen, with a look of melodramatic betrayal on his face.

Hiruzen slotted the pipe into his mouth, where it balanced perfectly in the crook of his smile. He slowly removed a bag of tobacco. The fire nation's finest blend.

"For somebody with such large eyes, you certainly miss a lot, Tsunade." He said around the pipe. He packed tobacco into the chamber with practiced ease. "You know the qualifications for a Hokage's guard by now, yes?" Tsunade nodded, but he didn't pause for it. "He will depart for the chunin exams as my apprentice. He will pass with flying colors, as a student of mine would be expected too. I will rub it in the Raikage's face elegantly, and Naruto will immediately be promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin due to his specialization in sealing and hmmm…"

Hiruzen feigned at thinking hard, as if he hadn't had this planned out. "Ninjutsu should do. The rasengan and summoning gamabunta alone are probably enough for that, not even mentioning his kekkei genkai." Tsunade tried to argue, but he rolled right through it. "At that time, I will name him to my guard, which a retired Hokage is entitled to. Then a- Jiraiya how long did you say until Orochimaru needs to switch bodies?"

"Three and a half years at the earliest." Jiraiya replied, amused by his sensei's antics.

"I see. Well then a three year vacation should do for me after that. After all, I did spend more than a decade in the service of my village after retiring. Of course it will be hell for Naruto. But being a bodyguard is tough work." Hiruzen chuckled, an inside joke that seemingly only he understood. "You can still send him on mission requests through the toads. He can take a huge burden off of Jiraiya and Kakashi with the spy network. You won't lose any assets, and he'll be as safe as possible until he reaches a level where he can not only defend himself against the Akatsuki, but they will come to fear him." He punctuated his long winded rant by snapping his fingers. His index finger lit ablaze as if it were a match, and he held it to his pipe. He took a deep, satisfying puff of smoke. He held it several seconds, before exhaling it smoothly.

"Any other concerns?" He asked.

Tsunade's face was red. She didn't enjoy being talked down upon. Shikaku was trying to hide his smirk. He always did enjoy a well laid trap. Kakashi's lip twitched behind his mask, lightening his mood slightly.

Jiraiya reacted the most expressively, letting loose a deep, bellowing laugh. He nudged Naruto with his elbow.

"They don't call him the professor for nothing, huh Kid?"

"You're not kidding, Pervy Sage. I think Granny's head is gonna pop!" Naruto cackled, his immense responsibilities momentarily forgotten.

Tsunade opened up a drawer in her desk, pulling out a bottle of Sake.

"Alright!" Jiraiya lauded. "Let's celebrate the Kid's future promotion!" He moved to grab the bottle of Sake, and Tsunade didn't hold back. The window shattered as his body punched a hole through it.

Tsunade took a deep breath. As always, punching Jiraiya seemed to get rid of most of her anger. "I will allow it on the condition that I receive weekly reports and he takes at least two missions a month, depending on their scope. He will manage the spy network from outside of the village with your help. If you have any inkling that you're being tracked."

She looked at Naruto, and for the first time he truly could see why she was chosen as Hokage. The intensity in her gaze spoke of a fire he didn't know she had.

"You will take your bodyguard duties seriously. You will avoid the Akatsuki at all costs. You will not go after Orochimaru or Sasuke under any circumstances without a written order from me."

She stood up, putting her hands on her desk in a position that spoke of true power. "And most importantly, you will not waste this trip. I'm not kidding, Naruto. Despite sensei's sweet words, doing this is detrimental to the village and risky. You will come back powerful enough to strike fear in the hearts of your enemies, or you will not come back at all. Do you understand?"

Naruto matched her gaze. "I know how much people are counting on me. I've made promises that I don't plan on breaking. I won't let you down, Granny."

"Good." Tsunade said, sitting back down. "Now march your ass back to the hospital. You're on bed rest. If I hear so much as a peep of you trying to leave early, I'll cancel the trip and dig your grave myself."

"Yes ma'am." Naruto said, mock saluting her, and following Jiraiya's path out the window.

"A good lad, that one." Hiruzen said, smiling.

"He is, but I wasn't talking to him, Sensei." The glare she gave him very well could've melted a kunai. Hiruzen laughed.

"Very well, Tsunade. Very well." He slowly walked towards the door, pausing just before leaving. "And Tsuna? When I return, I'll be sorely disappointed if I'm able to talk you under the table that easily."

She threw the bottle of Sake at him, but it connected with the door, as the third Hokage had already departed.

If you're enjoying the story, please leave a comment and a follow! The positive or constructive comments are extremely helpful and push me to write much faster (excluding the long break where chapter 26 made me it's bitch)

Next chapter is the last of part 1. There will be a time skip like canon. It will be longer than canon by a little bit to better fit the story as you can tell. I'm making it 3.5 years before Orochimaru can switch bodies. The time in canon seems arbitrary to fit the training needed for Naruto anyway, so i feel this is okay. I plan on telling stories of the time skip in either interludes, or Omakes, or just straight flashbacks.

Nobody seems to have a strong opinion so I think I will just continue part 2 under this story title so people don't have to try and find a new one.

Part two is the part I'm really excited for, and where the biggest changes will happen.