Naruto was currently running through the woods. He hadn't once stopped running since he left Kohona. He was out of breath and even with his legendary stamina running for long periods of time can really do a number on you. He stopped in front of a tree and looked up at the sky. When he did he finally noticed how dark it was.

The moon was already in the center of the sky and several of the stars had already made their presents known. As he looked up at the sky he sighed and his stomach let out a loud growl. Which in all honesty wasn't that surprising he had been running ever since he left Kohona stopping for almost no reason. When he did stop it was only to use the bathroom.

Naruto then took the bag from his back and looked through it to see what Sasuke had given him for when left the village. Surprisingly he had little to no food inside it. However, Naruto wasn't a very picky eater and when he found an apple waiting for him inside he didn't hesitate to take it. When he took his first bite he felt some of the juices run down his mouth slightly.

However, as he was eating he heard something that sounded very strange. It wasn't a human that much he could be sure of it sounded like an animal was hurt. He against his better judgment got up and walked towards the sound. When he got there he saw that there was a fox in a bear trap. Naruto was a little wary of it at first seeing as how it was growling at him and showing it's teeth.

However for a reason unknown to him it quickly calmed down. Seeing this Naruto decided to slowly make his way closer to the small creature. When he was about a foot away he reached for it and like before it showed its teeth and started to growl at him. When it did this he pulled his hand away and it stopped. As the blonde looked at the small animal before him he found himself looking at its paw and feeling sorry for it.

He knew what that felt like. Well not being in a bear trap but having no one else there for you. Naruto then reached for the bear trap and The fox once again started to growl at him. This only stopped Naruto for a second or two as he continued to reach for it the small metal device. When he did he saw the fox lunge forward and try to bite him.

He jerked his hand back quickly when he saw this and looked at the Fox. "Alright look, buddy, I'm just trying to help you. If you want to get out of this then you're going to have to trust me. After I get you out of this thing you can do whatever you want and roam free like before." Naruto said looking at the small creature. This, however, didn't stop the fox from growling at him.

When Naruto reached for the small device for the second time he saw that the fox was watching him carefully. When he got close to the metal trap like before the fox lunged at him the only difference between this time and last time being that fox actually did bite him. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut in pain however he then relaxed very quickly.

"Huh, you know your bite didn't hurt as much as I thought it would," Naruto said looking at the small animal that was currently biting one of his hands. He didn't know why the bite didn't hurt but to him it really didn't matter. As he once again reached for the small metal device he the fox eventually got tired and released the blonde from his jaws.

Naruto then placed a hand on each part of the device and started to pray to two pieces of metal apart. He struggled with it just a bit but when it was wide enough for the fox to escape the animal wasted no time in removing its paw from the trap. When it did Naruto let go of the trap forcing the to jaw piece to snap together once again.

When Naruto looked at the fox it stared at him for a moment before it ran away into the woods. Naruto then sighed as he once again looked at the apple he had been eating. It had gotten dirt all over it and the parts that he had eaten had already started to have grown brown spots on it. When he saw this he sighed and turned the apple around and started to eat it once again. As long as he avoided the dirty spots it shouldn't do any harm, right?

Naruto then felt a yawn come to the surface. When it did he sighed and placed his book bag on top of himself to keep himself warm. As he slept he felt his body shake slightly, but it eventually stopped when he fell deep into slumber.

In Konoha

Hiruzen had just arrived at the village. However, he was a little surprised to see what he did. He saw several lanterns up as well as several people drinking sake as well eating foods that were usually expensive. As he walked by in all the confusion he looked at the man to his right. "I want you to tell me what's going on when I get to the Hokage's office," He said in a very confused manner.

The Anbu nodded through his mask and jumped into the air. Hiruzen only saw him clear a few buildings before he vanished out of sight. His worries only grew as he saw a large sign in front of the gates that lead to the Hokage mansion that read "WE FINALLY DID IT!" As he slowly walked up the stairs he saw the man who was running the bottom counter look away. In fact to Hiruzen his facial expression looked to hold a mix of both nervousness and fear.

As he walked up the steps he had a theory about what had happened and to put it simply he didn't like. As he opened the door to the Hokage office he saw the man that he had sent to gather info no more than five minutes ago standing there not by himself though he also had two other people who were also wearing Anbu masks standing behind him looking what he would describe as nervous.

He didn't need to see their faces to know that's what they were. He has been a ninja for more than four decades he had more than learned to pick up if someone was nervous just from their body language. As he sat down he looked at the three in front of him. He then got his pipe and started to smoke. The member that was in front of the other two then stepped forward.

"Lord third Hokage I have learned what is going on and to put it simply while you were gone a lot happened," He said looking at him. Hiruzen then blew out a cloud of smoke and looked at the man that was standing no less than three feet in front of him.

"Alright well please start from the begging of you don't mind," Hiruzen said sticking his pipe back in his mouth.

"Alright, so you remember these two right? The two that were assigned to protect Naruto while you were gone." The man asked looking at him. Hiruzen then looked at him and nodded. "Right well apparently these two did nothing to protect or even watch over Naruto for that matter. This, of course, lead to several other events taking place.

"What events took place?" Hiruzen asked his teeth begging to dig into the metal tip of his pipe.

"Well, Naruto was changed around by civilians and people alike. While we were also gone stores refused to serve Naruto and his house was burned down. They are currently starting construction there as we speak. They apparently no longer have a problem repairing that building now that and I quote "The demon freak isn't living there." We have also located another source of information from one Sasuke Uchiha." He said looking at him.

"Is he willing to speak?" Hiruzen asked looking at him a little worried. It was a well-known fact that Sasuke and Naruto never really got along. So he could only imagine that if what he had to say was true then he wouldn't share that information willingly.

"Yes, he has said he will answer any questions you have for him. However, he will also be asking his own question and just like he is doing with you, he expects and honest answer." The male in front of him said. Hiruzen then leaned back and thought about it for a moment. When he was done he looked at the male in front of him.

"Tell Sasuke I agree to his terms. I would also like to speak to him as soon as possible." Hiruzen said looking at him. The man then left leaving him and the two other Anbu alone. "Now you two refused to protect Naruto." The elderly man said looking at them. "I made it very clear that this was going to be an S-class mission when I assigned it to you," He said standing up.

"Tell me you two, do you know what the penalty for breaking an S-class mission is?" Hiruzen asked looking at them. They both lowered their heads although because Hiruzen wasn't looking he continued. "I assume that your silence means that you do know. The penalty is death." Hiruzen said looking at them. "I want each of you to report to Anko and tell her of your betrayal," Hiruzen said looking at them.

They both nodded and began to walk down the stairs. Hiruzen then got out his Hokage ball and an image of Naruto appeared. When he saw that he was fine with a bag on his stomach he sighed a breath of relief. However, he then saw a fox approach him. Hiruzen got a little concerned at this because it's a well-known fact that fox's are Scavengers.

Hiruzen then watched as the Fox smelled Naruto's hand. It wasn't until now that he realized that Naruto's right hand was covered in blood. The fox then pulled away from his hand and got on top of the backpack Naruto was holding to his chest. When it was on top of it the small creature let out a tired yawn and curled up into a little ball then started to sleep.

The elderly man then heard a knock on the door and put his ball away. "Come in," He said as he looked at the door. He then saw the man from before walk inside with Sasuke who for an unknown reason had bandages around his abdomen.

"You wanted to speak with me lord third Hokage," Sasuke said bowing at the elderly man in front of him.

"Yes indeed, So Sasuke please take a seat," He said gesturing to one of the seats that were on the side of the room. Sasuke nodded and walked over to one of the seats and looked at him. "So How do you want to do this?" The elderly man asked looking at the young male.

"How about you ask all the questions you want then when you're done I'll ask what I want." Sasuke proposed looking at the elderly man.

"Sounds fair enough," The elderly man stated as he looked at the raven haired boy in front of him.

"Alright, first question. What happened to Naruto?" Hiruzen asked looking at him.

"He left the village," Sasuke stated very calmly.

"Why would he do that?" Hiruzen asked looking at the young male confusion written on his face.

"He was tired of the way people treated him around here," Sasuke said looking at the ground. 'In all honesty I don't blame him. If they had treated me the way they treated him I would have left a long time ago.' Sasuke thought to himself in slight rage.

"I see how do you know this?" Hiruzen asked looking at him.

"I helped him get out of the village," Sasuke said looking at him.

"I see," Hiruzen stated as he then fell quite for a moment. 'He's too young to know about the law I passed six years ago. I could punish him for having a civilian leave with possible secrets. Then again what good would having a battle with the Civilian council do me? They'd probably just find some way to blame it on Naruto.' Hiruzen thought as he looked at the boy.

"How'd you get that wound?" Hiruzen asked looking at Sasuke.

"Could I maybe answer this one in private?" Sasuke asked looking at him.

"Why of course," Hiruzen said snapping his fingers which signaled the Anbu to leave the room. After the young raven, haired male looked around the room to make sure that it was only them inside the office he sighed and looked at the elder man in front of him.

"I got this wound from Naruto. It was part of the plan we used to help get him out of the village. In hindsight, it worked but probably wasn't the best plan." Sasuke said looking at the Hokage. Hiruzen then looked up at the ceiling and sighed. The more he thought about it the more his head hurt.

"Alright final questions," The white-haired male said looking at the younger male in front of him. "Why did you help Naruto leave the village and what do you think about him leaving?" Hiruzen asked looking at him.

"In all honesty I think it's probably for the best. I mean I never knew how badly they treated him until I caught a glimpse of it first hand. It wasn't a pretty sight. As for why I helped him leave it's a very simple answer no one should be forced to stay in a village where they're hated and people treat them like trash. In all honesty, I'm surprised he didn't leave sooner." Sasuke said looking at him.

"Sasuke would you be willing to identify the man you saw with Naruto that night?" Hiruzen asked looking at him.

"Yes, I would although it was two men, not one," Sasuke said looking at him.

"I see," Hiruzen then once again snapped his fingers and an Anbu appeared before him. "What is it lord Hokage?" He asked with a bow.

"I want all ninja that were out of their homes past . . . Sasuke what time would you say you saw Naruto?" The elderly man asked looking at the young male in front of him.

Sasuke then shrugged and looked at him. "Around nine if I had to take a guess." Hiruzen then nodded and looked at the Anbu and the masked figure nodded. Within seconds of receiving his new orders, he bowed and disappeared out of the room.

The elderly man then looked at the young male who was still in front of him. "Well ask away," Hiruzen said looking at him.

Sasuke then nodded and looked at him. "I'm going to ask one question," Sasuke said looking at him. The elderly man nodded and looked at him waiting for his oncoming question. There were so many possibilities and Hiruzen was prepared for any of them. Sasuke then took a deep breath and looked at the elderly man. "What are you not telling me about Naruto," He asked looking at him.

Hiruzen then smiled at his luck and said, "There are a lot of things about Naruto that you and this village for that matter don't know." Hiruzen said looking at the young male. The raven haired male was clearly not satisfied with his answer, but he didn't want to be the last Uchiha that doesn't know how to keep his word. So he sighed and left the building. Hiruzen grabbed his pipe and was about to place it into his mouth however he ended up snapping it before it could reach its destination.

'The nerve of this village and its ninja. I mean most if not all civilians know about my law and the punishment behind it. The fact the ninja are now breaking and Anbu rank ninja no less. This just goes to show how far this village has really fallen.' Hiruzen thought as he unknowingly to him released a massive amount of KI. It was a good thing that no one else was in the room with him otherwise they might just have personally learned why he had earned the title of shinobi no Kami.

He looked up at the statue of the fourth Hokage and sighed. "Minato I have failed you. Please forgive me." He unconsciously said aloud. As he did he then sat back down in his chair and sighed. When he did he picked the Hokage ball back up and placed it in front of him. He then watched Naruto's sleeping from as the young child began to stir in his sleep.

'I hope that Sasuke is right and that this does turn out to be an improvement on your life. Naruto I won't be able to watch over you anymore. If I do then the civilian council will not only accuse me of helping you but will also most likely track you down.' Hiruzen thought as he looked at the small figure sleeping. "Goodbye Naruto," He said as the image of him faded from his ball.

With Naruto

Naruto awoke to the most unusual sensation of something wet and kind of rough being rubbed across his face. When he looked up at the sky he saw that it was still nighttime. When he got up he let out a yawn and looked for whatever had just woke him up. When he did he saw the same fox from earlier looking at him.

"Don't tell me you are what woke me up," Naruto stated as he looked at the small creature in front of him. When he did it let out a small yip and started to wag its tail back and forth. He then sighed in irritation he may not know much about wildlife but he did know was centered around two animals foxes and rabbits.

So he was a bit more than a little displeased that a fox had been the thing to wake him up because he knew that most breeds of fox were nocturnal. He then sighed as he looked at it. When he did it got up and looked at him. Naruto tried to go back to sleep much to the small animals disapproval. However no matter how hard he tried he just could fall back to sleep.

He then sat up and looked at the fox that was at the moment still staring him down. "I hope you're happy now because of you I'm awake and can't go back to sleep." When he said this the fox once again lets out a small yip. Naruto sighed at this and slowly made his way up off the ground. When he was on his feet his dusted himself off and began to walk through the woods.

He didn't really see the point in running now. He had been running ever since he left Konoha and that was more than twelve hours ago so he has to have some form of distance in between him and the village right. As he walked through the woods he heard something following him. When he looked behind him he saw a small red figure following him.

Naruto then sped up a little bit and to his disappointment the fox did as well. He continued to slowly increase his speed until his was in a full blown sprint. As he was running, he did a little trick that he learned running from some of the villagers that he had pranked. He jumped up in mid air and turned around to see if it was still behind him.

When he saw this he grew a little irritated and landed on his feet bringing himself to a stop. Naruto then turned around and saw that the fox was sitting down in front of him. The blonde then hung his head in defeat and let out a sigh. "Alright fine, you can come with me," Naruto said causing the small fox to let out a slight yip.

Naruto then looked at it and turned around and once again started to walk. As he did his stomach once again growled and he clutched it slightly. When he did he then heard an increase of footsteps and turned around to see the fox running away. "Really I run away from it but I get hungry and it acts like I'm going to eat it or something." Naruto sighed as he continued to walk.

He then heard what he recognized as running water. When he heard this he ran towards it and saw that there was indeed a small river flowing through the middle of the woods. He then looked down to see if he could spot anything that he could possibly catch however in this darkness it did him little to no good. He could barely see three feet in front of him let alone through the water.

As he continued to look he thought he heard something when he looked to his side he once again saw the fox and it was looking at something in the water. Naruto then thought the small animal was helping him and smiled. However still couldn't see where the animals were. Naruto then remembers the kunai that Sasuke had given him.

Naruto then walked behind the fox and looked at where he was pointing. He took a guess at where whatever he was pointing at was and threw the kunai at it. When he did he went into the water and pulled out the kunai to reveal that nothing was on it. He sighed at this and once again heard the small fox yipping at something.

This time, the blonde wasted no time in running over to where it was and throwing a knife in the water. When he went into the water this time to pull out the knife he found that a small almost six inches long fish was on the end of it. Naruto then once again heard the fox barking and ran over to where it was. He tried several times to catch several different fish however most of the time he didn't catch a fish.

After his arm had gotten tired he looked at what he had caught and counted four fish. "Well, that's two for me and two for you at least," Naruto said looking at the small animal in front of him. He then looked inside the bag for anything at all that could help him cook the fish he had just caught. When he looked through it, he found a small lighter. Naruto smiled at his luck and placed the lighter in his pocket and then went off to find some things to build a fire with.

He walked through the woods and just picked up different sticks that he found lying on the ground. When he had found what he considered to be enough to start a fire he walked out of the woods and once more by the river he had been at. It was around this time that he felt the few rays of the sunshine on his body warming up his body slightly. He then placed the sticks in a pile taking out one for himself.

He then looked at the lighter and lit it when he did he placed it in the center of the pile and waited for it to slowly build when he saw that the fire was big enough to last on its own he took his hand away taking the lighter with him and waited for the flames to become big enough to cook the fish over. When they were finally big enough he put two fish on a stick and start to slowly cook them.

As he waited he looked to the sky and saw something that looked like the Hokage's hat. "I wonder if Jiji's made at me leaving the village?" The blonde thought out loud as he looked up at the sky. When he looked back to the food he was preparing for him and his new companion he saw that it was about ready and took one off the stick and handed it to the small creature in front of him.

He then watched as the small animal looked at it for a second as if it was pouncing on something. This caused Naruto to giggle slightly. 'You know as much as I hate to admit it. The little guy is kind of cute.' Naruto thought to himself as he watched the small animal consume the fish. Naruto then shook these thoughts out of his head as he also began to eat his own fish.

Once he was done with his fish he put the two remaining fish on the stick and also started to cook them as well. As he did he looked at the small fox that was at the moment trying to catch a butterfly. This once again caused him to let out a small giggle. 'You, it's kind of funny to think that you were the one that bite me less than a day ago. Now look at us here we are eating fish together.' Naruto thought as he looked at the small creature.

He then averted his gaze to the fish once more and saw that these fish were also almost done. Naruto then took them off the fire and looked at the fox. It wasn't paying much attention to him so he tried something he whistled for it. When he did the fox looked at him and walked over to him. 'How strange,' Naruto thought looking at it.

He then smiled and took another fish off the stick and placed it in front of it. The fox this time wasted no time in grabbing the fish and starting to eat it. 'It came to me when I called for it. Most wild animals don't do that. Hmm is it possible you had a master before?' Naruto thought to himself looking at the small creature.

However, an odd thought then crossed his mind however unlike all his previous thoughts he said this one aloud. "You know we need to find a name for you," He said looking down at the small fox in front of him. This caused the red creature to look up at him and tilt its head sideways. "Don't look at me like that I mean if we're going to be traveling together then of course I'm going to have to call you something other than fox," Naruto said looking at the small animal in front of him.

The small animal then lets out a small bark and looked at him in anticipation. Naruto then looked up thoughtfully for a second before he looked back down with a smile on his face. "I got it how about we call you . . ."