Gathered in a rather large circle, Naruto addressed everyone who he had managed to find, including, but not limited to, Kakashi, Sakura, Lee, Choji, Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Neji, and Tenten. He wished Sasuke could've been there, however, he had been knocked out earlier. Kana also sat next to him, patiently waiting for him to say what he needed to.

"I'm leaving the village." Naruto said.

Kakashi coughed, making choking noises as his eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"Wait, you're going rouge?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, he's transferring villages." Kana cut in, explaining things in a way that hopefully would prevent an argument.

"But why?" Sakura asked, obviously trying to prevent herself from crying.

"Ever since what happened in the forest of death things have been very hard for me," Naruto sighed. "Kana and Kaneki know what I'm going through, they can help me. But now that the exams are over, they have to go back to Amegakure, and I don't know how I would be able to handle my new abilities without their help."

Kakashi released a breath of air he was holding in. "That's a relief, I thought you were abandoning the village."

"Of course not!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'll come and visit! I promise!"

"You better!" Sakura sobbed. "You! You... You Knucklehead!"

 "If you still want to say goodbye when I leave, meet me at the gates in an hour," Naruto said, his voice wavering. "I have to get some of my things from my apartment."

Kana put a supportive hand on his shoulder, facing Naruto's close friends with a confident smile.

"I promise I'll look after him!" She chirped.

"I guess we'll see you at the next chunin exams?" Choji asked.

Naruto grinned. "Of course, I can't be a genin forever! And when you see me again I'll be much stronger!"

"The next exams are only six months away," Kana chuckled. "Looks like we have a lot of work to do."

Naruto stood suddenly, offering his hand to Kana and helping her up. 

"See you all later!" Naruto grinned, running in the direction of his apartment.

Kana followed after him quickly, watching as droplets splattered on the ground. Naruto was obviously crying, however, this didn't seem like an appropriate time to point it out.

~~~~~

Naruto was in the middle of packing his underwear into a backpack when the window suddenly flew open, Kaneki somersaulting to a stop on his carpet. He was quick to stand up, brushing off his shoulder and licking some blood off of his hand.

"Where did you go?" Kana asked, helping Naruto pack by throwing his some shirts.

"I attempted to get Orochimaru," Kaneki groaned. "Of course the fucker managed to get away."

Kana patted his arm sympathetically. "I'm sure you'll get another chance."

"Yeah," Kaneki nodded, his attention shifting to Naruto. "So, does this mean we leave for Ame soon?"

"Yep," Kana chirped. "Right after Naruto finishes packing we leave."

"Great, I'm kind of sick of Konoha," Kaneki scoffed, then looking at Naruto again. "No offence."

"None taken," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "Now either help me pack or go away."

Kaneki shrugged, opening a drawer and beginning to empty it out onto his bed. Naruto threw a second bag in Kaneki's direction and he began to shove various articles of clothing inside.

"Kana?" Naruto suddenly said.

"What is it?" She replied, pausing in the middle of folding a shirt.

"Is what Sasuke said about Itachi really true?" Naruto asked. "I mean, he talks about it all the time, but you didn't seem to know."

"I... I really don't know," Kana sighed. "Sasuke didn't seem to be making that up, so Itachi probably just thought it would be best to never mention it to me."

"I think he didn't want you to think he was a bad person," Naruto said. "You seem to really look up to him."

Kana nodded numbly.

"There has to be an explanation," Naruto said. "I'm sure of it."

~~~~~

An hour later, Naruto, Kana, and Kaneki approached Konoha's giant gates, approaching the group of people who gathered to send Naruto off.

"Be safe, Naruto!" Lee cried, Sakura crying and nodding behind his wheelchair.

"What about all that being Hokage talk?" Shikamaru asked, promptly being smacked by Ino.

Naruto sighed. "I don't know yet."

"I'm sure you'll find something to be passionate about in Amegakure!" Kana exclaimed.

Naruto nodded, rubbing his arm nervously. "Thanks for everything Kakashi-sensei, you too Sakura. Make sure you tell Sasuke for me."

His teammates nodded.

"Good luck, Naruto." The Hokage said, making everyone turn to face him.

"Thanks, Ojichan." Naruto grinned.

"Before the Amegakure shinobi go, have you decided what we owe you?" The Hokage asked.

"Kana, what do you think?" Pein said, glancing down at the girl.

"Me?" She asked, receiving a nod of confirmation. "Well, since Amegakure is still very small, maybe we should become allies? You know, help each other out and trade goods?"

"Very good answer," Pein said, a bit of pride in his voice. "Does that sound alright to you, Hokage?"

"Yes, that sounds like a fair agreement," He smiled. "I'll send the paperwork to Ame right away."

"Then I suppose it is time we started on our way back," Pein said, looking to the other Akatsuki members. "Let's go."

They turned and left, Naruto, Kana, Haku, and even Azumi waving on their way back. A woman with long purple hair followed after them, feeling forgotten after not being mentioned for a while.

(A/N: I forgot Tsubaki existed tbh)

"Hokage-sama, we just let them go?" Kakashi breathed, obviously confused. "That was Itachi Uchiha, and Zabuza Momochi, and plenty of others who I'm assuming are also missing-nin."

"First of all, they helped our village," The Hokage sighed. "Second of all, the situation is much more complicated than you may think, some of the information you're looking for is classified."

"Then I'll trust your decision, Hokage-sama." Kakashi sighed, pulling his book from his pocket. "Now then, I'm going to relax for a while. Today sucked."

The old man chuckled. "That is an understatement."

~~~~~

"I can't believe you guys almost forgot me!" Tsubaki scoffed, throwing her arms up.

"Apologies Tsubaki, but I do have a lot of people I need to keep track of," Pein sighed. "Besides, you're alive, aren't you?"

"That's beside the point!" She retorted. "I was fighting for my life!"

"So was everyone else!" Kisame groaned. "Now shut up! We've barely left Konoha and you won't shut up!"

Tsubaki did the smart thing and shut up, not wanting to anger one of the two men carrying a giant sword.

Meanwhile, Kana glanced at Naruto with a worried expression, he was awfully quiet since they left. Her situation with Itachi wasn't great either, as he hadn't said anything to her since she hugged him a couple of hours ago. She still expected an explanation from him.

While Kana began asking herself if she should try and talk to Itachi, Pein spoke up, taking advantage of the silence and grabbing everyone's attention.

"I'm sure all of you are aware of Kaneki and Naruto," Pein began. "They will be joining us in our mission."

Several members of the Akatsuki nodded, giving the two newest members of the Akatsuki a smile or a wave.

"I thought this would be an appropriate time to mention some of the plans I have for you," Pein said. "These plans will be carried out as soon as we get back."

"So, what is it?" Kaneki asked, very obviously tired of beating around the bush.

Konan reached into her cloak, pulling out two Amegakure headbands and tossing one to each of the new members.

"Kaneki, I'd like you to take command of Ame's ANBU, currently Amegakure is fairly weak," Pein sighed. "Fix that."

"Naruto Uzumaki, you will be training under Kaneki with Ame's ANBU until I deem your skills o be on par with Kana and Haku," Pein said, staring down at the short boy. "And Kana, I have quite a few things for you to do."

"I can do it!" Kana chirped eagerly, making Pein's expression softened slightly.

"You will also receive as much training as possible, not just physical training either," He said to her. "I plan on making you Amegakure's next leader, a real Kage."

Kana stumbled, her mouth agape as she stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm supposed to be a Kage?" She asked.

Pein simply nodded. "I will explain later on, for now, your training is most important."

Suddenly, Kana had forgotten all about talking to Itachi, her mind overwhelmed with her newfound expectations. Everyone was counting on her to be the first Amekage, and she wasn't going to let them down.

A/N

The next chapter may be the last one for this book! Brings me near tears to see how far this book has come! This book is so close to 70 chapters, and I'm overall fairly happy with the writing and plot. I'm no super genius, but I'm proud. Getting the sequel going maybe a bit hard for me at first, but only because I'm making most of it up as I go, but I do have plans!

Hope you liked the chapter!