Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine, so don't sue me. There might be some jutsus that I'll make up and I'll list them at the bottom of each chapter and there might be some OCs that I make up as we go along.

Overlooking the village of Konohagakure was the Hokage monument. Four stern visages of the previous Hokages' seemed to watch over the village that they had all given their lives for. A figure could be seen standing on top of the Yondaime Hokage's head. From a distance, people might mistake the young man for the deceased Hokage, however this was not Namikaze Minato, Konoha's Yellow Flash. This was his son, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko and recently banished ex-ninja of Konohagakure no Sato and Hi no Kuni.

Naruto closed his eyes as he thought back to the circumstances that had brought him to this point and he wondered if his father was still alive, what would he think of the village that he, his wife and essentially his son, gave their lives for. Naruto had to stifle a grin as the clone's memories of the council chamber flooded his mind. He actually chuckled at the looks on the elders' faces when he reveled himself to be just a clone. 'And they call themselves ninjas, yet they couldn't even see through a simple Kage Bunshin!' he thought.

With a sigh, Naruto created a dozen clones and transformed them into non-descript looking civilians. He went to each of the clones and handed them a letter.

"You all know what to do," Naruto said. "Just deliver the letters and dispel. Good luck, and those letters will only open for their recipients, there's a small blood seal on them to make sure, so there's no worry about them falling into the wrong hands before they are read."

The clones nodded and vanished. Naruto turned back to the village and sighed once again. He looked down at the stone carving of his father's head.

"I wonder what you're thinking tou-san, how would you feel about how the village you and kaa-san gave their lives for, treated your son," Naruto pondered. "They disobeyed your final wish, would you be disappointed in me if I wished for this place to burn for what the villagers did to me. Does that make me any better than them in wishing for their demise as they did my own?"

"It makes you human," a familiar voice said from behind Naruto.

"Here to arrest me Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said.

"Of course not," Kakashi said, appearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Then what do you want?"

"Naruto, I am sorry this happened…"

"Save it, we all knew this would happen sooner or later. The council and the villagers have been calling for my head ever since I was born, just waiting for a chance to strike. This way I can strike back."

"How long have you known?"

"That I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage, your sensei," Naruto said. "I've known for years, ever since I became a ninja."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Kakashi asked.

"Would it have made a difference or better yet, should have it?"

"No, you're right. What your name is shouldn't make a difference in how you are treated," Kakashi said. "Sensei would be ashamed of me, he never took favorites with me, Obito or Rin."

"No, he wouldn't have but I know why you had to teach the teme. That's the problem with Konoha, the whole village is so caught up with a person's name that they forget whom the person actually is. If people knew who my father was from the start, I probably would have turned out like teme; arrogant, stuck-up, thinking that everything had to be handed to me. It's probably better this way."

"But you've been banished!" Kakashi exclaimed.

Naruto shrugged. "So what, at least now I can go after my dreams without holding back."

"What do you mean 'holding back' and I thought your dream was to become Hokage?"

Naruto chuckled. "Well maybe when I was a kid but once I became a ninja, I realized that I would never be accepted enough to become Hokage, and when I found out about my parents, things changed."

"You still haven't answered my question about holding back?"

"I didn't, did I? It's pretty self-explanatory. Self-preservation," Naruto said. "What do you think that the villagers would have wanted; a smart, strong 'demon' or and idiot?"

Kakashi nodded. He had been assigned to help guard Naruto as a child, and had had to chase off plenty of idiotic villagers from trying to 'finish the Yondaime's works.

"How much, then, were you holding back?"

"Do you really think that I failed the graduation exam three times on purpose but yet still pull off those pranks and outrun chunins, jonins and even some ANBUs afterwards? My chakra reserves are probably the largest in the village, and that's without the Kyubi adding his own. However my control is only at high-genin level, so I still waste a lot of chakra, hence the reason I need a clone to help me create the Rasengan. My speed without my seals on is probably equal to Bushy Brows' speed when he's using the Gates. My taijutsu is decent, probably mid-chunin but coming from where I started and since no one would teach me, I'll consider it a fair trade. My stealth, well if I don't want to be found, I won't be, and let's leave it at that."

"And genjutsu?" Kakashi asked, with a smirk behind his mask.

"Still sucks," Naruto chuckled. "Can dispel them, but can't set one up to save my life. But hopefully, as my chakra control gets better I can start using some of the more basic ones. And it's funny, I can't even do a Henge right, since that's technically a genjutsu."

"What do you mean, I've seen you do Henges all the time?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes but it's a special Henge, I literally 'transform' into the object," Naruto said. "The old man labeled it a kinjutsu, just like my Oiroke no Jutsu."

The pair laughed, though Kakashi was amazed to hear the details about Naruto's Henge.

"So you actually transform into the object, even inanimate objects?" he asked.

Naruto nodded. "Hai, and that's why jiji labeled it a kinjutsu, I'm the only one who can use it properly." Naruto stiffened. "Well, my work is done. The clones have finished dropping off the letters and with the council meeting breaking up, I better get going, they'll soon send their goons after me. Ja ne Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto vanished in a swirl of wind.

'To be able to use an elemental Shunshin at his age, he truly is his father's son,' Kakashi thought. "What have we done?"

Meanwhile in the Hokage's office, a busty blonde woman was sitting at the desk, bottles of sake littering the floor.

"How could they do this to him? After all he's done for them," Senju Tsuande, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, slurred. "Damn gaki, didn't even say goodbye."

There came a knock on the door and Shizune's voice was heard calling through, "Lady Hokage, there is a man here who says that he has a letter from Naruto-kun for you."

Tsuande's head shot up. "Bring him in," she barked. The door opened and an average looking man walked in. Tsuande narrowed her eyes at the brown haired man. "Who are you? You're not from Konoha."

"That is true, I'm not. I am however just a messenger here to deliver a scroll to one Senju Tsuande from Uzumaki Naruto," the man said.

"You know Naruto?" Tsuande asked.

"No, I have heard of him though and his exploits," the man responded. "And I must say that I'm surprised that Konoha would treat a hero with such disdain."

"Yes, he is a hero, many times over. The ignorant villagers don't deserve such a hero. Now you said you had a message from Naruto?"

"Yes, I do," the man said. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a scroll. He handed it to Tsuande. "Well, my job is complete, and I shall take my leave."

The man bowed to Tsuande and turned to leave. "Wait, what was your name sir?" Tsuande asked.

"Arashi, Kurama Arashi," the man said with a grin that seemed out of place. "Goodbye Lady Hokage."

"Good bye," Tsuande said. "Could you please sent my assistant, Shizune, in when you leave? She was also close to Naruto as well."

"Of course," Arashi said.

A moment later, Shizune entered the office. "You call for me milady?"

"Yes, I was about to open the letter from the gaki, and I'm sure that you would want to listen in," Tsuande said.

"Well yes of course, but I think you should read it first, since I got a letter from Naruto-kun as well, though I can't seem to open it."

"What!" Tsuande cried. "Naruto wrote you a letter as well?"

"Yes, that man, Arashi, gave it to me before I let him in to see you."

"Seems that Naruto had some secrets of his own," a voice said from the window. It was Jiraiya, and he was holding a scroll as well.

"You got one from the gaki as well," Tsuande said. "And what do you mean secrets?"

"That's a blood seal on these scrolls, that's why you can't open them so easily. Looks like the runt has been studying fuinjutsu. Those seals aren't easy to make either, it's near mastery level work."

"You're saying that Naruto is a seal master?" Tsuande asked.

"Nearly so," the Gama Sanin said.

"Where did he learn fuinjutsu? You didn't teach him, did you Jiraiya?"

The white haired man shook his head. "I was planning on teaching him the basics, to see how he did, during the training trip…but now…"

The room was silent.

"So hime, are you going to open your letter?" Jiraiya asked. Tsuande bit her thumb and swiped some blood across the seal. It glowed blue before the seal broke and Tsuande opened the letter.

Dear Baa-chan,

I wish it hadn't come to this but we all knew that this was coming eventually. Don't blame yourself, lay the blame where it belongs: Danzo and the Council. They're planning something, so keep an eye on them. Also make sure you pull up any stray 'roots' around your garden, they'll turn into weeds quickly. Don't worry about me, I'll be in touch as much as I can be and I've found a safe place to hole up for the time being. And besides, no one can find me if I don't want to be found. I'm sure you're also wondering how I was able to create this seal, well as they say 'deception is a ninja's best friend' and we have a very close relationship.

Goodbye for now,

Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto

"He knows!" Tsuande exclaimed. Jiraiya was grinning. "You knew he knew!" she accused.

Jiraiya waved his hands in from of him in a placating gesture. "I didn't know until I read his letter. But I'm not surprised; the brat is his father's son. He learned of and mastered the Rasengan in roughly a month."

"What should we do now?" Tsuande asked.

"We go on," Jiraiya said. "It's what the gaki wants, and we show the Council the error of their ways."

"What about his inheritance? I want to give it to him but you know the Council will never allow me to release those scrolls," Tsuande said.

"This is Naruto we're talking about, if he found about his parents, who's to say he didn't find the scrolls already," Jiraiya said.

"That's impossible," Tsuande said. "There's no way someone could break into my office and steal those scrolls."

"This is the brat who broke into sensei's office, knocked the old man out using only a Henge, and stole the Forbidden Scroll of Seals before even becoming a registered ninja," Jiraiya said, glee gleaming in his eyes.

Tsuande stood up and walked over to the portrait of the Yondaime Hokage. "The seal on here has been broken," she said.

Jiraiya broke into deep-bellied laughter. "Thought so, after I read my letter, I went to check on Minato's house, you know he had it sealed to make sure no one could break in, well those seals were all broken as well."

"So that means…" Shizune said.

"The gaki was one step ahead of everyone," Tsuande said with a broad grin. "He made off with his inheritance and his parents' scrolls, without being caught. Got to say, for the village prankster, this is one hell of a send off."

"He truly is the most unpredictable, surprising ninja," a voice, laced with amusement, said from the window. It was Kakashi.

"So you got a letter as well?" Tsuande asked.

"Yes but I also got a message directly from the source," the silver haired jonin said.

"You talked with Naruto!" Tsuande barked.

Kakashi nodded. "I found him on top of his father's head, and learned quite a bit about our favorite knucklehead."

"Like what?" Tsuande asked.

"He's been hiding a lot more than you would think, and he's a lot sharper than he let's on."

"Well, considering he knows about his folks, and made off with their scrolls and clan holdings without being seen or caught," Jiraiya said.

"So what are you going to do now? I'm sure Naruto sent more letters out, he made about a dozen Shadow Clones and had them Henge themselves. That means there's probably at least ten or so more people getting letters."

"I knew it, that little twerp. He delivered these letters himself," Tsuande exclaimed. "I knew that Arashi guy looked familiar."

"Arashi, that was the name Minato used when he took missions after he became Hokage," Jiraiya said.

"So who else would he have sent messages too?" Shizune asked.

"Probably the other rookies, Team Gai, Iruka and the Ichirakus," Tsuande said. "So I'm sure that I'll be getting some more visitors soon. And I'm sure that the Council will be making a public statement as well."

Just then, the door burst open and in came Sakura, Team 8, 9 and 10 along with their senseis and Iruka.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tsuande barked.

"Where's Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"Watch your tone Kiba," Yuhi Kurenai snapped.

Hai sensei, but we all got these letters from Naruto and they said to come to the Hokage for answers," Kiba explained.

"What happened?" Hinata asked. "Where's Naruto-kun?"

"They did it, didn't they?" Shikamaru said. "The troublesome Council finally went through with its threat."

Tsuande, Jiraiya, Kakashi and Shizune looked at the lazy Nara heir.

"Shikamaru, what are you talking about? What threat? Why would the Council make a threat against Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"How long have you know?" Tsuande asked.

"Known for sure, since the Chunin Exams," Shikamaru said. "I've suspected it for years though."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kiba cried. The elder ninja looked at each other before coming to an unspoken decision.

"They're going to find out anyway, Danzo and the troublesome Civilian Council will most likely want to make an announcement as soon as possible," Shikamaru said.

"Would someone please tell us what the hell is going on?" Sakura demanded. "And what's this about Naruto and the Civilian Council?"

Tsuande turned to the younger ninja, looking them each in the eye. "What I'm about to tell you is considered an S-class secret, and if any of you speak a word of this to anyone outside this room, I won't hesitate to throw you in prison," she said.

"Not that that stopped anyone before, you know it's the worst kept secret in Konoha," Jiraiya snarled.

"What are you talking about? How can the dobe be mixed up with S-class secrets?" Ino said.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Ms Yamanaka," Tsuande growled. Ino paled and nodded stiffly. "Now, what do you all know of the Kyubi attack 13 years ago?"

"The demon attacked the village on October 10th," Sakura said.

"And that the Yondaime killed it at the cost of his own life," Hinata continued. "That's what they told us at the Academy."

"Well, that is a lie," Tsuande said.

"You mean the Kyubi is alive!" Kiba exclaimed.

"What if it comes back?" Ino cried.

"Silence!" Tsuande roared. "Yes, the Kyubi is alive, so to speak. The Yondaime couldn't kill the fox, because you can't kill something that is basically a chakra construct with infinite chakra capabilities."

"What happened to the Kyubi then?" Neji asked.

"Do you know the term 'jinchuriki'?" Jiraiya asked. Everyone shook his or her head. "It means 'Power of Human Sacrifice.' As you know, there are nine tailed beasts of legend, the Kyubi being the nine-tailed fox. Now these demons can't be killed, but they can be contained."

"Contained?" Tenten asked.

"Sealed," Tsuande said.

"And that's what the Yondaime did, didn't he?" Sakura asked. "He couldn't kill the Kyubi, so he sealed it."

"But what did he seal it into, the Kyubi was said to have leveled mountains and raised tidal waves with a swipe of its tail," Tenten said. "No object could contain that much power."

"Correct, no object," Jiraiya said. "The term jinchuriki also means a person who has one of the Biju sealed within them."

"And Naruto is the Kyubi's jinchuriki, isn't he?" Hinata asked softly.

"Yes," Tsuande answered.

"WHAT!" Kiba yelled. "Naruto is the Kyubi?"

"NO!" Tsuande, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Gai, Shizune, Kurenai, Asuma and Hinata all roared. Kiba cowered slightly.

"Naruto is NOT the Kyubi, he is it's jailer," Jiraiya said. "The Yondaime sealed the fox inside Naruto because only a newborn child, whose chakra coils hadn't developed yet could survive the strain of such a massive amount of chakra being forced into them."

Naruto-kun's birthday is October 10th, he was born the day of the attack," Hinata said.

"Correct," Tsuande said.

"That's why the villagers give him such cold glares and call him 'demon,' 'murderer,' and all those most unyouthful names," Rock Lee said.

"They believe him to be the fox, not it's container," Neji said.

"So they can't tell the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed in," Tenten said.

Tsuande smiled. "That's exactly right."

"But why did the Yondaime choose Naruto as the child," Sakura asked, feeling extremely conflicted. On one hand, she felt anger, as the Kyubi had killed her father, something her mother never let her forget. But on the other hand, she felt sad for Naruto. He hadn't asked to have the fox sealed within him. Naruto was less than a day old when the attack happened. Sakura even felt a little betrayed by the fact that her teammate hadn't trusted her with this information.

"The Yondaime was an honorable man, he couldn't just ask someone to give their child up for this burden," Jiraiya said.

"Is that why he used Naruto, who was an orphan?" Ino asked.

"No, he choose Naruto because he couldn't let another make that type of sacrifice if he wasn't willing to do the same," Shikamaru said from the couch, where he was lounging, head titled back and eyes closed."

"What are you talking about Shika?" Choji asked.

A gasp broke the silence. "It can't be," Hinata whispered. Everyone aside from Shikamaru looked at her.

"What Hinata?" Shino asked.

"Lady Hokage, what's Naruto-kun's real last name?" she asked. Tsuande, Jiraiya, Kakashi and Shizune broke into broad grins.

"Hinata, what are you talking about? Naruto's last name is Uzumaki," Sakura said. "Isn't it?"

"That was his mother's last name," Tsuande said. "Sensei, the Sandaime, gave it to him in order to protect Naruto from his father's enemies."

"Fat lot of that did him," Jiraiya growled. "He protected Naruto from people outside the village, but what about the people inside it?"

"I agree but what's done is done," Tsuande said, though she looked very angry as well.

"Hokage-sama, if Uzumaki is Naruto's mother's name, who was his father?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto's father was my student, Namikaze Minato," Jiraiya said.

"But your student was the…" Ino trailed off as he pale blue eyes widened."

"The Yondaime," Neji whispered.

"Naruto's dad was the Yondaime!" Kiba cried. "That's impossible!"

"It's true, Naruto's real name is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto," Tsuande said. "He is the only son of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, and Uzumaki Kushina, the Whirlpool's Crimson Death."

No on breathed, even the jonin aside from Kakashi were struck silent.

"Sensei would never allow anyone to make a sacrifice or decision that he himself wouldn't make," Kakashi said.

"YOU KNEW!" Hinata cried. "You all knew this whole time, and you never told him!"

"Hinata-chan, calm down," Kurenai said. "I know this is a lot to take…"

"NO, I won't calm down," Hinata screamed. "Naruto-kun's biggest wish is to have a family, to know his parents and you're telling us that you knew all along."

"Naruto already knows," Tsuande said. "He's probably known for years."

"But they why wouldn't he say something?" Sakura asked. "I don't think he'd be able to keep that big of a secret a secret for very long."

"Probably because he knew it wouldn't have made much of a difference," Jiraiya said.

"Of course it would have," Ino retorted. "He's the son of the Yondaime, he would have been treated like royalty."

"Funny, I asked him nearly the same question," Kakashi said. "And he told me that it shouldn't make a difference what his last name is, he is still Naruto. And besides, if people had known, Naruto thought that he'd end up like Sasuke."

"What do you mean sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, ignoring the fact that the Uchiha turned traitor," Kakashi said. "Sasuke was arrogant, he believed that just because he was the last Uchiha, he was entitled to anything and everything. And unfortunately, the villagers and the Council kept this attitude going, they worshipped the ground Sasuke walked on."

"Naruto is twice the ninja that Uchiha brat could ever be," Jiraiya said to the disbelief of the genin. "Naruto knows the value of hard work better than anyone of us. He knows that real strength comes from blood, sweat and tears. Sasuke thought that he was entitled to power."

"But, Sasuke-kun needed power to beat his brother," Ino said.

"Sasuke could never beat Itachi by achieving power like he's done," Kakashi said. "Itachi is a genius in every sense of the word. He was a gifted Sharingan user, but he also worked hard to grow stronger. He never relied upon his Sharingan, or used it as a short cut and the easy path to strength unlike Sasuke. There are no short cuts in life."

"And Naruto knows this better than anyone," Jiraiya said.

"Jiraiya-sama, you said that Naruto is twice the ninja Sasuke is, what do you mean?" Rock Lee asked.

"Yeah, Naruto was the dead-last of our class while Sasuke-kun was the Rookie of the Year," Sakura said.

"Please, those rankings mean nothing in the real world," Jiraiya scoffed. "Naruto's education was sabotaged by the instructors at the Academy, except for Iruka here."

"What are you talking about? Why would they do that?" Ino asked.

"Because of the Kyubi," Hinata said. "That's why. They all feared the Kyubi inside Naruto, and so they took their fear and anger of it out on Naruto."

Iruka nodded. "Yes, in fact Naruto only passed the graduation exam because he was tricked into stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's office by Mizuki. Naruto was able to learn the Kage Bunshin in only a couple of hours, a jutsu that most ninja can't even hope to perform."

"Why? What's so different about the Kage Bunshin, they're just clones," Ino said.

"No, the Kage Bunshin is a B-ranked kinjutsu because the Kage Bunshin splits the user's chakra up evenly between the clones. So if one were to make a clone, the person's chakra would be spilt in half between the two bodies."

"Half…but Naruto can create so many clones," Sakura said. "I mean during the Chunin Exams…"

"That's nothing, the night Naruto learned the technique, he summoned over a hundred clones to stop Mizuki from killed me," Iruka said.

"And don't forget about the invasion when he beat Gaara," Shikamaru said.

"What are you talking about Shikamaru, Sasuke-kun was the one who beat Gaara," Ino said. Shikamaru then did something that no one had seen him do in years, aside from Choji. He laughed.

"You're joking," Shikamaru said. "Sasuke could barely keep up with Gaara. And Sakura don't say anything, you were unconscious during most of the fight. Naruto risked his life to save you Sakura, even when Gaara fully transformed. Naruto was able to muster enough chakra to summon about 1,000 clones and then to summon the Toad Boss, Gamabunta-sama to help fight Shikaku."

"A thousand clones," Neji gaped wide-eyed.

"Yosh! Naruto's flames of youth burn most brightly," Lee cried.

"How much chakra does Naruto have?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto has more chakra than anyone in the village," Jiraiya said.

"What!" the genin cried.

"It's true, at best I can make around 200-250 clones," Jiraiya said to stunned silence.

'You're saying that Naruto has…" Ino began.

"He has around 5-6 times as much chakra as I do."

"Is that from the Kyubi?" Choji asked.

"No, well not entirely," Jiraiya said. "Naruto naturally has outrageous chakra reserves, both of his parents had enormous chakra wells. And with the Kyubi, Naruto has near infinite reserves."

"You can't be serious," Sakura exclaimed. "If Naruto has so much chakra, why is he such an average ninja?"

"I'll let that crack at Naruto go only because you didn't know," Tsuande said. "Naruto's chakra reserves are his greatest weapon true, but they are also his greatest weakness. He has too much chakra to control easily."

"And besides Naruto is a much better ninja than you think," Jiraiya said. "He mastered the Rasengan, his father's jutsu, in a month, also he's nearly a seal master. Those scrolls he sent you were probably protected by some very complex seals."

"Though he didn't say that his genjutsu still sucked," Kakashi said with a hidden grin.

"Where is Naruto-kun then?" Hinata asked.

Juts then an ANBU appeared, and knelt in front of the desk.

"Yes," Tsuande asked.

"Hokage-sama, the Council demands your and Jiraiya-sama's presences in the Council chambers right away," the ANBU said.

Tsuande bristled. "They demand our presences, do they? Well, I think it's time I show those old fools who runs this village. Come on you lot, you want answers about Naruto, come with me and you'll get them, straight from the source."

Tsuande stood, dismissed the ANBU and strode out of the room with the rookies, their senseis and Jiraiya following.

"Tsuande, what is the meaning of this?" Homaru barked as the group entered the chamber. "Why are these children here?"

"They have been asking about their teammate Uzumaki Naruto," Tsuande said. "And I was of the understanding that only the Hokage could summon the Council on short notice."

Homaru glared down at the group.

"Where's Naruto?" Kiba barked.

"Silence genin," Danzo growled.

"I don't take orders from you, civilian," Kiba snarled. "The only people who can give me orders are my sensei and the Hokage, and you are neither."

Everyone's respect for Kiba rose dramatically after seeing him stare down Danzo. Tsuande and Jiraiya had to hide grins at the interaction.

"Where is Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked forcefully.

"You speak of that boy with such familiarity," Kotane said.

"He's my friend," Hinata said, not backing down from the elder's glare.

"You're friends with that…" Danzo said in disbelief.

"Yes, we all are," Tenten said. "Now where is Naruto?"

"Let's see if you still call him friend when you know what that boy is?" a civilian council member cackled.

"What, you mean how Naruto is the jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko," Shikamaru said to the Council's disbelief. "What, did you really think that we'd think that Naruto is the fox himself? Just because you all can't tell the difference between the kunai and the scroll it's sealed in, doesn't mean we can't."

"How?" Homaru gasped.

"I told them," Tsuande said. "Though Shikamaru has known about it for months."

"Sakura, how could you dishonor your father's sacrifice like this," a woman screeched. "That monster killed you father, don't you realize that?"

Sakura looked up at her mother with something akin to disgust. "Yes, the Kyubi killed tou-san but Naruto isn't the Kyubi," she said. "He's my best friend aside from Ino, and because of you, I spent half my childhood pining after a traitor and a psychopath that is only obsessed with revenge. Naruto was the first person my age who was ever nice to me, he protected me from those bullies that used to make fun of me before I met Ino. But when I told you about it, you just yelled at me to stay away from the 'demon boy,' I never knew why you would say that until today. I'm ashamed to say that if I hadn't listened to you, I would have put more work into becoming a better ninja, so I wouldn't become such a burden to my teammates in the field."

"But I thought that you loved Uchiha-sama," Haruno Ayako screamed.

"That was nothing more than a crush that became an obsession," Sakura retorted. Seeing the stunned looks of her fellow ninja, she added, "I'm sure you heard about how I tried to convince Sasuke to stay, and when that failed, how I pleaded with Naruto to bring him back. It wasn't my proudest moment, I realized after Naruto got back that I didn't love Sasuke, it was just a stupid crush. Why would I love someone who wouldn't even give me the time of day?"

"Damn that demon, turning my own child against me," Ayako screeched.

"You've done that yourself," Tsuande barked.

"I make a motion that we send the hunter-nins after the demon on the charge of subverting our ninja," Ayako cried.

"Why would you need to send hunter-nins after Naruto, he's done nothing wrong," Tenten cried.

"The Council has the right to send hunter-nins after any missing, or banished ninjas if they are a threat to Konoha," Kotane sneered.

"Naruto deserted the village!" Sakura cried.

"No, they banished him," Shikamaru said, glaring at the Elders.

Every eye turned to the Council, who all had smug looks on their faces.

"You didn't?" Sakura whispered.

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"The demon was a safety issue to the village, he cause the Last Uchiha to leave the village," Homaru said.

"Are you serious?" Neji cried.

"You're blaming Naruto for Sasuke betraying the village," Kakashi said.

"Of course, why else would Uchiha-sama leave the village?" a civilian cried out. "He had everything here, it was the demon brat and that curse mark that Orochimaru placed on him, that caused him to seek out Orochimaru."

'That's the biggest load of shit I've ever heard," Neji shouted. Everyone was shocked at the outburst from the ever-stoic Hyuga.

"Sasuke deserted the village of his own violation, and went to join an S-ranked criminal," Tsuande said. "And you can't order my ninja around, so they're won't be any hunter squads sent after Naruto. Besides, since you stripped Naruto of his ninja rank, you can't send squads after him, since he's a civilian now."

Danzo glared at Tsuande but didn't say anything.

"So you banished a ninja for no reason aside from trying to do his job," Ino said in shock.

"No, we banished Uzumaki Naruto for failing to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke, as well as the attempted murder of Sasuke," Danzo said. "Also, Uzumaki used an abundance of the Kyubi's chakra in his viscous attack on Sasuke. Luckily, Sasuke was able to defeat the demon and escape with several non-life threatening, but still serious, injuries."

"And how do you know the details of their battle?" Shikamaru asked. "As far as I know, there were only two people that should know all that, one is a traitor and you've banished the other one."

"And Naruto wouldn't have used the Kyubi's chakra unless he had too," Kakashi said. "Say like if someone put a hand through his chest."

"WHAT!" Sakura, Ino and Hinata cried.

"When I arrived on the scene, Sasuke was gone and Naruto was unconscious with a fist-sized hole in his chest. The charring around the wound meant that Sasuke probably hit Naruto with a Chidori," Kakashi said mournfully.

Sakura looked at her sensei in shock, Gai looked angry at his rival while the others looked sick.

"It's too bad that Uchiha-sama couldn't finish off the Yondaime's work, by killing the demon," Ayako said spitefully.

Several of the genin looked ready to kill the pink haired woman, including Hinata. Sakura just looked up at his mother in disbelief.

"Don't be sure that the Uchiha brat beat Naruto. Knowing the gaki, he probably didn't try and kill the teme since it was his mission to bring Sasuke back," Jiraiya said.

"It doesn't matter, what's done is done, "Homaru said. "Uzumaki Naruto has been banished from Konohagakure no Sato and Hi no Kuni, and if he is found within our borders, he is to be killed on sight. That is the final decision of the Council."

The rookies looked furious but they knew there was nothing they could do. Their friend was gone forever. Hinata and Sakura were crying for two different reasons: Hinata was for not having the courage to tell Naruto how she felt about him, and Sakura was berating herself for having treated Naruto so poorly in the past and for making him think that she loved Sasuke. Sakura felt that it was her fault that Naruto had gone to such lengths to bring Sasuke back, all because she had begged him to do so.

"Hokage-sama, I have a request," Sakura said after drying her tears. "I wish to become your apprentice. I need to become stronger so that next time, I can be the one my friends lean on, not the other way around."

"Hokage-sama, I wish to become your apprentice as well," Ino said sharply and formally.

"As do I," Hinata said, much to the surprise of Neji and the others.

"I see," Tsuande said. "I have read all three of your CVs from your jonin and Academy senseis, and you all have excellent chakra control, keen minds and as you've just shown, the will to carry on. Very well, I will make you three my apprentices, but be warned I won't go easy on any of you and I expect that you will give your all."

"Hai sensei!" the three kunoichi cried together.

A/N: This story idea has been floating around in my head and on my computer for a while now, ever since I started reading Naruto fanfics. I've read a lot of Naruto Banished fics in which his friends turn on him because they aren't given the whole story, in this I tried to change this point. Hopefully, I've done a decent job. This story will most likely be a secondary story as I go along, since I'm starting to start too many new stories and not working on my current ones, I will correct this. Pairings are undecided though I'm leaning toward Naru/Saku, Naru/Hina or Naru/OC that I'll make up. Let me know what your opinions are, but please remember this is my story so I'll be making the final decisions. Also there are any similarities between this story and any other, that's a coincidence. There must likely will be some crossover with some other stories mainly because there's only so much you can do with this type of story. If you find something that is yours, tell me and I'll change it. Please read & review