The sun was setting, its slow descent casting an orange haze above the horizon and bathing the Hidden Leaf Village in shades of gold and amber.
The village's activities were drawing to a halt; its people retiring back to their homes or nearby establishments to rest for the day.
Sitting on the rooftop of his house, Naruto took a deep breath, enjoying the evening breeze that had came blowing down to the village from the nearby hills as he quietly watched the setting sun. As the sun slowly receded into the horizon, he felt an unexplainable emotion stirred deep within his heart. He had witnessed many sunsets before in his life but none of them will be as meaningful or important as this one.
It was the last sunset that he was probably going to see here in Konoha for a very long time, a reminder of the events to come in a few more hours.
That the life he had known was coming to an end.
Two weeks ago, he had been given the green light by Takito to start the preparations for the journey to Kirigakure. Before that had begun, he had to go through several briefings with his sensei about the plans for leaving the village.
Closing his eyes, he thought about the map that he had memorized back at the shop and the route to Kirigakure that the ninja had plotted in his head.
Naruto was to wait in his room tonight where his sensei will come to pick him up at midnight. The two would then sneak out of the village although how they were exactly going to get out of the most powerful hidden village without being seen by those guarding the walls was something that the shinobi did not elaborate in detail. Now, if they did manage to leave the village without a hitch, things should be relatively simple from there although it was going to be physically taxing. For the most of the journey, they will be avoiding the roads whenever possible and travel through the woods and plains to mask their movements. There was going to be little for rest as they will be constantly on the move.
During the journey, they were going to make a stop at a city by the name of Otafuku Gai [1]. According to Takito, there were a few people that the man needed to meet first before they could head to Kirigakure. From there, they will go straight for the port city which connected the Land of Fire with the Land of Water and oversaw most of the trade between the two nations. There, they would be meeting up with a certain contact by his sensei who will get them to the latter unnoticed.
Apparently, the side that they were going to be fighting against was well aware of the support that the rebels were procuring throughout the Elemental Countries. News has it that in order to counter this, many of the ports in the island nation had been closed down while the major ones were put under heavy watch. Permits were being distributed to certain individuals and the 'loyalists' as Takito had come to call them had declared that anyone who entered the Land of Water without the permit would be treated as an enemy and persecuted with extreme prejudice.
It was a smart move in Naruto's opinion, but one that should have stirred up a political storm by now in the island nation.
After all, they were doing something that only the water daimyo had the authority to do. [2]
Anyways, once they had successfully left the port city, they should be ideally safe from the Konoha ninjas as they would be outside the area where the ninjas did not have the jurisdiction to be. And if they were lucky, they might be able to meet up with some of the missing-nins at the port city.
Going back to the preparations, he had immediately set himself to work after that, securing all the necessary items for the journey. That had meant travelling equipment, shinobi gear, medical supplies and enough food to last for a few days. He had also taken the effort of concealing his true looks through the use of genjutsu as he had went to buy those supplies and equipment, making sure that he did not buy them all at a single shop and had changed his appearances for every shop he had entered. Once his disappearance was noticed by someone in the village, Konoha would send every available ninja to search for him regardless of whether they cared for him or not [3]. An investigation would be made and everyone in the village would be questioned thoroughly. It was important that no traces that could lead his pursuers to him and his sensei was left behind.
It will make things harder for those searching for him, forcing them to cover everywhere instead of a specific area. That way, every step that he took meant widening the circle that the Konoha ninjas would have to search and lower the chances of finding him. There was no need to be bothered by the possibility of being tracked down by the ninken; Takito had told him that it was going to rain heavily tonight which will wash away all scent of him and his sensei.
After checking and re-checking the items he had bought, he had brought them to medicine shop to see if he had prepared enough for the journey.
Most people would have considered this to be unbefitting for a shinobi but Naruto knew better. For all the training he had, it was still his first time doing such things. Better to ask for help and learn from it than to not do so and risk creating problems during the journey. After all of that was done, he had them all sealed into a scroll. But when that was all over, he had noticed that he still had ten days before the day would come.
With his sensei busy making his own preparations, the remaining days had been spent undergoing his own physical exercises that were longer and more intensive that what he usually did or practiced his skills for several hours. When night came, he did what he could to learn about the Land of Water by reading a few books. He wasn't sure what he was going to find when he got there but he was determined to make sure that he would not be caught unprepared.
Time had went by quickly and before he knew it, it was his last day in the village.
Still watching the orange ball of light or what's left of it, the Yondaime's son suddenly felt a hand clasped on his right shouder. Turning his head, he was surprised to see that it was Takito who had a scroll case slung across his shoulder.
When did his sensei get here?
And how did he not notice his presence?
"Takito-sama, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked. He was about to stand up and face the ninja but his sensei stopped him.
"I came to see how you're doing Naruto. In a few more hours, we'll be leaving this village and I wanted to be sure that you're ready," Takito replied, unslinging the scroll case and putting aside as he sat beside his student.
Their conversation started with the preparation they had made, doing one last check to see if they had left anything out. Finding that they had not, Naruto went on to talk about the things he had done for the past ten days but stopped minutes later when he heard the sounds of the sister shouting happily as she ran downstairs from her room in the house. Naruto gave a sigh; that can only mean that his father had just returned home from his work.
He could easily picture his father hugging his sister at this current moment, asking her about how her day went before giving her something that he had gotten on his way back home. While Natsuki checked her present, his mother would then come out to greet his father before returning back into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. In a few more minutes, it would be time for dinner where they would all gather at the dining table to eat.
It had been so for the past five years and would probably the same for the next few years.
The only difference is that by tomorrow, there would be a person missing from this pattern.
Well, he'd best be getting back into his room.
"Thanks for checking on me Takito-sama but I better get back inside. I'll see you tonight," he said but just as he was about to head back, Takito stopped him.
"Wait. There's something that I need to ask you before you go Naruto."
"What is it?" Naruto asked, curious about what his sensei wanted to talk about.
"I know that I've asked you this question before but I'm going to ask you one last time," the ninja said in a very serious tone that Naruto had rarely seen him use. "In a few more hours, we will be leaving this village for Kirigakure. That means that you will be leaving your family, home and the life that you have known until now. Once this happens, there is no turning back. So I am going to ask you one last time, is this the path you wish to take?"
"I won't lie to you Naruto, the path before you is one filled with danger and uncertainties. The world is a cruel and unforgiving place and you will experience many hardships and burdens that will test your resolve and force you to question your beliefs. If you choose to step back, do not hesitate to do so. It is not an easy path - the one you have chosen and I will not blame you if you decide to turn back."
When his sensei was finished, Naruto quietly thought about everything that Takito had told him.
A minute passed before he turned to look at the ninja and fixed his sensei with the same determined look he had given him years ago.
"Yes," the blonde said, the voice filled with confidence. "This is the path that I want to take. This is the life that I want and no matter what happens, I will not back down. I promised you before that I will be the greatest ninja that you'll ever know Takito-sama and I mean it."
There was a tense and silent moment that lasted for a while before Takito finally nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"I see ..."
Turning to look at the darkening sky, Takito mumbled something that Naruto could not hear before facing him once more.
"Well if that is the case, then there is something I would like to give you," the shinobi said as he pulled out a scroll from the scroll case and handed it over to his student. Taking the scroll with both hands, Naruto wanted to ask his sensei about its contents but his sensei raised his hand, gesturing him to be silent. "Naruto, you are no longer a civilian. From here onwards, you are officially a shinobi. Perhaps not one in the eyes of your family or anyone else but to me, you are now one. And in time, you will be seen and respected as one to the rest of the world. I want you to know that I am proud to have you as my student. And that no matter what happens, know that I will always be there to help you whenever you need it," Takito stated.
"As for what's inside the scroll, it's a surprise. I suggest that you wait until everyone is asleep before opening it. I can assure you that you'll have plenty of time to check them out before midnight."
Stunned by his sensei's words, Naruto did not know what to do for a moment.
In the end, he bowed respectfully at his sensei. "T-Thank you Takito-sama."
Takito waved his hand dismissively as he picked up the scroll case and began walking away.
"There is no need to thank me Naruto, you've earned it. Now, I do believe that it is time for us to get going with our own things. I'll be seeing you at midnight."
With that, the shinobi disappeared in a swirl of black mist.
Naruto stood where he was for a while, staring at the spot where Takito had been seconds ago. He then remembered that it was time for dinner and hurried back into his room.
The last thing he wanted was for someone in his family to come and see why he had yet to come downstairs for dinner.
The time was 11.00 pm when Naruto was finally sure that his entire family was asleep.
Standing in his dark room, he went to his bed to get the scroll that Takito had gave him.
Everything else that was important was already sealed in a scroll which he had kept in his own scroll case. He had checked the entire room one last time after dinner and had found nothing in the room that he had left behind that might become a clue to his departure. Having slept early in the afternoon, he was fully awake to carry out whatever that needs to be done to get out of Konoha and for the journey ahead.
To sum it all up, he was ready to leave this village and travel to Kirigakure.
This meant that he had an hour on his hands to see what was inside that scroll. With the door locked out of caution, he proceeded to open the scroll.
When he activated the seal, he was surprised by the contents of the scroll that appeared before him.
It was a complete set of ninja clothing and a kusarigama meant just for him!
From the outside, the clothing looked like any ordinary civilian clothing but further examination revealed several unique differences. An armour was concealed in between the layers of cloth at the body section. At the sides of the trousers, the Yondaime's son found several hidden pockets with enough space to carry a few small and basic ninja tools. The ninja clothing also came with a pair of ninja sandals, metal shin and arm guards and shinobi gloves.
It didn't take long for him to realize that the shinobi clothing had a particular advantage.
The shinobi clothing Takito had given him looked similar to those worn by the Anbu. However, it had an extra stealth capability which lies in the fact that the body armour was concealed. Without the shin and arm guards and the gloves, he would looked like a normal civilian. This meant that he could blend among the civilian populace without much problem and still retained some additional protection for his body. Putting the entire set on, he noted that it suited him perfectly. More interesting was that it was rather light and did little to impede his movements. And despite being light, Naruto somehow did not doubt its ability to protect him.
For the kusarigama, there wasn't anything special about it although it looked like it was of exceptional quality. It was a bit heavier than the one he used in his training but he was sure that a few hours of practicing with it should get him adjusted to it.
As he spent more time inspecting his present, he wondered if his sensei had them made in the Land of Iron and delivered here. Both presents felt like they were of great quality and based on the knowledge he had, the blacksmiths in that land were easily capable of making such weapons and armour.
And it wasn't the first that these same people offered their services to those who weren't samurai.
Looking at the clear starless sky from the window in his room, Naruto silently made a promise that he would do his best to make his sensei proud. It was the least he could do after everything Takito had done for him. No one else had ever done this much for him; not even his own parents and the blonde doubted that they would have done so even if they had chosen not to neglect him.
He checked the time through the small clock that he had in his room.
11.40 pm ... twenty minutes were all that remained before his sensei would be coming here.
Seeing that tonight was going to be full of sneaking, he decided to only wear his 'civilian' clothing and kept the rest away. His main priority was stealth and getting involved in a fight was to be avoided at all cost. If he was to wear all his armour, any patrols could instantly identify him as a hostile. It was true that most of the villagers was asleep by now and the shinobi patrolling the village would be suspicious with those whom they weren't familiar with but it would give him a chance to avoid trouble no matter how slim it may be. [4]
With nothing else to do, he laid down on his bed and waited anxiously for his sensei.
It was 11.42 pm and nearly the entire village was asleep.
The night was rather peaceful and quiet but that would all be gone in less than an hour due to the coming storm Mirikatoji Takito thought.
The shinobi was at the Hokage Mountain, standing in front of a large memorial stone that was made purely of marble and had a list of names engraved on it. It had been erected a year after the Kyuubi invasion as a memory to those who had lost their lives during the bijuu's onslaught.
For some, it was also a place for them to pray for their deceased friends and relatives whose bodies were never recovered on that fateful day. Like them, the memorial stone had served as a place for him to pay his respects to the deceased Sandaime for the past decade. With the third Hokage's body laid to rest with the rest of his clan in the clan's estate, it was the only place for Takito to do so.
And now, it was time for him to pay his final respects to his friend.
Lighting up some incense, he knelt before the memorial stone on both knees and muttered a silent prayer. As he prayed, he remembered the peaceful look on his friend's face during the last moments of his life and the promise he had made to the dying kage.
It had been almost a decade since that day but it still felt as though it had happened just only yesterday. At least his friend had passed away peacefully, it was the least the Sandaime deserved after everything that he had done for the Elemental Countries. The third Hokage's ideals of peace may have been naïve but they had noble and something that Takito had always respected.
It was a pity that Sarutobi's dreams of peace can never be realized.
He did not know exactly how much time had passed as he prayed but felt that it was time for him to get moving and finished his prayers. Putting the incense into a nearby pot that was prepared by the village for public use, he then pulled out a scroll and took out an item.
It was a shinobi headband with the symbol of a leaf on it.
Given to him by the Sandaime during the early years of their friendship, it had been a sign of his unofficial support for Konoha.
The third Hokage had always wanted him to join the village and live alongside with them, an impossible request by the end of the third war.
After the nine-tailed bijuu's attack, he had kept it due to his promise to look after Naruto and make sure that the boy became a fine shinobi. But now that his student was going to leave Konoha for good, there was no longer any need for him to hold onto it. Placing it beside the memorial stone, he stood up and gave a respectful bow before taking his scroll case and turning his back to it.
"I'm sorry Sarutobi," Takito said as he walked away. "But I can't forgive them ... not after everything that has happened. Farewell my friend and know that Naruto will be a great shinobi as I have promised you."
Upon reaching the stairs, he stopped and took a deep breath, pushing all thoughts of his past away and focusing on the current task. He had about ten minutes to get to the Namikaze estate which was more than enough time for him. After getting his student, the two of them will sneak out of Konoha and head for Kirigakure. Deactivating the genjutsu seals, his civilian disguise was gone and he was revealed to be in his shinobi clothing. As he slung his scroll case across his shoulder, Takito turned to look up at the sky where several dark clouds were gathering.
It was time.
-Minutes later-
The low rumbling of thunder could be heard as Takito got closer to his destination.
The shinobi moved quickly through the trees and bushes, covering as much distance as he could in a short period of time and barely making any sound as he did so. He kept a careful lookout for any hidden traps or patrolling ninjas although he knew that there weren't any.
Of course, this was not the case years ago.
During the early years of his stay here in the village, security for the Namikaze estate was tight and it had been difficult for him to infiltrate the estate back then. The surrounding area of the estate back then had once been filled with many complicated traps and several squads of Anbu that would patrol the area all day and night in an elaborate pattern that was changed every day.
After the Kyuubi incident, Konoha's position as the most powerful and influential hidden village was greatly weakened.
With the loss of so many shinobis and the death of the Sandaime who had been responsible for maintaining close ties with the other hidden villages, leaders and influential people, the Hidden Leaf Village had found itself vulnerable and easily threatened by the other major hidden villages.
Those days had been filled with many tense moments, with the village's enemies ready to strike at the slightest hint of weakness and its allies coming close to breaking their ties. At that time, everyone knew that the village could not afford any setbacks and it was agreed by the council that every measure must be taken to protect the Yondaime and his family whose reputation and influence was the main reason the village was still standing. But as time passed, Konoha was able to lick its wounds and with that, the estate's security began to wane.
By the time Naruto was six, security for the Namikaze estate was anything but tight.
The many years of peace had caused the people of Konoha to become arrogant, allowing complacency to worm its way into the village once more.
Not that Takito was going to be bothered by it; he did not cared about the village after the Sandaime's death and the entire thing only made his duty much easier.
Sighting a large clearing ahead, he stopped and crouched behind a nearby bush. Moving the leaves and branches aside with his hand, he watched the clearing before him, his eyes wary. Standing just a few meters away from him was the wall that separated the estate from the rest of Konoha. Scanning the clearing for any signs of people, he was convinced that all was clear and chose to make his next move. Stepping carefully out from his cover, he made his way to the wall. When he was only a few steps away, he halted and dropped to one knee before opening his scroll case.
Currently, the only remaining defense left in the estate against any intruders was a set of seals that Minato himself had created on the walls.
Designed to detect anyone that tries to enter the estate, if the intruder's chakra did not match those that the Yondaime had keyed into the seals, the intruder would be struck by a powerful jutsu that would render him or her paralyzed.
A burst of chakra would then be released by the seals, one strong enough to alert every single Konoha ninja in the village.
Furthermore, the security seals were designed to be invisible to the naked eye and only those who had good chakra sensor abilities or fuinjutsu skills had a chance of detecting them. To make matters interesting, the seals could not be disabled through normal means without triggering the rest of them for they were all linked together to form a chakra circuit.
If any of the seals was deactivated, the circuit would be broken, thus activating the rest of the seals.
He had to admit, the seal work was a masterpiece and was an effective security system against anyone.
Well, anyone that wasn't adept in the art of sealing.
Opening his scroll case, Takito pulled out a large blank paper with a large seal drawn in the middle and spread it wide open. Activating it, he watched as the seal began to glow with small discharges of electricity forming around it. Seeing that the seal was working properly, he then placed the paper onto the wall. Upon making contact with the wall, the electric discharges spread across a large section of the wall and produced a buzzing noise.
It lasted for several seconds and his seal glowed brighter than ever.
Then, the electric discharges faded away, the seal stopped glowing and several of Minato's security seals become visible.
Takito smiled - his seal had done its work.
No matter how complicated or powerful a seal was, it was created through the same set of rules. Because of this, the greatest threat to any fuinjutsu user was another fuinjutsu user. Anyone who practiced the art of sealing would be able to disable or counter a certain seal if they possessed enough creativity and was prepared to spend a lot of time and effort into it. This was common knowledge among fuinjutsu users and Takito found it hard to believe that Minato had put his entire trust into a single set of seals to protect the estate. Then again, perhaps he shouldn't be surprised at all.
Ever since the destruction of Uzushiogakure, there had been a steady decline in the number of fuinjutsu users.
Today, the only known fuinjutsu experts in the Elemental Countries were the Toad Sannin, Orochimaru and the Yondaime.
At the rate things were going, fuinjutsu might one day become a lost art. Minato must have probably assumed that there was no one talented enough in the art of sealing to break past his seals and that the snake wasn't brave enough to threaten him and his family. He chuckled inwardly as he tried to imagine the chaos that would ensued in the village once they realized that the Hokage's son had mysteriously vanished without a trace or sign. Tensions with the other hidden villages were bound to rise sky-high with the rumours and diversions that had been planted and Takito was curious to know about how the council was going to react to this crisis.
And that wasn't taking into account the reactions by the other major factions.
Oh, whatever Minato's reasons were, the fourth Hokage was sure going to regret it after tonight.
Back to the seal, he had spent many sleepless nights examining the security seals and was able to create a seal to breach the seal defenses. His seal was an imitation of the security seal but was designed to reveal the security seals and attract the chakra flow to create a parallel circuit around several of those seals. Because it was designed in the same style as Minato's, the security seals would connect with it without any problem. From there, he could disable the security seals without the chakra circuit being broken as the chakra was now passing through his seal instead of them. It took him a few minutes to disable enough seals for him to enter and the moment the task was completed, he took one last look around before climbing over the wall.
On the other side, he headed to the large house that was his student's home. Stopping at the section where Naturo's room was located, he proceeded to climb up to the window of his student's room. When he was at the side of the window, he paused to check the time.
12.01 am - he was right on schedule.
With that, he knocked lightly in the window in a certain pattern that he and Naruto had agreed on.
Knock! Knock!
Naruto's head shot up, his eyes wide open as he stared at the window.
There was someone knocking on the window. Had Takito arrived?
He remained at his position, unsure of what himself. Then it happened again.
Knock! ... Knock! Knock!
There was it was again and it was the second phase of the signal. Slowly, the boy got off his bed and cautiously approached the window, drawing a kunai to strike at a moment's notice. So far, whoever it was that was knocking on the window was getting the signal correct and Naruto was sure that it was his sensei but he waited for it to completed nonetheless.
Knock! Knock! Knock! ... Knock!
The last phase was correct and Naruto put his kunai aside.
Quickly but quietly, he slid the window open and watched as Takito came in. His sensei was wearing the same shinobi clothing as the one he was wearing but it looked old and worn. The man looked as though he had went through countless of battles and missions in his life.
"I see that you've decided to make good use of my present," Takito said as he examined him.
Naruto nodded as he grabbed his scroll case from his bed.
It was pleasing to know that the two of them had the same idea with their choice of not wearing any of their armour.
"So, are you ready to get going?" his sensei asked.
A grin formed on Naruto's face as he used his genjutsu to change his appearance to the boy Minori [5], feeling a sense of excitement stiring in his heart as everything that he had trained for was going to be put to use. "Hai Takito-sama."
"Good," his sensei said and gestured at the window. "I'll brief you on the plan when we get to the village. I now need you to head down and wait for me. I'm going to make a quick check to see that there's nothing left that may serve as a clue."
"Sure."
Leaving his sensei to his task, the ten year old boy slid out of the window and attached himself to the wall using his chakra. He noted that it was drizzling as he climbed down to the ground. If what his sensei had said was true, it was only going to get heavier. He waited for his sensei to finish his inspection which didn't take long; the blonde saw the man coming out of the window a minute later. Sliding the window close, the ninja joined him on the ground.
"Everything seems to be fine," Takito said before facing at the direction where the wall was. "Come on, time to get moving."
Both teacher and student stealthily made their way to the section where the ninja had entered the estate from. As they got over the wall, Takito motioned for his student to wait. Standing beside the ninja, Naruto watched with fascination as his sensei proceeded to reactivate the security seals which he had never seen before and gingerly extracted a large seal which he assumed was what his sensei had used to enter the estate. When it was all done, there wasn't a single trace of the ninja's work and his father's seals on the wall looked like they are working perfectly as though they had never been tampered with at all.
He had heard a lot about his father's skill in the art of sealing from the villagers but had never actually seen his father at work or examined any of his seals. Takito might know a thing or two about that and the knowledge would definitely aid him in his own seal work when he was allowed to start working on his own seals.
But that would have to wait for another time, he had to focus on getting out of the village.
-12.18 am-
"Stay here for a moment Naruto, I'm going to take a look up ahead."
Naruto watched as Takito head onwards and disappeared into the darkness before taking a look around. The two of them were in a dark alley somewhere in the market district. Seeing that he had some time on his hands, he leaned against the wall to a quick break. They had entered the village several minutes ago and ever since then, had been sneaking through the village, all while his sensei had told him about the plan. They were going to a certain part of the village walls to the east of the village. The ninja had actually been spending every night for the last month observing and studying the village's defenses and had discovered that the section they were now heading for was lightly guarded than the others at midnight.
With the reduced visibility thanks to the rain that was now heavier than normal, it was the best spot for them to make their escape.
There had been other plans that his sensei had also came out with but was to only be used had the current plan not been feasible. It explained why Takito had not told him about the plan on how they were going to leave the village earlier as his sensei wanted to be sure of which plan he was going to carry out. [6]
They had been on the constant move through the village, jumping from building to building at one time and moving quickly through the alleys and small lanes at another. No attempts were taken to move in absolute silence, the rain had drown out all possibility of their movements being heard.
They had done their best to stay in the shadows, avoiding any sources of light as much as they could and dashing from one dark spot to another if they could not. All this time, it had been a bit difficult for him to keep up with his sensei who seemed to be unaffected by the heavy rain and all the climbing, bending over and dashing they had been doing until now. They had been fortunate to have not came across any of the patrolling ninjas although Naruto thought that he did spot one or two from a fair distance every now and then. And while they did come across a few civilians, they were either drunk or too busy trying to escape the rain to notice them all if they did actually see them to begin with. He spotted his sensei returning and approached him.
"The street ahead is clear," Takito said. "We're making good progress so far and it won't be long before we're there."
"How much longer will it take?"
"I would say around five minutes if we keep moving at out current pace," Takito answered.
And that was the end of the conversation as they resumed their journey in silence. Ignoring the flashes of lightning, the Yondaime's son noticed that it was getting harder to see what was ahead of him as the rain only grew heavier. He had to strain his eyes just to see anything further than a few meters and at times had to use his hands to shield his face from the constant hail of water droplets. It was the worst storm he had ever experienced in his entire life. And here his sensei was, not bothered by it all, still moving at that same speed they had been going until now and making turns here and there without any problem as though the entire storm was just a drizzle to him.
Takito was used to this, considering that he had spent most of his years in Amegakure, a place where it tended to rain nearly all the time according to the books. It was giving him a clear advantage over everyone in Konoha who did not have to face this sort of thing every day.
True to his sensei's words, it wasn't long before the walls of the village came into sight. But as they got closer, the shinobi suddenly stopped and raised his hand, prompting Naruto to do the same. Instantly, the two of them remained still in the middle of a barely lighted street with Naruto watching his sensei who was eyeing their surroundings as thought he had sensed something.
Then, the man turned to face his student and spoke his mind.
"Someone's coming this way," he whispered. "We best hide."
Upon hearing those words, Naruto quickly mimicked his sensei who quickly pressed himself against the wall of the buildings on his left where the shadows were. For a moment, nothing happened and Naruto strained his eyes to try to pick up anything up ahead in the deep darkness and rain but to no avail.
But it didn't take long before he saw something.
It was a lantern and Naruto could somewhat make out the faint outlines of a person holding it. And he or she was heading down the same street where they currently were. Remembering his stealth training, the blonde flattened himself as much as he could against the wall. Hoping that the rain and the darkness were enough to cover him, he kept still and watched as the unknown figure got closer.
When the figure passed by the two of them, Naruto could see that the figure wore a ninja vest that had a four pointed star with a fan in the center on the shoulder which revealed the figure to be a member of the Konoha Military Police Force [7]. So far, it seemed that the police had not spotted the both of them although he or she was moving very slowly which annoyed Naruto to no end.
Then, much to his fears, the police turned to look exactly at where he was hiding and Naruto felt his heart skipped a beat.
Instead of panicking like any ordinary children would have done, the Hokage's son felt his training kicked in and remained calm, holding himself from shaking with fear. With a great deal of effort and discipline, he forced himself to breath at a slow and steady pace. Reminding himself mentally to stay calm over and over, the blonde waited for the police to be finished with inspection. Time itself seemed to slow down as the few seconds that went by suddenly felt like hours to him. In the end though, the police turned his attention away from him at last and walked away to continue patrolling the village much to his relief.
Despite this, he chose to stay rooted at his place until Takito finally emerged from his hiding spot a minute later and did the same.
"Did that person spot us?" Naruto asked the shinobi to be sure.
His sensei did not say anything but looked in the direction which the police had walked away to for a while before shaking his head. He then gave Naruto a worried look. "Are you alright Naruto? You seemed a bit shaken."
"I'm fine Takito-sama," Naruto responded. "It's just that for a moment there, I thought that we were going to get discovered."
"I see. Well, if you believe that you're okay, we better get moving."
"Got it."
Continuing their journey, they stopped when they were only a street away from the wall and climbed up a nearby building. Taking position at the top of the building, Naruto watched his sensei scanned the wall and the surrounding areas before them.
"I see only two ninjas guarding this area. Barely enough to keep this entire area properly monitored."
Takito then turned to look at Naruto.
"Alright, this is it Naruto. Once we get pass the walls, we will be free to be head for Kirigakure. Stay low and follow me as closely as you can. When we get to the wall, the both of us are going to have to climb and get over it as fast as we can. Don't worry about those two, we'll be making our move when their attention is away and I doubt that they will be able to see us in this condition. Is that understood?"
"Hai Takito-sama."
Confident that his student understood his orders, Takito turned to look back at where Naruto assumed was the guards.
Minutes passed before his sensei finally gave the signal for them to make their move and jumped down. Naruto followed him, landing onto the street with barely any sound and quietly made his way past the streets to the wall.
When he reached the wall, he quickly ran up the wall with his sensei, his mind racing with all sorts of thoughts.
What if the guards that Takito had mentioned about were looking at this way now?
Had they spotted the two of them?
Were they even now signalling the alarm or calling for the other ninjas?
Nothing of that sort happened and as Naruto reached the top of the wall, he deftly flipped himself over and landed smoothly on the ground on the other side with a grunt. "Quick! Follow me!" Takito said. Naruto instantly got up and followed his sensei who was already running into the forest straight ahead, unable to believe that they had just gotten out of Konoha without being spotted at all.
As they got further away from the village, a single thought ran in his head.
He was free.
-12.43 am-
They continued to go deeper into the forest for several minutes before Takito gave the order to stop and take a break.
The village itself was no longer in sight and Naruto could only see trees in every direction.
Standing on a tree branch, he stared back at the direction which they had came from. He easily pictured the rest of his family sleeping peacefully despite the heavy pouring of rain, unaware of the events that were taking place tonight. They were likely to not notice his disappearance until it was dinner time and will never understand how or why he had left. A part of him wanted to leave behind a message for them, to explain his reasons for leaving and clear any misunderstandings with them. But he could never do that for it might exposed his intended destination and Naruto, like his sensei was not about to take chances.
He closed his eyes and whispered, "Goodbye."
He stood there for a moment and took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he released his breath and with it, the remaining connections that he had with his family and the village. When the blonde opened his eyes, he felt completely reborn as a new person.
This was it.
He was no longer Naruto Namikaze, twin brother of Natsuki, son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
He was no longer a citizen of Konoha.
He was just Naruto; a simple boy with no one but his sensei as his family.
A ninja who is not a part of any hidden village and does not owe his allegiance to anyone but his sensei.
A boy who had pushed the reset button and now was free to choose from a multitude of paths that were now laid before him.
A choice that only he alone can make and will define who he is.
And tonight, he would be travelling with his sensei to Kirigakure to aid the rebels in the civil war in hopes of a better future.
He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder and knew that it was Takito. "Come Naruto, let's get going."
"Yeah."
Turning away, the ten year old boy followed his sensei, jumping from tree to tree as he now took his own place in a world of infinite possibilities.