Naruto 1. Naruto's Inner Battle and Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Description: The seal has been destroyed and Naruto fights for control of his body. When he awakens three years have passed and he makes a decision which forever changes the fate the world.

Author's Note: I've been working on this story for a while and decided it was time to finally publish it to get some reviews! My first Naruto Fan Fiction, Jiraiya's Choice, has been going very well and I had this idea for a story one night and got to writing it. For those who read Jiraiya's Choice I will be focusing on that more than this story until it is complete so the updates for this story will not be as fast as the ones for Jiraiya's Choice.

Also a few notes about this story: Sasuke is still with Konoha and several people who are dead in the canon are currently are alive because of the many changes in the storyline. Please review with constructive criticism and not flames, this isn't supposed to be held close to the canon, it's me branching away from it to create something entirely new. I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 1: Naruto's Inner Battle and Decision**

**Three Years Ago**

Naruto had been 13 years old when he had faced Gaara of the Sand and won a resounding victory for his home against the sand jinchūriki containing Shukaku. Sadly though things did not turn out well for the young shinobi after the battle ended, while he was victorious and Gaara was freed from his mental prison of anguish and solitude Naruto was not so lucky.

It took several months for anyone to notice due to the subtlety of the injury and it was shortly after Tsunade had taken the mantel of the fifth hokage that it happened. Up until then Naruto had seemed fine, he was happy, ramen eating, energy filled Naruto, but as they learned, the injury was not a physical one. Shukaku had left one final strike, but not on Naruto's body, it was on the seal which contained his brother, the nine tailed fox, Kyūbi no Yōko.

The fox, realizing his opportunity had waited, widening the breach slowly from the inside, weakening it while allowing the outer seal to seem intact. No one, not even Jiraiya the Toad Sannin, noticed the seals strength was fading, the Kyubi was patient and willing to wait. And then when he was prepared, he had attacked.

It had happened suddenly, the cage burst forth within Naruto and the seal was destroyed, a huge amount of chakra suddenly erupted from the boy and the fears of the entire village were realized in that moment. But after all those years of fear, anger, hate, the villagers watched as the body of the boy called Naruto Uzumaki simply fell to the ground, his eyes closed and body limp.

Sakura, his friend, screamed as Naruto fell and caught him, laying him on the ground.

"Quickly! Call Lady Tsunade! Call a Medic! Hurry Damn it! Someone get help!" She told those around her and she began to check her friend's vitals.

_There's nothing wrong damn it! I don't understand! I can't find anything! Why did he fall unconscious?_ She thought to herself.

Sakura remained by her friend's side until Lady Tsunade arrived minutes later in the company of Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha demanding to know what happened.

"We were walked along and he was laughing at some stupid joke he'd made and we were just talking and he suddenly fell. I felt this huge burst of Chakra from him and his eyes closed and he simply just fell down!"

Tsunade ordered Naruto to be taken to the hospital immediately and called her old comrade Jiraiya to come see to the boy.

It was very late when Tsunade and Jiraiya stood looking down at the boy in the hospital gown. However the most startling characteristic wasn't his blonde hair or blue eyes anymore, it was that the seal which had existed on his stomach for 13 years was now gone as if it never existed.

Jiraiya looked on studying where the seal had once been. He placed his hand over Naruto's stomach as he probed trying to find its remnants. After some time he managed to locate the seal, it was in pieces and he was finally able to force those remnants to the surface on the boys stomach but it was disorder and chaos, the seal was beyond repair.

"The seal's broken, damn it! I can still feel it there but it has been broken. How did I not notice before now that it was so damaged?" Jiraiya said he put yet another hole in the wall.

The white wall of the hospital room nearest Jiraiya had many holes in the shape of his fist giving mute testament to the toad Sannin's anger and frustration. He had failed to protect Naruto as he had promised Minato he would those years ago and the emotion was like a torrent inside him. He would rather have faced Orochimaru a thousand times over than this.

Tsunade attempted once again to calm her old comrade. She placed a hand on his shoulder seeing the tears running down his face. She knew how he felt, helplessly looking at the boy who had a gift to worm his way into your heart. There was just something about him that made you want to bet on him.

"But why is he simply unconscious? Shouldn't the Kyubi no Yoko have escaped the moment the cage broke? Why is the village still standing? You know seals better than I do Jiraiya, what's holding him back?"

He thought for a moment, going through the possible reasons before coming to the most logical conclusion, "There's only one thing I can think of, Naruto's fighting him. And if he is, he's the only thing standing between us and the release of that demon."

_Even when everyone else has failed you, you're still standing there holding back that monster. This village truly doesn't deserve you Naruto, thank you for being your father's son,_ Jiraiya thought.

Jiraiya looked at his comrade seriously, "No one can know about this Tsunade, if the village were to find out they would kill him! I think Naruto was pulled inside his own mind when the demon was released and I think he's fighting it. We need to give him time, if anyone can beat that beast its Naruto." Jiraiya told her and Tsunade nodded to him.

They had both witnessed the tenacity of the boy and knew his spirit was too strong to give up willingly. If there was a way to beat the monster, Naruto would find it, and if not he would never stop fighting. They knew it was a risk, they knew it was a long shot, but they chose then and there to place their bet on Naruto Uzumaki.

And so the decision was made and while there was no official announcement rumors went out that Naruto Uzumaki had been injured gravely on a mission and fallen into a coma and was unlikely to survive or awaken. And to both Jiraiya and Tsunade's distaste the entire village began to celebrate, believing the Kyubi no Yoko was gone and would die with the boy. They celebrated for days and Tsunade only looked on with anger and hatred in her heart for every villager who drank to Naruto's future death.

"YES! The Demon's going to die! We're FREEEEEE!" A cheer went out, "FINALLY! THE DEMON'S DEAD!" Naruto's friends watched with anger as the village took the next week off from work, as many shinobi, kunoichi, and civilians packed the bars and drank to the poor health of their friend.

Tsunade watched as village celebrated the death of a boy. She sank back into the chair which her grandfather had once sat in as tears began to wash down her face. She took a small bottle of sake from her desk and drank from it. Her anger was a storm and everyone knew she hated the way the village reacted to the spread of Naruto's condition.

"You never deserved that boy Konoha," Tsunade said to herself as Ton-ton let out a mournful oink in her lap.

The truth, however, was very much as Jiraiya suspected. Even at that moment a small boy faced the most powerful of the nine tailed beasts. He wore an orange jump suit and had spiky blonde hair, and he wore a forehead protector signifying him as a member of the village hidden in the leaves.

**Inside Naruto's Mind**

"Damn you Kyubi! Why can't you just sit still like a good boy and let me pummel you!" Naruto shouted to the giant fox who floated across from him.

Inside his mind Naruto floated in what looked like open space. There were no clouds, no blue sky, no land mass or anything. It was simply open and empty space filled with a red and blue haze. If Sakura could have seen him she would have made some joke about his being an air-head. But right now the young boy was more concerned with the monster in front of him.

The nine-tailed fox demon stood before Naturo in all his glory. He was gigantic, a blood-red orange color tinted his fur, his eyes were an ever changing yellow, red, and orange. His fangs were as large as Naruto and his claws were the size Naruto's legs. He glared at the boy, finally free from his cage and knowing the only thing standing between him and freedom was the small child before him in an orange jump suit.

**"Where would the fun be in that kit? HAHAHA, I am the greatest of the nine beasts and I am FREE! I will destroy you and transform this body into my own and I will finish what I started that day so long ago, this village will be destroyed and there is NOTHING you can do about it kit! HAHAHA"** The giant fox loomed over Naruto and vanished only to appear in front of Naruto.

Naruto dodged the claw and fangs of the demon only to be thrown back as the foxes tailed whipped around acting as if on their own accord.

_Damn it! I have to watch all nine of those tails too! It's like their alive!_ Naruto thought to himself as he poured his power into the palms of his hands.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he flew at the Kyubi no Yoko and slammed both his attacks into the beast's chest. In his shock there wasn't even a scratch on the fox, Naruto quickly dodged a claw and several tails moving further away from the fox.

"**Was that supposed to hurt Kit? HAHAHAHA You'll have to do better than that, this is going to be too easy!**" The Kyubi told him as it roared in delight.

While the fox was free and immensely powerful they were fighting in the one place Naruto could match the foxes power, his own mind. They were quite literally battling over his body and soul. But while the fox might have immense power, the battlefield entirely favored Naruto.

Within his mind Naruto could try any jutsu he wanted, so long as he understood the mechanics of the jutsu he could make it work. It wouldn't even be difficult for him. He had no limit here, no fatigue, no chakra limitations, and no physical body to hold him back. But then, neither did the Kyubi and as the Kyubi was pure chakra anyway it made it almost impossible for Naruto to hurt the monster.

There was almost no damage from the attacks. Naruto tried again and again, using speed and his smaller size to avoid the Kyubi's attacks while he struck him with Rasengan after Rasengan but none of them even seemed to phase the fox. He tried summoning thousands of clones but they were destroyed by the hundreds by the monstrous tails. Nothing he did seemed to so much as make a dent in the Kyubi no Yoko.

_This is going to take a while_, Naruto thought to himself as he continued his on-going battle with the demon.

**3 Years Later**

"Hi! Here to see him again? Did you bring a new book?" The nurse asked the pale skinned girl in front of her.

Hinata Hyuga, Heiress to the Hyuga clan blushed deeply and nodded. She had long black hair with blue highlights going down to mid-back. She wore a fishnet body suit underneath her white t-shirt which was covered by a purple jacket with white sleeves and purple cargo pants. In her arms was a small package, a book, and a small bundle of flowers. She blushed at the question and nodded.

"I-I th-thought he m-m-might like, um, an ad-adventure s-story." Hinata said holding up the book for the nurse to see. The nurse smiled at the girl and finished checking her in as she left the entrance and walked to room 215 in the long term care ward.

"Who was that?" A young nurse asked the older one who had checked Hinata in.

"That? It was Hinata Hyuga, she's been coming here every day she isn't on a mission or busy, so usually almost every day and visiting Naruto Uzumaki, she always brings a book and reads to him. She says she thinks he can hear her and hopes it'll help him wake up. She's been doing it ever since he got here three years ago. She also always brings fresh flowers, the poor girl, she must really love that boy." The nurse sighed as she told the sad story about the girl.

Ever since Naruto had fallen into his coma Hinata had come to visit him. She would collect flowers from the forest and bring them with her every day and make sure the windows were open so sunlight could pour in. At first she had cried with regret hating herself for not doing something or helping him, then later she hated herself for not talking to him and telling him how she felt and had prayed every night that he would open his eyes.

When she had first started coming to visit him she had simply sat there looking at him, then after a few weeks had started to hold his hand, and then she had decided that maybe he would like to hear something other than doctors and occasionally Lord Jiraiya, so she talked to him and brought books to read. She told him about the village, everything that was happening, how Lee had managed to get Sakura to finally go out with him and they were happily dating and how Temari and Shikamaru had a long distance relationship going, how Gaara had become Kazekage, when Neji had become a jonin and even the rumors that Iruka and Anko were now seeing each other.

She mentioned Jiraiya and Tsunade when she had news of them and Kakashi and Gai as well and how they were still as comical as ever with their eternal rivalry. She knew he was good friends with Lee and would tell him about how the boy was advancing greatly in Taijutsu even had his body restored thanks to the healing abilities of Tsunade. She told him how Akamaru had grown so big Kiba was able to ride him and that Shino had managed to say two full sentences once.

Most of the time she read him books, usually something she thought he would like or something suggested by Kakashi or Tsunade. No one had the heart to tell her the chances of Naruto waking up were less than a percent. They couldn't take the hope from the girl who was so devoted to him. Her father had complained time and again she should be training to become the clan leader, not spending time at the hospital but she simply had ignored him. Her family had threatened her with the caged bird seal and they told her they were already planning on her marrying someone of their choice. Her feelings didn't matter to them, they simply didn't care about what she thought, she was nothing but an item to them.

All these things she told to Naruto, about her family, the village. She had told him how they had celebrated when he had fallen ill and how angry she was at them for it. She had tried so many times to tell him her feelings, but even unconscious she couldn't bring herself to say how she truly felt. She made sure he always had fresh flowers in his room and would open his window on sunny days to let the light and fresh air in. She devoted most of her time and energy to being with him.

When Naruto had entered the coma she simply had stopped doing anything, she stopped seeing her friends, teammates, family. If it wasn't a mission or something very important she simply ignored it now. Her friends worried about her and had tried to get her to go out with them, but she refused. At night she had trained when no one else was in her family's dojo and during the day she was seen at Naruto's bedside.

Her friends and some of her family thought she had completely lost it. That she was insane and tried to convince her to let go but she refused. She had a faith in her heart he would come back to her. And even as Hinata opened the new book and began to read Naruto stared down the monster before him.

"I will not let you win Kyubi, I have precious people out there who I'm going back too. You know we can continue until the day I die and then I take both of us with me so why don't you just give up like a good boy. But no matter what you. WILL. NOT. BEAT. ME!" Naruto ended his statement with a shout as he fling himself against at the monster.

In his mind, and because of the constant battle, Naruto had been forced to learn through the years and create many new techniques, all in attempts to stop and either destroy or reseal the fox demon, and all had failed. The demon was either too smart or too powerful, and he simply was fighting a stalemate. There was no way to force the demon back into the cage and it would never follow Naruto there willingly. So Naruto was forced to learn about the Kyubi no Yoko like no one had ever before.

And all of those years of watching and learning were finally going to pay off. Naruto had a new plan, he knew that even if he was to chop the demon's head off it wouldn't end, he had already tried several times, the monster had no physical body it was energy, the same as Naruto and if it was within a different setting Naruto would have simply been destroyed by the overwhelming power of the nine-tailed fox. Yet there was a key different between Naruto and the Kyubi. Naruto's power came from everywhere while he realized the Kyubi was different, he had to have some kind of source of energy.

At first he had tried to simply overpower the beast and will it back within its cage but that hadn't worked. The monster had laughed, it was too immense for him to will away and its power too great. It was part of him and trying to will it somewhere was like trying to move his heart with his mind, it wasn't possible. But Naruto knew there had to be a way to stop it, and he had waited, watched, and listened.

And it was listening to Jiraiya that had given Naruto an idea as he charged the Kyubi again, the Kyubi struck with his claws, which Naruto easily dodged, and then he attacked with his fangs, his mouth closing around Naruto who jumped into the mouth of the monstrous demon and down his very throat into the belly of the beast.

The demon stood shocked for a moment, never before had the boy tried this and suddenly he realized the danger of the move but before he could react, Naruto forced his way into Kyubi's body and ripped his way through his stomach to his heart. He struck at the heart of the fox, he tore it open with his bare hands and the fox howled in pain, the first true pain he had felt in years as Naruto attacked the very source of his power.

"**So that was your plan kit, it won't work, I will not die from that!**" The Kyubi told him as Naruto blasted his way from the fox's heart with his rasengan.

"No, but now I have your heart, the source of your power and while you might reform in mere moments elsewhere, guess what Kyubi, I figured something out about you. You may have no physical body but you do have a power source and if I seal this away you go with it. So guess what big boy, it's over!" Naruto flung the already dissolving heart he had torn from the fox into the cage in the sewer of his mind.

As the heart landed the Kyubi roared and Naruto watched as the image of the great fox was dissolved and was pulled within the cage. At the moment the fox was entirely within the cage Naruto sealed it replacing the old seal his father had created on the gate. He had had plenty of time to think about the sealing jutsu and listened as Jiraiya had explained the seal used by the fourth hokage to Tsunade over the years and how it worked. Of course, they thought he couldn't hear but he had, and it had paid off.

Naruto had had to wait for so long, running different attacks, slowly repairing the seal using shadow clones while he kept the fox busy until this day, the day when the seal was ready and he would be able to attempt to force the fox's power source back into the cage. Naruto had learned that while he couldn't destroy the fox he could attack its power source but without a killing strike or sealing it away the fox would reform moments later and the battle would continue.

Naruto was so tired, he had expended so much energy fighting the Kyubi. While his body might not have felt physical exhaustion from the battle but his mental exhaustion was incredible. The fox had merely tried to outlast him, pushing his mental capacities to the limit until he knew Naruto would simply shut down. But Naruto had proven resilient to the creature, even more than the Kyubi had expected. And after nearly three years of constant fighting he had finally managed to overcome the Kyubi no Yoko and would be free of the never ending nightmare.

But before Naruto could do anything he heard the voice that had haunted him in battle for three years.

"**Well done kit, you've managed to trick me back in here and even improved on the seal," **The kyubi let out a dark chuckle, "**But it matters not, I will be free one day again, and I will eat you and finish destroying this village. One day kit, remember that.**" He told him and Naruto glared at the beast within the cage before turning his back on him and walking away.

Naruto wanted nothing more than to sleep, he wanted to drift into oblivion and let himself rest but he knew there was someone waiting for him. He had listened to her voice every day for the past three years and he couldn't wait a moment longer to look at her with his eyes again.

Hinata had one hand holding the book she was reading and the other resting on the arm of the chair she sat in next to Naruto's bed. She was reading a book given to her by Lord Jiraiya, _The Tales of a Gutsy Shinobi_, he said that he knew Naruto would like it.

She knew what people said about her behind her back, that she was clinging to a hope that was extinguished years ago, and that she should let go, that she had died and was an empty shell now but she simply wouldn't listen. Back when Naruto had first fallen into the coma a lot of people had come to visit him, Lee, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Sasuke, Kakashi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Iruka, even Anko had stopped by. But as time went on they had slowly dwindled.

With each passing week the number grew fewer and fewer until only Hinata still came daily to see him. She knew he was in there, she knew he was fighting to come back, and she wouldn't give up on him, she couldn't.

_Naruto has never given up on anything or anyone in his life, I know he won't stop now, he'll come back,_ she thought to herself as she turned the page.

She stopped reading the book for a moment and looked at the young man before her. The doctors couldn't explain it but there had been no atrophy of the muscles, which they thought was odd, although Jiriaya seemed to know the reason behind it. Jiraiya had said it was because of a constant flow of chakra to the muscles that seemed to be forcing them to remain in a state of training growth. He couldn't explain why the chakra was flowing the way it was though. He had grown a lot since he had fallen into the coma and his hair was longer now. But his face was the same as always and even as he slept she saw the boy she had fallen for so many years ago.

"Naruto, please come back to me, p-please. I need to tell you something, something I should have said a long time ago." She told him quietly and before she began to cry again she returned to her book.

But as Hinata was beginning her book again she felt something on her hand and looked down to see his hand covered hers and she gasped and dropped the book, not daring to move as she slowly moved her gaze to his eyes which were open. She stopped and the world seemed to freeze around her, she couldn't breathe. She was terrified if she even blinked she would find herself imagining what was happening in front of her. Tears collected in her eyes and began to fall as she thought this was simply another dream and she would wake up next to him to find his eyes still closed.

_Why can't this dream ever be true?_ Hinata thought to herself still refusing to move her blink or even breathe. Even if it was a dream she wanted it to last as long as possible.

As the first tears began to fall she felt his hand on hers squeeze. And he squeezed a second time, harder. And her eyes widened, she felt it, it hurt slightly from the strength of it. And shock went through her system as she realized she wasn't dreaming!

"Hunuitu… uh uve.." Naruto tried to speak but the feeding tube was causing his trouble. His face scrunched as he tried to figure out the problem. He then attempted to move his other hand but Hinata was already there slowly pulling the tube out of his throat. She knew she shouldn't be doing it but she couldn't let it stay there.

_He's awake, Oh God He's awake!_ She thought to herself and tears began to fall down her cheeks as she removed the tube from his mouth.

"Hinata, I love you too." His voice was barely a whisper and as he squeezed her hand with all the strength he could muster. While his muscles had not atrophied as they should have they were not used to movement and he was still very weak. Her tears began to come down in droves and she cried in joy as she threw herself into him and wrapped her arms around him. She had prayed this moment for years, and now it was here and she couldn't imagine anything better in her life.

While everyone saw her actions as futile they never realized that she was right, Naruto could hear her. And every day and night he struggled to suppress the nine-tailed fox, every moment he fought, every day he heard her voice and he heard her reading to him, and it gave him strength. There weren't many things to give a guy hope when he was looking at a giant fox every second of every moment and her voice was his link to the outside.

But more importantly he realized something, he had been such a fool. He had chased after Sakura for years and thought she was so amazing and beautiful but when he had fallen ill she wasn't there. Yet here Hinata was the one sitting by his bedside every day. He had time to reexamine his memories and realized how the girl must have always felt, if only he hadn't been so blind. He cursed himself for being a fool and would redouble his efforts to defeat the Kyubi so he could have the chance to talk to her again.

The nurses outside heard the commotion and came running to look into the room and saw Hinata holding Naruto in her arms. At first they thought the worst, that the boy had died, but then they saw his eyes were open and the old nurse who had welcomed Hinata merely stated what was on everyone's mind. "It's a miracle."

The doctors and nurses immediately began to run test's on Naruto and ask questions and summoned lady Tsunade.

The messenger arrived minutes after being sent to the Hokage's office, "Ma'am, Naruto Uzumaki is awake."

Tsunade's eyes widened at the news and realization and dispatched the messenger to get Jiraiya and have him meet her at the hospital as she left her room and went that way herself.

_So the brat finally woke up, now to find out what the hell happened those years ago._ She thought to herself.

Back in the hospital they had attempted to remove Hinata from the room but Naruto had thrown a fit, even though his muscles had not atrophied he was still terribly weak and after being in an out of body experience for so long and he had trouble controlling his muscle functions entirely. As the nurses tried to lead Hinata from the room he had grabbed her hand and refused to let go.

"N-n-naruto I-I'll g-go, I-I can w-wait ou-outside" Hinata had said while the nurses and doctors nodded.

"She'll only just be outside, we simply need to finish a few tests," the head doctor had told him.

"If you make her leave I will go through all of you to get her back," Naruto told them with complete seriousness in his voice, pushing chakra from his system and causing several instruments to break in order to emphasize his point.

The hospital staff wisely allowed her to stay and she held his hand through most of the tests they begun to run. It was not long after before Tsunade arrived and ordered all of the staff out and began to remove the needles and instruments connected to Naruto. It did not escape her notice that Hinata was there and holding his hand.

"So, since I know you're in fine condition and these tests all concluded that quite thoroughly. Want to explain where you've been the past three years brat? You were supposed to be working to take this job off my hands."

Naruto smiled and coughed a bit as Hinata placed a drink to his lips. Naruto's ability to control his body was returning quickly but he was still unable to do more delicate things and his time spent in his mind had reduced his ability to understand and control actions requiring more finesse, they had given him a glass of water to parch his thirst when he woke up only to have him crush the metal cup in his hand when he tried to lift it to his lips. He simply was going to have relearn a lot of his control over his motor skills.

"He was inside his mind, fighting the Kyubi, right kid?" A new voice said from the doorway as Jiraiya stood there looking at his old student.

Naruto nodded and recounted his tail for them.

"It was like being hit by a rasengan at full power in the gut, the gate suddenly burst open and I felt the Kyubi coming out. And it wanted blood, it wanted my body, it wanted to kill everyone. So I cut myself off from my body and it put us into a kind of mind-space. It was the only thing I could think of to stop it. We were both just stuck there in my mind and we fought, my god, we fought every moment it seemed, neither of us tired and we were so evenly matched, it never ended.

"It was a nightmare, his tails and his fangs, he taunted me and I couldn't find a way to finally beat him. There was no physical body to kill. So I had to listen to you guys when you talked about the seal and try and learn how to rebuild it myself, it took three years of sending clones to study the seal and listening to you guys but I managed to repair and even improved it some.

"I figured out that even though I couldn't kill him if I could get ahold of his power source, I could throw it back into the cage and lock him up. So I let the Kyubi eat me and I… I tore his heart out and threw it back into the cage and sealed it. He thought I was going to dodge, I had made sure I used to the same move and always avoided him, he fell for it."

Naruto shuddered as he remembered the years in his mind. The constant fighting for survival, the beast always there, never being able to rest, just fighting over and over again. Hinata squeezed his hand light to remind him he was no longer caught in the terrible battle again before continuing. He turned to her and looked into her pale lavender eyes.

"I could hear you, everything you said, I heard every word. You saved me so many times Hinata. I wanted to give up so much but your voice every day, it gave me the strength to go on. I never stopped believing I would get to see you again. Thank you for reading to me, for being with me. You saved me."

Naruto finished and Hinata began to cry as Tsunade and Jiraiya stood by and watched. They both smiled softly at the two of them. Tsunade convinced the hospital to allow Hinata to stay for the night and she sent a messenger to inform her father that Hinata was working late with Tsunade on an assignment and would not be home that evening. She then retired to speak with Jiraiya, after he inspected the seal and determined it was in no danger of breaking.

"From what I can see you did a great job on repairing the seal Naruto. And I see you overlapped it again to make it stronger, nice work. It's very impressive and looks even stronger than before," Jiraiya told them as he made his final pronouncement.

"You'll be here for a last a few more days while your strength returns, then we'll see about getting you with a new team. We had to replace you on Kakashi's team but I am sure we can find you a spot or they'd want you back. So take some time to get yourself back to normal and we'll see you at the end of the week," Tsunade told him with a smile.

Tsunade and Jiraiya left the room with smiles on their faces and quietly closed the door to give the two occupants some privacy.

Naruto held Hinata's hand and looked at her before speaking, Naruto had made a decision while in his mind over the past year, "Hinata, I heard everything you said, including the things about your father, your clan and how the village celebrated thinking I was going to die. I thought about it a lot, and if we stay here they'll never allow us to be happy. They won't want us to be together, your family and the village. They'll be upset that I'm still alive and the glares and anger will start again. I don't want to go on more missions, I am tired of destroying, I want to build something.

"Hinata, you became my heart while I fought the Kyubi. And I can't imagine myself without you. Hinata, I want to leave Konoha, I want to go somewhere and find peace and build something better. I know its short notice and I know it's I shouldn't be asking this but I want you to go with me. Please, please come with me Hinata."

Hinata looked at the man before her and remembered all the things she said about her father and how the village had celebrated for a week when he had fallen into the coma and were told he would most likely not survive or be revived. She thought of how her clan was planning on forcing her to marry some random person of their choosing. She had no choices in her life here, she had thought about leaving as well but she would never leave Naruto, he was worth staying for.

And now Naruto wanted to leave, he wanted to go elsewhere, he wanted to find a place where they could be together and no one else would ever bother them. He was ready to stop fighting, he was tired, and he just wanted to be with the woman who had never stopped being there for him.

Hinata remembered the times in the past three years when her father had admonished her for visiting Naruto or the Council had threatened her with the caged bird seal if she didn't cease her actions. And now he was awake, and he looked so helpless laying there holding her hand so gently. He had listened to every word she had said, her time had not been wasted the way her family claimed, the man she loved was before her and he was asking her to leave everything behind.

Hinata made the single most important decision at that moment, she nodded to him and agreed to leave Konoha with him. Naruto smiled and began to slip out of the bed at which Hinata protested.

"N-naruto, sh-shouldn't you w-wait until y-you're stronger?" She asked him. She saw he was having trouble standing and she couldn't help but want him to lay back down and rest.

"No, we have to go, we must leave now before anyone else learns I'm awake. Once they do we'll be watched every day. I'll lean on you as we go, we can be far from Konoha by morning and no one will know."

He began to reach for some clothing that had been brought by Jiraiya, he had been told he wouldn't be fit in any of his old clothes anymore and, with a bit of help from Hinata, was able to get dressed.

He was soon wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a white shirt and there was a black jacket along with it with red swirls on the shoulders and back. His hair was longer now, reaching his shoulders but retaining its spiky appearance. He looked at his forehead protector and put it in his pocket instead tying a black band to hold his hair out of his eyes.

She nodded to him and he placed an arm around her leaning on her for support and the two flew out the window and into the night. The first to discover they were missing was Tsunade who came to check on them in the early morning. She was shocked to find that Naruto was not in his bed and Hinata was gone as well. She immediately dispatched search teams to both of their homes.

The only thing they found was a note in Hinata's room.

_Dear Father, Tsunade, and friends, _

_ We are sorry for leaving without a good-bye, but this village will never understand us. We will never be accepted for who we are. We simply want to live in peace now, no more fighting, no more anger, no more glares, we just want peace. I'm sorry I cannot fulfill my promise to you Granny, but my heart is elsewhere now. Please, do not come after us._

_ Hinata & Naruto._

Their friends were sent out immediately to locate them but without success, wherever Naruto and Hinata had gone they simply didn't want to be found and nothing their friends and loved ones could do could change that.

Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, Kakashi, Tenten, Neji, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai, Asuma, Jiraiya, and even Iruka and Anko all joined the search. They went to every village and tried every known road and direction but no one had seen or heard of their two missing friends. After months of searching they were forced to finally call their teams back and resume normal missions with a standing order to continue looking for their friends on their missions.

Hiashi exploded in anger when he heard his daughter had run off with the demon. The entire clan erupted in outrage at the thought of their bloodline possible being contaminated. But after no one could find either Naruto or Hinata they were forced to wait and many hoped the pair died before Hinata could condemn their clan with her actions.

The news of Naruto's disappearance was kept as a highly classified secret and a rumor was started by the ANBU that he had died in his coma. After revealing what had happened to the council Tsunade had been forced to agree that it was best for the village if they never knew what had transpired. Secretly Tsunade also knew that a rumor that Naruto had died would help him and Hinata escape without notice. The only ones who knew the truth were the Hokage, Naruto's friends, Hinata's direct family, and the council. It was considered an A-class secret. To the world, Naruto Uzumaki was dead and Hinata Hyuga considered a missing ninja.


	2. A New Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction:

Authors Note: I hope you all are enjoying the story, I decided to go ahead and publish multiple chapters at once for your enjoyment!

**Chapter 2: A new home**

Naruto and Hinata were almost a two weeks out from Konoha and heading deep into a forest at the base of a mountain. They were near the border of the lands of Earth and Wind nations well past the bird country when they finally stopped and began to rest, taking deep breaths. They had pushed themselves hard for days to make sure no one could locate them.

They had brushed their trail, avoided every known village and known trail or road, and using Hinata's Byakugan avoided any possible patrols by their former home. They knew their friends would be worried, they knew they would try and find them, so they had left the fire country and moved swiftly through the smaller and less powerful countries like the bird, avoiding the great nations and pushing past them into lesser known territories.

After the first few days Naruto had begun to quickly regain his control and was back in good spirits able to use his body completely again. He found his chakra control was immensely better, beyond anyone else he had ever seen in the village, even Tsunade. His time in his mind had given him the ability to almost entirely control his chakra system perfectly.

He looked Hinata, she was sitting next to a river collecting water for them. They had lived off the land eating only what vegetation they could find and drinking from small water sources along the way. He smiled thinking how beautiful she looked as he walked up to her from behind and put his arms around her. He had done this many times since they left, he simply never wanted to let her go now that he had finally found her. She sighed in happiness and leaned back into his body.

They were considered rogue shinobi now most likely, they knew that, but they didn't care. They were free, they had escaped away from the angry villagers and her family. They could now focus on finding their own place, their own home. They had taken little with the, some food, a few scrolls and weapons to protect themselves with but otherwise not much.

"We're finally free, finally together my Hime," Naruto said as he kissed her hair and she sighed again at his touch.

The last few days had been hardest but the happiest of their lives. They were together at last and no one was around to glare at Naruto and her father and the council were gone from their lives. They were far away from any of the villages in the great nations, they were finally together.

They continued further into the forest and slightly up the mountain side for several days. The forest was old and filled with thick trees, but unlike the forest surrounding Konoha this forest was wild and ancient. The tree's here made the ones around their former home look like saplings. They swayed in the wind and rose high into the sky.

The ground was soft with pine needles and the tree branches were so thick at times they hid the sun itself. But the forest was not unfriendly. The animals in the forest did not fear Naruto and Hinata and they felt welcome and at home here. The rivers and streams were pure and the fish plentiful. They found an abundance of food both in wild life and in vegetation.

They had been traveling for several days moving deeper and deeper into the forest. As they continued they saw signs of an ancient road. It looked as if it had disappeared many years before and only the barest traces could be seen. The forest had retaken much of the road and it was only by luck that Hinata noticed the signs it had once existed. They followed the tracks which led them to the gate of a massive village, easily the size of Konoha, if not larger. The village was very similar to Konoha's with a giant wall surrounding it for protection and many buildings found within and a large tower in the center.

However this village was built around the idea of trees. The builds were all built into trees themselves and those that weren't were built around them. The entire place had a strange symmetry to it as if the buildings were supposed to compliment the trees that surrounded them. But also one thing that differentiated this place from Konoha, was that it was completely silent.

There were no people here, no sign of any life other than the forest. Hinata and Naruto stopped at the gate and looked at the massive village unsure if it was a trap or simply abandoned.

"I guess we should go in and check it out huh? Can you see anyone?" Naruto asked.

"No, there are no chakra signatures anywhere, in fact there is no-nothing but the trees, we should still be careful," Hinata responded.

They nodded to one another and slowly began to make their way through the front gate. They saw an outpost to the right of the gate and walked toward it. It was closed and locked up, when they opened it they found nothing inside but dust and old cobwebs.

"This is so weird, the guard house seems like it was closed up by the previous owner and left. This is just strange, let's head for the tower in the center of the village, if it's laid out like Konoha or Suna that will be their Kage's tower and maybe the records are there and will tell us what happened here," Naruto said.

Hinata nodded and as they started to move she kissed his cheek with a slight blush. They were still getting to used to being a couple, they hadn't really even had a first date, unless you counted running away from their home village together as a date. Hinata didn't stutter as much anymore thankfully, after having no one else to talk to she had gotten over that fairly quickly, but she was still very quiet and shy, even to Naruto.

As they moved through the old streets toward the tower in the center they felt an odd similarity between this place and their Konoha. The layout was very similar although the buildings seemed much more graceful. They also thought it odd that someone had gone to the trouble to build this place only to leave it. There were no signs of destruction, only the decay of time. They saw no indications of fighting or remains of dead bodies. The homes looked as if they had simply been boarded up and the people had decided to leave.

They found their way to the center of town and the tallest building, where the Hokage Tower would have been back in Konoha and they easily unlocked the door.

As they made their way through the door and inside the building Naruto took one last look at the sky, it was growing dark and they would need to make camp soon.

"I remember back in the academy Iruka-sensei used to talk about when the villages were first being founded there were a bunch of them all over the place. Everyone thought their village was going to take off and become powerful. But most of them ended up being abandoned as the inhabitants merged with an ally or they were destroyed in the shinobi wars. It looks like the people here left willingly, they even locked the tower up. I would guess this is one of the villages that was started way back when the great nations were just getting into the shinobi village system. They probably allied and merged with another village and moved there, leaving this place behind," Naruto said and Hinata nodded her agreement.

They followed the dark hallways of the tower toward the top, they found a heavily ornate and well furnished room at the top of the tower. It had a waiting area before it and it seemed that whoever had once led the village had probably had their office here. They began to search for information in the room and found precious little of it.

They did discover that the villages name was the village hidden in the trees, Eukigakure and its leader had called itself the Kikage or Tree Shadow. It seemed rather appropriate since the village was built around the tree's here and probably couldn't be found at all if someone wasn't looking for it.

"N-naruto, I think I found s-something," Hinata said as she brought over a large scroll and laid it down on the desk.

Naruto began reading the final entry of the scroll, "We have completed all preparations and sent ahead many of the villagers to our new home. I leave this one scroll behind for anyone who might come here. Do not anger the will of the trees, they helped us build this village and is with their agreement that we leave. They protect this village and our villagers. As we go to our new home we bid our old one farewell."

"It l-looks like y-you were right N-naruto," Hinata told him as she blushed and slid an arm around him.

He smiled and turned from the scroll to place his arms around the woman who had changed his life and kissed her lovingly. "We were both right Hinata," he told her and she smiled.

Naruto and Hinata spent the next week exploring the forgotten village, learning its ends and outs and discovering the differences between it and their old home. They went through the records left behind and found that the village had indeed been founded at the beginning of the village system more possibly before the founding of Konoha but when they had signed an agreement with a fellow village most of the villagers had left and joined the new village since it was closer to the center of power within one of the rising great nations.

The buildings, being mostly built in, on, or around the great tree's were more or less intact and they had managed some kind of wood jutsu into the very structure of the village itself which had allowed them to builders to shape the living wood so it was harden than steel and the real decay wasn't in the structure of most of the buildings but in the more man-made objects such as the roads, sewer and power systems, and such.

They also discovered the giant wall which surrounded the village used several dozen giant trees as support and was merely an extension of the trees themselves. The wall was completely intact and worked perfectly. The same wood jutsu which had been used on the homes had obviously been used on the walls. They discovered many of the same things normally found in a village, a ninja academy, a library, a storage center with thousands of ancient scrolls, and huge clan complexes. It was unreal and they simply couldn't believe that the people who had previously lived there had decided to leave.

It did not take long for Naruto and Hinata to decide that they would stay here. It was hidden far from others and they had found many fields in the upper end of the forest to the north above the tree-line which contained massive amounts of food growing in them, obviously having been previously cultivated. Using his clones Naruto set them into teams and began to rebuild the village. He taught Hinata his shadow clone technique and together they slowly reconstructed the village.

Over the next year they decided to move into a large clan complex, far more space than they truly needed, but they found themselves happy. They had more than enough food and with the help of the clones they were able to improve the walls surrounding the village for protection. They added dozens of early warning jutsu's to the forest. They had also been able to restore the roads, sewer system, power grid, and everything else thanks to the previous occupants having left many of their instruction books and notes in well-preserved libraries.

Using the clones in the reconstruction allowed them to learn everything about the village, and sending them as scouts they discovered that when they disappeared their knowledge returned to the original. So they set several of them to reading the scrolls found and learning the village's history.

The clones tilled the fields brought the farmland back under control and slowly the village regained a sense of the living about it, rather than the previous sense of decay. Naruto and Hinata always felt that the forest itself was happy to have them there and protected them. They never had trouble finding their way back to the village and the tree's always seemed to welcome them. When it rained they always got a sense that the trees would bend ever so slightly to keep the water from them or if it was hot out that the shade was always in just the right place.

In appreciation Hinata worked to restore the garden in their home. She would spend hours working there and refused to allow Naruto's clones to help, rather she made him join her in the dirt pulling weeds and laughing with her. When the first flowers began to open in her garden the next year he began to understand why she loved it so much.

They also were not lax in their training as they sparred every evening in their homes dojo. They practiced many of the jutsu's they found and used their clones to help them perfect the jutsu's, in particular the wood ones which would allow them to repair the buildings and manipulate the wood. The villagers had had an extensive library of jutsu's, seals, and taijutsu styles, along with the many jutsu's Naruto had created when fighting the Kyubi Naruto and Hinata had a vast collection of jutsu to learn.

After being there for a little over a year they were surprised one day to have one of the many alarms they had set out tripped by an incoming caravan. They had seen no one else in that time and never even seen the possibility of others having passed through the area in many years. They recalled their clones from their previous tasks and set them to guard the walls against a possible intrusion.

They had planned out before if someone should come and prove hostile they would set shadow clones along the walls to make it appear as if the village was well guarded and hope to bluff their way out of any confrontation.

When the alarm was tripped they moved quickly gathering their gear before heading into the forest. They had become at home there and moved quickly through the trees and hidden pathways. They found themselves hidden in the trees as they came upon a small caravan, only three or four wagons. They held maybe thirty or forty people, and they were all obviously shinobi. Many wore the symbol of the village hidden in the mist, and most of them were women and children with several elders. Their wagons were pulled by oxen and were having trouble navigating the forest's inner roads.

"What are they doing here?" Naruto whispered to Hinata.

"I don't know, but I think it would be best if we approached them, they might not be hostile and they look pretty travel worn. I would guess they've been on the move for a while." Hinata responded.

Indeed the travelers clothes were stained from the road and their bodies were thinner than they expected. However their eyes were alert to any danger and they seemed on edge. They carried weapons but most of them appeared to be women, children, and those past their prime, they could see few able bodied shinobi or kunoichi among the group.

Naruto and Hinata landed fifty feet in front of them and waited. The caravan noticed them and stopped their struggles through the forest, an older man in his fading prime approached them. Everyone seemed tense and unsure, as if this was a scene that had ended with bad results for the group in the past. Those able to wield weapons moved into a defensive position around the caravan, giving mute testament that such meetings had gone poorly in the past.

"Hello, I am Achi leader of the Chanji clan. We are merely passing through and do not mean to disturb your land. Please let us go in peace and we will cause no trouble," The man told them, he was older, past his prime but still obviously strong. He was tall, well over six feet, and he wore dark blue pants with a navy jacket. His hair was cut short to his skull and scars were evident on his hands and face, particularly a large scar on his right cheek. His eyes were old and were already calculating the strength of the new arrivals.

"Hello, I am Naruto and this is Hinata. We saw your party moving through, and were curious as to why shinobi of the hidden mist village was passing through this land?" He asked them being polite as possible.

"We are no longer shinobi of the mist, they turned on our clan because of our bloodline trait. They attacked us, we have spent the past ten years wandering, trying to find a place to call home. We few are what are left of a clan that once numbered in the hundreds. They blamed us for the wars and destruction in the land and turned on us. They cast us to the citizens of our land to die after we had protected them. Ever since we have had to fight for survival staying nowhere more than a few weeks. We are tired of fighting, we just want to have a home again." The old man told them.

They saw the truth in their words and the faces of the clansmen there. They didn't come here to fight, they had been traveling for years and had little rest. No one understood what it was like to be persecuted for no reason more than Naruto. Without a second thought Hinata and Naruto knew they could not leave these people to simply wander their lives away until their clan had become nothing but another legend in a scroll.

Naruto and Hinata nodded to them, "We know the feeling, we came from much a similar situation. If you will come with us please, we have somewhere you can stay."

They showed the small caravan to the hidden tree village and opened the gateway for them. As the group entered they were astounded to find such a place in the middle of nowhere.

"W-What is this place and where are the people?" Achi asked.

"We are the only inhabitants, we felt much as you did, seeking a place to call home and to find peace. We were tired of fighting and war, so we left. This has become our haven and our home. We are willing to share it with you, it is called Eukigakure, the village hidden in the trees, the leader was known as the Kikage, the tree shadow." Hinata informed them.

"There is something you must know before you decide whether to accept our offer to remain here though. I am Naruto Uzumaki, the carrier of the Kyubi no Yoko, the beast is sealed securely inside me, if you can live with that then you are welcome to remain. It is for that monster that I was treated as an outcast by my home. It was for a chance of birth that my village thought me a monster rather than seeing that I was merely the container keeping them safe. I know what it is to be hated for something inside you that you have no choice over." Naruto told them truthfully.

Achi looked at Hinata and Naruto and bowed his head to them as tears began to run down his cheeks. His clan had been decimated and destroyed by the wars and actions of the hidden mist village for their bloodline and these two were willing to share their home with them.

The rest of his clan came forward, they looked around and Achi told them of the offer by the two generous inhabitants of this place and Hinata and Naruto saw the looks of awe pass through them. They had not known a home in over ten years and now they were offered one without restriction or requirements by two strangers.

"There is a large complex on the north side of the village that would suit your clan well I think. I will show it to you." Naruto told them but before he could move they bowed to him.

"Naruto, we understand being hated for something that is beyond your control and our clan has not known a home in over a decade, and now you offer one without restriction or restraint. We cannot think of a way to accept such generosity and in our thanks we pledge ourselves to this village, and to you, as our Lord Kikage, leader of this village." Achi told him bowing, and so it happened that the village hidden in the trees gained its first new clan in more than a century.

A look of shock passed over Naruto and Hinata at his words, Naruto had always said he would one day be Hokage, but apparently fate did not offer such a service to Naruto. Rather than becoming the Hokage of the leaf, he had been proclaimed the Kikage of the trees. And the people before him truly thanked him with all their hearts at being given a home at long last.

Over the next ten years more travelers and clans came to the forest and word spread about a new village. Rumors of a village hidden within the trees began to grow and people said that it was a place where clans and families seeking peace and safety could find it. People heard that it was accepting of any clan or bloodline and offered those torn apart by war a new place to start over.

Within the village many thought that the will of the forest watched over them as they made the village their home. In short order the village took in many who had been persecuted from other lands for their bloodlines and kekkei genkai's and Naruto welcomed them if they truly sought peace and safety.

The village grew in numbers and soon the place which was vacant and lifeless took on a new breath of life. The power-lines flowed with life and fires roared in the homes and at night families and clans sat down together for meals. The roads and walls were repaired and watched by the shinobi who had pledged themselves to the village. The ninja academy was reopened began to accept students shortly after the village accepted its third clan. They even created their own system, reflecting the genin, chunin, jonin, and ANBU system in other clans as well as having their own Kage in Naruto who was known as the greatest shinobi in the village.

Thanks to his time fighting the fox in his mind Naruto had obtained an incredible chakra control and been forced to create many new jutsu's not seen before. He also set to work and mastered many of the tree jutsu's left behind by the former occupants of the village. He and Hinata were considered by many to be the most powerful shinobi in the village and their children were thought to be among the brightest stars in the village.

Naruto's own family had grown greatly, he and Hinata had married when they turned 18 and they had four children already with plans for more. Each of them was born with the Hyuga clan's byakugan and Hinata trained them in the Juken style, which she had worked to modify and improve over the years, making it her own, personal style.

The village bustled with life and growth as time passed, but this did not go unnoticed by the great villages of the five great nations who heard rumors of this village hidden in the trees. They had sent many shinobi to locate the place as the rumors began to circulate more and more but none ever found the village. No one could ever be sure where the village was as its location seemed to change with each new story. Naruto often believed the will of the trees protected them and kept the outside world from finding them unless they were pure of heart and truly wished to find the peace their village had found and offered others.

The village prospered and grew strong under Naruto's leadership and he proudly watched his first born son, Minato, graduate from the Euki Ninja Academy at the age of 10, two years before the normal graduation date and be taken under the wing of one of the greatest jonin in his village. His family now consisted of 5 children, more than 13 years after he and Hinata had left Konoha. On the walls of their family home were pictures of them as genin and showed them growing up in Konoha. They often thought of their friends, feeling guilty they had not said good-bye or at least let them knowing they were doing well. But as it tends to happen, the old life will intrude upon the new.

The Kage's of the five great villages had become concerned with the growing strength of this new village, a village they could not find or contact. By their count the village had more clans and kekkei genkai's than any other, while most of the clans were small due to their loses before joining the new village, sometimes merely being a mother and her children, it gave the tree village a wide variety of techniques and jutsu's to call upon.

If it was allowed to continue to grow it would be more powerful than any other village in the five great nations. Thus it was under the guidance of the Hokage of the leaf a new plan was enacted, rather than attempt to fight and wipe out this new village they would contact them and attempt to bring them into their alliance. Each of the villages in the alliance would send out messengers and leave scrolls across the five most likely locations for the village hidden in the trees in hopes that they would find them and contact one of the allied villages, if this was unsuccessful, the Hokage knew more aggressive measures would need to be taken.

So it was that day when Naruto was sitting in the office he and Hinata had first found behind a desk wearing robes that were almost an exact replica of those worn by the other Kage's of the great nations, although he had insisted that his white robes be lined with orange rather than green or brown. A jonin came running in his office, a worried look on his face.

"Lord Kikage, we have just found this note, apparently several hundred were dropped from the air all around the lower forest," reported the man handing over a small scroll to his leader who broke the seal and opened it.

Naruto unwound the scroll and read it his eyes widening slightly at the message, "Summon the council immediately, we must meet and discuss this new development."

Ten minutes later Naruto sat in a brightly lit room full of sunshine with the clan leaders and council representatives. The room was large with a high ceiling and had a dozen tall windows which allowed sunlight to beam through and when opened the wind would blow through keeping it constantly cool and comfortable. Naruto passed the message around the table allowing everyone to read it.

"Apparently our village has received the attention of the great shinobi villages, for this message, the Hokage of the Leaf Village has contacted us. I had our shinobi check with our contacts in other locations to find out that similar messages have been dropped in other locations. From the fact that they had dropped several hundred of these messages through the lower forest and beyond I would guess they do not know our location and are merely hoping to get our attention.

"The message is very clear, they want to meet with our villages leader and discuss political negotiations for possible alliances and find out what our plans are for the future. We have shown no interest in their territory or their business with the great nations and which most likely is confusing them. As you know we have grown steadily over the last ten years since Lord Achi and his clan arrived and now boast many impressive clans and kekkei genkai's, and all we truly wish is to live our lives in peace so we can be true to our shinobi way.

"We do maintain strict standards at our academy and for our shinobi and the missions we undertake are for the purpose of our village rather than those outside the village. With our growing strength the kage's of the other villages are probably beginning to wonder what our intention is and as Konoha's Hokage probably wishes to avoid another shinobi war they seek to make contact, probably hoping to draw us into their alliance rather than see us a potential threat."

Naruto finished as the scroll made its way back to him and every thought in the room turned to what this meant for their young village. They had hoped they could remain anonymous to the outside world, although none of them were that foolish or unrealistic to believe that was truly possible with the number of clans which had joined the village and growing power of the village. That was why they had such stringent standards for their academy and their shinobi, making them train to become the best they could.

"If we do not respond they will assume us a threat and become more intent on finding out location," Lord Achi said, voicing the thought that many others had.

"So it would seem the best course of action would be to send a representative to the village hidden in the leaves and make our intentions known." Lady Oai of the Hurin clan said.

"I will go," Naruto said as the council looked at their Kikage.

"No, you should remain, we can send a councilor or two, it would be best to keep you here, your leadership will be needed if something happens and they do become hostile," another councilor, this one from the Gurikane clan said.

"If they do become hostile what are our capabilities compared to those? Could we hope to successfully defend against an attack by one or all of the nations?" another councilor, lord Diren of the Yiran clan asked.

"In a one on one conflict with one of the great villages we would be on par with their strength. While we don't have the same numbers as them we do have a great versatility and our village has a much wider variety of both jutsu's and kekkei genkai's to call to our defense. If all the great villages were to attack us, however, we would simply be overrun by pure numbers," Naruto informed them.

The truth was that their village would be outnumbered by at least three to one if it came to a conflict and he knew it. But the thing which would even the odds were that their villages location was hidden and also the large variety of the techniques and bloodlines available for action. They would be able to counter any strategy used by their enemy with the strongest possible defense.

There were murmurs and discussion began as to the best course of action to take. Most agreed it would be best to send representatives, members of the council, rather than their Kikage himself. Naruto saw the general agreement there but he also knew that if he were to go the negotiations would have an added advantage by the old feelings held for him by the Konoha Hokage.

"I know the village hidden in the leaves and their hokage well. It would be best if I went, they will not break their honor and promise of safety so long as we do not break the peace. I can also negotiate better as a fellow Kage than a councilor will be able too. I would ask the council to remain here, if something was to happen then I believe it best for you to remain, your clans will need your leadership, they do not know our villages location so you have some time and safety but I do not believe they will attempt to harm me or any of us while we are there.

"The message seems clear, they just want to talk for now. Konoha's objective has always been to seek a peaceful answer through negotiations rather than fighting and they resort to fighting as a means of last resort."

Many on the council nodded, his knowledge of the village and their hokage would be invaluable in negotiations.

"I will take a small delegation including my wife and eldest son, Minato and his team, as well as representative shinobi from our many clans to create the honor guard in our ANBU protection. I will not sign any alliances without first bringing them back here to be viewed by the village council as well and I will explain our intent is merely to remain apart and at peace and to further that I will offer them a non-aggression pact. I will explain that we have no interest in fighting the great villages and simply wish to be left alone.

"We have worked hard to create a place of peace where our villagers are able to raise their children and be proud of the home they had created for themselves. I do not think it is much to ask for that we simply be left alone."

The councilors nodded and several smiled at the truth in their Kikage's words. They had worked hard to make this place their home and they would not let anyone else take it from them. And so the decision was made, Naruto Uzumaki, Kikage of the village hidden in the trees would travel along with his wife and a significant ANBU escort to meet the Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves, Naruto and Hinata would return home.


	3. Negotiations

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: I hope you all are enjoying the story! I know the first few chapters involved a lot of time skipping but soon we'll get down to the big fight scenes and real good stuff! Hope your enjoying it thus far though!

**Chapter 3: Negotiations**

Naruto returned home shortly after the council was dismissed and as he entered the complex he and Hinata had taken over he heard the footsteps of his youngest child as she squeeled in delight while he picked her up in his hands.

"DADDY!" The little girl squeeled, she had bright blonde hair and the same white hyuga eyes all his children had.

"And how you are little Tsunade?" Naruto asked his youngest daughter as he scooped her up and hugged her.

Hinata appeared shortly after with a soft smile on her face. She was wearing a dark blue vest and pants as she had been in the middle of training with their youngest son. Her hair was long and braided and her body was well muscled and she had maintained her figure from training all of their children in the use of their bloodline trait.

Their youngest daughter was nearing her third birthday and she was one of the two of their children who had inherited their fathers blonde hair, which led them to name her after the fifth hokage of Konoha, the woman Naruto had always called Granny, Tsunade, the slug sannin. By her sides was his youngest son who smiled at his father and waved.

"How is your training going Hiruzen?" Naruto asked his son who smiled and gave him a thumbs up, he was five and would be entering the academy soon to make his father and mother proud. Until then he was trained by both his mother and his father, when they had time. He wore matching black shirt and pants and had inherited his mother's quiet personality but had gotten his father's smile.

Hinata smiled as Naruto kissed her softly and they walked back into the house. He told her of the day and that the message they had received from Konoha. She frowned slightly at the news, already knowing what it would mean.

"So we have to go back and negotiate, I suppose it was to be expected, they couldn't just let us alone with the growing number of clans and bloodlines here, we're simply going to be too powerful for them soon." Naruto nodded at his wife's response.

Even after all these years he never tired of looking at her, she was always so beautiful to him, especially when she wore flowers in her dark hair. Hinata had grown more beautiful as time had passed and Naruto's love for her seemed deeper than even the ocean. Her hair was long and black with hints of blues and purples in it which framed her pale skin perfectly. Her skin was smooth and, thanks to her constant training of their children in her modified juken style, she was considered one of the prime examples of one of the strongest kunoichi in their village.

"I told the council that you, I, and Minato along with Minato's team and a selected ANBU squad will go to Konoha to negotiate with Tsunade and explain about situation and feelings. We decided it would be best to leave tomorrow as it's nearly a two week journey to Konoha."

"Do you think it's wise to bring Minato? My family might try something, you know how they can be about their bloodline," Hinata asked as a frown crossed her face.

"They wouldn't dare touch a member of our delegation, and if they did the Hokage would slaughter them, but only if I didn't get to them first. We need Minato's team, they are considered one of the best examples of genin teamwork the village has. I am also hoping to locate Jiraiya and have him sign the toad contract while we're there," Naruto told her.

Hinata nodded and said she would make sure everything was packed and ready to leave the next day and with a kiss to her husband's cheek and a smile she left for their room to pack. Her mind was busy preparing herself mentally for the fact that she would be taking her first born child into the den of vipers where her family lived.

_Even after being married for more than ten years I can never stop loving her as much as the day I woke up in that hospital bed,_ Naruto thought to himself.

Word passed quickly through the village that their Kikage would be leaving to negotiate with the other villages and explain their purpose and request they be left in peace and many were there to see them off. Everyone in the village was well aware that Naruto Uzumaki, Kikage of the hidden tree was also the carrier of the Kyubi no Yoko, but they loved him anyway. The clans and people around him were those who had been persecuted for simply having a bloodline in them or tired of fighting constantly and they had come to this village and been accepted for who they were, they loved their Kikage and would have given their lives for him.

Naruto waved at the people in his white and orange Kage robes and smiled brightly to them. That smile and happy face always put his people at ease and they felt comfortable knowing he was going to protect them. As they made their way through the forest Naruto smiled, he loved the forest, it was so quiet and always seemed to have a sense that he was there and he felt protected by the trees themselves.

It was a three week journey to the village hidden in the leaves and the time passed quickly for the group. Naruto oversaw the training of his son and his fellow genin whenever their jonin instructor was out on patrol with the other chosen ANBU. Some had wondered why Naruto had wanted to bring the young shinobi but they felt he must have a good reason.

It really shouldn't have surprised people that Naruto wanted his son to see the village had and his mother were from but more importantly he understood that the genin would be seen by the other village as a symbol of his village's strength and be evaluated by the villagers and their shinobi. Having strong genin would show that they were a strong village and Naruto would need every bit of bargaining power he could obtain on this trip.

They were only a few hours from the village of Konoha when Naruto called a halt to their movements. He knew they had already been spotted and a delegation from Konoha would be gathering and preparing for their arrival.

Naruto bit his thumb and placed it on the ground, a large poof of smoke appeared and his old friend Gamakichi was before him.

"Yo Naruto, Whats up bud?" Gamakichi asked, he was a giant orange toad now, nearly the size of his father Gamabunta.

"Hey Gamakichi, I need to make a bit of an entrance into the village ahead, mind helping me out?" Naruto asked and Gamakichi agreed without a second thought.

Naruto had requested the help of Gamakichi and the toads many times during the first days at their new home and they always made sure the toads were treated with respect and given a lot of food and drink whenever they were asked to help with a particularly large project. One of the reasons Naruto had his eldest son come with him was his hopes of locating Jiraiya and having his son sign the toad contract.

Naruto and Hinata jumped on top of the toads head and the remaining shinobi spread out in their protective net. Gamakichi walked with Naruto and Hinata on top of his head right up to the gates of the village where a crowd had gathered to meet the representatives of the new village in the world.

Naruto looked down and saw the ever youthful Tsunade before him, the village councilors were with her along with every clan leader in Konoha, he also knew a squad of ANBU was hidden in the crowd along with the one standing next to Tsunade and in the crowd he knew would be many old friends. He descended from atop of Gamakichi with Hinata and his honor guard formed up behind him as everyone gasped.

Tsunade paled and her eyes widened at the sight before her, she had expected an old man and his wife perhaps. She had been surprised to learn the leader was a young man she was never prepared for the shock of seeing Naruto and Hinata, the two shinobi who had left more than 13 years before and he was wearing the orange and white robes of a kage!

Naruto was dressed in almost exact replicas of the robe Tsunade wore, the only difference being that his had orange lines rather than her red. Hinata had chosen to wear dark purple cargo pants along with a white shirt and a deep purple jacket. Her hands and forearms were covered in fighting bandages. Her tree forehead protector was around her neck where once the Konoha one had rested and her hair was braided behind her head to keep it out of the way. She had considered wearing something more elegant as the Kikage's wife but had decided to show herself as a Kunoichi rather than a wife, Naruto had loved it.

And what was even more of a shock was the small boy, probably a genin, who had the white eyes of a hyuga behind them standing tall and proud with his team! He looked serious but she could tell his face and hair, which was a spiky black and purple, were obviously traits from his father.

"N-Naruto, is that you?" Tsunade asked, his old friends, Lee, Sakura, Sasuke, Tenten, Neji, Anko, Iruka, Kiba, and Shino all stared in wonder. Hinata's father, Hiashi, as a clan lord looked at his runaway daughter and the boy behind her and was rendered speechless. Complete shock was found on the faces of everyone in the crowd as they looked at the pair who had disappeared so many years ago.

"Hello Lady Hokage, it is nice to see you again, I am the Kikage of the Village Hidden in the Trees. I received your message as well as the messages of the Kazekage and Raikage. We determined it best if I traveled here to negotiate with you and explain our purpose."

"Naruto… are you really going to act like we don't know each other?" She asked in quiet disbelief, her friends staring at the man before them. He seemed so cold and distant from the laughing Naruto they had known so long ago.

"As you know, this is not a pleasure trip, our previous relationship must be set aside for the good of our villages," Naruto told her.

_That's the way Dad!_ A thought went through his son's mind.

_I hate acting like this, but they need to understand this isn't us returning to visit friends, I am here to protect our home,_ Naruto thought to himself.

_I know how hard this is going to be for you beloved, please don't be too hard on them_, Hinata thought as she looked over the Hokage and the crowd and finally sent a cold glare to her father.

Tsunade nodded and her eyes seemed to take a hurt look within them, "Very well, please follow us, we have prepared a meeting room as well as refreshments from your journey."

"Thank you very much, it was a rather long journey for us," Naruto responded politely.

Hiashi simply stared at his daughter, his eyes going from her to the boy with white eyes and Naruto's hair and face. He watched as the child acted like a true shinobi and followed his sensei's instructions perfectly. If he had not been in complete shock he might have felt some paternal pride as a grandfather. But as it was he turned and followed the remaining councilors, he was very disturbed by these events. His daughter had married the demon and more than that she had given birth to his children! How many Hiashi couldn't guess but the more disturbing thought was that of another branch of the Hyuga clan bothered him greatly.

The crowd opened as the delegations passed with them making small talk with Naruto and Hinata as the remaining members seemed to be there more for protection than discussion. Naruto's old friends were speechless, they couldn't believe their old friend had chosen to become the Kage of a different village, a village that no one had even known existed until a few years prior and they felt hurt he had not even acknowledged their presence when he and Hinata had returned.

As the councilors, Tsunade, Hinata, and Naruto took their seats in the room discussions began regarding the new village and many questions were presented to Naruto one after the other before he could even respond. Finally Tsunade requested silence from as the burst of outrage, curiosity, and demands created more ruckus than discussion. Turning to Naruto she nodded.

"Thank you Lady Tsunade, first I must tell you we have no interest in you or any of the villages or their employers. We simply want to be left alone in peace. The people who live in our village came there because they were persecuted and hated. Many were driven away from their homes and safety by those they thought were their friends. We gave them a place to be remain in safety and allowed them to be who they were despite what they may carry within them. We seek no conflict but simply wish to be left alone." The comments were not lost on the councilors as several looked at the man before them and thought about what he carried within him.

As Naruto finished Tsunade nodded, "But your village's power is growing at an incredible rate and you must realize that such power, without a treaty or connection, is a rival to our own and we cannot simply allow it to go unchecked. If we leave you in peace you could build up your own power and possibly wait until a war takes place and attack us. We cannot allow that to happen."

Naruto sighed and nodded, "I thought you would take that view of things. I am authorized to sign a non-aggression pact with your alliance agreeing to not attack you if you will agree to not attack us. So long as that pact remains in place you have security against our aggression. As I said, we want to be left alone."

"If you want such a pact, we demand knowledge of what bloodlines you have and what clans have joined you! Same as any other village would give us!" One of the councilors said.

"You will get no such information as I know you do not provide complete information to your allies on such subjects either."

"Such an agreement would have to contain certain information, such as the exact location of your village. You cannot expect us to agree to such a pact if you are unwilling to give us that kind of information," another councilor said.

"Such information could possibly be used to harm my village and thus I cannot release it," Naruto responded.

Other demands of a similar intent followed, requests for trade agreements were refused, requests for a visit to the village were also denied, and the councilors became increasingly frustrated by the refusal of any kind of request. Tsunade noticed that the former Konoha shinobi simply wouldn't allow anything that might harm his village or place it in a compromising position.

_If only we could have had you as such a leader for ourselves_, she thought to herself.

The discussion had continued for some time and it was getting dark out when Tsunade finally called a halt to the meeting for the day. They had made little progress and she knew that the councilors would simply continue making demands if they were allowed too and they wouldn't get work done as long as Naruto was in the room.

"It is getting late, may I suggest we continue this conversation tomorrow? We are obviously gaining no ground here and I believe we should contact the other Kage's and let them know you have arrived here." Naruto nodded and began to rise when Hiashi finally spoke up.

"If you will, I require just a moment longer. Obviously you and my daughter have married and had children. The Hyuga clan has very strict guidelines for those of our blood and the training they are to receive. As such the elders requested that I make the following request that all those with Hyuga blood be turned over to the clan for training."

Naruto and Hinata both seethed at this request, "If you come near my family and try to take them Hiashi I will see it as a personal attack on both myself and my village. Your clan has no claims to my family, we are under the protection of the village hidden in the trees and my family will be trained by myself and my wife. That will be the end of this discussion."

And with that Naruto and Hinata rose and with a cold glare toward Hiashi they bid their hosts good night and retired for the evening.

While Naruto and Hinata were leaving the tower the councilors and their Hokage were still locked in discussion.

"How could this have happened! That boy is the leader of this new village and he acts like we are nothing! We trained him, housed him and cared for him! And now he is refusing every request even to simply _see_ the village itself! What kind of negotiation is this if he is so unwilling to even talk!" One of the councilors stated while others nodded their agreement.

General agreement was had by those around the councilor, they had given the boy everything for his start in life and now he acted as if he was better than them and it bothered them greatly.

"It was the choice of this village to ignore the wishes of Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage and treat this child as a monster and despise him rather than a hero. That is what this village gave him as a start for his life and it appears he decided to create something better where others would not have to be treated as such," the hokage told them.

"Why is he so concerned with a simple trade agreement? They can't produce everything they need in that village, I am sure there must be something they are missing we can offer them! But he won't even consider the offer, how are we to negotiate if he won't even consider what we have to offer his village?" Another councilor stated.

"It is the act of a man who doesn't want to talk, he is not here because he wants to be here, he wants to be left alone, as does his village. And making requests that might place his village in danger, such as allowing us to see it when we don't know its location, would compromise the village itself, no one here would give up such a tactical advantage. I suggest we all get some rest and come up with better tactics and more reasonable requests for tomorrow." Tsunade told them as she dismissed the council.

Hiashi however did not leave, he remained seated and Tsunade raised an eyebrow waiting for him to speak. "My clansmen will not take kindly to the thought of my daughter and heir creating another branch of the family in another village. They will demand them returned for the protection of the bloodline."

"I know, but we cannot simply demand that of them, I have no doubt if we tried to force it they would refuse and right now I do not believe we could force them to do anything. Naruto seems completely confident his village is capable of defending itself and attacking us. I am sorry Hiashi but I just can't see him sending his children to you, and as it seems their son is part of the delegation you might want to be sure to remind your clan that he is a member of another village and the political implications of action against him, such as any seals." She said pointedly.

Hiashi nodded and rose and left with a bow to his Hokage.

_Naruto, you come back after all these years and are the leader of another village and act as if we never met, what happened to you to make you like this?_ She wondered to herself.

Naruto and Hinata retired to the rooms prepared for them by the leaf village. They had expected the astonished reaction and responded with a cold, outer shell they had created. Their friends may not have earned it perhaps but the rest of the village had and they did not consider themselves part of the leaf anymore, they were now of the trees. Their friends needed to understand that and they needed to make it known.

"Do you think we went too far Naru?" Hinata asked her husband

"I think we did what we needed to protect our home. I know it was harsh to our old friends but we needed to set a tone that this wasn't a negotiation between friends. They need to treat us a neighboring power and give us the respect we deserve for it." Naruto responded.

"I have no doubt the others will come here before much longer, I'll open the window so they can get in easier." Hinata told her husband who kissed her cheek as she passed.

They opened the window and waited and it was not long before a silver haired man entered the room along with several others.

"N-Naruto, i-it is you! And Hinata! Where have you all been!" Sakura asked them. She had grown her hair back out in the years and she was obviously married from the ring around her finger.

"We've been busy helping restore our village, I see you married Lee, do you have any children?" Hinata said, turning the question around and changing the subject in one smooth stroke as Sakura blushed slightly.

"Yes, he was always so sweet and caring, we have two children, was that your son I saw with you when you entered," she asked.

"Yes it was, my name is Minato Uzumaki, I'm named after my grandfather." A boy said from the side. He had black spiky hair and he wore black cargo pants and a white shirt with a black jacket with orange strips on it.

"Minato? So you finally learned about him huh Naruto?" Kakashi asked from the window.

"Yes I did, the fox told me, no thanks to you guys," Naruto said as he removed his Kage hat.

"Wait, you mean Minato? Like the fourth Hokage Minato?" Sakura asked Kakashi who nodded to her, "Then why aren't you Hokage? What's with this Kikage junk Naruto?"

All their old friends were surrounding them now, they knew they'd come no matter what they did and they knew this meeting would take place. The sitting room was now filled with people and Naruto motioned to one of his ANBU guards requesting they take their meal in their room and to request refreshments for everyone, the ANBU had nodded and quickly left to complete his assigned task.

_He's completely in control, I've never seen him act so mature and prepared, I guess taking control of a village must have had that affect on him_, Kakashi thought.

"When I was unconscious I fought the Kyubi no Yoko for control of my body, barely winning I might add. While I was stuck my mind fighting him I listened to the people outside, Hinata was always there, she became my heart and soul during those years. After I woke up I didn't want to fight, I simply want to be with Hinata, the woman who had loved me and brought me hope every day I was caught in that horrible battle. We wanted to find peace so we left and traveled away from the shinobi villages, my father's wish was for me to be treated as hero, this village hated me for something I had no control of and they, along with Hinata's family would have torn us apart, let alone any children we had. We are happy where we are and I have fulfilled my dream, I just never expected it would be at another village."

"So you aren't here to come back at all, you're really here to simply represent your new village?" Lee asked him.

"Yes, I am here under my official capacity as Kikage of the hidden trees," Naruto told them as he seated himself in the room.

It made them sad to know their friend had given up his feelings and connection to his home and place of birth. They had always hoped to find Naruto and Hinata and bring them back home, but it appeared they had found a new home.

"The clan will want your son to be trained by them Hinata, you will need to be careful that they don't try and place the seal on him," Neji said as he looked at his cousin. She was so much calmer and more relaxed before him, she radiated confidence and strength.

"They can try, and if they lay a single finger on my son I will break them," she said with such conviction it shocked everyone around them but Naruto who smiled.

Their son frowned, "Mom, I'm a genin now, I can handle myself in combat you know!" he complained to her and she laughed and patted his head as she went to the door to let the room service in.

"You're my Uncle Neji I take it?" Minato Uzumaki said as he looked at the man with white eyes who had spoken about his mother's clan.

"Yes, I guess I am, in a way, your Uncle," he responded unsure what to really say.

"I heard you were a genius of the Hyuga clan, I'd like to spar you one day and see how good you are," Minato said with a grin that reminded them all of Naruto.

Naruto smiled at his son in a way only a father can, the pride he felt for his son was something he simply couldn't express in words and his gaze radiated it from his very being.

"Maybe, if your Uncle Neji agrees, you can go to one of the practice fields and show him the differences in your style and his as long as Jurien agrees to it," Naruto said and his son nodded still eyeing his uncle as a potential opponent.

The others begun to relax as they informed their old friend of their lives from the past 13 years, Lee and Sakura had 2 children, a 7 year old girl and a 4 year old boy, Neji and Tenten had a 6 year old son, Ino had married Chouji and had a daughter, Shikamaru and Temari had gotten married and had 2 children and Kiba had married a girl who had given him twins. Iruka and Anko were married and she was with child and Kakashi was still single, but with rumors he was seeing someone in private.

They told him of their training and their missions when a knock came to the door and Naruto answered it and Jiraiya and Tsunade entered the room.

"I hope we can be a bit less formal here Naruto, now that we are away from the councilors and the meetings." She asked him.

"Of course Tsunade, I'm sorry about that, but I needed everyone to know I'm not here to talk to old friends but to represent my village as its Kikage, that's my first priority here."

She nodded and Jiraiya simply caught the boy in a rough hug as tears went down his face, "Damn you kid, I missed you! And I saw you and Hinata finally got together, Congratulations! And I saw your son! Fine looking boy, can I meet him?"

Naruto smiled his first genuinely happy smile since he had returned to the village and nodded calling his son to him, "Minato, I want you to meet your great-grandfather, Jiraiya. Jiraiya, this is Minato Uzumaki."

"Named him after your father? Good choice, I brought the toad scroll if you want him to sign it." Jiraiya said. Naruto nodded and without a second thought Minato became the fourth generation, as Naruto always felt Jiraiya was a grandfather to him, of his family to sign the toad contract.

The old friends spent the evening talking about their lives but they always felt Naruto and Hinata maintained a shell around themselves, not really letting anyone into their lives entirely, more simply wanting to keep something separated and apart from the others. They weren't impolite or anything and were obviously happy to see them again but their friends simply felt as if the people before them had let go of their attachments to Konoha long ago.

They were surprised when Minato had to leave for training later that evening before Naruto explained that their village considered night exercises very important. This lead to many questions by their friends and in particular Tsunade and Kakashi about their training programs and how their village was set up.

Naruto and Hinata declined to answer most of the questions but were more than willing to talk about the people living in their village.

"The people we have with us are some of the greatest we've ever met, they are kind and loving and simply want to be free of either the war torn places they came from or escape the persecution placed on them. Many of them came in small families, the last of their kekkei genkai, sometimes just a mother and child, they were survivors of the attacks by the people during the purges.

"They have such spirit though, and given a home and security they have worked so hard to make the place their own. That's what I am trying to get across to you all in the meetings Tsunade, we don't care about power we just want to be left alone but if you push us we will defend ourselves and what we've worked so hard to create."

Naruto spoke with pride in the people he led and who looked to him for protection. They expected him to make wise decisions and lead them to the best of his ability for a brighter future for them and especially for their children. In his speech his friends saw how closely tied he and Hinata had become to their new home and how hard they had worked to make it a place safe for them and their children.

Tsunade nodded to them, accepting what they said as the truth. She understood now that they would not have returned if it had been their choice, they would have rather remained away and in their new home. It hit their friends hard that neither Naruto nor Hinata truly wished to be there anymore, they may have missed them but neither thought of Konoha as their home and some wondered if they ever truly had.

"You guys have done an amazing thing, you've created a safe place for those who felt the same you did and you've become strong in the process. I guess we shouldn't be surprised since we are talking to the famous Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki," Kakashi said as he looked at his former student.

"That's right, you two are married now, so what was your wedding like Hinata?" Sakura asked her.

Hinata smiled brightly, "It was beautiful, it took place in a small glade near the village by a waterfall. I wore this beautiful white kimono and Naruto wore his Kikage robes. Naruto was attended by Lord Achi, he was the first clan leader to join us at the village, and I was attended by his wife. It was a bright sunny day and the waterfall made this perfect picture.

"The entire village turned out for it, there were so many people there it was amazing! I wasn't sure how we got everyone there, people were standing up in the trees watching. When we kissed at the end it felt like the trees themselves were giving their blessing to our marriage. I can't describe the feeling, but ever since then I just know we're protected."

Hinata launched into the details of their wedding and the girls all swooned over her as she talked about the choosing her bridal gown and how she had made her bouquet from flowers she grew herself. As they continued Hinata finished up telling them how the entire village had celebrated for three days over their marriage.

"I never thought she could be more beautiful than that day but I've been wrong, every day I wake up I can't believe how beautiful you are my love," Naruto told her with his heart in his eyes as she laid her head into the crook of his neck, raising her face and kissing him lightly.

_They truly love each other more than anything in the world, no wonder they left to be together,_ their friends thought.

Sakura then elbowed Lee in the stomach, "Why don't you say that kind of stuff to me huh?"

Everyone laughed as Lee stammered and attempted to make amends to his wife saying how beautiful she was and how much he loved her and how he would prove it by running 300 laps around the village using only one hand! She sighed at this knowing he meant it as a show of great affection.

It wasn't long before their friends left and Naruto and Hinata were alone with Jiraiya, their son would be staying in another room with his team and they had promised to meet up with their old friends later after they had finished their talks with the village council.

"Naruto, we've been so worried about you all, I'm sorry you felt you had to leave but I can't tell you how proud I am of you lad. I can't imagine how hard it has to have been over the years creating a new village and you all have done it with so much less than most villages had." Jiraiya told him smiling at him.

Naruto smiled back before speaking, "Hinata and I made a decision before we came here and I cleared it with our council. Jiraiya we'd like you offer you a chance to visit our village. I spoke to the toads about it, we'll reverse summon you to the village with the toads. I consider you my grandfather and we want you to meet our entire family."

Jiraiya was taken aback by the offer. He knew how hard Naruto's village worked to keep their home secret and safe and such an offer was possibly the greatest gift they could give to him.

"I would be honored Naruto, simply honored beyond words," Jiraiya said as he accepted their offer.

Shortly after Jiraiya rose and took his leave from the pair as he knew they probably wished to be alone. Naruto stood by the window gazing out at the village while Hinata finished brushing her hair.

"Konoha doesn't really feel like home anymore does it," Naruto said as he looked out the window at the lights of the village.

"No, it doesn't. It was good to see our friends though." Hinata said as she joined her husband looking at the village outside. While she had been happy to see her old friends and teammates and learn of their lives she missed their home and her children back in the tree village.

Naruto kissed his wife and smiled at her, for her he would go to the ends of the earth and do anything. He loved her more with each passing day and they stared at the village before them. Konoha had prospered while they were away and they saw the prosperity in everything around them. The village was as beautiful as always.

And as Naruto and Hinata retired to their bed far across on the other side of the village a meeting was being held by the Hyuga clan. Hiashi sat before the elders of his clan as they murmured at the news had brought them.

"My daughter has returned to Konoha and she has married Naruto Uzumaki. It is obvious from their companions, one of them being their son, they have had children. They have also joined a new village, the Village Hidden in the Trees. I do not know how many children they have but it is obvious it is more than just a single son. We are faced with an unusual dilemma. For the first time ever the Hyuga bloodline has been taken out of Konoha and been established elsewhere.

"We have a threefold problem with this. First, the family is considered very prominent and their sire is the leader of their village, Naruto Uzumaki, the Kikage of the trees. Second the village is considered to be equal or close to equal in power with Konoha. The third issue is that no one knows the villages location."

Cries of outrage rang out through the chamber, "SHE MARRIED THE DEMON BRAT!", "HOW DARE SHE INFECT OUR BLOODLINE!", "HIASHI WHY DIDN'T YOU CONTROL HER BETTER?", and more and more. After nearly an hour of fighting back and forth Hiashi finally reestablished control.

"It is very simply, we can do nothing right now. If we attempt to cage the boy it will cause a possible war and the Hokage and Kikage both will come here and take vengeance for our actions. If we demand the children be turned over they will simply refuse and ignore us. And Konoha doesn't have the power to force the issue. And we can't steal the children because we don't know where they are. By the time we may find out they could be grown and their clan established entirely. Simply put, at this juncture we can do nothing."

The elders sat quietly and many of them glared but knew Hiashi spoke the truth. He was right, there was nothing the Hyuga clan could do right then.

"Our best choice is to spread our net of spies and locate the village. Once located we can infiltrate the village and take the children, if they are still young enough to be taken, and then no one will have to ever know," one of the elders said.

There was general agreement by everyone except Hiashi who argued they were better off leaving the children and his daughter alone. But he was outvoted and the spies were immediately sent on their mission.

The next day Naruto and Hinata sat again with the council and Tsunade as they continued their negotiations. Things were again becoming heated as Naruto again refused to give away the location of his village or any information on its inhabitants.

"How do you expect us to negotiate with you if you won't reveal anything you want or need? We've offered trade agreements, full partnership in our alliance, mutual defense, sharing of contracts with the great nations. We don't understand why you aren't more agreeable!" One of the councilors had finally reached their limit and let his temper get away from him.

"You still aren't listening to us then. We aren't agreeing to those things because we don't want them. We are happy the way we are and with what we have. We simply don't want those things, we don't want to be in your alliance, we don't want to trade, we just want to be left alone and that's why we offered a non-aggression pact. You're making the same offers and demands as yesterday, you're not asking for anything new," Naruto pointed out to the council.

"What if we could offer a separate alliance treaty with you, something different," Tsunade said with a small smile, "something we could both agree on."

"I'm listening Lady Hokage," Naruto responded.

"Well, you don't want to give away your position, and I can understand that, you have a valuable tactical advantage that way. You also don't want to open trade lanes with us because you said you're self sufficient. But there are other things we could possibly come to an agreement on. Like the chunin exams, traditionally the five great villages host the chunin exams each year for the genin of all the villages. Would you be willing to join us on that?"

Naruto thought for a moment, "Yes, I could agree to that. It would provide us with a valuable way to test our genin's training."

"Very well, so that's something we can agree upon. There has to be other things as well such as communication between our villages. I would think it would be beneficial to both our villages to meet at least once a year to host discussions between the villages. Would you be willing to at least give us a manner in which to contact you with information on the chunin exam and talks between the villages?"

Again Naruto took his time to weigh his options, having a liaison between his village and theirs would put no danger to his village's location so long as the liaison was loyal and they could provide important information that might be necessary for them and their security in the future.

"I believe I could see fit to leaving a liaison contingent with the leaf and sand villages. Communication isn't necessarily a bad thing and could prove useful for the future."

"Good, so we are making some progress now," Tsunade said with a smile.

Negotiations continued for the rest of the day but other than the agreement to leave a liaison and join in the chunin exam not much else was agreed upon. As the day wore on their broke in the early afternoon and Naruto and Hinata decided to take a walk through the village.

Naruto drew a lot of stares in his Kage robes and even more when the villagers realized that the leader of the new village was a former leaf shinobi and he was married to a member of the hyuga clan. Eventually they found their way to the ninja academy and saw Iruka and a very pregnant Anko leaving the academy together.

They smiled and waved to the couple who waved back happily before walking over to them. Iruka hadn't changed much since Naruto had last seen him although he looked older and stronger than Naruto remembered. Naruto guessed that living with Anko had probably sharpened his old sensei quite a bit.

"Congratulations Anko!" Hinata said as she struck up a conversation about her upcoming bundle of joy.

Naruto and Iruka began to chat as well, Iruka telling Naruto about how Anko had been completely unbearable since becoming pregnant, telling Naruto how he carried around all around anti-venom with him. They chatted about random subjects for a while until Iruka brought up the more touchy subject.

"Why did you guys leave Naruto? We were all really happy when we heard you had woken up and everyone was rushing to see you when Tsunade pulled us into a room and told us you had disappeared with Hinata and we found your letter. We spent years looking for you and never found you and now you guys show up representing another village that you're the leaders of. What happened?" Iruka asked his old student in earnest.

"Iruka, we wanted to be free to be together. The village didn't want me here, I've known that for years, but when I found out they celebrated for a week when I fell ill and they thought I was going to die. And then Hinata's family was tearing itself apart and going to force her to marry some random guy, they would never let us be together and if we did manage to come together they would simply tear both us, and any children we had, apart. We wanted to be free and be together.

"And… I was so tired after fighting the fox for so long, I just wanted somewhere to rest and be with the person who had loved me so much every day. Hinata became my heart over those three years and I couldn't live without her so rather than be torn apart by this village we decided to leave." Naruto explained to his old sensei.

"I see… I'm sorry you and Hinata felt that way. A lot of us were really worried about you. You could have let us know you were ok. I guess it worked out, I can't say many any other of my students founded their own village after all Hahaha," Iruka said with a soft smile clapping Naruto on the shoulder.

In truth Iruka was very sad to hear how Naruto and Hinata felt and to see them look more like outsiders while in their native home. He had always maintained a hope that they would return or be found. It made him feel like he had somehow been lacking as their instructor even though it was not a fault of his own that had caused them to leave.

Naruto and Hinata bid their old sensei and his very pregnant wife good-bye and continued their walk through the village. They saw many places which brought back old memories for them. The practice field where Naruto had first become part of team 7 with Sasuke and Sakura, the baths where he had met Jiraiya, the forest of death in the distance, the ramen stand, the academy, every sight held significance to them and they felt like they were walking through time together as the memories flashed through their mind.

Hinata remembered the days she had watched a small blonde boy, struggling without the courage to tell him how she felt. She saw the man he had become before her and leaned closer to him. Naruto kissed her hair and held her close as he looked are the scenes before him. He knew that she had loved him for years before he had realized it and he had worked every day to show her how he deeply the emotion ran through him as well.

Unknown to them they were being watched by a silver haired jonin who smiled. Kakashi had seen two people in love before, but what Naruto and Hinata shared was something greater than love, they were truly soul mates. He had only known two others who could come close to the emotion and love shared by Naruto and Hinata, and those two people were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. He smiled and silently left the couple alone, knowing he was intruding in on a private moment.

In the years to come Hinata and Naruto would remember that evening when they stood in Konoha. They would never let it go from their hearts no matter how hard life's challenges seemed, no matter the sacrifices they had to make, they would always remember that day when their love returned to the place it was birthed. The day they held each other as the sun set over the village of their birth and the day they finally and truly let their love be known to the entire village as they stared into each other's eyes.

Negotiations continued for the next few days with little results and in the end the two villages signed a non-aggression pact between the leaf village and their allied villages and the village hidden in the trees. Among the conditions for the agreement was that the tree village would send its genin to be tested in the chunin exams along with the other villages as well as leaving liaison's with both the sand and leaf villages for communication purposes. As the final document was signed and accepted by both sides there were smiles and polite conversation held by all and it took some time for Tsunade to corner Naruto again in her office.

"I suppose you'll be heading back to your village now?" She asked him quietly as Hinata made polite conversation with several councilors.

"Yes, we had planned to leave the day after tomorrow once we said good-bye to some others. We decided it probably wouldn't go over well for us to simply disappear a second time."

Tsunade smiled at the man before her before her expression turned serious, "Naruto, the Akatsuki are still at large, by our estimates they've managed to gain control of at least six of the tailed beasts. The only ones they do not have are yourself, Gaara, and Killer Bee, the Raikage's brother. Since taking the sixth bijuu they have been silent, but you know they will come."

Naruto nodded to this, "Our intelligence network has been working overtime attempting to locate them and you're wrong, they do not have six bijuu, they have five. We are currently working to locate the sixth before them and bring them into our village for protection. I will keep you informed through our liaison if we are successful."

With the last business accounted for Naruto let out a deep sigh and spoke something he felt he needed to say years ago to the woman before him, "I'm sorry about the way Hinata and I left. We should have told you but I knew you'd try and stop us and I couldn't stay. It never would have worked, but I want you to know we're happy now and our family is very happy. One day once you retire, I'd like to make a special exception for you and Jiraiya-sensei and bring you to my village so you can see what we have accomplished."

"I would be honored by such a visit as would Jiraiya I am sure, and I'll take you up on it once I find a proper replacement. I always hoped you'd come to your senses and return but it seems you've got your own village to run now," Tsunade told him with a slight smile.

"I figured as much about the way you left, I'm sorry you both felt the way you did, but you know that this changes things between us greatly. If in the future you change your mind about joining the alliance all you have to do is let me know. I can't imagine anyone would be upset at the idea of adding another powerful village to our allies." She told him and smiled softly, she truly wished with all of her heart Naruto hadn't left, and the past few days only cemented in her mind the kind of Hokage he would have made.

Naruto nodded and gave a hug to the woman before rejoining his wife and taking their leave. As expected the delegation from the village hidden in the trees left not long after the agreement was signed. Most thought the non-aggression pact would open the new village up to a future alliance and felt they had come out ahead, with nothing lost and an agreement to no hostilities gained.


End file.
