Mizu: First off, I just wanna say that this story is strictly NaruHina and will bash Sakura somewhat (because I hate her...I really, really do). Second, please do NOT expect regular updates because I am actually very busy with other things in life. The only reason that I am uploading this first chapter is because my fiance is amazing and has convinced me to. He's been a consistent source of inspiration as well as helping me brainstorm out portions of this story (and several others). He has also been willing to constantly proof what I show him so that is also awesome. Anyways, I will try to keep up with updates but I will make no promises.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The ending would be hell of a lot different if I did...you guys have know idea how much the ending ticks me off but that is for neither now or later.

Prologue: The Loss of Uzumaki Naruto

The day started off as any other for those in the shinobi village of Konoha. The countless number of ninja went about their days. Some left on missions while others were unlucky to get the low ranked missions like catching their daimyo's devil cat Tora. Other's still spent their time training. Those that were would warily pick their training grounds, praying that they wouldn't run into the keepers of youth.

Senju Tsunade, the villager leader whom held the title of Godaime Hokage, smiled to herself as she looked out over her villager. She had to admit that despite the horrible memories that still haunted her, she was incredibly happy that she came back. Sure the council was a pain in her ass but being able to watch over the citizens in the home her family created was worth It.

"Maybe I should thank the brat when he and the pervert get back," Tsunade chuckled.

Just then, he assistant and close friend Shizune rushed in with a frantic looking Toad Sage Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya? What the hell a-" she started to snap.

"IS NARUTO HERE!?" The white haired sannin yelled, rushing forward and grabbing her by her shoulders.

"Huh? Why would he be here!?" Tsunade snapped, eyes widening exponentially, "He should be with you! You and him left the village two months ago!"

"Shit!" Jiraiya cursed, beginning to pace around the office.

"Jiraiya..." Tsunade growled, "Where. Is. Naruto?"

"W-We got jumped," Jiraiya shakily started, "This shouldn't have been a problem but they had a seal master with them. They slapped something on the both of us in their initial attack."

"What!?" The women gasped.

"They were skilled. All jonin in level at the very least. And those seals," Jiraiya growled, "They caused my chakra to fluctuate so wildly that I could barely use any jutsu let alone attach to the trees. And Naruto had it so much worse..."

"What do you mean?" Shizune nervously asked.

"He has so much chakra that it was obvious that the fluctuations were painful to him," Jiraiya explained, "He couldn't focus any todo anything. Once they separated us, he was a sitting duck."

"Please don't tell me they-," Tsunade whispered.

He shook his head, "No. Once Naruto realized that they seemed to be after him, he took off running. I tried to follow the best I could but I lost sight of the kid where he dove off a cliff to get away..."

"He what?!"

"Calm down. It wasn't that high of one and there was a river at its base, "Jiraiya sighed, continuing his pacing, "But there's two problems with his escape plan."

"Other than getting separated from you?!" Tsunade roared.

"One, it had just rained the night before and the river was at flood stage," Jiraiya stated, ignoring his old teammate, "He was pulled under immediately and washed away before he came back up."

"Oh god..." Shizune whispered.

"What's the other problem?"

"...That river flows directly into Iwa..."

"WHAT!?"

"What the hell were you two doing anywhere near Iwa!?" Tsunade screamed, "You know better than anyone that if Naruto's seen by a single one of their shinobi, he's as good as dead!"

"Don't yell at me Tsunade! I already knew it was risky as hell! But I had a contact who had gotten a lead on the damn Akatsuki! From where we were before we entered Tsuchi no Kuni it would have taken a week for me to get there and back! Would you have rathered I'd leave him unprotected?!" Jiraiya yelled back.

"I would have rathered you avoid the damn place altogether!" Tsunade slammed her fist down through her desk, "Did you at least tell him why the people of Iwa will be after his blood?!"

"Of course not!"

"Why not!?"

"Because he wasn't ready!"

"Bullshit he isn't! He's already faced numerous S-class ninja after his head as well as a fucking village that would no sooner have him drawn and quartered before giving him the rank he deserves, let alone treat him as a human being!"

"This isn't the time, Tsunade..."

"No! This is the perfect fucking time!" Tsunade roared, face bright red in her rage, "You are literally the only reason that he isn't a chunin already! When the damn council decided on the new chunin, it was right before I became Hokage! We both were sitting in that room while they voted. Can I tell you how surprised I was to learn that he managed to defeat a Hyuuga prodigy with only his shadow clones, his wit, and his extremely fragile control of the fox's chakra?! How proud I was of him?"

"Tsunade..."

"But then all the judges and civilians voted for him to remain a genin!" Tsunade continued, rushing to stand in front of the man now avoiding her gaze, "Very few of the clans heads said anything positive about Naruto. It honestly pissed me off that they were going to deny him something he deserved. Then you stood up..."

Jiraiya moved to turn away only to find the blonde there.

"I was so certain that his master and fucking godfather would stand up for him," Tsunade growled, "But you didn't. You started to tear him apart, pointed out every single flaw. All of which were understandable when you looked at how not a sing

"If you hated my call so much, why the hell didn't you promote him?!" Jiraiya retorted, "You're the Hokage!"

"I didn't because I respected your opinion!" Tsunade snapped, "At the time, you knew Naruto better than I did! Despite what I thought, I thought that you must have had a good reason. But I was wrong to think that..."

"What the hell do you want me to say, Tsunade?!" Jiraiya snapped back.

"I want you to admit that you're afraid of letting Naruto grow! You don't want him to become a chunin because that means telling him he is not only heir to a powerful clan but the son of his fucking idol! You're afraid of letting him get stronger and I have no bloody damn idea why!" Tsunade accused.

"So what if I am!?" Jiraiya roared, "If it means keeping him safe, so what!? If he got promoted or told the truth, he would be in more danger than he could ever handle!"

"Oh for god's sake, Jiraiya!" Tsunade threw her hands up, "That load of bull is bigger than Gamabunta! If that was what you were afraid of, you wouldn't be dragging him through possible enemy territory! You and he would be here in the village, beating every fucking jutsu and technique you could into his hard head!

"No, you're afraid of something petty!" Tsunade continued, "You're afraid of letting go of the past! The brat looks nearly identical to his old man after all, it must be so easy to forget about everything and pretend he's still alive! But you don't want to lose him again or have him grow apart from you like Minato did!"

"Yes, alright!? Yes!...You're completely right," Jiraiya erupted before buying his face in his hands, "Minato was like my son, Tsunade. I loved him so much but when the war started, he had to grow up so quickly and I started to lose him. I couldn't be the pillar of strength and comfort he needed so he turned Kushina. But then he tried to bring me back in by naming me Naruto's godfather...Then he was gone. I left the village and avoided Naruto until I saw just how much he reminded me of his father and I saw a second chance. I just didn't want to lose him again.

"But what good does me admitting all this do for us now?" Jiraiya threw up his hands.

"Because as soon as Naruto is safely back in the village, you had better start acting like his fucking godfather," Tsunade growled in his face, "Because if you don't, I won't give you another chance to. Shizune!"

"H-Hai, Tsunade-sama?" The raven flinched.

"Summon as many free shinobi as we have! And bring me the highest priority messenger hawk! I need to send the Tsuchikage a message..."

"R-Right away!" The medic bowed before sprinting out of the office.

"I meant what I said, Jiraiya," Tsunade said with her back to him, "IF you don't shape up, I will make sure you never see him again. Naruto deserves a family, not someone who ignores him for a ghost..."

Meanwhile...

Naruto groaned as he awoke from his short nap. Wincing as he sat up, he looked through the exposed roots of the large tree he hid under. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw no indication that anyone had passed by. Cradling his left arm to his chest, he picked up his ragged orange jacket from where he had used it as a cushion. With a grunt, he slipped it into a sling for his currently useless arm. Slowly, he managed to crawl out from the exposed roots. Nearby laid a thick pointed stick roughly the same height as him. Picking it up, the blonde used it to support his full weight as he carefully eased his way onto his feet. His left leg straightened to take on some of his weight. His right however, was kept bent and help little to no weight. He calve was greatly swollen and loosely wrapped up. The teen bit his lip as he readjusted the make shift splint.

Naruto was far from stupid. He was no genius and was definitely was not the smartest kid but that did not make him stupid. When he had made his escape, he knew he was screwed if he got caught. His chakra refused to work with him and whatever the hell they did to him cut him off from the Kyuubi. So when he landed in the river, he tried his damnest not to get hurt. He knew that any sort of injury that rendered him immobile would result in his capture. Any open would result in death. Despite him trying not to, the raging waters slammed him into various rocks and banks before he could drag himself out.

As soon as he had, he noted the horrible pain emanating from his obviously broken left forearm. Thankfully, the bone hadn't broken through his skin. Before he did anything else, the jinchuriki tore his jacket off and made a splint and sling for the useless limb. Next, he inspected the thrumming pain in his right calve. He wasn't sure what to make of that particular injury. It hurt like hell to put weight on it but he had felt worse. Regardless, he knew that he had injured it in some way but just how bad he didn't know. It was because of that, Naruto next set to finding a strong enough walking stick to help keep some of his weight off the leg.

Once he was satisfied with his quick treatments, he had set off. While he hadn't done the best at the academy, Naruto had actually taken the survival lessons to heart when he was younger. Whether it was a general interest or necessity from surviving his abusive childhood was anybody's guess. Drawing upon these lessons, Naruto knew better than to stay in one spot and wait for Jiraiya. That would be suicide if the enemy stumbled upon him. The next lesson he used was leaving as little trace as he could. Every morning he would ensure that nobody would think anything larger than a raccoon had slept there. He never set any fires, choosing instead to force out a small fire jutsu to cook food. That in itself sometimes was impossible which meant he went hungry until he found edible plants.

The final two lessons he drew heavily upon now were fairly simple. First off was to only rest for short periods of time. Over the years, Naruto had become an expert in doing so. The only time he got a full night's sleep was when he felt completely safe. Truth be told, that had never happened until he was in Team 7 and even then it wasn't until after their mission in Wave. Sure, if anyone ever thought of asking his team, they would most likely say he slept like a log. But that couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, it was an act that he had perfected so not to raise suspicion when he knew he was being watched. Most would grow suspicious if they ever realized that the blonde rarely slept more than three hours a night. One of the few advantages of the fox he supposed. So long as he got at least a few hours every other day, he was good to go.

Not that that mattered at the moment. Being cut off from the demon and injured meant he needed far more rest than he had ever had before...

Naruto flinched as his well-trained hearing picked up on footsteps approaching him. As quick as he could, he hid in the foliage around the trees. Soon after, a travelling merchant passed by, pack of goods light and wallet heavy. Naruto eyed the man cautiously. It was strange the man was here but judging by what little the man carried the blond soon came to realize that he must have been a black market merchant. The jinchuriki swallowed heavily as he spotted the man's canteen. He was so thirsty...

Despite his temptation, Naruto did not move. Even if he had been healthy he would not engage the man. It was far too risky. The man clearly dealt with the people of the underworld and most likely knew some things to keep himself safe. And Naruto couldn't afford to raise any sort of ruckus. Though he probably wouldn't have attacked him if he was indeed a normal civilian merchant. No, that was also too risky. After all, that was the final lesson Naruto held close to heart.

Don't. Trust. Anyone.

Naruto never fully trusted anyone to begin with until they proved to be deserving of it. Same with respect. But he wasn't in ally territory thus the lesson's meaning deepened. Anyone here could be an enemy. A simple merchant could alert an entire village of his presence and they would come down hard on his head. He definitely knew that he would be in trouble if any Iwa ninja found him. Konoha and Iwa had never been friendly after all.

Naruto waited until he couldn't hear the man before limping out of his hiding spot. He needed to get back to Konoha. Or even one of their allied villages. Hell, any village outside of Tsuchi no Kuni. Just somewhere he could send Tsunade baa-chan a message to come save his ass.

"Man, she's gonna kill Ero-sennin when she finds out about this," Naruto darkly chuckled.

He didn't blame the guy for not being able to protect him or anything. It was more along the lines of joking with himself to stay sane.

Just then, he heard a pop as he felt his good leg's ankle roll out underneath him, sending him bouncing and tumbling down a steep but thankfully short cliff. The back left side of his head crashed into a boulder at the bottom before the rest of his body came to a rest. Naruto groaned, bringing his good hand to check for blood. He had definitely been hit harder before but a concussion would only make things worse for him. Wincing, he craned his neck to see his dislocated ankle.

"Damn," he growled, "A rock must have given way while I was walking."

He was just about to try and pop it back into place when all his senses went into overdrive. He could hear people coming his way. Ninja. They were close. His nose twitched as the faint scent of blood hit him. Most likely not friendly ninja.

Frantically, Naruto forced his ankle back into the socket before scrambling to his feet. He needed to hide! Looking around, the blonde realized he had fallen into a small clearing with few hiding places. Spotting a nearby felled tree, he began hobbling as fast as he could towards it. He had lost his walking stick in the fall which meant his right leg could bare none of his weight. His newly injured ankle couldn't either as Naruto found four steps later. Naruto's teeth punctured his lower lip as his entire body crashed down on top of his broken arm. Vision spinning, he desperately clawed his way toward the tree with his only good limb.

Just as he reached it, five different shinobi surrounded him. Glaring fearfully at them, Naruto noted that none of them looked like anyone he had seen from the elemental nations. Their facial features were slightly larger than anyone from Hi no Kuni or Kaze no Kuni. True, he had seen very few very few people from other nations but from what he had seen, he knew these people definitely were not among them. Add that to the fact that not one of the men held a single village symbol on them and Naruto was terrified for his life. Even rogue shinobi carried some sort of visual clue as to where they had been from. It was a subconscious pride they all had.

"Wh-Who the hell are you guys?!" Naruto demanded, desperately trying to get his still fluctuating chakra to cooperate.

"Just a group that wants to take control of this world," the closest man who had cold gray eyes and black hair smirked, "And we need you for that, my boy."

"A-Akatsuki?!" Naruto hissed, eyes darting around.

"No, no," the same man laughed, "We have little interest in your furry parasite."

"Wh-What...?' Naruto gaped, cold running cold as all five men started marking hand signs.

"We want you, heir to the Uzumaki..."

Mizu: And that is the beginning of "Lost without a Clue." I hope that you guys all enjoy it~!

Naruto: Oh god, you're back! No! I thought I was free!

Mizu: Never! Anyways, as always, I love all reviews and critiques~! Ciao for now everyone~!