Naruto Uzumaki wasn't a bad person. Sure, he used to prank the villagers a bit, but that was it. Still, they hated him. The villagers hated him so much it burned. Why you may ask?

It was all because of the fox.

Yes, that god damn Nine Tailed Demon Fox had ruined his life. When he was still a newborn child for whatever damned reason the Fourth Hokage decided to seal the fox inside him. Why him? Why turn a life of some random kid a living hell? He hated the Fourth. He never cared much about the man's decision….at least not until that day.

It wasn't much after he fought with Sasuke at the Valley of the End, but the elders decided he could turn into a danger with the Akatsuki hunting him. What was their solution? They thought the best way was for him to be banned from the village. Somehow the so called, confidential matter that should have been discussed between the higher-ups of the leaf became known to the public. They had armed for it to happen. Naruto was sure. And so, a public opinion was formed and the 5th Hokage had no choice: he had to leave the village that afternoon, not to return.

It was a sad day for Naruto. His last meal at Ichiraku Ramen, him packing up all he could, his goodbye to the fifth…she cried. Naruto had only seen Granny Tsunade cry once. And so, at the end of the day, while the villagers watched, Naruto walked his way out of the village through its gate.

It was there that he expected his friends to say their goodbyes to him, but no one got near him. He saw Ino, Shino and Neji at the distance, but that was it. Nobody came to him. Not Hinata, the shy girl who had helped him at the Chunnin Exams. Not Rock Lee, the boy full of youth who was always trying to push himself harder and considered Naruto his rival. Not Shikamaru, the lazy boy with incredible intelligence. Not even Sakura, his teammate, his friend, the one he loved…no one came to say their goodbyes.

And so, Naruto left the village. Jiraiya, his master, had apologized to him. The elders said that anyone who accompanied him would be classified as a missing nin, just like him. Naruto didn't know why he was to be classified as a bad guy when the village was the one who had done wrong, but this was the least of his concerns…besides: the ANBU black ops probably wouldn't go after him, not at first.

Naruto looked at the villagers, they were holding back smiles, and he knew it. He turned again, his dream to be Hokage crushed, his friends nowhere to be seen, the only person besides the Hokage and Jiraiya who tried to protect him had been Iruka, with no success. It suddenly began to rain. Naruto looked up and then glanced at the village he used to live in with tearful eyes. And there, in the rain, he made a promise. "I am never coming back here again." The boy said before continuing walking towards the only direction he could: forward…

Two and a Half Later...

It might had been a quiet day on the Hidden Leaf Village, hadn't the Hokage called a considerable number of Chunnin and a Jonin to her office. The Chunnin were: Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Rock Lee and Tenten while the Jonin was Neji Hyuuga.

"Do you know why I called you all here" Asked Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage of the leaf.

"A mission?" Kiba guessed in an angry tone of voice. He was still a bit mad at the security for not letting Akamaru inside the Hokage's Mansion….

Tsunade nodded in response. "As you know, it's been almost two and a half years since Naruto Uzumaki was forced to leave the village." As she said this, Hinata suddenly looked depressed and even sobbed. Everyone in the room knew of her obvious crush on the Uzumaki boy. Despite disapproving her feelings said missing nin, Neji managed to calm her down quickly.

"As I was saying…" The Hokage continued. "It has been two and a half years since he left the village, the ROOT now have him as a target. They asked me for the permission to hunt him down, and despite the elders approving their request; I managed to convince them that such extreme measure would be unnecessary. That is where the seven of you come in: your mission is to find Naruto and bring him back unharmed, however if he tries to resist, you have my permission to capture him by force. Any questions?"

Neji walked in front of the small group looking a bit disturbed by the mission he was given and how It might end up affecting those around him. "How are we going to find him? He could be anywhere…" Whispers were heard around the room before Tsunade silenced the Chunnin with a warning look.

"As for that...Our Anbu were trying to locate him for months now, and yesterday we received a report of one of them that supposedly saw him near the borders of the Land of Hot Water but soon lost him. You seven are to head there to find and contact him. Any other questions?" Nobody answered. "Good. You are to leave before the sun sets with Neji Hyuuga in command. Dismissed."

The Chunnin and Neji walked out of the office discussing about the mission, apparently everyone had something to say…except Hinata Hyuuga, who remained quiet. "Hinata…" Sakura said as she approached the shy girl. "I know what you're going through, it's the same with me…when Sasuke left I…" Sakura tried to continue but apparently couldn't find the right words. "What I'm trying to say is…Is that I can't guarantee you everything will be alright, but…I do think Naruto will come back with us."

That thought seemed very impossible for some reason, but it made Hinata smile lightly. "Thank you Sakura Chan, you're right…Naruto would never give up on his dream of being Hokage."

Sakura gave her a sad smile before telling her she had to work at the hospital before running off. Hinata knew it was just an excuse for Sakura not to show sadness in front of her in her current state, Sakura was Naruto's best friend, she cared for him. Hinata also knew of the feelings Naruto had for her, but she didn't mind much, as long as he was happy, she'd be happy. The young Hyuuga Heiress took a deep breath. She had to prepare herself for the upcoming mission.

Later, near the borders with the Land of Hot ater…

The sun was setting when the self-named Naruto retrieval squad set off. Each one of them was wearing a white cloak (everyone except Akamaru), the name being a reference to the team who went after Sasuke two years ago.

Sakura was thinking about her loudmouth teammate…the ROOT would probably kill him if they failed! This time it had to go right…she wasn't completely sure of what she said to Hinata, but they had to try…there was only one question left: how much had Naruto changed? They'd know soon enough…

It was morning when they arrived in a small village near the Land of Hot Water's border. Before entering the village Neji divided them into groups: Hinata and Sakura, Shino and Tenten, Rock Lee and Kiba (and Akamaru) and him alone, one tracker in each team. The orders were to track Naruto down and not to engage in combat alone under any circumstances. With their orders given, the four groups went their separate ways.

Time passed and nothing was to be found, no rumors, chakra signature, smell…nothing. That is until Hinata and Sakura asked an old woman about the boy. "Blonde with whisker like marks on his face…? Yes, there was a boy like this here yesterday at the town's inn, you should check there." With hope of finding who they have been looking for, the two girls got to the Inn and asked about the boy. Luckily for them Naruto had been there, but unfortunately he was no longer in the town, he had left the day before. "Thank you." Hinata said before leaving. Her and Sakura found the three other groups and explained to them the situation.

"That means he must have left by the main road…" Neji realized. "If we can rush there's the chance of finding him" That thought motivated the team to go on and so they did. Neji looked for strong chakra signatures while Kiba tried to sniff him out.

Later, somewhere else…

It was Midday when the group stopped to rest; Hinata affirmed seeing a nearby source of water and went after it. "I will go with you, Lady Hinata." Neji said. "You don't know what you may encounter." Hinata however didn't like the idea; she wanted some time alone, some time to think.

"You're tired Neji, you overused the Byakugan. It's better for you to stay here." She said in an attempt to persuade her cousin.

Despite seeing the reason in her argument, Neji still opposed her. "Fine….but Shino will go with you!" Neji said.

"Hey, why Shino? Why not me?!" Kiba shouted in reply.

Neji gave Kiba a suspicious look. "I don't really trust you with her, Kiba…" He expressed as Kiba proceeded return the look Neji had given him but in an angrier version as Shino and Hinata went to look for the water source the Hyuuga heiress had spoken of.

Shino wasn't much of a speaker, so Hinata didn't mind having him around. She knew he probably wouldn't try and talk to her. However, the Aburame was very observant and saw right through her. "Is something wrong, Hinata?" Shino asked in his usual tone as they walked. Hinata was a bit surprised he had spoken; then again it was quite obvious she wasn't happy.

All she could do was to sigh. "I…I just don't know how Naruto-Kun will react to us, what….what if he is changed?" Shino didn't answer her, so she continued. "I know he was exiled from the village, but…what if he is not the cheerful and happy Naruto we used to know, but someone…different…"

Shino nodded behind her. "I don't think Naruto would-" Before he could Finish Hinata heard a loud hitting sound as if something had fallen on top of Shino.

She tried to turn and see what was wrong but before she could do so she felt something cold, sharp and made of metal pressed against her neck. "You've got ten seconds to tell me who are you and what the hell you are doing here." Said a male voice behind her.

Hinata took a deep breath and activated her Byakugan." "Gentle Fist Art: One Blow Body!" She shouted, throwing the unknown enemy back with a blast of chakra. When she turned and tried to fight back her attacker, the man was nowhere to be seen, not even with her Byakugan she could find him. The only thing there was an unconscious Shino. She then heard a small sound above her, Hinata managed to turn in time but she couldn't react to the falling object (or person) as it fell on top of her and threw the Hyuuga down on the ground.

When she opened her eyes she saw a Man pressing a blade against her neck. "Wait a minute…" said the man. "I know you…" She then recognized him, he wasn't a man, he was a teen, same age as her. His blond spiky hair had grown a bit, but his whisker marks and bright blue eyes were the same…she almost couldn't believe her eyes…

She had always thought of the day she would meet him again. "Naruto-kun…"

Author's Note: SO...the very first chapter of my very first fanfiction...i won't lie, i am very nervous.

Oh, and i know the first chapter wasn't very good...but please give me a chance, the story will get better soon, i promise!