Fugitive

a/n &dis: I do NOT under ANY circumstance own Naruto, Kishimoto-sensei does. I own any OCs I introduce, my plot (after the adopted chapters) and my insanity. Keep the flames down please, Tobirama, Zabuza and my other Suiton users have all run away. This is kinda AU, mostly plot faithful.

I adopted this from TheBeardedOne. Check him out, he rocks!

Hatake Kakashi removed his ANBU mask as he staggered back from the vast plain of shattered wreckage that had once been a large forest and several districts of Konoha prior to the appearance and rampage of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Holding the scroll he had been tasked with delivering to the council, he took several deep breaths of the cooling night air and wiped away the runnels of perspiration that ran down the exposed portion of his face.

Passing through one of the many secret entrances of the tower, one reserved for the ANBU, Kakashi moved through the secret passages silently, half-bent to ensure that he didn't accidently concuss himself on any of the beams in the low corridor. Although he was not trying to be stealthy, almost a decade of experience and reflex prevented him from making any noise. Reaching a well-oiled trapdoor set into an angled wall, he opened it slightly, then paused at the voice he heard from the council chamber below him.

"…and we have to move now. You heard our ally, the Hokage and the foreign bitch he married are both dead, and the Kyuubi's sealed into Minato's brat. We'll be able to get all of those properties and those scrolls at last, just as soon as that demon-kid dies."

"But the child is apparently healthy." another voice said calmly. "And when Sarutobi recovers and reclaims the position of Hokage, he'll look after the kid. He'll either adopt it, or place it in a clan. We all know about our beloved Hokage's last wishes about his bastard being seen as a hero."

Kakashi's exposed eye widened at the scorn and vitriol of the voices below, but he waited in silence as the conversation continued.

"The Slug-princess has left just as planned, thinking the brat's dead, but the Toad-sage is returning soon." a third voice said. "Whatever we plan to do, we need to do it fast. And deniably."

"You do not need to worry." Danzo's voice purred and Kakashi's blood seemed to turn to ice. "My men are almost in position. Before sunrise, they'll have replaced the demon-child with the body of an orphan conveniently killed in the attack. The brat will become Konoha's secret weapon, an emotionless killer with the power of the Kyuubi and total loyalty to Konoha and only Konoha. And remember that according to legend, Bloodline limits are derived from jinchuurikis. Once the weapon hits puberty…"

Kakashi silently slid closed the hatch and backed away, suppressing his chakra as much as he could. The son of his sensei was in danger, and although he didn't recognize some of the voices, he knew Danzo by reputation. The old man was a merciless war-hawk willing to sacrifice his own men for his vision of how Konoha should be. The boy deserved better than that, and he obviously wasn't going to get it from here.

The cold air of the night snapped Kakashi out of his near-stupor and he glanced round, realizing that he didn't actually remember traversing the passageway out. Seeing no-one nearby, Kakashi accelerated to the field-hospital where he knew the newborn Naruto was sleeping, unaware that he was an orphan… and the possessor of a burden that could spark wars beyond imagining if word of his power leaked out.

.

The man reaching into the cot froze as the blade erupted from his chest. Eyes wide, but empty, he slowly toppled to the floor as Kakashi retrieved his tanto and wiped it with a cloth before re-sheathing it. The infant stirred slightly and Kakashi used a low-level sleep-jutsu to send him deep into a dreamless sleep before looking round at the bodies of those who had died trying to take Naruto, and those who had died trying to defend him. Picking up the bag that the intruders had intended to use, Kakashi carefully picked up the swaddled child and gently placed him into the bag, padding him with rolls of cloth before closing it. Placing it on the table, he closed his eyes briefly and summoned a Kage Bunshin. Together, they rapidly collected the equipment they would need for Naruto, then the clone looked surprised as Kakashi passed over his headband, mask and weapons pouch.

"We're headed out. We'll mark the trees for the chasers, just like a standard pursuit, but we'll split at the big rock. You go to the Valley of the End, throw round some serious jutsus and scatter these like it was a real fight, then dispel. I'll get Naruto somewhere safe."

"Agreed." the clone said, then it looked at the second bag the intruders had brought. Glancing into it, the clone paled, then picked it up and put the bag over its shoulder. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and the clone sighed.

"ROOT made a damn good choice with their victim, he looks a lot like Naruto. They even did a fake seal and whisker-lines. I'll take his body, whoever he really was, and burn it. The remains will make them think that you and he are both dead."

Kakashi nodded, suppressing surprise that his clone had thought of something that he had overlooked. "Okay. Let's go."

Both of them vanished into the night.

.

"WHAT!"

The entire council stared at the ANBU messenger, faces blank in shock and dismay. The masked ANBU repeated his report almost emotionlessly.

"Hatake Kakashi, codename Inu, discovered that a group of unknown shinobi had somehow penetrated the perimeter and killed the operatives assigned to safeguard Yondaime Hokage's son, Jinchuuriki Naruto. The unknown Shinobi escaped with Kakashi in hot pursuit. When reinforcements discovered the situation and the message Kakashi had left, they also went in pursuit, following the trail Kakashi had marked.

"Sadly, it was too late. Kakashi managed to catch up with the unknown shinobi at the Valley of the End. They fought, and Yondaime's son was killed during the battle. Kakashi is believed to be deceased, we found his headband, mask and much of his gear around the battlefield, but the surviving enemy shinobi must have taken his body, probably for his Sharingan eye."

"Are we sure Kakashi was really there?" Hyuuga Hiashi asked and the Anbu nodded.

"One of the statues was damaged by a Chidori. From the impact crater, we believe… that Kakashi was performing a suicide attack. The crater was far smaller than normal for a Chidori, and the shape… suggests that the Chidori failed within a second of the impact. Chakra exhaustion is the only explanation."

"How do we know that Naruto was killed?" another councilor asked.

"We identified his remains at the scene." the ANBU replied woodenly. "We buried them and erected a headstone. It seemed somehow appropriate that the son of the Fourth should be buried at the feet of the statue of the First."

"A wise choice." Sarutobi said sorrowfully. "I shall announce this to the village tomorrow. You are dismissed. All of you."

The ANBU vanished and the council rose and filed out, glancing back at the old man who had once been Hokage and was once more. The door clicked shut and Sarutobi didn't move. He simply stared at nothing, unmoving, ignoring the tears that ran down his cheeks and fell onto the council table.

.

Kakashi smiled down at the small boy he held in his arms as he walked into the small town. Glancing round, he froze as he saw a familiar figure.

"No. Kami. Damned. Way."

The figure vanished into a hotel and Kakashi ran after it. Dashing round the corner, he found himself yanked off his feet and slammed into a wall, a hand stronger than steel clamped around his throat.

"I have had a bad day!" Tsunade hissed at him. "I've just put my orphaned niece to bed, found out that two of my best friends are dead as well as the student of one of those friends, heard that my old home has been half-flattened and now I have a bounty hunter after me! How much do I owe to whom now?"

Unable to speak due to the vice-like grip on his throat, Kakashi raised Naruto up so that the furious Sannin could see him. Tsunade looked at him, then her eyes widened.

"Is… is that…?"

Kakashi nodded and Tsunade released him.

"Come with me. We need to talk."

.

"…and so we came here." Kakashi finished as Tsunade held a sleeping Naruto in her arms. "Finding you was unexpected, but I decided to take full advantage."

"You had no real plans, hmmm?"

"None whatsoever." Kakashi confirmed. "I have no family left, except Naruto, the son of my Sensei. When I heard what that bastard Danzo had planned, I promised myself I would take care of him, but…" he shrugged and looked up pleadingly, "I don't know how. Please, Tsunade-hime, help me keep Naruto safe."

Tsunade sighed. "Alright. As it happens, I have access to some of my clan accounts. I was hoping to never need to tap them, but… we need a safe place. And not a Hidden Village, we'll be too obvious in one of those. Naruto needs somewhere that no-one knows of his family… of you or me."

"He can't use his clan-name." Kakashi said quietly. "Nor can I, for that matter. Not until he's old enough, trained enough to defend himself from those who want to abuse his power."

Tsunade nodded slowly, then her eyes brightened.

"We'll go to Wave. They have no Hidden Villages, no history of ninjas and they're loosely allied with the Land of Fire, which means that no-one will be expecting fugitives from the Leaf to stop there. We can set up there as medics, I'll see to Naruto's medical and physical training. You have the Sharingan, how many jutsus do you have?"

"Couple of hundred…" Kakashi mused and Tsunade nodded.

"Copy-cat Kakashi. Okay, get some sleep. We leave tomorrow. Once we get set up in Wave, I'll work on getting your Chakra reserves up, they're too low, even with your white chakra giving you a boost. Once Naruto's old enough, we can train him to be a real Shinobi. Oh one more thing. From now on, you'll both call me Kaasan."

Kakashi's uncovered eye widened and Tsunade's grin widened.

"Yep, I've just adopted you both."

.

"No doubt about it, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is dead." said one of the cloaked figures. "The seal on the kid must have been extraordinary since it seems to have prevented the Kyuubi from being dissipated and reborn when the boy was killed. The Kyuubi is… gone."

"That is… unfortunate." said another one. "Without all nine of the Biju, the plan cannot go ahead. You are positive it is not going to be reborn?"

"Zetsu scoured the entirety of the Land of Fire." the first figure replied. "There was no trace of the Kyuubi's chakra. The Jinchuuriki was killed in the Valley of the End and his grave is there. It is occupied, and the Leaf Shinobi are too compassionate to have killed a random child just to mislead others. There is no doubt, the Kyuubi is no more."

For several minutes, a heavy silence descended on the group, then the second figure spoke. "For the Jinchuuriki to have been killed so quickly, someone must have sabotaged their security. Someone must be moving against us. Someone from the Leaf, someone who knows about us and what we wanted."

"Danzo." another voice stated and the first figure nodded.

"I agree. That is the only conclusion available. Orochimaru. You know Konoha the best. Go there, locate Danzo and kill him. He has broken the agreement we had, he must die so that all know the consequences of such an act. He must be dead within the week."

"As you command, Leader-sama." A pale-skinned figure almost hissed.

"I must withdraw and meditate about this. Of all the things I had predicted, even I had not foreseen that the Kyuubi would be truly destroyed. And if the Kyuubi is no more, will the other Biju be destroyed as well, now that it is proven that it can be done, or has the technique died with the caster?"

"I will check with my sources, although they probably will not know." Orochimaru said and the leader nodded.

"So long as you try, and report on your findings, that will be fine. Go now."

Orochimaru's chakra silhouette seemed to flicker and fade, then the leader turned to face another of the members.

"Sasori. Your intelligence network surpasses that of all others."

"Find out just what happened to the kid and who's got the cyclops' body." Sasori nodded. "I'll have my agents keep watch for any non-Uchiha who suddenly gains a Sharingan."

"Excellent. Perhaps we will be able to find those who have interfered with our plan and then we can… express our displeasure with them."

"As you command, Leader-sama." Sasori stated as his image vanished.