Chapter 1

(Location: Konoha)

In the Council chamber, several people stood as a blonde-haired woman sat in front of a boy with a brighter shade of yellow. While the younger blonde simply sat there in silence, the village council members couldn't help but smile, pleased that they thought the outcast of the village had finally received his 'punishment'. Of course, when asked by a civilian or Shinobi member of the council what the crime was, they answered in their own way.

Has the council reached a verdict regarding the Uzumaki Genin? Tsunade asked one of the civilian members, who immediately stood up, his smug smirk visible to everyone.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he grinned. We find the demon, uh, defendant guilty on all counts. He sat down, pleased with the verdict he and his fellow civilians had reached.

She looked down at the blonde Shinobi.

Naruto Uzumaki, because of your crimes against Sasuke Uchiha, you are expelled from Konoha. Until the Fire Daimyo arrives, you will be in prison. Once he arrives, your chakra will be sealed, and you will never be allowed to return to the village until we order you to return. She looked at the ANBU in the room, standing silently behind her. ANBU, take him.

The Shinobi Council and civilians watched as Naruto was taken away. They expected him to protest, say it wasn't his fault, or ask why the hostage was doing this, all in a loud voice. But Naruto didn't react when his punishment was handed out, and he walked out under the gentle but firm guidance of the ANBU. While the civilians celebrated, the Shinobi looked at each other. They all felt that something was wrong, but they didn't know what it was.

Naruto sat on the bad bed. The lumps underneath would make sleeping very uncomfortable.

"Everything went as expected," he said. He showed no emotion during the so-called test because he knew what would happen long before.

Yes, it was so. Are you still going to leave? asked the Biju inside him.

Is this a rhetorical question, Kyuubi? - he asked in response with a blank expression on his face. Ever since he found out what was going to happen, he has tried to keep his emotions in check (so far, it has worked out well).

Lisa grinned.

Fair enough, Gaki. Let me rephrase. When are you going to leave?

The blonde looked out the tiny window of his cell.

"Soon," he answered, looking at the night sky behind the bars.

Tsunade watched the sun set from the window in the hostage's office. When Shizune walked through the door, Tsunade turned to her.

Is everything ready? - she asked her student, and she nodded in response. She stood up from Hokage's chair. Let's go get Naruto. The two left her office and headed down to the prison.

After Naruto returned with Sasuke, the civilian council practically exploded at the Uchiha's beaten state and demanded Naruto's execution. Together with Jiraiya and the Shinobi Council, she tried to find a way to prevent this. The elders came up with a plan: Naruto would be exiled. But they will wait for the Fire Daimyo to come to Konoha to expel him so that it will look official. However, in reality, Naruto would be smuggled out of Konoha and given to Jiraiya, who would train him as long as he could until Konoha needed him again. The civilian council only knew about part of the expulsion, which suited them just fine. Since it was the best idea proposed, it was accepted. Once Naruto left the village and was safe with Jiraiya, Tsunade would secretly give the Daimyo and Konoha's allies (especially Suna, because of Gaara) information about what really happened. Naruto's teammates would be informed as soon as the time for the blond's return approached. But first, they had to get him out. The first step began tonight.

As Tsunade entered the prison with Shizune following behind her, she asked the guard (actually an ANBU agent informed of the plan) to leave. He nodded in agreement and silently left the room. She walked over to Naruto's cell and took out the key.

"Naruto," she called. He turned towards her from the window. We'll get you out of here. - She opened the gate and asked Naruto to come out. But he stayed put. Come on Naruto, we don't have much time. "They had to get him out as soon as possible."Otherwise, someone will definitely find out.

He stood up and did not move from his place. Instead, he gave the Hokage a look that contained both anger and pain.

"That's where you're wrong, Tsunade," Naruto said coldly. He raised his head and untied the bandage. - You are mistaken in that you did not have much time. You didn't have time from the start. The bandage fell to the floor, breaking loudly. At the same time, he disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Shizune stared at the smoke in the cell.

Was it Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)? - she asked, not believing what she saw. Tsunade could only nod silently; she was just as stunned. We must send out ANBU units immediately! - She rushed to the door.

Tsunade followed a step behind. But even as she ran, she had a sick feeling in her stomach. Whatever they did, it was already too late. Naruto was no longer there.

(Location: Naruto)

Naruto smiled as he looked out to sea. He did it. He got out without anyone finding him.

When he brought Sasuke to the village, he quickly learned that the civilian council wanted to execute him. Having learned what Tsunade was going to do to him, he decided to follow the example of Orochimaru, Itachi, and Sasuke. He decided to break all ties with Konoha. But he also knew that just walking out the gate wouldn't be a good plan (in fact, it was a stupid plan). Therefore, on Kyuubi's advice, the day before he appeared before the Hokage, he created the Kage Bunshin and sent him as far away from Konoha as possible.

While in prison, Naruto used Kawarimi (body swap) with a clone, switching places with him. As soon as he was free, he ran as quickly as possible to the nearest port in the Land of Fire. The journey took three days, and each of them was filled with monitoring everything for possible attacks. Having reached the port, he signed up as a sailor on the first ship he came across. As luck would have it, the ship was leaving the Elemental Land. Before he had time to catch his breath, the Land of Fire disappeared from the horizon.

The ship had already been at sea for a month, and the Elemental Countries were left far behind.

"That was very clever, Naruto," Kyuubi added. The fox always knew that if his jinchuuriki put in the effort, the feats he could accomplish would be quite impressive (such as eluding Konoha's attention and successfully evading them). Of course, he was helping the blonde, but he had no doubt that with a little more practice, his jinchuuriki would not need help.

"I try to please," Naruto replied, continuing to look at the sea. He knew he had to work, but the sight overwhelmed him. He was amazed by its beauty. It seemed calm and peaceful. But he soon had to forget about this when he saw a dark spot on the horizon. It destroyed the picture. "Any idea what it is there, Kyuubi?"

I'm not an expert on what's happening in the Gaki Sea. "Probably nothing special," he replied dismissively.

Naruto's boss, an experienced sailor named Shin, walked up and started yelling at him for not working. He noticed the spot, and the tirade immediately disappeared. Instead, he swore loudly and told Naruto to hurry up. It was a storm, and it was approaching quickly. He turned and ran, shouting at the captain. At this time, the spot quickly filled the sky, approaching them like a black hand.

As soon as the captain blew the warning whistle, everyone on deck rushed down. By then, it was already too late. The storm hit the ship and hit it hard. The deck became slippery from the rain. Naruto was blinded by the rain and couldn't see anything. His ears were filled with the howling of the wind, and the sea responded in kind. He tried to reach the deck hatch but could not find it because of the rain. It seemed that he was the only person on deck. When he thought he had found a door, it turned out to be a nose. He was on the wrong end of the ship!

He started to turn, but then a wave rolled across the deck. It was unexpected and pushed him on board. He tried to grab something—anything that could save him—but his hands found only air. The last thing he heard was the fox scream:

Don't sleep, Naruto! Do not sleep!

(Setting: Ember Island)

Azula walked along the beach, irritated. She had no idea why her father had decided to send her and her brother Zuko, as well as May and Ty Lee with Uncle Iroh, to Ember Island for the holidays. It was becoming unbearable: Ty Lee was too cheerful, her uncle was doing nothing but drinking tea, and Zuko and May felt awkward around each other. If she had stayed there any longer, she would have been tempted to set everything on fire (though when Iroh was there, it probably wouldn't have come to that).

She sighed in disappointment. Everything changed when her father became the Fire Lord and her mother disappeared. She became even better at fire magic. If before people called her a prodigy, now they look at her with awe. She was taught by the best firebenders, including her father. And while she progressed, Zuko floundered. She received his approval, but Zuko, despite being the eldest, did not. But she was offended by her brother because he was always with their mother. Azula always wanted her mother to show her that she was loved too. But she always paid more attention to Zuko, and this irritated Azula beyond words.

She heard someone walking behind her. It was Ty Lee. No one else had such an audible spring in their step. Azula suppressed a groan. As much as Ty Lee was her friend, she didn't want to deal with her right now.

Hey, Azula! Ty Lee called out. Why did you go out...? Her voice died down. It wasn't like her. Azula looked back at her and saw that she was pointing at the water.

Someone washed ashore. Azula ran over to check. The first thing she noticed was that he was a boy around Zuko's age, maybe a little older. Second, he was still breathing.

"Ty Lee, go get my uncle," she ordered. This boy is wounded. He was bleeding from his head. Ty Lee nodded and ran back into the house.

Azula looked at the boy, taking in the details. He had blond hair, which was rare (if not completely rare). They reminded her of the sun. He had a natural tan and six strange birthmarks, three on each side of his face. They almost resembled mustaches. How strange.

Hearing footsteps on the sand, she saw her uncle walking towards her. He kneeled down to examine the boy.

"Azula, go back to the house and call your brother to help you prepare the bed," Iroh said after examining the boy. He didn't look like his usual tea drinker, but like the general he used to be. She nodded and ran into the house.