Sasuke couldn't describe how he felt. It had been hours after Naruto had been exiled. He should have felt happy that his longtime rival had been gone could finally prove to everyone that he was the strongest Konoha genin of all but for some reason, he felt completely hollow and empty.

Sasuke sat down and sighed, thinking about the day's events. Naruto had been exiled. It was almost surreal to believe.

He could not bring his head around the fact that he was also the cause of Naruto's banishment. All of the other rookies had discreetly shunned him, even Sakura.

He sighed. He had been trying to sleep but he couldn't. All his thoughts about Naruto kept him awake.

Eventually, he got up decided to take a walk around the Uchiha estate but before he could do so, Naruto's letter which he had left on his bedside table caught his eyes.

Should he read it?

Sasuke's curiosity got the better of him. He sat down on his bed and unfolded the letter. It read:

Dear Sasuke,

I know that as you read this, I will already be out of the Fire Country. I'll go straight to the point: because of you, I'm banished, but don't beat yourself up for it.

You see, the main thing that matters is that you're back in Konoha, safe and sound. I beg you, please do not go to Orochimaru for power, as tempting it may be. He will only use you as a vessel for immortality. There are no shortcuts to being strong. Just train and practice, day after day.

Revenge is not the solution, Sasuke. Your brother, Itachi, against his own will but for the love of you and the village, murdered the whole clan. After the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, the whole village was in turmoil. Suspicion of the attack pointed towards the Uchiha's as they were the only one who could control the Kyuubi as they had the Sharingan.

In revenge, the Uchiha's were planning a coup de tat and Itachi was asked to spy on the council, however, Itachi's loyalty towards the village was even greater and he spied on the Uchiha clan instead.

Danzo, an elder of the council, wanted to eliminate the Uchiha's from the village as he considered them as a threat. Itachi was given a choice: to let his clan live and Konoha would fall into a civil war or to kill his clan and let you live so all fighting could be avoided.

He chose...to kill his clan.

After the massacre, Itachi ran into me when he was outside of the village. He told me to look after you at all costs and he also told me not to tell you about the truth of the massacre.

Back then, I didn't know why he didn't want to tell you. If you had known the truth, you would have grown up loving him instead of wanting him dead but then I found out the truth.

Itachi had a terminal illness. He wanted you to kill him so you would feel satisfied with avenging your clan as well as getting your Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi loved you more than anyone else. He loved you so so much. Even during his parents' death, he only thought about you...

Sasuke, please, get your Mangekyo Sharingan through intense training, not pain. I want you to know Sasuke that revenge and power is not the answer. Please don't feel guilty about my exile. it was for your good.

One last word, Sasuke, thank you for being my friend. As cringy as it may sound, I treasured our time together. I promise I'm not gay, but I miss you...and I love you...

From Uzumaki Naruto, brother of bond and blood.

As Sasuke finished reading the letter from Naruto, tears spilled from his eyes. Did Itachi kill his clan for the sake of him? Was Itachi blameless just as Naruto said? Was everything that Naruto had written true?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It had been a few weeks after Naruto was exiled. He had been all over the place. Visiting old rogue friends as well as staying in many towns and villages, Suna and the Wave for a while.

Gaara, as the fifth Kazekage, welcomed him with open arms while Inari was super excited to see Naruto again.

But inside, Naruto knew he could not live a civilian's life. The path he took was the path of a shinobi.

After leaving the Wave, Naruto had decided to camp out in a forest for the meanwhile. A couple of days had passed.

Naruto had been living on fish, rabbits and boar. He had also picked out some edible berries from the forest. Overall, it was a content life but Konoha was where he truly wanted to be.

Back with his friends...

Naruto eyes widened slightly as he sensed two familiar presences near him. It was Kisame and Itachi!

"Come out, Kisame, Itachi," commanded Naruto coolly.

Two figured stepped out into the forest clearing.

"Your senses haven't declined," mused Itachi.

Naruto smirked. "So...what do you want? Kurama again?" he asked bluntly.

Kisame grinned at him. "Now that's where you're wrong," he said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at them.

"Akatsuki is just an organisation to house rogue shinobi. The idea of collecting the Bijuu was merely just a cover. Pein sends us out to pretend to hunt for Bijuus to keep our cover. We stay together as we have no villages or homes to go back to. Some don't even want to go back," answered Itachi.

Naruto shot him a pained smile. "Some people don't want to go home, huh?..."

"Whaddya mean, kiddo?" asked Kisame.

"I was exiled...for injuring...Sasuke...during a retrieval mission when he was taken away by the Sound Four..." answered Naruto.

Itachi's eyes widened. "Sasuke tried going to Orochimaru?"

"Yeah, he did. Sorry, Itachi. I couldn't keep your promise of looking after him. Sorry..."

Itachi gently smiled at him. "It's alright, Naruto. It's not your fault. You cannot control Sasuke..." he said.

Naruto didn't say anything.

"So...kiddo, wanna come back to Akatsuki with us?" asked Kisame.

Naruto looked up at him. "Really?"

"Yeah kiddo," answered Kisame as Itachi just smiled in response.

Naruto grinned.

It was time for changes..but maybe they weren't that bad.

After two days of travelling, Kisame and Itachi had finally brought Naruto to one of the Akatsuki bases.

"Here we are, the Akatsuki base," announced Kisame as they stood in front of a rock.

Kisame then did a specific set of hand seals and slowly, the rock rolled away, revealing an underground haven. When they stepped in, the rock rolled back into place, hiding the evidence anything was here.

Naruto looked around at the Akatsuki base. It was a regular house but it just had more rooms.

All of the other members were sprawled across the couch, watching TV.

"Pein, we're back!" called out Kisame.

A guy with orange hair and piercings all over his face got up from the couch.

"Is that the Kyuubi kid you've got?" asked Pein.

Kisame nodded.

"Come with me, Uzumaki. We've got a lot to discuss," said Pein as he started walking to one of the rooms while Naruto followed.

Pein reached what seemed to be his office. He sat down and gestured a seat for Naruto.

"Sit."

Naruto sat down. Then Pein started talking.

"I assume you know the true intentions of Akatsuki?" he asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, I do. Itachi told me when he found me," he answered.

Pein nodded in response. "I see. Well, I'm Pein, the leader and founder of this organisation."

"I know that," said Naruto plainly.

Pein rose an eyebrow. "How may I ask?"

Naruto smirked. "I have my sources, dear cousin."

Pein's eyes widened in surprise. "How...How do you know?"

"Pein, or should I say Uzumaki Nagato, an ex-shinobi of Amegakure. Along with Yahiko and Konan, you made Akatsuki but then Yahiko died...and you changed..."

Pein said nothing.

"My dear cousin, I have a plan. Do you want to contribute to it?" asked Naruto.

This sparked Pein's interest. "What is it?" he asked.

Naruto smirked. "How about, we rebuild Uzushiogakure and make it a feared but a revered nation in the world. Once the scattered Uzumakis and Namikazes, who were my dad's part of the family, hear about Uzushio being resurrected, they will come live with us. It will be a village of people who are lost, rogue and abandoned like us. It will be a haven for them."

Pein's blank face morphed into a smirk. "I like your thinking, cousin," he said.

Naruto smirked back at him.

The rest of the day was hectic. Pein had told the members the plan of rebuilding Uzushio, Naruto became a new member of Akatsuki and they were all busy packing for the trip to Uzushio. They were planning on leaving tomorrow morning.

Naruto was also busy securing trades and stocks for Uzushio. He also had to hire builders as well.

Morning came quickly and Akatsuki were all assembled in the living room.

"So, Uzukage, do we set off now, un?" asked Deidara teasingly.

Naruto choked on nothing. "Me?" he asked, confused. "Uzukage?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Duh, who else would it be? You're the only one qualified, un. I mean, you secured our economy in an instant. We want a leader like that, un."

Naruto smiled. "Alright," he said. "Thereby I declare myself as the first Uzukage of the new Uzushiogakure!"

Akatsuki applauded at her declaration apart from Tobi who screamed and jumped around in happiness.

Months had passed. Slowly, Uzushio was being built and completed. At the end of every day, the population increased. The five shinobi nations had received news of Uzushio being resurrected again, although Iwa wasn't pleased: they did not want to be reminded of their humiliating defeat in the Second Shinobi War.

Soon, Uzushio had finished construction. By then, Uzushio was full of inhabitants of all sorts. It was almost like a refuge for the lost.

Naruto had also assigned roles for the Akatsuki.

Kakuzu was in charge of the economy and finance. Konan was Naruto's secretary and ambassador. Tobi was in charge of the academy and taught the children there. Zetsu worked on intel gathering along with stock and trade. The rest of the ex-Akatsuki members were either Naruto's bodyguards or part of the shinobi council.

Not only had Naruto changed in a better way after his exile, but the whole of ex-Akatsuki also did as well. Pein, Konan, Itachi, Kakuzu, Black Zetsu and Sasori were less stoic. Tobi revealed his true self after a talk with Naruto and started going by the name Obito.

Now and then, he would adopt his Tobi persona for fun but Obito, in general, was friendly and fun with a tendency for popping perverse jokes.

Deidara and Hidan talked less brashly, Hidan not cursing as much as before. Kisame was also a bit more caring, dropping a part of his sadistic nature.

And now it had been a year and a half since Naruto had been banished, however, nothing could go wrong. It was the life he had always wanted; the life Naruto had deserved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I...I miss Naruto..." whispered Kiba wistfully.

"I know..." sighed Sakura.

Right now, the Rookie 11 were hanging out at a restaurant. The past year for them had not been good. It had already been more than a year without Naruto, but they still could not get used to it.

Team 7 wasn't the same without him but they did get a replacement member: Sai. He was revealed to be part of Danzo's program called ROOT. He wasn't the best teammate ever: Sai was just too emotionless and fake.

The past year had been the worst for Sasuke. He had confronted Tsunade about the truth of the Uchiha massacre...and what Naruto said had been true.

The other Rookies refused to talk to him unless necessary. Even Sakura didn't feel much towards him anymore. Instead, she focused on her training, becoming Tsunade's apprentice.

But medical ninjutsu was a heartbreaking thing to learn: it reminded her of Naruto. Sakura regretted all the time she had mistreated him. She had finally realised. She really was annoying.

Hinata was the one who suffered the most aside from Sasuke. Naruto had been her hope, strength and courage...and now he was gone.

The jonins in that hung out with Naruto missed him a lot as well. Naruto was the one who brightened up the day. He was the one who made the best and wittiest jokes. He was the one who made everything fun.

Tsunade had noticed that most of the shinobi was affected by the loss of Naruto so she sent them on bonding missions and holidays. It did the opposite of what she wanted: it only made them miss and think about Naruto even more.

Was it ever going to be the same?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hey reader-chans! I hope you like this update! I just really want to appreciate all the people who have either voted or commented on my story! Personally, don't do shoutouts but I just really want to thank the people who have been supportive of my story and shown it through votes and comments!

QUESTION: What do you think will happen next?

As an author, I would love to know what are my reader's thoughts and ideas.

And also comment if you want me to have a 'facts about me page'!