Journey to the Dawn

Synopsis: The world of the 19th century was a time of great change and development for not only countries, but for people as well. During this time there were some who lived in the past while others who wished to move on towards the future. Although learning and development was the backbone of the times, life was still very short. The life expectancy on average was at least five decades. So with such a small amount of time in the world a lone man stood over the hill as he looked towards the dawn.

Quick note: Now this fic will take place in this world during the mid-19th century. So the whole background history of Naruto will actually be based on this world. As for the concept of chakra and other stuff that will exist in this world as well. I'll also try to keep everyone's personality the same while keeping everyone's current abilities.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it.

"Talking"

Thoughts

~ Hillside (Dawn) ~

On the break of dawn as the sun peaked just beyond the horizon a blond boy at the age of eighteen years looked to the far west. A smile stretched onto his face as he shouldered everything he was going to need for the long trip a head.

"What a wonderful day to start my trip" he smiled. "I wonder what neat things I'll see along the way".

The blond reached into his pocket as he revealed a pocket watch inside. He then popped it opened to reveal a picture. "Mother, Father, please watch over me on my journey". He clasped his hands together in a prayer. "And please keep grandpa out of trouble. If he peaks in on one more hot spring then the samurai are going to poke his eyes out".

He then put his watch back as he returned his attention back to the horizon. "Well, I better get going now".

~ Ninja Village (name and location unknown) ~

Deep within the forest laid a hidden village of ninjas who served the daimyo of their land. Within this place the leader and head clan of all the shinobi of the territory were none other than the Hyuga's. At this point in time the leader was assigning a high ranked mission to one of his subordinates.

"Do you understand what you are to do?" said the elder man.

"Yes father" said the pale eighteen year old girl.

The elder man looked to the girl with stern eyes. "You are to address me by the appropriate title".

The girl flinched slightly, but immediately corrected herself. "Forgive me Hiashi-sama. It will not happen again".

The elder man closed his eyes and let out a sigh before looking back to his daughter. "Hinata, this will be your first official assassination mission. Your target is this man" as he handed her a poster.

Hinata looked upon the picture as she read out his name. "Uzumaki Naruto".

Hiashi nodded, "This man has many of the daimyos concerned. Although he may appear to be a normal swordsman he is also a ronin. He has no loyalty to any governing system and many are concerned for that".

"Why is that?"

"He is a very powerful swordsman on the rank of master. Many political officials do not like the idea of such a powerful being walking around without a leash. If he cannot be controlled then he shall be terminated". Hiashi let out another sigh. "Do you understand what you must do?"

Hinata gave a nod, "I understand". In that moment she performed a body flickered as she disappeared in a puff of smoke apparently just leaving her father left in the room.

"Do you believe this is wise Hiashi-sama?"

"She must learn the way of this world if she is to one day take over this village".

A man in his twenties then walked out of the shadow as he appeared right in front of the clan leader. "But Hinata-sama is too soft for such a mission".

"What is your point Neji?"

"A ninja is not allowed to return home unless they finish the assassination or die in the process. Hinata-sama is still too far inexperienced to do such a task and her target will not simply sit idly by if she fails".

Hiashi turned his back as he looked out a portal. "She has been taught all our ninja ways in addition to the use of her Byakugan. If she cannot finish her mission we can easily send others".

"But what if her target were to discover and kill her?"

"Then is cannot be helped" he said coldly. Neji flinched at his indifference. However he knew better that although his leader acted that way he truly does care for his daughter. He then stood up and body flickered away leaving the elder Hyuga alone to his own thoughts.

~ Countryside (alongside the ocean shores) ~

A teen kunoichi dressed like a village girl traveled along the main road on the country side thinking over the mission she was assigned.

"What am I going to do?" thought the Hinata frantically. "I've never killed anyone before and I can't go home unless I do".

A worried looked then appeared on her face as she began to wonder what she was going to do if she couldn't kill this guy. "Could I just runaway? But that would mean leaving all my friends and family behind!" The pale girl then touched her index fingers together out of nervous habit. "Oh, what am I going to do?"

But due to her absentminded state the Hyuga heiress ran right into something as she rebounded and fell backwards. "Ita" as the girl began rubbing her rear end to soothe the pain.

"Now what do we have here?"

Hinata looked up to see not only one but four brutish men looking down at her. Judging by their appearance one thing immediately stuck into her mind. "Bandits!"

"You really hurt my arm there when you bumped into me. So what are you going to do about it?"

"Ehh, but it was just an accident" Hinata tried to reason however a part of her should have known better.

"Says you, do you know how much it'll cost to get his checked?"

Hinata started to feel slightly intimidated. She then stood up to face the four men in front of her. "But I don't have any money on me" which was true since all she needed was her survival skills to live off the land.

"Then I suppose you'll have to pay us back in another way" as the dirty man went to grab her by the arm. The pale girl flinched at the pre-emptive attack as she soon found herself pinned to a tree surrounded by the four men. Immediately one of his cohorts pulled open her top revealing the outline of her matured bust.

The bandits began to laugh. "Not bad at all".

"Hey boss can I go first this time. I didn't get to do it last time since she was far too used up to do anything else".

"Sure, but hurry up. We all want to have our turn got it!"

Hinata watched in fear as all four men planned to assault her. The only thing that bought her time was that they were deciding the order they wanted to go in. However that wouldn't have mattered since they had her arms pinned which restricted her from using ninjutsu let alone her Jyuken. "I can't believe this is happening" she cried as the situation started to settle in. "My first alone mission and this happens. I can't believe my first time is going to be taken like this".

"Well let's see how it looks under here" the man drooled as he began to reach under.

She braced herself as she shut her eyes for the worse as his hand got closer, but it never came.

Hinata reopened her eyes to see a knife hand right on top of her attacker's head to which he soon collapsed to the ground unconscious. She then looked back to see a blond boy smiling as he still had his hand outstretched from his previous action.

"Whoops, my hand slipped".

"What the?" the three remaining bandits turned to face him which in turn released the Hyuga girl from their hold. Anger then began to leak out of them as they reached for their weapons. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh just your everyday local wanderer" smiled the blond. "But I couldn't help but notice you were all being quite rude to this girl here, and that simply can't be allowed".

"Why you son of a bitch!" said the underling as he lunged forward with his katana.

Hinata sat against the tree as she began to recover from her shock. She then looked up to see an amazing site before her. There stood a boy as he faced off against three opponents with nothing but a smile on his face. Although he had a sword to his waist he made no point to draw it as the three bandits were clearly no match for him.

The blond youth swerved from side to side as he easily dodged his attackers by a paper thin margin while making no effort to counterattack.

"Hold still you little punk!" shouted the boss as he began to swing more wildly.

"Incredible" thought Hinata. It was clear that during the first few tradeoffs that all he was doing was toying with the bandits like a cat does with a mouse. But it soon wore thin as the mysterious stranger finally made his move.

"You arrogant bastard!" exclaimed one of the underlings as he swung down with his katana. However the blond stranger easily saw the attack as he sidestepped and backhanded him knocking him down to the ground.

"You won't get away with that!" said the next underling as he began to swing faster and more wildly. However that made little difference as the blond youth immediately got behind him and knocked him down.

"You're quite something else to do that to my men" said the boss as he gave his sword a lick. "Why don't you join up with my crew?"

He rubbed the back of his head while displaying a sheepish smile. "I don't think I'm that great. But joining up with trash like you will definitely get in the way of my dream. So I'll have to respectfully decline".

"Then you're going to have to die!" as the boss dashed forward with his weapon in a jousting formation.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "He's fast" he thought, but then sidestepped avoiding the attack narrowly. "But not fast enough" as he stuck his fist into his face.

"Ahhh!" he yelped stepping back holding his face as his nose bleed. "You broke my nose!"

"I think you should give up now" as the blond yawned followed by scratching his head. "Don't you think it's far too early in the morning to be causing this kind of trouble especially for a village girl?"

Boss bandit growled slightly at how much he was being underestimated. But he then noticed his earlier hostage watching from the tree as she made no initiative to flee during the commotion. The detestable man grinned as he turned around and ran towards her.

Hinata once again flinched as the bandit now had a sword to her neck while restraining one of her arms.

". . . . ?" the blond's face then turned to a serious expression. "Don't do something you're going to regret".

The boss bandit chuckled at that empty threat. "You better surrender to me now or something rather tragic is going to happen to this here village girl".

Hinata however would not stand for this. I mean she was a ninja for crying out loud and if she couldn't deal with just one lousy bandit on her very first assassination mission then she really did hit rock bottom. But before she could even perform her Jyuken the bandit was already put out as the blond stranger imprinted the man's head into the tree with his fist. "How did he get here so fast?"

He then retracted his hand to allow the elderly man to fall to the ground. "Are you OK?" the blond asked as his face immediately went to a smile.

But before Hinata could answer she winced in pain as she had to sit back down. "I think I sprained my ankle" as she gave off a strained chuckle.

In response, he then gave a grin as he immediately picked her up bridal style. "Sorry for not coming sooner. So let me help you out with that".

Hinata blushed deeply at the act. In her entire life no boy has ever held her so closely. The fact was the current real life experience was far too overwhelming which was beginning to blank out her mind. "Eh . . . . Eh . . . . Eh . . . ."

"Ehh?" asked the blond quizzically as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

However the Hyuga heiress could not take anymore as she immediately fainted in his arms leaving the blond stranger confused to her action. "How embarassing . . . . " was the last thing she thought before her mind completely went dark.

He looked to the strange girl dumbfounded at first before going into a slight grin. "What a weird girl. Although she's pretty cute now that I look at her . . . . and such interesting eyes too". A piece of parchment then fell out her cloths and unraveled on the ground which surprised him to what was on it. "So that's it huh?"

~ Unknown Place and Time ~

Hinata slowly awoken as her head was slightly hazy from the excitement earlier that day. But as she fully awakened she came to notice it was completely dark and apparently in the middle of the forest next to a fire.

But as she attempted to move the pain from earlier shot up as she looked to her foot to see it completely bandaged.

"You shouldn't move too much. You're still recovering you know".

Hinata turned around to see the blond boy with some fishes dangling to his back. He then got out a few sticks and skewered them as he set them to roast next to the fire. She then immediately covered herself as she secretly grabbed for a kunai that was hidden in her robes.

The blond looked to her with some surprise and then chuckled. "Sorry if I surprised you. But I couldn't just leave you out there on the main road and I didn't know what village you came from so I kind of figured I would take care of you until you woke up again".

Hinata blushed as she loosened her hands off her weapon. "I'm sorry for the trouble" she stuttered. "What a kind person".

She then took a closer look to her caretaker as he sat there looking over their dinner. The blond teen wore an orange and black gee top and pants which had simple yet intricate swirl patterns along with a sleeveless trench coat that had orange flame designs. Additionally his feet appeared to be wrapped in bandages as he wore toe covered sandals. But what caught her interest the most was how he wore a black bandana which covered his forehead and shadowed his eyes which kept his face hidden. This act didn't go unnoticed by her camp companion.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness". He then removed the head cover to which the Hyuga girl blushed at how handsome he was. "My name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. So may I ask who you are?"

Hinata felt her heart rate increase unreasonably at seeing his charming face, and strangely something about his aura made her feel . . . . at peace around him.

However dread soon settled on as his face looked familiar to a crude drawing she was previously shown. At first she wanted to deny that these two people were one of the same being, but when he stated his name it only confirmed her fears. "Why did it have to be him?" she thought bitterly. "He was so kind and nice to me even though I was a do I have to kill him? But if I don't I won't be able to go home".

Naruto looked curiously over to her. "Is there something wrong?"

She flinched as she stuttered to get her answer out. "I'm sorry! My name is Hinata, Hinata Hyuga Uzumaki-kun" she stuttered.

"Hyuga, hmm . . . ." he thought. "Naruto is fine".

Hinata scrunched her eyes at how casual he was. "Then can I just call you Naruto-kun?"

The blond then let out a sigh. "I guess that's OK. So why were you out here all alone? It's not very safe for a girl to be traveling without any protection".

"I . . . . I was on my way to finish a task that was given to me. But I don't think I'll be able to do it" to which she looked down sadly as that realization.

"Then why don't you just go home and say you couldn't do it?" as Naruto picked up a fish and handed it to her.

"Because I'm not allowed to go home until I finish it". Tears began to appear as she toyed with idea of never going home again. "I don't know what to do!" Hinata then began to rub her eyes as the tears began to flow out.

But she was then knocked out of her stupor as a firm yet gentle hand petted her head. Hinata looked up to see Naruto smiling at her at he attempted to cheer her up. "Well it is hard to live away from home if I understand what your life was like. But if your task is really that hard then why don't I help you with it".

"Ehh?"

"Don't worry Hinata-chan! I'll see if I can help you with your task!"

~ Forest (midnight) ~

They both soon went to sleep next to the fire planning to get up early next morning to be off on their journey. But a certain Hyuga girl found herself conflicted about what she was going to do concerning her recent predicament.

"Why did it have to be him? He's such a kind person and there doesn't seem to be anything evil about him. But if I don't kill him I won't be able to go home". Hinata soon rose up and pulled a kunai out as she slowly crept towards her target. But as she got closer her body began to tremble uncontrollably at the deed she was about to perform. She looked closely to see that his back was turned which heightened her chances at success. However a part of her hoped he would wake up to runaway or at least fight back. But now at the very edge of him Hinata raised her weapon high as she was about to gouge the metal knife into him. "I'm so sorry Naruto-kun".

Hesitation soon set in as she couldn't do what she had planned. Seconds felt like hours as the pale girl was conflicted on what she was supposed to do. The stress beginning to build up as her muscles started to feel weaker. If she didn't perform the task soon she would be too weak to do anything else.

Her weapon then began to shake uncontrollably as sweat started to form making the kunai feel heavier in her hands.

But in that instant it was over.

" . . . . I can't do it" she sobbed. She then fell to the ground as she attempted to conceal her emotions. "I can't take his life . . . . I . . . . have no home . . . . to go back too . . . ." Hinata then clutched herself as he tried with all her might to keep the tears from coming out. She then immediately got up and moved away to cry in private.

" . . . ."

During this time, a pair of blue eyes sadly looked away as he was well aware of everything that went on.

~ Forest (morning) ~

Naruto checked Hinata's ankle to see that it was completely healed thanks to a few of his treatments. He then looked up to see her eyes completely puffy and red. "Are you OK? Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

The pale girl shook her head as she felt a new wave of sadness about to peak. "I can't accomplish my task so I can't go home anymore".

"So nothing I can do will help you?"

She shook her head.

Naruto then got into a thinking pose as he appeared to be musing over a solution.

Hinata looked away as she got up and proceeded to leave. "I better be going now. . . . I do not wish to trouble you any further".

But before she was out of arms reach she felt someone grab her wrist to keep her from leaving. The Hyuga girl looked back to see the blond smile at her reassuringly.

"You don't have a home to go back too right? So I think I might be able to help you out".

". . . ."

"Since you've got nowhere to go and nothing to do why don't you come travel the world with me?"

"Ehh?"

"I'm currently on a trip to fulfill my dream, but I don't mind taking you along with me if you'd like".

"But . . . . I'll only bring you trouble!"

Naruto chuckled, "nonsense, the more the merrier right. Besides I'd love to take someone with me to see the world. I kind of figured it would get lonely if I just traveled alone".

". . . ."

"So what do you say? Would you like to . . . . offffffff". Hinata embraced the blond youth tightly as she buried her face into his chest. Naruto was surprised at this action but soon relaxed into it.

"Is . . . .Is it really OK?"

Naruto smiled, "Sure it is". He then wrapped his arms around her holding her by the shoulders and the back of her head. "Who knows, you might find something unexpected along the way".

Hinata nodded her head in agreement.

The blond chuckled again. "Well let's go then. After taking a look around Japan we'll be off towards our next destination".

"Such . . . . a warm person . . . . ehh?". Hinata immediately realized what she had done as she impulsively hugged the boy without thinking, and by cause to effect her next reaction was expected.

"Hinata!"as he held her close to keep her from falling. Naruto then gave a strained chuckle, "I have a feeling this is going to be a rather interesting journey".

With that statement, the young Uzumaki gave her a pippyback ride as the two began their journey around the world.

To be continued . . . .

Author's Notes: Well I hope this was an interesting idea since this will be my pilot chapter to see if I should continue on with it. If I get a good amount of responses I'll keep writing. But we'll see right.

Now anyways I'll try to put different historical events both fictional and non-fictional in and yes the entire cast will make an appearance later in the story all around the world. If you'd like to post your ideas you're are free too since I haven't completely cemented where I want everyone.

But anyways I thank you for taking the time to read this fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.