Prologue: Lost and Found

"Damn ninjas... You killed our meal ticket...!"

"You guys are dead!"

"Now we're gonna pillage this city. And take anything of value!"

Those cheers and yells could be heard from the gathered thugs and mercenaries in front of Team 7. The only thing separating the Konoha nins and the rowdy mob where the dead bodies of Zabuza Momochi and Haku.

Naruto's wary gaze shifted towards the members of his squad. Sakura was supporting a battle-worn Sasuke, he could easily detect the fear that crept into her eyes, dreading the coming conflict. The last Uchiha meanwhile was on his last leg. In fact it was a wonder that he was already conscious again after the beating he had received through the fight with the Hyouton user. His sensei had also seen better days, fighting off Zabuza had taken it's toll on the man's body. And now they should deal with roughly an additional two hundred men whose only desire it was to plunder and kill?

The blond hero's fingers swiftly formed his favorite hand sign. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu" He poured every ounce of his remaining chakra into this last resort, ten more blond genins came into existence, ready for the battle ahead.

This also seemed to be the starting signal for the group of thugs on the other side of the bridge. The rows of men started to move, rushing towards the now eleven blond haired ninja's blocking their way. Weapons gripped in their hands the identical looking kids waited for attackers to come into their range.

The advancing mass of enemies came to an abrupt halt, as shuriken and kunai started tearing into their ranks. Many of the metal weapons vanished into smoke after they had hit their intended targets. Still the hail of steel could only continue for so long, before Naruto and his clones ran out of ammunition. As soon as the raining of weapons had started it stopped and the remaining thugs resumed their attack.

The blond genin's counterattack had taken out a good dozen of their adversaries and wounded another dozen of them. Now the clones and the original stood side by side forming a line, each one holding a kunai in their right hand, waiting for the incoming onslaught.

"Sensei, I could use some help here, dattebayo!" Shouted an anxious Naruto in the direction of a still unmoving Kakashi Hatake.

"Sakura, protect Tazuna and Sasuke, I will help Naruto" After those words the one-eyed jonin rushed towards his blond charge. His Sharingan eye was already covered by his leaf headband, no longer he had any chakra to spare to support it. Like his student he took out a kunai from one of his pouches, awaiting the incoming enemies, as he stood side by side with the ten shadow clones and the original.

The two sides clashed violently and the advancing thugs were once again stopped in their rush forward. Metal collided and cries of pain and anguish filled the silence. The real battle had just begun.

Even exhausted as he was, Kakashi started to tear through the ranks of the bandits like they were nothing, cutting them down one by one. Those untrained men were no challenge for the battle hardened shinobi at all, the only thought on his mind was to finish this conflict before he was to tired to move.

Naruto on the other hand was starting to have a hard time with the enemies. He and his clones had gotten in a few early hits at the start, but now all of them were cornered by multiple men. And unlike his sensei he hadn't years of experience to even the odds. One by one his clones vanished into clouds of smoke after they were hit, till only the original was left behind.

A panting Naruto stood in the middle of a small circle, surrounded by about 10 of those damned mercenaries. He had a few shallow cuts from where their weapons had hit him, small trickles of blood were running down his body.

"Is that all you got?" The young shinobi mocked them loudly. A grin formed on the boy's face as he saw what kind of effect his words had on the savage adults around him.

One of the thugs rushed forward a butcher knife in his hand , attempting a horizontal strike at the blond genin. The assault was blocked by the kunai in Naruto's hand, then the nin drove his left leg deep into the stomach of the attacker. The man keeled over in pain, before he lost his conscious and collapsed onto ground.

Sadly this action left an opening on the jinchuuriki's left side, a chance that one of his enemies had detected. Naruto's left torso was hit by an underhand strike from a mallet, his small body was propelled upwards through the sheer power of the attack. He flew in a high arc over the crowd below him and then crashed with his back hard into the railing of the bridge. After that Naruto's world went black.

A hail of arrows landed in front of the first row of battling thugs, making many of them flinch and looking for the culprits of this new assault. On the other side of the bridge a bulk of villagers could be seen, armed with crossbows, spears and hatchets. "If you come any further onto our island the citizens of this Country will stop you with everything we've got!"

Kakashi broke free from his current skirmish and moved himself between those two groups, securing a better position in battle and allowing him to regain his breath. Weapons still drawn, facing the attackers he was ready for everything that would come next.

The ranks of mercenaries shifted and a grim looking guy exited, he dragged a beaten orange clad body with him. His left hand was tightly clasped around the throat of the unconscious Naruto. The thug lifted the boy's limp body over the bridge's railing, letting him hang freely above the dark sea, only held by the hard grip of one hand.

"Let us pass or this annoying brat pays the price" The gruff voice of the man that had Naruto's life in his hands could be heard all over the bridge.

Just in that moment Naruto regained his senses, he could feel the constricting sensation around his neck. Immediately he started to shift and wiggle his whole body in an useless attempt to free himself. Not realizing how dangerous his current situation really was, he doubled his efforts to break free.

"Hold still idiot!" With his right hand the thug slapped Naruto hard on his cheek. What he hadn't taken into account was, that the genin almost instantly took his chance and sank his sharp teeth into the attacking man's hand. With a yelp of pain the mercenary loosened his grip around the boy's throat and gravity started to take action immediately.

"NARUTO!"

Panic-fueled shouts came from the top of the giant bridge as the small nin's body spiraled downwards to the thunderous sea. A large splashing sound could be heard as Naruto's body hit the water surface. The onlookers could only watch helplessly as the low tide dragged the struggling genin's body seawards to the horizon.

A small frame stirred below the blanket. Moving to the left and right in his resting place, just waking up for the first time in days. He was unlucky enough although, because he hadn't slept in a normal bed but rather a hammock. And so the boy unceremoniously plumped onto the hard wooden floor below him. Not the nicest way to wake up.

"Ugh, what the hell?" Naruto propped himself into a sitting position and started to look around. Something wasn't right here, he couldn't remember this place at all. His eyes looked down onto his own body, where were his trademark orange clothes? Instead of his jumpsuit he was now dressed in dark blue pants and a white shirt.

"Where I am? What I am wearing? And why does this room sway back and forth?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

"You are on a ship, kid. The Big Lady, that's her name, I'm her captain. One of the finest cargo vessels you can find in the Elemental Nations." Was the proud reply the blond got. "We fished you out of the sea, your hideous orange clothes saved your hide. Got really lucky with that, otherwise you would be dead by now"

Naruto's gaze drifted to the direction of the gruff voice, that had spoken to him. He could see an older man probably in his fifties, gray hair and beard, a patch over his left eye, dressed almost in the same clothes he himself currently wore.

"Remember why you thought it would be a good idea to take a swim that far away from the mainland?" The sea dog asked with a loud chuckle.

Memories of the recent battle on the bridge flashed through the blond's mind. Immediately he jumped from his sitting position into a standing one, pumping his fist high into the air. "I need to get back to the Land of Waves, 'ttebayo. My team is counting on me!"

The sailor laughed at the boy's antics. "Sorry kid, but we are already far away from that place. You were out three days and nights, whatever happened back there is already over. The next stop is a small port town in the Land of Lightning, we need to restock supplies there. After that the Lady heads towards the Land of Water."

"But..." Naruto tried to complain but his objection was cut short.

"No buts shrimp, be happy that you are alive, it's either Lightning or Water, the choice is up to you." That was the last reply the blond got before the captain left the cabin, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts.

Five days later the vessel reached the port town in the Land of Lighting Naruto had decided that if he wanted to return to Konoha, he had to leave the ship here. Lightning Country and the Land of Fire were connected through dry land, he could at least make his way by foot from here. Still it would take a few weeks to get back to his homeland.

Naruto's immense luck had ensured his survival, but most of his belongings were gone. The only things left in his possession were his leaf headband, Gama-chan and about two thousand ryo. Hopefully that would be enough to get a few supplies for the long journey home, also a map probably wouldn't be such a bad investment. Anyway he had gotten some clothing from the ship's captain, 3 pairs of white shirts and blue pants, the same uniform the regular sailors wore. It was a start.

The city, if you dared to call it that wasn't big, about hundredth buildings and a few warehouses in the harbor area. Naruto easily found a shop that sold supplies and other goods, normally to the traveling through seaman, but it would suit his needs just fine. He bought a black backpack, a few rations including canned food and water, lastly also a map of the Elemental Nations.

With his last money spent on the necessities of his travel, Naruto stood on the western edge of the town, ready to leave. "Konoha, wait for me! Uzumaki Naruto is coming home, dattebayo!" He pumped his fist straight into the air, his headband tightly clutched in the raised hand.

After that little emotional outbreak, he stowed his precious forehead protector safely away in his backpack. It wasn't the best idea, if he was seen wearing the symbol of Konoha traveling through one of the other major nations. Soon he was walking in a steady pace towards his homeland.

Two days had passed since Naruto had entered Lightning Country and started his voyage home. He followed the coastline westwards, as it was the best landmark he had for orientation. The blond had bought a map, although sadly had forgotten that without a compass the map was almost useless. It wasn't detailed enough to include smaller landmarks and only major cities and capitals were marked on it. The coastline to his left side was comprised of cliffs and escarpments, while to his right was a softwood forest. This was all he had seen since the start of his journey two days ago.

Naruto was now particular thankful for the survival lesson he had had in the academy. Finding water and food, hunting small animals down, setting up traps, making fire without matches or a lighter and building a shelter with branches and leaves. Those lessons had served him well in the last days. "Have to thank Iruka-sensei when I come home." Naruto mumbled to himself. His mind drifted towards Konoha, his senseis and comrades

Boom!

A loud explosion ripped the blond boy out of his thoughts. Now most people would run away or at least stay a safe distance away from such a spectacle, but no not Uzumaki Naruto. Even in a foreign Country, on dangerous terrain, his curiosity got the better of him and he stalked carefully towards the location from where the sounds emanated.

Some smaller explosions could be heard as Naruto made his way towards the source of all the commotion. It took him a minute or two to reach said location, he ducked behind one of the trees and watched the scene before him unfold.

In a clearing in the woods stood four men, one of them facing the other three. The middle of the clearing looked like a large explosion had taken place, rubble was scattered all around, the top layer of earth had been forcefully removed and on the edges the grass was burnt.

The three men stood in a triangle formation, all of them clothed the same outfit. Black pants, a dark gray shirt, a bandana in the same color as the shirt, with a metal head plate sewed into it, a white flak jacket over the shirt and finally dark black glasses that hid their eyes.

Naruto didn't recognize the village symbol on the metal plates. Now he regretted that he hadn't listened better to Iruka-sensei's lessons. At least he could assume this were Kumogakure shinobi, as it was the most logical choice.

Their adversary was a blond man, he had about half of his hair in a ponytail, while the rest of it hung freely from his head and also covered on of his eyes. The choice of clothing he wore was most unusual, an auburn, floor-length robe clung loosely to his body, obscuring even his hands from view.

The three ninja were already heavy panting while their enemy stood there relaxed and smiling. He lifted his arms and his hands shot out from the sleeves of his robes, starting to form hand signs in fast succession. The blond was finished almost as soon as he had started, than he pointed his palms outward in the direction of his enemies. It looked like he had strange mouths implanted in his palms, those hand-mouths spat out multiple white batches of an unrecognizable material.

As soon as the batches had left the mouths they formed into small birds and rushed towards the three nin on the opposite side of the clearing.

It seemed as if those three had already experience with that strange things, because they tried their hardest to dodge them. But in the end it was a futile effort on their side, all three were hit several times by the strange birds. Every time one of the flying creatures crashed hard into one of them it left a white stain on the target.

A loud yell of "KATSU!" pierced the silence.

After that another set of explosions rocked the clearing, smoke rose around the three ninjas that were facing the single stranger. Once the sight was clear again, Naruto saw all of them lying on the ground , with large flesh wounds and torn cloths. He was sure all three were either dead or would die within the next few minutes. Watching such a brutal, but effective display of power really astonished the young Konoha shinobi.

"I know you are there, come out of your hiding place, un" The blond man didn't even look into the direction were the genin was hiding as he spoke.

The voice of the victor startled Naruto. Knowing that further concealment would be pointless against such a foe, he composed himself and walked into the clearing. Trying his hardest to appear as brave and strong as possible.

"Are you going to kill me, like them?" He asked with a small hint of fear in his voice.

The blond genin's counterpart only shook his head. " Those 3 ignoramuses and I had some sort of quarrel, they mocked the beauty of my work, so they had to pay for their insults."

Naruto took a deep breath, finally calmed down that his life was not at stake here. His face formed a small,sly grin. "You know, those explosive things you did with your hands are kinda cool"

"Hm, you like my art, kid?"

"Art?" The jinchuuriki didn't understand the stranger before him, wasn't art something like paintings and stuff like that.

"Art is an explosion, un!" Was the immediate reply the young blond got.

The genin could only nod, he never had heard that detonations could be art, but he liked the strange explanation nevertheless. Explosions were beautiful in their own way and awesome, lets not forget they are really awesome. "Then yes I like you art, that was so cool!" Naruto exclaimed in his usual hyper way and gave a thumbs up to the demolition expert.

The bomber really started to warm up to the blond kid before him, at least this guy understood the beauty of his art. "The name is Deidara and who your are?" He stretched his arm out, towards Naruto, for a friendly handshake.

Their hands clasped together. "Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, 'ttebayo!"

After shaking their hands Deidara eyed Naruto carefully. Normally he would be wary of a Konohagakure shinobi, after all he was born, raised and trained in Iwagakure. Konoha and Iwa had a long standing feud, almost since both villages were founded. But the little blond ball of energy before him was quite different. He was one of the few who really seemed to admire his handwork. The missing nin hadn't met someone like that since he abandoned his own village years ago.

"Could you... um... show me how to make awesome explosions like you do?" Pleaded an eager Naruto. When else would he get a chance to learn something so fantastic.

Deidara got a stern expression on his face and gazed deep into the blond's blue eyes, neither of them broke their staring contest for several seconds. Finally the bomber spoke. "If you want to follow the road of the true artist, I could show you a thing or two I presume, un."

A/N:

This is my first fan fiction I would appreciate constructive critic, if you want to flame, shove it. English isn't my native language, so if I used a manner of speaking which is wrong please point it out to me. Same goes for all writing or grammar errors.

As I have no beta reader currently the story is only checked with a spellchecker and my limited knowledge, if anybody is brave enough, I am accepting willing beta readers.

Deidara is not an Akatsuki member, he is still an Iwagakure missing nin though. The reason why he doesn't wear a headband will be addressed later. He isn't inside of Akatsuki in this fic because it is set in a small AU. I changed one person's personality (no not Deidara). If you can guess who got a change you get a cookie!

Yes this will be NaruHina eventually, no heavy Romance till early Shippuden. The next two years in the fic (till start of shippuden) will be spent on developing their friendship and love. If you don't like the pairing don't read it.