Disclaimer: I don't know why I'm doing this. Obviously I don't own Naruto, this is just an excuse to make this chapter a tiny bit longer.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"Demon Talk"

'Demon Thought'

Village Hidden in the Leaves, October 10th

"Jiji, Kaka-Sensei, why can't I see?"

Kakashi and Sarutobi both looked at each other, neither one wanting to tell the young boy what had happened. After a few moments Sarutobi sighed and sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed. As the Hokage, he was the village's pillar of strength. And now was one of the moments he needed to be strong for the sake of someone else.

"Naruto, before I tell you what happened, I want you to know that no matter what happens myself and Kakashi will always be here for you." Sarutobi started. "The men who attacked you last night, it seems they had a grudge against the Kyuubi you now know is hidden deep within you. I'm so sorry Naruto, but those men slashed your eyes with their kunai, and unfortunately the damage was too severe for even our best medical ninja to fix."

During Sarutobi's little speech Naruto kept quiet. Something that was very unnatural for the normally hyperactive and carefree shinobi. This behavior only seemed to depress the Hokage and his most loyal subordinate.

Knowing that the worst was yet to come, Kakashi decided to sit at the foot of Naruto's bed and laid a hand on Naruto's leg to let him know that he was there for him should Naruto need him.

Sarutobi cleared his throat knowing what he said next would crush the boy. But as the Hokage he knew he couldn't choose favorites or make any exceptions. "Naruto, I'm afraid due to your injuries" he started only pausing for moment to compose himself. "I will have to remove you from active duty as a shinobi for the foreseeable future."

And just like that Naruto's world came crashing down. His whole life he had been preparing himself to become a shinobi and eventually the Hokage. His dream had been plucked from his hands. Naruto was silent for a while before asking the Hokage and his sensei if he could be alone for a while. They both looked at each other before getting up and leaving the room.

The moment they left the room, Naruto let his overwhelming sadness come over him. His loss of purpose, his sight and quite possibly his whole life. And even though Naruto felt a sadness he had never felt before, no tears would come.

The Next Day

Thanks to the demon that was sealed within him, Naruto was always a fast healer. This was why he was currently being escorted out of the Konoha hospital by the nurse who had been watching over him. As she was pushing him to the entrance the young woman couldn't help but curse the men who had done this to such an innocent boy. She was old enough to know what truly happened to the Kyuubi, but had never blamed him for the destruction it had caused. And now all that was left of the former shinobi was a broken child.

"Alright Naruto-kun, this is where we part ways." She handed Naruto a long wooden stick. "This is to help you see." She also pulled a long black cloth out of her pocket which she also handed over to the boy. "This is just in case you don't want anyone to see what happened."

Naruto reached his hands out to grab the cane and the cloth. He quickly wrapped the cloth around his head to cover both of his eyes. He wouldn't give any of the villagers the satisfaction of knowing what had happened to him, because he knew the only people that knew about what had happened were the Hokage, his sensei and the various doctors and nurses who took care of him.

He grabbed the cane and got up out of the wheelchair. The nurse quickly explained how to use the cane as she had forgotten to earlier. And just like that the boy she had grown fond of in his short visit was gone.

Naruto quickly adapted to using his new cane after accidently bumping into a few people and running into a few garbage cans and walls. He noticed ever time he'd hit the ground he could hear echoes off of some of the nearby obstacles. Another thing he noticed since losing his sight was that his hearing was a little better than it used to. Maybe it was his body compensating for the loss of another sense.

After finally making his way back to his house (or what he hoped was his house), Naruto sat down on his bed. What was he supposed to do now, he thought? His dreams to be the Hokage were over. And he was sure not too many civilians would like him or hire him mainly due to the fact that he was now blind. He was stuck. And he had nowhere to go and nothing to do.

After sitting on his bed for a few minutes he heard the distinct sound of footsteps on his roof. Naruto quickly jolted off his bed and got into a defense position. Naruto didn't trust many people and now since the incident, he trusted people a lot less.

He could hear the footsteps land at his door and walk towards it. He heard a knock. Naruto lowered his defenses. People who were about to attack you didn't knock. Another knock followed. He quickly deduced it was someone who meant him no harm.

"W-Who is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's your favorite sensei." He heard back.

Kakashi. One of the people he trusted.

Naruto opened the door to the spiky headed jonin and walked back towards his living room and sat on his old couch. Kakashi followed after shutting the blonde's door.

"How are you feeling Naruto?" his sensei asked. Naruto could hear the sadness in his voice. "I'm good, don't need to worry about me" he replied. They both knew that was a lie but Kakashi would let Naruto sort this whole thing however he wanted to.

"Listen Naruto, the reason why I came over was bacuse I wanted to apologize. If I had just been little faster, then maybe.." he trailed off. "I've failed you as a sensei and I'm so sorry."

"The nurses told me what happened. That if didn't show up I would have been dead. And for that I thank you. It's all thanks to you sensei that I'm still here."

Kakashi looked up at his former student. The guilt that he felt was slowly washing away. But a small part of it would always be there, and he knew that it wouldn't go away anytime soon. Kakashi cleared his throat and stood up. "I'm sorry to cut this short Naruto but I have to go meet with Sasuke and Sakura."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "Thanks for coming by sensei. Maybe I'll see you later?"

Kakashi smiled to himself and turned around and walked towards the door. He opened the door, paused and turned around. "I sure hope so Naruto."

Kakashi quickly made his way to team 7's training ground. Gone was his habit of being late. It had already ruined one person's life and he wasn't going to be the cause of another. Sasuke and Sakura were already there waiting for him as he walked up.

Sasuke and Sakura were immediately on alert. Their sensei never showed up on time! Sakura decided it must be some sort of genjutsu so she built up a bit of chakra before crying out "release".

Kakashi sighed. This was another sign of why he should start showing up on time. "It's me Sakura."

"I'm sorry sensei, it's just, you're not usually on time." Sakura said sheepishly.

"Well I figured maybe today I should be. I have some bad news about the team." Kakashi started before being interrupted by Sakura. "Speaking of team, where's Naruto?

This was going to be hard and he knew it. While his team was new, they had become quick friends. Even Sasuke who never made any bonds with anyone grew attached to his new teammates.

"As of this morning, Naruto has been removed from active service. He is no longer part of team 7. His replacement should be arriving within a few minutes."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other both thinking the exact same thing. They didn't want a replacement. They wanted Naruto.

Sasuke grew mad quickly. "Why?" he snapped.

Kakashi sighed again. "Due to an unforeseen incident Naruto was injured and the Hokage has released him from duty."

This time it was Sakura's turn to speak. "We want to see him."

If anyone could cheer up the young blonde it would be these two. Kakashi decided to cancel today's team meeting so they could go find their friend. Kakashi pointed them towards Naruto's home and watched them walk away.

By the time Sasuke and Sakura made it to Narutos house it was starting to get dark. They walked up his stairs and knocked on his door. They couldn't hear any noise coming from inside his house or any sounds indicating anyone coming to the door, so they knocked again.

"Who is it?" Narutos voice said from the other side of the door.

"It's us Naruto. Let us in." Sakura exclaimed.

Naruto paused for a moment before deciding to let them in. "its open guys" he said back.

Sakura opened the door slowly and was welcome into the house by darkness. How could Naruto see in this, she thought to herself.

"Hey Naruto why are all the lights off, I can't see a thing!"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I suppose I kinda forgot about that." Naruto replied in a sad tone.

Sasuke quickly located the light switch and flicked it on. It took a few moments before his eyes adjusted to the bright lights.

"Naruto where are you? And why were discharged from the shinobi services? Sakura asked. She was almost afraid of what the answer could be. After all she had seen many older shinobi still on active duty that were missing an arm and even one guy who was missing his leg, although the man discovered the ingenious way to use his battle club as a replacement.

They heard a voice coming from the back of Naruto's apartment which they assumed was his bedroom, as neither of them had been to his house before. "I'm back here guys. Just give me a second"

After a few moments Naruto came through the hallways following his trusty walking cane. Both Sasuke and Sakura immediately recognized what the cane was for and why Naruto had a piece of cloth covering both of his eyes.

Sakura ran forward and pulled Naruto towards her into her arms which surprised him greatly as he wasn't expecting it. "Oh Naruto, I'm so sorry!" Sasuke on the other hand was furious. As an Uchiha he knew one of the worst things imaginable was to take the sight of another person. Even the Uchiha clan saved the punishment for kinslayers (Uchiha who murdered other Uchiha). He decided then and there that if he ever found out who had done this or even helped plan it would face the fury of the last Uchiha.

But the one thing on everyones mind at the moment was now what? What would become of team 7? And what would become of one of their closest friends. Together they would find a way for Naruto to resume his career as a ninja or they would die trying.

A/N: Alright guys there are another chapter for you. And as always reviews are nice. If there are any grammatical errors or spelling errors please let me know. I am to please!