Prophecy (Naruto Neglect Fanfic)

2 Years

A/N: Time Skip! Naruto is now 18 years old if I am correct. I may not be though, I am not good at Maths. If you read my previous chapters and pay attention I'm sure you can calculate his age. Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying the fic so far. These past few chapters are pretty short, sorry but I just really want to get the story moving. Sorry if these latest chapters have been a step-down in quality/disappointing but I have been really trying. Life's been tough recently so I've been writing to distract myself. Anyway, enough yammering, hope you enjoy :)

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The Village Hidden in the Leaves had changed drastically in the past 2 years as had its occupants. Ever since the incident that occurred within his family, the Fourth Hokage had been noticeably different. Before he was kind, open, welcoming and warm. He had a shining presence and was loved by the people. Then the truth about Naruto was discovered. Before it had been known that he was a disgrace to the Namikaze name and disowned by his family. Now the news of his betrayal had spread like wildfire. Before Naruto's name was pitied if anything but now it was loathed. It was hurled as an insult.

The Fourth Hokage had also changed dramatically. Gone were the bright faces; the vibrant smiles. This new Hokage was cold and vicious. While not being cruel or enforcing a tyrannical rule or anything to that calibre, anyone who annoyed him was subject to brutal insults and humiliation at his hands (nothing physical, of course). The Story of Naruto also made a large impact on the ninja population of Konoha. Ino Yamanaka, a jounin instructor at the academy, frequently ran lectures on his disgrace and defection. The exposure young people got of him and his story is what mostly lead to his name being used as an insult. Among the teams of Ninja also, whenever one would make a mistake or foolish error, they would be most likely called a Naruto. This was among most teams but not all. Team 7 did not speak of Naruto at all. In fact, Itachi Uchiha, the sensei of the team, barely spoke a word in general. Most of the talking was performed by Itachi's younger brother Sasuke and his girlfriend and teammate Sakura Haruno. The third member of the team was still training as she had been with the Great Sannin Jiraiya. It had been months since they had last been in contact with each other. Whilst the missions of Team 7 were usually uneventful (even with the lack of a teammate, their power and synergy was still more than enough) there was also something felt whenever they left the village. The looming shadow of the Akatsuki. They had been silent for the whole past year and nobody knew what they were planning. The threat of them was constant and made every shinobi be on their guard at every point during a mission. The fear their name could bring was enough to create a static shock. Whilst Naruto's name was mocked and belittled it was still taken seriously. Everyone was well aware of his strength. After Rock Lee's encounter with him and the after-effects that had, there was no one left who doubted his allegiance. Sasuke had heard Rock Lee's words. Rock Lee, the man who convinced him that there was still hope was broken. Itachi knew before Rock Lee told him that there was no hope. Amongst the group who cared about Naruto, the account that Rock Lee gave convinced all of them that the Naruto that once was, was no more. All that was left was a shell; a weapon with the sole purpose of achieving the goals of the Akatsuki. Everyone accepted this. Everyone except Hinata. She had kept her conversation with Naruto a secret for the sole reason that she doubted its reality. It was too dream-like to have been real. It was her fantasy and there was no way that could be a reality. But even so, she could not convince herself. Could not convince herself, like Kushina, Naruko, Minato, Kakashi, Itachi, Gai and Sasuke all had, that Naruto was gone. She was the only one, even if in secret, who still held hope despite the fact that she knew it was unfounded. Her desire was just too strong.

Minato sighed as he finally finished his duties for the day. Even though he had only been sitting at a desk, he found himself completely exhausted. Every single tick and cross and signature required all of his mental processing power which was just the way he liked it. Ever since that day Minato had never wanted to think clearly again. He was always searching for distractions in any place he could find them. He knew it was selfish and a horrendous thing to think but he had wished numerous times that he had never dispelled the genjutsu. This genjutsu which he had willingly bound to himself for over a decade that made him associate all thoughts to do with his son with pain, annoyance and a huge range of negative emotions. It was the biggest mistake of his life and he would do anything to change. Even so, the deed had been done and it had been done for over 13 years. He should've accepted it and kept it up. When he was under it he was at least happy. Kushina was happy. Karah was happy. Naruko was happy. All of them were happy. Apart from him. He was suffering.