It was a very beautiful day in Konohagakure. The sun wasn't too bright, but was still more than enough to bathe the whole village in her warm, vivid light. Sometimes, a light breeze swept through the air, bringing the aroma and petals of sakura blossom across the streets. An ideal weather for an outdoor picnic or hanging out at the park.
But everything was just trivial to Sakura Haruno.
Since after Naruto's departure, Sakura had buried herself in studying and training with her new master, Tsunade. And in just the time of one year, she had become the youngest qualified medic of Konohagakure during the last twenty years, and was the most promising candidate for the position of Head Medic after Tsunade retired in a few more years.
The young girl walked out of the operation room, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her blouse. The surgery today had been a very serious case; had the patient arrived at the hospital just one hour later, he would have died from blood loss.
"That's enough for today, Sakura. You can go home and get a rest."
At the corner of her eyes, she saw Tsunade coming toward her with a smile. She answered with a tired smile of her own.
"It's all right, Master... I still have more than enough energy to work until my shift ends..."
Tsunade shook her head. "I said enough is enough, Sakura. Besides, you already forgot what day today is?"
Sakura blinked, confused. And then she remembered.
"Ah! Naruto and Fuu are supposed to be home today!"
"It's been three years already, eh? I really miss my friends!"
"Heheh... but this place still hasn't changed a bit! I want ramen!"
"Seriously, you brats..."
The three figures wearing straw hats stopped in front of the gate leading into Konoha. The gatekeepers, Izumo and Kotetsu, were immediately alarmed.
"Halt! Who are you, and what reason are you going to Konoha for...? Wait... you are..."
"Seriously, you guys," the younger man among them chuckled and reached for his hat, "you can forget even someone like me?"
The hat was thrown to the sky, and he disappeared.
A pair of feet landed on top of the tallest electric pole of the market venue of Konohagakure.
"GOOD DAY, KONOHA! NARUTO UZUMAKI IS BACK!"
"Damn, I'm hungry. I really need some ramen right now."
Jiraiya, walking next to Naruto, scowled. "Seriously? Is the only thing you care about in Konoha ramen, Naruto?"
Fuu, walking next to them, raised her hand helpfully. "I want ramen too."
The Toad Sage facepalmed. "What the hell have I taught them in the last three years...?"
The three had just arrived in front of Naruto's beloved Ichiraku Ramen. The blonde jinchuriki flipped the curtain up and walked into the shop.
"Hey old man! I'm back! Hope you haven't forgotten what I like to eat!"
Teuchi looked up from the counter, and a smile immediately bloomed on his face.
"Ah! Naruto! And Fuu too! Finally back, eh?"
"Yeah!" Naruto answered enthusiastically, jumping on a stool. "Some ramen, please, old man! Anything! Three years not allowed to eat your ramen is too much for me already!"
The ramen chef laughed when Fuu and Jiraiya settled themselves on their own stools. "Of course, of course! There is no way I can forget what you like to eat! Everything will be ready in a few minutes!"
As the Ichiraku chef disappeared behind the curtain leading into the kitchen, Jiraiya took a quick glance at other people sitting in the store. The chef's daughter, Ayame, wasn't there; she must have been going out for grocery or something. But he was a bit surprised when no one else in the shop even showed any noticeable reaction upon Naruto's entering.
Hmm... so at least citizens of this village still have a head to think...
He smirked. The days in Konoha were going to be much better days for Naruto in his life...
"Sorry for the wait. Please enjoy."
"Finally! My ramen! It's finally..." Naruto said, drooling at the steaming bowl which had just been set in front of him, but then, he realized that something was wrong, "...here...?"
He looked up, and realized he was looking into a pair of red eyes.
Four pairs of eyes looked at each other in the span of exactly five seconds.
"AAAAAHHH! WHY IS ITACHI HERE?!" Naruto jumped out of his stool and screamed, pointing at Itachi Uchiha, who was standing in front of him... in a cooking apron.
The man in question only raised an eyebrow.
"So what if I'm here?" he answered as if there was nothing more obvious in this world. "I cannot work as a shinobi anymore, so what's wrong with me working here?"
"Buh... buh... but... you... Itachi... ramen... cook..."
Fuu looked at Naruto, who was gaping like a fish next to her. "I think you broke him, Itachi-san," she said.
At that moment, the curtain leading into the shop was pulled open again.
"I knew I could find you here, Naruto!"
Naruto turned to the entrance of the ramen shop, and his face brightened. "Sakura!"
The aforementioned girl grinned, and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.
"So you finished your training, eh?"
Naruto nodded while sucking in his string of noodle. "Yup! And I must warn you, I'm way stronger than before! Now I'm not scared of anyone, even Madara himself!" he boasted.
'What did I tell you about bragging, Naruto?'
Naruto scowled mentally. 'Oh come on! It's rare to have a chance like this, at least let me have a time for myself!'
Kokuoh in Naruto's head huffed. 'Fine, but don't come to me crying when something happens.'
"Oh, really?" Sakura exclaimed. Then she suddenly broke out a devious smile. "But you should prepare to be scared of us, Naruto."
"Really? Oh, you have been training with baa-chan too, right?" Naruto blinked.
Sakura smiled. "Yeah, but that's not everything. Everyone else of the Konoha 15, after you left for your training trip, also pushed themselves to surpass their own limit over and over. Right now, everyone already advanced to Chuunin, and some, like the whole Team Gai and Shikamaru, had already reached Special Jonin of their specialty! Actually Neji could have gone for full Jonin already, but he just refused the promotion again and again, saying that he needed to gather more experience first... And to be honest, I was surprised when Shikamaru decided to accept his promotion to Special Jonin, considering how lazy he is..."
Naruto's mouth formed an "O". "Wow, that's incredible! So what about you and Sasuke?"
"Oh, us?" Sakura's nose pointed to the air. "We're already Jonin."
Silence.
"WHAT?! SO NOW I'M THE LOWEST RANKING SHINOBI OF TEAM 7?"
"Yup!" Sakura said cheerfully. "And since you already returned, you'd better reach Jonin quickly, because we're not gonna wait for you to catch up to us!"
She ended her sentence with a wink. Naruto was dumbfounded for a few seconds, and then, his surprised face disappeared, replaced by a confident smile.
"Just wait for it! I will catch up to you two so soon you won't be able to realize it, believe it!"
"Yo, jiji! We're back!"
The Third Hokage raised his head from the paperwork he was doing, and smiled. "Ah, Naruto and Fuu! Welcome back! How was the training trip? Brought any baby home yet?"
From three different directions in Konoha, three "WHAT?!" of outrage echoed through the air.
The two jinchuriki turned bright red. "H-Hokage-sama! We're not like that!" Fuu exclaimed, mortified and embarrassed.
Hiruzen laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But seriously, I hope the trip was not a waste. Did you two get any stronger than before?"
"Of course!" This time, it was Naruto who answered. "We traveled across the whole Elemental Continent, learned a lot of jutsu, met a lot of cool people in all the lands, and our relationship with our Tailed Beast friends is better than ever! Now we're not afraid of anything, believe it!" he pumped his fist to emphasize.
The Hokage's eyes twinkled. "Then it's all right if I give you two a test, right?"
"Bring it on! I'm not afraid of any stupid test!" Naruto pumped his fist again. Then his face suddenly fell. "Except if it is a written test like before..."
Hiruzen chuckled. "That's something we will leave for later," he said, to Naruto's horror. "But an important ability a jonin needs to have is fighting many enemies of equal or higher skills at the same time. Therefore, the first test I will give you two would be a two-on-one battle between you and two jonin of my choice. And I assure you, they will be nothing like the opponents you have faced so far. Are you up to the challenge?"
The two jinchuriki glanced at each other, and the same confident smirked appeared on their faces.
"Of course we're always ready for any challenge, Hokage-sama!" Fuu said, punching her right palm with her left fist. The Hokage smiled, satisfied.
"Good. Then, Naruto, tomorrow at eight o'clock, you will meet me at Training Ground 7. Fuu, you will go to Training Ground 11, and we will conduct your test there. That's all for today; you can go home to rest and prepare now, or go meet your friends if you want; I'm sure they will be thrilled to meet you two after such a long time. Now, dismiss!"
"Sir!"
After Naruto and Fuu had disappeared behind the door, Hiruzen turned to Jiraiya.
"You were their master during the training trip; how strong do you estimate them to have become?"
The Toad Sage shook his head. "I think you will have to see it yourself to know, sensei. There is only one thing I can say... is that just like I told you before we left, when you look at them fighting, you won't even see the old Naruto and Fuu in them anymore."
"Karin-nee-chan, I'm home!"
A loud crash, and the girl ran out of the kitchen, and engulfed her foster brother in a big hug.
"Aaaaaahhh... it's so good to finally be outside again..." Goku stretched and yawned loudly, before throwing his body on the sofa in the living room.
No one in the room argued with the ape man on that one. Sure, Naruto's mindscape was not bad, but three years having to stay in there without even a chance to get out was just too much for anyone, human or Tailed Beast. Having a real body in the real world is just completely different, nothing else can compare. No wonder why Kurama and the other Tailed Beasts were so pissed being sealed inside jinchuriki.
"So, what did you guys do during your trip?" Karin asked when setting a glass of apple juice, the drink Naruto had taken a fondness of after travelling back in time, to the table. Naruto, of course, grabbed the glass enthusiastically and took a big gulp.
"Oh, a lot of things!" he said after putting the glass down. "We travelled across the land, searching far and wide... OW! What the hell was that for?!"
Karin calmly retracted her fist, which had just landed on Naruto's cranium. "That's for ripping off Pokémon, idiot. Now, go straight to the point."
Naruto rubbed the place where he had just been punched in annoyance. "Geez, you really don't know what a joke is... But seriously, during the trip we did go searching for a lot of things. We also managed to reach the ruins of the destroyed Uzushiogakure, you know."
Karin's mouth turned into an "O". "Really? How was it? Did you find anything there?" she asked in thrill. Naruto shrugged.
"Not much, since almost everything of the village was destroyed already, remember? But here, I managed to bring back something I think you will like."
He pulled out a sealing scroll from his weapon pouch, opened it up then unsealed the content. A very thick, very big book the size of half the table popped out of the scroll in a puff of smoke. Karin grabbed the book, and gasped.
"Uzumaki's Hidden Sealing Arts... Naruto, do you know how valuable this book is? Many sealmasters in the world have been hunting for it, including Orochimaru! How did you..."
Naruto shrugged again. "Yeah, I know. Found it in a secret room below the ruins. I really didn't want to, but Pervy Sage forced me to learn everything in it by heart, so yeah, I don't really need it much by now. You just keep it to learn, Karin-chan. And don't worry about protecting it; I've sealed it up so that only people with Uzumaki bloodline can open it, so for now, only the two of us and maybe Tsunade-baa-chan can have any use for it."
Karin stared at the book in front of her in awe. Having stayed with Orochimaru, she had heard about this incredible treasure countless times, but to be able to actually hold it on her hands...
Then remembering something, she turned to Naruto. "You said you learned it by heart? How in the world can you remember something like this," she pointed at the huge book with a trembling finger, "by heart? It's like, thousands of sealing jutsu written in here!"
Naruto just shrugged again. "Shadow Clone Jutsu, of course."
Karin facepalmed. Sure, any problem which can't be solved by one Shadow Clone can be solved by a lot of Shadow Clones, at least to this blonde brat.
Then she blinked. "Wait, that means you can use ninjutsu without your right hand? How is that possible?"
Naruto just gave her a mysterious smile. "Oh, there are still many things you haven't known about me, Karin-chan."
Right at that time, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, seriously! We've just been outside for five minutes!" Shukaku complained.
"Well, I guess it's time for us to return, eh?" Isobu yawned, and the Tailed Beasts disappeared in puffs of smoke, leaving only Karin and Naruto in the room.
"I'll take it!" Naruto jumped out of his chair and walked to the front door. He grabbed the doorknob with his left hand, twisted it open...
...and heard a loud gasp, then, his vision was covered in a mop of silky black hair.
"Yeah, I miss you too," he murmured, hugging back the girl who was crushing his ribs while crying heartily, "Hinata-chan."
After that, Naruto and Hinata were kicked out of the house by a giggling Karin, who said something about having to start reading her precious book and that the two of them "should go for a date to make up for three years not meeting each other", much to Naruto's rage and Hinata's squeaks of embarrassment.
Therefore, now they're walking in the park near the Hyuuga clan compound, hand in hand, just like a real couple. Poor Hinata was on the verge of fainting from blood rushing into her head. But that's understandable, as Naruto was also a blushing wreck at the moment.
Yeah, three years of being taught about romantic love by Jiraiya, of all people, finally managed to bash the concept of "love" into the skull thicker than a coconut of the boy. Good for him; at least now he didn't think romantic love to be the same as ramen love anymore.
Walking next to Hinata, Naruto finally had the chance to look at the girl up close. Before, even in his timeline, he could never get this close to the Hyuuga girl without her fainting or they being in a huge battle. And his blush deepened when he realized how beautiful the girl in front of him was.
Hinata wasn't someone who liked to dress up, like Ino or other girls. But even without any makeup on her face, Naruto could still feel a serene beauty coming from her. Maybe it was because of her pearly eyes, which always holds the same gentle, caring look. Or maybe it was because of the scent of lavender sent to his nose every time a breeze swept across. Or maybe it was the long, silky black hair flowing down her shoulders. Or maybe it was what even the thick, figure-hiding jacket she always wore couldn't hide, her voluptuous, D-cup...
Gah! Bad, bad Naruto! You cannot think of Hinata-chan like that!
"Aww... our Naruto-kun is growing up~" Matatabi cooed in his head.
"But seriously, is there even a man in this world not thinking of her like that?" Goku added in. "I mean, just look at her! That pair of soft, bouncy melo..."
"SHUT UUUUUUUUP!"
To stop his utter embarrassment, Naruto turned to Hinata. "H-hey, Hinata-chan! So how was it during the three years I was gone? It must be awesome, huh? Hahaha..."
Upon finishing his sentence, Naruto immediately felt like to slap himself. With him away from Konoha for three whole years, there's no way she could feel awesome about it...
...right?
'You are overestimating yourself too much there, Naruto.'
But contrary to what Naruto thought, Hinata answered him with a gentle smile.
"Mm... well... I have learnt a lot during the three years from Neji-niisan and Father, and... well... even though I am still not as good as Neji-niisan, I still managed to reach chuunin, so... I'm sure that if anything happens I won't be a helpless girl who always has to depend on you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto stared at Hinata in awe. Not only had she become more beautiful during the three years, she had also grown much, much more confident in herself. Naruto dared say that she's now anything but the doormat she had been a few years ago.
"Having a date five minutes after arriving home? You sure got bold after those three years, Naruto."
Naruto nearly jumped out of his clothes upon hearing the voice right next to his ears. "I-I-Ino!? When did you get here? And how...?!"
'Oh, maybe because you paid too much attention to your precious Hinata-chan to notice anything else about you?' Kurama snarked in his head.
"Yep, that's me!" the girl in question grinned cheekily, flashing a peace sign at him. Then she licked her lips in a naughty way. "And you look much yummier than three years ago, mmm..."
"Ino-san!" Hinata protested in a voice that could be considered half a shriek.
Ino laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, Hinata. I'm not going to steal your boyfriend..." - this part gained her another squeak of protest from the poor Hyuuga girl - "...after all, I already had one, remember?"
Naruto blinked. "Wait, you already had a boyfriend?"
"She has been dating Juugo for about two years already," Shikamaru, the one next to Ino, said. "Seriously, that guy is just unreasonably nice. I swear I can't even believe he used to work for Orochimaru..."
"So," Choji, the last member of Team 10, butted in with a bright smile, "to celebrate Naruto and Fuu coming back, let's go to my family's restaurant! We should invite everyone else, too; they're also eager to meet you two!"
Naruto laughed. "Awesome! I'm still keeping the coupons you gave me three years ago, hope they still work!"
"Of course, of course! We Akimichi BBQ always welcome you..."
"So you're finally home, Boss!"
Naruto blinked at the sudden interrupting voice. "Huh...?"
Then the whole park was covered in smoke.
"Wha... what the...?!" Naruto coughed out.
From inside the smokescreen emerged two human figures.
"Behold, the ultimate man-slaying jutsu, the most perfect, powerful form of the Sexy Art! Sexy: Girl-on-Girl Jutsu!"
The smoke cleared, and nosebleeding ensued.
Naruto facepalmed when he saw the figures of naked Hinata and Ino straddling each other in a very provocative way in front of him, with Shikamaru and Choji lying on the ground unconscious in puddles of their own blood.
"Konohamaru..."
Konohamaru gave him a smirk when the two female figures disappeared, leaving the original boy in a cloud of smoke.
"Ha ha! How about that, boss? During the time you're away from Konoha, I have developed your Sexy Jutsu into a whole secret art!"
Naruto gaped. "What?!"
"That's right!" The grandson of the Hokage pumped his fist triumphantly. "With my Sexy Arts, I can defeat virtually anyone as long as I have the time to prepare!"
"That's true, but that's not something to use on allies, little brat."
Naruto snapped his head back, and his eyes widened when he saw the one who had just spoken.
"You are... Iruka-sensei! And... crazy snake lady?!"
Anko, the owner of the voice, answered him with a cheeky grin and a wagging finger.
"Lust is one of the most basic and dangerous emotions of a human being that can be exploited in battle. It can defeat even the most powerful and experienced shinobi if used in a right way. But that's also why you cannot use that jutsu when fighting together with your allies, because it might incapacitate even your comrades while not causing any harm to your enemies, and that means you're dead. Understand that, brat?"
"Don't mind Anko, Naruto; she's always like this when it comes to her profession," Iruka chimed in with a smile. "Anyway, you seem to be way more powerful than the last time I met you, hm? Have you made good use of my present?"
"Of course I have, sensei!" Naruto pointed at his own chest with his thumb proudly. "Just wait until tomorrow; I will show you how powerful I have become after my training!"
Then Naruto noticed something else. On Anko's right ring finger and Iruka's left one lay a similar small, golden object. His eyes widened.
"You two are married?!"
Iruka scratched his head and smiled apologetically. "Yeah, after you left about a year. I'm sorry you couldn't be there for the wedding, but Anko insisted so strongly I..."
"And I was their ringbearer, Boss!" Konohamaru chimed in.
"Ah, right, Honorable Ringbearer Brat," Anko suddenly spoke up with a (too) cheerful smirk, "another lesson for you: never use the shapes of women standing right at the scene in front of you to perform your jutsu, and if you had already done that, you should have run away with all your speed right after using the jutsu."
"Huh?"
Suddenly killing intent filled the park. The sound of birds squawking in fear and flying away from the trees could be heard even from the Hokage monument. The temperature of the air abruptly dropped about twenty degrees. Konohamaru and Naruto turned their backs, only to face Ino and Hinata, who were donning the same utterly sweet smile on their faces, but the deathly aura coming off them clearly showed that there was nothing good about it.
"Sorry Konohamaru, but this is what you brought to yourself; you'll have to face it without me."
"What?!" Konohamaru could only exclaim in outrage when Naruto disappeared in a 'whoosh'. "BOSS! HOW CAN YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"
Then a few seconds later, screams could be heard echoing through Konohagakure.
"Everyone! For Naruto, for his return!"
"Here, here!"
Naruto put his saucer down on the table and wiped his mouth. "Damn, this sake is good!"
"Since when have you learnt to drink sake, Naruto?" Sakura eyed her teammate in annoyance. "You're just 16, for Kami's sake!"
Naruto just shrugged. "Blame Pervy Sage. During the three years, he forced me to learn how to drink, and for some reason I never get drunk... too much anyway. But it is still something good to heat my body up, I have to say."
Next to him, Lee said in awe. "Wow, sounds incredible, Naruto-san! I think I should try sake myself some time..."
"NO!" From the other side of the table, Tenten, Neji and Gai jumped up at the same time, terrified looks clear on their faces. Everyone laughed, while Lee shot an annoyed glare at his teammates.
Finally, Naruto wiped his eyes and sighed. "It's so great to be home, sitting next to everyone like this... but where is Sasuke anyway? I haven't seen him for a whole day..."
"Sasuke-kun is going on a mission, but he's set to be back tonight," Sakura answered him. "Just wait until tomorrow, ne? He also wants to see you a lot, you know."
Naruto closed his eyes. He didn't want to admit it, but the truth is, he had been waiting for this day for a long time. Even after Sasuke and everyone else told him that he didn't have anything to worry about them... oh, hell, how could he not worry? Three years had gone in a flash, and now he's home, but the most important person in his life, the friend he did everything to redeem and bring back during his timeline wasn't...
"So how were you guys during the last three years?" he picked a well-done slice of beef from the grill up and changed the subject.
"We trained," Neji said simply, to the disappointment of both Naruto and Fuu. Everyone else facepalmed.
"Surely that's not everything you did during those three years, isn't it?" Fuu asked. "I heard your team all reached Special Jonin, so you must have done a lot of awesome missions and things, right?"
"Actually, we did have our things to do during that time," Ino nodded, taking a big gulp from her glass of juice. "Remember before you left, Hokage-sama declared that he's taking a group of ANBU named ROOT into the force? Well, turned out they're actually real, and the Yamanaka clan had taken the mission to rehabilitate those ROOT guys. It's horrible; working with them was just like working with a pile of rocks! They don't even seem to have a tiny bit of emotion! Such a shame; some of them are so handsome..." she complained loudly while placing her glass on the table, a little bit more forcefully than necessary.
"Are you really saying that in front of your own boyfriend?" Karin deadpanned.
Juugo raised his hand. "I don't actually mind, though."
Karin facepalmed. "You will lose your girlfriend for sure if you continue with that carefree attitude, Juugo..."
"We also had a lot of interesting missions when you were away," Tenten chimed in. She pulled out something cylindrical-shaped from her pouch. "And from one of those missions I managed to retrieve this from a shinobi of Rain," a blade made of golden chakra flared up from the tip of the object, "the famous Sword of the Thunder God, made by the Second Hokage himself, lost years ago. It's basically a treasure of Konoha, but Hokage-sama allowed me to keep it, as he said, I was the one who's the most suitable for it..." she ended with a creepy giggle.
Then suddenly she shuddered. "But seriously, can anyone think that the crazy head interrogator has a little brother?! And holy shit, I didn't even think there could be someone who's crazy AND lucky enough to follow Gai-sensei and Lee's training method and become as fast as them..."
Ignoring Gai and Lee's "HEY!", Kiba started boasting. "Heh! But you guys didn't have the honor of escorting a princess like us! And who knows a princess could be a famous actress also, eh?" he glanced at his teammates, and Hinata giggled softly, while Shino was still calm and stoic as always.
"Ooh, a princess, huh?" Fuu's eyes widened.
"Yeah!" Kiba pumped his fist. "We were the heroes who saved the whole Land of Snow from the hands of a tyrant! How does that sound, huh?"
"Sounds like a fairy tale to me," Shikamaru, sitting at the other side of the table, snarked.
"HEY! FUCK YOU SHIKAMARU!"
Naruto fondly looked at his friends. What they had just mentioned were all missions he had done during his past. The difference is, this time, it was his friends who completed them instead of him.
Once again, he was reminded that this time he was not the only hero.
"So, what did you three do during the trip, Naruto?" This time, it was Kakashi who raised his voice. "Apart from becoming a few inches taller. And having muscles," he waved his hand at Fuu.
Naruto smiled. "Oh, we did a lot of things, you know. Outside of training, we also went around the continent, visited the Hidden Villages and their jinchuriki, and warned them about the Akatsuki threat. We also helped the Mist bringing back their jinchuriki... his name is Utakata, I think... although the Stone wasn't very happy when seeing us, but meh, at least they didn't chase us out right after we entered the village anyway."
Choji took a slice of beef from the grill and swallowed it in one bite. "So you met other people like you, mm? What kind of people are they?"
"Oh, they're mostly decent people," Fuu answered for Naruto, while grabbing a slice for herself. "As long as no one tries to bring harm to them or to their village, B-san and Yugito-san are cool, although they're usually a bit...weird, especially B-san with his enka streak... and Utakata-san is mostly very nice, but in no way should you try to mess with them... I still remember that time with the girl in the Tsuchigumo clan..." she shuddered.
"I think I remember that one," Tenten noted. "Is that the incident when someone tried to unleash a kinjutsu with the power to nuke out a whole Great Village in one blast?"
Fuu nodded. "That's the one. It happened when we went to search for Utakata-san by Kirigakure's request..."
"Anyway, we managed to convince most of the missing jinchuriki to go back to their own villages," Naruto concluded. "Although Roshi wasn't very happy when we told him that he had to go back to Iwa, at least now he has a village to protect him when the Akatsuki goes for him... And we couldn't find the Three-Tails anywhere; Pervy Sage guessed he might not have reappeared yet after that civil war in Kiri, but Kiri promised us they would find him as soon as he finished reforming, of course in a civil way..."
"That's a sound strategy," Shikamaru commented. "If what you said and what we heard from Itachi about the Akatsuki was true, then we will need more than just the power of a single village or a single jinchuriki to defeat them. Hokage-sama also mentioned this during the Kage summit right after you three left the village. But to think you could actually track down all the missing jinchuriki around the whole continent when you had all the training to do..."
"Actually, searching for the jinchuriki is also a part of their training," Jiraiya, who hadn't said anything for a while, chuckled. "In order to find them, we had to gather information from a lot of different sources. That alone managed to give them a lot of training in tracking and information gathering skills, and also when meeting the other jinchuriki, they also learned a lot of things from them, from fighting skills to ability to control the power of their Tailed Beasts. Suffice to say, they could grow up like they did today thanks to the meeting with those jinchuriki."
"Wow, that must mean you are now vastly more powerful than even before! Naruto-san! Fuu-san too! I want to spar with you two as soon as possible!" Lee pumped his fist enthusiastically, flipping his bowl upside down into the grill in process as Fuu and Naruto chuckled nervously.
"Leave sparring for later you guys!" Kiba butted in. "Choji is hogging all of the meat for himself! If you don't eat now there won't be anything else!"
Everyone turned back, and saw the Akimichi holding the last piece of meat above his mouth with his chopsticks.
"AAAAAHH! CHOJI, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO INVITED US HERE AND NOW YOU'RE EATING EVERYTHING LIKE THAT?!"
"THE LAST BITE IS THE MOST SACRED! LIKE HELL I'M LETTING ANYONE OF YOU GET IT!"
While the young shinobi were bickering loudly with each other, Asuma turned toward Jiraiya.
"You do realize that this will piss the Akatsuki off, do you Jiraiya-sama?"
"How so?" Kurenai, sitting next to him, blinked in confusion. But instead of Asuma, Tsunade answered.
"The fact that Jiraiya and the kids could track down the missing jinchuriki means providing time and effort, anyone else could have done it. And jinchuriki are usually despised by citizens of hidden villages, as you already saw how Naruto and Fuu used to be. Therefore, if there were anything happening to them, they wouldn't be able to expect any assistance, especially ones who were missing-nin of a village. It means had it not been for Jiraiya and the kids' intervention, the Akatsuki would have been in perfect position to capture at least 3 of the jinchuriki, and the Sanbi also, since only Kumo, us, and recently Suna still have their jinchuriki under protection."
"Yeah," Asuma agreed. "And that would lead them into a big problem, because now every jinchuriki is under the protection of a Great Village. That might lead to them trying reckless things... like attacking a Great Village to kidnap their jinchuriki. That will definitely lead to the Fourth Shinobi World War... much earlier than we have expected, maybe."
"That's true, but I don't think we should worry about that too much for now."
Everyone turned to look at Jiraiya, who had just set his saucer down on the table with a loud "clack". His eyes was glimmering a proud and confident twinkle.
"We already thought of that problem, and had figured out a solution for it. And anyway, after three years with those two brats, I'm sure that the Akatsuki won't be able to get them easily even if they throw in all their force. Explaining is hard; you have to see their test tomorrow to understand."
"Report, Zetsu."
The plant man sprouted up from the ground. The black half's mouth twisted open in a creepy way, showing its black, pointy "teeth".
"Naruto Uzumaki and Fuu have just returned to Konohagakure this morning. Also, Han of the Steam has been registered back to Iwagakure's shinobi force. Now it seems all the jinchuriki have been in protection of their respective village. And the villages themselves have also tightened their security. There is little chance we can slip into one of the Great Villages without being noticed."
Silence filled the air of the meeting chamber for a while. Then, Pain asked.
"What about the Three-Tails?"
"Still no sign of it. But we think it is possible to find where it will reappear. It should be in a lake at the border of Kirigakure."
"I told you we should have captured the Five-Tails before it managed to go back to Iwa, or at least after it parted way with the Nine-Tails and its friends, yeah? But no, you just didn't listen..." Deidara complained. "Now we had to move the base out of Amegakure to the middle of nowhere like this. And there's no way that old coot would let it out of his sight again, yeah..."
"Everything happened because of Itachi's betrayal," Kisame, the usually calmest member of the Akatsuki, growled in a dark tone. Two of the things he hated the most in his life were liars and traitors.
Which was ironic, considering he was the one who had backstabbed even his trusted comrades without a blink of an eye when he was still in Kirigakure.
And even though Itachi was the closest one to a... well... brother in the Akatsuki, he still couldn't forgive him for what he had done. To him, right now, Itachi was just an enemy, like any other enemy in this shinobi world who needed to be destroyed.
"...in this case we might have to resort to an all out war if we want to capture the jinchuriki," Black Zetsu was talking.
"We don't have the manpower to actually cause a Shinobi World War," Sasori pointed out. "Even gathering enough people to sync with the Gedo Mazo, we couldn't do. If we want to go to war, we need at least more people first."
"You don't have to worry about manpower."
Every eye turned towards Tobi, who had just spoken those words.
"I have been preparing during the last three years," the masked man said under his mask. "Now, we have at least one hundred thousands troops in dispose. Although they are quite weak, they can still overwhelm an army in number if necessary."
"One hundred thousands?!" Deidara exclaimed in astonishment. "Where the hell did you get so many soldiers, yeah? That's like, twice the population of Iwagakure, including the civilians, yeah!"
"I have my own source," Tobi just answered idly. "Now, if you want to attack, we can declare a total war on the whole Elemental Continent..."
"No."
Now everyone turned back to Pain, who had just declared.
"It's not the time for a total war yet," the Rinnegan holder said. "However, you are right about one thing: it's now time for the Akatsuki to make a move. Tobi, with that source of yours, can you recruit anymore troops?"
Tobi's Sharingan twinkled under his mask. "Of course I can."
"Good," Pain nodded. "Then Deidara, Kisame, Sasori, get ready to move out. Take ten thousand troops from Tobi with you."
"Isn't that kinda overkill?" Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Even if they're protected in villages, if you want to capture a jinchuriki, aren't two of us already enough?"
"The fact they recalled the jinchuriki means the villages are ready for a war with us," Pain answered in a deathly cold voice. "Then so be it. If they want a war, we will give them a war. They will understand what true pain is."
"Hokage-sama, I have returned. Here is the report for the mission."
Hiruzen smiled and took the scroll from the hand of the newcomer. "Ah, very well done. I will send you the reward for this mission tomorrow morning. For now, you should go home and have a rest. After all, you will need your best for your most important mission tomorrow."
On the face of the shinobi grew an excited smile. "He's home?!"
"It's so great to finally be able to be with you guys like this again."
Naruto exhaled in happiness while walking on the street next to his friends. Jiraiya, Tsunade and the jonin had gone home before them, and Sakura, Neji, Lee, Tenten and Shikamaru had also left, saying that they had things to prepare for. Naruto couldn't blame them; after all, they had way more work to do now than a chuunin like Naruto.
Therefore, now there were only Karin, Hinata, Fuu, Ino, Kiba, Shino and Naruto himself on their way back home after leaving Akimichi BBQ.
The group had reached the intersection leading back to Ino, Kiba and Shino's clan compounds.
"So, see you guys later! Good luck on your test tomorrow, Naruto, Fuu!" Ino waved at the group before disappearing into her house. Kiba and Shino had also left to get back to their own homes.
"So... I think I have to go home now too... you know, to prepare for tomorrow," Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. Hinata smiled.
"It's fine Naruto-kun. You don't have to take me and Fuu-san back home; after all, the Hyuuga clan ground and Fuu-san's apartment are both at the other side, mm?"
"Yeah, Naru-kun! Remember that I've just been back from training with you; I won't let anyone hurt Hina-chan, believe it!" Fuu also said enthusiastically. Karin facepalmed.
"Seriously, Fuu; of everything you could have learnt from Naruto, you learned that stupid verbal tic?"
"Hey, don't diss the..."
In the middle of his sentence, Naruto suddenly jerked his head up, and he immediately moved his left hand in an upward motion. Two kunai appeared in midair and shot forward in a blinding speed, impaling the two birds of prey made of ink, which were flying toward the group blending into the darkness of the night with clear intention of harming, destroying them with the utmost precision.
Naruto pointed his finger at a seemingly random direction.
"I have sensed you since we stepped foot into this street. I was just going to wait until Hinata-chan and Fuu-chan went home to confront you, but since you declared attack first, I guess I have to pull you out of your hiding place a little bit sooner. Show yourself!"
Instead of coming out like Naruto said, six other tigers made of ink appeared and rushed the group from all directions. Naruto's eyes narrowed, his left hand twitched again, ready for another Projection...
But before he could do anything, Hinata had appeared in front of him, her Byakugan flaring up, ready for action. And with exactly six quick and accurate Divine Shooters, the tigers became six puddles of ink on the ground.
Hinata looked back at Naruto with a smile. Naruto grinned back at her, then disappeared from her view.
Did he just... teleport... no, he's just that fast!
The shinobi who had just attacked was completely taken aback when Naruto suddenly appeared behind him in a gust of speed. But he wasn't an amateur either; he raised his arms up immediately to block, and Naruto's kick landed on his forearms, but was only enough to send him flying away from his hiding spot. He landed on the street, unharmed.
The girls behind him rushed in, but the shinobi raised his voice. "Please stop. I mean no harm."
"You've just attacked us," Naruto pointed out. The shinobi answered him with a fake smile under his mask.
"I'm really sorry for attacking you without warning. The truth is, Lord Hokage has assigned me with the duty of protecting you in the village, Naruto-kun, and I just want to see how good you are against a sudden attack."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "So you are an ANBU? Then remove your mask and let me see your face, because I know all the ANBU in the village, and I'm sure I've never seen you before."
That was just a bluff, but the masked shinobi nodded. "Ah, yes, Lord Hokage also told me about this."
Then reaching towards his face, he removed his mask.
"The codename I was given for this mission is Sai," he gave Naruto another fake smile, and reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun."
"You can't be seri..." Karin raised her voice angrily, but stopped abruptly when Naruto readily took the shinobi's hand with a smile.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I'll see you later."
With that, the ANBU member disappeared in a swirl of leaf.
"What was that for, Naru-kun? You could have gone for him before he ran away!" Fuu complained, but Naruto just smiled at her.
"He won't be able to do anything to me. And I know what he said was true, so don't worry, Fuu-chan."
He didn't see Karin and Hinata looking at the spot Sai had just disappeared from with the same wary eyes.
Gaara put down his pen and let out a deep sigh. The job of a Kage was definitely hard: paperwork after paperwork continuously piled up on his desk everyday, seemingly endless, not leaving him even a few hours to rest...
But Gaara loved it. This job finally gave him a purpose, a reason to live instead of mindless killing, and he felt it was his opportunity to redeem himself of everything terrible he had done in the past. Not to mention, a Kage was someone who was trusted and recognized by people; being the Kazekage meant he was finally seen not as Shukaku the murderous Tailed Beast, but Gaara of the Sand, a true shinobi of Sunagakure.
The young Kazekage stood up and walked to the window. The moon was so bright, showing that the next day would be a sunny day. Well, that was a fact; rarely was there rain in the desert anyway...
Right at that time...
"Hmm?"
Gaara's eyes suddenly hardened. With a very quick movement of his hand, the robe he was wearing flew out of his body, leaving him in his battle attire, ready for action. He barked into thin air.
"Call Kankuro, Temari and Baki here immediately. And alert the whole village to prepare for a large scale battle. We are being invaded."
"Alright, so who are going to be my opponents today?" Naruto walked into Training Ground 7 with a boisterous laugh.
The Hokage, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and other people turned towards the blonde jinchuriki. Naruto noted that Kiba, Shino, Karin, Juugo and the members of Team Gai weren't in the training ground. They must have been watching Fuu's test, which was happening at the same time.
"Ah, Naruto, you are here," Hiruzen smiled. "So, I think we can start the test now, huh? Are you ready?"
"Hah! Of course I'm always ready!" Naruto answered, confidence was clearly visible in his face. He punched the palm of his left hand with his mechanical right hand. "I will take on anyone you throw at me! But who would be those people anyway?"
"That would be us."
From the group of jonin watching, two figures stepped out. And Naruto's eyes widened when he realized who they were.
"Sakura?! And... Sasuke?!"