Appearing from nowhere, Naruto looked around with calm eyes. Judging by the huge trees he saw in the surroundings, he was certainly in the Land of Fire. At least he hadn't gone in the wrong direction.
'Now...how should i act?' thought Naruto before heading north, where he could sense a large number of people 'If I just go to Konoha and then kill everyone, it could be a problem. I don't think they can defeat me, but they managed to enslave the Shinigami of this world, so they might have some tricks up their sleeve that I still don't know.'
'There is also the problem of knowing how to recognize people who have been brought back to life. It is not certain that their souls are different in appearance.' said Kurama with his deep voice, the same he had when we was still a Bijuu 'I would suggest taking a brief inspection tour to get an idea of what we have to face.'
'Good idea, but first...' concentrating, Naruto used his chakra for the first time and within seconds he was engulfed in an explosion of white smoke. Once dissipated, an old man with a long gray beard was in his place.
'Are you going to use your appearance as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto?'
'Yes, I'm a new face to them. If I were to present myself with my true appearance, the end of the world would be unleashed. Also with you still hidden in my walking stick, it is better to use my old appearance.' explained Naruto while walking like an old man, his eyes almost completely closed.
'Can't argue with that.' nodded Kurama before adding 'Also, kit...'
'Yes, we've company.'
From the trees around him suddenly appeared several men dressed in dark clothes, but all different from each other. With a quick glance, Naruto understood that they were a group of missing nin, since all of them had a headband with a line engraved above the symbol of their former village. Instinctively, his mind reminded him of two missing nin in particular, who had died years before during his first real mission as a ninja of Konoha.
'I wonder where the circle of rebirth brought them...'
"Hey, old man!" said one of the missing nin, taking a step forward "This area belongs to us! If you want to pass you have to pay a fee!"
While the other men laughed as if they had just heard something funny, Naruto could only sigh "Yare yare...today's children are truly disrespectful." some of the ninja growled for comment but then Naruto slowly opened one eye "I think a punishment is a must."
None of them understood what had happened, but in a single instant, they all found themselves on their knees, crushed by a monstrous pressure. Most of them also had tears in their eyes, foam coming out of their mouths and a dark patch between their trousers, however Naruto ignored them all, concentrating only on the man who had spoken, who was watching him with eyes full of terror.
"My task has no time limit." said Naruto with his usual calm voice "However, I don't have the patience to teach infants like you how to breathe."
The missing nin in front of him felt bile go up his throat. How was it possible? The man in front of him had done nothing, yet he had reduced them to that state! He was once a ninja from Kumo, he had felt the negative aura of the Hachibi, yet it was nothing compared to what he is feeling now!
"However, before you faint, tell me...in what direction is Konoha?" asked Naruto leaning forward slowly.
The former ninja of Kumo barely managed to move a trembling arm, pointing behind his own shoulder.
"Thank you." and with that Naruto lifted his spiritual pressure, letting all the ninjas faint around him.
'You haven't lost your touch I see.'
'It is now a part of me, and I still have to understand how many years have passed since my death. If I'm right, now I have thousands of years of experience over them.'
A loud laugh echoed in his mind 'It will be the first and only time I will say this, but right now I would like Uchiha Madara to be still alive just to see you reduce him to ashes!'
Continuing to walk with his eyes seemingly closed, Naruto grinned 'I'll take that as a compliment.'
§ - § - § - § - §
FLAMES OF DUTY
Chapter Two: Eight Years
§ - § - § - § - §
'Well, it seems that Konoha has grown a lot.' thought Naruto while staring at the second ring of walls of the shinobi village. Apparently, during his years of absence, Konoha had also expanded geographically and now occupied much more space than before, so much that outside the original walls they had built other houses and then another circle of walls. He could still see the Hokage Mountain, which now consisted of five heads, but was definitely farther away.
Ignoring Kyuubi's comment that the former Hokages had built a large village to compensate with something else, Naruto started toward the big gate in front of him, and after a few minutes, he saw two familiar faces to him.
'Those two...?' Naruto wondered looking at Kotetsu and Izumo, both near the entrance 'I have the impression that not much time has passed since my death...that, or these two haven't yet risen in rank.'
"Halt! State your business!" said Kotetsu raising one hand to stop Naruto.
Sighing to himself, Naruto approached them with the speed of an elder "I'd like to come in and spend a couple of days in Konoha. Many years have passed since I last stayed here and I would like to see what has changed."
Izumo smiled at him "Well then you will surely be surprised! Konoha has made enormous progress in recent years!"
"I can see that. Last time I was here, there were only three faces on that mountain." lied Naruto but he had to give the impression of being very old, in order to avoid problems.
"You've been here a few years ago! We weren't even in service at the time!" noted Kotetsu with surprised eyes.
'Even if they had been on duty, they would still be guarding this gate...' Naruto could only agree with the fox.
After a few minutes, he was given a temporary pass and so Naruto could finally enter Konoha after years of absence. The first things he saw didn't impress him as much, after all he was still in the part called 'New Konoha', but compared to the beauty of the Soul Society, his old village was definitely not impressive. However, as he walked along the streets so full of life, he noticed how the population had increased a lot.
'Do you think these people were brought back to life?'
'Hard to say. Even with our abilities, I can't tell if these people have always been alive or not...' said Kurama but, after a moment, he growled 'No, now I'm sure of it, we can't recognize them...'
'How did you get it?'
'Uchiha...'
Surprised by that word, Naruto looked around and, not far away, saw a small family of three, all with dark eyes and hair 'Are those...?'
'Yes, they are Uchiha, I can feel it...and last time I checked, your teammate's older brother had exterminated the entire clan.' growled Kurama, wishing to tear them apart. Despite all the years spent as Ryūjin Jakka, his hatred of that clan had not yet vanished.
'Which means that my father brought the whole clan back to life, probably Sasuke too.'
'Great! Just great! Now we have the whole clan to kill! Not that I'm complaining, but they are definitely a pain in the ass! Next thing you will tell me that also the Senju are back!'
"Ah Senju-san, welcome back!" said a shopkeeper next to them, welcoming two people who had the Senju clan symbol on their clothes.
'…'
'...damn my big mouth...'
'It seems like it will be a long job if we want to do it properly.' thought Naruto with a sigh before walking toward the original walls. He had to see his old village, the real one, to understand how much it had really changed. Once he arrived at the gate, he only had to show his pass in order to enter and, finally, he was able to see the place where he had grown up when he was still known as Uzumaki Naruto.
'It's almost time for lunch, I might as well go eat.' thought Naruto before walking toward his once favorite ramen stand which, much to his surprise, had expanded his business and was now a huge restaurant. The aroma in the air was unmistakable, so he entered through the front door, making a little bell ring, attracting the attention of a maid.
The young woman approached him with a smile "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! Do you want a table or you wish to order to take away?"
'So they hired staff. I wonder if Ayame still works here.' thought Naruto before nodding at her "A table for one, thank you."
"Of course! This way please!" after taking a menu, the waitress accompanied him to a small table before giving him time to decide what to order.
After sitting down, Naruto glanced around and noted with pleasure that the restaurant was full of customers. Despite his mission and the discovery that his previous life had simply been a lie for an ultimate purpose, Naruto had no grudge against that small family that had fed him, many times for free, for most of his life. However, at a table nearby, Naruto saw something that surprised him and, for the first time, he felt a small note of regret at having to do his duty.
Currently sitting at a table for four, there was one Umino Iruka, his old teacher at the academy, and he was not alone. Sitting by his side was a purple-haired woman whom Naruto recognized as Mitarashi Anko, the kunoichi he had seen during the Chūnin Exams, while in front of them there were two older people than them, and the man looked a lot like Iruka.
'They must be his parents. As far as I can remember, they died the night you were released from my mother.'
'Your father certainly didn't hold back...if what I see is true, there will be hundreds of people to kill before it's all over.' said Kurama before adding 'However I think that first we should talk to the Shinigami of this world, maybe we could prevent it from being summoned.'
'Possible, but first it will be better to look around. From what I see Iruka has not aged much. The only way I can be certain is to meet someone from my old class.' and so, after ordering several bowls of ramen and paying them with the money he had stolen from the missing nin, Naruto left the restaurant, heading for the academy.
Looking around, Naruto noticed how the shinobi were more numerous in this part of the village but he didn't care too much, preferring to keep his eyes set for any familiar faces, which happened a few minutes later when he saw a trio of ninja walking in the opposite direction to his, all three with green vests on top of their clothes.
'Well, it looks like they all became Chūnin, even if the lazy one has Jonin's vest...his intelligence must have helped him a lot.' thought Naruto looking at Team Ten as they walked while talking among each other. A brief flash of his past brought him back to that stage where he had been executed and, in the crowd in front of him, he saw the faces of Shikamaru and Ino intent on observing him with a mixture of emotions on their faces.
Shaking his head, Naruto kept walking until he was in front of the academy but saw no one noteworthy, the students were still in classrooms 'Judging by the appearance of the others, I would say that about ten years have passed since I died. Konohamaru and the others are probably no longer students.'
'We can't just walk around and hope to discover something. I would advise you to go to the library, the history texts should be accessible to everyone.'
Naruto nodded, he had already considered the idea of relying on written texts, but he still wanted to look around before resorting to that solution. Closing his eyes to concentrate, and making sure no one was following him, Naruto vanished with his Shumpo, appearing moments later in an alley near the library.
Going out into the street like a normal person, he entered the big building stopping in front of the main counter, where a ninja greeted him "Good afternoon, may I help you?"
"Yes, could you point me towards the section with historical texts? I would like to consult some books about the latest events here in Konoha." asked Naruto still pretending to be a frail old man and not at all dangerous.
"But of course, please follow me." the ninja walked behind the counter before going between two huge shelves, pointing to a series of books "These texts cover the entire history of Konoha from its foundation to the present, but for what you have requested, these two will suffice." he picked up two books, one with the Konoha symbol on the cover and the other with the symbol of the Land of Fire "The first covers all events from the return of the Yondaime Hokage to the present, many of his miracles are also indicated, while the other covers the same historical period but is not limited only to Konoha, but to the entire Land of Fire, they are still events that are born of the actions of our ninja."
Naruto thanked him before taking the two books and going to sit at an empty table. Opening the first book, he began to read it for a few hours, before moving on to the second, skipping several chapters that he was not interested in. In the end, the sun was almost set and Naruto rubbed his eyes, trying to ignore the headache that was coming.
'This is going to be a long task.'
'You can say that, kit...the list of targets is longer than expected.'
Apparently, the day after his death, Namikaze Minato and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, had returned from the 'grave'. The Yondaime had been welcomed as a hero by the population and had resumed his duties as Hokage, leaving Tsunade to run the hospital. In the days to come, Minato had explained that he had to remain hidden in order to regain his strength and to learn to control his new power, the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto was particularly upset to find that his father, despite being a Jinchuuriki like him, was treated like a god.
The surprises didn't end there because even the Sandaime Hokage had returned from the grave, shocking everyone (or at least all those who didn't know of the plan of Minato) explaining that he had only staged his death against Orochimaru so that he could better recover his strength. The shock was only increased when the old leader returned as young as when he first became Hokage, again thanks to Minato. Both Naruto and Kurama had speculated that, with some special seal, Minato had discovered some ways to make people rejuvenate, and that the Sandaime had not actually summoned the Shinigami in his fight with Orochimaru but had used some trick provided by Minato.
The surprises for Konoha, and for all their allies and enemies, were not yet over because Minato had revealed, during an important speech, that he could bring the dead back to life, having managed to control the Shinigami and his powers. After a public demonstration, Minato had achieved the status of messiah in the eyes of Konoha. The following months had been a succession of building new homes and resurrecting people or making them rejuvenate.
The entire Uzumaki clan, as well as the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan had been revived, including the first two Hokage and Uzumaki Mito. From what Naruto had discovered, there had been disagreements between Minato and some groups of people brought back to life but, after seeing the pros and cons of his actions, the Yondaime had been forgiven by receiving Senju Hashirama's blessing. On a side note, Uchiha Itachi had returned to Konoha after being forgiven of his crime and was now the current head of the Uchiha clan.
The rest of the chapters were a succession of the legendary exploits of Minato, including bringing Orochimaru back to their side, stopping a legendary demon in the Land of Demons and making the Nadeshiko Village their ally; some marriages to solidify the alliance with allied villages and things like that. Not even a negative note on all those pages. Naruto had imagined that it was a civilian who wrote those books.
'We've basically three whole clans, my father and all the other people he brought back to life.'
'I was thinking, what do we do about the new generation? From what we have discovered, eight years have passed since you died and during that time, the people brought back to life have also had the opportunity to procreate.' said Kurama pointing to one of the main problems with their task.
'We leave them alone. Even if they were born of people with fake souls, they are living beings born thanks to the circle of souls. Killing them would be just an injustice.' replied Naruto without missing a beat 'Now we know what happened during my absence and how many targets we have. We just have to contact the Shinigami of this world and see if we can do something to prevent him from being summoned, so as to solve the problem at the source.'
'I guess we have no other choice. How are you going to contact him?'
'I don't know. It is possible that the technique to evoke him is preserved in the Scroll of Seals, but trying to break into the Hokage Tower to get it would attract too much attention, I also imagine that, after the theft on my part eight years ago, they reinforced security.' thought Naruto before using his Shumpo to disappear once he made sure he was alone in the alley next to the library.
Much to Kurama's confusion, Naruto reappeared in the middle of a clearing near of some trees with a path nearby. In front of him, a few feet away, there were two objects. The first was a kind of monument in the shape of a kunai, completely black, on which names were engraved. Kurama knew that it was the Memorial Stone, but it was the second object that caught his attention: a half-body statue made of white marble depicting Naruto.
'Apparently my father commissioned this monument to remind everyone that I was a hero for keeping you at bay for twelve years, since my birth.' said Naruto walking toward the monument before staring at it and the flowers at the base for a long moment 'Looks like someone brought flowers recently.'
Kurama wanted to try to distract him from the thoughts that were going through his mind, but the sound of steps caught their attention and, turning around, Naruto had to control himself to avoid showing the emotions on his face.
"Good evening, I've never seen you around here." said Uzumaki Kushina with a smile and a bouquet of orange flowers in hand "Are you here to remember someone who is no longer there?"
"You...can say that..." nodded Naruto after a moment before turning again to look at the monument.
Kushina joined him before depositing the flowers under his statue "You know...he was my son...yet I have never been by his side except for a few minutes."
Naruto watched her for a moment 'Why is she telling me this?' before saying "This is nothing new. Many mothers lose their lives during childbirth, others lose their children."
The woman nodded with a bitter smile "Yes, I know...unfortunately we didn't have this luck, neither he nor I." she looked at the old man at her side "I am one of the many people brought back to life by Minato, yet I never managed to hold my child in my arms."
Naruto raised an eyebrow slightly "So why not bring him back to life?"
Kushina chuckled, but Naruto noticed how that chuckle was empty of emotions "He can't. There was a special seal on his body, a seal of the Shinigami. Those who have it cannot be brought back to life."
'Ah...this explains why I haven't met a possible clone of mine yet.' thought Naruto while staring at his own mother, who was unaware of his true identity 'She is one of my targets, she will die anyway in one way or another. I could kill her now, with a sword blow...but my father would bring her back to life and I'd be at the starting point.'
"Mom! I'm hungry! Can we go?" shouted a female voice from behind them and, looking in that direction, Naruto found himself for the second time having to control his emotions because two girls were running towards them, both about sixteen years old. The first was a carbon-copy of his mother, while the second was practically the same as Naruto when, in the past, he used his Oiroke no Jutsu. That detail was particularly disturbing.
"Naruko, can't you see I'm praying for your brother? You should do the same, you know?" said his mother looking at blonde girl who merely pouted before pointing at the flowers at the base of the statue.
"Can't you see those flowers? Who do you think brought them today?"
"I can confirm her story mom." said the other girl with a calm voice "Immediately after training with our sensei we went to buy some flowers and brought them here."
Kushina smiled at them "Is that so, Miwako? Then I'd say we can go eat. You go ahead, I'll join you soon."
The two girls nodded before leaving while Kushina turned again to Naruto "Those were my daughters, in a way they help me fill the void that remained after my son's death."
"I see..." Naruto stared at their retreating form for a moment before walking away "It's time for me to go. It was a pleasure to speak with you."
"The pleasure was mine." said Kushina before looking at the statue of her son. After a whole minute passed in silence, she bowed and then left, going after her daughters.
Not far away, Naruto was walking with no apparent destination and Kurama chose that particular moment to make himself heard 'So you don't just have to kill your parents, but you also have to make your sisters orphan. This task is becoming more and more pleasant...'
'This will not stop me. It is my duty as the former Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 to ensure that the flow of souls is not put at risk.' thought Naruto with a sigh 'I just hope my father has no other surprise in store for me.'
'It is always a possibility with your father. His mind is so sharp and full of ideas that it reminds me of Aizen. What will you do now?'
'The only thing we need to know is how to get in touch with the Shinigami. Asking around would seem too suspicious, so I'm going to ask an old friend if he knows anything about it.' and with a Shumpo, Naruto was gone.
[The next day – Suna]
'So this is how the Hueco Mundo would be without its eternal night.' thought Naruto while walking toward the 'gate' of Suna, which was simply a space between two rock walls, blocked at least by a door. Once reached, he had to go through the same procedure as Konoha, thus obtaining a temporary pass.
Walking through the streets of Suna, he realized how completely different the situation was from Konoha. The difference between the two villages was practically the same as that between the Rukongai and the Seireitei in the Soul Society.
'That's strange...Suna and Konoha should be allies, so why does this place only show signs of decay and poverty?'
'We'll probably find out when we can talk to Gaara, though I don't think he can tell us anything about Shinigami or the technique used by Minato.' said Kurama with a bored voice.
'It's still worth a try. In any case it will be nice to see an old friend again, especially now that he has become Kazekage.' replied Naruto before reaching the Kazekage Tower. Entering the building, he approached what was supposed to be a secretary. The young girl, noticing him only after a few seconds, hastened to greet him.
"G-Good morning! How may I help you?"
"I wanted to know if it was possible to talk to the Kazekage." said Naruto with a polite tone "It's about something important."
The girl seemed surprised by his request but still looked at an agenda "The Kazekage would be free at this time, however I must first ask if he is available to meet you. Can I have a name, so as to tell him who asks to meet him?"
"Just tell him that an old friend is back from the grave. He'll probably understand." said Naruto with a little grin confusing the secretary. After squaring him for a moment, the secretary pressed the button of an intercom on her desk.
"Kazekage-sama? There is a person here who wish to meet you. He says..." she looked at Naruto who was still grinning "That he is a friend who has returned from the grave."
After a few seconds of silence, Gaara's voice was heard from the intercom "Send him in."
Naruto thanked the secretary before walking towards Gaara's office and, once in front of the door, knocked three times. Hearing a "Come in", he opened the door and entered, immediately noticing that they were not alone in there. Apart from Gaara and two hidden presences, which Naruto suggested were ANBU, there was also a young brown-haired woman with a small child in her arms who had the same hair as Gaara.
"So not only did you become Kazekage, but now you also have a family. My compliments Gaara, you got what I always dreamed of as a child." said Naruto with a smile, ignoring the suspicious look of his old friend.
"Who are you?" asked Gaara staring at the old man in front of him while sand rose from behind him to protect the woman with the child and the two ANBU were ready to attack the stranger.
"Your words hurt me Gaara..." said Naruto before being swallowed by an explosion of white smoke. Gaara and the two ANBU prepared for a possible fight, but when the smoke cleared, they remained frozen on the spot, staring with incredulous eyes at the blond young man who had appeared before them.
Naruto smiled again at Gaara "It's been a long time, my friend."
"N-Naruto...?"
"In the flesh." nodded Naruto still smiling.
"But...but that's not possible...you were executed eight years ago and your body was completely reduced to ashes." said Gaara in an insecure voice, even though he was hoping with all his heart that the person in front of him was really Naruto.
"It's true, but nothing can stop the most unpredictable ninja in Konoha, not even death." said Naruto with a grin "I thought you understood after I defeated you eight years ago, using Gamabunta to fight against the demon you released."
Gaara nodded slowly as a smile formed on his lips "Few people know about that particular...you really are Naruto."
At that moment, the two ANBU came out of their hiding places and, with a simple glance, Naruto understood who they were. The two took off their masks, showing incredulous faces.
"Naruto...how...how are you alive?" asked Temari with a trembling voice while looking at her brother's first real friend, with her brother Kankuro doing the same.
"It's a long story, Temari." said Naruto with a little smile before looking back at Gaara "If you wish, I'll tell you."
Gaara nodded, wanting to know how his friend had survived, but first he pointed to the woman who had remained silent until then "Before that, I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Matsuri, and my son, Hizari."
Naruto bowed to them "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine!" said Matsuri with a smile "Gaara told me a lot about you! It is an honor to finally meet you!"
Chuckling, Naruto went to sit in front of Gaara's desk, while his friend's family went to his side "Like I said, this is going to be a long story..." and so, for hours to come, he told them about his life as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the Soul Society, the Zanpakutō, the Hollow, Aizen and his betrayal, the Quincys, the Soul King and all the rest, including the reason for his return. At the end of his story, the four in front of him were speechless.
"And that's my story."
"This...this is incredible..." said Gaara with shocked eyes "I never thought anything like this could exist."
"W-Wait a minute!" everyone looked at Kankuro who seemed quite nervous "Now that you've told us all this, aren't we going to run into trouble with this Soul King or someone else?"
"Fear not, the simple fact that you know all this doesn't put you in danger. I am sorry to say this, but when you die, your memories of this life will be erased so in your next life, you will know nothing of it and you will have to learn it again at most." explained Naruto before sending a light glare at Kankuro "However I would appreciate that none of you went around telling what I just said. Better not think about what Konoha could do with this information."
Gaara's brother nodded quickly, feeling tiny in front of that look and, at his side, Temari grinned at the sight of her brother being put in line with a single glance.
"Your secret is safe with us, Naruto." nodded the Kazekage "What are you going to do now?"
"I will try to get in touch with the Shinigami of this world. I also came here to find out if you knew of any method to help me with the task." explained Naruto with a serious voice.
"Unfortunately we have nothing that can help you, but if you need to see it, you should go to Konoha on Sunday." said Gaara, confusing his friend.
"Why?"
"The Yondaime Hokage doesn't always use his technique to bring someone back to life, but uses it only once every Sunday to revive those who died during the week." explained Temari with a disgusted look "Practically it has become a public event for them, so you should have no trouble seeing the Shinigami."
"I see..." Naruto thought for a moment what to do but then nodded "Then I will head to Konoha to see this 'event'. However, I wanted to ask...why is Suna reduced to this state? As I recall, your village and Konoha had an alliance eight years ago."
Gaara grimaced before nodding "Yes, we were allies, but when we received word of your execution, your father offered to bring our mother back to life to keep our alliance firm." he narrowed his eyes "Using human lives as a bargaining chip disgusts me, besides the fact that they executed you when that man could bring Uchiha Sasuke back to life, as he did, made us think."
"If he can bring the dead back to life, why didn't he do it before? Why didn't he bring you back to life too?" asked Temari while shaking her head "The conclusion to which we have arrived is that you, for some strange reason, were an obstacle and they decided to remove you from this world."
"We also tried to ask the Hokage to bring you back to life, but he said he couldn't without giving us any explanation." added Kankuro with a frown "So we decided to cancel our alliance, limiting ourselves to a non-aggression pact with Konoha."
After listening to their words, a sad smile formed on Naruto's lips "I'm sorry to hear that...Suna is so reduced because of me too."
"Don't blame yourself, my friend. Your father believes he is a god and has done things that a normal person would never dare to do." said Gaara with a smile "I am the Kazekage, so the well-being of the village falls on my shoulders."
Naruto nodded before standing up "Anyway, I'll try to help you to the best of my ability. No friend of mine will suffer until I can avoid it."
"Thank you, but I think you have a long way ahead of you. Will you go to Konoha right away?" asked Gaara walking toward the door with him after Naruto used the Henge no Jutsu again.
"Tomorrow. It may not seem like it, but now my speed is higher than that of Minato. I will arrive in Konoha in a short time." explained Naruto with a grin.
"I see, so what about being my guest? My house is big and we have many empty rooms."
"I appreciate the invitation, but if there is one thing I remember is that Jiraiya has spies everywhere and I would like to avoid attracting attention while I'm here." said Naruto with a frown while looking out of a window "I'll just sleep in a hotel."
"Very well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I will do everything in my power to help you." said Gaara before shaking his hand.
"Thank you Gaara, it means a lot to me." said Naruto with a smile before setting out on the streets of Suna, soon disappearing in the crowd.
"Naruto-kun has really changed a lot." said Temari in a pleasant tone.
"Oh? Naruto-kun?" repeated Kankuro with a grin, making her blush "Ah blackmail material!"
In his momentary moment of victory, Kankuro didn't notice how Gaara had left together with his wife and son, just as he didn't notice that Temari had worn her ANBU mask again.
"Kankuro...?"
The young boy froze after hearing his sister's voice and, turning slowly towards her, he saw Temari raise her fan above her head "Care to repeat that?"
"NOT THE FACE!"
A few blocks away, Naruto stopped for a second 'Mh...I would swear I heard Kankuro scream.'
'Like a little girl?'
Naruto nodded 'Like a little girl. Now, where can I find a hotel?' but his search was abruptly interrupted when a voice was heard behind him.
"Oh I think it's the first time I can get close to you without being identified."
Naruto quickly turned to the person who had spoken but what he saw made his eyes widen in shock.
The newcomer smiled at him "It's been a while, Captain-Commander."
"YOU?!"
TO BE CONTINUED...