Destiny of the Demon

By: naruhinafan2010

Email: peoples! I just have a few things to say about this fanfic: It begins directly after Naruto's return with Jiraiya (as many do) and is centered on what happens to Naruto afterwards. Sorry about the part about Konohamaru and the others: I have virtually no information on any of them, and I am rarely allowed to watch the show, so I'm going on what I know about annoying little kids. I apolegize for any misspellings in words (this includes the few Japanese ones as well). This is a Naru/Hina fanfic, so any who do not like that or other pairings don't flame, please? This is my first Naruto fanfic, and if I got too many hurtful comments I do believe it would crush me... Anyways, I did my best and I guess thats all I can ask for, so hope you like it. Oh PS PS: I'd like to send out a thank you to Dame Wren--her story inspired me to begin fanfic-ing. Thank you so much and I hope I make you proud!

Yes, yes, the disclaimer:

I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliates. I did not create Naruto or any other characters: that was the work of my personal idol, Masashi Kishimoto (without him, I would be lost! ) I only own the plot of this story and any original characters you may discover. Copyright infringement was not intended on my part. Enjoy, fans!!

CHAPTER 1

Naruto sighed, a gesture mixed with both relief and weariness as he and his white haired companion stepped inside the gates of Konoha once again. The all too familiar glares returned with, he noted glumly, a new intensity as he took his first steps back to his 'home'. The villagers have had nothing to glare at all this time I've been away, he thought, shoving his fisted hands deeper into the pockets of his jeans. I should be flattered: they've missed me.

The Toad Senin noticed this and glanced over at his student. During their entire walk home Naruto had been his normal self, going on and on about how when he got back to Konoha he was going to kick everybody's asses and show them how strong he'd gotten. As they'd neared the gates, however, the blonde had sunk deeper and deeper into silence until he was in his current state-- dragging his feet as he walked, shoulders slumped, head down. Jiraiya smiled softly as he realized something-- under stress, this normally jovial sixteen-year-old with the height and strength of a well-trained bodybuilder tended to slump and pout like a child half his age. He shook his head and was about to point this out when a peircing screech brought both of them to a halt.

"NARUTOOOOO!!" A shill voice shrieked, and instantly afterward Naruto was nearly knocked over as something forcefully attatched itself to his middle. Wide-eyed, Naruto glanced down to find wild brown hair much like his own clouding his vision. The kid was saying something into his stomach, and he strained to hear while trying to figure out who in this village would actually want to hug him. Dimly he realized that something was poking painfully into his stomach, and it clicked: a forehead protector. "Konohama-oof!" Before he could finish saying the name, two more bodies attacked his sides, confirming his suspicions as well as knocking him on his ass.

Jiraiya chuckled heartily as Naruto struggled to breathe, the combined weight of Moegi, Udon, and Konohamaru effectively crushing his lungs. "Er..Ero Senin! A...a little help, p-please?" He gasped, trying to be heard above cries of "We missed you!" and "We thought you'd never get back!"

Jiraiya eyed him merrily, grinning openly. "I could help. Or I could let you suffocate as payback for nearly three years of nonstop name-calling." His tone had a merciless quality to it, and Naruto instantly suspected his sensei was telling the truth.

Suddenly an ANBU officer appeared in a spiral of leaves beside the white haired Sannin and rapidly began whispering in his ear, all the while staring at the spectacle on the ground. Naruto grinned weakly at the man, fighting the embarrassed blush that began to creep up his neck. Soon Jiraiya nodded, and the man dissapeared in a puff of smoke.

Turning around, the Toad Sanin threw on a pouting look and said, "Well, I guess I have to help you now, seeing as how Tsunade-sama wants to see us immediately."

"No need." Naruto walked up behind his sensei and flung an arm over his shoulders just as the Naruto on the ground dissapeared in a puff of smoke. A shadow clone. Shaking off the initial surprise, the three kids stood up and began beaming over at Naruto. Still sporting their blue ninja sandals, the triplets also had the Konoha headbands to match. Instead of his usual yellow shirt, Konohamaru wore a light blue shirt with the Leaf symbol on it and a pair of grey shorts with black knee pads sewn into them. Udon still had those huge dorky glasses perched on his nose, and his clothing didn't differ at all. It was Moegi who had changed the most over the three year period.

Naruto blinked a few times before he asked, "Moegi? What did you do to your hair?"

She beamed even wider, showing off her canines. Her light brown hair was still in two ponytails on either side of her head, but now they were poofy and spiked in all directions. Several strands of hair framed her face, sticking out from behind her forehead protector. Her dress wasn't too much different: instead of a pink t-shirt under her black vest, she wore a red one, and she wore white shorts. "No offense, Naruto, but even though I am your biggest fan-" Udon elbowed her in the ribs, earning himself a smack on the head- "it is awfully hard to make yourself look like a guy when you're a girl. So, one day, when the Kazekage came to Konoha, I snuck a peek at them to see if there were any girls with them." Closing her eyes at the memory, she continued. "Sure enough, there was a girl with them, the prettiest out of all of them. While the Kazekage and Hokage-sama were meeting, the girl came and talked to our class about life in the Suna, and she was so nice! So, I decided to make myself look like her." A mischevious grin came across her face as she added, "I asked Temari-chan if she liked you, and she rolled her eyes. I think she does!" It was Konohamaru who elbowed her in the ribs this time.

Fighting the blush out of his cheeks, Naruto glanced over at Jiraiya, who had a small grin on his face. Don't you say a word, Naruto thought, glaring wearily. "I guess I've gotta go, guys. Wouldn't want ol' Obaa-chan to get bent out of shape 'cause we were late."

Jiraiya nodded. "Though I don't think she could get out of shape. Have you noticed how tone she is? I wonder..."

The rest of his comment was silenced by a smack to the top of his head from Naruto, something he had gotten quite used to lately. While the supposed 'wise adult' began his usual rant about disrespectful ninja nowdays, Naruto shook his head, one word going through his head. Perverts...

Tsunade was sitting with her head in her hands when they came in, still trying to convince herself that she didn't need that bottle of sake she kept for those certain occasions when being Hokage was just too much. She looked wearily through her fingers, expecting to see an old pervert and a short blonde loudmouth walk into her office. What she did see was so surprising that the need for alchoholic consumption was temporarily forgotten as she sat straight up in her seat.

The short blonde loudmouth had now became a tall blonde loudmouth, and a handsome one at that. Naruto had shot up to about six feet, and the features of his face were more defined, his cheeks and chin less chunky and more angular. He no longer wore his trademark jumpsuit: obviously he had grown out of it. Instead he wore a white shirt that clung slightly to his newly formed chest muscles. Over it he had on a plain orange jacket with the sleeves rolled up. He wore the usual ninja gloves, black ones with the metal plate sewn into the back. Instead of the bright orange pants, he wore faded blue jeans. It seemed that even his feet had grown: he had replaced his usual blue sandals with tattered sneakers, old from the long travel home. Besides the dishelveled blonde hair, leaf forehead protector, and confident grin, Tsunade really couldn't tell it was Naruto.

Sitting back in her chair, Tsunade smiled wearily. "Well, seems as if someone's changed. Guess it won't take you long to find a girlfriend now, huh?"

As she enjoyed the blush that appeared on the boy's face, Jiraiya spoke. "You sent for us, Tsunade-chan?"

She sighed, closing her eyes. "I will speak to you later, Jiraiya. As for you, Naruto, you will probably want to go see your friends, am I correct?" To his nod, she replied, "Well, you will also need to prepare. The Chuunin exams are coming up in about a week, and I'm sure you are interested in participating."

A loud whoop pained her ears, but she smiled anyway. "Oh, yeah! I've already got a chance to show everyone how much better I've got! I get to kick Neji's ass again! And I..." He stopped, a thought interrupting his small celebration. Sombering quickly, he asked, "Um, Obaa-chan? Am I the only Genin left in my class?"

Tsunade smiled wider, sitting back upright in her chair and filing through some papers. "You, Hyuga Hinata, and her teammate, Inzuka Kiba."

His eyes went as wide as dinner plates at the names. "What? Hinata-chan didn't make it?" And what about Kiba? Naruto thought, arms folded and brow furrowed.

Tsunade sighed, feeling older than she really was as the smile slipped away. "Well, the last time either one of them even participated was three years ago, the exam after you left."

"NANI?!"

She nodded glumly. "We don't know why they just stopped trying, but they did, and Kurenai hasn't been able to get an answer. I don't know, Naruto..."

Then she smiled again, a mischeivious glint in her eye. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you try to get them to try out this year with you? You're their peer, you should have no trouble at all convincing them that they need to try out again. You could think of it as your first mission back."

Even as Jiraiya agreed with her, Naruto was unsure. How am I supposed to convince them to try for Chuunin again if they haven't done it for three years? I wonder why they just stopped trying...

"...Naruto? Will you do it?" Tsunade was looking at him expectantly, fingers laced on the desk before her. Still unsure of what he could do, Naruto nodded tentatively. Tsunade smiled and continued. "Alright. Go see everyone and when you're done come back. I've got something else to tell you, so-" She sighed as she realized the excited blonde had already left. She shook her head. "Well, I guess now we can talk, Jiraiya."

Haruno Sakura hadn't seen either of her old Genin teammates in three years. She didn't expect to see either Naruto or Sasuke very soon, so you can imagine the look of surprise on her face when she saw a familiar blonde burst out of the Hokage tower doors, usual grin brightening his face. She was still stunned when he noticed her too and began sprinting over to where she stood in the street, calling her name. This Naruto, the tall, loud, well- toned ninja was nothing like the short shit that had dissapeared three years ago.

Naruto seized Sakura up in a warm bear hug, crying, "Sakura! My god, it's been so long! How have you been?"

"Naruto?" Sakura mumbled, amazed at the strength with which Naruto picked her up. She couldn't keep her eyes off of his upper chest, off of all the muscles that were so well defined by the tight white shirt he wore.

Naruto set his old teammate down, looking her up and down also. She had kept her pink hair short, pulling it back with her forehead protector. In place of her old red dress, she wore a sleeveless shirt in the same style and color as her previous outfit. She wore black shorts and the usual ninja sandals, though they were black as well. She had filled out inside her shirt as well, Naruto noted with a small cough.

The two were silent a few moments before Sakura threw a punch, her fist landing heavily against Naruto's hard chest. "Hey, what was that for?" He cried out, rubbing the spot above his heart where he was sure a bruise would form. He looked down at her. She'd bowed her head, and now her pink hair was hiding her face. He noticed her shoulders were trembling slightly. "Sakura-chan?" He asked, heart hammering.

She looked up and he suddenly realized that she was tearing. "That was for leaving." To this, he hugged her again, brother and sister meeting again after a long time apart. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him, and began shaking with silent sobs.

Sakura was surprised. She hadn't expected to react so strongly to seeing Naruto again. She supposed the stress she'd gone through over the last three years probably had a lot to do with the way she was drenching Naruto's shirt. She had been entirely distraught ever since the incident, and when Naruto left, she didn't think she could feel any worse. After a while, though, not having her loudmouth teammate around affected her in more ways than she'd even begun to comprehend. Now that Naruto was back, she would have someone to talk to. Tsunade-sama, Ino, Temari and even Hinata had been by her side when she had needed to talk, but Naruto had actually been as close to Sasuke as she had, though he would never admit it. As this thought crossed her mind, she bit her lip and struggled to quell her incessant tears.

As soon as she'd calmed down, she raised her head from his chest, eyes slightly puffy. "So, you wanna go see everyone else?"

He nodded, grinning softly. "I'd like that."

So, how'd you like chapter 1? Yeah, I know it was short, but I'm using this chapter as a stepping

stone-- I want to see how the public reacts. Was it okay? Tell me the truth-- I'm dying!

REVIEW, PLEASE!!

Ch. 2 Preview: How will the other Chuunin react to Naruto's return? Will Naruto be able

to figure out why Hinata and Kiba haven't become Chuunin? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!!