Five years have passed since Naruto went to train with Jiraya, the Toad Sage. Konoha has peacefully continued existing and lives went on. "I can't believe it's been five years since I last saw Naruto", said the pink haired Kunochi to her two friends as they walked down the street. "Y-yes...I know", said Hinata while looking at the ground with sadness in her eyes. Even being married to Kiba last year, she still missed the knucklehead that never gave up. Ino, the last member of the group, just kept quiet thinking how he was now. The time she was around Naruto brightened her day. He might've seemed stupid but when it was time to be serious, that knucklehead was almost as clever as Shikamaru. "I wish he was here" ,she said in a low voice only Sakura could hear. After Ino's little confession the three ninjas continued their trek to the Hokage's Tower.
Tsunade looked up from a pile of paperwork on her desk when she heard a knock at the door. "Enter", said the medic ninja as she watched her apprentices walk in the room. "You have a mission for us Tsunade-sensei?" ,asked Sakura. Looking at the 3 women in the room she said, "I do have a mission for you but let's wait for your team leader to arrive.". "Who is the leader Tsunade-sama?", asked the lavendered eye girl. Tsunade just smiled as a golden flash entered the room inbetween the Hokage and her students. The flash only lasted a sec but not expecting it just stunned her students. After the flash stood a man with long blonde hair wearing a white trench coat the with words "Orange Clone" in orange Kanji on the back and at the end of the coat were orange flames. Over his coat was a giant scroll strapped to his back.
"It's been a while Tsunade-sama" , said the mysterious man. Tsunade sat there were a huge grin on her face, "that it has been but you are still a brat for not knocking." Sakura only knew one person that she called brat, looking with shock in her eyes she asked, "N-Naruto?" Hearing his name, Naruto turned around to see grown up versions of Hinata, Sakura, and Ino just standing there stuck in a trance. Looking at his face they knew it was Naruto, no one else had the whisker marks on their face or those deep blue kind eyes. Something seemed off though, Naruto never passed the chunin exams and here he was wearing a Jounin's vest. Looking up past his eyes she saw his hitai-ate was different, instead of the leaf symbol it had the kanji word for oil. Before she could ask, Tsunade interupted, "you can ask him questions later, now I must inform you of your mission." Turning back around naruto was handed a small scroll, which he read rather quickly. "So they were spotted in wave country", said Naruto. Tsunade nodded, "I want everyone to rest up and move out first thing in the morning and remember don't take risks. These are S-rank ninja or higher and we don't know their skills." Standing up the medic ninja finished, "DISMISSED!" With her final word said the four ninjas walked out of the tower and into a busy street.
They walked quietly for a few minutes until Naruto stopped and turned to his team. "Well I don't know about you guys but I'm starving" ,he said with his famous foxy grin. Before he could react a fist hit him on the top of his head sending him into the dirt road. "BAKA! YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR FIVE YEARS AND THE FIRST THING YOU SAY TO ME IS I'M STARVING! BAKA BAKA BAKA!" ,yelled a very mad Sakura. "Same old Naruto" ,sighed Ino as she and Hinata tried to pry Naruto out of the ground. "Geez Sakura did your husband start training you with super human weights?" as Naruto stood up. "How did you know I'm married?" , Sakura asked with a puzzled look. He looked at her with a smile and said, "come on let's go get some bbq" then started walking to the bar b que restaurant. "uhm N-Naruto don't you want r-ramen?" ,asked the shy ninja. He stopped and said the words no one ever thought he would say, "I'm actually not in the mood for ramen." Hearing this, the three ninjas just fell over stunned.
When they found a table they liked, the three girls sat down as Naruto removed the giant scroll and leaned it on the booth. After they ordered he said, "ok, you may now question me." Sakura looked at him with sorrow, "why does your headband say oil and are you still a leaf ninja?" He nodded, "of course I'm still a leaf ninja, see?" as he turned to the right to reveal his old leaf headband stitched into the left sleeve of his coat. "The reason I wear this" as he pointed to his forhead, "is because I am the new Toad Sannin." In disbelief Sakura stood up and asked, "what happened to Jiraya-sama?" instantly she regretted it seeing his face change. "I'll talk about that later.." he resonded in a monotone voice with a hint of pain. Ino wanting to lighten the mood looked at him and asked, "where were you for 5 years?" He looked at her with hope in his eyes, "I've been everywhere, just training...believe me when I say, I wish I was here all that time." The three kunoichis saw pain in his eyes as if he has witnessed stuff no one should. After that the food was delievered and as they ate he turned to them and said, "since we are leaving in the morning I want you three to go home and pack and then meet me at Ichiraku Ramen." His team looked at him and asked in unison, "why?" He laughed and continued, "one reason is because I want to learn what happened in the five years I was gone and the second reason is because I might need some help at my house."
After lunch the girls went back to their repective homes to retrieve their ninja gear while Naruto ate some Ichiraku Ramen. Ten minutes passed and Ino was the first to arrive with a pack on her back. "Well one is here", Naruto said with his bright smile. Ino could only blush at the sight. 'EH!? WH-WHY AM I BLUSHING!? IT'S ONLY NARUTO' her blush deepened 'grown up Naruto... Naruto's features have changed dramatically, his eyes were a deeper blue and still showing kindness, his hair was longer but still a gorgeous gold color and those whisker marks on his face just made him...cute.' Before she could say anything Sakura walked up with Hinata, both carrying packs. "Alright everyone is here, let's go" he said as they started walking. After a few minutes they passed his old apartment and Sakura asked, "where are we going? I thought you lived over there?" Turning back Naruto Nodded, "Correct I DID live there." as they kept walking toward the outskirts of town. Thirty minutes passed when the group came to a stop outside an abandoned clan compound. Facing the group Naruto begain, "well we are here" as he gave a big smile. Ino walked up to him and asked, "how can you live here, you don't have a clan?" Still blushing since arriving at Ichiraku Ramen. Before he could respond Hinata was knocked away from the gate by a barrier. He rushed over to her and helped her off the ground. "Sorry, my family really likes their privacy" That is when Sakura knocked him in the ground again yelling, "BAKA" at the top of her lungs. As Hinata returned the favor and helped him up, Ino removed the vines over the plaque to reveal it belonged to the Namikaze Clan.
The three girls' jaws hit the ground before turning toward Naruto. "My real name is Namikaze Naruto and before you send me to the core of the earth, let me explain" Naruto dusted himself off "I didn't know until two years ago." He then walked over to the gate, bit his thumb and pressed it on the swirl seal in the middle of the iron gate. Suddenly the torches on the wall were lit and the gate vanished. After they regained their senses, they realised Naruto didn't move. He only stood there with his head down. Ino walked over to him and asked very softly, "are you ok?" then she saw tears run down his face. Almost instantly Naruto wiped the tears away and put his "mask" on saying, "alright team, let's explore!" before walking briskly toward the big house. Ino stood there in the gateway staring at a man, who was obviously in a lot of pain.