It was a dark and raining night outside the gates of Konoha. Konoha seemed to be a much quieter village now and days. People came, people went. But today, for some rather unsettling reason, was a day where everyone was on their toes. It had been three years since Sasuke Uchiha left to go train with the Great Sage Jiraiya. He was scheduled to return half a year ago but had never made it back. And as if like clockwork, a lone spark of pink hair could be seen underneath the rain. Watching the horizon for any sign of two men returning from a long journey.

"Sasuke...where are you?" the lone woman said out loud. She didn't know why she was so worried. Sasuke was strong, even before he left he was at a league above some of the other genin. But it had been such a long and hard journey and traveling with a sage did have it's own risks to it.

Two figures showed up at the horizon of the Leaf village's visage. A smile could be seen on the woman's face as she recognized that walk. How could she forget it. The last time she saw a man walking like that was when he was walking away from her. As the shadow's grew closer their clothing could be seen. One was holding an umbrella to keep the rain out from his eyes. He was adorned in a white baggy shirt with dark blue gloves on his hands holding the umbrella. His chest was bared out and shown for the world. He wore dark blue pants and black shinobi sandels that were tapped with black tape at the bottom of his pants. But the most noticable feature was the chokuto strapped on his back tied with a black rope.

The other man was defiantly Jiraiya of the Sannin. It was easily seen that this man was not one to be toyed with. But a third figure was bringing up behind them. And this one shocked even the young woman herself. He had dark blond hair and was wearing a dark baggy shirt with burnt orange gloves on his hands that held metal on the back of them. His pants were black as well and he wore them in similar style to the young man in front of him. He also had a hooded trench coat that barely showed the blond hair that was hidden underneath it. The robe was nothing special in itself. Plain to blend in. But what was sad about this man was that his hands were bound and that the larger man was holding the rope to them. As soon as they came into better view you could see the young male with blond hair walking with his eye's closed as if in a meditative trance.

"Halt...State your name and...Jiraiya-sama...Sasuke Uchiha welcome back. Who is this you have with you." the chuunin guard stated.

"I know i've been gone for three years, but you can't say you don't recognize Konoha's Vengeful Demon when you see him. If this was a battle you'd be dead for not following the Flee on Sight bingo book reference." the young man spoke.

"The...then that means you're..."

"Naruto...Uzumaki. I swore never to come back to the village but these two made an offer even I couldn't pass up." he said with a toothy grin that sent shivers down the man's spine.

"Give it a rest Dobe...That deal only holds up if you follow your end of the bargain." the young Uchiha said.

"I already killed Orochimaru to prove my loyalty...Well, I learned all I could from him any ways. Not much in the fuinjutsu department but what he lacked in fuinjutsu he made up for ninjutsu in spades. The curse seal was just an added bonus." Naruto stated.

"You don't even use the curse seal that much any more...Afraid of giving into the dark powers it holds huh?" Jiraiya spoke remorsefully.

"I gave into the Darkness years ago. There's no reason to fear what you've already embraced." Naruto said as he finally opened his eyes to reveal slit blue pupils.

"N...Naruto..." the young pink haired woman said.

"Well...You've grown Sakura." Naruto said, eyeing her. "It's good to see some styles never change." he said hinting at her choice of pink hair and red clothing.

"Let's go Uzumaki. You have to report in to the Hokage." Jiraiya stated

"I refuse to deal with that damned council." Naruto stated.

"You won't have to. They were disbanded and the Hokage took full control. But Tsunade isn't the Hokage any more. Kakashi is. After you left...he stepped up majorly claiming to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He wanted to make sure that no one would ever be treated the way you were." Jiraiya said.

"We can talk politics later Naruto. It's time for us to go. Sakura...i'll see you later to tell you about my travels. We can catch up and you can tell me about how much you've grown." Sasuke stated. A small smile graced his face as he walked towards the tower.

"Remember Jiraiya...Sasuke. I'm only doing this until I get what I want. Then...I'm out of here. I wasn't a Konoha shinobi when I left, you have no reason to hold me here against my will. Besides...you know what happened to the last place that tried to prevent me from leaving." Naruto stated darkly.

Jiraiya shivered a little bit. He had watched what Naruto did to the remains of Otogakure. It wasn't pretty. 'How a kid could make the Third Great Ninja war look like a day in paradise is beyond me...' He thought to himself as they began walking.