RETURN OF NARUTO

Rated M for violence and language.

Features intelligent/calm/sarcastic! Naruto

Unwilling to put up with the scorn he receives from the village, Naruto runs away. Ten years later, he returns… but he isn't as carefree or merciful as he used to be. Beware, Konoha, of the demon's wrath. Post-Chuunin exams, Pre-Tsunade Search.

Prologue

Boot-clad feet tromped heavily down a distantly familiar path, the owner whistling a jaunty tune as he sauntered along. In his right hand he tossed a gleaming four-bladed star up into the air, catching it between his fingers as it came back down. The sunlight warmed him from behind, its rays falling upon the disarrayed golden-blond spikes covering his head. Narrow electric-blue eyes sought out the sight of the tall, green village gates looming ahead.

Ten years. He had been away from the village of his birth for ten whole years. It was strange to think that so much time had passed so quickly. He had had to put up with the villagers' derision, scorn, and cruel words ever since he was young, all because of the monstrosity that resided in a seal on his stomach. Idiots. The last he checked, he did not bare the slightest resemblance to that stupid fox.

Let's compare, shall we?

First of all, he was quite sure he was a human, even if he took on some of the fox's characteristics when he went ballistic. The fox was a mega-conglomeration of evil energy in a physical form.

Secondly, his eyes were blue. The fox's eyes were blood-red.

Thirdly, he was only five foot ten. The fox must be close to five stories high.

Fourthly, he had thin human skin that was easily sliced open. The fox was cloaked in a layer of thick, red, spiky fur that was probably hard to the touch.

Fifthly, he had hands and feet, with blunt nails. The fox had gigantic furry paws with razor-sharp claws that could slice and dice someone before they realized it.

Lastly, he had a very nice set of buttocks with no fur, tail, or tails whatsoever. The fox had nine tails and… well, he wasn't quite sure if demon foxes needed to poop or not, but he'll go with the assumption that the fox probably had a hole right there, and it was probably uncovered.

He was so deep into his musings that he didn't realize the Konoha gates were several meters away until he looked up. He could see clearly into the village, with all its hustle and bustle. He snorted. Looks like they definitely didn't miss his presence. What a bunch of jerks.

He moved to step inside the village, but paused when a sharp voice called out, "Halt!"

He turned to the left, fixing a cool expression on his face. A man wearing the typical forest-green Chuunin vest approached him, a brown clipboard and black pen in his hands.

"State your name and business," said the man, tilting his dark brown eyes down to the clipboard as he awaited an answer. Apparently he had been assigned to this post long enough for the habit to become ingrained into him, otherwise the blond man might not have escaped his notice as easily.

He let out a low, humorless chuckle that had the gate guard looking up sharply. "I can't believe Konoha has fallen so low, to allow its guards to become so lackadaisical in their duties," he murmured, loud enough for the other man to hear. His bright-blue eyes locked onto the gate guard, a distinctly semi-feral grin gracing his face. "Now, I don't know your name personally, but you can tell those old sour-faced prunes on the ninja council that Uzumaki Naruto has returned, and wishes to have a word with them."

He watched in amusement as the gate guard nearly dropped his clipboard at the mention of his name. Was he so infamous in the village that every citizen knew his name? The name of the demon that used to reside within the village, that had up and run away in the dead of the night because he couldn't handle the scorn and derision anymore? He was different now. He was back, possibly for good, and he was ready to get his revenge on those that had been so determined to wrong him.

Starting with, of course, the village's elders. Tradition was all well and good, but what good did it do if the people adhering to it were still thinking in terms of tactics from thirty years ago, or more? The council needed some fresh blood, and it was about time they got some.

Assuming that the kids he knew from his childhood and his days as both an academy cadet and a genin should have grown up and matured in the last ten years, he decided that he would need to do a little bit of digging with a dollop of charm and persuasion to go along with it. But that could come later - right now he had a few old farts to deal with, and he sure as hell wasn't going to make them think they still had some measure of control over him.

He cleared his throat impatiently when the man continued to gape at him like he was some kind of rare exotic animal on display, and it was starting to get on his nerves. The guard snapped out of his shock at the sound. He bravely tried to put on a confident front, but failed quite miserably.

"Well? I don't have all day," said Naruto, brushing a few stray strands of golden-blond hair out of his face. "Are you going to take me to the Hokage?"

"N-no," said the Chuunin, backing up a few steps. The fear was clearly visible on his face, and behind him his gate-guarding partner stood up in alarm. "D-d-demon! Go away, go back to where you came from. And d-don't bother us!"

"Fine, I'll just go there myself," said Naruto impassively, turning to walk past the shaking guard. Just before he passed him, he turned and leaned down to hiss menacingly in the man's ear, "You are afraid of me, and call me a demon, but do you even know what the fox looks like? Because I don't look a damn thing like it." Then he continued on his way to the Hokage tower without looking behind him, but if he did, he would have seen the Chuunin collapse in a dead faint. And as his frantic partner rushed over to tend to him, the shadowy leaves began to gather in order to apprehend the unwelcomed intruder.

Not too far away, the captain of the Anbu opened his coal-black eyes, and smirked darkly.

Okay. Guess what this is. Another story? …nope. It's a rewrite, actually. A rewrite of my oldest story, which dates back to 2006. I looked at it, and by Merlin it sucked monkey balls - please forgive my crudeness. So, true to my nature, I started rewriting this as a project of sorts. For me, school doesn't start until practically the end of September, so I've got loads of time to do this (and hopefully cook up some inspiration for my Hikaru no Go story).

For those who are too lazy to go and look up the older version of this story: I suggest you don't. Really. It's a piece of bloody, gory, crazy crap that I spewed out of my morbid twelve-year old brain. Fast forward almost six years later, and this is the result of my eighteen-year old brain. Not the best work I've ever done, but I can truly and honestly say that I am longer a fan of the Naruto series, so…whatever.

Review please.

Oh, and this is totally off-topic, but I recently made an account on Pottermore (since July 31st, Harry and JKR's birthdays!). Judging by my sarcasm and crude writing, would you believe me if I told you I got sorted into Ravenclaw?

Ciao.

MangaFreak15