Chapter one: The Return
The man walked purposefully through a lush green forest to the spot where he knew he would find his student of the past two and a half years. He came to a stop in a relatively large clearing, and was momentarily transfixed by its pristine beauty. He was greeted by the sight of his pupil, who seemed to be meditating, surrounded by close to three hundred shinobi armed with all manner of weapon. The air was heavy with silence except for the occasional rattle of weapons. The deadly silence was abruptly broken by a unified bellow as all three hundred plus enemies sprung on his young charge. The older man however did not move to aid his protégé, he simply watched with interest waiting to see what would happen next. With his adversaries all but on top of him the young man's eyes snapped open, and with his own mighty roar he released the invisible force that had been building within him.
Pride was evident on the older man's face as he watched all of the clones disappear simultaneously in one giant puff of white smoke. However pride quickly turned to surprise as he too was hit by the invisible pulse as it pushed him back quite forcefully into a tree, and then continued to rattle the rest of the forest. He just used an incredibly strong pulse of chakra; it's hard to believe it was enough to knock even me back, he thought.
Quickly schooling his features he plastered on a grin, and made his way toward the young blonde. When he was within range he called out "Naruto come on kid we're going out to celebrate."
Curiosity was obviously present in his voice when he asked "Celebrate what ero-senin?"
The smile on Jiriaya's face only widened as he uttered his next words "As of right now your training with me is complete. We depart tomorrow,"
"Depart, you mean…?"
"Yup, we're going home!"
"Alright!" came Naruto's jubilant reply
Early the next morning the duo set out at a brisk pace. "Naruto, slow down, have sympathy on my old bones, and aching head," Jiriaya called feebly to Naruto who was several yards ahead moving at breakneck speed to get back to the village as soon as possible.
"Hey, it's not my fault you spent the night getting drunk on sake and flirting with women twenty years younger than you are," said Naruto as he slowed down so that he was only a few feet ahead.
As he watched him run, Jiriaya could not help but smile at how much his pupil had changes over the years. No longer was the loud, hotheaded, cocky, clumsy boy that he was when they first met. He had grown into a true shinobi; cool and calculating in battle, he thought things through, and used his brains as well as his brawn. His skills had improved greatly, he had mastered as well as created many jutsu, in addition his skills with gen-jutsu and tia-jutsu had improved to a level that could rival even the strongest ninja. His speed and agility had also increased by leaps and bounds. In addition to all of those changes his speech volume and style of dress had also become much more reserved.
Even though he had changed, it was still undeniable that Naruto had still remained very much the same. Courage still shone brightly in his eyes as did his fierce determination. Years had gone by, but his resolve to protect the people whom he considered precious had not wavered, if anything it had become even stronger over the years.
Jiriaya was brought returned to reality by the sound of Naruto's voice, "Ero-senin we're almost there, I can see the village on the horizon!" He exclaimed.
"When we arrive I want you to go straight to the Tsunade's office and make your report," said Jiriaya said as they approached the village gates