DISCLAIMER: The Naruto Manga and Naruto/Naruto: Shippuden Animes including their characters, storyline, and content are all owned by Manga Author Kishimoto Masashi and are licensed by Viz Media, Madman Entertainment, and Shueisha. I claim nothing except for my original characters. The idea of the scattered Uzumaki clan and depicting Uzumaki Honoka as a surviving character is credited to Psycho G in his FanFiction "Sealed Legacy." I give permission to anyone reading who wishes to create their own FanFictions to use any of my original characters and/or their personalities. I only request credit for their use in return.
/Chapter 1: Homecoming/
Sunlight peered through the white blinds, illuminating the pale skin of a young Hyūga woman, effectively waking her from her nightly slumber. Her soft lavender eyes fluttered open, still slightly squinting to adjust to the morning rays. She sat up and stretched her rigid muscles, preparing them for the lovely day ahead. From her perspective, however, it was merely another day of loneliness. She sighed in sadness.
'Five years, three months, and twenty-two days...' Five years, three months, and twenty-two days prior to this morning, her love left to train with Jiraiya-sama. He is yet to return to Konoha. She reluctantly dragged her heavy body out of bed and groggily limped towards her bathroom. Perhaps a hot soak would do her a bit of justice this morning and relieve some of her depression.
As the tub filled with heated water, she stripped down to her birthday suit, a bit clumsily at that, and examined her seventeen-year-old body in her full mirror. She had indeed grown from the time when she was twelve. Her breasts had grown to a larger size that some women would be outrageously jealous of at her age. They weren't anywhere near the colossal size of Tsunade-sama's but they were still quite large. Her hips had widened to about shoulder width, forming a perfect hourglass due to her small stomach. She was very much the idol figure of a young maiden. Of course, she didn't see herself this way. Hinata believed she matured too quickly as opposed to other girls her age. She believed that if people saw her the way she was, people would classify her as a freak after careful scrutiny, especially due to her pale complexion. As a result, she wore baggy clothing which consisted of loose but fitting blue ninja pants, a lavender jacket with a white hood and sleeves, and ebony strapped shinobi sandals in addition to the Konoha hitai-ate she wore around her neck. Perhaps this could go both ways considering that if young men did find her body attractive, she could still conceal it, freeing her of their hungry gazes. Only one man could view her in such a manner, and he has been missing for over five years.
After a lengthy and thorough cleansing washing away some of her melancholic mood, she dressed herself in her standard ninja garb and decided to spend the day training at Team Seven's retired training ground. Perhaps that could rid her of her negative mood, or perhaps it could make it worse considering that Training Ground Three was the very location in which Naruto stated he liked people like her.
"I always though you were dark, shy, timid, and basically completely weird. But you know what? I actually kind of like... people like you!"
She shook her head. Reminiscing on memories like those would only serve to depress her further. She grabbed her ninja tools and strapped them to the tape on her right leg. Before she stood, something caught her eye. 'Gama-chan...' It was the same purse Naruto had given her when he left. She woke up to the sight of it resting on her lap. She knew that having it on her person would also only serve to depress her further, but she stuffed it into her pouch anyways. She couldn't completely block him out.
"Sorry Jiraiya-sensei, I can't help but be giddy! I'm returning to my friends today and to add on to that I get to fill up on some of Teuchi-jī-san's divine ramen!" A tall blond man with azure eyes wearing a one-piece dark shinobi outfit walked next to his elder sensei down the dirt road that led to their home village. The blond's one-piece ninja suit had no sleeves and was skin-tight with three standard kunai holstered on each thigh along with a black satched that housed the rest of his ninja tools, particularly three-pronged kunai with a custom sealing formula embedded on their hilts and fūinjutsu scrolls. He wore standard black shinobi sandals and a black scarf around his neck. His hitai-ate, saddled on a black cloth, bore a leaf symbol, the symbol of Konohagakure no Sato advertising his loyalties to the ninja village as a shinobi. As for his blond hair, the rear and sides were of a short to medium length and his bangs fell to just above his eyes with two spikes longer than the rest nearly aligning with his masculine chin, semi-framing his face.
"At least try to calm down, Naruto. And try not to run in full sprint towards the gates when they come into view. The ANBU on guard won't recognize you and may attack you on sight. You have grown up and changed a lot, remember?" The older of the two had long, spiked white hair tied into a ponytail that hung down to mid-back. His ninja attire consisted of a wrapped olive shirt and pant overlapped by a red vest that had yellow circles on each pectoral and a mesh shinobi chainmail shirt underneath it all. He wore wooden geta sandals and his headband, which had two horns protruding from it, bore not the symbol of Konoha, but that of Myōbokuzan.
"I'm well aware, sensei. I'm not a dumb as I used to be. You taught me how to grow up, remember?" Naruto replied with a smirk, putting emphasis on the last word to mimic his sensei and get under the old man's skin.
Jiraiya sighed. At least being mocked in this kind of manner claimed superiority over being openly called 'ero-sennin.' About an hour later, they arrived at their destination: the Konoha gates. They both walked in and Naruto grinned at the wonderful sight of his home. 'I'm finally back guys,' he thought to himself. He took a glance at the Hokage monument and his grin expanded. 'Looks like they finally added bā-chan's face up there. It looks good, suits her.' Jiraiya turned to the two Chūnin gate guards and cleared his throat to get their attention.
At the sight of the Sannin, Izumo and Kotetsu jumped out of their seats and composed themselves stiff as a board. "J-Jiraiya-sama! We apologize for our disrespect, we didn't notice you entered!" Kotetsu sputtered, trying to redeem himself in front of the shinobi legend for his disrespect. "Uh, welcome back to Konoha, Jiraiya-sama!" The Sannin simply smiled and suppressed a cackle.
Izumo looked at the blond shinobi sporting a Konoha hitai-ate to the right of the legendary ninja. "Um, if I may ask, who is that?"
Naruto noticed he was mentioned and turned towards the two Chūnin, a smile plastered on his face. "You mean you guys don't recognize me?" Sensei was right. People would be a little bit unfamiliar with him for a while. Even so, it was still going to be amusing watching people play a guessing game with his face as the topic.
The two guards studied the blond closely, and Kotetsu was the first to realize who exactly the man was. "Naruto! It is you! It's been a while since we've last seen you and damn have you grown up, kid!" Both Chūnin were genuinely pleased to see an old comrade returning to the village, and Naruto was just as pleased to see them.
"I tried," Naruto responded with a light chuckle. Maybe he wasn't as unfamiliar as he initially thought.
"Well, we're going to go," Jiraiya spoke up. "We have some errands to run now that we're back." The Chūnin nodded and bowed to their senior in understanding and proceeded back to their jobs. After a few minutes, Naruto broke the silence between them since there was something he didn't quite understand.
"You didn't inform me of these errands we had to run, sensei. What are they?" He asked, confusion clear in his voice. Jiraiya smiled.
"Well we technically do. I have to report the overwhelming success of your training to Tsunade and you have to go fill up on noodles. Am I wrong?"
Naruto laughed heartily at his sensei's sly tactic. "Yeah, I guess so. I'll see you in a while then sensei!" With that, Naruto took off to Ichiraku Ramen, the one place he had been craving since the day after their departure. Jiraiya smiled once more. 'Well I tried to break his ramen addiction, but that's the one thing I failed to do. Hell, I don't even think I came remotely close.'
Naruto stood in front of the all too familiar ramen shack, stomach empty and purse full of ryō. He intended to swap the two. Just before he pulled back the flaps to head inside, a distinguishable voice called out to him in surpirse. "Naruto?! Is that really you?!" Down the cobblestone trail stood the apprentice of the Godaime herself, Haruno Sakura. She possessed hair the color of cherry blossoms parted to the left with a pin, slightly longer than Naruto remembered, and eyes the color of pure emeralds. She wore a maroon tunic similar to the one she wore when they were Genin with a zipper up the front and a thick white belt around her waist and lower abdomen all under a tan-colored Konoha flak jacket with a maroon medical symbol on the upper left of the vest. She now also wore fingerless gloves with sleeves that reached the middle of her biceps. On her lower half, she wore black spandex shorts that extended mid-thigh and had white tape wrapped around the middle of her right thigh which supported her ninja tools pouch. She wore midnight combat sandals that rose nearly to her knees with three-inch heels. Her headband sat in its usual place, but the cloth was now a crimson color.
Naruto smiled at his former teammate. "Yo, Sakura-chan!" Sakura's surprised face turned into an excited grin as she sprinted toward Naruto, collapsing into him in an embrace. Naruto was a little surprised at the friendly gesture, but he returned it despite this. "A bit touchy, aren't we?" He mocked her.
"Well it hasn't at all been five whole years Naruto," she laughed out, genuinely happy for her friend's return. "You've definitely grown up and gotten quite a bit more handsome, Naruto," Sakura observed with the lightest of blushes staining her cheeks. "Your voice also dropped a few octaves to boot. You actually sound like a grown man!"
"Thanks, Sakura-chan. You've grown as well and look much more like a young woman now," Naruto complemented, causing Sakura's blush to grow a bit darker, which Naruto noticed. "Sakura, you're blushing. Don't tell me you like me now," Naruto informed her with a sly smirk scratching his features.
That insinuation really yanked Sakura's chains, as she proceeded to hammer him into the cobblestone road. "No you baka! You're still Naruto, you know!" she yelled, a vein bulging from her forehead. Naruto climbed to his feet heavily dazed with a lump forming at the top of his head. 'What has bā-chan been teaching her? She hits several times harder than she used to!'
"Gomen, Sakura-chan, but it was just a joke! I'm not even infatuated with you anymore so you can stop worrying about that part of me at least!" Naruto reprimanded her in his defense. Sakura merely giggled at his antics. He was still Naruto after all despite his increased maturity.
"Come on, you just got back so I'll treat you to ramen. I got a bonus during my shift at the hospital today." At this gesture of kindness, Naruto nodded in thanks and they both went inside, taking a stool and preparing to place their orders.
"Hello customers and welcome to Ichiraku Ra-" Teuchi began his greeting, but immediately froze with a dumbfounded expression glued to his face as soon as his saw Naruto. The blond merely grinned at the old ramen chef across the counter.
"Yo, Teuchi!" he greeted. "Long time no see!"
This snapped the old man out of his reverie and replaced his dumbstruck expression with one of pure joy and surprise. "Naruto!" Teuchi exclaimed. "Welcome back to the village! My, you sure have grown into quite the young man, kiddo!"
Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head, a habit he developed for when he was embarrassed. "Yeah, I've gotten that from more than one person today. But hey, I'm still me at least."
Teuchi guffawed from behind the counter. Naruto apparently learned humility while he was gone. "Tell you what, Naruto. It's the grand return of Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage! Therefore, you and your friend get ramen today on the house, free of charge!"
Naruto felt warm inside. He still had friends that cared for him despite his extended absence. "Thanks, old man. You just saved Sakura-chan a few ryō," Naruto credited, earning a cackle from his pink-haired teammate.
"Naruto! You're back! And therefore I challenge you!" a childish voice from behind them boomed. Naruto visibly perked at the recognition of who it was. 'Kid is the same as I left him, just older.' The blond pulled back the flaps of the Ramen stand to come face-to-face with the owner of the voice: none other than Sarutobi Konohamaru wearing a long-sleeved grassy green shirt trimmed with black lines, standard black ninja pants with his weapons holster on his right leg on top of white tape, and a blue scarf, headband, and ninja sandals. 'Apparently he made Genin too.' Naruto smiled at his last thought, proud of Konohamaru for finally being realized as a shinobi.
"Alright then kiddo, what kind of challenge?" He was up for a quick contest with his old 'rival' as Konohamaru claimed them to be. He just hoped Konohamaru wouldn't try to push it as far as Gai-sensei did with Kakashi-sensei.
"We're gonna have a ninjutsu showdown!" Konohamaru cried out, punching the sky with his fist.
Naruto actually became a little smug at this. But then again, he was curious as to what Konohamaru learned. "Alright then kid, your move."
The young teen smirked. "Oh you're gonna love this one Naruto-nii-san!" With that being said, he formed the ram seal with his hands. "Oiroke no Jutsu!" Naruto visibly twitched in annoyance as the boy transformed into a fully nude female with the only thing separating Naruto's eyes and the woman's nipples and genitalia being a small and thin cloud. Saying that Sakura was furious was an understatement.
The kunoichi was about to unleash hell on Konohamaru, but Naruto stopped her. "Don't punish him like that. He's only doing what I taught him when I was his age. Monkey see, monkey do, remember?" He moved over to Konohamaru and bonked him on the head, dispelling the henge. "Konohamaru, stop that," Naruto said to the teen with a serious undertone in his voice. "Those are childish tricks. I don't want to see you using that jutsu again, got it? Being a shinobi isn't fun and games like that, so don't treat your profession in such a manner."
"But you're the one who invented the jutsu in the first place!" Konohamaru retorted, confusion evident on his features. Why was Naruto so serious all of a sudden about not using a jutsu he created?
"I was also the one who pulled pranks all the time. That's when I was a kid and didn't know any better. Now I do know better and so should you, understood?" Naruto wasn't kidding around. After spending five years with a perverted sensei, even though the pervert put aside his 'research' stating Naruto's training took priority, he grew to become even more aggrivated with that kind of obscene behavior.
Konohamaru sighed in defeat. "I understand, Naruto-nii-san. I'll stop using the jutsu... But could you at least teach me something else to make up for it?" Konohamaru plead to Naruto. It wasn't a secret the teen looked up to the blonde as his idol and wanted to be just like Naruto.
Naruto smiled in return. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll teach you a few jutsu when I have the time, alright?" At this declaration, Konohamaru could only nod vigorously. "Now run along, we have errands to run."
"Alright, boss! Sayonara!" Konohamaru proceeded to run down the road and out of the sight of the two ninja at the ramen stand.
"I lost my appetite from that little scenario. Wanna go spar, Sakura-chan? I'm eager to see what you learned from- Sakura-chan?" Sakura stood still as a tree, gaping at Naruto. Did she really just witness that? Naruto, of all people, told someone to stop acting childish. Is the rapture about to occur or has Naruto simply matured more than she or anyone else thought possible? Three 'Sakura-chan's and a poke on the shoulder later, she was jolted out of her musings. "Are you alright?" Naruto asked.
"Uh, I'm, uh fine. Yeah, fine. Um, let's go spar, sure! I'm all up for that!" Sakura elicited a nervous laugh. Naruto just shrugged her behavior off, although he knew the reason as to why she was suddenly at a loss for words. As he turned to walk towards their team's old training ground, Training Ground Three, he couldn't help but smirk. He was going to surprise quite a few people now that he has returned.
Finishing a final Jūken combination, Hinata let her muscles relax, wiping the sheen of sweat from her brow. It was about time for a break, considering she had been training since the morning. Her combat stamina had increased ten-fold since her first appearance at the Chūnin exams. By her second attempt, she proved she was worthy of the rank and was promoted. It did manage to earn some recognition from her father on her worthiness. She had been training with Neji to improve after all. Now the Hyūga prodigy was a Jōnin while she wasn't quite there yet. She would try her hardest to make it there though. After all, Naruto would have to acknowledge her in some way if he came back and she was an elite ninja of the village.
She unzipped her coat and shrugged it off. She was far too hot to be wearing something like that right now. It would only serve to turn her torso into a furnace. As she leaned against the training post to catch her breath, she heard a conversation slowly growing in volume as the source neared her position. She could tell from the female voice that it was Sakura-san, but she was completely unfamiliar with the second voice. It was the voice of a man, but who? "Konichiwa, Hinata-san!" Sakura greeted the kunoichi. As Hinata turned to return the greeting, her entire body shut down and all the heat she was feeling from training migrated to her face the moment her lavender orbs locked with azure ones.
"So how was your training with bā-chan?" Naruto asked to appease his curiosity as they approached the training area for their spar. He'd wondered what medic-nin went through to acquire their abilities. The fact that Tsunade, a woman said to be unparalleled in the field in terms of medical ninjutsu and raw strength had taught his former teammate inflated his need to know.
Sakura rolled her eyes at his disrespect. As much as he had grown, he could still be rude when he wanted. "It went well. Tsunade-shishō taught me a lot in the past five years, including how to harness strength like her's. It's actually really simple, but it takes a lot of chakra precision and control, about on the level of a Hyūga. I was even promoted to Jōnin because of it!" Sakura stated proudly. She tried to avoid a big head over her promotion, but sometimes she couldn't help it. As it stood, she always was giddy about having natural chakra control. The ability was astonishingly easier to learn for her than most, including Tsunade's first pupil, Shizune. In this perspective, she had surpassed her senior and was now working to develop her abilities beyond that of her sensei. "I'm also currently in the process of developing the Byakugō no In, but that takes a while," she added.
"Congratulations on your promotion Sakura-chan, but what exactly is the Byakugō no In?"
"The diamond on Tsunade-sama's forehead." Now he understood. She really was planning to surpass the old Hokage. At her current rate of progression, she might actually just do that. Sakura always was a fast learner with an intelligent mind to boot. "How did your training trip go?" Sakura questioned. Now it was his turn to satisfy her interest.
"Sensei says that I've managed to surpass tou-chan and kaa-chan with my mastery of jutsu, my speed, my reflexes, and all around mental state." Over the years, Naruto had mastered many techniques and had trained himself to exhaustion. He figured out that the use of kage bunshin would speed up the process several notches. If it wasn't for his mastery of the kinjutsu and the fact that his natural chakra reserves neared bijū level, he wouldn't have made it even a fourth of how far he'd come. Hundreds of Naruto's training everyday for five years will indefinitely get you somewhere.
"Tou-chan and kaa-chan? Did you learn who your parents were?" Sakura's interest almost exploded from overflow at his mention of his parents. This was something she had to know, or else she wouldn't be able to sleep. Ever.
"Yeah, they were Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato." Sakura physically tripped and fell flat on her face at the mention of his father. "Sakura-chan? Are you alright?" Sometimes Naruto would manage to forget who his father exactly was. He couldn't blame her for her shocked reaction and slacked jaw when she lifter her face out of the dirt. He laughed a little at her goofy expression.
"Okay, okay, now slow down, stop, and reverse. You said Namikaze Minato, right?" Naruto nodded, answering her. "Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage, the man the village dearly loved, the man who defeated the Kyūbi no Yokō, and the fastest shinobi to ever exist in history, even above the Nidaime, is your father?"
"Yup," Naruto responded casually replied. Is it even possible for someone to act so carefree about announcing that their father was one of the greatest and most respected shinobi to ever live?
"Alright then... I didn't just learn something mind-blowing today." Sakura was still a little stunned, but to be fair she had it coming in a way. She never thought about Naruto's relation to Yondaime-sama, but looking at him now and how much their appearances parallel, she could openly see the resemblance.
They finally entered Training Ground Three, putting their conversation to a hold. "This place really does bring back memories, doesn't it?" Naruto reminisced. His mind wandered back to the days of when he, Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke took the bell test in an effort to prove they deserved their hitai-ate and Genin status.
Sakura saddened slightly at the memories the opening invoked. "Yeah, it does," she replied. This was where they had so many team training sessions. All the while, she was infatuated with someone that didn't respect her fan-girlish nature nor her ability as a kunoichi. After Naruto left Konoha, her feelings for the Uchiha slowly dissipated. She had to grow up someday after all.
As they approached the training posts, Sakura noticed someone leaning against the other side of the post, a familiar jacket sprawled at her feet. "Look, Hinata's here," Sakura called Naruto to attention, pulling him out of his musings. "Konichiwa, Hinata-san!" The indigo-haired kunoichi spun around off the post with a smile on her face and her lips parted as if to return the greeting, but when she looked to Sakura's right and noticed the tall, blond man, her facial expression changed swiftly to one of shock as her cheeks burned red. She looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
As soon as the young woman locked eyes with him, Naruto also froze and his eyes widened at the sight before him. In front of him was a beautiful young maiden with shining hair and gorgeous eyes. 'That's Hinata? The same Hinata that said goodbye to me five years ago?' His eyes drifted over the rest of her body. She had grown quite impressively, developing attractive curves in eye-catching places. Her mesh ninja top assisted in defining some of these. Oblivious to Sakura's smirk, he continued his musings. 'Wow. She's really grown into something else. Pretty face, nice curvature, and a perfect set of bre-'
Naruto shook his head violently to dispel the perverted thoughts that clouded his mind. Inwardly, he sighed. 'I suppose no matter how hard you try, you can't completely avoid acquiring some sort of perverted mannerism when training with the king of them for five years.' Composing himself a little more, he smiled at the young woman. "Yo, Hinata-chan! It's been far too long!"
Hinata jumped at the sound of his voice, not missing the honorific he had added to her name which caused her face to redden further. A few seconds later, after her mind registered that he had greeted her and she had willed herself to remain conscious, she took a deep breath and prepared to attempt to exchange her greeting, keeping her eyes diverted from his. "K-kon-nichiwa, N-Naruto-ku-kun..." Five years. It has been five entire years and she still had that accursed stutter. Then again, she was caught completely off guard by the blond's appearance. While she could talk to anyone at all without breaking up her sentences nowadays, she still couldn't speak straight to the one male she was head over heels for, nor could she rid her cheeks of her blush. She still couldn't even look him in his own two eyes! After a moment, she realized something. He was finally back. Her Naruto had finally returned to her. She would no longer awaken knowing that her Naruto was gone. While this entirely wasn't the case at all, she still fantasized about it with zero evident care for the situational facts.
"It's, uh, good to see you again, 'ttebane? Oh, uh, thanks for the medicine you gave me. It was great and, um, really helped out!" While Naruto did have the ability to talk normally to her, his speech was sometimes distracted. It could be due to the fact that he was trying to abstain his eyes from her bosom, or he could claim it was for a completely different reason.
Hinata perked up a little at his complement and her eyes rose to look at him. What she saw from his body language, particularly the areas his eyes would wander, sparked a blush extremely intense as she realized why he kept looking where he did.
Her jacket wasn't on.
The fact she was now meeting his eyes and that he was apparently having a difficult time averting his gaze from her chest caused what felt like gallons of blood to rush to her face. As a result of the overflow, she fainted, collapsing onto the floor. Naruto jumped at her reaction in slight worry, but he was also partially relieved. 'Good thing she still has her fainting spells.' Any longer and she would have caused a nosebleed. Sakura took it upon herself to assist the unconscious Hyūga, leaning her against the training post she had fainted beside. Naruto's relief doubled when a young Chūnin burst through the trees to relay orders from the Hokage.
"Uzumaki-san, Sakura-sama, Hokage-sama requests your presence immediately," the Chūnin informed them. They both nodded their understanding and the Chūnin leapt away, his mission complete.
Sakura turned to her blond teammate. "Hokage-sama requests us, so I hope you've at least learned some respect." Naruto nodded, his face morphing to a stern appearance.
"I offer respect where it is due, Sakura. Unlike when I was twelve, I know when to stop acting foolish." From the tone his voice adopted, Sakura could easily understand that he was all business now. She smiled slightly at him before tilting her head in a gesture that meant for him to follow her. The two shinobi launched themselves into the treeline and rushed toward the Hokage tower.
"You called, Tsunade-hime?" Jiraiya asked as he crawled in through the window of the Hokage's office. Tsunade sighed to herself. 'Does he even know how to work a doorknob?' She motioned for him to sit, and he complied.
"I thought I told you to come directly here, not to the women's bathhouse," she accused, to which Jiraiya responded by pouting.
"I haven't even gotten the chance to peep at anyone decent for five years! Cut me some slack! Besides, I find that accusation insulting, regardless of how true it is," the sage retorted. Most of the past five years was spent tutoring his new prized pupil. He had to sit and re-read the descriptive and intimate sex scenes from each of his novels.
"Yeah, whatever. I didn't call you here though to discuss your perverse issues. I want your report on Naruto's training. How much have his abilities increased?" she pried. That was, after all, the entire reason Jiraiya and the blond Genin left.
"I can't really define Naruto's skills so much as I can show you. I've arranged a way to display them and the Jōnin who will be testing them should be here soon. Right now though, I have a more important subject to discuss. During out mission, the Akatsuki started making their moves. Several attempts were made against Naruto, granted they all ended poorly. They even tried to capture the Kazekage, Naruto's brother in burden, and use him as leverage to get the Kyūbi." Tsunade leaned forward in her chair, clasping her hands in front of her face and hanging on Jiraiya's every word. This was indeed important. "All in all, we've defeated every member of the Akatsuki we've fought so far. We've even managed to catch the one that's been gathering information for them," he finished. Tsunade took a deep breath while processing Jiraiya's report so far.
"Is the fox still in check?" she asked. In truth, it was one of the more important points of the subject since if the kitsune were to run rampant through Naruto or escape the seal, it would be a hassle dealing with it and the village would be nearly destroyed. Her brow arched though when Jiraiya donned a smirk.
"Actually, that's part of the demonstration of his skills," he informed her. While she was put at ease, she was also deeply interested in what Jiraiya was implying. She could wait though.
"And according to the information you have given me, the Akatsuki are weakened in numbers?" she asked.
"Actually, they're down all of their members except for their leader and, from the intelligence we've gathered, a single remaining subordinate," Naruto answered from the window. Tsunade turned around to see not the boy she remembered and cared about so deeply, but a muscular blond man that reminded her of the Yondaime. She could even see Kushina's face when she looked at him. He had indeed grown to be as handsome as his father had been. "We don't exactly know who it is yet, much less where they are, but we'll let you know."
She smiled at Naruto. "Konichiwa, Naruto. It's been a long time."
"Indeed, Tsunade-sama," Naruto replied with a bow after he hopped from the window to the front of her desk. Tsunade eyed him suspiciously. He isn't addressing her the same.
"Why aren't you calling me bā-chan, gaki? What's the deal?" She was ready to plow the imposter through the wall, already focusing chakra into her right fist.
The blond shinobi chuckled. "I'm only delivering respect where it is deserved, Hokage-sama. Of course, you can expect the nickname I've given to you under more casual circumstances." He punctuated his declaration with a familiar wide smile. Tsunade snickered in her seat after relaxing. 'So you actually did grow up, gaki. I must say, impressive.'
A knock sounded at the door of her office. "Enter," she ordered, and the door creaked open to reveal Sakura who walked in and gave a deep and respectful bow. "Finally, someone normal who knows how to use a door," she said as she shot icy glares toward Naruto and Jiraiya, both of which scratched the backs of their heads sheepishly and chuckled nervously. "Judging by your lack of surprise, Sakura, I take it you've already acquainted yourself with him?" At the pinkette's nod, she continued. "Anyways, I'd like to know what you have planned to show me what Naruto is capable of," she inclined.
"I believe I can answer that, Tsunade-sama." Everyone turned to the open window of the office to see a middle-aged shinobi dressed in standard Jōnin attire fitted with a mask, bearing white hair and having one eye covered by his hitai-ate cloth.
"Yo, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto spoke up. "It's been a while!"
"Indeed it has, Naruto. And you seem to have grown into quite the successful shinobi from my initial observations and the information I received from Jiraiya-sama," The cyclopic Jōnin replied, his visible eye crinkled into an inverted 'U' shape signaling that he was smiling beneath his mask.
"Use the damn door!" Tsunade bellowed as she rose from her seat abruptly and slammed her palms on her desk sending shockwaves through the room. The shinobi present trembled and shrank under the Hokage's temper. Kakashi was the first to regain his composure and spoke up.
"Anyways, the test Jiraiya and I have agreed on will be a two against one objective-based test. It will not only be a test of skill, strength, knowledge, and ability, but also a test of teamwork. Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura will work as a team in a reiteration of the bell test."
/End/
/Next Chapter: Bell Test Revisited/
Please review the story, it's my first FanFiction and I'd like to know what you guys think!
Thanks loads for the initial favorites, follows and reviews! The story has even been added to someone's community already! I'll try to upload as often as I can, but between class, relaxation, and the time it takes to write these frickin' things, I don't know how often it will be exactly.
On a completely unrelated note, the story now has a cover! That is all. Have a nice day and don't forget to favorite if you like the story so far, follow if you want to read more, and review and let me know your thoughts!
