Forty two hours and sixteen minutes had passed since the last time Sakura had slept and she could feel the beginnings of a headache starting to build up as she helplessly listened to the ten different voices speaking all at once.

"Dictator." She thought to herself "I should have become a mad dictator and I should have killed off all these damn citizens. I should have killed off everyone-"

A loud noise brought her back to reality and with a blink of surprise she realized that the desk in front of her had a rather nasty dent. A dent, she figured, was a fair price for the silence that had fallen over the room.

"Oh good, I finally get my turn to speak." She bit out, glaring at the occupants. "I realize that under my leadership, things have been different. I've done my best to give each and every community in this village an equal voice on all matters. However, the fact remains that Konoha is a SHINOBI village and I'm still the kage. Do you know what that means? Shikamaru, I think it's about time you explain to this honorable merchant here exactly what it means"

Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably before answering, "It means that while Hokage sama generally takes your views into consideration and often lets the council have its way, she still has veto power. Her word is law"

"She wouldn't even be considering this course of action if those two weren't her teammates! She's clearly biased." Shin, the honorable merchant in question spat out

"Unless you want your trading rights rescinded, I suggest you adopt a much more respectful ton, merchant san" Sakura interjected "Let me be very clear on this. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto are war heroes. Their prolonged absence does not eradicate the role that they played in ending what potentially could have been the biggest war in our history. Now, I'm very much aware of Uchiha sans transgression before the war, but Naruto has been nothing but an upstanding citizen his entire life. Its been nine years, not ninety. Donot disregard everything they've done for you"

"Ofcourse, Sakura sama" another citizen spoke up "Shin is being irrational, the rest of us are more than willing to agree to whatever you have to say"

The twelve other citizens nodded respectfully, causing Sakura to release a relieved breath. She gestured to Sai, who then gave out the final verdict.

"Naruto kun and Sasuke kun will be reinstated as Konoha nin with the Chunin rank instead of the Genin rank that they were at when they left the village. Their promotion to Jonin however, cannot take place till atleast until three years after they have been reinstated. They will undergo a psyche evaluation with a trained Yamanaka and then they'll attend sessions with a psychiatrist until they are declared mentally sound."

"They will also be subjected to a hundred and fifty hours of D rank missions. In the meanwhile, Sai and I will take an anbu unit and retrace their steps to make sure that their stories match" Inuzuka Kiba finished Sai's verdict with a solemn nod

A quick command from the Hokage cleared the room within five minutes.

Xxx

Naruto was feeling unbelievably restless. He absolutely couldn't bring himself to sit still for more than two seconds. Now given that this wasn't exactly unusual behavior for the energetic blond, Sasuke hadn't given it much thought until the sound of shattering glass caused him to stare at the idiot that wouldn't leave him alone in shock.

Naruto let the shards fall into a nearby dustbin and cleaned his hands before speaking.

"Am I a bad person for hating the fact that Sakura's hokage?" He asked, bitterness lacing his voice

"Oh yeah, the worst." Sasuke nodded agreeably

"Dammit teme, I liked you better when your sense of humor didn't exist"

"I'm a hundred percent serious dobe. You're worse than the guy that tried to sell off his daughter's kidney-"

"What's this I hear about illegal organ selling?" Sakura's voice interrupted them

Sasuke turned to look at her and was shocked at how tired she looked. Her hair was haphazard and her clothes wrinkly. Yet she walked towards them with a small but sincere smile on her face.

"Nothing at all Sakura chan, just Sasuke being a jerk, but not like that's news right?" Naruto grumbled, shooting him a glare. Sasuke wisely decided to drop the previous topic of conversation and bring up a new one.

"So what's the verdict, Hokage Sama" The last two words felt strange in his mouth and he realized with a jolt that he too, was displeased by the unexpected events that had taken place in his absence.

If Sakura felt the weird tension that followed his question, she ignored it, and answered casually

"You guys will be reinstated as Konoha nin next week!" She smiled again, "We'll have a huge celebration because if the return of two lost war heroes isn't cause for celebration then I don't know what is! You'll be chunin rank. We'll make the arrangements for your welcome home party just as soon as you two are declared mentally sound!"

"Ne Sakura chan, that's not-"

"I'm really sorry that I'm cutting you off Naruto, but I'm exhausted and I need sleep. I've summoned Maya, you met her the other day and she'll be here first thing in the morning and explain all the details to you! I hope you like your rooms, goodnight!"

Sakura was out the room before she got the last word out, leaving Naruto to at the spot she was standing in with a mixture of emotions.

Xxx

Yamanaka Maya was feeling absolutely ecstatic. It was shaping up to be a very good day indeed. First Sakura sama had chosen her and not Kyo to deal with her teammates which had automatically earned her four points putting her on the same footing as Kyo. They were both competitive, extremely competitive and the apprenticeship with Sakura sama was the biggest competition ever. She pumped her fist in the year knowing that she had brought it to a draw.

The second good thing that happened to her was that she found the diamond necklace that her super rich ex boyfriend had given her. She'd tossed it away in a fit of rage and only later had she realized how valuable it was. Finding it meant that she could sell it and not do missions for atleast six months. She'd focus all her time on completing the jutsu and then she'd be way way waay ahead of Kyo.

And then, to make her morning even better, she got to watch two of the worlds strongest fighters spar like there was no tomorrow. The cherry on top of all this was that they were both shirtless.

After they called an end to their spar she bounded over cheerfully and offered to make breakfast while they showered and then set off to make pancakes, eggs and French toast. In midst of breakfast she read of the list that Sakura sensie had given her. She was disappointed when neither ninja reacted visibly especially since she'd heard from Konahamaru kun that Naruto was a bit of a drama queen. She put her hand on her hip and muttered

"You guys could be a little excited you know! You'll be konoha nin again, how cool is that?! Not many in your situation would be given that opportunity!"

"In our situation? What exactly is our situation?" Sasuke asked calmly

She hesitated, but then went on, "Well, you basically deserted your village when it needed you the most!"

"Deserted?! We saved this village and this world, little brat" Naruto exclaimed loudly, "Needing a little time after everything we'd been through wasn't the same as deserting"

"A little time is a year max, not nine years. This village was in shambles and it was only because of leaders like Sakura sama, Kakashi sama and Shikamaru sensie that we're still here!"

"Obviously I can't expect you to understand, you're just a kid." Naruto shook his head angrily "Nine years is nothing compared to everything I've gone through to keep this village safe and had I heard about even the slightest of trouble I would have come to the village's aid in a heartbeat! So don't give me any of that crap-"

"Maybe I don't understand. Call me naïve, call me stupid, I really don't care; I'm just calling it as I see it. While Sakura sama might not agree, that is what the majority of the villagers think so too. So you really should consider yourself lucky that you're being reinstated at ALL!" Maya knew that she was red in the by then.

Before Naruto could retort, or, and it was feeling more and more likely that it would come down to this, punch her, Sasuke cut in "Sakura, hope you had a good night's rest."

Maya froze, suddenly feeling the weight of her mentors stare on her back. A quick command from the person standing behind her caused her to whirl around in a flash.

"That was so incredibly disrespectful that I don't even have the words to describe how disappointed I am" Sakura said coolly.

"Hokage sama-"

"Cut the crap Maya. I trusted you with this job and what do you do? You talk back to someone who's served this village more than you could even hope to in two, maybe even three lifetimes. I'm assigning you a hundred hours of D rank missions and your apprenticeship is suspended till Naruto here gives the okay"

And just like that, all of Maya's happiness vanished and her heart sank so low, she was surprised that she was still breathing.

Xxx

A/N: And here's chapter three Thanks to everyone that reviewed and all

Also I realized I haven't put in a disclaimer….

So,here it goes

I don't own Naruto.

Reviews will make my day. So. Review. Thanks loveliess

Ohh and a reviewer asked me about the pairings here, and tbh, I actually have no idea. I know how this story's gonna end but the middle part im still working on. There will be no Naruhina, but I'm toying with the idea of pairing Sakura with someone. Sasuke? Gaara? Random guy we've never heard of before? Who knows:p