A Hero

Chapter 21

I don't own Naruto. Other than that, I don't really have much to say for this disclaimer except "Welcome... To the Exam Arc." And with that, I also have to say I don't own Jurassic Park.

The return trip to Konoha was rather simple, as there was no one attempting to attack them as they traveled. As a result, the trip was quick compared to most trips. When the group finally managed to make it to the village, they were greeted by a concerned Kurenai.

"Are you all alright?" she asked, inspecting her charges carefully as Anko snickered at her friend's panic, "Were there any A-ranked missing nin?"

"It was a simple C-Rank, Kurenai," Kakashi said, "To be honest, the most dangerous person we came across is standing with us right now. Now, I think we should probably submit our mission statements. I'll have them back to you as soon as possible."

While Kurenai speechlessly watched as the Legendary Tsunade Senju walked with an assistant, a pig, and the combined teams to reach the Hokage Tower. She didn't believe that there really was a pig. That would be too odd for her to understand, which meant that it couldn't be real. She was, of course, forgetting the boy who turned to stone in front of her some time ago.

The reunion between the Professor and one of his wayward students was one of the most touching sights Naruto had ever seen. Unfortunately, this moment was spoiled by the arrival of another of his students.

"It seems that almost all the old team's back here," the toad summoner said, entering through a window, "Is the Snake-Traitor hiding in here too?"

"I was hoping that you could tell me about that, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said, once more bearing a professional demeanor.

"I lost the trail some time back," Jiraiya replied grudgingly, "He gave me the slip on the way through Rice Country. Rumor has it that there's a new hidden village there, so he might be hiding out there to plan his next move, but I haven't heard much else about that village."

"I take it that you are Jiraiya the Toad Sage?" the blond boy in the room commented, looking at the man carefully.

"I see my reputation precedes me," Jiraiya said cheerfully, "but who are you?"

"I'm the new champion of Konoha," the blond smiled, "And my predecessor told me to call you Ero-sennin."

At that nickname, the spymaster paused and looked at the blond intently. Similar hair, similar skin tone and eye color, and that exact same smile. The only things differentiating him from his former pupil were the shape of the eyes and the whiskers on his cheeks. His eyes widening, Jiraiya stepped closer to the boy, a name he hadn't said in years leaping unbidden from his mouth.

"Minato?" he asked, despite his doubt that it was really his student come back to life.

"My name is Naruto, but he was the one that taught me about the world," the blond said, "He told me that if I was brought to life I was supposed to to inform you that he said, 'Thank you for helping teach me how to be a human, even if it only lasted me a little while.'"

Jiraiya fell silent at that, unsure of how to proceed. Fortunately for him, the boy seemed to be more than able to talk.

"He was a good person," he said, "He's the one who told me what life would be like if I were able to come to life, and he did it as kindly as it could be said. If you're the one who made him into that person, then it's an honor to meet you."

"Why don't we talk later," the toad summoner said softly, "I don't think I'm ready to talk to you yet."

"Okay," the blond who looked painfully like Minato said as the two teams he arrived with exited the room, leaving the two Sannin with the Hokage to discuss security measures for the Chuunin Exams.

As the teams and Anko exited the building, Naruto suddenly got excited and began running. Following the blond to see what was going on, the group were shocked to find a trio of Suna genin, consisting of a boy in a kabuki costume, a girl with four blonde pigtails, and a redhead with black circles around his eyes and a gourd on his back.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," Naruto said cheerfully, extending a hand to the redhead, much to the redhead's companions' shock, "These two statues haven't been near each other in a while, have they?"

"I... beg your pardon?" the redhead asked, "I do not understand your meaning."

"What do you mean you..." the blond began before his eyes once more turning feral, to everyone's shock. Turning to Kankuro with a snarl, his eyes reminding Kankuro of when Gaara was getting into a state of bloodlust, something that fortunately hadn't happened in a month, he asked, "So, puppeteer, how do you not notice something like this."

"W-what are you talking about?" he asked, not understanding what the blond had been talking about with his now equally confused brother.

"The seal on him was put by someone," the blond growled, "Can't you tell by the sand that's been occasionally falling off of him?"

"What are you talking about?" the girl asked, "Gaara's our brother, and we've never seen a seal on him."

"Yeah," Kankuro interjected, "He put that symbol on his forehead, himself and I don't think it's a seal."

"Wait," the blond said, his eyes suddenly turning blue again, "So neither of you knew that... Come with us. There's got to be a skilled seal master that's not busy around here somewhere."

"My father might be able to help," Hinata commented, "He has some skill with seals."

"Why would we need a seal master?" Gaara asked cautiously as Naruto began leading the group toward the village.

"I'll explain when we get there," he answered honestly, causing the Sand Trio to follow him.

"How do you know he has a seal if it's not visible?" Hinata asked, discreetly activating her Byakugan to see the seal on the redhead's back.

"Because of the sand that's falling off of him every once in a while before returning," Naruto said as he gently grabbed her hand, "That specific sand can only be found in the deserts of Suna in one place: the sandstone statue they have that's essentially Suna's version of me, which should have repaired if he'd manifested. The only thing he could be is the Shukaku container, and right now, that seal is threatening to completely wear him down to grains of sand."