Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

4 year recap:

Team 7 was kept in tact for a bit to help Sakura become a Chunin, and to help a new graduate as well. This new graduate was named Sai Sarutobi, an orphan who was adopted by the Third Hokage's son and his wife.

After Naruto left, not seeing Naruto for a while made Ino go back to liking Sasuke, but eventually that lost its luster too. Sai asked her on a date, and she accepted, but she felt he was too boring. She felt like she needed someone who matched her energy, and she knew exactly who it was. She kept comparing Sai to Naruto in her head, and eventually, she broke it off, feeling guilty for constantly thinking about Naruto. Right after he left, she also asked her dad to help her train again, explaining that she lost sight of what was important as a ninja.

Sakura continued her efforts to seduce Sasuke, thinking she could take Naruto's place as his best friend, but Sasuke wasn't exactly on the same

page. He did replace Naruto, and with a girl at that, but it wasn't Sakura: it was Hinata. Sakura watched as she kept her side character role as Hinata became the main character, and slowly became closer to him than Naruto.

Eventually, Sasuke and Hinata began dating, and Sakura was heartbroken. It happened right around the Chunin exams, and she ended up failing again. Sai passed, so Minato didn't want to hold Sasuke and Sai back by keeping them on a Genin team still, and eventually asked Kurenai to train Sakura one-on-one since Shino, Kiba, and Hinata had all passed this time around as well. Sakura passed at the next one.

Gaara moved to the Leaf, and he and Kushina had daily training sessions where he tried to befriend Shukaku. She tried to use Kurama to get him to open up, but he was as hard as the sand armor that covered him. Eventually, he gave in, somewhat out of the persistency of Gaara, but mostly because the boy's positivity was contagious.

After 2 years, Sasuke, Neji, Kankuro, Temari, Gaara, Shino, Hinata, Ino and Shikamaru became Jonin, and after 3, Sakura and Kiba joined that list as well.

Shisui showed Itachi and Sasuke his Susano'o, and Itachi and Sasuke expressed interest in obtaining one themselves. Shisui told them that they can't, and it's a very horrible way to get it, but that was just a ploy. Shisui put Itachi under a genjutsu, and made him believe that he had killed himself, essentially tricking him into awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan. They planned to do the same to Sasuke when Naruto returned.

Itachi showed his father his new Sharingan, and told him all about the Mangekyo, just like he did with Obito. After hearing about Eternal Mangekyo, Itachi asked if they could just switch eyes since they were so closely related and both had it. Fugaku agreed to try it, and they did, giving them both Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Itachi told Shisui about this, and Shisui said he would try it with Obito when he got back.

—

Hinata told the group that Naruto was returning, and that they should have dinner the day after.

"How do you know?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sasuke told me."

"Why not the day he gets back?" Choji asked.

"He's going to take a test and then spend dinner with his family."

"What kind of test?" Shikamaru asked.

"He's going to fight Sasuke to determine his rank now that he's back."

"Really?" Kiba asked. "We should bet on it!"

"That's a terrible idea!" Sakura said.

"I'm okay with that," Neji said.

"Me too," Lee said. Shikamaru and Ino also agreed, so Sakura had no choice but to comply.

Since they were the closest to Shikamaru's house, he went and got a pen and paper. He made two categories. "Okay, how much are we all putting in?"

"2000 ryo?" Hinata asked. They all nodded their heads.

"If you're betting on Naruto, write your name on this side. For Sasuke, write it on the other side. The entire lot will be split amongst the people who bet on the winner."

They began writing their names down. Sakura, Hinata, Neji, Tenten, Sai and Shino bet on Sasuke; and Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Gaara, Lee, and Kiba bet on Naruto.

"You guys are really going to bet on Naruto?" Sakura asked. "You've seen what Sasuke is capable of right?"

"I know Sasuke is going to win. I'm just betting on Naruto because I like him more." Shikamaru said.

"You think Sasuke is going to win?" Choji asked. Shikamaru nodded, and Choji moved to change his selection. Ino stopped him.

"Shikamaru values his money. He's only saying that so less people bet on Naruto, meaning more money for him," she whispered.

"Oh okay."

"I agree, Sasuke was a much more difficult opponent." Neji said.

"And he was trained by Shisui and Itachi. Naruto was trained by Obito-sensei. There's no competition." Tenten said.

"Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage. We don't know what to expect from him." Kiba said.

"And Sasuke is an Uchiha, the strongest clan in the Leaf." Sakura said.

"Excuse me?" Hinata and Neji said.

"Could any of your clan beat anyone from the Uchiha?" Shikamaru asked.

"Most definitely," Neji said.

"Fugaku-sama is rumored to be as strong as the Hokage," Gaara said. "I've heard Minato-sensei and Fugaku-sama talking. Both of them said they wouldn't dare engage in battle with the other."

"Gaara whose side are you on?" Ino asked.

"I am simply stating the facts. I believe that the Hyuga are very talented, but not as much as the Uchiha."

"Ino I thought you would've bet on Sasuke," Choji said.

"I was thinking about it, but you never know what to expect with Naruto," she said.

"Yeah, and because she likes him," Hinata whispered to Sakura and Tenten. The girls giggled and Ino glared at them. They sent back innocent smiles.

"There's no point in arguing about this. Nobody is going to change their mind," Shikamaru said.

—

Ino stood at the counter of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. She checked the time again for the 4th time in 7 minutes. Her shift got off in 2 hours, and there were another 5 hours until they were supposed to meet, but time seemed to have slowed down to half speed.

As she stood and thought about seeing Naruto tonight, she realized that she didn't even know what he looked like. It had been over 4 years since she'd seen him, meaning he'd probably look insanely different. She didn't want to admit it, but if he wasn't cute, she would be very conflicted.

The door opened and she looked up. Her questions from a second before were answered, and she was very satisfied with the answer.

"Naruto! How are you?" She asked, as she walked around the counter.

"I'm good, how about you?"

"Great!" She hugged him. It wasn't a long hug, but it wasn't a normal length one either. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I was just going around and saying hi to everyone."

"Oh, okay. Who do you have left?"

"You were the last one, so I was just going to go home after this."

Damn. That one hurt. "I see. Well, I'll see you tonight then."

"Yeah, okay."

"Actually, Naruto, remember when I said that our little grudge wasn't over?"

"Yeah."

She sat down against the counter and put her hands in the Mind Transfer seal. Her head slumped forward, and Naruto was pushed to the back of his own mind.

He was stuck, just like before, but this time he was stuck in a different spot. He sent chakra to his brain, and his feet became loose. He ran up to Ino, and reached out to throw her out of his consciousness, but when he did, he felt a shock run up his arm. He jerked his arm away and turned around.

Ino was 20 feet behind him. He turned back around to look at where Ino was before and he was met with a navy blue wall. How did she do that? Did she put him under a genjutsu inside his own mind?

He tried forcing chakra to the center, to try and kick Ino out of her position, but he felt the power surging around him instead. He was thrown up and back, and landed on his butt. Ino still didn't seem to notice him, considering she was staring straight ahead while he was making a ruckus to her left.

He tried to disrupt his chakra as much as he could, but that just ended up turning the spot he was standing on into a whirlpool. If he was in a genjutsu, normal release techniques wouldn't work.

Could he fight his way out? He thought it was safe to assume that the Ino that he could see probably wasn't the real one, and if he started fighting something that wasn't there, it was possible he could hurt his own mindscape.

If he pulled up the headband, he could probably detect her chakra somewhere, but it probably wasn't worth it since this was just a simple duel. If he remembered correctly, he said he'd buy her lunch if he couldn't kick her out, so the stakes weren't high at all; it definitely didn't warrant exposing his eye.

Maybe he could just run around with his arms out and hope he found her, but seeing what she could do with his mind, that was unlikely. He sighed. It was time to surrender.

He put his hands up. "I give up."

He was thrust back into control of his mind, and Ino woke up from her position on the ground. He held his hand out to her. She placed her perfectly manicured hand in his and he pulled her up. He noted how pretty her hand was, and how nicely it fit in his hand.

"How did you do that?" He asked.

"I can manipulate your mindscape."

"So that's why my genjutsu releases didn't work."

"Yep."

"That was good."

"I know! Are you proud of me?"

"Of course."

"I told you I'd beat you."

"And you did."

She gave him another hug. There was no reason for it, she just wanted to give him a hug.

"So when do you want to get lunch?"

"Lunch? Why- why are we getting lunch?"

"Because I couldn't kick you out."

"Oh yeah! You said you'd buy me lunch. How about tomorrow?"

"Sure, sounds good. Where?"

"Surprise me?"

"I'm just gonna take you to Ichiraku's then," he said with a laugh.

"That sounds fun."

"Okay, then it's a plan."

Why didn't he say it was a date? Normally people say "it's a date" when it's people they like, but they avoid it when it's people they don't. So he didn't like her? He probably still liked Sakura. Moron. Seemed like she had some work to do. "Okay, awesome. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah."

She hugged him again, and he left.

—

They agreed to meet earlier than they told Sasuke and Naruto in order to divvy up the money. Hinata asked Sasuke about the fight, and would deliver the news to them.

"The one person we're waiting on is the one that has the results," Shikamaru said. "What a drag."

"Shika can you be patient for once? We still have 30 minutes until they show up. That's plenty of time even if she keeps us waiting for another 10," Ino said.

"I don't know why we're waiting, Sasuke definitely won," Tenten said.

"Why did no one just ask Naruto today?" Choji asked. "Shikamaru, I know it crossed your mind."

"He visited in the middle of my nap, so we didn't talk long. I wanted to get him out ASAP," Shikamaru said. Ino just sighed.

"In case Naruto won, should we bring it up?" Sakura asked.

"It's not that big of a deal, why are we even discussing this?" Kiba asked.

"Because Sasuke has never lost to Naruto, so he won't want to talk about it," Shikamaru said.

"You say he's never lost to Naruto as if anyone else has beaten him," Kiba said.

"All his superiors have, and so have I," Shikamaru said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you beat him! That one was sick bro."

Hinata finally arrived, and they all turned to her expectantly.

"Naruto won," she said. The people who voted for Naruto cheered and high fived each other while small outbursts could be heard from the people who bet on Sasuke.

"I may have bet on Naruto, but I think we are all wondering the same thing: how?" Lee asked.

"Sasuke said he's gotten very strong apparently. He has control over all 5 elements, his taijutsu is great, he can teleport, and he found a way to easily fight the Sharingan too."

"Dang. Obito-sensei must be a really good teacher," Kiba said.

"Constantly practicing against a Sharingan must've helped," Gaara said.

"He can teleport, you said?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah. Allegedly," Hinata said.

"That's fucking sick."

"Is Sasuke mad?" Choji asked.

"No, he's taking it pretty well. I think he's okay with it."

"That's good."

"We can talk later. We should split up the money now," Neji said.

They all put in their money, though the Sasuke betters did so more reluctantly. They split the 24,000 among Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Gaara, Lee, and Kiba, doubling the money that they put in. They chatted more about the things they did that day, and Naruto and Sasuke finally arrived.

"Oh you're all already here. Sorry I'm late," Naruto said.

"Oh, it's okay," Hinata said. Sasuke sat down next to Hinata, and Naruto said between Ino and Lee.

Lee gave him a huge hug. "I am so glad that you are back!"

"Me too man, but we saw each other today," Naruto said.

"I know! But it's just so great to see you."

"You too."

"So how was your trip?" Sakura asked.

"Great!" Naruto said.

"Which one was your favorite village?" Gaara asked.

"Rain probably. I met some people who were trained by Jiraiya-sama."

"Really? Who?"

"I don't know. Some kids that he met during the war. They run the Rain Village now."

"Wow, that's awesome. Jiraiya-sama trained two village leaders."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked sweetly.

"Yeah."

"I've been meaning to ask, why's your headband like that?"

"Oh, this? I just wanted to be like Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura started laughing. "Aw, that's cute."

Ino narrowed her eyes. What was her deal? Why was she being so friendly with him all of a sudden? Did she like him now? That bitch, she knew how Ino felt about Naruto, but she took a look at him and decided she wanted him to, huh? She always did this; she always liked whoever Ino liked.

"You can take it off now, though," Sakura said.

"No, Kakashi-sensei always keeps his on no matter where he goes, so I figured if I'm gonna be good like him, I have to imitate everything he does."

"But I want to see your other eye," Sakura pouted.

"Sorry, no can do. This stays on."

Shikamaru studied him while other people conversed with him. Naruto wasn't the type to flat out deny Sakura something, whether he liked her or not. If she wanted to see his other eye (for whatever reason she wanted; he'd have to figure her out too), he wouldn't refuse to because of some stupid reason like "I want to be like Kakashi-sensei". No, he was hiding something. That headband didn't come off because Naruto didn't have his real eye anymore.

As for Sakura, this looked like an open-shut case of infatuation. She saw his glow up, and now she liked him. He would probably have to tell Ino though, since there was no telling if or when Sakura would stop.

—

"Hi!" Ino said as Naruto walked through the shop door.

"Hey, you ready?" He asked.

"Yes! Let's go." She grabbed her purse, but he told her she wouldn't need it. She put it back down and they headed to Ichiraku Ramen.

"So tell me about the trip. Where did you go first? Which one was the prettiest? Where did you learn the most? Where did you lear-"

"Okay," Naruto said with a laugh. "I'll tell you everything."

And he did (in reality, he told her about an eighth of what his trip consisted of, and he told her nothing about the eye, of course). They ate, left, and walked and Naruto talked while Ino listened. Soon the sun was setting, and they decided to call it a day. Naruto walked her back to the shop, and she gave him a hug. She wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek, but she thought she wouldn't try her luck today, and just leave it at the hug.

Naruto left her shop and headed home. On his way home, he saw a girl about his age trip and fall and spill her books. He went over to help her up, and picked her books up with her. When he gave her the last book, he looked at her face, and his breath left him for a second. She was gorgeous. She had black hair, deep brown eyes, and freckles dotting her nose. A faint blush dusted her cheeks at Naruto's state.

"Hi, I'm Misaki," she said as she stuck her hand out. Even her voice was pretty.

He shook her hand. "Naruto. Nice to meet you."

A/N: I know, cliffhanger! I will try to update as soon as I can, but rest assured this won't last that long.