Naruto had disappeared from the now obliterated training ground 7. He appeared in front of his apartment and contemplated what had just happened. He had just revealed one of his most deadly jutsu and was cursing himself for it. He had given away too much information about his potential skill with that jutsu.

At least the shinobi would probably no longer bother him with word of his skill spreading. Naruto then began contemplating what he would do now. He didn't want to sit in his room and read anymore of Kushimaru's scrolls. He had read most of the scrolls in the three years and didn't really wish to continue doing so.

He then thought back to what Shikamaru said about Ino. The least he could do was at least apologize, after all he did essentially use her as a hostage. Naruto hopped onto his roof top and began jumping rooftop to rooftop, making his way towards the hospital. Naruto got to the main entrance to the hospital, once again drawing looks of terror and hate from civilians and leaf shinobi. He entered into the hospital and walked up to the receptionist who was lost in a magazine she was reading.

"Excuse me."

Asked Naruto as the receptionist slowly lifted her head, only to lay eyes on the dreaded kiri ANBU mask that people had been talking about the past few days.

"Y..Y…Yes?"

Asked the receptionist who was completely terrified. Naruto smirked under his mask at the visible terror in the young girl's face.

"Can I have the room number for Ino Yamanaka.."

Asked Naruto as the receptionist continued to satre at his masked face, too scared to respond. Naruto sighed, he didn't want to scare the girl too much, after all she was just a receptionist.

"Listen, I'm not here to hurt or kill anyone, just give me the freaking room number, ok?"

Asked Naruto in a slightly ticked off manner. The receptionist snapped out of her terrified trance enough to mutter out the room number.

"I..Its number 107"

"Thank you."

Responded Naruto who began walking down the hall towards Ino's room. The receptionist sighed, grateful that the masked man had finally left.

He walked down the empty hallway until he saw the small room number sign to the side of the door. He stopped outside the door, wondering if he should really even bother stopping in to apologize, it's not like she knew who he was. Plus, it's not like he'd held a normal conversation, let alone apologize to someone in over three years. What was he suppose to say,' Sorry for using you as a hostage..' yeah that would go really well.

She'd probably just want him to leave immediately, but he did tell Shikamaru he would apologize, and he at least owed the girl an apology. He stood outside the door for around five minutes until he finally built up enough courage to go in. He reached down and turned the grey door knob and slowly opened the door, attempting to make as little noise as possible. Naruto cautiously entered the room only to meet a pair of sky blue eyes.

Ino's years of shinobi training had heightened her senses to the point where she could hear things that noble civilians couldn't. This allowed her to hear the door knob turn quietly as she opened her eyes to the base of the door to see black shinobi sandals. Ino had attempted to go back to sleep but the years of shinobi training had caused her to often react to the slightest bit of sounds.

Her eyes traveled up the person's well toned but slightly skiny body. She saw the grey arm guards, then…bandages? Finally, her eyes landed upon the kiri hunter nin mask that had filled her thoughts throughout her past couple of days in the hospital. She began to tremble a little at the sight of the man who had both held her as a hostage but also saved her life. Ino had thought a lot about her previous mission with Sasuke and Sakura and figured that the only possible way she could have returned safely to the village along with Sasuke and Sakura was if this masked swordsman saved her. She didn't know if she should be angry, thankful or terrified of the masked shinobi in front of her.

"W..What are you doing here?"

Questioned Ino who had now sat up in her bed. She was definitely a little scared of the swordsman who had managed to defeat that many elite kiri shinobi.

Naruto didn't know what to do. Ino looked terrified of him, and rightfully so. He did hold her hostage… Naruto began scratching the back of his head awkwardly, not exactly knowing what to do. The most disturbing thing for Naruto was that he was feeling something he hadn't dealt with for years, guilt. The scared look on her face made him feel terrible, knowing that he alone had made her feel that bad. Naruto then mustered enough courage to finally talk to the petrified girl.

"Well… I'm kind of hear to…to apologize for you know… taking you hostage and all.."

Said Naruto in a low and timid tone. Ino, who had been slightly trembling was now staring at the masked man with a look of shock on her face. She had no clue what the man wanted when he walked in but she definitely didn't expect an apology. She could also hardly believe how timid he was acting. Someone as powerful as him should be confident when they speak but he was pausing between sentences and was barely talking loud enough to be heard.

"Your sorry?"

Asked Ino in a confused manner, still not fully grasping what was going on. Naruto sighed, he knew he shouldn't have done this but it was too late to simply leave now.

"Well.. your teammate Shikamaru kind of told me that I should apologize to you."

This only confused Ino more. She remembered how weird Shikamaru acted when he was in her room. If he talked to this masked guy, then there was a high probability that he was acting that way because of this man. Ino looked over the man's features again, and then noticed the sunny blonde hair. The blonde hiair was similar to that of the fourth Hokage's. Ino thought that the hair looked familiar but then her attention returned to what he had said.

This man had taken her hostage, there was no way he was going to simply forgive him. He had essentially threatened to kill her. Ino had also thought about the man's possible motives but simply had no idea what they were. If he was planning on using her as a hostage he wouldn't have simply returned her, and he definitely wouldn't be standing in front of her. Regardless, she was going to make him sorry for holding Ino Yamanaka hostage, but she also had to be careful what she said. He was obviously stronger than her.

She was about to yell at the man but he then took out his needle like sword. It was weird-looking but it was obviously deadly, and effective. She gulped at the sight of the weapon as the man began twirling the blade in his right hand as the black eye slits of his mask pierced into her. Ino tried to muster up her courage to yell at him but figured it would probably be best not to yell at him.

"D..Do you expect me too j..just forgive you?"

Asked Ino with slight stutters in her sentence due to her fear of the man but Naruto could hear the anger in her voice. Naruto sighed again, this was going to be such a bother.

"Look Ino, I really don't expect you to forgive me, I'm just apologizing, I had my reasons for what I did.."

Naruto spoke fluidly, surprising both Ino and himself somewhat. She hadn't heard him speak fluidly since he started talking to her, but his tone slightly angered her. He was apologizing to her but really didn't seem to care if she forgave him or not. Ino also was somewhat curious at how this masked man had called her by her first name without any hesitation or approval from her to call her that. It was almost as if he knew her.

She figured her years of being teammates with Shikamaru were paying off as Ino began to connect information about the masked swordsman as well. If he didn't know who she was there would be no reason for him to come apologize. Ino continued to stare at the man's blonde hair, ignoring the intimidating mask he wore. She knew she recognized that hair from somewhere, she just couldn't remember who it was exactly.

Naruto saw the somewhat angered reaction but then her facial expression to that of confusion or deep thought. Naruto inwardly slapped himself for calling her by her name. His hair was already a slight give away, if she was anywhere closet as smart as Shikamaru was she would have found out by now. He needed to leave now or yet another person would know who he was.

"Well, this hasn't really gone very well, so I'll leave you alone, I hope you feel better.."

Naruto walked over to the door and began to turn the grey door knob, trying to get out of there as fast as possible. He really didn't want her to figure out who he was. As he was about to open the door he heard Ino mumble the one word he didn't want to hear, his name.

"Y..your Naruto…. aren't you..?"

Said Ino in a somewhat questioning manner, but she was pretty sure it was him. The boy who had left the village for an almost unknown reason after fighting so hard to bring back his friend who had left. Naruto froze in his tracks. This is the exact reason why he didn't want to do this, he really didn't want anyone else to realize who he was. He also didn't know if Ino would run off and tell anyone.

He slowly turned his head to see Ino's mouth slightly open, looking as if she'd seen a ghost. The image of a young energetic boy with spiky blonde hair was played over and over again in her mind as she looked at a masked Naruto with that same spiky blonde hair, which now resembled that of the fourth Hokage's.

Naruto turned completely around to face her sitting began twirling Nuibari again as Ino's eyes began staring at the spinning needle until the display was abruptly ended by it being slammed into the tile floor. Ino jumped at the small display of force as the needle had pierced into the tile floor. He really didn't want to scare her but he couldn't risk her telling anyone who he didn't want to know, so intimidation would be the only solution, and he was definitely proficient at it.

"Your teams pretty smart, huh, guess Shikamaru rubbed off on you."

Said Naruto, as Ino continued to stare at him until she spoke up. There were so many things she could ask or say to the blonde haired boy. The mystery behind Naruto Uzumaki was definitely interesting. He had obviously changed a great deal since their genin days. The cheerful and joking blonde haired boy who never gave up was gone, and replaced by an extremely powerful, ruthless and cold teenage boy, one that could do things that Sasuke, the strongest in her class could.

"Your back.."

Whispered Ino as she considered to stare into the black eye slits of the mask, remembering the light blue eyes that Naruto had. Naruto then began to speak.

"I know that taking you hostage was not necessarily a kind thing to do…. but as I said earlier I have my reasons… but now you know a very important secret. I really wouldn't want to have to make anyone… disappear if you told them."

Said Naruto as Ino began to realize what he was talking about. She knew who he was, and he obviously wanted to keep it a secret, but why? She was also somewhat shocked at the threat he was making, that wasn't like the old Naruto at all.

"W..Why are you hiding who you are, everyone missed you?"

Naruto's anger began to raise a little at this statement. No one ever cared for him when he was around, the whole village probably had a week-long party when they found out he was gone.

"Oh really? Well I really don't believe that considering the fact that almost the entire village hated me when I was here!"

Screamed Naruto, causing Ino to shutter a little at his aggressive tone. Naruto never got angry, even when Sakura pummeled him and Sasuke insulted him, he never really lost his cool. He definitely had changed a lot.

"Ok Naruto calm down! I haven't done anything to you, you're the one who took me hostage!"

Yelled Ino, slightly pissed off that despite the fact that he took her hostage he was still yelling at her!

Naruto calmed down a little after her statement, she was right, he had no right to yell at her. After all, she hadn't been too mean to him during their genin days. Back when they were in the academy she was always a fan girl and he didn't know if she still was. She did yell at him to shut up a lot because he insulted Sasuke and called him an idiot a few times but that still wasn't that bad, especially since he rarely saw her after they graduated.

"I..I'm sorry, I guess I got carried away, but I better get going…"

Said Naruto. This got Ino's attention, she didn't want him to leave. There were so many things that she wanted to ask him. What caused him to leave, where he was, what he had done, why had his personality changed, why did he have that sword and mask? Naruto headed towards the door to leave. Ino was going to protest again until the door swung open, but not because of Naruto.

Sakura had finally been omitted from the hospital. She had been ordered to rest a lot and no missions for a week due to her suffering from chakra exhaustion. Hers wasn't nearly as bad as Ino who had nearly died from severe chakra exhaustion or Sasuke who had physical wounds and chakra exhaustion. She had already checked up on her crush, Sasuke, but he was asleep and she didn't want to wake him up.

She had multiple dreams of the masked swordsman who had gruesomely saved them from the Kiri nin. To say she was intimidated by the man would be an understatement. However, she had heard that the man had kidnapped Ino, which got her a little angry. She still didn't like Ino very much, despite the fact that she had told her she was no longer trying to get with Sasuke, she still had her doubts. This came about a year after Naruto left and since that day she had barely taken any interest in any guys. She shrugged as she continued to walk down the hall to Ino's room. She figured she might as well see how she was doing. She stood outside the door and heard two people talking and then walked into the room, only to come face to face with the same man who had plagued her dreams with gruesome nightmares.

Naruto looked straight at his ex-teammate, gritting his teeth under his mask his hand tightened its hold around Nuibari, trying his hardest to not stab his sword through the girl's heart. All of his anger was beginning to swell up again, as he stared at Sakura. She had a terrified look on her face, causing Naruto grin wickedly under his mask, he couldn't do anything to her physically but he would definitely attempt to mess with her mentally.

Ino saw Naruto tighten his grip on his weapon, realizing that he definitely didn't want to be near Sakura. Ino saw the terrified look on Sakura's face, leading her to believe she had definitely missed much of the battle. She had never seen Sakura anywhere close to as terrified as she looked at that moment.

Sakura stared at the black slits of the mask, she saw a small red light glow under the mask but it quickly disappeared. She tried to back away and run, or scream for someone, but it was if she was paralyzed in fear. None of her muscles would work, and she was even having trouble breathing.

"Hehe, look who it is!"

Naruto began to use his high-pitched laugh, causing both girls to shiver. Ino couldn't even begin to prices how and why Naruto had gone through such a huge change. That laugh he could produce was simply terrifying. Ino looked at Sakura and could tell she was in an even worse state. She was shaking unlike anything she'd ever seen.

"W..Wh..What are y..you doing here.."

Said Sakura in a mumbled sentence, unable to produce a clear sentence due to her shaking. Sakura had seen this man's killing spree against the Kiri nin and it made her sick to even think about.

"You didn't want to see me again? I thought I'd get a slight thank you."

Said Naruto, in a mockingly surprised was shocked by this, why would she ever give this.. this monster a thank you.

"Wh..Why would I g..give you a thank you.." Muttered Sakura causing the man the laugh even louder.

"WHY?! Hmmm, let me think… Oh yeah maybe because I SAVED YOUR LIFE YOU IDIOT!" Y

elled Naruto causing Sakura too stumble back out of the door way until she found her self leaning against a wall on the opposite side of Ino's room. Ino was eve more shocked, not only was Naruto acting insane, but he was doing it towards none other then his beloved Sakura, the girl he was obsessed with for around 4 years! Before Naruto exited the room he turned his face towards Ino's and saw the appalled and somewhat terrified face she had. He felt somewhat bad for being the cause of her terrified state.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Ino…"

Said Naruto in a quiet tone, but loud enough for Ino to hear. It took a couple of seconds for her to respond due to her state of shock.

"Wh..What happened to you?"

Asked Ino as Naruto's black eye slits continued to stare at her. Naruto was somewhat offended by the words she said but he knew she was right. He hd changed from his old stupid and childish self. He was now a powerful and feared shinobi. it had its perks but he didn't enjoy this part of the role he was playing, people thinking he was a 'monster'. He hated that word as a child, he was always called one but he never acted like it. He guessed he was finally acting like they thought he did, and he didn't really like proving them right. However, they drove him to be the way he was, they beat and insulted him when he was six, and life sure didn't get easier from there.

"One day Ino… you'll find out why I changed. Not you, not anyone in this entire village knows what its like to be me. One day… you'll hear what I went through, the memories and actions that have haunted me my entire life. None of yours, nor anyone in their village's problems can even compare to what I've felt with for my entire life. When you find this out, then you will understand what happened to me.."

Ino took in everything the boy said. She heard pain and sadness in his voice, something she had never heard out of him her entire time of knowing him. She wished she could see under that mask, just to look at the emotion on his face. From what he had just said, his life must have been terrible, but she never saw it, nor did anyone. He sure as hell didn't show when he was a genin. Her thoughts were interrupted when Naruto spoke one last time.

"I'll stop wasting your time, I just terrify you and that's something you don't completely deserve. As I said earlier, I know I don't deserve any favors from you, but please… don't tell anyone…"

Said Naruto as he walked out of the door, leaving a slightly scared, and completely confused Ino Yamanaka sitting in her hospital bed.

Naruto walked out of the door to see a still trembling Sakura leaning against a wall, eyes wide with shock and face filled with terror. Naruto didn't say anything to her, nor did he even stop to acknowledge her, he just walked into the hallway and took a left down the hallway, making his way towards the exit of the hospital.

Naruto exited the hospital, walking into the darkness of the Konoha night. He lept onto a rooftop and began darting back to his small apartment. One thought and one thought only went through his mind and he couldn't comprehend why. it wasn't anger at his female ex-teammate who he despised, nor was his previous fight with Kakashi. It was just the frightened look that was present on Ino's face throughout much of their conversation.

Maybe it was guilt, an emotion he hadn't dealt with in years. Whatever it was he was sure it had to do with Ino. He didn't like the terrified face she had when seeing him, he just wanted to make that scared look vanish from her face. It was as if it didn't fit her, she needed to be smiling, not trembling or being scared, it just wasn't right in Naruto's mind. The thing that hurt him the most was the fact that he had put that look on her face.