Ok so I uploaded this chapter late but I had to move and had no internet for a while. But since I had extra time I made this chapter a bit longer to compensate.

Chapter 2- I missed you

Village of Konoha

Sakura POV

I stood there staring at his back; he was looking around, observing his surroundings. He must have noticed my presence because he turned around looked at me.

He broke the silence between us "Hey Sakura-Chan, long time no see…" I replied with a simple "yes…it has been long time, Naruto"

The feelings inside me were welling up looking for a place to come out. I was so happy that he returned yet angry that he never said good bye and just left without a word…

I exploded upon him "Why didn't you say good-bye? You just left without a word; do you know how sad and worried I was? You could have stayed in touch and sent me letters or some sign you were alive. For a time I truly thought you had died!" I was on the verge of tears

He winced at my harsh words, he replied with a calm voice" I'm sorry Sakura-chan but ero-sennin made me leave in the middle of the night. When I asked if I could say good-bye to my friends, he said no and that we had to leave immediately. As for not sending letters I'm sorry about that too, but we were constantly traveling and hiding out so I couldn't find the time to write back. Also ero-sennin advised against it, since we could be tracked if the letters were intercepted."

I nodded as I understood what he meant but my anger hadn't completely subsided. I spoke again "Next time if you're going to leave or go somewhere please tell me so I don't have to worry as much. I can't lose you too…" I trailed off after that instead I saw him nod in agreement and gave his trademark grin. "off-course Sakura-chan I wouldn't think leaving without a word next time." He spoke cheerfully.

There was an awkward silence between us as we were lost for words. After a few moments he spoke up "Well now that I'm back I can see that a lot of things have changed, I wonder how everyone is doing."

I Answered him "well nothing much really, everyone's gotten older and changed in their own way."

He then asked "What rank is everyone now?"

I rubbed my chin in thought and answered "Well everyone is Chuunin now except a few who are now Jounin."

He let out growl and spoke "awww damn it this isn't fair, I'm still only a genin while the rest of rookie nine have been promoted!"

I let out a chuckle and told him "Well you're lucky you came back at this time, the next exam is in 1 week and maybe that's why Tsunade-sama told you to come back"

He looked as he was thinking then said "Well makes sense, but how can I take it? I don't have a team."

I then told him "Teams are no longer required remember? You can go it alone but it's much harder."

He nodded and with a face of determination he spoke "Yea… I'm going to become a Chuunin no matter what!"

He then struck this pose…he must have learned it from that perverted sannin, Jiraiya-sama.

We walked around for a bit talking about old times and what's happened during the time he was away.

I was really amazed on who he met and made friends with during the training. I thought that they were supposed to hide out and train, not go friend making.

But then that's Naruto for you, he has this special ability and that is the fact that he can try and become friends with almost anyone. He makes everyone feel important and unique. Most of all he gives people the hope to achieve what they want and never give up.

As we continued to walk, we bumped into someone. At that moment I would have wished it were anyone but her, I must have been to busy in thought and not noticed her coming. "Hey Ino" I spoke with distaste.

She ignored me and proceeded to study the person next to me. She then turned to me and asked "Who's this hunk?"

Naruto laughed as I grew annoyed, Ino looked genuinely confused. Naruto broke the silence first "Oi, Ino-chan, want to guess who I am?" He asked. Ino turned to him and spoke "Hey how do you know my name? And don't call me Ino-chan…I don't even know you." She shot back. Naruto laughed again and spoke "Are you sure Ino-chan?" he proceeded to lift his hair up a bit to allow her to see his eyes more clearly.

Ino gasped and almost screamed "Naruto! Wow, when did you come back!" He laughed yet again and said "I just got back earlier today" Ino and him proceeded to converse until I let out a small cough.

Ino laughed and said "Well sorry to bother your little date guys but I have to go" I blushed a crimson red and all Naruto could do was let out a small cough like he was choking on something. I was about to object but Naruto beat me to it. "It's not like that Ino-chan" he spoke. Ino laughed and said "Sure it isn't" with evident sarcasm.

We said our good-byes to her as she left. Then we were alone again, we walked around some more then out of no where my stomach growled.

I was really embarrassed, I had gotten so worked up about Naruto returning that I had forgotten to eat. He looked at me and laughed. I felt worse and worse until another growl was heard; only this wasn't mine but it came from Naruto. He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

He was the first to speak "So Sakura-Chan, want to go get something to eat?"

I nodded then asked "Where?" He thought for a second then answered "How's about Ichiraku's Ramen?"

I let out a small laugh and nodded him agreement, He threw his hands into the air like he had just won a Nobel Prize.

So we walked to the food stand that was Ichiraku's Ramen. This place was practically Narutos' favorite spot in all of Konoha. We picked our seats and sat down. Naruto got straight to work on ordering "I'd like 2 pork ramens, 1 miso ramen, 1 miso-pork combination ramen and a shrimp ramen please!" he said with much enthusiasm. The waitress Ayame was writing the orders down then she stopped and looked up. "Only one person I've known orders this combo…" she spoke suspiciously.

Naruto grinned and spoke "It's been a long time Ayame-nee-chan! And you too Oji-san!(I'm referring to Old man Ichiraku).

Ayame gasped and then grabbed Naruto into a bear hug. "It's been so long, where have you been Naruto? We were worried when our number one favorite customer stopped showing up." She spoke with sincerity.

Naruto answered "I've been away training is all, don't worry I'm going to stay for while." Ayame laughed along with old man Ichiraku.

Our orders came shortly; we ate and chatted at the same time. Naruto was bragging about how much stronger he was. I took the time to examine him over, he had changed so much. His hair was much longer and wilder now. His height also increased a lot; I was a good 3-4 inches shorter then him. The top of my head just barely grazed his nose. Even his voice was much deeper, the only thing that hadn't really changed were his eyes. They were still as bright and radiant as ever.

Overall he seemed much more mature, his personality changed a lot, although he still had his resolve, he was no longer the loud mouthed idiot like he was back then.

What really amazed and spooked me at the same time was that Naruto greatly resembled the fourth Hokage.

I had seen pictures of him in the private office of the Hokages; Tsunade-sama had invited me in a few times. Along the wall were pictures of the 4 previous Hokages, the Shodaime, the Nidaime, the Sandaime and the Yondaime.

The Yondaime was renowned for his great abilities, which earned him the title Yellow Flash from one of his particular jutsus. He was also the youngest to take the Hokage title; I clearly remember his picture and Naruto closely resembled him…if it weren't for his whisker-like birth marks you'd have a hard time telling the difference. There are so many mysteries around you Naruto, so many dark secrets that you have. Some of which I can only wish I knew.

We finished up our food and left. It was getting late and I had to get home, I was about to walk off when Naruto offered "Hey Sakura-chan can I walk you home?" I didn't really understand why but I couldn't help but blush, I said "Sure" and we walked silently. Sometime during the walk Naruto spoke again "it's really peaceful at night here now"

I tilted my head and gave him a questioning look "Hasn't it always?" I asked. He shook his head didn't answer, I decided not to pursue it any longer.

We reached my house and I went up the front steps, "thanks for the nice evening Naruto" I said as I smiled.

He smiled back and waved good-bye as opened the door and walked in. The moment I closed the door I leaned on it, thinking about the past events of the evening. After giving it some thought I shook my head and went to my room.

Naruto POV

As I watched her close the door and wave good-bye to me, I felt relieved that I had somehow patched the rift that had formed between us during my time away. Thought I knew she had only one person in her heart, seeing her happy and relieved made me feel a sense of accomplishment.

I wandered off into the streets blindly; I didn't even notice that I had arrived at the Hokage monument. I jumped up onto the fourth's head and sat cross legged staring off into the sunset. At that moment Ero-sennin chose to appear. "Oi kid, Tsunade wants to see you." He spoke.

I nodded and got up; I began to jump over houses and buildings all the way to the tower. Upon reaching the tower I knocked on the door. "Come in" was all I heard, so I opened the door and walked in.

I closed the door behind me and went over to the table. I took a seat and asked "Tsunade-baa-chan what do you want?" She ignored my nickname for her and went on to say "As you already know you're still a genin" I pouted and folded my arms at this. She ignored my childish antics at throwing a tantrum and continued "Luckily for you the next Chuunin exam is in 1 week, you off course are to take this exam. I've manage to work it out with the council that you skip the 1st 2 parts of the exam as you are no doubt going to pass it. However the 3rd part where you fight the preliminary and finals I could not talk out of. You are to fight and defeat your 2 opponents in order to pass. This part of the test doesn't take place until the week after so you have to wait 2 weeks..

I laughed at this "oh come on Tsunade-baa-chan, you know I'll win easily." I said with pride. She looked at me seriously and spoke intensely "Listen intently Naruto I know you are strong now after all that training but never get too overconfident and underestimate your opponents. For all we know there could be people taking the test who might be as strong if not stronger then you."

I scoffed at this but decided not to object. She continued "You have 1 week to prepare and with you bragging as much as you are now you'd better pass" She said that last part with a little sarcasm. I smiled at her and got up. I walked over to the door and opened it. As I walked out I spoke loudly so she could hear me "Thanks Tsunade-baa-chan" I could have sworn she smiled at that.

1 week later…

Bah it was only 8 am and I already had to get up. I just got back shortly and already I had to fit into a routine. Traveling with Ero-sennin allowed me to wake up later when I wanted, but now I had to get up early. There was a tapping on my window, I got up and walked over to see Sakura-Chan there knocking the window. I opened it only to have her yell at me "You idiot do you know what time it is? The 3rd part starts in 1 hour."

My eyes almost popped out of my eye sockets, as I scrambled to the bathroom to clean up. 15 minutes later I was done and came out to see Sakura making breakfast. I felt kind of awkward as she did this, not that I was complaining. Her cooking was absolutely delicious; I wish I could eat her cooking everyday. As I munch down the breakfast, she held a cup of coffee in her hands sipping it slowly. Through my full mouth I managed to blurt out "When did you start drinking coffee?"

She looked up answered "Ever since I started being a full time medic-nin. Its hours are ridiculous but I guess I can't object to saving other people's lives. Which b the way reminds me that I am going to be at the 3rd and 4th parts of the exams since I'm a medic, I'll be treating the wounded. On the side I'll be cheering for you."

I wiped my mouth as I finished the meal and spoke "Thanks Sakura-Chan, I'll try extra hard just for you" I laughed then got up and went into my room to change. I put on my favorite outfit a jump suit with orange and black combination. (If you read the manga of when he comes back after 2 years then you'd know what I'm talking about) Then we left for the stadium, when we got there the crowd was cheering loudly as the people who made it through the 2nd part we being announced. I was confused, so I decided to ask Sakura "Wait Sakura-Chan? Didn't we have our preliminaries in private last time?" Sakura nodded then said "Well Tsunade-sama decided to change a few rules."

I nodded then ran in through the entrance, upon approaching the booth the security guard asked for my I.D. so I showed him the special admissions pass Tsunade-baa-chan gave me. Upon seeing it he let us through immediately, I broke into a quick jog as we made it to the stage. I walked over to the announcer and told him who I was and that I was late.

"Well ladies and gentlemen it seems we have a latecomer. Anyways he's been accounted for; please show your applause for Uzumaki Naruto. There were scattered cheers and applauses, most were coming from the people I knew and some from some girls. I laughed at that, girls actually noticed me! I struck a pose for them causing scattered laughter as well. I walked over to the line of contestants, most of them were younger and shorter then me but there were a few who were close to my height. I just noticed how tall I had gotten. As I got on line a few of them glared at me, one even walked over. "You got some guts man, coming here so late. Not to mention I didn't see you during the 1st 2 parts of the exam, are you cheating by any chance?" He demanded. From the start I didn't like this guy; he acted so tough when he was a whole head shorter then me. He was acting tough in front of the others probably trying to get a foothold in this match. I understood what he was trying to do and it was smart if he had only picked anyone else but me.

I spoke back "Oi I'm too good for the 1st 2 parts, they told me not to take it as if I did I would have eliminated most of you guys and we don't want that do we?" His eyebrows went up in and then he sneered at me. "Well such big talk coming from a guy in an Orange jumpsuit. Look at you you're dressed like a big orange not to mention you're so old, you must have really sucked that you still didn't become a Chuunin. They must have let you skip the 1st two parts because you've taken this test so many times and failed you'd know the answers and shortcuts." He spoke loudly for all to hear, a lot of the contestants laughed.

You can throw rocks at me, curse me, hit me but when you insult my clothes it gets personal. "At least I can grow what are you like 13? Aren't you a tad below average in height? I have to look down just to see you, if you're not careful you might get stepped on by taller people." I shot back at him. He glared at me, and walked away. At that moment Sakura-Chan came over and spoke to me "His names Susomi Mori, he's a trouble-maker always bragging about how strong he is. He bullies others and thinks he can get his way because he's from a rich family. He spoiled to the core, but he's pretty strong. He's probably the number 1 out of this group.

I grunted and told her "Heh, I don't think so. When I'm done with him his pride will be nothing but a thing of the past. Anyways I think that guy over there is the strongest. You know how the quiet meek people are? They can get homicidal on you in like a second" I pointed over to a meek boy with black hair and grey eyes in a brown shirt with green pants. I had this feeling that he was more then what he showed. Sakura just sighed and walked back to the podium.

Some of the other contestants were people I never seen before; amazingly Konohamaru and his teammates were in this. I waved to him and gave him a grin as he looked at me like I was some stranger. It wasn't until I made a sign that he and I used to signify each other. His eyes went wide with surprise then he grinned back. Ero-sennin once said people who were really close can communicate with each other without speaking. Maybe this was what he meant.

I looked into the crowd picking up familiar faces, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, my friends, Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baa-chan were sitting in the Hokage podium with Sakura-chan at her side. I walked to my spot and waited for the machine to call out the names for the matches.

The matches zoomed by, those who won stayed and those who lost were escorted for check-ups then took a seat in the audience. I grew impatient as I had not been called, that Mori guy wasn't called either. I had a feeling I was going to face him. The other quiet boy had already finished his match. It was nothing spectacular as his opponent was considerably weak. He didn't even need to use any jutsus or any techniques; he ended it with just simple taijutsu. Konohamaru managed to win his match too, hopefully I don't get to fight him since I wanted him to pass as well.

Finally my name popped up and just my luck I got the Mori guy. He laughed and cracked his knuckles. I shook my head and jumped into the arena, the referee made us bow to each other then in a split second the match had begun. He made the first move, pulling out 2 kunai he flung them at me. I easily ducked and dodged them only to have his knee drive into my stomach. Sakura-Chan wasn't kidding when she said this guy was good.

His speed was definitely good if not better then mine. But the hit barely fazed me as I grabbed his thigh and flung him across the field. I gathered chakra in my feet and released sending me flying straight towards him. As he landed I dropped kick him which he managed to block but he needed both arms to stop the blow which left him open so I twisted in the air and planted my other foot in his face sending him hurling backwards.

He got up and shook his head. He quickly used some hand seals and cried out "Suiton Mizudama" (Water Element water bullet). From his mouth goblets shot out with amazing force I quickly formed my own hand seals and whispered "Kage Bunshin no jutsu" Out of the smoke 4 clones appeared, they each without word understood what I wanted them to do. Two jumped in front of me and flared their chakra forming a temporary shield. The water balls impacted against the invisible walled and splashed all over the floor. With my remaining 2 clones I had them throw some Shuriken then perform Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu. From a few shuriken sprouted hundreds and they all rained down on him. People from the audience gasped as this was really over kill. As the impacted they literally tore him to bits but a moment later the body disappeared in a puff of smoke only to be replaced by a log riddled in shuriken. My mouth formed into a smirk as I knew this would happen. I also happened to know that he had snuck behind me in the midst of the confusion so I formed my signature move the Rasengan and quickly turned around. I pulled my hand back and with a thrusting motion slammed it into the ground; the force shook the arena and threw broken rocks everywhere.

The force bounced and smacked right into the kid sending him into the wall. He was out cold but besides some minor bruises and scratches he was fine. The crowd was silent at first but then they started cheering. It was the first time I had used the Rasengan in front of such a big crowd and the people who knew its origin seemed shock that I knew it. I threw my hands up into the air as a sign of victory. This match was way too easy, I didn't even break a sweat, though I must say that guy was pretty fast since he had managed to land some blows on me. But then speed isn't everything.

I ran over to the benches and grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it in seconds. After a few more matches those who made it to the finals were all seated in front of the proctors and Tsunade-baa-chan.

They repeated the procedures and that the matches began tomorrow, blah blah blah. I zoned out in the middle and just started day-dreaming. I went thought-skipping and stopped particularly at ramen. I started thinking about all the different kinds and dishes. I was brought back to reality when the girl sitting next to me timidly poked me and said I was drooling. I quickly laughed, wiped my mouth and apologized to her. She laughed and turned back to the proctors.

The orientation was near its end when my stomach growled… I could have sworn I ate breakfast yet I was hungry already. I dropped my shoulders in defeat and sighed. The people around me sniggered and Tsunade-baa-chan looked like she was going to explode holding in the laughter. As we were dismissed I ran outside only have my friends all greet me.

Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Neji, Hinata, TenTen, Sakura, Fuzzy-Brows, Kiba with Akamaru and even Shino. All of rookie nine was here minus Sasuke…even team Gai was here. Kiba was the first to speak up "Oi moron why didn't you tell us you've been back for a week already!" I laughed nervously and scratched the back of my head. "I was hoping to surprise you guys later but it seems I got found out" I laughed. I had forgotten that only Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru knew I was back. Seemingly he must have heard from Tsunade-baa-chan. Everyone laughed (minus Shino who just stood there) then Chouji suggested aloud "Hey lets go celebrate at the new tea house that opened!" Everyone laughed and we all walked to the place.

The rest of the evening was spent with all of us just catching up with each other in the tea house. Overly I had a good time and I really enjoyed seeing my friends again. These were the people who chose to acknowledge me. After we said our good-byes and went home.

I walked around aimlessly. I was just walking down the road, it was sometime past 8? 9? I lost count of time. It was quite dark out and I was just wandering about. I didn't feel like going home yet. The night breeze felt good blowing against me face. I breathe in the night air and sighed in relief, it felt so comfortable to be here in Konoha, my home. I finally arrived at my apartment; I went upstairs and got into my pajamas then brushed my teeth and then I jumped onto my futon. Before I fell asleep I thought about the things I had to accomplish tomorrow. I sighed and let sleep over come me.

Hope this chap was good, next chapter Naruto has to finish the exam, mean while what's this horrible information that Naruto stumbles across? Next on Naruto Eternal Misfortune: Who Am I? The Hidden Identity.