Naruto and Sasuke were walking down the street. Sakura had decided to give the two a bit of time to talk. Sasuke wanted to ask Naruto about his reasons for leaving Konoha, he understood why Naruto left, but just hearing the reason again would at least help him comprehend what would need to be changed in Konoha. But he wasn't going to lead with that first.

"Naruto." Sasuke started. "It's good to have you back here, even under these circumstances." he stated. Naruto nodded his head and stopped walking.

"Sasuke don't get me wrong. It's not that I hate you or Sakura. Hell I don't even hate Jiraya and Kakashi for that matter. I have a strong dislike for Konoha is all. There's a certain man that I have to kill. Someone within the depths of Akatsuki that I need to snuff out. Until I kill him...I won't have any satisfaction in my life." Naruto stated.

Sasuke looked at Naruto a bit in awe. He had known that Naruto only came back to get on Konoha's good side so that they wouldn't get in the way of his plans. But this was something that he had no clue about. While Akatsuki had been hunting jinchuriki like Naruto down, he didn't know Naruto was going to target the organization himself and try to cripple it. For Konoha, it was about protecting other Jinchuriki and making sure that the organization didn't get them. Kakashi Hatake himself had been trying to secure alliances because he knew the threat of an organization with such goals. While Naruto only held the nine tails, if Akatsuki got the combined power of all nine tailed beast, the combination of their power would be enough to wipe the shinobi world off the face of the Earth.

"Who is this person that you wish to wipe out Naruto?" Sasuke asked. He wanted to at least know who this person was.

"He's the leader of Akatsuki. His name is Pein or at least, that's what he's going by. From what I gather he's the top head of Akatsuki, fabled to wield the Rin'negan, the predecesor to all Doujutsu including your Sharingan and the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan. I intend to kill him and take his eyes. " Naruto finished.

Sasuke was frozen in place. A man with eyes that were the predecessor to his? For the longest time he had believed his Sharingan was the pennacle of all doujutsu out there, but to hear there was a doujutsu out there stronger than the sharingan worried him in a sense. While he had lost a bit of his arrogance on the road with Jiraiya, he didn't lose the pride in his clan. Even after learning the truth of the demise of the Uchiha Clan, he had forgiven his brother and had sought to reconnect with his brother, no longer wishing to fight to kill him.

"Why do you need his eyes?"

The question made Naruto close his eyes racking his brain for a way to phrase it. No simple way about it, the eyes were powerful and could be useful for him, but why did he want them. "I don't know. Something in me tells me I need to get those eyes. Whether it be to study them, destroy them, or use them myself. I need to get the eyes." Naruto finished. His reason didn't really make sense but it was something he felt he needed to do.

Naruto began walking again and Sasuke stood there for a moment before going to catch up. While he didn't ask why Naruto left Konoha in this amount of time he had with Naruto a bit of him began to see why he left. He remembered how pressured Naruto was once he resigned from the Shinobi ranks. Not many trusted him, he felt alone and isolated and the attacks on his life for him holding the curse mark of Orochimaru made many question about his morals in the village. But it was coming together for him. He left Konoha to gain power. What ever this power was that he was seeking, it was dangerous and Sasuke didn't know if Naruto would be able to actually control this power he sought. Sasuke felt weak compared to Naruto but he knew he couldn't leave his friend alone. He began to realize that Naruto was starting to walk a dark path that there would be no turning back from.

Meanwhile in a different part of the village Sakura was heading towards the hospital. She needed to see Tsunade and request for a bit more training. While Sakura was walking she decided to stop at a local restaurant to get a few things to eat. She had been gone for a while on her mission to Sunagakure and needed something to eat after the harsh mission they had. As she walked into the small establishment, she sat down at the table and ordered some tea and a small order of Shiratama Anmitsu. She deserved it in her mind. Next to her was a woman eating a large plate of Dango enthusiastically.

"Waiter!" she said between bites. "Another order!"
Sakura chuckled a bit and went back to her tea. The strange woman looked at her for a minute and squinted her eyes. "Hey...I know you. You're the pink haired brat from the Forest of Death. You were with that...Blond haired kid and the emo." She stated while finishing the rest of the dango on her plate while a new plate appeared.

Sakura felt a little hurt at being called a brat but let it slide. "Yeah. Team 7. You're the one who was in charge of the second exam." Anko thought abit before remembering hearing a rumor about Naruto returning to the village. Another person with a curse seal. They had even said that he killed Orochimaru. For that she was thankful but she didn't feel as if Orochimaru's disciples could be trusted as easy.

"So how's that blond haired team mate of yours doing. I heard he killed Orochimaru and destroyed most of Otogakure." Anko said losing a bit of her playfulness. While she had been the one who wanted to kill Orochimaru, she somewhat lacked the power to do so. Sakura could sense her tenseness and decided that she should limit the details she would tell. Didn't want to upset the poor girl. A lot of people knew Anko's story and disliked that she was Orochimaru's student at one time, how ever since her rise in rank, no one really questioned her loyalty to the village any more. While a bit insane she was still one of the most powerful ninja in the village.

"He's come back for a little while and helping us out with an issue. The Hokage figured we would need man power to face a new threat so they made Naruto an offer. He didn't refuse surprisingly." Sakura finished. She took a bite of her snack as she finished explaining the situation. Anko began digging into her plate when Sakura's eyes widened and she realized who she was talking to.

"Anko, right? I was wondering if you could help me with a small issue in my training." Sakura asked. Anko's eyes squinted and then she smirked. Puffing out her chest and putting her thumb to it she laughed.

"Of course. I'd be glad to help improve a Kunoichi's skill on the field." she laughed out. Then she stopped for a second. "Wait...aren't you a medic shinobi?" She asked. Sakura nodded and Anko interrupted her nod. "So...what do you want from me exactly?"

"Well...I want to learn a few...how do I put it, stealthful techniques to help my squad out. We're being transformed into Assassination type squad and while being a medic and capable of healing my teammates is nice, I would also like to be able to put forth more work into my combat style." she stated. Anko was surprised at this but figured if she was a medic then she already knew a lot about poison. Maybe she could work with the girl and help increase her skill.

"Alright. So you wanna add a little bit of bang to your arsenal and become a more stealthful gal. I can help you with that. Meet me outside of the forest of death tomorrow, six sharp. If you're not there I'll hunt you down and drag you there." She stated as Sakura gulped. What had she gotten herself into.