Thank you to all who reviewed, read, faved, or alerted.

--Recap---

There was a loud, earth-shattering crash that came from the stadium they had left behind.

"That can't be good…"

The Same Old Thing

Chapter 3

Sn1ck3rd00dl3

--

"Damn it, what do we do now?" cursed Naruto as they were racing out of the hokage tower.

"Calm down baka. We have to continue with the mission. Have you forgotten how strong our sensei's are? All three of them against that old man is hardly fair."

"I know sasuke, but what about Kabuto?"

"He is probably waiting at the meeting place already with Shizune-san." Sasuke acknowledged his blonde friend's reassured nod and glanced to his other companion. She held a troubled gaze. "Sakura's, what's up?"

Sakura glanced over to sasuke, "I am surprised you haven't felt it yet, sasuke." his eyes suddenly widened as he immediately noticed the presence behind them. He spun around to see just in time a shadow moving at an extreme speed towards them. He didn't even have enough time to blink before they were caught in the bind for the second time during their stay in Konoha.

They stood there rigid, until their bodies were forcibly walking forward to reveal the same lazy-eyed genin that had captured them in the Forest of Death.

"So we meet again, lazy-ass." Said naruto simply. "Long time no see, ne?"

"Tch, we just saw each other at the stadium, baka." He scoffed. Sakura sweatdropped, "you know, he has a point naruto…" Sasuke sweatdropped, "…moron…"

The panda haired girl, Tenten, appeared by Shikamaru with the platinum blonde shortly joining her. The female brunette smirked, "finally, we know your actual names." They paled a bit and were all thinking the same thing at once,

'shit…'

She pointed to each of them in turn, "you're Sasuke, You're sakura, and you are Naruto, am I wrong?" she got no answer and shrugged it off, "whatever. I can tell I'm right. Now all we have to do is take you back to the Hokage in the arena."

"You think it'll be that easy?" glared Sakura. "I can tell from your expression that you haven't killed a person a day of your life. Konoha sure is getting weaker…"

Ino narrowed her eyes, "This isn't a time of war, there is no reason for ninja to be dying or for us to be killing them. But that is beside the point, you are under arrest for stealing a scroll from the hokage, prepare for punishment."

Sasuke forcibly brought his hands together, his companions following suite. "Hate to break it to you, but back in the forest, we were holding back." Dark, purple chakra enveloped him. But only for a short moment as he was stabbed countless times a split second later, not by weapons, but by flesh it felt like.

Shikamaru smiled in relief as sasuke's restraint eased up by a great deal as he stood there limply, but still conscious. "Glad you could make it, Neji."

A silver eyed man that looked to be about a year older than them stood behind sasuke with his middle and index fingers pointing at sasuke's back. "Aa." Was his short reply. He turned swiftly to the other two captives and a moment later, they were standing limp too.

Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief, "we'll take them to the stadium. Hokage-sama will know what to do with them."

--

((At the stadium))

It was deathly quiet. No one in the stands stirred. They were not being forcibly held like that, they were held by the tension that was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

The Sannin stood before former sensei on the roof of the Kage VIP section. They were having a stare down, it seemed. There was no sign of a fight coming on soon. So the ANBU just stood in wait, anxious for the first move to be made.

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes a fraction, "Are you going to tell me your reason for this long awaited appearance?" he finally asked.

Orochimaru smirked, "Wasn't planning on it."

"And here I thought I taught you all proper manners, what a shame. Did I teach you anything that could be useful in life?" he asked in an almost exasperated tone.

Tsunade put on a fake smile, "Of coarse, how would we be so strong if you never taught us anything?"

"Answer me this: Have either of you three ever thought about anything other than Power?"

"Why are you asking all the personal questions, sensei?" countered Jiraiya. "Aren't you going to send your ANBU at us again to try another capture like you used to? Or have you given up on us."

Sarutobi's brow knitted in confusion, "What are you talking about? I sent those ANBU to retrieve you because your names had been cleared!" they stared back in wonder. "How are we supposed to believe that?" asked Tsunade, "Before we left you told us that we were to be locked up; why the sudden change of heart?!" she stomped her foot down on the roof which caused a supporting pillar under it to collapse and make a deadening crash.

"The council found a mistake; it wasn't you who were doing to experiments."

"Big surprise there…" muttered Jiraiya.

The Hokage took a step forward, "Will you come back to Konoha, my students? It would be just like the old times," he ended with a hopeful smile.

"O-old man…" there were gasps from the audience, but not because of their leader's proposal.

A chunin stood up and pointed to the edge of the large wall, "L-look! It's the Nara boy and the Hyuga!"

"And they've got those Sand Ninja as well!"

The conversing ninja on the roof turned their attention to where the crowd was pointing, only to inwardly gasp from astonishment. They slowly turned back to their sensei. Tsunade opened her mouth slowly, "…Sarutobi, what kind of genin are you breeding here?"

"What do you mean?"

Orochimaru answered for her, "The three who have just been caught, are almost as strong as we are." He watched almost amused as his eyes widened, "How could they have been caught by a bunch of genin?"

Sandaime narrowed his eyes, "So these are your apprentices, may I ask how much training you put them through to be almost as strong as yourselves?"

He was answered with silence. A moment later a messenger came up to him and whispered in his ear inaudible things. Sarutobi's face hardened immediately as the man disappeared again.

"Very well. I have come to the understanding that your students were caught with a scroll from my study. So this was your objective, to steal from your home?"

Jiraiya glanced down to the center of the arena where sasuke, naruto, and sakura stood limp, bound by shadows. "Tell me, sensei. Does that boy's technique drain chakra?"

Sarutobi followed his gaze, "No, it only binds. This would be the work of Hyuga, Neji. He is a master of Jyuuken."

"I see…" The frog sannin glanced back at his comrades, they exchanged an understanding look an turned to the ring.

"What are you planning…?"

Former students ignored their sensei and Orochimaru stepped to the edge of the railing. He could see that his student was surrounded by Jounin and was struggling with the mark.

--

((Below))

The three stood limp. All that really could be said was, this was not going according to plan.

"Who are those people standing with Hokage-sama?" wondered Ino aloud.

"Does it matter? We will just wait for his to finish his business and come down here," Answered Neji.

Tenten was twirling the scroll around in her hands. "Really, what could be so important about such a small scroll."

Rock Lee stepped forward, "Yosh! It must have hidden secrets within for these Sand Ninja to want it so badly!"

"Baka, how many times do I have to tell you, they aren't Sand Ninja," growled the Inuzuka boy.

"But Kiba-kun, they are clearly wearing the Sand Insignia on their Hitai-ate. So they must be from the Sand!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You've really got yourself a genius right there…"

"Shut up Pinky!"

"Make me Pig!"

Ino gave out a laugh, "In case you haven't noticed, you aren't in the position to say such things. Your lives are in our hands." She let out another laugh, "It seems I've already said that before, doesn't it."

Naruto laughed back, "And if you kill us you will have three very pissed off Sannin on your tails, you know that, right?"

Shikamaru raised a brow, "What are you talking--- Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Gai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" asked the genius to the four jounin that had just appeared on the ground floor of the stadium.

Asuma walked over and patted his pupil's head, "Don't worry Shikamaru, we're just here to make sure the situation is handled."

"Are you all alright?" said the woman with red eyes.

"We are fine, Kurenai-sensei." Mumbled Hinata. (Ok, just so you know the rookie six and Gai's team are both there)

"That is wonderful, little blossom of YOUTH!!!"

Gai earned a bonk on the head, "Stop trying to ruin my student's mind!"

The quarrelling went on and Kakashi lazily walked over to the three captives, staying out of reach from the shadow at the same time. "So you are the intruders, kinda young to be committing such crimes, don't you think?"

He earned three death glares at that moment, "Tell us, how early was it when you would be doing things as dangerously as we are?" glared sakura.

"Eheh, that's not the point." He said with a smile, as far as they could tell, on his face.

"Maybe not, but it just proved mine," smirked Sakura.

Naruto glanced over to sasuke, "Hey Teme, what's up? You haven't been talking too much."

Sasuke lifted his head, his eyes were turned to Sharingan and he struggled to say the words when he answered, "…My-curse seal…it's trying to break free…"

"What!"

"Control it sasuke! We can't have that here!" shouted sakura.

"I'm. Trying." He gritted through clenched teeth.

The jounin came closer to see what the fuss was about. The dark haired boy was practically gasping in pain. "Hey kid, what's wrong with you!?" asked Asuma demandingly.

He slowly looked up to the smoking man, "None of your business."

Kakashi's eye widened, "Kid, where did you get the Sharingan…?" he asked cautiously. The other jounin gasped and looked closer. "K-kakashi, you're right! He does have the Sharingan!" shouted Gai.

"But how?" wondered Kurenai.

'Shit. They found out too soon. This isn't good…'

"Well, are you going to answer?"

Sasuke glanced at the silver-haired jounin, "Wasn't planning on it."

"Naruto, Sasuke, look!" all heads were turned to the roof over the Hokage's balcony at Sakura's shout.

"Damn it, what're they doing up there?" cursed naruto.

Orochimaru stepped forward and shouted to them, "Sasuke, release the seal and get out of here!"

"But-"

"Go!"

"That goes for Sakura and Naruto as well!" shouted Jiraiya.

"Damn, this is getting out of hand." Muttered naruto.

"But we might actually hurt someone." Responded sakura.

Sasuke groaned, "I don't care, all I want is to get rid of this pain!"

Black flame markings quickly spread over his body and dark purple chakra surrounded him again.

"What the-" Kakashi didn't have time to finish as he felt two more enormous chakra sources coming from the other two children.

"Who are these kids!"

"They are the results of training under a Sannin." Kakashi mumbled, half to himself.

Screams were heard through out the stands as dangerous Red, Purple, and Gray chakra swirled around the teens. Their eyes turned from Sapphire to Blood Red, from Emerald to Silver, from Onyx to Crimson. The shadow bind immediately pulled back at the monstrous chakra.

"What the hell is going on!" shouted Tenten who was struggling to stay standing.

Sakura walked to her slowly, "It is none of your concern." She snatched the scroll from her hands with blinding speed and nodded to her teammates as they disappeared a split second later; Leaving nothing but deadly chakra hanging in the air, and a deathly silence.

The Hokage stared in wonder at the spot the children stood but a moment ago. He recovered himself after a minute, only to be sent right back into a state of shock. The Sannin were no longer on the roof. In fact, he couldn't even trace their presence anymore.

"So they used their students as a distraction to get away. They haven't lost any of their cunning over the years…And I still can't bring them back…"

--

The three Sannin joined the deathly quiet teens minutes after their departure. They were still in their chakra powered up forms. Sakura's eyes were a steely gray, lacking all emotion. Sasuke's Sharingan was spinning ferociously. And Naruto had his red eyes narrowed, supposedly in a conversation with his inner demon. He would unconsciously clench his fists at random moments, enough to make them bleed from the pressure of his over-grown claws. The Sannin gave each other knowing glances. It was a long process until the time they would be back to normal, they would just have to wait till then.

So it was silent. They quickly made their way to the meeting place, which was not too far off. In fact, it was in Konoha.

The Sannin took the lead to the destination since their students had never been there before. Even if it wasn't exactly hard to find, they weren't really in the right state of mind at the moment. A few minutes later they stood atop the four Hokage's heads.

"We're here."

Tsunade's exclamation was answered with more silence. She let out a sad sigh. Jiraiya put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "They'll be back to normal soon, don't worry so much. It's not like they have never gone through this before."

"Still …"

"We have to complete the task at hand, Tsunade." Said Orochimaru quietly, "Try not to be so down."

They swiftly entered the eye socket of the Sandaime (that sounds so weird…) to find a large cavern with four figures waiting in it.

"Orochimaru-sama, Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, has everything gone according to plan?" asked Kabuto anxiously.

Shizune took a nervous glance to the teens hanging back who were still in the same state as before, "I take it not so well."

Jiraiya gave an exhausted smile, "We still completed the mission, so everything is fine."

The three sannin walked past their students and gave a bow once in front of the Hokage's Advisors. The man eyed them with suspiciously. "…well, did you manage to get the scroll?"

Tsunade handed it over to the elders. The man smiled, "Congratulations, you have successfully carried out the mission. Would you like to receive your reward?"

They were a little shocked, "We weren't told there was a reward."

The woman grinned, "Of coarse, it might've spoiled the mission if we'd told you though. We want to request that you three, with your students of coarse, come back to the village. We would be waiting here with open arms."

There was a stunned silence.

"W-what did you say?"

"You heard us Jiraiya. I suppose it has come to your knowledge that your attempt of arrest was a mistake. And the truth is that you would be very important aspects to this village if you were to return. Wouldn't it be great to be Konoha's Legendary Sannin again?"

"Even if we were to come back, would you be able to set back time and erase all memories about what has happened in that distant and near pasts? I do not think many would be happy to see such traitors come back."

"For once you are wrong, Orochimaru. Practically the whole Country knows that you are clear of charge, there would be no struggle at all."

Tsunade looked to the ground sadly, "But then sensei…"

"He is a forgiving man, you should know that more than anyone. Besides," he gave a glance to the younger ones behind them, "Don't you want your students to have lives, to make legends of their own? I doubt they will be noticed if they keep living the lives of rouges."

They too looked back to their students. They were holding their heads in pain and struggle with those little voices in their heads that are telling them to kill…

"They will never have to go through this pain again." Said the old man, "Do you want them to continue fighting battles they can't win?"

"They all have goals of their own." Said Tsunade uncertainly.

"Of coarse it is their choice in the end, but we strongly want you to return to the village." Said the old man. You can have however long you need to make a decision, we will be waiting in the common room." And with those final words the elderly couple left the cavern.

The sannin turned to look at their pupils whose monstrous chakra was finally receding. They all wavered on their feet before Sakura fell to her knees, Sasuke gripped the stone wall to steady himself, and Naruto shook his head a good ten times before he came back to reality.

"…Where are we?" the blonde asked, clueless.

Jiraiya smiled as he came back to normality, "Under the Hokage Monuments."

Sakura slowly rose to her feet, "Was the mission a success?"

"Aa." Orochimaru answered.

Sasuke sighed in relief and stood up straight, "Then we can get out of here now."

"Not quite."

"Eh, what do you mean Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade looked to her young apprentice, "We have been given the choice of whether or not we stay in Konoha and cease being nuke-nin. The invitation was for everyone. We will not be making your decisions for you; you are free to choose where you will live."

"We have time, so think your answer over wisely."

Sakura Sasuke and Naruto walked over to a rock and sat down on it wearily. It was silent for a few moments as their masters watched them.

"There is no doubt that they will return to this village, they have so many bonds with it." Whispered Sakura to her comrades.

"But what do we do? Will we be able to fulfill our goals in this place?" asked Sasuke.

Sakura stared bitterly at a shaft of light coming through the openings, "You know, I always thought that my village would accept me back, and that is always what I've wanted, but I don't know anymore. Do I really want to go back to a village that shunned me and threw me out?"

"And I do not know if I want to go to a village where it is almost inevitable that I will be used as a tool. When my clan was still alive, I was very close to my brother. He told me that he was merely a tool in our clan's eyes, in the village's eyes. I think that may have been one of the reasons he killed them all." Sasuke said quietly, staring at the ground off into space.

"I'm not sure if my resolves will be the same as yours', after all, this village always treated me like a monster. I do not think that just because it has been a few years, they will think any differently of me. I was finally starting to feel normal, like I was human again, after living with Jiraiya for a few years. The pain has been coming back since we've come here. I don't know if I can bare it much longer before I go back to what I used to be…" Naruto murmured.

Sakura sighed, "All I know is, I am going to go wherever you two go, my life would go to hell if I didn't." Sasuke and Naruto smiled at her, "That's a given."

"So we go where each other goes…?" Naruto asked uncertainly.

Sakura smiled warmly, "Wouldn't have it any other way. We're family after all, right?"

This made the boys smile softly and nod their heads.

"But we still haven't agreed on where we live." Pointed out Naruto.

"Well let's start out with the places we don't want to live first." Said Sakura.

"Well, the mist and uhh konoha.." Sasuke sweatdropped, "That really opens a lot of options for us."

"So we could wander for awhile to see what suites us. Hell, it might even be wandering that we like," Said Naruto, "I'm fine with that."

"I do not think living here would be in our best interests," Sighed Sasuke. He gave a small smile, "I would be fine running with you two for the rest of my life."

"Then, have we decided?" asked Naruto.

"I think so," Said Sakura.

They walked over to where their teachers were waiting.

"Have you chosen?" asked Orochimaru.

They nodded yes.

"Then let's go to the hokage tower to tell them our choices," Said Jiraiya.

--

It was late in the afternoon by the time they made it to the Tower. They walked past the guards with only a few curious glances and went into the Common Room. There sat the elders and the hokage. Wrinkles and all. They all gave bows, and stood before the three elderly people.

"So you know our reasons for being here now, sensei?" asked Orochimaru.

"Yes, I was informed about everything, the deal, the mission, the reward. All I need now is your answer."

Jiraiya spoke for them, "Shizune and Kabuto are staying, as we are." Sarutobi smiled warmly.

"And what of you three wonderful children?" he asked the three standing a little behind their masters and senpais.

They looked to each other with grave faces. The stepped forward and deeply bowed to the hokage. "Please understand Hokage-sama. This place does not bring back the best of memories to us. We will continue to wander as before," Said Sasuke, still bowing low.

The hokage gave a soft smile to drown his growing frown. "I see you have put thought into your choice. But don't ever feel unwelcome in Konoha; we will always be waiting with open arms. But at least stay the night."

"Arigato, Hokage-sama." They chorused and bowed their heads lower.

--

Shizune, Kabuto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all walked along the winding corridors of the hokage tower under a veil of silence. The sandaime had asked Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru to stay for awhile after to discuss some matters. It stayed that way until they made it to the front desk where a woman sat distressed from all the incoming paperwork most likely caused by their mission.

Kabuto strode over to her and smiled, "I am sorry to bother you, but the Hokage has asked us to ask you for temporary accommodations."

The woman looked up and blew a wisp of mousy brown hair out of her eyes. She eyed the five warily. "Weren't you with the rouge sannin?" she asked cautiously, reaching for a hidden weapon most likely under the desk.

Shizune smiled, "Don't worry. That was all just a mission approved by the council themselves. We," she nodded to her and Kabuto, "are going to be staying in konoha."

The woman pulled her hand back but raised a brow, "Wabout them?"

Sakura smiled kindly, "We aren't cut to stay still in a village, trust me."

She nodded minding her own business and handed them two sets of keys and a piece of paper with directions on them. They thanked her and walked out the front door to the bustling streets of konoha.

Naruto sighed, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Sakura and Sasuke noticed, and fell into step with his slower pace a few yards behind Shizune and Kabuto.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"He shook his golden locks and smiled reassuringly to her, "Nothing Sakura. This place will never feel welcoming, no matter what that old man says."

They both nodded in understanding and continued their way to the apartments. After a few minutes of walking they came to see some familiar faces standing outside a ramen stand, probably conversing about the news of the sannin returning.

Kabuto and Shizune carried on, unnoticed by the teens. While Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all stopped in front of them. An incredibly awkward silence followed.

Kiba, being a people's person, decided to break the silence first, "So we heard the news. I really can't believe that all that was just a mission for you guys."

Naruto furrowed his brows, "Aren't you going to ask why we had all that insane chakra when we fought you?"

Kiba smiled a bit, "Everyone has their secrets. And besides, we'll get it out of you sooner or later seeing as you are going to be living here." He said brightly.

Sakura smiled apologizing, "Sorry, but you heard wrong. Our senseis are going to be staying, but we are leaving."

The buns girl, Tenten, interrupted, "What are you talking about? You did that whole mission to come back to konoha, right? Why would you want to leave? I thought it would be nice to get to know you…" she trailed off.

Sakura smiled, "It would be nice to know you all as well. But one, these too bakas are too stubborn, and two, this place does not bring back the greatest memories for my companions."

Hinata smiled, "Well it is not our business to but into your lives, but can we at least have your names before we never see you again?"

Sakura smiled and nodded, "Haruno Sakura, pleasure to meet you all."

Sasuke nodded, "Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto smiled as well, "Uzumaki Naruto."

They all smirked at their dumfounded expressions.

Sasuke excused them, "Sorry, but we need to get going. Nice meeting you." They all turned on their heels and walked down the road to their hotel, leaving a stunned silence behind.

--

The three sannin stared at their student's determined gazes that held their own.

"Ero-Sennin, you won't be able to stop us. This is how we want to live." Said Naruto in a calming voice. "We would never be any good living in this town."

"That's nonsense Naruto. This town will not care what or who you are. You are you."

Naruto smiled to his sensei sadly, "I wish that were the case. But its not. But hey, if they never treated me like that then I would have never met you, ne sensei?"

"Naruto-"

"Sensei, its not like we'll never see you again, I mean we'll visit and-"

"Naruto-"

"Sensei, please. We are going to be fine, its not like some bandit is going to come and kill u-" Naruto stopped short when he felt a rough hand being placed on his head. He looked up to see Jiraiya with a smile on his face, "Kid, I know you're going to be fine. But don't be stupid, got it?"

Naruto smiled, "Got it. Arigato, Ero-Sennin."

--

"Sakura-chan, are you really sure you want to do this? I mean I'm sure Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun are wonderful, but it's still traveling with two boys alone all over the world! I'm worried for you, what if you get attacked or kidnapped or ra-"

"Shizune, you're babbling. But I get it, I'll miss you too." Shizune let out a small cry and hugged the living daylights out of her.

"Shizune, don't suffocate the poor girl. She's going to be fine, and if she doesn't visit she's going to be in a lot of trouble, understand?" asked Tsunade in her motherly tone.

Sakura let out a small laugh, "Right, Tsunade-shishou. But don't expect weekly visits or anything."

The slug sannin smiled sadly, "I know. Just remember everything I taught you and I'm sure you will be fine."

Sakura nodded, "Hai, Shishou!"

--

"Sasuke-kun, don't do such harsh training anymore, I won't be there to help you. Of coarse Sakura-san will be there now, but still."

Sasuke smirked, "Stop worrying Kabuto, this is me we're talking about, remember? I'm not an idiot."

Sasuke gave a short bow to his sensei, "Arigato for teaching me all these years, sensei. I will not tarnish your name in our travels."

Orochimaru gave out a strained laugh, "You chose the day you leave me to start respecting me? No matter, just don't get into trouble. And don't give into your feelings. You will be fine."

Sasuke nodded, "Arigato, Sensei."

Sasuke turned when his companions called him, "Oi, teme! We're leaving." Sasuke nodded and fell into step with his friends.

They left through the gates of Konoha leaving their sensei's thinking,

"This is exactly the Same Old Thing."

--

((End))

--