Hello there again! So, I thought that I should post another chapter in 'The New Naruto'. It won't be too long, but it might get the story moving a bit until I can decide where I want it to go. If you have any suggestions, let me know and I'll think on it. So far, I've had TechnoPrincess review so this chapter is dedicated to her! I hope you all enjoy it and I apologize for the shortness of the story so far.

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~Naruto~

I had to do that, let them know that I hadn't died, that not only is Gaara alive and still containing Shukaku, but that I'm no longer a shinobi of Konoha. I had to get that deadweight off my chest so that I can breathe easier. I didn't do that for their enlightenment, I did that so I could be free of it forever. My life is now in Suna, where it's hot, sunny, sandy, and where I am actually appreciated. The villagers there acknowledge that housing a biju isn't a bad thing, but in fact a good thing and that they are now more… acceptable towards their Kazekage. Some still don't like it, but they are just a minor fraction of a great village. It makes me feel like I made a change in something vital, something that will continue to change for a long time yet; something that I have never felt in Konoha before.

I already missed the scorching sun beating down on my head and the coarse sand crunching beneath my sandaled feet. The leaves above me and the soft, impressionable dirt underneath me reminds me of the village that claims rights to this woods. I missed seeing my redhead sitting at his desk, reading scrolls, signing documents, cursing at some, laughing (yes, you read that right) at others; it's amusing to see the lease he has on life. Life- such a fragile state of being. A slip of poison, a kunai cut to the throat, anything dipped in some liquid-like substance like cyanide; all that could and will take a life. It's so easy to cut short a life, but it's so hard to create it, let alone keep it, well, alive.

I'll be back in Suna in about a few hours with all the chakra I've poured into my feet. I really don't want to stay here longer than I had to, not so many good memories. I know I acted cold towards Shikamaru, but it was for the better. He needs to think that I no longer have anything worth any sort of value should he report it to the Hokage and be used against me. I know for a fact that Konoha isn't the same since I left. Tsunade stepped down shortly after I 'died' and some war-hungry civilian took over and he'd use any and all leverages he could to make sure that Konoha would be remembered, no matter the cost. Konoha really is what it never wanted to become. With thoughts of the changes in Konoha, Gaara, the sun, and the sand, I ran to my village.

I got there in half the time I thought I would. I apparently used up half of my chakra as well as infusing some of Kyuubi's with mine, how I didn't know was confusing and a little dangerous, but I wasn't going to worry about that now. I was home and I wanted to see my lover and my leader. I ran at normal speed to the Kage house that was towards the back edge of the village and it took me ten minutes from where I came into the village. Once I got there, I dropped off all my weapons, gear, and anything that might be potentially dangerous to the Kazekage that could be taken off. After clearing the security check, I raced up the five flights of stairs, down three hallways, and passed fifteen personnel before arriving at the door that hid my redhead from my sight. I knocked three times in rapid succession before waiting for permission to enter. When I heard it, I slowly opened the heavy Oak door to see my redheaded angel sitting at his desk, paper in front of him with a quill poised over it. I saw that he skipped over the traditional kage robes today since it felt hotter today than usual. Today, he wore a red fishnet shirt that laced his skin from his neck down to his wrists and a little past the top of the black shorts he was wearing today. His gourd sat next to him, holding the sand he's used to kill in the past. Since the attack three years ago the sand has been rapidly losing it's foul odor, making not only the Kazekage receiving room smell less dangerous, but it's losing it's appearance as nothing but a deadly weapon that will be the last think anyone will see. I really wanted to jump him, and I might, I just have to do my duties as a shinobi first before engaging in anything human and enjoyable.

"Kazekage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto reporting." I said.