Hey guys, soulful here with the new chapter. I'm glad people are liking the story and I hope I can keep it up!

Please note: pain17ification doesn't own Naruto and neither do I.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Higher Being Speech"

'Higher Being Thoughts'

"Jutsu"

(Technique Translations)

Scene Shift

Chapter 2: Return

'How? Those three genin are dead…' Anko watched the three Oto shinobi dissolve into dirt and ash.

"Aright, those three are down. Form a perimeter and search every room. I'm going to go check the lower levels for stragglers!" ordered Anko Mitarashi as she slipped past the three undead Oto shinobi and rushed into the darkened hallways of Orochimaru's underground base.

Her footsteps echoed in the hallway, her mind went over the mission details.

She and a team of three ANBU were given a mission by Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, to raid and gather anything worth taking from the Hebi Sannin's base in Kusa no Kuni. Anko was more than happy to take the mission since it would deal a blow to her bastard of an ex-mentor and she knew that the ANBU would easily help her get the job done.

Although, it did surprise her at first that Tsunade was so willing to go after her old teammate. Ever since the loss of the blonde gaki who had such sweet-tasting blood, the Sannin turned Kage had become much more serious and diligent in her duties as leader of Konoha; so serious that she drank much less than she did before.

Although it was still enough to put down a horse.

It was no secret that she and Naruto were close, almost familial in their relationship, and that the sudden loss of him dealt a serious blow to her heart. She once again believed that her grandfather's necklace was in fact cursed when Kakashi Hatake, the Jonin in charge of Team 7, returned back to Konoha without the body of Sasuke or Naruto.

It hurt the remaining members of the Konoha 12 when they heard of the loss of the blonde and the Uchiha. Sakura seemed to take it the worse since she believed that her Sasuke-kun was gone and that Naruto-baka failed his promise to her. The others were put off by her selfish attitude towards the situation and, over the three years, slowly distanced themselves from the pinkette. Only Ino stayed with Sakura since they had history as childhood friends. Though the other rookies wondered how much longer that childhood bond would last.

The Jonin sensei tried to console their students, but it was always hard to lose a fellow shinobi and friend. Anko herself felt bad about the loss of the blonde gaki. Sure, she could relate to the Uchiha since they both were cursed by the damned snake. However, she and Naruto were kindred spirits in the village since they were avoided and scorned for things they couldn't control; him holding the Kyuubi and she being Orochimaru's ex-student. She had actually hoped to talk to the Uzumaki at one point before he was taken, but she never had the chance.

That was another thing she noticed. No one believed that Naruto had intentionally left and betrayed Konoha and that he was captured instead. It wasn't all that surprising why Orochimaru would be interested in him seeing as he had chakra in spades, was able to spam Kage Bunshin like it was nothing, and he held the strongest Bijuu within him. Naruto was, for lack of a better term, 'the perfect one-man-army'.

Thinking of the whiskered teen being stuck with the snake made Anko's blood boil and she added more determination into her strides as she made her way through the halls. 'Don't worry gaki… If you're here, we'll take you back home,' she mentally promised as she turned down another path and entered an open room.

The room itself was very spacious and devoid of anything save for the stone snake statue near the wall farthest from her position. Its eyes had ruby gems within the sockets and they seemed to bore into her, making her shudder slightly.

'Geez… There's nothing like a staring serpent to get you unnerved here.' She took another survey of the room and noticed another hallway opening along the wall on the statues left side. 'That way then…' she mentally told herself as she made her way through the torch lit walkway.

It seemed to stretch on for quite a while before she heard shuffling inside a room she was nearing. She hugged the wall and slowly made her way to the door before she peeked through the crack-sized opening and saw a dark cloaked figure sealing away notes into a scroll before pocketing it. She slowly readied a kunai and was about to strike until she saw the figure pick up a familiar item; Tsunade's necklace that she gave to Naruto.

'No way…' she thought before mentally preparing herself and kicking open the door.

She succeeded in surprising the figure, but that was as far as her success went since she found a chain wrapped around her arms and upper body. The chain locked her arms to her sides and left her unable to move them, no matter how much chakra she poured into her arms.

"You won't be able to free yourself that way," the figure informed her with a slightly deep voice. Anko was surprised to see that the chain's source was coming from the figure's back; through the left shoulder blade. He turned his hooded head to take a look at his attacker and the Tokubetsu Jonin was able to catch a glimpse of bright blue eyes under the shadows of the hood. She saw them widen slightly in recognition before she heard him chuckle.

"Well I must admit, I never thought that I'd see you again so soon, Anko Mitarashi. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

He allowed the shadows around him to shift, showing his shirtless upper body, crimson pants, and black sandals as well as the all too familiar seal that rested on his naval. What was new to Anko's eyes was the sight of a fist-sized scar just left of where his heart would be.

"Three years if my memory is correct," finished the figure with a small smile. "I have to say, you sure have gotten beautiful over the years, Anko."

The sight of the man's shirtless body, plus his compliment to her own physique, brought a small blush to Anko's cheeks. She quickly shook it off and asked the question she wanted to ask for a while now. "Is that really you, gaki?"

The figure chuckled warmly before he removed the hood, presenting his whiskered, blue-eyed face to the Jonin. The woman had to admit that he looked a lot more handsome now with the loss of his baby fat and mature visage. "Still calling me that, eh Anko? I guess you're technically right, though. I am younger than you, so I would be a 'gaki' in your eyes. On the other hand…Do I really look like a brat still?"

"What happened to you? Tsunade-sama and a lot of people have been worried sick about you! We thought you were captured…"

"I was," he admitted as he slowly released the chains that had her bound. "I was taken by Orochimaru's men after I fell unconscious from my fight with that traitorous fuck, Sasuke. I spent two years under imprisonment and torture before I was 'released', if you can call it that. It wasn't full freedom and Orochimaru played his best torture cards in trying to make me into his personal weapon, but I was able to hold out until Sasuke absorbed him."

"What do you mean 'absorbed him'? How did the Uchiha do that?" asked the violet-haired woman in confusion.

"Well, Oro-teme's body transfer technique actually absorbs his chosen vessel's body into his own while he takes over their 'soul', so to speak. Sasuke, with his Sharingan, was easily able to reverse the absorption from his body to Orochimaru's, making Sasuke take over Orochimaru's body. That's the best I can really explain it, actually. All in all…someone got inside of someone."

Anko nodded in slight understanding since it still didn't make total sense to her. She put aside the thoughts on Orochimaru's technique on hold in favor of actually finding her favorite gaki. "Well, whatever Sasuke did doesn't matter right now. We'll tell Tsunade all about it once we get you back to Konoha."

"Take me back? I was honestly expecting a ball and chain. Not a warm welcome," he admitted to her.

"Of course we're taking you back! You just told me that you were a prisoner and were held here against your will! You aren't a traitor, so you can't be punished!" she argued.

"Maybe, but that sure as hell won't stop the Civilian Council from punishing the 'demon' as soon as I return. Not to mention the beef I'll get for not bringing back the teme… I'm basically a dead man as soon as I step through Konoha's gates."

"Tsunade-sama will defend you, and I will too!" she shot back making him raise a brow at her.

"Why are you so willing to take me back?"

"Why are you so reluctant to go back?" she countered.

"Touché Anko… I'm just not so fond of the idea of getting put back in a prison right after I got out of one, y'know? Well…unless the food's better this time around."

She cringed slightly at that before she sighed in slight frustration. "Listen gaki, I'm sure Tsunade-sama will be able to keep you out of prison. You're innocent and Sasuke left on his own accord, right?"

He nodded at that. "Yea, the teme tried to kill me to increase his eyes' power as well as stop me from preventing him from going to Oro-teme. I've got the scar to prove it," he stated while pointing at the scar near his heart. "I gotta tell ya, getting hit by the Chidori, not once, but twice in one fight is not a pleasant experience. It was quite electrifying."

"Yea, I'll be sure not to have that happen then," she said with a playful smile, making him smile back slightly. "But seriously, you need to come back with us. A lot of people miss you… I'll admit that I did too. I don't miss the newfound puns though."

He laughed at that and replied, "I'll bet you just miss the taste of my blood."

"Well, it is the sweetest I've tasted. But that isn't the only reason, gaki."

"Oh? And what, pray tell, is the other reason?"

"I'll tell you only if you promise to come with us. We came here to gather what we can from the snake's notes, but bringing you back supersedes that mission."

Naruto stood in silence as he thought over his options. Either he risks his freedom and goes with her, or he risks both his freedom and his life by declining and leaving. Not a tough decision, really.

Really.

"Alright… I'll go with you. I have to admit that I missed baa-chan and the others as well. I just need to grab a few things."

"What things?"

"Just a couple scrolls that hold materials that I need... Orochimaru wanted me to be his weapon, remember? Well, a weapon needs strength to be useful and I was able to learn an incredibly useful jutsu; a jutsu I'm sure your associates are dealing with now."

"That was you?" she asked in surprise.

"Yep, and I gotta say, the technique may be a kinjutsu and seen as an act against the Kami, but it is very useful. The scrolls I need contain materials I need for the jutsu."

Anko groaned while holding a hand to her head. "Alright fine, we'll go get your supplies before we head back. But make it quick, gaki!"

"Yea yea, keep your skirt on…or don't. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other," he said with a foxy grin while she gave a grin back.

"Keep talking and I may think you're a pervert who needs to be taught a lesson," she warned while licking her lips.

"As long as the 'lesson' isn't too…strenuous," he said huskily as he made his way down the halls, leaving a slightly blushing Anko.

"Not bad, gaki," she muttered.

'Not bad at all.'

Timeskip: One Hour Later

Anko led the trio of ANBU, who were surrounding Naruto, back to the gates of Konoha. Every now and then, she would look back to see how he was doing, and each time he just had a stoic look on his hooded face. He had a scroll that was just as large as the one Jiraiya usually carried on his person while Tsunade's necklace rested on his shirtless torso. The size made Anko curious since he said that his needed 'materials' were in it, but he didn't clarify what exactly it was he needed.

It had taken ten minutes for him to find the scroll, end the jutsu that revived the Oto Genin, and follow the team out of the base. The rest of the hour was spent in high speed travel back to Konoha. Naruto had a Chakra Restriction Tag placed on him since it was standard procedure when bringing an extra to the village. Even though the blonde was not a traitor, the ANBU decided to use the phrase 'no such thing as being too careful' to the fullest and make sure he only had physical skill to rely on. Naruto made no attempts to fight back or run away, especially since he knew that this was his only chance to return home on a slightly positive note.

Not that he couldn't kick their collective asses up and down the streets of Konoha while whistling 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' with one of his arms tied behind his back.

Still, the gears in his mind were turning and the thought of new 'materials' in Konoha made him give the smallest of smirks that went unnoticed. Oh yes, Konoha was a literal gold mine for him now and he was not going to waste this opportunity.

When the group of five finally reached the gates, Anko showed the Gate Guards her credentials, mission form, and signed the 'Stray Passenger' form. Naruto's eye twitched at the title of the form while Anko gave him a playful smirk. "I wonder if Tsunade-sama will let me keep you," she mused jokingly while his eye twitch increased in speed. "I'll need to make sure that you've had all of your shots though…"

Naruto smirked at this and replied, "As long as you personally administer them, I don't think I'll have a problem."

She licked her lips as she and the ANBU team led him to the Hokage Tower. "I'll be sure to remember that," she said while sending a small snake ahead of them.

Tsunade's Office

The Godaime of Konoha sighed as she worked through the small mountain of paperwork resting on her desk. No matter what, each of the Hokage found the seemingly harmless stacks of forms and papers to be more formidable than even their toughest battles.

'Kami-sama, why the hell did I agree to take this damn job? Oh, right. Naruto's guilt trip' she mused before she heard a small hiss coming from the doorway. She looked up from her desk just in time to see the small snake Anko had summoned slither under the door and into the office.

"Tsunade-sama, I presume?" it asked in a feminine voice while emphasizing the 'S' sounds of her speech.

"Yes… Are you Anko's or Orochimaru's?"

"I serve Anko… I just came to inform you, as she requested, that during her mission she picked up someone of great interest. She requests that you bring who she called the 'Konoha 10', their sensei, the Perverted Sennin, and your student to your office."

Tsunade raised a brow but nodded slowly and had Shizune call for the requested people before she herself was to come to the office. "Was that all?"

"There was one other thing… She requests that you not freak out when you see who she brought," said the snake before she disappeared in a plume of smoke, leaving a confused Hokage.

With Naruto and Anko

The walk to the tower took longer than the Snake Mistress would have liked, but she figured that it gave Tsunade enough time to gather the people she asked for. After telling the receptionist that she had a meeting with the Hokage, she dismissed the ANBU and led the hooded Jinchuriki to the office doors. Once they reached them, she turned to him and asked, "You ready for this, gaki?"

He merely shrugged and answered, "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Would it kill ya to smile a little? You haven't seen them in three years, after all…"

"And I'll probably be unable to see them for much longer than I will now once the Council hears of my return. Whether Tsunade is Hokage or not, the Council always seemed to hold the power in this village. Hmmm, I might have to change that."

"Yea well, you may be surprised by how much things have changed ever since you were taken."

"I won't hold my breath…" he muttered as she opened the doors and led him inside. His face remained perfectly calm at the sight of all the people he grew close to during his time as a Genin. Team 7 seemed to gain two new members while everyone else just looked older and dressed different; well most were dressed differently.

The first new member was a pale teen with a sickening fake smile plastered on his face. He had a black mop of hair, a shirt that left his abdomen visible, and a few scrolls on his belt.

He reminded him of Sasuke…with even less personality.

The second looked to be a Jonin or something of equal rank. He had short brown hair, black eyes, standard Jonin attire, and a headband styled like that of the Nidaime Hokage.

Anko stepped aside and allowed Naruto to step fully into the center of the office while the others looked to him curiously. The woman smirked before she turned to Tsunade and asked, "Permission to remove the Restriction Tag, Hokage-sama?"

The blonde Kage nodded. Even if the man before her tried to escape, the room was full of shinobi of Chunin rank or higher. He wouldn't get far.

Anko's smirk grew into a grin before she removed the tag and braced herself. The thing about the tag that was stuck to the Uzumaki was that once they were removed, the chakra that was restricted came out full-force. Since Naruto's chakra levels were so high ever since he was a student at the Academy, she knew that he would release a lot of chakra.

She was proven right when a literal dome of chakra burst from the hooded man and would've blown everyone back if they hadn't instinctively held their ground with chakra-laced feet. While the chakra flared, Naruto's Jinchuriki seal became visible to all making the adults widen their eyes in shock. Tsunade had also noticed the green gleam of her grandfather's old necklace and gasped in surprise.

Once the chakra flare died down, Naruto took a deep breath and cracked his neck before he gave the people in the room a small grin. "Man, it feels good to have my chakra back. Although Anko, I could've easily broken the seal at any time. Youki trumps chakra, after all," he informed before he removed his hood and showed everyone his whiskered, blue-eyed face. Everyone, except for the new member of Team 7, gasped in surprise at the sight of the lost Uzumaki, making his grin grow. "What's with you all? You look like you've seen a ghost or a corpse reanimated with some forbidden justu or something," he said with a laugh.

The room was silent except for his and Anko's laughter before Tsunade disappeared from her seat and was next seen squeezing the life out of Naruto. "I can't believe it's really you…"

Naruto's grin softened into a smile and he hugged the busty blonde back. "Yea… It's been way too long…baa-chan."

(End)

I really hope you guys had a great time reading this because I had my own great time with it. Hope you guys keep reading! See you later bro's!