The Crimson Blade stood before the Konoha council, Jiraiya stood slightly behind the mysterious man. The council consisted of Tsunade, Danzo, Garia Koharu, Inuzuka Tsumi, Hyuuga Hiashi, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, Aburame Shibi, Asuma Sarutobi and Uchiha Sasuke.

"So you are The Crimson Blade?" Councillor Koharu asked.

"Hai, but I would prefer it if you referred to me with my alias, Rai, for now," the hooded figure said.

"So your real name is not Rai? Councillor Tsumi of the Inuzuka Clan said.

"No."

"Do you know why you are here, Rai-san?" Tsunade asked him.

"You would like to use my skills and reputation in the impending war against Rock and Lightning. However, I am afraid I do not work for nothing," the figure stated evenly.

"Rai-san," Inoichi Yamanaka said, "We would like to offer you a position as s Konoha ANBU captain. You would be recognised as a full Konoha shinobi and will be seen as a citizen of Konoha."

"I am afraid to say that I do not wish for such a position at this moment in time. Besides, such a position is a waste of my skills. I will fight for Konoha if I am paid 30 million Ryo, no more no less. You should be happy, I usually charge more than 50 million for tasks which are much easier and last for much less time," he said.

"I think that is agreeable," Tsunade said. "All in favour please raise hands." Every member of the council raised their hands.

"I would also require that a few people be allowed into Konoha. If the other villages find out that I fight for you, these people may be targeted because they are so close to me." The council nodded in acceptance.

"Crimson Blade, we would like a general overview of your skills please," Sasuke said.

"I would rather not boast as such. Perhaps you should test my skills as a shinobi instead?"

The council nodded. "That would be acceptable. At noon"

"Rai-san, we would like to test these skills, so at noon today we will send a few of our best to test your skills. Please be at training ground 3 for that time," Hyuuga Hiashi said impassively, Rai's only reply was a curt nod. With that he turned on his heel and walked towards the door.

"Wait. If you are to be a shinobi of Konoha, I would ask that you draw back your hood and make your identity known to us, I think the men would not react well to such a mysterious figure, they might be intimidated by you" Uchiha Sasuke said.

The figure stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned to face the council, his head slightly bowed so his face was cast in darkness.

"You are right of course Councillor Uchiha. If that is the will of the council I will do so," he said. The council nodded in approval, all wanting to see his face. "I warn you if you make any brash movements, I may be forced to harm you, before breaking this contract."

Every member of the council was wondering the same thing, 'Why would we harm him? Is he horribly deformed or something?' They all leaned forward in their seats ever so slightly in anticipation as Rai raised his hands to his hood.

He drew it back ever so slightly, revealing his slightly tanned skin. Then a bit more, to show his unruly blonde hair, before throwing it back completely. A collective gasp came from the council.

"You?!" Hiashi shouted, standing up from his seat.

"Naruto?" Tsunade said, and he shot her his trademark foxy grin.

"Yo obaa-can, Sasuke-teme," inclining his head slightly. Sasuke seemed to be paralysed in shock at this revelation. "So do you guys still want that contract with 'The Crimson Blade', or should I say Uzumaki Naruto, exiled shinobi of Konoha?"

There was a brief pause before Jiraiya spoke. "Naruto, where have you been? I searched for you for two years after you left, and could never find you!"

"Where I went is my business, and I am not inclined to tell you Pervert. Now, do you still want that contract, or are you going to execute me because I trespassed on your land?"

"I think the contract will be even better now, as we do not have to question your loyalty to Konoha so much," Aburame Shibi said, his voice neutral and emotionless, although his slightly raised eyebrow told Naruto he was still shocked at the revelation of his identity.

"Preposterous! That boy was exiled because he was danger to our society; to reintroduce him to the system is unthinkable!" Hiashi all but roared.

"Shut up, Hiashi. I was against his exile in the first place. This is a chance for the council to redeem ourselves for the mistake of exiling him, and now he will be a huge asset to our cause! If he is not allowed this contract and the opportunity to rejoin the ranks of Konoha, I will lose all faith in Konoha, and will leave this village with him to become a missing-nin," Tsunade said, standing to her feet.

All of the council was shocked to hear Tsunade taking such a serious stand on the issue. If she was to leave the village it would bring shame upon Konoha.

"Let's just put the matter to the vote. All against giving The Crimson Blade, aka Uzumaki Naruto, the contract mentioned earlier, and the offer of rejoining the ranks of Konoha?" Only Hiashi and Koharu raised their hands. "Then it looks like you have yourself a contract, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto nodded, before saying, "I accept the contract, but do not think I want to rejoin this village. Konoha put me through hell for the twelve years I lived here. I was beaten, mentally and verbally abused and shunned for something I had no control over, the sealing of Kyuubi within me. As unlikely as it is, if something does change my mind I will let you know. Now, if I may be excused." Without waiting for a reply Naruto turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving the council members to ponder what had just occurred.

Naruto's first destination in Konoha was his favourite place, the place he had missed so much since his departure from the village... Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. He looked at the Ramen stand closely and saw that there were now a variety of new flavours from when he had luck come here, and one of special interest to him was the Duck Ramen.

Naruto had decided that he would keep his hood drawn up a see how things were in the village before revealing his identity. As such neither Teuchi or Ayame recognised their old number one customer.

"I'll have a duck ramen please," Naruto told Teuchi as he sat down on a stool. Teuchi nodded in affirmative and set about making the ramen. Naruto devoured the bowl of ramen quickly when Teuchi placed it before him, Teuchi and Ayame both gaped as at the rate at which he ate his food, his hood still drawn.

"That was good! It's been so long that I was beginning to forget what your ramen tasted like!"

"So you've bought from us before?" Ayame asked, as she moved to stand before where he was seated.

"Maybe, but I'll let you find out who I am." Hearing this Ayame bent lower to try and get a better look at his face, but Naruto just bowed his head, hiding his features from her curious eyes.

By the time Naruto was on his sixth bowl of ramen three more customers arrived at the stand.

"Why did you make us come here again?" Naruto looked around and saw that this was said by a rather familiar boy. He was almost as tall as Naruto with red triangular stripes across his cheeks, a green bandana tied across his forehead, his headband tied over his arm, to show a well muscled bicep and a large pale golden furred dog next to him.

"I didn't feel like going to the barbeque place again Kiba-kun! Don't you think so Shino-kun?" This was said by a girl who had long flowing black hair. She was wearing s short sleeved pink top and white loose canvas trousers. Naruto could not see her face, as she had her back turned to him.

"I agree with Hinata. The amount of meat you eat is not good for you Kiba. You will get cholesterol, I think it is best if we have a change for once," the third member of the trio said. He had rather long hair and wore sunglasses. Most of his features were hidden by a high collared jacket, but he was tall, about the same height as Naruto.

The girl, who Naruto had by now guessed would be Hinata because of who the other two were, walked forward and grabbed both of the men by their collar to the stand, and sat down next to Naruto. Naruto could now see her face. He felt his jaw drop as he saw her. Her pale Hyuuga eyes were tinged with a hint of pearly violet, making her eyes shine, her skin was creamy and smooth, her cheeks slightly rosy and her hair fringed just above her eyes. Hinata wore her headband on a blue sash that she had tied around her waist. Hinata was definitely HOT! Naruto quickly recollected himself, hoping she had not noticed his gaze.

Once they had all ordered the three began to talk between themselves.

"How was your border patrol mission Hinata?" Kiba asked his mouth full of ramen.

"It was bad. Our squad met opposition on the border with Lightning, two were killed and another two were injured. Otou-san said that war is coming upon us from tree, possibly more, hidden villages. He fears that we will not be able to withstand the force of such an attack, even with Sand," Hinata said grimly. Kiba's eyes widened, this was obviously news to him, and even Shino sat a bit more rigid at this.

Naruto slowly began to chuckle, causing the three as well as Teuchi and Ayame to look over his way. "What's so funny about a war?" Kiba growled at him, but Naruto just kept chuckling, slowly shaking his head. "Hey! Don't ignore me! I asked you to tell me why you're laughing!"

Naruto's chuckles slowly subsided, and he raised his head slightly so that his piercing cerulean eyes met Hinata's pale ones, causing her to gasp. "Don't worry Kiba, Shino... Hinata-chan. As long as I am here Konoha will survive, and none of you three will befall any harm."

"What can you do?" Kiba said, sneering. Hinata seemed to be in slight shock after seeing his eyes, and Naruto wondered if she had already recognised him.

"I can do many things. I can fight like you could never dream of Kiba. I am the Crimson Blade, hired by the Konoha council to aid in the impending war," Naruto said slowly, making eye contact with Kiba.

"Who's the Crimson Blade?" Kiba said, scratching the back of his head.

"The Crimson Blade is listed in both Lightning's and Rock's bingo books as an S-Class wandering-nin, with a bounty of 100,000,000 ryo on his head he is their most wanted shinobi. What he has done to them is a mystery to all those outside their villages, but it has caused him to be valued well over any normal S-Class nins skill level. He has never used anything other than taijutsu against an opponent, and no-one has ever seen the blade on his back drawn," Shino said, his voice monotonous as ever.

"Ah, Shino it seems you still have a cool and knowledgeable head on those shoulders, eh?" Naruto said, smirking under his hood.

Slowly Hinata spoke, "You have just confirmed my suspicions. It is obvious that you know us from before, and the moment I saw your eyes was a dead giveaway. I think I know who you are. A-are you... N-Naruto-kun?" There was a collective gasp at Hinata's question.

"Don't be stupid Hinata! You know Naruto was exiled for the stupid Uchiha. As much as you want him to be this dude ain't Naruto. How could Naruto have such cool skills? I mean come on! He was the dead-last," Kiba said sniggering.

Naruto stood up from his seat and thrust a fist under Kiba's nose, "What did you say dog-breath! Wanna take this outside? I'll show you." Naruto suddenly threw back his hood revealing his features. Hinata promptly fainted, the whole ordeal had been too much for her, and even after all this time he still had this affect on her. Kiba's jaw dropped. Shino, Teuchi and Ayame all gasped. Naruto smirked.

"Well I guess you guys didn't expect that huh? Guess Hinata's the cleverest one around here then huh?" Slowly Naruto crouched down next to Hinata and gathered her in his arms, and picked her up.

"You guys wanna catch up? How about we go to my apartment?" Naruto asked, Hinata in his arms, her head against his chest. Kiba and Shino nodded, still too shocked to talk. "This doesn't mean you're off the hook for calling me dead-last Kiba! See ya later ojii-san, Ayame-chan!" Both of them waved to him, as Naruto and the rest made their way to his apartment.

Sorry it's taking so long to update, but I'm real busy.

Keeps on reviewing!

Satansrogue