Legend:

DISCLAIMER: Surprise surprise…I do not own Naruto. Who'd-a thunk it?

A/N: Whoo…Chapter Four was the most popular one (for reviews anyway) to date. A cyber-cookie for everyone who reviewed, favourited and subscribed.

A/N: This time, it's the time skip. We are now seven years in the future. There will be occasional flashbacks to deal with the events taking place in the training arc.

A shout-out to anonymous reviewer BOB JONES, who sent me my first flame (sorta kinda):

"i hate the pairing nuff said"

To you I ask the following question: Why, if you hate the pairing, do you even contemplate opening a fic that is appears when you search for NaruHina, is listed as NaruHina, and has a summary including the phrase NaruHina? I really don't mind what pairings you like; I don't force you to read my work. Would it not make more sense to search for NaruSaku, NaruTen, or NaruWhoever? I can appreciate other pairings; matter of fact, I'm working on another fic that will end up either NaruTema or NaruTayu.

Now as you may have noticed, I hate canon Sakura. I think she's an annoying useless fanbitch with a one-track mind wrapped around Sasuke-kiisama. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the odd NaruSaku, provided she's OOC (check out pudgypudge's Master of the Zanbatous for an excellent one).

Anyway, all you've really done is annoyed me by dissing my favourite pairing, making me even more entrenched in my NaruHina loyalty, and added another review on to my review board, making my story look even more popular. So for that, I thank you.

To all my other readers who had to suffer through that little diatribe, I apologize.

One last note, then I'll shut up and get on with the story. From now on, I'll post any original jutsus used in the chapter down at the bottom, complete with an English translation and a description of what they do. If you want to use any of them, go ahead; all I ask is credit for my inventions.

"Speaking"

Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon

Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality

"Jutsu"

Chapter 5: Taichou

Tsunade stared unhappily at the small book open in front of her. The frozen face of a smiling twelve-year-old blonde boy looked back at her. The face was not what had her upset; it was the text beneath the picture.

Uzumaki Naruto, B-Rank missing-nin originally of Konohagakure. Notable features include a loud, rash personality and immense chakra reserves. Commonly used techniques include the Rasengan and Kage Bunshin. No formal taijutsu style, target relies on brute strength and brawling combat style. Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Bounty – alive: 184000 yen (a little under 2000 US dollars)

Bounty – dead: 138500 yen (around 1500 US dollars)

She still remembered the day, three years back, when the council had forced that particular decision on her. The few members who would have supported Naruto were away for a variety of reasons, and so Danzo had managed to get a unanimous council set up against her. She was slowly working to reduce the power the council had gathered under Saratobi, but it was slow going; any time they could agree unanimously on something, by law it was approved.

She also remembered that Danzo had been found dead the very next day. He had been face down in his bed, and was visually unharmed save for a small bite mark on his leg. When she had examined the corpse, though, she discovered that every single one of the man's chakra points had been completely destroyed. The damage was similar to that inflicted by a Hyuuga, but far greater; the Hyuugas merely closed chakra points. Danzo had been afflicted this way and left to die; his body no longer capable of supporting the functions necessary for life.

Upon studying the bite mark, she had found the venom of an immature cottonmouth snake (1), which was very strange as they were not native to the area. The animal's toxin was not powerful enough to kill the man, but it would have knocked him unconscious for several hours.

The real kicker was that Konoha's resident snake mistress had no particular reason to hate Danzo, and was actually out of the village on a mission at the time.

Tsunade's situation had not changed for the better after Danzo's elimination, though…his will had clearly stated a successor. A retired ANBU operative named Daiki (2) had been named. She remembered him from his ANBU days; a very promising young man. He had suddenly quit, a few days before his twentieth birthday, to start a life as a merchant. He was often out of the village, and very little was known about his personal life. It had not been known beforehand that the two even knew each other. He had followed in his predecessor's footsteps, though, and was the kingpin behind every attempt by 

the council to undermine her authority. The young man was every bit as manipulative as the old warmonger he had replaced.

It won't help him much, with this loophole that Shikaku found…once he and Chouza get back, I'll finally be able to rescind the Dead-or-Alive order on Naruto.

"Alright, alright, you win. Let me up."

Anko was currently lying on her back, her legs held tightly together and her arms pressed flat to her sides, in the middle of Training Ground Nine. Seven large pythons were coiled around her, tightly enough that breathing was becoming difficult. Normally it wouldn't take her long to get out of this situation, but her arms were completely numb, thanks to several successive Jyuken strikes preformed by the young woman standing in front of her.

"Well?! Let me up, dammit!"

The girl blushed. "Sorry, Anko-sensei. I was thinking…"

The snakes uncoiled themselves, then disappeared in clouds of smoke. Anko jumped to her feet, and waited expectantly while the girl pressed her fingers into certain points on her arms. The snake mistress wiggled her fingers to ensure that full movement was restored.

A voice called from a nearby tree. "Well done, Hinata, that was a new record. It only took you four minutes and thirty-eight seconds to defeat Anko."

Hinata blushed again. "Really, Kurenai-sensei?"

"Congratulations. I thought she had you with the Doton: Shinjuu Zanshuu (3). Using Kawarimi with a Hebi Bunshin (4) and then dispersing it to attack…very clever."

"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei."

"Hey Kurenai, really? Less than five minutes?"

The red-eyed genjutsu mistress smiled at her friend. "I'm afraid so."

"…"

"Anko, stop pouting. Just be proud you did a great job as a teacher."

"I don't pout. I…scowl with emphasis."

"Of course you do."

Meanwhile, the young man who had been inhabiting Hinata's thoughts was sparring with a friend of his.

"So Gaara, you realize you can't possibly beat me."

"That is at this point unknown."

"Still sombre, eh old buddy?"

Gaara chose not to respond, preferring to send a wave of sand at the blonde.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!"

Naruto spat out a torrent of water from his mouth that proceeded to whirl around him, creating a defensive barrier. Gaara's sand struck the rapidly spinning wall of water and was caught up in the flow.

"Fuuton: Tatsumaki!"

With this, Naruto unleashed a massive gale that spun in the opposite direction to his Water Wall. The raging liquid began to cool rapidly, freezing solid from the inside out. Naruto then jumped out the hole at the top of his newly created Ice Wall and smirked at his redheaded friend.

"Whatcha gonna do now, Gaara? I just froze almost all of Shukaku's sand."

The Ichibi Jinchuuriki's lips curved up ever so slightly when he began making hand signs in a pattern Naruto didn't recognize. "Katon: Akuma Rippuku."

A small ball of fire formed in Gaara's left palm; his right was still futilely trying to wrench his sand out of Naruto's Ice Wall.

"Oh come on, Gaara, my Ice is chakra reinforced. That's a pretty cute fireball – and I'm happy I finally convinced you to learn a few techniques besides sand-based ones – but it can't scratch my Ice Wall."

Gaara smirked, and jutted his palm out. The little fireball shot forward with insane speed and hit the ice, creating a small indent in the ice surface that the fireball sat in. The fireball then started to flatten; it turned from a little red tennis ball into a disk two feet across that clung to the ice surface.

"Huh?"

The disk began to expand outward rapidly (5) until it covered the entire surface of the wall, inside and out, and then it…pulsed. The flame shroud turned white, blinding Naruto momentarily until he altered his vision. When sight returned half a second later, his wall was gone, and Gaara's sand was hanging in midair, glowing red.

"W-what the hell was that?!"

"A new technique."

"Yeah, no shit Gaara. Where'd you pick that up."

"From a scroll."

"…damn you."

It was at this point that Naruto noticed how heavily Gaara was breathing. "Alright, let's break for lunch. I'm starved."

"That would be acceptable."

"Kami, you really remind me of Shino sometimes…"

Thoughts of his former home brought the memories rushing back. As always, he was filled with appreciation for the good life he had here in Kaze no Kuni. There weren't many good memories from Konoha, but the ones he had were treasured.

Laughing with Chouji, annoying Shikimaru, ragging on Kiba…even arguing with Sasuke; he missed his old friends, just not enough to subject himself to the hate and rage of the citizens who had never bothered to get to know him.

The girls, too; Sakura certainly wasn't an incentive to return, but some of the others were alright. Ino might have been cool if she could stop the whole "holier-than-thou" attitude, and Hinata…in retrospect, Hinata was great. She'd never made fun of him, and had always been kind and helpful; really it was too bad he'd never gotten to know her better. Oh well, I did promise her I'd go back; maybe we can hang out, go for lunch or something. If the villagers give me issues, I'll just Henge. It'll be nice to see old man Ichiraku and Ayame again, too –

"Naruto?"

"Huh?"

"Naruto, you spaced out. Are you feeling alright?"

"Did I? Sorry, just thinking. Come on, let's grab some food."

The two jinchuuriki entered Sunagakure from the front gate. As usual, the assorted civilians and shinobi nearby bowed respectfully.

As usual, Gaara looked a little uncomfortable.

"Come on, Gaara, you've earned their respect. Besides, I can't even make them stop bowing to me! I don't have a chance trying to make them ignore the freaking Kazekage."

Gaara smiled a little at this. "Well, you've earned your position as well. I still remember the look on your face when I asked you to replace Baki as head of the Suna ANBU."

"Course I earned it, I saved your life three times, didn't I?"

"Twice, Naruto. And I returned the favour once."

"Whatever, that's beside the point."

"He he. That bastard Deidara had you unconscious and helpless, and they would've yanked Shukaku from you if it hadn't been for me."

"Naruto, shameless self-promotion isn't becoming in any ninja, let alone an elite jounin and ANBU captain."

"Speaking of which, I've got a squad meeting in two hours. Guess that means training is over for today, huh?"

"Give my regards to Temari."

"For sure. You know she appreciates it when her kid brother watches out for her."

The two shared a chuckle at that. The idea of Temari, a fiercely independent jounin-level ANBU in the famous Team Oni (6) being looked after by anyone was absurd.

Naruto turned to Gaara with a roguish grin. "Want me to 'give your regards' to Nariko as well?"

"sigh… Naruto, she is a subordinate ninja. I do not particularly care whether you give her 'my regards' or not."

"Gaara, in case you haven't noticed, in Suna everyone is your subordinate." He took a longer look at the redhead. "Aww, ickle Gaara is blushing! Isn't that – ow!"

Gaara smirked, and the offending tendril of sand fell away after smacking the back of Naruto's head. "I would advise that you drop this subject, unless you want to have a replay of the events earlier."

"Which event did you mean? The one where you were buried up to your neck in your own sand? Or the one where I froze your arms together? Or maybe the one where –"

"Oh, shut up."

"Since I won, you have to buy lunch!"

"….dammit."

Later that afternoon, Naruto found himself in his office at ANBU headquarters waiting for the fourth member of his squad to arrive. Temari had arrived before he did, and Fujitaka Nariko had shown up two minutes later. Now, after waiting another fifteen minutes, the three were still waiting for their fourth member.

"Come on, Naruto-taichou, let me go find my deadbeat brother."

"Nariko, just stay here, he'll show up soon enough. I don't know what's keeping him, but I'm sure it's important; he isn't the type to be late for anything."

"You only think that because he's on his best behaviour. Back when…." She kept going, but Naruto no longer listened. He had bigger concerns on his mind than the perpetual sibling rivalry between the two members of his team. Remember, big shot, you got to hand pick your team. It's your own damn fault.

The two had earned their positions though; at eighteen years of age, the twins were almost on a level with Temari and Kankuro, who was an ANBU captain himself. Naruto was vaguely reminded of the fiasco with Itachi, who had gained too much power too fast, but dismissed the idea immediately; though they could do any jobs they were assigned, both teens were too full of the zest for life to carry out such atrocities. Oh dear Kami…I almost thought 'youthful.' Damn Gai, damn Lee and that damn unbreakable sunset genjutsu…

His thoughts were interrupted when the door slammed open to reveal a sheepish-looking Fujitaka Hiro, with his mask dangling from his hand.

"Put it on, perhaps, Shinku (7)?"

The young man blushed a brilliant shade of red to match his codename, and quickly fastened his mask on. Unlike normal ANBU masks, those worn by Team Oni weren't animals; instead, each was white, and depicted the same stylized swirl. The only difference between masks was the colour. Only Naruto's was different; he still used the red-on-black wolf pattern, same as the one that Gaara gave him, seven years ago.

"Sorry, taichou. I was just –"

"Don't worry about it. I called you all here because we're leaving tomorrow."

"Another mission?"

"What's the objective?"

"Who's the target?"

"What time do we leave?"

At least Temari knows when to listen…oh well. I wasn't any better on my first mission.

"No target this time. We're just a diplomatic envoy to Konoha, transporting several scrolls worth of correspondence between the Hokage and Kazekage. We will then evaluate Konoha's ninja training program; Suna's academy is turning out fewer and fewer graduates ever year, and Gaara wants to improve this. We'll be there for a month, housed in Konoha's ANBU barracks, and then we come home. Should be a cakewalk."

Hiro piped up. "Yeah, it should be a cakewalk…so why is the best ANBU squad in Suna taking this milk run of a mission?"

"I requested it."

Shocked silence.

Temari understands, but I guess I should explain to the others. Well…some of it anyway. "I used to live in Konoha. However, they weren't able to see past the Kyuubi, and eventually I decided to leave. The rest is history. I wanted to go back to see how everyone is doing." And keep a promise…

"Well, if you say so boss. I guess that makes sense."

"Good. With that out of the way, I expect to see you all at the east gate at 7am sharp."

"Hai, taichou."

The twins left, but Temari lagged behind. "You sure you're up for this? I heard a little about what you actually went through, and…well, if it was me, I wouldn't even think of going near Konoha again."

"Maybe. But not all of my time there was horrible, and I had friends there."

"Some friends; have you gotten any letters?"

"Temari…no one knew where I was. I made sure of that."

"Yeah, sure…but they could've tried."

"Maybe they did. I've been all but untraceable; only in the past year, after I became Captain, have I stopped Henging myself every time I leave home. I've been Subaku no Takeshi all this time."

Temari punched his shoulder playfully. "You made a pretty good brother you know; less of an asshole than Kankuro and more lively than Gaara, and a damn fine cook. I quite liked Takeshi."

Naruto grinned behind his mask. "I'm still the same guy I was before; I've just taken my true name back." He turned to leave, and his voice became serious. "It's time to see how Konoha reacts when the despised son of their greatest hero returns."

With that final comment, he vanished into thin air. Temari stood still for a moment to think, then grabbed her war fan and walked out the door. She smiled in spite of herself. Just because he finally mastered the wind shunshin...are all boys show-offs?

Back home in his cave, Naruto was saying goodbye to Jiraiya. "Well, that's the last of your notes. Do try not to be such a pervert in the future; you might actually get somewhere with a nice woman."

The toad Sannin just laughed. "Of course, brat. And you need to get laid."

Naruto smacked the back of his former teacher's head. "Ero-sensei. I'm not a sex-starved maniac like you."

"For Kami's sake, kid, you're nineteen and you still haven't had a steady girlfriend. I have failed as a teacher, failed horribly! And it's all your fault!"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno…I just haven't found the right person yet. I wondered about Temari for a while, but…it was like kissing my sister."

"What about that brunette, Aki or something? She was really" – lecherous giggle – "hot."

"She was only interested in my looks."

"The other brunette?"

"Was using me to try to get Gaara."

"The redhead?"

"Just wanted to sleep with an ANBU captain."

Jiraiya exploded. "She was ready and willing to sleep with you and you said no?!"

Naruto let out a grim laugh. "Girl was a lot more than ready and willing; after I told her I wasn't ready the third time she tried to drug me."

The look on Jiraiya's face was too funny, and Naruto started to laugh.

"So if she tried to drug you, why didn't it work?"

"Jiraiya, this is me. Kyuubi always used to protect me from poisons, and now…" he trailed off. "Now I have my own immunity."

"Yeah. Still can't believe that happened…"

"It was a bit of a shocker."

Naruto's smile returned. "So, have a good trip. I'll see you in Konoha in a few weeks then."

"Just going to meet up with a few of my informants, then I'll be there. Jounin or not, you're still my student and I'm not going to let you face those backstabbing idiots alone for any longer than I can help it."

"Thanks, Jiraiya-sensei. You don't know how much that means to me."

The white-haired man smiled fondly. "I have an idea."

"Yeah, I guess you do."

"Best of luck. Should be an interesting homecoming, Namikaze-sama."

"Oh shut up…thanks again for telling me about my parents. At least they loved me and wanted me; for years, I thought I was abandoned."

"I know, kid. I know. Anyway, I best be off, I have a meeting in Kumo in just a few days."

"See ya, Ero-sensei."

Jiraiya made a face. "Would a little respect kill you?"

Naruto winked. "Probably."

"Hinata, ANBU needs you. We are running short of capable officers and you are –"

Hinata did her best not to glare at the obstinate man in front of her.

"I said no, Inu-san. I did a year in the corps. Now, I think I might sign on as a jounin-sensei next spring for the new academy graduates."

"But Hinata –"

"I said no. Please look elsewhere."

His reluctance was obvious; however there was little he could do. "Very well. I'm sorry you feel that way; good luck with the genins."

He turned to go.

"Kiba."

"Yeah?"

"I think what you're doing is great, but it isn't for me. I don't like being away from the village all the time."

"Ok. I'll…see you around?"

"Yes, you probably will. Bye Kiba."

Hinata strode away from the dog-masked ANBU. She could feel his eyes following her. That first date was a mistake…

A year ago, Kiba had asked Hinata out. She had initially refused, but he persisted and she eventually accepted, reasoning that it would be good practice. To her surprise she had quite a good time with the Inuzuka heir, and the two continued to date for around a month. It was at this point that Kiba said the fateful words – "Hinata, I love you."

To say Hinata was shocked was an understatement. The two were long-time friends, dating back to before their time on Team 8. It was that side of Kiba that she'd always seen – her good friend and companion. Love, though, had never entered into her mind. The first surprised word out of her mouth was "What?!" and with that the damage was done. She stopped going out with him, and their friendship became very awkward. They weren't as close as before.

Kiba had asked her once if she had dumped him because she was still holding out for Naruto. Hinata still hadn't answered him, because she honestly wasn't sure. Kiba was a friend, not a love interest. On some level, yes, she was still waiting for Naruto to come back, but at the same time she just didn't like Kiba the way he did her. When she didn't reply, he had just nodded sadly and walked away, shoulders hunched. She'd heard he was dating a civilian woman now, but hadn't met her; Hinata hoped she made Kiba happy.

For now, though, Hinata's life revolved around getting stronger. Her father had finally proclaimed her to be the heir of the Hyuuga Clan, but his health was declining due to a chest infection that even Tsunade was unable to heal. He was becoming increasingly depressed. The man had been cruel to her in the past, but with his time nearing an end he was determined to make amends for his misdeeds, and the father and daughter had never been closer. If only it hadn't taken this to bring our relationship around…

She often wondered where Naruto had settled. The thought of him dying had never entered her mind; she refused to accept the possibility. She wondered whether he thought about her at all…of course he does. He promised he'd come back to Konoha, and Naruto never breaks a promise. Right?

Early the next morning, Naruto met his (mostly) alert squad at the east gate of Sunagakure.

"I still think you could have (yawn) delegated this to some random chuunin..."

"Hiro. We are going to Konoha, so you might as well get used to the idea."

"Hai, hai."

Hey guys…did you miss me? Because like it or not, Konoha, I'm coming back.

Wow, I'm horrible…it wasn't very nice of me to cut it off like that, now was it? Oh well…

Anyone interested in seeing Gaara paired with anyone? That little scene with Naruto about Nariko just happened…I hadn't planned that out. So if you want to see the Kazekage finally get some lovin', let me know in a review (cuz it won't let me run more than one poll at a time) and tell me who you want to see him with. No promises on this one...the character might already be taken, or it might just be too awkward to put them together, but I will try.

Speaking of polls, the one regarding Sasuke's fate is still open. Options are as follows:

(1) Make him an evil, twisted emo son-of-a-bitch who plans to kill Naruto for the Mangekyou Sharingan and have Orochimaru unsuccessfully possess Sasuke (similar to the canon; not my favourite idea, but it's a possibility – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight) Total Votes: 26

(2) Make him in love with Sakura (there will be NO SasuSaku pairing…it will be Sasuke longing for something he can't have – can't give reasons, but it involves Sasuke bashing and Sakura bashing; this is probably my favourite idea – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight) Total Votes: 20

(3) Make him gay, and attracted to Naruto. This would never actually lead anywhere; it would be purely for humour purposes as I don't write yaoi. If you do, that's fine, but I don't. If I take this path, Sasuke will not fight Naruto; or anyone else for that matter (if this is the path taken, Sasuke will not be beaten up or anything, and will be a minor character used for comic relief) Total Votes: 15

(1) The cottonmouth is a small (30-45 cm) venomous snake found in Florida; they are not aggressive by nature but will bite to defend themselves.

(2) Daiki's name is a bit of a pun…it means "Big Tree." Rather ironic for the current leader of ROOT.

(3) Inner decapitation technique.

(4) Snake Clone. Similar to the Inuzuka Juujin Bunshin, it transforms several snakes into a single clone. Useful because when it is defeated, it reverts to snake form and can then attack again.

(5) If you wanna know what I had in mind when I wrote the description for this, go watch BLEACH episode 125 and fast-forward to the part where Ichigo stabs his inner hollow. Now switch out Shirosaki for a massive ice cylinder and the black stuff for red-orange fire.

(6) The Demon Unit; a nickname given to the ANBU squad by enemies of Sunagakure. Composed of Namikaze Naruto, Subaku no Temari, Fujitaka Nariko and Fujitaka Hiro.

(7) Codenames; instead of animals, Team Oni uses colours. Naruto: Kuroi (black); Temari: Ao (green); Nariko: Toroku (turquoise); Hiro: Shinku (crimson)

A/N: If you don't know who killed Danzo, enlist yourself in remedial Naruto 101 immediately. You have my pity.

Original jutsus:

Hebi Bunshin: explained above in point (4)

Fuuton: Tatsumaki – literally Wind Technique: Tornado. Unleashes a massive gust of wind that surrounds the user for as long as it continues to receive chakra.

Katon: Akuma Rippuku – literally Fire Technique: Demon Rage. User compresses a massive amount of heat into a tiny ball, and then launches this ball at an extremely fast pace towards the target; upon impact the fireball expands to cover the target in its entirety. Can be performed with normal (human) chakra but works best with demonic chakra, hence the name. When Gaara used it, he was channelling Shukaku's power to use the jutsu. (yes, he controls Shukaku now…more on that later)

You are getting very sleepy…

You are now in a trance. When I snap my fingers, the trance will end, and you will carry out my instructions…

You will submit a review…

(snaps fingers)