A/N: Well that was a surprise…when this story first came out, I got a lot of favorites and subscriptions a while after it was posted…not too many reviews I'm afraid. Several of you were kind enough to read and review, and give me your opinions on what I should be doing next in the story…and so as a compromise to the two of you and your suggestions, I'll try to combine both. But all the same, do read and review would you kindly?

…

[Outskirts of Konohagakure, five years later…]

The day was like any other in the village of Konohagakure…the streets were bustling with people buying things, and it seemed like a party was going on nonstop—and for a good reason (well, as good a reason to many of the ignorant people in this village), as the demon brat had been taken away! For five years, the people had celebrated. They didn't care who took the little hell spawn with him, they just cared that he was gone…just like they wanted! They only hoped he killed the demon before he got back. Little did they know that their celebration would be for nothing; standing at the gates of Konohagakure were three people. Koutetsu and Izumo simply sat bored out of their minds at the gates—they really didn't want to be here, but it was necessary that they did…because no matter how boring the work in border patrol was, it was still very important. "I really wish there was something we can do around here," said Koutetsu, "anything's better than nothing. It's all the villagers' fault we're so damn bored…at least Naruto made things fun around here."

"I know, I'd even join that celebration were it not for the fact that everyone in it is such a complete idiot," said Izumo, "what they did to him five years ago was pretty much their own damn fault. If he turned into a demon and killed those ninja in revenge for trying to kill him, I wouldn't have blamed him…I'd turn into one myself knowing what he had to go through because of their stupidity and ignorance."

"Totally, but still…" Before he could finish his sentence, Koutetsu turned his attention to something down the road walking towards the gates. Oh he recognized that old man from five years ago…he was that guy that took Naruto out on a training trip. But he was now accompanied by two children around the age of twelve. One of them was apparently a boy that sported a zipped up high-collared vest with a hood that covered his face such that only his nose line was shown, a pair of baggy cargo shorts that went down to his calves, and a pair of plated greaves that went over his ninja sandals. He was carrying four weapons, three of which were definitely swords—on his back was a large sword and a tetsubo slung over his shoulder, and at his waist were a short sword and a katana. What made him stand out however was that a bulky metal cuff and armband with a chain attached to both was clamped over his left arm—which was red and ended in five claw-tipped fingers. The other was a young girl around the boy's age dressed in orange and brown skin-tight clothing. Her brown hair was tied behind her head in a bun, her eyes were the color of coffee, and she had the body of a girl her age that trained and worked hard in the martial arts; a very slender body type for a beautiful little girl with the potential to be even more beautiful if her cards were played right.

The two guards stationed watched as the three of them walked closer. Koutetsu worked up his nerve before speaking. "Can I help you sir?"

"Yes," began the old man, "you can start by telling your Hokage that I'm here…he pretty much vouched for me five years in advance to make sure that Naruto gets back in one piece."

The look of shock on Izumo's face was very clear as he looked at the boy in the hoodie. "That's Naruto? I hardly even recognize him…"

"Five years can do that to you," began the boy, "although to prove to you that I am who I say I am…Koutetsu, you owe Izumo fifty ryo for that time I pranked the Uchiha district, and started a chase throughout the village…and don't think I've forgotten about you Izumo, because you still owe me at least that amount because you bet me all the ramen I could eat if I could cause all that mayhem without being apprehended on that same day."

The two men looked at the boy with surprise in their eyes…only one person knew about that bet besides the two of them…the Uchiha district was rigged with traps in such a manner that all the male members in the district were caught in very gay positions. That's right…the Uchiha men (with the exception of Itachi) were accused of being gay as of that moment…suffice to say, every Uchiha that was a victim of the prank chased Naruto around the village to no avail. The boy was too tricky for them, even if they did use their beloved Sharingan to help in capturing him. By the end of the day, none of the Uchiha men were able to catch him. "It's good to finally see you again Naruto!"

"Likewise."

Koutetsu then glanced at the girl, who was with Naruto and the old man. Oh, he had a sly grin on his face…and the perverted chuckle was enough to get the boy's attention. "And I see you've got the very beginnings of young love there. Who is this little lady?"

The girl simply grinned confidently. "The name's Meilan, a pleasure to meet you…any friend of Naru-kun is a friend of mine."

Izumo coughed into his hand…much as he was into reuniting with Naruto and meeting his possible future girlfriend, there was still work to be done. "Your girlfriend is free to walk around the village after she and the old man speak with the Hokage…but under the Hokage's orders, one of us is supposed to escort you to the Ninja Academy while the other gets the old man to the Hokage tower."

The old man lifted his hand for a polite refusal. "No need for that, I already know my way around this village…although you are free to accompany me. Will you be fine on your own Naruto?"

"I'll be okay, Koutetsu and Izumo are trustworthy."

…

[Sarutobi's Office, Hokage Tower…1 hour later…]

Hiruzen had constantly found himself filling out form, after form, after form…and he was getting tired. He'd much rather deal with Konohamaru's clumsy attempts at assassinating him, or even Asuma's rebellious attitude than to deal with the enemy of every Kage. Oh how he wanted to just burn it all away and be done with it. In fact, as he looked to the stand holding his pipe on the right, he realized that he had just the thing to do just that! Oh, he grinned with glee at the thought that he could make it loo- "Hokage-sama," said the secretary, disturbing the poor old man from his thoughts as she slammed the door open, "Izumo's here, and he's brought an old man and a little girl with him. He said you had a meeting with him?"

The old Hokage stroked his beard for a moment upon hearing that…and then he remembered! "Send them in."

Lo and behold, in walked Izumo with GSD and a little girl in tow. "Thank-you Izumo, you can return to your post now."

Izumo bowed, as the little girl led GSD to a seat in front of Hiruzen. "So GSD, how are things so far?"

"Same as usual Hokage-sama, although I suppose it could be better considering what today is."

"Yes, about Naruto. How did the training go?"

"To be honest, I never expected for him to pick up on swordsmanship quite easily…given enough time to train him, I may name him my successor should I ever die. Although I suppose fate could have been kinder to the boy…"

The girl that was with GSD had a frown on her face—as if she knew what the old swordsman was talking about. "What happened?"

…

[Meanwhile, at the Ninja Academy…]

Iruka looked at the class roster. He really wasn't looking forward to teaching this bunch—yes there were civilians seemed to take it seriously, and yes at the very least he had actual ninja kids to teach…but this year's batch of students had a very big problem that seemed to kill his mood: the majority of this year's batch of students was made up of fan girls…Uchiha fan girls. So many screaming little banshees cooing and wooing the last Uchiha…and it was really hurting his ears. Yeah, he really didn't like this batch much…especially with so many civilian parents convincing their daughters that the Uchiha were THE clan to marry into, all because Sasuke was the last of them. To his credit however, Sasuke seemed very disinterested in the fan girls…oh the injustice! Granted, Iruka had perverted dreams of having fan girls, but not to that extent—and on that note, he found he couldn't envy the boy. But still, his twin sister was more pleasant than this.

He heaved a sigh as the noise was getting to intolerable levels…he definitely didn't want this on a new day for school. Mizuki seemed to take amusement from Iruka's plight, and knew what was coming next. The latter inhaled a deep breath from both his nose and mouth, and let it out as he performed that infamous (to all but Iruka) Dai Onikubi no Jutsu: "ALL RIGHT YOU LITTLE SNOTS, SHUT UP!" Upon hearing this, the students had started to quiet down…even the fan girls knew not to test his wrath. "Good, now for roll-call…Aburame Shino?" Upon hearing his name, the said child raised his hand. "Akimichi Choji?"

The list went on all the way down to the U-section of the list. "Uchiha Sasuke?" Iruka looked around, and found the young boy glancing out the window. Oh how he wanted to smash his head through that window…but alas, the council would revoke his teaching permit if he did. "Uchiha Tsukiko?" His response was a terse "here" as he continued to go down the list. "Uzumaki Naruto?"

The sound of a door opening filled the air and interrupted Iruka and the class turned their attentions to the source of the sound, as in walked Koutetsu with a kid. "Sorry we're late," he said, "the kid moves slower than I remember…"

Iruka palmed his face, and shook his head. Clearly not his day at all…"That's okay, but is that Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yep, that's him."

Iruka studied the young boy, and saw that he was wearing a vest, with weapons strapped to his back. "Okay then; Koutetsu, you're free to go." The second he was given permission to leave, Koutetsu left the classroom while the teacher turned to face his student. "Naruto, why are you bringing weapons here?"

The boy turned to face him. "I'm sorry sensei," he said, the bemusement clear in his voice, "I didn't know anything about not bringing weapons to class, and I've been training with them for a while now. In fact, I just got here today, so this is the first time I've ever heard of such a rule."

The teacher had a look on his face that stated his understanding…Naruto has been out of town for five years (so he's heard), and so it wasn't surprising that he never heard of such a rule. It was also likely that his teacher did in fact train him in the use of all those weapons he carried on his back. "Well, just bring your weapons over and we'll put them away for you. Later on, I'll teach you how to seal them away so that you don't have to worry about them being stolen."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement, and started walking down the stairs towards the teacher's desk, first unlatching the tetsubo with a smooth octagonal shaft from the left sling, then the large sword from the right, next came the short sword at his lower back, and finally the katana at the left side of his waist. As they were all taken off his person and put on the teacher's desk, Iruka noted that each of his weapons was rather heavy if the creaking of the table were any indication. "Very good, now would you please take a seat next to Sasuke over there?"

The fan girls were not happy with the prospect that they were being hindered in their progress with seducing the last Uchiha by this newcomer…although the fact that they saw his arms seemed to diffuse a bit of their anger. "Can you please tell me which row that Sasuke is in?"

Iruka was puzzled…he was sure he said 'over there'…so why the question? "Can you please remove your hood?"

The boy saw no problem with it, and removed his hood, revealing sun-kissed golden hair in spikes and cheeks with whisker marks on them. What shocked the two teachers was the fact that this kid was wearing a blindfold…Iruka was possibly hoping that what he was seeing was not true…

…

[Hokage's Office, the Hokage Tower…]

"Blind?" asked Hiruzen, the shock evident on his aged features, "In five years, you have trained him blind?"

"That is not so. I was teaching a new skill him at the time. Instead, he accidentally learned another technique and suddenly went blind—I'm guessing that this was an exchange from the gods for this, perhaps to teach the boy humility."

The thoughts at the implications that ran through Hiruzen's head were mind-boggling. One thought however, was at the forefront: Naruto had the potential to be so powerful that he was blinded by the gods themselves? This thought was not a very easy topic to keep to himself and he was very sure that one way or another, Danzo would be hearing of this…but on the other hand, the good side of the coin was that if Naruto was taught properly, he could be the child of prophecy that Jiraya had spoken of! Perhaps he can be guided on the path to starting an era of peace! Yes, the opportunity was there! He could see it now!

…

[Ninja Academy…]

No wonder he asked…the boy was blind! Oh this changes everything…blind ninja would have to rely on their other senses in order to survive a career as ninja, but he was still missing out on the basics that he needed to know given his lack of sight. As he thought more on it, Iruka knew what sort of tests would have to be administered to blind students—and it was not too much trouble to do an oral test. "Very well then, give me your hand and I'll guide you to the row you're assigned to."

Iruka grabbed the hand of the student, earning very amused looks from the Uchiha fan girls that this boy needed to be guided to his seat. Ha! If that's the case, then Sasuke wins hands down…no matter what this newcomer has to put on the table! "Okay class, now that I have your attention, I'd like to welcome you all to the Ninja Academy! Now we're going to test you all on your capabilities in a moment. Those of you who know how to use jutsu, with me; everyone else goes with Mizuki."

…

[Ten minutes later…]

"All right class, this is pretty much a show-and-tell out here," began Iruka, "the reason is for safety—we don't want anyone getting hurt while this proceeds, so if you have a jutsu that requires a partner, then I will be your partner. Other than that, you may use the training dummies out here to perform a jutsu as necessary."

As he called out each name one by one, each student had performed a jutsu they each knew—Ino had asked Iruka to serve as a guinea pig for her family's renowned Shitenshin no Jutsu…allowing her to make him do some very silly things that he had the horror of watching himself do. Suffice to say, he used Ino's body to tell her to stop. Next up was Choji showing the Baika no Jutsu, causing him to puff up like a balloon before using Nikudan Sensha to roll around the field several times. Shikamaru had opted to stay out of the matter…it was not a surprised, due to the fact that he has inherited the infamous laziness of his family. Hinata Hyuuga was nervous at first, but performed superbly—when she used her Jyuuken techniques to strike the strings of the current training dummy to cause the straw to fall out. Kiba and Akamaru both performed Jujin Bunshin no Jutsu, and waved at the crowd. Before long, it was Sasuke and Tsukiko's turn, and the both of them used Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu to incinerate the next training dummy to come up.

As he went back to the stands, Sasuke had a very wide smirk on his face while all his fan girls cheered as he watched the new kid walk up to the training ring. He had just performed his family's rite of passage—nobody can top that…not even all the other clan children. At the same time however, this Uzumaki kid seemed to be making the number of fan girls on his side dwindle as they drooled at him unzipping his vest down from the collar, revealing his chiselled abs and the rest of his face. It appeared that they were also drawn by the fact that he was blind; seriously though, who can fight without the power of sight? As he looked on at the apparent newcomer, he had this assured look on his face—it was all show, he was sure of it. There was no way that dobe could ever match his prowess, even if he were able to see!

After being led to the training dummy, Naruto turned to the teacher. "Iruka-sensei, can I please have one of my weapons back? The jutsu I'm about to show will require its use."

Iruka had a look on his face as if debating whether or not to do so…eventually, he gave in; grunting slightly as he handed the boy the only blunt weapon he had been carrying when he entered class. "All right then Naruto, but I'll only let you have your tetsubo back for this."

"No worries. It'll do." The look of doubt on his face was clear to all but the boy that had said it. Knowing how much damage a blind person could do, even accidentally, Iruka motioned for the rest of the class to step back. To his surprise and shock, Naruto hefted the club in one hand as if it were a regular solid oak baseball bat before winding back with it in one hand, and swinging upward, causing the dummy to be uprooted from the ground. Naruto quickly recovered and swung back down on the dummy, causing it to spin in midair. The next thing that happened, the dummy fell back to the ground in six pieces, but that was not the disturbing part—the disturbing part was that the straw and bamboo dummy fell into six pieces as if it were cut apart by the sharpest sword in the world! Once he was done, Naruto got back up and sighed. "Aw man, all that training and I still can't cut it into more pieces than that!"

To Iruka, the sight was both very frightening and very impressive…as if it weren't enough that this boy was able to lift such a heavy weapon in one hand, he was also able to cut a training dummy into pieces with a blunt weapon in one swing, and it wasn't easy to do that mind you…those dummies were made of tightly-packed straw and the densest bamboo possible to simulate human flesh and bone. As a matter of fact, these dummies were the kind that Iron Country samurai used to test swords on when there was no execution planned! And to top it off, he said that he still couldn't cut it into more than six pieces…if Naruto could do that with an iron club, Iruka hated to imagine what would've happened if it were an enemy ninja that got in range of his student's senses.

The only response from many of the other students was the jaws hitting the floor and eyes widening at such a feat. Several of them had very specific responses however; Ino looked on at the sight, and had a thought—this newcomer was both hot and interesting…yes it would seem that she has already found herself a bit of a consolation prize in the event that she found Sasuke to be an unattainable goal.

Shikamaru had thoughts on how Naruto was able to manage such a task. Shino had no expression, but simply watched the newcomer carefully as his insects told him to be wary around this boy.

Hinata however, had no response other than to faint with a nosebleed, after turning red from embarrassment in seeing her future lover practically shirtless—yes, her Naruto was back, and better than ever!

Tsukiko simply was awed by the sight that such a feat was possible in the first place…although her newfound lust for the boy didn't help matters any when she immediately named herself the president of his fan club.

Sasuke however, simply glared daggers at Naruto after being one-upped by this blind newcomer that was able to manage this. But he held his rage in check…there'll be plenty of time to test out this dobe in the future…yes, this would be the perfect rival to practice fighting Itachi and prove his strength! And while he's at it, he'll make that blind fool teach him that technique…

…

[Bamboo grove, after school…]

Naruto sat around cross-legged. He was at peace…he was calm…well, he would've been calmer were it not for the fact that he felt the murderous intent of every person looking at him. Oh how he expected this, for the villagers to simply glare at him. According to what he heard, as long as he was attending the Ninja Academy, nobody could touch him—and if he graduated and became a ninja, then getting glared at would be the worst of his problems. That, and they were afraid of him due to his weapons. It was then that he sensed a very easily detected chakra signature walking towards him—easily detected, and easily recognized.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he said, correctly identifying the person walking towards him, "why am I not surprised?"

If Sasuke's face showed surprise, it certainly didn't show. He simply worked up his composure…oh he knew what he wanted to do…and he'll get what he wants! "Fight me dobe!"

The blond simply continued to sit in meditation…the crowd was now surrounding the two of them…taunting him…calling him a chicken for not accepting the last Uchiha's challenge. "I really doubt it's a good idea Uchiha…you could get hurt."

"We'll see about that. Now just get up and fight me…or are you too chicken to do so?"

"I'm warning you Uchiha…back off, or else I'll humiliate you in the worst way possible."

Sasuke wasn't having any of it…he was going to get this dobe to fight him, even if the civilian council was needed to make him do so! "Oh come on, what's a blind kid like you going to do? I'll bet your training is nothing compared to the might of the Uchiha!"

That did it! Sasuke watched as his opponent let out a frustrated sigh before he pulled out his short sword, and walked towards the bamboo, cutting off a stalk, and peeling it clean of leaves. He then tossed the stalk towards his would-be opponent. "We decide this in one stroke," began Naruto, cutting and cleaning another stalk of bamboo, "this is to simulate if you had to come against me with a sword. If you win by dealing a lethal strike on me first, then I'll do whatever you want for the rest of the week—hell, I'll even throw in ownership of my weapons in the whole deal…on the other hand if I hit you first, then you have to treat me to all the ramen I can eat for the rest of the week. Am I clear?"

He watched as the blind kid held the stalk in his red arm, but handed his other hand out to shake…and with one tug, that one shake sealed the deal. Good! A chance to prove to the dobe that he is inferior to the Uchiha! Sasuke held the stalk overhead in preparation for a heavy strike. Naruto on the other hand, held his stalk in one hand behind him…waiting. The crowd was ecstatic! There's no way that the demon brat would win against the Uchiha elite…and before long, he'll know his place as their punching bag! Hayate Gekkou on the other hand was watching the match in fascination—the supposed 'demon brat' was teaching the Uchiha a lesson in swordsmanship…oh this was going to be very interesting…

It was then that the duel began when Sasuke let out a battle cry and charged in with his bamboo stick at the ready to cut down his opponent. Just when he reached his opponent, Sasuke brought the stalk down upon Naruto's shoulder, Naruto brought his stalk up to strike the Uchiha from under the armpit; the impact of both hits had come at the same exact moment. To the crowd, it looked like a tie…but Gekkou was no fool in the art of swordsmanship—he knew that this was no tie; he knew who the winner was, and it was very obvious that the winner also understood as to why…

Sasuke grinned…he had finally shown this blind upstart his place! "Looks like a draw dobe. You're not as good with swords as you claim!"

Oh victory was his…and yet, for some reason, the blind kid was grinning as well. He was mystified by that grin. "It wasn't a draw," he said, putting the stalk down, "I would've won."

This really angered the Uchiha—it was clear to him that it was a tie. "You're just mad because it's a tie, and you're not as good as you say you are! If you're so convinced you won, then why don't we up the stakes? I've heard that you came here with a girl…if you lose to me, then not only will you be forced to do as I say for the rest of the week, but she will be forced to take up that punishment as well."

Naruto heaved a disappointed sigh. "There's no convincing you of what's obvious is there? Very well then, I'll show you why I won this. I guarantee you that what I will show you will make you want to beat yourself silly over it. And since we're upping the ante now, then how about this: if I win, then not only do you have to treat me to ramen for the next week, but you have to actually take one of your fan girls out on a date for a week—and it has to be the same fan girl." Sasuke was actually worried when his opponent reached out his normal arm again. Unlike him, there was no false confidence in the blind boy's voice as he spoke…he spoke as if he were going to win. Bah! He's a talentless and clan-less loser! What could he do with hard work alone?

With that on mind, he shook the dobe's hand, and took to his original position. He gave out another battle cry, and charged in…like before, Naruto struck him from under the armpit; only this time he noted his opponent apparently dancing around him before he felt it on the back of his head!

As he started blacking out, Sasuke then understood why he would've lost if they were using real blades—Naruto only let him score a hit to give him a false sense of security at the last moment so that he could finish off the movement! And so even if that strike to the head didn't hack him into two pieces, the very first cut under the armpit would have guaranteed that at least his subclavian artery would have been cut so that he would bleed to death slowly. His last emotion at his defeat was of happiness…

The crowd could not believe it…the demon brat had beaten their beloved Uchiha to death! They watched as after he slammed that bamboo stick on the back of Sasuke's head before swinging that deadly cudgel in his hand around as if performing chiburi and noto. It wasn't until after the hands met in noto that Sasuke fell to the ground. Tsukiko on the other hand was very nervous…was her brother dead? "Relax! I only knocked him out," said Naruto, his voice irritated as if sensing their intent to kill him, "just splash some water on his face and he'll be up and running like he's won a million ryo."

Everyone turned to him, and then watched as a ninja walked on over and checked the unconscious boy's pulse. "The kid's right, Sasuke's still alive—unconscious, but alive nonetheless." As the crowd turned to attack the demon brat for defeating their precious Uchiha, they noted him walking away hand-in-hand with a little girl with a bun on the back of her head. Oh now they had another bit of ammunition to use against him! They need only plan their attack just right…and then that girl leading the demon brat away would be used as a breeding factory making Uchiha babies for the glory of Konoha!

As Tsukiko watched the two of them walk away hand-in-hand, she could not help but glare daggers at the young girl. With the amount of resentment she was feeling at the moment, she was picturing herself as being the one to lead Naruto away into the sunset like that…and they were leaving that bun-haired bimbo in the road, beaten, bloodied and scarred. She was also picturing a scene where she would be leading Naruto by the hand and into the Uchiha district, doing unspeakable things to him in her room…unspeakably pleasant things to him…but she'll have to wait for that moment. Until then, she had a perverted nosebleed and an unconscious sibling to take care of…

…

A/N: I'm wondering if I should add the other Dungeon Fighter classes to the story in his harem…we have a fighter already, but perhaps I can add a thief, mage, gunner, and priest. So far, no bashing, because I've finally come up with a compromise of whether or not I should be bashing Sasuke. Anybody care to guess what I have in store? The next chapter will have the answer…

…

Slayer Techniques Used:

Wave Wheel Slasher—Asura

…

Songs Used:

"Lakeside" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue: Continuum Shift"—The return

"Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—first day in Ninja Academy

"Bushido" by Kaoru Wada from "Samurai 7"—Show-and-tell

"Hoeru Miburo" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—Naruto beats down Sasuke

…

Vocabulary:

Dai Oni Kubi—"big demon head"

Tetsubo—this is a heavy club that samurai use, also called a 'kanabo'; this sometimes takes the form of a baseball bat made of heavy wood and studded at the head, or even a rod with an octagonal shaft made of solid iron. It has been known as the weapon of choice for the Oni, the Japanese ogre…such is its association with the Oni that there is a saying in Japanese: "Oni ni kanabo" (an ogre with an iron club), meaning to give someone already strong something to make them invincible.

Subclavian artery—the artery that is under your shoulder bones.

Chiburi—flipping blood off your katana right after you draw it and cut your opponent.

Noto—sheathing the katana right after performing chiburi.