Some responses to the reviews:
thor94: Dont worry, Konoha will, for a lack of a better word, suffer. You won't see much in this chapter as it's more of a setup of whats to come, but it will be there in later chapters don't you worry about that.

As for the rest of you, glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Here's the next one!

Chapter 2: Home

One Year After Banishment

"WIND STYLE: AIR BULLETS!" was heard as a body flew back and hit the rock, dead. Naruto pulled out a scroll and sealed the man's body inside of it. "Well, that's that done," he said as he sighed and headed back to the man he got the mission from. It had been a year since Naruto had been banished from Konoha. At first, Naruto was able to survive on what little he had brought with him, however that soon ran out and he was strapped for cash. He eventually started doing menial tasks here and there earning small amounts of money, just enough to have food for the day.

Naruto did keep up his training, though no matter how hard it got. Any time he wasn't working, he would train, aiming to get stronger. Ever since he read the scroll he got from Tsunade, his skill has grown tremendously. He had fully mastered the Rasengan, no longer needing a clone, and even taught himself some wind jutsu. He also practiced fuinjutsu quite often and has gotten pretty good at it. He now stores all his belongings in a scroll, can seal bodies in them, and is even working on getting his father's Flying Raijin seal right. His father had provided him with how it works, however, Naruto had to figure out how to make the seal on his own.

Naruto was also making progress with his tenant. Naruto would often meditate and enter his mindscape and speak to the fox, who he learned was named Kurama. While he couldn't practice getting Kurama's chakra under control since the Akatsuki would likely learn of his location, he was able to get Kurama a change of heart. Kurama saw a pure hearted individual in Naruto, someone who didn't deserve all the hate and distrust he had received over the years. Naruto found Kurama to be a nice guy and discovered that he only attacked Konoha 13 years ago because he was being controlled by an Uchiha named Madara.

Naruto arrived at the designated location to receive his money. He saw the man waiting for his arrival and unsealed the scroll containing the man he had just killed. "Great work, Haruto," the man said as he handed Naruto the money. Naruto decided to go under the alias of Haruto Kazuki in order to not draw attention to himself. Haruto, a ninja from a small village that had been destroyed a year ago, was the sole survivor of the village and had become a mercenary. Haruto had brown hair and green eyes and wore a black shirt with a black and orange jacket on top of it, along with blue ninja pants and black ninja sandals. The whisker birthmarks that Naruto originally had were gone due to the henge he had on.

Naruto didn't enjoy being a mercenary. Killing people was never his forte. But he had come to live with it over time, and it was necessary if he wanted more money to survive. "Thank you, Yuto-sama," Naruto said as he took the money. "Do you have any other jobs for me?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, I just gave out my last mission. You can come back tomorrow and I'll be sure to have one ready for you, Haruto. In the meantime, you can have the rest of the day off," Yuto responded. Yuto was a rather good-looking man. He was tall, standing at about 6'2" and had white hair down to his shoulders. He wore a gray kimono and had on black ninja sandals. He had striking red eyes that looked like they were looking into your soul every time you spoke. Yuto was largely respected among his mercenaries as well. He treated them all fairly and gave them good pay for each mission they completed. He had many mercenaries and was well known around the world for his mercenaries carrying out their missions to absolute perfection.

Yuto found Naruto about eight months ago, doing tasks that were not fit for a shinobi of his caliber. Yuto had approached Naruto and offered him his first task as a mercenary and Naruto accepted, carrying out the task quickly and efficiently. Yuto was pleasantly surprised at how quickly Naruto had completed the mission but knew it was bound to happen if you are an ex-shinobi from Konoha and the container of the Kyuubi. Yuto was the only one who knew of Naruto's identity as Naruto had told him before he accepted the mission. Yuto had no problem with Naruto and welcomed him to his mercenary group with open arms. Naruto turned out to be one of the best mercenaries he's ever had and is well respected among the group.

Naruto nodded at Yuto's response. "Thank you, Yuto-sama," he said as he left the building. Naruto decided to grab a bite to eat and found a nearby ramen stall.

"Ah, Haruto! Great to see you again. How was your last mission?" the man running the stall asked. Naruto, or his alias Haruto, was very well known in the village. He was one of Yuto's top mercenaries after all and Haruto often helped around the village when he didn't have any missions to complete.

"Ah thank you Hiroshi-san. The mission went well. All though it took longer than I expected. Pesky missing nins," Naruto said as he chuckled.

Hiroshi laughed as he placed a bowl in front of him. "Well, I'm sure it was nothing you couldn't handle!"

"You got that right mister."

Hiroshi looked up as he noticed someone walk into the shop. "What can I get for you miss?" he asked.

"I'll just take one miso ramen please."

Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. "Where have I heard that voice before?"

"Sure thing!" Hiroshi said as he started getting the miso ramen ready.

The girl that walked in took a seat beside Naruto. Naruto took the opportunity to glance at her features. She wore a purple kimono that showed off her long and slender legs. Her hair was blonde and tied into four ponytails and she had a large battle fan across her back. Naruto recognized who she was immediately. "She looks really familiar. I swear I've seen that fan before..."

The girl did the same to Naruto. "This guy looks really familiar. Where have I seen him before? That brown hair is really throwing me off but everything else…" Hiroshi handed her the ramen she had ordered before leaving to tend to other customers.

The two people ate their ramen in silence. The girl decided to break the silence. "I've seen you somewhere before. But where?" she asked, getting right to the point.

"You must have the wrong person. I've never met you before," Naruto replied.

The girl narrowed her eyes at the statement. "Everything about you is telling me that I've met you before. But that brown hair. I can't remember meeting anyone with brown hair like that other than my brother Kankuro. But the rest, that orange, I've only met one person who wears orange like that. What was his name again? Naruto? I think that's it. Are you Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto's eyes widened but the girl never noticed. He now recognized the girl that sat next to her. "Temari."

"No, you are mistaken. My name's Haruto, not Naruto. You have the wrong guy," Naruto responded.

Temari narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe that for a second. Everything about you is telling me you're Naruto."

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not sure who this Naruto person is, but I can assure you, I'm not him. I'm just a simple mercenary on a lunch break."

Temari finished her miso ramen and looked at him one last time before leaving the stand. "Man, that was close. Woulda been bad if she recognized me." Naruto quickly finished the ramen he was eating and left the stand and headed to the apartment that he stays at.

When he reached, he quickly looked behind him before he entered through the door and took off his henge. "Ah, feels nice to take that off. Takes a lot of chakra to keep that up." After a quick shower, Naruto decided to have a conversation with his tenant about the events that transpired earlier. Naruto sat down in the center of the room with his legs crossed and began to meditate.

In Naruto's Mindscape

"Kurama, what should we do about this?"

"Nothing. I see no problem with what happened. Besides, it was fun watching you squirm under her gaze," Kurama said while chuckling.

Naruto pouted. "Did you forget Suna and Konoha are allies? If I'm found out then we're both dead. I doubt I can beat a squad of Suna shinobi without using your chakra. And if that happens then the Akatsuki will find me."

"You have grown powerful over the last year, Naruto. I doubt you won't be able to beat the Suna shinobi without my help. Besides, I don't know if Suna are actually allies with Konoha in the first place. None of the civilian council members are fond of Suna because of the invasion. While Tsunade may have good relations with Suna, that doesn't mean the two villages have an alliance."

Naruto thought about what Kurama said. He did have a point. The power and money hungry bastards on the council don't like it when things don't go their way. And that invasion, while it was fended off, caused Konoha's treasury and military might to decrease. Sure, it's been a year since the invasion happened, but that doesn't mean the council members won't hold a grudge. Hell, he was the perfect example of that. "You may be right, Kurama. But still, I'd rather not take any risks. If we're found out and it turns out that Suna are allied to Konoha, then there will be nothing but trouble coming our way."

Naruto waited for a few moments for Kurama to respond before he heard the fox snoring. "Heh. Lazy furball." Naruto left the mindscape.

With Temari

Temari walked down the dirt path thinking about her encounter earlier today. She was absolutely certain that the person she met was Naruto, but he wasn't? It confused her greatly. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the man leave the stand shortly after she left. She stood there, wondering if she should follow him to find out if he was speaking the truth, or leave him be. "I need answers," she thought as she decided to follow him to wherever he was going.

Her eyes widened as he stopped by a door and glanced behind him as if he knew he was being followed. "Shit! Does he know I'm following him?" Her worries faded when he turned back around and entered through the door. But right before it closed, she noticed a small amount of smoke and saw a tinge of blonde hair. "What was that? Was that a justu he used? And that blonde hair is very similar to Naruto's.." Temari's thoughts were going at a mile per minute. She needed to confirm her theory and looked for an area where she could see from a window. She found one and hopped over to it. This window just so happened to look right into his bedroom.

She caught the eye of Naruto and she smirked. "I knew that was Naruto!" Her smirk quickly disappeared though and turned into a blush as she caught Naruto taking his shirt off. "W-wow. Those muscles… He's really grown since I last saw him. He looks taller too." However, she soon looked on at him in confusion as he sat down in the middle of his room and began to meditate. "What's he doing? Is he meditating? Why?" Temari decided she needed answers to the many questions that were flooding her mind when she first saw him at the ramen stand and decided to confront Naruto when he was done. The moment she noticed Naruto move from his position, she bolted for the door.

Naruto's Apartment

"Who could that be?" Naruto wondered as he walked towards the door. Unknown to Naruto, Kurama chuckled mentally. "Oh this will be interesting. He still hasn't realized he doesn't have his henge up does he? Well, time for him to find out."

Naruto opened the door and his eyes widened at the person in front of it. "Temari?! What is she doing here?!"

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you I don't know who you were talking about?" he asked her.

"Save it Naruto. I know it's you. Besides, you forgot to put your henge back on," Temari said, with a slight blush noticing Naruto's shirtless form.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Shit," he muttered under his breath.

Temari raised an eyebrow and her blush disappeared. "Are you going to let me in? It's not nice to keep a lady waiting you know."

"O-oh right. Sorry." Naruto stepped aside to let Temari into her apartment and closed the door.

"Naruto, why are you here? Shouldn't you be back in Konoha? Or are you on a long term mission?" Temari asked, deciding to get the questions that have been bugging her most out of the way.

"I guess you could say I'm on a long term mission, but there's more to it than that. As for why I'm here, this is my home. Welcome to my humble abode," Naruto responded while grinning and opening his arms as if he was welcoming her.

"There's more to it? What do you mean Naruto?"

Naruto sighed. "It's- it's hard to explain Temari. So much has happened in the past year. I haven't really talked to anyone about it except Yuto-sama."

"Yuto-sama?" Temari asked with her eyebrows raising.

"Yuto-sama is the boss of the mercenary organization I'm in called Agile Shadows."

"Why are you a part of a mercenary group Naruto?"

"It's a long story Temari."

"Well then, tell me the story. I'll listen," she said, sitting down on the nearby couch.

"Well, it all started…" Naruto began as he explained everything that happened to him in the past year.

Twenty minutes later

"Wow Naruto. I can't believe that happened. Konoha really banished you?"

Naruto nodded in response. "Yea. That stupid bastard Uchiha was too big of a political asset to the village and they got butt hurt when I brought him back with some pretty big injuries."

"Didn't you also have big injuries Naruto? Why were they only worried about him?"

Naruto looked down at the floor before responding. "Well, like I said, with Sasuke being the last Uchiha and all, he's viewed as a 'precious asset' to the village that absolutely under any circumstances cannot be harmed. If he his, then the person that did it will be met with severe consequences."

"You didn't answer my question Naruto. Why weren't they worried about you if you also had big injuries?"

Naruto sighed. "Should I tell her, Kurama?"

"I don't see any harm in telling her. Did you forget her brother is the jinchuriki of the one tails?"Kurama responded.

Naruto mentally nodded in response. "Well Temari, in simple terms, I'm the same as your brother."

Temari's eyes widened. "So that's why he was able to beat Gaara like that so easily. Is that also why Gaara changed for the better? Is it because he found someone just like him in Naruto?"

"Just like Gaara huh? Are you saying you also have a tailed beast inside of you?"

Naruto nodded. "I have the nine tails inside of me."

Temari's eyes widened again. She swore her eyes were going to pop out of her sockets if she kept doing this. "So the villagers hate you because of what he did 13 years ago then."

Naruto nodded in response to her statement again. "Yea. And that's why the civilian council didn't hesitate in banishing me. They convinced the Daimyo and left Baa-san powerless."

Temari sat in silence for a moment. "Why didn't you come to Suna, Naruto? We would have welcomed you with open arms."

"Aren't Suna allies with Konoha? I woulda been killed on site. Not that it woulda been a bad thing, but I'd rather not have Kurama also die."

"Kurama?" Temari asked in confusion.

"The name of the kyuubi."

"Ah. Well, for your information Naruto, Suna are not allied with Konoha. Konoha have been hesitant to make a treaty ever since the invasion, despite our attempts at peace. Besides, even if Konoha and us were allies, I'm sure the Kazekage wouldn't do anything to you. He would still welcome you to the village and completely ignore the kill on sight order."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Why would he do that? He doesn't even know me."

Temari chuckled. "He knows you quite well actually, Naruto."

"What do you mean?" he asked, even more confused.

"Naruto, the Kazekage is Gaara." Naruto's eyes widened. "There's no way he wouldn't welcome you to the village. You've helped him too much. Besides, even if it wasn't Gaara, you would still be welcomed since you changed him for the better. Ever since the Chunin exams ended, he never attacked the villagers and was friendly with them all. He's gained a great deal of respect in the village, but he credits it all to you, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes watered. "So Gaara became a kage huh? Good for him."

Temari nodded. "Naruto, you should come back with me to Suna."

"Will it really be okay Temari?"

"Yes Naruto, it'll be fine. You'll be with me. You forget I'm the Kazekage's sister."

"Oh. Right," Naruto looked down in embarrassment. "What about Yuto-sama and the rest of the guys? What am I gonna tell them?"

Temari shook her head. "I don't know Naruto, but I'm sure coming back with me to Suna and becoming a ninja again would be a much better idea than staying out here and being a mercenary. Besides, you can train all out in the village. You can't do that here because of the Akatsuki, right?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "You're right. It would be nice to be a ninja again and train all out. I'd be safe from the Akatsuki too. You know what Temari? I'll go back with you."

Temari smiled. "Good! Gaara will be thrilled!"

In the Suna Desert

After saying good bye to Yuto and the rest of his mercenary friends, Naruto and Temari headed out for their quick journey back to Suna. Naruto didn't find it easy saying good bye to the people he had grown close with over the past eight months. It was closest to what he could call a family. Sure, he had Ero-sennin, Kakashi-sensei, and Baa-san, but that was different from this. Nevertheless, they understood and wished him well on his travels.

Soon the village of Suna was in his sights. Naruto grinned. "It'll be nice to see Gaara again. Man I can't believe he became Kazekage. I can't wait to fight him again!" he thought as he and Temari approached the gate.

"Temari-sama!" the guards in front of the gate saluted. "Who is your company?"

"Oh it's just someone here to visit the Kazekage. Don't worry, he's safe. Now can we go in?" Temari responded.

"Hai, Temari-sama!"

"Temari-sama huh?" Naruto teased as they entered the village.

Temari blushed and slapped him on the arm. "Come on, lets go see Gaara."

They entered the Kazekage tower and Temari nodded at the women at the front desk. "I'm here to give my mission report to Kazekage-sama," she said.

"Hai, he's in his office. Will he be going with you?" she asked as she pointed to Naruto.

"Yes. Don't worry, he's safe and Gaara knows him personally."

The woman nodded. "Go on then."

Naruto and Temari headed towards the Kazekage office. Temari knocked on the door.

"Come in!" they heard a voice say from the other side.

Temari opened the door and walked in, Naruto not far behind.

"Ah Temari, how did your-" Gaara's question was stopped in his tracks as he spotted the man with his sister.

"Hiya, Gaara. It's been a long time," Naruto said.

Alright guys heres the next chapter! I know I said earlier that updates would be every other week but the first chapter was kinda short and I don't expect the chapters to be that short from here on. Most of the chapters should be more like this length. I hope you guys enjoyed! Would love to hear your thoughts.