The winds blew slowly across the desert, carrying bits of sand through the dry, hot air. Sunagakure was full of cheer and grieve. One of their longest serving shinobi had died but saved their beloved Fifth Kazekage.

Villagers and shinobi patiently waited for the Kazekage and the rescue team to return. Hundreds filled the entrance of Suna as they watched for their leader's highly anticipated homecoming. Cheers and screams of joy filled the sky as Gaara was escorted back into the Sand Village. And it was a surreal moment for the young Kage.

Not even three years prior, there was no way there would be an ovation like this for him. Hell, most of the villagers would have probably cheered for his capture and eventual death. But through hard work and changing his ways, Gaara was chosen to be Kazekage and the village realized their mistake. Acceptance and recognition. Two things Gaara grew up damning with every fiber of his being. Now, he knew them well and could never imagine being alone again.

Chiyo's funeral was unlike anything she probably would have wanted. Nearly every villager was there or had come by to pay their respects to the woman who had given her life for the Kazekage. Her brother, Ebizo, gave a heartwarming speech about his sister and how he was convinced she was playing a prank and would jump up at any moment and laugh hysterically at everyone being sad for her. Sakura found comfort in that.

The moment came for the Kazekage Rescue to return to Konoha. The team was excited to return home, especially Naruto. He may have returned from his training but he had not been able to relax at all. The day he returned he was sent out on this rescue mission. He was looking forward to sleeping in his old bed again.

The team was packed and ready to leave. The Kazekage and his two older siblings were there to see them off.

"See ya around." Kankurō stated nonchalantly.

"Thanks for everything." Temari said sincerely.

All the members acknowledged the thanks with nods, Gai and Lee both gave an enthusiastic thumbs up and identical shining smile.

"Ah, it was nothing. Just doing what we had to." Naruto chuckled. He let out a small sigh as he looked at Gaara. "I suppose this is where people shake hands or something." He stretched out his hand. "I never got the chance to thank you for stopping me back then. So, thanks."

Gaara smirked slightly. He grabbed ahold of Naruto's hand. "I simply was repaying a debt to you. Now, I'm indebted to you all forever. Suna and Konoha may be allies, but you are all my friends. Thank you for saving me."

With pleasantries and goodbyes exchanged, the Kazekage Rescue team began their three-day journey back to Konohagakure. To pass the time, the younger generation of shinobi exchanged stories of the last three years. The older generation watched curiously as the grouped talked and joked.

Gai leaned close to Kakashi, who was deep in his favorite book. "Hey…does Naruto seem…I don't know, different? He's not acting like he used to."

"I've noticed that too. He's more open and engages in conversations. Well, they say boys are completely different after maturing."

Gai eyed his rival. "Do you really think it's that simple with him?"

There was some hesitation. "…No. But I'm glad to see him open up. It's not good to hold things in. It's good to have friends."

Gai nodded in agreement. "I agree."

-Konoha, Three days later-

"…And that's all that happened, Lady Tsunade."

Tying her blonde hair into one giant ponytail, Tsunade reviewed the written report and processed each team member's verbal citation. There was a lot to unpack. She handed the report to Shikaku so that he could read it as well. She already knew what to expect from Kakashi's initial report that he sent to Jiraiya. But hearing all the details was a different experience.

"The first order of business should be to confirm the validity of Sasori's spy with Orochimaru." Shikaku stated. "That way, the mission will be green lighted without a hitch."

"It's the first lead we've had on Orochimaru's whereabouts in three years. The mission is a go no matter what." Tsunade added. "We have three months before the rendezvous. We'll be ready."

Kakashi nodded. "Do you have anything else, Lady Hokage?"

The Hokage shook her head. "No. You're all dismissed. Kakashi and Gai, stay behind for a minute. We need to have a word with the both of you."

In a slow, smooth manner, the younger generation of shinobi left the Fifth Hokage's office. Might Gai was somewhat curious about what the Hokage and Jōnin Commander wanted to talk about. The mission report was quite detailed. But Kakashi was fully aware of what they were going to bring up.

"You wanted to speak to us, Lady Fifth?" Gai asked.

"Don't sound so concerned, Gai." Tsunade said, trying to lighten his mood. "The two of you aren't in trouble. There are just things we need to discuss that weren't in the report."

Now Gai was especially concerned. "Weren't discussed? What do you mean? Everything that happened was laid out in detail in the report and everyone's verbal statements."

"Not quite." Shikaku's eyes fell on the son of the White Fang. "I'm not surprised you withheld the information from Gai, but I thought you have, at least, given him a heads up."

Kakashi shrugged slightly. "There wasn't an opportunity to discuss them. I apologize to you, Gai. You know that I trust you, but these matters need absolute secrecy. There could be no mistakes."

Gai nodded. "I understand. No hard feelings, Kakashi!" He gave his trademark shining smile and thumbs-up.

Tsunade sighed. "Moving on, let's start from what happened with Itachi…"

-With Naruto and Sakura-

"Bye guys!" Sakura waved her hand high in the air as Team Gai went their separate ways. Naruto only watched in silence as they disappeared from their sight. "They certainly haven't changed much. Don't you think?"

"I was thinking about how strong they got." Naruto explained. "They fought copies of themselves. That's impressive."

Sakura looked at her teammate incredulously. "Is that a compliment to someone else I hear?" There was a knowing smirk on her beautifully young face. "And here I thought you could only say nice things to me."

"Hey now, I'm capable of change too, y'know."

There was a hard, bright smile plastered on Sakura's face. Naruto could tell that she was truly happy. She had missed him and he had missed her. Taking her hand into his, Naruto look directly into Sakura's emerald green eyes and smiled.

"It's feels so good to be home."

Sakura returned the smile. "Yeah. It does."

"What do you want to do, Sakura?"

"I would love a shower. Three days of traveling from Suna, especially through that desert." She chuckled. "It's a needed one for sure."

"Okay. I'll walk you home."

Sakura nodded and walked with Naruto through the village. As they walked, stares that he was used to as a child continued. But some of these were different. There were not filled with fear. Some were curious as to why Sakura, the Hokage's Apprentice, was holding hands with the son of the Fourth Hokage. Others were simply in awe.

"Hey, that's him!" One villager whispered to another.

"Yeah, that's Lord Fourth's son!" She said back.

"He's back from his training with Lord Jiraiya. He sure looks a lot stronger now." A wife said to her husband.

The husband scoffed. "Who cares? He's still the demon brat. I could care less if he's the Fourth's son."

"What about Miss Sakura? She's the Hokage's apprentice. Who knew those two were so close?"

While the whispered conversations could not be heard, Naruto could feel the indifference about their feelings towards him. But he was fine with it. Simply for the fact that not all were stares of hatred or contempt was more than enough for Naruto. And with Sakura with him, he could care less about the villagers' opinion of him. Her opinion was all that mattered to him.

But to feel like all the eyes of the village were not on him, Naruto flipped his hood over his head to try and hide. He still hated being watched.

As the pair continued to walk, Naruto noticed that their route was following back to his old apartment. As far as he knew, Sakura lived with her parents and was located nowhere near the apartment complex that he rented from. Something changed.

"Uh, Sakura?"

"Hm?" The girl mumbled; she too was enjoying the bliss of the moment.

"Where are we going? Aren't I walking you home?"

"You are." Sakura stated simply.

"Then where are we going? I didn't think you lived in this part of the village."

It was at this moment Sakura realized she had completely forgotten to tell Naruto about his apartment and how she been practically living in it for the last year. Her face turned red as a fresh apple as embarrassment and anxiety filled her entire being. She was nervous for his reaction. She did not want him to be mad for living there or for the alterations she did to it. Sakura hoped Naruto would understand given the situation.

"Sakura?" The blonde chūnin moved to stand in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm sorry Naruto! Please don't be mad!" The poor girl was practically on the verge of tears.

Naruto was more confused then ever now. "Hold on, Sakura. Calm down. What are you apologizing for?"

Sakura took in a deep breath and steeled her nerves. "While you were away…I kinda…moved into your apartment…" She paused for a moment to see if he would react badly. He hardly reacted at all, sending her anxiety into overdrive. "Please don't be mad! Lady Tsunade gave me the key!"

"M-Moved in?" Naruto was surprised for a moment. "Huh…okay. If that's the reason, I really can't be mad."

"R-Really?"

"Lady Tsunade gave you the key, right? She had her reasons. I trust her. And you, for that matter."

A great amount of relief came over Sakura as her anxiety left her mind. She was even a little relieved that Naruto did not ask as to why she was living in his apartment. She would tell him if he were to ask with no hesitation, but it was just nice that he simply accepted the situation. He truly trusted her. That was a good feeling, considering Naruto trusted hardly anyone.

The two continued on and arrived at Naruto's apartment. It was an odd feeling for the teenager. He was not expecting to have a roommate upon his return. He certainly was not upset about it. Especially since it turned out that Sakura would be it. He just always hated living alone.

They approached the door and Sakura stuck the key in the lock. She easily turned it and unlocked the door.

"Did you fix the door?" Naruto asked, astonished. He always thought that door was permanently broken.

"Yeah, I got frustrated with it one day after a long day and accidentally smashed." She chuckled nervously as she entered the apartment. "The landlord wouldn't cover it so I had to pay out of pocket and fix it myself."

Naruto followed suit and continued to be amazed by the renovations that had been made. Nearly the entire apartment had been fixed up and decorated nicely. It was a night and day difference for Naruto. He had been so used to the run down and broken apartment that the thought of trying to repair all the wear and tear seemed overwhelming and pointless. But Sakura managed to do it all and then some.

She turned it into a livable home.

"Y-You did all this?"

Sakura nodded fiercely. "Yeah! I thought it would be a nice homecoming gift. When I first came here, I couldn't believe the state of the place. Or that this was how you lived." Her tone turned quiet and sad. "But then I thought about it and realized you probably didn't have much choice in the matter." Her tone changed back to cheerful and full of pride. "I figured that it would be nice come home to a decent apartment. Something I believe you deserved after everything you've done and put up with for the village. Frankly, I think the villagers should kiss your ass for all you've done but-"

Sakura's rant was suddenly cut off. Something has crashed into her lips. It was another set of lips. Naruto's lips. He gently caressed the sides of her head and interlocked his fingers with her long pink hair. It took Sakura a moment to process the action but quickly fell into the bliss of it.

So much build up. There was so much time waiting. And it was released in one moment.

The pair broke apart for air, staring into each other's eyes.

Naruto was the first to break the silence. "I've waited three years to do that."

Sakura gulped, feeling a rush like none other before. "Baka…I wanted to kiss you first…like before. I had it planned and everything."

Naruto slightly smirked and scoffed happily at the nickname she called him. "Baka…?" Yeah, he could definitely get used to that. She leaned in for another kiss and he delightfully reciprocated. "Did you have anything else planned?"

It was Sakura's turn to smile. "Maybe a thing or two."

It was a nice homecoming indeed.

-With Shikaku-

Another report down. So many more to read through. The leader of the Nara clan and Jōnin Commander of Konoha was hours deep into another long night of reading mission and battle reports and creating strategies and contingencies for the frontline shinobi. As much as the work was troublesome, it was work that needed to be done and he was the only one that could accomplish the work.

There was a particular report that troubled Shikaku. It was the lack of an update from the shinobi stationed out in the Land of Waves. There was scheduled report that came in at the beginning of the week that detailed the events of the previous week. Normally, Shikaku would not sweat the report being a day late. But it was going on three days. That was never a good sign. He would have to bring this up to Tsunade. And knowing her, she was still in her office as well.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in, Shikamaru."

A sixteen-year-old, teenage, chūnin Shikamaru pushed the door open and closed it behind him. He set the small box he was carrying on his father's desk. "Mom made dinner. She figured it would be another late night, so she went ahead and put the bento box together for you."

"Always thinking ahead." Shikaku chuckled as he finished writing down some notes. "Was she upset that I wasn't at dinner again?"

"It's mom. She's always upset." Shikamaru stated matter-of-factly. "But she understands what you're doing and the importance of it. Or, at least, I think she does. It's hard to tell between her outbursts." He moved his pinky finger around in his ear, trying to get it to pop.

"She's certainly a firecracker." The elder Nara man said with a sigh. "Oh, by the way, Naruto returned from his training with Master Jiraiya."

"So, I hear."

"You did?" Shikaku stopped his work and looked up at his son. "From who?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Just the gossip around town. Ino is practically the gossip queen of Konoha. She told me that people saw him return with Master Jiraiya earlier in the week, then leave in a hurry the same day. My only assumption would be to aid in the Kazekage rescue mission."

Shikaku leaned back in his chair. Something was wrong with this. "…Word certainly travels fast, I suppose. Have you seen him yet?"

"No, not yet. I only heard about Naruto and the others being back on my way over here. I figured I should give him the night to settle back into life at home and go see him in the morning. Maybe see how strong he's become."

"That…I wouldn't recommend."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Why's that? He didn't get that strong, did he?"

"Naruto went through intense physical and mental training. Frankly, he's in a class of his own now. The only person who understands that is Master Jiraiya. That should tell you something."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "That's…troublesome." He sighed. "It's just as troublesome as what I heard about Orochimaru."

Shikaku stopped all movement. He tried to conceal his surprise, but it was hard. 'Oh god, I hope it's not that…' He looked up at his son, doing his best to conceal his shock. "Orochimaru? What did you hear?" He even leaned back in his chair to seem relaxed and casual.

"You haven't heard? Supposedly, there is an informant deep in Orochimaru's ranks. The intel he knows would be vital to hunting that bastard down and rescuing Sasuke. He's been M.I.A for three years now. He'll be glad to come home."

"Where did you hear that?" Shikaku questioned.

"The break room at the C.O.F (Central Operations Facility). A few of the jōnin in there were talking about it. They said something about the Tenchi Bridge in the Land of Grass, too. That must be where he would meet up with that Akatsuki member."

Shikaku could hardly believe it. It had only been a matter of hours! There was no way any body could have heard that confidential of information. Not even every member of the Kazekage rescue mission knew that info.

'How the hell does this happen?! Whoever this person is must have some type of listening device inside the Hokage's office. Or maybe it was someone on the Kazekage rescue mission. There's no other explanation.'

Shikamaru intently watched his father because of his lack of reaction. That meant two things. Shikaku either already knew about the informant with Orochimaru or Shikamaru was not supposed to. Either way, Shikamaru hated standing awkwardly. "Well, I'll head back home. I'll tell mom you'll be sleeping here again."

Shikaku waited until his son closed the door to let out his tired laugh. "Jackass. Way to make my night hell."

The Nara leader wasted no time in leaving his office and rushing down the hall to his superior's office. Shikaku approached the Hokage's door and pushed it open, snapping the Sannin awake. "We have a problem, Tsunade."

Still in her groggy state, Tsunade gently pulled the paper off her cheek. She sucked her saliva back into her mouth. "What…do you mean, Shikaku?"

"The information about Orochimaru's has been leaked."

If Tsunade was not awake, she was now. She immediately stood up, her chair sliding back forcefully. "What?! How is that possible?! We just learned about it this morning! I haven't even informed the council yet!"

"The council isn't my main concern. With the information being leaked like this, it'll jeopardize the safety of the mission. Word travels fast. It's entirely possible that the leaked information will make it's way out into the world and the Akatsuki mole with Orochimaru will get spooked. Or worse, set up an ambush."

Tsunade pulled her chair back and sat down. "Yes, I see what you mean. But before we discuss that, we should focus on how that information was leaked." Shikaku nodded in understanding. "How did you come about this?"

"Shikamaru stopped by my office to bring me some dinner. He's the one who brought it up. He said he heard it in the break room at the C.O.F earlier."

Tsunade sighed. "Well, the people who initially knew are at the top of the suspect list. But I can assure you it was not any of them. I will personally vouch for them."

Shikaku sighed. While he agreed with her statement, the logical side of his brain simply could not ignore the possibility of one of them being the mole. The probability of Kakashi or Gai, even Naruto and Sakura, being the mole was nearly impossible. But he had to be sure. He would do a quick check to clear their names once he would go back to his office.

"Then you're being watched." Shikaku whispered.

"I was beginning to think the same thing. Probably right now, too." Tsunade scanned the room as nonchalantly as she could. She saw or heard nothing out of the ordinary. "We'll meet somewhere else for the time being."

"Understood."

-Naruto's Apartment-

Bags and gear were dropped near the main door. Sandals were hastily shaken off feet and tossed different ways from their matching partner. A trail of clothes that trickled down from two chūnin vests to a set of boxers and bra and panties. All were done in such a hurry that it created a small mess in the newly renovated apartment.

The two teens, one male one female, that created trail were an entangled mess of limbs under a thin black bed sheet. Their bodies were full of dried on sweat and were stuck together as they slept off their tiredness.

The female had long, beautiful soft pink hair that fell every which way that practically covered the bed by itself. The male had his face filled with it. But he hardly cared. It smelt wonderful. Like blossoms.

Naruto groaned loudly as he felt his senses returning to his tired form. It was a few moments of pure ignorant bliss before the memories resurfaced in his mind. The screams of pleasure, the feeling of pure bliss and sensation he had never known before, and the eventual climax of their actions.

Suddenly, the reality hit him. Hard.

And Naruto was unsure of what to do next.

An unknown situation to him with possible forgotten consequences for them both. He had only had just returned and now he was sharing the bed with his amazing teammate. He remembered the regulations against having inter-team relationships and how they could ruin the built trust and dynamic between them.

A testament to the reason for the rule was Jiraiya and Tsunade. Naruto was never told much about their supposed relationship and how it ended. Tsunade was never one to open up about that part of her life. Even Jiraiya remained silent on the matter. But Naruto pieced together that their break up was the reason that regulation was created. Only two Sannin were left in the village after Orochimaru's defection. Then there were none, leaving Konoha weakened militarily.

But none of that helped his current situation. Naruto was still entangled in Sakura's limbs. He did not want to move. He felt like he could not move. He remained as still as he possibly could so that he would not wake Sakura and racked his brain to come up with to figure this out.

Sakura moaned slightly as she began to stir awake. She stretched widely as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around the familiar apartment until her emerald eyes fell on the boy in bed with her.

"Good morning, Naruto." She said as sweet as she was, seemingly unaware of his spiked anxiety.

"…Mornin' Sakura."

Sakura tossed around a bit before holding her head up with her hand. She heard the slight uncertainty in his voice. He seemed on edge about something, and she had a good guess on what it was. They had spent enough time together to be able understand each other without much thought.

"Are you okay, Naruto? You seem nervous or something."

The tense in his muscles was small but Sakura noticed. "I…I just woke up weird, I guess."

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "Woke up weird? If you're gonna lie, do better than that." Keeping body covered with the sheets, Sakura fully sat up. "Cmon, what's the matter? I thought you said you couldn't lie to me."

Naruto was caught. He could never lie to her, not convincingly anyway. "…I just don't want things to be weird between us now. I mean, we're teammates. Isn't this kinda against the rules?"

"And when have you ever been a stickler for the rules?"

"Don't say it like that, Sakura. I'm…genuinely scared about this."

Sakura's eyes widened. That was the first time that she ever heard those words come from Naruto. She was practically convinced that Naruto was fearless, at least in a fighting situation. It was like social situations and normal people things were unknown to him. Well, this was not a normal situation.

'That actually makes some sense. He was brought up as a fighter. He spent most of his time alone as a kid. The fact he had any type of social skills growing up is a miracle.' She did not want to be too harsh about it, but it was the truth. He was alone and had no one to teach him. 'He doesn't understand that we both did this willingly. That we have feelings for each other. He just doesn't understand it.'

"There's no need to be scared Naruto. It's okay. We both did this. It's not like one of us took advantage of the other." Sakura was being as gentle as she could. "Besides, I'm not afraid."

"Y-You aren't?"

Sakura shrugged. "I mean, I'm little nervous what everyone will think if they find out about us but that's normal. But for us being weird or whatever with each other doesn't scare me at all."

"It doesn't?"

"Nothing seems scary to me when I'm with you."

Naruto's eyes went with shock and his mind went blank. He had no idea what to think or feel about what Sakura just said. Everything froze as she continued to speak.

"What I mean is I trust you. Completely. That's why I wanted to do this."

Naruto searched desperately for any lie, any deceit. There was none. Sakura trusted him. Completely.

"I…trust you too, Sakura. Completely."

Knowing how hard it was for him to admit something like that, Sakura smiled beautifully and leaned in close to lay a passionate kiss on Naruto's lips. The two shared their affection for a few moments before breaking away. It was a long time coming. They stayed entangled together for some time, enjoying the comfort of each other's company.

"So, now what?" Sakura broke the beautiful silence.

"What do you mean?"

"What should we do now?" She clarified. "The sun just went down. There's still plenty to do in the village. We could grab something to eat. There isn't much to eat here. I haven't had the chance to go shopping."

"You're hungry too, eh?" Naruto chuckled. She must have heard his stomach growling. It was not that hard to ignore.

"I mean, we did work up an appetite." Sakura chuckled back. She rose from the bed, leaving the warm comfort and revealing her naked form to the person with her. "C'mon, I know a place we can go."

-Ichiraku Ramen Bar-

Teuchi was hard at work putting together the noodles while Ayame, his daughter, was busy with putting together the broth. The two of them were a well-oiled machine. There was no better duo in all of Konoha. But it was not just the ramen that brought customers in. Their father daughter dynamic was very inviting for all.

"Welcome!" Over the years, Teuchi was able to identify the sound of the flaps being moved when someone entered his establishment. "What can I get ya?!" He was too busy to turn around to face his new customers.

"Oh, just the usual, Teuchi."

"Ah! Welcome, Sakura!" Ayame quickly turned her head to see the girl sitting on one of the stools. She saw the person sitting next to their most regular patron. "Whoa! No way! Is it really you?! Father, turn around!"

"Ayame, I cannot rightfully turn away from the noodle making process. It is a delicate process."

"Not even for me, Old man Teuchi?"

That familiar voice of a young boy that entered his bar one fateful day years ago. One free meal later and Teuchi created a customer for life. The owner immediately stopped what he was doing and turned around. "Naruto, my boy!"

With his familiar blonde locks covered by his hood, Naruto gave a simple wave to the man. "Long time no see, Teuchi. Mind whipping me up my old usual? That is, if you remember it."

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Boy! I've never forgotten it! Two usuals for my two best customers coming right up!" Teuchi went back to his work.

"It's so good to see you, Naruto." Ayame said, continuing her own part of the process. "We heard you returned. We were wondering if you'd ever stop by."

"Sorry about that. I got sent on a mission the day I got back. We just returned today. And besides, did you really think I'd never eat ramen again? Especially yours?"

Teuchi laughed again. "My apologizes for doubtin' ya!" With swiftness and the years of experience, Teuchi slide the bowls of ramen to his two favorite customers. "Orders up!"

Without wasting any more time, Sakura and Naruto dug into their bowls. Being his first bowl in three years, Naruto had his entire order finished in record time. Figuring that would be the case, Teuchi had his next bowl ready to go immediately. He had fed Naruto plenty of times to know how the boy would eat. Meanwhile, Sakura was a bit more civilized as she ate, but she understood why he was so excited and loved ramen so much.

Ichiraku Ramen was the only place Naruto could eat when he was younger. Teuchi was the only restaurant owner that would let him eat there. Everywhere else would throw him out without a second thought. Nobody cared about him. He was alone. But Sakura would never let that happen again.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?" He could hardly speak with his mouth full of ramen. He swallowed it all at once. "What's up?"

"I remember you saying something about not fulfilling a prophecy. What did you mean by that?"

All the excitement and joy Naruto felt suddenly left his body. His face turned serious as he stared at the half empty bowl in front of him. He would rather not think about that but he could never lie or try and hide something from Sakura. He knew, on some level, he wanted to tell her about it. He just would never be the one to bring it up.

"About a year into my training, the Grand Elder Sage had a dream about me." Naruto saw the perplexed look in Sakura's eyes. "The thing about toads from Mount Myōboku is that they don't dream. But when they do…well when Gamamaru has a dream, it's like a vision. A look into the future, I guess. And he had a dream about me."

Sakura was very interested in where this story was going. "What did he dream?"

"…He said that I'll bring balance or devastation by what I decide. That I'll become so powerful that I'll bring a new era to the world…that I am some mythical savior or destroyer…or something…"

Sakura certainly was not expecting something of that nature. Honestly, she had no idea what to expect. She was in such a blank stupor.

"Balance or devastation…by your choices?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah."

Sakura could tell Naruto was uncomfortable. And she would be too if she was in his position. To have something of that nature 'predicted' about you is unsettling, Sakura could understand it somewhat. She could, at least, put herself in Naruto's place and wonder how she would feel about it. "That's some pretty heavy stuff. It sounds like destiny or some sort of prophecy."

"Yeah…that's kinda what I was thinking, too."

Sakura watched Naruto intently. He seemed unsure of himself. "Do…you believe it?"

Naruto sighed heavily. "Honestly…I don't know. I've spent my whole life trying to make something of myself by defying everyone's expectations of me. Hell, my whole fight with Neji in the Exams was about making destiny your own."

"Then why are you second guessing yourself? It's not like you."

"Pervy Sage really believes it. Maybe that's why I'm thinking different."

Sakura found that just as hard to believe. "Master Jiraiya? He doesn't seem like the type to believe something like that."

"Pervy Sage had his own prophecy when he was my age. His was pretty much the same but it was for his student…A.K.A me." Naruto slurped up another mouth full of noodles. "I don't know what I'm gonna do, Sakura. A part of me thinks it's just a delusion of some toad that's lived well beyond his years."

The pinkette knew her teammate well. "What about the other part of you?"

Again, Naruto sighed heavily. "The other part of me thinks it's true and it's what I'm meant to do. Just like how I'm a weapon for the village. I hate the very idea of being used by someone else like that and will never allow it, I understand that's my duty as a jinchūriki. Gaara felt the same way. I know he did."

"Whoa whoa whoa…you understand it's your duty?! What does that even mean? I thought you hated being called a 'weapon'."

"I do. But Sakura, as much as I hate it, I can't deny it."

"Then why do you get so defensive about it? I'm just trying to understand."

"I get so defensive because…" Naruto paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "…because I just really hate being called a jinchūriki. It's not who I am. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nothing else."

To Sakura, listening to Naruto was amazing and confusing. But through it all, it still made some sense to her. The time they have spent together opened her eyes to the kind of stress Naruto feels and the expectations he feels like he has to live up to. She could feel the immense pressure that he was under.

Jiraiya trained Naruto to near perfection growing up and until Jiraiya left Naruto in the village. The Third Hokage constantly supervised his development in and out of the academy. That pressure alone is enough to cripple a person, especially a young boy. And that dream of his to be the strongest, Naruto wants to accomplish that dream more than anything. There was so much going on with him, it was hard to keep track of it all.

The sound of the flaps separating caught Sakura's attention.

"I thought that was you." Shikamaru walked right in and sat down next to Naruto, as if he had not been gone for the last three years. "I should have figured Sakura would bring you here first."

Without missing a beat, Naruto

Without missing a beat, Naruto acted casual. "What does that mean? Were you looking for me?"

Shikamaru scoffed. "Nah. I just overheard you guys talking and decided to stop in. I wasn't going to look for you until tomorrow." The Nara clan heir saw Teuchi waiting to take his order and shook his head, silently saying that he was not hungry.

Naruto raised his eyebrow. "What for?"

Shikamaru patted Naruto's back in friendly manner. "Welcome back, Naruto. It's good to see you." The teenage genius stood and left the establishment. "I'll be expecting another shogi game soon." He called out.

"Well, that was…unexpected."

Naruto brushed it off, deciding to not think anything of it. It was just the It was just the nostalgia of his return, that was all.

Finishing up their respective meals, Naruto and Sakura paid their tabs and left the ramen stand, yelling out goodbyes as they did so. The pair stepped back out into the night and breathed in the cool air.

"I thought that was your scent, Naruto."

An unnerving chill ran through Naruto when he heard the familiar voice. A simple turn of the head and Kiba, Hinata, and Shino had stopped in the middle of the street to address them, making other villagers annoyingly walk around them.

Sakura watched quietly and intently as Kiba strolled right up to Naruto, standing directly in front of him. She had not forgotten what Kiba did in the hospital. When he accused Naruto of hiding the identity of his parents, mainly his father, from them, as if he was entitled to know. And she could tell Naruto had not forgotten either. His face was blank with a hard stare, barely hiding the anger he felt.

"It's good to see ya, buddy…been awhile."

Naruto said nothing, deciding to not engage in whatever Kiba wanted. Meanwhile, Hinata appeared next to Kiba seemingly out of thin air. Sakura noticed the Hyūga princess had adjusted her large cleavage by unzipping her lavender hoodie more than it already was to show off her assets. With a slight eyebrow twitch of jealousy of what Hinata was gifted, Sakura could hardly believe the audacity of the formerly reserved girl. The move seemed like something Ino would pull.

Over recent months, Hinata's self confidence and awareness of her body skyrocketed. Rightfully so, Hinata was a beautiful girl. But Sakura had never seen Hinata so blatantly flaunt herself so that someone could admire. She really wanted Naruto to notice her as a woman. She seemed desperate and willing to do anything for it. Sakura had come to the conclusion that was why Hinata had suddenly given her the cold shoulder treatment after their mission to Tree Felling Village. Somehow, Hinata figured out Sakura's feelings for Naruto and took it as a personal attack.

Little did Hinata know that Sakura was the one to take Naruto's virginity.

"Hello Naruto." Hinata posed herself to be as attractive as she could be. "I'm really glad your back home."

Naruto's face softened for a moment to address her. "Hey Hinata. I'm glad to be back to."

"So, you respond to her but not me?"

The stare returned flawlessly. "She didn't blurt out that my dad sealed a demon in me."

"Well, did you expect me not to say anything? That information we all needed to know. Like c'mon, the Fourth Hokage is your dad!"

"You say that like it's supposed to be an honor."

Kiba stared blankly for a moment before realizing. "Oh yeah…right, I forgot about that part. That should've been made public too."

"It was. You just weren't aware of it. The adults hid it and you all just went along without a second thought."

Kiba shrugged. "It was in the past, man. We were kids and didn't know any better." The Inuzuka stopped paused for a moment. "Look, we don't hold anything against you for being a brooding asshole in the academy anymore. I understand now."

Shino approached them. "Kiba, that's enough. Why you ask? There's no reason to do this here."

Naruto's hard stare narrowed slightly, ignoring the insect user. "Understand what exactly?" His voice carried his anger.

"I understand why you were the way you were!" Kiba was speaking like he had an epiphany. "You're dad sealed a beast in the day you were born. That would put a sour taste in anyone's mouth." Kiba was oblivious to Naruto clenching his fist. "But just because you're Lord Fourth's son doesn't mean you can beat me. I've trained like crazy for the past three years. There's no way you'd beat me now."

Sakura was fed up with Kiba's boasting, but this did not need to lead to a fight. She forced her way between her teammate and Kiba. "That's enough. There's no need to fight."

"Hey, I just want a rematch. Is that too much to ask for, honored son?"

That did it. There was no stopping Naruto. A simple movement of his head, signaling Kiba to follow, and Naruto walked away. Kiba was quick to follow with Hinata in tow. Both Shino and Sakura both sighed heavily.

"Stupid macho crap." She muttered to herself, beginning to follow. But Sakura had to be honest with herself. She would engage in the behavior in the past. Maturing does change a person quite a bit. "I better go and make sure no one gets hurt."

"While I have faith in my teammate as a fighter, Naruto will win this battle. Why you ask? Because he trained with Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. This bout was not wise on Kiba's part." Shino quietly walked next to her.

There was some bias on Sakura's part, but she had to agree with Shino. She had seen firsthand what Naruto was capable of during their mission. Kiba had no idea what he was in for.

-Training Fields-

Naruto and Kiba stood across the field from each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Kiba stood in his ready position, Naruto was relaxed with his hands in his pockets. Sakura, Shino, and Hinata all stood off to the side to watch the event unfold.

Naruto's posture and attitude annoyed Kiba. "Quit looking so relaxed! Take this seriously!"

There was no change in Naruto. "You're going to fight me without Akamaru?"

"Heh! He's back at home resting. Besides, I don't need him to beat you!"

Kiba broke out into a full-on sprint towards Naruto. Kiba threw wild punches. There was hardly any technique behind them, so Naruto dodged them with relative ease. Frustrating Kiba even more, he disengaged from his opponent and created some distance.

Kiba crossed his fingers into a familiar hand seal and an identical copy of Kiba appeared. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

It seemed Sakura was the most surprised by Kiba's use of the jutsu. "Kiba can create a shadow clone? Since when could he do that?"

"Kiba decided to learn the Kage Bushin no Jutsu about year ago. Why you ask? He said it would help with his combination attacks with Akamaru." Shino answered.

Sakura seemed to understand the idea that Kiba was going for. "I see."

Hinata scowled at Sakura, crossing her arms angerly. "Are you and Naruto on a dating now?"

Sakura tried to act collected, trying to make it seem like nothing, but a small blush appeared on her face. "I'm not sure I'd call it a dating." Considering what they had done beforehand, who knew what to call their relationship now.

"So, he's available to date then?" Hope filled the Hyūga girl.

Seeing what Hinata was trying to do, Sakura decided to not engage and reveal details about her and Naruto's relationship. She was being petty because she was jealous that the person she liked was blatantly interested in someone else. "Think what you want, Hinata. I can't change that."

Naruto was slightly impressed. "Shadow clone? I'll admit, I would have never thought you could use that. The Shadow clone jutsu splits a person's chakra in half. It's not ideal for someone with low chakra reserves."

"It's a good thing I don't then!"

The two Kiba's charged once again, coming at Naruto from two different directions. Taking his hands out of his pockets, Naruto blocked both attacks simultaneously. The attacks were coordinated and precise, showing off some technique and training.

Naruto noticed this. 'He intentionally faked having no skill to try and throw me off. He must have some type of plan here.' Naruto decided to use caution and remain on the defensive. Kiba had plan and Naruto would not be caught off guard.

Continuing to block and dodge through the combo attacks, Kiba became more frustrated. He was frustrated with Naruto's lack of urgency and his relaxed expression. It was like he was barely trying! Kiba wanted to wait to implement his strategy, but he was getting nowhere.

'Damn it! It's too early but I won't have enough chakra to continue if I don't do it now!'

Kiba and his clone separated themselves from Naruto and acted on his plan.

"Now Akamaru!"

Naruto scanned rapidly. "Damn! I should have known!"

Jumping out from a hiding spit in a tree, a now fully grown Akamaru begin to spin rapidly in the air. The two Kiba's followed suit and all three targeted Naruto from three different angles.

"Man-Beast Taijutsu: Triple Fang over Fang!"

Rotating at such a high speed damaged anything they touched. Naruto was able to dodge the initial coordinated attacks, but was chased as he ran around. His plan was to evade as long as possible until the constant rotation affected Kiba and create an opening for Naruto to counter. The high volume of rotation mixed the vicious power of Kiba's sharp claw-like nails.

Sakura realized Naruto's plan. "He's going to evade and dodge until Kiba can't keep up with the jutsu. The high velocity of rotations will be too much and eventually he'll get too dizzy.

"Evading will only work for so long." Shino spoke up. "Why you ask? Because Kiba has trained day and night to completely master his clan's signature technique for constant use. He's trained himself to never get staggered from this. Meaning as long as Kiba has the chakra for it, he can continuously use it."

After minutes of evading and chasing, Kiba had Naruto cornered. There was no escape for him.

"Finally! Take this you arrogant bastard!"

Without a moment to waste, Naruto slammed his hands on the ground. "Doton: Doryūkei!" Three walls of pure solid mud rose from the ground and blocked Kiba's attack. The mud walls would not hold for long, but it gave Naruto the time he needed to counter and win.

"These walls can't save you!" Kiba yelled triumphally as all three burst through simultaneously.

Three Naruto's stood ready with spiraling blue orbs of concentrated chakra in their hands.

"Rasengan!"

The trio yelled in unison, slamming their jutsus against the rotating fury. The jutsus clashed until the pure power of the Rasengan proved to be too much for Kiba to fend off. The explosion destroyed the clone of Kiba and launched Kiba and Akamaru back. Neither were injured. Only Kiba's pride.

"What the hell?!" Kiba slammed his fist in the ground in pure frustration. "I trained like hell for three years and I couldn't even land a hit on you!" He fell back against the ground.

Naruto put his hands back in his pockets. "Somebody doesn't handle defeat well."

"Fuck you, Naruto!"

Naruto sighed. "Right…" He turned to leave. "You coming, Sakura?"

"Right behind you!" The medical chūnin was quick to scurry next to her teammate.

"You're just gonna walk away?!" Kiba shouted, moving back to his feet. "Stay and fight me!"

As much as Naruto wanted to ignore the whimpering boy, he just could not this time. He stopped and turned around. "What's your fixation on me? I have never done anything to you, or at least from what I remember. And this wasn't just a random sparring match. You planned this out. It's obvious because Akamaru was hiding while you lied about where he was. What gives Kiba?"

Kiba shook his head. "You wouldn't understand. You've been trained and taken care of by two of the Sannin, the Third Hokage singled you out for everything, you're the son of the legendary Fourth Hokage…you don't know the struggle of doing everything yourself!"

Naruto realized what had caused all this. He should have predicted Kiba being somewhat of a jealous type. Everything made sense. Naruto was reminded of Sasuke and how they fought because of his jealously over Jiraiya and Tsunade coming back into his life. Instead of anger and lashing out at Kiba, Naruto felt something else. He understood Kiba's feelings.

The blonde chūnin sighed. "Look Kiba, you're jealous. I get that. In a way, I'm jealous of you." Kiba looked up in shock, as did everyone else. "You grew up with a family and the stability I always wanted. And being singled out like I was…it's not a blessing like you think. If anything, it's more of a burden. The Third lied to me about Pervy Sage and deceived him. And it's not all that great being the son of the man that sealed a bijū in you. It actually makes it worse. I mean I'm his son and he cursed me with this burden. That's a kick in the balls if I've ever heard of one. So, you don't need to be jealous of me. You should be grateful for what you have and be thankful for it."

Sakura was thoroughly impressed with Naruto. He was talking to Kiba, helping him understand that what he was feeling was normal. But in the same breath, informing Kiba that being jealous of someone else's experiences and abilities was not a good thing to dwell on. If this had occurred a few years ago, he would have lashed out at Kiba for being like this and made Kiba feel worse about it. Now, he was talking to Kiba like a young child who did something wrong and was trying to teach him that it was all right to learn. Naruto really had matured.

Hinata was also impressed. The ability to stop and consider another's feelings and help them understand them was a trait many people had lost. She found herself staring at the blonde chūnin with wide and love-struck eyes. Naruto was simply perfect.

Kiba moved to stand. "Why…why say all to me? Are you trying to make me see what I did was wrong?"

A simple shrug of his shoulders. "If that's how you want to look at it, sure. As long as it helped you in someway, I don't care. There's just too much hate in the world. And we're comrades, right? We shouldn't fight like this."

Kiba remained flabbergasted. "Too much hate…"

Naruto returned back to his exit, Sakura following without word.

Off in the bushes, a small ink mouse, similar to the one that was in the Hokage's office, scurried off back to its master. The pale teenager watched his creation be absorbed back into the scroll he had laid on the ground.

"You're an interesting one…Naruto Uzumaki."

-Unknown Location-

Danzō stood before the kneeling pale teenager. He had come to report to his master and leader. He had already handed over the scroll that held the information of his reconnaissance.

"This is valuable information. Your skills are impeccable. For not even two Sannin were aware of your presence."

"…Thank you, Lord Danzō." The teenager held a forced, creepy smile. It was obvious the smile was not his own.

"Do not use that fake smile with me." Danzō immediately called out his subordinate. "Emotions hold no value in my organization, fake or not."

The smile disappeared without a trace, as if he was incapable of smiling. "My apologies. The manual said the way to make yourself more appealing and approachable was to smile. I've been practicing but…I'm still unable to smile convincingly."

Danzō scoffed. "No matter. In the following days, there will be a mission assigned to Team Seven to be sent to the Land of Waves. I'll have it arranged for you to be placed on the same team as Naruto Uzumaki. Not only are you near the same age as him, but you are also just as strong as him. More than anything, your artistic mind is amazing. From now until the completion of your mission, you shall be known as…Sai."

The fake smile returned. "…Sai, was it?"

Author's Notes;

So, I just want to clarify something about Naruto's explanation about being a weapon. I know it contradicts with what happened with his scene during in the Kazekage rescue mission. But that's the point of it. This version of Naruto is supposed to be contradictive. He's supposed to go back and forth. He's confused because while he's at war with the world, he's at war with himself.

I hope that helped clear that up.