Naruto 1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

The two figures collided, Chidori hitting Rasengan. Both yelled as the Jutsu's fought for power and soon they were completely shrouded in the energy of the collision. Instantly the area was enveloped in a black energy. It grew, disrupting the normally peaceful flow of the waterfall, making it cascade in random directions. Naruto's eyes closed, a slight smile on his face. He had never wanted to hurt Sasuke, only to bring him back. At the last moment he had chosen to divert his Rasengan from Sasuke's heart to his forehead protector. Even if he himself could survive a direct hit from the Chidori, he knew his friend could not hope to survive his attack.

He had managed to scratch Sasuke's forehead protector, that was enough. _Why Sasuke? All I want is to bring you home, home to the leaf village. Your my best friend, don't do this._

The two boys hit the ground at the same time, one crumpled in a bloody heap, the other standing precariously. Sasuke's breathing became even more erratic as the effects of the curse marks kicked in causing him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees. He looked into the eyes of his team mate, his rival, and even more importantly, his friend. How could Naruto ever understand? Slowly the Uchiha rose to his feet.

Sasuke stood grimacing over Naruto's body, one day he would see him again, one day they would fight again, that much he was sure. That day the rain fell in sheets, dripping from the heavens. Konoha itself was crying, Sasuke stumbled away in the rain. _I must find the power to kill my brother, Itachi must die!_

When Naruto woke he was slung over Kakashi's shoulder. The tall Grey haired Ninja looked at him with sadness, and relief.

"Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked, still slightly unconscious. _Where is he?! Why don't I see him..._ "What about Sasuke?"

**FLASH FORWARD-**

Naruto stood near the gate's of Konoha, a very tall man with a distinctive horned forehead protecter and long whitish gray hair stood at his side. Jiraya looked down at Naruto and couldn't help but smile to himself. _No question, that's Minato's boy. _

Naruto himself was fixated on the faces of the Hokages, proudly carved into the stone of the mountainside over looking the leaf. _I won't mess around any more, I won't be the dead last. I will get stronger, I will find Sasuke, I will become Hokage... And I won't ever give up!_

_I'll find you Sasuke, and I'll bring you home._

Naruto grimaced in determination. He held him arm out towards the faces carved into the mountain. Gritting his teeth Naruto dug his finger nails deep into his palm, causing the blood to flow freely. That day he made a promise to himself, a promise signed in blood.

With that final thought Naruto and Jiraya started off on there journey, the blond boy raised his bloodied hand in farewell to his friends, before setting off into the world.

**FLASH FORWARD 3 YEARS-**

"Naruto!" Jiraya called as he ran towards his surrogate son. It was a sunny day, the sky was almost a perfect shade of blue. Small clouds dotted the sky here and there, but none of them threatened rain. _He look's so much like his father... _Jiraya thought as he stopped ten feet away from Naruto.

Naruto looked up and smiled at his mentor. "Are you ready to spar?" He asked as he dusted off his pants.

He had been meditating in this clearing for what had seemed like minutes, but had actually been several hours. Jiraya at the beginning of their journey had told Naruto about the powers of being a sage, and ever since Naruto had started to train. 3 days of the week he spent in Mount Myoboku, training under the toads.

The training came naturally to him, after 6 weeks with the toads he was able to complete a perfect sage transformation. Unlike Jiraya's Sage transformation, none of Naruto's features were altered except for his eyes, which appeared somewhat toadlike, and had a bright orange sheen. Since the day Naruto had completed Sage training, he had worked on making the gathering of Nature Energy faster and more efficient. Currently he could transform in a little under a minute, but even that short of a time could mean life or death on the battle field for him or his friends.

In the three years Naruto spent with Jiraya he had changed much more than obtaining the powers of the sage. Mentally Naruto was much much more mature than when he began his journey. He was no longer quite as rash and reckless, and he used his head before he had to use his fists. His demeanor was still radiating happiness, but he was more serious, and even more determined then when he left the leaf.

Much of this was due to what Jiraya had told him close to a year into their journey, about his parents. Although Jiraya knew the secret was S class, he felt it was important to tell the boy. Naruto was quite shocked to say the least, and afterwards felt angry and sad. How could his father have done this to him? Sealing a tailed beast inside his own son? What was he thinking. Did he know what kind of life Naruto would live? He was alone, all alone. How could his parents leave him an orphan. After hours alone in the woods he came to peace with his parents, and there actions. He knew they had only wanted the best for him, and for their village.

Naruto had been filled with a new sense of pride and determination, his father was Minato Namikaze, his father was the Fourth Hokage.

Physically Naruto had changed immensely as well. He now stood at the impressive height of 6"2, which was taller than most Ninja he had encountered. Ever since Naruto had been forced to changed his eating habits, and had started to train with the Sannin, he had packed on a lot of muscle. Any traces of baby fat across his body had been burned away over his years training with Jiraya. He found he could run faster, and strike with more force than he could ever before. His hair had also grown longer, and even more wild.

The fox boy had even changed his attire. He gave up wearing the orange jumpsuits, realizing they looked quite foolish. In place he wore a tight fitting short black kimono that hugged his impressive body. Not only was it not a nuisance in battle, but it enabled him to move faster than his baggy jumpsuit had. Under this he wore a mesh shirt and the necklace Tsunade gave him with the crystal of the first Hokage. His arms were bound in white cloth, and over this dark red wrist and forearm protecters. He had repositioned his forehead protector which was now securely held in place over his shoulder, much like Shikamaru's. In place of the traditional blue shinobi sandals Naruto wore black combat boots, he liked the added protection they provided to his feet. He also sported dark red shin protectors over his cloth bound ankles, which allowed him to block and attack with his legs, they were specifically designed to not hinder the wearer's movement in any way.

Naruto face became serious as his mentor took up his fighting stance.

"I won't go easy on you, pervy sage!" The blond haired teen yelled. _I need to show him everything I've got. I'm ready._

10 minutes later the field was completely destroyed, trees were fractured and splintered, any remaining grass was on fire and smoking. In the middle of the field lied Jiraya and Naruto. Both wore massive grins on their faces.

"Damn kid, looks like your catching up to me." The Sannin half croaked as he tried to get up but couldn't. Naruto got to his feet slowly then walked over to him and held out his hand, which was firmly clasped by Jiraya. When the two were up on their feet Naruto exclaimed, "Yeah I guess I'm getting better?" Ever since Naruto had figured out Shadow clones could be used to expedite training immensely he had been able to perfect creating the Rasengan in only one hand.

"Let's get cleaned up and start to head back." Jiraya said wiping his face on his arm.

Naruto was excited, and he had reason to be. He was about he see his friends again, he hadn't seen them in 3 years. He missed them all, well some more than others. And yet at the same time he was disappointed, disappointed his journey with Jiraya was coming to an end. Jiraya was truly one of his precious people, and although he knew who his father was now, he would always look up to Jiraya as just that.

Two figures walked toward the gates of the Leaf Village. Both were very tall, one being slightly taller than the other. The taller of the two had long spiky white hair that fell about a little more than halfway down his back. He was clad in a red and green kimono, and had his signiture horned Forehead protecter on.

The other figure was dressed in a black kimono with cloth binding his shins and forearms. The most distinctive thing about him was his unruly golden yellow hair, which almost seemed to shine in the bright sunlight. His sapphire colored eyes gleamed with anticipation, and he bore a huge smile, revealing slightly elongated canines. He was finally back, it was going to be a good day...


	2. Chapter One: Roommate

Chapter 1: Roommate

Thank you all for the reviews and support, I know I haven't updated the story in over a year but that will be changing.

I've begun the process of reworking and changing existing chapters, so please be sure to read chapters you may

have already read. A lot will be changing! Thank you.

* * *

When the two reached the Gate they were greeted by several Chunin and allowed to pass on into the village. Jiraya agreed that he and Naruto would meet with the Hokage that afternoon, as it was only 9am. Taking off Naruto wanted to explore the village. It looked much the same, but it had a different feel. Smiling the fox boy scaled the side of a building, and then jumped higher onto the top of a chimney. His eyes widened as he looked at the faces carved into the stone. To his amusement Tsunade's face was now present among them. _What is this Im feeling? _He remembered the last time he had been in the village.

Naruto glanced at the blank mountain side to the right of Tsunade's face, that was his stone. His face would be there, no question. He had not given up, and he never would. Naruto glanced down at his right hand, he remembered his promise. _Sasuke. It has been years, 3 years._

Sasuke would have to wait for later. Naruto jumped down from his perch hitting the ground with more force than he intended, sending a small shockwave of dust up from the ground. Suddenly 30 pairs of eyes were on him, villagers buying produce in the market simply stood and stared. Naruto at first wore a scowl, but soon realized these were not the stares he received when he was younger. Before they stared out of hatred and resentment, they didn't want the demon child. But now they looked in amazement, and some of the men in jealousy. He saw several women grow slight blushes as they took in his appearance. _What's going on?_

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his as the staring continued.

"N-nnaruto?" A pink haired girl asked from behind him. Naruto turned to see Sakura staring at him in disbelief. His immediate thought was that she was beautiful. She had obviously grown. Her body was much more curvy than before, her chest actually quite impressive.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed as he closed the distance between the two. _She's as pretty as I remember. _Naruto thought as he was now only a foot away from her. He was surprised by her reaction towards seeing him, she hadn't exactly been the friendliest 3 years ago.

_"_It's really good to see you," he said smiling.

"Naruto w-what," she was silenced as he pulled her into a warm hug. She broke out in a smile as she returned the hug. He was so, well different. _He's tall, and kind of handsome... _Sakura felt her face start to heat up and pushed away from his warm embrace.

"It's been a long time hasn't it?" She said smiling.

"It sure has, kami I've missed this place." Naruto stretched his arms behind his back and glanced around at the village. It was good to be home. Had it really been three years? He then looked back at Sakura causing her to blush even more. _Whats going on? Why does she seem, well nervous around me. _His thoughts were interrupted when his stomach growled loudly causing a giggle to escape from Sakura's lips. He smiled sheepishly.

"Well I'm going to go get some ramen before I meet with Baa-Chan." The blonde said as he smiled at Sakura. "See you around!" With that Naruto walked off towards Ichiraku playing the encounter over in his mind.

Little did Naruto know Sakura had just stood there for several minutes, gawking at the direction Naruto had left in. He had managed to turn the head of every villager he had went by. This was not the same Naruto who had left from Konoha years ago. Sakura was amazed, and to a certain degree, frightened. Just from being around him she could feel his immense power.

When Naruto arrived at Ichiraku he was officially spooked. Turning around for about the fifteenth time on his walk Naruto saw a collection of girls about 30 feet to his right pointing and smiling at him. The fox boy groaned.

This was getting interesting. With a sigh Naruto entered Ichiraku and sat on a stool. "Hey old man can I get a bowl of Miso with extra pork?" He asked cheerfully. The cook turned to him and glared.

"Who are you calling old man? Please sir show some respect." Ichiraku said as he turned back to the pot. Naruto sighed and sagged his head. Just then Ayame entered from the back of the shop. _Damn she's stunning... Brown hair mid back length, hazel eyes, an impressive chest, curvy hips..._

"Pop whos thi-" Ayame was cut off as Naruto yelled, "Ayame Nee-chan!" He then proceeded to get up and embrace the girl. She was startled to say the least, who was this man. Naruto was so happy to see Ayame he barely caught the growl coming from his left. He turned just in time to receive a pan in the face from none other than Ichiraku.

"Get your hands off my daughter!" He yelled as the metal hit it's target with a loud dong!

Naruto jumped back in surprise and pain. "Don't you remember me old man, it's Naruto Uzumaki..."

"Naruto-Kun!" Ayame yelled as she hugged him. He looked back at Ichiraku smiling at him, he was obviously embarrassed.

"Sorry about that, didn't recognize you there.. You've changed quite a lot Naruto." The old man said as he gave the pot another stir.

"You've really grown up Naruto," Ayame said quietly as she regretfully ended there embrace. _God he's a man now, just look at him. _Naruto smiled at the two, then began to eat his ramen. The two gaped as they watched him eat slowly, and not like a total maniac. After Naruto finished the remnants of his bowl he thanked Ichiraku for his ramen and handed the man his bill plus a very generous tip.

"Good to be back," He said flashing them a foxy smile. He turned to leave, holding up his hand behind him as he walked tower the Hokage Tower.

As Naruto neared the door to Tsunade's office he started to pick up on loud voices.

"Those Akatsuki bastards!" Tsunade bellowed as she pounded her fists on her desk. The look in her eye could easily be identified as rage, or even more, hatred. "They've gotten another one.." She almost mumbled to herself. The list was getting shorter, more demon hosts were being taken. It was only a matter of time before... The blondes features turned to a grimace as she pushed a few strands of hair away from here face.

"We must assume both Naruto and I will be targeted soon enough, additional precautions must be taken." Gaara said in his usual mono-tone. He was about to continue when the door burst open with a thud and a tall blonde man entered the room.

"Did you miss me?" He asked grinning at Tsunade and Gaara.

"Naaruto?!" The blonde woman asked in disbelief. In the blink of an eye she had leapt over her desk and smothered him in a warm embrace. Slowly his arms wrapped around her back and he closed his eyes. _I guess she missed me too. _It had been three years, she had reason to be excited to see him. He was happy and excited to see her too. She was after all one of his most precious people. Not only had she believed in him to continue the dream her brother and lover had held, but she had also been there for him when he needed something. In his eyes she almost like a mother he never had, even though she was old enough to be his grandma!

When the embrace ended he cocked his head to the right taking in the slender red haired man infront of him. _It was Gaara! Why was he here? And he looks, like he might not be crazy anymore._

"Hello Naruto..." Gaara said with a small smile. It was rare for Gaara to show emotion at all, but it was even rarer for him to show happiness. _Naruto... You have changed me more than you could ever know. After our battle you opened my eyes. I can see how the world really is now. I learned there is a power far beyond that obtained when fighting for yourself, a force stronger than the urge to kill. It's the power obtained when one fights to protect one's friends. To protects ones family._

Gaara gazed at the man who had changed him. One of the very few he considered to be his friend.

"Naruto it is your turn ." Gaara said passively. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" He replied. The sand user looked at him for a moment before continuing.

"I've become Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand, it is time for you rise as well." The air was knocked from Naruto's lungs as he registered what his friend had just told him. _Could it be true? Was Gaara really the Kazekage? He doesn't strike me as a liar... I guess it makes sense, why else would Gaara be here.. _Naruto's face changed instantly to one of determination. _If Gaara is the Kazekage, I need to catch up... I need to work even harder._

"Great news!" Naruto said smiling as he clasped his friend on the shoulder. Sapphire eyes looked into pale blue until they were interrupted by Tsunade.

"Naruto I have a mission for you, but it can wait for a couple days. I figured you would want some time to rest and catch up with everyone. " Tsunade said fondly.

Naruto was denied a response when the door abruptly opened revealing a tall kunoichi with sandy blond hair tied into 4 separate knots. Her eyes were a dark blue gray, which matched the short decorative kimono she wore. Over the kimono was the standard Suna Jonin vest. Perhaps what was most distinctive about her was the huge battle fan strapped to her hip.

"Temari?" Naruto asked. He was still dazed from her dramatic entry. _Now that I think about it, that's the same way I came in. _Naruto grinned, they were kind of alike.

It took a moment before the Sand konoichi registered who the tall blonde man before her was. When she did she was dumbfounded. She had seen people change over time, hell her brother was a prime example. He had gone from being a heartless killer to well, the kazekage. But this was too much, the Naruto she remembered had been a short little blond kid clad in neon orange. Her eyes scanned his body taking in his lean muscle and deep sapphire eyes.

"Hey Naruto," was her quick reply as she bowed to Tsunade before giving Gaara her report.

"I wasn't able to find us a hotel to stay at, seems like at this time of the year everything is booked." She said with a frown. Gaara's face become thoughtful until he asked Tsunade, "Do you know of any neighboring towns that have inns?" The reply came from Naruto instead of the Hokage.

"You guys are welcome to stay at my place, I haven't been there for quite a while so it should be clean." He said the last few words with a slight smirk on his face. _They came at the right time... Normally it's a mess._

Both Gaara and Temari looked surprised. They weren't used to such hospitality, being the children of the kazekage they had never needed to search for housing. Temari began to smile at the thought of staying with Naruto, atleast it wouldn't be boring.

"Does that sound fine with you two?" Tsunade asked the sand siblings. She caught Temari's slight blush and tried to suppress a smirk. Somehow she knew he would be a lady killer when he got back. After all Minoto sure was one. "Oh and Naruto, I don't expect you to come by at noon, we will have to talk later." Naruto nodded.

"Alright lets head out!" Naruto said with enthusiam as he exited the office.

Gaara smiled and nodded, he was happy they didn't have to find housing elsewhere, also this would give him some time to catch up with his blonde friend. He had quite a lot of questions to ask, most to do with the obvious change in attire and attitude.

The three departed from the Hokage tower and set off towards Naruto's apartment. It was still a little before noon, and the village was bustling with activity. A group of children ran through the streets chasing each other, completely oblivious to the carts of vegetables and produce they had knocked over in the process. Several older villagers gave them nasty looks, while others simply looked and laughed. _I remember doing that when I was a kid... Only I never got a smile. _Naruto remembered the painful days, the days he spent alone. _I'm not going to ruin my day remembering this shit. I've got guests.. _Thought Naruto as he glanced over at Gaara and Temari. The sand mistress caught his eye and gave him a quick smile which he returned eagerly.

About an hour later Naruto and the sand siblings were gathered around Naruto's kitchen table. Gaara and Temari shot each other quizzical looks as the blonde dished out the steaks he had prepared on the stove. Both of them had heard of his addiction to ramen, and they had both saw the instant ramen in his cupboards. Yet for some reason he insisted he would make something instead. Naruto smiled as he sat himself.

Temari hesitantly poked her steak before finally cutting off a peice and chewing. The flavor was instant and so wonderful she almost coughed it up. She looked over at Gaara who was similarly surprised by how good the food was. Once she one piece she knew she needed to have more. In a matter of minutes the siblings had finished and cleaned their plate without a single word.

Naruto stifled a laugh as he saw the two of them. He had never seen either of them eat before, and was happy they liked his food. They_ ate those steaks like they hadn't eaten in days._

"I'll assume you liked it?" He said with a grin. Temari nodded slowly whilst Gaara looked at his friend with a smile.

"Your a good cook," the sand user said. Just then there was a knock on the door, followed by another, then another.

"Got it," Naruto mumbled as he go up and walked over to the door. When he opened the door he was bombarded by a chorus of squeals as his newest fanclub from earlier tried to grab at him. Naruto shrieked in surprise and slammed the door not a moment too soon as multiple hands lashed out towards his body. Naruto's breathing was still erratic as he stood on the other side of the now locked door. He started to walk back to his kitchen when he heard multiple voices from the other side of his door.

"So this is where he lives..."

"Gosh he's so hot."

"How can we get in there?"

"Maybe at night..."

This was followed by another round of giggling and squeals as the girls started to plot a way inside. The jinchuriki sighed as he made his way back to the table. Before either of his guests asked who it was Naruto shut them up with.

"It was no one."

Suddenly feeling very tired Naruto created a few shadow clones to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes, then walked off to his room and collapsed on his bed. "Sorry Gaara, Temari, but I'm completely drained." A long day of traveling, sparring, and interaction had chipped away at his incredible energy, putting him to sleep before the sand siblings even responded.

Walking to Naruto's room and seeing the boy sprawled on his bed sent a small smile to Temari's lips. "How hard does he work himself?" Temari asked her brother with a smirk.

"He's an odd one isn't he," Gaara replied as he too got up and walked into the living room.

_Coming from Gaara?!_ Temari thought, mentally smirking. They didn't get much weirder than Gaara. Sighing Temari laid her battle fan on the table and took out a small piece of silk, she began to slowly clean each part of the fan. If it wasn't clean, then it couldn't perform at it's best.

Nearly eight hours later, just past 2am, Naruto woke with a start. _I don't even remember going to bed? _He thought as he shook his head clear and got up from his bed. Walking into the kitchen he saw Temari asleep with her head resting on the table. Her fan on her lap, and to his amusement a small amount of drool was escaping from her half open mouth. Naruto hadn't had a lot of people over at his house before so he wasn't exactly the most courteous host, but he knew it wasn't right to make a lady sleep at the table.

"Temari? Temari wake up.." He frowned at her, she was quite the heavy sleeper.

Slowly he extended his hand and reach her shoulder, giving her a light shake. Instantly her eyes jolted open and her fan snapped forward, blasting air at Naruto.

"Ahhh!" The blonde boy yelled as he was flung into the opposite wall, hitting it with a solid clunk. Slowly he got to his feet and gave the girl a scowl.

"Sorry about that, I don't like it much when I'm woken up. I thought you were Kankuro haha. He's always the one who wakes me up." The Sand konoichi said sheepishly. Thankfully Naruto's got over it instantly and flashed her a smile.

"I saw you sleeping there and thought I would offer you a more suitable place to sleep." Naruto looked into the living room and saw Gaara fast asleep on the couch. "Looks like your brother has the couch, if you want you can take my bed." He suggested as he looked back at Temari.

"Really? But where would you sleep?" She asked surprised by his thoughtful gesture.

"I can sleep on the floor, trust me I've slept on worse." Naruto replied grinning. Temari frowned at this but agreed.

"Just let me get changed really quick." Temari said as she walked slowly into Naruto's room with her bag in hand.

10 minutes later Naruto knocked on the door of his bedroom and was answered by a quick, "Come in." Naruto opened the door and was surprised to see Temari was already under the covers with only her head poking out. He unrolled his bed roll and eagerly stretched out on the rough wool, smiling as he remembered lying on this bedroll throughout his travels, looking towards the stars. Only tonight there were no stars, only a grey ceiling. His room seemed to be silent, and he almost asked Temari if she was asleep already but then he heard her soft breathing and his question was answered. He was almost thankful Temari was not a silent sleeper, because he knew he wouldn't feel comfortable in a silent room.

"Goodnight Temari." Naruto said in a low voice, before shutting his eyes and calming his mind. It was really nice to see Sakura again, Ayame and the old man, and even Temari, who he didn't really know much about. His first day back in Konoha had been different than he had imagined, it had been better.

* * *

Naruto had never gotten such a good nights sleep. He felt peaceful, warm, and really really comfortable. He found himself smiling before he even opened his eyes. When the Blonde opened his eyes he stopped breathing, he was face to face with a familiar looking Suna Jonin. Temari's eyes were still closed, and her breathing was slow. _Thank god she's still asleep. I really don't want to take another blast from that fan... _Naruto's face began to heat up as he realized just how compromising there position really was.

She had somehow fallen from his bed and was now on top of him, her chest pressing against his. One of her hands had found its way to his right thigh during the night, and the other was resting on his bare chest. To make matters worst they both were not exactly wearing the most modest of clothing. Naruto's "Night Clothes" consisted of boxers and a tank top, the black tank top had some how made its way off his body and was crumpled in a pile to his left.

_Thank god I still have my boxers on... _Naruto thought, trying not to picture what would happen if he was discovered in this position with out them. Visions of being impaled by Gaara's sand and being cut to ribbons by Temari's over sized fan danced through his head until he dismissed them with a shake.

To make matters worst Temari's pajamas were not much better than his. She was clad in a loose white shirt which had some how been pulled up to right below her breasts revealing her smooth tone stomach. From what Naruto could tell she wasn't wearing a braw either. The only other thing she had on was a tight pair of athletic shorts which hugged her ass.

Naruto calmed his breathing and tried to decide what the best course of action would be. He reached one arm around to the small of her back and the other to her head and slowly reversed their positions, until she was snugly resting under him.

Quietly he began to rise from the bedroll and was about to stand when a hand shot out and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back. Naruto froze, terrified, but quickly he realized she was still asleep. Temari muttered something incoherent before loosening her grip and shifting her self so her back was to him. The fox-boy let out a deep breath before getting up and splashing his face with cold water from the sink, he needed to wake up.

Trying not to disturb the sleeping girl, he opened his rucksack and grabbed a pair of training shorts, his shin protectors, and a tight T-Shirt. Even though it was his first day back, he wouldn't go easy on himself.

* * *

He left his house just as the sun began to rise, grinning as the village was engulfed in a golden light. He began at a slow jog, stretching his muscles, but soon began to pick up speed until he was literally sprinting through the village. Sending chakra to his feet he sped off towards his destination, the place where it had all began.

The fox boy finally arrived at the training field he desired. The very same training field that team 7 underwent the bell test at. The training field that he and Sasuke had formed there first bonds at. Everything here sent painful memories splintering into his head. The all to familiar bowl shaped clearing. The rich forest that enveloped it on all sides. The memorial stone in the center of the field. And of course the three wooden posts, one of which Naruto had been tied to. He grinned as he remembered the hospitality Sasuke had shown him, offering his food. Of course the dark haired boy wore a scowl the whole time. But that hadn't mattered to Naruto.

For the first time he had been acknowledged as an important part of the team. Sasuke had needed him to be at the top of his game if they had even a shot at taking the bells. _Needed me, Sasuke had needed me. Well now he needs me, whether he will admit it or not. He needs a hand to pull him from the darkness._

Without even looking Naruto sensed a presence hidden behind him in the trees.

"You can come out," he said fairly quietly. If the person trailing him had managed to stay hidden this long they definitely had heightened senses of some kind. A tall figure landed with a small thud than began to walk towards Naruto. The fox boy recognized the Chakra instantly and turned to face him.

"Kakashi Sensei?" He asked, although he really wasn't surprised. He was bound to run into the lazy ninja at some point after his return. The copy ninja replied with a raised hand, and an unseen grin hidden behind his mask. Without the mask on Kakashi's feelings of happiness and shock would have been so obvious even Gaara could have read them. _So this is the new Naruto ehh? He looks like he's gotten a lot stronger, hell he can probably beat me._

"Naruto, I figured I'd see you here." Kakashi said lazily as he stopped about 20 feet away. "I like to come here to clear my mind, it's a good place to relax."

"Yeah I have a lot of memories here." Replied Naruto gazing at the field.

"Naruto, I want you to give up on Sasuke." He said looking Naruto right in the eyes. Kakash waited for the yells of protest but was surprised when none came. He gazed at the passive face of his student for several seconds before deciding to continue.

"I know the promise you made to Sakura, and I'm aware its become quite the burden to bear whether you will admit it or not." Kakashi continued. "I think its time to give up on Sasuke. Just let him go, he is a lost cause."

At this Naruto finally narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"I'm not going to give up, I can bring him back from the darkness, You once said those in the ninja world who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends.. are lower than scum. Isn't that right? Sensei..."

Kakashi nodded slowly.

"I don't want to be worse than scum, and I don't want to let go of Sasuke." At this his frown changed to a slight smile and he sat down of the ground in meditation.

Kakishi frowned, he knew this would be his response, and yet he wished it wasn't. _At least he hasn't completely changed, he's still stubborn as a brick wall._

The conversation between the two had brought some peacefulness to Naruto's mind. It had been a long time since he had breached the subject of Sasuke. And yet he was happy with himself that he still knew why he needed to bring him back. Why he wanted to bring him back. Why he would bring him back.

Kakashi sighed and sat on the ground next to Naruto. _Since when does Naruto meditate? _Kakashi asked himself with a small frown. It seemed there was still so much he had yet to learn about the new Naruto.

The grey haired ninja still felt slightly guilty, about the way he used to treat the boy. It was obvious he favored Sasuke, he spent time training him to use the Chidori, what had he done for Naruto. _This is why I failed them both as a teacher, I allowed Sasuke to leave, and never gave Naruto the time he deserved._

The two sat in a comfortable silence for several hours simply listening to the forest around them. It had been 3 years since they had been together, but they had never really had much to talk about.

Their quiet enjoyment of the forest was interrupted by a large could of dust racing towards them at high speeds. When they noticed the green and orange spandex training suits Kakashi sighed and rose to his feet.

"This is my cue." The copy ninja leapt away from the open field and into the forest beyond. Naruto grimaced, his Sensei had left him hanging, and with these two clowns.

"Naruto!" Lee's voice echoed around the forest as the green clad ninja came to a halt about 15 feet away. He was soon met by Guy Sensei who winked at Naruto and gave him his signature thumbs up. Mentally Naruto groaned.

"Let us train together! I wish to get stronger than anyone in the hidden leaf!" Lee said eyes shining.

"That's was most youthful of you Lee!" Guy shouted as he looked at his student with tears in his eyes.

"Guy Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy Sensei!"

"Oh Lee!"

"Springtime of youth!" The two men yelled in synch causing a visible shiver to run down Naruto's spine. These guys were too much.

Naruto sighed, Rock Lee had not changed at all. "Do you want to spar?" He asked the bowl headed ninja. He remembered how much stronger Rock Lee had been than himself three years ago, his Tai-Jutsu was almost unmatched in all of Konoha. Lee's eyes hardened and he slid into his stance, one hand out in front of him and the other behind his back.

"I will not hold back." He said quickly. Guy Sensei slowly backed away, resting against a tree at the edge of the would be the first time Naruto's abilities would be showcased since his return. Just how much had the fox boy developed. Both boys had signaled they were ready and were waiting on Guy to start the match.

"Begin!" Guy yelled slashing his hand down in a mock karate chop.


	3. Chapter Two: Sage Mode

Chapter 2: Sage Mode

I decided to re write many of the action scenes, tell me what you think.

* * *

Both boys sprang at each other sending dirt and dust exploding behind them. The first seconds of the match were a flurry of kicks as Naruto and Lee looked for an opening on their opponent. Naruto jumped over a low sweep and in mid air sent a horizontal kick towards Lee's midsection. Shin protector met forearms and Lee was sent flying backwards across the field, only barely managing to remain on his feet.

Gai sensei eye's opened in surprise as he watched the Blonde send his student skidding across the field. _He must have enhanced his shin protecter with chakra, very smart. A technique like that requires significant charka control. _

"Not too bad," Said Lee, as he once again sprinted towards Naruto. Both boys sprang at each other sending dirt and dust exploding behind them.

**_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" _**Dozens of Naruto's ran towards Lee, all with glowing Rasengan in hand. He managed to keep them at bay, sending well timed kicks dispelling several and using his speed to evade the spinning balls of death. Three of the Naruto's jumped over head, momentarily blocking the sun and confusing Lee whilst two others dove at his legs. Thinking quickly Lee sprang from the ground with a bicycle kick, dispelling the clones above, before tucking in his feet and landing on the clones below with his knees. The impact sent grass and dirt exploding from the earth.

In less than a second Lee was back on his feet, eyes glancing this way and that trying to find his opponent. The field became quiet as the sounds of birds and wildlife had slowly dwindled, and the river seemed exceptionally calm. Seconds ticked by and slowly Lee looked at Guy and then slowly down at his ankle weights. In a nod of approval the weights were dropped breaking the silence of the field and producing huge clouds of dust.

Dozens of clones sprang from the forest, running towards the now concealed Lee.

"Where are you?" Said Lee calmly as he struck down the clones with ease. His now enhanced speed allowed him to dodge their attacks without much effort. The spandex clothed ninja sped towards the forest, eyes scanning the trees and under brush. _Where is he?_

His thoughts were answered by the snapping of tree roots and cracking of wood. Lee barely had time to swivel his head before an entire great oak, torn at the roots, was sent hurdling towards him. With very little time to react, Lee lashed out with a kick at the trunk. The tree exploded into fragments of wood, bark, and countless splinters sending Lee crashing backwards through the underbrush. And then Naruto was on him, fist flying towards his face.

In the split second before rolling to the side, Lee was able to pick up on two very distinct differences in Naruto's appearance. His eyes were now a bright yellow with distinct orange markings shadowing them, and he was now shirtless, his veins rippling with strength.

"Ahhh!" Rock Lee yelled as he was sent flying to the side crashing through a small tree. The world seemed to darken for him as his consciousness began to fade. _No, I can't lose like this. _

**_"Gate of Opening! Open!"_**

Naruto heard the familiar words from somewhere in the underbrush, this is what he had wanted. Perhaps one of the strongest techniques in Konoha, and perhaps even the world, the releasing of the eight inner gates.

**_"Gate of Healing! Open!"_**

Naruto sprinted to his right, now clearly sensing Lee's chakra presence amidst the woods. In seconds the Bowl haired ninja burst from the underbrush attacking with an over head axe kick. _Too slow. _Thought Naruto as he caught his friends leg with one hand. With inhuman strength Naruto threw Lee up and out of the canopy of the trees, back towards the training field. Enhancing his legs with chakra, Naruto leapt from the ground following Lee as he ascended rather ungracefully through the air.

**_"Gate of Life! Open!"_**

Lee's skin began to turn a bright shade of red as the blood in his body began to pump faster and faster. Soon he took back control of his flailing limbs and looked towards Naruto. In a burst of speed he seemed to jump off of thin air, flying towards Naruto at speeds too fast to track with the human eye. Naruto's enhanced sight from Sage mode allowed him to see the boy in normal time, and maybe even slowed down his movements a bit. The two began to trade blows, Naruto landing a hard punch on Lee's shoulder with a loud crack, and Lee landing an elbow in the face breaking Naruto's nose with an audible crack. Kicks were rained down upon Naruto's side as he struggled to block against Lee's erratic attacks.

The two were sent crashing into the ground sending debris into the air and producing a large blast of wind. Naruto sent a punch at Lee's face only for him to roll to the left, letting Naruto's hand smash into the earth.

_**"Gate of Pain! Open!**_" Waves of chakra now spilled from Lee as he opened the fourth gate. The two boys collided against, appearing as mere streaks of yellow and red as they battled. Time seemed to move very slowly for Naruto, every successful parry or hit felt like a large victory, and every mistake left him tasting blood. Lee landed another hit on Naruto's side causing him to curse and nearly fall. In desperation Naruto lashed out with an open hand, catching Lee's leg. _I have you now. _

"Up!" Naruto bellowed as he threw the Tai-Jutsu specialist hundreds of feet into the air, the muscles on his back and arms rippling from the strain.

_**"Fuuton Daitoppa!"(Wind release: Great Breakthrough!) **_Naruto brought a hand to his mouth, sending a huge blast of wind towards Lee. He had no way to defend agaisnt the Jutsu as he was still being propelled upwards by the force of Naruto's throw. The Wind cut at Lee's body, creating several large gnashes on his legs and several smaller ones on his forearms and chest. Lee grimaced as blood began to spill through his jumpsuit, then his face became expressionless, his body straightened out, and then he seemed to have reached the pinnacle of his upward flight.

**_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" _**An army of shadow clones sprang from the ground, each with a Rasengan in both hands. Naruto's expression became somewhat concerned as he began to hear a whistle-like sound from above him, then he saw Lee.

_**"Gate of Limit! Open!" **_The whistling sound was the water molecules in the air evaporating from the heat of Lee's chakra, chakra began to spill from him in waves.

"Here I come!" He yelled at Naruto as he began to plummet down to earth, doing a back flip in the air leading into a downward axe kick. Flames began to gather at the base of Lee's foot and leg as he sped towards the approaching shadow clone army. The air was filled with the sound of dispelling clones and whistling as the force of Lee's attack destroyed the shadow clones before even reaching them. Even so Naruto leapt towards Lee, Rasengan in each hand. They collided in a flash of blinding light, the rasengan impacting with Lee's attack. Then the two sources of energy exploded in a violent flash, sending both ninja spinning backwards through the air and to the ground.

The two Konoha ninja collided with the ground 50 feet apart, skidding backwards on the soft grass. Both ninja staggered to their feet. Naruto wiped the blood from his face with his forearm, grimacing in pain as the burns on his arms began to heal. Sage mode coupled with his natural healing powers from the Nine tails meant he healed at an extremely fast rate, but did very little to mask the pain.

Loud clapping began to break out at the other end of the field and Naruto glanced that way, surprised to see Kakashi had found his way back to the field and was standing next to Guy, as well as Tsunade and all of team 10.

"Let's end this here before you kill one another." Said Tsunade sternly. Both her and Kakashi were absent of a smile, and were not clapping. The chakra surrounding Lee slowly began to die, his skin faded to a normal tone. "You are much stronger," he said to Naruto, about to flash his trademark thumbs up but he suddenly collapsed, bruises appearing all across his body. Naruto rushed to his side, along with Tsunade, Kakashi, and guy.

"Is he ok?" Asked Naruto with a worried expression, he had seen the side effects of opening the gates. Tsunade placed a hand on his chest, and sighed. "He will be ok with some rest."

Guy patted Naruto on the back and reassured him. "Don't worry about Lee, he is always over working himself. He would have been insulted if you hadn't gone all out."

Naruto turned to Guy and in a low voice said, "I didn't go all out." He wasn't one to brag, but he honestly hadn't showcased his true potential in that fight, just a bit of Sage mode. If he had used any more chakra with his hits, he could have broken bones. Not to mention he had refrained from using any enhanced version of Rasengan, those were just too dangerous for a spar.

Soon Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino made their way over to Naruto, Shikamaru rather cautiously.

"N-Naruto?" Asked Ino with a dazed expression. He was almost unrecognizable as he looked now, wearing just a tight pair of training shorts and lacking his Konoha forehead protecter, as well looking different due to immense physical changes he had undergone, and strange orange marks around his eyes. Ino watched in fascination as the bruises covering much of his chest and abdomen began to heal and fade away.

The other members of Team 10 also looked at Naruto with shock. Choji hadn't eaten a single chip since they had began to watch the spar, in fact he felt pretty nervous seeing how powerful both Lee and Naruto were.

Shikamaru on the other hand broke into a smile, glancing at his old friend with a mixture of different emotions. "I should have known it was you. We were supposed to be on our way to a mission nearby but heard several explosions and came to investigate." Said Shikamaru holding out his hand to Naruto. They had always had a different relationship then most, Shikamaru had understood Naruto much more than the rest in his class.

Naruto shook his hand and smiled sheepishly, "Yeah I've always been pretty loud."

* * *

Team 10 and Naruto spent several hours at the training field, talking and catching up. Tsunade, Guy, and Kakashi had long since helped Lee up and brought him to the infirmary, although not before Tsunade whispered in Naruto's ear, "We will be talking about this later."

To Naruto Choji and Shikamaru seemed much the same as before he had left, although Choji was taller and larger than before and now sported a red suit with grey plate on his chest and arms. Shikamarua's hair was longer than before, and he now wore the standard Chunin vest. Ino however seemed to have changed a lot in three years, looking a lot more like a woman and less like a girl. She now wore a purple skirt and half shirt exposing her tone stomach. When the two blondes eyes met she seemed to look away quickly, confusing Naruto.

"This has been nice, unfortunately I have to head home now, I have guests staying at my house." Naruto said with a smile as he turned away from his three classmates.

"Hope we see you later!" Choji yelled happily, after talking with Naruto he realized that he was still very comfortable around the blonde and that he had missed his antics.

Naruto took off in a sprint towards his house, smiling to himself.

* * *

Temari normally woke up early, but for some reason she had slept in. She woke up in confusion, stretching her arms behind her head and trying to clear her mind. _Why am I not on the bed? Maybe I fell... _Slowly she stood up, stretched, and searched for her brother.

"They must both be out," Temari said covering her mouth with a yawn as she headed towards the bathroom. She opened the door sleepily, then froze. The shower was on, and a very naked Blonde Jinchuriki was washing his hair. Blood rushed to Temari's face she stood motionless and watched him, she felt frozen, almost transfixed. She took in everything with her eyes before a feeling of guilt and embarrassment washed over her. She quietly shut the door and leaned against the wall, her breathing heavy. She was relieved he hadn't seen her, if that had happened...

Suddenly the door to the bathroom began to open and Naruto walked out, a small towel wrapped around his waist.

"Good morning, glad to see you are finally up." He said smiling at Temari.

Temari blushed heavily and Naruto began to laugh. "Nothing to get embarrassed about, you seemed pretty tired last night."

Temari nodded slowly, she had been.

"Am I interrupting something?" Came the voice of Gaara from behind the two. Naruto began to chuckle, "Not at all, how about I give you both a tour of the village."

* * *

Naruto took the Sand siblings all around the village, starting with Choji's favorite barbecue restaurant, showing them the training fields, various weapon shops, and even the Uchiha compound. The day slipped by and soon it was just Naruto and Gaara, sitting on pitched roof of Naruto's house, gazing out at the lights of Konoha.

"I wonder if Temari is asleep." Mumbled Naruto looking at his friend.

"She is." Replied Gaara without moving an inch.

Silence descended between the two, not an awkward silence, but one of understanding.

"Naruto, what happened to you over your time with Jiraya? It's clear you've changed, but whats the reason?" He tried to find a way to ask Naruto with out insulting him, if it came out wrong it would sound like he thought Naruto would be a idiot forever.

The reply came without a shed of hesitation.

"I was tired of losing, tired of failing. So I trained, trained hard. Over the course of 3 years I guess I learned a lot, but I learned the most about myself." He trailed off. He wanted to tell Gaara, hell he wanted to tell the whole village. Shout it from the mountain, and let it sink in. But he couldn't, he was entrusted with a secret. It pained him that he couldn't tell his friend who his father was. It would be bad enough telling someone of your own village a S rank secret, but it was unheard to tell someone of another village, let alone the kazekage.

He trusted Gaara, but as much as he wanted to tell him some things were meant to be secret.

"I came to the realization that I was weak, and that I needed to get stronger if I wanted to go anywhere in this world, let alone bringing back Sasuke, or become hokage. But even now I don't know, don't know if I have what it takes..."

Gaara stood suddenly, "You need to have more confidence in yourself, I've heard you've grown quite strong." The blond boy's mood instantly changed and he smiled. Word had already spred of his spar with Lee.

"Being Hokage isn't just about strength." Replied Naruto.

"Thats true, but it is a large part of it, I want to see how strong you are."

"If you want to spar I'm up for it, I'm fully recovered from earlier today."

Naruto rose to his feet swiftly.

"Gaara if we are gonna do this we need to have to move away from the village, far away." He said the last words with a glint in his eye. He knew just how destructive their last battle had been, and at that time they were both only 13. Gaara nodded in agreement and the two started off towards the woods. Naruto led his fellow jinchuriki away from the village and into the undeveloped forest, several miles outside the city. They didn't want to take any chances.

Two shadows slowly trailed behind them, one was quite large, about 6'6 in height. He had spiky blue hair, and cold white eyes. His face appeared almost fishlike with gills protruding from his cheekbones. On his back was an absolutely massive sword, which was bound with white cloth. He grinned revealing sharp white teeth.

His companion was significantly shorter than him, around average height. He had raven colored hair and frighteningly dark eyes. When the pair began to get closer to there targets he suddenly closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. The Sharingan spun as it adjusted to the light, his counterpart smirked. Their robes billowed in the wind as they gained on the jinchurikis. Red clouds seeming to float in the dark night air.

Gaara and Naruto stopped moving, landing on a branch simultaneously. Gaara frowned at Naruto.

"I sense them too, I'm going to enter Sage mode," Naruto said as turned around and tried to adjust to the darkness of the forest. Barely any light filtered through the dense foliage that surrounded them, making it especially hard to sense anyone heading in their direction.

"I'll find them," Gaara said in a monotone as he sent his sand surging forward. _Sage mode?_

Naruto nodded then quickly sat on the thick tree limb and got into a meditation position. Gaara looked his way with uncertainty. _What is he doing, doesn't he know our pursuers are going to be here any minute? _The blond boy remained completely motionless, which surprised him to no end.

Gaara's thoughts were shattered as his sand picked up on an unknown figure about 400 feet away. _Who are you? _He grimaced then created the appropriate signs.

**"****_Daisan no Me: Third eye!"_**

A large eye ball began to form from his sand in the distance, Gaara closed his right eye and concentrated. He saw a dark figure evading his scouting sand, jumping this way and that, but somehow managing to get closer to them in the process. He tried to lash out with his sand but the figure easily dodged and scaled a tree. _Someone with this much skill? Where did they come from. _That's when he noticed the robes. His eyes widened in surprise, this soon?

_They have come, the Akatsuki. _Gaara terminated the Jutsu, it was pointless, he would see them soon enough. The kazekage continued to strike at the man with his sand, but it seemed he was too fast, or was it too agile. He was in a totally different league than Gaara had ever seen. _I guess they really are dangerous... I need to keep on my toes._

The red haired teen glanced back at Naruto, _I hope he knows what he's doing. For both of our sakes. _Suddenly the trees erupted with black fire, spreading through the forest at an alarming rate. Gaara' s eyes narrowed,_ the Amaterasu. _Quickly Gaara built a multi layer sphere of sand around himself and his motionless friend. Someone started laughing from outside the cocoon of sand. Bam! An unknown force slammed into the outside of the shield, causing several grains of sand to break loose and fall to the ground.

A small trickle of sand fell from the top of the sphere, then it began to grow. Soon it was falling at an abnormally fast rate. Without warning a huge spiky grey sword cut through the ceiling, passing through the sand like it was nothing at all. Gaara grimaced and fell to his knees, his chakra, it was draining. _It must be that sword. It must be the one doing this. I can't let Naruto get hurt, I need to drive him away._

In a desperate attempt to force the attacker away Gaara sent his entire sphere stabbing outwards in long sharp needles. The sand penetrated the assailment with a sharp crack, suddenly the forest was still. _That can't be it... _A log, he had speared a log. _A substitution? _The forest was eerily silent, only the wind could be heard as a whistle. Where did he go? Gaara raised his right arm and commanded more sand to scout the area, in an attempt to find the attacker.

"You thought you had taken me out? Haha don't make me laugh!" A strange voice said from behind him. Gaara whirled around but it was too late. A grey blade came sailing towards his neck. Time seemed to slow down. The jinchuriki saw the glint in the shark-man's eyes. The slight smirk on his lips, _he must think I'm pathetic._

Gaara mentally smirked, _he underestimates the kazekage_. Gaara's sand shield appeared not a millisecond to soon as Samehada hit it with a loud crack. Kisame smiled as his sword slowly bit its way into the shield, inching closer and closer to the pale man's flesh. His sword growled eagerly, it had waited quite a while for someone with tasty blood, and this boy smelled quite powerful. Gaara sank back into the depths of his mind.

_"Shukaku? I need your help." One black eye with a yellow pupil slowly opened._

_"Of course."_

Gaara smiled savagely as he felt Shukaku's chakra begin to fill him, the sand from his urn started to spread across his body, his arms taking on the shape of huge claws. His legs were also covered, and slowly a sandy tail sprouted from his back. It was just like when he had fought Naruto, only this time he could control it.

"Hahahahaha," Gaara began to giggle wildly as the sand crawled across his face, he was completely covered. He was now well over seven feet tall, with huge claws made of sand for both his legs and his arms. His tail seemed to flick back and forth, like it had a mind of it's own. What was most unsettling was his eyes, completely black except for the strange square like yellow pupil. The only feature that could distinguish him from his previous form was his tuft of red hair, and the blue markings above his left eye.

_This is my trump card, this is the first time I've attempted this in a real battle... I still can't use his power to the full extent, right now I'm only harnessing about an eighth of what I should be. It will come in time. _Kisame pulled his sword from the sand shield and slowly backed away. Gaara had just gained an incredible amount of Chakra, in a blink of an eye. Was this the power of a jinchuriki? He looked just like a miniature version of the one tails, but how powerful was he truly.

If Gaara's sense of smell and sight hadn't been altered by his transformation then he would of never been able to see the fist crash into the shark-mans jaw. Kisame yelped in surprise and pain but was soon silenced as another Naruto appeared behind him in a flash and landed a kick in the spine making the grey man scream. He was launched into the air, blood spurting from his open mouth.

Instantly 3 more Naruto's sprang from hidden positions in the forest, black kimonos billowing behind them. They leapt from the trees, kicking him up even higher into the air before dispersing into puffs of smoke. For a moment he seemed to almost be floating as his body continued its brisk upward decent. Then a single Naruto sprang from the trees rising high above Kisame before bringing his right arm back high above his head.

**"Sage Art: Great Ball Rasengan!"**

Naruto brought his arm back smashing the ball of energy into Kisame's stomach. The grey skinned man howled before hitting the ground with a bone crunching snap. Naruto landed 10 feet away from Kisame. _I can't take any chances._ Suddenly Gaara appeared next to him, the two glanced at each other in surprise. The blonde boy tried to hold back a shudder, his form reminded him of the day they had battled, only he was even bigger. Gaara stared at Naruto in a similar manor, only focusing more on the orange tint of his eyes than anything else.

Then two were brought back to reality when Kisame rose from the ground, bent over and coughing up blood. The shark man slowly extended himself to his full height and grinned.

_"_**_Water Style: Great Exploding Water Shockwave!"_**

Kisame yelled as massive amounts of water poured from his mouth. Naruto and Gaara leapt up into the branches to avoid the huge tidal wave that barreled through the forest, knocking down trees and destroying the landscape. Naruto's tree shuddered making him grip the bark with more intensity, he could feel the roots of the tree begin to give way under the stress of the water. The area was becoming a swamp, and fast.

Gaara lunged at the Shark man, ripping at him with is massive claws. He scored a light gnash on his hip as Kisame jumped backwards slicing horizontally. He grinned as he caught Gaara's arm and managed to shear it off. It fell to the ground with a loud thud, but then Gaara was the one grinning as it grew back in a matter of seconds. _There is so much he doesn't know about this form._

Naruto quickly jumped to another tree as his began to waver and fall. He was swiftly intercepted by a raven haired man. _Itachi! _Naruto stopped abruptly and stood glaring at the man who had killed his own clan. The man who had left the leaf so many years ago, Sasuke's brother.

"Naruto-kun, so good to see you." Itachi said pleasantly as he smiled at the blond teen.

"Cut the shit Itachi!" Growled Naruto as he created a Rasengan in each hand. "Why are you here?" He lunged at the man only for him to turn into a dozen ravens that cawed at him and scattered. He barred his teeth in frustration. _I don't have time for this! Gaara could be in trouble._

"Now thats not very nice," said Itachi as he reappeared behind Naruto. "I don't mean you any harm, I just need to ask you something. Can I trust that you will bring Sasuke back?"

Naruto was dumbfounded. Itachi asking about Sasuke? _There's something I don't know. _Naruto glanced over at Gaara and Kisame, the two were trading jutsu, and Kisame had the upper hand. _Sand can't hold out against water for too long..._

"Yes Itachi, I made a promise. And I keep my promises." Naruto replied looking the Uchiha in the eyes. For an instant Naruto saw a flash of emotion on the man's normally stoic face. _What was that? _Itachi sighed.

"I leave it up to you, take care of my brother. Naruto-kun." Itachi glanced at his partner's battle with Gaara before bounding away into the forest. "Good bye, Kisame." Itachi said quietly as he disappeared into the dark forest. _  
_

Naruto looked back at Gaara and yelled, "Keep up the pressure with your sand!" The red haired jinchuriki answered by sending another wall of sand crashing towards Kisame.

**_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"_**

Several hundred Naruto's appeared, already zeroing in on their target. They all leapt at once, surrounding the shark man. He grinned lashing out wildly, every time he dispelled a clone he would gain their chakra, which in turn gave him even more strength. But it was not a winning battle, Gaara had managed to puncture him several times through the stomach, and hip, and one of the Naruto's had managed to land a rasengan on his left shoulder.

_I need to end this, now. _Naruto thought as he watched from atop a tree as his clones brawled with the Shark-Like man.

**_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" _**Yelled Naruto as he leaned against the tree to his right for support. His vision started to blur. Maybe he had over done it today, he had used a lot of energy against Lee. _Breath, Naruto breath. You have used more chakra than this before._ Slowly Naruto began to return from the cusp of unconsciousness. He watched the battle, waiting for Kisame to slip up. _Now!_ Naruto and his clones leapt form the cover of the trees towards Kisame. He craned his neck their way but it was too little too late.

**_"Sage Art: Massive Rasengan Barrage!"_**

The Naruto's yelled as they summoned the massive swirling balls of energy to both of their hands. They crashed into the shark-man simultaneously sending a shockwave blasting through the forest. The area was bathed in a white light as the multiple giant Rasengan hit their mark. Gaara hastily ran backwards a good 100 feet before clasping his claws over her ears. The explosion rocked the trees, and the sound was truly deafening, the giant oaks and other foliage were shredded instantly as the energy continued to grind away at the man. Kisame's body writhed in pain, as his healing capabilities from Samehada fought against Naruto's attack. It was hopeless, he was going to die. In a desperate final attempt Kisame threw his sword Samehada forwards, reinforcing it with the remaining chakra he had left. The grey blade disappeared into the light of the explosion. Without his sword he was nothing but a man. His scream was completely drowned out, his body tearing apart into nothingness.

Gaara forced his eyes open as the last of the attack sent harsh winds through the forest. He gasped, _Naruto... What did you just do?_ What was once a peaceful section of Konoha's great forest was now, a wasteland. Dust and debris littered the air, blocking out the sun from view entirely. Huge trees littered the grown, thick trunks smashed and broken. The ground itself had been torn up and was soaked, there was now a 60 foot crater. _So much destruction... _Gaara thought as he sprinted towards the pit. As he got closer he saw a figure slowly rise to his feet.

"Naruto?" He asked hesitantly. The figure stumbled then fell. A sword protruding from his chest, his head hitting the dirt. His eyes finally shutting and succumbing to the darkness.


	4. Chapter Three: Recovery

_Where am I? _Naruto slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the light streaming in from the large windows that covered the walls. He smiled as he shut his eyes again and felt content under the warm white blanket that covered his body up to his neck. He really didn't want to move, and yet he hated hospitals. For all of the good they did they were still places of death, and it scared him. _What happened? All I remember is hitting Kisame with the Rasengan, and then. _He slowly pulled back the blankets, he gasped. His legs began to shake, and his fingers trembled.

What had happened?. His chest was bound tightly in a multitude of layers of cloth. He tried to raise a hand to undo the bindings but grimaced and lowered it back down slowly.

"Ahhh," he gasped fighting back tears. Pain erupted from his chest, and slowly the white cloth began to turn red. His vision became blurry and he heard loud voices coming from the hall. Tsunade sprinted into the room, followed by two nurses wearing white smocks and masks. Naruto's eyes became heavy, his arms weighed a thousand pounds. Slowly blackness took him. When Naruto woke again it was about 7pm and had been four days since the attack, he was finally starting to recover. When he had tried to move earlier the day before he had effectively reopened almost everything Tsunade had stitched shut. Medical Jutsu would normally be very effective for a wound like this. And yet for some reason the most they could do with it was stem the bleeding. Something about that sword had made his normally incredibly fast healing powers, well lessened.

Naruto slowly sat up in his hospital bed and frowned. Was Gaara ok? The last time he had seen him had been before he had launched his final attack on Kisame.

"Naruto." Temari said smiling at the bed ridden blonde.

"Temari?" He asked in a somewhat strained voice. She was sitting on a hospital bed adjacent to his, her long legs hanging off the bed and her hands clasped together in her lap.

"What happened to me?" He asked motioning towards his chest.

"Kisame managed to impale you with Samehada." She replied. "Gaara asked me to watch over you while you are in the hospital." This sent relief flooding through Naruto, _Gaara is safe._

_"_So how long have you been taking care of me?" He asked her.

"Well I haven't really been taking care of you, Sakura has been doing that. But I've been here with you since the night of the attack. Gaara picked you up and rushed you back here as quickly as he could." She replied frowning slightly as she remembered how crazed Gaara had seemed. He had sprinted through the village still in the form of Shukaku, thankfully it was late and most villagers were asleep but still.

Naruto was surprised that Sakura had been taking care of him, but at the time his tired brain didn't really register it much. The two blondes sat there in a comfortable silence, twice Naruto had tried to activate Sage mode but whether it had been the medicine or just a cloudy mind he couldn't gather nature chakra. _If only I could enter Sage mode, then my body would heal even quicker. _He glanced over at Temari and noticed her eyes seemed to be very heavy.

"Temari you can go back to my house now. I really appreciate what you have done for me but it looks like you could use some sleep," Naruto said.

"Naruto, I've been staying here at night." She patted the hospital bed she was sitting on and decided to lie down, stretching her legs. "Don't even ask me to go back to your place, Gaara specifically told me to watch over you, the Akatsuki could plan another attack..." she trailed off suddenly.

Before Naruto could acknowledge what she said two nurses came into the room with a young woman on a stretcher.

"Temari-san we are going to need that bed for this patient," one said with an apologetic smile in the sand mistress's direction.

"No problem," she responded getting up and sitting in the wooden chair next to Naruto's bed. The nurses proceeded to move unconscious woman onto the bed and set her up on an IV. When the nurses exited the room, it became quiet. The lights went out at 10pm as they always did in the recovery wing, and two were plunged into darkness.

"Temari," Naruto whispered to the konoichi next to him.

"Yes?" She replied just as quiet, they didn't want to wake the other patient.

"You kind of don't have a bed now, I want you to know it's perfectly fine to sleep at my house. Even though I'm wounded I'm strong enough to repel an attacker, and the Hokage Tower isn't that far away."

"I don't think I'm going back to your apartment Naruto, I'm staying right here."

"In that case I can scoot over a bit, I mean the bed isn't that small." He didn't want to sound awkward about it but their weren't many other ways to say it.

_There is no way I can get any sleep sitting in this shitty chair. _She made up her mind and quietly clambered onto the hospital mattress beside Naruto, happy for the softness of the sheets and mattress. The heat from his body spread to her in seconds, making her feel comfortable and relaxing her muscles. She rolled over so she was facing the fox boy. He wasn't asleep either, and even in the dark she could still make out his handsome blue eyes. Their faces were only inches apart, their eyes staring into each other. His hot breath on her neck sent small shivers down her neck and lower back.

"Temari?" He asked quietly as he looked into the Suna girl's eyes.

"Yes?" She asked quizzically.

"Regardless of your brother's request, I'm really thankful you've stayed with me." It was genuine, she could tell just by looking into his eyes.

"It's really not a bb-" Her words were cut off as he pressed a finger to her lips.

"It is." He smiled at her then shut his eyes. "Try to get some sleep, goodnight Temari."

Seemingly in seconds he had fallen asleep, and Temari was left alone and very awake. She began to feel very self conscious, blushing and hoping her heart beat wasn't too loud. She knew in reality their current situation wasn't a big deal, but truth be told she had never slept in the same bed as a guy before (too her knowledge). It was strange for her to be in such close proximity to another person, and she found herself trying to remember another instance she had experienced something like it. She was of course very close with several friends back in Suna, but never had she fallen asleep with another person like this, much less a boy. And then he slowly shifted towards her, his right arm and leg draping over her and seeming to pull her towards him. She tried to scoot backwards but found she had reached the edge of the hospital bed. _I guess he's an active sleeper. _She thought as he continued to pull her closer. Her body was on fire, she could feel his breath against her collar bone. Her heart felt like a drum and she frantically tried to calm herself.

His arms were now fully wrapped around her, encircling her, making her feel _safe? _She barely knew Naruto, didn't really know enough about him to like him, yet this contact was something she had craved, even though she didn't know it. And so she decided to try and fall asleep, and promised herself she would not speak a word about their situation to Naruto. Temari slowly closed her own eyes, she was content, utterly content. Sleep took her easily, carrying her off into a land of dreams.

* * *

Temari woke before Naruto, letting out a small yawn before opening her eyes. She almost yelped in surprise as she was only an inch away from Naruto. _Oh yeah I slept with him didn't I. Not like that I meant... _A blush began to form on the blond girl's face. His arms were wrapped around her, one on her back and the other precariously close to her butt.

Slowly Temari escaped from his strong arms and into the chair. She didn't want someone to walk in and see them like that, she didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Suddenly the hospital door opened and Sakura strode in carrying a trey filled with medical supplies.

"Good morning Temari-San," She said with a smile as she placed the trey on a nearby table on the bed stand and moved towards Naruto. "How did he seem to be doing last night?" She asked casually as she began to unrap the bandages coverign his chest.

A small blush crept to Temari's cheeks. "He seemed to be doing better." Sakrua nodded and lightly touched Naruto's face, trying to get him awake.

"Naruto wake up," Sakura said softly, but the fox boy seemed to be in a deep slumber. "Ramen," Cooed Sakura quietly. The blond boy bolted upright, before wincing from the slight pain in his chest. He growled at Sakura, "Not cool." The two girls beside him laughed at his outburst, some things wouldn't change.

Once he rubbed his eyes and really woke up he grinned at Sakura, ""Good morning, Sakura, Temari."

"Good morning." They replied in unison, looking at eachother for a moment then laughing.

When Sakura had finally cut away the last of his bandages she almost gasped and nearly dropped the scissors she held in her hand. Just the day before the wound had been inflamed and the stitches black and ugly, yet now Naruto's skin was healed and clean, the stitches no longer in his skin but on top of it, as if they were pushed up and out during the healing process. She placed a hand on his muscled chest, using Medical Chakra to see his internal damage.

"Your skin and muscle on the surface seems to have repaired itself nicely, but you still have a lot of internal damage." Sakura said, still very impressed with his rate of healing. It really was miraculous he wouldn't have any form of scar tissue, and yet something was strange about the way his chest had healed, the internal damage was still very serious.

"So can I get out of here or what?" Naruto asked while scratching his head. He really didn't like being cooped up in, even less so in the hospital. Sakura once again placed a glowing green hand on his chest, both arms, and lower abdomen. Finally she re-bandaged his chest with new gauze and bindings. After it was complete she sighed and nodded slowly.

"Just take it easy alright, your wound can still open up again if you do anything serious for at least the next week. Take a vacation or something, this particular wound will take a lot longer than usual for you to recover from." She reached out and grasped his arms, pulling him slowly to his feet. She didn't want to open up his injury. Temari took it from there and helped to hold him up as they made their way through the hospital and out the front door. The fresh air made Naruto sigh with relief. He hated the way hospitals smelled.

Within seconds of Naruto's release from the hospital an entire squad on Anbu landed infront of him without a sound. "Temari-san stay here, Naruto needs to come with us," they said grabbing his arm and leading him towards the Hokage tower hastily. Once inside the escorts opened the door to Tsunade's office with out knocking and led Naruto in, quickly shutting the door. Naruto became even more confused when 2 of the Anbu set up seals on the door and windows, which he quickly recognized as seals designed to drown out sound. He gulped as the chair behind the desk spun around and a ticked off looking Blond smiled evilly at him.

"I haven't been able to scald you, since you've been incapacitated in the hospital for some time now."

The blonde boy instinctively held his hands in front of his face, preparing for the hardest punch he would most likely receive in his life. When no blow came for several seconds Naruto opened his eyes hesitantly. Tsunade walked over to him slowly, then wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug.

"Don't scare us like that again. You baka. Do you know how close you were to dying? If it hadn't been for the Kyuubi you would have died from the loss of blood alone, not to mention the severe damage to your organs." She said in a rough voice, still clutching onto the boy like her life depended on it. The boy flinched at the mention of the fox, but she clearly wanted to get her point across.

"Now sit down and I want you to tell me everything that happened in that battle, I mean everything." She ended the embrace and sat back down in her chair, watching intently as the boy did the same.

"Didn't you already hear from Gaara?" He asked her, still confused why she wanted his side of the story. The sand and leaf were in an alliance, and besides, it wouldn't benefit Gaara to withhold information.

"That's precisely why I want to hear your side of the story. Gaara told us while he was engaged with Kisame you were intercepted by Itachi." She let the words hang in the air, clearly wanting a response. _Itachi, Itachi Uchiha. That traitorous bastard. _Naruto found himself retelling the conversation he had with the Uchiha. Tsunade was surprised at the detail Naruto retold the story in. _His perceptive skills have definitely increased. I think he may actually be ready. _After he was done the blond women sighed. There were so many unanswered questions, they would just have to wait. Why would Itachi leave Kisame to die? Why would he ask about his brother? And what about him suddenly taking off? Where was he going? _I think it's time though. _A quick knock on the door broke her from her thought. He had come just in time.

"Jiraya come in!" Tsunade said. The door opened and a tall man with spiky white entered and sat in the adjacent seat next to Naruto.

"Long time no see Naruto, how's my favorite student holding up?" The tall man asked with a smirk.

"More like your only student," muttered Naruto as he smirked back at the old man.

Tsunade cleared her throat and both men's attention instantly snapped back to her, they did not want to get hit.

"Naruto as you know I have not been able to formally assess your skills since you've returned to the village." The blond boy nodded, clearly confused.

"From both your recount of the battle with the Akatsuki and Gaara's as well as my oberservations of your spar with Rock Lee, it's clear your level of skill has increased exponentially since you left 3 years ago." He nodded again.

"From what Jiraya has told me your skills are almost if not at par with his own. Meaning your actually considered an S rank ninja in your own right." Naruto's eyes opened wide. _I'm considered an S rank ninja? I know I've grown a lot since I've left but S rank?_

"I've decided as hokage to overlook a certain rule regarding test taking, and well, promote you straight to Jonin. Congratulations." Naruto's heart stopped for a moment. The seconds ticked by, he remained motionless. _Joonnniiinn. I can't be a Jonin, this must be a joke._

"This better not be some kind of sick joke." He said with a frown, his heart beating incredibly fast. Tsunade waved him off with her hand, and then handed him a mission folder.

Naruto gasped as he looked at the front of the packet. A big letter **A** printed in bold black ink. _An A rank mission?! An A rank mission. It's not a joke afterall, this is real shit._

"Thank you so much Baa-Chan!" He shouted as he flashed her a big smile. "I won't let you down!"

"Good then try to recover as quickly as possible, you leave in a seven days."

Naruto smiled and started to leave stopping at the door before turning back. "I'll make you proud."

The former team mates looked at each other smiling.

"Seems like they grow up fast, I still remembering him being a little annoying brat." Tsunade said, glancing at Jiraya. The toad sage nodded his head. _That boy sure has grown up._

"Tsunade over our journeys I may have let some information slip to him."

"What information?" She asked, a bit of anger creeping into her voice.

"About his father, it was time for him to know."

Tsunade's anger drained, and slowly she nodded her head. She knew that it was a secret Naruto would keep well, and it was something he had to know. _Maybe I should make it official and reinstate him as the leader of the Namikaze clan... But what would the village officials think, what would the villagers think?_

"I know what you are thinking and it's too soon. They aren't ready to know yet." Jiraya said, seeming to know her thoughts. Tsunade smiled at the man, her teammate, and her friend. Out of everyone, he knew her best.

"Well I'm heading out, I've got some **research** to do." He giggled slightly causing the blonde woman to growl. _But he would never change._

"When he gets back from his mission I want you to give him his parents things, his legacy." She said as the tall man exited. He waved at her in farewell, silently acknowledging her command.

The hokage grimaced as she pulled the large stack of paperwork from the ground, heaving it onto the desk. The wood groaned under the sheer weight of the paper. Tsunade sighed, _are you sure you want to become hokage Naruto?_

* * *

Naruto sneezed as he gingerly began the descent up to his apartment, very conscious of the light pain coming from his chest. As he reached his door it swung open and Temari stood there, an expression of intrigue on her face.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

Naruto decided to spare her the details and give her a much abridged version. "I just got promoted to Jonin." He said happily, although a flare of pain sent a grimace across his face.

"That's great," Then she smirked. "Finally catching up to me."

"Yeah it's actually a great feeling. I know I just got back from the hospital but I would like to invite some people over, I haven't really had the time to be social since my return."

The fox boy slowly sat down on his couch, relief flooding to his chest.

"If you think you are up for it." Temari replied. "Gaara should be back by tonight."

* * *

Several hours later around 9pm the final guest arrived at Naruto's place. When Naruto heard a knock on the door he quickly opened it to a yawning Shikamaru. "Glad to see you are doing better," He said giving the blond a lazy smile.

"Come on in Shikamaru," Naruto said with a smile of his own.

They entered Naruto's place to find the party still very alive, much to Shikamaru's surprise. How everyone was able to enjoy themselves in such a small apartment, he did not know. Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata were talking amongst themselves sitting on the couch in living room. Naruto dug up several chairs and had placed them in the living room opposite the couch, they were occupied by Lee and Neji who seemed to be in a vivid argument about Taijustu. In the kitchen stood Temari, and surprisingly Choji, who seemed to be talking about types of food. _Not surprised Choji. _Thought Shikamaru with a small smirk as he made his way past Naruto and into the kitchen.

The lazy Ninja opted to sit sat the kitchen table, and simply close his eyes and smile. Naruto glanced at Shikamaru and laughed, _what a lazy guy_. It had been really good catchig up with everyone, Tenten and Neji were much the same as before he had left, although Neji seemed to be much more respectful and freindly. Kiba and Shino were on a mission but Hinata was able to show up, which was nice. Naruto sighed and made his way to his bedroom. His bandaged seemed to be chaffing on his shirt, he needed to change into something more comfortable. He slipped off his shirt and pants and was in the process of putting on his training shorts.

"Narutoo, Naruto-kun..." Turning his head he saw Hinata simply staring at him, her face growing more red. The girl started to play with her thumbs, but didn't look away. She was obviously embarrassed.

Looking down at himself Naruto realized he was basically naked except for a pair of briefs, which weren't very modest. The boy quickly apologized to Hinata before rising to shut the door. _Why didn't I shut it in the first place? I guess I'm not used to having people over. _Just as Naruto's hand gripped the door knob another konoichi strode into view.

"Hinata what's wrong?" The pink haired girl asked, it wasn't often Hinata made any noise at all. Sakura followed the pale's girls eyes until she too just stopped and stared. He was simply, incredible.

"This is too much!" Shouted Naruto frantically as he slammed the door hard, resulting in a loud crack. Both girls outside realized what they had been doing and began to blush furiously, Hinata especially. Naruto was no different.

"This big." He heard Sakura say she as she held her finger tips around a foot apart. The group of girls gasped, and started talking in hushed voices. Naruto almost pissed himself as he quietly sprinted into the kitchen. _I don't even want to know what they are talking about... And we haven't even opened the sake yet..._

"Sake!" The fox boy called and everyone except for Lee entered the room. The bowl haired boy sat frowning in his chair. He would never drink again, unless his life depended on it. _The drunken fist is not to be used lightly. _Gai's voice rang in Lee's ears giving him renewed faith. 4 hours later the party began to die down. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten thanked Naruto for the great night before heading out the door. They had been the last ones to stay, and had definitely been the loudest. Sakura and Ino especially could not hold their liquor, and had been loud and obnoxious for most of the night, asking him various questions about his travels and even about his body. The last question had sent the blonde into a coughing fit, which had only made the girls giggle more. By the end of the night Naruto was happy they had left when they did, he didn't know how much more he could take.

Now it was only him, Temari, and Gaara who had showed up later than expected, sitting on his roof simply admiring the stars. Naruto could see why Shikamaru liked looking at the sky so much. It was peaceful, beautiful, and almost surreal. _To think how insignificant we are in comparison to the sky._ Gaara and Naruto hadn't really talked about the attack, but they really didn't need to. They both understood what had happened, and what would continue to happen from this point forward. The Akatsuki were on the move, and Gaara and Naruto were their targets.

"This was a good night," Naruto said as he stood, casually climbing down into his apartment. He was tired, his muscles ached and burned. Stripping himself of his shorts Naruto sunk into his bed.

Gaara and Temari sat on the roof together, continuing to observe the night. It was much different here in Konoha, much quieter. There were no sand storms, the wind was not nearly as harsh, yet Temari missed those things immensely.

"Gaara what are we going to do, the Akatsuki are probably already on their way to Suna as we speak. If we don't leave soo-,"

"I know." Gaara looked at his sister with pale blue eyes. "As much as we can help it, Naruto and I must stay close together. If we get singled out it makes it that much easier for the Akatsuki to capture us."

_Well it also makes it easier to find you both. _Thought Temari as she closed her eyes and hugged her knees to her chest.

"I know what you are thinking, but Naruto is more powerful than you think, probably even more powerful than me. The two of us should be strong enough to take on any Akatsuki member. That's why he needs to return to Suna with us."

The pair sat their for nearly an hour longer in silence, until Gaara said he had several things to attend to and disappeared in a whirl of sand. The night air ate bit at Temari's face and legs until she was forced from the roof and into Naruto's house. Trying to be quiet she snuck into Naruto's room, looking for the non-existent Bed roll that had been spread across his floor just several nights ago. She made an executive decision, silently lying beside the fox boy trying not to disturb his slumber.

* * *

Several hours later her eyes opened when she heard Naruto begin to speak, his words slurred and disorientated. Sweat began to gather on his brow and his arms moved restlessly.

"Naruto," Temari clasped one of his hands in her own trying to calm him down. At first his grip on her hand was tight, almost painfully so, but soon it loosened, and his body stopped moving. Eventually his nightmare came to a close, and his eyes opened slowly, an orange tint surrounding them. Finally he had been able to do it, his body started to burn as his muscles began to mend. He had been able to push past whatever barrier was keeping him from gathering nature chakra, his healing wouldn't take very long.

"Thank you."


	5. Chapter Four: Bomber

Chapter Four: Temari

* * *

Naruto's eyes opened as the first rays of sunlight entered his room, flooding his wall in a warm glow. Slowly the events of the night crept back into his mind and a smile spread across his face. He felt strong, and the dull ache in his chest that had haunted him at night had disappeared, he now felt no pain. Someone shifted beside him, he felt hot breath on his chest sending a shiver down his spine. Temari's body was draped over his own, one of her legs over his, both her arms wrapped around his torso, and her head on his chest.

Unlike several days ago when the two had been in a similar situation, Naruto didn't think Temari would be mad if she suddenly woke up. _I mean she is the one holding on to me like her life depends on it. _For some strange reason he didn't feel the least bit embarrassed or concerned about their situation, rather comfortable. Throughout his travels Naruto had noticed the different looks girls gave him, the attention he attracted, yet this was different. He really didn't have any experience with women, and although socially he was much more confident around them, physical contact was an entirely new area to him. For nearly an hour he lied there, silently taking in the girl lying next to him.

The creaking of his door drew his eyes up quickly. _Oh shit, if it's Gaara I'm screwed. _Naruto's eyes were wide with fear as the door slowly opened, but relaxed slightly as Jiraya came into view, a large smirk already planted on his face.

"How's it going gaki?" Jiraya whispered giving Naruto a thumbs up. Naruto almost bit his tongue in frustration.

"This isn't what it looks like alright." Naruto replied dumbly, it was too early to play games with Jiraya. _That old man misinterpreted this whole thing, if he tell's a soul he's as good as dead. _The waves of killing intent pouring off of Naruto caused Jiraya to shudder slightly, but still the smirk remained.

"I let myself in through one of your windows before you ask how I got in. Gaara and Tsunade are at the Hokage Tower at the moment, I just came to by to remind you to take it easy today. That's a direct order from your Hokage." Before turning around Jiraya sniggered. "Looks like you have some of your sensei in you afterall."

At this Naruto began to blush. _Don't compare me to yourself you pervert. _The Toad Sage left quietly shutting the door behind him, Naruto sighed. Temari shifted slightly making Naruto painfully aware of her breasts pressing against him. He felt his heart begin to beat more quickly. Slowly he untangled himself from the semi-nude girl, careful not to make a lot of noise. When he opened his fridge he was surprised to see more than just instant ramen, but actually a multitude of fruits and vegetables, as well as assorted meats and fish. _Temari must have gone shopping for me. _He thought trying to imagine Gaara going to a fruit market. The thought put a smile on his face and he grabbed an apple and headed towards his roof.

The cold morning air bit at Naruto's body as he stood atop his roof apple in hand, looking across the village at the rising sun. At some point he realized he was only in a pair of boxers but it didn't send him back inside, he liked the feeling of of the wind against his bare skin. His relatively quiet morning was interrupted from a nervous voice from below.

"Naruto?" Asked Sakura hesitantly, her eyes wide and a blush staining her cheeks. She was wearing her normal pink dress and was carrying several large flower pots filled with soil.

"Morning Sakura," He replied with a yawn. Pointing towards the heavy clay pots Sakura was carrying he asked, "Want some help with those?"

* * *

After Naruto put on his black kimono, wrapped his forearms and calves in white cloth, and put on his shin and forearm protectors as well as his Konoha forehead protector, the two set off towards Sakura's flower shop, each with a flower pot in their hands. Naruto had decided that Sakura must have used some kind of medical jutsu to overcome her hangover because of the amount of alcohol she had consumed the previous night. As he walked with her a smile began to form on his face, it truly was nice to see Sakura again after so long. He wasn't quite so hung up on her has he was before leaving, but he still recognized why he found her attractive in the first place.

Their interactions now seemed far different than what Naruto remembered from years ago. She seemed genuinely interested in talking with him, and even stole several glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking. As they walked through the village he attracted a lot more attention than he had hoped, as villagers and shinobi alike stopped and starred at the tall blonde. _They probably don't recognize me. _Naruto thought as he walked on. _Maybe I should paint the Hokage's faces again. _

Finally the two reached their destination, Naruto setting down his pot next to Sakura's.

"Say Naruto, how are you feeling?" The pink haired kunoichi asked pointing towards his chest.

"I was able to enter Sage mode so the healing was expedited," he replied grinning. Her look of confusion took him off guard.

"Sage mode?" Rather than explaining it, Naruto held a hand out to her as a sign to wait. His eyes closed and he remained still. Within 50 seconds he felt the familiar nature energy pulsating through his body, filling him with energy.

Naruto opened his eyes causing Sakura to gasp.

"What does that do?" She asked, reaching out softly with her fingers feeling above Naruto's eyes and his temple. The contact took him by surprise but it was short lived as she quickly took her hand away, redness creeping into her cheeks.

"Sorry about that, I wanted to see if I could feel the difference in your chakra network." She said rather embarrassed.

"Could you?"

"The chakra felt different, but I was more surprised by the amount of chakra you seem to have..." She trailed off. _Just how powerful is he. _

Their conversation was ended abruptly as Naruto remembered guiltily his role as a host, he had kind of been neglecting his guests. _Maybe I should make her breakfast or something. _

"Sorry Sakura. I actually have something I need to be doing right now. I bet I'll see you some time soon." The blonde said with a smile as he waved back at Sakura before leaving the flower shop and jogging back towards his apartment. Sakura sighed, "I had more things for him to carry."

* * *

Temari woke, stretching her ams and yawning. It seemed like her sleep pattern had been completely thrown off since she had arrived at Konoha, staying up late and waking up late. _Maybe it's because I've been getting good sleep_. She thought back to the nights spent watching over Naruto in the hospital and sighed, _well I didn't get very good sleep during those, well except the last one. _Getting up from the blankets she made her way to the bathroom, making sure to knock before opening the door. The hot water of the shower felt like heaven, and she let out a small groan of bliss when she undid her hair knots and soaked her hair in water.

After stepping out of the shower and drying herself, Temari decided to tie her hair back in a pony tail, her bangs hanging out framing both sides of her face. She could hear soft humming sounds and movement coming from the kitchen. Slowly she opened the door and look around the corner, what she saw nearly caused her to burst out laughing. Naruto was in the kitchen, white apron over his kimono and knife in hand, preparing breakfast.

"Oi Temari, put some clothes on," Came a voice from behind her. Her blood ran cold as she slowly turned around. There was another Naruto standing in the door way of his room, one hand over his eyes and a little bit of color in his face. It took a moment for Temari to realize she was completely naked and quickly retreated into the bathroom slamming the door.

"Shadow clones," Naruto said from outside, followed by a small laugh, "Sorry about that."

20 minutes later the two sat across from each other, Naruto smiling happily fork in hand, and Temari trying to avert his gaze. It had been the first time a boy had seen her naked, it was more embarrassing than she had imagined. The Suna girl's thoughts turned towards when she had accidentally walked in on Naruto in the shower. _He didn't seem embarrassed about it. Wait, he doesn't even know. _The blush that stained her cheeks grew a little darker at the thought.

"Temari it's not a big deal, I didn't really see anything alright," Naruto said with a frown. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable around him.

"Really?" She asked innocently.

"Really." He replied, eating a piece of pineapple off his fork. The mood between the two had been lifted, Temari broke out in a smile.

"Thanks for making breakfast," she said before a eating a mouthful of sliced fruit and pancake.

"Thank my clone," he replied laughing. Shadow clones sure have their uses. "I like your hair," Naruto said, he had been thinking it for some time but the situation had been too awkward between them to say it.

"Oh this? I don't think it really looks good." She replied brushing her bangs to the side.

"It does." Naruto blurted out, a slight blush staining his cheeks. The two made eye contact for a brief moment before both looking away.

"Thank you." Her body felt like it was on fire, _why is he getting this reaction out of me? _Naruto stood, taking his plate and washing it in the sink. He turned around slowly looking at Temari.

"Want to go swimming?"

The two blondes walked across the Third Training Field towards the river. Naruto was dressed in bright orange swim trunks that seemed about 5 sizes too small, hugging his thighs and crotch uncomfortably and leaving very little to the imagination. It was the only pair he could find within his house and he had hastily decided he didn't want to spend any money on a new one, a decision he was beginning to regret. Temari similarly looked uncomfortable wearing a black two piece bikini that the pair had picked up in the village just minutes ago. Not wanting to waste her or Naruto's time she had grabbed one of the first things she saw on the rack, paying for it and changing into it quickly in the dressing room. After walking through the village she had began to attract the attention of the male populace, which normally wouldn't be so bad but she felt she was showing a little too much skin.

"Shall we?" Naruto asked sending her a foxy grin before sending chakra to his feet and jumping up high, before hitting the water with a loud splash. Within seconds he surfaced, his golden hair slicked back, water running down his muscular chest and arms.

"Are you coming in?" He asked as Temari still hadn't moved from the edge of the water. Nervously she began to step into the water, her long smooth legs slowly becoming submerged.

"I'm not exactly the strongest swimmer." She said hesitantly as she went in deeper, the water now just below her breasts. It was true, she had the opportunity to swim only several times in her life and those were on missions away from the village. The only bodies of water large enough for swimming in Suna was the reservoir for the village, and a large oasis miles from the safety of the walls. Naruto waded over to her offering her a hand.

"I can teach you what I know." He said grinning, it wasn't often he was able to take on the role of a teacher.

She took his hand and he pulled her to him, farther out into the river. Temari gasped as she felt the strength of the river begin to pick up, her other arm reaching out and grabbing onto Naruto's shoulder in an attempt to stop herself from being pulled downstream. She knew she her slight fear of water was entirely irrational, if she really wanted to get out she just needed to use a bit of wind chakra, yet something about using jutsu felt like cheating to her.

"Hey you are doing fine." Naruto said reassuringly, their eyes met and slowly Temari's grip on his shoulder loosened. "Now try kicking your legs."

Several hours were spent in the river for the two blondes, Temari beginning to feel much more comfortable in the water, and Naruto really enjoying being able to teach. By late afternoon the two were back at the apartment and had already changed into dry clothes, Naruto wearing a pair of shorts and a T-Shirt and Temari in a light blue dress featuring a desert flower.

"Are you hungry?" He asked the Suna girl as she exited the bathroom. His eyes took in her appearance, starting from her sandals and slowly working their way up towards her face. He smiled, an endless barrage of thoughts entering his brain, y_ou are pretty _being one of the first.

"Yeah I am." She replied, Naruto's look not going unnoticed by her. The two walked together through Konoha, making their way to Naruto's favorite ramen stand. As the pair entered the stand old man Ichiraku glanced up from his pot, a huge smile planted on his face.

"Naruto! Ayame-chan and I started to get worried, you haven't stopped by in days." The cook said before noticing the girl standing next to Naruto. "And you have a girlfriend now? Kami what's going on."

Before either could respond to the old man's comment sent Ayame bursting from the back of the kitchen, her eyes wide.

"Naruto you have a girlfriend?" Slowly her eyes narrowed at Temari, a smile spreading to her face. "She's beautiful."

The two blondes stood there stunned for several seconds, Temari's face sporting an impressive blush, and Naruto seemingly at a loss of words. _What's the proper course of action. Do I explain to them the situation and cause a big fuss, or do I tease Temari a little bit? _Naruto decided to play along with them, snaking an arm around Temari's waist and pulling her close.

"Yeah she is." Naruto finally said looking down at Temari, a small smirk on his face. The suna girl's eyes widened as she looked back at him. "Her name is Temari by the way." Naruto said realizing he had not yet introduced her to Ichiraku and Ayame.

"Nice to meet you," they both said smiling at Temari, all she could give was a small smile and a nod of her head in return.

"So what can I get for you two?" The old man finally asked wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Temari had caught on to the game he was playing at the Ramen stand, whispering things in his ear that made him blush just as much as she had. The two had a lot of fun eating dinner, and even on their way through the village where they continued to pretend they were a couple, amusing themselves much more than the indifferent citizens of konoha who couldn't even tell the two were joking.

"I want to show you a special place." Naruto said reaching out and grabbing Temari's hand.

An hour later the pair gazed out at the fading sun. The whole village was spread out in front of them. From up atop the head of the Fourth everything seemed so small. The various buildings spread across Konoha looked like small candles, as the only thing visible was the light coming from their windows. Up here, high above konoha had always been a place that had calmed Naruto, a place he had gone to during his childhood when things had turned sour.

"It's really beautiful up here," Temari said looking out at the village sprawled before her.

"This is where I go when I'm upset, or when I need to be alone. I never thought I would bring someone else up here with me." His eyes met her own, sapphire blue meeting a rich dark green.

"Thanks for taking me here." She said quietly, her mind spinning. _I'm the first person he's taken up here? _She gazed at the boy next to her, smiling at how handsome he looked sitting there, his hair blowing in the wind, his face outlined by the slowly darkening sky.

The two sat their in a comfortable silence, watching as the sun slowly receded into the distance until the only light left came from the moon. The temperature soon dropped as night time took over, causing Temari to hold her knees to her chest, trying to stay warm. _Maybe if I had worn something more practical and not this dress... _Her thoughts trailed off as a muscular arm wrapped around her. Naruto pulled her closer to him, a smile slowly forming on his face. She looked beautiful in the pale light of the moon.

"I'm really glad you came to konoha," Naruto said quietly to Temari. It was a simple statement yet it caught Temari completely off guard, a small blush beginning to form on her cheeks.

"I'm glad I came too." She replied feeling a little more confident, looping an arm around his neck and scooting even closer.

Thoughts of waking up next to Temari, her time spent watching over him in the hospital, and even seeing her naked flashed into his mind in seconds. He couldn't contain himself any longer, she was too much. One of his arms found it's way to the small of her back, the sensation sending a chill down her spine. Eye contact was now made but neither looked away, timed seemed to slow down for the pair. Slowly her other arm found it was to his neck, both arms now looped around him. She looked like she was going to say something but Naruto softly put a finger to her lip, then moved his hand to her cheek.

Without even thinking Naruto met her lips with his own, sending a shiver down his spine. The hands around his neck tightened greedily as she pulled him even closer to her. What started as a single kiss grew into more as the two broke apart from each other for several seconds, gazing into each others eyes, before their lips met again. Soon the chill night air vanished and was replaced by only desire. Temari's hands were now firmly planted on his chest, somehow she had found her way to his lap. Minutes went by and finally the two broke apart, a small smile appearing on both of their faces, Temari just a little short of breath. For both of them, that night under the light of the moon marked their first kiss, but it meant even more. It had been the silent explanation of the feelings the two had been harboring for one another.

Still on his lap, Temari wrapped her arms around him in a hug, hiding her face against his warm chest. She had never been very good about expressing her feelings, but Naruto had made it easy. She had realized within several minutes what she had been trying to deny herself, she really liked him. He was funny, attractive, caring, and seemingly incredibly strong, yet he could be gentle and kind too. She decided if she left her eyes closed any longer she ran the risk of falling asleep against him she was so comfortable, slowly she opened them looking up towards Naruto. It was getting late, the two finally made their descent and returned to the apartment.

The sleeping arrangement was not such a struggle as it had been in nights past. The two entered the apartment to find Gaara already asleep stretched out on the couch, snoring quietly. The sounds escaping the red haired Kazekage almost made Naruto burst out in laughter but he tried to focus on other things and slowly made his way to his bed room, Temari close by. Naruto stripped down to a pair of boxers in the bathroom, and Temari changed into a loose T-shirt and underwear before the two met again under the blankets. They reached out to one another, Naruto pulling her against his chest and kissing her lightly.

"I really like you," he said looking into her eyes. Temari's blush was unseen in the darkness of the room. Despite how difficult Naruto thought it would be to sleep under the circumstances sleep came easily to him, his face in a smile before drifting away, eyes closing.

Temari on the other hand felt like she was on fire, her entire body melting into Naruto's muscular frame. She pressed herself even closer against him, putting her head against his chest. The entire day was ever present in her mind, it seemed almost like a dream. Finally sleep came to the Suna girl, her arms wrapped around his chest and their legs intertwined.

An hour after the two had fallen asleep the first bomb hit konoha, blasting the hospital apart in an explosion of light and fire.

* * *

Naruto's eyes were open the same second he was on his feet. His apartment was rocked a small tremor as explosions racked the streets and houses of the village.

"Temari, wake up." He shook her arm until her eyes opened, "Something is going down."

Putting on his shorts he raced out of his bed room and onto his balcony and sent a burst of charka too his feet, leaping onto a nearby roof top. Huge flashes of light appeared all across the village simultaneously, houses blown apart, men and women shouting. Naruto crouched on the roof top, gathering nature chakra as quickly as possible. _Some one is attacking the village, but from where. _He opened his now yellow eyes, and scanned the dark sky. _There!_

"Some sort of white bird, and a rider..." He said to Temari as she joined him on the rooftop, battle fan already in hand. Naruto watched as multitudes of small projectiles were dropped from the bird and landed in the village below. _They are infused with chakra._

Suddenly a huge mass of sand gathered under the two blondes feet, sending them racing higher and higher into the night sky. A similar mass approached them from their left, standing on top was Gaara, already dressed, his red hair blown back in the wind.

"Let's go see who he is." Naruto said as Gaara sent their sand platforms racing forwards towards the bomber. Tendrils of sand shot out towards the unknown assailant sending him spiraling this way and that. Crude laughter rang out from the man on the white bird, he looked towards Gaara. Now that they were closer, Naruto was able to get a much better view. He was a man of average height with long blonde hair half gathered into a ponytail and the other half left freely handing over his left eye. He had crystal blue eyes and seemed to wear a permanent smirk. Even more importantly he was wearing loose black robes with red clouds, the robes of Akatsuki.

"I'll show you what true art is." He yelled digging his hands in his pockets for a moment. Naruto watched as the man used his hands to infuse the material with chakra, before deftly shaping them into small birds. In seconds the man threw the creations towards the sand siblings and Naruto, laughing wickedly. Shields of sand rose up in front of them, stopping the projectiles and explosions just short of them. Boom!

"Gaara send Temari down," Naruto said his eyes looking like blue steel. He glanced over at Temari, _she will understand. _As powerful as she was, this was no place for her.

"Try to help the villagers," He said to Temari quickly. There wasn't time for any argument, and quickly Gaara sent her down, landing her safely on a nearby rooftop.

"Get us closer, I'm going to see where Tsunade and our forces are." Naruto said as he closed his eyes and focused on large chakra signatures farther into the village. Gaara quickly made a protective cocoon around his friend, whilst keeping the ponytailed man at bay with spiky tendrils of sand. It took around thirty seconds for Naruto to finally sense the chakra signatures of Tsunade, Jiraya, and Kakashi, all of which were near the gate of the village battling another attacker.

"He's close." Said Gaara in a monotone as Naruto opened his eyes, they were within 50 feet of the bomber, their sand platform racing after his bird construct. In a burst of speed Naruto dove from the platform landing on the bird with enough impact to send the bomber nearly falling off himself. The man turned his head quickly, showing off a mechanical device over his eye that had been hidden by his hair earlier.

"You are a crazy one aren't you." He said smiling before diving off the bird. Naruto saw the chakra in the bird construct begin to fluctuate violently and in a split second decision leapt directly upwards. Boom! The force of the blast propelled him even father upwards, the heat of the explosion burning at his exposed back. He was caught by a platform of sand as he began to descend, cushioning his fall.

"Tell me next time you plan to do something." Gaara said with a scowl. His friend was still much too risky. Naruto nodded his acknowledgement and scanned the sky for the bomber, finally spotting him about 200 feet away on yet another white bird.

**_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" _**Two groups of a dozen shadow clones popped into existence, one group jumping from the platform and into the village, heading towards Tsunade and the other attacker, and the other group staying with Naruto.

"Gaara launch my clones toward him." The sand answered Gaara's command, throwing the shadow clones in the direction of the bird. In mid air the clones created Rasengan, barreling down on the bird. The sky was rocked with yet another huge explosion as the shadow clones collided with the bird, destroying the construct in a massive collision of energy.

"Did we get him?" Gaara asked Naruto, relying on the enhanced vision of his comrade. At first Naruto thought they had managed to kill the bomber, but soon saw his chakra signature pop up once again in the sky, only this time on a much larger mount. It almost appeared to be a dragon, huge and made of the same material as the Akatsuki's other constructs.

"Hahaha you call that an explosion?" The bomber yelled already reaching his hands into his pockets. Naruto saw massive amounts of chakra flood into the clay, _what is he doing? _

"I, Deidara will show you true art, art you only see once." His hands began to shape a massive amount of the material, pushing it together and compacting it, sending more and more chakra into it.

In a matter of seconds the huge white oval like bomb was dropped from the dragon, a smirk present on Deidara's face. Naruto's eyes widened, _No, no he couldn't have._

Naruto sprang from his platform propelling himself forward with wind chakra.

"Katsu."


End file.

Naruto, Adventure, Romance