Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ When Old Dreams Shatter, New Ones Emerge ❯ Part Two: Homecoming ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: Keep in mind that this is eight years later. Naruto has grown up and had experiences that have changed him. He has also merged completely with Kyuubi so that was bound to cause some changes. Everyone else has grown up too. Thank you all my reviewers! I love you all!

 

Part Two: Homecoming

 

---Eight years later, Land of Earth---

 

The giant dragon, yes dragon, stared down at the insolent shinobi that dared challenge him. Never in all of his thousand years had a human dared such. “Human, do you not know who you are facing? I am over a thousand years old and the strongest demon in existence! You dare to challenge me?! No human can defeat me!”

 

The shinobi with what looked like a whirlpool forehead protector shrugged dismissively. “First of all, I know of at least two stronger free demons. Second of all, I am not quite human.” His eyes hardened and he allowed his youki to bleed into his eyes. “I am one of the two!” Uzumaki Naruto unsheathed his sword, a gift from an old friend that he had met after he left Konoha, and immediately cut the arm of the dragon holding a knocked out child that it had been about to eat. Naruto leapt onto the falling claw and quickly grabbed the kid and jumped to the ground. To the villagers watching from across the valley it seemed that he had teleported. Naruto could have, if he had wanted to, but that would just be a needless waist of chakra. Another leap and he was across the valley and laying the kid in the mother's arms. Naruto turned back to the roaring dragon and immediately went back to the fight, blade still in hand. His back to the villagers, his eyes flashed red and he brought down the sword onto and through the dragon's neck, cutting off his head. He turned back to the villagers. They seemed to be in shock. Then the child's mother that he had saved shook out of her shock and started to run across the valley, tears streaming down her face as she clutched her child to her chest. Naruto smiled and that was the signal to the rest of the village to start cheering. Naruto then turned to the dragon's body and performed a jutsu that he had developed just because he had kept running into this problem of how to dispose of such big bodies. “Demon Graveyard Jutsu!” The body of the dragon immediately turned to ash and blew away in the wind, leaving only the indent of where he fell.

 

The mother was the first to get to Naruto. Child still in her arms, she put her free arm around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. Her head fell to rest on his chest, her tears soaking through his black shirt. “Thank you so much for saving my child. I don't know what I would have done if he had died.”

 

Naruto put his arms around the woman and patted her back. “But he didn't die, so you don't have to find out. The village suffered minimal casualties and you can rebuild the parts of the village that were destroyed. You don't have to be afraid anymore.”

 

The village headman came up behind the woman and cleared his throat. Naruto shook his head and told the headman to continue while still comforting the woman.

 

“Thank you for getting here so quickly Naru-sama. I don't know how you knew the demon was on its way here but we are in your debt. Is there anything that we can do for you?”

 

Naruto shook his head. “I'm just lucky that the new jutsu I was trying allowed me to sense him. I was actually looking for another demon when I stumbled upon this one. I could sense its evil even from where I was.” Naruto let go of the mother and child, who was waking up. “And I don't need anything. Normally I would just ask to stay here for a few days and learn a few new jutsu, but I am in a hurry to get to that demon. I am sorry I will not be able to stay and help you rebuild. Goodbye and take care of that little guy.” Naruto turned to go.

 

The headman spoke up. “Yes, I had heard that about you. You try to learn as many jutsu as you can in order to be in top form to protect people. It is said a jutsu that would take a normal person years to master, you can do it in only a few days. If you are ever passing through this village again, be sure that you stop by. My son is actually working on a new jutsu that he is perfecting. It has something to do with the mountains. I don't know. He doesn't see fit to tell this old man anything.” The headman brought his hands up to his forehead protector and took it off and held it out to Naruto. “I want you to have this. Should you ever need anything, just send this and we will do anything in our power to help.”

 

Naruto took the forehead protector with a bow. He smiled ironically. “You know, when I was younger, I worked so hard to get a shinobi forehead protector. I had a really tough time graduating. Now it I seem to be getting them right and left.” Naruto looked back up at the headman and slowly smiled. “But I have to say that I still feel great each time I get one. Thank you and goodbye.” He turned to go again.

 

“Good luck.” The headman paused. “This demon that you are looking for…Is it even stronger than this dragon?”

 

Naruto paused and glanced back. There was a determined look in his eyes.

 

“Much stronger.”

 

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Naruto walked through the Land of Earth a couple days later, hoping to find a nice cave where he could concentrate on the jutsu he needed to use. It required intense focus and used up a lot of chakra, even for him. But it was necessary in order to find the demon he was looking for.

 

Naruto finally found a suitable cave and settled down with his back to the wall, trying to get comfortable. He made a few hand signs and a blanket appeared in front of him and the new forehead protector disappeared. This was one jutsu that had come in handy in more than one occasion. He learned it early on from an ex-ninja traveler that he had saved from bandits who were going to kill him because he didn't have anything of value on him. It made it so that he no longer had to carry a bag and he didn't have to limit what he took with him. All he had to do was make a few signs to open a void that is linked with the performer's chakra and the things that you were trying to put in it disappeared in it until you called forth the void again to retrieve it. The best part was that there was no limit to what you could store and it used up minimal chakra. Hell, he even managed to find a bed that he could use if he didn't feel like sleeping in trees or on the ground. He wouldn't have had as many problems with humans when he was Kyuubi if he had had a way to store his valuables besides in his cave. The only problem had been that it was extremely difficult to learn. You had to train your mind in precision; there were other dimensions not as pleasant as the void that you didn't want to open. It was one of the most difficult jutsu that Naruto had learned, even more difficult than Rasengan.

 

Okay there was also another problem, Naruto thought, scowling as he pulled his to-do list out of his pocket. When there is no limit to your storage space, you tend to accumulate a lot of stuff, unlike his old small apartment. Keeping track of said stuff is very difficult if you don't keep inventory. Finding the time to do so had always been a problem for Naruto. There was always something else that he had to do. Which was why he had discovered the advantage of list-making. It helped keep everything straight in his head so that he didn't forget anything.

 

Naruto paused as his eyes drifted to the item on his to-do list above taking inventory. The sword at his waist pulsed, reminding him of the urgency. He had to find this demon before he caused untold damage. He had gotten delayed too many times on the way. He was the only one that could stop this demon…but first he had to find him. Naruto shifted again and finally gained a comfortable position that wouldn't leave his neck too messed up. This jutsu was one that he and his friend had perfected together and it almost always took a lot of time to complete. It allowed them to search the lands to find powerful sources of chakra, usually belonging to demons. The different sources were easily classified as either human or demon, although there were few humans that could produce enough chakra to show up with this technique.

 

Naruto took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Well, it's now or never. He made the hand signs that would put him into the trance that would allow him to find…

 

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The village headman made his way to Iwagakure and the Tsuchikage. He was not stopped at the gates of either the city or the Tsuchikage's dwelling. He went straight to the Tsuchikage's office and knocked on the door. After receiving permission to enter he flung open the door. “Long time, no see…brother.”

 

The Tsuchikage stared at his big brother, bored, before going back to his paperwork. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

 

The headman immediately turned somber. “My village was attacked by the dragon demon.”

 

The Tsuchikage's eyes snapped up to his brother's. “THE dragon demon?!”

 

“Yes, Soretsuchi (A/N: Made up name).”

 

“How bad is it? How many are left? Is Soretsuchi gone yet? Are any of the buildings still standing?”

 

“Whoa, brother. Yes, the village was attacked but we were saved. A travelling shinobi defeated him.”

 

The Tsuchikage's mouth dropped. “You cannot be serious. No one is powerful enough to defeat that demon all on their own. An entire special jounin squad made up of our elite ninja barely even made it back alive and didn't even manage to hurt him. How could a lone shinobi manage to kill him!”

 

“Well, this guy did. You have probably heard of him. He goes by the name of Naru.”

 

The Tsuchikage's eyes suddenly filled with understanding. He had heard a great deal about this travelling shinobi Naru. He had first made a name for himself seven years ago and had only gotten better since. He was compared to the Copy Ninja Kakashi in the number of jutsu that he knew, although no one knew exactly how many he had learned and no one knew how many he had developed on his own. It was truly an amazing feat for someone who did not possess the Sharingan. No one knew much about him personally, only his reputation for helping people, especially those with demon troubles, without regard to what land or village they are from. No one even knew what land he was from although all tried to claim him. Almost every village he went to, people tried any means to get him to stay. They sent him women, tried to give him money, etc. He had refused all. It seemed he didn't have any weaknesses. As a result, he had gotten the reputation of being quite the hero. He didn't want to accumulate jutsu for personal gain, he did it to better protect the people who needed it. As a result, many people who would normally guard the secrets of their jutsu with their lives were perfectly willing, no honored, to teach him. But what was really amazing was his learning ability, almost as effective as the Sharingan, and the seemingly limitless supply of chakra that he possessed. The Tsuchikage had never heard of anyone who could surpass him.

 

The Tsuchikage smiled wistfully. “I wish I could have seen that battle. I've always wanted to see that guy in action. He is the only one I have ever heard of besides the Forth Hokage who could defeat a demon. And he has done so over and over again. And I hear that sword of his is really something. They say he got it from the first demon that he defeated.”

 

“And who was that, brother?”

 

“It was a dog demon named…”

 

*********************************break*************************** ******

 

“Inutaisho!”

 

Naruto's eyes flew open with the release of his jutsu. He raised his knees and rested his head in between them.

 

Damn…I have to go back to Konoha and fast.

 

Naruto jumped to his feet and made the hand signs for teleportation. He didn't have enough chakra left to make it all the way to Konoha and still have enough to defeat Inutaisho, but he could at least get halfway there. “Teleport Jutsu!” As soon as the mist cleared, Naruto took off in the direction of Konoha, running as fast as he could. He had to get there before Inutaisho started going crazy.

 

*********************************break*************************** ******

 

Sasuke got up that morning with a weird feeling. Something was going to happen today. He didn't know what, but he knew it would change his life forever. He got up and took his ritual morning shower to wake himself up, putting on his Anbu uniform and mask before reporting to the Hokage to see if she had another mission for him. He made it to the Hokage's office without any of his numerous fangirls attacking him, which was always a plus. Upon gaining permission to enter, he opened the door and walked to stand before the Hokage's massive desk, which was stacked almost ceiling high with requests for Konoha shinobi. Tsunade was getting behind in her paperwork again and still hadn't developed any organizational skills, as the chaos that was her desk clearly showed. She motioned for him to sit, still reading the mission requests. The door opened again and Neji entered. Sasuke nodded to him. He wasn't surprised to see the other man. They were often partnered on missions where the greatest degree of stealth or speed was required. The mission must be really big if they were going to work together on it.

 

Finally she looked up and addressed them both. “Neji, take a seat. Now, I know you are both the best that Konoha has to offer and I only give you the most difficult missions, as it should be for two ninja's as talented as you two. But desperate times call for desperate measures.” Tsunade motioned to her desk and took out two pieces of paper and handed one to each Anbu captain. “I have to get some of these off my desk and restore some order. You two can get these missions done with the least amount of effort and time. I know it is a waste of your talent and may be interpreted an insult by you, but the sanity of your Hokage should be more important to you than your pride.” Tsunade burst into tears. “I WANT MY DESK BACK! I WANT TO EAT JELLY DONUTS WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT MESSING UP MULTIPLE MISSION REQUESTS! I WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE NAPS WITHOUT CAUSING AN AVALANCHE!” The fifth Hokage wailed, sobbing hysterically into her arms, causing the aforementioned avalanche.

 

The two Anbu captains both looked at the pieces of paper. They were lists. Each had about a couple hundred tasks on them.

 

Walk Hikomaru's dog.

Clean the Shirodure clan's house.

Build dam for irrigation purposes in the southern farming area.

Find Tora (again).

etc.

 

They both looked back at each other, both thinking the same thing. This was the sort of missions they used to do as genin. Were there no more challenging missions for them?

 

Sasuke cleared his throat. “Hokage-sama, surely you have a mission more challenging than this list of chores? I haven't had a D ranked mission since I was a genin. You must have plenty of genin to do these things for you.”

 

Tsunade went back to wailing. “I have plenty of genin, but not enough to make a dent in this huge stack of papers! You guys should be able to make short work of these tasks, as you two are the only ones that have perfected the Kage Benshin no Jutsu who are not out on missions at the moment. You two would be helping me get rid of a fourth of my papers just by completing those two lists! When you get done with those, I have another two for you.”

 

Sasuke looked at Neji and they both sighed. “Go ahead and give us the other lists now, it will go faster that way. And if you have more, then give us those too. Might as well get them done all at once.” Sasuke turned to Neji and asked. “How many clones can you make again?”

 

“About a hundred and fifty. Half that if I want them to have a decent amount of chakra.”

 

“It is probably a good idea to let them have a nice supply of chakra so I can make a hundred. We should be able to get all these tasks done today.”

 

Tsunade leapt from her chair and hugged Sasuke, crying hysterically in relief. “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! I promise to give you two a week off after this. You have no idea how much I appreciate this!”

 

While Sasuke was trying to pry Tsunade off him and Neji was trying to hold in his laughter, the door suddenly burst open and a hysterical Shizune rushed in. “Hokage we have a problem! An enormous dog is heading towards the village, attacking everything in its way. It destroyed Tsuachi Mountain! We have to mount a defense immediately in order to keep it from flattening the village!”

 

Tsunade immediately got off of Sasuke and ordered them to gather all available shinobi and send them prepared for battle to the front gate for orders. Neji and Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke to do as she asked. Ten minutes later all available shinobi were in front of the west gate of Konoha, awaiting the Hokage's orders.

 

Tsunade stood on top of the front gate where she had no problem seeing the huge dog demon that was heading towards the village. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to his attacks. He didn't go after living things in particular. He attacked everything that moved and even some things that didn't. Even Kyuubi hadn't been that indiscriminately destructive. She turned to address her shinobi. “At all costs we have to protect the village. Shikamaru, take five teams to engage the dog while you hold back and observe with two more teams. Look for any possible weaknesses. Take Kiba and Akamaru. Maybe he can get something off the thing. Shizune, Sakura, Hinata, you three stand by and look out for any injured. Sasuke, Neji, you two will stay with me with the rest of the shinobi. We will be the last line of defense for the village. ”

 

Shikamaru and his teams raced towards the demon. He stopped when he was about a hundred yards from the huge dog. He motioned for Kiba to hang back for a moment.

 

Kiba did as he was told and stood beside Shikamaru in order to observe the demon before attacking. He looked up at it and couldn't help but be a little in awe of the size and majesty of it, even in its current frenzy. The teams of shinobi attacked the demon and he just brushed them off like fleas. They were like fleas to him, they were so small by comparison. One Chuunin tried to attack his eyes and almost got crushed by an eyelid when he blinked. Nothing seemed to work against the demon.

 

Shikamaru turned to Kiba. “This is not good. What do you think Kiba? Could you take it?”

 

Kiba didn't take his eyes off the giant demon as he gave his answer. “Are you crazy? I doubt the Forth could even take him. This dog isn't a regular dog, he's a demon. I think that seeing me would just enrage him more. He would see me as a rival for his territory.”

 

Shikamaru nodded in understanding. Unfortunately, he didn't see any weaknesses that could be exploited. He had one idea, but he had the feeling that he would need more men to execute it. “Everyone, fall back to the last defense! Fall back!”

 

Tsunade wished she was surprised to see the team running back towards them. Shikamaru stopped in front of her with Kiba beside him. “It doesn't seem to have any weak points. It's just too big. Kiba thinks that it would only enrage it if he confronted it.”

 

Tsunade nods, he seemed to have some idea, but he didn't seem too confident in it. “Do you have a plan, Shikamaru?”

Shikamaru turned to examine the shinobi that haven't been injured by the dog. Luckily no one had been killed yet. “I think that maybe a fireball jutsu would do some damage. One wouldn't do much, but if we all did it at the same time, it would at least injure it. With enough pain, it would be forced to retreat to heal, giving us time to regroup and recall all shinobi currently on missions. With them here, we would stand a chance if it chooses to attack again.”

 

Tsunade nodded, they really had no other choice. She really didn't want to follow in the Fourth's footsteps and die sealing a demon into a new born baby. She didn't think that she could condemn an innocent child to the kind of suffering Naruto had endured. Plus, no babies were being born anytime soon, so it wasn't as if it was an option anyway. “Everyone, surround the demon and attack with fire-type jutsu! Try to drive him back the way he came! If this doesn't work, be prepared to fight!”

 

They got in formation, with Tsunade, Neji, and Sasuke at the head, as they had the strongest fire-type jutsu. On Tsunade's signal they all attacked. Sasuke was in the center since the Uchihas were known for their fire jutsu. He concentrated his chakra in his feet and jumped, landing on the huge nose of the demon before unleashing his jutsu, giving the demon a good look at him. “Phoenix flower Jutsu!”

 

The demon roared as all parts of his body were exposed to the fire. Sasuke was thrown off his head with a shake and was slammed against the wall. Blood shot from his mouth as he fell to the ground. He was hurt, but he immediately got up to fight.

 

“Damn!” Tsunade yelled, landing beside Sasuke. “It weakened him, but I think we mostly just pissed him off.” She jumped up for another attack.

 

The beast finally stopped his roaring and growled menacingly, his head swinging wildly around, trying to find the one that had caused him such pain. His rage-filled red eyes landed on Sasuke and his growl increased in intensity.

 

Shikamaru saw something flash from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw a masked shinobi of an unknown village at the edge of the forest who seemed to be examining the battle. Shikamaru turned his attention back to the demon, who seemed to be targeting Sasuke exclusively now. The unknown shinobi could be dealt with later. He shouldn't be too hard to subdue. Lee had more chakra than this guy did.

 

Examining was not what Naruto was doing. He saw all he needed to know at a glance at the rest of the battlefield. No one seemed to be dead, but a few were seriously injured. But the growl that Inutaisho let out got his attention. He turned to see who had gotten the dog's attention and his heart almost stopped when he saw huge claws heading straight for Sasuke.

 

Knowing he could not possibly dodge, Sasuke closed his eyes and braced himself to take the hit. It never came. He opened his eyes and saw what looked like Kakashi at first glance. Then he noticed that this guy had blond hair, blue eyes, and a weird forehead protector. The unidentified shinobi had stopped the demon's claw!

 

The shinobi gritted his teeth as the beast pressed his claws harder into his back. “Get the others back into the village. You guys have no chance of defeating him. He is my responsibility. I'll distract him until everyone is through the gate.” The shinobi threw the paw off his shoulders and jumped forward to crouch beside Sasuke.

 

Sasuke smirked. “You have no idea who you are talking to. I'm more capable than you are. I'd be surprised if you could beat Tonton, the Hokage's pet pig. How do you plan on defeating a demon that not even all the available shinobi in Konoha can defeat?”

 

“With this.” He said gesturing to the rusted sword at his hip.

 

Sasuke laughed. “That old thing? It couldn't even cut butter. Why don't you just bang it with your head? It's thick enough to do at least some damage.”

 

Naruto growled. The bastard was still as arrogant as he was the day he left. “And that is why you were almost torn in half by the big guy. You are a shinobi; you should have learned by now that appearances can be deceiving. Or are you as ignorant as you are ungrateful?”

 

Sasuke wanted to punch the guy. Who did he think he was? But something in the other man's eyes gave him pause. The guy was right; he had been jumping to conclusions. Now that he was paying closer attention, he could see that this was an experienced shinobi. He might not seem like much in the way of chakra, but he had a look in his eyes that only battle hardened ninja ever get. He must be more skilled than he seemed. He still didn't think that that sword would be of much use, but he would keep his doubts to himself and be ready to take up where he left off if/when this guy failed. Sasuke didn't know why, but for some reason he trusted him to protect this village. Sasuke straightened. “Everyone get behind the gate! Fall back!”

 

Most of the other shinobi immediately followed Sasuke's order. Only Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Hinata, and Tsunade were left. They all lined up behind the unidentified shinobi.

 

Naruto glanced behind him before leaping up to the dog's level and smashing the dogs head into the ground. He jumped back. “Everyone get behind the wall.”

 

Stunned, most of them did as they were told. Only Tsunade stayed. She smirked. “You think that I'm going to let some stranger save this village on his own? I'm Hokage and as such it is my responsibility-”

 

“Baa-chan, get behind the wall or I will throw you over my shoulder and put you there myself.” Naruto couldn't help but smirk behind his mask at this. He had dreamed of the day he would be strong enough to do exactly as he said.

 

In a rage, Tsunade leapt at the impertinent shinobi. Naruto caught her and, true to his word, threw a kicking and screaming Hokage over his shoulder, strode to the gate and tossed her at Sasuke. He then turned his attention to the wall itself. He made various handsigns in quick succession. A bright red light spread into a dome, covering the Leaf Village. Naruto then turned his attention to the demon. The barrier should be able to hold, even if the demon fell onto it. The village was damaged enough as it was.

 

“That little bastard called me Grandmother! Who does he think he is? He better still be alive after this so I can kill him!” Tsunade yelled, beating on the barrier that refused to let her out.

 

Shizune sweatdropped. She hadn't seen Tsunade this worked up since Naruto was alive. And that man she had just called `little' had about a foot and a half on her.

 

Neji examined the barrier. “Amazing. This barrier's strength surpasses what Suichi, Kura, and Numi on my team can produce working together. And they could never make one that would cover the entire village.” His gaze shifted to Naruto, who was currently busy trying not to get bitten in half. “He didn't seem to have enough chakra to even make a small barrier, much less one of this magnitude. Who is this guy and how is he hiding his chakra? Sasuke, can you make anything out with your Sharingan?”

 

Sasuke activated his Sharingan to see, but for some reason he couldn't see any more chakra than he had originally sensed. “I can't see anything. What about Byakugan?”

 

Neji activated his Byakugan and his mouth fell open in shock. “I can't see anything. Not even his chakra flow or his chakra holes! There is something strange about this guy.”

 

Naruto dodged Inutaisho's tail. He could tell he was weakening. In a few more minutes Naruto would be able to finish him. He was surprised; he had expected it to take much longer. Last time they had fought it had taken him three days to beat him. They must have worn the demon down more than he had thought. He was proud of his friends; they had grown up to be truly excellent shinobi. And he had no doubt that they would be able to protect their home from whatever was thrown at them. They might have ended up beating Inutaisho if they had been given more time. But it wouldn't have been without cost.

 

Naruto was forcefully reminded to keep his head in the fight when a claw caught him across the stomach and slammed him into the barrier. He slid to the ground and then got back on his feet. It's time to finish this.

 

He drew his sword, Tetsusaiga. The sword changed from old and rusted to a huge sword that looked like the wielder shouldn't even be able to lift it. He leapt away from the barrier, swinging the sword at the same time. “Kaze no Kizu!” Bursts of energy went crashing towards the demon, hitting it head on and pushing him back away from the village.

 

The people on the other side of the barrier were in shock. Sakura was the first to break the silence. “Wh-what kind of jutsu was that?”

 

Tsunade, still staring at the battle in front of her, answered, “That was not a jutsu. It was a demonic attack. That is a demon sword made from a part of a demon, most likely the fang. It takes a very skilled and special sword smith to make one of these swords. Not many people can use them effectively without being taken over by the blade. I don't know anyone that has even seen a demon blade, they are that rare.”

 

Naruto wasn't paying anyone on the other side of the barrier any attention anymore. He had learned his lesson and was totally focused on the battle. This would be the end. He quickly feinted to the right before leaping into the air and landing a bone-crunching punch on the dog's forehead, right in the middle of his crescent moon. Naruto jumped off of his nose, released the barrier, and sheathed Tetsusaiga. The dog's body crashed to the ground.

 

Everyone rushed out to thank the mysterious shinobi who saved their village. Tsunade wasn't quite as mad as before. She marched up to Naruto and punched him in the mouth. “Don't call me baa-chan, you bastard!”

 

Laughter was heard coming from where the demon had fallen. Everyone looked over, expecting to see the body of the demon, but instead seeing a silver haired man getting to his feet. “Still refusing to show people the proper respect, eh Naru?”

 

The women present almost feinted. This man was perfect. Tall, with long silver hair tied back in a ponytail and a perfect face. He was carrying two swords, wearing armor, and had two fluffy boa looking things across either shoulder. He also had a purple crescent moon on his forehead and cute elflike ears.

 

Tsunade got into a battle stance after wiping the drool from her chin. Too bad she was too old for him. And too bad he was a demon. “Evidently the thank yous were a little bit premature. No way are you excluding me from this fight.”

 

The godlike creature laughed. “Don't worry, my lady. I'm not going to hurt anyone.” He sobered and turned serious eyes to Naruto. He came forward and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. “Thank you again, my friend. I got a little distracted by this delectable woman in a neighboring village and got delayed for too long. The transformation took me by surprise. I barely had time to vacate the village before the transformation completely took me over.”

 

Tsunade relaxed slightly, but was still ready in case of an attack, as were the rest of the shinobi except for the one that the demon called Naru. He was standing by the demon looking exasperated, but relaxed. “You do know that your weakness for beautiful women will be the death of you, don't you? I hope she was worth it.” Why do I always get stuck with perverts?

 

Inutaisho smiled smugly. “Oh she was.” He purred. Tsunade cleared her throat to remind them of their audience and wiped the drool off her chin again. “Oh, where are my manners? Naru, your bad habits have rubbed off on me. We haven't even introduced ourselves.”

 

“Take that back! I don't have bad manners. I just don't always introduce myself because it tends to cause problems.” Naruto grumbled.

 

“Well, that's true, but they should know our names as we will be staying here to help with the clean up for the next few weeks. I'm Inutaisho-”

 

Naruto grabbed him by his ponytail and dragged him to the edge of the forest throwing an “Excuse us for a moment,” over his shoulder.

 

Inutaisho snatched his ponytail back. “What the hell, Naru? Were you trying to pull all my hair from my head?”

 

Naruto glared at his friend. “Did you have to volunteer me to help too? You know that this is my home village. What if someone recognizes me?”

 

Inutaisho rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Actually, I didn't really know what village this was. So this is where you grew up and the legendary Kyuubi met an end?” He looked around until his eyes rested on the Hokage monument. “And that is where you wanted your face carved? Personally I don't think stone does much for a person. Look at the Yondaime. He was much more personable in real life. Why, it doesn't even show the sparkle in his eyes or the love he had for this village and for life. He just looks all imposing. He hardly ever looked like that except in battle.” He studied Tsunade's likeness. “And the current Hokage is much more beautiful and it doesn't even show how magnificent her brea-”

 

“You are trying to change the subject. And gross me out.” He shuddered. “I can't stay here. What if someone recognizes me and the elders find out I'm back? I'm lucky I haven't been added to the missing-nin list. I was naïve in thinking they would let me go without a fight where the Akatsuki could possibly capture me. Luckily this disguise works wonders.”

 

Inutaisho scoffed. “It's not like they could keep you here even if they found out. You're a demon now and way above them in power. If you wanted to you could destroy this whole village with just the release of your chakra. You are even stronger now than you were as Kyuubi alone. They would be stupid to try to take both of us on.”

 

“There is also the fact that I don't want to hurt my friends by leaving again. They seem to be doing fine without me.”

 

“There's another reason you aren't telling me, isn't there?”

 

Naruto stared off into the distance sadly. “I don't want them to find out that I'm a demon. One of the reasons I left the village in the first place was to avoid that. I don't want them to hate me.”

 

“Well, if they hate you just for being a demon, they aren't very good friends are they? I like you just fine the way you are!” Inutaisho slung his arm around Naruto's shoulder. “Plus, I think you miss them. You have hardly any real friends besides me and we don't see each other very often. You need some emotional ties to keep from becoming too much of a demon. You are still human in here.” He tapped Naruto's heart. “You need human contact to remind you of that.”

 

Naruto smiled. “I would like the chance to see how everyone has been doing and what they have been up to. I know that Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru are Anbu captains, but that's about it.” Naruto thought back to his nearly empty frog. “I also need to earn some more money. I'm getting pretty low on funds. And I can use this time to take that inventory I've been meaning to get around to.” After all this time, he still felt safe here. Which was ironic considering this was the place where he was in the most danger. If anyone were to find out that he was here, the elders and the Akatsuki would both be after him.

 

“That's the spirit! We need to help rebuild this place to make up for all the trouble we caused.”

 

Naruto stopped. “WE caused? I believe it was you who went on a rampage and caused all this damage.”

 

“Well, I wouldn't have done so much damage if you had been a little more prompt in answering the Tetsusaiga's call.”

 

“I was saving a village! You know that dragon fellow I used to hate so much? Well he was attacking a village in the Land of Earth. I saw his chakra signature when I was searching for yours. He came out for his ritual feast of children and I couldn't just let him kill all those children. You know how I feel about children and that was before Kyuubi and I merged. And you know how Kyuubi felt about children.”

 

Inutaisho nodded. “Yes, Kyuubi may have hated humans, but could never hate children no matter what species they were. It was your one weakness.”

 

They joined the others. Inutaisho cleared his throat. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, my name is Inutaisho.” He leaned over the lovely Tsunade's hand and kissed it. “And what might your name be lovely lady?” He said seductively, ignoring Naru who was gagging in the background.

 

Tsunade blushed and jerked her hand back. “I may not look it, young man, but I am too old for you. Not that I wouldn't love to try you out, but I don't want to be accused of robbing the cradle.”

 

Inutaisho laughed. “No matter how old you may be, you would still be an infant compared to me. I would be `robbing the cradle' as you put it no matter how old you may be under that jutsu. I may not look it, but I'm about ten thousand years old. As long as you can keep up with me, I don't care.”

 

Naruto recovered from his gagging spell. “Tsunade baa-chan, don't listen to this smooth talker! He just wants to get in your-OWWWWW!” Tsunade hit him over the head.

 

“Brat! I told you not to call me that!” Stupid boy, he should be old enough to know better.

 

Inutaisho was surprised at Naruto. He usually was silent during his `spells' as Naruto liked to call them. Whenever they had traveled together, Inutaisho would stop whenever he saw a pretty human woman and try to seduce her. He usually succeeded. Naruto usually just rolled his eyes and went to find somewhere quiet to meditate or practice jutsu until he was done. Naruto was reserved around other people, probably the result of having to be suspicious of everyone that he met. He had learned early on that most people couldn't be trusted and would do almost anything to keep a power like him close at hand. For every nice, polite offer he got, he got another who would attempt to keep him by force. None succeeded, but a few had gotten close in the early days, especially before he had met Inutaisho. It tended to make a person wary. But here it was like all his inhibitions were gone. He was still on his guard, but it was like he felt safe. Inutaisho pondered this for a moment. Maybe he should delay leaving as long as possible. No one should have to live the life that Naruto did—a life full of loneliness without a place to call home. He should know. Until Naruto became his friend, he didn't have anyone he could trust either.

 

“Who are you anyway?” Sasuke suddenly asked.

 

“It's rude to ask for someone's name without giving your own first.” Naruto said, trying to buy time. Should he come up with a new name? But people could recognize him by his description. For some reason, stories of his exploits had taken off and he had heard that there was even a book about them, called “The Demon Slayer” or something like that.

 

Sasuke looked annoyed. “Uchiha Sasuke.”

 

Sakura raised her hand in a wave. “Sakura.”

 

“Shikamaru.”

 

“Kiba and Akamaru.” Akamaru let out a loud “WOOF.”

 

“Shizuka.”

 

“Hyuga Neji.”

 

“I'm Hinata.” She said shyly.

 

Well, might as well risk it. “I'm Naru.” No reaction.

 

Tsunade cleared her throat. But before she could speak, someone else did.

 

“What happened here?!” Ino, Choji, and Shino had come back from their mission. They were currently looking at the smashed section of the wall and the wreckage of the buildings. “Were we attacked?” Ino turned toward the Hokage and caught sight of Naruto. Oh my, he is hot! It's a shame that he hides his face behind that mask. Then she saw Inutaisho and her mouth hit her chest.

 

Naruto turned to Inutaisho. “Why do you always get that reaction?”

 

He smirked. “What can I say, the girls just love me.”

 

Naruto snorted. “Yes, until they get to know you. Then they find out how big a pervert you are.”

 

Inutaisho winked at Ino suggestively. “Big being the operative word.”

 

Sakura took Ino (who had almost fainted when she heard what Inutaisho said) and the rest aside to explain what happened to them. Ino sighed, disappointed that that gorgeous man was a demon. It would just never work out. He wouldn't get any older and when she died of old age, he would still live and spend the rest of eternity heartbroken, never able to love again. He would probably go on a rampage to try and get away from the grief. She couldn't in good conscience do that to anyone. He will just have to understand that it's for his own good.

 

Ino turned her attention back to the blond, Naru. Now where had she heard that name before? It might have come from one of her little cousin's books. There was some sort of hero named Naru that went around killing demons, righting wrongs, and protecting the weak or something like that. It was kinda dramatic. The hero went from village to village learning jutsu so he could get stronger so as to better protect people. Many women threw themselves at the hero, but he always refused their advances. The author sounded like she was in love with the guy. In the end there was a paragraph wondering if Naru would ever find his soul mate and finally settle down to raise a family and live happily ever after. Her cousin didn't like it much because the author glossed over the battles too much and spent most of her time describing the way the sunlight caught the red streaks in Naru's hair and wondering about the mysterious face behind the mask. He much preferred the other, much more popular, version of the book which consisted of almost all battle scenes. Ino absolutely refused to read this book to him. It had absolutely no romance in it. But the hero did remind her of this Naru. From the drawings in Ino's favorite version she could tell that he kinda looked like this guy too. He couldn't be…no, her hero was a demon slayer and there was no way that a demon slayer would have a demon as a best friend, even if he seemed to be a good demon. Maybe that's where this guy got his look from. He was handsome…maybe she should make a try for him? But his chakra signature seemed weak. She couldn't have a weak boyfriend. But he did beat the other demon…so maybe he was like Lee and could do just fine without being able to use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. She could deal with that.

 

Naruto was oblivious to Ino's intentions. He was just glad that they hadn't heard of him and didn't connect the name.

 

Tsunade was calculating. They were still short of ninjas, so having these two would come in handy. They couldn't tell their clients that Inutaisho was a demon for obvious reasons, but there was no reason that they didn't need to use what they offered. “I will need some extra hands for missions. The amount of people needed to rebuild after the damage you caused will leave me short staffed. And you need to make up for the injuries and trouble you caused.”

 

Inutaisho looked around. “Where are the injured people?” He turned his eyes to Naruto. “I didn't kill anyone did I?”

 

Naruto shook his head. “No, I don't think so.”

 

“Why do you want to know where the injured are? Do you want to apologize to them?” Sakura asked.

 

“Something like that.”

 

“They are on the other side of the wall. We set up a makeshift hospital there. There are a few who are in critical condition though so you'll have to wait to talk to them.”

 

“Lead me to them first.”

 

“But I just told you-”

 

Tsunade interrupted her. “Do as he says Sakura.” She wanted to know what he was up to.

 

Everyone followed Sakura and Inutaisho to the hospital and up to a tent where the three critical patients were. Everyone gasped at one of the patients. None of them had known that Lee had been injured. Tenten was by his bedside and leapt up to stand in front of Lee's bed with kunai in her hands. “What is he doing here? Why is he not dead?” She had caught a glimpse of him as she was dragging Lee to the hospital. She had thought he was dead or she would have come back and killed him for putting her friend in this condition.

 

“Move aside.”

 

“So you can finish the job? Never! My friend will never be able to see again, he might not even live!”

 

“I'm sorry about Lee, Tenten. Although I don't think that it is a good idea for us all to be in here, he wants to apologize. Do you think we would be here too if he was still dangerous?” Tsunade interjected.

 

Neji was silent but his fists clinched. He would have punched the demon, damn the consequences, if he hadn't seen the sadness on his face. He really didn't mean to do this to his friend and self-proclaimed rival, but that didn't fix Lee. “Let him by Tenten. He just wants to apologize.”

 

Tenten paused. “But Neji-”

 

“Just do it.”

 

Tenten reluctantly moved out of the way. Inutaisho stepped forward and stopped at Lee's bedside. “Naru.”

 

Naruto nodded, understanding immediately. “Understood.” He stepped away from the group and placed a barrier around them as Inutaisho drew one of his swords.

 

Tenten and the others beat on the barrier, yelling. “You traitor!” She glared at Naruto. “You're just as bad as he is. Worse even! He is a demon so we should have expected something like this from him, but you pretended to save this village. Did you just want to get inside the village without battling your way in?”

 

Naru glared at Tenten. “If we wanted to kill someone, why would we start with a Chuunin when we could have just killed the Hokage? Just shut up and watch.”

 

Tenten wasn't listening to reason and continued to yell at Naru. Sasuke got fed up with it and clamped his hand over the girl's mouth. “As your captain, I am ordering you to remain silent.” What Naru had said made sense. He didn't know what was going on or what was up with that sword, but it was emitting a strange energy.

 

Inutaisho ignored all the other people in the room. He raised his sword and brought it down across Lee's chest. He vaguely heard the girl from before scream through Sasuke's hand, but didn't pay her any attention. They had learned long ago that it didn't do any good to explain what this sword was for. He moved to the other beds and did the same to them. He then strode past Naruto and told them to keep them that way until they didn't want to kill him anymore.

 

Naruto nodded and smiled when he heard Lee groan behind him. Tenten was sobbing against Neji's chest. Naruto went up to the barrier. “Hey Tenten.”

 

“I don't have anything to say to you, bastard! Let me out of this thing so I can kill you!”

 

Naruto sighed. “Most people react this way which is the reason for the barrier. If only people would be more trusting…But I guess that wouldn't be a good thing either. I mean, if you trusted everyone who came to your village you wouldn't stay alive long. But that's not the point. Look over at the bed and see if you still want to kill either of us.”

 

Tenten growled, but couldn't stop herself from looking over at the bed. She gasped as did the rest of them. Lee's hand was on the bandages around his eyes, trying to peal them off. “Hey, would somebody get these bandages off? I have to get out there and fight! I have to protect my beloved Sakura!”

 

Sakura blushed. “Lee, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not yours!”

 

A grin lit up Lee's face. His beloved was there! Then he frowned, taking stock of his body. He remembered being injured and the pain, but there didn't seem to be any now. He also remembered not being able to see, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with his eyes now, so why were they still bandaged?

 

Naruto walked over to Lee and gently unwrapped his bandages over his eyes. As long as they hadn't been completely missing, they should be alright now.

 

“Hey don't do that! I just got done wrapping those. The bleeding might start again if they are removed.”

 

Naruto ignored her. Finally the bandages were gone, but the blood from the wound was still all over his face. Lee tried to open his eyes but his lids were glued shut because of all the dried blood. Naruto got some warm water and a rag to wash away the blood. He heard groans from the other two beds, but ignored them. “Lee, keep your eyes closed. I'm going to wash away the blood.”

 

Naruto? But no, he is dead, he cannot be here! Or am I dead? That would explain why I suddenly feel great after being so severely injured. Or I could be hallucinating. Yes, that makes more sense. Sakura was here so I cannot be dead. Or did she die too? Oh no, I cannot let my beloved be dead! “I am not dead am I?” he asked urgently.

 

The person cleaning his face paused, almost finished. “No, why do you ask?”

 

Lee breathed a sigh of relief. His beloved was safe! But why was Naruto there?

 

“Okay, now you can open your eyes.”

 

Lee was just about to ask Naruto what he was doing there when he opened his eyes and looked at the person that he had thought was Naruto. He squinted. He could have sworn that this guy was Naruto. Well, it had been eight years. His memories would understandably be a little hazy. He decided not to mention it. Uchiha always got all moody, well more moody than usual, and left whenever his old teammate was mentioned. Then Sakura-chan would get all mad at him and go after Sasuke. “Who are you?”

 

“Naru.”

 

Wow, even the name was similar. Lee glanced at the rest of the group who seemed to be busy drooling all over themselves in shock at something. But, none of them seemed to see anything strange about the guy or notice the similarities between him and their former friend. He was right not to mention anything. “So, how long was I out? I guess we defeated the demon, but I must have been out a long time for all my injuries to be healed.”

 

“All of your injuries are healed?” Neji asked, astonished. His former teammate had looked near death when they had walked into the tent.

 

Naru glanced at the others, smirking. “Well, you see, Inutaisho's sword cannot cut. He created it because of his transformations. If he goes too long in his humanoid form, his youki forces a transformation and he loses all sense of self. He had Tenseiga made to heal all the people he injured. He has always been fascinated by humans and never wished to harm innocent people. He is one of the few demons who doesn't eat or even kill humans. He actually prefers his humanoid form; it just doesn't allow his youki to escape as well as his demon form. We knew you wouldn't understand and would probably try to stop him so we had to contain you in a way that wouldn't hurt you.” He and Inutaisho had decided not to tell anyone about the sword's other ability. It could only cause problems if people found out that the sword could bring people back from the dead. People would come after the sword and, even though they couldn't use it, they could become a nuisance. It was bad enough when people knew just the basic power of the sword. If they found out that it could raise the dead, there was no telling how much trouble would result.

 

“So let us out already, idiot.” Sasuke growled. Something about this guy rubbed him the wrong way.

 

“Bastard.” Naruto grumbled, but released the barrier.

 

Wow, Sasuke and this guy even argue the same way that Naruto and Sasuke used to, Lee thought to himself.

 

Sakura and Tenten rushed to Lee's bedside and Sakura checked him over with her chakra, finding absolutely no injuries. She went to the two other patients who seemed to still be sleeping and found the same applied to them. “They are all completely healed. I've never seen anything like this. I can't heal people this completely even with my medical jutsu. That sword is incredible.”

 

“Yes, but it is a demon sword, so only a select few would be able to use it. Few people understand demon energy well enough to control it. It takes an extraordinary amount of chakra to control and then the sword can only be used in the way the original owner intended. So the sword would be virtually useless to anyone who would try to take it.” Tsunade explained, mainly to assure Naru they would not try to steal the sword.

 

Naruto nodded in thanks. Inutaisho walked back into the tent and Tenten approached him with her head down. “Thank you. I'm sorry that I yelled at you.”

 

Inutaisho lifted her chin to look at him. “I understood. I was the one responsible for his injuries so it was understandable and even expected that you would act like that. It is I who should apologize to you.”

 

Tenten hadn't realized before, but the demon was extraordinarily handsome. She blushed. She really shouldn't be thinking these thoughts.

 

Inutaisho smiled and released her chin to look at Tsunade. “I have healed all your injured shinobi. They should sleep for a while; those I use Tenseiga on usually sleep for about twenty hours. I have no idea why your friend is so active.”

 

“Youth waits for no one!” Lee's fist shot up into the air just as Gai-sensei's always did.

 

Inutaisho sweatdropped, but the rest of them were used to it. Naruto almost giggled at the look on his face but stopped himself in time. What was going on with him? He never giggled anymore; he had outgrown that when he left the village. Plus it looked ridiculous when someone as big as he was giggled. If he didn't watch it everyone would find out just who he was.

 

Inutaisho finally shook the weirdness that was Lee off and got back to business. “Most of your shinobi will be useless to you for the next day. Would you like for us to start rebuilding the wall or do you have something else for us to do?”

 

Tsunade thought for a moment. She examined the warriors in front of her. All looked exhausted, with the exception of Lee, Kiba (who had stayed away from the fight at the order of Tsunade), Ino, Choji, Shino, and Naru. Even Inutaisho looked like he was about to fall over, understandable after healing all those people (it was really the release of his youki that exhausted him but she didn't know that). “No, I think I will allow you to get some rest for now. Lee and Kiba will round up the shinobi who are fit to stand guard. Make up a watch schedule and have the regular two guards at the front gate and five at the section of the wall that was destroyed. Ino, Choji, and Shino, after you submit your report I would like for you to report to Lee or Kiba and sign up for a watch. Inutaisho and Naru, you will start tomorrow after you have gotten some rest. Inutaisho, I think I will have you help with the wall.” The elders would probably have a heart attack as it was, no sense in angering them even more by sending a demon on missions. Plus, she wasn't as trusting as she seemed. She needed to keep an eye on Inutaisho where there were several shinobi ready if he decided to go on another rampage. Naru, she wasn't as worried about. Sure, he had stopped Inutaisho, but he didn't seem to have much chakra. But there was the matter of the barriers and the fact that both Byakugan and the Sharingan couldn't uncover his secrets. He had to be more than he seemed. “Naru, you will be partnered with Sasuke and Neji. They were about to start on a series of missions before the attack. They are nothing too difficult. Just a few quick jobs.” Tsunade wanted her strongest and most observant people watching him. They would be able to uncover his secrets before anyone else would. “Sasuke, I want Naru to stay with you at the Uchiha mansion. He will be your responsibility. Inutaisho will stay with me.” Inutaisho smirked. Tsunade rolled her eyes. “In a separate room, under Anbu guard. I may not think you are a threat, but I will not be fool enough to trust you completely.”

 

Sasuke was furious. What had happened to his promise of a week off? Not that he wouldn't have been bored to tears if he actually had a week off, but he definitely would have preferred it to having to baby sit this idiot. He would be lucky not to have killed him by the end of the week. But he didn't argue because the Hokage had given an order and, as an Anbu captain, refusing the Hokage was not an option.

 

Naruto, however, was torn. On one hand he was happy he would be able to spend time with his best friend, even if said best friend didn't know it was him. On the other hand, he didn't want Sasuke to recognize him. He also didn't think they could live together and not kill each other, even if Naruto had grown up a lot. How he had been acting toward Sasuke since he had met him again proved he hadn't gotten any better at controlling his emotions toward the other man. But what choice did he have? He couldn't just ask for his old apartment back; it was probably occupied by someone else by now. There was no telling what they had done with his things. He would have preferred to just sleep in a tree. He had gotten used to them over the years.

 

Tsunade dismissed them and left with Inutaisho, Ino, Choji, Shino, and Shizune to hear a report on the team's mission. Naruto followed Sasuke with Sakura close behind. She was worried about Sasuke. He never had much patience with other people and might cause trouble with the other man. He was an unknown and, while she was sure Sasuke would be able to handle him in a fight, she didn't want any more trouble than necessary.

 

Sasuke stopped. “Sakura go home. I know what you are doing, but you don't have to worry about me.”

 

“But Sasuke-”

 

“Just go.”

 

Sakura stopped arguing with him and did as he asked. She had learned long ago to just let him be when he was like this. They had gotten closer since Naruto's death. Not as close as she would have liked, but she had learned to let that dream go and they were closer for it. She wouldn't be the love of Sasuke's life but she would be his closest friend. She was the one who tried to take his mind off their friend's death; not that it worked, but at least she was occasionally able to coax a smile from him. Even after all these years, he was still hung up in the past. He had felt more for their former teammate than he would admit, even to himself. Sakura didn't think even the closest of lovers would have mourned to the extent that Sasuke still mourned. And the bad part was he didn't even realize it and Sakura knew better than to even suggest what she was thinking. It would probably just make matters worse. They had been young when Naruto died; too young for what she was thinking. If Naruto had been around a few years later, she was sure there would have been an explosion between the two boys. She had been too innocent at the time to see the feelings the boys had for each other, but looking back she knew that if she had had the knowledge she had now she would have known she had never had a chance with Sasuke. She might have had a brief chance with Naruto until he figured out his true feelings, but she wouldn't have been able to make it last with either of them and it never would have compared to what Sasuke and Naruto could have shared. Sakura firmly believed Sasuke had lost more than a friend when Naruto died…he had lost his soul mate.

 

*********************************break*************************** ******

 

Well, that was a surprise wasn't it? Lee actually noticed Naru's resemblance to Naruto before anyone else. But will he put two and two together and find out the truth?

 

Hope you like the story and review if you want to!