The Returning Boy

Two and a half years was neither long nor short in the world of shinobi. Long enough for a boy to shed his immaturity, long enough for a bond to be worn thin by time, and long enough for some people to gather strength capable of shaking the ninja world.

Konoha Hidden Village, main gate.

The sun was bright, and the wind carried the heat unique to summer. Izumo Kamizuki, standing guard at the gate, leaned against the frame and yawned while Kotetsu Hagane flipped through the entry and exit records beside him.

"Do you think Lord Jiraiya will bring back anything interesting this time?" Izumo asked casually.

Before Kotetsu could answer, a figure appeared on the distant road.

Golden hair, blue eyes, and the six whisker-like marks on his face had grown deeper than they had been two years ago. He was taller, his shoulders broader, and most of the baby fat had faded from his face, but the fire burning in his eyes had not changed at all.

Naruto Uzumaki had returned.

He wore a black jacket trimmed in orange, a small pack slung over his back, and walked with a spring in his step as if he were dancing. When he reached Konoha's gates, he stopped and looked up at the fire symbol above them. A slow grin spread across his face.

"I'm back."

His voice was not loud, but Izumo and Kotetsu both straightened at once. They heard something completely different from two years ago in that voice—not brashness, not noise, but a settled, solid confidence.

"Naruto?" Kotetsu looked him over from head to toe. "You brat... you've gotten a lot taller."

"Of course!" Naruto laughed, still wearing that signature carefree grin. "Pervy Sage said I'm Konoha's poster-boy ninja now!"

Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged glances, then laughed as well. They did not know whether Jiraiya had truly said that, but coming from this boy, it sounded like the truth.

He had learned far too much on this journey. He had even developed the Big Ball Rasengan, his new ultimate technique.

Meanwhile.

Sakura walked out of Tsunade's office with a new list of medical assignments in hand. Her hair was a little longer than before, and the childishness had faded from her face, replaced by a calm, dependable air. Over two years, she had changed from a girl who only knew how to cry, "Sasuke," into one of Konoha's finest medical ninjas.

Monstrous strength. With a casual punch on the training ground, she could shatter a boulder twice a person's height. Advanced medical ninjutsu. She could complete in one minute an operation that would take an ordinary medical ninja half an hour. Chakra control precision. Even Tsunade had once said, "Your control has already surpassed mine at your age."

But Sakura never showed off any of it. She simply did her best in every training session, every mission, and every treatment.

—"Because someone was running ahead of her, she had to catch up."

Team 7 was reassembled. Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sakura and seemed to space out for a moment, lost in thought.

"Now that everyone's here," Kakashi said, closing his book and pulling two bells from his pocket, "let's begin."

The bell test.

The first test of the revived Team 7.

Naruto and Sakura were no longer who they had been two years ago. They had strategies, teamwork, and, above all, strength.

When the bells were taken, Kakashi stood in the center of the training ground with his hands in his pockets, watching the two bells jingling in Naruto's hand.

"Pass."

He said nothing more. Naruto and Sakura did not cheer, either. They simply looked at each other and smiled. There was no pride in defeating a jonin in those smiles, only something quiet—we're back.

When the news arrived, Naruto was eating at Ichiraku Ramen.

A Sand Village ANBU, covered head to toe in sand, had charged straight in through the gates. His clothes were stained with blood, half his face was caked in dust, and his voice was hoarse, as though he had trekked through the desert for three days and nights.

"Kazekage Gaara... was taken by Akatsuki... Please, Konoha... please..."

The noodles slipped from Naruto's mouth and fell back into his bowl.

"Lord Kankuro pursued them alone and was poisoned... his life is hanging by a thread..." The ANBU knelt in the Hokage's office, pressing his forehead to the floor. "Sand Village begs Konoha... to send reinforcements..."

Tsunade rose from her chair without hesitation.

"Kakashi." Tsunade's voice was sharp and firm. "Take Team 7 and leave immediately."

"I'll have Team Guy provide support as well."

Kakashi nodded and turned to leave the office.

On the road to Sand Village, Kakashi's team raced through the forest. They passed Konoha's border outposts, crossed the river dividing the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, and watched the vegetation beneath their feet change from dense forest to sparse brush, then finally to endless yellow sand.

They quickly reached Sand Village, where they met an old woman named Granny Chiyo and found the dying Kankuro.

Kankuro lay on the ground, his face purple, his lips black, his breaths rapid and shallow. Sasori's poison was spreading through his blood, devouring his life bit by bit.

Sakura crouched beside him, green medical chakra lighting up in her palm.

"Granny Chiyo." Sakura did not look up. "Please help me."

Chiyo stood at a distance, watching this young female ninja from Konoha crouch before her grandson. The medical chakra in Sakura's palm was so steady that it did not seem possible for a girl barely in her teens.

She walked over and crouched across from Sakura.

"I only know puppet techniques. I don't understand medical ninjutsu."

"That's fine." Sakura's chakra had already seeped into Kankuro's body. "I'll remove the poison. Please help me maintain his vital signs."

Chiyo looked into Sakura's eyes. There was no hesitation or fear in those green eyes, only something pure—the gaze of a doctor. She pressed her hand against Kankuro's chest.

The two women crouched on either side of the poisoned, dying Kankuro and worked together in silence. Sakura's medical chakra tracked every branch of the toxin inside his body while Chiyo's chakra sustained his heartbeat and breathing.

It was the best thing one shinobi could do for another—pull him back from the edge of death.

After stabilizing Kankuro, Granny Chiyo followed the Konoha group to pursue Akatsuki and retrieve Gaara.

Kakashi's team split from Team Guy, deciding to take different routes and surround the hideout.

On Kakashi's side, someone had appeared on the bridge ahead at some point. A black cloak patterned with red clouds, long black hair, and two faint creases between his brows.

Itachi Uchiha.

Kakashi raised a hand, and the team stopped.

Itachi stood in the center of the bridge, his expression calm. He did not form hand seals or draw a weapon. He merely looked at the four of them as if they were ants.

"Naruto. Sakura."

Sakura's hand was already on her ninja tool pouch, but Kakashi stopped her.

"Wait. This isn't the real one. The chakra level is wrong."

Itachi's fingers twitched slightly, and Kakashi's Sharingan had already caught the flow of chakra. The battle did not last long. The Shapeshifting Technique had limited chakra, and once it took enough damage, it automatically dispelled.

Itachi's body dissolved into a cloud of smoke. Kakashi put away his kunai and glanced at Naruto.

"Move."

On the other route, Team Guy was also advancing at full speed.

Neji kept his Byakugan activated. Chakra fluctuations were rapidly approaching at the edge of his vision. A man stood on the bridge, wearing a black cloak with red clouds, blue-skinned and shark-faced, with a bandage-wrapped greatsword resting on his shoulder.

"Kisame." Might Guy did not slow down.

The battle erupted on the bridge. Neji's Byakugan locked onto Kisame's chakra flow. Rock Lee's speed kept Kisame's sword from striking anything solid, while Tenten's ninja tools sealed off his movements from afar, and Guy's fist came crashing down from the front. The Shapeshifting Technique possessed only thirty percent of the original's strength, and it was defeated three minutes later. Kisame's body dissolved into smoke. Guy lowered his fist and looked at Neji.

"Keep moving."

The two teams broke through Akatsuki's interception on separate routes and formally met outside the sealing hideout. Six people stood before the enormous barrier, upon which were written five characters for "forbidden." Each character radiated an ominous chakra fluctuation.

"The Five-Seal Barrier." Neji's Byakugan had already seen through its structure. "We need to tear off all five sealing talismans at the same time to break it."

Kakashi, Guy, Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee, and Tenten each approached one of the "forbidden" characters. Neji remained where he was, his Byakugan reflecting the blurred scene within the barrier.

"Three, two, one—tear!"

The sealing talismans were torn off at the same time. The barrier shattered, dissolving into countless motes of light.

Several strange sounds accompanied the barrier's removal. Had someone triggered a trap?

Inside the hideout was a massive cave. Gaara's body lay in a sealing array atop the central platform, his chest unmoving. Shukaku, the One-Tail, had already been extracted.

Naruto stood before the platform, looking at Gaara's face. The boy who had once terrified everyone in the Forest of Death, who had nearly beaten Rock Lee to death during the preliminaries, now lay there quietly like an ordinary sleeping teenager.

But his chest was not moving.

Deidara and Sasori were in the hideout. Seeing that the seal had been broken, Deidara immediately flipped up, grabbed Gaara's corpse, created a clay bird, and fled. Sasori remained where he was, staring at Granny Chiyo as he briefly lost focus.

At the sight of Gaara's corpse, Naruto's hands began to shake. Not just his hands—his shoulders, his cheeks, his entire body trembled. Nine-Tails chakra surged out of him. A red chakra cloak wrapped around his body, the first tail forming behind him, followed by the second. But two-tailed Naruto had not lost control.

Naruto shot forward. His speed in the two-tailed state far surpassed normal. Rocks shattered beneath his feet, the air exploded behind him, and his entire body became a streak of red light as he chased after Deidara.

Kakashi followed Naruto and began pursuing Deidara alongside him...

In a secret chamber deep within the hideout, Orochimaru sat in a stone chair. His arms were still hidden within his sleeves, and his body had grown thinner than it had been two years ago, but his golden snake eyes were brighter than ever.

"Sasuke." Orochimaru's voice echoed through the chamber, carrying an impatience he had suppressed for a long time. "Are you ready for your revenge?"

Sasuke stood in the center of the chamber, his arms hanging at his sides, his expression cold.

Two and a half years. He had learned many things. Chidori Sharp Spear could shoot from his palm and pierce rocks ten meters away. Chidori Senbon was thin as hair and could seal an opponent's chakra points. Chidori Current could cover his entire body and electrocute every enemy who touched him in close combat. Chidori Blade could coat the Kusanagi Sword, and nothing could withstand its edge. He had even learned to summon heavenly lightning—Lightning Release: Kirin, the ultimate lightning technique, powerful enough to rival an S-rank ninjutsu.

His Great Fireball Technique was three times larger than it had been two years ago. His chakra control was precise enough for him to freely switch between Cursed Mark State One and State Two in midair. In Cursed Mark State Two, bony wings grew from his back, and aerial combat was no longer his weakness. He had even learned to activate the Cursed Mark selectively—letting chakra erupt only where and when it was needed, no longer draining his body without restraint.

He had also discovered something. Orochimaru was becoming increasingly restless. Probably because the cooldown period for Living Corpse Reincarnation was almost over. Orochimaru had waited nearly three years. His hands were still crippled, and his arms still hurt. He needed a new body. He needed Sasuke's body.

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru. The corner of his mouth moved slightly, but it was not a smile.

"Almost." His voice was calm.

Orochimaru looked into Sasuke's eyes. There was none of the fear, hesitation, or struggle he wanted to see in those black pupils. There was only one thing—waiting. A flicker of unease rose in Orochimaru's heart, but he quickly suppressed it. Living Corpse Reincarnation still had half a year left. In half a year, this body would be his.

Then he would go find Yunju. That Senju orphan who had escaped from his grasp, that traitor who thought he could gain freedom simply by running away. Orochimaru would make him understand that betrayal came at a price.

"Yunju." Orochimaru murmured the name, the corner of his mouth slowly rising. "Once I've changed bodies, I'll come find you."

Deep in the secret chamber, something wriggled in the darkness, making wet, faint rustling sounds.