Master of Genjutsu

CH-39 The Homecoming

It was a difficult concept for Naruto to accept as he looked upon the road that he hadn't traveled in almost three years. A barely concealed sigh of recognition pushed through his lips and his eyes darted around the dusty path that led to the gates of Konoha. Mighty and proud, the wooden gates loomed in the distance as ever a welcoming gesture to the battle-weary Konoha ninja following Naruto.

Samui and Yugito flanked Naruto, the grace of experienced kunoichi evident in every step. A flick of his eyes over his shoulder saw that the reinforcement team, made up of Choji, Ino, and two nondescript Jounin, had formed a diamond defense around Asuma's battered team as they trudged alongside Asuma's stretcher, carried by Naruto's clones.

Naruto's eyes trailed up and down his friend's countenance and he felt a small frown appear on his lips as Shikamaru's obvious worry for Asuma distracted the normally calm and collected genius. He had grown tall in Naruto's absence, close to his own height, and a brief look at the man's depleted chakra pools replenishing told Naruto that his friend was significantly stronger than before but still completely outmatched in a straight on fight against any opponent above a solid A-rank shinobi. His clothes had taken a slight change since his absence, merely becoming more like Kakashi's normal Jounin look. His earrings were the only notable change, he had changed from rings to studs but the tanto strapped to his back said that he may have more abilities than just his immense intellect and formidable shadow jutsu.

His eyes traveled slowly over the morose Choji, who looked extremely odd without his usually ever-present bag of chips. His armor had changed into a red suit with plated armor on his torso, arms, and upper legs. On the front of his chest armor was the kanji for "food." Naruto mentally chuckled at the appropriateness of such a symbol, now he thought about it; this was probably a clan standard armor. His brown hair had grown much longer, so long it reached to his waist. His normally cheery demeanor had taken a hit as he cast worried glances at his sensei's badly burned body, but then he glared out into the trees and Naruto was surprised at the vehemence he saw in the kind-hearted Choji's eyes. For a moment, Naruto hoped someone would attack them simply to see just how terrifying the Akimichi clan got when protecting someone close to them, and not simply the food they so love.

With a slight bit of trepidation, his eyes traveled over to the final member of the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho second generation team. He was slightly surprised when he felt no remorse or even lingering resentment to the young woman now in front of him. Her formerly protruding bang now flattened against her face and the bandages around her waist were removed, revealing her bare stomach. A fact that Naruto noticed briefly, the expanse of smooth creamy skin enticed many and Naruto felt a smirk quirk his lips against his will. She had also replaced the warmers on her elbows with fishnet ones and wore a pair of the same over her knees. She also had a short, purple, sleeveless blouse, which enhanced the obvious growth she had gone through as her breasts strained her favorite color to contain her. An open-front purple apron-skirt over a shorter, black skirt, with short, fishnet shorts underneath completed her ensemble and showcased even more smooth and desirable flesh. All in all, she had turned into the beautiful and enticing kunoichi he had expected of her.

With a quick flick of his eyes, he dismissed the young woman behind him as he sent a small smile at Yugito and Samui just as they approached the gate. It was little surprise that the guards had summoned a medic unit to the gates as they saw the entourage coming from far away, that was the reason for the straightness of the path after all, and it took even less time for the guards to grant them entrance into the village after looking each of the people over closely, despite the company they kept.

As Asuma was being transferred to the medics, Shikamaru looked at his sensei before his eyes darted over to Naruto. For a moment, his friend stared into his eyes, a silent question posed. Naruto smiled lightly, and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder in a comforting gesture, "Go take care of Asuma, and yourself. I'll meet you, Yoshino-chan, and Shikaku-oji later on today, okay?" he asked lightly and Shikamaru nodded quickly, before he hustled after the hurt teacher he had almost failed to save, Ino followed closely.