Path of Good and Evil: A New Chapter Book Two

Chapter One: Naruto's Return

Two years had passed since Naruto left the Village with Jiraiya. Shikamaru and Zemaria were busy with planning their wedding and the Chuunin Exams were starting up again. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were in the Village to assist with the Exams. With all the things going on, Naruto, though loud as he was, actually was able to come in the Village undetected. The only ones who noticed were Kotetsu and Izumo who were on duty at the main gates.

"Man it feels so good to be back!" Naruto stretched his arms up and smiled.

"Naruto? Hey, you're back!" Kotetsu said happy to see him.

Naruto went walking around the Village. It felt so nostalgic after being gone for two years. He jumped to the top of a pole and looked around. Tsunade's face had been carved into the mountain with the other Hokage faces. Shikamaru was the first to catch sight of Naruto as he was walking along with Temari.

"Huh? N-Naruto?" He asked looking up to the pole Naruto was on.

Naruto looked down, "Hey Shikamaru!"

He jumped down smiling. He noticed Shikamaru was with Temari. After the attack on the Leaf two years ago, the Sand Village had become allied with the Leaf and broke off their alliance with the Sound. Shikamaru looked bored like always. Temari seemed more sophisticated than those years ago. Naruto had a new look too.

His clothes were orange and black instead of his old outfit of orange and blue with white on the jacket. Jiraiya left him to see Tsunade. He wanted to report on his progress since they had left the Village and report with Intel on the Akatsuki. Sakura made a quick trip to the main gates to obtain status reports from Kotetsu and Izumo.

"Sakura, have you seen yet?" Izumo asked.

"Huh? Seen what?" She asked in confusion.

Kotetsu smiled, "Take a look around the village and maybe you'll find out."

Sakura was still confused and obtained the reports from them. As she was walking around the Village she finally came across Naruto. He was still talking to Shikamaru and Temari.

"Yeah, Sakura, Ino, Chouji, Hinata, Shino, Kiba all of us original nine rookies are now Chuunin. Also, Neji, Tenten, and Lee are now Jounin," he told him.

"What!? No way! Seriously?" Naruto sounded disappointed.

Shikamaru laughed, "Basically, you Naruto, are the only Gennin left of us."

Naruto gasped, "Hold on, what about Gaara? And Zemaria? Is Zemaria still a Chuunin?"

"Gaara? Oh, he's Kazekage now," Temari told him.

Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro all were basically the Kazekage. Gaara was the official leader of the Sand Village though. Shikamaru told him that while he was away, he and Zemaria found a place of their own and were living together. She was still a Chuunin but would be taking the Jounin Exam in about a week. She insisted on Naruto being Shikamaru's best man for the wedding even though his best friend was actually Chouji.

"So Zemaria is going to take the exam to become a Jounin and she asked you to have me as your best man for your wedding?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah, that's right. Sakura is going to be the maid of honor. The bridesmaids are going to be Hinata, Ino, Tenten, Anko and Temari. I've chosen Chouji, Kiba, Lee, Kakashi, and Asuma as my groomsmen. I didn't choose Shino or Neji because let's face it, they wouldn't really put on a smile even for a wedding."

Naruto laughed lightly. Shikamaru also mentioned Konohamaru was going to be the ring bearer and Moegi the flower girl. The wedding would be one week after Zemaria was to take the Jounin Exam. Sakura stopped in her tracks seeing Naruto. He was taller than she remembered and his clothes were different. The headband was different too. This had black fabric instead of blue like he used to.