The Hidden Truths of the Village Hidden in the Leaves

Summary: Starting after the trip to the Land of the Waves, Sasuke has developed a sense of overprotectivness a shinobi feels towards their partner and Naruto has to deal with new surprises every day. The secret behind the Uchiha clan massacre is revealed and Orochimaru is scared of one man. ANBU and foxes flock towards Naruto as much as danger does. A whole new take on the life of Team 7 and co.

"Waa! Home at last, dattebayo!" A much deeper voice than Sakura had expected yelled from the direction of the gates as she walked in said direction, having gotten up extra early to wait for her teammates' return but it would seem they had arrived even faster than she had anticipated. "There's no place like home!"

"Shut up, brat, before you wake the whole damn village." That voice still sounded the same, if a bit more grumpy and Sakura refrained from giggling as she realized what had happened. Someone must have been eager to return so everyone else was forced to keep up with the boundless ball of energy known as Uzumaki Naruto and Jiraya was fast to complain.

"They should be awake by now to greet us!" The blond in question whined and Sakura didn't bother with refraining from giggling now as she saw the pout on her blond teammate's lips. She saw just how tall and handsome he'd gotten and she couldn't help but admire the view. Sure, she and Lee are practically married for two years already but she was still a woman and could appreciate a handsome man when she saw one. And Naruto had developed very nicely. He even lost the jumpsuits he always wore, instead now dressed in black shinobi pants with a black mesh shirt and a sleeveless orange vest with a hood over it, the necklace Tsunade had given him on clear display. His hair had gotten a bit longer and his tan was more towards golden now than it had been before and it suited him great. He looked really good.

"Tch. Shut up, dobe." Sakura nearly swooned at the deep voice but caught herself and shook her head as she looked towards her other teammate, Uchiha Sasuke. Both Naruto and Sasuke were taller than her now but Sasuke was still taller than Naruto by a few inches, which must drive Naruto insane. He now wore a zip up gray shirt with a high, wide collar and short sleeves, the Uchiha fan no doubt on the back. Around his waist, he had a hoodie wrapped like a belt and he wore long, tight shinobi pants that accented his muscles but wasn't anywhere near revealing. He was still pale but he no longer wore his hitai-are on his forehead, rather it was strapped around his hoodie's sleeve like an accessory to his belt. The hoodie almost hid his Kusanagi and Sakura actually couldn't see any weapons pouch, so she presumed that was intentional that way. He had actually let his bangs grow a bit and they were now covering his forehead. He had gotten even more handsome than he had been before. "It's too early for this."

"Oh, look!" Anko, apparently equally as energetic as Naruto was, had spotted Sakura and had wasted no time in pointing her out. "There's Sakura-chan! Look how beautiful she's grown!" And indeed, Sakura had grown up into a beautiful young lady. Finally her breasts had decided to start showing and while nowhere nearly as big as Hinata's or Ino's, hers were bigger than Tenten's and a rather nice size. She had also grown taller and had gotten a wonderful figure for herself due to all her training and hitting puberty. Her manner of dress hadn't changed much, other than her dress actually being a dress and not a skirt apron. Her hair was still shoulder length and she surprised both of her boys when they saw the jade colored diamond shaped seal on her forehead, just like Tsunade's. Her lips were fuller and her eyelashes were longer. All in all, she looked very pretty.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto all but tackled her with his hug and Sakura didn't hesitate to return it. "We missed you so much, dattebayo!"

"I missed you guys, too!" The pink haired girl called excitedly as she moved to hug Sasuke next, rather surprised when he went for the embrace and wasn't the first to withdraw. Last time they had all seen each other, which was three years ago, Sasuke had only very reluctantly spent a five second hug time for everyone. And she kind of guessed it was because Naruto expected him to. It seemed to be different now. The trip had obviously been very good for him. "How was the trip? Oh, I bet you have some interesting stories to share!" She looked behind them and politely bowed to their two adult escorts. "Jiraiya-sama, Anko-san. Welcome back."

"Thanks, Sakura. You sure have gotten pretty!" The white haired pervert said with a wink but Sakura only rolled her eyes at him a little. "Tsunade's been treating you well, I believe?"

The younger kunoichi nodded happily and proudly puffed up her chest. "As a matter of fact, I am shisou's best student!" She clenched her fist and pumped it in the air in a manner similar to how her inner self used to do. "Shannaro!"

"That's great, Sakura." Sasuke replied with a small smile and Sakura beamed at her once crush. "So, what's been going on here?"

"Oh! Well, Shiksmaru somehow came to date that Temari from Suna. You know her, right?" The two boys nodded, refraining from telling her that they had seen her a few months into their training journey when some group other than the Akatsuki tried to kidnap Gaara for Shukaku's power and chakra. "Well, anyway, they're dating now. Konoha has a strong alliance with Suna and Kiri now, so they come and go. I think she'll end up moving here in the end since Shikamaru is the heir to his clan." Again, both boys nodded and the kunoichi went on. "Neji and Tenten also started dating a year ago and Kiba and Hinata went on their first date just last week. It took her a while to let go of her feelings for Naruto," the blond looked guilty at this and Sakura smiled reassuringly at him, that smile turning into a grin when Sasuke put a possessive hand around his boyfriend's waist. She was so happy they were still together! Although she had doubted anything could tear them apart anymore. Not with how advanced medical science was and especially the reproductive implant procedures. "But she's moved on. They all grew up quite the bit, our friends. As for me, well ... Lee and I have been dating for two years now and we're very happy. He's a real gentleman."

"Have you done the dirty?" Jiraiya asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, getting an elbow to the ribs by Anko and an indignant shout of "Ero-Sennin!" from Naruto. Sasuke just groaned out something that sounded suspiciously like: "Not this again." Sakura couldn't help hut chuckle at their antics. Kami-sama, it was so boring without her boys there!

"Anyway, that's about it for couples, although Ino seems to have gotten a crush on a certain someone about two months ago. Guess growing up does that, huh?" The pinkette mused as they moved through the still slumbering village towards the Uchiha Compound. "Konohamaru and his friends became genin and he seems to be crushing on Hanabi, Hinata's little sister. Oh! Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei got married and are expecting a kid!" The girl fell into a giggling fit while Anko's eyes widened.

"No way! Really?" The two kunoichi continued to gush about it for a few minutes, the Uchiha Compound slowly coming into view. "Well, finally!"

"That's what most of the jonin said, too." The pink haired girl said. "Shikamaru was the best man and Hinata was the brides maid. It was a nice wedding."

"Makes me kind of wish I was there, dattebayo." Naruto said wistfully. "I've never seen a wedding before."

Sasuke tightened his grip around his boyfriend's waist and leaned down a bit to whisper in his ear. "Don't worry, dobe. I'll make sure our wedding is unforgettable."

"Sasuke!" The beat red Jinchuuriki yelled in embarrassment and the blush only got worse when Kurama roared with laughter inside his head. The blond then proceeded to punch himself in the stomach, knocking the wind out of them both. "Shut up, bastard."

"Still working out the kinks with Kurama?" The medical ninja asked with an amused smile and everyone but Naruto snorted.

"Far from it. They get along great except Kurama just likes to tease him a lot." Anko explained with a snigger.

Sakura just shook her head. "So nothing changed, huh?" The group gave her a collective "Nope," and she laughed good naturally. "Well, that's to be expected."

"What else happened?" Naruto questioned to avoid talking about his embarrassing bromance with the Kyuubi he still housed.

"We actually saw Shino's face a few months ago." She ignored Naruto's whining about having seen it when he wasn't there. "And Chouji lost some weight and grew his hair out. Tsunade-sama actually lessened her drinking-"

"No way!" Jiraiya yelled in surprise, not believing it for a minute. Knowing he'd see it eventually, Sakura ignored his outburst and continued filling the guys in on what had been happening.

"Karin became a medical ninja trainee last year, too, since it would seem not only her blood but her chakra, too, was full of healing capabilities-"

"An Uzumaki trait," Naruto proudly informed her and Sakura resisted the urge to smack him upside the head for interrupting her. Again. They were already within the grounds and they hadn't even noticed it. Sasuke paused to look at the gardens that were once again blooming like when he was a kid, feeling nostalgic.

"Suigetsu is a pain most days but he's apparently useful out in the field. Juugo's still in therapy but he's been getting better the past two months. I think having the fear of god installed in him through nightmares is not the best way to go about things but his more violent side is showing less and less-"

"Nightmares?" The Uzumaki and the Uchiha chorused curiously, exchanging glances between each other. Sakura smiled at them and just opened the sliding doors as they entered the main house. They were instantly hit by the delicious smell of breakfast and Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly enough for the whole of Konoha to hear and to be woken up by. The blond didn't even bother looking sheepish and instead just ran into the kitchen, half expecting to see Iruka-sensei preparing breakfast for them, so he happily yelled at the top of his lungs that he was home.

Only he wasn't greeted by Iruka. Instead, kind black eyes looked up from preparing the sunny side up omelette and the raven haired man smiled fondly at him. "Ohayo, Naruto-sama. And welcome home."

"Itachi-nii-chan!" Naruto screamed happily, zipping across the room with the speed to rival his father and he hugged the man tightly around the waist. "You're back!"

"Nii-san!" Itachi had to grunt when Sasuke assaulted him, too, also attaching himself to his brother's waist with startling speed. "When did you get back?"

"Welcome back home to you too, Sasuke." He replied first as he mussed both of their hair lovingly before making them let him go so he can finish the eggs before they ended up burnt. "And behave, you two. Especially you, Naruto-sama. You don't want to make a bad first impression on your uncle."

"Uncle?" The blond's head snapped in the direction of the deep chuckle behind him and he looked up to see a tall, well built man with flaming red hair, pale skin and strange purple eyes with no sclera but very small pupils. Not to mention that the eyes seemed to be a concentrated circle type of thing. Although one eye was covered by the man's long bangs. He was dressed in a faded red trench coat with a hood and some black pants and a mesh shirt. "Are you Nagato?"

"Nagato!?" Jiraiya yelled from the door way, staring at his once student with stunned, dark eyes. The middle aged man smiled at the hermit fondly.

"Hello, Jiraiya-sensei. Sorry for all the trouble we caused."

"Forget that! I thought you were dead for years!" The white haired man lunged for his student and hugged him in a tight bear hug. Nagato gladly returned the hug with a small chuckle.

"I see Jiraiya-sensei is back." An amused female voice said from the pantry door and Sasuke and Naruto looked around Itachi to see a pretty middle aged woman with kind orange eyes and short, purplish-blue hair with a paper flower in it. She was dressed in a strange light lilac dress like coat that revealed a bit of her stomach before fanning out to the sides and light gray pants. "And this must be my brother in law." She said as she smiled at Naruto.

"Konan!" Jiraiya excitedly crowed, coming to give her a hug, too. "I can't believe it! Is Yahiko here, too?" Both of his students suddenly had very sad smiles on their faces and Jiraiya didn't need the words to be spoken for him to understand what had happened. "Oh."

"It happened quite a few years ago." Nagato said with a sigh. "He wouldn't want us to mourn him."

"Probably not." The frog hermit said with a nod before changing the subject. "So you're married?" Both Nagato and Konan blushed.

"Engaged," the girl said as she showed off the ring Nagato had obviously given her. "We're thinking to marry next spring."

"Good choice. Konoha is very lovely in spring." The Sannin commented before the topic turned a bit serious. "What are you doing here, though?"

"I brought them." Itachi replied as he served the food on the table with the help of Konan and Sakura. "It took us a long time to corner the Akatsuki, but we were persistent and finally we found them. Nagato-kun and Konan-san decided to come with us instead of fighting us but the rest of the Akatsuki didn't want anything to have with Konoha. We ended up fighting to the death and the fight ended with Kisame shaving through Sasori, Kakashi-san stabbing five Chidoris through Kakuzu, I needed to Amaterasu Hidan, Yamato nearly died when fighting Zetsu and Sai nearly got blown to pieces by the turns out to be suicide bomber Deidara."

Sasuke frowned at his brother when he finished the short recount of the fight. "That leaves one person left, if memory serves me regarding the reports you sometimes sent our way." He gestured subtly towards Kuro Onyx that had landed on the window sill in the kitchen, crowing for attention from his master. Itachi fondly obliged, glad to have his almost lifelong companion back.

The older Uchiha exchanged looks with Nagato and Konan before turning back to his brother. "Well, you see-"

"Itachi!" A voice yelled from somewhere within the house. "When are you going to the cemetery?! Kakashi and I want to visit Rin but I also want to visit my Baa-chan and my parents!"

Nagato's and Konan's eyes widened when Kurama suddenly popped into existence, the size of a big wolf, and started growling like a rabid dog as a tall, well built, short, spiky, black haired man with a big eye-patch on the left side of his face, pale, dressed in a dark, short jacket with orange lining and an Uchiha fan on the back, black pants and a pair of cracked goggles on his head walked in, looking with his one black eye at the long haired Uchiha.

"Come on! I can't leave the Compound without you and you know it!"

"You!" The Kyuubi growled and the man jumped in surprise as Kurama lunged for him, stopped only by the chakra chains Naruto and Nagato instantly summoned to restrain the biju. "When I get my hands on you-!"

"Kurama, please stop." Itachi said with a sigh, standing in front of the short haired man with defiant eyes. "You can't kill my cousin."

"Your what!?" The two boys asked in a near horrified manner while Kurama stopped struggling to actually look at the boy and sense his chakra. Red eyes widened as he finally recognized him.

"Obito?"

"Uh, hey," said man waved uneasily. "Um, I can explain."

Sasuke gawked at him for a minute before turning to his brother, which Obito used as his opportunity to escape before Kurama changed his mind. Unfortunately, that kicked in Kurama's predatory instincts and the fox gave chase. Obito's screams definitely woke up the rest of the village and the inhabitants of the Uchiha compound. Sasuke ignored it all, even when a half awake, half dressed Kisame came up to his brother and complained into Itachi's neck about the noise.

"Explain. Please." He half begged, half demanded and Itachi could just shrug with a small smile as Karin joined her Uzumski clansmen in trying to save Obito's life.

"I guess there was one hidden truth left in the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

OWARI

A/N: HEY! YES! THIS IS FINALLY DONE! WOW! Anyway, I am also kind of sorry this story is over. It was very fun to write, after all, and all your reviews were a delight to read and I was always looking forward to them, so thank you all. I hope you have all enjoyed this story as much as I have. What happened in the three years everyone was apart, I leave up to you and your wonderful imagination. Please leave a review one last time and I wish you all the best in life. Hopefully I will hear from you in my other stories or on other occasions. For now goodbye and good luck!

R&R

YYM

:)