We back!

So yeah I was actually effected by Hurricane Irma since I wrote the last chapter. I was actually really writing for this chapter, but that got cut short when my power went out. Truthfully it wasn't for very long as it was only about half a day, but I had to do a lot of cleaning up afterward as most of my neighbor's tree blew into our backyard and essentially blocked it off. Yeah. So if you were somebody expecting this chapter to be out all ready then that's your explanation.

Anyway, I've actually been pretty hyped when thinking about writing this story, although it DOES help that the COD WWII Beta was out a couple weeks ago and for some reason my PS4 wouldn't connect to the internet and yet my PC did… yeah go figure… so since I couldn't play then I decided to instead get some more work done on this chapter.

UPDATE ON SAME DAY THIS CHAPTER WAS POSTED

As you can clearly see by that intro I started this chapter a LONG time ago lol. I think I started that back January or something, but it was a hot minute ago. I figured I'd leave it just to give you guys an idea of how long it's truly been. That AND I didn't have Microsoft word on my comp and I really couldn't be bothered to write without it. Now that I have it back I'm seriously considering cranking out at least a few chapters before the inspiration runs dry. Hopefully…

Enjoy!

A Blonde in the Sunshine

Who Are You Really?

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Previously on, "A Blonde in the Sunshine"

"Naruto Uzumaki at your service." He said with a face-splitting grin.

"Hope I didn't make you miss me too much." He finished with a chuckle.

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"N-N-Naruto…?" A befuddled Sakura said as she finally took a LONG look at the boy… no MAN in front of her.

'Kami… talk about growing up nicely.' Sakura thought to herself.

She still couldn't believe that the boy who left three years ago as an annoying goofball had now returned home a full-fledged man who'd matured so much that she and her friends hadn't even recognized him in the slightest. It was almost as if he actually preformed a permanent henge(transformation).

"It's really nice to see you again Naruto." Sakura said with a soft smile as she finally got over her amazement at seeing her teammate in his new 'form.'

"It's good to be back in the company of such lovely women." Naruto said with a large grin as he looked all three girls in the eyes, his gaze lingering on Sakura's for a bit longer before giving her a wink.

The three girls all had different reactions as Sakura just shook her head lightly with the same smile on her face. TenTen mimicked her earlier actions a had another slight blush on her face meanwhile Ino proceeded to sigh in frustration as well as a bit of disappointment.

'Dammit! Of all boys to go run off and come back a steaming pile of cHUNKy soup of course it would be Naruto! The one boy who is essentially off limits to everyone!' Ino thought still disappointed that she can't try to use her certain brand of girlish charm to woo the blonde heartthrob.

Yes, almost all of the Konoha Eleven are very aware of the Hokage monument-sized crush that Hinata Hyuuga had on Naruto Uzumaki and each girl knew that it would be breaking HUGE girl code to actively seek out a man that was being pursued romantically by another woman.

Especially when all three girls ALSO knew how much mental and physical preparation the bluenette had put in into making sure that she would be completely ready to confess her feelings to Naruto when he finally did decide to return from his training trip.

Another fact that doesn't help is that Hinata is the sweetest person that anybody could ever come across. None of the girls, no matter how much any of them could want to, would ever willingly try to hurt the once shy Hyuuga as they know that she would never do anything to hurt any of them and that she cared for all of them and treated them like sisters.

Ino sighed once again at the thoughts of the fact that she couldn't really pull a move on him, but she knew that the boy probably still had feelings for Sakura given the actions that he just made toward her, and the fact that seems to be nearly the only thing that hasn't changed about his overall appearance and attitude. She made a mental note to speak with Hinata soon and inquire if somehow her Byakugan could see the future as amongst its other abilities.

Naruto finally sighed almost blissfully as he took in the actual sight of the village he was back in. It felt extremely nostalgic to him to actually be back after a long three years of monstrous training. He now knew that he was very skilled in the art of combat, but even he knew that he needed more life or death experiences against high-level ninja before he could truthfully gauge his own abilities against those who were trying to hunt him down.

He loved Jiraiya like a grandfather and he RARELY pulled his punches, but it's still very different to be sparring versus a sensei in comparison to being in fights that he'd experienced before he left the village like his brief bout with Kimimaro, his fight against Gaara during the invasion, and of course… his battle versus Sasuke at the Valley of End…

All three girls immediately noticed the change from Naruto's cheerful demeanor to his now frowning face as he looked down thought of his rival and 'best friend' and whatever he was possibly doing at this moment. It was then that he looked back up at Sakura with determination burning in his eyes,

'I swore to you that I would bring him back one day. That's a promise.' He thought to himself as his eyes shone with a new vigor and passion.

"Things haven't changed much around here have they?" he said almost wistfully as he stared around at the familiar stores and buildings that he could remember vandalizing during his youth. It was at that moment his eyes widened slightly as he finally took notice of the new addition to the Hokage monument. A small smile lit up on his face as he realized that was somebody he'd have to go see very soon.

"It was nice seeing you again Ino. You too TenTen, but for now I've got to take Sakura here and check in with Tsunade-baa-chan. I'm sure she'll want to see me after three longs years." He said cheerfully once again before heading off in the direction of the Hokage Tower.

As they bid TenTen and Ino farewell Sakura couldn't help but notice all of the attention Naruto was attracting as they made their trek towards her sensei's office. Almost all of the women would swoon with heart eyes upon looking at Naruto while the men were a split reaction of feeling envious of him and some wondering why he looked so familiar.

Naruto noticed all of the looks that Sakura was sneaking at him and he decided to just walk in a comfortable silence while he let his teammate check him out for a long while. They finally made their way up the stairs towards the Hokage tower where they saw Shizune shuffling some papers next to Tsunade's office.

"Ohayo Shizune-nee-chan!" Naruto said excitedly as he stood, practically bouncing on his feet as he saw his surrogate sister.

Shizune looked up from her work with a blink and a momentary pause before her eyes lit up in recognition at the whisker marks on his face and the bright blue eyes and she hadn't seen for a few years, she quickly got out of her trance and stood up and hugged the blonde,

"Oh my Kami, Naruto-kun! It's so good to see you again!" Shizune said as she pulled back and gave the blonde a good look and noticed the several differences that practically everyone has since he stepped foot in the village.

She couldn't help but look on in approval at the man that her surrogate brother had grown up to become. While she was happy that he'd grown up it was nice to see that he still kept some of the same mannerisms that made him who he was. Even now he was scratching the back of his head with an anxious look on his face as he awaited what she would have to say about him.

"You've grown up so much in so little time!" Shizune still said happily with a nod as she finally turned towards the Hokage's office before peering her head in and letting her know that she had visitors before fully opening the door and allowing Naruto to see another face that hadn't changed since he'd left the village.

One Minute Earlier

Tsunade Senju was currently taking, in her words, a well-deserved break from the bane of every Kage's existence.

Paperwork.

It was after a brief sigh and stretching of her limbs that she received a knock on her door and her assistant's head poking through the doorway.

"Tsunade-sama you have some visitors I'm positive you'll be wanting to see!" Shizune said in a tone that barely restrained the true excitement she saw in her face.

Tsunade cocked one eyebrow up in amusement before notifying her to let them through.

However, Tsunade couldn't help but almost fall out of her seat as her prized pupil walked in with what one could only assume to be Minato Namikaze's deceased form looking like he all but stepped out of his grave and made his way to their office.

It was only upon further scrutinization of his facial features that Tsunade recognized the all too familiar whisker marks that donned his cheeks as well as the goofy grin that he had on his face that he still couldn't seem to repress whenever he found himself in this situation of meeting another one of his precious people.

After a long pause and a few glances at both other members of the room from Sakura Tsunade finally managed to find her voice,

"Naruto…?" She inquired although it seemed as though she was just testing the word. As if somehow she really wanted to call him by a different moniker.

"Back in the flesh, baa-chan."

She slowly stood up from her desk and made her way around, marveling at the boy's huge growth boost since she'd last laid her eyes on him.

Before he could react, she instantly hugged with a near bone-crushing grip that probably would've broke a few ribs had he been a civilian. All the same he returned it with a small smile as the warmth from the gesture started to set it.

It wouldn't be a reunion with Tsunade if Naruto didn't call her baa-chan, similarly it wouldn't be a reunion with Naruto of Tsunade didn't react in a negative manner for calling her that. His ninja instincts went haywire just before he was flicked in the chest and slammed lightly into the wall adjacent to where he just entered.

Tsunade had a small smirk playing on her lips as she surveyed the damage. Of course she wouldn't hurt him too bad. She loved the boy, but if he really could be insufferable at times with that damnable nickname. She walked back to her seat as the boy lightly dusted himself off, now wearing more of a challenging smirk on his face as resumed his position standing at the center of the room.

"I've missed you, brat. I hope your only changes haven't been in your physical growth."

"Just you wait, baa-chan. I'm ready to shock everybody with what I've learned." stated Naruto as he gripped his arm and his muscles twitched reflexively.

"That's good. I, however, am not really in a mood to be patient as excluding my own pupil," she said as she turned her gaze towards Sakura for the first time "what you've learned in your training is of vital importance."

"Luckily it seems as though even the laziest of people can sometimes make an exception and be on time for once, right Kakashi?"

Sakura stared confusedly at Tsunade until an arm reached through the window of her office and the familiar look of silver, gravity defying hair made its way into her vision. Face stuffed into a book as he casually turned the page of his 'classy literature.'

"For the record, I resent that statement Hokage-sama. My unfortunate luck in dealing with Konoha's older residence when they need to cross the street, and foresight to know to avoid crossing paths with a black cat would hold up just about anybody."

For his part Kakashi managed to not look up from his smut, and just casually continued to turn the pages of his book while he drawled on. Naruto managed to bark out a few hearty laughs while Tsunade's face gained a blank look, and Sakura could only sigh in exasperation at her sensei's blatant poor excuses in front of their village leader no less.

It was at that moment Naruto started laughing that Kakashi finally took in Naruto's new appearance. If he was shocked, nothing about his overall expression or demeanor showed it. He seemed to just casually look Naruto up and down with a calculating eye before finally giving his great assessment.

"You've grown taller, Naruto. I hope all that growth wasn't for nothing." Flipping another page as he returned to what was more important.

At least in his opinion.

Naruto for his part, just snorted slightly as his sensei's rather dismissive acknowledgement. It was fine though. He really was looking forward to showing everybody how much he'd really changed and how much closer he felt like he was getting toward his ultimate goal.

"Naruto, Sakura this will be your challenger for your evaluation. I expect both of you to hold nothing back and truly show me that these past few years haven't been for naught." Tsunade's voice held a much firmer edge as she finally went into 'Kage-mode.'

With a bright smile on her face, Sakura nodded firmly, "I will make you proud, shishou."

"Get ready to have your socks rocked off, baa-chan."

"Well then, I'll see both of you at training ground three in two hours. I'm expecting a lot of you two." Kakashi waved himself off with an eye-smile as he disappeared in the normal leaf shunshin.

"You two have your orders, Naruto go on and get yourself acclimated back in with the village. I'll see you both at dusk." Tsunade stated as she finally picked up another document and began to return to her work.

Naruto and Sakura both saluted in their unique fashion before making their way out the Hokage tower.

The moment they exited the door a familiar white haired Sannin appeared from where he'd been cloaked in the corner.

"So whaddaya think?" Jiraiya stated with a wiggle of his eyebrows as he tried his best to get a rise out of his old teammate.

Not that he'd ever call her old.

"Kami Jiraiya… It was like Minato walked out of that painting on the wall and stood before me instead." Tsunade stated somberly as she couldn't help, but have her thoughts drift towards their late Yondaime and the great tragedy that befell the village sixteen years ago.

Jiraiya sighed looking every bit of his age in that moment, as he also sadly recalled the many memories he had with his former pupil. However, nothing could truly keep Jiraiya's mood down and he couldn't help but smile fondly as he thought about the last few years with Naruto during their training trip.

Truly everyone was in for a surprise when they see what he can do now.

"Yeah, the brat is the spitting image of his father, but he acts more like his mother even if it has toned down a bit."

"That we can agree on."

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Naruto and Sakura continued to walk down one of the main streets as they chatted amicably amongst each other. It was at this point that Naruto remembered that he still need to check out his old apartment, and make sure he thoroughly cleaned it. Three years away from his residence was sure to make it look even worse than when he was living there.

"I'm actually gonna head on home and get ready for our evaluation. Catch ya later, Sakura-chan."

After a rebuttal with a wave and a bright smile Naruto took to the rooftops to make his way to his humble abode. Crossing over into the seedier part of the village Naruto couldn't help, but smile fondly as he passed the familiar buildings and stores that were all he ever knew in his life. Sure they mostly despised his very presence, but there was truly nothing that could bother him at this current point in time. He was still riding his high from being home for the first time in three years.

It was as he landed at his apartment front door and started to turn his key in the lock that he realized his door wasn'tactually locked and at that very moment a very unmistakable blue head started to lose her balance and trip out the door caused by the blonde that had very swiftly pulled open the door the catch the perpetrator red-handed.

'Man this is the second time this has happened today. What kinda luck is that?' Naruto thought in confusion as he caught the blue-haired woman before she could have an untimely meeting with the floor. He slowly picked her up and his face contorted into one of shock and surprise as he stared at, what he could only best was, one of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

This was coming from a guy who basically just finished a tour/training trip of most of the Elemental Nations, and he'd come across plenty of girls during the process.

That meant he was a good judge in this situation of you asked him.

His brain slowly started to process the gorgeous figure in front of him even as she gave him a look of surprise, her eyes looked confused as if she wondered what he was doing here.

'Wait… blue hair…? Lavender eyes…? Can it be?!'

"Hinata?!" The blonde said with almost too much surprise evident in his voice.

Hinata froze as her brain registered the familiar voice, as well as the familiar whiskers found on her favorite person paired along with those sky blue eyes that she constantly found herself getting lost in.

"N-N-Naruto-kun?"

Hinata did something she vowed on her Ninja way that she wouldn't when she met up with her blonde beloved again.

She fainted.

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I'm just gonna end it here honestly. Just spent the last 2 hours cranking out words and hoping they seemed to flow well. I think the next chapter will really start to show the direction I'm taking in this fic. Hopefully anyway.

Appreciate everybody who reads any of my stories. R&R if you'd really enjoy it. Helps the inspiration.

I'm out.

-A1