Hey chaps, me again. Not as fast this time I know I'm ashamed.

Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy as usual.

Also come on lads, no reviews for the last chapter? D: I live for that shit so review this shit, many pleases.

"Wow~! We're finally back!"

"Hold on, brat. Don't go running off, we'll need to report that we're back."

"Yeah, yeah I know, Jiraiya-sensei. But..." Naruko took a large intake of breath and sighed contently as she looked through the gates of Konoha, a great smile splitting across her face. "I sure missed this place, ya know?"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Of all the traits you could have gotten from your mother..."

She giggled, stopping for a second to look at her home, reaching up to adjust the Hitae-ate that was sewn into the left sleeve of a long-sleeved black top that ended just above her navel. Atop this she wore an orange, sleeveless, hooded jumper, with matching coloured shin-length leggings. The girl had aged well, her features more angular and less child-like, and her hair had grown to reach her waist in it's usual twinned ponytails.

The two walked through the west gates of Konohagakure no Sato, both of them taking pleasure in returning to their village.

Naruko giggled with excitement. "It looks just the same as when we left. I can't wait to see everyone."

"Allow us to be the first."

A voice from beside the guard booth took their attention, where they found Sasuke and Ino stood together.

"Sasuke! Ino-chan!"

Naruko ran up to her friends enveloping Ino in a tight hug as Sasuke gave her a wave followed by a "Yo.".

"I missed you guys so much, ya know?" Naruko smiled in earnest.

The smile was returned by Ino. "We missed you two too! We heard you were coming back today so we came to greet you."

"Speaking of two..." Sasuke glanced around, noting the absence of the second person.

"Oh. Yeah." Naruko stood back and knocked on her skull lightly. "Natsune, we're here. Get out."

They watched as a familiar red-head began to emerge limply from Naruko's chest, slowly drooping to the ground. Natsune slumped to the floor in a heap aps she fully exited Naruko, murmuring unintelligibly.

"How can you still be tired you've resting for half a day!?" Naruko complained, prodding her partner firmly with her foot.

The welcoming party looked on blankly.

"You know, I almost forgot you could do that." Sasuke commented.

"I did forget you could do that..." Ino shivered in discomfort.

Upon hearing Sasuke's voice Natsune appeared to perk up, zipping to her feet and repeatedly patting him firmly on the shoulder.

She shot him a fanged grin. "Hey! What's going on we missed you..."

"Hey, we..."

"...Ducky."

"...didn't miss you at all, leave."

Natsune sniggered at his response, stepping back to Naruko's side. Sasuke released the glare he was holding and took notice of the pair's change in appearance.

"Huh, you guys have actually changed a lot.

As usual Natsune's features matched Naruko's exactly only her skin tone was noticeably a shade paler now. Her hairstyle was also different, now tied back into a single ponytail that reached her lower back, though her fringe remained the same. Their attire also seemed to differ more compared to their old outfits. Natsune wore what appeared to be a tight-fitting black vest that also ended at her navel, under an unzipped, long-sleeved black jacket that had orange trim. She also wore shin-length leggings, only black in colour. Her hitae-ate hung loosely around her hips. The pair of them were still the same height but had only grown three inches taller.

"I could say the same, Sasuke." Naruko approached him, craning her neck to look him in the eye. "You're so much taller. We've barely grown."

True enough Sasuke had shot up in the time they were away, standing a full head taller than Naruko. His clothing had also had a minor adjustment. A typical Uchiha high collared shirt in grey that was unbuttoned, over a simple black T-shirt. Dark green shinobi pants rounded off his attire. His hitae-ate was tied around his right upper arm.

"Huh, I guess so." Sasuke raised a hand to compare the height difference inquisitively.

"I know something else that's grown..." Ino sidled up to Natsune, resting her hands under the red-head's sizeable D-cup bust. "You should have had the same diet at Natsune here, Naruko."

"Don't even get me started on that crap!" Naruko spun around, her face red with annoyance. "I swear her chakra is being stored there or something! It's so unfair, ya know!"

She dejectedly looked down to her smaller B-cups, pressing her top down with her hands. Before anyone could comment a blur to the left of Naruko grabbed their attention. Looking, she saw quite a short ANBU standing before them with the standard black cloak and hood, and a lizard mask covering their face.

"Ah, can I help you?" Naruko asked politely.

Both hers and Natsune's eyes widened when the ANBU raised their right arm from under the cloak and pulled back their hood to reveal a long, messy mob of pure white hair.

"N-no way!" Naruko watched in awe as the ANBU then pulled away their mask to reveal a blank expression with equally blank black eyes staring at her, an unmistakable black burn scar on the entire right side of their face. "K-Kuro-chan!?"

Surprisingly, Naruko wasn't the one to make the first move. Kuro darted forward, wrapping the blonde into a tight, one-armed hug, resting her chin on her shoulder with her eyes closed. Naruko happily returned the hug, nuzzling into the mute's neck.

"Kuro-chan... the last time I saw you..." Naruko gripped her friend tighter. "I'm so happy you're okay. And an member of the ANBU... I'm so happy."

They hold the hug for a good while until Kuro breaks off. She looked to Natsune with plans to greet her as well but froze upon seeing her aforementioned bust. The mute's eyebrows twitched as she reached up to pat herself, a depressed sigh leaving her mouth as they pressed flat against her chest.

"Nice to see you're doing well, Squirt." Natsune crossed her arms under her chest to further accentuate her assets and tease her old teammate as she greeted her.

"I'd hate to break up the reunion," Jiraiya chipped in from the sidelines where he'd been watching them greet each other, "but we really should be getting to see Tsunade-chan or she'll have my ass for breakfast. We're a few days late as it is."

"Ah, yeah okay." Naruko looked back to her teammates and Ino. "Are you guys busy or?.."

Sasuke waved a hand as a go ahead. "Kuro and I asked for a free day today so we could catch up."

Kuro nodded in confirmation and the group all set off down the main street towards to Hokage Tower.

Naruko was quick to ask about how her friends had been doing, with Ino revealing that she was Chuunin instantly with pride. Sasuke told the returning trio that he had waited for Kuro's recovery before retrying the Chuunin exams, from which both of them were granted the rank of Chuunin. Since then they had both received recommendations to become Jounin, Kakashi for Sasuke, Haku for Kuro. Both recommendations were accepted and since then Kuro had also applied and been accepted into the ANBU. Her abilities had grown to be ideal for the ANBU, with many of them being ideal for quick takedowns. They then disclosed that the rest of the rookie teams and Team Gai had all become Chuunin, with Neji and Hinata also becoming Jounin through the accepted recommendation of Hiashi.

It was at this point that another familiar white-haired ninja happened to walk round the corner ahead of them, his nose plunged deep into his usual lewd book.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruko rushed forward, elated, her arms making to embrace Team 7's leader only for him to stop her in her tracks with a hand on her head.

"One second, I'm at a good bit..." He trailed off as he began to giggle coyly to himself before noticing who he had stopped. "Oh Naruko, you're back. Yo."

The blonde could only stare at her sensei blandly, a look mirrored by her entourage. The exception was Jiraiya, who laughed heartily as he walked up the greet the masked Jounin.

"If it isn't my number one fan!" He reached into his backpack and produced a small blue book, handing it to Kakashi. "My latest work, on the house. It's not meant to be released for a few more months!"

Kakashi stared at the book in awe, quickly pocketing his current one with his free hand and snatching the new one from the Sannin.

"I-I... I'm honoured, Jiraiya-sama!" Kakashi stammered as took in the glory that was Icha Icha: Tactics, oblivious to the slowly fuming Naruko in his grasp.

"Are you seriously happier to see that perverted crap over your own students!?" Naruko yelled in frustration. "You haven't seen us in almost three years, ya know!"

The uncharacteristic outburst of Naruko threw the Jounin off, flinching back from the blonde with a look of shock in his only visible eye.

"Y... Ya know?.." He stumbled over the phrase he hadn't heard for over a decade and a half.

"Don't question it." Natsune spoke up from behind Naruko as the others continued to look on in disbelief. "Yo, Kakashi."

He recovered quickly and returned Natsune's greeting. Replacing his hand on Naruko's head, he gave his signature eye smile and ruffled her hair.

"Of course I'm happy to see my students. Which makes me think..." He switched his gaze to the two returning members of Team Seven. "How about we have a catchup? In the form of a few sparring matches?"

Naruko's mood quickly switched as she began to bounce on the balls of her feet with anticipation as she grasped Kakashi's outstretched right arm eagerly. "Absolutely! I've learned so much, just wait and see!"

Natsune just grew a predatory grin at the request, eyes filled with anticipation.

"Ah." Ino interjected. "I need to head back to my family's shop. I was going to stop off on the way to the Hokage Tower but now you aren't going that way. I'll see you guys around! Sasuke..."

She finished with gripping the Uchiha's shoulders and planting a quick kiss onto his left cheek before jogging off in the direction of her shop. Left behind was a bashful Sasuke who refused to meet the gaze of every shinobi present.

Kuro was indifferent, but the looks of everyone else were priceless. Naruko's face was a mix of unexpected shock and joy. Natsune had raised her eyebrow and wore a knowing smirk, unable to stop herself from imagining the teasing that was now available. Kakashi simply stared at his pupil, not quite sure how or when he had scored, but proud. Jiraiya wasn't actually looking at Sasuke, instead facing away writing avidly in his notepad and tittering like a little girl.

"Well well, Ducky..." Natsune began.

"... You and Ino!?" Naruko clutched her cheeks and squealed. "How cute!"

"She had to do it in front of you..." Sasuke groaned and palmed his face before sighing. "...Yes. Me and Ino are dating. We have been for six months now. All good? Great. Let's go."

He finished abruptly, quickly walking ahead of the group. The rest watched him with their eyes briefly before following along, all heading to the training ground were it all began.

"Waaiiiiiit, waitwaitwait." Natsune jogged up to Sasuke and began poking him annoyingly in the shoulder. "When did this little thing start happening then, eh?"

"Yeah you can't just leave it at that!" Naruko ran up to his other side, tugging on his sleeve expectantly.

Behind the three, Kuro and Kakashi shared a look, shrugging to each other nonchalantly.

"The ANBU look suits you, 'Tokage'." Kakashi complimented his quietest student, addressing her by her callsign.

She returned a small smile before they both looked back ahead of themselves.

"H-Hey wait!" Jiraiya called after them all. "We need to... to... oh to hell with it..."

He followed also.

"Okay then." Kakashi clapped as he began to speak."I'd like to gauge both of your skills individually, so I'll fight you all consecutively."

The girls nodded in agreement, the other members of Team 7 stood behind them, Jiraiya standing off to the right by the lake at the centre of the familiar training ground. Naruko took another deep breath as she looked around the grassy field, scanning across the small lake and tree-line that surrounded the area.

"This brings back memories." Naruko said, full of nostalgia.

"It does indeed." Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Now, Naruko. I'd like to fight you first if that's okay. Jiraiya's reports say you've become quite skilled in fuinjutsu. Colour me intrigued."

"Sure sure!" She happily accepted the challenge, hopping around eagerly as the other three made their way to stand with Jiraiya, Natsune squeezing her partner's arm in support.

Naruko quickly became serious, dropping into a fighting stance.

"I think you'll be surprised, Sensei."

Sasuke looked to Natsune and Jiraiya as the two sparring took their positions. "Has Naruko really grown that much?"

Natsune grinned with confidence as Jiraiya nodded.

"As much as I hate to say it, Naruko's a natural with fuinjutsu. Just like her to live up to her namesake." Jiraiya chuckled. "In truth, she's almost surpassed me in the practice already."

This got a reaction from both Sasuke and Kuro, who's eyes widened in amazement.

"Seriously?" Sasuke questioned as both he and Kuro looked back to Naruko. "She's that good?"

"Just wait and see, Ducky." Natsune commented, ignoring the grunt of annoyance from the Uchiha.

Back in the centre of the field, Kakashi finished preparing himself and locked eyes with the blonde opposite him. He held up a single small bell.

"Same rules as three years ago, get the bell and you win. Though this time you need to rely on your own skill. An individual test." Kakashi tied the bell to his left hip. "Okay. Begin when you're ready."

"Alright!" Naruko smashed her right hand in her left as a fist. "You better be prepared, ya know!"

Kakashi had no time to react. Naruko disappeared in a blur of yellow as soon as she ended her sentence. Before he could process what he saw, he sensed a presence to his right and was barely able to turn in time to block a kick to his side courtesy of Naruko.

'No way. That move!' Kakashi was stumped, trying his best to process what Naruko just did.

From the sidelines Sasuke and Kuro watched in amazement, blown away by Naruko's sudden burst of speed.

"How did she move so fast!?" Sasuke exclaimed in shock. "I've never seen speed like it!"

"That's because she's not technically moving. She's transporting herself." Natsune told them, earning confused looks to which she looked to Jiraiya for a better explanation.

Happy to oblige, Jiraiya spoke up. "It's a fuinjutsu that was created by the Nidaime Hokage and then perfected by her father. A time-space jutsu that allows the user to instantaneously transport themselves to items or even people marked with their personal seal."

To help make the point, Natsune shuffled her jacket off her shoulders and turned her back to her teammate to reveal that her vest exposed her upper back. More importantly a tattoo of the kanji for 'Tenko' that was between her shoulder blades.

"This is the seal." Natsune explained. "This one is tattooed onto my skin with her chakra imbued into it. She can come to me whenever I channel my chakra there."

"'Heavenly Fox' huh?" Sasuke read the kanji aloud, but then paused. "Wait... Father?"

Back with the fighting, Kakashi was almost too shocked by his student using his mentor's signature jutsu to react to Naruko using her extended leg to push off his blocking arms. Now in the air, she weaved a rapid set of hand signs and took a deep breath.

"Fūton: Shinkūgyoju!"

She breathed out and sharply fired several small blasts of wind towards Kakashi, who regained his balance in time to flipped backwards as the condensed pellets of wind impacted the ground where he had been stood. Mid-flip he looked to his right arm where Naruko had grabbed his arm back before, seeing the kanji for 'Tenko' printed on the sleeve of his top.

'So it really is his jutsu."

As he began to descend he made the snake seal and slammed his palms onto the ground upon landing.

"Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu!"

The earth rippled outward from him, almost like water, sending out a wave that reached Naruko just as she landed. She was thrown off balance as the waved passed underneath her, sending her down onto her tailbone. With little more than a moment to whine and rub her butt Kakashi was upon her. Rolling away from an axe kick, managing to quickly get to her feet in time to block a roundhouse to her left and duck a following punch.

"I see your taijutsu is still your weak point, Naruko." Kakashi noted calmly as he continued his assault, grazing Naruko's and forcing her to flip back, pushing off the ground with her hands in her retreat and channeled chakra into them on contact with it.

Moving to respond, Kakashi halted when he heard a sizzling underfoot. Looking down, his visible eye widened upon seeing an activating explosive tag seal but without the paper. He jumped away in time to avoid the explosion but was caught in the plume of smoke from the aftermath, remaining on guard until it had cleared. However, once the smoke had dissipated Naruko was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't even sense her.

There wasn't a long period of downtime though as smoke erupted around him as multiple Naruko clones appeared around him, previously henged as objects as simple blades of grass. Before he could react they held him still by his limbs and torso.

"Very impressive Naruko." He praised his student as she appeared in front of him with a wide grin on her face. "The be able to disguise clones as such small objects, and for me to not even be able to sense them..."

Naruko kept her grin as she disappeared in another blonde blur, appearing at his side again. "I placed another jutsu down with my other hand that suppresses chakra in an area. You wouldn't have been able to sense the clones being made."

"I see..."

Seeing her mentor restrained securely she quickly bent down and plucked the bell from his waist, holding it up to him with a victorious smile.

Kakashi nodded in defeat, feeling his limbs become free as the clones poofed out of existence. "You did extremely well, Naruko. But I must ask; the Hiraishin. How did you come to learn that?"

"I took some scrolls with me with information on my dad. I read about that jutsu and pestered Jiraiya-sensei to help me try to learn it once I'd learned more about fūinjutsu." Naruko smile sheepishly as she removed the mark from Kakashi's arm. "I'm not that good at it yet. I can only use it every twenty seconds, not like dad who could use it all the time."

Kakashi patted her on the head. "You've come a long way regardless, especially with picking up the sealing techniques of your mother's clan. Your parents would be proud."

Naruko's smile only increased in response, turning as a hand was placed on her shoulder from behind. Seeing it was her turn, Natsune had walked up, an eager look on her face.

"Tag out. My turn." She said in almost a growl of anticipation.

Naruko nodded and headed to where Natsune had just come from, Jiraiya greeting her with a confident grin.

"Great work there kid. Though I'm sure if Kakashi went all out he'd still destroy you."

"Thanks, Jiraiya-sensei..." She thanked him begrudgingly and turned to Sasuke and Kuro.

She was greeted by two disbelieving faces.

"Your..."

"What?" Naruko raised an eyebrow.

"Your father's the Yondaime!?" Sasuke practically yelled on behalf of both of them.

"Ah, yeah..." Naruko flinched at his outburst. "S-sorry... We ended up leaving right after I found out so I never had the change to tell any of you, ya know?"

From her spot next to Kakashi, Natsune watched her partner get harassed over their new finding and laughed. She switched her attention to Kakashi as he reattached the bell.

"Over these past years she never fails to remind me of those two more and more." She commented, to which Kakashi nodded.

"She's grown, that's for sure." He leaped back to a safe distance. "You ready?"

"Oho, you bet I am." She wore a familiar battle-hungry smirk as she dropped down onto all fours. "Kitsune no Ishi no Jutsu!"

Kakashi watched wearily as Natsune's features changed. Her eyes became slitted as they glared at him, her fingernails grew into claws and her visible fang grew in length in her mouth. She let out a heavy breath, red chakra steaming from the edges of her mouth.

The two remained squared off to each other for a second before Natsune darted towards Kakashi, who also ran forward to meet her in the middle. Seeing her swing her right arm in an attempted slash, Kakashi drew a kunai. He deflected the first swipe and brought up his kunai to block her left hand swipe that followed. Claws clashed with metal, sparks flying as Natsune's nails dragged down the blade. Their weapons pushed against each other, neither of them gave any ground until Natsune spun, sending a heel kick aimed for Kakashi's side. He ducked underneath the kick, sending out one of his own to take out her standing leg, using the same leg he used to meet Natsune's waist as she fell sending her into the air.

She recovered quickly and righted herself in the air, flying though hand seals and taking a deep breath. "Kitsunebi no jutsu!"

In one large exhale, fire erupted from her mouth. During it's flight the flames adopted the loose shape of a fox, charging straight at her opponent.

Quick to respond, Kakashi formed hand seals of his own and took a similar breath. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Fire of his own shot forth with his own breath, forming a large fireball as it made to intercept Natsune's jutsu. The two collided, a great explosion quickly following.

From the sidelines the spectators shielded their eyes from the shockwave caused by the destructive jutsus.

"What insane power." Sasuke awed while Kuro grimaced at the size of the combined fireball.

She still hated fire.

Natsune burst through the cloud of fire and smoke, falling towards Kakashi at a high speed. Her leg was outstretched in front of her as she put all of her momentum into her dive. Sagely deciding not to block her attack Kakashi jumped away, sweatdropping at the modest crater that was the result of Natsune's impact. He reached up to lift his hitae-ate to reveal his Sharingan eye. He had a feeling he would need it.

Pulling her foot out of the hole she'd made in the ground, Natsune dug her nails into the dirt and pushed off, propelling herself towards Kakashi with another swipe reared. Again, he dodged the attack and the two remained in close combat, exchanging and parrying blow after blow. Natsune had managed to get one good hit, a cosmetic claw mark torn into Kakashi's Jounin vest. Kakashi had returned the favour twice over with a kick to her ribs and well aimed fist to her left cheek.

The exchange had lasted for at least two minutes of constant blows when Kakashi broke off, feeling the exhaustion of facing Natsune's unrelenting force and stamina. The two locked eyes again, tomoe spying slitted pupils. They dropped back into their fighting stances to prepare for another brawl but paused when a shadow appeared on the ground between them, slowly getting bigger.

They both blinked when Tsunade landed on the training field, leaving a small crater behind as she charged towards Jiraiya with a fist cocked back.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to come straight to my office!" She yelled angrily.

"W-wait now, Tsunade-chan! This was Kakashi's ide-PFWAH!" The Sennin was cut off a fist to his face sent him skimming across the lake behind him.

The three members of Team 7 that had been watching from the sidelines watched as the man slowly skidded to a stop on the water's surface before sinking below. They then followed his trajectory back to Tsunade's still outstretched fist, blankly staring at the smoke that seemed to emanate from her knuckled.

Recovering first, Kuro made a sign to let them know she was going to retrieve Jiraiya, hurriedly finding a reason to distance herself from the angry Hokage. Sasuke could only laugh weakly in terror, and Naruko seemed to recover perfectly as she flung herself at Tsunade from the side.

"Tsunade-sama, nice to see you!" Naruko grinned as she attempted to wrap her arms around the older woman from the side, only for Tsunade to hold her at a distance.

"What part of 'come and see me as soon as you get back' did you three not seem to understand?.." She questioned tiredly, her tone softer for Naruko who ceased her efforts and adorned a sheepish expression.

The look didn't last long as Natsune returned to the group just ahead of Kakashi, gaining the blonde attention with a playful mention of her name and wrapping an arm around her neck.

"Just to clarify any doubts, it was completely Jiraiya-sama's fault." Kakashi outright lied, feigning a cool composure.

Tsunade didn't buy any of it, reaching up to grab the leader of Team 7 by the ear.

"What you think I'm an idiot!?" Her angry tone was back.

She paused when Kuro returned with a soaked and dazed Jiraiya, only to raise her free hand to tear him out of the mute's grasp by an ear of his own.

"First you arrive late and then play around instead of coming to see me. We are going to my office." She began to walk away, turning her head to glare at the rest of the group. "Now..."

The rest shivered at the intent behind her voice and quickly followed behind.

Natsune whined in boredom from her spot in the hallway outside the Hokage's office, sat down to the left of the door.

"How long are those three going to take in there?.." She moaned, repeatedly knocking her head back against the wall. A small ball of ice thrown into the side of her head cut a second whine off prematurely and she glared at her aggressor. "What the hell Midget!?"

To the right of the door, Kuro stood staring down at the impatient red-head, arm still outstretched from her throw, an amused look on her face.

At this current moment in time, Tsunade was in her office with Kakashi and Jiraiya after dragging them across a fair distance of the village by their ears. An interesting site to be sure. Jiraiya was updating her on the events of the past years that he hadn't include in his bi-annual reports, the other members of Team 7 being told to wait outside until she called them in.

Sasuke spoke up from opposite Kuro. "You've been complaining for five minutes. They've been only been in there for about ten."

"They'll be done soon, Natsune. Jiraiya-sensei isn't one to miss out much on his reports."Naruko piped up across from her partner, reassuring her. She looked to Sasuke and Kuro. "So how many of the others are Jounin too?"

Kuro held up two fingers in response, Sasuke nodding to confirm.

"Just Neji and Hinata. Hinata's father submitted a recommendation around the same time Kakashi submitted one for me last year." He told them. "Everyone else is Chuunin like Ino, not that they all should be."

Naruko quirked her neck, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Shikamaru's parents are always trying to submit recommendations but he tells us they mysteriously go missing." Sasuke laughed. "That lazy ass just can't be bothered with the extra responsibility."

Naruko laughed and Natsune smirked in response.

"Doesn't sound like he's changed much..." Naruko commented. "How's he doing?"

They watched as Kuro avoided their gaze and pouted, raising their eyebrows at Sasuke in question.

"Because he keeps hiding his Jounin recommendations his parents volunteered him to be a proctor at the upcoming Chuunin exams in Sunagakure. So that's where he is at the minute. Tayuya's with him there as a proctor too."

"Huh, she's a Konoha ninja now?" Natsune grinned. "First she had to be under Shikamaru's supervision constantly and now they're off in Suna together eh?"

"Natsune if you say it like that it sounds weird." Naruko chastised her partner, who shrugged

Their attention was taken by a quiet, annoyed grumbled by Kuro.

"Oho!" Natsune smirked teasingly. "What? Do you wish you were there inste-"

This time a larger ball of ice impacted her forehead and sent her sprawling across the ground. Sasuke and Naruko switched their gaze from the spread-eagled red-head to their mute teammate. The short girl was glaring a hole through Natsune's head as she toyed with another ice ball in her hand. Natsune heaved herself up onto her arms and shot back an equally potent stare.

"Midget! Fucking stop!"

At her outburst the door swung open, squashing her forcefully between it and the wall. Tsunade stood in the entrance with yet another annoyed look.

"Can you four please shut it for five more minutes!?" Her demand earned quick, hurried nods of confirmation from the three standing, Natsune giving a strained and muffled yes from behind the door. "Thank you."

With that she slammed the door shut on the young ninjas leaving them stunned, the ice Kuro had been holding now dropped on the floor and in the process of rolling away. Naruko worriedly attending to Natsune.

In the office Tsunade sighed as she spun to walk back to her desk, passing the equally stunned Kakashi and Jiraiya. She looked to a flustered Shizune to her right.

"Can you get me some sake?" She asked, wishful.

An eyebrow twitched as Shizune instantly shook her head, Ton-Ton oinking disapprovingly in her grasp.

"No drinking on the job, Tsunade-sama! I've been saying this for three years now..."

Tsunade whined just like Natsune had been outside, slouching in her chair and resting her face in her left palm.

"Urgh... I didn't miss the noise I'll tell you that." She commented wryly as she sat down, looking to her old teammate. "That all you have to tell me?"

Regaining his composure Jiraiya nodded in affirmation. "Pretty much. As I said, there wasn't much I didn't mention in my messages."

"Alright. Kakashi." She shifted her gaze to the Jounin who shifted awkwardly in the glare she gave him. "Since you've already had the pleasure of sparring with both of them why don't make the most of the time you made me waste waiting for you and tell me anything you've gleaned from their abilties."

Kakashi nodded. "They've both grown noticeably stronger, especially Naruko. I've never seen Fūinjutsu be picked up so naturally. For her to be able to use Sensei's technique was beyond a surprise, and she can expertly use her clan's sealing technique to apply other jutsu upon contant also. Even someone as talented as Jiraiya-sama took several decades of study to reach such a stage."

"I don't know whether I should see that as a compliment or not..." Jiraiya said dryly before contributing. "The downside to Naruko's extensive study into her clan's jutsu and Fūinjutsu comes with that fact that she hasn't developed much else outside of what she's now able to achieve with seals. Regarding the Hiraishin, it's at a very early stage. She can't use it in quick succession yet."

Kakashi nodded at Jiraiya in acknowledgement. "She mentioned so after our fight. She also hid the existence of several clones with a seal and a henge for each to the point where even I couldn't sense them." He turned back to Tsunade. "From what I gathered, her physical abilities are still sub-par without Natsune there to bolster them. On her own she's much more suited to stealth and fast takedowns."

Now Tsunade nodded. "And Natsune?"

"Slight changes in her appearance aside, it's quite easy to tell that she's regaining more and more of her strength from leaving the seal. She's a pure, destructive powerhouse through and through." Kakashi chuckled. "Nothing subtle about her."

"The complete opposite of Naruko, huh?" Tsunade quickly made some pointed notes on the paper in front of her. "Alright, that should help when I need to assign teams in the future."

Finishing up, she signalled Shizune to go and let the others in, who did so.

"Finally..." Natsune grunted, hefting herself from the floor to follow her teammates in.

The four made their way in and stood before the desk, Kakashi and Jiraiya now stood to the side.

"First of all, an official welcome back from myself, it's good to see you." Tsunade greeted them, her welcome obviously directed at Naruko and Natsune.

The girls returned the greeting to both her and Shizune who also gave them a smile and a 'Welcome back'.

"Just to be clear I'll mainly be addressing you two, Naruko, Natsune." Tsunade said from the get go. "I don't see a point beating around the bush so I'll just get to the point."

She produced two slips of paper and held them out for the girls to collect. Naruko read hers instantly and gasped.

"You've submitted us to take part in the Chuunin exams in Suna?" She seemed elated at the news.

"You've already heard that they were being held there?" Tsunade questioned, to which Sasuke admitted to mentioning it. "I see. Well I guess the surprise factor wasn't a big deal."

"No, no, this is great!" Naruko was restraining herself from bouncing in excitement. "I can't wait!"

Natsune raised a hand to get Tsunade's attention. "With no attempt to be a downer, doesn't the team need to consist of three members at a minimum?"

Seeing a falter on Naruko's face, Tsunade clarified quickly. "You are correct, though you're going to be in a special circumstance for this exam. I've been talking to the new Kazekage and he had a genin who's teammates had already passes with no-one to take the exam with. You'll be forming a temporary team with this Suna genin."

"Oh." Naruko perked at the information. "When do we meet them?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait you get to Suna. You're to leave tomorrow. I know you've only just arrived, but the exams start in four days and it takes three to get there." Tsunade shot Jiraiya a stern look, who flinched. "You would have had more time were you not so late getting back..."

She then addressed Sasuke and Kuro.

"Sasuke I'm assigning you to accompany them. Kuro, you too. I'm pulling you from your ANBU duties for now while you do this. Naruko and Natsune are the only Konoha Genin taking part in this particular exam so a you're to go with them for security purpose." She paused as the two accepted their task quite happily. "Kakashi is going of course, being their Sensei. Think of it as a welcome back mission for Team 7."

All of Team 7 smiled fondly at the thought, even Kakashi from the side. Tsunade dismissed them and the four left the office together. They went their separate ways with goodbyes upon leaving the building, Naruko and Natsune making their way back to their apartment.

"This place is so dusty..."

"I mean we were gone for three years so you should sort of expect it, Naruko."

The blonde sighed in response to her partner as she shut the door behind her, turning to cast her eyes once again across her dust covered apartment. Despite the state of it, she was happy to be back.

"Ahhh let's sleep." Natsune lazily tossed her bag onto the floor and moved to their bed.

Naruko paused, looking at the discarded backback blankly while the red-head hastily stripped down to her underwear and flopped onto the bed on her front.

"You're not going to pack?.."

"I have faith in you." Natsune quipped, reaching behind her back and flailing for her bra strap. "Can you pass me my T-shirt?"

Not looking up from her task of emptying Natsune's backpack, Naruko sighed again as she threw an oversized white T-shirt over the lazy girl's head. A muffled 'Thank you' arose from beneath the cloth. She shook her head in relent and continued to prepare both their bags for the journey to Suna tomorrow. It didn't take much time to pack, the act becoming second nature over the course of their training trip.

Now also in her nightwear Naruko moved to their bed, sliding in next to Natsune. The red-head had her back to her with the baggy neck of her T-shirt exposing her shoulder. Turning over so that they were back to back, Naruko shuffled to find a comfortable position when she heard Natsune move around, feeling an arm wrap around her.

"It's good to be back." Natsune admitted, nuzzling into the cusp of Naruko's neck. "I missed everyone."

The blonde smiled fondly, her annoyance at her partner fading fast. "I don't know why you can't be so sincere around everyone else, ya know."

"I'd ruin my appearance." Natsune chuckled softly. "Only you can see me like this."

"Whatever you say." Naruko fought off a light blush at Natsune's words and closed her eyes to sleep, finding the red-head's embrace comfortable. "Goodnight, Natsune."

The two quickly fell asleep, tired from the return walk home and earlier fights.

Chapter complete~

Timeskip woo, everyone's all grown up.

Let me know your thoughts as always. Reviews extremely appreciated. Pls reee.

This is A Red Penguin signing off~