I broke the promise I made to my sister, I did not leave the village for as little as I said I would, instead I stayed outside of Konoha for four years, but she never told me she was making gennin, so I suppose she and the Konoha Corps waited for me to come back before finally passing the graduation exam.

"Excited about getting back home? I know I should be, last time I spent so much time away was a decade ago," Jiraya had changed very little over the four years away, the only thing that changed was the war paint, as he called it, on his face.

"Yeah, it will be good to shove the fact that I got a field promotion into Iruka-nii's face," Naruto had changed a lot, his face had lost all of the roundness it once had, his eyes had narrowed a bit and his whiskers had faded.

A lot happened during those four years; I became a certified seal master, I saved a princess, stopped five different power hungry maniacs, saved a bunch of scientists, met an outcast, helped Gaara again, stopped a demon, had to deal with Jiraya's mess. Busy years.

"Heh, I bet you get crushed by little Megumi," Fuu had grown taller and lost some of her childish features, but to Naruto that was only a bonus, as her body had developed very nicely, she would never be as big as Tsunade, but her figure was very pleasing to the eyes.

Fuu and I, we grew closer, especially after the mess in Nadeshiko, even more after Jiraya took us to Bee of the Eight Tails during when he said it was time for us to try to gain control of the Bijuu inside us. Bee was a nice person, if very weird, what with his rapping and his bond with the Hachibi.

Kurama and I reached a good agreement over the chakra he would give me and the chakra I would give in return, we have yet to do an actual battle over it, mostly because kaa-san doesn't want to leave me yet, I'm more than eager to fight Kurama.

"She's not so little any more, she reached my chin last time I saw her, but I don't think she will grow much more than that" Naruto smiled as he thought about his room, where it was probably full of dust he would have to clear, but his bed would be waiting for him, his glorious bed.

The seal on my navel has changed, the bond between Kurama and I has strengthened, but the seal has been weakening, as soon as I try to use more than seven of his tails in power I fear he will be free, killing me and mom in the process, none of us three wants that, Kurama has admitted that I am the first human he has befriended since the first of the Senju.

"If it makes you feel any better, to me most of the ninja in the corps are brats," Jiraya was proofreading the newest of his books, he did not want Fuu on his ass, not since she and Naruto had gone berserker on him during the first month of Bijuu controlling lessons.

That and by herself she was as scary as Kushina.

Konoha is my home, the next spy and seal master for it my job, protecting it is my duty.

Uzumaki Naruto is my name, and if I have to bust some skulls to protect the village, then so be it, DATTEBAYO!