Chapter 22

The man grinned at this.

- Why should I tell you? - Azula noticed that all this amuses him. It was like he was trying to send them into the proverbial wall, and while she was annoyed when he did this to her, she was amused when he did this to someone other than her.

-Who the hell are you?! Kiba shouted, pointing his finger at the cloaked man who simply wasn't startled by his outburst.

He couldn't help but grin.

- Looks like the Inuzuka clan isn't as good at smelling as they thought.

- How the hell do you know what clan I'm from? I don't even know you!

He sighed.

- What a pity. I would have thought that you, of all people, would know who I am. - He looked straight at Kiba. - Isn't that right, Inu-teme?

Suddenly everything that had happened during the conversation came back to him. The fact that the man knew about genjutsu, the fact that he knew Kiba was from the Inuzuka clan, his voice, his smell, and the insult. Only one person used this insult against him. His face and eyes widened in realization of who he was talking to.

- This can't be. Naruto? He asked in a confused voice, causing Team Kurenai to look at him and then look at the man in shock.

- Ding-ding-ding-ding! Inu-teme hits one," Naruto announced loudly, lowering his hood. Naruto turned to his tribemate and gave him a slight nod. - How are you, Sokka?

"I'm fine, Naruto," he replied. He wasn't sure why, but they just fell into casual conversation. "But I have a question: why are you wearing a hood?" We already know who you are. - He pointed at Aang and his sister.

- Actually, I put on the hood for two reasons. One: the sun was in my face, so I put it on to be a little shaded," he explained. That seemed like the simplest explanation as he and the girls walked onto the platform. However, there was another reason.

- And the second? - Sokka asked.

"To make sure that if any of my fan girls happen to be here, they won't recognize me," he replied, suppressing a small shudder at the mere thought of it.

Sokka looked a little puzzled.

- So your fans don't recognize you? - he repeated. It sounded pretty ridiculous out loud.

Naruto nodded and shuddered at the thought of them catching him.

- It's scary, but true. If one of my fangirls catches one glance at me, I'll be running for my life for a long time.

By this time, Kurenai had found her voice again.

"Naruto, is that really you?" - she asked, almost not believing it. But he was there, standing in front of them.

"And the Konoha delegation has found its voice," he quipped, causing Ty Lee to giggle and May and Azula to grin.

- What are you doing here? Your exile has been canceled! "She and her team, like everyone else, have been looking for it since it was cancelled." And all this time he was on this side of the planet.

- And what do you mean by this? - he asked her in a bored and indifferent voice.

- Why didn't you come back?

- Well, I wouldn't have heard about this if I'd been here three years, would I? "His remark struck a nerve. He wouldn't have known about this if he hadn't been in the Elemental Land.

- Now you can go home, boy! The accusations were found to be unfounded! - Kiba said with glee. He wanted to catch up with the blond and see how he had changed.

But the next thing that came out of Naruto's mouth stunned the Inuzuka.

- And what? - he asked. All members of Kurenai's team froze at these words. They told him he could go home, but he pretended he didn't want to.

- Hey, Naruto? called Sokka, who took advantage of the silence to talk. - Back in the Northern Water Tribe we had a prisoner from the Fire Nation. He named me Paragon of the Water Tribe. - He began to explain.

At these words, Naruto's face brightened a little.

- I take it you found the medallion?

- Yes, I found it. The prisoner started calling me Paragon after I showed it to him. So what is Paragon?

Before Naruto could respond, Kiba interrupted him.

- Is that all you can say? And what?

- What are you talking about? - Naruto asked with despair and irritation, his face showed it. -Can't you see that I'm talking to someone?

"We just reported that your exile has been lifted and you can return to the village." It makes sense that you would be happy to hear this and would try to return to the village as soon as possible," Shino said. He was sure that this was how Naruto would react to the news.

"Oh, fuck off, bug," the blond waved him off, trying to return to his conversation with Sokka.

"Naruto, please stop this," Hinata suddenly spoke. - Go home. Everyone was waiting for you. You can become a shinobi again.

The silence was almost deafening. Naruto said nothing as he thought about the conversation. Team Kurenai felt like he was about to accept their offer and their hopes rose.

They were stunned when he simply laughed.

"You make it sound like I hate my current job, White Eyes," he told her, earning a shocked gasp from her and a warning growl from Kiba and Akamaru. "You also forgot that the old hag didn't drive me away, I left myself." This makes me a missing nin so I don't have to go back. The Bingo book would have listed the price of the bounty on my head if Konoha had noticed that their ninja had simply left without notifying the Hokage. I believe that all of you would be handsomely rewarded for catching me in the first place," he finished smugly.

"You're coming with us, Naruto," Kurenai told him as her team got into a fighting stance. - If you refuse to go voluntarily, we will force you to come with us. - They looked for him for too long. They weren't going to stop just because he didn't want to go. She was sure that once he returned to Konoha, he would be normal again.

"I enjoyed watching you try," he told them with a grin. "But before everything goes to hell, I'd like to finish talking to Sokka." - He turned to the tribe. - I understand that you have already studied Water Magic?

He was surprised by the blond's words.

- How did you know that? - he asked.

- Your posture is relaxed, but at the same time ready to move at any moment. Your sister has the same pose, and I know that she is a waterbender," he noted. "Besides, you lived in the Northern Water Tribe for some time." You had to learn this.

"Yes, I studied Water Mages and a few Air Mages," he admitted. After all, he was traveling with the last airbender.

- That's a good idea on your part. - Naruto praised him, nodding approvingly. - Do you have any questions for me?

- Only one: what kind of medallion is this? - he asked, taking out his medallion.

Naruto would have answered, but he noticed Kurenai's team.

- Sorry, Sokka, but I'll have to tell you later, your defenders are preparing for a fight. He gestured towards the shinobi team to emphasize his point and then turned to Azula. "Do you mind if I have a little fun, princess?"

"It doesn't matter to me," she answered with a shrug. Although outwardly she maintained a collected posture and expression, on the inside she was agitated. It was always interesting to watch your bodyguard fight, at least when she wasn't the one fighting him.

"Everything is different now, Naruto!" "We're not genin anymore, and you haven't had a teacher for the last three years," Kiba told him. He and his teammates have been training hard for the past three years.

- Who said that I didn't have a teacher? Naruto asked as he unfastened the clasp on his cloak and took it off. Underneath the cloak he wore a brown shirt under a black vest, tied at the waist with a steel-colored cloth belt. The pants were dark red. He was wearing boots, but did not tuck his trouser legs into them. He had a jian slung over his back, but others thought it was strange how he did it. He flung it so that the hilt of the sword was pointing towards the ground, under his left arm, and the scabbard was sticking out into the air from behind his right shoulder. His appearance did not hide the muscles he clearly possessed, which caused Katara and Hinata to blush involuntarily. Even though Ty Lee and Azula had seen it before, they too blushed (Azula managed to hide her blush, but not much).

- Sokka, let me show you a simple Earthbending trick that Paragons can use. Consider this a lesson. - He took a strip of cloth from his pocket and tied it over his eyes. - So let's get started.

At that moment, Kurenai disappeared, and suddenly tree roots rose from the platform, growing rapidly, and wrapped themselves around Naruto. Soon he found himself pinned to a tree by two roots. He wasn't fighting the roots and everyone was watching him: Azula, Ty Lee and May with concern, Team Kurenai with satisfaction, and Aang, Sokka, Katara and Akela with curiosity.

"It's over, Naruto," Kurenai said, appearing from the tree above him. To be honest, she was a little disappointed. She hoped he would resist more. However, she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she raised her fist again.