In the end, Naruto figures that things with Jiraiya and Tsunade will be more boring than anything else, especially if he's there. There's no reason to cockblock his mentor after all the things Jiraiya has done for him. So, taking Jiraiya's advice, Naruto parts ways with the perverted old man at Konoha's front gates, taking the slow path of walking casually down the main thoroughfare while Jiraiya vanishes in a body flicker technique that likely takes him up onto the rooftops, en route to the Hokage's Tower.
Silently wishing his sensei the best of luck in the upcoming meeting, Naruto hums as he considers exactly where he wants to go… before ultimately deciding that there's no one place in particular. Konoha… the whole of it is his home, and he's happy to be back. Everything about the place feels so very familiar to him, so he decides to just keep on walking, waiting for something or someone to catch his eye, or for something interesting to happen.
Of course, as he walks along, more than a few people stop and stare at him briefly, before going on with their business, shaking their heads in muted surprise. Some though, give him smiles and even waves, and Naruto grins cheekily, waving right back. Naruto has long been used to the village having something of a… negative reaction to him.
Nothing too awful, it wasn't like he'd been chased around by angry villagers annually or anything silly like that, growing up. But the cold shoulder had always been there, always been present, and it was only after Naruto had learned about Kurama that he understood why. People didn't understand what exactly he was. They thought he was the demon fox reborn, rather than it's jailor. They were afraid of him, so they avoided him at all costs, shunning him.
It'd definitely hurt, and it'd led to a lot of Naruto's acting out over the years, especially his prankish behavior, which had in turn done no favors for his reputation. But then he'd become a ninja, and not just that, he'd become a genin under Copy-Cat Kakashi. Even in the scant time he'd spent in the village after the disastrous Chunin Exams, Naruto had seen a general shift in the mood towards him taking place. Probably because when you summon a thousand copies of yourself at once, it's hard to miss you taking the fight to the enemy.
Either way, maybe the village didn't love him with all their heart quite yet, but they were coming around, and Naruto had every intention of winning all of them over by the time he was done. After all, if he was going to be Hokage, he needed the love of the village! And love… love wasn't something that could be forced. It had to be coaxed out, and Naruto had learned a lot about that sort of thing on his training trip with Jiraiya.
Of course, if the young blond had been able to read minds, perhaps he would have been a bit more bewildered by the thoughts running through most of the villagers' heads. Because at the end of the day, most weren't recognizing him as Naruto Uzumaki, resident prankster. At least, not at first glance. Three years away from the village had done a lot to alter Naruto from the boy he once was. He was taller, for one. More filled out, for another. And he no longer wore quite as much orange as before, having discarded his old eyesores in favor of something more modest and streamlined.
As a result, quite a few of the villagers, at least those old enough to have been around during the time of the Fourth Hokage, those who remembered Minato Namikaze, Konoha's Yellow Flash, didn't see Naruto at first glance… they saw a young Minato, smiling brightly, striding down Konoha's main street as if he'd never left them, as if he'd finally come back to them.
And then there were those who didn't see Minato, when they got a good look at Naruto's grown-up features… but instead the face of a crimson-haired she-devil, a wild, untamable young woman who had rightfully earned the nickname Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. It was startling, for all of those who caught sight of Naruto has he walked on, utterly oblivious to the thoughts running through their minds.
He really had no idea what they were thinking about. If he'd had even an inkling, Naruto would have been befuddled, confused, suspicious… and intrigued. As it was, he just kept walking on, that big grin on his face, enjoying being back in Konoha after so long. It was just… it really was good to be home. He had-
"Naruto?"
Blinking, Naruto stops at hearing his name called out by a familiar, if confused voice. Turning, he realizes to his shock that he was just about to walk past Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. There, standing behind the counter, staring at him with wide eyes, is Ayame Ichiraku, the daughter of the Ramen Shop's owner, Teuchi Ichiraku.
They lock gazes, and Ayame's eyes widen.
"N-Naruto! I-It is you!"
A moment later and she's tossing aside her apron as she hurries out from behind the counter. Naruto stands there for a second, feeling rather sheepish for letting his mind wander so much that he nearly passed by his favorite place to get ramen. That second passes, and suddenly he has a female missile impacting his chest as Ayame hugs him fiercely, gripping him tightly.
Letting out a sheepish laugh, Naruto hugs Ayame back.
"it's good to see you too, Ayame!"
After a moment, the young woman slowly looks up at him, blinking dumbly from under her brunette fringe.
"… You got so tall, Naruto. It used to be that you were shorter than me!"
Snickering at that, because he does indeed have several inches on Ayame now, Naruto just shrugs with a carefree grin on his face.
"I had a growth spurt. It HAS been three years, ya know?"
Pulling away from him, Ayame's cheeks puff out a little angrily and she plants her fists on her hips.
"That it has been! Where've you been all this time? Surely your training trip didn't last this long!"
Shrugging again, Naruto rubs the back of his head, completely missing the way Ayame's eyes alight upon his rippling musculature, hidden just beneath his form-fitting clothing.
"I mean, it did, if you can believe it. Sensei really put me through my paces, that's for sure, but I learned a lot, saw a whole lot more, and met a bunch of interesting people. I'm not the Naruto you once knew any longer, Ayame!"
He barely catches her first response, muttered under her breath as it is.
"… No you are not. Fuck…"
"Hm, what was that?"
He wonders if he heard her correctly, but rather than repeat herself, the waitress claps her hands together and smiles at him brightly.
"So then, you're not the Naruto I knew? Does that mean… you don't like free ramen anymore? Have you changed so much?"