She had agreed to return to the village. She had agreed to be the new Hokage. She had even risked her life and released her chakra seal to protect those old ideals. But none of these things meant that it would be easy.
It wasn't hard to ignore the true purpose of her journey at first. It was normal for her to skip out from a town, leaving behind some angry debt collectors and maybe a few more broken walls than when she arrived (though a destroyed castle was definitely on the more extreme side). It was normal to take to the road and move on and not look back. So she allowed herself to fall until the familiar routine of leaving and determinedly ignored the fact that for once she had a very specific destination and a few extra companions. After all, she had over thirty years of practice with losing herself in sake, gambling, and the road. It wasn't hard.
However, she could only delude herself for so long. She could feel them getting closer. She could feel it in the way the trees grew closer together, enclosing and suffocating. In the way the breeze carried increasingly more leaves, with their eery rustling and sharp edges. In the way the clouds grew thicker, casting shadows to the ground the trees didn't cover. And, more than anything, she could see it in the mounting enthusiasm, quickening pace, and growing chatter of the blond gaki leading the way.
The scenery was unfortunately familiar. It was only a matter of time until the gates would come into view. And already she could see flashes of memories. Three gennin racing swiftly through the trees until the white-haired one tripped on a cleverly hidden wire placed by the dark-haired shinobi as the blond laughed and teased them both mercilessly. A reckless young boy with messy brown hair, a huge grin, and a big dream, protesting how he didn't need his big sister to take care of him. The steady, calm walk of a jounin, who smiled through the same pain as she and shared the dream of the loved one she lost. And rain, downpours of rain, almost as endless as the flowing blood that left stains on clothes, dirt, and skin alike; but never enough rain to cleanse this land or her hands of the red.
She pulled herself out of that dark place quickly and became conscious of the twitching fingers of her right hand, itching to shuffle a deck of cards or possibly splinter a tree into dust.
She could feel the baka's eyes on her, studying, waiting. "He's probably expecting me to snap. The baka... But hell even Shizune's anxiety is palpable," she thought. It was a matter of pride (something her aristocratic heritage ensured she had plenty of) so she found the strength to still her fingers and loosen her death grip on the suitcase. From the corner of her eye she saw Jiraiya's eyebrow twitch and she felt Shizune's shoulders slump slightly in relief. No other acknowledgement of the tense moment (or was it hours?) took place.
The blond gaki remained oblivious of the subtle exchanges of his older companions, and Tsunade chose to focus on him. She zoned out his words, but the changing intonations of his voice and the steady, if quick, bobbing of his yellow hair filled her with an unprecedented calm she hadn't felt in almost four decades.
The peace, as always, was short-lived as the gates suddenly towered into view. The gaki let out an excited yelp and ran ahead screaming something about the hospital and ramen. Tsunade however froze in the middle of the road. Jiraiya stopped right beside her but had the grace and tact to not look at her, keeping his eyes firmly on the same gate that captured her attention. It took Shizune a second longer but she too stopped beside Tsunade and stared at the place that would have been her home had she not left at a young age to dutifully follow the only person alive who even remotely resembled family. Shizune held Tonton a little tighter, seeking comfort and waiting, unsure what Tsunade would do next and even more unsure of what she should do herself.
The gaki was just reaching the gates ahead when suddenly a huge, genuine smile spread across the blond Sannin's face, shocking Shizune into almost dropping Tonton and causing Jiraiya's jaw to literally drop. Tsunade let out a light chuckle. "Whatever they were expecting it wasn't this," she mentally concluded, amused at their reactions.
Aiming for the kill, Tsunade yelled, "Well come on, you two! Let's get moving! Can't let the gaki eat all the ramen before we get there!" And Senju Tsunade, the granddaughter of the first Hokage, student of the third, soon-to-be fifth Hokage, medical genius, Slug Princess, and diehard gambler, took off in a sprint after the blond gaki, leaving two shocked ninja in a cloud of dust.
As she stared up, frozen, at the huge gates for the first time in over 30 years, she slowly remembered something. Something she had forgotten amidst the road and the running. She remembered how much she had once loved the thick trees and the gentle breeze and the falling leaves and the floating clouds. How she had loved the way the sun shown bright and clear but there was still always a spot of shade in which to lay. And she realized that she loved it all still. And that the time and the distance had only served to nurture that love, hidden deep under many thick layers of scar tissue. And that she was finally ready to feel that love again.
She gave the boy who called her grandma a good thump on the head to get his attention as she passed him, and he predictably chased after her yelling obscenities and promises of retribution... the ramen momentarily forgotten.
As she easily evaded the gaki, she thought about how much she loved this place, this village and its people. Because even though Konoha had taken from her it had also given her so much.
It is the place that gave her Nawaki and Dan. Whom she was deeply thankful to have known if even for only a short time, if even only to lose them. For while their absences hurt, their memories made her strong and brought her joy.
And, more so, it is the place that gave her everything she still had. It gave her Shizune, full of loyalty, honesty, and compassion, who saw and loved her worst years. It gave her Jiraiya, the noble loudmouth who continues to love her and understand her throughout everything and the old friend who remembers who they had been before ninja and wars. And now it gave her the blond gaki, who seems to combine pieces of all the people she had ever loved. He was Minato's looks, Kushina's energy, Nawaki's confidence, Dan's determination, Shizune's empathy, Jiraiya's hope, and Konoha's will of fire. And she knew that, even if the whole world burned, this boy would not be taken from her. This boy would realize his dream of Hokage. And she wanted to be there to help him along the way. And she wanted to protect the village that they both loved.
It had been a long, hard journey but she'd finally come home.