Chapter 1 - The Godaime's Will
Konoha Hospital. The Hidden Leaf's main source of medical threatment for both civilians and shinobi. Every since Senju Tsunade took over as the Godaime Hokage, the hospital went through a massive overhauling. Old equipments were retired and replaced by the newest technologies bought from the Land of Snow and special courses for shinobi who wished to become medic-nin were offered in order to increase the number of doctors and battle medics.
It was inside one of the rooms at the Shinobi Wing that we found our favorite blonde, Uzumaki Naruto. Having suffered multiple injuries along with chakra exhaustion, the village pariah slept soundly under the influence of his medication. The mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke had taken a lot from all participants. The leader, Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba had minor injuries while Akimichi Chouji and Hyuuga Neji barely survived their battles against Orochimaru's elite guard, The Sound Four. Even now, their families stayed at their rooms in wait for their awakening. The same couldn't be said for the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, whose sole company was the Hokage herself, whom checked over his bandage body whilst silently cursing those responsible for his condition.
"Damn you Orochimaru! Damn you Uchiha! If I ever see any of you again I will reduce all your bones to dust!" Raged the Sannin. This would not have happened if the damn Uchiha hadn't left in search of the snake Sannin. Because of that she almost lost the precious boy who had brought light back to her life, the reason she had become Hokage.
"Your dream is to become Hokage...It will take more than this to get you down." She spoke, talking to reassure herself rather than talk to the comatose boy. Even now she went over all details of the mission, wondering what could have been different as she went over Naruto's file. What she saw did not please her at all. Sub-par taijutsu, non-existant genjutsu, barely passable ninjutsu. What the hell were people twching at the academy. Despite his colossal chakra reserves and unlimited stamina, the only noteworthy skills were the Kage Bunshin and the Rasengan. The boy had all the tools to become a poweful and famous shinobi but he was being stunted. What the hell were Kakashi and Jiraiya thinking?
"Are they trying to get him killed? What was Sarutobi-sensei thinking when he let this bunch of lazy perverts take over his training." It wasn't only Naruto´s abilities that suffered under the Copy-nin's tutelage. His other teammate, Haruno Sakura, was noting more than an experienced Academy Student. Kakashi's reports spoke of a perfect Chakra Control and her potencial as a medic-nin or a genjutsu user, but never once he exploited her strenghts during training. It was as if…
"As if those two iditos were trying to relive the past." Tsunade growled menacingly. It actually made sense that Kakashi would ignore Naruto and Sakura for the Uchiha, he only knew how to train a "prodigy" while his other students suffered because they reminded the scarecrow of his deceased teammates. As for Jiraiya would just teach him the Kuchiyose and the Rasengan, they were the only skills the Yondaime and the Gama Sannin shared.
"Jiraiya, you damned imbecil. He may look like his father, but his fighting style is way too different." Groaned the Godaime on exasperation. The pervert was trying to turn Naruto into a carbon-copy of his father without taking into consideration that they were not the same person and had different talents. The only difference was that the Sandaime probably forced Jiraiya to help Naruto tap into the Kyuubi's Chakra. With such a stunted growth, the young blonde would be forced to rely on it, this last mission was proof of it.
"What would Kushina think of think of this…" The answer was rather simple. The Uzumaki Heiress would rant about how awesome and powerful she was and then proceed to give both Kakashi and Jiraiya a beating for their actions. Tsunade was not completely innocent either. She had the chance to make things better the moment she was named Hokage and could have prevented Naruto's current condition.
"No more. I may have failed him, but I will make things right. I owe that to him" With that solemn vow, the strongest Kunoichi in the world departed the hospital towards the Hokage Tower. A new fire burning in her eyes as she embarked on a new crusade.
-[Location: Hokage Office]-
Shizune was getting worried. It had been nearly 3 hours since her sensei had returned from the hospital and 2 hours since she finished today's paperwork. The secretary was starting to worry about her teacher and was quite confused when the Slug Princess requested the jounin files. At this time of the day she would either be sleeping at home or drinking the sake hidden under her desk. However, before the young medic could dwell on those thoughts the front door of the office opened and in walked a confuse-looking Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sama, what is the matter? You never comes in through the front door." Stated Shizune. After all the white-haired man always went in through the window of the Hokage office, as much as it irked the Godaime she never moved to correct that.
"Tsunade-hime seem to have barricated it." The self proclaimed Super Pervert explained, getting sweatdrops from both Shizune and Tonton, who had being watching their interaction from the other side of the room.
"She locked the door too. She's been acting very strange since she came back from the hospital.." Mentioned Shizune, trying to see if the other Sannin could make sense of her master's behavior.
"I will talk to her. Maybe she is just sad about the gaki and is trying to get her mind off it." Spoke Jiraiya as he walked over to the doors before knocking tree times. A silent 'enter' answered him and the Gama Sannin took it as his cue and entered the main office. The scene he laid eyes upon was definetely unnexpected. Tsunade's desk was filled with piles of files, with other piles laying against the walls. The Godaime sat unmoving, reading through the papers and setting them aside, as if looking for one in particular.
"You look bad, Tsunade." Mentioned the hentai author as he approached his teammate, not once she moved to greet him or even looked at him. For someone who was used to attention, both positive and negative, Jiraiya was quite upset with the silent treatment.
"Shut it, pervert. I'm working here." Spoke the blonde Hokage as she took a smaller file from beneath the pile, making it topple over Jiraiya and burying him in a sea of paper. With a pen on hand, the Senju Princess scribbled quickly over the folder, adding it to the small file.
"That's...the problem." Continued Jiraiya as he pulled himself off the improvised tomb, shaking off the papers stuck to his long hair.
"Shizune told me you already finished today's paperwork. So, what is it that has caught your attention ?" The female Sannin sat back, resting her tired back against the comfortable chair as she took a deep breath and took a bottle of sake hidden below the table. After a moment's pause and a long sip of the rice wine, Tsunade finally spoke.
"I was working on a new project of mine. It took me a while to find the Tokubetsu Genin forms and I also wanted to check over the available jounin" This was NOT the answer Jiraiya was expecting. He had not heard of a Tokubetsu Genin in a while. The first to hold the rank was Shimura Danzo, followed by Kato Dan, Hatake Sakumo, Namikaze Minato and finally Uchiha Itachi.
"So, who is the prodigy this time?" Jiraiya could barely keep the sarcasm from his tone. Being a Dead-last himself gave the toad summoner a chip on his shoulder concerning the so called prodigies. Tsunade gave a smirk, getting ready for the comical reaction that was sure to come.
"Why, I thought you would never ask. Konoha's newest Tokubetsu Genin is none other than Uzumaki Naruto." Oh how the Godaime wished she had a camera. Jiraiya had a look of unadultered shock and looked beyond mortified. He looked so pale Tsunade actually thought he was turning into Orochimaru and had to use all her years of self-control to prevent full-blown laughter.
"N-Now Tsunade, cut it out. You can't be serious." It's not that the white-haired man had anything against the young blonde, he just knew for certain that the boy did not have the same genius of his father and was in no way, shape or form a prodigy. He needed the correct guidance to achieve his full potencial. It was Jiraiya's belief that one day Naruto would be able to atleast hold a candle to his deceased father, he had already made good steps by learning the Rasengan, even if he needed a Clone to aid him.
"I am very serious. Jiraiya. The gaki is very talented for his age, learning and mastering the Kage Bunshin on a span of hours and then learning the Rasengan in one week. There is a lot of untapped potencial and I plan to bring it out." With the Akatsuki running around, Naruto wold need to become strong as soon as possible to deal with S-Rank Criminals. The gama sannin was of the same mindset, perhaps he could use this to further is own plans.
"Now that I think of it. You are right, Tsunade-hime. The blonde gaki needs specialised help to bring out his best. So I have a proposition of my own." Tsunade raised and elegant eyebrow at him. What was her teammate up to now, just a few seconds ago he was doubting her decision and now he looked happy. Something smelled fishy.
"Since we both agree Naruto needs better guidance to become a better. I think it is on his best interests to come with me on a training trip. His Tokubetsu Genin status will allow him to leave the village with a sensei. Give me 2 years and I will bring him up to scratch." Now the old pervert was proud of himself. He had planned to take the young Uzumaki on a trip anyway, but his rise on the ranks meant that he would face less bureaucracy to do so. All he needed was the magic word and he could get started on it.
"No." Tsunade spoke simply, getting a hilarious facefault from the white-haired Sannin. He had expected her to question his plan and eventually he would convince her. She just outright denied him without even giving consideration to the idea.
"No! What do you meant by 'No'!" Demanded the irritated man, this situation was not playing out the way he wanted and it was starting to grind his patience.
"No is no, Jiraiya. While it is true that Naruto will need help, I have spent the last few hours in search of the right sensei for him." Spoke blonde as she gestured to one of the smaller pile of files, people whom would train the Uzumaki boy to their full capacities.
"You are waisting your time. I doubt there is a better sensei to him than me. It was under my tutelage that he learnt an A-Rank Ninjutsu in one week. A ninjutsu that took me 3 months to master." While it was true that outside of the Rasengan there was not much he could teach the blonde boy he could still help him on taijutsu and maybe some Genjutsu training. Tsunade merely snorted in amusement.
"Knowing you. You just left him with the exercizes and went to do research for those horrendous books of yours." Quipped the Senju princess. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she wanted to know exactly what the white-haired man planned to teach their favorite blonde.
"The method works. It's better for the gaki to learn things on his own. He would just become another Sasuke if I handed him everything on a silver platter." While Tsunade respected the value of hardwork, she knew Jiraiya was trying to excuse his neglective sensei habits.
"I don't know what you were planning to do with him, but it is not going to happen. All people I have selected thus far are either Tokubetsu or full fledged Jounin, some of them connected to Naruto's parents others no. If the gaki is to fight against the Akatsuki and win then he will require the full support of this village. And I am willing to give him just that." Declared the Godaime Hokage, much to Jiraiya's irritation. He would need to take a different route if he wanted to get his chosen aprentice. A Tokubetsu Genin was basically a individual selected by the Hokage or Shinobi Council which can be taken as an apprentice by any Shinobi of rank above Chunnin, any shinobi could apply to teach, but the final decision was up to the Hokage.
"And who do you think would make a better Sensei than me ? Kakashi?" The Gama Sannin considered himself one of the best Sensei Konoha had. To imagine that he was brushed off in favor of younger and less experienced shinobi was a huge blow to his ego. He was the man who trained the Yondaime Hokage! There couldn't any better choice!
"Kakashi too is not on the list. He had his chance and blew it by neglecting his students just like you. The ones I selected are all talented Shinobi, they have much to teach, things that neither you nor Kakashi are suited to." A tone of finality coated her words, showing that there was nothing Jiraiya could do or say to sway her opinion. Jiraiya sighed in exasperation and turned tail, deciding to retreat and regroup. There were other ways to get Naruto to go with him, he just had to be patient.
"This is not the end, Tsunade." Warned the Toad Summoner a she closed the door behind him, unaware of the smirk that now adorned the hokage's face and missing her answer.
"For once you are right. This is just the beginning."