Author's Note: I do want the readers to keep in mind, I haven't finished the series and nor is this related much, I pretty much am starting somewhere along the lines of Sasuke being taken by Orochimaru and going on on my own from there, so if things are "wrong" just go with it, I'm not trying to duplicate the series these are my own inventions.
I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters they are the property and creation of 1999 Masashi Kishimoto All rights Reserved, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media.
Chapter 1: Jou-Jou! The Man She Once Fought!
.:Ramen Ichiraku:.
"Ah! Ramen!" A man exclaimed as he ate happily, "Please Miss Haruno, let me treat you to some ramen!"
"No! I'm fine really! And just call me Sakura," she responded as she read her scroll from the seat next to him.
"Ah... Ok! Sakura!" he responded smiling, he noticed her reading and recognized the writing style on the scroll, "So your studying to be a Medical Ninja?"
"Yes! The Hokage has taken me as her apprentice! So I have to study hard Mr.-" Sakura stopped realizing she didn't know the man's name.
He put his hand up stopping her before she could ask, "Jou-jou, you may call me Jou-Jou because you remind me of an old friend," he explained happily going back to his ramen.
Sakura smiled and nodded, "Jou-Jou!"
"In any case Sakura, you should ask your Hokage to revise it, I have a feeling he made a mistake."
"A mistake?" Sakura looked at the scroll once over and then caught it, "There! That's why I was having such a hard time!"
"I believe he was trying to test you, and make you question what has been "set out" because as a Medical Ninja sometimes you can't always follow the book and you must rely on your instincts!"
"Oh! Our Hokage is a Female! I don't know how long it's been since you've been here but Lady Tsunade: Legendary Sannin of Konoha, is our Hokage now!"
Jou-Jou stopped eating and then smiled slightly, "Good to know!" he said happily.
"So... What brings you to the Leaf Village?" Sakura asked.
Jou-Jou stopped and thought for a moment, "Hmm... Ramen! And Old Friends!"
"Oh! Anyone I'd know?"
"Maybe, quiet possibly, but I don't want them to know I'm here just yet,"
Sakura nodded and smiled, then she looked at the time, "Oh no! I have to get going, Lady Tsunade will be mad if I'm late! It was a pleasure meeting you Jou-Jou! I will see you again soon!" she bowed then ran off.
"Yes! Feeling mutual!" Jou-Jou smiled and then finished eating paying his bill then left the Ramen shop, heading in the same direction as Sakura but at a much slower pace.
'I better hurry, this is one of the only times of days I get to train with Lady Tsunade!' Sakura thought as she soon approached the building.
Within seconds she entered the Hokage's office a bit out of breath, Lady Tsunade as waiting.
"Your late..." Tsunade said turning to see Sakura
"I'm sorry Lady Hokage! I was just assisting a visitor," she explained trying to catch her breath
"Oh? A visitor? How handsome is he?" Tsunade asked smiling
"Eh?"
"How H-a-n-d-s-o-m-e is he?"
"Uhm... Not too handsome"
"Don't lie to me Sakura! We have visitors all the time and you rarely go out of your way!"
"He was SO Handsome!"
"I knew it! I bet you didn't study at all!"
"Bu-but I did! I even noticed the mistake you made!"
Tsunade was caught off guard when Sakura mentioned this, "Mistake?" she questioned
"Here," Sakura pointed it out, "I had a hard time understanding it at first but then I noticed that it should be this instead,"
Sakura reached over grabbing a pencil and remarking it, Lady Tsunade was a bit shocked but in awe all at once, "Good job Sakura, you've earned the day off, you can join the others for Ramen I think they mentioned," Lady Tsunade said smiling
'I just came from the Ramen Shop...' Sakura thought, "Thank you Lady Hokage,"
With that she left and Lady Tsunade looked at the scroll, Shizune walked over and checked the scroll herself, "This is impossible, I studied the scroll myself, I never caught this mistake!" she exclaimed.
"Sakura obviously didn't find it, someone else did... Someone with much more knowledge then you or I," Tsunade explained.
.:Orochimaru's Hide Away:.
'It seems as though Tsunade feels she's entitled to revive the old Leaf Legend, after searching years I've come up empty handed... Perhaps if he resurfaces I should pay them a visit, it's the least I could do to show Junjou how I was the superior student after all and not that dim whited Jiraiya...'
"Orochimaru, Jiraiya returned from his mission a failure," a boy with dark purple hair said as he entered the room.
"Hm... He might have failed but I get the feeling we should prepare to travel to the Leaf anyway," Orochimaru stated, "Of course Sasuke, you shall remain here,"
Sasuke was shocked and a bit angered, "But Orochimaru-" he started
"Sasuke you are not yet ready for another encounter with the Leaf, but don't worry, I have a special mission just for you,"
Sasuke nodded having no other choice than to obey, as Orochimaru spoke his mind wandered off, 'Naruto... I will have my chance to finish you off... Once and for all,' he thought
.:Ramen Ichiraku:.
"WHAT?! NO MORE RAMEN!?"
"Yes, earlier a man came in with Sakura, as soon as she left he kept eating and eating and eating until he had finished everything! He payed handsomely for our troubles and then walked off with a smile on his face," Teuchi the shop owner explained.
"But-But...! There has to be something!" Naruto exclaimed
"Nope! Not even a single crumb was left!" Ayame, the shop owners daughter explained smiling
"Such a man that could surpass even what me and my father can eat," Choji thought to himself aloud thinking, "Maybe... Grandfather?"
"No this man was much too young to be a grandfather, and much too handsome," Ayame responded in a daze
"Handsome?" Guy, Lee, Kakashi, and Naruto questioned
"Yes, so handsome I wanted to ask him to marry my Ayame," Teuchi explained crossing his arms over his chest.
"Wealthy as well eh?" Kiba asked
Teuchi went red in the face, "No, no, of course not! I'm only interested in Ayames' happiness, if he just so happens to be wealthy then thats a bonus," he nervously tried to explain.
"What a drag..." Shikamaru mumbled then sighed, "Hey since there's no Ramen here, let's move on, yes?"
"Well thank you anyways, maybe tomorrow I'll have more luck," Naruto said sighing slightly
.:Road To Hokage's Office:.
'Hm... I hope your ready Tsunade," Jou-jou thought as he leaned against a pole smiling, just as he was about to leave he noticed Sakura walking back, "Ah Sakura, how did it go with your Hokage?" he asked smiling.
"Ah! Jou-jou! Thanks to you I got the day off! I owe you some Ramen!" Sakura said happily
"Don't worry about it Sakura! I was glad to help!"
"How were you able to catch the mistake? Are you a Medical-Nin?"
Jou-jou laughed a bit and patted her head, "No, I'm just very observant," he explained.
Sakura gave him a begrudged look and then adjusted her forehead protector and hair, "I'm not a kid!" she protested.
Jou-jou has a brief flash back with a young looking Tsunade giving him the same look and expression.
"No your not, your a beautiful young lady," he responds smiling.
Sakura blushed slightly and looked away, "T-thank you," she stutters out.
"Your welcome, now go on, I have to find my old friends now. I'll see you later right?"
"Right! It's a promise!"
With that Sakura walked off, Jou-jou watched her before pulling out a mask from his pocket and slipping it on, it was a half white wolf mask leaving only his right eye exposed, "I hope your ready... Tsunade."
He disappeared without a trace.
.:Fifth Hokage's Office:.
'I don't understand... Who could have told her,' Lady Tsunade thought with her hands pressed together in front of her face.
A lone leaf fell outside her window and she closed her eyes taking a deep breath, "Shizune... Can you bring me some sake and Medical Book XII Insignias?" she asked smiling.
"Of course Lady Tsunade," Shizune said bowing slightly before walking away.
"Oh! And close the door as well,"
"Yes..." Shizune agreed closing the doors and sighing, 'This must have really shocked Tsunade... She must want to review it in private,'
Lady Tsunade took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "How long were you there for?" she asked aloud.
There was no response and no movements, she was getting annoyed, she had no clue who it was but she was fully prepared for an attack.
"Answer me!" she ordered as she threw a Kunai, but with no success, it just hit the wall.
She paused her angered frenzy and went to retrieve the Kunai then spun around and threw four Shuriken at her chair where a man now sat relaxed.
Before anything could be seen he was holding all four Shuriken in his hands, he placed them on the desk and stood.
Tsunade recognized the mask and grew more angered, "How dare you mimic his mask!" she growled clenching her fist.
He stood and then took a step onto the window falling out of it slowly, Tsunade ran over and climbed into the window.
'I can't let him get away, he's dangerous, and he shouldn't have dared to mock the White Wolf Mask!' she thought following after him.
They were quickly outside the village and he was standing in a clear field waiting patiently for her, she arrived staying a good distance away.
'This isn't possible, I can't sense even the slightest aura of Chakara,' Tsunade thought as she removed her cloak, "I'm giving you a fair warning, give me the mask and leave this village!"
The White Wolf removed his cloak as well, and then knelt down waiting for her next move, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Lady Tsunade stared at him a long time, before making her move, she dashed across the space between them, the floor breaking under her feet from the power and speed she was using. The gap quickly closed, she pulled her leg back and then thrust it foreword in a powerful kick. There was a loud boom and the floor around them broke.
'I made contact, it's over,' She thought smiling
As the dust cleared away the man was still kneeling and his hand was placed ever so gingerly on her ankle only slightly pushing her leg back.
She was in utter shock, he seemed unfazed. He slowly stood, pushing her leg down with ease and looked down at her opening his eyes.
"Is this all the power of The Great Fourth Hokage... Lady Tsunade?" he asked in an almost hushed voice.
"No... No! It Can't Be!" Tsunade exclaimed as she pulled back her fist to punch him, it shot foreword and without any effort at all he moved ever so slightly to the side, his eyes now level with hers, "Is it?"
"Beat me and find out," he taunted placed his hand on her stomach and then pushing her back, her feet dragged on the floor, making paths on the dirt as she went back about fifty feet or so.
"Fine, I won't hold back!" she yelled.
.:Fifth Hokage's Office:.
'Medical book number XII she says, Insignias she says... THERE'S NO SUCH THING!' Shizune yelled to herself as she opened the door, "Lady Tsuna-"
She stopped seeing no one in the office, she examined the area noticing the Kunai in the wall and the Shuriken on the desk, "Oh no... ANBU!" she yelled.
Within second masked men entered the room watching Shizune, "The Hokage is missing, find her!" she ordered. They left and dashed about the village looking for any trace of the Hokage.
.:Sushi Shop:.
Naruto stared at the platter of sushi before him at the table, everyone else was happily eating but him, "It's just not the same..." he complained.
"If you don't want it, I'll eat it Naruto!" Shoji offered eating his fifth plate.
"I'll eat it! I paid for it!" Naruto yelled
"Never a quiet meal with those two," Kurenai sighed as she slowly ate her food.
"It's their youthful spirits!" Guy explained smiling, "Eat up Lee! Sushi is filled with proteins!"
"Yes Guy Sensei!" Lee responding eating more tenaciously.
Sakura entered the Sushi shop and walked over to the table, "Hey! Lady Tsunade! She's in trouble!" she said out of breath.
END
Author's Note: Now Thing's Are Going To Get Interesting! Who does this guy think he is? Is what Tsunade said the truth? Find out!
Next time: "Friend or Foe: A Delicate Reunion!"