Author's note's: I had to edit chapter 1 before I could start chapter 2. It needed it and it helps me get pack into the story. This leaves off exactly after the last part. In fact don't read this go straight to the story.


Medical Strings Chapter 02: Finding Tsunade

You see Tsunade wasn't in the village anymore. She actually hated the place. First, she lost her little bother (Nawaki) as a casualty of war. He was her only living relative. To be honest, he was more her son then her little brother. She raised him since she was 8 years old, after her parents died. Now the only reason she got to raise him was because she had graduated the ninja academia, meaning she was legally an adult. Tsunade spent the next 12 years being a mother/big sister to her little brother and becoming the best medic ever. That was until Nawaki died. She had a little break down after that, but she got back on her feet after a year. This event made her want to get medical-nins included on all teams on the battle field. That way if a team needed a medic there was one already there. Then a year later, she met Dan Kato and they became lovers. With him, she felt her hearth could fully heal from the death of her little brother. Then tragedy struck again. Not even a year later, Dan died a bloody death on the battle field. She was there, trying to save him, but couldn't. This caused her to develop haemophobia.

All of this left Tsunade with the feeling that the village would take away every thing she loved. So at the age of 22, she left. The day she was leaving, there was someone waiting for her at the village gates

==========================================Flashback no Jutsu==========================================

Tsunade was walking towards the village gate. They were big and looked like it would take an army to tear them down. In fact this was true.

She was wearing a white short sleeve shirt that showed off her stomach, which was flat and tone. The sleeves had a slit up the middle that allowed more movement. She also wore a red skirt that ended about mid-thigh. Underneath this she wore a meshed leotard. It covered her whole body, ending just after her sleeves and just below her skirt. On her feet, she wore the standard black ninja saddles. Her eyes were brown and her hair was pale blonde. She wore her hair into a high ponytail that went to the middle of her shoulder blades with shoulder-length bangs that separated from her forehead and famed both sides of her face. The feature that most men notice would be her sizable bust.

On her back was a small canvas sack full of strolls with everything she wanted and need sealed in them.

As she walked, Tsunade thought "I'm finally leaving this horrible village. I won't let this place steal anything I love ever again."

Approaching the gates, Tsunade saw a figure standing in front of them. It was a young girl that looked around 10 years old. She wore a long light blue kimono with blueish-black trimmings. It was held closed by a red obi. On her feet she wore open-toed sandals. Her eyes were dark and she had black hair that ended around her chin. On her back was a large hiking backpack with a sleeping bag at the top. She was Shizune, Dan's niece.

"What are you doing here Shizune?" Tsunade ask with general curiosity.

"Please take me with you Lady Tsunade," begged Shizune.

"I'm sorry, but I ca..," started Tsunade, but was interrupted by Shizune shouting.

"You can't do that. I loved Uncle Dan too. He was all I had left." At this point Shizune had started crying and had buried her face in her hands. In a voice barely above a whisper, she said "Please don't leave me alone."

At this point Tsunade bent down on one knee and hugged her. "I can't leave her here by herself. Anyway it will be lonely by myself on the road and it would be nice to have someone with me."

"I miss him too," Tsunade said. She breathed in and sighed. Releasing the hug, Tsunade put her hands on Shizune's shoulders and held the girl at arm's length. She tilted Shizune's face up so she could look into her teary eyes and said "Fine. You can come along, on two conditions." Tsunade held up one finger. "First you have to become my apprentice. Meaning you learn all you can from me and become the best medic-nin out there." She paused and a smirk came to her face. "Well after me of course." After a moment, Tsunade gained a very serious look as she held up a second finder and said "Second, don't get in my way when I drink and gamble. Deal?"

At this Shizune dried her tears and nodded her head.

"Well, let's be on our way then," Tsunade said as she and Shizune left Konohagakure.

=========================================Flashback End no Jutsu=========================================

Yes finding them would be hard. They had not been back in three years, to Sarutobi's knowledge. He knew they would avoid Konoha like the plague, so he gave her wandering rights. This made it so they couldn't be labeled missing-nin for leaving the village.

Sarutobi knew what he had to do. He sealed the room, so no one would hear.

"Dog, please remove your mask. I have a mission for you." Sarutobi waited for Kakashi to do as he asked. "I need you to track down Tsunade. I want to know were her location is so that I can meet with her. If she realizes that you are trying to locate her, she will run and go further under the radar. You should start your search in bars and gambling parlors." He paused and let out a mental sigh."Her and that gambling and drinking problem of her's." Sarutobi continued talking. "This is important Kakashi. I need her as soon as possible."

"I need to make sure Naruto is healthy and she is the only one I trust," the Hokage thought.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," answered Kakashi. And with that he disappeared in a swirl of wind and leaves.

Later, Kakashi reappeared outside the village gates. Biting his thumb until a drop of blood formed, he performed a sequence of hand seals and shouted out "Summoning no Jutsu." In a puff of smoke, 8 ninken (ninja dogs) appeared.

The first was the smallest of the dogs, a pug. He had brown fur and a dark brown snout and ears. He wore a blue vest with a heno-heno-moheji symbol on the back. Strangely enough the symbol looks like a face. This vest is worn by all of Kakashi's ninken. His Konoha forehead protector was worn with the metal plate on top of his head and the ends tied into a knot under his chin. He also has white bandage wrapped around his right front leg. His name is Pakkun and he is the nonofficial leader of this group, because he spoke the most.

The second was the largest of the group. His name reflected this, Bull. He was a large black intimidating bulldog. Around his neck was collar with sharp metal spikes. His hitai-ate was worn on the upper part of his front left leg, like an arm band. He doesn't or can't speak, but despite this he and Pakkun seem to get along because he allows the small pug to ride atop his head.

The third was a white and beige dog. The fur on his head was long and spiky. He wore his hitai-ate around his neck, with the armor in the front. Now the most noticeable thing about him was his eyes. They were triangular, which gave him an angry look. His name is Urushi.

The fourth was one of the two females among the dogs. Her fur was light gray with a white underbelly. On her head she had a black mo-hawk. Her hitai-ate was worn the same way as Urushi. On her front paws, she wore bandages. Her eyes were beady with black eyebrows. This gave her eyes an almost fishy look. Her name is Shiba.

The fifth was a small tan colored dog. His ears, paws, and eyelids were brown. His eyes were surrounded by a ring of black, giving him a look as if he didn't sleep. In the middle of his forehead was the symbol for shinobi. He wore his forehead protector around his neck. His name is Bisuke.

The sixth dog was a tan color. His head gave him a fox-ish look. He wore the standard outfit among the group, blue vest and hitai-ate around his neck. The weird thing about him is that he wears sunglasses. His name is Akino.

The seventh dog was the other female of the group. She looked like a doberman. Her fur was brown with a white underbelly and snout. She wears the standard blue vest and hitai-ate around her neck. Around her head, neck, and chest she wore bandages. Her name is Uhei.

The eighth and last member of the dogs, was a wolfish looking dog. He has tan fur, white snout and long brown ears. He wore the standard vest and his hitai-ate was around his forehead. Now he had some strange markings, what made them unusual was the fact that they were very similar to Naruto's whiskers. His name is Guruko.

Before Kakashi could inform them of the mission, Pakkun beat him to it.

"So Kakashi, what's the mission?" the ninken said in a deep and gruff voice.

"Well, my cute little pups, we have to locate Lady Tsunade," Kakashi replied in a voice that was some how lazy and serious at the same time.

"Do we need to bring her back to the village?" Uhei asked.

"No, we just need to find out where she is and then send message back to the Hokage so that he can meet with her. But the most important thing is that she doesn't find out we are there." Kakashi paused so that they could all understand this, and when they didn't ask anything, he continued. "We are going to split up and see if we can track down any trail of her. The Hokage suggested to start with gambling parlors and bars. This may also help."

At this Kakashi pulled out a piece of cloth. "This was at her house. It may be old, but it is a start." It was a piece of Tsunade's clothing. He had quickly stopped at her house before reappearing at the gate.

He passed the cloth around the dogs, and they all took in the scent. It smelled of slugs, medicine, and saki. It was a unique smell in the very least. After waiting to make sure they had a grasp on the scent, Kakashi shout "Now, Move out!"

And with that they scattered in different directions and started the search. None of them found anything for the first four days. On the fifth day, a howl was heard. This was the signal if anyone found anything. It turned out that Bull had picked up the sent. After a day's travel they arrived at the location of the sent.

It was Tanzaku Quarters, a lively town that was a popular tourist attraction because of the Tanzaku castle. The town also attracted many adults, who wanted to enjoy it's many gambling opportunities and fine drinking joints. This made it a perfect place to find Tsunade.

So they took off to look for her. It took another day, but they found Tsunade entering and checking into one of the finer motels. Kakashi over heard that Tsunade and Shizune would be there for a week. This was perfect for Kakashi, now he just needed to get a message back to Konoha to inform the Hokage. He looked over his ninken and decided to send Pakkun. The dog may be one of the smallest, but he was also one of his fastest. So Kakashi turned to the pug and said "Pakkun. I need you to return to the village and inform the Hokage that we have located Tsunade. Tell him that she will be in Tanzaku Quarts for the next week. It will take you about a day to get back, so that will leave him with about six days to get here before she leaves. Now go."

And with that the small pug started the trip back. Moving as fast as he could, Pakkun made it back in just under a day's time. He stopped at the gates to allow the guards to see that he was one of Kakashi's ninken. From there he darted through the village to get to the Hokage's Tower. As he was drawing near to his destination, he didn't slow down at all. Just as it looked like he was about smash into the side of the build, he jumped up and continued running up the wall vertically. He had sent chakra to his feet so he would stick to it. He continued up until he reached the Hokage's window.

Sarutobi had a nice week. He was a little worried about Naruto. The baby hadn't been check out yet, but the good news was that there weren't any assassination attempts. "Probably because he has been with me the whole time," he thought bitterly. Yes, Sarutobi and Naruto had spent the whole time together, in the Hokage's Tower. The place was huge and had plenty of room. There was a whole wing of the building set up so the Hokage's family could live there. That is where they had been.

Sarutobi had a couple of cribs brought in. One for his office and one for his sleeping room. The old man just didn't feel safe letting the boy out of his sight. He also enjoyed spending time with Naruto. "I won't be able to with all the work that has to be done, so I might as well enjoy it while I can." He also spent the time observing the boy to make sure he wasn't being influenced by the beast. Minato may be a master sealer and Sarutobi believed in his work, but he still had to put the village's safety first.

Today, Sarutobi was sitting behind his desk. To the right was the crib where Naruto was sleeping. Sarutobi put the crib there for a reason. The only window in the room was on the wall that was behind the desk he sat at. It was a little ways off to the left. This meant that if someone decided to attack the baby they would have to literally go through Sarutobi and that is exactly what he wanted.

Sarutobi looked over at the sleeping baby boy and sighed. "If Kakashi doesn't find Tsunade soon I'm going to have to settle for someone else." Then flashes of his secretary and what she did flew through his mind. "No. Kakashi will find her, I know it." This would be the 7th day since he sent Kakashi out and Sarutobi was a little nervous.

Just then Sarutobi felt a small chakra signature at the base of the tower. He knew who it was and wasn't worried. So he kept his eyes on the boy. Sarutobi had seen him do something unusual several time and wanted to see if it was consistent. So as the chakra signature approached he watched the boy. Just as the chakra signature was ten feet away from the window, Naruto woke up and looked in that direction. Not a second later, Pakkun jumped in through the window. "So I was right. Naruto can either sense the chakra, smell Pakkun, or hear him running up the wall."

Pakkun was breathing hard and sweat was rolling down his brow. He was exhausted from his journey, he had used all his energy to make it on time. He was ready to collapse.

Sarutobi gave the small pug a few moments to regain his composure. After a minute Pakkun was ready to relay the message.

"Hokage-sama. We found Lady Tsunade. She will be in Tanzaku Quarters for the next six days," the small pug said to his leader.

"Thank Kami," though Sarutobi as he asked "Where is Kakashi?"

"He stayed back to watch her," replied Pakkun.

"Thank you Pakkun. I want you to rest now, your journey back must have been tough on you," Sarutobi told the pug.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," said the pug, who then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"This is great. Now Naruto can get that check up," thought Sarutobi as he walked over to the crib and pick up the baby. He started to play with the baby's hands and tickle his tummy as he thought. "Okay. Tanzaku Quarter is about a day's travel time for a shinobi and two for civilians. So I'm going to have to leave immediately."

"Bear. Lion," Sarutobi shouted. Out of thin air two Anbu members appeared in-front of his desk. They wore the standard Anbu uniforms, with the one on the left wearing a bear mask and the one on the right a lion. Bear's mask had twin red spirals on his cheeks, the right spun clockwise and the left counter-clockwise. Lion's mask had a black circle around her right eye and a red heart on the left cheek.

"Bear, I want you to gather up all the baby stuff that is in my sleeping quarters and this office, then seal it all into a scroll. Then I want you to get a weeks worth of cloths, diapers and baby formula. This I want you to seal into another stroll. Make sure you mark them so I can tell the difference. Oh and seal one of the cribs in the second scroll," Sarutobi ordered.

"Hai, Lord Hokage," Bear replied and then disappeared in a swirl of smoke and leaves.

"Now, Lion, I want you to inform Itachi Uchiha that I have a mission for him and that he is to be in my office within the hour." Sarutobi didn't give her more details, because he wanted this all to be secret.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," said Lion before she too left in a puff of smoke.

About 17 minutes later, Bear and Lion were standing in-front of the Hokage's desk, waiting to be dismissed. On the desk were the two scrolls and to the left of the Anbu stood Itachi. He too wore the stand uniform of the Anbu. His mask wasn't present because Sarutobi ask for "Itachi" and not "Weasel".

"You two are dismissed," Sarutobi said to Bear and Lion.

The two Anbu replied with a chorus of "Hai, lord Hokage" and then they were gone.

Now Sarutobi turned to look out his window. The sun was high in the sky, meaning it was around the middle of the day. "As you know, I have a mission for you. About eight days ago, I sent Kakashi to find Tsunade. Today I received message that he located her in Tanzaku Quarter. She will be there for the next 6 days. So for the next eight days, you will be escorting me and Naruto there. Now I want you to go home and pack for the trip, I want to head out within 30 minutes. And keep in mind this may be a mission, but I want you to think of this as a vacation of sorts," Sarutobi said. "I know I will be."

"Yes, Sarutobi-sama, I will." And with that said, Itachi left.

So for the next 25 minutes or so, the two of them packed. When done, they both left to meet at the village gates. Itachi was first to show. He wore a long sleeve shirt and dark blue shorts that went to about the middle of his shin. The shirt had the Uchiha symbol on the back and was also dark blue. The strange thing about the shirt was that it had a raised collar and was about 3-4 inches away from his neck. This made it so his neck was covered yet gave full range mobility. On his feet were the standard shinobi sandals in black. He had his ninjato strapped to his back with the handle over his left shoulder. On his left and right thighs, two square pouches were placed. These held his shinobi tools and two scrolls. In these scrolls were his camping supplies, clothes and anything else he thought he might need.

After waiting for a minute or so, Itachi saw Sarutobi walking down the street with Naruto in his arms. He was wearing his Hokage's robes and hat. He didn't even look like he brought anything with him, but Itachi knew better. "He probably seal all his things in a scroll and has it hidden in h is robs."

And Itachi was right. Sarutobi did put the scrolls in his robs. He wanted to make sure that nothing got in the way when he was carrying Naruto. He looked down at the happy little boy. The baby was wearing a orange onesie. In his chubby little hands was a plush toad. Sarutobi bought the thing on the way to the gates.

==========================================Flashback no Jutsu==========================================

Sarutobi had been walking and Naruto stared to become fussy. Being a father, he thought "I should give him something to play with." He reached into his robs but a thought struck him. "There are no toys in these scrolls, just cloths, food, and a crib. Fuck. Oh well I'll just have to get something." He looked around, saw a store, and walked in. There were all kinds of things, from alarm clocks to dishes. It had everything. As he looked, Sarutobi couldn't help a weird nagging feeling in the back of his mind. It felt like he had seen these things before. He kept looking for some kind of toy he could give the boy. It wasn't until he came across a statue that the feeling was explained.

The granite statue was of a giant ape. It was all gray and a couple of feet taller then Sarutobi. The ape wore a baggy suit that ended after his elbows and his knees. This left his forearms and shins bare, showing the mesh armor he wore underneath. On top of this he wore a sleeveless kimono shirt with what looked like tiger stripes. The kimono's trimmings looked furry. Around his waist was a sash. His hair was long and flowing. He had a full bread where the side burns were longer then his goatee. The fur on his head look like a lion's mane, but you could just see his monkey ears pocking out of the fur. Around his forehead was a Konoha hitai-ate and behind him was his long flowing tail.

It was posed on a stump slightly hunched over standing on his left leg. His left leg was bent at the knee, making him stand on the ball of that foot. His right leg was bent so that balm was facing front almost like it was reaching out to grab you. His arms were straight out at his side, making them parallel to the stump. The tail was behind him on his right side and his hair was up and wavy. It gave him a overall look that he had just fallen and had landed with the grace that being a monkey granted him.

Sarutobi didn't even need to look at the name carved into the stump. This was a statue of Enma the Monkey King, his personal summon. Now that he looked around, he saw that everything in the store was a summon. "This is simply amazing." He looked behind him and saw a dish set that had Kakashi's ninken on them. Smiling as he thought "That, I'm going to get him later." He looked down and saw that the happy baby was looking around until his eyes landed on something. Naruto became even more fussy and was reaching out for something. Sarutobi looked in the direction Naruto's attention was drawn and smiled. The stuffed animals. So he moved on until he stood beside them.

He had a feeling he would find the perfect thing here and he did. Sitting in the front were three plush animals that he knew very well.

The first was a dull, rusty red toad. He had bright red markings around his eyes and lips. The tops of his arms and legs were this bright red. On his back, stomach and randomly around his body were bright red swirl-ish marks. He was wearing a blue vest with white linings. "It would be a perfect Gamabunta if it had the scar over it's left eye," Sarutobi thought as he picked it up. It felt almost furry and as he gave it a squeeze, it started ribbiting. "It's perfect." And yes it was, because not only did it make the baby happy, but it was also the animal that Minato could summon. Sarutobi handed it to the baby and he gurgled in happiness. "It's the size of Naruto's head." The old man gave a hardy laugh at that.

As the Naruto was distracted by the toad, Sarutobi looked on to the next plush animal. It was a slug about the same size as the toad. It was primarily white with three blue streaks. One down the middle on it's back and one on each of it's sides. On it's head were two antennas with a circle at the end. The circles had a small tint of gray in the middle. These were it's eyes. It's mouth looked strangely enough like an innie belly button, with two more smaller antennas for feeling. Now as Sarutobi picked this one up, he couldn't stop but thing of Katsuyu, the personal summon of Tsunade. As he picked it up he noticed how soft and almost furry it was, just like the toad. As he squeezed it, the slug squeaked and the eyes bulged. This made the old man chuckle. "I think I'll get this so that Tsunade sees it," Sarutobi thought as he tucked it under the arm not carrying Naruto.

Now the last one caused the old man's mood to sadden slightly. It was a two foot long purple snake. It had thin black rings on its body about every two inches. It's eyes were green and slitted. On the back side of it's head were four horn like protrusions. As he picked it up, it felt like the other two. He then gave it squeeze to see what it would do. It made no noise. Just as he was about to put it down, he felt it snag on something. Looking down he saw that Naruto had stopped playing with the toad and was now holding onto the snake's tail. The boy started to shake the tail and it made a rattling noise. It had a rattle in it. And yet again the boy squealed with joy. With a chuckle Sarutobi thought "I guess this makes Manda a rattle snake." He paused, looked at Naruto, and thoutht "Guess I could buy him all of them."

Sarutobi couldn't help but think of the three things. They were based off of the three summons that Konohagakure was famous for. Manda the head of the snakes, Gamabunta the chief of the toads and Katsuyu the leader of the slugs. There were other summons from the village, but when someone thought of Konoha and summons, these were the ones they thought of. It wasn't because they were better, it was more along the lines of the ones that could summon them, the legendary Sannin. This was a title that three powerful shinobi earned during the Second Shinobi World War. The three being Tsunade, Orachimaru, and Jiraiya, Sarutobi's students.

As Sarutobi turned to go pay for the stuffed animals, he caught sight of a fourth stuffed animal. It was of his personal summons Enma. It had everything the real one had, from his white fur to his tiger striped top. It even had a small metal hitai-ate. It was the size of Naruto. Sarutobi couldn't help but look at the four stuff animals and see himself and his students, back when they were genin. It gave him a warm feeling in his heart. But looking at the mini-Enma got Sarutobi thinking "I'm going to get him this too. If he's going to be playing with summons, I want him to play with mine." Yes, he was a little jealous that Naruto was playing with the other summons and not his. So he grabbed the monkey.

Sarutobi walked over to the checkout. He hoped that the shopkeeper wouldn't have a problem with selling to the "demon-baby". He placed all the plush toys on counter and waited. There wasn't anyone behind the cash register. Sarutobi was in a bit of a hurry and then he saw a bell. He decided to ring it. As soon as it rang, it got a response.

"Just a minute," came a voice from the back. A second later a tall women step out from the back. She wore a light purple kimono, with dark purple lining. When the light hit it just right a silver vine like pattern could be seen. What was on her feet couldn't be told because the kimono covered them and slightly pooled around them. The sleeves were also long, stopping just below her hands. Her hair was black and flowed with a grace that made it seem like it was in water.

"Welcome to Meshi Aikouka's Shop. I'm Meshi," she said as she walked to the counter. She stopped at seeing who was at her shop, but quickly continued. "Hello Lord Hokage, what can I do for you?"

"I would like to buy these," Sarutobi indicated to the four plush summons.

"Oh, I see you have chosen the Gamabunta, Manda, Katsuyu, and Enma plush. Now normally it would be 3200 yen (about $40) but for you … ." At this she paused as if something just occurred to her. Her gaze fell from the Hokage's face to the small baby in his arms. Sarutobi thought this was a bad sight. "Is she going to deny me these just because of Naruto?" But this wasn't so.

"Is that HIM?" Meshi said this with the sleeve of her shirt brought up to cover her mouth. Her eyes darted back and forth as if to check if the coast was clear. The tone she used was as if a great secret was being told.

"Yes," said Sarutobi. He had tensed his muscles just enough so that he would be ready for anything that might happen. Meshi just gave a small smile at this.

"Can I please hold him? Please?" Her tone told Sarutobi that he could trust her. He handed Naruto over to her, but he stayed in a position that if she tried anything he could grab the baby and stop her.

Meshi looked over at the old man and said in a tone that spoke of how serious she was. "Don't worry Lord Hokage. I can tell the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed in."

Sarutobi sighed. "At least some one isn't an idiot," he thought as he said "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, I should thank this little guy," she said as she tickled his tummy. "Well as I was saying for you I was going to give you a 50% discount." Looking down at the little guy. "But for him, you can have them for free."

"That is too kind Meshi, that . ." Before Sarutobi could finish she cut him off.

"No it is not, it is the least I could do." Meshi's tone was gentle yet firm. It was a tone that said this is going to happen and there is nothing you can do to stop it. "He is going to need so much in live, but he isn't going to get it. If there is anything I can do just ask me." The last part was said with such sincerity that Sarutobi knew that it was the truth.

"That is . . . This . . . Thanks is not enough, but I feel I will take you up at that in the future," replied the old Hokage.

"It is no problem," Meshi said as she handed Naruto back to Sarutobi. After that, she took the snake, slug, and monkey, and sealed them into a scroll for easy transport. This she handed to the Hokage and the toad she gave to the baby, who immediately started to play with it.

With Naruto happy, Sarutobi walked to the store's exit. Just before he left, Sarutobi turned back and said "Thank you, Meshi-san. Expect future business from me. By the way, do you mind holding the Enma statue for me. I would like to buy it, but I have to be somewhere now."

"I can do that for you and I also look forward to that," replied Meshi.

"Thanks. I would love to stay and talk more, but I really am in a hurry. So have a good day," said Sarutobi as he walked out the door.

"No problem and come again anytime," Meshi shouted out so Sarutobi could hear her.

And with that Sarutobi left to meet Itachi.

=========================================Flashback End no Jutsu=========================================

As Sarutobi stepped up to Itachi, he said "Ready Itachi?"

"Hai, Sarutobi-san," Itachi replied as he looked at the baby. He may have a little brother at home about a year old, but for some reason he felt closer to Naruto then Sasuke.

Sarutobi saw the look in Itachi's eye. It clearly saying, I want to hold the baby. So Sarutobi said "Would you like to hold Naruto for me during the trip."

"Yes, I would," Itachi said as he reached out to take Naruto into his arms. He brought his hand up to the baby and took the small hand into his. Naruto quickly latched onto his pinky with one hand, while holding his toad with the other, so he could suck on it. "He has a strong grip for a baby."

"Now let's get going. If we take our time, but hurry, we should reach Tanzaku Quarter tomorrow night." With that said the two left. The pace they set was slow for shinobi, but fast for civilians. Shinobi could send chakra to their leg muscles to increase their speed and the range they could jump. The two of them, weren't even doing this. They were just using the muscle to hop from tree top to tree top. They could go faster, but they didn't want anything to happen to Naruto.

As they were going, Sarutobi and Itachi noticed something. Naruto was screaming. Itachi stopped to make sure the baby was okay, with Sarutobi quick to follow. As they landed on the ground, Naruto started to cry. Itachi quickly started to rock the baby. He even took a hold of the toad and made it start dancing. After a few minutes of this, the boy calmed down. "I don't think that we can continue tree hopping. I think that we are going to have to walk," said Itachi.

During this, Sarutobi was thinking. "He was screaming, but he started to cry when we stopped. I think this is something else."

"I don't think so Itachi. Hand him to me, I think I know what is going on," Sarutobi said.

Itachi handed the baby over and with that Sarutobi jumped up and started tree hopping again, with Itachi quick to follow. As he was going, Sarutobi watched Naruto. The baby started to scream again. At this, Sarutobi looked at his face and he started to chuckle. Naruto may have been shrieking, but he was doing it in pure joy. "If he loves this, then he is going to love being a shinobi." And he continued to chuckle as he picked up the speed. He even did a few flips.

Looking over to Itachi, Sarutobi saw the look on his face. It said he was still worried about Naruto, so Sarutobi shouted to Itachi "Don't worry, he loves it. I believe we will arrive sooner then thought. We should reach our destination tomorrow around noon." This was true. They had pick a slower pace so as to not upset Naruto. With the baby enjoying the roller coaster way shinobi traveled, they could go as fast as they wanted.

For the next six or so hours they traveled. By the time they stopped it was getting late. As if to punctuate that, Naruto gave a cute baby yawn. So they set up camp in a small clearing. It was roughly circular with a radius of 15 feet. The area looked like it had guests before. It had an old camp fire in the middle with two fallen logs around it. When they finished setting up their tent in the center of the clearing, they decided to start a fire and start making supper. Itachi walked over to the fire pit and used a small fire jutsu to light it. After that Sarutobi and Itachi sat down around the fire.

"Itachi," Sarutobi said. "Would you go out and gather something for us to cook, while I feed Naruto." He had gotten a bottle out to feed the boy. It way be late, but he wanted to make sure Naruto wasn't hungry.

"Of course, Sarutobi-sama," Itachi said before he headed out.

Sarutobi sat there before the warm fire, feeding Naruto as he made happy noises. As he waited for Itachi, Sarutobi looked up at the sky. The moon was out, without a cloud in the sky. It wasn't full, but it was close, meaning it would be a full moon the next night. He was broken out of his thoughts when Itachi walked back into the clearing.

It had only been about 20 minutes, but Itachi was able to catch two brown rabbits. In that time he had also skinned and prepared them for cooking. He even grabbed two sticks and had stripped them of bark and sharpened the tips. Sitting down in front of the fire, he impaled the rabbits on the sticks. Then he angled them over the fire so that they would cook.

Looking over the top of the flames, Itachi could see Sarutobi staring off into space and Naruto smuggled up to his chest. The bottle sat off to the side, empty of it's contains. The three of them sat in silence for a while until it was broken by Sarutobi.

"I don't have a good feeling for Naruto's future," Sarutobi said still staring off at the sky. "It is going to be hard for him and I feel that something bad is going to happen. Not now, not this year even. I'm not sure when it is going to happen." After this Sarutobi turn his eyes to Itachi. "Can I trust you to help him?" This Sarutobi said with a tone that spoke of his concern, desperation and hope.

At this Itachi spoke, "You don't even need to ask me. His parents were there for me when I needed them. My home away from home. I never felt close to my family. They never seem to understand me." At this he paused to gather his thoughts. "I feel the same way about Naruto as I do about his parents. I would do anything for him."

There was a silence again. Sarutobi decided to speak first. "I'm glad to hear that. Naruto is going to need all the help that he can get growing up." He really was glad to hear that. Naruto would have one more person to support him. As Sarutobi thought of good things, he was interrupted by Itachi speaking.

"I know that Kakashi feels the same way. The two of us will let nothing happen to him," Itachi said in hopes of helping his Hokage feel better.

"Thank you, Itachi. I have been feeling .. . Uncertain about things with everything going on recently," Sarutobi said.

"I don't blame him," thought Itachi. "No problem. I certainly don't envy you at the moment." This was said with humor in his voice.

It was silent again, with neither knowing what to say. It was an awkward silence and it was uncomfortable. As if able to sense this, Naruto woke up and did something that absolutely broke up the tension immediately. He turned towards Sarutobi and spit up on him. Sarutobi looked down at his robs and saw the gross whitish stuff. Then he looked at the baby. Naruto had a look on his face that said that he didn't know what happen, but felt good now that it happen. Sarutobi turned towards Itachi and couldn't help but laugh. Itachi had a look that spoke of how gross he found what happened, glad that it didn't happen to him, and was trying to hold in his laughing. At this Sarutobi laughed a hearty laugh. This seemed to set off a chain reaction. First Itachi couldn't hold in his laughs anymore. He started to chuckle. Naruto hearing all this happy noise, added his own. He made some happy baby noises and this warmed both men's hearts. Sarutobi couldn't help but be in a good mood.

"Ha . ha. I believe I will be needing a change of clothes. While I'm at it, I'm going to put this little guy to bed." With that said, Sarutobi walked into the tent. In the middle was a crib, with a changing table hanging off the side. Itachi and Sarutobi had unsealed their stuff and put it up in the tent.

Sarutobi put the baby on the changing table, and removed his vomit covered onesie. Then he decide to change his diaper, then put him in clean pajamas. With that done, he put Naruto in the crib. The boy insistently started to play with the slug, frog, snake and monkey in his crib.

Now with Naruto set in his crib, Sarutobi walked over to his clothes and changed. After he was in a clean set of robs, he looked in on Naruto. The boy was asleep in his crib. "Naruto will be fine in here." He walked out of the tent, back to the fire and sat down next to Itachi.

"Here you go Sarutobi," Itachi spoke as he handed him a rabbit on a stick. It had finished cooking and cooling down while Sarutobi had been in the tent.

"Thanks," Sarutobi replied. They ate in silence for a few minutes. It was Sarutobi that spoke, breaking it. "I want to leave early tomorrow, so that we reach Tanzaku Quarters around noon." Looking down at his food, he said "I think we should save part of dinner and have it for breakfast, to save time." Itachi handed over the rest of his rabbit. He had eaten enough and was full. Sarutobi took the two half eaten rabbits and sealed them into a scroll. It would keep the food perfectly fine.

"Itachi, I want you to set these," Sarutobi paused to hand him six pieces of tan paper he pulled out of his rob. They were 3 inches by 8 inches with a border of ½ inch. In the middle of the paper was the symbol for security barrier, this was surrounded by a circle of artistic looking designs. A line of more symbols connected the circle to the corners of the paper. "Around the edge of the clearing."

"Hai, Sarutobi." Itachi didn't need to ask what they did. They were security barrier tags. They would alert them if the parameter was crossed. Itachi did the task very quickly. When he returned, Sarutobi was pulling out two more objects out of his robes. As he approached, Itachi got a clear look at what they were. "Wristbands?"

"Good job, that was fast. Now these" Sarutobi indicated to the bands " are linked to the tags. They will give a small shock if the barrier is crossed." After saying that, Sarutobi handed one to Itachi as he placed the other around his wrist.

"That sounds pleasant," sarcastically thought Itachi as he too placed the device on his wrist.

"That will allow us both to sleep soundly tonight," Sarutobi said. Normally on a mission, they would sleep in shifts to keep someone on watch as the other slept. This mission was different, it was more of a business vacation. And besides they are two of Konoha's top most shinobi.

"Now I am going to bed. I'm not as young as I used to be and need a good night's sleep." Sarutobi waited for Itachi's reply.

"I think I'll hit the hay too. We both have to be up early tomorrow," Itachi said, deciding to take his Hokage's lead.

With that done they both got up. Itachi preformed a small water jutsu to put out the fire, as Sarutobi headed into the tent with Itachi right behind him. They both started to set up their sleeping bags on both sides of the crib.

Finishing first, Sarutobi walked up to the side of the crib to look down at Naruto. The sleeping baby had the plush slug clutched in his chubby little hands. The scene was made even more heart warming by the fact that Naruto had the slug's eye antenna in his mouth, sucking on it. Sarutobi quickly pulled a camera out of his robe's sleeve and snapped a picture, and just as quickly it disappeared. "Now that will look good with the others." He had a collection of pictures of everyone in his life. Some were used as blackmail and others were just cute moments.

Some may think it was weird for him to have a camera hidden in his robes, but he was a shinobi and this was useful in gathering information. Plus he wasn't the only one. Many of his elite jonins did this too. It was especially useful to senseis. The funny pictures you can collect from children learning to be shinobi are priceless.

Sarutobi tore his eyes away from Naruto and looked up. Itachi had finished settling up his bed, and was staring down at Naruto now too. He had a look on his face that said he fully enjoyed the scene too. Sarutobi couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at that. That made Itachi glance up, the two of them locked eyes and they couldn't help but laugh. They kept it down so as to not wake Naruto up.

"He really is precious," stated Itachi.

"Yes. Yes he is," replied Sarutobi.

They both went back to preparing for bed. After a few moments, they were laying down ready to get a good night's sleep.

When they woke up, it was around 6 am. The two of them got dressed for the day. Finished with that, the two of them walked out of the tent. They left Naruto sleeping in the crib, no sense waking the little guy until they leave.

Sarutobi walked to the fire pit and lit it. Pulling out a kettle and some other metal equipment, he set it up so the kettle would hang over the fire. He took a canteen of water and filled the kettle with water. Turning to look at Itachi, who had unsealed the remains of dinner, asked "Would you like a cup of tea? I need one to help me start the day."

"Yes, that sounds nice," replied Itachi.

So Sarutobi prepared two cups as Itachi reheat the remains of the rabbits. When they finished preparing breakfast, they sat down and had a quick meal because they wanted to leave soon.

When they finished, they packed everything up, leaving the crib and Naruto for last. Itachi and Sarutobi walked over to the crib and looked down at the baby. Naruto had been playing with the frog the whole time that they were busy. Itachi bent over and picked Naruto up, with the little frog held tightly in the baby's hands, as Sarutobi sealed the crib into a scroll again.

And on they went, jumping and leaping from tree to tree their way to Tanzaku Quarter. Naruto was screaming and squealing the whole way, but this time they didn't stop because they knew that he was happy. His little arms were waving all around with the toad in his little grip.

As Itachi landed on a large tree branch, Naruto dropped the little toad. Itachi had thought that might happen so he was ready. Using his quick reflexes, he applied chakra to his feet. It was just the right amount to allow him to slide along the branch's surface. He swung around the branch and as he was passing underneath it, he quickly reached out with his free arm and caught the toad. He had completed the 360 around the branch before Naruto even realized what happen. Itachi stood there for a few minutes before he spoke, this was just enough time for Naruto to realize he didn't have the toad and to get upset about it.

"There, there. No need to be upset little one," Itachi spoke as he wiped the tears forming in the infant's eyes. "Your little friend is safe now. You have to be careful and hold on tight or he might fall again." After he said this, he handed the toad back to the baby. Then Itachi started moving again and everything was as it was before the dropping of the plush animal, except for one thing. Naruto was not waving his arms around. He had both arms tightly wrapped around the toad so he didn't lose his friend again.

They spent the next few hours traveling this way. By the time they decided it was time to stop for lunch, they could see Tanzaku Quarters in the distance. It was only about 10 minutes away. So they chose to wait. They would meet up with Kakashi and then head to lunch.

As they drew near to the entrance to the town, they saw a figure leaning against the wall surrounding the town. He was under the shade of a big tree. Looking at him you could tell that he was a powerful individual. His mere presence was enough to make full grown men tremble. But this was ruined by what he was doing. At the moment the man was reading a little orange book and every so often giggling like a little school girl.

"Kakashi and his Icha Icha book. Damn you, Jiraiya for giving that to him it," thought Sarutobi. It wasn't that the old man wasn't a fan of the series, he had a copy in his desk. Hell, he had the whole series in his closet, including first additions, rare exclusives, and a couple that had been banned. That is what happens when you were the teacher of the author. That's right Jiraiya wrote it. The reason that Sarutobi was a little upset, was because Kakashi was ALWAYS reading it. When he walked, talked, and even when he ate. This was a little obsessive and it looked bad. Kakashi is a top shinobi of Konoha and is always seen reading adult novels. Well that is what men called it. Women on the other hand called it perverted trash.

They made their way over to Kakashi. "Yo guys, how was the trip?" Kakashi said to them without even looking up. Itachi and Sarutobi weren't even close to him and he didn't even need to look up from his book to tell they were there. This didn't surprise the two of them. Kakashi always had his noise buried in that little book, so he had plenty of practice sensing where things were. Plus he is a top shinobi of Konoha.

"It was surprisingly pleasant," replied Sarutobi.

Itachi and Sarutobi were standing in front of Kakashi as he was still leaning back against the wall. There was a comfortable atmosphere between the three of them. Then Kakashi, closed his book, pushed himself off of the wall and turned towards Itachi.

"May I see him?" Kakashi said while making the universal hand gesture that said I want to hold the baby. With that Itachi handed Naruto over. He had been holding him the whole time so far, why not give Kakashi a chance. As Naruto was being placed in his hands, Kakashi spoke to the him. "Hey there Naru-chan. How have you been?" As if to answer him, Naruto started to coo and try to reach Kakashi's face mask.

As Kakashi looked down at the small baby in his arms, he thought "Minato-sensei, he looks just like you. Except for the whisker marks, he could be your clone. They make him look cute, but they make me feel guilty for it happening." He looked over the boy even more, as if inspecting him for damage. "He even has a plush toad with him. It's like they are daring people to realize who he is and what happened."

As this was going on, Sarutobi watched his Anbu captain act like a mother hen with the boy. "I was going to send him back to the village, but ..."

"Kakashi-kun, we were going to head to launch and I was wondering if you would like to accompany us?" Sarutobi asked.

Kakashi didn't even need to think to answer. "I would love to. I even know the perfect place to go." He waited for Sarutobi to give his okay. "He is the Hokage, so he has the last say."

In that moment of silence, Sarutobi thought "Kakashi has been here for a while. . ." with that decided he said "Lead the way, Kakashi-kun."

And with that Kakashi turned, still holding Naruto, to the entrance to Tanzaku Quarters.

As Kakashi lead them to the restaurant, he relayed the information he had gotten about Tsunade and Shizune. They didn't worry about being overheard by the people on the street. This may be a mission, but there wasn't a need for secrecy, at the moment.

"I have been watching Tsunade and Shizune since I got here," Kakashi started with. "They have been staying at the Kyakushoubai , one of the largest hotels in the area. Apparently the owner's son, Hiyowai, has been stricken down with a deadly sickness. He's been paying them to tr.." Kakashi would have continued but was interrupted by shouting to their left.

"I want to go to the casino!," a mature woman's voice shouted. The tone of her voice was deep and sensual, with an undertone that spoke of someone with power. The strange thing was that even with all of that it still came off as childish whining.

"NO! I will not have you spend all the money we just earned today," a second woman's voice shouted back. This one sounded younger than the first. "We need it to keep up to date with the bill collectors." Her voice had the tone of someone speaking to a person they respect yet was as if they were a mother reprimanding their child.

"But..," the first one stared, interrupted by the second woman countering "Let's get dinner. I know the perfect place and . ." she paused as if for dramatic effect "I hear they have the best sake around."

"Then what are we waiting for, lead the way Shizune."

"Of course, Lady Tsunade."

It was the last two sentences that caught Sarutobi's, Kakashi's, and Itachi's attention. In unison, the three turned to look and the surprise could be seen on their faces. Well, Sarutobi's and Itachi's, you could. Kakashi's face was covered with a mask, but you could still see a hint of it in his eye.

There standing only about ten feet away from them were the two that they were looking for.