"Finish it in eight words or less", came the voice, and the image of a gun came before Smokin'Oken.
Then, he said, "I don't own Naruto or any related characters."
"Exactly eight words, pardner, good.", said the voice as the image disappeared.
But then, Smokin'Oken said, "OC's are mine!", and began to run as the gun chased him.
Naruto(scratching his head) – What's he doing?And, yeah, he doesn't own Addicted To Curry, or Bleach, or the songs of Asian Kung Fu Generation, or the Naruto OST........ Heck, all he owns is a wallet, a train season pass, and a stupid Motorola W230. And some stationery.
Tanzaku Town
Jiraiya of the Sannin used to proclaim himself as a 'Super Pervert'.
All of his perverseness fled him when he saw Sarutobi die in front of him.
Now, he had only a few goals left.
The first was to train Naruto, and his two friends, and fulfill his role as Naruto's Godfather.
Next, was to see if he still had a chance with Tsunade.
And finally, to die a heroic death.
Hopefully, nothing would stop him from his last goal.
'Now that I think about it, I wish I had been a bit more serious during my childhood. At least, I would have had a better chance with Tsunade. Oh well, nothing be done for it now.', thought Jiraiya, as he woke up and headed for a bath, taking a change of clothes.
Naruto was dreaming about a future where he and Hinata had a pair of twins, and they were all excellent ninjas, and Jiraiya and Tsunade were still with them, like a family.
As Naruto woke up, he wondered why Hana wasn't in his dream.
At the outskirts of Tanzaku Town
Hana arrived just behind Naruto, as both of them were late.
Hinata had woken up super early, and had left already, and Naruto's extended dream caused him to wake up just as late as Hana.
Jiraiya was thinking hard himself, and when he saw that all of them were there, he took out a scroll and summoned the bucket of water balloons.
"Alright, listen and listen good. You need to do three steps, in order to learn Rasengan. First, you have to burst this water balloon with your chakra.", said Jiraiya.
Saying this, he took out a water balloon, and held it in his hand. A few seconds later, bumps began to appear on it, and as more and more bumps appeared, suddenly, it burst, though, since he'd held it at a distance away from his body, he somehow managed to avoid himself from getting drenched.
Naruto, Hinata and Hana took one look at each other, as if to say, 'Let's do this', and each took a water balloon.
Hana imagined her chakra to be flowing like fast strands of air, and it did so, so that when they went into the water, the water started rotating, and bumps appeared over the balloon.
Hinata had a similar idea, and soon, her balloon also had bumps all over it, but there weren't enough, in both Hana's and Hinata's cases, to burst it.
Naruto though, was suffering. He tried and tried to use his chakra to rotate the water inside, but, when he did, he felt like he was spending too much chakra just to rotate the water.
Jiraiya saw that Naruto was gasping for breath. "Slow down, Naruto, what's wrong?"
"I don't know, Gama-Sennin, I feel like I'm wasting too much chakra to just get this water to rotate."
"Bend your head down."
When Naruto did so, Jiraiya quickly examined the top of his head, and said, "Look up now."
"What was the point?"
"Hush, now answer me. How do you spin your chakra?"
"Huh? Well, I spin it in the anticlockwise direction, why?"
"There. Now, try to use clockwise rotation."
Naruto did so, and he found that he could easily rotate the water inside, without too much chakra.
'Right, this shows that it is easier for me to rotate my chakra in the clockwise direction. Hmmm.... Better make note of this. Could be useful in the future.', thought Naruto.
Now all Naruto had to do was cause bumps to appear on the balloon, explode it, and he would be done with the first step.
But, seeing the amount of progress Hana and Hinata had made, Naruto had a subconscious feeling that the day was going to be a long one........
Tick, tock, tick, tock, DING!
Keeping on trying was the only option Naruto had. Though they had taken a break in the afternoon for a small meal, Naruto was really saddened that he couldn't make much progress, while Hana and Hinata were very close to bursting their water balloons.
Frustrated, he moved his hand so that it could hit his forehead.
Sadly, he forgot that he was still holding the water balloon.
I don't think we need a Shinichi Kudo to help find out what happened next.
Naruto was drenched in water.
Hinata and Hana, though, were concentrating on their balloons, and were almost done with it.
Naruto took out a new water balloon, and collapsed.
He saw that a cat was pouncing on the balloon, and after one hard pounce, the balloon burst, drenching Naruto-kun.
Getting drenched woke up an idea in Naruto's head. This startled the cat, and it fled.
Naruto then thought of pouncing on the balloon with his hand, and when he implemented it, he was drenched again. But to him, it was the most refreshing and cool water. It was the water, the rain of success that he was drenched in.
Naruto took out another water balloon, and managed to burst it using the same trick.
Overjoyed, Naruto called out to Jiraiya, Hana and Hinata.
When the three of them gathered, Naruto showed that he'd managed to master the first step.
Seeing Naruto filled Hana and Hinata with confidence, and soon, their balloons burst too.
Jiraiya then told them to burst the rest of the balloons as well, and saw that they were having fun drenching each other with water.
'I was right.', thought Jiraiya, 'These three have lots of potential. They'll become as good as the Sannin in no time.'
As he was drenched in water, with a flat expression on his face, he wiped the water from his eyes, and thought, '...........At least they get along with each other. But I do have a quiet, distinctive feeling that these three will be the death of me yet.........'
After they were done with bursting all of the water balloons, Jiraiya said, "Right, the hill gets more steeper from here on. As we set out tomorrow, I will tell you the second step, and now, we're going to sleep after dinner."
This time though, Naruto just kissed Hinata, told her that he'd meet up later, for he wanted to ask Gama-Sennin some questions, and he left.
As Hinata started to leave, Hana said, "Hinata-chan, wait."
"Hana-chan, I... I don't know what to say.", said Hinata-chan.
"I-I'll tell something. I'm s-sor-sorry, Hinata-chan!", she said, and started crying again. "I won't try to do anything of that sort again."
Hinata, being the kind soul she was, hugged Hana-chan.
"I won't cry like this anymore. I swear, I won't.", said Hana, drying up her tears.
Hinata released Hana, then hugged her again.
"To me, it doesn't matter, Hana-chan. I will be here for you until your boyfriend is back. I may not be a boy, but, I will be here, for you.", said Hinata.
Hana and Hinata hugged silently under the moonlight, and they left holding hands.
The next day
"Are you three ready?, asked Jiraiya, as he strapped on his bag.
Seeing them nod, Jiraiya made a gesture, and they moved out.
When they reached the other entrance to Tanzaku Town, and had walked for a while till it was out of sight, Jiraiya stopped them.
"Before I forget, I'll tell you about the second step." He then took out a scroll, and summoned four rubber balls from it. He handed out one to each of them, and took one for himself, and put the scroll back in.
"This step emphasizes on power. Basically, you have to explode this rubber ball. Thing is, it's a hundred times harder to break than the water balloon. So, you have to put power into breaking it – mere spinning of chakra won't cut it. Well, then, we're gonna start."
He then proceeded to explode the rubber ball, and told them to start working on it.
As the three started trying, Naruto realized that he'd have to do something he'd found difficult – concentrate, for he knew from learning Teikietsu Shouheki, that he'd have to concentrate.
But his father created the jutsu – so it'd either be useful, or powerful, or both. And, he deemed that anything his father made, would be really useful.
He would learn this jutsu if it was the last thing he did. After all, anything to protect the three people who actually cared about him was allowed, wasn't it?
He swore that no one he cared for would die in front of him.
Never.
Ever.
At a roadside inn
Thankfully, by midday, they were able to reach a roadside inn, where they decided to rest for the afternoon.
Sadly, none of them were able to explode the ball.
Jiraiya reassured them by saying, "Don't worry, you three. You are making remarkable progress, considering the fact that it took Minato three years to invent and perfect it to that level."
"But", said Naruto, "He was creating it from scratch. Not like us."
"Even then. It took me three months to fully get hang of this jutsu. You seem like you'll do it in two weeks flat."
The three fell silent. Then Naruto said, "If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep for some time."
Saying that, he closed his eyes, laid down his head on the table, and went to sleep.
Mind Scape
(Cue theme – Asian Kung Fu Generation – Haruka Kanata)
Naruto opened his eyes to find that he was standing in a place where the walls were cracked, and water was running through his legs. Like a sewer.
"Wait, I know this place. This place is.... my mind......"
Naruto followed the running water, and kept running.
He kept running till he heard a growling voice.
Naruto Uzumaki!, shouted the voice.
"Kyuubi no Youko....", trailed off Naruto, stopping in front of the huge cage.
Why are you here?!
"Well, we need to talk."
What could a puny human like you have to talk, to the greatest and the mightiest Kyuubi no Youko?
"I just thought I'd extend a hand of friendship to you."
The fox took a look at him, and, slowly, gave a rumbling laugh, which quickly turned into loud laughter. After the laughter died down, the fox snarled.
You? Offering me a hand of friendship? Do not pity me, puny human, for once I'm out of this cage, I shall crush you, like the mosquito that you are...
"Oh, we know that's not happening, right?"
The fox stared at him with a scowl on his face.
"I mean, we all know of the Yondaime Hokage's talent in sealing, right? You haven't been able to escape despite your repeated attempts, and if that doesn't say something about my father's adeptness at Fuinjutsu, nothing else does. Plus, even if my father's seal failed, the last move I would ever make would be to make sure I go down with you, before you can get out. After all, I wouldn't want anyone else to die under your hand and my rule. I would be the only Hokage that never took the post but saved the people.", said Naruto, folding his hands, leaning on a wall.
The fox snarled again.
What is this force that motivates you to do thus? Why do you want to suppress me and my power, when you know that you could destroy this whole wide world with it? WHY DO YOU NOT GIVE IN TO THE POWER I POSSESS?
"It is because there are a few things worth fighting for, and there are a few things worth losing for too – things that make your power absolutely unnecessary, things that I can do on my own. With my own power.", was the reply.
Is this power so great that I am unnecessary? Then release me now, and I shall be on my way, far far away from you.
"Well, I think I will...............Not."
WHY?
"Well, why was I chosen, when father could have picked an unlucky orphan from the street, sealed you into him, and ensure that he would be killed, so that you would exist no longer? I think, there must have been some other reason, other than the fact that as a Hokage, he couldn't sacrifice any of his people. He knew that I could rein you in, that I could withstand your brutality. Perhaps, you were hoodwinked into attacking Konoha or something.....", trailed off Naruto with a small chuckle.
The fox was slightly surprised. Of course, after an existence of a thousand years, literally nothing tended to surprise the nine tailed fox at all. But, there were only three men who had see her eye to eye – Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha and Minato Namikaze. Here was a kid, not even a shadow of those three men who had legendary powers, yet he spoke like a prophet, like a man who guessed everything by just thinking hard.
Her respect for her jailer grew by one thousandth of her power. And that was saying something.
But he decided not to reveal right now, how nearly he'd not missed the bullseye with his shuriken.
What is this offer of friendship that you talk of?
"Well, you see, I kind of imagine that you are a demon.... no, beast..... no, powerful being, right out from the story books and fairy tales. A great big being that roamed all over the land, living for thousands of years, practically immortal. A being that is immensely powerful, that could crush mountains with just a tiny fraction of its power."
Get. To. The. Point.
Kyuubi was getting impatient. She already knew of the tales about her.
"Well", said Naruto, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, grinning, "I thought that after living for a thousand years, you would finally like to have a friend?"
She looked at him.
A few minutes later, Naruto gave up. Shifting in his place, he sighed, and let out a breath. "I'm tired."
Kyuubi stared at him again. She growled.
You haven't lived for a thousand years, brat. How can you get tired?
"No, you misunderstood me", said Naruto, looking at Kyuubi eye to eye, "I'm tired of being told that you are a great monster that only seeks to destroy. Maybe you've been misunderstood. I think, that there is more to you than what meets the eye. I want to extend hand of friendship. That is all. To see if you could really be a good friend. No catch."
Why would you want to befriend a being that is regarded as nothing more than a savage beast? A being that took away your parents, killed countless of people?
As the two remained silent for a few moments, Naruto said, "Well, since it seems to you that your image is too bloodthirsty to be my friend, I guess I'll leave."
Naruto turned and walked away.
Naruto Uzumaki, wait!
Naruto spun (lookee, I made another pun....or did I?) to see the Kyuubi shrinking.
A girl of about fifteen years, stood behind the cage.
She wore a red battle kimono, had deep red hair, a normal looking face and a smile on it.
"I accept."
Silence.
"Wait. All I had to do was talk to you? That was it?", asked Naruto, surprised.
"Yes, Naruto. All you had to do was talk to me, try and convince me. I had actually anticipated it earlier, but, no harm done."
"I dunno, this seems too easy. Too easy to be true."
"Do not worry. As much as I hate to admit, I am an ancient woman, in your terms. I've lived so many years. A luxury that you can't afford. I have had years to get used to you, and your peculiar mannerisms. Though, from here on, I shall help you as much as possible. In return...."
"What?"
Kyuubi leaned onto her cage's bars. She slowly slid down it, as did a tear, from her left eye.
"Friends?"
She looked down when she asked that, to hide her tear.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, which was squeezed gently.
She looked up to see a smiling Naruto with his hand through two bars.
"Friends."
As both of them stood up, Naruto tried to yank his hand away.
He couldn't.
"Argh!", said Naruto as he tried again and again.
Kyuubi then took hold of his hand and turned it slowly.
As Naruto yanked, he'd apparently given too much force in doing so. Thus, he flew back, not stopping.
"See you later.", were the last words he heard, as he flew into daylight.
The roadside inn
"Naruto-kun!", said Hinata, gently slapping him on his cheek.
Naruto woke up to Hinata's delicate, pearly voice.
He then flew into action. "What? Where? When? Why? Who? How?"
"What happened? YOU explain, not the other way around.", said Hana.
"Did you talk with the nine tailed fox?", asked Jiraiya quietly.
"Well, yes, Gama-sennin, I did talk to the nine tailed fox. Or should I say, the woman that Kyuubi is."
You got that right, kid, or should I say, kit?
'Kit's fine.', said Naruto to Kyuubi.
"What? The Kyuubi is female?", asked Jiraiya, maintaining his quiet tone in spite of his surprise.
"Hai. She is. Most certainly.", was Naruto's reply.
"If I were my old self, I'd be on her case in no time." Jiraiya sighed and said, "What did she want?"
"Nothing. I've made my peace with her. So has she. We're friends, now."
Jiraiya did not react to it, but just listened to him quietly.
"Fine. Let's get going. We're not going to progress any further with your training until you explode those balls."
Jiraiya paid their bill, and they were on their way.
A major town
It took them a week to reach the next major town.
To their disappointment, they couldn't find Tsunade there either.
They got two rooms at an inn, and during dinner, Jiraiya laid out his plan.
"This is our plan. In one month there will be a grand gambling festival in Kakegoto Town. Tsunade will most probably disguise herself in order to gamble there without being noticed. Thing is, it'll take one month for us to reach Kakegoto Town. So, since you three have completed the second step, we're going to work on completing Rasengan within that time. I'll tell you what you have to do later. But for now, I'm going to tell you two ways to recognize Tsunade on the spot. One way, the easier one, is to just challenge her to a gambling game, and see if she loses terribly. When I say terribly, I mean it. She's obviously called The Legendary Sucker for a reason."
"What's the other?", asked Hana.
"You three are the only ones who know that I've given up on writing porn. So, I'm going to read an Icha Icha book in front of her, with her name on its cover-"
He saw that all three had shining eyes.
"Do I even want to know?", asked Jiraiya with a flat expression.
"Well", said Naruto, "I once saw that crazy snake lady beat up Kakashi-sensei because of that book he was reading. Ooh, it took us a long time to identify him after his operation. He was defeated, soundly."
"You're so brave, Jiraiya-sama, to attempt to try and read that book in front of Tsunade-sama, who's strength is like that of a thousand bulls. We'll get your coffin ready.", said Hana.
"Argh! I shouldn't have. OK, getting back to seriousness....", trailed off Jiraiya, seeing that they were paying attention once again.
"Well, you should use either of the two plans if you suspect a person to be Tsunade. Well, now that that's out of the way, how about we get to sleep now, and wake up early tomorrow?", said Jiraiya, getting up.
As the three nodded, Naruto just wordlessly followed Jiraiya, and Hana followed Hinata.
A month goes by in traveling and training.....
Jiraiya was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed.
The last few weeks had been therapeutic for him. It was like as if all those punches and kicks from Tsunade and many other kunoichis were being rewarded, soothed, by the three students Jiraiya was training.
Thinking back, he found that he didn't regret getting rid of his books and that sort of writing. Though those books were real bestsellers, he didn't want that sort of recognition now. He'd moved past all that. One month with Hana, Hinata and Naruto was enough to change him for the better.
He felt de javu. Training a team all over again, he felt like his old, Jonin self. These three kids were as promising as his old Genin team, if not more. They'd managed to almost finish learning Rasengan, and were in the process of cracking the last step.
He'd come to enjoy the time he spent with his three students, and knew that only one person was left to fill the family. Tsunade Senju.
He hoped with all his heart that he still had a chance with her. He really was an idiot, acting like one in his younger years, when he could have focused more on learning and less on perverted things.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that the sun had already set.
When he got up to see his students, he saw that Naruto was grinning maniacally, and Hana and Hinata had brilliant smiles on their faces, and that all three of them were panting hard.
"Gama-Sennin, chalk up a new one for us.", said Naruto.
"And why should I?", he asked, even though he clearly guessed what happened.
Three shouts of Rasengan were heard, and three trees were completely demolished.
"We're done with Rasengan.", said Naruto, as he collapsed, smiling, into sleep.
Hinata and Hana were also dead tired, so, Jiraiya created shadow clones to carry the two to their room, and he carried Naruto himself to their room.
They had managed to reach Kakegoto Town a day before the festival, and snag two rooms at a really nice inn which had hot springs as well.
Now all they had to do was keep an eye open for Tsunade, and they would be done with one half of their mission.
As Jiraiya laid the boy down on his futon, he laid down on his own, and went to sleep as well, after he confirmed that Hana and Hinata were in their beds, soundly sleeping.
The next day, at the inn
(Cue theme for the whole section – Need To Be Strong – Naruto OST)
Naruto woke up in a sudden movement.
As he yawned, scratching his head, he came back to full alert as he recognized his surroundings. He knew that he'd been working hard yesterday. So, how did he get back here?
He got up, to see that Jiraiya was sleeping soundly, and put two and two together.
'OK, so Gama-Sennin brought me back. So, I must have collapsed or fainted or something. Oh well, I could care less. I completed Rasengan! And that is enough cause to celebrate!', thought Naruto, smiling to himself.
Naruto moved to take a bath at the hot springs. He knew that he was still tired from yesterday, and a soak would do him a lot of good, and refresh him.
Naruto took his towel and a fresh set of his clothes, and set off.
Half an hour later, he was done taking a soak, and he came out, after donning his clothes.
Hinata was walking to the breakfast table to wait for the others. She had a dream about Naruto and herself, doing things that made her go, 'Kyaaaah! Must not think perverted about Naruto-kun.'
Of course, Naruto had seen her on the way.
"Something wrong, Hinata-chan?"
"No, nothing, N-Naruto-kun.", stuttered Hinata slightly.
"Hey, Hinata-chan, congrats on completing Rasengan!", exclaimed Naruto.
Hinata blushed at his praise.
Naruto thought, 'So cute.'
"Hug?", asked Hinata.
"With pleasure!", was Naruto's reply.
Naruto and Hinata hugged for a moment, and Kyuubi said, I think I'm glad that I was sealed into you after all.
'And here I thought you were a bloodthirsty beast hell bent upon destroying the whole world.'
Hey, I'm a girl too. I love the fact that you and that girl, Hinata, are finally together. You two are really cute together.
As Naruto chuckled, Hinata picked up on it. "Something wrong, Naruto-kun?"
"Nothing, Kyuubi sends her compliments for us.", he said, impishly kissing Hinata on her nose.
"Tell Kyuubi-chan I said hi!", said Hinata with a happy smile.
Tell her I said hello too. And that she's real cute!
"Yup, Kyuubi-chan says hello and that you're real cute."
"Come on, Naruto-kun, let's go to breakfast."
"But, Hinata-chan, what about Hana-chan and Gama-Sennin?"
"I think you didn't see them, but they left already."
Hinata and Naruto held hands as they walked to the dining hall.
To their relief, Jiraiya and Hana were indeed there.
By the time they reached there, they saw that Jiraiya had pasted a silence seal on the table, and they heard a snippet of conversation, with Hana saying, "-managed to kill you."
"What? Who killed Gama-Sennin?", shouted Naruto.
"Calm down, Naruto-kun. I was just telling Jiraiya-sama about Pain.", said Hana.
"Pain? Is that the name of a person?", asked Hinata.
"Yes. He threw away his real name, and named himself Pain. He's very powerful.", said Hana.
"How powerful is he?", asked Naruto, with a grim expression.
"Well, have you heard of Hanzo?", asked Hana.
Both Hinata and Hana shrugged.
"Well, let me put it this way. Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, and Orochimaru were three Chunin who took part in the Second Great Ninja War. The one epic battle they had to fight, was against Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure. Impressed with how well they fought, despite the harsh conditions in which the war took place, Hanzo asked them to accept the title of Sannin, in exchange for which, he'd allow them to go free.", said Hana.
"Well, what does Hanzo-sama have anything to......Wait. Wait a minute. He GRANTED them the title? He's powerful enough to GRANT titles? Man, does that mean Hanzo-sama was really handing your backs on a platter?", asked Naruto, fully blown away by what he heard.
Hinata also gasped on making the connections.
Jiraiya who was stunned on hearing what Hana told before Naruto and Hinata came, numbly nodded.
"Naruto-kun, he was powerful enough to grant titles.", said Hana, sadly.
"Was? Does that mean what I think it means?"
"If you're thinking that he's dead, yes. Hanzo, and every single human being connected to him, were murdered by Pain.", said Hana.
"And, what does this have to do with Jiraiya-sama, Hana-chan?", asked Hinata.
"Fine, this requires that I tell you about Akatsuki. Akatsuki is an organization comprising of S-Ranked and SS-Ranked Missing nins. Their primary job, is to hunt down the Jinchuurikis of the tailed beasts, and capture them for later use. So, three years from now, when Akatsuki became a great threat to you, Naruto-kun, and due to the path of destruction they left in their wake, to Konoha too, Jiraiya-sama left for Amegakure, to gather more information on Akatsuki. Pain, who was the leader of Amegakure after murdering Hanzo-sama, confronted Jiraiya-sama immediately, and though he managed to use all of his powers, he died to Pain.", said Hana, tearing up a bit.
"Don't worry, Gama-Sennin, I'm sure that's one of the reasons why Hana-chan came here – to save you.", said Naruto, with a confident expression in his eyes.
"An-and, we will p-pro-protect you, e-even at t-the cost of o-our live-lives!", said Hinata, with fierce determination.
"That is one of the reasons why I came – to prevent your death, Jiraiya-sama. Plus, I really don't wish you'd die – remember? You still haven't got your chance with Tsunade-sama.", said a now smiling Hana.
Naruto was hugging Hinata, while Hana looked at Jiraiya with a smiling face.
'Why do I feel this warm feeling in my mind? Like as if I could die right now, and be happy? Why would they want to protect an old geezer like me?', thought Jiraiya.
"You're wondering why we would want to protect an old guy like you, right?", asked Hana.
"How did you know?", asked Jiraiya with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, all you great and powerful men are the same. As for that old guy part, I have a small something that will remedy the situation. Only, I ask you to wait until we find Tsunade-sama."
Jiraiya just nodded, and saw that Naruto and Hinata were kissing. He cleared his throat loud enough for them to hear it and break apart.
"Not that I mind, but I think it's time we started the hunt for Tsunade.", said Jiraiya, removing the seal, and ordering breakfast.
After twenty minutes, they were done with breakfast, and Hana pulled out four wireless receivers from her backpack.
"Here.", she said, handing one to each, and taking one for herself, "These are enhanced wireless receivers. Their range covers the whole town. So, we can contact each other if we have any problems."
After Hinata, Jiraiya and Hana wore their receivers on their ears, Naruto pulled up the hood that was a part of his outfit, and said, "I bet I'll find Tsunade-sama first."
"Oh no no no no no, no one's gonna take you up on your bet", said Hana, "Since out of the four of us, you're the Legendary Winner at Bets."
"Fine. See you later."
Saying this, Naruto offered them a wan smile, and ran to the exit.
"We might as well leave. Hinata, Hana, see you later. Feel free to search together if you want.", said Jiraiya, moving to the door himself.
Hinata and Hana, taking up Jiraiya's offer, decided to search together.
Time flies, and its evening.
(Cue theme – Asian Kung Fu Generation – 24 O'clock)
It was evening, and despite Naruto, Jiraiya, Hinata and Hana searching opposite corners of Kakegoto, they couldn't find Tsunade.
Then, Naruto thought, 'Think, Naruto, what did Gama-Sennin say to you about Tsunade-sama?'
Well, he said that Tsunade loved to gamble and that she's the Legendary Sucker, said Kyuubi.
'...........I must be the world's biggest idiot. I forgot to check the gambling houses, or bars.'
Are you even allowed to check bars? Aren't you a bit too young to drink sake?
'Who said I was going to drink there? I'm just gonna check. Anyway, thanks Kyuubi-chan.'
Anytime.
Naruto then scanned for signs of Tsunade, when he saw a big commotion at a nearby gambling house.
'What's going on here?', thought Naruto, stepping in to the building.
He asked a nearby person, and the person replied that the woman who was playing right now was losing quite badly, as all her bets were losing bets.
Deciding to save her himself, Naruto dived in, saying, "What game are you playing?"
The woman, who wore a gray colored top that did nothing much to hide her ample cleavage, and simple blue pants, said, "Bug off, kid, it's not like you're gonna win anyway."
"Oh yeah? Wanna bet? I bet that I'll win all the games placed before me, straight, with no losses."
"Not even a single loss, you say? Well, this just got more interesting. Fine, if I lose, I'll do anything you say. But, if you lose, you have to do whatever I say."
"No questions asked?", asked Naruto.
"No questions asked. Deal?"
"Deal."
The woman was a bit unnerved at the tone in which Naruto said deal.
The moon's about to rise.....
"Hinata-chan, any clues?", asked Hana.
"Byakugan.", said Hinata softly. Though they didn't know it, they had managed to come to the spot where Naruto was standing hours ago.
"Um, Hana-chan, are we looking for a woman with a huge chest, and a diamond on her forehead?", asked Hinata.
"T-that's it, Hinata-chan, you've found her. Can you tell what she's doing?"
"Well, Naruto-kun's there, playing with her."
"OK, Hinata-chan, let's allow Naruto-kun to come out victorious. I'm sure he had a plan when he started playing with her."
They stood in silence for a few minutes.
"What do you see in that idiot, anyway?", asked Hana.
"If you mean Naruto-kun, he's strong, kind, funny, and he's cute too. He's also the one who taught me my nindo, my ninja way, what it means to never give up, to fight for what you want. Why are you asking me this?", asked Hinata, drawing her cream colored jacket closer.
"Just to confirm. Anyway, I think Naruto's done with his small challenge.", said Hana, tugging on her blue shirt.
Hinata saw that Naruto was walking out with said woman tagging along behind him.
"Good job. Now, let's fill her in.", said Hana to Naruto.
"Will you tell me what's going on here?", asked the woman indignantly. "And, don't you try any tricks. I'm warning you right now – I'm very strong."
"Just wait for a few, woman.", said Naruto.
Taking hold of Hinata, he kissed her, and holding her hand gently, he spoke into his receiver, "Come to where there is smoke in the sky."
"Hello, woman standing right here.", said the woman, waving her hand.
"All right. Prepare to be shocked. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.", said Naruto. A clone of Naruto jumped up, and making a really huge jump, it vanished with a puff of smoke in the sky.
Naruto then opened his hood, just as Jiraiya arrived.
"Long time no see, Tsunade.", said Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya? What are you doing here? And who are these kids?", asked Tsunade.
"The girl with the coat's Hinata Hyuga, the girl next to her is Hana Aikouka, and this kid's....."
"Naruto Uzumaki at your service!", said Naruto with a grin.
"Come on", said Jiraiya, dragging Tsunade, "Let's go have a drink. You three come with us too."
And a stunned Tsunade followed Jiraiya into a bar and a private booth, where Tsunade told Shizune to reveal herself, and they both sat opposite to Jiraiya and his team.
The Bar
(Cigar Blues Remixed?)
"Fine, let me explain. These three are my apprentices.", said Jiraiya.
"Apprentices? And you still haven't taken advantage of those two girls? I'm surprised Jiraiya. What's changed?", asked Tsunade.
"There are three things. Number one, these two are as strong as you – they can pack a punch. Number two – Naruto here will kill me if I did anything to his girlfriend and best friend. Number three – as of five weeks, I've given up on my Icha Icha series and that whole genre.", said Jiraiya.
"What? You've given up on it? Th-That's unlike you, Jiraiya.", said Tsunade, as if she was troubled by the very idea.
"Then get used to it.", said Jiraiya, simply.
"Why did you come searching for me?", asked Tsunade, getting serious.
"Right. I'll get straight to the point. The Konoha Council wants you to be the Godaime Hokage, since-"
"Sarutobi-sensei's dead?", interrupted Tsunade, completing Jiraiya's line.
"How do you know?", asked Jiraiya.
"Ran into our old teammate.", muttered Tsunade.
"What? You ran into Orochimaru? What did that teme want?", asked Jiraiya.
Tsunade simply turned her head, and the table was silent for a few minutes.
"Tell me at least if you'll take up the position or not.", said Jiraiya.
"What good is that position? It's a position only filled sorrow, misery, hatred.", said Tsunade.
She lifted her head to stare at Jiraiya.
"My grand father, grand uncle, Sarutobi-sensei, Minato Namikaze, were all fools."
Naruto was visibly angry at Tsunade's words, and a hand on his shoulder each was all Hana and Hinata could do to calm him down.
"Fools who died for their village. Fools who couldn't fulfill their own dreams and ambitions. Sarutobi-sensei was too old to live his dreams. Minato Namikaze was a talented man who got himself killed. All because they were Hokages. Life isn't money – you can't risk it all away. Only a fool would do that.", said Jiraiya.
"Please stop bastardizing my prized student and give me a straight answer."
"That job, is an utterly useless job. It's worth nothing. Only a fool would take it.", finished Tsunade.
Naruto looked like as if he was going to rip apart the table, but he visibly calmed down, and said, "Gama-Sennin, let's go. She deserves even less respect than you did when you were at the prime of writing Icha Icha. And Konoha wants that this person become the Fifth Hokage?", in an ice cold tone.
"How dare you insult me?", asked Tsunade.
"Yeah? What should I do then? Praise you? Praise you for insulting the men who laid down their lives to protect millions of others'? Praise you for insulting the man who reduced Orochimaru to the wimp he is? Praise you for insulting my father, who, at the cost of his own life, and my mother's, sealed the Kyuubi into me? You , madam, are a shame", he said in a tone dripped in ice, "to the legacy of the Shodai and the Nidaime Hokage. Gama-Sennin, I thought that being a Sannin, your teammate would be a highly respectable person, but so far, she's been very disappointing. She's done nothing but insult the the strongest men of Konoha. I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, Hana-chan, but I can't give her the respect you told me to give her."
Hinata looked like she wanted to stop Naruto, but Hana stopped her by shaking her head.
But even before Hinata could think about doing anything, Tsunade's hand shot out to catch Naruto by the collar of his long overcoat.
"What do you know about anything, kid? You want me to believe that you know something more about Minato than I do?"
"That's it.". Saying this, Naruto broke free of Tsunade's hold. "I've allowed you to insult my father for too long. I'm now taking you down."
"Let's take this outside.", said Tsunade, moving out.
The moonlight is so bright, even if the moon is not full.....
The road was pretty deserted, and Tsunade and Naruto stood opposing each other.
Nearby, Shizune was holding Ton Ton and standing next to Jiraiya, and Hana and Hinata were holding each other's hands, watching Naruto.
Tsunade held out one finger, and said, "This is all I need to whip you into shape."
"Is that so? We'll see. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.", said Naruto.
Two clones of Naruto appeared, and spinning out two kunais, they went to attack Tsunade. Tsunade folded her other hand back, and expertly dodged the two clones' attacks. As the first one jumped to attack her again, she used her pointer finger to strike the clone straight to the heart, and spun back to strike the other clone in the same spot.
The two clones were blown back, and as they vanished, Naruto placed a hand on his heart, thinking, 'Gods, Kyuubi-chan. She's got the strength of a thousand bulls.'
I think it's time you stopped underestimating the Sannin, said Kyuubi.
'Yeah, you're right. Let's see if I can use the Rasengan here.'
"What, brat? What's wrong? Stunned?", asked Tsunade, mocking him.
"You wish. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.", said Naruto.
"Before we continue, tell me something.", said Tsunade.
"What?"
"Why is it that you get excited by the word 'Hokage'?"
Naruto bowed down. "Unlike you, I'll get that title for sure. Why, you ask? You know about me, and I know that. You know what I am. And because of that, I have been shunned all my life, made no friends except for Hinata-chan, Hana-chan, Gama-Sennin, Sarutobi-sama and Iruka-sensei. I want to be respected by the very village that shunned me, stunted my growth, by being the most important person. And that is possible only if I become the Hokage. So, I get excited by that word, because....". Here Naruto looked at Tsunade with a small smile on his face, and said, 'It's my dream to become the Hokage!"
Tsunade went into shock. She just saw Nawaki and Dan standing behind Naruto, proclaiming the same words as him.
"It's my dream to become Hokage!", said Nawaki to a twenty year old Tsunade.
"It's my dream to become Hokage!", said Dan to a thirty year old Tsunade.
'Nawaki......Dan......', thought Tsunade.
"Right. Now!". Naruto started pouncing his hand over the clone's and a ball of chakra formed in the clone's hand.
'Is that..... Rasengan?', thought Tsunade, bewildered.
The clone ran towards Tsunade, who saw that she had no way but to disrupt it, and did so by jabbing her finger on the road. The road cracked, and the Naruto clone stumbled. But, before it disappeared, it gave a huge smirk, and Tsunade saw that behind her, there were two Narutos with a Rasengan in each of their hands. The irony of the fact being that hadn't she sprung back, she would have been hit by them.
"Wanna bet again?", asked Naruto.
"Jiraiya, this is disappointing. Have you been getting this kid's hopes up by teaching him Minato's jutsus? Isn't it an insult to him?", asked Tsunade, as Naruto's clone vanished and he lost the Rasengan.
"Oh, I think my time was spent well, because these three kids mastered it in just five weeks, as opposed to the twelve I took. They've got potential.", said Jiraiya, smirking himself.
"Fine, kid. I'll challenge you. If you can prove yourself in a week's time, by doing something I recognize as substantial, I'll give you this necklace that belonged to my grandfather. But, if you lose, I want you to forget that pipe dream about becoming a Hokage to gain people's respect. Deal?", asked Tsunade.
"Right. Get that necklace ready. Within a week's time, I will have done something substantial.", said Naruto, and with that he left with Shizune, who was instructed by Jiraiya to book three rooms for them at an inn.
Hinata followed Naruto.
But, Hana was dragged by Jiraiya into the bar, to talk with them.
"Right, Hana, spill it out to Tsunade.", said Jiraiya.
"OK, Jiraiya-sama. Tsunade-sama, I'm not from this world.", said Hana.
"What do you mean?", asked Tsunade, stunned.
"I'm from a world where this whole Ninja universe is nothing but mere fiction. And, I know the whole history as well as future happenings of this world.", said Hana.
"And why should I believe this seemingly false tale?", asked Tsunade.
"Fine. You want proof, I can give it to you." Hana turned to Tsunade, and said, "Orochimaru contacted you, and struck a deal with you, giving you a week's time. The terms of the deal were that you were supposed to heal is arms, in exchange for which he would resurrect Nawaki-san and Dan-san, bringing them back to life, and not attack Konoha after his arms were healed."
"Is that what happened, Tsunade?", asked Jiraiya.
"She's right.", said a still stunned Tsunade.
"So, should we change our plan?", asked Jiraiya to Hana.
"No. Since Naruto has to prove himself to you, Tsunade-sama, we'll go as scripted – you go and try to kill Orochimaru, Kabuto stops you, you shift the fight to an open place, and we'll follow you, and we'll fight till we beat Orochimaru to a pulp and make him retreat.", said Hana with a smile.
"OK, your name's....", trailed off Tsunade.
"Hana, Hana Aikouka.", said Hana.
"Right. Leave now so that I can talk with Jiraiya."
"All right, Tsunade-sama.", said Hana, and before she left, she whispered something to Tsunade, who nodded in agreement. She then bounded away to the hotel.
"Jiraiya, can you trust her?", asked Tsunade.
"No problem, Hime, I'd trust her with my life. Whatever she's done, whether out of luck or not, she's been right so far.", said Tsunade.
"So, care to say what's changed you?", asked Tsunade.
"Forgive me if I open any old wounds, Hime, but it was a situation similar to yours. I was just in time to see Minato sacrificing himself, and I also fought along with Sarutobi-sensei during his last battle. Two people whom I deeply remember and care for, dying right before my eyes – that was enough to open my eyes. Those were torturous scenes, where I could do nothing but stand in the sidelines and watch as they died. Just like Nawaki and Dan. That was enough to determine the goals left in my life. One – to train those three kids. Two – to die a heroic death-"
"And three, to see if you have a chance with me."
"So, you know."
"Yes. I think we'll put that aside for now, though."
"OK. I want you to reconsider taking up the job."
"Is it because of that kid, Minato's son?"
"You know that he's almost the same as Nawaki, personality-wise and appearance-wise. The job is worth it.", said Jiraiya.
"If you know much about the job, why didn't you take it yourself?", asked Tsunade.
"First of all, it would be impossible for me to manage my spy networks if I take up the job. Second, I guess I want to put more effort into teaching those three. So, no go. You, on the other hand, are descended from the family that founded Konoha. You are better suited and respected than me."
"But you are also a member of the Sannin, right?"
"Well, only you four know that I have broken out of writing porn. So, I'm still not respected among the women. I guess they'd fire me before they even allow the council to think about asking me to be a Hokage."
"OK, I'll think about taking the job, if you stop lecturing me."
"So, shall we just drink in silence?"
"Yes, I guess."
A few minutes passed in silence
"You have changed a lot too, haven't you, Hime?"
"Times change. People change."
"I could say the same for myself."
"And that's fine with me."
At the hotel
Naruto was thinking about what he was going to prove to Tsunade, when he heard knocks on the door.
He opened the door to see Shizune.
"Naruto-kun, I have something to say to you.", said Shizune.
"You're Tsunade-sama's assistant, right?", asked Naruto.
"Yes, the name's Shizune. I'm here to tell you about Tsunade-sama, and the necklace."