Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Accursed Brothers.

First of all, I have noticed that few readers became upset with me taking another story, even if I have completed four already. While I understand how it feels to wait for the chapters to appear, I also know that I can't just dedicate my entire life to simply writing fan fiction, I do it as a hobby and I'll keep doing it, no matter the amount of complaints I hear about taking too long or taking on another story. What get me upset is that those who openly complain tend not to realize how long and hard it is to come up with different ideas, put in on paper and update the story. For that reason, I invite all (I won't say the names) to give it a shot and come up with your own fic. Perhaps, then, you'll know how it is and stop complaining.

Now, last chapter in Accursed Brothers, a major event happened with Naruto using the fox's chakra and injecting it inside Sasuke's cursed seal, making it stronger and without the bad repercussions. Kyuubi's chakra also helped the last loyal Uchiha to draw all his hatred and release it one go. You'll come to realize that Sasuke is now a changed person because of it. Whatever memory induced in Sasuke's brain by Itachi's Mangenkyou is now gone. With that, he became more open, thus reverting to his older self before the massacre. With that mindset, the Uchiha now sought to improve himself together with Naruto, even acquiring a ninjato capable of channeling elemental chakra. Aside from that, the two newly appointed chunnin are being trained by Jiraiya extensively to overcome their enemies. One thing almost everyone criticized last chapter was the time taken to forge the sword and I admit that it's impossible for a sword to be forged in only four hours. Let's just assume the man is a super blacksmith and leave it at that, it's not like I'll focus much on him or any amount at all for that manner.

So, without further a due, here is the next chapter.


Chapter 8 – Playing hard to get

Beta: Kyuubi123


Hatake Kakashi had awakened this morning with a powerful headache, given the amount of info he had covered together with the Sandaime Hokage so far.

As he closed the door to his apartment, he thought about inventing something and not attending the meeting with the Sandaime. He sighed at that thought as he saw the number of shadows that now followed his every move. It was unnerving actually. Before, no one cared where he went or how late he was to a meeting or two. Now, though, he had the entire Anbu army on his back following his every move. Kakashi wanted to pay a visit to the Memorial Stone and ask for Sensei's advice. However, in doing so, he would be late to the appointment. Said appointment that Hiruzen promised would be different than the others so far, filled with nothing but politics, both inside and outside Konoha and Fire Country, economics and finances, controlling the incomes received by the missions and staff managing, not to mention the shinobi force that he was forced to memorize every single shinobi enlisted.

As he arrived inside the Hokage's Building and moved towards his soon to be office, a shadow suddenly materialized in front of him and pointed to the right direction that happened to be a secret stairwell.

The stairs were dark and it didn't take one minute before Kakashi saw his predecessor in the middle of a room filled with scrolls and holding a candle.

"Ah welcome Kakashi-kun…I'm surprised to see you here so soon. I was imagining that you would pay a small visit before coming here." Kakashi looked at Hiruzen, silently questioning if the man before him was a mind reader.

"I like to be alone when I do visit them Hokage-sama. I'm still not used to be followed by a squad of Anbu at all times." He wanted to question the motive behind the fact that one Anbu member was now stationed inside his bedroom, but thought better.

"You'll get used to it and in time, you'll appreciate the company. It gets lonely sometimes. Now, as I promised, this meeting will be definitely less boring than the others we held so far. I trust you know what this room is?" Hiruzen saw a nod from Kakashi so he continued. "This happens to be same place your student had stolen the scroll of kinjutsu and house of the majority of the ninjutsu used by Konoha shinobi since its foundation. As Hokage, you have complete access to all the contents in this room. Started by the Shodaime; constantly used by the Nidaime and myself. The Yondaime actually used very little, considering his love for seals. Now, as a ninjutsu master such as yourself, I believe you'll find great use in a lot of ninjutsu in here." Kakashi's eye widened as he looked at Hiruzen who was smiling at him. "It's no secret that the Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the village and for a good reason. Right now, you are bearing on my students' level, but you need to be stronger now. Today we will take a look on these techniques and choose those that best suit your style."

"Not to sound ungrateful Sandaime-sama, but I've managed to copy a great load of techniques with the sharingan. I…" Hiruzen snorted at the insinuation. Kakashi earned his reputation as Copy-cat ninja Kakashi, the man who copied one thousand techniques.

"Yes, I know…however, I can bet you can pick a dozen or two dozen techniques that are actually useful in the battlefield and useful to you as well. Now, you favor earth, fire and lightning techniques in your mid-range to close ranged fighting. Water techniques are used only against fire techniques and you're filled with those. You can pick a few of the Nidaime's techniques as well." Kakashi saw Hiruzen walking towards the isles and smirked. Perhaps he could use the knowledge in this room and better protect the village and a certain blond-haired jinchuuriki from his enemies.


===With Naruto===

The noise of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the clearing as two kenjutsu practitioners were displaying a show to their temporary teacher.

Sannin Jiraiya simply observed with a surprised smile as he watched Naruto and Sasuke spar using their newly acquired swords. He was pleasantly surprised when he next saw the change in Sasuke's posture and how he got to smile more often when around Naruto. Even their spar was different. Before, each time they fought both were always aiming for simply winning the fight, not at all caring if the loser was hurt or damaged or even killed for that matter, judging by the way they fought. Now, even if both were fighting with deadly weapons, it was clear that neither was actually aiming for vital points. Sasuke had his sharingan activated as he parried blow to blow with Naruto who was still struggling to match Sasuke's pace. The sharingan allowed Sasuke to be one step ahead of Naruto's every move and the Uchiha was quickly adapting his body to the information given by the accursed doujutsu.

Naruto was also improving as he focused his observation skills in parrying Sasuke's quick and precise strikes as opposed to Naruto's slow but more powerful strikes.

Jiraiya could very well see that these two managed to form a nice training bond. They were both smiling despite the obvious fatigue in their faces by going at it for close to an hour now.

"Okay you two, I guess that's enough for practice. We still have to find Tsunade. Now, let's focus a bit on chakra control training and then we'll march to the town I believe we'll finally find the slippery woman, Tanzaku Gai." Naruto and Sasuke stopped what they were doing and nodded at the sannin, before going to a nearby stream and simply stand on top of the water, while occasionally performing jutsu along the way. Sasuke would shoot fireballs at random directions while Naruto was throwing wind swords and wind gale palm. With this, they were slowing reducing their chakra level while still maintaining the chakra flow on their feet to standing on top of the water stream.

One hell of a chakra control exercise.

After almost thirty minutes doing so, the two chunnin left the stream and took a seat on the ground to rest. Sasuke was clearly more tired than Naruto, but both really needed the rest. Jiraiya give them both half an hour of rest before walking once more towards the town that contained information on Tsuande's whereabouts.

While walking, Sasuke was busy taking care of his newly acquired sword while Naruto was busy looking at a specific seal given by Jiraiya for him to study. It was a simple storage seal, but if Naruto wanted to learn the craft of kekkai techniques to its full potential he must have equal knowledge in fuuinjutsu as well. The boy, though, was frowning his eyes trying to memorize the seal design before attempting to replicate it afterward. Fuuinjutsu, like his perverted sensei explained, consisted of memorizing the different kanji that when placed together, could offer a variety of uses. Aside from memorizing the seal design, Naruto learned that each seal required both his chakra and a special ink. While it wasn't true that all seals needed the creator's chakra to activate, the ones that Jiraiya wanted to teach Naruto were.

As such, the perverted sannin got him samples of both the storage scroll and the exploding tags. When Naruto got the hang of these two, Jiraiya would teach him the ones that when applied together, forms special barriers, thus reaching Naruto's future area of expertise. Surprisingly so, Sasuke wasn't much interested in the art of sealing by stating that it would take too long in the middle of the battle to make one. Indeed, it was and Jiraiya wouldn't waste his time stating the obvious. There were some advanced shinobi like the Yondaime Hokage that could apply seals faster than the eye could blink and the enemy wouldn't even be aware of it. The pervert wasn't going to waste time convincing Sasuke otherwise. The kid had enough material to work on with two elements and sword fighting to master. Naruto, however, needed as much aid as possible against the ones who were after him. They continued to walk for a few hours, before the town of Tanzaku Gai was visible in the horizon. Looking at the sky, the pervert was relieved since it was almost getting dark and he wasn't thrilled in having to camp so close to the city.


===In Konoha===

When Haruno Sakura started working with Team 8, because Shino was promoted to chunnin, she thought that like her old team, it would take a long time to get comfortable with her teammates. Certainly, being stuck between fierce rivals such as Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke wasn't child's play, but it was the only team she had so far. Her expectations were surprisingly ruined as she got to know her new teammates. Kiba was kind of like Naruto in his brash behavior, but he was a nice guy once she got to talk to him. Hinata was extremely shy, but it was nice to have a girl to talk to from time to time. Also her new sensei Kurenai was a welcomed surprise, compared to her old sensei, who was now the Godaime Hokage.

Kakashi's approach usually focused on teamwork exercises and chakra control. However, he usually tended to wait for his genin to come forward and ask questions on where to improve.

Kurenai's was different. Her ability was genjutsu. As such, she focused on skills that, when added together, allowed someone to be a genjutsu user or at least able to overcome higher level illusions. Heavy chakra control exercises; chakra disruption techniques and even advanced theory of the field of illusions that left Sakura baffled. Taijutsu was also focused, but Kurenai would parry the genin against each other for that. Since both Kiba and Hinata came from families that relied mainly on taijutsu, they were just as good as Sasuke was. The difference was that Sasuke wasn't interested in helping her whereas both Hinata and Kiba had given her many tips. Ninjutsu was placed last in Kurenai's agenda of what to teach, aside from the three taught at the academy. According to the jounin, a shinobi must first master the basics forms of combat such as taijutsu and projectile throwing.

If Sakura wanted, though, she could train ninjutsu as a side project.

Sakura was enjoying her training just the way it was, though and Kurenai seemed to have taken a special interest in teaching her. She had a nice tracking team in Shino, Kiba and Hinata. However, her teaching to them was restricted because of their families. Sakura not only didn't have this limitation, but was also a quick learner. She enjoyed studying and had even learned a couple of C-ranked genjutsu techniques that Kurenai created in almost record time. Kurenai also concurred with Kakashi that Sakura's chakra control was adequate for learning medical ninjutsu and was even researching on some more advanced methods to teach the girl.

Right now, the team was returning from a C-ranked mission that consisted of protecting a merchant while he was doing business close to Fire Country's capital. Considering the last C-ranked mission Sakura was in, this one was a breeze. Practically nothing happened, aside from a stupid thug who thought he could steal from them. She imagined that had Naruto participated in this mission, he would be complaining about not doing anything.


===Tanzaku Gai===

As soon as the Konoha ninja crossed the gates of the city, the sky began to change its color and the moon was threatening to appear on the horizon.

The lights were already illuminating the crowded streets and many vending machines sprawled all over the place, giving to its visitors, the very intention behind everything around here. Tanzaku Gai was in all essence a tourist paradise in Fire Country. Filled with bars, pubs, casino dens and even whore houses, the place wasn't considered suitable for children. The only reason Naruto and Sasuke were an exception in this place was because of their headbands. However, the atmosphere was not what both boys were expecting. Naruto even had to close his nose as he sensed the strong smell of smoke and alcohol lingering in the air. Sasuke appeared not bothered, but he wasn't faring well either. Jiraiya noticed it immediately and smirked at the teenagers. Even if being ninja gave you clearance to these sorts of places, the first time around is always the worst.

"Relax the both of you, I know a nice little hotel here that's far from all of this, come." Naruto snorted at that, though as he followed the no good pervert.

"Huh, I bet you know a lot more about here than nice hotels to stay, stupid Ero-sennin." The last part was whispered, but Jiraiya heard and reacted exaggeratedly offended at the insinuation.

"Are you insinuating that I am nothing but a pervert!?" Jiraiya even made a pose to go along with it, before Naruto exchanged eyes with Sasuke for a while. They both turned to the sannin at the same time.

"Yes…"

"You are…"

Sasuke was the one that spoke first, though Naruto started one second later.

"Wrong the both of you…I am a super pervert." Both chunnin sighed since they have heard the same thing all over again. Jiraiya now smirked at them, before pointing the hotel. "Now, that's the hotel I was talking about, get in there and book two rooms, one for me and the other for you two." The chunnin took a look at the place and thought nothing of it. It was a beige three floor house and it appeared to be frequented by normal people on top of things. They turned to see the sannin marching backwards with a lecherous smile on his face. He stopped, though, only to turn and address the two youngsters.

"If you two feel like wandering around and search for Tsunade, feel free, but be careful. This city is filled with people wanting nothing but trouble."

Once he was gone, the chunnin booked the two rooms and marched outside for a quick look around. Minutes later, the boys were back at the city center where everyone was busy indulging their desires in open space, with no shame what so ever. This time, though, the chunnin were more accustomed to the images and kept walking around. They were passing by a rather large restaurant window and briefly looked inside. It was Sasuke who looked further inside and saw their target seating on the closest table to the kitchen together with a brunette wearing a purple kimono.

"It appears that we found her, but the damn pervert is far away. He is her teammate…" Naruto nodded.

"We should at least follow her and see where she's staying so that we can warn him." Sasuke thought about it and thought it was a good idea. Little did he know, though, that Tsunade was barely starting with the sake and wouldn't come out of the restaurant for at least another three hours. By the time she got out, Sasuke slightly opened his eyes from the building in front of the restaurant and kicked the already snoring Naruto. The chunnin followed them from afar and saw her entering the same hotel that they were using it. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the pervert to arrive and tell him the good news.


===With Tsunade===

When the sun rose the next day and illuminated her room, Tsunade complained with a snarl while massaging her head to keep the hangover from increasing. It was times like these that she questioned why she had to drink so much. She asked that question every time she had a hangover, but she would be damned if this thought alone would stop her from drinking all over again. Looking to the bed next to hers, she saw her companionship since she left Konoha almost twenty years ago. Shizune was Dan's niece. Thus, every time she looked at her, Tsunade couldn't help but see that little girl pestering her and her lover Dan to take her to the playgrounds in Konoha. Tsunade's nostalgic smile soon dropped once she heard someone knocking on the door yelling 'room service.' The woman immediately found it weird since the only one who could have ordered it was still asleep. Placing her green robes, Tsunade went to open the door, before her eyes widened at who actually was.

"Hello there princess…" Jiraiya saluted his ex-teammate and only received a groan in response from the slug sannin.

"What are you doing here, Jiraiya and how the hell did you find me?" The perverted sannin smirked.

"I thought you had more faith in my skills as a spy master, hime. Now, how about I pay you breakfast, I have a few things I wish to discuss with you." It wouldn't bode well for his pride that it wasn't him who found the woman, but the chunnin under his charge. He was busy getting wasted inside a brothel, with the excuse that he was collecting information on her whereabouts. Tsunade looked at the man for a while, before grunting angrily and closing the door. Jiraiya knew she wouldn't go anywhere and went inside only to change her clothes. It didn't take five minutes for Tsunade to open the door once more and follow the smirking Jiraiya towards the hotel restaurant. Once they arrived, Tsunade saw Jiraiya moving to a table that was occupied by two relatively young shinobi from Konoha. Grunting, she followed and took a seating next to Sasuke, who was mostly focused on eating his breakfast despite some level of interest in this woman, seeing as she is a sannin.

"Okay Jiraiya, spill it. What is it that you wish to speak to me about?" Jiraiya was busy ordering something for himself, before he turned away from the waiter and addressed his teammate.

"Oh, okay, I'll get right to the point. A few weeks ago, Konoha was invaded by both Otogakure and Sunagakure." Tsunade widened her eyes at that, while listening. "Orochimaru was behind the entire thing and he managed to create a mess for sensei to clean up. Fortunately, Sarutobi-sensei managed to hold our dear teammate long enough for me to give aid. He ended up escaping, though." Jiraiya waited a bit for the information to sink in, while eating his breakfast with his usual smile on his face. He saw her eyes returning to the present world.

"Okay, Konoha was invaded but was victorious. I'm pretty sure you didn't come here just to tell me that, what is it?" Jiraiya nodded, since he was waiting for the question.

"We did win the war, but a lot of our shinobi force is now in critical condition. The village is now lacking in the medic-nin department. As such, Sensei issued an order for you to return and run the village's medic department." As expected, the woman went from aloof to angry in one go, before a great level of killing intent was released, making the chunnin tremble slightly. If there was any doubt about Tsunade's skills as a sannin before, now they were convinced. Both Sasuke and Naruto thanked the heavens that said intent wasn't directed at them, but Jiraiya. He, though, just kept his gaze at Tsunade not fazed by it.

"How dare you? How dare sensei thinking he could just order me back? I'll never return to that place Jiraiya."

Memories flashed inside her mind of her two loved ones perishing because of the war.

"Please Tsunade, please reconsider. Sensei wouldn't have called you back if he didn't think it was necessary."

It was irrelevant, apparently. The woman was always stubborn like that. Actually,

"Drop it Jiraiya, I won't return to that village. I just lost too much…" Jiraiya immediately tensed hoping that Tsunade haven't heard the distinguished sound of a snort coming from another person next to him. He sighed, though, seeing Tsunade's eyes narrow even further before turning to the one who dared judge her actions. She turned to the black haired kid and noticed in his eyes the lack of respect that someone of Tsunade's status was used to receiving. She knew though that it wasn't him who snorted at her comment, but the fierce blue eyes that kept on staring her incredulously next to the black haired kid.

"You've got something to say to me, you brat?" By the look in her eyes, anyone would think twice before speaking their mind, but not the blond chunnin who was matching her eye to eye.

"I'm just surprised to see a member of the Sannin behaving like a coward." Jiraiya's blood ran cold at the speech and he saw the look of pure fury in Tsunade's face, but Naruto wasn't finished. "You just heard from Ero-sennin that there lots of injured people from the invasion. Injured people whose life hangs on the balance because the only one who could treat them and save their lives is busy running away from whatever fate happened in her life. I know people in Konoha who have suffered as well, but are still there fighting for what he or she believes. I for instance was born hated by the entire village and ostracized by everyone because of something I couldn't control." Naruto looked at Sasuke for a while, earning a nod from the Uchiha. "Sasuke here had his entire family murdered by his own brother. Our sensei Kakashi had lost everyone in his life and is now nominated Godaime Hokage. Please tell me lady, why do you think your pain is any worse or any different from the rest of the world?"

The fact that Naruto was trembling made all the difference in his speech and for the first time, no one berated him for speaking out of line.

Tsunade, though, was furious at this brat for what he said. A rational side of Tsunade couldn't help but agree with him. However, she has spent too many time running away to be swayed so easily. He was nothing but a kid, but the fire she saw in his eyes gave merit to his every word. The kid wouldn't back down and if what he said was true, then he had every right to question her pain. The boy, who looked incredibly like the Yondaime Hokage, was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and the kid next to him was the last loyal member of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Sasuke. Both were now looking at her with similarly fierce resolve. Jiraiya slightly smirked at Naruto's words, but saw that he needed to run some damage control.

"Tsunade…"

"Drop it Jiraiya…" She then turned to the blond chunnin. "You speak big words for a little kid. I want to see you back your words outside. If you even land a hit on me, I admit the truth behind your words and return. If not, then you will leave me alone. The Uchiha kid could even join in to help your odds." Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another and smirked at the challenge presented by them. Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh for perhaps the thousandth time already. He didn't know if he should allow such a fight to happen. Tsunade could kill them after what Naruto had said to her. Come to think of it, though, with both Sasuke and Naruto, the odds aren't totally against them.

There was something else though, he mused. There was this look on her face that something changed after Naruto's speech.

As they walked outside, Jiraiya saw Shizune appearing in front of Tsunade and attempting to convince her against this. Right now, it wasn't a match of whose side would be victorious. It was a battle to see which will was the strongest. Either Naruto's based on dealing with the unbearable pain and move forward no matter the cost or Tsunade's whose decision was to let pain take over her actions. There is a saying that a lie told repeatedly ends up becoming the truth. The female member of the Sannin had wasted twenty years of her life blaming the hidden village of the leaves for the death of her lover Dan and her little brother Nawaki. Thus, anyone who came to her and said it differently was considered a liar in Tsunade's book. As soon as they were outside, Jiraiya saw that the streets were deserted, save from the battle contestants and himself and Shizune.

Naruto and Sasuke were close to each other as they looked at their opponent.

"Teme, do you know anything about her?" Sasuke looked at Naruto showing indignation.

"Dobe, didn't you pay attention to the academy when we covered the sannin? Senju Tsunade was considered famous for her prowess in medical ninjutsu. However, she was also famous for her mastery in the taijutsu department, rumoring to pack a punch, using chakra to increase her strength. If anything, I'd avoid getting too close for the mean time." Naruto nodded and smirked at the information. Meanwhile, the all too cocky sannin was busy cracking her knuckles waiting for the brats to make the first move. She saw Sasuke activating the sharingan while Naruto formed a strange looking hand seal, before five copies of himself charged at the woman.

The copies charged at the same time going from multiple directions, earning a snort from the sannin as she dealt with the bunshins using only her finger.

Sasuke remained behind while the original smirked again and threw a couple of shuriken laced with wind chakra at her, surprising Shizune and Jiraiya. The chunnin were really going for the kill. Tsunade dodged the shuriken expertly and ran to meet Naruto halfway. She moved in to punch him, but the blond managed to evade the strike and get out of the way as Sasuke unleashed a gigantic fireball at her the moment that Naruto left from his place. Tsunade saw the fire technique approaching and focused chakra on her fists to stop it, before reaching her. The sannin was surprised when she saw Naruto appearing behind the fireball's path, going through hand seals.

Fuuton Repusshou (Wind Release: Wind Gale Palm Technique)

The extra burst of wind increased the fireball's power, forcing Tsunade to review her strategy and evade it. The fireball went on a clear path to the forest that surrounded the inn. Tsunade saw Naruto and charged at him once more. Sasuke saw with his eyes and threw two kunai at her intended direction, once more forcing Tsunade to move out of the way. Sasuke took the opportunity and went through hand seals as he saw behind Tsunade what Naruto was up to. Gathering enough air inside his lungs, Sasuke released everything in one go, exhaling a powerful stream of fire towards Tsunade.

Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

Tsunade evaded once more, jumping backwards a bit, but not enough for the plan to work. He went through hand seals once more, taking the window of opportunity. If she moved from her position, then both Sasuke and Naruto would need to change strategies. While doing the hand signs, both his hands were busy gathering lightning energy. This attack was considered more agile than his usual fireballs, which would force her to move backwards quickly.

Raiton Rakurai (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Technique)

Once more evading the technique, Tsunade jumped backwards and was suddenly trapped by four copies of the blond brat, strangely forming a square formation around her. Jiraiya saw it and smirked at the ingenuity of Naruto's improvisation. Said technique was better used in solid places, such as walls or even trees, forming a barrier array. Tsunade went through the same conclusion just as the bunshin lifted their vest to show four identical seals, before it ignited.

Kekkai Houjin (Barrier Method Battle Array)

The real one appeared next to his partner with a smirk on his face. As soon as the smoke was cleared, Tsunade's clothes were terribly burned, but the woman appeared relatively unscathed. She was furious now as she observed the two brats looking at her from a distance. She had to admit that these two have a nice teamwork. However, it didn't mean that she wouldn't break a bone or two. These two were getting on her nerves. She charged at them once more, but stopped once Jiraiya appeared in front of her, stopping the fight. Clearly, he met opposition from both sides.

"What the hell Jiraiya, move out of the way. I have a couple of brats to deal with." Jiraiya looked at his teammate with a serious expression on his face.

"You said it yourself that if they hit you once, you'd go back with us. You had to use your arms to shield your face from the explosion." Tsunade snarled at the man and the brats who right now were smirking at her, thinking the obvious conclusion, that she would admit defeat and return to the very place who scared her life for eternity. Jiraiya was waiting for her response.

"Whatever…I ain't coming back and that's final. You can't force me to do anything."

Her answer surprised Shizune, Naruto and Sasuke but not Jiraiya. He was beginning to understand Naruto's words now that he looked more closely. Tsunade ignored Naruto's shouts calling her coward and untrustworthy as she walked away from the location. Shizune hesitated a bit before following her master, not before apologizing to everyone for her master's actions. Sasuke didn't care much about it and snorted at the woman's cowardice action. Naruto stopped shouting obscenities to the woman as soon as her image disappeared. Jiraiya just remained looking at the direction that his teammate left, before turning to the chunnin behind him.

"You two are to wait for me back at the hotel; I'll go and talk to her once more. Feel free to do some training if you wish." He turned once more and casually walked, leaving Sasuke and Naruto alone.

The blond chunnin clearly was frustrated at the turn of events, even if he and Sasuke totally kicked ass in his right mind. He saw Sasuke turn and walk back to the hotel and quickly followed. If they were to train, and Naruto was pretty sure they would, it couldn't be done right in the middle of the street. He followed Sasuke inside while wondering about Tsunade and that perhaps it was a mistake on Sarutobi-jiji's part to ever count on her for anything, no matter what happened in her life. He also wondered about the similarities between another member of the Sannin, the one who happened to turn on Konoha and openly attack or even kill shinobi that used to be his comrades.

Sasuke went to the inn's backyard and removed his sword from the scabbard before facing Naruto. The blond smirked at the challenge and did the same, already forgetting about the coward sannin.


===With Jiraiya===

He knew that Tsunade wasn't going anywhere, since her stuff was at the same hotel that he was staying.

As he peacefully walked throughout the village, he took special interest in the bars and pubs. He was pretty sure that Tsunade would be carving for a good bottle of saké right now and he wasn't disappointed to find her inside one flimsy old and empty pub, on the verge of opening her second bottle. Shizune could be seen in front of her looking at her master, pitying the person to whom every kunoichi wanted to be like when they grew up. She looked to the side surprised to see Jiraiya there once more. His look was strangely similar to her own as he stared at the still drinking Tsunade with nothing but pity for the woman. The cloud of darkness and depression that surrounded her was practically visible now.

"What do you want you pervert, I've already told you I ain't coming back…" Her eyes were dulled and didn't uphold one per cent of the usual light that the man was used to seeing.

"I understand Tsunade and I won't bother convincing you anymore." Although the woman was asking to be left alone, something in Jiraiya's tone caused her grief, but he wasn't finished. "It is clear to me now that you're so far gone inside your mind and suffering that you don't know how to get out of it anymore. When sensei asked me to convince you to return, he was counting on you to take over the medical unit and provide help to those in need. However, as of now, you can't even help yourself out of the depression." Tsunade just looked at nothing as she kept pouring sake on her glass. Shizune wanted to defend her master, but couldn't find the words to do so.

"Are you done Jiraiya?" The male sannin snarled at the question.

"No I'm not done…damn it Tsunade. I don't even recognize you anymore. It's been twenty years. Do you actually believe Dan or Nawaki would want to see you like this? I knew them to be strong, filled with courage to do what was right. Even if you don't wish to return to the village, at least don't turn your back on those that are going to die unless they receive proper treatment." Once more, Tsunade said nothing and this time Jiraiya didn't consider extending his presence anymore. A part of him wanted to continue, because it was clear that his words were affecting her, despite the look of apathy in her face.

However, the other part figured that talking now wouldn't do anything and it turned out that Jiraiya favored the last.

"You figure out what you want to do with your life, Tsunade. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning towards Konoha. If you at least value other's lives, you'll be at the reception waiting. If not, then sensei will be severely disappointed in you when I return without your company. Have a good day." Jiraiya got up from the table and left the bar, leaving only two people, a pig and the bar tender who was taking a light nap. Shizune wished for the man to stay and try more, but he had left without even looking back. Looking at her master once more, she silently wished that Tsunade chose to return to the village tomorrow morning. She feared that this window of opportunity would close with Jiraiya.


===At the Inn===

Once Jiraiya arrived at the inn, he wasn't surprised to hear metal clashing against metal coming from the inn's backyard.

As soon as he arrived, though, he saw an alarming scene of Sasuke firing a fireball at Naruto who was focusing every bit of his chakra in maintaining the barrier taught by the pervert. Apparently, Naruto went against his teaching and used the technique against an elemental offensive technique. Even if the kid had an inhuman amount of chakra, doesn't mean it wouldn't end eventually. Both the cursed seal and the fox's chakra were his backup plan in case his actual skills failed. Eventually, the barrier was able to withstand the power of the fireball, but Naruto was extremely disoriented afterward making himself an easy target for the enemy.

"What have I told you about using that against elemental attacks, gaki?" Jiraiya's voice alerted Naruto as he got up from the ground.

"Yeah you did, I was just seeing it for myself. If for instance someone is faster than me and I have to use something quickly, the barrier is all I have. I can't find something to replace myself with all the time, you know." Jiraiya was amused at the indignant expression on his face. Since there was still some baby fat left to burn, the chunnin still looked like a child pouting about being denied a present. Jiraiya, though, could see merit in the complaint. He knew of something he could teach to the kid that would take perhaps a considerable amount of chakra, but it would be less than maintaining the barrier technique; plus it would take less effort to perform.

"You have a point there, gaki. Perhaps it would be prudent to teach you a simple doton technique meant for defensive." Naruto started salivating instantly and even Sasuke perked up from where he was.

"Sasuke, use your fireball against me. Naruto, you pay attention to my every move." The Uchiha nodded and went through hand seals, before exhaling a considerably sized fireball. Jiraiya went through hand seals and inflated his chest a bit. Jiraiya, then, expelled mud from his mouth towards the ground in front of him. As the fireball approached Jiraiya's position, the pool of mud suddenly behaved like a geyser from the ground and solidified in front of Jiraiya.

Doton Doryuuheki (Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique)

The fireball collided with the wall of mud and the earth trembled because of the impact. However, after the smoke had settled, the wall was still standing. Jiraiya was behind it as he turned to Naruto and saw the look on his face. Jiraiya only smirked, having already forgotten about how stubborn Tsunade was acting. He was amused since the boy clearly wanted to learn that. However, for him to get as proficient as Jiraiya in performing the technique, he would need to learn how to mold earth chakra. Jiraiya had affinities for both fire and earth, hence how he was able to do the technique with no trouble at all. Naruto, however, had affinity for wind techniques. Jiraiya knew the kid would be able to use it, but he would have to work real hard to get it.

"I can see from your face that you're quite eager to learn this technique. However, I'll tell you now that it will take a while before you become proficient." Naruto smirked at that.

"Just you wait, Ero-sennin. I'll master every technique you're willing to teach me." Both Sasuke and Jiraiya smirked at the proclamation, both believing it to be nothing more than the truth. The pervert began to instruct Naruto in how to manipulate earth level chakra, already knowing that the kid wouldn't get it right away. He even picked an empty scroll and wrote the theory for the boy to practice on his own from now on. As soon as he entered the inn towards his room, he heard the distinguishing noise of shadow clones and smirked. Only Naruto could manage to train using shadow clones and not get killed because of it. He only laughed as he heard the bickering that soon followed.

"Oi dobe, try warning me the next time you do something like this, damn it. My head is killing me." Naruto snorted at Sasuke's complaint.

"Huh teme, you're just jealous of my super awesome training exercise. I'll beat your sorry ass in no time, just you wait!" This time, Sasuke snorted as he was busy massaging his temples.

"In your dreams dobe. You can't even land a hit on me."

"Like you're any different."

Those two bickering at each other was simply priceless.


===Next day===

When Jiraiya and the chunnin were sent and ready to return to the hidden village in the leaves, there was no one waiting for them at the inn reception.

Jiraiya wasn't completely surprised by it, though he half wished that she would at least return to tend the wounded from the invasion. The message that he would be delivering to both his sensei and the future Hokage was quite clear. Senju Tsunade, granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage, last living member of the Senju Clan and one of the Sannin, was now far out of Konoha's grasp. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke cared much about her not showing. It only confirmed their first notion of her character. As they stepped out of the hotel, the Konoha party was surprised to see both Tsunade and Shizune carrying an overly sized bag on her back and a pig with her arms. She was smiling from ear to ear at the prospect of finally going back to the village. Tsunade saw the smile on Jiraiya's face and frowned.

"This doesn't mean anything…as soon as I heal the last injured, I'm out of there." The smile never left his face, though. His mission was successful in the end.

"We'll take what we can get, I guess. If we hurry, we may arrive in Konoha by the end of the day." The party now joined by Tsunade and Shizune vanished like a blur towards Konoha.


Author Note

Okay, I know I said that Naruto's only element would be wind. But I slightly changed my mind. I say slightly, because as you now saw, he will learn a couple earth techniques meant for protection. However, his main focus will be wind techniques. Now, what do you think about it? It appeared that Tsunade wouldn't return, huh? I almost thought about doing it like that, but thought against it in the end. I've already changed the events giving Kakashi the mantle. If someone is wondering why Orochimaru wasn't there, please remember that in his fight with the Sandaime Hokage, he didn't have his arms sealed by the Death God, so there was no reason for him to search for Tsunade.

Tell me what you think about it.

See ya.