Author Note
Hi there everyone and welcome to another chapter of Accursed Brothers.
Last chapter, Jiraiya together with Naruto and Sasuke managed to convince Tsunade into at least coming to Konoha and healing the injured from the invasion. As expected, the woman was too damn stubborn, going as far to take her promise back after losing her battle to the newly promoted chunnin. In the end, though, after a brief conversation with Jiraiya, the woman saw reason in at least coming back to help the wounded and then leave for good. To Naruto and Sasuke, though, none of it really mattered to them. The trip was mostly consisted of them learning new techniques and improving on their already existing ones. Now the group returns to Konoha as Tsunade starts treating the wounded.
Check it out.
Chapter 9 – Stubbornness
Beta: Kyuubi123
No sooner had the group left Tanzaku Gai, and Tsunade was already considering making a run for it, consequences be damned.
First reason was her teammate and fellow Sannin, Jiraiya. The man would constantly be on her nerves, making perverted comments that set her on edge the entire time. A part of her knew that the man was doing everything with the sole purpose of infuriating her, but the other part just wanted to treat Jiraiya like a punching bag. In her right mind, though, constantly beating him wouldn't work at all and she felt at ease in doing so. The other source of her headache was the two little chunnin that took advantage of their relatively slow pace towards Konoha to train against one another. Seriously, Tsunade assumed that both would be on the ground panting from exhaustion already.
Shizune looked at her master's face and couldn't help but smirk nervously while watching the kids fighting in kenjutsu. Tsunade was known for having the shortest temper in the world.
Naruto and Sasuke, in the mean time, were busy parrying their swords against each other, either not knowing or caring very little that Tsunade was annoyed by their action. The two were going at it for quite some time now, before Sasuke created some distance and shot a considerably sized fireball at Naruto. The blond chunnin narrowed his eyes in determination and began the hand seals for his first earth release ninjutsu. He managed to spill some mud on the ground, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop the fireball. The small wall was powerless to even deter the fireball's path, forcing Naruto to use his agility and evade the fireball. After getting away from the attack's path, Naruto threw a couple of shuriken at Sasuke who moved his sword to deflect the projectiles. Naruto waited until the last moment before he used the wind gale palm technique, increasing the shuriken's velocity.
Sasuke quickly replaced himself with a log that was near Naruto and attacked with his sword. Naruto's training with Anko kicked in and he placed his sword to parry Sasuke's blow, before summoning a kage bunshin that landed a fierce punch on Sasuke's face. Still in mid-air, Sasuke went through some hand seals, before his hands sparkled in electricity. Naruto was aware of the technique and already performed his own set of hand seals when Sasuke used his technique right after landing on the ground.
Raiton Rakurai (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Technique)
Fuuton Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Technique)
Sasuke realized the futility in keeping the technique after seeing it destroyed by Naruto's wind blast. With the use of his sharingan, he saw Naruto's technique coming his way and evaded it quickly. He saw Naruto coming at him with the sword with great speed and used his to block it. The two stopped while staring at each other with a proud smirk on their faces, despite their fatigue. Tsunade snorted at the two while Shizune was looking quite impressed at the display. Jiraiya looked at it with a smile on his face as he approached his chunnin charges. These two wouldn't stop fighting unless he did something. He was beginning to wonder if Sasuke was a jinchuuriki as well, since he was able to keep up with Naruto's stamina.
"Great improvement you two; although, Naruto, please refrain from using a technique you can't fully use. The earth wall will be easier to you once you learn earth manipulation chakra. In the mean time, keep practicing it." The jinchuuriki nodded, before both chunnin placed their swords inside the respective scabbard. The group would reach the gates of Konoha in less than an hour, so Naruto would have some time to train in doton techniques. Plus, he meant to see how he could improve his wind manipulation, since he remembered that he had only learned the first step, according to Anko-sensei. Turning to Jiraiya as they walked, Naruto figured that he could ask the pervert for pointers.
"Hey Ero-sennin…do you happen to know about the next step to wind manipulation? I've already sliced a leaf in two."
Jiraiya was slightly peeved that Tsunade was holding her stomach while laughing at him. He ignored her, though, while addressing the chunnin.
"The next step is quite complex, though I believe you can manage it in time. Put simply, in order to fully master wind manipulation, you must be able to slice a waterfall using only your chakra." Jiraiya knew that by doing that, he would get his vengeance because of his new nickname. Naruto was carefree while walking next to the pervert sannin. He simply nodded at the answer, not at all getting the prospect of what was required of him. It took three seconds for his face to morph from carefree to confused and from confused to surprised. He turned his head in indignation at Jiraiya hoping that the man was simply joking with the kid.
"You must be joking right? How the hell am I supposed to slice an entire waterfall?" Jiraiya smirked at the kid.
"If it was easy kid, anyone would have done it. Wind users are rare because the element is hard to master, even to the wind natured like you. It's not like you are on a dead line anyway. The first step is enough for the techniques. The difference is that you can add more power to the techniques by learning the second step." Naruto by now was visibly considering the path ahead of him when Jiraiya placed a comforting head on his shoulder. "With your kage bunshin training, though, you are able to learn much faster. Once we arrive, I'll pick up some earth ninjutsu material for you while you train. I bet you'll manage to master everything you set your mind to quite fast." Naruto smirked at that, already picturing the skills he need to master, the Rasengan being one of them.
Sasuke snorted, having heard the conversation.
"Using bunshins all the time is considered cheating, dobe. Not everyone has the same chakra pool as you." Naruto's face was morphed into fake indignation as he faced Sasuke.
"Huh teme; like your sharingan is any different. All you have to do is look at anything with those damn eyes of yours." Sasuke snorted, but then smiled. Pissing each other was one of their most treasured hobbies.
===Konohagakure===
Another two hours later and the group had finally crossed the gates of Konoha.
Tsunade was unusually quiet as she processed the images of this accursed place. It hadn't changed much since she left with her charge Shizune, after the two events that changed her life for good. No sooner had they stepped foot inside the village, the group had Konoha's full attention. Being the granddaughter of the man who founded the village, Senju Tsunade was considered nobility in Konohagakure. And seeing her next to Uchiha Sasuke, the two were what was left of the two founding clans. The rest of the group, namely Shizune, Jiraiya and Naruto, felt comfortable in just walking behind the two noble individuals. Jiraiya was more focused in how his teammate was fairing after being gone for so long. The group headed immediately to the Hokage's office.
After opening the door, the group had met with Sandaime Hokage and the newly appointed Godaime Hokage Hatake Kakashi.
Tsunade, despite knowing that Kakashi was nominated for the position, found it strange that her sensei wasn't behind his desk anymore and also not wearing the usual kage outfit.
"It's good to see you once more, Tsunade-chan. It's good to know that you have agreed in returning home." Sandaime smirked fondly at his only female student, earning a snort from Tsunade.
"Yeah, well, I'm only here to heal the wounded sensei. After this, I'll be gone again." Sandaime looked at the woman while checking on Jiraiya briefly for some kind of explanation. The pervert merely shrugged his shoulders and released a slight sigh in dismay. Whatever happened out there, Hiruzen guessed that it took all of Jiraiya's negotiating skills to merely convince her to heal the wounded from the invasion. At the very least, the woman's expertise would greatly save the majority of those wounded and help them return to active duty. Hiruzen hoped that in due time Tsunade decided to stay, although a part of him wondered if it was time to revoke her free travelling rights. Kakashi was quiet throughout the entire ordeal, not really having an opinion to contribute to the discussion.
"Your skills will be greatly appreciated, Tsunade. The hospital staff is already waiting for your arrival, so you can drop there any time." Tsunade grunted and left the room followed by Shizune who take her time apologizing for her master's behavior. Once the two women left, Hiruzen turned to Jiraiya for the report. It didn't take long for Jiraiya to report everything. Kakashi and Hiruzen were a bit saddened by the fact that Tsunade refused to come back even after Naruto and Sasuke defeated her as per her own requirements. Kakashi, though, was proud of their students after hearing that the two used a great level of teamwork and managed to hit a sannin level shinobi.
Kakashi gave them congratulations for the job well done, before dismissing the two chunnin.
"So Jiraiya, I trust that my students didn't give you too much trouble?" Kakashi asked to which Jiraiya only nodded in dismissal.
"They can be a handful, sure. But when it comes to training, their energy is one hundred percent applied to it, so I had some time off after giving them some material to work with. First of all, Sasuke managed to learn a few fire and lightning jutsu in no time and even adapted nicely into a kenjutsu fight. Naruto had greatly improved as well in his wind techniques. His ability in close combat is unparalleled and despite Sasuke having the sharingan, he couldn't hit Naruto once when they sparred. I also started to train Naruto in kekkai techniques and the kid has already incorporated some techniques to his arsenal. Perhaps it's high time he started on fuuinjutsu as well. He is also learning how to use doton ninjutsu and I've started teaching him the Rasengan." Hiruzen listened to everything with a smile on his face as he knew that those two certainly benefitted under a sannin's tutelage.
"There is something else I must report as well, concerning Sasuke's cursed seal." This time both Hiruzen and Kakashi looked at the man wondering what happened.
"What happened?" Hiruzen had his stern gaze on his student, wondering why he was only telling this now. Jiraiya knew that his sensei wouldn't approve of what happened, but he felt inclined to explain anyway.
"It all started just a few days after we left the village. The two were busy sparring against each other when Sasuke asked Naruto about the difference in color between his cursed seal and the one Naruto has." Hiruzen immediately frowned at this, but he let Jiraiya continue. "The kid then told Sasuke about the Kyuubi and how it used its chakra to 'purify' the cursed seal, thus eliminating Orochimaru's influence over it. Sasuke ended up asking if the fox could do the same thing for his cursed seal and Naruto said it could, but not after warning Sasuke that the fox's chakra was corrosive to all but himself. Sasuke was aware of the danger, but went along with it."
"I don't need to tell you how irresponsible you were for even letting this happen, Jiraiya." Naruto was right, Sasuke could have been killed because of this stunt.
Jiraiya nodded at his sensei's statement.
"I know sensei, it was a large gamble. However it worked and with this, Orochimaru no longer has any sort of influence over the seal. Now that we know it works, we now know a key element in how to remove Orochimaru's will from the seal. You know, sensei, that it was the only reason I couldn't remove the one that Mitarashi Anko has. She would certainly die otherwise. The fox's demonic chakra is a viable key to remove the evil properties of the seal, without taking away its advantages." Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya for a while in deep thinking. Kakashi, for his turn, decided to participate in this conversation.
"So the procedure worked, then? Sasuke's seal is now red?" Jiraiya nodded, before Kakashi turned to Hiruzen. "There is a possibility that we could create a new offense team, Sandaime-sama." Hiruzen turned to Kakashi ushering him to continue. "If we infuse demonic chakra into Anko's seal, she could be the leader of a heavily offensive squad together with Naruto and Sasuke. With these three, we only have to find another member for a four-man squad, one that can act as the group's support." Jiraiya clearly approved the idea, but Hiruzen was reluctant about allowing Naruto to infuse demonic chakra into another person. As far as he knew, Sasuke could've been killed. Jiraiya reported another interesting fact that he was thinking about it on the way back.
"Sasuke and Anko share a catalyst to the procedure that is their hatred over the ones who wronged them, Itachi and Orochimaru respectfully. It is something to think about, I guess."
Hiruzen nodded at that.
"From what we know of the cursed seal, only one in ten infected manages to activate it, so the person must be highly tolerable to pain. It sounds plausible." The three high level shinobi stood until late inside the Hokage's office, debating on this new heavy assault team, even going as far as to open a bottle of sake in the mean time.
===With Naruto===
When the sun rose the next day, Naruto got up early and quickly got dressed.
He was given a week of recuperation since his first chunnin mission started right after the end of the invasion. He planned to take full advantage of his time off to train the entire time. Quickly locking the door to his apartment, he made a quick stop at Ichiraku's for a nice meal, before heading straight to the library where he would search for some material involving both wind and earth manipulation exercises. As soon as he arrived, the librarian gave him the look, but Naruto could practically curse the woman's passed generations and still get inside. He was a chunnin now and thus had full access to the majority of books and scrolls in this place, with the exception of A and S-ranked material which was privy to jounin and above.
Once inside, Naruto didn't waste time and summoned ten kage bunshin to search the facility for what he needed. The place was deserted which suited Naruto just fine. He wasn't looking forward to hearing people telling him to keep it quiet. Fifteen minutes afterward, the clones managed to gather enough material for him to go by for the duration of the week. Quickly checking it out, once more ignoring the librarian's attitude, Naruto left the place towards a more secluded training ground. Normally, he would be in his team's training ground, but he needed to go somewhere else where he knew beyond a doubt that he wouldn't be interrupted. The blond struggled for a bit, trying to think of a place to go to when he remembered the place he trained with Anko-sensei for the chunnin exams. No one would go there, because of what the forest represented.
===Inside the Forest of Death===
After jumping the fence that kept others from coming inside, Naruto immediately jumped towards the nearest tree and travelled towards the location where he last trained.
He was just about to land on top of a specific tree when his instinct ordered him to avoid it. Seconds after passing the tree, he spotted three kunai imbedded at the place he would be in. He landed on the ground and cursed when a barrage of shuriken came flying straight at him. Taking his sword and channeling wind chakra, Naruto managed to slice all the projectiles before standing his ground for the next attack. He wasn't disappointed when a brown snake erupted from the ground inches in front of him and went for his jugular. The snake bit Naruto in the neck while Anko was observing with a smile at the kid. She smirked even more when her old charge was replaced with a log and Naruto was standing behind her with his sword posed to strike.
"You've gotten sharper and faster gaki, not a single move wasted." Anko said, before turning to meet the newly promoted chunnin. "Might explaining to me what you're doing here?"
"I needed a place to train to the fullest without interruption. I figured that no one would think to come here, obviously I was mistaken." Anko just caressed his hair in response with a smile on her face.
"I already told you this is my garden, gaki. When I'm not on a mission or eating my precious Dango, I'm here." Naruto nodded at that. "So training, huh? I guess I don't have much to do, so I'll join. What are you going to train in?" The list of items was short, but the items themselves demanded a great deal of time for even a jounin to master. The woman was surprised that the kid would venture in earth ninjutsu, but she supposed it was valid to have it for defense, being actually blocking an attack or even evasion. When she heard the word 'rasengan', Anko just stared at the kid for a while and smirked. Just when she thought that the kid couldn't surprise her anymore, he goes and do something like this.
"You think I can't do it all in a week?" Anko knew the gaki to be motivated when it comes to proving people wrong. "I don't think….I know it actually. You can't do it. However, that doesn't mean you cannot come close with your clones. I can even teach a good doton technique that you will like since it's similar to your shadow clones. It's the Mud Clone Technique." Naruto nodded immediately and summoned close to five hundred bunshins, filling the forest with blond hair and blue eyed replicas. Since the plan was in Naruto's mind before he summoned the clones, the others didn't need to hear their orders. One hundred of them would be picking up leaves on the ground and slicing them using wind chakra. The second hundred would practice chakra control through both tree and water walking. The third hundred would focus on the rasengan and the last two hundred would focus on earth manipulation. Anko just stared at the army and whistled. The kid wasn't kidding here.
"So what are you going to do while they do all the labor?" She saw him positioning his sword in front of her with a smile on his face and smirked. "You're on gaki."
No sooner had she taken two kunai in each hand, Naruto was already close to her and about to strike.
===With Sasuke===
Rather than training his ass off like his partner in crime, Uchiha Sasuke didn't have the same stamina or even a fox inside his gut to ease the strain on his muscles. He had one week of rest, so he would take today off and simply be at ease. When he got out of his apartment, Sasuke had a small lunch and then went to a ninja weapons shop. The metal of his sword suffered a bit fighting against Naruto's wind induced sword. He needed to reinforce the metal before he had to leave for another mission. Once he arrived in the merchant district, Sasuke decided to keep in the middle of the street or else the store owners would keep pestering him to purchase items in their stores.
The attention he was getting from these people was annoying.
After a few minutes of walk, Sasuke looked to his left and realized that was a store there he had never been into. Deciding to test it out, he went inside and was surprised at what he saw. He felt just like the store in which he purchased his sword while on the trip to find the sannin Tsunade. The store was filled with all sorts of material, going from ninja clothes to projectiles and varied weapons. Sasuke was indeed impressed and figured that it would be nice to focus on this one for his supplies.
"Hello there Sasuke." The Uchiha looked at the counter and was surprised when he saw a familiar face.
"Tenten, hi." Sasuke mentally berated himself since his voice came out somewhat different than usual. "What are you doing here behind the counter? Do you work here?" Tenten nodded with a smile.
"Sort of…my family owns this store. I try to help them out when I can. So I hear you were promoted to chunnin, congratulations." Sasuke nodded in appreciation, before walking towards the counter. Before he stopped, though, Tenten's eyes were glued to the sword strapped on his back. "I didn't know you had a sword, Sasuke. You didn't use one when the invasion started. Can I see it?" Sasuke blinked at the increasing tone in her voice. Tenten realized that too and smiled at the Uchiha. "Sorry…it's just that I love all sorts of weapons. It's a dream of mine to become a kunoichi that specializes in all forms of weapons combat. Where did you acquire it?" Sasuke showed her the blade.
"I purchased it in Crater City on my last mission. It's made from a special metal that allow me to channel chakra." Sasuke could see that Tenten wasn't even listening to him. Her focus was entirely on the blade as she slowly analyzed the weapon with a smile on his face. Strangely so, Sasuke found himself smiling at the scene. He instantly remembered the girl in the invasion fighting quite well against the opposition. He saw her finger passing by the area where the metal had a small dent and looked at him.
"That's the reason I came in your parent's store. I wanted that fixed." Tenten nodded and quickly placed the order of repair to his father.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at the question. "If my father knows what to look for, the service will be done much faster." The Uchiha nodded.
"I was sparring against Naruto and his sword is made from the same metal. He channeled wind chakra to his sword, hardening the metal. After a couple of blows, my sword was like this."
Once more, he could see her face lightning up at the mention of kenjutsu fight.
"Awesome…hey next time you two spar can I come? The best way to improve in close combat is to practice against another foe and I don't know anyone our age that fights with a weapon." Sasuke nodded as he saw the girl placing his order and then giving him the receipt. "In two days, you can come back. It will be perfect by then. My father instructs all his clients to do this every month, so as to preserve the quality of the metal. Without it, yours gets rotten quite fast." Sasuke nodded already having the thought in mind. She then turned to stare at him for a while, before asking. "So tell me what is like to be a chunnin? I bet you are doing much tougher assignments now huh?"
"Actually Naruto and I only had one rather long mission so far, outside the village. We followed Jiraiya of the Sannin in search for his teammate and another sannin, Tsunade." When the name reached Tenten's ears, her eyes widened and she smiled once more. Sasuke, though, continued to report the mission. "The mission took longer than Jiraiya expected, so he decided to train both me and Naruto in the mean time." Sasuke finished telling her the story and saw that she was still smiling at him.
"Great, now I envy you. You got to meet Tsunade-sama. She is the strongest kunoichi of all time; I want to be like her when I grow up." The Uchiha thought best than ruining the girl's dream. He wasn't that much impressed to tell the truth. When they fought against her, Sasuke knew the woman could do more, but anyone with her experience should have dealt with the situation much faster. She had also received a great number of attacks. If Jiraiya were in her position, neither Sasuke nor Naruto would have a chance in hitting the guy, no matter if Sasuke had the sharingan or Naruto had his clones to attack in multiple directions. Not to mention that the woman was a mess in every sort of way.
"Well, she has returned with us and is taking care of the wounded right now. You can go to the hospital and meet her there."
Tenten was gone the next second, earning a smirk from Sasuke before leaving the store.
===At the Hospital===
Tsunade's first day in the hospital had surprised the sannin.
At first, she assumed that the experience would be as painful as it has been since Jiraiya and the brats appeared in her life. However, it turned out that it was the complete opposite. Of course, she was back doing what she most treasured these days, healing people and bringing their health back. Jiraiya wasn't kidding when he said that the hospital was packed with the wounded. Luckily to the sannin, the hospital staff had done a splendid job cleansing the blood and patching the wounds. It was a fear of hers when she approached this place. Ever since her lover's death, Tsunade had developed an illogical fear of blood. With her excellence in medical chakra, she was able to speed up the recovery of most and even heal the most critical cases. Bones were mended back together, damaged organs were repaired and even inner bleedings were stopped.
The woman was literally on fire as she healed one by one with a smile on her face.
Another person that was having the time of her life was Tsunade's assistant Shizune. Tsunade couldn't help but smile at seeing her student's energy and enthusiasm. Shizune was restless following Tsunade with the most critical cases, filling up the paperwork, talking with the patients' relatives. It was apparent that Shizune wanted to do this every day of her life. Tsunade realized that and began to think of what would happen when their job was finished. She was supposed to leave Konoha once the wounded from the invasion were duly treated. The sannin felt trapped now. Despite loosening a bit, the pain of losing her loved ones was still there. It wouldn't ever fade, she realized and staying in Konoha was even more painful. The logical side reasoned that she has been gone for too long and that the pain is large now that she reopened the wound. It was like opening a band-aid.
On the other hand, now that she had returned to the village and began to heal the wounded, she wondered if perhaps leaving once more was the right course of action.
"I'm just surprised to see a member of the Sannin behaving like a coward. You just heard from Ero-sennin that there are lots of injured people from the invasion. Injured people whose lives hangs in 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. Sasuke here had his entire family murdered by his own brother. Our sensei Kakashi has 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 image of Naruto saying these words made her blood boil at the time. She would never admit to the gaki but the reason it hurt her deeply wasn't the sheer audacity of talking like that to her face. Every word the kid spoke had merit; just imagining his fierce resolve made Tsunade question her own in leaving once more. Indeed, the ninja business is filled with pain, especially for those who lived as long as she did. A great number of shinobi and kunoichi had lost their loved ones due to one circumstance or another. She couldn't for the life of her imagine what her sensei went through. He out lived pretty much everyone in Konoha so far and still kept his head looking forward.
"I'm the Hokage, Tsunade. If I don't show strength to my shinobi, then I'm not fit to lead them."
Tsunade sighed at the memory of her sensei right after the second great ninja war when lots of shinobi were killed. Indeed, her pain wasn't any different from others, just like the damn gaki announced. She was now walking through the now empty halls, searching for Shizune. She passed by one of the surgery rooms and looked through the mirror. Inside her student Shizune was busy saving someone else's life. Tsunade smiled at the scene. She could see that despite the fierce resolve in her student's mind, Tsunade knew that Shizune was enjoying every minute of it. She could see the resolve and in a way, Shizune reminded her of herself back when she was Shizune's age. Moving on, Tsunade kept walking towards the empty and silenced hallway, now believing that perhaps staying in Konoha wouldn't be so bad after all. Of course, she would have to constantly deal with pests such as the gaki, but it was okay she assumed.
"Tsunade-sama…." The strange voice made the sannin turn from her direction, before she saw what appeared to be a brunette kunoichi wearing Chinese style clothing.
"Yes…do I know you?" Tenten was immediately in front of the sannin with a notepad and a pen. Tsunade just looked at the girl, wondering what was wrong with her.
"Sorry for interrupting Tsunade-sama, but I was wondering if I could have your autograph. I'm a big fan. You are my biggest inspiration to become a stronger kunoichi." Tsunade still wished the girl would calm down somewhat, but she assumed that giving the autograph would shut the little girl up and make her leave. Not to mention that Tsunade enjoyed seeing another kunoichi's resolve in improving. Thus forcing a smile, Tsunade nodded at the girl and took the notepad with one hand and the pen with the other. Tenten was all too happy that the woman she most admired would give her autograph. Tsunade quickly gave her signature and then handed the notepad to Tenten.
"What's your name?"
"Higurashi Tenten, Tsunade-sama." Not a name Tsunade recognized, meaning that the girl didn't belong to a shinobi clan.
"Nice to meet you Tenten-san, now tell me how do you know I was here?" Tenten looked at the sannin wondering about the question, while Tsunade just inclined closer to Tenten, still waiting for the answer.
"Well, a genin friend of mine told me you'd be here. His name is Uchiha Sasuke." Tenten was immediately alerted when a vein pulsed from Tsunade's forehead. She immediately wondered if she had somehow said something that set her off edge. Tsunade, for her part, was seeing red at the mention of one of the brats that were with her perverted teammate. "I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, but did I say anything that has upset you? Whatever it is, it wasn't my intention." Tsunade's ire subsided as she watched the girl that believed that she was mad because of what Tenten said. Well, yes, she did mention the name, but it wasn't anything like that.
"No nothing really; it's just that I remembered I have to be someplace else." As expected, Tenten quickly nodded and left Tsunade alone. The sannin could see the content look on the girl's face as she walked away. In a sense, Tsunade was hit with a sense of nostalgia as she remembered the times after the day when she was nominated a sannin along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Back then, Tsunade was constantly pestered by the future generation of kunoichi. Back then, Shizune was perhaps this girl's age along with others that she remembered. They must be jounin by now, Tsunade mused. At the time, Tsunade remembered how she pestered her sensei into creating a special branch of medic-nins in order to reduce the death tow on Konoha's shinobi. She had a lot of candidates with excellent chakra control at the time that were perfect for her ambition. Sadly Sarutobi-sensei denied her request, stating that it was war time and they didn't have the resources. Now, though, that the war is over, perhaps it was due time that Tsunade reiterated her request to the old man. Provided that she had decided to stay, the least she could do besides running the hospital, is to train youngsters into becoming medic-nins.
Once leaving the hospital, confident of Shizune's more than capable hands, Tsunade went straight to the Hokage's Office.
===At the Hokage's Office===
Tsunade didn't even bother waiting for the receptionist. She just opened the door to see the newly instated Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, alone in his office.
Immediately, Tsunade's highly tuned senses could spot four powerful presences in the room, obscured by the shadows. Normally, sensei had two Anbu inside his office responsible for the man's safety. She doubted that Kakashi was paranoid enough to increase security, so it meant that the extra two were conversing with the Hokage when she arrived. True to her deduction, Kakashi was indeed discussing with the two extra operatives. They were actually Anbu captains, highly experienced ones at that. He was to choose which one would be named the next Commander of the Anbu branch, since the old one was as old as Sarutobi-sama and couldn't wait to retire from his position from the shadows.
"So nice of you to drop by, Tsunade-sama, how may I be of service?" Tsunade lifted her eyebrow at the name. Isn't this man the Hokage now? As if reading her thoughts, Kakashi explained. "The official nomination will happen soon, but I'm not the Hokage yet."
"Oh, I see. Well, you will be so let's get straight to the point." Kakashi nodded since this way the woman would be gone soon and he could have time for some reading afterward. "I have decided to stay in Konoha and run the hospital like it should."
"That's good to hear. Sandaime-sama will be pleased with the decision. I can tell, though, that you desire my attention for something else." The woman smirked. Kakashi may be relatively young for the position, but the man was considered the elite of Konoha's jounin program for a reason.
"A long time ago, near the end of the second great ninja war, I have requested for Sarutobi-sensei to create a branch of field medic-nins capable of healing the wounded right in the middle of the mission. They would be field capable as well, acting as support for the others as well. At the time, sensei thought that the request, although valid, would demand resources that the village didn't have at the time." Kakashi nodded, remembering his father mentioning about it in the past. He already knew what the woman wanted, but allowed Tsunade to continue. "Now, as I'm staying in the village, I figured it is a right time for us to create this new branch of field ready medic-nin". Kakashi nodded at the woman.
"Like I said before, Tsunade-sama, I'm not the Godaime Hokage officially. I know for a fact that many have perished in the field because of light injuries that weren't properly treated. Once the hat is officially mine, we will continue this discussion so that we can create this new school of medic-nins. I trust that you're offering to run this program." Tsunade nodded with a smile on her face as Kakashi continued. "I'll go even further and try to implement first aid knowledge in the academy for our future generations." Tsunade nodded more pleased with herself. At the time, she was furious that her request had been denied by sensei. However, now she admitted, even if reluctantly, that the timing just wasn't right. Medical ninjutsu is a complex art that demands almost perfect chakra control and years of experience. In the midst of war, she couldn't train anyone long enough to reach a mastery of her liking.
Tsunade was about to leave when she looked at Kakashi one more time.
"One and one more thing…I'd like to commend your teaching skills in training those two. They managed to hold their own against me for far longer than most high level chunnin and even low level jounin could." Kakashi smirked at the praise, but found that the credit wasn't his.
"Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto were indeed part of my genin squad, but their skills aren't attributed to my teachings. Sasuke was already a prodigy when he graduated and Naruto had the stamina and chakra to overcome all of his weaknesses on his own. None of their skills were taught by me."
Tsunade noticed sadness in the man's words.
"Their teamwork is matched only by high level shinobi and I know that you preach about this more than anything else. If anything, their teamwork now is a testament to their sensei." Kakashi smirked at that and nodded at the woman in appreciation. "Am I excused, Hokage-sama?"
Kakashi nodded with a smile at the woman, before she left the room.
===One week later====
Naruto and Anko were seen leaving the forest of death where Naruto had trained like hell to improve his skills with the help of the Tokubetsu jounin.
His clothes were ragged but the smile on his face was evidence that his training bore fruit. Naruto had perfected earth manipulation, being able to produce an earth wall technique just like an earth user could. The Tsuchi Bunshin (mud clone technique) was easy to learn as well, after he understood the theory behind it, thanks to the amount of hours he had of training. He also learned other mud oriented techniques that acted as support like the one named Doton Doryu Taiga (Earth Release: Earth Flow River Technique) that created a river of mud below the opponent. The enemy would slip and fall, allowing Naruto to move for the kill with his sharp wind techniques. Those happened to be now much more powerful, because of his wind training. He managed to learn a technique from Anko, which was actually a creation of Shikamaru's sensei, Sarutobi Asuma. Fuuton Fuujin no Jutsu (Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique) was a deadly front assault, meant to send a strong burst of cutting dust. After testing against some trees, Naruto couldn't help but imagine the amount of pain a human would be in once hit by the technique. Aside from that, he hadn't incorporated more techniques to his arsenal, preferring to train in pure wind manipulation. According to Anko, Naruto was ready for the second part and he agreed to find a waterfall one of these days and finish his wind manipulation.
Last but not least, was the Rasengan.
After two days using the clones, Naruto managed to perform the technique using a clone to aid him. He needed to do it by himself, though. By the end of the week, he couldn't manage to use it alone, but he was certain that it won't take long. He managed to hold it one time but the energy dispelled two seconds after gathering. His kenjutsu skills had also improved as he continuously fought against Anko. He even managed to draw blood from her a couple times. She even sent a couple of snakes after him that were brutally sliced because of the wind chakra that Naruto channeled to the sword now like it was second nature to him. All in all, Naruto couldn't help but be proud of the skills he had acquired and how much his weaknesses were decreasing. Right now, he could guess that the only downside was genjutsu. Anko tried to teach him to break them, but he only managed to disrupt the lower level ones. A C-ranked illusion would catch him off guard for the time being.
"Ok gaki, I'm going to get some rest now. Hope we can get some missions together soon." Naruto nodded with a smile on his face.
"Thanks for helping me this entire week, Anko-nee." One thing that changed between the two during the week was their bond with one another. After training, Anko found it amusing to tease the young chunnin and Naruto, for his part, told her stories of his pranks in the past. Naruto had actually called Anko like his sister in the fourth day and she found it was quite nice to have a little brother that annoyed her. She now understood why her friend Hana enjoyed messing with her little brother Kiba. Naruto had also enjoyed the notion of having an older sister. Someone he could come to for advice in life, both the shinobi life and the personal life as well. He smiled once more to his big sister and turned to leave to his apartment and change into some new clothes. He didn't get too far, though, when he saw Sasuke walk towards him together with a girl that Naruto only knew of as the female on the same genin team as Lee and Hyuuga Neji.
"You look like you got one hell of a beating, dobe. When are you going to learn that you're nothing but a loser?" Naruto only smirked at the jab as he knew that Sasuke enjoys messing with him.
"Stop dreaming, Teme. I just worked my ass off training, that's all. I had trained at the forest of death for a week." Sasuke nodded as he could tell from looking at Naruto. Sasuke had trained as well, perfecting his lightning release techniques. Tenten, though, looked at the blond chunnin.
"Are you crazy? You went in there by yourself?" Naruto lifted his eyebrow at the woman who couldn't help but blush since she practically shouted. "Sorry about that, but the place is dangerous, even more so on your own."
"Nah, there are some tranquil places in there. Besides, I wasn't alone, Anko-nee was with me." Naruto looked at the two in front of him and smirked deviously. Anko has gotten to him after all. "So teme, what are you two doing together? Are you on date or something?" Sasuke just snorted at the insinuation, but Naruto could see that Tenten had a slight blush on her face at the question. He smirked at this, promising to gather more material for blackmail in the future.
"Actually, I was looking for you to train in kenjutsu and Tenten here asked if she could tag along." Naruto nodded. He was about to go home, but he guessed he could beat the teme a bit.
"You have a place in mind or we can go back to the forest of death and train." Naruto laughed his ass off when Tenten turned pale. Sasuke found it amusing as well.
"We are going to our team's training ground." Sasuke said, earning a nod from Naruto who was still laughing a bit, infuriating a still red Tenten. The two chunnin and one genin took ten minutes walking towards the training ground. Once there, Tenten chose to sit in one of three logs while she saw Sasuke and Naruto staring at each other with their swords drawn. The kunoichi was surprised that Sasuke had activated the sharingan from the start. She was familiar with dojutsu prodigies. Neji would only use the byakugan when the opponent was serious and he never started the fight with the byakugan activated. She knew only rumors about Naruto's full capabilities, having only seen his performance in the chunnin exams. She didn't know how strong he was now. She watched Sasuke's sword sparkling with blue energy and gasped. Channeling elemental chakra to a sword was a very rare ability. She started to doubt that this was merely a spar between comrades. She gasped once more once Naruto's sword now had chakra surrounding it as well. She then remembered that the reason that Sasuke's sword was damaged was because of Naruto's. Her sensei always stopped Lee and Neji when the match became too fierce to be called a spar.
Right now, no one was around to stop these two from going at each other's throats.
She got the feeling, though, from looking at their faces, that they were enjoying this. Naruto was the one who started the attack with a different kata than Sasuke recognized. His sword was positioned inches from Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke was surprised by the move since Naruto managed to quickly enter his guard and kill him if the move was finished. His sharingan was the one that anticipated it though and placed his sword in a vertical position close to his arm, thus blocking the path of Naruto's sword. However, Sasuke knew that if Naruto wanted, he could kill Sasuke before he got to position his sword to defend.
"You've gotten a lot faster." Tenten found that to be an understatement. She couldn't even see them moving. "I'll have to increase my speed, then."
Sasuke said as he created some distance between the two, before attacking this time. Naruto defended it with a smile.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, teme."
===At night===
When the moon came up, those that didn't have plans went straight to their homes to rest for the day. The others were busy meeting their friends, going out on dates, filling the bars and restaurants.
The village had a few guards that were patrolling the outer walls, including Anbu personnel. Ever since the invasion, Sandaime had increased the number of patrols and even changed their routes so that enemies who had prior knowledge of the system couldn't use it to infiltrate anymore. Because of this, the elite of Orochimaru, named Sound Four, actually had to work twice as hard in order to get inside the village without getting noticed. Even so, they were spotted by a jounin who tried to escape in order to warn the others. The Sound Four had to deal with him fast, before continuing their assignment. Once inside, the group managed to reach their destination and found their target walking with his hands inside his pockets. They would have to follow him until he entered in a more secluded location. Uchiha Sasuke walked back to his apartment, completely unaware of the opposition he was about to face.
Author Note
Okay, I'll stop here and apologize everyone for the slight cliffhanger.
Orochimaru is now making his move. What will happen with Sasuke now that the Sound Four is coming for him?
Check it out next chapter.
