A.N. Whew. That was tiring. And now, here's the tenth (Yay!) episode of Tales of the Arcane. Fair warning, Tsunade goes mad. If you can believe it, she much worse in the original script. I did try to make her come across as not all there, but I'm still not sure whether I overdid it. Please let me know!

Sorry for the rather slow update speeds in the last few chapters. I've been getting rather busy with my job. I know it's all sorts of annoying, but I will probably get better soon.

Also, thanks go to all who reviewed my story, even those who had less than flattering things to say. As long as the review is done fairly, I accept any and all criticism.

Please review!

Chapter 10 : Homeward bound

…

Rising up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

Eye of the Tiger– Survivor

…

Asuma's eyebrow twitched. "Gai… What are you doing here?"

Gai stood at attention. "I have a most unyouthful message for Tsunade-sama!" He repeated. Asuma, wincing at the tone of the exuberant jounin, groaned pathetically. "What is it?"

Gai's reply was cut off as Tsunade sat up, before a punch slammed across Gai's face tossing him 20 feet away and into a tree.

"Gai! What have I told you about shouting when I'm working?" Tsunade seethed, a malevolent aura surrounding her. Asuma gulped; if Gai didn't have a good excuse, it seemed probable that the great Green Beast was going to be skinned by a demonic Senju.

Gai groaned from where he was, slumped in the middle of an explosion of wooden splinters. "Umm… Not to?" He squeaked, staring as Tsunade approached him, her fists erupting chakra.

She was just a few steps from Gai, who was trying to shrink into himself like he was one of his summons, when a voice called out to her, startling Asuma and the ANBU. "That's quite enough, Tsu-Tsu. We don't have time for one of your temper tantrums – Not when Naruto-kun needs immediate medical help, you know!"

Asuma, the ANBU, and Gai all looked in the direction of the voice. At first, there was nothing; then, gradually, a misty form appeared, coalescing to form the figure of a petite woman in formal dress. And she didn't seem to be happy with the lot of them.

Tsunade's shoulders slumped. "Sorry… Grandmother," she sighed, her hair falling over her eyes as she turned back. "It's just…"

"W-What! T-Tsunade-sama…" Asuma interrupted, swiveling to look between Tsunade and the wraith. "Y-Your Grandmother? H-How?"

Tsunade's shoulders slumped further as she gave a tired sigh, her hand going to the bridge of her nose as she tried to stave off her headache. "I'm not in the mood for this," she groaned, before she gave Mito an evil look. "If you had to appear right now, you can take care of the introductions," she huffed as she stalked back to where Naruto was and began healing him once more.

Eyeing the ANBU and the jounin that were watching her with obvious curiosity, Mito turned towards them, smiling gently. "Hello. I'm Mito Senju nee Uzumaki, Wife of the Shodaime Hokage and the First Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Nice to meet you."

Behind her, Tsunade facepalmed, as the jaws of the assembled jounin dropped simultaneously. "Grandmother," she groaned, "I didn't tell you to confuse them even more!"

Mito blinked, then blinked again. "I don't know what you mean."

Tsunade groaned, the medical chakra in her hands flickering out as she finished Naruto's treatment. "Of course you don't."

Briefly looking at Gai, who cringed, she continued with a long suffering sigh. "Now Gai, if you don't want to get punched back to Konoha, just tell us the message you brought." For a moment her eyes seemed to drill through Gai with her glare. "Without any mention of youth, if you know what's good for you."

Gai gulped. "Ah… Yes, Tsunade-sama," he paused, cringing, before continuing hesitantly. "Shimura Danzo-sama has declared war against Suna with the aid of the council."

A shocked silence descended on the group, only broken by a stifled yelp by the Rabbit ANBU. Asuma's chakra blades hung limp from his fingers as he gaped at the green suited jounin in thinly suppressed horror. While the jounin and Mito looked between Gai and Tsunade apprehensively, Tsunade had gone very still.

The silence was broken by the sound of gritting teeth from an expressionless Tsunade. For a moment, everybody looked at her, expecting some indication of anger. Instead, she got up almost robotically, before giving Gai a blank stare. "How did Danzo get it through? In the absence of the sitting Hokage such decisions have to be taken in council with the Civilian elders, the Hokage Advisors and the Division commanders!" Her voice was low, almost nonchalant, except for the sliver of venom that crept into the voice when she mentioned Danzo. Collectively, all the assembled jounin had a similar thought; it would not be fun to be Danzo when Tsunade next met him.

Gai swallowed; somehow the calm Tsunade was more terrifying than an enraged one. "Um… Hokage-sama, the unyou-"

Faced with Tsunade's gimlet eye, Gai quickly bit back the rest of the word. "Ah… Sorry, Hokage-sama. Danzo-sama has exposed Sabaku no Gaara's status as a jinchuuriki, and is using Naruto-san's… unfortunate circumstances? To rally support for the movement."

At that, Tsunade went, if possible, even more still. Faint wisps of chakra arcing around her form, she looked into Gai's eyes, her own burning with the promise of retribution. "What?" Her voice was scarcely louder than a whisper, but the words, uttered whip-like by the enraged Hokage, nevertheless reached each person there.

For a moment, even Mito flinched at the sheer venom in Tsunade's tone, before she turned towards her granddaughter. "Now is not the time, Tsunade-chan."

Tsunade turned to look at her, her eyes blazing, before she paused at the way Mito had addressed her. "What do you mean now's not the time?" She asked tiredly.

Ignoring her, Mito walked past her to where Naruto was lying, before she bent down and hefted Naruto onto her shoulder in a fireman's carry. "I don't know about you, but I'm not about to bring an injured child, not to mention my heir, to the village when Danzo seems to be building up a mob to lynch him."

Tsunade seemed to deflate, all the anger draining out of her at the realization. "That's true, but where are you going to take him? He needs to rest and recuperate – The drain to his life energy is no joke, Grandmother, he could fall into a coma any moment now."

Mito turned towards her, giving Tsunade a wan smile. "Granddaughter, you are forgetting he's an Uzumaki, you know. Besides, I was thinking, Tsu-Tsu, it's time for him to visit his roots."

Tsunade stared at her. "Grandmother, you don't mean – I mean, that's a ruin – Surely you don't-"

Mito's lips twitched. "You're babbling, Tsu-Tsu. Besides, not all of it is ruins, you know."

Tsunade glared at her. Mito smirked back at her challengingly.

"Have it your way, Grandmother," Tsunade said resignedly after a moment. Mito nodded, all frivolity gone, as she turned to leave. However, she immediately jumped away as Asuma shunshined in front of her, chakra blades blazing.

"Hokage-sama?" He called out, staring suspiciously at Mito. Tsunade frowned. "Stand down, Asuma," she said tiredly.

"But Hokage-sama, you can't let a non-Konoha shinobi take Konoha's jinchuuriki!" He argued, not taking his eyes off Mito's tense form.

Tsunade scowled back at him, making him flinch back. "Asuma…" She drawled, irritation obvious in her tone, "I told her to take Naruto, removing one of our shinobi from a potentially volatile situation." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "So what is it, Asuma? Do I have to explain every decision I make, or are you refusing orders from your Hokage?"

Asuma stuttered. "Ah…I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama." He said after a moment, chastised. Tsunade sighed again, covering her eyes.

"I'm sorry too, Asuma," she mumbled, "It's just…"

"I understand Hokage-sama." Asuma interrupted her, and Tsunade gave him an unsteady smile.

"Thanks."

Mito scoffed at Asuma, before calling out to Tsunade as she walked past him. "I assume you can take care of the Danzo issue on your own?"

"Don't worry, Grandmother. I'm going to make the bastard suffer," she said menacingly, a bloodthirsty smirk creeping across her face. "By the way, I'll send Shizune along later; that brat needs a medic to look after him, at least for the next few days."

"Fine. I have to go now if I want to reach my destination before tomorrow." With a nod of assent and the slight noise of a shunshin, Mito disappeared in a flash of smoke.

…

Being unconscious was troublesome. Waking up was more so.

Nara Shikamaru groaned as he slowly came to from his impromptu nap on the forest floor.

From what he felt, he was being carried piggyback by a shinobi. He could feel the starchy hardness of a Konoha standard flak jacket digging uncomfortably into his ribs and the smell of smoke emanating from the figure carrying him. While many shinobi smoked intermittently to steady their nerves, it was generally considered bad form to smoke so much that the smell clung to them, seeing as it was a possible means of tracking the shinobi. There were only two shinobi he knew that smoked so regularly that the smell clung to their clothes, and one of them, the Sandaime Hokage, was dead. So it was Asuma-sensei carrying him; that was interesting.

Giving up the half-formed plans of pretending to be asleep – it wouldn't matter anyway, what with the thrice-damned earrings – Shikamaru cautiously opened his eyes and peeked over the shoulder of Asuma. Then he heard a low chuckle.

"So. Finally decided to stop pretending to be asleep, Shika-kun?" Asuma asked, giving him an amused grin.

"Sensei. Troublesome." Shikamaru greeted his teacher with a sigh, looking over his shoulder at the group of ninja around him. The Hokage was travelling at the head of the group, and judging by her pursed lips and rigid posture, she didn't seem pleased by the turn of events. Surrounding her was a contingent of ANBU, and at their rear was a severely depressed looking Hatake Kakashi. Not that others could tell, Shikamaru thought, the only thing different was that the eccentric jounin's eyes were droopy and his hands hung rather limply, as if he was forcing himself to walk. At first glance it looked like the man was just sleepy. Gamboling – that was the only word Shikamaru could come up with – around the depressed jounin was a hyper man in a green leotard. So that was Maito Gai, the Sensei of team 9. That was interesting.

Behind him, Chouji, who looked relatively unharmed, was carrying a very battered and bloodied Kiba, whose head was flopping listlessly behind him, clearly unconscious. Neji was behind them, looking somewhat battered as well though he was trying to hide the fact under all the layers of aloof indifference he had around him. He was supporting an exhausted Tenten, who seemed to be favoring her left side. She was also hugging the limp form of Akamaru, whose white fur was matted with blood. Looking around, he noticed a quite obvious absence.

"Sensei, where is Naruto?" Shikamaru asked quietly, a pool of apprehension seeping through him.

He couldn't be dead; Shikamaru refused to believe that. The blond genin might not be the best fighter around, but his instincts and endurance were unmatched in their generation. In a true life and death situation, especially against a weaker opponent than what he had faced, Naruto would simply outlast his opponent until he won.

Several of the group looked up at the question; from what he observed, none of the genin knew what had happened to Naruto judging by their worried expressions. In stark contrast, all the jounin tensed. In front of the group, Tsunade-sama was clenching her fists while Kakashi seemed to be even more depressed at the question.

For a moment, no one answered. Then Tsunade sighed. "Genin Uzumaki has been transported to a safe house after his fight with Uchiha Sasuke due to instability in the current political climate of Konoha." She said shortly, her fists curling on themselves in her ire. It was obvious that it was not something she enjoyed doing.

Whatever answer Shikamaru had expected, that was not it. Shikamaru stiffened in surprise, his mind whirring, trying to make sense of the Hokage's cryptic words. Fight with Sasuke? Naruto should have been already in Konoha by now, not fighting Sasuke! But perhaps he was being naïve. Knowing Naruto as he did, he knew that he would have rushed into battle again as soon as he finished his current opponent. But that brought a set of questions of their own. He had estimated that Naruto would be able to barely beat the large Sound Four member, but to defeat him and then go on to fight Sasuke as well meant that Shikamaru had drastically underestimated the skill of the once blond redhead. And what did the Hokage mean 'current political climate'? That could only mean that the Hokage suspected that Naruto would be in danger inside the village, and the only reason for that at this particular moment…

"Hokage-sama, did Naruto kill Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked warily, as the genin behind him gasped at the question.

Tsunade stopped in place, forcing her entourage to stop as well, before she turned to stare at Shikamaru. Shikamaru held her gaze unflinchingly; he needed to know what went on in his squad, he was responsible for them in this mission until the Hokage or a jounin officially relieved him, and they had not done so yet.

"You Nara's are really too troublesome for your own good," Tsunade said finally, looking rather reluctantly impressed. "The answer to that question is both yes and no."

A strangled gasp came from the genin behind them; so it was news to them as well, Shikamaru thought. Strangely, the thought of Sasuke's death, especially at Naruto's hands, didn't faze him as much as he thought it would. Instead he was remembering something that his father had said to him some time ago.

"Remember son, in the shinobi world, the one who shows off the most is the one that gets killed off first."

Shikamaru had to stifle a snort at the thought; he wasn't feeling very sympathetic towards Sasuke at the moment. In fact, he was more concerned as to the effect this would have on Naruto, both psychologically and in his interactions with the civilian population of Konoha. After all, he wasn't blind. He knew that for some reason the civilians, and a significant amount of the shinobi, hated Naruto. He even knew that it had something to do with Kyuubi, though that had needed no intelligence on his part. What else was he supposed to infer when the people called Naruto 'fox-brat' and 'demon' interchangeably behind his back? For some reason, he really doubted that killing the renegade Uchiha would improve Naruto's nonexistent standing in Konoha.

Anyway… "What do you mean yes and no, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade looked past him at the group of genin behind, before she gave an exasperated sigh. "Honestly, I don't know why I took this bloody job in the first place…" she muttered, before she looked up, a contemplative look on her face.

"All right, all of you brats, gather around," Tsunade yelled at the genin, who flinched before cautiously coming near her. "Now brats, I'm going to tell this just once, and you better listen up. No interruptions, got it?"

The assembled genin nodded, cowed. Tsunade smirked. "Right. Now as to why I said yes and no, Chunin Shikamaru," she paused, "it's because Naruto didn't kill him per se – he sealed Sasuke within himself, just like the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi within Naruto."

…

Shizune was silent, deep in thought as she tree hopped away her way southwards in the Konoha Forest. Not that that was in any way out of the norm, with her habit of blending into the background and observing the surroundings quietly. However the perplexed frown that marred her face would have looked rather out of place on the soft spoken jounin to any outside observer. Seeing as there was nobody to notice her lapse however, Shizune was at peace to ponder over her earlier meeting and try to make sense of the mission that her master had given her. That her master had given her instructions for a solo mission was not unusual – in their travels, Tsunade had often given her similarly obscure instructions, though that was mostly in order to evade debt collectors – but even by those standards, this message was unusual.

…

FLASHBACK

…

Shizune had just corralled the tired genin to the Valley of the End that Tsunade had made the rendezvous point. Kiba, with his internal injuries, depleted chakra core and a mild concussion, was completely unconscious and being supported by a clearly reluctant Kakashi. Tenten was walking with a limp, favoring her side where she had taken a rather substantial hit by the Ukon possessed Kiba, while Neji, noticeably ruffled, was stiffly holding an unconscious Shikamaru up. Chouji brought up the rear, looking rather lost.

When she entered the Valley of the End, the first thing she noticed was the debris. Stone chipped from the statues were scattered far and wide, with occasional kunai amongst them, making the area around the pool resemble a battlefield in the Third Shinobi War. The statues were almost unidentifiable, with scorch marks, craters and gouges from what looked like a large blade littering its surface. The pool's water was slowly regaining its former colour, washing away the murky crimson pools of blood in it.

On the feet of Madara's statue, near a large pool of brackish blood, stood Tsunade and her entourage. Tsunade was squatting, examining the blood on the ground with almost religious fervor, something which was both surprising and at the same time not.

Yes, she thought, Tsunade had come back from her hemophobia with a vengeance. If it continued, she expected Tsunade to soon become the world's foremost expert on blood and blood related diseases. She barely withheld a smirk at the thought; she could just imagine what Orochimaru would think of that.

As the genin looked around curiously, Shizune headed over to where Tsunade was, when Tsunade suddenly looked up and beckoned. As she came closer, she soon noticed that the pool of blood was much larger than she had first thought it to be. In fact, there was, by her estimate, at least 2 pints of blood on the ground. Whoever had bled that much must surely be dead or in at least in a coma from blood loss; she just didn't know whose it was.

Tsunade got up as she approached. "Ah! Shizune. Good timing, I was going to search for you."

Shizune quirked an eyebrow in response, coming closer to her master. Her ponytails were awry and her face looked troubled, something was troubling her. "Something wrong, Tsunade-sama?"

At that, Gai (when had he even got here?) stepped forward, his boisterous voice sounding like a foghorn in the subdued crowd. "Ah! Youthful Shizune-san, A most youthful spirit most unyouthfully spirited the youthful Naruto-kun –"

"Gai!" Tsunade looked livid. "What did I tell you about using that word?" At her words, Gai quailed.

Shrinking from the approaching woman, Gai attempted to respond. "Ah… Not to, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade's lips curled into a thin smirk as she passed Gai, before her hand snapped forward and hooked itself to Shizune's elbow. Dragging her away, Tsunade looked back at Gai. "See that you don't."

The last thing Shizune heard was Kakashi lazily saying, "Maa… Maa… Cheer up-" before she was bodily pulled into a bush after Tsunade.

"Aieee! Tsunade-sama!" Before she could continue her indignant scream, a hand snapped over her mouth and she was twisted around to face her teacher, who she was beginning to think had lost her mind.

Tsunade had a mischievous grin on her face, which made her look that much more deranged in her opinion. Frantically trying to backpedal, Shizune looked at Tsunade hesitantly.

"Tsunade-sama," she repeated, snapping herself out of her blind panic and taking a few deep breaths before continuing. "Why did you do that?"

Tsunade was apparently immune to the note of accusation in her tone. "Ah, that?" she replied airily. "I just wanted to talk to you in private."

She really had to find another method to stop her instinctive retorts, she mused as she contented herself with an incredulous glance at her obviously deranged master. Biting her lip hurt. "Tsunade-sama, are you sure you're not sick?"

Hmm… It seemed biting her lip was ineffective as well as painful. Though, to be fair, what she had wanted to say initially had been much more caustic. Oh well, maybe she could just forget this one little indiscretion; it wasn't as if anyone was watching. Though if Tsunade's eyes continued to twinkle like that…

Tsunade was giggling now. "Oh, your face! That was priceless!" She stuttered out between her giggles. They dried up quickly enough, however, when Shizune pinned her with a glare. Shizune was getting a bit paranoid herself; Tsunade never got this obnoxiously exuberant unless she was trying really hard not to murder someone in cold blood. Or was trying to escape someone after screwing them over. She sweatdropped. Why was she babysitting a woman 20 years her senior anyway?

Oh right. Tsunade would probably either kill herself or the world if she was not there to curb the wilder side of her character. So maybe she should stop getting so worked up, and instead get to the bottom of this particular psychotic fit.

"Tsunade." That got Tsunade's attention, she saw. Shizune rarely called her anything other than Tsunade-sama or the occasional master. "What happened?"

Tsunade gave her a scathing look. "Fine, fine," she pouted, "spoilsport."

When Shizune continued to stare at her unflinchingly though, Tsunade began to fidget before holding her hands in front of her. "Whoa, Shizune, I'll tell, I'll tell!"

Shizune huffed. "You better, or knowing you I'll have to stop you from burning down Konoha."

Tsunade pouted. "I wasn't going to burn down all of it…"

"Be serious, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune snapped. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with Tsunade's moods right now. "Now what did you want me for?"

Seeing her apprentice wasn't in the mood for her antics seemed to calm Tsunade down. "Right. I wanted to give you a solo mission," she said, beginning to lay down her instructions.

"A solo mission? Now?" Shizune interrupted her, surprised at the unusual request. "Tsunade-sama, what's going on?"

Tsunade exhaled harshly, obviously trying to control her temper. "Too much to explain right now, Shizune," she said after a moment of hesitation. "Suffice it to say that I have to go back to Konoha and knock some old heads together."

Shizune could see this was serious, and Tsunade would clearly not be deviated from her path. The last time she had seen her so coldly angry had been when Orochimaru had visited them, soon after his defection from Konoha. The snake sannin had barely escaped with his life back then. So she did the only thing she could do, get out of the way. "What do you want me to do, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade smiled. "Go to the whirlpools and meet a ghost."

"Huh? As Shizune stared at her, confused, Tsunade's eyes twinkled maddeningly. She was clearly enjoying her confusion.

"Meet a ghost?"

"You'll know when you see it." That was all Tsunade seemed willing to say on the matter. Shizune sighed. Sometimes her master, for all her maturity, could be incredibly childish, not to mention annoying.

"I don't want this information to go any further," Tsunade continued warningly. "By the way, you've got your emergency rations and medical kit, right?"

"Of course, Tsunade-sama." She answered, feeling quite insulted. As if she would ever travel without her med-kit! Though why would she need it? "Tsunade-sama… What exactly am I going to be doing after I 'meet the ghost'?"

"Helping a suicidal brat recover from depleted life force," Tsunade answered. "Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with that kid." she continued, grumbling under her breath even as Shizune gasped.

"Ah. I've got no time to explain any further, and neither do you." Tsunade stated, looking at the sun. "I'll have to start pretty quickly if I want to stop Danzo marching to Suna." Looking at Shizune's bugged out eyes, she muffled a giggle.

"I'll tell you later, you better go now. If they get inside the village, you'll never find them." Tsunade added. "Don't worry, I'll send Katsuyu with the news by tomorrow."

…

END FLASHBACK

…

Depleted life force. That was something she had not heard mentioned in a long time. Though somewhat similar, life force was unique from chakra in that it was tied to the natural life span of an organism. It was also normally unable to be tapped by humans, and unrecoverable. Once you use any part of your life force, it was irrecoverably lost; that was the reason survival after it's use was almost considered a myth. Life force using jutsu did exist, but those usually were of the suicide technique type, and they used the user's acceptance of death to call up the life force.

There were exactly two different methods of accidently using up life force, sealing techniques and chakra exhaustion. And seeing as Naruto was the bearer of a unique seal and had been in consecutive fights for almost a day, it could be either. Personally, she hoped it was the seal; depleted life force on top of the normal chakra exhaustion usually caused irreversible damage to the victim's chakra network.

When she almost missed her step on a branch, she refocused on her travelling. It was no use speculating on her patient's state until she got there. As Tsunade always said, she would get there, do her best, and hope that it was enough. She could only try to get there as fast as possible; she didn't want the child that had managed to worm his way into Tsunade's cold heart to die.

…

Four hours later, Shizune had finally caught up to the source of the strangely light footsteps she had been following. For a moment, she stuttered on her step, unsure of what she was seeing. Sure, Tsunade had said she was going to meet a ghost, but she had figured her master was speaking figuratively.

What she was watching however, was making her instinctively search her chakra for any sign of a genjutsu. For surely there couldn't be a figure, only discernable through slight deflection in the light patterns, carrying Naruto on its back? It wasn't even an invisibility cloaking jutsu like Tsunade's teammate Jiraiya was rumored to have developed, because she could feel the chakra of the strange being carrying Naruto.

The very chakra of the 'ghost' as Tsunade had called it seemed somehow out of phase with reality, with a strange ethereal quality. In spite of this though, Shizune knew that the figure was corporeal; the indents it was leaving in the tree bark were real enough, though they did seem rather light for a grown person.

"Hello, Shizune-san. Enjoying the view?" A voice crooned in her ear. Stifling her shriek through years of kunoichi training, she twisted around to come face to face with the person she had been trailing, only she (for the figure was obviously a woman) was quite more material than the one she had been trailing, with her body actually reflecting some colour. Though, to be fair, it still looked more like stained glass than an actual human being. And her face was mere inches away from her. Instinctively, with reflexes honed by a lifetime as a shinobi, she lashed out with a senbon at the figure's exposed neck, only for her hand to be caught in a vice-like grip just when it was about to pierce the jugular of her assailant.

"Now that was very rude, Shizune-san. What has that granddaughter of mine been teaching you?"

"G-G-Granddaughter?"

The ghost woman smiled thinly. "Indeed." Turning back, she crouched, getting ready to travel again. "I assume Tsunade sent you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Call me Mito. Come along." With that, Mito spun around and leapt back into the trees.

Shizune, who was following her, was feeling incredibly out of her depth. Of course she knew who Mito Senju was; the wife of the Shodaime had been the one to design many of the medical seals that Konoha General Hospital used to this very day. But she also knew that Mito was supposed to have died around the time she was born, probably even before Jiraiya took the Yondaime as his apprentice.

But this specter certainly resembled the few portraits of Mito Senju that had survived to this day in the now abandoned Senju clan home; it was undoubtedly who she was claiming to be. There was no way Tsunade could mistake the figure of her grandmother after all, and the thought that Tsunade, who had studied illusions and concealment jutsu for over a decade, could be fooled by an imposter was ludicrous.

Shizune pondered the power of the woman kunoichi who she was following; whatever her body was, the power exuding off her figure was palpable. It wasn't chakra pressure like the Sandaime, Jiraiya, or even Tsunade exuded, and it wasn't even killing intent like Orochimaru. It was simply… grace. The woman moved with a quiet self assurance that was present in only the most seasoned of warriors, every muscle movement choreographed like an elegant dance. However, in stark contrast to the bloodier kunoichi such as Anko or Tsume, the aura surrounding the woman did not make her seem threatening. Instead, the woman made you feel inadequate. It was like she had an aura of royalty surrounding her.

Though the fact that she was following the supposedly dead but apparently alive wife of the Shodaime did nothing to calm her nerves. She really didn't like going into a situation blindly. Though she seemed to be doing that quite often lately, Shizune thought somewhat sourly, as she stared at the back of Mito. The stately woman had not graced her with a single glance, let alone a word, since the original greeting. Instead the woman, who had become invisible once more, was steadily tree hopping her way to the Uzushiogakure ruins cradling the unconscious Naruto to her chest.

"You know, if you want to ask something, you should talk instead to staring at me." Mito's dry voice cut through her thoughts. Shaken out of her contemplation, Shizune refocused on Mito, who had not even turned her head. Had she really been that obvious?

"Ah." Shizune paused, unsure how to delicately approach the subject of her non-death.

Mito's lips were twitching, even as her pace slowed as she came abreast of the embarrassed Hokage's assistant. "Why aren't you dead? That's what you were going to ask, right?" Humor was lacing her words, somehow making the regal woman somehow more approachable than before.

Shizune flushed in mortification. "Ah… No, no ma'am!"

Mito gave her an indulgent smile. "Don't be embarrassed," she said soothingly, "I would have been more surprised if a medical professional like yourself did not question me on my apparent lack of mortality." Turning to look Shizune in the eye, Mito proceeded to glare at her. "And I thought I told you to call me Mito."

Shizune blushed further. "Sorry, Mito-sama."

Mito sighed, before she gave Shizune a flat look. "You really are a skittish thing, aren't you?" She asked jokingly, before breaking out in a sudden smile. The change that the smile wrought on her face was incredible, Shizune thought. Where before she had looked every bit the stateswoman, all refined expressions, emotionless face and calculating eyes, she now looked… beautiful, even if the shadows behind her eyes told her that the woman had seen things in her life she could never completely forget. "And to answer your question, I'm not currently dead because I'm not currently alive."

Having given that extremely cryptic answer, Mito smiled at her before tree hopping ahead again. The conversation was clearly over, yet Shizune couldn't help staring at her retreating back, even as she accelerated her own pace in order t keep up. At least now she knew where Tsunade had got her love for cryptic statements from.

…

When Tsunade's group finally reached the great gates of Konoha, what they saw was a ghost town. The streets were deserted, the few people in the streets scurrying with their head down. Tsunade looked around the village dispassionately; she had half expected this to happen. She really should have left somebody who could be trusted to not to start off the Fourth Shinobi War, but the fact remained that she had really not had the time to houseclean yet. Though if nothing else, this provided her with the necessary leverage to oust the old farts that had entrenched themselves in all the higher administrative posts. And if she had any say in it, Danzo would be the first to go. That man was dangerous.

"This is it, brats." Tsunade stopped in the middle of the street, where the road split into three, with one fork going to the residential districts, one to the outer districts, and the third to the administrative district, which housed the Hokage Tower as well as Konoha General Hospital. "Now all of you are to report to the hospital," she continued, her gimlet gaze resting on both Shikamaru and Kiba longer than on the others. The genin singled out slumped, before they reluctantly began their march to the hospital.

Ignoring their pleading expressions, and conveniently forgetting that she too had hated hospitals at that age, Tsunade turned towards the ANBU who had been standing silently behind her. "Tiger, Rabbit, head to the barracks and report to the captain. I'll take it from here." With a mumbled 'Tsunade-sama', the ANBU shunshined away in a swirl of leaves.

Finally, and somewhat reluctantly, Tsunade turned towards the final group with her. "Gai, Asuma, come with me to the meeting." She said tiredly, before turning around and walking towards the Hokage Tower. "Might as well deal with the fossils now," she muttered under her breath, even as Gai and Asuma fell into step behind her.

"Tsunade-sama?"

Hearing her name called out, Tsunade looked back. Truthfully, she had half expected this. "Yes, Kakashi?"

The one eyed shinobi had clearly seen better days. His one exposed eye was droopy and lifeless, and his attire was uncharacteristically rumpled. If that wasn't enough evidence, he was slumped in on himself piteously, looking utterly defeated. Still, the man's mental strength was admirable; straightening up and looking Tsunade in the eye, Kakashi was obviously trying to play off his mental state as inconsequential. "Ne, Ne, Tsunade-sama," his lone visible eye crinkled in his trademark smile, "wouldn't it be better if I came along too?"

Tsunade's face softened as she slowly walked towards Kakashi. The cycloptic jounin warily took a step back, but before he could retreat any further his shoulder was caught in a vice like grip and Tsunade's face was looming over his. "Kakashi… You're currently not in a fit mood to plant a tree, let along face those old fossils."

Even through his depressed mood, Kakashi couldn't help sweatdropping at the blunt statement. Though the statement was as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face, Tsunade's tone had been soft, almost motherly. It was a welcome relief from what he had actually expected, which was another dressing down; after all, saying that Kakashi was currently not in Tsunade's good graces would be an understatement. He had hardly had any time to relax however, when Tsunade's fist descended onto his face with all the force of a real sledgehammer. Caught off guard, Kakashi caught the blow full in the face, resulting in him being thrown off his feet and into the ground where he landed in a moaning heap of flesh.

Smiling triumphantly, Tsunade brushed off her hands. "Gai, can you have Kakashi over for the day?" Though the statement was worded as a question, the jounin wearing the green leotard recognized it for what it was. "O-O-Of course, Tsunade-sama."

"Excellent." Beaming, Tsunade turned back to Kakashi, who was just getting back to his feet. "Now, go to Gai's house and stay there until tomorrow morning." She ordered Kakashi, who stared back at her with his slack jaw visible even through his cloth mask. Though he still shrunk into himself when a predatory smirk stole across her face. "At 10 am tomorrow, you will report to the Yamanaka Isshin ward in Konoha General. If you're late, I will issue mandatory taijutsu practice for you with Gai. Understood?"

By now, Kakashi was nodding his head so fast he resembled a bobblehead. "Y-Y-Yes, of course, Tsunade-sama!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Tsunade turned to leave. "And Kakashi? That punch was for acting like a wet blanket. You won't act like a wet blanket again, will you?"

"N-N-No, Tsunade-sama!"

"Humph. We'll see." With that, she turned to the dumbfounded Asuma and Gai. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on, we've got a bunch of old farts to dismember." As she strolled down the street without looking back, her words floated back to the petrified pair. "I have a good feeling about this."

Asuma looked at Gai. Gai looked at Asuma. Simultaneously deciding to ignore that it had happened at all, the two fell into step behind their Hokage, who was now whistling a funeral march.

Behind them, Kakashi stared at their backs, a shell-shocked look on his face.

…

Naruto woke up to the gentle caress of a soft hand running through his hair. It took all the strength he had stop a groan of discomfort; his whole body hurt with a dull, bone-deep ache that permeated every cell of his body. Wearily opening his eyes, he was immediately assaulted by an acute piercing headache. Disorientated, it was quite some time before he could bear opening his eyes again. When he finally managed it, he found that he was in some sort of open circular chamber that only had the futon he currently occupying and a few scattered chairs in it. The walls were painted a faded yellow, and from the few strange slit windows in the walls let in streams of soft morning sunlight.

For a moment he was lost in thought, thinking about what had happened. Though some parts of it were obscured and muffled, no doubt due to the influence of the Kyuubi chakra, some parts stood out starkly.

…staring up at the impaled figure of Jirobou, blood dripping down the chains onto his face…whirring chain links cutting into the exposed body of Kimimaro, agonized screams echoing in his ears…staring at the aftermath of his jutsu, looking blankly at the blob of pink flesh that was once a person…Rasengan whirring, drilling into the shoulder of Sasuke as he screamed…looking on, unbelieving, as Sasuke fell back, blood spewing from the stump of his arm… an inhuman face surrounded by a shock of white hair looming over him…

Shuddering, Naruto turned his head, his hair brushing against his strangely soft pillow as looked at the person currently running their hand through his hair, hoping for something to distract him. All thoughts of falling back asleep had faded by now. Even if it wasn't for the pain that permeated his body, he wasn't sure he would be able to face the nightmares if he fell asleep now.

Looking up, he found the still form of Mito, only the gentle rise and fall of her chest and the hand brushing his hair marring her perfect stillness. Mito was resting against the foot of an old battered wooden chair, her head flung back and holding Naruto's head in what Naruto suddenly realized was her lap. The mouth was slightly curved in a gentle smile and her eyes were slightly glazed. All in all, she looked to be at peace, far more than Naruto had ever seen her.

For a while, Naruto simply stared at the relaxed figure of Mito, basking in the contentment of the moment. Then the hand running furrows through his hair suddenly stopped, and Mito looked down into Naruto's eyes, a soft smile on her face. "Hello, there, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gently coughed to clear his throat. "Hello, Ghost Lady," he rasped, before giving the strange room an exaggerated glance. "Where are we?"

Mito's smile widened, looking somewhat between melancholy and deliriously happy. "Naruto-kun," she paused, gesturing widely with the hand not lying on his head, "welcome to Uzushiogakure."