Chapter 10: Healing the medic
Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. This sucks...
Quick note: I made Tsunade a bit of a bitch at first, but she will become her canon self later.
One moment, Shizune and Tsunade were looking at Tanzaku Castle, the next it was replaced with a pile of rubble with a snake resting on top of it. Atop the serpents head was a face Tsunade had never hoped to see again.
Tsunade had to hold back her bile. "Orochimaru..."
"Tsunade-hime, aren't medics supposed to be on hand to help the injured?" Orochimaru asked. He dismissed the snake and landed on the ground, a young man joining him. "Now don't glare like that, I just came to talk, maybe offer you something for medical care."
Tsunade noted all the man's symptoms instantly. Tired eyes that had taken on a greyish color, his skin had a sallow look to it, his body twitched in micro spasms and his stance spoke of great fatigue. She could sense his chakra, as twisted as it had always been, rising and falling at an erratic rate. His breathing was ragged and it seemed to keep hitching, almost like he was on the verge of having his lungs fail. She didn't know what had happened to him, but he obviously deserved it.
"I see you've noticed the signs. We need you," the young man said.
"I'm not a medic anymore..." Tsunade paused, letting the young man know that she wanted his name.
"Yakushi Kabuto, medic. And there is no one else in the world who can cure this," Kabuto persisted, "you are the most talented medic alive right now. Even I can't cure it and I'm talented. It must be you."
"I see no wounds and I know of no poison that can do this to a man. What happened to you?" Tsunade asked.
Orochimaru shifted his robe aside, allowing Tsunade to see the intricate marking on his chest, a mark that looked like Tama's unusual dōjutsu wrapped in chains. "I'm sure you know of this, considering you've seen it before."
Tsunade gasped. "That's Shiratama's Shikei! But how? Why?"
"Just from when I tried to add her and Sarutobi-sensei to my Legends of Konoha collection," Orochimaru said, "they even broke the rest of the set. For now."
"So you've been marked for death. A fitting punishment for a bastard that tries to destroy his home and teacher," Tsunade spat.
"Don't be like that, anything that is mortal is bound to be destroyed. You know this more than anyone since you lost everyone precious to you," Orochimaru taunted. He then remembered how the younger of the two died, being torn apart by Orochimaru himself while in search of Hashirama's Mokuton during a battle. Dan had just been for fun, though disguising himself as a foreign nin had cut into the fun a little. He loved that shocked recognition his victims showed, wondering why one of the Sannin was carving up an ally. "You couldn't find such beautiful, brutal deaths now. How unfortunate."
Shizune and Kabuto had a short duel with each other. Shizune and Kabuto each proved to be powerful.
"Shizune, don't do that again," Tsunade warned. The reason wasn't because she wanted to hear Orochimaru or Kabuto, it was because the young woman might just kill herself fighting these two. "Orochimaru, you're still a cold blooded bastard. I thought you were a genius."
BAM!
A large section of the wall came apart as if someone set off a focused explosion where Tsunade's fist was.
"Bring them up again and I'll reduce you to dust, saving Tama-chan the trouble of hunting your scaly ass down," Tsunade muttered dangerously.
'No wonder she never got married,' Kabuto thought as he remembered her information. "We are here to make a deal with you: medical treatment for a favor from Orochimaru-sama."
"The only thing I want from him is his bloody remains streaked from here to Kusa," Tsunade stated, "you have five seconds to get out of my sight before they need a shovel and a bag to clean you up."
Orochimaru was calm during the entire countdown as his assistant tried again and again to get the woman to calm down. He smirked when she reached one. "Edo Tensei. I'll use it to bring back Dan and Nawaki to you."
That stopped Tsunade.
"Do we have a deal?" the snake asked as his darkening tongue slid out in a serpentine fashion.
[Gambling Den, other side of Tanzaku Town]
"Yeah I know that sucker. Said she was going to a certain little shop to pay off her debt to us, surprised us when she came back with the proper amount too," one of the dealers said, "said she was going somewhere else before leaving town."
"Where?" Jiraiya asked.
The dealer smirked. "We don't deal in freebies here, though I did give you one. For this one, we bet. You win, my lips loosen. I win, your wallet empties. Deal?"
Jiraiya knew that he had a chance at winning, unlike Tsunade. Heck, he'd admit that he was a great gambler. "Fine then."
The man rattled the dice in his cup and slammed it down. "Even of odd?"
Being fifty, an even number, Jiraiya decided. "Even."
The man lifted the cup, revealing the dice to be odd. "Sorry bud, but you just lost."
"Damn!" Jiraiya grunted. He really needed to get to Tsunade before she skipped town. After leaving a town, it was like she bounced off these unseen bumpers and took a wild route to whatever town she got to in the end. In other words, he'd lose her trail for a month at least.
"Tell ya what, I'll give you a second chance," the dealer said, "this time, you lose ALL your money if I win. You win, you get the info, your money back and an extra thousand ryo for the road."
"Dammit!" Naruko growled as the ball in her hands exploded in a violent whirlwind. "I can't get this to work!"
Jiraiya's eye twitched because one of the exposed die had rolled over, making it even. 'Damn, why couldn't she screw up a few moments ago?' He sighed. "Fine, I agree."
The dealer had a smirk that sent a shiver down Jiraiya's spine. "Good. Hey brat!" he called.
Naruko looked over at the man. "Huh, me?"
"Yeah, come over here for a moment," the dealer called.
Naruko came over. "What is it?"
"This man here just lost all his money to me trying to learn something. I'm going to give you the chance to win it all back for him, just guess whether the dice are even or odd while I have them covered with this cup," the dealer said as he tossed the dice into the cup, rattled them around and slammed the cup onto the ground, "now, even or odd?"
Jiraiya was scared. With one word, Naruko could destroy Konoha for a while. But more importantly, she could ruin him and the Icha Icha series! His good looks would work on women, but men demanded a few ryo in their palms. Without his money, he'd never find Tsunade.
Naruko didn't even think. "What do you think it is?"
The dealer quirked his eye brow. This was a new one. "Hmm, I think its odd," he lied. Of course it was even. He had switched to a loaded set of dice. He was no idiot, of course he knew of Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Sannin, two people who had access to large sums of money. They HAD to lose at this game. One fair game, then the house would almost always win!
"I think its even then," Naruko stated, feeling that tingle from the man. She had a feeling that it was some sort of lie detecting power she had. By this time, Naruko had completely forgotten that she was a negative emotion detector, deceit being among those emotions.
The dealer unwillingly moved the cup, revealing the dice and their even number. "Fine, I'll tell you where she went," the dealer grumbled as he forked over the money he had taken from Jiraiya, in addition to the thousand ryo, "she went to this small casino place to cover her loses here." He then pointed it out on a map.
"Hey! I wanted to know where she went after she gave you the money to cover her debt!" Jiraiya shouted.
The dealer couldn't help but smile. "I never told you which location I would reveal, nor did you specify which one you wanted to know. We could bet on this new piece of information."
"No thanks!" Jiraiya said as he dragged Naruko out of the building. He'd learned his lesson for today.
Twenty minutes later, Jiraiya was talking to one of the many employees at the slots shop. Naruko took an interest in one of the machines after noticing a coin on the ground. After a few moments of looking at the machine, then she put the money in the slot and pulled down the arm.
"So she and her companion decided to go to-" Jiraiya started.
A tinkering song hit his ears and then three dongs. After a moment of pitying the poor loser, he heard the telltale song of a jackpot. He whipped around and saw Naruko staring at the quickly filling tray.
"Tanzaku Castle..." Jiraiya finished. 'Damn! Tsunade would love this kid.'
Ten minutes later, Naruko was hugging Gama-chan and her brand new fox shaped wallet, dubbed Yui-chan. "You two look so cute when filled with ryo," she crowed.
'Got to keep her away from gambling. She's Tsunade's polar opposite. The Legendary Drainer, Uzumaki Naruko!' Jiraiya thought as he remembered a younger, flatter Tsunade. At least Naruko had breasts, though they were small. "Tanzaku Castle isn't too far from here, for ninja, let's get a move on," Jiraiya said. Naruko put her wallets away and followed Jiraiya.
When they got there, Naruko pointed out the painfully obvious. "Where is this Tanzaku castle?"
Jiraiya didn't waste any time and made his way up the path with Naruko in tow. Sadly, they found the ruined castle and a ruined wall. They learned of a massive snake destroying the place, but heard nothing of a blond woman leaving the scene.
"Damn! All this frustration has me wanting to do a quick bit of research!" Jiraya groaned as they made their way back to town.
"Now! But aren't we supposed to go look for Tsunade?" Naruko shouted.
"Quiet down a little runt. After running into Orochimaru and going nuts like that, she'll want to get hammered. After getting hammered, she'll sleep for about sixteen hours. After that, she'll go blow all her cash on slots and dice. We got time," Jiraiya said, then his face switched to a far more perverted one, "and this would be a great time for me to teach you some things you should already know about."
"I don't need to know anything perverted," Naruko growled.
"Who said it's perverted? Do you know anything about women?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruko looked away. "I know enough..."
Jiraiya laughed. "Nothing beats a pure, innocent, lesbian pervert. C'mon, I'll teach you some things that you do need to know if you want to ever make that Sakura girl happy."
[Fifteen minutes later, a hot spring]
Naruko was in heaven. Well, an inch wood separated her from a promised land she could legally enter, but this was better than being there herself. The little hole that showed her this paradise was one Jiraiya had used chakra to make, just for her.
"Look at that blond's legs," Jiraiya hissed, "they go on and on!"
"G-Girl with black hair... look at those hips!" Naruko hissed back.
Jiraiya spotted the girl. "Good eye. I'll make sure to show you my special map later, the one that displays all the holes in walls and fences where women are naked."
Naruko almost drooled, imagining what she could see if Sakura happened to be in one of those places. It was then that she spotted another woman. "Two o'clock. That brunette with short hair looks amazing!"
Jiraiya looked around until his eyes found the woman in question, then he felt his heart skip a beat. "T-t-that's...Shizune!"
"Huh?" Naruko asked.
BOOM!
The world wildly spun as Naruko and a piece of fence briefly became airborne. Naruko grabbed the fence and stuck her feet to it with chakra, righting herself, landing and riding the fence piece along the top of the rather expansive bath.
"Ride that wave!" a sporty, tanned girl cheered.
Naruko swayed herself and the fence, making it turn on the water so she was facing the person who struck the fence.
"Trying to corrupt a young girl now? That's a new level of perversion even for you, Jiraiya," a blond woman growled at the quivering red and white blob that was Jiraiya.
"Hey!" Naruko shouted as she stepped onto the water, "don't go beating up on Ero-sennin. I need him to help me finish learning a jutsu!"
The woman glared down at Jiraiya. "It better not be that Tōton jutsu..." She looked at Naruko for an answer since Jiraiya was in no state to answer.
"It's spiny and round... Wait, I don't even know what the jutsu is called!" Naruko shouted, just realizing that.
'The rasengan?' Tsunade thought in alarm. "You two are coming with me. Shizune! Get out of there and meet us at the bar!" Tsunade ordered as she grabbed the quivering mess that was her former teammate and dragged him away.
[Another fifteen minutes later. A nearby bar]
Jiraiya and Naruko sat quietly as Tsunade worked on her third bottle of sake. Her third!
Tsunade put the glass down. "First Orochimaru, now you. Feels like a damn reunion or something."
Jiraiya decided it was safe to speak. "Did he say anything?"
Tsunade shot a look at Shizune. "No, nothing at all."
Naruko felt that sensation for the woman and knew that she was lying. It didn't sit well with her, a lying Hokage...
"I won't beat around the bush. We were sent by Sarutobi-sensei to ask you to become the Godaime Hokage," Jiraiya suddenly said.
Naruko almost choked on her food, which was bad because it was so good. She quickly leveled her throat out and drank a glass of water to force the food down as she swallowed. This was the first time she heard of this!
"So Orochimaru really did attack Konoha..." Tsunade muttered.
"That son of a bitch almost killed Tama and the old man! I don't care if he was a Sannin, I'll make sure he pays for every life that attack took!" Naruko shouted.
"Who is the loud mouthed pervert girl?" Tsunade asked.
Jiraiya quickly looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention. "Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko Kyūbi," he quickly whispered, making Shizune look at the girl in alarm.
Tsunade was confused. "What's with that name? And that last part..."
Naruko was pissed off, but leaned in so she could be heard while whispering. "I'm Tsurenai's daughter, the Sanban Kyūbi and the empress of all foxes."
'A bijū without a host, isn't that dangerous?' Tsunade thought.
"Why the hell is a gambling addicted drunk like her becoming Hokage? Kakashi-sensei would make a better Hokage and he's late for everything!" Naruko shouted.
Jiraiya shoved some food in Naruko's mouth to keep her quiet for a few moments. "Do you accept Sensei's nomination?" he asked his former teammate.
Tsunade thought hard and came up with her answer. "No, I can't ever become Hokage."
"So formal, just like when you turned down all my dates," Jiraiya said.
Naruko finally swallowed the food that had been put in her mouth. "Then at least come back and heal Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei!"
"Calm down. Even if she says no now, she'll come around. Tsunade's the only person who can become Hokage," Jiraiya said.
"This 'girl' your apprentice?" Tsunade asked. She made it no secret that she believed the bijū to be what the history books painted them to be: demons out for wanton destruction. Even if her grandfather had told her differently, he had no proof to back up his claims. History labeled the Kyūbi as a terrible beast that lived for blood and destruction, so this girl was a danger.
Jiraiya caught that little bit in Tsunade's question, but ignored it. "Yeah, sort of."
"Funny, I thought I'd never see a 'girl' who was ruder, cruder, more perverted, weaker, dumber and with even less skill than you. Minato was much, much better," Tsunade said.
"That's harsh, for both of us. And nobody can compare to Minato. That kind of shinobi only comes along once each century," Jiraiya said.
"Handsome, smart, intelligent and strong, all those words fit the Yondaime perfectly," Tsunade said, "but he died young, all for a village, all because he was a Hokage." She looked at the two who had come to find her. "Betting your life isn't like betting money. You can get money to replace what you lost, but you can't get a new life after losing your own. My grandfather and his brother both tried to bring peace to Konoha, only to die like a pair of fools following a fleeting dream."
"I think it's time to stop drinking," Jiraiya tried.
"It isn't the sake talking, it's the wisdom that comes with fifty years of life. Sensei is older than me, but he also kept chasing the same dream, and it nearly cost him and Shiratama their lives. How many died in the attack? He should have just had someone else take over a few years ago. Then again, anyone who becomes Hokage is destined for death, because it means you have chosen to die for stupidity," Tsunade stated.
Naruko got up on the table, scattering everything all over the place, as Jiraiya shot to his feet.
"Take it back!" Jiraiya shouted. Nobody insulted Sarutobi-sensei like that.
Naruko was far more direct.
She sucker punched Tsunade in the face.
Shizune didn't even get a chance to move as her mentor fell onto her from the blow. Her, Tsunade and the pig all fell into a heap on the floor.
Naruko glared down at the woman as her eyes shifted to the slitted eyes the Kyūbi should have, chakra rising in response to her anger. "Anyone who insults any Hokage, or the title of Hokage, will get their asses kicked by me!" she shouted, making the entire structure rattle. Shizune noticed that the girl's canines and nails had lengthened slightly, making her more feral looking.
"Holy shit! Earthquake?" a customer gasped as he got up.
"Did that girl just hit that woman?" another asked.
Jiraiya decided to drag everyone outside before it got too bad. Tsunade, surprisingly, gave very little resistance. Jiraiya made sure to leave some money before he took off.
Once outside, he tossed Naruko and Tsunade a small distance away from each other.
"You little monster," Tsunade spat as she got up, healing her slightly swollen cheek, "you think you can just hit me and get away with it?"
"Thanks for the compliment, old hag!" Naruko growled back, "I'll kick your ass, tie you up and drag you back to Konoha to heal my sensei and teammate, then I'll toss you out so you go on your drunken bullshit parade."
"Drunken bullshit parade? What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.
"You're a liar and you know it. Even if you badmouthed the past Hokage, you were lying through your teeth. I don't know why you did it, but I'm going to beat the answer out of you," Naruko said.
Tsunade was starting to get pissed off with all the 'old hag' insults being spewed at her. "Even if you are a bijū, I'll kick YOUR ass with just one finger," Tsunade boasted.
"You need a foot to kick, senile old hag!" Naruko roared as she rushed forward, throwing shuriken forward.
Tsunade saw the blade and dodged it with ease, then stepped back as Naruko's claw punched through the air. Tsunade went to grab it, but Naruko twisted around and kicked Tsunade's ankle. With the woman off balance, Naruko shot a claw towards the woman's face again.
Tsunade's hand rested on Naruko's head, stopping the girl with greater reach. "You lose," Tsunade said, then flicked her finger into the girl's head, sending her flying back while her forehead protector bounced along the ground.
Naruko crashed into a small cart, plowing through it and stopping a good five feet away from it.
Jiraiya stared at Naruko, not seeing the girl get up from the blow. "Tsunade! I think you went too hard on her!"
"It's her own fault for being so damn weak with such a huge, impossible dream like being Hokage," Tsunade grunted.
Naruko twitched, then dragged her claws through the dirt as she got up. "I'm not done yet," the girl said as she got up, blood dripping down from her head wound, forcing one eye shut to protect it.
"She revived. Could it have something to do with me saying Hokage?" Tsunade mused to herself, "hey demon! Why do you like that word so much?"
"Because I will become Hokage," Naruko growled, reminding Tsunade of her lost loved ones. When Naruko saw the woman off balance, she focused her chakra, feeling the power she should have within her. It was becoming easier and easier to use her true power now. As Naruko was now, she knew she could do it.
When Tsunade came out of her little trance, she was shocked to see the girl coming at her with mostly stable, blood red rasengan. 'What? How long has Jiraiya been training her?' Tsunade thought in shock as the girl rushed her. Knowing how dangerously powerful the jutsu was in the hands of a human, Tsunade quickly jumped out of the way as Naruko's incomplete rasengan stuck the ground, tearing it apart with a less than average, but still impressive, crater of twisted earth. The backlash from the unstable jutsu blasted Naruko back, sending her skidding across the ground. Shizune went to make sure the girl was alright as Tsunade landed on a low roof.
"So you really were teaching her the rasengan! What a waste," Tsunade shouted to her perverted ex-teammate, "the only people who should use that jutsu are you and the Yondaime, not some little monster girl. Nobody can learn it, so don't go teaching impossible things. She can never become Hokage and she needs to get that little fact into her brain before it's too late."
Naruko growled and vanished in a blur of black and red.
"Hiraishin!" Tsunade squeaked, then found herself shoved off the rooftop she had been standing on.
"Three days. Give me three days and I'll master this rasen...whatever!" Naruko shouted from the spot Tsunade had occupied a moment before.
"Don't go throwing around promises that you can't keep," Tsunade warned as she stood up.
Naruko looked straight down at the woman. "If I promise something, I'll make it happen. It doesn't matter if I'm the Kyūbi, an empress or anything. I don't promise the impossible."
"Fine then, I accept your little challenge. Of course, I'll give you a week to master it. You show me a completed rasengan and I'll not only say that you COULD become a Hokage, I'll also give you this necklace," Tsunade offered as she tugged on the necklace she thought had killed her brother and lover.
"It looks like a piece of junk," Naruko muttered.
"That necklace is damn expensive. You could buy three mountains and still be rolling in ryo," Jiraiya stated.
"Who'd want to buy a mountain, and how much do they cost anyway?" Naruko asked. Wait, as the empress of the foxes, didn't she already own land and lots of money? She never thought to ask Tama if she had an inheritance!
"If you don't master the rasengan, all this is mine," Tsunade said as she hefted Yui-chan and Gama-chan.
"WHEN!" Naruko wailed. Did all Sannin techniques have some sort of wallet attraction ability?
Naruko spent her time wallowing in pity as Jiraiya asked Tsunade out to drink in spite of the woman obviously having enough for one day. Shizune offered to take Naruko to a hotel, seeing as how all the money the girl had was currently in Tsunade's possession.
[Hotel, Shizune and Naruko's room]
Rather than get the girl a room of her own and leave her alone, Shizune decided to share a two bed room with her for various reasons. One of them was medical treatment.
"Sit still Naruko-chan," Shizune said as she pulled a few splinters out of the girl's arm with her healing jutsu. Much of the girl's injuries had long since healed, but it seemed a few were persistent.
Naruko watched as the wood came free with very little pain and the wounds sealing themselves after ward in the green light. "That's cool," Naruko muttered as Shizune quickly removed all the splinters from her right arm.
"Thank you," the black haired woman said with a smile. She was skilled, but nowhere near as skilled as Tsunade was. It had something to do with her being better at traditional ninjutsu rather than genjutsu, which she was okay at. Luckily, her talents allowed her to make a few unique jutsu. Shizune fixed Naruko left arm up and moved to the right.
Naruko looked down at the ground as she was healed. "Does she hate me?"
Shizune was so shocked at the sudden question that she accidentally started to seal a wound over a splinter, though she quickly fixed her mistake. "I don't really think so. If Tsunade-sama wanted to, she could have buried you fifty feet under the ground with that blow." When she finished with the arm, she stopped. "Tsunade-sama believes the history books since they can be proven true and all history books paint the Kyūbi as a monster out for the thrill of the hunt."
"That was...Kurama-jiji..." Naruko said.
"Kurama...jiji?" Shizune asked. It sounded kinda funny.
"The Ichiban Kyūbi, my grandfather Kurama," Naruko explained, "all those stories came from a power he had, the Devolved State, an ability that made him powerful at the cost of sanity."
Shizune felt a little bad for her master's actions. "I didn't know. If everyone knew, maybe they wouldn't hate you so much," Shizune offered.
Naruko hid her eyes behind her bangs. "No, they'd hate me more since I have the same power." She let Shizune think for a few moments before continuing. "I never knew him, but I think he hated the power almost as much as I do. But he used it because he knew that, in spite of the dangers, he might be able to control it enough to protect what mattered to him."
Shizune now knew that the girl was the sort of person she needed to talk to. In spite of the incredible power the girl could wield, it seemed that she was willing to seal it all away until she needed it to protect what was important to her. Most people who had her power would do what Orochimaru did and try to get back at those who wronged them.
"Naruko-chan, I wanted to talk to you about the bet..." Shizune began.
"What about it?" Naruko asked. She needed to find a new training spot so she could master the ra-ra...Rans whatever it was!
Shizune swallowed hard. "It's about Tsunade-sama and the necklace."
"I don't care about that stupid necklace or that stupid old hag," Naruko pouted.
"Don't talk about her that way! You know nothing at all!" Shizune shouted, then realized she was out of line, "Sorry, it's just that she's been like this ever since she lost everything."
Naruko growled, a deep noise that actually scared Shizune a bit. "She lost everything and she's acting like a bitch because of that?"
Shizune was shocked. "Wh-what?" Could she have been wrong about Naruko?
Naruko opened the window and stepped out slightly. "I never had anything, still have nothing, and I never once tried to run away."
"But you're the Kyūbi! You said you were an empress!" Shizune protested.
"So what? I know two kitsune who are loyal to me, but that doesn't change anything at all. I live in a broken down apartment, eat nearly stale food every day unless someone else brings me good food or I eat out at the only store in Konoha that will give me anything. I have virtually no friends and more enemies than most Kage could boast." Naruko looked back at the woman. "I hate it when people think that having nothing to lose is better than losing something. They don't know anything at all." Naruko jumped out onto the awning.
"Where are you going?" Shizune asked.
"To master the...whatever that jutsu is called," Naruko stated.
"But the necklace! If you take it, you'll die!" Shizune shouted.
"What? She trying to kill me with a poisoned necklace or something?" Naruko asked.
Shizune shook her head. "Ever since Tsunade put that necklace on, it hasn't acknowledged anyone else as its owner. Everyone else who has worn that necklace, her little brother Nawaki, my uncle and her lover Dan, all of them have died and it returned as the only thing unscathed."
"Then I guess it's alright if I take it, since I'm not going to die before I become Hokage," Naruko said, then left.
The next six days were a blur for everyone. Shizune spent each night worrying that Naruko had somehow killed herself. She knew her master was alright since she was either out with Jiraiya. gambling or secretly spying on Naruko's training. Jiraiya was Jiraiya, so he was okay.
On her little training ground, Naruko knew she was forcing herself too hard. Several trees were shattered beyond recognition and even more rocks had steadily been broken down to rubble, but the rasengan was still falling apart just before she landed the blow. She just couldn't produce all that power and keep it together without the pain interfering.
"Need to find a way to..." Naruko groaned, tried to mold her chakra and fell to the ground, passing out from extreme strain. Shizune found her a few minutes later, the damaged area almost as shocking as the panting, battered girl who lay in the center of it. She quickly took the girl away to the hotel room where Tsunade informed her that the kitsune would be asleep for a whole day at least.
"Never seen anyone burn skin that badly through training with a jutsu..." Shizune muttered.
Tsunade was hating herself right now for putting the girl through all this. Even if she wasn't human, nobody should have to destroy themselves because of another person's wishes.
"Don't heal Orochimaru," Shizune pleaded. When Tsunade was silent, she quickly approached the woman. "Promise me that you won't do it!"
"And if I don't?" Tsunade asked without looking at the younger woman.
"I'll keep you in this room," Shizune threatened as she got ready to fight.
Tsunade practically blurred past her student. "You forgot who I am."
Shizune fell to the ground.
[Day 7]
"Wake up!"
Shizune came to and saw a completely healed Naruko standing over her. She remembered how Naruko would be asleep for at least a day and panicked. "What day is today!"
"Uh, the day I get that junky necklace from the old hag," Naruko said.
"You're...healed?" Shizune asked, not believing that it had only been a few hours.
"I'm a bijū! I'm shocked I can even get hurt or worn out!" Naruko cheered. "By the way, where's that old hag? I need to show her that the mastered jutsu...just as soon as I master it. Just a little more and I'll have it!"
Shizune threw open the window. "Stay here while I go to Tsunade-sama!" Shizune warned as she moved forward.
CLONK!
Shizune fell back into the room, holding her head. "OW!" she grunted, "feels like I hit a wall..."
"Sorry my head is so hard!" Jiraiya shouted as he peeked around the edge of the window. He then winced and gripped his head again.
A few minutes later, Naruko's opinion of the man had fallen further. "She drugged you? What makes you a Sannin again?"
"Shut it you tailless fox brat," Jiraiya growled, "but damn, this one is good. Can't mold chakra properly or even move right. Feels like I'm a civilian or something." He looked to Shizune. "Got an antidote I can use or something?"
Shizune shook her head. "If you couldn't detect it, then it's far beyond my skills."
"What the hell is the deal with Tsunade and Orochimaru anyway? I think we need to know," Jiraiya said as he stared at the woman.
"We don't have time, I'll tell you on the way!" Shizune said. She called on Tsunade's pig, Tonton, and the three ninja plus pig made their way to the meeting spot.
[Fifteen minutes later]
Just as Kabuto was about to spill her blood all over, three ninja appeared before her in an overly dramatic cloud of expended chakra.
"Jiraiya, not so good to see you," Orochimaru greeted in his own fashion.
"I could have done without seeing those insane eyes," Jiraiya shot back.
"Kabuto?" Naruko gasped when she saw Tsunade's opponent. She quickly noticed his forehead protector, now adorned with the musical note of Oto. "So you're a traitor!"
"Wrong Naruko-kun, I was never once loyal to Konoha," Kabuto stated.
"Move aside!" Tsunade shouted as she knocked Jiraiya over, only to stop when Kabuto cut himself, splashing blood all over the woman.
"Finally back to normal," Kabuto mused, then socked Tsunade in the face. He then smirked as he stared down at his favorite toy. "Naruko-kun, you are not suited to being a shinobi. Sasuke-kun, your 'rival' is far more suited to being both a shinobi and Hokage."
"What?" Naruko growled as she barred her teeth.
"Scary look, but it isn't enough. Without that monster inside of you, you'd be nothing more than a mediocre ninja, at best. Even with the Kyūbi inside you, the Sannin far outstrip you in every category. The only interest I have in you right now is the pained face you will make when you realize your own weakness," Kabuto stated with a calm voice that dripped of malice. "Let me give you a fair warning: I'm serious right now, so you even moving might make me kill you."
Naruko's better judgment was somewhere else at the moment, so she tore forward with her fist held back. Kabuto merely drove a kick into her shoulder to spin her, then kicked her in the small of her back to send her away. Shizune, having attended to her master, went over to Naruko in the guise of healing her, but spat poisoned needles at Kabuto's face. Even at a disadvantage, he still managed to deflect them with his forehead protector. He then retreated to Orochimaru's side and stopped his bleeding wound.
"Shizune, take care of the nerd while I behead the snake," Jiraiya ordered, "while I'm here, can you get Tsunade to do something about this drug?"
Shizune looked back at her unresponsive mentor. "She's in no state to do anything right now."
"Guess both me or Orochimaru are going to start our retirement home battle early. Naruko, protect the princess and her pig," Jiraiya said.
"I can fight," Naruko growled back.
"You heard the bookworm, you're unable to fight anyone here. Face it, this battle is way over your head," Jiraiya said, "trust me, protecting Tsunade is the most important thing right now, so you are doing what's right."
Naruko grumbled, hating how right Jiraiya was.
The battle between the Toad and Snake would have been epic, had Jiraiya not summoned Gamakichi instead of Gamabunta.
Naruko decided to back up Jiraiya by trying her hand at summoning the great toad, but she produced nothing, not even a cloud of chakra. As she wondered what was going on, a stinging pain bit into her neck. She reached back and felt warm, wet liquid. She brought her hand to her face and saw blood.
Jiraiya had seen the girl's failed summoning and was now worried. Since Naruko had, for lack of a better term, forced the curse seal into a type of dormancy, no external seal had been put over it. If the seal was somehow strengthening due to being so close to Orochimaru, Naruko might run the risk of being consumed by the seal or even killed by it.
The group looked up and moved in time to avoid Orochimaru's two headed snake's attack. Naruko lost sight of Jiraiya and was shocked when a swamp started to suck up the snake. Sadly, the snake managed to catch Naruko in one of its mouths. She got free and landed on the ground, only for the snake to briefly land on her. It lifted itself off, leaving Naruko's injured form on the ground.
When Naruko came to a few moments later, she saw that Kabuto was trying to get at a frightened Tsunade. In spite of her injuries, Naruko got to her feet and took the blow meant for Tsunade to her forehead.
"That's twice someone had bloodied my forehead," Naruko growled, "now I'm going to break you!" She started to form the rasengan, one that was almost perfectly focused. The crimson ball went forward, but Kabuto dodged it and struck the girl's leg, cutting the bone with his scalpels.
"Even with such a jutsu, you can't defeat me. Don't even think of moving again, you'll just crack the bone," Kabuto warned.
"You..." Naruko groaned.
Kabuto pulled out one of his infernal ninja cards. "Naruko-kun, while you lack the talent, your personality and spirit are more than suited to being a Hokage. Interestingly enough, this is the one of only two categories in which you excel while Sasuke-kun miserably fails. Sadly, running now would rob you of your chances at becoming Hokage, staying will end your life. Either way, this is the end."
"I choose to kick you ass," Naruko stated as she forced herself onto both feet. Her leg was hurting like no tomorrow.
Kabuto smacked the girl away, making sure to hit her heart so the Kyūbi couldn't heal the wounds he had already dealt to the girl. If she tried anything about a C-rank jutsu, it would be the end of her.
Once more, Naruko got to her feet. "Hey, give me that stupid murdering necklace of yours when I beat this four eyes. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" A second Naruko appeared next to the original, setting off Kabuto's trap.
"How unfortunate, now I'll have to kill you!" Kabuto shouted a little too gleefully as he pulled out a kunai. He did enjoy killing.
Tsunade kept yelling at Naruko, but she ignored it until she heard a certain set of words.
"Naruko! I'm sorry about what I said! You're not a monster!"
Naruko swung her hand down, impaling it on Kabuto's kunai. "Let's see you run from this, the future Hokage's newest jutsu," Naruko boasted as the clone started to help her form the jutsu, making a perfect.
"RASENGAN!" Naruko roared as she pushed the red ball of chakra forward.
Even if it was perfect, Naruko forgot two things about Kabuto. One, he was older and far more experienced. Two, he wasn't being held down at all.
Kabuto released his weapon and slid around the ball of chakra. He did not want to get hit by that attack. With half of her support gone and the damaged bone in her leg snapping, Naruko's rasengan hit the ground and tore a large, spiral shaped crater in the ground. Naruko was almost in the dead center of it. This blast had caught Kabuto and tossed him a little, but the damage he suffered was minimal.
"A direct contact jutsu, and a powerful one too. I doubt even my regenerative ability would have done much for such a blow," Kabuto admitted.
"Regenerative ability?" Tsunade shouted.
Kabuto smirked. "I didn't get to be Orochimaru-sama's assistant because of my medical skill, information gathering ability or my extensive knowledge of jutsu, it was my ability to heal from almost any injury I suffer."
Naruko stared at the ground, at her still punctured hand. Why was it that she always failed? Every single time this happened, she felt her chances of becoming Hokage slip further and further away. At this rate, she'd never become Hokage. In spite of what she had been warned about, Naruko felt rage burning inside of her. Rather than let it keep building and building, risking the release of the terrible power her title had been branded with, Naruko decided that fighting as a human was getting her nowhere. It was time to fight a human foe with inhuman power. She would use the rage as power to defeat Kabuto.
As the Kyūbi!
"I'd like to see you dodge my next jutsu," Naruko said in a low tone as she ripped the blade out of her hand.
That caught Kabuto's attention. "Oh! You have another jutsu? Whatever could it be?" he taunted.
Naruko grinned, showing off her canines. "I'm going to scream at you and send you flying."
Kabuto didn't know whether to laugh at the girl or let her 'attack' him and fail. He opted to let her try, foil her attack and then mentally break her. "Try your best, Naruko-kun." he challenged.
Naruko started to focus her chakra when she felt a familiar feeling. 'He's never going to stop feeling this,' Naruko thought as the chakra networks started to form. She didn't know what kind of damage her sonic roar could do to a person, but she was about to find out.
Orochimaru had taken an interest in the fight down below. What had caught his interest was the Yondaime's jutsu, one he wanted to copy using Sasuke's sharingan later. When he saw those strange chakra tails form, he became worried. His worry turned into abstract fear when the tips all gathered in front of the girl's open mouth, tiny sparks of white and black light gathering there.
'It can't be!' he thought in shock as he remembered one briefing during his time with Akatsuki. He extended his tongue to wrap around Jiraiya's leg, throwing him into the ground, then launched himself at the ground near his pupil.
The ball of power Naruko unknowingly created shrunk down into a tiny speck of black light that went down her throat. 'Ack! What did I just swallow, a fly? I'm a kitsune, not a toad. Better cough it out or something,' Naruko thought. After the fly buzzed away, she'd send Kabuto flying!
"Kuchiyose: Rashōmon!" Orochimaru shouted.
Everyone's hearing was filled with the sound of a dull, thunderous explosion. A moment after the first blast, the sound of metal taking a very heavy blow hit their ringing ears, quickly followed by the sound of metal snapping apart. To make matters worse, a massive cloud of smoke filled the area, part of it going much further than the main cloud.
Jiraiya pried himself out of the ground and saw the cloud. He quickly made his way over and into the smoke. "Tsunade! Naruko! Shizune!" he shouted.
The cloud started to clear and he found Tsunade leaning over barely conscious Naruko, who was leaking bloody red chakra from her body.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
Tsunade was so shocked that she told the truth. "I don't know, I found her like this!"
"Damn you, Kyūbi brat!"
The two turned to see a strange, demonic gate that was leaning very badly to one side, one of the doors nearly ripped off its hinges and badly warped. On the other side of said gate, near a pulverized boulder was Orochimaru and his rather battered partner.
"Wh-what was that? It's not on her card..." Kabuto croaked around the blood pooling in his throat. Nothing more than a shock wave had hit him, but it was far stronger than he could have imagined a mistake ninja like Naruko producing. It would take a while to heal this without proper medical attention and his personally made medicines.
"That was a Bijūdama, the strongest technique a jinchūriki can use," Orochimaru said. What bothered him was that Naruko had used the technique without assuming the Kyūbi's form. Using a bijūdama without that form should be impossible. Summoning that gate had taken a considerable amount of his fading strength. But he wasn't the type to run away like this. He took some blood and smeared it on the seal.
"Time to get serious, eh?" Jiraiya smirked as he went through the seals.
Tsunade took some of the blood off the corner of her mouth from when Kabuto had punched her. "Today is the last day three Sannin stand."
Naruko was awake long enough to see a large slug, Gamabunta and a huge serpent appear. Each animal had a Sannin on its head. Then there was blackness.
[Unknown amount of time later]
"Ugh..." Naruko rolled over, trying to get rid of the sick feeling in her guts.
"Naruko-chan?"
The girl in question cracked open and eye and saw Shizune. "Yes?"
Shizune quickly left the room and came back with Jiraiya and Tsunade a few moments later.
"Naruko, glad to see that you're back with us," Tsunade said with a gentle, motherly-like smile on her face.
"Huh? How long was I out?" the kitsune asked. Couldn't have been that long.
"Two days," Jiraiya stated, then had a perverted grin plastered on his face, "you kept calling out to 'Sakura-chan' the whole time."
Tsunade drove a weak (by her standards) punch into Jiraiya's stomach, forcing the man to double over in pain. "She didn't do anything like that. Seriously, you were bawling like a baby at first and then you turn around and embarrass her the moment she wakes up. Grow up a little."
Naruko started to get up and realized that she didn't have her dress on. "Where's my clothing?"
Shizune coughed and looked away with a blush. "They kinda...burned away while you were healing..."
Naruko raised a rust colored eye brow. "Burned away?"
"I guess your body's healing chakra is too hot for normal clothes. They literally did burn when chakra was coming from your body to heal all those wounds Kabuto dealt to you," Tsunade explained. She even lifted up the charred outfit and weights, showing that she had a hole in the chest and the weights were partially melted. "Would have been bad if I didn't find those weights when I did.
Naruko got up and went over to her bag. She leaned over it to fish out another dress when something hit her chin. "Huh? What's this?" She stood up and looked in the mirror.
First thing that she noticed was that she was a little taller than before, noticeably taller. Her face was also a bit thinner, her body seemingly more matured. Her hair was also a bit longer and had a slightly more shaggy look to it. Her eyes were sharper, her pupils slightly slitted now. She opened her mouth and went to pull her lip away to see her teeth, but she noticed that her nail's end had taken on a rather sharp edge. When she did look at her teeth, her canines were more pronounced. Overall, she had grown more beautiful and feral all at once.
WHAT? There she went, going all girly on herself again! This seriously needed to stop!
"Like it?" Tsunade asked as she stood behind the girl.
Naruko flinched, then saw what had hit her chin. It was Tsunade's cursed necklace. "Why do I have it?"
Tsunade laughed. "Remember? You had to show me a completed Rasengan on the seventh day, which you did. You win." She put Naruko's wallets down before the girl.
Naruko looked down at the wallets, two animals that sort of defined her now. Toad and fox, an odd combination.
"You need to get dressed. Standing around in your underwear when an admitted pervert is around isn't the best way to start the day," Tsunade said as she shot a pointed look at Jiraiya, who had recovered in time to see Tsunade step up behind the girl and give him a new idea for his books.
"Right," Naruko said, then reached into her bag. "Ah. Maybe I should try this!"
It was one of the jumpsuits that Guy had given her.
"NO!" all three senior ninja shouted.
Naruko pouted. "Kyuu..." she cutely growled as she got a spare dress out.
That didn't escape the notice of the older ninja, nor did her rapid growth. Naruko was changing, though was it into the Kyūbi no Yōko or Orochimaru's next puppet. Only time would tell.
A/N~
Wow, I got flamed good by someone last chapter and the chapter before. Considering how much of what they complained about was canon, I find the first one's complaints hilarious since they're probably all caught up on the manga and anxiously waiting for the next chapter. Oh well, if you decide to quit because one chapter doesn't agree with you or is sub par, have it your way. Some of my favorite manga and fanfics have chapters I think the story would be better off without, but that didn't stop me from reading.
Like I said before, this fic isn't wholly my own creation. It is a fic meant to exploit the potential (Naruko/Sakura/Ino) another story had, but wasn't fully utilized because of a girlfriend and her slapping the back of the writer's head. Of course, this fic is slowly becoming my own creation. I do agree that chapter 8 was lack luster. Hope this chapter made up for it.
Just like with KTD (I'm rewriting chapter 23 in case anyone was wondering) I'll throw in a crack pairing omake. It pokes fun at the whole 'Naruto turns into a girl and suddenly falls for Sasuke' BS people seem to love. It also pokes fun at the Uchiha Fan Club's general beliefs. Turn away if you can't stomach it long enough to get to the comedy. Writing these things, I noticed I have a talent for writing pairings I despise.
I'm using Oiroke Naruko for this one, since I don't want to dirty my version of Naruko.
Omake~
NarukoXSasuke!
As if suddenly turning into a girl wasn't bad enough, why did Sasuke have to suddenly look so damn hot! For some reason, everything Sakura and Ino said made sense now. He was cool, strong, rich and handsome.
"Damn..." she groaned as she hid behind the tree while staring at the guy who suddenly wasn't a rival anymore. She did want him on the ground, but not from her beating him.
"I know you're back there Dobette," Sasuke said, "come out and we can spar, though we both know I'll win in the end."
She may, for some twisted reason, like him a bit now, but she didn't like challenges like that. "I'll kick your ass!"
The fight started off roughly even, then Sasuke turned around and quickly started to defeat Naruko's every tactic. He then turned around and tripped her to the ground.
Before Naruko could get up, Sasuke pinned her arms to the ground. "What do I get for winning?"
The pigtailed blond gulped. She didn't dare say what she wanted.
Sasuke smirked. "Not offering anything? Guess I'll just take what I want then."
Sasuke released one of Naruko's wrists and gently cupped her cheek, then leaned down to her lips.
[Konoha Hospital]
"Ugh..No! Stop!" Sasuke groaned as he started to weakly thrash around in his bed.
"What's the matter?" a nurse asked the attending physician.
"I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure he's having a traumatic nightmare," the man stated.
Jutsu Index-
Bijūdama [Tailed Beast Ball] – The pinnacle of a bijū's power. By combining the positive black chakra and the negative white chakra in an 8:2 ratio, a ball of highly destructive power is created. At this point, it can be fired as a round of power that detonates like a bomb or it can be swallowed to spit up as a beam of equally destructive, piercing chakra. Minato Namikaze based the Rasengan off this technique.
Responses-
Sky Zephyrus: I was aiming for red hot goddess, but hot terminatrix works too. Like I said before, Majesty State, or Majesty Mode as it will come to be called, is far too powerful for Part I.
Yeah, Naruko indirectly said Tenten got none, which I find to be true in canon. Just like Haku could easily be mistaken for a girl, Tenten can easily be mistaken for a boy. Confession; I thought that Team Guy was the first all male genin team at first.
I'll try for more omakes, but the space for them is getting smaller and smaller. Maybe I'll make them like the last few or something. The two in this fic were just for fun! Tiny ideas too small for a one-shot, but good enough as an omake.
Irish Shift: Here it is.
harlequin320: Glad you like it. Here's the new chapter.
gaara king of the sand: Naruko always has bijū chakra because she's a bijū. Thanks for pointing out that I've never explained what color her chakra was since the henge/seal release, though she never had anything other than her States to display it. As I pointed out in this chapter, the chakra is bright red now.
ShadowCub: You must remember four things about Naruto(ko).
1: He/she knows people can change.
2: He/she already bears an incredible burden. A heap of hatred is nothing.
3: He/she IS insane and stupid. (they have a talking fox and a Dark Side in them, isn't that insanity in itself?)
4: He/she is a masochist. (since he/she loves Sakura in spite of the beatings)
With this knowledge in mind, the mentality of our hero(ine) makes sense, in a twisted way. Well, my Naruko doesn't have a demon fox inside her because she is the demon fox, but it still applies to her.
While I do say all this, that mentality does bother me too. This issue will be thrown in Naruto's face in Part 2 of KTD.
SonicFan12: Seems like she got it the other way around.
SuperNeos2: You forgot about the Tailed Beast Ball.
DarkLordK: ...Pervert...
Wirdo: Naruko didn't fully understand what a bijū was. She didn't know how her and Shukaku were related other than by a word. She also wondered why Akatsuki would want demons when they are supposedly the most powerful criminal organization in the world. Once more, Naruko is stupid and slept through various classes that would have better prepared her for the world.
samwaffleman: Thanks, here's the next chapter.
xXxwhitewolf14xXx: Here's the update. Sorry for not posting another chapter of KTD. I have to rewrite most of chapter 13 since it blows chunks. It was weak and boring. I want a clash of chidori and some other cool stuff in the fight. Before, it was just a knock down, drag out fight. I've done that once already and I figure people want to see Yue exhaust some of her waning power on Sasuke rather than just beat the snot out of him. As soon as I'm done it, I'll post it. Just got to do a few pages more.
Arina: I've never watched the anime and I do write with the manga as a reference. I'll admit that the last two chapters weren't that good, but I don't see you doing any better. Like I keep pointing out, this fic wasn't something I created like KTD. This is a sort of RESPONSE to the untapped pairing potential in He Said, She Said by EroSlackerMicha. It will be rough around the edges, as has been pointed out a few times. AND, as I've pointed out several times, I write for me first! If you can't enjoy your own work of art, it is a piece of garbage that doesn't deserve the light of day. I was hesitant to release this fic since it was still being planned out and rough, but I was encouraged to release it and the results have been favorable for the most part.
"Those who complain loudest have nothing to show themselves." That's something I came up with and it is true 90% of the time. You have no idea how many people I've completely embarrassed by calling them on their heckling. You want to put me in my place, make an account and make people abandon my stories for yours.
And sorry if I seem harsh, but I tend to respond in kind. Malice for malice, anger for anger, injury for injury. You heckled me, I heckled you. Let's leave it at that and move on. Next time, I'll silently accept your...dissatisfaction in silence. I trust that this chapter's end will suit your tastes for less canon. Next chapter will contain more.