Review Shoutouts

No- I'm not on facebook: I don't really read many modern AU fics either. I just wanted to make this one different, and as well as I could with what I could think up. And the best part about this story is the fact that I can do almost anything I want to with the storyline since it's almost from scratch. I hope it makes sense so far, there's tons of crap that I'm going to go into explicit detail on later.

cormalin: Best shot to the balls scene EVER? Wow, didn't see that coming. Awesome.

bumike99 & Elemental Dragon Swordman: Phantom pain is seriously real when you're close enough to the victim. I swear to God I felt it last night and looked across the gym. My friend, I was training with a bunch of people at the time, just got kicked in the balls during a spar.

road kill609: Yes they are a bitch… I know from personal experience.

Kalevra: Glad you enjoyed it. I laughed my ass off when I read it back to myself.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… I don't own anything. Due to the amount of hatred that I have at this fact I am using a knife to stab out this disclaimer instead of just using my fingers to type. Good thing this isn't my computer…

Chapter 21: Can't Keep Running Away

After the introduction of Tsunade, Naruto looked to Kyuubi with a smile, "Well that was easy. You see what happens when you procrastinate Kyuubi-chan? Sometimes your issues work themselves out."

Kyuubi shook her head as she smiled back at him, "It's our combined luck Naruto-kun. Sasuke and Tenten are going to be pissed if we tell them we didn't do anything and still ended up finding Tsunade, but hey, it's just one of the perks of being us."

Naruto stood and headed over to Tsunade, fishing in his pockets for the scroll that he was meant to deliver to her, "I have a message for you Tsunade Senju. Here you go." Naruto moved away from her after handing the scroll over and sat back down.

Shizune looked at the blonde boy curiously, "You came all the way out here just to give Tsunade-sama a message?"

Naruto gave her a toothy grin, "Yep, although that's just half the reason we're here, I'm getting paid regardless. With what I'm making off of this mission I'll have rent for the next six months at least all paid up, and I can actually afford real food when we get back."

Kyuubi elbowed him in the side playfully, "Getting sick of ramen Naruto-kun? I never thought I'd see the day."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her, "I'm not sick of ramen. I just want something new to eat for now. Oh! You know what I haven't had in forever? Almonds."

Shizune sweat-dropped, "Almonds Naruto-kun? That's weird…"

Naruto closed his eyes in pleasant contemplation, "Yep, almonds, chocolate milk, and beef jerky… The breakfast of champions…"

"Like hell I will!"

Attention then was turned to Tsunade who was rolling the scroll back up with a displeased look on her face, "That old pervert thinks he can convince me to come back? He has another thing coming."

Shizune made her way over to where Tsunade was standing and obtained the scroll from her to read it for herself, "Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama wants you return to Konoha with these children so that he can speak with you. Why aren't you going?"

Tsunade made her way out of the room to head towards the kitchen, "I've told you Shizune. That place has already taken too much from me already. I won't go back there again."

Kyuubi lifted an eyebrow, "It seems this Jiraiya person only wants to talk. It's not like he's asking you to stay there or anything. It seems like a simple request to me." The second part of Tsunade's statement hit her soon thereafter, "What do you mean Konoha has taken too much from you already?"

No answer came from the other room as finally Shizune followed after Tsunade, leaving the two teenagers alone in the living room. Kyuubi turned to Naruto and whispered, "What are we going to do now Naruto-kun? You delivered the scroll, which was really the only thing that you had to do to complete the mission. Are we going to head home now?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, if I head back without even trying to get this lady to come with us I'll get my butt chewed out when I return, it was listed as an objective for a reason, even if it is secondary. Ero-sennin sent me on this, he requested me personally for this. And as weird as it is I don't think he would have sent me if he didn't think I could do this."

Kyuubi frowned at his explanation but nodded regardless, "So how are we going to do this? She doesn't seem open to the idea of coming with us at all."

Naruto ran his hand through his hair with a sigh, "I don't know… This lady doesn't seem like the kind of person to change her mind about things too easily at all. I mean even Shizune-neechan can't convince her to give going back a chance." Naruto could pick up what the two other women were talking about in the other room due to his enhanced hearing.

Pulling a cell phone out of her pocket, Kyuubi was stopped by Naruto before she could dial, "What are you doing? I was going to call Sasuke and Tenten and tell them that we found Tsunade."

Naruto shook his head in the negative, "I have a feeling that having even more people trying to convince baachan in there to go to Konoha won't end well for any of us. If we bring them into this now then who knows what will happen? We'll tell them when we meet up again if we can't get this solved by then."

Kyuubi pouted with her chin in her hands, "Who knew this would be so difficult? And I'm pretty sure knocking her out and dragging her back won't work either right?"

Naruto snorted in amusement, "Okay, let's pretend that this woman isn't a legendary figure in my company, let's pretend that we're actually around her level of skill and we might have a snowball's chance in hell of beating her outright in a fight. Then there comes the dragging her home part. What part of what you just said isn't illegal enough to warrant attention from law enforcement?" Kyuubi laughed sheepishly, "I know that for the most part the laws are pretty lax and with me and Tenten being mercenaries and Sasuke being a police trainee we know enough to avoid most law-enforcement, but that still stands as kidnapping, and that would open up a whole other can of worms that we aren't ready for. Besides, she's important to Shizune-neechan, so we aren't fighting anyone, got it?"

"Softy…" Kyuubi turned away from Naruto, "Are you sure that you're not just afraid that Shizune will blast you with senbon again?"

Naruto gave her a deadpan look, "Kyuubi-chan… My post-traumatic phobia of sharpened needles aside, Tsunade would turn any combination of the four of us into a smear on the floor before we could blink. I can't beat her, you can't beat her, Sasuke can't beat her, and Tenten knows damn well she can't beat her so she wouldn't even try. What part of 'legendary figure' are you not getting here? Kami, you're almost as bad as Sasuke."

Shizune came back into the living room with an apologetic look on her face, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but Tsunade-sama isn't really in the best of moods right now after getting that message from her friend. Please don't think too badly of her."

Naruto shrugged it off and stood up, "It's alright Shizune-neechan. I'm pretty much the same more or less whenever people tell me to do things that I don't want to do."

It was faint, but he caught a hint of sadness in her when he said that, "So you're going to go back to Konoha now?"

Naruto shook his head with a grin, "No, I'm not giving up that easily. I didn't come all the way out here to just quit after a three minute conversation, you should know better than that. I'll be back tomorrow, it's getting late."

Shizune gave Naruto a soft smile, "Okay Naruto-kun. I'll try to get her to lighten up by the time you show up tomorrow. I would offer you two a place to stay for the night here, but I don't think Tsunade-sama would be too accommodating right now."

Kyuubi stood up to follow after Naruto, "It's okay. We can afford a place to stay, it's not a big deal."

As he reached the front door Naruto grumbled over his shoulder, "What the hell do you mean 'we' can afford it? Don't you mean 'me'?"

Kyuubi chirped in response, "Yep! It's the chivalrous thing to do Naruto-kun!"

Naruto ambled out of the house muttering to himself with his red-haired girlfriend in tow, "Women complain that chivalry is dead and then they complain about a little bit of what they call 'misogyny' when I try to use some… Double standards…"

Shizune watched the two leave with an amused smile on her face before returning inside the house.

XxX

After leaving the home of Tsunade and making their way back to town, Naruto and Kyuubi called Sasuke and Tenten and told them to meet up on the main street to find a hotel to stay in for the time being. The half-demon pair had to suppress massive smirks as they heard about how Sasuke and Tenten had been all over the town three times trying to find any sign of the same woman that they didn't even try looking for.

They kept quiet even after they had found a place to stay and purchased rooms for the night. As they found the rooms side by side, Naruto and Kyuubi attempted to enter one room together until Tenten pushed him out and Sasuke dragged him next door. With an anguished cry of, "Cockblocker!" Naruto was thrown into the empty room by his black-haired best friend.

Naruto sat pouting on the bed and Sasuke had to hold back a shudder, "Don't ever do that again. It's strange seeing a guy that can rip a tree apart with his bare hands pouting on the bed like a five year-old."

Naruto glared at him, "I finally get Kyuubi-chan away from her obsessive dad, who I swear to Kami can literally smell when the mood starts heating up between us, and you keep me out of her hotel room? You're a bastard, an evil, evil bastard."

Sasuke shook his head and deposited himself on his own bed, "It was either make you miserable by dragging you in here, or I'd be miserable in a room with Tenten, who would flay me if I even looked at her the wrong way."

Naruto grinned perversely, "Wrong way? Maybe it could be the right way if you played your cards right deputy. It seems to me that you don't despise my weapon-loving partner as much as the members of the opposite sex that you're used to seeing."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Get over yourself. It's nice to be around a girl my age that doesn't automatically want my pants off for once. She's actually pretty cool… It's too bad we wasted the entire day though. It's like no one knows who this Tsunade woman is."

Both boys heard a shout from next door that sounded just like Tenten and that brought a smile to Naruto's face, "Hey Sasuke. You should know that me and Kyuubi-chan did all of jack-shit looking for Tsunade today. We pretty much blew the whole thing off and just goofed off all day."

The look of anger on Sasuke's face after that statement was only hilariously enhanced by the fact that he subconsciously activated his Sharingan. Naruto pointed at Sasuke with a smile, "Hey Sasuke! You unlocked your second tomoe."

Sasuke pointed at Naruto in anger, "You asshole! That's why you split us up the way you did! Because you knew whichever one of us you took would have made you actually work!"

Naruto nodded, "Yes, yes I did. But hey, we still found Tsunade so we actually accomplished more than you did today. How does that make you feel?"

Sasuke clinched his fists, "Angry… You were just being a lazy-ass and you did something that I had been trying to do for several hours."

Naruto placed his fingers under his chin, "I see… And what exactly do you feel like doing right now?"

Sasuke laid down on his bed with his hands at his side, "I want to cut you… so badly right now. You pulled off something like that without even trying. It just makes me so mad!"

Naruto had by this time pulled out a pen and a pad and was writing, "Uh huh… Do you think this emotion is stemming from anywhere in your past? Maybe something to do with someone you know?"

Sasuke sighed, "Well, I'd say it has mostly to do with my brother. He's so good at so many things. I just feel inadequate sometimes. I try not to compare myself to him, but it's hard. Sometimes it seems like he isn't even trying. The other day he-… Wait… Why the hell am I telling you this?"

Naruto grinned at him, "Because you wanted to have a heart-to-heart with your best friend?"

Sasuke shook his head, "What were we talking about?"

Naruto interjected, "How you think Itachi is so much more kick-ass than you?"

Sasuke sighed, "No… you idiot, before that. Oh! You asshole! You found Tsunade and you couldn't fucking pick up a phone? I swear, we went into every casino, every backstreet game, every bar, and we didn't find a damn thing."

Naruto gave him a deadpan look, "Did you ever even ask for an address?"

Sasuke was about to rant at him until he stopped to think, "No. But you said that she was a frequent gambler! Where else would a gambler be except in the casinos?"

Naruto sighed, "She doesn't live at the fucking casinos dumbass, she has a house. I guess I'll take you with me tomorrow instead of Kyuubi-chan."

This confused the young Uchiha, "Why not take everybody? Didn't Tenten want to meet this woman anyway?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nope. That won't work. She doesn't want anything to do with Konoha, let alone Kaisha Hien, she might snap and think we were trying to take her by force, and like I told Kyuubi-chan, becoming a red blotch on the ground doesn't really appeal to me. No force super-trooper, not on this one. We're taking it slow, there's no need to spook her."

Sasuke sat back up, "It's too early to go to sleep dobe. What is there to do in this town?"

Naruto grinned at him, "You do know that this place is 85% casinos and red light district right?"

Sasuke shrugged, "Duh. I've only been walking through it all day. Come on, let's go find something to do. The girls will be fine, they aren't going anywhere."

Stroking his chin and pacing, Naruto hummed in thought, "Stay in a boring hotel room with shitty hotel cable TV or go out in a strange town with Mr. Stick-in-the-Mud himself, Sasuke Uchiha?"

Sasuke made his way to the door without much of a care, "Geez, you made both options seem so appealing." He said in a sarcastic tone of voice. Shoving his hands in his pockets he opened the door and left the room. He heard the door open and shut again behind him and turned to find Naruto following, "I thought you weren't coming."

Naruto fell in line alongside Sasuke with a scoff, "Like I'm really going to let you go out into the adult entertainment capital of Hi no Kuni without someone watching your back, you street-green motherfucker. Who knows what you'd get into without me? I don't feel like having your mom beat my ass because I let you go off and catch crabs because you wanted to hook up with a prostitute with a package."

Sasuke glared at him, "I can tell the difference you bastard."

Naruto looked away with a smirk, "I know…"

"I hate you."

"I bask in your hate deputy."

XxX

The two boys traversed the streets taking in the night scene of Tanzaku Gai. Their walk through the town had been mildly entertaining.

Naruto was nearly in tears as he and Sasuke jaywalked across the street, laughing and dodging traffic, "Did you see that pimp in the purple suit back there? Amazing! They really walk like that!"

Sasuke wiped his eyes and laughed alongside his blonde companion, "See him? Did you hear what he said to you when you stared at him? 'I ain't walking the stroll little kid. You'd best turn that look of you's to one of my hoes before I cut you into sirloin tips.'" Sasuke spoke while mimicking the pimp's speaking style, "Was he serious?"

Naruto's laughter subsides and he stood back up, "Ahh pimps… One of the city's most treasured and respected occupations. Come on teme, let's go make some money."

Sasuke lifted a suspicious eyebrow, "Money? We're going to gamble? I only brought like 2000 ryo for the trip Naruto, we don't have the cash to spend on chance."

Naruto scoffed, "I'm infected by your ignorance deputy. I'm not talking about spending the money on bullshit like poker or roulette or some other shit, despite the fact that unlike you I would actually be good at those things, but that's beside the point. Follow me, and more importantly, shut the hell up until we get to where we're going."

Naruto and Sasuke walked into a lower quality casino and began making their way to the bar. Sasuke looked around at the subpar surroundings, "How are we going to make money in this shithole? We should have gone to a bigger casino."

Naruto sighed and would have backhanded Sasuke if it wouldn't have arisen suspicion, "Sasuke please shut up. Let the urchin take care of the situation, I promise we will be rolling in dough by dawn." As they made it to the bar and stopped in front of the bartender Naruto gave him a fox-like grin, "How ya doin'?"

The bartender looked at the two boys and frowned, "This establishment checks ID boys. Take it somewhere else, we do things legally here."

Sasuke pulled on Naruto's arm to get him to leave but Naruto just turned and kept him from leaving. Turning back to the bartender he put his grin back on, "I'm sure you do, you look like you have your liquor license and all, but I don't care about that. Me and my broody amigo here want in on your action in the basement."

The bartender saw that they were serious, well Naruto was, Sasuke just looked confused. He pondered calling for security, but he could tell these were just kids, "You're all too young to fight anyway…"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Yes because the entire process is such a legal practice anyway… Having underage kids doing it would be such a significant difference."

There was no way that they were cops or anything… right? The man looked at the two and nodded his head up before leaving the bar area and directing the two boys to follow him. Sasuke was still confused, but he knew Naruto wouldn't get them into something that they couldn't handle right?

As they made their way to storage the man moved aside the metal shelves that held the kegs to open up a stairway leading downstairs. Sasuke's eyes widened while Naruto smirked as they both descended the stairs before the man shut the door behind them leaving them to head down alone. The two came to a large door that Naruto banged on as a slot opened to reveal two dark scrutinizing eyes, "What the fuck are you brats doing here?"

Naruto sighed, "Let us in before we kick your ass and just come in anyway."

The man behind the door laughed, "Yeah right kid. This door is reinforced with steel, I'd love to see you try and get past it. Now go away. Maybe you can come back when your balls drop."

This brought tick marks to both boys' heads. Sasuke looked at Naruto, "Can I?"

Naruto gestured towards the door as Sasuke moved towards it and poked his fingers through the slot, hitting the man in the eyes. Smirking as a yelp of pain came from behind the door, Sasuke moved and allowed Naruto to kick the door off of the hinges.

The two boys strolled inside as the man held his eyes on the ground. Naruto gave a shit-eating grin as they walked past, "Yeah, the door is reinforced… Too bad the hinges aren't, you cheap motherfuckers." As the two walked down a fairly long hallway the sound of loud music began to become clearer and clearer.

Eventually the two came to a curtain and walked through it to find themselves in a club type setting. There were drinks being served, people dancing, and there was a cleared out large square pit that was three feet into the ground in the center of the room surrounded by metal guard rails. Between the music being played, the people that looked way above their blood (Well, Naruto's blood anyway), and the pulsing lights it was a deep contrast to the dive that the two boys had entered through.

Before Sasuke could say anything a voice yelled out on the speaker system over the club, "THE NEXT FIGHT! JACE VS. DON CHIDAA!"

The boys moved through the crowd to find two men fighting in the iron square in the center of the club. One man was in vale tudo shorts and had taped fists. He looked around eighteen years old with red hair. The other man had a mustache, a frilly brown afro, a Chinese martial arts outfit on, and had a smug look on his face.

Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the side as the fight started, "How the hell did you know this place was down here? And why were the bartender and that door guy so tight-lipped about this place?"

Naruto kept his eyes on the fight as a smile came to his face and he tapped his nose, "I could smell the blood from outside. There are places like this in Konoha too, and no I'm not telling you where they are later. You're lucky I brought you here in the first place. And the first rule about fight club is you do not talk about fight club."

The younger man with the taped fists tried to clinch up with the afro-ed fighter until he ate a straight kick to the face that send blood spraying back. Naruto wiped some of the blood that had flown off of his section of railing and flicked it from his fingertips. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You stole that from that movie 'Fight Club' you idiot."

Naruto chuckled, "Maybe so, but that doesn't make it any less valid in this case. There are a whole lot of things that you don't know Sasuke. There's a whole underworld worth of things in Konoha that you police can't imagine or handle."

The vale tudo fighter actually clinched up his opponent against the railing and attempted a headbutt, but missed and made contact with the metal. The two boys cringed as they saw the bloody imprint that was left behind. Sasuke scratched his head, "While I'm not against spending the night watching these guys beat the crap out of each other, why are we here? Are we going to bet on the fights?"

Naruto looked affronted, "Oh hell no. Do you know how much of this shit is fixed? And another thing, if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight."

Sasuke slapped his forehead as the fight passed the two boys. The afro fighter was in full control at this point, using a barrage of kicks to batter his opponent mercilessly. Sasuke half-heartedly glared at Naruto, "Stop stealing lines from that movie… Yes, Brad Pitt was a total bad-ass in it, yes Edward Norton beat the shit out of that one guy, and yes, I remember you walking around school shirtless in a fur coat and sunglasses for a month after you saw it, but this is different."

Naruto glared at him, "This is how we're going to make our money teme. They pay the winners, and if you don't volunteer or get pushed into this then how do you think they find fighters? One of us is going to fight and win to get paid before getting out and betting on the other. We're going to keep winning, and we'll alternate every fight. We clean this place out, and get to train a little bit in full-contact fights while we're here. It builds character."

Before Sasuke could object further the announcer spoke up, "THE WINNER OF THE MATCH! DON CHIDAA!" The afro man looked no worse for wear as two large men in black shirts picked the bloody mess that was Jace off of the floor and took him out of the ring.

Sasuke had to admit, he did want to test himself against real fighters, and Naruto seemed to be confident that they could win. The announcer shouted again, "DO WE HAVE ANY NEW BLOOD IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT THAT WANT A CHALLENGE!"

Sasuke shrugged and hopped over the rail, "WE HAVE A CHALLENGER! WHAT'S YOUR NAME MONEY!"

'Money?' Sasuke quirked a brow, "Sasuke…"

"ALRIGHT FOLKS! NEXT WE HAVE DON CHIDAA VS. THE NEW KID, SASUKE!"

Naruto whistled to Sasuke who walked over to him, "What is it Naruto?"

Naruto pulled him close through the lower bars where he was crouching, "No jutsu. We don't need to burn the place down or get accused of cheating. Sharingan is okay though, we can't afford any slip at losing. Oh… and watch out." Naruto quickly shoved Sasuke out of the way before an axe-kick would have smashed him in the back of the head. Instead it hit the bars. Don Chidaa glared at Naruto who simply smirked and waved, "I don't know why you're glaring at me… Fight's over there."

Don Chidaa turned around to catch an Uchiha fist to the face that sprayed blood back into Naruto's face, "Ahh! Teme! I'm not catching Hep-B from this shit! Watch the blood spray!"

Sasuke smirked at his best friend's discomfort and backed away from his adversary. Don Chidaa was sporting a busted nose and lip and was doing what Sasuke perceived to be feints with his feet. By the way the man had his hands at his side Sasuke estimated that he never used them in combat. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and squared off with him, the pulsing, changing lights masking the change of his eye color.

Don Chidaa shuffled his feet rapidly and lashed out with kicks that Sasuke slid out of the way of rather easily.

Naruto sweat-dropped at the fight that was carrying on, 'Man I should have paid more attention to the last fight. This guy is a total jabroni… Sasuke can sleepwalk through this guy. All he can do is kick and rely on his speed, and Sasuke's way faster than him.'

Sasuke got sick of watching this guy throw kicks so he began throwing kicks of his own at the man's legs. Every time Don Chidaa would do his leg shuffling motion meant to throw opponents off, Sasuke's Sharingan would pick up the subtle nuances that preceded his kicks and would blast out a lightning fast kick to the front leg of Don Chidaa. After a dozen of those shots he could see his opponent begin to slow down.

Don Chidaa growled as he sent out a front kick that Sasuke side-stepped before kicking him in the leg again. The entire time he had been countering, Sasuke had a smirk on his face that infuriated the older man. Naruto got sick of watching Sasuke break this guy down and rolled his eyes, "Teme finish him already! I'd like my chance to fight before sunrise thank you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and narrowed them on Don Chidaa who he immediately began blasting with a barrage of kicks to the legs, "You suck. Take away your legs and you have nothing. If this is the best this place has, I'm going to make a killing tonight."

Don Chidaa growled and made a blind rush at Sasuke, throwing a tornado kick at the boy's head. Sasuke simply waited before throwing one high kick to his head, hitting him in the middle of his attempted his attack and sending him crashing to the ground unconscious.

Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets and walked back over to Naruto while the announcer spoke up again, "THE WINNER! SASUKE!"

One of the waitresses with brown hair and dark blue eyes came over to Sasuke in the pit and handed him a large wad of money, "For our winner. You fight well." The woman winked at him and headed back to work.

"Fangirls here too? I don't need that shit." Sasuke shook his head and hopped the railing and pocketed the cash, "I'm going to place a bet on you. Get in there already."

Naruto gave Sasuke a smart-assed salute and hopped the railing, "OH! WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE! ANOTHER CHALLENGER! THIS SEEMS TO BE A NIGHT OF DEBUTS! WHAT'S YOUR NAME MYSTERY BRAT!"

Naruto started jumping around to limber himself up for the fight, "Hungwell Hamburger!"

"…OKAY! WELL, NEXT UP WE HAVE…. HUNGWELL HAMBURGER… VS. KANO YARU!"

Naruto watched a large, heavy-set man come down the stairs in the corner in Yakuza themed garb. His black hair was in a top-knot and in pure size and width he looked to be 6'2 and three times Naruto's weight. He threw off his clothing to show himself in sumo equipment underneath, forcing Naruto to sweat-drop, "I didn't really need to see that." The man then squatted down in the sumo ready stance, placing his knuckles on the ground as he stood crouched low. Naruto cringed when he saw that, "Damn I feel sorry for those people behind him."

XxX

(With Sasuke)

Sasuke made his way to the bookie where he could make his bets. As he reached the caged off desk he placed his money on the table, "Yeah, I want to place a bet on… Hungwell Hamburger. *sigh* Idiot…" Sasuke got a ticket for his bet and he returned to the railing where he could watch the fight.

XxX

Naruto faced off with the massive man and set himself in a loose stance, "So does someone say 'go' or do we just fight?"

The man answered by bull-rushing Naruto and shooting his palms out at him in crushing thrusts. Naruto jumped away and retreated back against the railing where Kano attempted to squash Naruto against the rails. Naruto rolled out of the way and kicked him in the back of the knees to send him crashing to the ground. The man hit the ground with a loud thud. Naruto shot a capoiera ax-kick to his chest and felt ribs break under his heel.

Blood flew from Kano's mouth from the intensity of the kick and he sat up suddenly while holding his torso only to eat a knee to the face that spattered blood as he got himself uprightly seated. Naruto obliterated his nose with that strike and jumped to top rail of the guard rails before he jumped off in the form of a ball and dropped full force on Kano to end the fight.

Naruto got off of the man who was writhing on the ground in pain and walked towards the steps, "THE WINNER OF THE MATCH! HUNGWELL HAMBURGER!"

Naruto accepted his prize money and made his way to the bookie to place his bet on Sasuke before his next fight. As he walked over he noticed people clearing the way for him and cheering for him, 'Man, they're cheering me for running through that small-fry. Sasuke was right, if this is the best they've got we're going to run this place by the end of the night.'

As Naruto got in line to place his bet a familiar voice rang out in his ears, "Brat? Is that you?"

Naruto turned behind him to find Tsunade looking at him in shock. Giving her his best grin he waved to her, "Hello Tsunade-baachan. Not the face!" Naruto finished as he saw her cock her fist back, "I'm fighting tonight."

Tsunade blinked and lowered her fist, "You're fighting? Why?"

Naruto pointed to himself, "Why not bet on a sure thing? If you're betting on the next fight, bet on Sasuke Uchiha… then bet on Hungwell Hamburger."

"Hungwell Hambu-." She tested in her mouth, "Who the hell is Hungwell Hamburger?"

"Oh my Kami! It's Hungwell Hamburger!" A random spectator said as he walked past, looking at Naruto in awe. Naruto pointed and winked and turned to the bookie as it was his turn in line.

Naruto slapped his money on the table, "10000 on Sasuke to win." Naruto accepted his ticket and emptied a purse that he pulled from nowhere, "And the lady behind me puts all of this on Sasuke as well. Naruto found himself snatched up by his collar to come face-to-face with a fuming Tsunade, "You're welcome."

Tsunade grit her teeth as she spoke, "Why shouldn't I turn you into paste right now brat?"

Naruto placed himself back on his feet and dragged her to the edge of the railing to watch the fight… well the end of the fight. Because just as the announcer started the action Sasuke's opponent rushed him. In retaliation, Sasuke kicked him in the stomach, doubling him over, and grabbed the back of his opponent's head to slam him face-first to the concrete.

As blood poured from the man's face and he lay motionless, Sasuke simply walked away and collected his prize money for winning before going to place a bet on Naruto for the next fight.

Tsunade stared at the black haired boy walking away and back at Naruto who was grinning, "Go collect our money Tsunade-baachan. And while you're at it, place another bet on me, because I'm up next." The blonde woman rushed away to the betting table so fast he thought he saw an afterimage.

XxX

(With Tenten and Kyuubi)

Tenten yawned while laying on her bed, "Naruto might have a point. Cable TV does suck now that I think about it. All these reality shows… whatever happened to original programming?"

Kyuubi looked over at Tenten and back at the TV, "Naruto-kun hates reality TV too. What is it with you mercenaries? What do you have against reality TV?"

Tenten gave the red-haired girl a dry look, "Reality isn't a guy on a treadmill on the top of a building trying to catch expensive stuff before it falls off. That may be cool to regular people, but our reality is way better than that. Who wants to watch things like that when they're bored? We can just go to work and have more fun."

Kyuubi blew a bang out of her face, "What do you think Naruto and Sasuke are doing right now anyway? I heard them leaving a few hours ago but what can they actually legally do in this town?"

Tenten shrugged, "Legally? Nothing. Casinos won't really let kids gamble and they can't legally get alcohol either." She got up to go and change for the night, "They're probably pretty bored right about now, I mean what is there for them to do out there anyway?"

XxX

(Back in the Underground Club)

"Damn you! I'll kill you!" A man in a sleeveless shirt and black pants yelled as he grabbed a bottle on the ground outside the railing and broke it off before lunging at Naruto with the jagged end.

Naruto dodged half-heartedly, "Is this even legal?" He shrugged and slapped the bottle out of his hand before elbowing him in the top of the head, rendering the man unconscious.

"WINNER, HUNGWELL HAMBURGER!" By this time Naruto and Sasuke had run the gauntlet of opponents seven times each, and easily defeated all of their competition. Sasuke found it agonizingly easy due to the fact that no one was fast enough to avoid being telegraphed by his Sharingan and that made easy counters simple for the far faster Uchiha. Naruto, on the flipside, was simply a bulldozer. He would rush his opponents, slip inside of whatever attacks they attempted, and beat them until they couldn't stand up anymore. Again accepting his cheers from the people he jumped the railing and stood next to Sasuke, who handed him a super-fat bankroll made of large bills that Naruto patted down in his pocket.

Naruto bumped fists with Sasuke as both boys smirked, "I think we've cleaned this place out enough. So how's Tsunade doing?"

Tsunade ran up and snatched Naruto and Sasuke up in massive hugs, "I love you two punks! I've never made so much money betting on anything in my entire life! I'm up 10 million ryo right now!"

Naruto and Sasuke started tapping on her arms as they both turned blue. Sasuke was the only one who could form legible words through his strangulation, "Tsunade-san… Air… Can't breathe…" His eyes were beginning to roll into the back of his head.

Noticing she was killing them she dropped them both with a sheepish look on her face, "Sorry boys."

Naruto sucked air back into his system quickly while on his hands and knees, "No problem… We're alive and that's all that counts."

"ALL RIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! AS A SPECIAL CHALLENGE TONIGHT WE HAVE THE HOUSE CHAMPION REQUESTING A MATCH WITH EITHER OF THE NEW ARRIVALS! WILL OUR NEWEST ASSKICKERS PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE RING!"

Naruto's eyebrows raised with the announcement, "Well it looks like we've finally stepped on a few toes out here. You're up deputy." He turned to see Sasuke unconscious next to him, "Tsunade-baachan! You choked Sasuke out!" He didn't receive a reply or a shot to the head so he looked around, "Baachan?"

Tsunade came stampeding through the crowd, "Brat!" She reached out and pulled Naruto to his feet with stars in her eyes, "The odds against one of you winning this fight are absurd! I put everything on you. You win this and I owe you for life!"

An incredulous look appeared on Naruto's face, "Damn… What are the odds?"

Tsunade shook him rapidly, "One hundred and twenty-to-one that you get your ass kicked! Beat this guy down and I will love you forever! Lose and I'll heal you just so I can beat your ass again myself before I kill you in the most painful way possible."

Naruto gave her a grin and shook her off, "Just heal up deputy for me and make sure he's conscious when I end the fight. If the best guy in here is fighting me then that means the guys running the show want us put down and we might need to make a quick exit." Tsunade nodded and Naruto made his way back to the ring, hopping inside to signal the start of the announcements.

"IT'S TIME! WE HAVE THE ROOKIE PHENOM, HUNGWELL HAMBURGER, GOING UP AGAINST OUR UNBEATEN CHAMPION. A FORMER ELITE MERCENARY, AOI ROKUSHO!"

Naruto paled when he heard 'elite mercenary'. This was a whole new ballgame now. Naruto found himself staring at a man with dark green hair, purple eyes, a sleeveless one-piece jumpsuit, and a smirk on his face. On his back he had a sword sheathed and had another stick in place over it. Aoi chuckled at the boy in front of him, "You've been causing quite a ruckus this evening boy. Unfortunately this is the end of the line for you. You cannot beat me."

Naruto put his bravado back up and smirked at his opponent, "So you're a mercenary? What company did you work for?"

Aoi grinned cruelly, "An aspiring mercenary huh? I used to work for Kaisha Hien, but I got sick of taking orders so I left, but not without taking my own little retirement gift…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. This guy stole from his company. He left with their secrets and ran out without being released from his contract or anything. That struck a chord with the blonde warrior. Naruto's fear of fighting an experienced opponent was gone as only a want to make Aoi suffer remained. He dropped into a loose stance as Aoi set himself in one of his own.

Naruto rushed in, using a zigzag pattern until he got close enough to attack. He jumped and kicked off of the low wall to deliver a superman punch that Aoi blocked before retaliating with a backhand that Naruto ducked under to attempt a sweep.

Aoi crouched low to negate the force generated by the sweep and caught Naruto's leg before punching him in the face. Naruto rolled backwards and sprung back to his feet just in time to see Aoi brandish and throw out a handful of senbon that Naruto deftly dodged. All of the shots ricocheted off of the metal surrounding the ring and bounced away. Naruto growled and glared at Aoi, "What is it with this mission and senbon? I swear, if I never see one of those damn things again it'll be too soon."

Aoi's eyes widened before a smug look came onto his face, "Ahh, so this mission was intended to come after me. It took long enough for them to send one out."

Naruto scoffed, "Someone has a mighty high opinion of himself. Sorry but you're not my mission, you're just a little bonus for me to call in when I come back."

Tsunade on the sidelines picked up one of Aoi's discarded senbon. As it left the ground she could see a wet outline left on the concrete, "He's using poison… Isn't that illegal?"

Naruto prepared himself for another attack, "I just fought a guy that swung at me with a broken bottle. I don't think rules are very high on the list of importance in this place. Good to know, that means I can cut you to ribbons." With that he ran back in and threw a feint of a jab before lashing out with a spin kick that caught Aoi in the face. Naruto followed up with sharp shots to his kidneys that made Aoi groan in pain before he attempted to swat the nimble teen away from him with a wild spinning back elbow. Naruto blocked him at the bicep and grabbed Aoi by his hair, delivering a series of savage punches to the back of his head that rocked the former company man.

Aoi attempted a low kick to Naruto's groin, but the blonde maneuvered his knee to the blow accordingly. This threw off his balance, allowing Aoi to slip free. Naruto mocked Aoi as he gained some distance, "Some 'elite' you're turning out to be. Do you even know any jutsu? Nevermind." Naruto came back in to attack. Aoi launched a punch to the face, but Naruto lowered his head, allowing the shot to bounce off of his forehead, probably the thickest part of the skull. Aoi pulled his stinging hand back, letting Naruto get a clear shot at his face, hitting him so hard the grown man turned around.

Tsunade shook her head at Naruto's fighting style, "He's like a brawler with high fight IQ…"

Naruto held on to the back of Aoi's head and slammed him face-first into the metal barrier three times. The entire crowd cringed as the sound of a human skull bouncing off of metal rang out throughout the club. Aoi finally blocked one of the slams and growled at Naruto as blood poured down his face, covering it in a crimson mask. He shot his head backwards and hit Naruto in the face with a headbutt that threw him off, busting the boy's nose.

Aoi pulled the stick off of his back and opened it to reveal it as an umbrella, "I've had enough of you… Die! Joro Senbon (Senbon Rainstorm)!"

He threw his umbrella in the air, forcing it to spin rapidly. Tsunade was no stranger to this technique and yelled out a warning, "Everyone get away!"

Senbon began shooting rapidly from the umbrella in all directions. The people ran away and quite a few were hit by stray needles. Tsunade grabbed Sasuke and pulled him down behind an overturned table. This finally brought the Uchiha back to the land of consciousness. As he groggily opened his eyes he noticed the panic going on around them, "What the hell is going on?"

Tsunade looked over the table to see Naruto holding a large combat knife, dodging rapidly and fending off whatever got close. As the shower stopped, Aoi caught his umbrella and laughed at the havoc he had caused, "I see you lived through one of my best jutsu. You're very good at dodging."

Naruto grinned at him and twisted the knife in his hand until he was holding it by the blade. Suddenly he launched the large knife at Aoi and caught him in the shoulder, forcing the man to yell out in pain. Naruto had a look of mirth on his face as he heard the sound of pain, "I can see that you aren't." He pulled the blade out and threw it back at Naruto who let the blade pierce his hand as he caught it. With naught a groan he pulled the knife out of his hand and licked the blood from his wound. Giving Aoi a bloody smile he flipped the weapon in his hand as he walked closer to the man.

Aoi backed away from Naruto, "I can see that this is one battle that isn't worth fighting." With that he hopped the barrier and took off.

The announcer came over the speaker, "IT SEEMS ONE OF THE COMBATANTS HAS LEFT THE RING… I GUESS WE CALL THIS ONE A NO CONTEST!"

Naruto got a tick mark on his head, "Like hell we are, get back here bitch!" Naruto immediately gave chase to the fleeing Aoi Rokusho.

Aoi busted through a door and ran through a dark hallway that Naruto followed closely behind in. As they reached stairs, Aoi rushed up them and busted through the door at the top. Apparently this lead to another casino, one far more high-class than the one that Naruto entered through. Aoi hopped the bar that they emerged from behind and Naruto stopped right there, picking up a shot glass and launching it at Aoi. The glass caught Aoi in the back of the head and sent him spilling into a row of slot machines.

A grinning Naruto hopped the bar and rushed to attack Aoi once more until a sword that looked to be glowing yellow was swung at him. Naruto took one look at the blade in Aoi's hand and sweat-dropped, "Is that a fucking lightsaber? What the fuck is this, Star Wars?"

Tsunade and Sasuke emerged from the door that Naruto had chased Aoi through to see that they had already turned the place into a warzone. Tsunade's eyes widened as she saw Naruto dodging a glowing yellow sword that cut through slot machines like they were butter. Sasuke noticed her clinching her fists and radiating killing intent, "Tsunade… What's the matter?"

She bit her lip, "That sword… that sword belonged to a member of my family a long time ago, the Raijin no Ken. That bastard stole it from Kaisha Hien…"

Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder, "Well look at the way he's swinging it." Sasuke was right. There was almost no skill behind how Aoi was fighting. Despite the destructive weapon in his hand it was child's play for Naruto to dodge his strokes, "Naruto's going to crush this guy. He'll get it back for you."

"AND THE BATTLE RAGES IN THE ABOVE LEVELS! AOI AND HUNGWELL HAMBURGER ARE TURNING THIS INTO A FREE-FOR-ALL!"

Sasuke and Tsunade turned to see a short man with a black pompadour and a weasely mustache dressed up in a leisure suit yelling into a microphone. Sasuke cleared his ears out, seeing as how the man was right next to him, "Say that a little louder why don't you? I don't think they heard you in Kirigakure."

Naruto dodged another slash from Aoi and punched him in the face, laughing as he sent him flying through a roulette table, "You were elite in Kaisha Hien? Elite my ass, I don't remember you being worth a damn. The way you're fighting you seem more like a glorified jabroni. That sword is the best thing you've got going and you suck at using it."

Aoi pulled himself to his feet and cut through the remains of the table, "Shut up brat! I'll kill you!" He rushed in to attack Naruto head on.

Naruto formed two Kage Bunshin and sent them back behind the bar. He easily dodged Aoi's sloppy charge and inhaled deeply, "Chouon Aigou (Supersonic Wail)!" A haunting screech ripped itself from Naruto's mouth in the form of a focused wave that hit Aoi flush. His cries of anguish were drowned out by the sound of Naruto's attack.

Tsunade and Sasuke were holding their ears and gnashing their teeth, "How the hell is that fucking brat making that racket?"

Naruto stopped his attack when he saw Aoi drop to his knees, panting heavily, but still holding the sword. At that moment Naruto's clones were rapidly drinking down all of the alcohol they could grab from the bar. When they got to the point of belching and swaying in place they flew through handsigns, "Suiton: Teppodama no Jutsu (Water Release: Liquid Bullets)!"

The clones forced out balls of brown liquid instead of the normal blue color that hit Aoi and knocked him into a wall, dislodging the Raijin no Ken from his grasp. Aoi spit blood from the impact and glared at Naruto, "Is that the best you've got brat? You're all bark."

Naruto looked at him coldly, "You have no chance of walking away from this. Your natural equilibrium is blow all to hell after you took Chouon Aigou for as long as you did so you can't run or fight. I'm going to kill you here deserter." Naruto formed Kitsune-bi on one of his fingertips, "If you truly were a mercenary of Kaisha Hien, then you should know how we dispose of our dead bodies."

Aoi's eyes widened in panic, "No… Please no… Let me live!"

Naruto shook his head, "You're a coward, a deserter, a ruthless scoundrel, and a thief. I have heard of you. I know what you did when you left Kaisha Hien, letting that kid take the blame for you until you got away… you make me sick. You could have killed a room full of people just because you were losing a fight. The world will be better without you in it." Aoi tried to run, but fell down. He immediately tried to crawl away, but Naruto flicked the small blue fireball at the man.

Time seemed to slow as Aoi watched the small flame fall towards him until it hit the back of his foot. Aoi was covered in liquid that at its base was alcohol, and that made him hellaciously flammable. As he went up in a blue blaze he let out a horrific cry of anguish that shorted out as the flames died down to reveal nothing but ash.

The now empty casino was all silent until Tsunade looked at the ticket in her hand and grinned, "Yes! The brat did it! I'm rich! I'm filthy stinking rich! I can pay off all of my bullshit debts and then some! I'm rich!"

Naruto sighed and picked up the Raijin no Ken before walking over to Tsunade, "I heard you talking to Sasuke. This is yours I guess."

Tsunade stopped celebrating and turned her eyes to Naruto, softening them once she received the now receded blade from him. As he pocketed the hilt she picked him up in a hug. When she let go she took the crystal from around her neck and placed it on Naruto, "That sword was priceless to my family back when I was a mercenary, and that stone is too. It's a fair trade. Thank you." She turned her attention to Sasuke and patted him on the shoulder, "Thank both of you."

Naruto turned his head when he heard footsteps and was greeted with a familiar voice, "Wow, it looks like a twister ripped through this place." Tenten and Kyuubi walked through the wreckage and laid eyes on the three in the room. Tenten shook her head when she saw Naruto's bloody nose from Aoi's headbutt, "Apparently that twister was named Naruto Uzumaki…"

Naruto grinned and was about to explain when he was glomped by Kyuubi, "Naruto-kun are you okay? I heard you using Chouon Aigou from the hotel and figured that you were in a fight."

Naruto grinned, "Yep, we're fine. Me and the deputy were just enjoying Tanzaku Gai's nightlife scene. And look who we ran into!"

The girls looked to see Tsunade standing next to Sasuke. Tenten let out a fangirl squeal and ran over to her, shaking her hand fervently. Sasuke walked over and picked at his blood-caked knuckles with his fingernails, "Well this was a productive night… We made a shitload of cash, Got into a bunch of fights, and best of all no one made me bleed my own blood. I'm going to bed… what is it, three in the morning?"

Naruto watched his friend duck through the wrecked casino to take his leave. He looked back at Tsunade, who was busy with Tenten bugging her and asking questions. He wrapped an arm around Kyuubi's waist and began walking away, "Hey Tsunade-baachan! We're going on home! Tenten let her be, we'll see her tomorrow."

Tenten reluctantly backed off, but remembered that Kyuubi told her that she and Naruto had found her house earlier in the day so he wasn't lying, she'd see her tomorrow. She jogged to catch up with her friends as the all left.

"AND THE WINNER OF THE MATCH! HUNGWELL HAMBURGER!"

Tsunade cringed at the sound of the voice and grabbed the announcer before dragging him back downstairs, "You're helping me cash this out you little bastard…"

XxX

(The Next Day)

As the group from Konoha showed up at Tsunade's home the following morning they were met with a beaming Shizune upon entry to the massive house. Naruto noticed the look on her face and spoke on it, "Shizune-neechan what's up? You seem ecstatic about something today."

Shizune pulled the two boys of the group into a hug, "Thank you both. You two really helped out Tsunade-sama and myself last night. She told me what you two did, she's really taken a shine to you two."

She then left them downstairs and went upstairs to attend to her own duties. Not too long after they saw Shizune returning downstairs with a bunch of suitcases, placing them by the front door. Before anyone could ask anything about it a shout came from outside, "Shizune!"

Everyone exited the house to see Tsunade standing in front of a brand new Volkswagen Jetta. Upon seeing the looks on the faces of all of the kids she shrugged, "What? I'm not walking to Konoha. And I did win an absurd amount of money last night didn't I?"

Tenten's eyes lit up as she walked out in front of everyone else, "Tsunade-sama you're actually coming with us to Konoha? That's great!"

Tsunade smirked, "Yep. Sasuke and the blonde brat here helped me out a ton. I'm someone that repays my debts no matter how long they take, and this one shouldn't be too hard to repay at all considering what Naruto asked me to do yesterday. I can gut it out in Konoha long enough to hear what Jiraiya has to say."

Shizune went to grab the suitcases and Naruto followed behind to help her out as they both threw them in the trunk. Naruto walked up to Tsunade and grinned, "So now that you're all in the clear now are you going to stop gambling? Your profile said that you were bad at it and racked up a ton of debts, well those are gone now."

Tsunade ruffled Naruto's hair, "Don't worry brat. From now on I'm only betting on sure things… Now who's coming along for the ride back to Konoha? Or would you all rather wait on a bus?"

The kids tried to pile in the backseat rapidly after she finished her sentence, only to end up cursing each other out and finding no way for everyone to get inside. Tenten eventually yelled for everyone to shut the hell up as she started to direct traffic. She got in first, much to Sasuke's dislike until a glare from the brown-eyed girl silenced him, she ordered Naruto inn second and told Kyuubi to sit on his lap. Sasuke was the last person in. Surprisingly everyone fit inside.

Naruto blinked as he shifted his girlfriend around on his lap, "Wow… That was actually really easy."

Shizune got in on the driver's side, Tsunade took the passenger's seat and they took off for Konoha. They all pretty much chatted and got to know each other until Sasuke finally took his chance, "So Tsunade… I have a question that I've just been dying to ask, but Naruto told me not to. Well, this is a long car ride so I'll just go ahead and ask you now. Can you tell me what you know about a man named Orochimaru?"

Man this was a long chapter for this particular story. All right… I'm going to sleep, then I'll hit it hard on another story of mine. Later.

Kenchi out.