Storm of the Rust Red Sky!
Wind howls, lightning strikes, thunder crashes & a torrent of rain falls from the reddened sky. "CHANGE OF PLANS, NEW FORMATION! I TAKE LEAD, NARUTO & SASUKE BEHIND ME, SHIKAMARU & INO, THEN KURENAI & SAKURA! STAY TOGETHER!", Tsachi commands through the violent storm. They quickly get into formation & run past where the electric barrier just stood a moment ago. "Dammit, I should've known. Arashi will know, he'll double the guards. Now it'll be even tougher.", Tsachi thinks to himself as they charge through the mountains.
"TSACHI, MAYBE WE SHOULD FIND SHELTER & WAIT THE STORM OUT!", Kurenai suggests. Regardless of whether or not he can hear her, Tsachi keeps moving forward & the others follow. They stop at a mountain after hours of travelling through the never-ending storm. Tsachi walks around, the others curiously watching as he looks like he's trying to find something. A faint smile comes onto his face & he kicks the mountain, hard. They look at the Jonin like he's crazy, but as a passage opens up in the seemingly solid mountain, nobody cares. They all just rush inside, away from the cold rain that this team has had to deal with for several hours now.
"What is this?", Sasuke asks in amazement as he looks around the grandiose sanctum hidden inside what appeared to be an ordinary mountain. Tsachi sits down & smiles before answering, "This is where I hid while Arashi's men searched for me. After I left, I knew I had to make sure I wouldn't get captured & brought back, or killed. So I hid in a mountain near the village, created this place & waited them out. They stopped looking eventually, & that's when I left.". Everyone else is huddled by the fire that Sasuke created. "We can't keep that burning for too long, either the smoke will kill us or we'll get caught.", Tsachi states before getting up & walking off.
Sakura puts out the fire, much to everybody's disappointment. Tsachi brings everybody a blanket & a pair of spare clothes, whether it fit them or not didn't matter, & for the chunin & Naruto, it wasn't anywhere close to fitting. "I know it's not the best, but everybody's clothes need to dry off & all of us need to warm up. The ventilation isn't all that great, but it'll do & we'll stay dry here.", Tsachi states while passing things out. Everybody goes to a different part of the hideaway & changes.
"So, how long are we gonna be in here anyway?", Naruto asks as they all join back up, wrapped in blankets & most of them wearing clothes that are way too big for them. Tsachi replies, "We only have a few days left, so probably not more than a day, 2 at the most.". Kurenai looks to him, trying to hide a smile when she inquires, "So what's the plan then?". Any smiles that people would have are about to be destroyed, "I've been going through all our options, & now that we're in this situation, there's only 1 left. A direct attack.", Tsachi replies solemnly. All of them look at him in shock, all of them silenced by his answer. All of them except Shikamaru, "What are you, crazy? 2 Jonin, 1 Tokubetsu Jonin, 3 Chunin & a Genin; 7 ninja, against an entire village?!", he exclaims in outrage. Naruto scratches his head & asks, "Who here is a Toku?", everybody points at Sasuke & Naruto shouts, "WHAT THE HELL!?", before adding in disappointment, "everybody outranks me...".
"Look, you think I like the thought of having to face an entire village? I don't, but here's your damn explanation: THAT STORM IS A WARNING! Arashi knows somebody got through the barrier, doesn't matter who, what or how to him though because he's gonna DOUBLE the guard. Let me break that down a bit more for you, AS HARD AS THE RAIKAGE WAS TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM INTERFERING, IT'S GONNA BE TWICE AS HARD NOW! SNEAK ATTACKS ARE POINTLESS WITH A TEAM THIS LARGE, & IF WE SPLIT UP, OUR MISSION COULD POTENTIALLY BE RUINED! So, Shikamaru, unless your genius mind can come up with something better, that's what we're going with.". Shikamaru sighs in frustration & gets up, "Fine. It's gonna be total drag, but since your idea is a suicide mission, I guess it's up to me to figure out something better. At least let me know before you plan on running off, please.", he states before leaving the room.
Kurenai suggest that they get some rest, & everyone left agrees. Tsachi shows them to the bedrooms, & lets everybody pick a room to sleep in. The last person to select is Kurenai, but before she goes in, she takes Tsachi by the arm & asks, "Is a direct attack really your best idea?". Tsachi sighs softly & answers, "I spent the entire time on our way here going over options, about what it'd mean & what could happen if we split up, about the 7 of us trying to sneak past the guards. No matter what, we'd end up fighting the entire village anyway whether we were together or apart. We wouldn't stand a chance of making it to the temple, but at least with a direct attack, we do stand a chance. Hopefully Shikamaru thinks up something better.". As Tsachi starts to pull away, every instinct in Kurenai's mind & heart tells her not to let him. After all, she might not ever get another chance to express her feelings. She lets go though, & without a single word, the 2 go their separate ways. After all, a shinobi is never supposed to let their feelings interfere with a mission.
As Sakura sits alone, her mind is racing with a million thoughts. From Tsachi's plan, to everything going on between her & Naruto...That's what is really on her mind. She starts to think back to her childhood, before it was about boys or being the best, when it was just about having fun & being happy. The way she used to make fun of Naruto, how everybody did. The rumors she heard, that she herself helped to spread...all those thoughts that seemed so distant & insignificant felt like a crushing weight on her shoulders. Sakura struggles not to cry, but is unable to help it, & in that moment she realizes something. Sasuke; the boy she always had such strong feelings for, is nothing but a friend to her. Naruto though; the guy who was always there for her, even when she said she didn't need him, was somebody she loved.
The tears that flowed, the sobs that echoed softly in the hallow halls, they were filled with many things: pain, misery, sadness, anger, but maybe beyond all of them they were filled with regret. Regret for hurting somebody so much, regret for pushing away a guy that loved her & that she loved back without even realizing it until it was too late. She wasn't supposed to fall in love with Naruto, but then again, she's a kunoichi. She isn't supposed to cry, she isn't supposed to let her feelings interfere with a mission either.
Ninja Facts: Tsunade Senju
While it's debatable as to whether her surname is Senju, she is a Senju so deal with it. Granddaughter of the 1st Hokage & grandniece of the 2nd Hokage, she is practially Leaf royalty. This leads Tsunade to being called "The Slug Princess", along with her being able to summon a slug named Katsuyu of course. The 5th Hokage, she lives up to being 1 of the Legendary Sannin. Her skills in medical ninjutsu are said to be unparalleled, & while it's due to a genjutsu she uses to appeal to her vanity, Tsunade is said to be 1 of the most beautiful kunoichi as well as 1 of the strongest.
Age: 54 (don't tell her I told u! XD)
Weight: 107.8 lbs
Height: 5'4" (approx.)
Chakra Types: Officially unknown, however it is said that she is a master of Yin/Yang chakra manipulation.
Signature Jutsu: Chakra Scapel, Mitotic Regeneration, Slug Summoning, Healing Palm Jutsu
Birthday: August 2nd
Reg. #: 002302
Mission Stats: 40 D-rank, 236 C-rank, 467 B-rank, 418 A-rank, 95 S-rank
Random Points of Interest
Tsunade means "mooring rope" in Japanese
Tsunade was the 1st female Hokage
Her favorite hobby is gambling, & the kanji on the back of her jacket is kake, meaning wager or gamble.
Tsunade's character was based off a story titled "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya", in which that character excelled in slug magic & was married to Jiraiya. (Yes, Jiraiya was based off that story too)
Her favorite food is chicken breasts & sake, while her least favorite is liver sashimi.
Of all the people in her life, the person she wishes to fight amongst them all is Naruto.
Notable Quotes
"Nawaki....Dan...I hope you are watching this. That boy, Naruto...will surely complete what you started."
(To Pain) "I am the Fifth Hokage, and I will never forgive you for trampling on the treasure, the dreams of those who came before me! As Hokage, I will put a stop to you here and now!"
I hope you enjoyed the 2nd of my 3 part expose on the Sannin! Even if you didn't, I hope you enjoyed learning about The Legendary Sucker, The Slug Princess Tsunade! You did? Awesome! Hopefully you come back for more Ninja Facts!