Sorry for the late update guys, but here's the next chapter-
Chapter-37
Looking at the glowing seal on the palm of her hand, Mei sighed to herself as she kept walking along with Ao and Choujiro- both of them looking at her with concerned faces.
"Something wrong Mizukage-sama?" Ao asked making Mei shake her head as she closed her palm.
Her stomach was twisting in a painful way as she glanced in the direction of Konoha backwards. For the past hour or so, the seal had been glowing brighter and brighter.
'I hope you're alright Naruto-kun,' she thought in concern.
Meanwhile: With Jiraiya
'Damn you Itachi! I don't know what to believe right now. Is this really the work of Danzo? Well I wouldn't put it past the war hawk. But still, Koto Amatsukami...does such a technique even exist? Over the years though, I have learned not to underestimate the Sharingan,' Jiraiya thought as he kept jumping through trees as smoothly as possible so as to not let the poison spread in Naruto's body, using chakra under his feet to increase his speed as well cushion the impacts.
The blonde currently was unconscious, a painful expression on his face while his skin seemed to be paler than before.
'Don't you dare die kid. Kushina's not going to spare me, and neither would Tsunade. Well I guess you'll be finally able to see your godmother, and she doesn't even know that you and Kushina are alive. Sensei really is in trouble,' he mused with a light smile as he continued to dash through the trees while almost a mile in front of him were Hinata and Tayuya accompanying his clone.
Jiraiya knew where to find Tsunade, just before coming to village today morning, his spies had luckily informed him of Tsunade's current location as he and Kushina were planning to bring her back to Konoha anyway. So currently they were heading off to Tanzaku town, and the toad sanin was not so surprised to hear about her location considering that town was one of the famous gambling spots in the whole Hi no Kuni.
'With the speed at which we're going, we should be there in about two hours. The sun is setting down now, I hope she doesn't leave that town today.'
Inside Naruto's Mindscape
Currently we find Ayumi sitting in a cave in a large tree's trunk, just like the one during the second part of chunin exams where team seven had rested. Naruto was resting in her lap, unconscious as here too he looked to be in pain with his skin pale. Outside it was raining, not surprising considering it was Naruto's mindscape and the weather changed with his emotions.
And Ayumi knew after what he had just beared, he was more emotionally hurt than physically.
'Hang on Naruto-kun, I'm sure that Tsunade will be able to find a cure for that poison. I've done all I could, your physical injury is already healed and your own chakra is currently preventing the poison from spreading. It's only upto that pervert sanin, Hinata and the other one to make sure you reach there in time,' the bijuu thought in concern as she flowed her hands through his blonde spiky hair, a concerned expression on her face. Currently she had her warm tails wrapped around his body as she tightly hugged the blonde's head to her chest.
She knew how much it had affected Naruto this time. Time and time again, he was constantly betrayed in his life. The boy had really come to admire Itachi just like Sasuke did, and she failed to understand what was currently going on.
She didn't know whether to believe what Itachi had said or not.
'Naruto doesn't have complete control over me yet. If he had complete access to my chakra, he instantly would have been able to sense if there were any negative emotions being radiated off that Uchiha,' she thought with a sigh as the rain started to get heavier while the blonde's body was currently cold.
'I hope he takes this well. Itachi being controlled at that time is something I never thought of possible, but if the Uchiha can control even the strongest bijuu like me, it's definitely not impossible,' she pondered while cupping the blonde's cheek gently.
"I hope this event doesn't change you Naruto-kun. I love you very much as the way you are. But even if you change, I will always remain by your side, I wouldn't ever leave you. You are my lifeline, it is your smile which brighten's my day, it is that silly grin of yours that makes me feel like the luckiest bijuu of all, the luckiest woman alive. Please be the same Uzumaki Naruto I know you are, the one who gave me the will to live, the one who freed me from darkness, or who knows...I may have had given into my hatred and this evil chakra of mine. You're the only one I'll ever love...Naruto-koi," she spoke softly as a few tears streamed down her cheeks while she hugged him tightly to her; sad that the blonde had to struggle so much in his life, that how almost everyone seemed to break his trust again and again. All in all, she knew that this event would bring a drastic change in the blonde- and only time would tell if it would be for the better...or worse.
With Hinata, Tayuya and Jiraiya's Clone
"Oi! Will you now tell me where we are going bird shit?" Tayuya asked with a frown as currently they were blurring through the dense foliage.
The clone's eyes however started to twitch at the comment about his hair color, it was not bird shit dammit!
"Tanzaku town," the sanin simply replied as he momentarily glanced sideways at the Hyuuga hieress, who not so surprisingly had not spoken even a single word since they had started on their mission- to say of sorts. But he was surprised to see the fire in her eyes, the ferocity in her gaze as she kept her eyes forward; her Byakugan activated while the hieress constantly checked their surroundings.
"Found something kid?" he asked with a serious expression while she just shook her head, her primitive Byakugan activated since the beginning of their journey.
"You okay Hinata?" Jiraiya asked again with a sigh. He knew how much the Hyuga hieress cared for his godson, and for her to act all quiet and calm disturbed the sanin a bit.
"Hai," her voice strong and resolute as she kept moving forward, putting as much chakra as she could beneath her feet, moving as fast as she could.
"I have to save Naruto-kun, I wouldn't let anything happen to him!" she exclaimed with narrowed eyes.
"Correction, we wouldn't let anything happen to him," the clone answered with a smirk making her nod while Tayuya rolled her eyes, just behind them.
'What's up with her? Just like Kin-chan, she too seems to have hots for that blondie. What's so special about that shithead? All he does is grin like an idiot, goes out of the hospital when clearly he hasn't recovered yet and then comes back with an uncurable poison flooding the fucker's system,' the red head thought with a shrug. She didn't care all that much for the unconscious blonde, heck she didn't even know him. The first time she had seen him was in the hospital earlier today and that was that. She felt a little grateful that he was the one who had pulled her back during the invasion when Kidomaro had rendered her unconscious, but other than that; there was nothing else.
She was doing this mission only because of Kin, and because that now she was a Konoha ninja- she had to do some missions to support herself and her best friend/sister.
"Jiraiya-sama, what happened to Naruto-kun?" Hinata finally asked, the concern reflecting in her voice as the three figures continued to blur through the forest.
"I can't reveal to you yet kid. What happened back in Konoha has been classified as a forbidden secret by the Hokage. However, if Naruto decides to tell you...well that's another story now," he answered with a grim look on his face making her bite her lower lip.
'I wouldn't let Naruto-kun die, we have to find Tsunade-sama as soon as possible. That poison I checked earlier with my Toyotama Byakugan, it's affecting his chakra circulatory system continuously. And even though his own chakra is holding it off, it wouldn't be able to last for much longer,' the Hyuga hieress pondered, solely concentrated on her mission, and on the object of her affection.
Roughly Two Hours Later: Tanzaku Town: 8 PM
"This is the Tanzaku town. Let's split up and start searching for her. I assume both of you know how Tsunade looks?" the Jiraiya's clone asked with a raised eyebrow making Hinata, who was standing besides him nod while Tayuya 'hmph-ed' in response.
"Of course we would know bird shit, who wouldn't know the sanin?" she uttered while the trio currently stood on a high grounds as they stared at one of the most famous gambling towns in Hi no Kuni. It was a sight to behold as the town looked to be decorated for a festival eve, curtained with lights with fire crackers lighting up the sky as their rocketing whistles echoed throughout the bustling town into its cliffy outskirts.
Meanwhile, the clone however didn't know whether to take Tayuya's statement as an insult or a compliment as he sighed to himself in exasperation while Hinata looked to be deep in thought as she stared over the town.
"Let's just first enter the town, we'll then split from there," Jiraiya verbalized as they started to dash down the cliff using chakra beneath their feet to stick to the surface. Reaching the bottom they then blurred through the small bit of foliage, consequently entering the town as they now stood in a secluded area (the town's bordering area), behind a large warehouse which looked to be abandoned.
"Now you two know the drill, split up and search. And you brat, no slacking off," Jiraiya threatened with narrowed eyes while Tayuya just glared back at him, a low growl escaping her throat.
'This motherfucker, who does he think I am? Ordering like I'm some kind of a sick genin who constantly messes things up, the bird shit should probably say this to that shithead back there….not me,' the ex-Oto kunoichi thought in anger but she just resorted to stay quiet for now, not in the least enjoying her current company. She could feel that the sanin didn't trust her, and the Hyuga right now had a one track mind-'Save shithead-kun'….as Tayuya would like to rephrase it.
She wouldn't admit to anyone, not even to Kin- but the red haired kunoichi had been secretly expecting to get to know each other in this mission, especially the Hyuga. She looked to be a nice person, though Tayuya would never admit that, even on her deathbed- but she was hoping to make another friend. However, with the mission affecting Hinata personally, she knew that she wouldn't be able get to know her. All her life in Oto, Kin was the only one she could befriend, she was her only support. But with a new start in Konoha, she was hoping to make more friends. But wherever she went….she could hear people murmuring that how she was previously working with Orochimaru and helped destroy their village.
She didn't know how they came to know that, or how they even knew of her considering the red head hadn't made that much of an appearance during the invasion- but they surely were keeping their distance away from her. It was just like in Oto, mind your own business and the life goes on. It was like- train everyday, serve Orochimaru and possibly one day die on the battlefield- that was her life, and it seemed it would remain as it is even now.
Just as Jiraiya and Tayuya were about to take off,
"Wait!" Hinata exclaimed making them look at her in confusion.
"Something wrong kid?" he asked while she looked to be contemplating something.
'I haven't mastered it yet, but I have to use it now. We need to find her as fast as possible,' she thought before nodding to herself mentally with determination.
"I'll find her with my Toyotama Byakugan, it'll be much faster," she spoke making Jiraiya's eyes narrow.
'Toyotama…..Byakugan?' Tayuya thought in surprise, she had heard Orochimaru previously mention this name.
"Save it, you're getting in over your head. I know you care for the gaki, but that doesn't mean you have to try the impossible. I know your Toyotama Byakugan is special, but you can't possibly hope to find her in between thousands of people. Besides your upgraded Byakugan can't possibly search the whole town, it doesn't have that much range. I know you'll only be trying to pump as much chakra as you can in your eyes, you'll achieve nothing but a severe case of chakra exhaustion and damaged optical chakra coils," he explained making Tayuya's eyes widen a bit in surprise.
'So he does know his stuff. I see now, at first sight…he looks like an old goofball of a pervert. But that's just a part of his deception, underneath all that he is a sanin after all. Just due to his behavior and strange antics, almost everyone tends to forget that he's a kage level ninja. Heh, even I fell for that,' she thought with narrowed eyes while gazing at the sanin when she was brought out of her musings by Hinata.
"Don't underestimate me Jiraiya-sama. You might think that I will do stupid things just to save Naruto-kun. I may be the heiress of the Hyuga clan, I may love Naruto-kun…" Hinata said with a serious expression as she crouched down on one knee, activating her Toyotama Byakugan while Jiraiya looked at her perplexed whereas Tayuya was taken aback a bit, her first time seeing this new Byakugan.
'Whoa…' the red head exclaimed mentally as she gazed at it, the two dark pink petals which were surrounding a sky blue pupil, the sclera still lavender at the bordering region while the earlier noticeable veins were no longer visible. Tayuya had to admit- it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.
'What is she….?' the toad sanin thought while Hinata began to go through a couple of hand seals, ending on the ram hand seal before slamming her left hand on the ground- her right hand now forming the 'half-ram' seal.
"….but I'm not a princess who has fallen in love head over heels with the boy of her dreams. I'm a kunoichi, who has fallen in love with an amazing shinobi," she stated with a dead serious expression while Jiraiya's and Tayuya's eyes widened simultaneously.
On the ground, a large glowing circle had formed with the Hyuga's hand as the center; it's circumference now glowing blue in color.
"What are yo…" Jiraiya was flabbergasted as he stared at the large empty glowing circle, their faces now tinted blue due to the light while all three of them were standing inside the circle.
"Oi, w-what are you d-"
"Uzume! (Goddess of Mirth and Revelry)," Tayuya stopped abruptly when Hinata exclaimed a bit loudly while Jiraiya's eyes further widened when two petals started to originate from her hand on the ground. It continued to expand until it was touching the circumference of the circle as the petals now started to glow pink in colour. Basically, it was just the enlarged design of her current Toyotama Byakugan while the sanin and the red haired kunoichi stood there speechless.
"What is this?" Jiraiya now asked in a calm tone, quickly getting over his initial shock. He had loads of experience under his belt, and he knew that the world of shinobi never ceased to surprise even the most experienced ninja like him.
"One of the special techniques of Toyotama Byakugan I have been trying to perfect over the month. Now please let me concentrate," she spoke quietly making him nod while Tayuya started to walk away from them, intent on exiting the circle.
"And stay in the circle, I need the help of you two," the red head cursed inwardly as she entered back with a frown. Currently Hinata was facing forward, the petals now slowly revolving around her sky blue pupil continuously.
"Now, I need both of you to go through these hand signs in sequence: Ushi (Ox), Inu (Dog), Dragon (Tatsu), Tora (Tiger) and Hitsuji (Ram). Then maintain the hitsuji hand seal with one of your hands, keeping the other one on my shoulder. This will help us finding Tsunade-sama as quicky as possible, believe me on this," Hinata said seriously making Jiraiya sigh while Tayuya narrowed her eyes. Nodding to himself mentally, he went through the mentioned hand signs before putting his left hand on Hinata's left shoulder from behind, standing on her left side while Tayuya just stood there; a bit skeptical about this.
"What are you waiting for? We don't have much time," Jiraiya spoke with narrowed eyes while Hinata turned her head to look at Tayuya.
"Please Tayuya-san," she spoke softly with a small comforting smile taking the red head back in surprise. Seeing the pleading expression on her face, Tayuya nodded with an almost invisible smile of her own before she went through the hand seals before putting her right hand on Hinata's right shoulder.
"Now stay calm, you may feel a bit uneasy at first; but the feeling will eventually go away," she warned making both of them nod as the Hyuga closed her eyes. Jiraiya and Tayuya could now sense her chakra levels increasing as they waited in anticipation.
"Shinto! (Way of the Penitent God)" Hinata exclaimed as the petals started to revolve at a paster face around her sky blue pupils while the petals on the ground started to revolve too. The most noticeable change however was that the bulging veins had reappeared around her eyes just like in the case of the primitive Byakugan.
Jiraiya and Tayuya's eyes though widened in astonishment when they began to see everything around them in three sixty degrees. Not only were they able to see the whole three-sixty degrees, but also that the range of their vision had severely increased.
"W-What's this?" Tayuya spoke in an incredulous voice as she stood frozen there along with Jiraiya's clone. Everything was so clear, it was atleast five times more clear than her normal vision. Also, they could see almost the end of the whole town just standing there, penetrating walls and any kind of obstructions and could define most of the chakra signatures currently present in the Tanzaku town.
"I do not have time to explain things. I can only hold this technique for thirty seconds with two people sharing my Toyotama Byakugan, both of you have to hurry and find Tsunade-sama! The controls of your current vision are simple, to zoom in on anything- put more chakra in your eyes and to zoom out reduce the amount of chakra," Hinata spoke while herself scanning through the town.
"Got it!" Jiraiya and Tayuya exclaimed simultaneously as they started to search through their newly acquired vision, each of them concentrating in different directions.
'Where are you Tsunade….at this time, you'll most probably be at a gambling spot, a bar or even a restaurant! Not here…..nope….wooh, now that's one hot babe…..not even here….where are you dammit….not th- hey wait! A pig, that breast size, another lady which must be Shizune…and that chakra signature has to be hers!'
"Found her!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he lifted his hand off Hinata's shoulders with Tayuya doing the same while Hinata, released the ram seal as well as lifted her palm off the ground- ending the technique. She breathed a sigh of relief, panting a bit while wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"You okay kid?" Jiraiya asked in concern as he put a hand on her shoulder while Hinata nodded with a serious expression on her face.
"That was one hell of a technique, I'd give you that. I've never seen something like it in my whole career," he stated making her blush a bit in embarrassment while Tayuya could only mentally agree with the sanin.
"Hey! Why are you guys standing there! Did you find her already?" the trio turned their heads to see the 'real' Jiraiya land in front of them with Naruto unconscious in his arms, his skin tone appearing to be paler than before.
'Naruto-kun….,' Hinata thought in concern as she gazed at the blonde laying in the toad sage's arms while the clone dispelled itself. Jiraiya's eyes widened as the memories rushed into his mind, he was specifically stunned at how they had found Tsunade. That technique was really something else, even the Inuzuka, the Aburame or any other Hyuuga couldn't have found Tsunade in such a populated town within a span of thirty seconds.
"Wow kid, I'm impressed," Jiraiya uttered with a whistle making Hinata now fidget a bit.
"Shouldn't we go now?" Tayuya asked in a bit of annoyance, they were just wasting time standing there.
"Here's the plan, you two go with my shadow clone and bring Tsunade here where I'll be waiting with Naruto," he said before creating a seal less shadow clone.
"Let's go!" the newly formed clone exclaimed as the trio dashed out of the secluded area, taking rooftops as their quickest route to the world's best medic.
'Well this should be good, meeting the slug sanin,' Tayuya thought with a small smirk.
An Unknown Restaurant: Tanzaku Town
"Tsunade-sama, go easy. You don't want to get drunk again do you?" a black haired woman spoke worriedly, currently carressing a pig which was wearing a pearl necklace.
"Oh hush Shizune. I'll do whatever I want, it's not like I have a family waiting at the hotel room back there for me," Tsunade said with half lidded eyes as she gulped down another cup of sake, her cheeks now tinted pink in color. Shizune's eyes saddened at hearing that while the pig, Tonton on her lap 'oinked' in response.
"But Tsunade-sama, still that's no reason to do that to yourself almost everyday," she spoke in concern while the blonde medic just waved her hand lazily.
"Shizune, what do you think about today's offer?" Tsunade's facial expression suddenly then turned serious as she gazed at her cup while the black haired medic was taken aback by the sudden question. She knew the sanin was talking about that snake's offer. Truthfully, she thought it was ridiculous to even consider it, but she was aware of Tsunade's feelings on the matter.
"Tsunade-sama….I d-"
"TSUNADE!"
WHAM!
CRASH!
Everybody sat there on their table frozen as they stared at a panting, tall white haired man and immediately knew who he was.
"J-Jiraiya-sama?"
One of them exclaimed when a blue haired Hyuga and a red haired kunoichi entered the restaurant with the sanin.
"Oh there you are!" the clone exclaimed as he walked towards the table at the corner where his fellow sanin was currently sitting, her eyebrows twitching dangerously as she glared at the toad sage- mainly due to the nature of his entry, kicking the door only for it fly off it's hinges and crash into the concrete wall besides their table with its debris now covering their forms.
"Jiraiya," she growled with a dangerous glare while Shizune just coughed to get rid of the dust as she stood up to clear the table. Tsunade however slowly stood as she walked towards him at a slow threatning pace.
"What's the meaning of this? At what age do we learn to use the door properly?" she asked as the clone gulped, praying for it's short lived existence while Tayuya just sighed at their antics.
"Tsunade-sama! Please forgive Jiraiya-sama's clone! It's an emergency, we need your help!" turning her head, Tsunade lifted her eyebrows upon seeing a pretty indigo haired Hyuga who currently was sporting a panicked expression on her face. By her hitai-aite, she knew they were with Jiraiya.
"So sensei now sends my formal teammate and two genins to bring me back huh? Does he think I'm that easy," she spoke with a sigh while the customers sat there, not moving an inch as they waited for something to happen in anticipation. Here they were, with two sanins and a Hyuga bickering about something which could well be another one of their legendary deeds- well that's how civilians tended to think in most cases.
"Now listen here miss legendary sucker, we ain't here to tell you our sob story. We are on a mission here for you to heal some shithead, as simple as that. It doesn't matter if you wanna come back to the village or not. So flip, don't act like you're so special or something," Tayuya spoke loudly with her usual 'no-shit' frown while the restaurant succumbed to a pin drop silence with the sound of a bowl shattering on the floor interrupting it. Everyone remained in their places dumbfounded, their jaws on the floor as they stared owlishly at the red haired teen.
Jiraiya however was the most stunned one, his eyes wide in horror as he prayed for the girl's safety. Even he knew not to deliberately piss-off Tsunade, and especially not to call her the legendary sucker. Shizune and Hinata were equally astonished too as both of them gulped nervously when Jiraiya snapped his head to look at Tsunade who currently had her head lowered with her eyes being shadowed, a large vein throbbing on her forehead.
"You brat….," she growled as an evil grin spread across her face when she lifted her head to glare at Tayuya who looked to be unfazed and still had that scowl on her face.
"Yeah, so what? You angry? Big deal, you gonna now suck someone's cock?" she said, showing the blonde medic her middle finger making everyone's face there except Tsunade pale in terror while Jiraiya coughed loudly, his lips pursed tightly as he tried to hold in his laughter.
'I gotta hand this over to you kid, you deserve the title of gutsy ninja. But damn this is funny!' he thought as he cleared his throat a bit loudly, desperately trying not to laugh.
"YOU'RE DEAD!" Tsunade yelled loudly with fury in her eyes as she charged chakra into her fist, prepared to knock the kid's head off. Tayuya, seeing the red signal, smirked to herself lightly which Hinata didn't fail to notice.
'So that's what she was doing,' she thought in realization, her lips curling upwards as she dashed towards the exit.
"Let's go Tayuya-san!" she yelled over her shoulder when the red head too bolted out of the restaurant, putting as much chakra in her feet as she could.
"Oh no you don't! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Tsunade growled loudly in rage as she blurred out of everyone's vision with the Jiraiya's clone sighing to himself.
'She could've atleast told me about her plan. Oh well….it should work anyway,' he thought before turning towards a panicked Shizune who also was about to go after Tsunade.
"You better hurry," he simply spoke with a smirk before puffing into smoke while the black haired medic just opted to bolt out of there, offering an apology to the restaurant owner over her shoulder on the way- thinking of what the hell was going on. Suddenly Orochimaru had popped out of nowhere that day and now Jiraiya, something big was happening. They had heard about the rumors that Konoha had been attacked by Suna, Oto and Iwa and that it had prevailed with the support of the Raikage and Mizukage.
'I don't like this.'
Meanwhile: On the rooftops of Tanzaku Town
"That was really risky Tayuya-san! You shouldn't take unnecessary risks like that!" Hinata yelled as now both of them dashed in the direction of where the real Jiraiya with an unconscious Naruto currently were, with an enraged Tsunade on their tow.
"That was the only fucking way, and with the way that titty-fuck was acting, it was getting on my bitchin' nerves. Besides, we didn't have to chat and explain her everything! Damn that titty-fuck, she's extremely fast!" Tayuya answered as they blurred through the rooftops with their chakra-pumped feet.
"Come back here you bitch! I'm gonna clobber you!" Tsunade yelled while bolting towards them, her form barely visible to even Tayuya and Hinata.
"She's so gonna fuck us!" the red head exclaimed as she increased her speed furthermore, surprising Hinata this time that she could move this fast.
'Kin-chan wasn't just bluffing when she spoke that Tayuya could be at a jounin level. Her speed right now rivals Naruto-kun's speed without using Kyuubi's chakra,' she thought before her eyes widened a bit, her Byakugan currently activated.
"JUST A LITTLE MORE TAYUYA-SAN!" she screamed making the red head nod, who now had left the Hyuga behind when Tsunade's form blazed past her too.
'But still, Tsunade-sama is a sanin, she's much superior to us in every field,' she mentally noted with a serious expression, her first time seeing a legendary sanin in action; even if it was only her speed.
Tanzaku Town: Jiraiya's Location
Having gotten his clone's memories back, Jiraiya could only shake his head, but nevertheless couldn't help but be impressed by Tayuya. She had accessed the situation, and thinking quickly had acted on it. It took guts to challenge a kage level ninja like that. Actually, he was impressed with both the kunoichi's. Truly the next generation was something else.
'Usually Tsunade would catch them easily, but the distance is not that much. So they should be able to guide her here,' he thought with Naruto laying on a blanket in front of a tree several meters behind him, still unconscious when he spotted a figure blurring towards him.
"HERE SHE COMES! YOU BETTER BE READY TO CALM HER DOWN BIRDSHIT!" Jiraiya's eyes again twitched at that nickname. He liked if someone called him pervert, he was proud of it. But this was something he couldn't appreciate, he was a sanin damn it!
Tayuya then landed in front of him before skidding on the ground; a small amount of panic in her eyes before they widened a bit when she saw his face and eyes.
"What the fuck happened to your face? You….you look like a motherfucking toad!" she pointed while pointing her index finger at him.
"If you wanna escape Tsunade's wrath and live to see another day, I would advice that you get behind me," Jiraiya uttered with a serious expression as she rushed to stand behind him, not questioning any further. She may be a hardcore kunoichi, usually calm in most situations- but she knew that an enraged sanin on your ass was…..well it was obvious to everyone.
'Here she comes,' the toad sage thought with a grim expression as he gazed at incoming figure of his teammate.
"THERE YOU ARE!" came an enraged yell as the blonde medic landed on the ground before dashing towards Tayuya who was standing behind Jiraiya. Tsunade however couldn't see anything else except the red haired girl.
"Get aside Jiraiya or I'll WHACK you into the next orbit!" she threatened in blind rage, already midway while the toad sanin just stood there.
"Fine then! Take….THIS!" rearing her chakra powered fist (not using much chakra so as to not seriously injure Jiraiya), she pulled it back towards Jiraiya's shoulder full force at blurry speeds, not wanting to kill her teammate.
THUP!
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock when her fist was caught by Jiraiya's left hand resulting in a loud thwack of a sound, a small crater forming underneath them due to the impact as a violent gust of wind generated outwards. The slug sanin's pupil though zoomed out in shock when she noticed his face now up close in the dark.
"S-Sennin Moodo (Sage Mode)," she stuttered in astonishment due to having seen it after so many years and that Jiraiya would use it against her, he RARELY used this.
'Holy shit!' Tayuya thought flabbergasted as she stood there, not being able to believe her eyes. Jiraiya had just stopped one of those legendary punches like it was nothing.
'So this is the real toad sanin, the one who taught the legendary Kiroi Senkou (Yellow Flash), the yondaime Hokage,' she further thought in immense surprise.
"Before you try to hit me again Tsunade, look over my shoulder, behind the girl," Jiraiya verbalized in a serious tone, no signs of his usual goofiness as his face returned back to normal. The stunned medic lifted her head to to notice an unconscious blonde laying on a blanket.
"M-Minato?" she questioned with widened eyes as the toad sage released her fist, shaking his head in denial.
"No, it's his son, Uzumaki Naruto- the one you thought to have died thirteen years ago. He was alive all this time, but now….he's in a life threatening situation," he said, dropping a bombshell on Tsunade as she staggered back while Hinata and Shizune landed in front of them.
"Tsunade-sama, what happened?" Shizune asked as she gazed at the trembling form of her mentor while Hinata rushed at Naruto's side to check on his condition.
"N-No….you're lying. I was told he died along with Kushina and Minato that day. T-There's no way he could have been alive all this time and I wasn't informed," she spoke in a quivering voice as Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
"You think I'm lying Tsunade! You think that person laying there is not Naruto, but some imposter we are using to trick you into coming to the village?" he growled in impatience while pointing at Naruto's unconscious body.
"N-Naruto?" this time it was Shizune's turn to get shocked, that was a name she had not heard for a long time. She knew how much Tsunade loved Kushina, that how she was happy just as much as Kushina when they came to know that the red head Uzumaki was pregnant. Shizune had seen Tsunade happy after a long time, the medic was joyous back then. The blonde had always treated Kushina just like her daughter, and it was like she was going to be a grandmother. But the fact that she was told that Minato, Kushina and Naruto died in the Kyuubi attack had crushed her completely- it was the final push that made her leave Konoha.
"Sensei told you that those three died and that some unnamed orphan was chosen as the new Kyuubi jinchuriki by Minato before dying. It was a lie, the one he chose to seal the Kyuubi in was his own son. Now are you going to help us treat him or not?" he exclaimed with some anger seeping into his tone while both Tsunade and Shizune stood there frozen.
"This is bad, the poison is spreading into his body and his internal organs are getting damaged. His chakra is no longer able to stop it completely!" Hinata spoke frantically, her Toyotama Byakugan activated as she stared into his body making the slug princess snap out of her thoughts.
"Shizune!" she exclaimed, rushing to Naruto's side quickly as Hinata gave her space. Acting instantly, Shizune too blurred towards Naruto, ready to aide her master. Meanwhile, Tsunade who sat on her knees besides Naruto had her eyes widened as she gazed at his pale face.
'T-The face….his nose, the whiskers, spiky blonde hair, that innocent expression….h-he really is…' tears welled up in her chocolate brown eyes as she stared at him, clutching her pants tightly while Shizune too stared at him with wide eyes- clamping a hand on her mouth in shock.
"N-Naruto….," Tsunade's lower lip began to quiver as tears now began to stream down her cheeks, tears of happiness that her godson was still alive; her heart swelling with a rush of excitement.
"Tsunade-sama…." Shizune trailed as she stared at Naruto, not believing her eyes. Lifting her trembling hand, Tsunade gently touched his cheeks, her vision glossy as she bit her lower lip; remembering the last time she had been in his presence.
Flashback: Thirteen Years Ago: Two Days Before the Kyuubi's Attack
"I'm doing this so-called urgent mission only because you said so Kushina. Geez, that Minato sure do acts like an idiot sometimes. It's about time for delivery and he dares send me on a S-rank mission when I should be taking care of you," Tsunade spoke with a frown, talking to Kushina who currently was laying on a bed in her apartment while a much younger Shizune stood besides the medic.
"Don't worry Kaa-chan, I'll take good care of my Naru-kun," Kushina spoke with a smile as she rubbed her swollen belly lovingly making Tsunade and Shizune smile at the sight.
"Yeah, you'd better take good care of him. I'll try to rush back here as soon as possibly. I can't wait to see him!" the blonde medic spoke in glee, a grin on her face while Shizune too smiled.
"Yeah, I can't wait to hold him in my arms," the fiery red head whispered to herself, a bit tired when Tsunade stood up with a sigh.
"We should leave now, the sooner we go, the sooner we can return to see our Naru-chan…ne Shizune-chan?" she asked with a smile making the black haired girl nod enthusiastically. Bending towards Kushina, Tsunade neared her belly with a smile.
"You behave yourself and be a good boy Naru-chan, and don't cause Shina-chan too much trouble. Tsunade-chan loves you," she whispered softly with a giggle when Kushina's eyes widen.
"H-He kicked!" she exclaimed with a bright smile making Tsunade blink at her before a large grin spread across her face.
"See? He already likes me!" she spoke with a smug smirk, hands on her hips when Kushina noticed young Shizune standing there while looking at her belly somewhat curiously.
"Shizune-chan, you want to say something to Naru-kun?" she questioned with a small smile making the black haired teen look at her in surprise.
"M-Me? W-What do I s-say?" she stuttered with an embarrassed blush when Tsunade pulled her gently towards Kushina.
"Oh don't be shy now Shizune. Say something now will you?" she uttered with a mischievous smile. Nodding somewhat meekily, Shizune lowered her head towards her belly, gulping in nervousness making Kushina giggle at her innocent and cute face.
"Um…s-so, I hope you're doing fine in there Naruto-kun. I hope you come out soon, so that we could play with each other. So, um….I'll see you later I guess," she whispered with a small blush before backing up.
"He seems to like you too Shizune-chan, he kicked yet again," Kushina spoke with a giggle making the black haired teen's eyes widen.
"Really?" she asked making the red head nod as she grinned toothily while rubbing the back of her head.
Flashback Ends!
'This presence….I can feel it….this is my Naru-chan,' Tsunade thought as she smiled, sniffing to herself before wiping her tears when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, he is our Naruto. I know you must have lots of questions, but you better heal him quickly, his condition is serious Tsunade," Jiraiya muttered with a sad smile as Hinata and Tayuya stood besides him. Sniffing to hold back her tears of happiness, she started to use her mystic palm technique- accessing the damage with Shizune doing the same.
'Naru-chan…..as long as I'm alive, nothing is going to happen to you- that's a promise I made to Shina-chan all those years ago, a promise I thought I couldn't keep. But this time, being given the second chance, I intend to be there for you till I live….that's the promise of a lifetime!'
So tell me what you think. And I wouldn't be overpowering the Byakugan like Sharingan, so don't worry. Please review and take care everyone.
N6023