Naruto groaned in pain as consciousness returned to him. "What the hell happened to me?" He hissed, one of his arms throbbing painfully.

"That jutsu you were working on backfired," Kyūbi stated irritably. Naruto hissed as his headache hurt more as the fox spoke. "You gave me a headache with the shockwave of that attack."

"Sorry." Despite his head and arm protesting, he lifted himself on the bed to see that he was in the apartment he and Jiraiya were staying at. His arm was thankfully not broken anymore, merely sore and weak all over. Even so, he had a lot of trouble getting up on the arm. "Damn it...wha-"

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the unconscious Shizune on the floor. "What the fuck?" With a good amount of effort, he jumped off the bed, walked over, and shook her with his good arm. "Oi. Get up."

Shizune groaned as she woke up. "Ugh...Naruto?" However, her drowsiness quickly disappeared, raw panic coloring her features. "Naruto?!" She grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and shook him violently. "Naruto! What time is it!? What day is it!? What day?! What time!?"

Naruto quickly shoved the woman off of him, confused by the turn of events. "Monday morning? What's gotten into you?"

Shizune blinked in confusion. "How the heck are you up? You were supposed to be out cold for two days at least."

Naruto smirked. "Let's just say I heal fast, even by jinchūriki standards."

"...I see." Shizune replied, still surprised.

"Besides, I have a bet to win!" Naruto roared. "I'm gonna wipe the smirk off that bitch's face!"

Shizune shoved her anger at the insult to her master aside for a second. "So you completed the jutsu?"

"...Yes." Naruto replied. "More or less. All I have to do is find a way to make it lighter or something. Maybe adding another Chakra Nature other than Earth?"

An inquisitive look crept on Shizune's face. "Well, maybe Wind would be best-grh!" She suddenly flinched as she grabbed her side in pain.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"D-don't worry about it!" Shizune hastily added, suddenly running for and opening the window. "Stay here Naruto, you hear me! Stay-Agh!" She suddenly leaned back as a kunai nearly pierced her face. She turned around, half expecting Orochimaru, only to find-

"Jiraiya!?"

Naruto's alarmed statement summed up Shizune's thoughts perfectly. Jiraiya was slumped across the wall, breathing heavily and shaking uncontrollably. "What the hell happened to you?!" Naruto gaped.

"She slipped me a mickey."

"Who slipped you a-" Shizune went white as the obvious answer came to her. "Tsunade!?"

"Yeah..." Jiraiya growled, sitting on the rooftops as the other ran to him. "Vixen spiked my drink. I can't build up any chakra, and my whole body feels numb and weak. I could barely throw a kunai straight."

"Straight enough to nearly kill me..." Shizune thought, annoyed at the near head injury.

"Nice one old man." Naruto scoffed. "So much for being one of the greatest ninjas on the planet! Were you distracted by her giant tits?"

"Well, probably-SHUT UP!" Jiraiya snapped before groaning from the stress and settling down. "She possesses a near-encyclopedic knowledge of herbs and elixirs. A potent knockout drug for battlefields and rowdy patients would practically be second-nature for her to make. Still, for me to not notice a thing...I must be losing my touch."

"Yeah, but why did she do it?" Naruto frowned, one of his shadow clones coming up with a pitcher of water. He absentmindedly made one when he saw the man near keeling over on the roof. The boy was somewhat to Jiraiya coming home more toasted than he should. "Stop me if I'm wrong, but usually Tsunade just beats the shit out of you when you get too handsy. At least that's what you told me."

Jiraiya gratefully took a few hearty gulps of water before sighing out. "Thanks, kid. And you're right. Tsunade likely wouldn't drug me like this if I just pissed her off. Shizune, it's time you told me what the hell kind of deal Orochimaru made with Tsunade."

"...What?" Naruto blinked, the inclusion of Orochimaru catching him off guard. "What's he got to do about this?"

"I...I never thought that she would go through with it." Shizune replied, heartbreaking pain across her face as bolted off. "But now...There's no time to lose! We have to go now! I'll explain on the way!"

"Let's go then!" Jiraiya stated, he and Naruto following along.

"You are all aware that Orochimaru killed the third Hokage?" Shizune said as they ran.

Naruto snarled. "How could I forget?"

"Well, Sarutobi dealt permanent damage to him before he did," Shizune added. "His arms were completely useless, and he felt pain in them at all times. It was as if the arms were already dead and Orochimaru was unable to rip them off."

Naruto and Jiraiya chuckled. "Seems like the old man went out with a bang," Jiraiya stated.

"That's just it," Shizune said. "Orochimaru asked Tsunade to heal him."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and rage. "WHAT THE FUCK?! WHY!?"

Shizune flinched at the enraged roar. "Orochimaru said she could bring her little brother and sweetheart back to life."

"You're kidding me?" Naruto hissed incredulously. "How could she believe a lie like that?"

"Because it isn't a lie," Jiraiya replied, his tone grave as a tombstone. Naruto's head whipped around to Jiraiya, visibly dumbfounded. "There were various reports of Orochimaru bringing the 1st and 2nd Hokages back from the dead to kill the third. Earlier I told her that working with Orochimaru would spit upon the dreams that those two had. But I can speak with authority when I say choosing between a loved one life and their ideals is a hellish choice."

"Shit," Naruto growled as he realized how many people he knew with dead loved ones they'd kill to get back or avenge. Sasuki especially. "We're going to have to fight her on this are we?"

"It appears so," Jiraiya growls, clearly infuriated at the severity of the situation. "Tsunade, you've left me no choice. If I must kill you, I will."

BOOM!

The massive shockwave shook the whole town, nearly knocking all three of them to the ground. "The fuck was that?!" Naruto yelped.

"There!" Shizune pointed at the massive plume of dust and dirt in the distance. "Tsunade!"

"I don't I've seen Tsunade cause destruction of that caliber out of her prime...ever." Jiraiya swallowed.

"I thought she was retired." Naruto sweat at the massive display of demolition.

"...She is..." Shizune added. "But hey! Maybe she didn't take the deal!"

"Good god, I hope she didn't," Naruto growled. "Hey, could you heal the old man before we get there?"

I can't," Shizune said. "The effects of that drug will probably last for another few hours."

Jiraiya cursed. "Wonderful."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she didn't take the deal," Naruto said as they looked around the ravaged wreckage in a mixture of alarm and relief. "Holy shit."

Massive craters were littered around the place, to the point where it looked like a meteor shower. One crater, in particular, was huge, most likely being the one they saw being made in the distance.

"Thank kami..." Shizune sighed, before noticing Tsunade's coat. "Ah! This could help!" Putting Tonton down beside the coat she called to Naruto. "Could you and Tonton smell where Tsunade is?"

"Easily," Naruto smirked as Tonton took a whiff before he picked it up as he felt for Tsunade's chakra. Before he pointed in the same direction as Tonton.

Then they both took off with Shizune and Jiraiya only a second behind.

Naruto's chakra sensing continued to have a perfect record.

The three ninjas landed upon the scene to see Tsunade in fierce combat. But not with Orochimaru.

"Kabuto?" Naruto frowned incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"You've met this guy before Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"I saw him in the chūnin exams," Naruto replied, training a cold look on the silver-haired boy, noticing his differing headband. "Didn't see much of what he could do, considering he dropped out in the prelims. I guess he wasn't in there to rank up?"

"Out of the way!" Tsunade roared, charging at Kabuto with murderous intent as fast as her chakra-enhanced muscles could allow. But it wasn't fast enough to reach him before Kabuto slashed his own wrist, showering her in his own blood.

Naruto stared in surprise at seeing Tsunade come to an abrupt halt, face frozen in fear. "I knew I couldn't handle two of the legendary Sanin at once." With a mighty evil grin, he threw a haymaker right at his opponent, sending her crashing into her assistant's arms.

"Definitely not there to rank up." Naruto frowned, a few dozen shadow clones popping into existence. "You got Orochimaru old man, I'll take this punk!"

"No way," Jiraiya replied. "That guy could probably go toe to toe with Kakashi if pressed."

Naruto grimaced at that. "You sure?" He'd likely have to use the Kyūbi to get out of this mess if that was the case. The clones sunk into the ground, preparing to attack. Kabuto merely smirked at the jutsu, he could handle any number using that trick. He even knew it himself.

Glancing back at the shivering Tsunade, Naruto asked. "What's with her?" He hadn't seen that face on anyone but Iruka, and that was a long time ago. "Trauma from the war?"

"Hemophobia, to be exact," Shizune added, still trying to comfort Tsunade.

Before anything else could be said. Jiraiya spotted Kabuto going through a similar set of seals. "Crap." Jiraiya hissed, going through the same seals.

"Summoning!" They both called out, plumes of smoke covering the field.

When they all cleared, Kabuto and Orochimaru bore down on the group atop two massive snakes.

Standing in front of Jiraiya...was a red toad the size of a man's palm. "What's up?"

Jiraiya went pale white. "WHAT THE-WHY ARE YOU HERE?! WHERE THE HELL'S YOUR FATHER?!"

Naruto wasn't too far off, sweating bullets with a fake grin. "We're up against Orochimaru, the guy that killed the 3rd, and Kabuto with two Sanin. One drugged to hell and back and the other cowering in hemophobic shock. And I thought suicide missions were only assigned to jōnin and up."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "Oh Jiraiya, your stupidity has truly surpassed you today."

"Perhaps Tsunade was thinking ahead," the teenager muttered to his mentor. "And drugged him to prepare as a sacrifice."

The yellow-eyed Sannin chuckled at the thought. "To think she would hand Jiraiya to me like that. That would have been perfect. If only she hadn't backed down last minute. Oh well..." Kabuto jumped onto the second snake as they lunged forward. "But at least I'll be able to kill him with my bare hands!"

Before he could make good on that promise, however, two things happened at once.

First, the ground beneath the snakes split apart, sending the two snakes crashing into a pit in the ground.

Second, three massive foxes, albeit smaller than the snakes, appeared from thin air, the group standing on the one in the middle. Shizune, Jiraiya, and Gamakichi looked at Naruto in surprise. "What?" Naruto asked. "Don't tell me you forgot that I had two summoning contracts, old man?"

"Heh." A relived chuckle came from the Sanin as he looked down. "I guess it slipped my mind."

"Now!" Naruto commanded. "Attack!"

The foxes complied, diving at the downed snakes with gusto. "Shizune!" Naruto added, ten of his clones forming a protective barrier around Tsunade before charging for Kabuto. "Cover me! We're taking Kabuto!"

"R-Right!" Shizune replied. It was rather surprising for Naruto to take the lead, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Thanks to Naruto landing Orochimaru and Kabuto into a pit in the ground, Jiraiya was able to jump and dive kick Orochimaru in the face. The snake was nearly knocked off the summon but held on with enough effort. Jiraiya followed this with his Swamp of the Underworld technique, creating a large mass of mud in the pit they were in. One the foxes were happy to dunk the serpents into and crush, sending them right into the summoning world. "Damn, if it weren't for Naruto, I'd have never sunk these bastards." Unfortunately, Jiraiya didn't have time to give a silent thank you to Naruto, as he saw Orochimaru running up the leg of the fox he was on at high speed.

Flashing through another set of seals, he quickly wrapped himself up in a protective layer of the Lion's Mane Technique. Whereas before his hair would grow to nearly three times as long as it had originally been, now it barely reached past his knees, not even sinking into the ground.

This made it easy for Orochimaru to kick aside the white, spiked hair and lunge for his fellow Sanin's neck. "Fuck!" Jiraiya thought, spiting a fireball at Orochimaru's face as he lunged. This spontaneous and Jiraiya-ish act worked even better than he thought, as the blast went right down Orochimaru's throat.

While Jiraiya did still get bitten on the neck, it was safe to say that his opponent was not having a comfortable time either. Having a burnt raw throat is one thing, having an incinerated larynx that's over a foot long is a completely different story. One that is much more painful. Orochimaru barely even bit down before retracting and grabbing his throat. "Bastard!" The snake hissed and coughed.

Jiraiya chuckled darkly as he rubbed his bleeding neck. He was in a super shitty situation, but at least he could piss off Orochimaru as easily as in old times.

The second she saw Kabuto, Shizune flashed through her seals as fast as possible. "Ninja art! Poison Fog!" A simple wind jutsu from Naruto swept the toxic smoke right to Kabuto's direction.

"Shit!" He thought as the gas flew towards him. He quickly dived off the snake to avoid the gas, swerving in the air to avoid the tails of the foxes wrestling with them, before diving into the mud.

Shizune cursed. "Missed."

"No worries," Naruto growled, trying to steady himself on the wrestling. "He's outnumbered a few dozen to one down there in the ground. He'll have to bust out soon."

This assumption proved to be incredibly wrong, however, as Kabuto suddenly burst from the wall above them. The two Sanin apprentices yelped as they dived out of Kabuto's attack, Shizune shooting poisoned senbon at the bastard. Kabuto merely deflected them all with a kunai as he landed. "Come on. Did you actually think a few clones could handle me?"

"They handled Neji," Naruto growled as he sided with Shizune, the medic ninja forming her own chakra scalpels like Kabuto. He flung an assortment of kunai and shuriken at Kabuto, who merely dodged them all.

"Please," Kabuto scoffed, looking insulted. "Don't put me on the level of you genin. It's insulting."

"I'm no genin," Shizune stated coldly. "And you were remembered as the forever genin in Konoha if the rumors are right."

A look of visible irritation flickered across Kabuto's face. Naruto smirked. "Yeah," He added. "I remember you failing 3 or 4 times, wasn't it? Or was it more?"

Kabuto growled as they charged. He knew full well that the two fools were merely trying to make him lose his temper and do something stupid. However, they didn't know that Sound ninja didn't with fewer thoughts when angered. They fought with fewer morals.

Naruto made a few more clones as Shizune charged. The medic-nin engaged in a dance of deadly medical jutsu as the clones converged, kunai in hand. Kabuto scowled as he was forced to switch between Shizune and every clone that got too close. He jumped up to avoid a particularly strong slash from Shizune, kicking down on her and another clone. But this left him quite open to a strike from Shizune, who grabbed the leg as it slammed into her skull. The satisfaction Shizune got from getting that hit quickly disappeared as it was replaced by a large boulder.

A boulder covered in exploding notes.

"Oh, Fu-" Naruto's curse was cut short by a massive explosion, popping all the clones and flinging Naruto and Shizune back and nearly off the beasts they fighting on.

"That bastard!" Shizune hissed as she got back on her feet and looked around. Kabuto was gone. "Where did he-"

A scream caught her attention. Heart leaping to her throat, she looked at the head of one of the foxes to see Kabuto popping the last of the clones surrounding Tsunade and grabbing her by her shirt. The fox tried to grab the boy on her head, but Kabuto merely flickered away with a smirk.

"To lie there cowering behind the clones of a lowly genin..." Kabuto laughed darkly before snarling and grabbing her by the neck. "You're a disgrace to the Sanin!"

"Let her go you bastard!" Naruto roared, before paling as chakra forms around the hand grasping her. "Wait, I thought you needed her!"

"Yes, we do," Kabuto smirked. "But it's much easier to threaten her life to make back off. If you do attack him, you lose the only way to heal Sasuki and Kakashi. Do you really want to risk the lives of your friends and loved ones?"

Naruto and Shizune growled murderously but didn't move.

"That's better." Kabuto laughed. "You know, Naruto. I wonder why Orochimaru bothered to give you a curse mark. You have some natural skills and vitality that befits your clan, but Sasuki is far more skilled than you'll ever be. The only worth you have in my mind is a backup."

Naruto glared a hole in the smug silver-haired jackass before him. "You'll see," Naruto growled before two clones appeared beside him.

Orochimaru gave the battle unfolding on one of the other fox heads great attention as he dueled with Jiraiya. "It seems you've picked quite the student to mentor Jiraiya. Namikaze's skill and Uzumaki's strength has combined to create a great force. And to think, he hasn't even used the power of the 9 tails in this battle yet."

"That's right," Jiraiya said proudly. "And I already called dibs. So eyes off. Him and the Uchiha."

"Please." Orochimaru mocked. "You've known me since we were kids. The prodigy in a team of reckless fools. Surely you understand why I had to mark them? When I saw the visual prowess and creative strength of those two, you think I could've held back from stealing them even if I wanted to?"

"No," Jiraiya replied. "I knew you as a prodigy that loathed death with a passion and had an interest in all forms of jutsu, even as a kid. But it is that predictable nature that will be your undoing."

"How so?"

"Simple, Sarutobi ensured that you can't jutsu normally, and Naruto, Tsunade, and Sasuki have no interest in working with you, all because of your horrendous actions," Jiraiya explained with a smirk. "I may not be able to handle you in my current state, but Konoha knows where your village is, and you have no way of defending it. Even if you get away here, which I don't plan on allowing, sooner or later, we're going to take you out and make you pay everything you've done. You can't fend us off in your condition! The third will be avenged!"

"That maybe, but I have other options than Tsunade to heal my arms. Besides..." Orochimaru smirked as he saw Kabuto hold Tsunade by the neck. "It seems that she will be healing me whether she wants or not."

Jiraiya scowled, he wanted to get over there but he couldn't risk it with Orochimaru still conscious/alive. "Damn it Naruto. You should've been guarding her better." He thought. "I hope Tsunade manages to get out of her funk."

Kabuto frowned as he stared down Naruto and his two clones, hand already on the verge of cutting the arteries and veins of her neck. It would be a shame to kill her, but they did have other options, undesirable as they might be. Plus, ensuring Konoha loses their 5th Hokage before she even gets to Konoha would ensure they stay splintered and licking their wounds. Not to mention it would piss off his opponents into doing something stupid.

"Hey, granny!" Naruto called out, getting Tsunade's attention. "Be prepared to hand over that necklace after all this is over!"

"Wait, no!" Shizune cried out. "You couldn't lift the elemental Rasengan last night!"

With a huge smirk, he thrust his hand out and channeled his chakra. A Rasengan formed around the clone's hands, focusing on maintaining the shape while the clones added the elemental chakra, one adding Wind and the other adding Earth. All three medic ninja gaped as they saw the ball of chakra turn change to a golden colder and slightly vibrate.

"That's...impossible..." Tsunade rasped, summing up the thoughts of everyone seeing it.

Kabuto took a step back as he saw the glowing gold ball of death and grinning Jinchūriki bearing down on him. "He really did it..." Kabuto shivered before realizing something and smirking. "Very impressive Naruto! A jutsu like that could easily take me out! But how are you going to get close to me before I kill Tsunade?"

Naruto's grin grew wider. "Like this."

Poof!

Kabuto blinked in confusion as he saw Tsunade collapse onto Shizune's surprised back. Turning back to his hand, he saw that he had a manically grinning Naruto by the throat instead of Tsunade. "What the-" Instinct overriding thought for the first time in longer than he remembered, he clenched his hand around his captive's neck, slitting his throat from the inside out. But not before Naruto slammed his Rasengan into Kabuto's stomach.

Kabuto released his grip on Naruto's neck as he was blown backward by the resulting shockwave, screaming in pain and he soared across the pit, the chakra of the attack tearing through his body. "He replaced himself with Tsunade while I had a chakra scalpel on her throat?" He thought incredulously. "Is he insane?" If that wasn't enough, all the metal in the area suddenly converged and sped toward him. Every kunai and shuriken thrown in this fight sailed into the spot that the Rasengan tore a hole in, the pain nearly knocking him out as he hit the wall of the pit with a sickening crunch. After all that, Kabuto peeled off the wall and dropped like a rock, falling into the mud pit as his voice failed him.

Naruto gave a pained chuckle as he grasped his throat, blood dripping from his mouth. He knew that an awkward explanation was in store after using a Magnet Release Rasengan but it was the only element he could use in a Rasengan without wrecking his arm. Earth had shattered it, Water most likely wouldn't be much different, and he knew enough about Wind chakra to know it would shred his hand. And he had to win his bet with Tsunade somehow. Having the clone help him use the element that he hadn't practiced much was also something he thought of in his training, but the Earth Rasengan likely would've been too heavy for three Narutos anyway.

"Naruto!" Shizune called out and ran over, horrified at the great damage he was dealt with. "He likely lost part of his esophagus with that stunt!"

Tsunade even somewhat broke out her stupor as she saw the horrific injury Naruto. "No..." Before she even realized it, her hands were caressing the blonde's neck while alight with green chakra. Kyūbi added to the healing process via a small bit of his own chakra, combining with the healing to mend the arteries at an unreal pace. Any cut muscles grew back in place as well. Despite this, the lack of air had left Naruto barely conscious and coughing up blood.

"Well damn," Jiraiya laughed, visibly impressed by the insane stunt his student pulled and his completion of the Rasengan. Using the replacement technique to swap places with the hostage on top of that as well. "Although I can't tell what element he used. Lightning, perhaps?"

Orochimaru was also intrigued, the seemingly lethal damage Kabuto had taken barely concerning him. "He's survived worse." The Sanin thought. What was truly interesting was Minato's brat. At first, he merely seemed to have Minato's prodigal talents and Kushina's raw power and creativity, but a clear ruthlessness and adaptability had shown itself in that fight. At this rate, he could potentially be a ninja on par with the Sanin themselves, and possibly greater. "All the reason to bag him and Tsunade right here!" He grinned and lunged off the fox, heading straight for Naruto and company.

"Oh no, you don't!" Jiraiya roared as he bolted off after him. Adding to the snake's trouble was one of the foxes who saw Orochimaru soaring toward his summoner and reached his muddy claw out, intending to grab Orochimaru and rip him apart. Orochimaru merely scoffed, turned around, and shot out his tongue at Jiraiya, wrapping it around his leg.

"What the hell?!" Jiraiya yelped. He didn't even have time to grab the tongue before it flung the Sanin toward the claw reaching toward him. With the interruption of the other Sanin hitting the hand and the cramped space of the pit, Orochimaru had more than enough time to charge right at Naruto and Tsunade and shoot his tongue out at them.

Tsunade's eyes widened as she saw the Sanin coming right for her and the boy just waking up. "No!" Her body acting up on her own again, she grabbed the tongue right as it was wrapping around them and yanked it as hard as she could, dragging Orochimaru's surprised face right to her. She swung at the bastard as hard as he could, sending him flying back. Although he was able to grab on the fur of the fox they were on.

"Tsunade," Orochochimaru growled in irritation as he got back up. "Why do you insist on getting in my way? I have no interest in killing you or the Uzumaki."

"You're...interested in...destroying Konoha." Naruto hissed, his voice still raspy from the throat injuries and lack of breath. "That's enough...reason as is."

"He's right," Tsunade added as she clenched her fists. "We'll never help you in destroying Konoha."

"And why do you care about Konoha?" Orochimaru scoffed, his tone turned mocking and full of malice. "A village that treated one of you as a monster and was abandoned by the other!"

Tsunade and Naruto scowled at the cruel yet true words. But Tsunade's next words stopped Naruto and Orochimaru cold. "Because whether the village realizes it or not, I know that this reckless little genin will be Hokage someday."

Orochimaru scoffed even harder. "Even if that were true, why would he want it? Why would he risk his life in that fool's job?"

Tsunade felt a stab in her heart at having her words thrown back at her, albeit unintentionally. Fortunately, Naruto was there to rebut that claim.

"I've been hearing a lot of shit thrown in the way of that hat, and I'm sick and tired of it," Naruto growled, eyes turning red. "I'm getting that to make the villages acknowledge me, and so I can acknowledge myself. I will become Hokage to prove the naysayers wrong and rebuild the village in my image! To be Hokage, that is my dream!" Red chakra swirled around him in a cloak as he stared a hole through the snake, a tail sprouting from his behind.

Tsunade went still before nodding and standing tall. "Every Hokage before us put their life on the line for what they believed in, and now so will we!"

With a roar, Tsunade and Naruto both charged Orochimaru, one with a red Rasengan, the other with her bare hands. Orochimaru scowled before unsheathing his sword and extending it outward at Tsunade. She nimbly dodged the strike before kicking away the sword with her sandal. Adding to the trouble, he suddenly sensed a presence behind and lashed out to see Jiraiya jumping out of the way of the kick and breathing fire at him.

"Damn!" Orochimaru growled as he jumped out of the path of the flames and kicked away the Rasengan Naruto thrust at him. Fortunately. Naruto managed to dispel the Rasengan before it hit the ground. More fortunately, Orochimaru was left wide open to Tsunade's next attack, the stress of keeping up with three opponents in his weakened state clearly getting to him. With a rage-fueled roar, she decked the psycho right in the gut, flinging him bodily off the fox and into the mud pit below.

"Heh." Jiraiya chuckled. "We've got Old Roachy on the ropes. At this point, we might really take him out here and now."

"Don't jinx it," Shizune growled. She hadn't gotten involved in the attack as she knew that Orochimaru was far out of league even crippled as he was. Naruto could only "This is too good an opportunity to pass up. And where the hell were you while the bastard was bearing down on us?"

"Sealing the area against long-range teleports," Jiraiya explained, pointing to the various seals now covering the walls of this place. Naruto, Tsunade, and Shizune blinked in surprise. Did he do all that in so little time? "Can't let him get away that easily..." Jiraiya trailed off as he noticed something. "Hey Tsunade, you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Your hands."

It was at this point that she looked at her hands and saw, her hands were caked in blood from treating Naruto and she wasn't shaking. "That's new. And makes things easier." She thought blankly.

Shizune was far more overjoyed. "She's conquered her fear at last!" She gaped tears in her eyes.

"You should dispel your foxes now Naruto," Jiraiya said. "They've served their purpose and they're kinda cramped here."

"Yeah, okay." Naruto was about to give the go about to dispel them when something shifted at the bottom.

BOOM!

A colossal blast of smoke sent everyone flying in the air, the alarmed ninja yelling out with the equally alarmed fox's roars. Jiraiya quickly grabbed every one and stuck himself to the wall with the Lion's Mane. When the smoke cleared, a giant purple snake had appeared in the mud, one the other Sanin knew all too well.

"Manda?!" Jiraiya gaped. Tsunade wasn't far off. "But how?! He can't use his hands! The only way he could've gotten him out here is-"

"NO!" Naruto growled at seeing Manda pushing aside the fox summons as they vainly tried to stop the monster. With a snarl, Manda swats them into a wall and lifts his head up, Orochimaru and, to everyone's unpleasant surprise, Kabuto half-conscious on the Sanin's shoulder. "Please tell me I'm imagining things!"

"I really wish I could, kid," Jiraiya growled as he surveyed the area. "Too small for Gama."

"How the fuck did that bastard get up?" Naruto ranted, refusing to believe Kabuto had survived his attack. "I slammed a Rasengan right in his stomach, stabbed him through with a few dozen kunai and shuriken, and shot him off clear into a wall! That should've killed him twice over!"

"We are dealing with Orochimaru's right-hand man," Tsunade growled, biting into her thumb. "And a skilled medic-nin in his own right. He probably knows how to patch himself up pretty well."

"Orochimaru!" Manda snarled, thrashing around in the mud. "How dare you summon me in such a disgusting place?!"

"I'm afraid we're currently in a bit of a bind." Orochimaru hissed. "There's a town downhill that will pay for the less than kind summoning. But take out Jiraiya and company first, will you?" It was a shame to kill Naruto and Tsunade after all this trouble but he might actually get killed at this point. Besides, if they didn't want to listen to reason that was their problem.

Manda scoffed and smashed the fox summons in the pit with his tail, dispelling them. "There better be a good amount in there Orochimaru, or I might eat you!"

The pit shook, and Kabuto and Orochimaru looked up to see what was going on, only to see a mass of slugs falling on to them. "What?" Orochimaru gaped, knowing who likely summoned them. "No!"

The three villains were swarmed by acid-spitting slugs, muffling their enraged screams as they tried to shake them all off. Manda thrashed around in pure fury, his tail bashing against the wall in a vain attempt to prop himself up, the acid was little more than an annoyance when Katsuyu was in pieces like this, but it stung enough to be irritating. Not to mention the slime from the slugs was mixing with the mud and making the place incredibly slippery. Manda had trouble just getting up, let alone trying to attack. "Katsuyu!"

"I apologize, Manda," Katsuyu stated in a tone that was anything but sorry. "But Lady Tsunade had not summoned me in a long time, and I intend to make the most of it."

Jiraiya and the others land on the few slugs not secreting slime as they glare at Orochimaru and Kabuto. "Today is the last day of the three legendary Sanin!" Tsunade snapped. "Time to die Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru scowled as he surveyed the situation. Kabuto had used up all his chakra healing from that Rasengan and summoning Manda, who was proving to be useless for the first time since...well since he met the arrogant serpent. He couldn't use any of his jutsu and his body was falling apart. He couldn't even retreat with the seals...wait.

"It's a gamble..." Orochimaru thought as his enemies converged on him. "But I got nothing else on me." Turning to Manda he snarled. "On the ground and charge!"

"What?" Manda snarled right back. "In this mud?!"

"It's either that or we all die!" Orochimaru snapped as Jiraiya and Naruto making seals. Manda scowled but obliged, charging at the group heedless of the slime of mud that was getting on him. Jiraiya and Naruto responded with gusto.

"Fire Release!" Jiraiya roared. "Great Fire Annihilation!"

"Wind Release!" Naruto roared. "Pressure Damage!"

The demonic high-pressure wind and massive flames combined in a raging superheated inferno launched straight for the monster. It seemingly hit dead-on, incinerating Manda and those on top without a chance to even scream out.

"Got him," Naruto said victoriously.

"Wait," Jiraiya frowned as got a closer look at the burning snake, the flames disappearing to reveal a charred snakeskin. "Son of a bitch, he just shed his skin!"

"Great." Tsunade scowled. "Where the hell is he?"

The ground shook, and the four ninja and various slugs looked around to see where Manda could be.

"They couldn't have teleported out." Jiraiya thought as he looked at the seals on the sides of the pit. "Even reverse summoning could be cut off."

"Did they go underground?" Naruto thought as he tried to sniff the Snake Sanin out to little effect. He then noticed the level of mud and slime in the pit slowly decreasing. Following the currents, he saw the mud going down a hole. A hole that was suspiciously close to the snakeskin. "There!" He pointed.

However, it was too late, as a blade suddenly popped out of one of the seals that boxed Orochimaru and Manda in. Before anyone could say anything else the sword extended to the other side of the wall and started tearing the seals apart. "Shit!" Jiraiya cursed. "How'd he get up there so quickly?"

"Did Manda dig his way up there?" Shizune asked before everyone started bolting up the wall. "We have to get up there!"

However, it was too late, as Orochimaru had already destroyed the seals keeping him locked down. The Snake Sanin breathed a sigh of release as he prepared to get out of dodge. The old fool had barred him from using any jutsu but he could still channel chakra, and, most importantly, elements into his sword. The Kusanagi was already nigh-indestructible, but earth chakra made the blade stronger and capable of tearing through more with one swing.

However, he still knew he couldn't win this fight. Kabuto was still down for the count and Manda couldn't take Katsuyu, Gamabunta, and the Kyūbi jinchūriki at the same time. It infuriated him to turn and run with his tail between his legs, but he could not die today. With a resigned sigh and a puff of smoke, he and Manda disappeared just as Tsunade threw a vicious uppercut at Manda's chin.

"Fuck!" Tsunade swore as she punched threw black smoke.

Naruto scowled. "Damnit, he's gone. We were so close to killing him!"

"At least we won rather unscathed," Jiraiya replied, still rather irritated at losing the Snake Sanin. "And we got Tsunade back. I consider this mission a success."

Naruto frowned, displeased by Jiraiya accepting the madman getting away, but accepted it. Sniffing them out would likely lead them on another goose chase, and there weren't many other options at this point. "Fine." Naruto sighed as he looked. "Let's just get out of here and back to Konoha. Tsunade owes me super strength training."

Tsunade pouted at realizing she lost another bet. This one against a kid, no less! "What element did you even use for that jutsu?"

"...Magnet Release." Naruto admitted.

Jiraiya, Shizune, and Tsunade paused. "Magnet?"

"It's a long story," Naruto said. "Can I explain it somewhere else?"

"This whole bet started in this bar." Naruto thought with a grim smile, Jiraiya and Tsunade staring at him with rapt attention. "How fitting that it ends with one as well."

Once they came in, Jiraiya subtly cast an illusion that prevented anyone from overhearing what they were saying. It would just sound like a boring conversation. "Alright kid, spill," Jiraiya questioned. "How did you get a Kekkai Genkai without me noticing?"

Naruto grimaced. He needed a story as close to the truth as possible without mention him raping Gaara and the other girls that crossed him.

"I got the power from the Shukaku." Naruto clarified. "Or to be more accurate, Kyūbi, and Shukaku."

"Suna's jinchūriki?" Tsunade asked, getting a nod from Naruto. "But how?"

"You know that every bijū has an affinity with an element, right?" Naruto explained. "Well, what's the Kyūbi's?"

"It doesn't have one," Jiraiya answered. "At least, it doesn't have a chakra nature we know of."

"...Well, it told me what affinity it has." Naruto admitted.

"You've talked to it!?" Tsunade yelped. "When did you-"

"Only recently," Naruto added before he embellished the story. "It was after I passed the genin exams. Mizuki had told me that despite my passing the test, my reputation and grades might result in me going back to the academy. So I had to do some extra credit."

"I think I can tell where this was going," Jiraiya said. "This jackass was a Kyūbi hater that was trying to get you accused of treason."

"Yelp," Naruto said dryly. "Long story short, I had gotten my hands on the scroll of seals from Hokage's tower." The three elder ninja looked gobsmacked at that statement. "And had just learned one of the techniques from it, the mass shadow clone technique, when my other chūnin instructor, Iruka, found me."

"He was about to tell me what was going on and how much trouble I was in when Mizuki ambushed and got Iruka in the back. And I mean nearly in the spine." Naruto continued. Tsunade and Shizune grimaced at that last sentence. Spinal injuries were one of the worst for a ninja to get. "So Iruka was down, Mizuki was right there, and I had no idea what to do. Then Mizuki spills the beans on what I am. A container of the fox. Though he said it less eloquently. I believed it instantly. There were times before this where I felt...something inside me waiting to be let out."

"It was at that point I heard something laugh in my head," Naruto explained. "I knew for a fact this was the Kyūbi. I had to do something before the bastard killed us both, so I reached for the voice as fast I could. And then...I woke in front of a massive cage."

"The seal most likely," Jiraiya stated. "You fell in your mindscape after taking the beast's call."

"The Kyūbi gave me two choices," Naruto said. "Let it out, or die here. Now the furball clearly thought I was retarded considering that choice amounted to either letting Mizuki kill me and Iruka and get away with the scroll or letting the beast out and let it kill us all."

"I gave it my ultimatum, give me the chakra to help me take this guy out and become Hokage or die along with me," Naruto added, glad his story wasn't being called out. "And it merely laughed, saying it would merely come back in two or three years."

Shizune swallowed hard as it realized how much trouble Naruto was in. One of his teachers' down, the other trying to kill him, and the only being capable of helping him refusing to. "Although something tells me that changed."

"Yeah," Naruto stated. "Keep calm went you hear this, but I promised that Kyūbi could be Hokage with me if it helped."

The silence that followed was one of the most awkward moment Naruto had the misfortune of experiencing. Then Shizune voiced what the other three were thinking. "You can't be serious."

"Ridiculous!" Tsunade said faintly.

"Why would the Kyūbi give a shit about being Hokage!?" Jiraiya roared incredulously.

"The same question he made," Naruto said. "But there was one reason I made. I could make sure he doesn't get sealed in anyone again. At least, not without his permission."

"And he went with that," Shizune said, still disbelieving but not completely incredulous.

"He wanted to ensure I couldn't go back on my word, but yes," Naruto added, giving a shrug. "I couldn't argue with that request considering the circumstances. He told me to put a hole in the seal and I did."

"Wait," Jiraiya gaped in horror, along with everyone else. "The seal's gone?!"

"No, it's more like there is a doorway in it now," Naruto said, making everyone pale more. "The Kyūbi stays in my body out of choice, rather than being sealed in my body. It can speak to me at any point and leave at any point, killing me in the process. And before you try to tell me to reseal it, he would come out and kill me long before we'd get the chance."

Jiraiya slammed his head on the table, the repercussions of his nigh-abandonment of his godson now clear as day to him. "And to think you getting a curse mark from Orochimaru was the worst of our problems."

"It's not all bad," Naruto added. "My chakra's gotten stronger even before taking the Kyūbi's into account, and I heal insanely fast."

"Right," Shizune realized. "You said that you healed fast, 'even for jinchūriki standards'."

"Oh right, I did say something like that," Naruto replied. "Also the Kyūbi took care of the curse mark."

Jiraiya blinked. "Come again?"

"You didn't think the furball would want anyone getting their hands on my body did you?" Naruto laughed. "The furball absorbed the power of the curse mark while I was training with Jiraiya for the chūnin exams."

Jiraiya sighed in relief at that. "That's something at least. Although I think I should take a look at how the curse mark changed to ensure nothing wrong with that thing happens."

"Alright, you could try, just don't give the furball a reason to kill me," Naruto added.

"Wait," Shizune frowned. "You still haven't told us why you could use Magnet Release."

"I was getting to that," Naruto stated. "That comes from the greatest perk of this pact I've made with the Kyūbi. I can use its affinity, an affinity for life, which is a mix of Yin and Yang Release, and an affinity for chakra itself. At first, it could only really that power to feel around for other lifeforms."

"Oh right, Kushina could sense and constrain the chakra in others with her chains," Jiraiya recalled.

Naruto rose his eyebrows. "She could?" He thought. "I just said that to explain how I got sensing powers from Karin...Then again, she's an Uzumaki too, isn't she? Is that just an Uzumaki thing I missed out on until recently? Questions for later." He then elaborated, swallowing hard as he went for his biggest half-truth yet. "But he picked a few tricks from his tenants. The ability to fuse elemental chakra."

"Mix elemental chakra?" Shizune asked. "Like a bloodline."

"Kinda," Naruto stated, giving a half-truth about this power the Kyūbi gave him. He couldn't that he stole jutsu and had sex to get the powers, but this was the explanation to give despite that. "He can mix the elements of my chakra, but it takes a huge amount of chakra control, more than I think most jinchūriki can have."

"How many tricks have you got?" Jiraiya asked.

"Ice and Magnet Release. They are elements I've seen before and have some idea of how they work." Naruto went through his jutsu. "Although, I wasn't even thinking of using either release for the Rasengan. I actually made a fully functioning Earth Release Rasengan last night."

"Really?" Tsunade questioned. "Why didn't you use that?"

"Because it nearly smashed his arm into a pulp," Shizune answered for him. "I saw it happen."

"Wait," Tsunade's eyes widened as she remembered last night. "That's what happened? I thought you broke your arm from using the Rasengan so many times."

"Nope," Naruto smirked. "I actually made an Earth Release Rasengan." His smirk widened as an idea came to him. It didn't seem likely that it would work, but it wouldn't hurt to try. "In fact, I think I should get an extra reward for making two elemental Rasengan-"

"Still not sleeping with you, brat." Tsunade immediately snapped.

Jiraiya stifled a laugh."You always tended to take shit bets, Tsunade!" Despite seeing the repercussions of his not being around for most of Naruto's childhood, Jiraiya could see that Naruto was rather well and a talented ninja. "And a pervert as well!" He mentally cheered. "Thank you, Kami!" It may be really late now, but he wanted to make his godson the best ninja he could be.

"I guess I can teach you the Chakra Strength technique after what you accomplished," Tsunade admitted. "and for the second Rasengan, let's just say I owe you."

Naruto mulled it over, before agreeing. "Yeah, that'll do." He had already achieved everything he had set out to achieve in this little trip and he wasn't going to be able to force Tsunade to have sex with him even with the Kyūbi's assistance. Besides, an I.O.U. was vague and exploitable enough to be useful at a later date.

"Guess that's everything we need to be done?" Jiraiya asked, getting a nod from everyone. "Awesome." He dispelled the genjutsu. "Let''s get going then."

Tsunade smiled as she headed out. A week ago, she would have never been able to drag her back. Now, she was actually coming home of her own will. "And that's was the best part, isn't it." She thought. "Home." After so many years of wandering around, and drowning in alcohol, gambling, and pain. She was finally feeling happy. Finally feeling hopeful. Finally going back home.