When: 3 Days Before Naruko and Jiraiya meet Tsunade

"I need you to heal my arms," Orochimaru said. "They were sealed by Hiruzen-Sensei when I assassinated him."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. Orochimaru's honesty about his role in Sensei's death made her uncomfortable. He was a genius, and his decision to not resort to any form of manipulation made her worried. So did his assistant with glasses, and especially the pale gray-haired teenager. It was foolish of course, to worry about his followers. Orochimaru could kill her whenever he wished, even with his affliction. Tsunade's Will of Fire had burned out a long time ago, more sealed than her old friend's arms. She wasn't the shinobi she'd once been… Still...

How could Orochimaru be so convinced she'd go along with his ridiculous request? He must've had something planned, and she trusted Orochimaru's intelligence over her own judgement. She should leave right now. Orochimaru was evil… He'd killed Sensei… He'd attacked Konoha… If she had an ounce of integrity left, she'd leave right now.

"Why would I heal you?" Tsunade asked, feeling no guilt. Perhaps a little curiosity. "I have no fondness for Konoha, but I still cared for the old man. And if I healed you, you would just attack Konoha again. Create more suffering. More dead men. More dead boys."

Why hadn't she just said no? Orochimaru was going to worm and slither his way past her morals, what was left of them anyways, and make her do something she knew was wrong. She had to put a stop to this. It wasn't too late.

Tsunade felt nothing.

She sipped her sake. Warmth filled her belly. Dulled her senses. It made everything more manageable.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru chuckled. "I only require one boy, and then I am finished with Konoha. I will never harm them again. I hold no ill will towards the village, only to Hiruzen-Sensei for betraying me."

She had to say no. Orochimaru would probably kill her if she said no. Tsunade swirled the alcohol in the cup, and watched amber legs form along the glass. Shizune would probably be upset if she was killed. "Why should I trust a word you say?"

"You wound me Tsunade, are we not old friends? Have you ever known me to lie?"

Tsunade kept sipping her sake. Orochimaru had killed her sensei. She'd liked the old man. Why wasn't she angry? Why didn't she feel any desire for revenge? Why didn't she feel sad? Why didn't this hurt?

She knew why. The old man had been a shinobi his whole life. This was how his life had been destined to end. Why get angry about the inevitable?

"Kukuku," Orochimaru chuckled. "Let me tell you a story of the Uchiha Clan, how I earned their loyalty. When I was being considered for hokage, before The Old Man chose that pathetic hatchling over me, I told Fugaku Uchiha that I would require one set of sharingan eyes. A powerful set. He promised me his own and threw his support behind me. Because I was honest about desiring their power, where other shinobi would lie. And if I had been Hokage, I would have killed one Uchiha in pursuit of power… But the entire clan? Kukuku… Such actions could only be done by idealists. People who desire utopia, peace… Tell me Tsunade, just who killed your beloved Dan? Your younger brother Nawaki?"

"We were in a war?" Tsunade murmured quietly, unable to keep the question out of her voice. The grief, because she knew it was a lie.

"Yes," Orochimaru said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. He'd once been a sweet boy. Kinder than Jiraiya but colder, Tsunade could never bring herself to hate him, no matter what he did. "They died for Konoha. Konoha killed them. The desire for a better future killed them. Hiruzen-sensei killed them. He sent them on dangerous missions, all for the sake of the village. Konoha is nothing more than a system which sacrifices the people within it for its own parasitic survival, no different than what I do for mine. I am simply more honest."

And he was being honest now. Tsunade knew his words were true. Grandfather's dream of peace had failed. The shinobi world was as evil as it had ever been. Perhaps worse, the dream of peace dangling like a deathtrap for anyone stupid enough to fall for it. She knew from experience.

Every man she had ever loved had been killed by the trap, and for their lives the world was no closer to peace.

Orochimaru leaned forward, and whispered softly into her ear, "I have never cared for such ideals. You know who I am Tsunade. I will learn all the ninjutsu in the world. That is my purpose. Soon Jiraiya will come to you, offering you the position of Hokage. You will reject him, but he will bring a girl, and you will not be able to help but see yourself in her. It is foolish of course, she is nothing like you, but you will fall for Jiraiya's tricks nonetheless. And you will go to Konoha, and you will heal the last Uchiha. But first you will heal me. Because while Hiruzen-sensei killed your brother and lover pursuing peace, my horrific experiments have uncovered a ninjutsu which can bring the dead back to life."

"You're lying!" Tsunade trembled. She could see them again? Could it be possible?

"Kukuku," Orochimaru chuckled. "You know I am not. It was your Uncle who created the jutsu I am referring to. It leaves the shinobi but a shell of their originals, but I can bring back Dan… I can bring back Nawaki… But I will need my arms."

XOXOXOX

When: The present

"So you're back again?" Tsunade asked Jiraiya, snorting dismissively as he sat in the chair next to her and antied in. Her assistant Shizune stood beside her, holding a pig.

"You have to come back," Jiraiya said. "Konoha needs you to take the position of hokage, or it will fall to ruin."

Tsunade threw a couple of extra chips into the pot with plenty to spare. She must've earned a lot of money gambling. "Only a fool would want the position. I have no desire to send children to their death for a peace that will never come, for a village built upon a failed ideal. How are the Uchiha doing?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya glared at one another, a heavy silence between them. Jiraiya looked away first.

"Itachi Uchiha killed the Uchiha Clan, not Konoha," he said softly. Naruko could tell he didn't quite believe it. Why?

Why didn't he believe what he was saying? What did the Uchiha have to do with this? Naruko didn't understand, but everyone was acting like Tsunade had said something really smart, and nobody would explain anything. She wished Sakura was here. She'd have liked Kakashi, as distant as he was, and even Sasuke…

Sasuke… He'd have told Naruko what was happening. He'd have insulted her, made her feel stupid, but he would have eventually helped her. He wouldn't just stand around while she fought for her life. He'd always been able to overcome his pride for her.

Tsunade snorted. "Of course, but they are still dead. The world is still at war. My Grandfather was a fool, Hiruzen-sensei was a fool, all of them died for a village, for a system that does nothing but throw away lives for its own survival."

What the heck was Tsunade even talking about? What system? Did she mean Konoha? Naruko didn't understand anything, why had she been brought on this mission at all? What was she supposed to do?

Because Jiraiya wouldn't have brought her unless she served a purpose. That's probably why he'd left her all by herself all these years. She hadn't been strong enough to be useful. He'd been her godfather, but there had been more important things. He'd been doing his duty was all, she got it alright?

"I hear you have a deal with Orochimaru," Jiraiya said, throwing a few chips onto the table to call Tsunade's gamble. The dealer revealed a card, and Tsunade groaned. "If you accept his deal… I will do my duty… I will kill you Tsunade."

…

He really was a man of duty, wasn't he? He'd flirted with just about every blonde girl he'd come across, but when he met Tsunade he was all business. This was the woman he was in love with. How could he be so cold?

Was that what it meant to be a shinobi? Duty?

If Naruko had done her duty, she'd have taken out Gaara early, instead of worrying about… What? Why the heck hadn't she tried to protect the people precious to her?

Tsunade squirmed, and looked at her cards with a frown. Reluctantly, she threw a few more chips into the pot, and turned to Naruko. "Why are you here? Have you forgiven Jiraiya already?"

"He has nothing to do with why I'm here," Naruko snapped angrily. "You're supposed to be the greatest medic-nin on earth. When the Sand invaded, there was a boy, Gaara of the Sand. And he took Rock Lee's legs, and now he'll never be a splendid shinobi! And Sasuke! His legs got crushed by Gaara as well! And if you don't come back and heal them their broken dreams will be all my fault!"

Jiraiya smirked and called Tsunade's gamble. The jerk must've been pleased with something Naruko had said. Good. Cuz' right now they were on the same side.

"And why's that?" Tsunade asked. The dealer placed the last card on the table. Tsunade checked, without even looking. Naruko had her undivided attention. "You weren't the one who hurt them. You did nothing wrong."

"I let them fight Gaara," Naruko trembled. "I knew what he was like. I let them both fight him, while I sat back and watched… All because… Because I was afraid of responsibility… Of being the strongest…" Naruko whispered the next part, barely audible. A horrible thought, the thing that had scared her more than anything. "What if I saved everyone and they still hated me? What if I was the strongest and they looked at me like the Suna shinobi looked at Gaara? What if they didn't hate me because I was weak, stupid, or an orphan? What if it was just me they hated? What if there's nothing I can do?" Naruko almost looked at Jiraiya for reassurance. No, she could be alone. She spoke the next part more loudly, more confidently. "I should have taken on Gaara, because I was the strongest genin in the Chunin Exams. I was the only one who could have kept everyone safe. So it was my responsibility to do so."

"Hah!" Tsunade barked, and swiveled wildly to glare at Jiraiya. "I see what you're doing. Very clever. But I was the strongest kunoichi in the world, not some runt!" She turned to Naruko with a condescending grin. "Listen girl. You're just a genin. I've heard of Gaara. He's a jinchuriki and an unstable one. Rumor has it that he unleashed the One-Tailed Beast upon Konoha during the invasion. I would say that I don't know how that didn't destroy the village, but the truth is I know how. A team of jounin fought the beast and died for Konoha. If you fought him he'd have just killed you too. It's unfortunate that your friends got hurt, but there's nothing you could have done. So run along back to Konoha, you've got no reason to feel guilty."

"Well I did fight Gaara of the Sand. Shikaku too. I beat them," Naruko said lightly. "So it is my fault. I should have protected them."

"Please." Tsunade snorted. "Even my Grandfather couldn't have handled a Biju at your age." She glanced at Jiraiya. "You really should have tried for a more believable-"

"There were over a thousand eye-witnesses," Jiraiya said calmly. "She fought the One-Tailed Beast in the arena for the Chunin Exam Finals. In front of everyone. Every single hidden village knows who she is now."

Tsunade shook her head. "If what you're saying is true, then why is she still a genin? Shouldn't they all be worshipping her like they did her fath-"

"Don't gamble," Naruko said before Tsunade could finish. Something about the word 'father' was really pissing her off. "I did. That's why I'll never be a Chunin."

Not that she would have gambled if anyone had ever bothered to explain why she shouldn't. She glared at the old jerk. Everyone always acted like she should know that kind of stuff. But why? They never taught it to her in school! Cuz most kids had parents who taught 'em a bunch of extra stuff. Most kids had a dad. Or at least a godfather.

Of course, her godfather had abandoned her, and now everyone thought she was stupid! But here she was, working with him, because she knew that everything didn't have to be about her. She was just a kid and she knew that. Tsunade was as old as a grandma and acted like she was the only person in the world who mattered!

She had to leave. She had a duty. She had to heal Sasuke and Lee. This mission wasn't about her, or her feelings, or the mean old man who'd left her alone for twelve years. It was about being a nice little girl and convincing The Old Hag to come back to Konoha.

She couldn't do that right now. So she left.

She heard something shatter behind her. Tsunade's little wine glass had exploded, leaving her hand stained, like it was drenched in blood. The dealer pushed the pot to Tsunade, apparently she'd won on the last card. It seemed to bother The Old Hag. "Come on Shizune, we're leaving!"

"But Master," Shizune protested.

After about half-an-hour, Jiraiya stumbled into their hotel room. Naruko had had some time to cool down, but something still bothered her.

"We need to talk," Naruko said.

Jiraiya swayed, putting his arm against the wall to act as support. "Fine kid. What you wanna talk 'bout? How I abandoned you? How you've become a famous shinobi?" He smiled loopily. "If I hadn't whisked you away, you'd have gotten to bask in Konoha's admiration. Every pretty boy in town would've swooned over you, all the kunoichi would want to be your friend, and all the little kids would've pretended to be you! It may have seemed nice at first, but it wouldn't have been good for-"

"Why?" Naruko asked. "You said that if she took Orochimaru's offer, you'd kill her. You said you loved her, but today you just treated her like she was just another shinobi! I get that you can't let her heal Orochimaru, but if you really think she'll do it you have to break her legs, beat some sense into her, you know?"

"Really, you want to talk about me?" Jiraiya asked, sighing painfully. "I'm just a stupid old man, who always does the wrong thing." He collapsed into the bed next to her. "You shouldn't listen to me. I've failed at every single thing in my life. I couldn't save my best friend, the love of my life fell for another… And every single student I've trained has died."

Naruko patted Jiraiya's shoulder. "She's gonna heal Orochimaru. I can tell. And you're just gonna let her do it?"

Jiraiya nodded. "It's her choice. Not mine. I can't hurt Tsunade for something she hasn't done."

Naruko didn't understand. "But you won't kill her if she heals him right? That was just a bluff." She knew it wasn't.

Jiraiya shook his head again. "I'll have too. It'll break my heart, but I'll do it."

Naruko knew he was telling the truth. "Just break her legs right now! Do something! You can't let her make this mistake! It's your duty, you're the strongest, you have to protect her-"

"No," Jiraiya said firmly. "No. I will never use my strength like that. Not to Tsunade."

"Why?"

He didn't respond quickly, but then, it was a tough question and Jiraiya's breathing seemed labored. He must've been drinking a lot.

"I have loved Tsunade for as long as I can remember. And… Tsunade once took a lover. His name was Dan. I thought that I'd hate him, that I'd be jealous, but I was truly grateful that he made her happy in a way I never could. I don't need her to love me, I don't even need her to like me, I just want her to do well."

He hadn't answered the question she asked, but he had answered the question she needed. "But doesn't it make you angry, that she's never loved you back?"

"No," Jiraiya said immediately. "My love of Tsunade has made my life fuller, even if-" He collapsed onto the bed. Naruko nudged him, but he didn't respond. Something wasn't right. He'd passed out from drinking before, but never this quickly. She smelled his breath.

There wasn't a trace of alcohol.

No, no, no! And just when- he'd been teaching her one of those things that wasn't taught in schools, that was left for a parent to teach their daughter. Love. What it was, what it meant- and then he'd just… He'd been poisoned. Naruko didn't have a clue how to heal him, what to do, but maybe she could- What if? No, that wouldn't- Not now, don't let it be now, she hadn't even...

She'd been an idiot. This was why Naruko was destined to be alon-

No! She sprinted out of the room, back to the casino. She had to find Tsunade, she'd be able to heal him!

But Tsunade was nowhere to be found. She didn't have a room in the casino. No, no, no!

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruko screamed. Thousands of clones burst into existence. With just a nod they sprinted in opposite directions. One of them would find Tsunade, and then they'd disperse, and Naruko would know-

Wait, how would she know? No time to think about that. "Hang on Jiraiya," Naruko patted the old man on the head, feeling restless, but having nowhere to go. He couldn't die yet.

Not before Naruko had had a chance to forgive him.

A shadow clone's memories flooded her thoughts. Naruko released the rest of her clones, disappeared in a yellow flash, and reappeared in front of a collapsed brick wall. Tsunade was gone, but her assistant, Shizune, was there. Lying unconscious on the ground.

"I didn't expect you to get here so quickly," a smarmy voice said. A gray-haired man, with big square glasses that glinted in the sunlight stood above Shizune with a smirk. "Lord Orochimaru told me to kill you. You should thank him. He forbade me from using the woman as a hostage. I suppose he is testing me, he does so love his tes-" The man leapt forward mid-sentence.

Naruko reached into her pocket, concentrated her chakra, and threw a Dragon Ball Jutsu at him. He jumped backwards, dodging easily, but giving Naruko all the time she needed.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A dozen Naruko's burst into existence, and three of them were immediately disemboweled, Square-Glasses fingers shining blue with chakra scalpels.

Naruko narrowed her eyes, while another Naruko ran to Shizune and tried to wake the woman. She collected blue chakra in the shape of a pole, and slammed it down on Square-Glasses. He sliced her Power Pole in half with his chakra scalpels, but took a Dragon Ball Jutsu in the leg. A stupid shadow clone celebrated her victory like an idiot, while the rest of the Narukos leapt at Kabuto while he was down. It was time to finish the-

Fuck!

Square-Glasses spun in a circle, popping Narukos clones and almost disemboweling her. Luckily she'd gotten an arm up in time, unluckily she couldn't feel it anymore. Naruko bounced backwards. What the hell had happened?

"Kabuto can heal himself!" Shizune shouted.

Kabuto stood with a smirk, and yeah, his leg didn't look hurt at all anymore. Naruko glanced around. She couldn't raise her right arm, so she couldn't use the majority of her ninjutsu. She had two shadow clones left, the one who'd landed the initial attack, and the one behind Shizune. They nodded back at her.

"Shadow Cl-" Kabuto stuck his hand through the shadow clone's gut, and sprinted at the other one. Naruko threw a Dragonball Jutsu at him, just like she used to chuck rocks at tin cans. He let it clip his leg, and desperately swiped at the shadow clone. Maybe before Jiraiya's training the attack would have landed, but she and all her clones had gotten faster. Her clone stuck a Dragonball Jutsu in his gut and hopped away.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" And twenty shadow clones burst into existence, already reaching into their pockets for another dragonball. About two at a time, they threw Dragonball Jutsus at Kabuto, until he stopped getting up. A clone crept to him and poked him. He was out cold. But maybe he was playing dead. Naruko assigned three shadow clones to stand watch directly over him, and two more to keep watch from a safer distance.

She jogged over to Shizune, whose jaw had dropped for some reason. "Kabuto may have been a genin, but he was as skilled as a jounin. And you beat him like it was-"

"You're a medic-nin right?" Naruko asked, scowling. It hadn't been her best performance, she'd gotten careless and almost lost to a friggin nerd. The fight shouldn't have been as hard as it had been. Well whatever. "Shouldn't you be healing Jiraiya?"

Shizune nodded blankly, and knelt down. Her hands glowed with a soft green light, and the color in Jiraiya's skin slowly started to return. Naruko couldn't help but stare, jealously. When Kakashi had tried to teach her the chakra scalpel technique he'd said that he'd always wished he could be a healer. Naruko understood what he meant now. She'd beaten Kabuto. Who cared? What was so great about hurting people? When Jiraiya had passed out, when he'd actually needed her, all she could do was go running for that mean old hag.

Heck, that was the whole point of this mission. At least for her. Beg the Old Hag to heal Rock Lee and Sasuke. Maybe healing was what she should be learning, not more ninjutsu.

"You really did beat Gaara, didn't you?" Shizune asked, still healing Jiraiya. "That wasn't a lie, you actually beat a Tailed-Beast by yourself."

"No." Naruko said. "The Fox did the hard part."

"Your father was always modest too." Shizune smiled, and Jiraiya stirred. "Maybe too modest, Naruko you just beat a jounin like it was nothing. I'll bet you'll be Hokage someday too."

"Hnn," Naruko said, uncomfortably as Shizune began to heal her arm. She turned to Jiraiya. "I think you were poisoned. Do you know who did it?"

Jiraiya looked stricken. "Tsunade." He murmured, shaking off his grogginess. "She went after Orochimaru didn't she?"

Shizune murmured, and explained the details of the agreement. And yeah, Naruko could understand why Tsunade would take it.

"Do you know where they are?" Naruko eventually asked, because Jiraiya was silent.

Shizune nodded, and soon they were following her.

Jiraiya didn't say a word. Because, Naruko realized, he was going to have to kill the woman he loved most in the world. It must have only sunk in now.

Jiraiya had believed in Tsunade, he'd trusted her…

It had been a mistake.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be out sometime around the ninth. And now, onto the reviews!

Loralie Gold Dream - If it makes you feel any better for him, Jiraiya at this point has come to peace with his relationship with Tsunade being platonic. It isn't something he feels bad about or regrets. Thanks for leaving a review!

TheBeauty - Thanks for reading and leaving a review! It really helps motivate me to keep writing!

Gokuto - Well thanks for reading as far as you did. I know you were one of the first readers, so I'm sorry you didn't like where the story ended up going, and you're partially right about the shipping tag. The other reason I left it in the summary is because I also wanted readers to know that the Sasuke Naruko relationship would be central in the story, because a lot of people don't like the pairing.

AwesomeFangirlOtaku01 - You caught it! I thought about keeping politics out of the story, but the parallel was a little too obvious for me not to use. And yup, that was definitely Itachi. Way to catch the details!

HopeeTrail - In terms of Sasuke and his legs RAFO. Glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you like the introduction of the main antagonist in the next arc! Thanks for the review!