Naruto didn't know what he expected when he finally went back to the small hollowed bush where his sickly teammate was sure to be waiting. Images flashed through his head, conversations between his clone and Sasuke as well as how the clone took care of the Uchiha. It brought an aching worry to rest since he knew that his teammate was well cared for.

"Thank you... for all of this." Sasuke had said to the clone at the time.

The clone had simply just smiled at the Uchiha, "It's my job."

And how worried Sasuke had been upon seeing the blood on his clone, to see the worry and angry blooming on his face was definitely a sight to see. His poor, sickly teammate had practically made his condition worse when trying to force the answer out of his clone; Naruto almost felt bad but he was just grateful that someone was there for Sasuke when he started to feel worse. However...

Naruto worried his lip in shame; he should have known that his teammate – a genius by all standards – would figure it all out.

"W-Wait." The fear and shock in Sasuke's eyes were enough to fill the medic's heart with guilt; the Uchiha looked disappointed for a moment there, "Are... Are you a clone?"

"Sasuke-" His clone had tried to hide it, tried to keep it up like they were the original in the situation but both he and his clone shouldn't have underestimated the raven-haired gennin's perception of people.

"No! Where's Naruto?!" And yet Sasuke fought to know the truth, eyes searching the area just in case his teammate would be there. The feeling of immense shame from the clone filled Naruto's core as he relived the memories. The Uchiha tried to shoot up from his seat – about to go out into the wilderness and drag back the medic – but the clone made sure he stayed down, rested until he was well.

"Do you know if he's okay?"

"Boss..." Naruto stilled just outside of the hollowed bush, seeing movement from inside. The thoughts from his clone filled his mind once more, "...I know you're not stupid..." He could have rolled his eyes at that but was so caught in the memories that it didn't faze him very much "...but you can't stay out there forever. You can't fight forever." Naruto stared at his hands, seeing the blood there. "You have to keep your chakra if you're to come back to Sasuke."

"I did come back." The blond murmured to himself, staring up just in time to see the Uchiha pop his head out. Sasuke stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Dark eyes went up and down his body, bottom lip quivering in worry; the blood, Naruto was still covered in blood – his and others.

Instead of just standing there like a distress call, the medic gave his teammate a warm smile. It's no wonder why Sasuke clambered out of the bush, dashing over to him with a haste so unlike him; it was almost as if they hadn't seen each other in forever. Naruto let himself be pulled in a desperate hug, feeling his teammate squeeze him with desperation.

"You're so stupid, dobe." Despite how he might have reacted in previous times, Naruto couldn't even imagine correcting his best friend on whatever term of endearment he used. Sasuke was okay and that was what mattered; he did that for him.

The medic couldn't remember tearing up, so emotional over everything that had gone wrong on their first C-ranked mission. He could have laughed at the irony of it all. His medical ninjutsu and prowess were needed almost immediately into the mission, the team was split up on his command, Sasuke's condition taking a turn for the worse, and, oh yeah, he just killed about two dozen bandits and at least a Chunnin-level ninja.

He returned the hug, laughing wetly, "Yeah, yeah I kind of am." The two of them stood there, breathing each other in as daylight just started to shine through the tree line. Sasuke smelled like sweat and unsolved issues; Naruto couldn't even fathom how horrible he probably smelled. "I'm sorry." The medic whispered, the noise muffled by his best friend's shirt, "I should have told you what was happening instead of leaving you in the dark."

"No... no, you don't have to apologize. I understand, I just..." Sasuke pulled away – probably for the best, he probably didn't smell very good – and stared at the blood covering Naruto's chest; definitely not a good look on him. The blond-haired gennin glanced down to stare as well, hiding his shame and guilt rather well. "Is it yours?" Sasuke mumbled out, those three words stabbing him in the chest; it was worse than when that ninja had done the same.

Well, maybe not physically, but definitely mentally.

"Y-Yeah."

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked instead of continuing an early argument about 'whose-blood-is-whose'; his teammate was eternally grateful.

Naruto gave the Uchiha a warm smile in appreciation, "Of course." It was a lie, it would always be okay. The thought of being okay after everything that had happened on this mission was so far away; he was going to change after this, the medic was so sure of it.

His best friend's eyes pierced his soul, "Are you sure?"

"Of course." Despite everything – the pain, the worry, the agony, the blood, the tears – Naruto smiled, full of teeth and sunshine, before pulling his best friend back into a reassuring hug.

The reassurance wasn't just for Sasuke, it was for himself as well.

In his time as a medic, he had practically seen everything through the eyes of a doctor whether it be burn wounds or dead bodies, it was always there. Hundreds and hundreds of bodies later, Naruto was still walking around with smiles and laughter, haunted by the dull, dead eyes that stared back at him. He'd never pulled the plugs on those victims, never taken a life before.

Until now, of course, he'd taken so many in one night. All the families that those bandits – and the ninja, of course – could have had hurt Naruto's heart. He murdered them, all for one person... but that was okay because Sasuke was going to be fine, healthy and definitely alive...

He was alive because of Naruto and that's all he could have asked for; it's his job, after all, to save lives and he saved Sasuke's.

The Uchiha's fever had disappeared almost completely upon the medic's return from the wilderness, Naruto had found. The two took that time in the early morning light to pack up their bags and head for the road two miles out. Sasuke insisted that they start running if they wanted to catch up to their team but his teammate suggested they take it slow since the Uchiha was still getting over an illness; better not push their luck.

So, they walked through the forest without worry of bandits attacking – thank you, Naruto – and simply just talked. It wasn't about anything on this mission or wondering how their team was doing, just about what was going on in the other's life.

Sasuke had a hobby of reading and enjoyed drinking tea late at night. Naruto explained his fondness for meditating during stressful times in his life and how his relationship with Shikamaru was doing. It a soft moment for each other, really cementing their friendship into something more familial: brothers.

During that time, the remaining Uchiha tried not to question what happened to his best friend while dealing with the bandits and the medic was eternally grateful for that; he wasn't ready to open up about it. There were times when the black-haired teenager would stare at Naruto with a frown on his face and furrowed eyebrows, dark eyes full of worry and curiosity but he never acted on it.

Naruto and Sasuke had finally taken off from their hiding spot in that hollowed bush, the former of the two looking a lot better since his poisoning after a few hours of walking, when the last remaining clone in the plane of existence finally died off.

Just like how clones were such an enigma in the balance of life – sentient beings who breathe and walk like everyone else – those that dispel disrupt the flow of thought for the summoner.

Naruto was no different.

He still wasn't used to the onslaught of having a different person's thoughts push against his senses. Everything his clones got to experience – every sight, every smell, every sound, every feeling in that very moment – clouded anything Naruto was doing at that moment. The medic figured that when using his clones so religiously as he'd done the last few months that he would finally be used to the odd feeling.

He was not.

It still took his breath away when random images started flashing in and out of sight, rivaling anything going on in his life at this very moment. From the clone's very beginning to its suffocating end, Naruto got to experience it all in first person, as if he was physically there to do what his clone had done.

Sasuke noticed the blond stopping, turning to look at the medic with a worried gaze, "You okay?"

Naruto didn't answer, eyes flittering around, blocking out anything that was happening right now. He went back – how long ago did this happen? – to the clone's beginning to when they were summoned for the second time in their existence. Three members of their group, all injured in some shape or form with no medical ninjutsu to fix them all up. "Oh Kami..." The words were choked.

"What happened?" Sasuke was at the medic's side within an instant, steadying the blond-haired gennin with a pale arm, "What's going on?"

He couldn't answer, tongue twisted with words caught in his throat. Kakashi was broken and in need of medical attention, something more than a mere clone could give. Sakura's wrist was still broken and that wound on her calf needed to be treated immediately as it might have closed up with bacteria still inside of it which could cause an infection. The cuts on Tazuna's arm were worrying and needed to be healed or at the very least stitched up.

There was so much that needed to be done.

"S-Sakura!" His clone came bustling down the stairs sounding distressed.

The pink-haired kunoichi looked startled before the worry creased her eyebrows together, "What's going on? Is it Kakashi?"

"No, but I've got a few minutes before I disappear. I have to get things out before I go." They took deep breaths, "Um... for starters, I need to know where I'm going if I'm – the original me – is going to get to the Land of the Waves. My medical supplies are going to disappear with me so you two need to take another pill now before I go. I u-um... ah, I need someone to check on Kakashi-sensei every thirty minutes; check his pulse, change bandages, make sure he's breathing, that kind of stuff."

Tsunami – Tazuna's daughter, apparently – nodded to herself, "Since those two are hurt, I'll... I'll deal with Kakashi if that's alright?"

"Thank you, sweetheart." Her father looked pleased but extremely exhausted, "I'll help you with directions."

"Please hurry, I'll be gone any minute now." The clone sounded panicky, desperately trying to hold their chakra together.

"Alright, calm down. Listen, just follow that path we were originally taking down to a city. At the end of the path, there is a small – kind of poor – shipyard. Ask for a boat and sail northeast for about an hour or so. You'll get to an island where a bridge is under construction."

They nodded, "Alright, and I'll know how to get to this house afterward. I... I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you two, it's just that..."

"Kakashi-sensei was worse off," Sakura mumbled, still looking a little pale; the pain from her wrist must be getting to her.

"I'll be here soon, I promise, I've just-"

The memories ended there, gone with a poof of smoke. Naruto took a deep, albeit shaky breath as it finally subsided. The world around him started to come back into focus, Sasuke's worried face in full view. He bit his lip, "Something bad just happened, right?"

He nodded, still breathing a little heavy, "I left a clone with the team just in case they were attacked."

"Are they okay?" The Uchiha whispered out harshly, gritting his teeth.

"Kakashi-sensei is in bad shape; Sakura's wrist looks to be shattered while Tazuna has some pretty deep cut wounds. I'm almost positive that all three of them have some form of a concussion." Naruto ticked off what he saw in his clone's memories, "I know how to get to the Land of Waves but it's going to take a while."

Sasuke nodded his head before pulling Naruto into a stiff hug, "Try not to overdo yourself, okay?"

"I'll do my best but I can't promise anything." The medic sighed out before breaking the hug, "I have to do everything in my power to make sure that everyone on the team is okay and... and I've failed them."

The raven-haired gennin didn't know what to say, watching Naruto start to run ahead. The weight of the world must be on his shoulders, Sasuke mused. The lives of everyone on this mission solely relies on their medic, a scary and astonishing thought. He watched the blond run ahead for only a moment before picking up the pace.

After all, they had someplace where they were needed.

:::^^^^^:::

"I've made lunch for us if you'd like some." Tsunami smiled warmly, nodding her head over to the counter where some beans and rice were, "I've got to head upstairs and get Inari."

Sakura nodded dumbly, watching the single mother for a moment before turning to their client, "Inari?"

Tazuna waved off the comment, "That's my grandson."

"Why haven't I seen him before? Surely he has been in his room the entire time." The kunoichi stated exasperatedly, still clutching her broken wrist to her chest.

The older man shrugged, swirling a cheap bottle of alcohol before downing some as if it were water, "We don't have guests very often and, granted, I also came home covered in blood. Probably wasn't a pretty sight."

She looked down, ashamed almost, "I apologize for not protecting you better out there... it was just... um..."

"It's alright, kid." Tazuna sighed heavily, dropping a hand on the gennin's head and ruffling it, "You did the best that you could. All that matters is that you managed to keep me alive which is a good thing."

Sakura smiled lightly, blushing in appreciation, "How is your arm?"

"Stings like a bitch." He chuckled, downing some more rum, "Hoping for some magical healing from your buddy."

She nodded in understanding, "You think they're doing okay?"

"You tell me." Tazuna shrugged.

"Huh?"

Her client gave her a pointed look, raising an eyebrow, "I don't know those boys personally; I don't know how they run but you, you've been teammates for... how long now?"

"For a while," Sakura responded rather shyly.

"Not what I was asking for but, yeah, that a while worth of um... team bonding – is that a thing – and just like, being around each other." Tazuna shrugged once more, finishing off the bottle of rum, "I got to spent like, what, three hours with them before they had to run off. So, you tell me, how do you think they're doing?"

Sakura was silent for a few seconds, really thinking about it. When she had resummoned Naruto's clone to help the three of them in their time of need, the clone was covered in a little of dried blood – whose blood it was, she'd rather not find out but definitely hoped it wasn't his own. If summoning a clone for a second time still followed the same rules as before – being an exact copy of the summoner during that exact moment of its new existence – then the clone should have looked like Naruto at that moment.

That meant that something must have happened between the time Naruto and Sasuke left the group and her summoning the clone from Kakashi's scroll.

"So?" Tazuna questioned once more.

"I think that they're doing fine now but there could be a chance that they might have run into some trouble," Sakura stated, running her fingers over bruised knuckles; her parents were going to kill her for getting injured on her first C-ranked mission.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "What kind of trouble?"

The pink-haired gennin simply shrugged, "Don't know."

The stairs creaked, drawing their attention back to Tsunami. There was a sad, somber look on the woman's face as she prepared a plate. "Inari's not coming down for lunch..." Her voice is quiet, eyes downcast, "I tried to get him to at least get a plate for himself but he said he wasn't hungry."

Tazuna nodded, sharing a look with his daughter, "I'm sure he'll come around soon."

"Is it because my sensei and I are here?" Sakura asked feeling rather bad now.

Tsunami gave a tight smile, shaking her head, "Of course not, sweetie. He's just... difficult at times and this year hasn't been all that great for him. I promise you that you're fine."

"Alright, and um... if there is anything I can do like a-around the house, just let me know. I'd be um... I'd be happy to help." The kunoichi gave the young woman a smile of her own, rather shy but warm with youth.

She nodded, handing her father the plate, "That's quite alright. There's not much to do that hasn't already been done."

"Still-" Sakura started but the dark-haired woman in front of her just raised a hand, obviously not done."

"You and my father are injured. This is the least I could do for the both of you; just sit back and heal, it's okay." Tsunami smiled, the feature a little truer on her face, "Plus, from what I gathered, there is a medic on the way who'll have more supplies with him."

She nodded as the woman handed her a plate of food as well, "Yeah, Naruto is the best medic in our ranks."

"I'm pretty sure he's the only medic in your ranks." Tazuna chuckled, mouth full of food.

Sakura shook her head, taking a bite of her own, "I doubt it; he can't possibly be the only gennin who's a medic."

Tsunami tapped her chin, pulling up a chair in order to converse with the two who still lounged on the cheap couch, "May I ask a rather... dumb question?"

"Dumb?" Tazuna raised an eyebrow.

"Well, in the eyes of a ninja, it would be considered so." She stated, looking at Sakura.

The kunoichi sat up a little straighter despite her aching back telling her to quit it, "What's the question?"

"That blond boy who came in a while ago with you two... that's your medic right?" The single mother questioned, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees.

"Yeah, that was just a shadow clone of my teammate though." Sakura explained slightly, "Those clones don't have a lot of chakra and have a time limit."

She nodded in understanding, "And it doesn't need controlling?"

The pink-haired teenager shook her head, eating some more, "No, once they're summoned, they just walk, talk, and act like Naruto."

"Is that your teammate's name?" Tsunami asked quietly.

"Yeah, there's Naruto – the blond one you met – and then I have another teammate, Sasuke who is with Naruto right now," Sakura explained waving her good hand.

She nodded, thinking for a moment, "Why is Sasuke with Naruto instead of with your team? Why were you even split up in the first place?"

The teenager stopped for a moment, looking downcast. Tazuna, taking pity on her, sat up a little straighter. The two shared a look and, before Sakura knew it, she had a hand ruffling her hair once again. Her client rolled his eyes before directing his attention to his daughter, "The boy was poisoned – Sasuke, I mean. We were attacked by these brothers and one of them nicked his arm. Naruto tried his best to slow it down so that he could get it out of that boy's system once they got here but we were running out of time."

"Naruto said for us to go on without him since Sasuke probably would have... he might have died if we had continued to push his body past his limits." Sakura finished, wrist aching rather painfully now.

"I... I'm so sorry to hear that." Tsunami looked distraught, absolutely mortified by the idea of a mere child being poisoned, "I hope that he is doing alright now."

"Me too." She mumbled, more to herself than her client and his daughter, "Thank you for the food."

The dark-haired woman smiled, glad for the change in subject, "You're welcome. I'm sorry that we do not have much in the house for a full course meal."

Sakura shook her head, "It's no worries at all, I actually have had beans and rice in forever. It's a nice change from all of the vegetable dinners Mom makes."

"Are your parents' vegan or something?" Tazuna looked baffled.

She shrugged, chuckling slightly, "Probably, it's like all we eat now."

"No wonder you're so tiny." He plopped a hand on her shoulder, amusement in his eyes.

Sakura rolled her eyes, scoffing, "Shut up."

Tsunami laughed at that too, "Don't listen to him, sweetie, he used to do that to me when I went on a diet after I had Inari."

"You needed meat, not those supplementary victims or whatever they were called!" The older man looked exasperated.

The pink-haired girl snorted, "Well, to be honest, Tsunami-san, you don't look a day over twenty. That diet really did something."

She blushed, "Ah, sweetheart, you are too kind."

"I still think you both need some more meat on your bones." Tazuna rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I've got more than meat on my bones, I've got muscles." Sakura pointed out, getting a mocked motion from the older man.

A sudden knock pierced through the creaky home.

Three pairs of eyes shifted to the front door, no one saying anything. Sakura stood up immediately, her good hand pulling out a kunai while her broken one stayed close to her chest. The pink-haired kunoichi motioned for the other two to stay quiet as she walked stealthily towards the front door. She took a deep breath in, opening it on the exhale...

She nearly lost her breath at the sight.

"Oh Kami!" Tears pooled in her eyes, pulling her two teammates into a hug, minding her broken hand, of course, "Thank Kami you're both alright."

Naruto smiled warmly, tugging her closer, "I'm more worried about you."

Sakura pulled away, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks, "I was so worried. And Sasuke..." She turned to him, seeing him with color back in his face and confidence in his eyes. There had been a glaze there before and red in his cheeks from a fever but, he looked fine now. "It's good to see you back on your feet." She whispered, still not believing that her teammates were back in her sights.

"Good to be back." He smiled, the sight sending her heart fluttering.

"Come in, please." Sakura stepped to the side, allowing her friends entrance into the house.

The medic walked in first, heading for their client almost immediately, "Hey there."

"Hey, yourself." Tazuna grumbled out, looking the teenager up and down, "You should go change, you're covered in blood."

At the comment, Sakura's head spun around, giving the blond-haired gennin a thorough look. "Oh Kami, w-what happened?!" She looked startled, worried hands already reaching for him.

"Calm down, it's nothing I couldn't handle. It's fine now, I promise." Naruto gave those in the room a reassuring smile, squatting down in front of the older man who continued to lounge lazily on the couch.

Tsunami stood up, looking a little anxious, "Um... if you two are hungry, I've still got some beans and rice over here if you'd like some."

"Oh, thank you, that would be amazing." Sasuke stated, looking over to the medic, "What about you, Naruto?"

"I'm not hungry right now and, plus, I've got some business to take care of." The monotone voice was startling to his teammates, seriousness covering the gennin's face.

The Uchiha sat at the rickety table before crossing his arms, "Naruto, you haven't eaten since last night. Just take a break-"

"While I appreciate the concern, I took one of my soldier pills this morning." The medic stated, turning over one of Tazuna's ankles, "Definitely severely sprained."

"I could have told you that." The older man grumbled out, not looking too pleased with having a teenager taking care of him.

Naruto sighed, hands glowing green above it. Everyone watched in awe as the inflammation and purple bruising started to slowly fade away. "Be careful when walking on this for at least another day or two, nothing too strenuous, okay?" He raised an eyebrow, getting a nod from his client, "I've healed most of the bone strain and increased the cells surrounding the bruised areas as to speed up the healing process of those."

"I don't really understand what that all means but thanks?" Tazuna gave the gennin a half-smile.

"Mind if I see your arm?" Naruto asked politely.

He nodded, "Sure."

The medic slowly unwrapped the bandages, revealing blood-soaked cotton. He stared for a moment, "Did you two forget to change the bandages?"

Sakura – who had just taken a seat beside her teammate – looked up, "I... I'm sorry. We both took a nap because of the pain and um..."

"No, it's alright, really. I'm just worried that Tazuna-san might have gotten an infection." Naruto pulled out several pieces of cotton, setting them on top of the bandages in order to keep from contaminating other surfaces, "It looks a little better than it did earlier."

No one needed to ask how he could have known about earlier.

"Sasuke, mind throwing me that blue bag in the front pocket?" The blond-haired medic called out.

"Sure." The Uchiha reached out for the travel bag, retrieving the desired item before chucking it across the room. He watched as Naruto caught it effortlessly as he went back to eating his lunch while conversing with Sakura and Tsunami.

"Since there are multiple open wounds, I'm not even going to attempt to stitch all of them. Healing them with medical ninjutsu is far quicker than using needle and thread." Naruto explained, digging through the bag for an antiseptic wipe. After finding one, he ripped open the packaging before swabbing down the area. Tazuna's face scrunched up in discomfort but didn't say anything. "I will say that this is going to feel a little weird and it would be best if you don't watch." He gave the older man a reassuring smile before hands glowed a familiar green, hovering over the broken skin.

Naruto was right, being healed from medical ninjutsu was weird and Tazuna did not like it at all.

"Ah, um... Naruto?" Tsunami voiced out quietly.

"Yes?" The blond spoke without breaking concentration.

"You seem to be very experienced with all that... medical stuff." She waved her hand for emphasis despite the boy not being able to see her, "How long have you been doing it?"

Tazuna watched his skin be fixed back together, nearly gagging when blood started to rise to the surface as the muscle was disturbed. He definitely shouldn't have looked.

"I've been doing this since I was eight... well, technically ten. I didn't start using medical ninjutsu until I was ten." Naruto explained, pulling a hand away to summon a clone. The sudden puff of smoke startled the bunch but they continued to watch the medic work. Without a word, the clone reached into the blue bag for a gauze pad, using it to wipe away the blood so that their summoner could continue to work without anything in his way.

"That's very impressive." Tsunami finally breathed out before turning towards the other two gennin, "I'm assuming that you are Sasuke."

The Uchiha nodded, "Correct."

"I'm glad you're doing alright after your poisoning." She smiled warmly.

"Well, I had a good medic to help me out." Sasuke grinned pointedly, just barely seeing Naruto glance over his shoulder at the comment.

"But you're doing better?" Sakura's soft voice disrupted his thoughts, "You're not sick anymore?"

He shook his head, "No, definitely tired but I'm good now."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Neither Sasuke nor Sakura noticed the medic's shoulders tense up at that word.

After all, he'd never been able to promise anything in his line of work.

The glow of green stopped, Tazuna's wounds finally having been closed. There was still some yellow bruising left from the abuse the arm sustained during the battle. Naruto stood up, dispelling the clone with barely a hand motion as he headed for the table. The medic pulled up a chair as to sit in front of Sakura, "Put your left leg on my lap. I've got to make sure it's healing properly and then I'll deal with your wrist."

She nodded, lifting her injured leg and laying it diagonally against her teammate's lap, "The bleeding stopped a while ago but it still hurts."

The blond-haired gennin gave her a strange look and waved a hand over it, kneading the flesh here or there. The room was quiet in his observation. "No, you're fine; it's healing just fine." He stated.

"Then why does it still hurt?" Sakura inquired.

Naruto poked her knee, trying to get her to move her leg from his lap, "You've probably just stressed it out so it's going to ache for a little while longer; try not to move around too much."

"You can stress a cut?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, not believing what he's hearing.

"Of course." He rolled his eyes, politely holding his hand out for his teammate, "Can I see your wrist? I apologize for neglecting this for so long."

Sakura pulled the shaky appendage away from her chest, laying just her fingertips in the palm of her friend's hand, "It's okay... it just hurts a lot."

"I'm going to say this now; the process of healing a broken wrist is going to be very painful even though I'll be using medical ninjutsu." At Naruto's words, she tensed, "At the moment, I don't have any fast-acting pain medication for you to take while I do this, however, I do have a second option."

"Yeah?"

"I've got a bottle of whisky on me right now. You can take a shot or two just to relax your body, cool your mind down just long enough for me to do this." He explained.

Both of his teammates looked startled, Sakura more so than Sasuke. She blinked at him, nearly jerking her hand away, "Are... Are you serious right now?!"

"Is that why you knew how bad alcohol tasted?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, "Is it because you've drunk alcohol before?"

Naruto waved a hand, nearly rolling his eyes, "Please, this isn't my first rodeo with alcohol. I've had to use all the time in the medical field."

"Glad to know alcoholism is good for something." Tazuna chuckled, "Sakura if you're going to do this, I have some shot glasses around here."

"I..." She was tongue-tied, "Naruto, this is... this is illegal, I can't just... you know, drink!"

"You do know that, after becoming a gennin, anything that an adult is allowed, a ninja is allowed the same things which include drinking... moderately." He explained, "The only way it would be illegal would be if I was forcing you to drink while unconscious or incapable of telling me no."

Their client was already heading for the kitchen cabinet when Sakura finally agreed to a single shot – "Anymore after that and my mom might kill me!" – while Naruto started to pull out the whisky and a rag. Sasuke furrowed his brows at the sight of the red rag, almost voicing his curiosity but chose not to mention it... yet. Tazuna placed the shot glass down, the group watching as the medic poured some alcohol in it before handing it off to the only female on their team.

She stared at it with nervous eyes, "So, do I like... sip it?"

Tazuna barked out a laugh. "No, no, no. You take it and-" He made a jerking hand motion, a fake shot glass tipping against his lips, "-and do that until it's all in your mouth then just swallow quickly."

"Um... okay?" Sakura murmured out, copying the older man's movements. Upon contact with her tongue, the kunoichi gagged but swallowed it. They watched her cough a little bit, eyes springing up with tears, "That was – ack! – that was horrible! How does anyone ever become an alcoholic?"

Their client rolled his eyes, "You get used to it, kid."

Naruto nodded to that, "Now, I'll say this once. If at any time the pain becomes too much, just take a swing from that bottle because I can't stop midway. Don't ask for permission, just go for it."

"A-Alright." She looked nervous, eyes flittering between the medic and the bottle of Japanese whisky.

"And one more thing." He handed the red rag over to her, "If you need to scream, put that in your mouth. If there is an enemy outside, we don't need them to know we're vulnerable and... screams do tend to break my concentration."

Sasuke now knew what the rag was for and he couldn't tell whether he liked knowing or not.

Sakura reached out for it, clutching it in a fist, "Okay... but um... how bad is this going to hurt?"

"I don't know but it's going to be correcting everything that's broken in your wrist so..." Naruto didn't know what else to say, "Are you ready?"

"I guess so..." She whispered out, looking a little pale in the face.

"Don't look, just close your eyes or talk to one of them. Don't look at me or your wrist, it'll just make it worse." His voice is soft, a reminder that he isn't just a medic but is also her friend and this probably hurts him as well.

Sakura bobbed her head, turning her body to stare at her other teammate who was just giving her a sympathetic look. Just as the blond had instructed, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

The medical ninjutsu filtered through the air once more, whipping around the broken wrist in some sort of dance. The kunoichi stiffened, eyes clenching in pain as her heart hammered in her chest. A sickening pop sounded off in the room, another one following shortly. The combination of the horrifying noise and the distinct burn of pain in her wrist nearly made Sakura sick to her stomach.

"Fuck!" She hissed out, trying to keep quiet. After a moment, the pink-haired gennin was slamming a fist against the old table. The pain was becoming too much, the cracks and fractures in her bones being healed at a slow rate. It was almost too much.

"Sakura, hey, give me your hand." Sasuke's cool voice sounded off. She took a deep breath, hovering a shaky hand out for him to take. A warm, calloused hand surrounded hers, stilling its quivering for a moment.

"Father, c'mon..." Tsunami whispered, pulling Tazuna towards the stairs; this was a team moment, better to leave them to their devices this way.

"Sakura, you might want to put the rag in your mouth. I've got to handle the actual break in your wrist." Naruto informed, fingers just barely touching her skin.

Sakura tore her hand away from the Uchiha just long enough to stuff the red rag in her mouth before searching Sasuke out again. He was still there, rubbing her rubbing reassuringly. The kunoichi took rugged breaths through her nose, homing in on the sound of it instead of the sickening pops coming from her injured hand.

Sakura wasn't sure what she expected when hearing that the medic beside her was going to 'handle the actual break' in her wrist but it definitely wasn't having Naruto grab her actual wrist and press against it as his healing chakra burned through her bones.

Tears trailed down her face in quick succession, a scream caught in her throat. It hurt so fucking bad, burned in a way nothing has ever burned before. This was number one on the top ten things that have hurt her. Sakura could feel her teammate's thumb rubbing soothing circles against her knuckles, reassuring her with words that she never knew Sasuke could say.

When the pain subsided – meaning that Naruto moved his hand as to have it hover over her wrist once more – the kunoichi broke contact with the Uchiha to reach over to the whisky. Sasuke watched in awe as the pink-haired gennin downed a few heavy gulps within a second or two. Sakura took deep breaths, setting the bottle down and reaching out for Sasuke once more.

"I'm almost done, okay?" Naruto's soothing voice was nice to hear over the sounds of her heavy breathing and sobbing. It was nearing the five-minute mark when their medic finally pulled away, the warmth from his medical ninjutsu leaving the area around her wrist cold and vulnerable.

Sakura sighed in relief, stretching her fingers to see how they worked now; a little stiff but mostly alright. Green eyes opened back up to the world, hands coming up to wipe away the tears. "I... I'm sorry about the freakout, you know?" She whispered out.

Sasuke sent her a small smile, "Don't be, it's completely normal."

"Plus, you had us. If you were to have a freak out around anyone, we'd be the best people." Naruto explained, standing up from the table.

Sakura nodded shakily as the medic handed her a bottle of pain meds, "Where are you going?"

"Final job of the day." He stated, packing up his bag, "Check on Kakashi-sensei and then a nap."

"I would hope you'd eat something before a nap," Sasuke stated, crossing his arms again.

"Nope, nap first. I haven't slept in almost three days." Naruto accidentally lets slip, already half-way up the stairs.

Sakura and Sasuke watched him go, both baffled and shocked by the revelation. They shared a look; Naruto was going to crash soon – whether it be from sleep-deprivation, starvation, or just exhausting his ninjutsu – and it wasn't going to be good when it happened. In that very look, the two knew that whatever bad was to come for their medic, Sasuke and Sakura would do nothing but help out their best friend.

After all, Naruto deserved anything in the world for everything he's done for this team. Not just for taking care of them in their time of need but for finally bringing them together into something closer to family than just a team.

"I know I said I'd help you with Minato's kid but this," The white-haired man waved a hand in the air for emphasis, "is not what I thought you meant."

Hiruzen stared down his former student, the man not bothered by it at all, "Jiraiya, can you please be serious for a minute of your life. This is your godson."

The Sannin sighed heavily, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest, "Yeah, sure. I'll try my best. Mind explaining it once more."

"You're hopeless." The Third Hokage found himself thinking irritably, "I need you to help me locate Tsunade so that she can take Naruto's place."

"Naruto's place in what exactly?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"The war, Jiraiya, the thing I've been talking about for the last hour!" His patience was growing thin.

At least the man before him had the decency to look sheepish, "I may have zoned out when you mentioned Tsunade. Plus, why would a kid be taking place in a war?"

Hiruzen sighed but a sudden thought crossed his mind, "When was the last time you saw Naruto or – at the very least – checked up on him?"

"When he was like seven, I think. Kid was pretty good with pranks." Jiraiya shrugged, staring into the old Sarutobi man's eyes, "Why?

"Naruto picked up medical ninjutsu and is more advanced with it than when Tsunade was his age." He stated, watching his former student's facial features morph. There was awe at first before pride and then confusion. It ended with pure understanding.

"There's supposed to be a widespread attack throughout the village and, if I'm picking up on this right, Naruto can heal multiple people at one time just like Tsunade can with her slugs." He pointed out, getting a nod from the older man before him, "And you need my spy network to locate her before the Chunnin exams come around."

Despite his words not being said in the form of a question, Hiruzen still nodded, "I don't want to force the world on a child's shoulder again; I can't do that to Naruto and Tsunade refuses to write me back."

"I doubt she's going to come back just because you tear up a little bit over a kid she's never met," Jiraiya stated somberly.

"She might if she knows that he's a medic at fourteen," Hiruzen said hopefully.

The other man had nothing to counter the Third Hokage's words, "You could always force her to come back."

"I've tried multiple times before, Jiraiya, it isn't that simple." The old Sarutobi man stated somberly, "You do have her whereabouts, right?"

"I have the general area but she's still there from what my spies say." The Toad Sannin pointed to the window as if one of them would be standing there.

"Alright." Hiruzen nodded, more to himself than the other man, "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. I'll see you at the west gates at six." Jiraiya gave the man a soft smile before leaving through the window.

:::^^^^^:::

Sasuke awoke rather slowly, noticing how everything felt muddied and bland. There was a lead taste in his mouth with an aching feeling in his chest. He sighed rather annoyedly at the reality of his situation. However, despite whatever was going on with him, Naruto reassured that it was all to be expected. While the Uchiha might have felt great health wise upon reaching Tazuna's home, he was still recovering from his poisoning and fevers.

Before the dark-haired gennin went to bed that night, the medic came downstairs to tell him to take it easy with minimal activities – i.e. nothing that could stress his body further – and to just relax for the next day or two. At this point, Sasuke didn't mind laying low for a while since he still didn't feel very good.

Don't get him wrong, the Uchiha definitely felt better than he had in the last few days – with increased energy as well as finally being able to walk and talk without fear of worsening his condition – but it was just that churning in his stomach and the mild headaches that made him want to take Naruto's advice.

Speaking of Naruto, where the hell is he? He hadn't seen the blond since the night before when he went to grab something from his bag downstairs after checking up on Kakashi. Sasuke hoped that the team's medic was resting somewhat instead of staying up like he'd done the last few nights. After all, Naruto had said that he was going to take a nap after dealing with Kakashi.

The Uchiha looked to the other side of the room, seeing Sakura lying on her back as to not upset her healing wrist; she was still sleeping soundly. While sad about the events that had transpired between her and their faceless enemy, there was nothing Sasuke could do that Naruto hadn't already done so there was no point in continuing to worry about it.

Well, that's not necessarily true; he could still worry about her since they are still teammates.

Sasuke makes sure that, while he's getting up, to be as quiet as possible – who knows how long it's been since Sakura got some good sleep without having to deal with a constant pain? The dark-haired teenager heads for the door, glancing at the wall clock just above the doorway; it was nearing one in the morning.

The Uchiha makes his way downstairs and stops upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, bare feet tipping off the bottom step. At the table is Naruto, a palm pressed tightly against his forehead, eyes covered with a shadow as the medic snoozed stiffly – or maybe he was just zoning out?

Sasuke couldn't tell.

He wondered how long his best friend had been sitting there at the creaky table and in such an uncomfortable seat. The dark-haired gennin hoped that it hadn't been long since Naruto was always going on about stiff backs and how bad they're for ninjas especially. The Uchiha made his way over to the snoozing medic, shaking him slightly, "Yo, Naruto, get up."

He had expected him to awaken with a start – since he hadn't been so kind upon shaking the other gennin – but Naruto simply exhaled deeply. It was like he was somewhere else and needed time to readjust to reality. It took a moment for his eyes to fully open but the blue depths blinked up at him before turning slowly towards the wall clock. A warm smile spread against his stiff features as Naruto's eyes honed on him once more, "Well, good morning, sleeping beauty. You've slept for twelve hours."

"W-What?" That certainly was an unexpected sentence.

"After we got here and you were fed, you just went upstairs and crashed." He hummed, sitting up fully. Naruto took the time to stretch effortlessly, a satisfying pop coming from his back.

Sasuke looked sheepish for a moment, "I guess I was just really tired."

The medic chuckled lowly, "I would assume that you would have had enough sleep these last few days but, hey, everyone heals differently. Speaking on that, checkup."

"Really?" He groaned out.

Naruto was having none of it but there was a playful glint in his eyes, "Any pain?"

"No, just a little sore some places." The other responded, knowing that he would never get out of this.

"Nausea?"

"No."

"Headaches?"

"Yeah."

"Scale of one to ten on how bad your headaches are?" Naruto asked, a quizzical look in his eyes.

Sasuke thought for a moment, "Probably a three, mild."

He clapped his hands as if satisfied with the answers, "Well, that's good. I'm going to give you some vitamins as well as some ibuprofen to help with the headaches when breakfast time rolls around."

"Since when do you carry vitamins?" The Uchiha wondered, scoffing at his own question.

"I happen to take vitamins myself, Sasuke." The blond-haired teenager rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. It groaned in discontent from the odd position but did not break.

Sasuke looked up at his teammate, really taking in his features. There was a mild sunken look of his cheeks with dark bags underneath his bottom eyelid. Naruto's usual tan skin had paled – not by much, though. The vibrant life of the ocean in his eyes had dulled significantly; he must be so exhausted. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"Why don't you go sleep for a few hours? I can stay up and keep watch over the house." Assuming that Naruto was doing that and not just being a stubborn medic.

The blond thought for a moment before shaking his head, looking ten years older, "No can do."

Okay, maybe he was being a stubborn medic.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean by that?"

"I've taken two booster pellets within the last few days, even if I were to attempt to sleep, the adrenaline running at all times would keep me awake." He looked undisturbed by the thought of running on no sleep, "I tried to take a nap earlier but my mind wouldn't slow down enough. Don't' worry about it too much, I'll sleep eventually."

Yeah, like that was an option, the Uchiha mused to himself rather bitterly. Ever since the boy in front of him saved his life, Sasuke couldn't stop worrying about their medic. "Well, then what exactly were you doing just now?" He questioned, waving to the chair, "You definitely looked like you were sleeping."

"Nope, I was meditating." Naruto stated before standing up to his full height, hovering over the table for a moment, "Would you like some coffee? I feel like we're going to be up for a while."

"I... do you know if there is any hot tea?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

The medic thought for a moment before nodding, "I hope you Jasmine tea, that's all Tsunami-san has."

Dark eyes followed Naruto, watching him as he headed for the stove. Sasuke thought about the medic's words from before, looking startled, "Wait!"

"Hm?" The blond turned to look at him, eyes blinking slowly with a pot in his hands.

"Isn't there like a position you're supposed to be in for meditating?" The remaining member of the Uchiha clan asked, glancing at the chair his teammate was in moments before.

He shook his head, placing the old pot underneath the sink and allowing the water to rise about halfway. The blond-haired teenager watched as it boiled the faucet water; their client's family was too poor to buy an actual coffee machine that could boil their water for them. "The position you're probably thinking of – with your legs crossed and your hands on your knees – is just for beginners, to help you really understand meditating." Naruto waved a hand for emphasis, the water thoroughly boiled, "I've been doing it for so long now that I could just sit anywhere in any position and meditate."

The Uchiha nodded in slight understanding, watching the medic pull out two chipped mugs, "How long have you been sitting there?"

Naruto thought for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in thought. He wasn't exactly sure and took his time trying to figure it out. The blond ripped open a Jasmine tea packet, plopping the bag into Sasuke's mug as well as pouring some instant black coffee grains in his own. "Well, everyone was in bed by... eight and so I've probably been meditating for about... six or seven hours?" He shrugged.

"A... Are you serious?" Sasuke sat there bewildered as the medic poured the boiled water into the mugs, returning back to the table with them, "Naruto, that's not healthy!"

"Keep your voice down, there are people sleeping." He shook his head humorously before pointing to the cups in front of them, "It's hot so I'd wait to drink something."

"I..." He wasn't sure what to say, could feel the worried fury bubbling up inside of him. Sasuke felt as if his teammate was being a hypocrite, always fighting those the medic cared about when they were doing something dangerous for their health. And now, Naruto was totally ditching his words in favor of just sitting there like he hasn't slept in days with minimal food intake.

Naruto didn't seem to notice the flash of emotions prowling across his face and instead taking a spoon and stirring his black coffee, "You know, meditating is great for your mental health."

Mental health.

Those two words shut down the argument burning in his throat, waiting to just spill out his mouth. Whatever Sasuke was going to say to the medic was gone within seconds, guilt starting to fester up instead. How could he forget that Naruto was probably suffering from... whatever had happened to him every time the Uchiha was unconscious? Not to mention having to play medic almost the entirety of this mission without a break.

He took a deep breath, taking a sip of his hot tea. The Uchiha wrinkled up his nose in realization; Tazuna's family didn't have enough money to afford sugar to put in this rather bitter tea. Dark eyes stared into the depths of orange in his mug, thumbing the side, "So... what happened while I was out?"

"Well, we certainly didn't have a party, that's for sure." Naruto chuckled at his own joke; Sasuke didn't find it all that funny, mind still plagued with guilt and worry, "I had to stay upstairs for several hours since Kakashi-sensei still had some things that needed to be healed – an extended checkup if you will – before heading downstairs for a while. I got to talk to Sakura a bit before she went to head to bed, not feeling good after drinking."

"I'd almost forgotten that she did that." Sasuke admitted, taking a small sip of his hot tea, "Think she's going to be alright?"

"Physically, yes. Mentally... well, I think we're all going to need some help when we get to the village." The medic stated quietly, guzzling some of his coffee before giving a half-hearted chuckle, "Man, my report is going to be so long."

"Doesn't Kakashi-sensei usually handle the reports?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

Naruto nodded, "However since I'm a medic, I have to write a separate report from the medic's point-of-view as well as all the medical procedures I performed throughout the mission. I could lose my license if I forgot to do so."

Sasuke hissed in understanding, "You're going to have wrist cramps for days."

They laughed together, nearly forgetting that they were supposed to be quiet. Naruto rolled his eyes before a somber expression touched his features, "I think this C-ranked mission just got bumped up to A-ranked."

"What?"

"I was talking with Sakura about what transpired before she summoned my clone since that is the only piece of information that I don't have." He explained quietly, soothing circles into his cup, "Apparently, there was this man – something like Zabuza – who attacked them, nearly took off their heads with a very large sword."

"Really?"

The medic nodded, "This Zabuza guy is a missing-nin, a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

"Are you serious?" Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction, "He's here in the Land of Waves?"

"Yeah and he nearly killed all three of them. However, Sakura says that there was this other person – a hunter-nin from Kiri – who attacked Zabuza and killed him." Naruto shook his head, eyes dark in memory, "I'm not too convinced, though, because my clone got summoned immediately after Zabuza was down and I know what I saw – or rather, what my clone saw."

The Uchiha was still processing the information, "What'd they see?"

"It was almost as if the man was in stasis. He'd most likely be pronounced clinically dead but... he's not." A tanned hair ran down his face tiredly, "It's rather confusing, all of this, but Zabuza was not dead."

"There's no proof of that, though." Sasuke explained, "You said your clone only saw it, that doesn't mean that Zabuza is still alive."

Naruto thought for a moment before shaking his head, "No, Zabuza definitely has to be alive."

"There's no way." He rebutted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sasuke, do you know anything about Kiri's hunter-nins?" The medic questioned, a superior look in his eyes.

The Uchiha deflated after seeing the stare, knowing almost in an instant that he was wrong, "No."

Naruto leaned back in his chair once more, a groan coming from the old wood, "Hunter-nin dispose of the body immediately on the scene after killing their target. Either that ninja was just a bounty hunter looking for some money or Zabuza isn't working alone."

Sasuke huffed, looking disturbed by this information, "That just means that we're all fucked."

The medic sputtered, holding back a laugh, "I think the odds might be against those two, though. Sakura and Kakashi-sensei are healing just fine and you're back on your feet. Plus, if anything happens to any of you while I'm still here, I'll just patch you back up."

"Yeah, but that hunter-nin might just fight with Zabuza the next time we encounter them." He sighed, finishing off his tea with a single swing, "We don't even know this ninja's abilities. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura can give us a rundown on what Zabuza can do but this hunter-nin could be as powerful as the Hokage."

Naruto nodded in understanding, staring at the dark depths of his coffee, "True but they looked young, maybe a few years older than us."

"Are you suggesting we talk to them?" A groggy voice came from behind the two. The boys' heads swivel quickly to stare at their other teammate, Sakura looking a little more than rough around the edges. She traveled the small distance from the stairs to the table.

"I apologize if we woke you." The medic looked on shyly.

The pink-haired kunoichi waved a hand and shook her head slowly, "No, I smelled coffee."

Her teammates chuckled at her words, Naruto sliding her his own cup of coffee, "I don't want anymore; I've probably had too much coffee."

"Thanks." She easily downed most of the cup, setting it back down on the table, "So, talking with the enemy."

"That's... I'm not suggesting that, it's just..." Naruto thought for a moment. Okay, he was totally suggesting that they could talk to them – well, not them as in both Zabuza and the hunter-nin but definitely the latter. Kakashi was in no position to hold another all-out battle and they still had to make sure that their client was safe from harm. If they were to make peace with those two, it'd make their jobs much easier.

"He's definitely suggesting we make friends with them," Sasuke stated, looking bored.

"I am not." The teenager hissed back, "I couldn't bring myself to 'make friends' with the same person who nearly killed my sensei and friend." The words were never spoken, but his teammates could tell that there was something on his mind. However, neither spoke about it.

"Well, what are you suggesting we do?" Sakura asked, finishing the coffee much faster than the medic might have. She got up to make another glass, her wrist feeling much better than it had beforehand.

Naruto shrugged, "I have no idea. I'm really at a loss for words."

"But definitely not suggesting we befriend the enemy." Sasuke rolled his eyes, standing up to steal some more hot water for another glass of Jasmine tea.

The blond-haired medic groaned defeatedly, dragging a hand down his face, "I just said that we should talk to them."

"Correction, befriend." The only kunoichi in the room waved a hand.

"Sure, whatever you want to call it." Naruto grumbled, looking just as tired as he was feeling, "All I'm saying is that having those two always out for blood with making our jobs harder. Kakashi-sensei can't fight and we've got to make sure that Tazuna-san is out of harms' way."

"They'll just kill us for just speaking to them." Sakura huffed out, a dark look spreading across her features, "The things that man could do scared me. He nearly took out Kakashi-sensei within the first ten minutes."

Sasuke gave her a worried look, eyes wide with disbelief. The medic nodded, looking down at his hands, "You're talking about the drowning."

She gave him a curious look, "How'd you know?"

"Water in the lungs." Naruto pointed to his chest for emphasis.

Green eyes slid shut at the memory, opening to show a swirl of emotions, "I had to do my best to stop him... that's when he broke my wrist."

"More like shattered." He thought to himself, watching as Sakura and Sasuke came back with their second glass of coffee and hot tea respectfully before directing his attention to the former, "I'm actually really surprised that neither you nor Tazuna-san had more serious injuries on you."

"Hm?"

Sasuke looked down then, "Kakashi-sensei must have done a damn good job of making sure you two didn't get hurt too badly..."

"I guess..." Sakura sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"What happened to Kakashi-sensei out there?" The Uchiha started.

She shook her head, "I really don't want to talk about it right now."

The dark-haired Uchiha nodded somberly, looking to their medic instead, "Then can you give me a guess since you... treated Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto looked to the kunoichi, furrowing his eyebrows, "You don't mind me talking about it?"

Sakura took a sip of her coffee, "No, I... I'm actually kind of curious about it as well. We don't really get to see you operate on people."

"You had to operate on Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke blinked in surprise.

Naruto nodded before taking a deep breath, "Well, Sakura confirmed that Kakashi-sensei was drowned so... that's that. Um... he had a pretty severe concussion that I'll have to assess when he wakes up."

The pink-haired teenager nodded slowly, "When do you think that'll be?"

"Hopefully, soon." He stated, not sure what type of answer to give, "There were multiple bruising throughout his entire body, some severe, others caused by mild attacks. I used some medical ninjutsu to speed up the process but Kakashi-sensei will definitely be feeling it when he wakes up."

"What else?" Sasuke mumbled out.

The medic wasn't entirely sure how much of his medical report he should be giving out but continued anyway, "A fractured kneecap, multiple broken ribs, and a deep, long slash across his chest. Not to mention all the internal bleeding... that was not fun to operate with."

"Damn..." Sakura hissed, looking up at her teammate, "How much did your clone fix before we got here?"

"Not much besides surgery to help with the internal bleeding and the stitching of the cut on his chest." Naruto stated, finishing off his coffee, "It was all they could manage before disappearing."

The Uchiha blinked slowly, "So... when we got here, you still had to fix everything else? The water in his lungs, the fractured kneecap, the bruising, the broken ribs... everything?"

"Yeah."

"How have you not passed out yet?" The only female on their team asked, bewildered by the mere thought.

Sasuke nodded in agreement, "I'm exhausted I've barely done anything throughout this entire mission."

Naruto chuckled bitterly, staring down at his hands again, "Just because I'm sitting up and talking does not mean that I'm not ready to pass out. I just can't."

"Can't or won't?" Sakura nearly scoffed at the thought.

Dull blue eyes darkened for a moment, his teammate's mouth being pressed into a firm line, "You may not have been here for the explanation, but I do recall saying that I took some booster pellets the night before. I can't get to sleep while they're still in my system."

"How long will it last?" Sasuke asked, noticing the choked up look on the kunoichi's face from the medic's words.

"I've taken two but I'm also expending a lot of energy so I give it another twenty hours before I can even consider sleeping." Naruto sighed, a hand running through his hair in exasperation.

Sakura watched for a moment, the table silent from the blond's words, "I'm sorry for how I reacted."

He shook his eyes, "No, it's fine. There's just a lot going on right now."

"No kidding." The dark-haired gennin across from him huffed, "But you will try to sleep in... twenty hours?"

Naruto smiled, "If Kakashi-sensei doesn't wake up around that time then, of course, I'll be out like a light."

"Are you two okay?" Sakura looked at his friends before her eyes honed on the medic, "You were covered in a lot of blood when you got here."

"I apologize for that, I didn't have a change for a shirt that wasn't clean." A depressed look hardened the blond's features but disappeared almost immediately when all eyes were on him, "I'll be okay."

Sasuke shook his head, "That's not very reassuring."

"Does that mean you're not okay... like right now?" Sakura mumbled out.

"I'm just tired, okay?" Naruto tried to give them a smile but it looked broken, something that should never be on his face.

The Uchiha sighed out. He knew he said he wouldn't ask about it but he just had to know now. Sasuke stared into dull blue eyes, heart clenching from the sight, "What happened to you when you disappeared?"

Sakura's head jerked to stare at the boy beside her, "You left Sasuke alone?"

Naruto shook his head, "Of course not, I had a clone with him."

"Your clone said that the other ones had been destroyed by those bandits and you left to deal with them." The pale-skinned gennin stated slowly, noticing the somber change in their conversation.

"B-Bandits? You were attacked by bandits?" Sakura asked worriedly. Even if she was nearly killed by a ninja, it had only been one. Who knows how many Naruto had to deal with?

"They were mostly civilian ones, no big deal." He stated, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

"Mostly civilian?" His teammates both mumbled out.

Naruto's jaw clenched and Sasuke knew why his clone told him not to ask. The medic in front of him was so unlike the ray of pure innocent sunshine he saw at training sessions and working his ass off at the hospital. The gennin sighed heavily, looking away from the two, "There was one ninja..."

"What'd they do?" Sakura asked, voice hushed and her eyes wide.

He took a deep breath, mouth choked up on the words. Instead, the medic reached into his pocket, pulling out a kunai. The blond-haired gennin showed it to him before demonstrating slowly what the ninja did before pocketing it. "It's fine, though. My lung might have deflated a little but it was nothing I couldn't handle. It was healed within minutes." Naruto murmured, not able to look at them, "I had to kill so many while out there."

The kunoichi looked between her teammates, not sure what to do with the blank stare of the medic and the heartbroken one from the Uchiha. "Do you..." She started slowly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." That single word was firm as Naruto stood up from the table, heading for the stairs, "I'm going to check up on Kakashi-sensei. You two should get some more rest."

And with that, he was gone.

Naruto didn't reappear downstairs until Tazuna nearly pried him from Kakashi's room, dragging the gennin to the breakfast table. All the way there, the older man was chastising the medic on this or that, saying that "A growing boy needs some meat on his bones" and what not. If Sakura and Tsunami chuckled at that, no one commented on it.

The blond-haired teenager nodded along but there was a glazed look over his eyes as if he were somewhere else. His teammates were staring with curious eyes, exchanging looks with each other when no one was looking. They were still worried about the team's medic who could never really catch a break.

However, neither Sakura nor Sasuke could voice their worries to the blond in fear of something similar to earlier happening once more.

Tsunami turns to the group, "Inari will be down in a bit."

Sakura brightened up at this, "Oh, so he'll finally be joining us."

"Yes." She nodded politely, turning back to the flavorless oatmeal she was making.

"Guess he finally decided not to be a hard-ass about this." Tazuna took a sip of his bitter coffee, "'bout damn time. That boy would have starved if he kept relying on the leftovers you brought him."

"Inari?" Sasuke blinked in question.

His teammate nodded, turning towards her crush, "That's Tsunami-san's son. He didn't really trust us."

"Us as in ninja." The Uchiha stated, rolling his eyes slightly.

"I promise, he's not as bad as we make him out to be." Their client explained.

The dark-haired woman over by the stove scoffed, "Speak for yourself, father."

The gennins laughed at that, drawing a smirk from Tazuna as well. He turned towards the medic, "Did you sleep alright, kid?"

"I didn't sleep at all," Naruto stated, taking a sip of water from his chipped glass.

"Oh." The tanned man blinked in surprise, glancing at the boy's teammates. Sakura shook her head, eyes practically begging him to drop the subject. "Well, alrighty then." He scratched the back of his head, "How's your teacher then? Will he wake up soon?"

The blond-haired teen thought for a moment, "He'll most likely come out of unconsciousness by the end of the night or tomorrow morning. His wounds are healing slowly so he'll most likely be feeling the pain by the time he's conscious again."

"Why's that?" Sasuke asked, slightly worried for Kakashi.

"The slower rate of healing is to be expected by how much medical ninjutsu I had to use on most of his body. It takes away the remaining stamina in his body and uses it to heal tissues on a cellular level." Naruto explained without a filter, too tired to layer one over with easy explanations, "However, that levels his body in a constant state of exhaustion until he's able to get some real nutrients and exercise in his body."

"But he's going to be okay, right?" Sakura questioned quietly.

He turned towards her and smiling a little bit, "Of course."

"Where was that confidence when you left my grandpa to die?" A squeaky voice called from the bottom of the stairs. All eyes turned towards a brown-haired boy with anger in his eyes.

Tazuna gave an apologetic look towards the medic before rounding up on his grandson, "Inari, you take that back this instant! That boy did his best and because of that, I didn't die."

The youngster hissed, pointing an accusing finger at the blond, "You said so, he left you to do something. He didn't care that your life was threatened. You could have died, and he wouldn't have cared!" By this point, Inari's voice was a shrieking mess and red in the face.

"Inari!" His mother gasped out loud, turning away from the stove.

"No, it's fine, Tsunami-san." Naruto sighed out loud, standing up to his full height, "He is allowed to express his anger. It's unhealthy to keep such volatile emotions inside."

"Mental health." Sasuke reminded himself.

The medic walked up to the boy, a bored expression on his face, "Hit me."

"W-What?!" Inari took a step back.

"I said hit me." Naruto's eyes darkened.

The brown-haired boy stood his ground then, "You're crazy, you piece of-"

"Inari!" His grandfather shouted out this time.

"If you really are angry that I supposedly left Tazuna-san to die then what are you waiting for? Hit me." He said quietly, holding his arms out of the way, "But let me remind you, whatever you do to me will never hurt as much as the pain of letting people in need of help walk along their own path without any assistance."

"W-What... What are you going on about?" Inari whispered out, unsure of what to say, "You're just... You are crazy if you think that..."

Naruto turned away, heading for the stove, "I tried my best, Inari, I really did but I'm too exhausted to deal with you right now." He took a bowl of oatmeal that Tsunami had already placed out before heading to the stairs. "You are a brat, Inari." He stated harshly, eyes narrowing, "You will never get anywhere in life if you continue to be a brat like that, never know anything beyond that." With that, he disappeared upstairs.

"I HATE YOU!" Inari suddenly screamed out, stomping his foot on the wooden floors.

"Use that anger to be a better person!" Naruto shouted back, opening up the door to Kakashi's room.

"AGH!" The boy growled out, "I hate ninjas!"

Tsunami looked to the ground, "Inari, your accusations were incorrect. I think you should go apologize."

He huffed, crossing his arms, "Like I'd ever apologize to a guy like that." The brunette stomped towards the door, mumbling stuff underneath his breath.

"And where do you think you're going?!" Tazuna glared at his grandson.

"I'm going to a friend's house because apparently I'm not wanted in my own home," Inari growled out, opening the door and slamming it behind him as he left.

It was quiet for a moment as Tsunami handed bowls to her father as well as the young gennins at the table. "I apologize for him..." She whispered out.

"It's alright," Sakura stated, laying her hand on the older woman's.

"No," The mother shook her head in disagreement, "it's not alright. Naruto's right... my son is a brat and... I don't discipline him like I'm supposed to. After what happened to his father... I hate fussing over him, but he's just become such a spiteful boy and I'm truly sorry that he said that to your medic."

Sasuke nodded slowly, "Yeah, but Naruto's a hard head and if he really was offended that Inari said that stuff to him, you'd know. He wouldn't just sit back and take some verbal abuse from a toddler."

Tazuna chuckled at the word before sighing quietly, "Even if he's a hard head, that boy's still a dumbass."

"I'd have to agree." Sakura nodded, "Naruto's draining himself beyond repair... I think."

"I don't even know how he's staying upright." The Uchiha mumbled out, "I would have already passed out for the day if I used my chakra day in, day out for who-knows-how-long and he's barely eaten during that time."

"He's a strong kid." Tsunami sighed, looking down at her hands, "However, he's still that, a kid. I fear for your friend's health."

Sakura and Sasuke gave each other a knowing look of understanding. "I fear for him too." They both thought, thinking back to everything Naruto had done for them in the past. While self-sacrificing, he's being stupid by trying to do everything without rest. But that's okay, for now at least because when he finally falls Sasuke and Sakura will be right there to catch him.

And there's nothing Naruto can do about it.

:::^^^^^:::

It was dusk when Hiruzen and his former student, Jiraiya, arrived at the city of Tanzaku Quarters (1). People cooed at each other from corner stores, most carrying varying bottles of alcohol. Some women winked at Jiraiya, motioning for him to come over to their side of the street. Had the older man not been on a job right now, the Toad Sannin probably would have waltzed over to the ladies for some fun.

However, one glance at the dangerous look Hiruzen carried was enough to make him politely decline the offer with a shaky smile.

"Which bar?" The Third Hokage questioned emotionless.

"It should be just around the corner, Bluebell Bar or something like that." Jiraiya pointed in the direction, a small area off to the left.

He nodded, thinking for a moment, "Are you sure that she'll be here?"

The white-haired man shrugged, "It was the last location I was given from my spies. She usually stays in a town for about a week and it's only been a few days since I've been given my information."

He gave another nod, pulling his hat just a little farther down his face, "Hopefully, she'll come back without much fuss. I'd hate to do anything drastic at my age."

Jiraiya scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "You've been doing drastic things for most of your life. You don't just stop as you get older – that shit stays in your blood."

"And I guess being a pervert and story-teller is in your blood." Hiruzen's mouth quirked up, obviously amused by the exchange.

"You wound me, Hiruzen-sensei." He snorted out, a mocking tone lacing his words as they continued through the street.

"Name-calling then, huh? To see that you've fallen short of the man I had hoped you would become." The Hokage shook his head, tsking disappointedly.

"What?!" Jiraiya looked shocked, hands flinging out in exasperation, "All I did was call you my teacher, you old bag of bones."

"Ah, so I'm an 'old bag of bones' now?" He smirked before sighing slowly, "You haven't called me sensei in a long time. I'm not very familiar with the... endearment of that word."

The Sannin rolled his eyes, "Please don't go sappy on me, I might faint." He made a mocking motion with his hand, fanning it in front of his face with puppy-dog eyes for show.

"You're hopeless," Hiruzen stated quickly before entering the bar.

"Oh, you son of a bitch." Jiraiya huffed, following the older man in.

Bluebell Bar was a busy and somewhat popular place that opened up not too long ago in the white district of Tanzaku Quarters. Even at dusk, the bar was already filled to the brim with paying customers, most drunk of their asses on barstools or at three-people tables. On the far right were rounded booths that could hold at least eight people in them; most were already filled with cheering crowds who were talking adamantly amongst themselves.

The Konohagakure ninjas stood near the door for a few seconds, eyes searching amongst the rowdy crowd near the pool tables. The moving room was dominated with men spouting off drunken slurs, downing more shots than their bodies could take. However, even over the blaring music and the screaming monkeys all around them, Jiraiya could clearly hear the squeal of a pig.

"Shizune's here," Jiraiya informed, having to lean his head closer to his former teacher in order for the Third Hokage to hear him over the obnoxious noise all around them.

"Do you see her?" Hiruzen questioned quickly, already moving to the middle of the dance floor.

He shook his head, "Nope, but give me a second. I'm going to check with the bartender. There's absolutely no way someone could miss them." The Sannin shifted around drunken bastards, heading for a barstool to plop down in. He waited for a moment until the bartender passed by him. "Excuse me." The older man called out, waving a hand for his attention.

The bartender stopped, turning to face Jiraiya, "How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you'd seen a woman with blond hair and a big rack." He enunciated his words with his hands, hovering them over his pecks, "She's most likely with another woman – dark-haired and probably carrying a pig. Do you know if either of them is here?"

There was a look on the other man's face, a calculating glaze over his eyes, "Nope, never seen someone like that."

Jiraiya reached into his pocket, pulling out a bag about the size of his palm and setting it on the bar, "Are you sure?"

The bartender looked at the bag, peeking around the room for a moment before snatching the bag and pocketing it, "Both are at one of the party booths probably already drunk. The blond one ordered over two dozen shots and three bottles of sake. I'm not sure if she'll be the... conversing type after all that. The younger one though..."

"Thanks." He grinned, stepping away from the bar and heading over to where his former teacher was leaning against the wall.

"Well?"

"She's here." Jiraiya motioned for the older man to follow him, "Bartender says that she'll probably be drunk."

They walked down one of the alleys, heading to the back of Bluebell Bar in silence. Their eyes scoped the booths, seeing man after man before spotting the back of a woman's head. By the dark look of it, Jiraiya assumed that it must have been Shizune. They rounded up behind her, both slipping into one of the seats to stare the younger woman down. The pig in her arms squealed with wide eyes, tapping her hooves against her owner. Shizune's eyes bugged out, mouth dry in complete shock.

The white-haired man looked around. "No sign of Tsunade." He whispered to his former teacher.

Hiruzen nodded solemnly before directing a smile at the shocked woman, "Good evening, Shizune."

"L-Lord Third!" She squeaked in surprised, voice shot as nervousness settled in her stomach, "Tsunade-sama will kill you if she sees you here."

"So she is around?" He quirked an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat, "Guess we're going to have to wait around for a little while longer."

The dark-haired woman fiddled with her shirt, evading all eye-contact, "Sir, I really don't think that-"

"Do you know where she is?" Jiraiya interrupted, taking one of the remaining shots on the tray for himself. He got a dirty look from the Third Hokage but he continued to drink.

"She went to the bathroom, Jiraiya-sama." She answered politely, peeking up just a bit, "May I ask what you two are doing here so late at night?"

Hiruzen blinked slowly, "We could ask you the same, but the answer is quite obvious isn't it."

"Babysitting Tsunade again." The Toad Sannin answered for her, swinging his arm back with another shot.

"Yes, sir." Shizune sighed out, eyes shutting for only a moment, "But you still haven't answered my question, Lord Third."

"It's because I don't like to repeat myself and I've been forced to do that multiple times these last week." He gave a frustrated look before reaching for a glass himself.

Her eyes opened, wide with worry, "Sir, I really don't think it's wise for you to be here. Tsunade-sama is intoxicated right now and will most definitely attempt to kill you for being here."

"You're damn right I will." The older woman's voice came from behind the booth, Shizune's eyes homing in on her. She stalked forward, sitting down beside her apprentice before giving the men a dangerous glare.

"And a 'nice-to-see-you' too," Jiraiya grumbled under his breath, mouth hidden behind the light-colored glass.

"Get out." The blond growled out lowly, grabbing for the bottle of sake in front of her rather greedily, "I told you, I will never go back to Konoha, especially if there is a war coming up."

Hiruzen's jaw tightened then went slack as he contained his anger. "So, you have been getting my letters," He began instead, getting a malicious stare from her, "thought you might have died."

The woman gave a sarcastic chuckle at her former teacher's comment, finishing off the bottle in a few quick guzzles, "Well, as you can see, I'm still very much alive and I'd like to stay that way."

"Not for long though." Hiruzen simply shrugged, staring at her from behind his cup of tea, "Between your drinking and gambling problems, it's definitely plausible that your time is soon."

Tsunade glowered at him, grinding her teeth, "You should leave before I lose my temper."

"When do you not." He knew that he was playing a dangerous game with the medic before him if the shocked gaze from Jiraiya said anything. Messing with this woman when she was coherent was one thing, but poking a drunken tiger was on a completely different level of stupid.

Instead of retaliating with something condescending, she simply scoffed, "What do you want, Sarutobi?" His clan's name was spoken with such venom that he would have been offended had he not reminded himself that this wasn't for him.

This was for Naruto.

"I want you to come back to the village to replace a candidate for the war that's coming up." He stated plainly, "Your medical prowess is needed on all forms to protect the village."

"Really? That's it?" Tsunade rolled her eyes, scoffing, "You've been wanting me to come back to the village for decades and my answer has always been no."

Jiraiya crossed his arms, no longer interested in the alcohol, "Tsunade, please just hear the guy out."

"We just need your help for what's to come. You can leave the village afterward, I really wouldn't care so long as the village is taken care of." Hiruzen explained with little facial expression except for the will of fire in his eyes.

She growled lowly, "That's the thing – I don't care."

He slammed his hands against the table, glaring at the woman in front of him, "You should care since it is still your village."

"Konoha took everything from me, like hell it's still my village." Tsunade hissed out, the same fire burning in her own eyes.

"Come back to the village," Hiruzen stated out slowly, leaning back against the seat.

The blond-haired woman rolled her eyes, venom in her words, "And why should I do that?"

The Third Hokage can feel the anger burning underneath his skin – it's flowing in his veins – but he has to keep calm despite the clear disrespect directed his way. "Because the attack will be centered during the Chunnin Exams where hundreds of people will be – men, women, children, and aspiring ninja... the future generations – and I need you to be there so no one dies." He explains as calmly as he was physically able to be.

Tsunade gives her apprentice a dark look, "People die all the time." She turns her head to face her former teacher, giving both him and Jiraiya a sneer. "You people only want me for my abilities." She takes another sip of sake, slamming the bottle down on the table, "You are just amongst the many who want to use me."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune blinks in retaliation, seeing the anger flashing through the Hokage, "You can't just say that – it's completely disrespectful."

Use.

The word echoed in Hiruzen's mind for a moment, sadness plaguing his heart. "I wouldn't care if you left after the attack." He stated quietly, "Please, I don't want any more people to die in vain."

Tsunade's eyes gleam in mischief, "Well, that's a first."

"That's it." His jaw tightened, leaning over the table, a dangerous aura surrounding him, "Listen here, you vile woman, I came here to ask for one last favor because I don't want another young medic to die a pointless death because you're too self-centered and selfish about your own needs instead of thinking about the health and well-being of your own village."

Amber eyes blinked in surprise, a dazed look over her face, "What... What the fuck did you just say?"

The old Sarutobi man narrowed his eyes, "You are still a member of Konohagakure, act like it."

Anger lit up like a flame, "Now you listen here, you old piece of shit, I have-"

"Alright!" Jiraiya bellowed out, hands held out between the two. Shizune sent him a grateful – albeit nervous smile. "Calm down. I think we can have... somewhat of a civilized conversation."

Tsunade huffs, crossing her arms and thinks for a moment. This is no longer about whether she's present in the village or not. She eyes her former teacher, "Spill it. Who'd die if I wasn't in the village?

"Naruto Uzumaki."

She doesn't say anything for a moment but sort-of recognized the name. That boy's the nine-tailed Jinchuriki as well as the Fourth Hokage's son. However, she couldn't really care less. He was a nobody to her – why should she have to lay down her life for him.

Due to the silence, Hiruzen continues to speak, "He's a pretty young gennin but he's a compassionate medic with a big heart and so many aspirations for life. The day before he became a medic, he acquired the multi-shadow clone jutsu and uses them quite frequently now that he's gotten the hang of it."

"That's not possible. Most people die upon using that jutsu – their bodies simply cannot sustain the strain of splitting their chakra in equal parts." She comments rather boredly.

"You forget that Naruto is an Uzumaki as well as a jailer." The old man counters, "If you hadn't caught onto this, the point I was trying to make is that there are very clear similarities between his multi-shadow clone jutsu and your slugs."

"Oh? How so?" She looked mildly interested but Hiruzen knew it would take a lot for her to finally see where he was getting at.

The Third Hokage looks down at his hands, "Naruto's use of the multi-shadow clone jutsu helps to create identical copies of himself in order to heal multiple people at once."

"Yeah, that's kind of the premise of using that jutsu." Tsunade scoffed.

"If you do not come back to the village, I will be forced to... use him in your place. He will be needed to heal any wounded person in Konoha during the attack." Hiruzen looked older as the words finally flowed through his mouth, a sadness settling in his eyes, "I am fearful, Tsunade. Naruto is young and could die or even be incapacitated after the attack."

Tsunade downs more sake and just sits there with a serious stare. Silence envelops the group, both Jiraiya and Shizune sending each other worrying glances. "So," The blond-haired woman started out, "who taught the brat medical ninjutsu? Not many people know what to do with all that information."

Hiruzen tried not to smile, knowing that his former student was definitely curious by now. "He's self-taught." By the shocked look sent by the medic before him, he continues, "Naruto volunteers at the hospital – he might even work there, I'm not entirely sure – but he's almost finished critiquing his offensive-style attacks to be a better asset to his team."

"That doesn't mean anything." She rolled her eyes, "I was self-taught. I helped out in the hospital during my teenage years and I had long since developed an offensive-style during battle. He's not special, Hiruzen, as long as you don't count that jutsu."

Hope could be seen slowly dying in the old man's eyes, stomach dropping as his mouth went dry, "Tsunade, please, I beg of you... come back to the village. Don't make me do that to him."

"It's not my problem!" She countered, "You decided to be the Hokage again after Minato died."

"I had no choice." He growled out.

"Not. My. Problem." The older woman held her ground, grinding her teeth together, "Naruto is not my problem, the attack isn't either. The village doesn't need me, not my problem."

"Please..."

"I refuse to go back, Hiruzen, and that's it." Tsunade hissed out, finishing off the sake bottle in one last guzzle.

Hiruzen couldn't believe what he was hearing from the one person who could take Naruto's spot, couldn't believe that it's finally come to this. He remembered all those mornings before school when the boy had just started picking up medical ninjutsu. He runs in with a large smile and an inquiring gleam in his eye. And on those mornings, the Third Hokage would always ask:

"What can I help you with today?"

Naruto would spout off a rapid fire of questions, wishing for his 'Jiji' to answer them to the best of his abilities. They could be simple questions involving need-to-know ninja basics or something a little more complicated. The older man had always listened to the boy's rambling with a soft smile on his face. And if Hiruzen had been able to answer them all, the young medic-in-training would grin up at him and say:

"Thank you so much, Jiji! I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." He'd always replied because Naruto was going to go places, was going to be the greatest medic out there. Hiruzen was always so damn proud of that boy and wanted the best for him. The Hokage knew potential when he saw it; the will of fire burning deeply in the young medic would never die so long as Naruto continued to keep growing.

"Thank you so much, Jiji. You've already helped me so much, how can I ever repay you?"

"The only way you could ever repay me is to stick to your dream and become someone great one day."

Naruto was his grandson in everything but blood and he'd do anything to make sure that he's well, that he has everything he needed in life. He tried his best, tried to do everything right by that boy.

"I know I keep thanking you, but you've just done so much for me." There is never enough Hiruzen could do for him, for the kid who has no idea what's going on right now. He's doing Naruto wrong by this.

"It's quite alright. You have a dream that you want to achieve so I won't stop you in your path to greatness. Instead, I want to help you on your journey." However, his path to greatness leads to one of the rotten things about running a village: sacrificing those who can do the job to an unrelenting destiny.

"I'll make you proud, Jiji!"

"You've already made me proud, Naruto."

"That's it." Hiruzen growled out, startling those around since he'd been silent for a few minutes, "Tsunade Senju, since you refuse to come back to the village, I have no choice but to do this."

"Do what?"

He ignored the question, eyes shutting for a moment, "I didn't want to do this to you, but I have been pushed well beyond my limits." A dark look of anger spread across Hiruzen's face. He held his hand out, jaw tightening, "Under the premises of insubordination, disobeying a direct order from the Hokage, and for unauthorized travel outside the village walls, I hereby take away your citizenship of Konohagakure."

"W-What?" Tsunade's eyes widened in shock before she stood up with a fist raised in the air, "You... You can't do that!"

"If you hit me, I will drag you back to Konoha by the skin of your teeth where you will be locked up until your inevitable death by forced detox from your alcoholism." He stood up, getting close to her face, eyes gleaming with fury, "The only way you will ever get this citizenship back is if you come back with me and use your abilities like the medic you were always meant to be."

Her fist lowered to her hip, but the stern ferocity did not leave her, "You're a madman if you think I'd ever go willingly to my death."

Hiruzen stopped for a moment before stepping away from the booth, Jiraiya right behind him, "Then you really are a terrible medic."

And with that, he left Tanzaku Quarters with a heavy heart and a destiny he could no longer avoid.