Naruto
Naruto: Shadow Legion – Chapter 34 [The Princess and the Fox]
Disclaimer: I Do not own Naruto nor its Characters
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Tsunade sat solemnly in a booth in the back corner of her current most frequent bar. She stared down at her dry sake dish, not yet touched, shining her reflection back at her as she felt the cold glass of the half drank sake bottle in her hand.
"I can bring back the ones you love…" a raspy voice filled her mind.
Quickly shoving the venomous thoughts to the back of her head, Tsunade took a long swig, gulping down another quarter of the bottle before pulling it away from her lips and releasing a wanting sigh, almost gasping for air as she panted, her face growing even warmer.
"Lady Tsunade, I'm beginning to worry about you." A strict yet concerned voice belonging to her dark-haired company expressed aggressively, followed by an agreeing 'oink' from a well-dressed pig.
"Relax Shizune, you've seen me drink how many hundreds of—"
"You've never drank this much after meeting up with someone like him." Shizune pointed out firmly, snatching the bottle out of Tsunade's weakened grasp.
Tsunade looked back angrily towards Shizune. Normally her protégée would have flinched at her demeanor, quickly surrendering the bottle back to her, however her nerves were steeled and her decision final. "It's that bad huh?" Tsunade thought to herself as her scowl faded, her face falling gently into her arms on the table. "Whatever…"
"Oh no, I don't think so!" Shizune snapped back "We're going to talk about this." She ordered as she gestured between her and the blond.
"There's nothing to talk about." Tsunade replied weakly as she raised her hand to flag down the bartender.
"Oh? Then it's safe to guess that you're going to ignore that bastard's request? Kick his ass six ways to Sunday so we can be on with our lives?" Shizune questioned in a faux relieved voice as she calmly took a sip of water, wanting to be as sober as possible when dealing with Tsunade that night.
Tsunade wanted to say 'of course' but she knew it wasn't that simple. As silence filled their table, Shizune had her answer.
"I see, then we do have something to talk about." Shizune said plainly. "You can't honestly believe he has the power to do that can you?"
"You don't know Orochimaru." Tsunade responded coldly. "His entire goal in life is to become immortal. Learn every jutsu to ever exist. Who's to say he hasn't mastered it to some extent?" Tsunade suggested, legitimately contemplating the request.
"Yet he needs you to heal his arms? 'Oh yeah I can totally raise the dead if you can fix my arms.' Really?" Shizune asked, hoping the sheer ridiculousness of the situation would snap Tsunade out of it. It unfortunately did not.
"It makes sense. Without hands you can't exactly use a jutsu that could bring back the dead. And even then, my great-uncle invented a technique that could do it. He could have learned it." Tsunade continued with her reasoning, trying desperately to take Shizune's words to heart only to run into logic or reason that gave her hope that Nawaki or Dan could be returned to her.
It was clear that Shizune was getting increasingly more agitated, shooing off the barkeep while Tsunade was distracted in her explanation. "Letting you sleep on it would probably just make this situation worse." Shizune mumbled.
"Or it will give me time to actually think on it. We have a week." Tsunade pointed out in disagreement.
"OR it will take root in your brain that Orochimaru can be trusted." Shizune said suspiciously.
Tsunade's eyes looked up from her arms, meeting Shizune's stressed gaze. She knew that Shizune was extremely worried, but she still couldn't shake the snakes' words from her head. Was it worth it? She wondered.
Shizune let out a sight. "Fine… we can talk about this more—"
She was cut off by the sound of a bell jingling as the bar door opened. Tsunade wasn't facing the door, but Shizune's look of shock, and possible horror, drew her attention. "Something wrong?" she asked.
"I have a feeling you're not going to bed just yet, lady Tsunade." She stated as she fell back into her booth, clearly defeated as she pointed towards the door.
"What do you—"
"Ah, there you are!" a familiar annoying voice echoed through the bar, followed by an equally nostalgic annoying laugh.
"You've gotta be kidding me." She grumbled as while she may have sounded agitated, her expression glowed when she watched the smiling white-haired sage entered the bar, a gaggle of genin at his back alongside an older man with a warm smile of his own.
"It's been awhile princess." The toad sage said as the older man she recognized as her uncle's student shuffled the genin into a nearby booth, one with twin buns being particularly infatuated with her. She took note of the others quickly. An Inuzuka by the looks of one of the boys, a Yamanaka girl that clung to a silver-haired boy, probably a clan-less shinobi. Although possibly a Hatake? It was clear that Jiraiya didn't have a kid, she would know. That would leave clan-less, or maybe…
"I didn't expect for you to find me here." Tsunade said in a disgruntled tone. "I suppose you have something important to tell me if you went through all the trouble to find me?" she questioned.
"Indeed." Jiraiya said with a bright smile as he moved towards the table with the older Kagami. Shizune quickly moved to the other side of the booth with Tsunade as the pair took a seat across from them. "Although taking a moment to catch up wouldn't be a burden, would it?"
Tsunade wanted to keep a strong scowl on her face, however she couldn't help but let out a slight smile. "No, I suppose not."
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Satsuki watched as the eldest sand sibling hugged the middle child goodbye, before allowing the boy to hug his younger sibling. "You two need to stay strong while I'm gone. Don't let this village soften you up." He said with a grin.
"Perhaps we should say the same to you. Given your history in the time we've been captured, you seem to fall the deepest when it comes to emotional expression. Even more so then elder sister." Gaara said in his usual oblivious tone, forcing Temari to hold in a laugh.
Kankuro, for once, took the comment in stride. "Yeah, yeah I know. You better keep her safe ya hear? You two are all I got left."
"I can assure you that while they are under my protection, nobody will harm them." Satsuki said proudly.
"Protection? You mean custody." Kankuro scoffed.
Gaara's head tilted like that of a curious puppy "She was being honest." Gaara said matching tone to his curious exression.
"Doesn't matter, you guys are still prisoners… for now." Kankuro said, making sure to reassure his siblings that he'd make certain the council would do anything to get them back.
Satsuki sighed. "While you are correct, they are prisoners, you should expect them to be much better provided for than any prisoner should expect."
"Yeah but let all the less important ones sleep in a cell with barely any semblance of freedom or care. How noble of you." Kankuro said annoyed.
"Kankuro." Temari warned through between her teeth, threatening to turn into a low growl if he continued.
Satsuki sighed. "I cannot let every shinobi into my home. You must understand that this is the best that could be done given the situation we were put in." Satsuki explained. "Rest assured; your prisoners will be returned following the peace negotiations. The jonin and chunin have already been paid for with your knowledge on puppeteering jutsu." She added, trying to remain amicable.
"And I suppose that my siblings aren't paid for then?" Kankuro asked suspiciously.
"Kankuro! We're moving out!" Baki ordered as he walked over to the group. "Lady Uchiha, for your treatment of my genin and for your open forgiveness you have my thanks. I am forced to put my team's protection in your care and can only pray that you are capable of providing it." Baki said professionally, however there was confliction in his tone. He was legitimately grateful for what had been done for his team, but the other prisoners and the clear intent to use his genin as pawns still weighed heavily on his mind.
"I will do what is necessary to ensure their safety." Satsuki said with a bow, taking several steps back so that he could talk to his team, however making her presence known so that Baki knew that he couldn't pull a fast one. Lucky for her she had her prison staff acting as a corral until the released prisoners left the village. As they were currently at the prison complex, it was a rather far walk to the exit, so simply grabbing the sand siblings and bolting was out of the question.
"I expect the two of you to keep up your training, or at least you physical conditioning. I have no idea the freedoms the Uchiha, or more importantly the leaf will give you as time goes on. Stay strong, and I'll be sure when I meet with the council, we will do whatever it takes to get you home." Baki said stoically, nodding to each of his students before he was about to turn to leave.
"Farewell, Baki sensei." Gaara said with a bow, his sister catching on quick as she was already bowed next to him as well.
Not knowing how to respond to such a gesture, Baki simply nodded again. "Farewell my students." With his final words, he and Kankuro alongside the remaining genin began their long walk to the gates, the prison escort following suit.
Satsuki breathed in a deep breath, letting it out as the remaining sand siblings raised their heads, turning to her. She could tell that Temari wanted to cry, however she refrained from acknowledging it as she decided that the kunoichi deserved to preserve her strong persona, at least for the time being. "Please follow me, I will escort you to your rooms." She said softly before turning to walk towards the Inner Uchiha compound.
The group made their way there, two prison guards bringing up the rear a few meters behind as Satsuki had ordered. "How can we trust your men?" Temari questioned, knowing that she could at least trust her 'host' to some degree.
"They're not 'my men' but rather shinobi who decided to pick up the mantle my family left behind. They all have their reasons. Most of whom because they had been close to someone we lost in the attack. I guess you could say that while they may not be family, as the prison staff, they are still technically an extension of the clan." Satsuki responded, knowing that the two behind her had frequented an older blacksmith named Kojiro, having decided to take up the job that he and his family left behind.
"So most of them are loyal to your family, or rather their memory. Curious." Gaara spoke, becoming more and more interested in this new village that he had once been ordered to destroy.
"Indeed. While they may not like you, they respect me and my orders. As the last remaining Uchiha alongside Sasuke, they sort of just appointed us as somewhat of a leader. It's not official yet, but eventually it will be." Satsuki explained.
"Wait, so your clan head, but not head of police? How does that work?" Temari asked, unknowing of the Uchiha's current state in that regard.
"That is… complicated. It's not something I want to discuss for now. It's just a bit of a sore subject." Satsuki said sheepishly as they arrived at the compound, guards stopping at the entrance and assuming guard positions.
"Fair enough I suppose." Temari submitted as Satsuki opened the door to one of the abandoned homes turned into a guest building of sorts.
"It's alright, for now don't worry about it. While you're hear you'll be provided for and have full access to the training grounds, and the common area of this building. Should you need anything simply knock on my door or approach a guard to get my attention." She added, gesturing to her own home.
"We'll be sure to not bother you unless we need to." Temari responded, still quite unsure of how to interpret her situation aside from understanding that she and her brother were powerful political pawns.
"If that's what you want." Satsuki shrugged as she walked away, making sure not to actually show them to their rooms, giving them as much freedom as she was actually capable considering how the council was intent on using the two of them.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
"Think she's gonna agree?" Kiba questioned, taking a sip of water as Naruto and his team ate the finger foods that the bar provided.
"Of course she will! She's—"
"'Tsunade, the legendary sannin' yeah we got it, but don't you think she went into hiding for a reason?" Kiba questioned, causing Tenten to grow impatient with the boy.
"Relax Tenten, he's only trying to say that there's reason for her to reject us." Naruto said to calm the kunoichi that particularly had a vast collection of pointy things to throw at them. "Besides, it looks like their taking some time to catch up, I'm sure Jiraiya will convince her."
"Besides, if he doesn't, we can always send over her cousin." Ino said with a giggle, causing Naruto to glow red for a moment.
"Cousin? Isn't she the age of someone old enough to be your aunt?" Tenten questioned confused.
"It's complicated." Naruto replied with a sigh. "From what I read about the family tree, Tsunade was about seven when my grandfather died. At about that time, my grandmother had my father within days of my grandfather's passing. I haven't been able to find out much about her, but she was about 35 and when Tobirama died. Lord Fourth was born about a year or so before Lord Hiashi if I'm correct. Since Lord Second waited so long to have a kid, he sorta skipped a generation, unlike Lord First who had a son, Hananku Senju, who had Tsunade."
"I think I get it." Kiba said as he began to assume a generic thinking posture.
"Really?" Tenten asked skeptically, turning to look towards him.
"Nope." He answered simply and with a smile, shoving an onigiri into his mouth.
"Wait, so what happened to your grandmother?" Ino asked now curious.
Naruto shrugged. "I don't know… yet. I haven't read anything about her in any of the records that my dad kept. If I were to guess, she probably died soon after childbirth since my dad didn't talk much about her in his notes, unless of course I can find something out about her from Tsunade."
"You're pretty calm just calling her 'Tsunade' ya know. You should show her some respect as a sannin and future Hokage." Tenten pointed out, looking over to see Tsunade's table reminiscing, if only to prepare for business.
"I mean think of it this way, I have 15 plus years of catching up to do with her. I doubt she's going to mind much." He said with a subdued smile, looking over at some more long-lost family.
"Then why haven't you introduced yourself yet?" Kiba asked, almost a little too loud as Tenten punched him in the side to quiet him down.
Naruto smirked. "I'm Plan B if Jiraiya fails." He said with a devious smile. "Let's just say we got to talking after your shadow clone ambush."
The three groaned as they recalled fifty or so shadow clones descending upon them amidst their morning workouts, all dressed in missing nin garb with varying hair colors. Some brown hair, some black hair like an actual Uchiha, a few blonde ones that looked odd, all except the one wearing an orange uniform that surprisingly fit well with the aesthetic.
"No."
Naruto heard the answer plainly, first looking at his team who all heard the same thing. Tenten looked disappointed, but still quieted down so the four of them could listen in. Naruto, glancing over to see that the table had grown tense, kept his eye on Jiraiya for the signal.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
"No?" Jiraiya questioned.
"No." Tsunade repeated, crossing her arms in front of her.
"So the village, in all its wisdom, names you fifth hokage, and you refuse?" Jiraiya questioned yet again, probing for an explanation.
Tsunade stared back with a calm expression, her cheeks still a slight tint of red as she pulled out a deck of cards, beginning to shuffle them. "I thought it would have been obvious, I left the village a long time ago." She said calmly, passing the deck to him.
Accepting the deck without a word, he too began to shuffle. "Any reason in particular? You are the best pick for the position in the mind of the council, despite your current conduct." Jiraiya answered calmly, handing the deck to Kagami to cut it.
Kagami, handing the deck back to Tsunade spoke as well. "Should you refuse, the Hokage to be named could very well destroy not only our village, but all others through senseless war and death."
Tsunade saw the concern in the elders' eyes, staring at them without fear of his sharingan as she effortlessly dealt out a hand to herself and Jiraiya. "The Hokage is nothing more than someone who gives orders and dies protecting the village. Every single one thus far has preached defending the village, maintaining the peace, how their willing to die for it. And all of them have." The last words she said stung coming out, remembering the words of her comrade going into detail about how their sensei died as a result of his assault. "Is it true?" she asked, both wishing to confirm this news, and prove her point, revealing her first card in her hand.
Jiraiya let out a sigh. "Yes, sensei gave his life so that Orochimaru could not harm anyone else with his jutsu. And Lord fourth died protecting the village from a beast that would have destroyed it without question. Let's not forget the second's sacrifice to ensure not only his team survived, but his newly sired hokage could bring an end to that conflict, leading the next generation himself. Or shall we forget that were it not for Lord first." He finished, leaving the first Hokage's exploit to speak for itself. "You're replacement would do far more harm to the shinobi world as a whole then any of those attacks could have brought simply on the leaf."
Tsunade began revealing cards to herself, one card away from a royal flush as she asked the question. "And who might this replacement be?"
As she revealed her final card, Jiraiya answered. "Danzo Shimura." He said plainly, leading Tsunade to reveal a four as her final card.
Tsunade let her head fall back as she revealed her hand. "That would be troublesome indeed. But I cannot accept. I don't have the desire to give my life for a village I have since left behind me."
Kagami spoke up. "Please lady Tsunade, you are our only hope to ensure our youth do not die senseless deaths." He pleaded as Jiraiya put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a look that quickly quieted the elder, who nodded in understanding.
While confused, Tsunade was about to accept her victory over her comrade, sending him back to the village to find another sucker to take up the mantle of the leaf's protector. That was until she felt a firm grip grasp her arm. Turning to see who was stupid enough to grab her without warning, while she was fairly inebriated, she was met with the serious and angry eyes of the silver haired boy. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let your cowardly words go unchallenged." He said in a subdued anger, both firm and calm. Tsunade could tell he was trying not to break composure.
"Who's the brat?" Tsunade asked annoyed, looking at a smirking Jiraiya, and a facepalming Kagami.
"Just a genin that I've been training recently." Her responded, clearly leaving out some crucial information.
Tsunade, turning back to the kid, quickly shook of the boy's grip. "Unchallenged? Are you challenging me?" she asked confidently.
"Yes, I am." He said simply.
"Oh no." Kagami said, his face still firmly in his palm.
"Alright, and what exactly do you intend to gain from this challenge?" She asked in a mocking tone.
"If I win, you'll return with us and become the fifth Hokage, apologizing for your ignorant statements." The boy responded calmly, his anger beginning to subside, not raising from Tsunade's attempts to rile him up as he crossed his arms in defiance.
"Alright, and if I win, you lot will leave me be, and never try to find me again." Tsunade said, certain this would deter—
"Deal" he said without hesitation.
Tsunade was taken aback but decided to let the boy dig his whole deeper. "Alright then, but it seems only fair that we handle this like shinobi." She said standing up from the table, looking to see Shizune looking concerned alongside Kagami, and Jiraiya taking a long sip from his sake. "We'll have a duel, first one knocked out of the ring loses."
"That quite enough young man." Kagami said firmly. "We can't afford for you to lose—"
"I accept." The silver haired genin said as he turned to leave the building.
Jiraiya sighed once more. "I guess I'll go set up this 'ring'. I should probably have a talk with him about being so rash." Jiraiya chuckled stopping for a moment before looking back to Tsunade. "I'd like to make a wager as well."
This got Kagami's attention now as well, seeing that this encounter was planned to a degree. "Oh? And why would I accept terms of you putting your money on me? That would just make me want to throw the fight." Tsunade questioned, confidence brimming from her expression.
"No, no you misunderstand. I'll be wagering on my student defeating you." Jiraiya said, shocking the blonde.
"I believe I may have misheard you." Tsunade said simply in utter confusion.
"I believe that he will win this challenge." Jiraiya confirmed.
Tsunade, near speechless asked. "And what exactly do you intend to gain from this?" echoing the words she had just used on the boy, still dumbfounded, and now a little angry at the betrayal of her teammate.
"When it's over, you'll tell me what's really going on here." Jiraiya said, his joking face dissolving. "Someone had to tell you about sensei, and it wasn't someone from the hidden leaf. I want to know what you discussed with him."
Tsunade knew that Jiraiya had caught on, but she hadn't expected Jiraiya to use this challenge to extract the information, especially considering the challenge. She was incredibly suspicious, but considering her recent luck, and this wild challenge, she had nothing else to lose. "Fine, but if I win, you'll become the Hokage in my stead, or at least attempt to go against Danzo in the council vote. Surely your claim is stronger than Danzo's. I suspect that you have already made it known that you don't want the position. Are you not willing to do what it takes to save the village?" she asked, waiting for him to respond.
Jiraiya sat stoically for a moment, seemingly thinking over the deal. It was clear that he too understood that this was a gamble, and it was clear that he did not want to lose if these were the terms. However Tsunade would once again be rendered into a state of shock. "Deal." He said, holding out his hand to her.
Tsunade blinked once, then again, now understanding that the hand was real. Slowly she gripped the hand and shook on the bet. "You must really have faith in that boy."
"You'll understand why soon enough." He replied with a smile before standing up from the booth, moving outside to set up the duel.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Satsuki took an unintended pleasure in caring for the remaining sand siblings. Sure 'caring' isn't precisely the proper term for it, but it felt all the same as she knocked on the door to their 'cell'. "Enter." Gaara replied in a stoic, yet respectful tone, knowing full well Satsuki wouldn't disable the lock until she had permission to do so.
Satsuki then unlocked the sealed door, entering with a small cart containing five or so platers containing rice and a platter of various sushi. Additionally, while not as good as Kagami's, she brewed a simple tea she knew her 'guests' would enjoy. "Time for lunch, I hope it's not to simple." Satsuki stated with a weak smile. While she was being accommodating, she still had her own issues on her mind. "Hopefully he won't be bitter when he sees him." She thought, thinking back to a guest she invited over to have lunch
"Don't sweat it. In all honesty your hospitality is a little unnerving." Temari admitted, slowly grabbing the platters only for Gaara to grab his own out of her hands. "Extra food?"
"It cannot be simpler than what we received in our cell." Gaara said with a bow, not yet learning the various levels of the bow, using the more serious renditions for small interactions. "Temari, I no longer wish for you to act subservient to me out of fear, I promise I will not harm you."
"No your right, force of habit." Temari admitted, grumbling at herself. "In any case, why are you being so… accommodating? Its rather suspicious."
Satsuki looked towards Gaara, clearly picking up that he was reading her anxiety like a book. "I can't tell them the professional reasons, but the least I can do is a more personal explanation." Satsuki figured as she breathed out, noting the change in Gaara's expression. "Because I understand that you were misled. Even when you were fooling us you didn't seem malicious in your actions… they were just orders." She explained before continuing. "I'll have a few other guests join us in a little bit." She noted quickly, making sure to answer Temari's other question as vaguely as possible.
"To an extent, I guess. But I can't say I exactly like the hidden leaf. Growing up with a mission embargo put on us isn't exactly putting you guys in my good graces." Temari stated, suggesting that while they may have had orders, she wasn't exactly troubled with carrying them out.
"I only did it because I was promised by my leaders that I would have many people to sate Shukaku's thirst for blood. I harbored no particular hatred towards you." Gaara disagreed, although in a way that made Satsuki's spine shiver.
"I cannot blame you for resenting that treaty. After researching it I can't say that I was thrilled with the deception. Although I benefitted from it, I cannot say I support it." Satsuki agreed. "I guess I just… feel like I can try and mend things before more hatred grows between our people. Although I doubt I can accomplish much considering how recent and how full of loss the invasion was." Satsuki admitted, her mood falling with her head as she stared at her feet, almost defeated.
Satsuki was surprised to feel a hand softly grasp her shoulder. Looking up she saw the familiar face of a surprised Temari, and Gaara inches from her face, his eyes staring into hers. "I understand. For what it is worth, I do not harbor any ill will towards you, or this village. Quite the opposite. For the first time I feel as if I am not shackled. Not by Shukaku, not by the sand, the council, not by anyone."
"G-Gaara…" Temari croaked out, surprised at Gaara's admission.
Gaara turned his head to Temari. "I also understand while not entirely fond of it, you have found some peace in this village." He said vaguely, leading his sister to blush, if only for a moment before he turned back to Satsuki, a confused look on his face. Satsuki's guilt was overflowing at the moment. Having the looming sentence that the two faced hanging over her, standing so close to them. "There is something more?"
Satsuki took a step back. "I-I… I can't…"
Temari looked at her with an accusatory glance. "This isn't some pity experience, is it?" she asked slightly flustered, her eyes widening. "You know something about us, about what's going to happen!"
"Temari!" Gaara shouted, before either of them could get another word in. Satsuki watched as Temari flinched hard, likely thinking Gaara is having a relapse. Gaara turned to face the both of them before he continued. "Of course she does as a member of the council. What does it matter?" he asked, calming himself.
"W-Well if she knows something, this could all be a ploy!" Temari said, conjuring up a valid explanation that while was technically true, Satsuki was still hurt by the accusation, knowing that she would have done it regardless.
"What of it? We have no control over the consequences of our actions, only how we react to them. I for one choose to accept the hospitality that I am receiving for foul acts I committed. Acts that I am learning warrant a much harsher punishment." Gaara said, beginning to emote as he let disappointment slip into his tone. Not at Temari, but at himself. "We both betrayed our allies, and for that we are going to be punished. It is how we accept our punishment that matters now."
The room was stunned into silence. Gaara's words were more powerful than either of the women had expected them to be. His words were equally as effective as both Satsuki and Temari took them in in their own ways. Temari embraced her brother, likely resolving to stay with him in weathering this storm. Satsuki began to put herself together. "There's no point in feeling guilty for something he is ready to accept. All I can do is try and sway the odds in their favor by softening them to the village and hoping they will react to their probable sentences in the most positive way possible considering..." Satsuki decided.
"Lady Satsuki, you have visitors." One of the guards reported.
Satsuki went wide eyed as she remembered the request, she made to one of her classmates. "Send them over!" She called to the gate, waiting for the siblings to break their embrace. Clearing her throat she gained the pairs attention. "Uh, Gaara. I have someone here that I feel like you would want to see." She said nervously, hoping that Gaara's heel turn would stay intact if their prison interaction was anything to go by.
"Thank you, Lady Satsuki!" a loud voice exclaimed proudly, being helped in by the sound of squeaking wheels and his caretaker.
Satsuki watched as Gaara recognized the bowl cut, his eyes growing wide as he took in the shinobi's current state. Rock Lee sat in a wheelchair, his arm and leg heavily bandaged with a smiling Sakura standing behind him. "Thank you for coming." Satsuki said with a bow.
"It's no issue, Lee has been dying to get out of the hospital, although he's not too fond of the chair." Sakura admitted with a nervous giggle, settling her gaze on the sand siblings. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, thinking back to the pairs duel during the Chunin exams.
Satsuki was disappointed in Sakura's hesitance but understood. Hoping that she wouldn't lose progress she was going to try and salvage the situation. She unfortunately didn't speak fast enough.
"You didn't tell me that we would be visiting him." Lee said in a rather calm voice, staring directly at the stunned Gaara, not even acknowledging Temari. He too was in a state of shock. He didn't seem upset, but that could very quickly change.
Gaara quickly assumed a low bow, touching his forehead to the floor as he regained his composure. "I am sorry for my actions that resulted in your current state. I refuse to blame my Bijuu for the damage I caused." Gaara said in his typical tone, however mustering as much conviction as to be expected from someone knew to new emotions.
Much to Satsuki's relief, she saw a surprised look on Sakura's face. This emotion was further enhanced when she saw a smile creep across Lee's face. "APOLOGY ACCEPTED!" he said with the brightest smile, giving a thumbs up with his good hand.
Naturally Gaara arose in confusion, not expecting such a resounding acceptance. "That was… easy…" he said in confusion, looking towards Temari for conformation she quickly gave, shaking her head wildly in agreement.
All Sakura could do was facepalm. "I should have expected this to happen."
"I was really hoping for it." Satsuki acknowledged, most the tension releasing in her body.
"HOWEVER!" Lee spoke again, forcing all eyes to snap back to him. "When I return to my full glory, I demand a rematch!" he announced, pride emanating from his broken body in a way that would make you think he could challenge Hashirama himself.
Gaara stood, muttering a simple response in his stoic tone. "Very well. I shall pray for a swift recovery so that I may honor this debt."
Satsuki let out a relaxed sigh as Sakura wheeled in Lee, glad that the coming meal would be much less tense than anticipated.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Tsunade sat silently in her booth, Shizune by her side as she slowly poured a slow stream of sake into her still unused sake plate.
"Don't you think things are going a little to far?" The aid asked as she held her pet Tonton close to her chest.
"No, why do you ask?" Tsunade asked, her eyes entranced by the smooth pour.
"Well, you're gambling with the title of hokage! Surely you know that the odds are shaky best." Shizune explained herself, causing Tsunade to stop her pour, gently setting the bottle on the booth.
"Close quarters." Tsunade said in a low and soft voice, causing Shizune to lean in. "Amateur opponent."
"Bu—"
"Mildly intoxicated, current lucky streak… I like my odds." She said simply, standing with her plate before taking an elegant sip, not stopping until the plate was clean. Setting the plate down, she turned away from her booth.
"And what if all your recent good luck has been foreshadowing this bet on top of that deal?" Shizune asked in a serious tone that only someone who understood another's superstition deeply could produce.
Tsunade paused, and then answered. "Then so be it." Not turning back to show the confident smirk she wore as she made her way to the double doors, pushing them open with a loud crash. The sight was encouraging. The bullheaded boy stood to the left of her, arms crossed and all angry, surrounded by his comrades in varying grades of support and concern. The girl with the buns seemed to be chastising him for making this foolish bet. Kagami and Jiraiya stood at the door conversing, standing just outside of a rectangle drawn in the dirt about 14 meters long, and 7 meters wide by her estimates.
"…bad idea!" were the first words Tsunade could catch as Kagami chastised Jiraiya in a subdued tone, looking to Tsunade as she entered the scene.
"Are you ready?" Jiraiya asked, catching an angry eye from Kagami.
Tsunade smiled at her teammate. "Always." She said as she stepped into the rectangle, staring daggers at the group.
"Guys, you should probably get out of the ring, we can talk about this more in a second." The boy stated firmly, each of his teammates leaving, some reluctantly, as Tsunade began sizing up her opponent.
"So, are you sure you want to do this little boy? You're not exactly in my league." She postured, noting his physique, well built. Bot to bulky, not to cut, a good balance for a shinobi.
The boy sighed, and Tsunade could feel a portion, although not all, of his anger almost blow away into the night sky. "I'm well aware I lack in experience, but I also understand your underestimating just how powerful a genin can be." He said simply dropping into a stance she couldn't recognize. It seemed eerily similar to that of the Hyuuga's gentle fist, but less rigid.
Tsunade furrowed her brows as she acknowledged the anbu like gear the boy worse, noting the pouch on his hip and sword now strapped onto his back. "He's definitely a combat specialist, although to what degree is questionable." Tsunade thought as she raised her index finger. "One finger."
"What?" the boy questioned, clearly not understanding her gesture.
"One finger is all I need to defeat you." Tsunade clarified. She could see the briefest twitch of anger in the boy, causing her to smirk.
The boy took a deep breath. "You can certainly try." Was all the answer he gave her before focusing purely on her, likely sizing her up in a similar manner she did him.
"Shizune!" Tsunade ordered, noticing her apprentice slip out of the bar. "We will begin on your signal."
"Right." Shizune confirmed, looking to Jiraiya for permission to begin, receiving a confirming nod from the toad sannin. "Begin!"
Tsunade didn't move, but instead motioned with her finger for the boy to charge. To her surprise, instead of recklessly rushing in he employed some strategy. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He called out, creating five clones that all began to rush her position.
"Shadow clones huh? I'll admit it's a rare technique, but not all too complicated to deal with." Tsunade thought, catching the first of the clones to make it to her's kunai by the handle's loop, slipping it away from the clone's grasp before slashing upwards, sending the kunai flying into the sky and the clone back to dust. Quickly slipping a kick from the next, she moved onto the third, flicking him into the fourth and fifth. The real boy was surprised at seeing his precious clones explode into what should have been a paste, allowing a show of her strength to settle into the boy. Staring him directly in the she blocked the last clones attack, quickly finishing off the lack luster attempt to win. "Really? Are you so full of yourself that you think that would be enough to take the challenge?"
Tsunade watched as it seemed to be the boy's turn to smirk. "No, just seeing your fighting style." He responded, allowing what appeared to be a jutsu of sorts shimmer out for a moment. Tsunade could have sworn she saw a red glow, but she couldn't focus on it for long the boy himself finally began his approach. Meeting the challenge, Tsunade stood firm and awaited the clash. As the two met, an interesting bout of taijutsu took place.
"This is a rather unorthodox stye." She thought, dodging, and parrying with her finger where she could as a mixture of several clan stances, a few elemental stances, and even some fundamental academy stances seemed to blend to a near perfect degree. In fact she was having a tough time keeping up with just her finger. "I see some gentle fist, interceptor… it seems to have a basis in water in lightning with flashes of fire when he gets a few good connections it…" she continued thinking as her finger turned to a fist, connecting with the boy's forearms as he just barely managed to block the strike in time. Unfortunately, while he wouldn't take to much damage, he was sent flying almost twenty feet into the air. "Sucks to be you Jiraiya." Tsunade said in a quiet voice, crossing her arms in satisfaction.
"Now Tsunade, I thought you said you could take him with only a finger." He said with a sly smile, causing the woman to quickly grow annoyed.
"Listen, I don't have time to deal with his antics, I really just want you guys out of my hair. And shouldn't you be a little bit more concerned about him?" she asked, hearing a thump land nearby in the dirt, quickly snapping towards the culprit.
"I think you should be more concerned in this case." He said smugly as Tsunade began to make out the shape of the ground.
"A kunai?" she asked allowed before her eyes widened in realization. "Shit!" she called out, attempting to kick the blade out of the rectangle, only seconds to late as Naruto appeared, the kunai being sent flying into the wall of the bar as Naruto quickly recovered, landing a quick combo of strikes before Tsunade was able to flick him away, watching him slide to the edge of the rectangle. "How many S-Rank techniques does he know? Is he just robbing clans of their techniques and styles?" Tsunade questioned herself as she looked up, thoroughly done with this brat, deciding she'd ask questions after she healed the broken ribs she was about to give him. "What's even your deal brat, did my comments really hurt your feelings that much? So what if I don't care about the hokage, what's it matters to you?" Tsunade asked in an accusatory fashion, keeping her temper in check.
The boy was noticeably upset with this remark. "I'd honestly hoped you would have put two and two together by now." The boy responded. "I care so much because I plan to make the Hokage proud, whether by becoming one myself or defending the one who holds it. That is my duty. I will not have my village, its leaders, or my family slandered, especially not by my own blood." The boy proclaimed.
At first Tsunade was confused. Everything up to his talk about family made sense, even reminding her of Nawaki. Those comments about family didn't help either. And that's when it snapped in her mind, when she saw that jutsu. She watched as a blue ball of spiritual chakra energy began slowly rotating in the boy's hands, picking up speed as it gradually began to form. The shadow clones, the Flying Raijin, and now this, the Rasengan. All techniques invented by her great uncle, by her uncle. She had barely begun to process this information before the glowing blue orb was charging in her direction. "He will give me the answers, but only after I secure my lifestyle." Tsunade ordered herself, focusing on the boy as he lept in the air, rasengan still forming. "It looks like its still under development, no further then the second stage if he thinks it will damage me to any degree." Tsunade quickly deciphered quickly sidestepping the incoming attack, the formed rasengan pulsating beside her head as she smirked in victory. "Sorry kid." She said bringing her fist forward to punch him in the ribs, however with a smirk himself, Naruto responded.
"My name, is Naruto Namikaze." Before Tsunade could comprehend the statement the boy had just made, he vanished into nothing, her fist passing through the air.
"What the—" She looked down, seeing with one hand Naruto gripping her wrist, and the other shoving a rasengan into her midsection. "The bar!" she thought, remembering back to the first thing he did, gripping her wrist. Tsunade let out a weak smile as she accepted her fate, the unstable rasengan exploding on impact as both were sent flying out of the ring. Unfortunately for her, she was a little too tall, her legs being the first to contact the ground.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
It had been several days since their return from their mission to infiltrate the now neutralized sound ninja base. Hana had just finished her patient check up rotations, deciding to walk back towards the now much less crowded emergency wing to make her final check on Kurenai. Opening the door she was met with several faces she'd been spending quite a lot of time with. "Sakura." She sad, causing her student to turn towards her, ready for the relief as they swapped shifts overseeing the section. "I need you to take these reports down to the coma ward so the nurses overseeing Kakashi and the Uchiha can update their medications. Then you can take Lee to lunch."
"Right, thanks Hana sensei." Sakura said with a smile, quickly shuffling out of the room to deliver the information.
"Alright, I also have the forms necessary for me to release you Kurenai." Hana began, walking towards the much healthier sensei, having been slowly recovering from her run in with Itachi. "I'm surprised you didn't come out sooner." Hana added, handing the clipboard to the patient.
"Yeah, I just wanted to be sure that there were no complications in my recovery is all." Kurenai answered, signing her name pristinely onto the form before handing it back to the Inuzuka.
"I wish I had more patients like you. Everyone is in such a rush to get back out there that half the time they end up back here in half the time it took them to recover." Hana said with a sigh. "Dogs were so much easier to deal with, so obedient."
"That's right, you were a nin hound veterinarian before the invasion weren't you. I suppose it makes sense they have all hands-on deck after the invasion.
"Well I've been on active combat medic duty since I took on Sakura's specialization training. Although soon I'm going to pass her on to a sensei of a genin team so that she can properly join the ranks of the leaf. I'll probably end up fading into the vet again after that." Hana explained, not quite sure how to feel about the idea, not really articulating it out loud until just now.
Kurenai noticed the hesitation in Hana's demeanor. "It's clear you've grown quite attached to her. But you understand we can't be their sensei forever." Kurenai said in a comforting tone, coming to terms with her own students soon departure. "Although if you simply added two genin to your team, I'm certain you'd qualify as a jonin sensei not specializing in the medical field. Kurenai shrugged.
Hana stored the idea in her mind for later as she began finishing up with Kurenai. "You should be good to go, we'll leave your curtain closed so you can get dressed and get on your way. I'm sure you don't want to stay here any longer then you have to."
"Thank you." Kurenai said with a warm smile, taking the time to change quickly into a simple shirt and pants before making her exit from the room.
Hana waited for the woman to be decently far away before she moved to the last patient in the wing. Turning to the bed furthest from the door, it was covered by a curtain. Aside from the silhouette of the patient, there was a second one that had been glued to her seat since she found out he had arrived. "I'm coming in." Hana announced before walking around the curtain, seeing a familiar scene as Kin stared at the unconscious man's body. "Any change in his behavior?"
"No." she answered simply. "He's stable."
"Well that's good." Hana said, reacting to the awkward silence by writing down the diagnostics required, eventually pretending to write so that she didn't have to engage the obviously shellshocked girl.
"He's going to wake up, right? You said he was in and out of consciousness on the way back." Kin said out loud, forcing Hana's hand.
The Inuzuka had never been quite that good at comforting, the times since she became a sensei had challenged this trait, but she still had work to do. "Well, he should be awake by now, but given the state he was in, I'd say its about normal that it's taking a little longer."
This didn't sit well with the ex-sound nin, who began gripping her chair very tightly. Not seeing an alternative, Hana sat beside the girl. "If…If he doesn't wake up. You won't just let him die, will you?" she asked, still not taking her eyes off the patient.
"I doubt Danzo would be to be thrilled about him dying without spilling all he knew about Orochimaru's operation... Although he may not want to risk ANY information coming out." Hana thought before deciding on a different explanation. "No, we have an entire wing dedicated to comatose patients. We won't just cut them off their supports unless we have good reason."
"R-Right. Thanks for that." Kin replied, her grip loosening, but not completely.
Hana was agitated by this point. This girl has been through so much and she can't catch a break for even a few weeks before something else smacks her in the face.
"Hana. You in here?!" the familiar voice of Anko questioned as two figures entered the wing.
"Yes, I'll be right there!" Hana called back. "I'll be back, I need to go talk with some colleagues." Hana assured, leaving only after Kin nodded in acceptance. In a few quick strides she crossed the room, motioning for Anko, and the previously unannounced Yuugao to follow her to another section of the wing, placing a silence seal to hide their voices when they entered her proximity. "Any news?"
"Yes." Yuugao confirmed. "I found each of their profiles in the anbu archives. All three missing in action around the same time.
"Not to mention their skill sets were infiltration, deep cover, and general combat. They'd also all led teams at one point, giving them the skillsets needed to pull something like this off." Anko added. "It's all very suspicious."
"Your right, it is." Hana agreed.
"I certainly didn't order these anbu to infiltrate the sound. There is someone else that has access to anbu personnel that authorized or assigned this mission. I highly doubt lord Third would have ordered it either."
"That really only leaves the elders, or maybe one of the council members. Although I think we all know that its most likely the elders. Whether it's all of them or just Danzo is another story." Hana suggested. While neither of the others outright agreed, they also crucially didn't disagree. "I have Natsu taking over for me after my shift ends watching over him. It might be wise to not go to far away until Yukimura wakes—"
"Oh my god!" a shout came from the other end of the room.
"Kin!" Hana shouted, quickly bolting from the silenced curtains, followed quickly by Yuugao and Anko. As Hana threw open the curtain, anticipating the worst, she was hit with a wave of relief as she saw Kin crying over a confused, but happy Yukimura that had just recently woke up from his minor coma. "Geez, don't scare me like that, I thought there was an intruder." She chastised.
"I'll secure the entrance. When he's cognitive enough, learn everything you can from him. We cannot risk the information leaking to Danzo before us." Yuugao insisted, looking to Anko. "If he is uncooperative…"
Anko smiled devilishly. "Oh, you already know I'm all in." She confirmed, lucky that Kin was still in no state to listen to their conversation as Yuugao made her way to the entrance of the emergency wing.
Hana waited for Kin to finally lift her head from the still sore body of Yukimura before she asked the first question. "Yukimura, we have a few questions we need to ask, do you think you'll be able to cooperate?"
To Anko's dismay, Yukimura nodded in approval. "I don't know too much, but there is plenty I want to say."
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Tsunade sat in a hotel room with bandages covering her midsection, seemingly a scowl on her face as Jiraiya awaited for her to speak. "Come on Tsu-Tsu, a bet's a—" and Jiraiya was soon knocked into the wall, sliding down it slowly as Tsunade poured herself a drink, Kagami and the remaining genin cringing at the impact knowing it had to have hurt.
"I thought I told you never to call me that." Tsunade said with a warning tone, Shizune sitting behind her with an apologetic stare sent the direction of their guests. "So, the brat won fair in square, but before I accept the terms of our agreement, I have some questions for you." She finished, pointing directly towards Naruto, who had similar wrappings around his rasengan arm.
"Accept? You already accepted the terms before the match! You can't just—!" Kiba began, quickly being muffled as Tenten bonked him on the head with the butt of a kunai, causing him to keel over, holding his wound as a large bump began to form.
"Alright, go ahead, I'll answer any question you got." Naruto replied, though while still agitated by the woman's comments, it was clear he was nowhere near as angry as it seemed that she had caught on by now.
"Who are you really?" Tsunade asked, wanting to know the full truth about the silver haired boy, who now that it was pointed out, looked eerily similar to her uncle.
Naruto sighed. "I already told you. Naruto Namikaze. My dad was the Fourth Hokage, and My grandfather was the Second." Naruto said bored. "Making you, my cousin."
Tsunade wanted to not believe him, but she knew that after she left her uncle had got a message to her, saying that Kushina was with child. "I thought that they had died before the child was able to be born…" Tsunade thought as she asked another question. "So you learned Both the Shadow clone, and the Flying Raijin, family techniques on your side of the family, and are currently learning the rasengan?" She questioned, shooting an angry look towards Jiraiya. "All of which are highly dangerous if used prematurely."
"Hey, I only just began teaching him the rasengan, he learned the other two on his own." Jiraiya clarified from the wall, winning no sympathy from Tsunade.
"That's still a rather impressive feat for a genin. He learns quickly… and if he's tackling each of my great-uncle's techniques…" Tsunade had a thought appear in her mind as she asked. "You don't have any more of Tobirama's forbidden techniques in your arsenal, do you? Perhaps I should be watching out for long dead shinobi to attack me."
"I've read into the Edo tensei, but I'm hesitant to even consider going further with the technique." Naruto responded calmly, the blonde girl she was informed was named Ino, placing her hand on his.
"Oh? So your unable to produce it? It must be a tough Jutsu to master then…" She asked, thinking back to how she was going to deal with Orochimaru's proposition, at least before Naruto shot her a disgusted look.
"Have you not read into the requirements to pull of the technique?" he asked seriously.
In all honesty she had not since it was forbidden. Quite the issue considering she was betting her healing abilities on it, but one she overlooked. "No, but I understand it can bring those that are dead back to life.
Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, a life for a life. The technique isn't terribly hard. The seals a simple. The hand seals are simpler. But the cost… I'm not sure I'm willing to pay it just to train let alone properly utilize it." Naruto explained. "It's also the Jutsu that killed Lord Third, used by Orochimaru. He used Lord First, Lord Second, and Fugaku Uchiha to do it based on what gramps told me." Naruto added, confirming in Tsunade's mind that Orochimaru wasn't bluffing.
"A life for a life?" Shizune said aloud, questioning the meaning. "You mean…"
"To resurrect someone, you have to sacrifice a living person. Even then its not true life, but just a soul inhabiting a shell. They're more undead then they are living." Naruto finished, a little confused on the interest Tsunade put in the technique.
"I knew it!" She said out loud, her scowl growing angrier.
"You knew what?" Jiraiya asked, curious.
"Something we'll discuss in private later." She informed him, absolutely pissed at what Orochimaru was suggesting, but still with a hint of possibility that Naruto could help her. "Why not practice on shadow clones? They're tangible, sure a little weak, but that could be beneficial to just get rid of the summon." Tsunade suggested, a twitch of hope in her voice that Kagami and Jiraiya noticed.
"Well I've never really tried that…" Naruto replied, placing a fist under his chin. "I always just assumed that since they're connected to my chakra they wouldn't hold. Although so are the summons so maybe…"
"Tsunade, your awfully curious about such an off topic jutsu." Kagami presented, becoming as suspicious as Jiraiya, causing the other students to look at her in a similar manner.
"I-I'm sure she has her reasons!" Tenten answered, albeit in a tone that did not bode any confidence.
"It is a little suspicious." Ino said, trying to ease Tenten to their perspective.
"She should be apologizing for all that shit she said about the hokage! Hell how about a proper 'hello' to her cousin!" Kiba grumbled in agitation, although this time it is was Naruto that tried to calm him in a much less violent way then Tenten.
"It's fine, I wouldn't expect her to have any connection to me. She's never met me." He said, understanding Tsunade's position before shifting his focus back to her. "Any more questions?"
Tsunade looked back to Naruto, and simply smiled. "You're right, I don't really know you." She started, standing up. "But since I'm going to be the new Hokage, I'm gonna need to get to know my shinobi. I'll need a day to get everything squared away, but we'll need to double time it back to the village if you want me back in time."
"Sounds fair enough." Jiraiya agreed. "Sorry kids but you'll have to train on the go or use break time to work." He surmised, still mildly giddy about not needing to return empty handed or become the hokage himself.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Authors Notes: Another day another late upload. I'm sorry I'm not able to meet my usual schedule, but I've had a real uptick in papers and research. I will continue to write when I can, but I can't promise the next chapter in the same timely schedule I held for a while. Regardless, I wanted to touch on a few things for this chapter. I final think I've found and finalized a scenario in which Naruto's family tree is plausible. The only difference is Minato and Kushina are slightly older, so they experience more of the shinobi world before their in-canon counterparts. While it isn't the most ideal solution, it's the only one that makes sense in my mind. The prison staff being more connected with the Uchiha family was a decision I made because I felt like it would make sense. Sure there were those that distrusted and ostracized them, but there was still a rather large civilian population as well as more of the rank-and-file shinobi that would have befriended members of the clan. I think it's a fitting concept for this fic. The Change in Tsunade and Naruto's duel were not massive aside from the end. I wanted to maintain Naruto's enhanced prowess from the rest of the fic while also maintaining Tsunade's clear edge over him. By limiting Tsunade to her lone finger like in canon, but showing her do more with it, I believe I succeeded. In having Naruto only use his family jutsu and limiting the dimensions and rules of the fight, I really tried to convey that while still angry like in canon, he was dropping hints in hope Tsunade would catch on before he had to spell it out. Edo tensei is another concept that I will be tackling in the coming chapters, being that now that Naruto is the heir to Tobirama, he could properly explore the technique for the side of the protagonists, maybe even avoiding the encounter with Orochimaru all together who knows ;)
The next chapter: [Coming to Terms]