"Damn it!" Tsunade shouted as she slammed her fist against the glowing screen of the slot machine. She was hoping she would see three sevens before her hazel eyes, but she wasn't that lucky. She should have known better than to spend all her money on a game she could never win, but she couldn't help herself. Her bad habit was hard to break, so instead of walking away, she put more coins into the machine and pulled the lever.

She couldn't remember the exact moment in time when she developed a habit for all forms of gambling. Her earliest memory of the activity was in her youth, when she would watch her grandfather gamble with his brother. She spent so much time with her dear grandfather and idolized him that perhaps she just picked up on his bad habit. Of course her grandmother and parents did not approve, but she had little care about how they felt about it. She just wanted to be like her grandfather even though she was never any good at it.

She wasn't paying that much attention to the symbols on the machine, for she was expecting to lose again. It wasn't until she focused on what was in front of her did she realize that staring back at her were three sevens. Tsunade, the legendary sucker hit the jackpot.

"Lady Tsunade, you won!" Shizune shouted in disbelief and gained the attention of everyone else in the gambling hall. They all abandoned their games and walked over to Tsunade and watched in awe as money dispensed from the machine.

How did that happen? Was she seeing clearly? How was it possible that she actually won in a game of chance? As the money poured out the slot machine, the gamblers who surrounded her spoke about how lucky she was to have won the jackpot. She should have been happy and felt as if she were on top of the world, but all she could feel was a sickening uneasiness. Something was terribly wrong, but she had no idea what it could be. She was certain about one thing though, and that was getting out of Tanzuku Town as quickly as possible before the unthinkable occurred.

She gathered the money she won and quickly walked out of the gambling hall. Shizune followed behind her mentor with her pet pig, but was so confused as to why they would leave just as they started to make money.

"Lady Tsunade." Shizune said as she caught up to the flustered blonde, "What's wrong?"

"We have to get out of this town now." Tsunade said with a shaky voice, "We need to get back to the inn, pack our stuff, and leave."

"Why are we leaving?" Shizune asked, not understanding what was going through her mentor's mind, "We just started to win some money, and I didn't even get to see the great Tanzuku Castle."

Tsunade sighed heavily. She wanted to leave town as soon as possible, but she also remembered that she promised Shizune they would see the Tanzuku Castle, which just so happened to be the entire reason they were in that town. Shizune had a passion for seeing architecture or other places that were known as tourist attractions. Tsunade figured that the black haired girl treated sight seeing as something exciting and positive to do when constantly on the move. She felt as if she owed it to her apprentice to put off their departure from town for at least another hour, just so she could see the castle.

"Okay." Tsunade sighed, "But you have to look fast. We have to get out of here."

"Why the rush?" Shizune questioned as she started in the direction of the castle, "I'm sure that once we get there, you'll want to take more than just a glance at the castle. I heard it's supposed to be magnificent."

Tsunade was getting rather annoyed with her apprentice, but could hardly blame the girl for her naivety. She had no idea of the uneasiness her mentor felt and Tsunade couldn't fully explain why she felt so unsettled. It was a fact known far and wide that she never won while gambling. All she ever did was lose money, and now suddenly her luck changed. She knew it simply wasn't a coincidence and was positive that it was a bad omen. However, she didn't want to appear to be panicked in Shizune's presence. Therefore, as much as she wanted to rip her hair out, scream from the top of her lungs, and nervously bite her manicured nails, she tried to keep her composure.

The women arrived at the castle and as Shizune expected, it was a sight worth seeing. Standing in front of its magnificence made them feel small and insignificant, but also filled them with wonder and awe. Shizune especially wondered how it was possible that a man-made object could be so great and filled with such intricate detail. It left her speechless. Tsunade thought that the castle was impressive as well, but her flustered spirit prevented her from feeling as Shizune felt about it. She was just ready to leave.

"Are you ready now?" Tsunade asked, "We have to go."

"Just one more minute." Shizune begged, "It's so beautiful."

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. Initially they thought it to be an earthquake, but Tsunade had a sickening feeling that it was something else. She looked back up at the castle and saw as a giant snake appeared and completely destroyed the castle without exerting itself. The castle was then reduced to nothing but rubble and dirt on the ground. Shizune was horrified, but Tsunade had seen that monstrosity of a creature before. She was positive it was one of her former teammate's summoned animals. Her mind was telling her to flee the scene and avoid conflict, but it was as if she were frozen in place. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, and she couldn't think of anything but the fact that two seconds ago she stood before a great castle, and now she was staring familiarity in the face. Her gut instinct was right. Something horrible was about to occur.

"Long time no see, Tsunade." A voice that was terribly familiar said.

Tsunade felt as her heart started to beat rapidly in her chest. What was he doing there? What could he possibly want with her? A nervous bead of sweat ran down her back as she realized that whatever he was there for, it could be no good.

"Orochimaru." Tsunade said as the other Sannin came into view with a younger man standing beside him. When her eyes met his pale face, old memories of him came into her mind. She remembered when she first met him. He was a shy, quiet boy who had an aura of mystery to him. He became even more peculiar over the years as he grew older, up until the point he decided to turn against the village. He transformed into a sick and twisted individual who had little care for human life. His one and only ambition was to master every jutsu in the world and destroy anyone who got in his way. He has done countless of illegal human experimentation and killed too many people. He was a criminal wanted by so many, and now he was standing before Tsunade and all she could do was wonder why. She hadn't seen him in years, but all she could feel for him was disdain and disappointment. As children, they got along well and she once considered him as a friend. But all that went away the second he turned to evil and darkness.

"This is Orochimaru?!" Shizune said with terror in her eyes. She wasn't oblivious to his crimes. She heard all about him from Tsunade and from random people in villages they would pass through. She knew he was dangerous and was aware that her abilities paled in comparison to his. She felt shaky and weak in his presence, and knew that the only other people who could hold their own against the likes of Orochimaru were the two other members of the Sannin.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tsunade asked coldly without taking her eyes off of the snake Sannin. She knew how lethal he could be and had to anticipate him making a bold move. He looked the same as he did the last time she had seen him, but something was off about him. She took immediate notice of his bandaged arms and could tell that his heart rate was irregular thanks to her medical training. Something was definitely wrong with him, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Orochimaru chuckled at Tsunade's cold persona, "You haven't changed at all dear Tsunade." He said, "You don't have to be so cold. We are old friends after all."

"You are no friend of mine!" Tsunade shouted, "Get out of my sight."

"I was hoping I could ask a favor of you." Orochimaru said, ignoring her demands for him to go away.

"A favor?" She repeated, disgusted at the fact that he was trying to act as if they were on good terms, "As if I would ever help you."

"Don't be so quick to say that Tsunade." Orochimaru said.

Tsunade had little patience and wanted to know exactly why Orochimaru decided to find her and what kind of favor he had in mind, "What do you want?"

"Lord Orochimaru would like you to heal his arms." The man standing beside the black haired man said.

"And who the hell are you?!" Tsunade asked, annoyed that someone she had never met before was speaking on behalf of her old teammate.

"My name is Kabuto and I serve Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said, "You see, Lord Orochimaru was in an altercation that resulted in his arms being paralyzed. You're the only one who can restore the function of his arms."

"What kind of altercation?" Tsunade asked, "That doesn't seem like any ordinary injury."

"Just an altercation between me and Sarutobi Sensei." Orochimaru said with no remorse, "The poor old fool paralyzed my arms before dying. I don't know what he was thinking, but he got what he deserved."

"What did you just say?!" Tsunade shouted in complete horror and disbelief. She felt as if all the air in her body got knocked out of her. She could not believe that her teacher was killed by his former student. She was hoping that she was just in a horrible nightmare and she would soon wake, but unfortunately it was reality.

"Lord Third is dead?!" Shizune said in shock and on the verge of tears. She looked to Tsunade for comfort but could tell that she was breaking inside.

"Don't act as if you care now Tsunade." Orochimaru said, "You abandoned that man and that village years ago."

"I suggest you get out of my face before I kill you." Tsunade warned, keeping her emotions at bay.

"Don't threaten me, not when I'm about to make you an offer you know you can't refuse." Orochimaru chuckled while Tsunade glared at him in hatred and disgust, "Heal my arms and I will bring your dear little brother and your lover back to life with a jutsu I developed."

Tsunade didn't know what to say. He was playing a dirty game. He of all people knew how close and how much Tsunade loved Nawaki and Dan, and how devastated she was when they passed away. She was still suffering the pain of their deaths, and here he was offering to restore their lives. It was a tempting offer, one that she would actually consider. But on the other hand, he killed her Sensei, and there's no telling what he would try to do once he regained the function of his arms.

"Don't you want to see them again?" Orochimaru said, trying his best to sway her in the direction he wished for her to choose.

Of course she wanted to see them again. There was nothing more she wanted than to talk to them again and be with them. Their deaths were the causes of her internal suffering and never ending grief. If they were to live again, she would be able to have a full life without sadness.

"What will you do once your arms are restored to you?" She asked and Shizune looked at her horrified that she was actually considering his offer.

"I'm not one to lie." Orochimaru said, "In addition to attaining everything I want in this wretched world, I'm going to destroy the Leaf Village."

Tsunade would be lying if she said she wasn't expecting him to say that. She knew that his intentions were not pure and he would not hesitate to destroy the village and everyone in it. She was the granddaughter of the man who built the village, so could she put her loyalties aside and give in to her selfish desires?

Orochimaru slowly brought his hand up to his mouth, though it pained him to do so. He then bit his finger until the skin broke and he started to bleed. He held out his bleeding finger so that Tsunade could see, and the second she did, she started to shake uncontrollably and took hold of the pendant of the necklace dangling from her neck. She was terrified at the sight of blood, thus confirming Orochimaru's suspicions.

"I see you haven't gotten over your fear of blood." Orochimaru laughed, "You don't have to give me an answer now. In three days, I expect to see you back here. I'm certain you'll make the right decision." He said, "Come Kabuto, we should be going. Our dear friend has a lot of thinking to do."

Once they were gone, Shizune wrapped her arms around Tsunade in a tight hug, "It's okay now, they're gone." She said in a soft voice, trying to get Tsunade to snap out of it. After a few minutes Tsunade stopped shivering. Shizune was even more frightened when she realized that Orochimaru knew Tsunade's weakness and was therefore playing mind games on her. What scared her to death was the fact that Tsunade was still in a fragile state of mind and she didn't know if because of that, Tsunade could be manipulated to making the wrong decision that would result in the detriment of the village.

"Let's go back to the inn so we can talk about this." Shizune said desperately. She felt the overwhelming need to knock some sense and reasoning into her mentor.

Tsunade ignored Shizune and walked in the direction opposite from where the inn was situated, "I need a drink."

Shizune was so worried based on how Tsunade was acting. She didn't know what to do and felt powerless, so instead of saying anything else, she reluctantly followed Tsunade to whatever bar she had the desire to visit.

"Are you a ninja too?" Naruto asked the girl he just met. He was amazed at how effortlessly she healed his damaged palm. He had only ever seen that type of jutsu be performed in the hospital by highly trained medical ninja. Therefore, he was curious to know how she managed to do it too.

She shook her head and took a seat in the grass, "I'm not a ninja." She sighed, as if she were upset that she was just a civilian, "I know basic ninjutsu, and taijutsu, and even some genjutsu for my own protection. I excel at medical ninjutsu, but I don't belong to a village so I never got any formal ninja training." She explained, "I always wanted to be a ninja and go on missions with my team, but I'm not sure if that will ever happen."

"You should move to the Leaf Village then so you can become a ninja." Naruto told her, "I'm sure everyone there will be thrilled to have you. You can even join the medical core."

"That sounds great Naruto, but I'm afraid that's impossible." Mito said regretfully, "But let's work on your jutsu some more."

Under her guidance, Naruto tried to focus on perfecting the final step of the new technique. She instructed him on how to properly mold and maintain his chakra, but he kept messing up resulting in the balloon popping over and over again. He wondered how someone who has never gotten any formal ninja training could be so adept at chakra control. If only he had her abilities then maybe he could master the jutsu a lot faster and without exerting himself so much.

The sun started to set and Mito realized that it was time for her to go even though she didn't want to. She wanted to see Naruto master the jutsu for it was as if she were living her ninja fantasies through him. She had never met a ninja in person before, and was fascinated in the life he must live. It was probably a thrill for him everyday as he embarks on new adventures. She wished she could live his life even if it were just for a day.

"I have to go." Mito said sadly, "But if we meet back here tomorrow around noon I can help you some more."

"I'm not sure if I'll still be here." Naruto said, "I'm on a mission with my master to locate this woman and bring her back to the village. She's supposed to be in this town. My master went off to see if he can find her."

"Maybe I can help." Mito suggested, "What does she look like?"

"The Pervy Sage never told me, but apparently they were once teammates." Naruto explained.

Suddenly Jiraiya returned, "Naruto, I told you not to overdo it." He said before realizing that Naruto was not alone. He looked at the young blonde haired girl and immediately walked over to her and placed his large hands on her tiny shoulders, "I finally found you Tsunade!"

"Have you had a drink too many Pervy Sage?!" Naruto shouted, "She is not Tsunade! How can she be when she's my age and Tsunade is supposed to be the same age as you?!"

"You idiot, this is exactly how she looked as a twelve year old girl." Jiraiya explained with his eyes locked onto Mito, "You transformed yourself into a young girl to skip out on your debt didn't you Tsunade."

Mito slapped Jiraiya's hands off her shoulders, "Get your hands off of me old man!" She said, revealing that she has a nasty temper, "I am not my mother!"

"Your mother?!" Naruto and Jiraiya said in union and in disbelief.

"Yes, my mother." Mito said, feeling strange that they were so shocked upon hearing who her mother was, "Her name is Tsunade and I'm her daughter Mito."

"There's no way that Tsunade had a kid!" Jiraiya said feeling shocked beyond belief.

"Yet here I am old man." Mito said as she folded her arms in front of her, "Wait, is she the one you're looking for Naruto?"

"She is, what a coincidence." Naruto said.

"Why are you trying to take her to the Leaf Village?" Mito asked, "What do you want with her?"

"She has to heal my friends." Naruto said, "They got injured really bad and because she's a great healer, we need her to help them."

"I still don't believe that you are Tsunade's kid." Jiraiya said, still not willing to believe that Tsunade had a child while they were apart.

"If you don't believe me then I can just take you to her so you can see for yourself." Mito rolled her eyes.

"Now it makes sense!" Naruto said, feeling as if he just cracked a complicated code, "You know medical ninjutsu because your mother taught you!"

"She knows medical ninjutsu?" Jiraiya asked.

"She does and she's really good at it too." He said and showed Jiraiya his palm, "I was injured and she completely healed it. You can't even tell that I was ever hurt."

Jiraiya looked at Mito once again. She was physically identical to Tsunade with the exception of her dark eyes and even shared her short temper. He didn't want to believe that she was actually Tsunade's relation because that would mean that Tsunade found someone else to love and had a child with him. But when he learned that the girl excelled at medical ninjutsu, he could no longer deny it. Of course Tsunade would teach her child the healing arts, "You said your name is Mito?" He asked.

"Yes, that's my name." She nodded.

"That was the name of Tsunade's grandmother." Jiraiya remembered out loud.

He suddenly had so many questions that were only appropriate for Tsunade to answer. When did she have her daughter? Was she a planned baby, or was it a pregnancy that was unexpected but wanted anyway? Where was the child's father? Did Tsunade manage to overcome her grief? It felt so strange to him that he was side by side with the daughter of the woman he loves and she was not of his genetics. Every time he looked at her, it was as if he were looking into the face of Tsunade when he first met her. It was strange, but he had to grow accustomed to this new addition, especially since he was tasked with bringing Tsunade back to the village to become the next Hokage. He then realized that because of Mito, his mission became a whole lot easier to complete.

"Mito, I think it's time you lead me to your mother."