"Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or this story idea

Chapter 20 -New Paths

Naruto was meditating after completing most of his morning workout since he had yet to find a suitable body of water to swim in or practice is water walking. At least he had a new chakra exercise using the Rasengan. He was continually working on creating it faster, while also thinking on how he could make it stronger. Having an S-rank Technique in his repertoire would be a major accomplisment especially considering he was only in his first year.

He was focused on his chakra and the way it moved, how it felt as it traveled along the veins and circuitry of his chakra system when he felt a new presence.

'What am I sensing. It isn't my chakra' Naruto thinks.

No this chakra had a different feel to it. It was calm and smooth yet their was a quiet rage and chaos that he simply wasn't feeling. Whatever it was it was coming from direction thirty-four degrees to his left. So pausing his meditation Naruto opened his eyes and found...

"What brings you here... Tsunade-san" Naruto asks as his blue eyes lock onto her surprised hazel.

Although the moment of surprise quickly left and she frowned at him.

"Fight me" Tsunade says.

"Is that all you can think about, violence?" Naruto questions.

Tsunade glared at him.

"You assaulted me and then ran away. I'm going to beat you up and show you your place and then we can talk" Tsunade says.

"Talk?" Naruto questions.

Tsunade nods.

"Why would you want to talk to me?" Naruto questions.

"I want to know how you move that fast?" Tsunade answers honestly.

Naruto studied her for a bit before returning to his meditation.

"I'm not some curiousity for you to study. And I am sorry, but these are the only decent grounds for training near this town so I'm going to have to decline fighting you" Naruto answers.

"You act like you have a choice, brat" Tsunade says.

She then punches the ground causing fissures to erupt in the earth as they spread and grew traveling towards Naruto who was forced to move as an eruption occured where he had been sitting. Around the town despite being in the mist of a festival they heard the explosion although it was muffled because Tsunade only used enough power to get her point across and had not been trying to actually destroy the ground.

She then moved faster than she had last night and almost caught Naruto in the chest with punch, but he slapped the fist away and then moved as fast he could to her side where he punched her but she moved like she barely felt it and came around to deliver another haymaker at his face this time that was also side stepped. Naruto then jumped back dodging a heel kick that broke through the ground.

"Is that all you got kid. I barely felt that misquite bite you call a punch" Tsunade mocks.

"Yeah well all of us can't be freaking tanks" Naruto grouses.

Tsunade quirks an eyebrow at him for the strange term.

"It's nothing...so you really want me to go all out on you and not pull any punches?" Naruto questions.

Tsunade nods, but still doesn't seem to take him seriously as she adopts a loose guard to defend his next attack. So she was surprised when he didn't say a word or build up speed like she thought he needed to. Naruto was inside her guard and delivered a strong uppercut, followed by a straight jab, a left hook and then a right hook before flashing behind her and grasping her waist to throw her onto the ground. All that took him five seconds with Tsunade being unable to stop him or even register his movements.

However, as Naruto said she was a tank and quickly shook off the attack.

"That speed, it's unnatural and were those boxing moves you used with a simple judo throw at the end?" Tsunade questioned.

Naruto nods a little surprised she caught all that from his first attack, but he probably shouldn't have.

"Your still too weak on your attack. I should be unconcious after all of that not aware and able to talk to you" Tsunade comments.

"But this was a simple spar. If this was truly for real I would have killed you before you even noticed because I could have run you through with my sword or stabbed you with kunai in those five seconds that I attacked" Naruto responds.

Tsunade begrudgingly had to acknowledge the brats words as he wasn't wrong.

"Maybe, but without your sword or kunai you lack the strength to stop someone all on your own. Someone like me or Jiraiya or stronger would have little trouble with such attacks and have you ever met someone faster than you or close?" Tsunade questions.

"No... although Rock Lee when he took off his weights came close" Naruto admits.

"The world is full of Rock Lee's. Actually the world is full of ninja faster and stronger than some genin you faced in a tournament. What will you do when come face to face with someone like that and you don't have your sword or a kunai to help you?" Tsunade questions.

"I train every day to get faster" Naruto responds.

"Speed isn't always enough Naruto!" She shouts wanting him to understand and listen to her.

"Jiraiya told me that in the limited amoung of time he's been with you on this trip that you learned the rasengan. Why not become his full time apprentice. He can help you get stronger" Tsunade tells him.

"So that is what this was all about?" Naruto questions.

"Yes, he helped me get stronger in a short amount of time but we are different people with different ideas. We have different goals and strategies and we just don't fully mesh. Besides, I have a sensei and a team" Naruto responds.

"And what if when I become Hokage I pull you from your team and force you to become his apprentice for the best interests of Konoha?" Tsunade questions.

"Then I would have to comply. However, when you look at Team 4's records I trust you will see that doing such a thing would not be in the best interest of the village. Do you know Jiraiya maybe spent 30 minutes training me during this trip? He showed me the jutsu, gave me some advice and then left the rest for me to figure out. You place a lot of faiith in your teammate, but so do I in mine.

I never said I was against learning more from Jiraiya in the future, but a dedicated sensei he isn't. My future and the villages future is better served with him doing what he does best. If he's really committed to being a sensei there are others who could benefit from such an arrangement" Naruto answers.

Tsunade frowned a bit, but had to admit again the brat wasn't wrong.

"So are we done here or do we keep going?" Naruto asks her.

"*Hmph* You got some nerve talking to your Hokage like that brat and what's your fascination with my ass. I felt you during that little move you made" Tsunade teases.

"Huh?!" Naruto questions.

"You know most guys are only focused on my breasts, but your different... I'll have to keep a closer eye on you" Tsunade says with a smirk before leaving.

"What?" Naruto asks himself out loud.

And with that his mood was shot and any further training was going to have to wait until tomorrow. So he decided to see if Dev had talked to his smith yet. Naruto entered the shop and walked to the counter. He touched a bell announcing himself and Dev appeared a few seconds later.

"Naruto, welcome back" Dev greets with a hospitable smile.

"Thank you Dev" Naruto returns.

"I talked to Avi, my blacksmith and he assured me that your order will be done by the end of the festival" Dev tells Naruto.

"I'm glad how many would he be able to make?" Naruto asks.

"Avi said they would be sold like shuriken only twice as expensive. I can sell you a set of ten for five thousand ryo" Dev answers.

"That's reasonable, I'd like five sets and I'll pay for it all now" Naruto says.

"Come into some money recently?" Dev asks curiously.

He was sure the kid wouldn't be able to come up with the money and that he had basically wasted his time the other day. So this was a nice surprise.

"Just a little lucky, I guess" Naruto responds.

"Riiight" Dev responds.

"That'll be 50,000 ryo minus the 10 you paid up front and 50,000 ryo for the five sets of leaf chakram's that'll be 90,000 ryo plus another 5,000 for a maintance kit" Dev adds up.

Naruto handed Dev 100,000 ryo.

"Excellent... wait, why don't you take a look around. I'll give you a nice discount on anything you purchase today" Dev offers.

Naruto thought about it and decided to take another look. So he walked through the aisles seeing the same interesting collection, but nothing that spoke to him until he came upon a dark blue sword in a case.

"Hey Dev, is this one for sale?" Naruto asked.

Dev came out from behind the counter to see what Naruto was talking about and Naruto noticed his eyes jump a little in surprise but still giving very little away in term of his body language.

"That is really expensive, twice as much as you just handed me" Dev tells him in a way meant to discourage.

"Why is it it in a glass case?" Naruto asks curiously not seeming to take the hint.

"It's name is Araumi, rough sea, it's had many owners in it's life time. It's not a famous sword like the famed swords of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū or the Kusanagi. However, it's said the very first man who weilded it had a strange power over the very sea's themselve. I don't know if that's true. I myself found it at an underground auction. And let me tell you the price was steep" Dev tells Naruto.

Now Naruto was excited. He loved the chakram, but this sword was calling to him.

"I'll take her" Naruto says decisively.

"Didn't you hear me, this sword is very expensive" Dev reminds Naruto.

"You say 200,000 ryo. I'll give you 250,000 if you include the sheath" Naruto responds.

"Deal, but I am a little surprised that this is what you choose. I actually have one of the masamune swords that I thought a a real swordsman like yourself would covet" Dev says.

"Maybe you can tell me more about the sword?" Naruto asks.

Dev went into the back to find the scabbard that sheathed the weapon, but answered Naruto all the same as he looked.

"Well not much to tell aside from it's strange deep blue tent. It's actually a foreign sword called a Dao. It's single edged meant for slicing or chopping. This one is actually called a Dao Broadsword because it's wider than the usual Dao swords. It's about 40 inches long give or take and is actually a saber type sword instead of a katana like you usually see in most weapon shops. Oh and I told you about it's first owner, but it was rumored it was created in an usual manner" Dev tells him.

"What was weird about it?" Naruto questions.

"Well it was a little thing actually, that most wouldn't think much of really" Dev responds.

"Yeah" Naruto urging him to continue.

"You see the water used in the forging process to make this beautiful blade was said to have been the same waters a foreign goddess of the seas bathed in" Dev tells him.

"So they used sea water... wouldn't the salt corrode or degrade the metal in some way?" Naruto asks.

"No, do you see those flecks in the metal that almost look like tiny diamonds?" Dev directs.

Naruto nods.

"That's from the salt deposits that didn't properly evaporate in the smelting process" Dev tells him.

"Cool, anything else?" Naruto asks.

Dev returns from the back sith a black sheath with a beautiful depiction of a wild turbulent see and a beautiful blue woman standing in the middle of it.

"I think that's everything I know kid. Here is the sheath, she's also a beauty" Dev says.

Naruto nods as Dev finally takes the sword from the case and places it in the sheath then hands it to Naruto.

"Is there anything else you see that catches your eye, 50 percent off considering all the business your giving me" Dev offers.

"No, I think that's everything. I'm sure if I continue to look around something else catch my eye and I'll go broke" Naruto jokes.

"Fair enough" Dev says with a laugh.

Naruto pays him the money for the sword and sheath and Dev was nice enough to include a wet stone free of charge. Unfortunately he would have to wait for his chakram's to be ready. So he went back to the hotel he was now staying at in town. As it was he was enjoying a dinner in the hotel restraunt when his peace was interrupted again.

"Hey brat" Tsunade calls out to him as she sits down opposite him.

"Must you address me in such a manner Lady Senju" Naruto remarks.

"Come off of it kid, act your age. Your reminding me too much of Shizune. I don't need any of that politness, call me by my name" She says with a glare.

"Yet I don't know you, so rules dictate I show you some manner of respect and address you by your last name, as such I have Lady Senju" Naruto responds calmly resuming his meal.

"Fine, then we're going to rectify that" Tsunade says abruptly.

Naruto stops eating his unadon to look at her.

"Rectify what exactly?" Naruto questions.

"Finish your eel, your coming with me kid" Tsunade says.

"Huh?" Naruto questions.

Tsunade seemingly ignores him and gets a waiter to bring her some sake and yakitori so Naruto decides to ignore her as well and finish his meal, it was pretty good and you don't waste food. As he finished he barely placed his eating utensils down when Tsunade forceably grabbed by his collar and forced him out of the hotel.

"What are you doing!" Naruto yells not liking being dragged around like this.

"Pipe down brat, you and I are going to spend some quality time together" Tsunade says.

"Why?" Naruto asks.

"Don't ask stupid questions and relax" Tsunade says still dragging him by the arm to their destination.

'Relax she says' Naruto thinks sarcastically but doesn't make any real attempt at breaking free.

Where did they go...

"I thought you said you wanted to spend some quality time together?" Naruto questions.

"Shut up and feed the machine brat" Tsunade responds.

"Stop calling me brat" Naruto says as he feeds the machine.

"I have a name" Naruto says as he watches the bright lights flash and the classic sounds of the machine as Tsunade pulls the lever.

"Either take a seat and play or shut up. Your ruining my concentration" Tsunade responds.

'Great, of course she would take me gambling' Naruto laments.

Taking a seat at the machine beside hers Naruto feeds his machine and immediately.

*Riroorearrooo!*

The machine goes nuts as he wins on his first play. Of course it's pachinko so technically he hasn't won a thing.

"Damnit!" Tsunade shouts angrily seeing the brat winning the second he sat down, which irked her.

Naruto ignores her and pulls the lever again.

*Riroorooo!*

Naruto won a few more times before Tsunade rudely gets up and removes him from his seat and pulls on the lever. The machine spun and it seemed as if it was in slow motion for Tsunade as it stopped and came out with a ...

Cherry, Cherry... Lemon

"Damnit!" Tsunade yells.

"Maybe we should do something else" Naruto suggests.

"Like what" Tsunade asks crossly.

"Maybe..." Naruto tries to think of something.

Tsunade eyes him staring him down.

'All I know about her is that she's a drunk, gambler, and angers easily...' Naruto thinks.

"Let's take a walk" Naruto suggests.

"What? Why?" She asks.

"Aren't you tired of losing. How about for just one night you do something different with me" Naruto answers.

"I'm not going to let you feel me up kid" Tsunade says blankly.

"What's wrong with you" Naruto says in hushed manner hoping no one over heard.

"Is all you think about booze, gambling, and sex... you sound like Jiraiya" Naruto says walking away.

'What... me like him...'Tsunade brain nearly fries or throws up at the thought and sobers her up enough to go after the kid.

"Hey brat!" She hollars.

Naruto stops to see what the old leacherous woman wanted ... although was it leachery if she kept expecting him to fondle her ... he really didn't need this.

"What" Naruto says standing his ground.

"Don't be like that brat, you should feel lucky to escort someone like me around. I am supposed to be the next Hokage after all" Tsunade jokes.

"Is that so..." Naruto says as he starts to walk down the narrow streets of the festive town.

"You don't seem so excited about that" She questions walking with him.

"I didn't come on this trip with Jiraiya to get the next Hokage" Naruto tells her as they continue to walk.

"Then why?" Tsunade asks.

"He bribed me with the 4th's jutsu" Naruto answers.

"That's it?" She questions.

"You act like learning the famed jutsu of the 4th Hokage isn't a good enough bribe for a genin to go traipsing about from village to village, town to town looking for the next Hokage" Naruto says as he stops and looks at her.

Tsunade had to admit he had a point.

"Okay, but why does it feel like you don't like the Hokage or want to be the Hokage" Tsunade asks staring into his eyes.

Naruto looked around and notices a quiet little shop tucked away from the bustling busy streets. He walked towards it and inside they found no one, not even a shop owner who was probably out and about enjoying the festivities of the night. Inside there were plants hanging from the ceiling and on the shelvs and all around the inside of the small shop. There was nothing that really stood out as they just seemed like a bunch of common local plants and little variety.

"I have nothing against the Hokage. I really never knew the man all that well" Naruto answers.

"That can't be right. When I was a kid the old man would always walk around the village and make it a point to talk to kids and see how everyone was doing" Tsunade tells him.

Naruto shrugs.

"It wasn't that way for me. I can't say I really blame him" Naruto responds.

"Why not?" Tsunade questions.

Naruto notices that outside the back of the rather small shop was koi pond with more potted plants surrounding it. Naruto walks over and stares at the fish as they swim and come up to feed every now and then.

"You really want to know how I got my kekkei genkai?" Naruto asks never looking away from the fish.

"Yes" Tsunade answers.

"I was celebrating. The hokage finally allowed me to join the academy. Back then he would as you said walk around with me every now and then, but he was busy so after he told me and gave me some money to celebrate without him. I was out too late and a mob had gathered. I wasn't really allowed to go into most shops so it was easy to find me, especially because I used to insist on wearing a really bright orange jumpsuit. Usually people just ignored me, but that was one of the nights where the villagers decided that I was causing to much trouble or something and needed to be taught a lesson.

I managed to get ahead of them and hide when I saw a few ninja decided to join the mob of angry villagers. One of them stood right in front of my hiding place with his back towards me when it happened" Naruto tells her.

"What?" Tsunade asks when he pauses.

"The ninja left and I thought the mob had given up. I was close to the house the Hokage got me after he found me out in the streets when the orphanage kicked me out. I came out from my hiding place and started to walk home when the ninja pounced on me from nowhere and jumped on my back knocking me down. I knew he was signaling the mob back and I was desperately flailing around and managed to find a rock and stab him in the leg when he wasn't paying attention. And then I ran as fast as I could until I knocked myself out or something" Naruto tells her.

"Wait... that's it?" She questions.

"After that night I trained following how I felt when I ran away and just kept getting faster and faster" Naruto answers.

"Didn't the Hokage check in on you and take you to the hospital to figure it all out?" Tsunade asks.

"After that day it was like he forgot about me, so no and the mob thing only happened a few more times before I got control of my ability and made it a point to not stand out" Naruto answers.

"That's not possible. Sensei, would have been constantly aware of the village jinchūriki..." Tsunade starts only to be cut off.

"I didn't say he actively forgot about me, but over the span of several months I actively disengaged from the villagers and the village. My ability or Kekkei Genkai made getting around fast and unnoticed possible. Once I stopped actively being as abnoxious as possible and standing out for everyone to notice me, people started to forget and left me alone. I was no longer causing trouble, or running to the Hokage every day and being the Hokage means every day something is happening that takes his attention" Naruto says now looking her in the eyes.

"But surely sensei checked in on you..." Tsunade argues.

"He was an old man, he forgets things at times. Like I said I actively tried to stay under the radar and stopped being a problem he had to deal with every day" Naruto repeats.

Tsunade looks down at the fish not liking the conversation so much.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Naruto asks feeling like he ruined the mood.

"Nah, get out of here brat and enjoy the festival while you can" Tsunade says.

Naruto looks at the woman and decides to do as she says.

"Alright, I guess a legendary sennin can fend for herself" Naruto jokes.

"Get out of here brat" Tsunade says with mock anger.

Naruto leaves only for Tsunade to turn towards another presence.

"How much of that did you know already?" Tsunade asks.

"Not much. Sarutobi-sensei did tell me during the exam break that the kid had been lonely and on his own for some time. I didn't pry all that hard, because I also regrettably forgot about the kid somewhere along the way and didn't even recognize him when I met him" Jiraiya tells her.

"What a great pair of Daifubo (godparents) we are" Tsunade jokes.

The pair left the garden shop and got drunk.

The next day Naruto was training once again farther away from the city. He was meditating trying to center himself and focusing on clearing his mind when he felt it.

"Hey Brat!" Came a loud shout.

"What do you want Senju-san, I'm trying to train" Naruto says.

"That's why I'm here. It sounded like you were not fond of the perverts methods so I came to see if you wanted to learn from me" Tsunade says.

"Huh?" Naruto says stunned turning to look at her.

"Why are you wearing that!?" Naruto shouts surprised.

"What, you don't like it?" Tsunade teases showing off her cleavage that was super exposed and emphasised in the outfit.

"That's a geisha outfit!" Naruto shouts but not turning away.

Tsunade pressed her breats forward a bit.

"What's the matter brat, like what you see" Tsunade teases.

"Of course I like it, doesn't mean anything because your old enough to be my grandma and you should know better than to run around dressed like that. Act your age!" Naruto shouts at the female sannin.

"Say that again" Tsunade warns with a dangerous edge.

Naruto gulps a bit she stalks towards him cracking her knuckles.

"Now, if your done with your little tantrum over a bit of clothing let's get down to work" Tsunade says stopping short.

"What kind of work?" Naruto asks trying to move on and forget about how she looks.

"During our brief fights I told you that you lack stopping power behind your attacks. You have plenty of speed brat ... but you lack the ability to finish off an opponent without pulling a lot of cheap tricks" Tsunade tells him.

"It's never failed before" Naruto argues.

"Yes it did... you may have gotten one up on me during our little street fight, but that was only because I was drunk and understimated you. A more prepared opponent would be ready for your speed no matter how fast you are. The current fastest shinobi in the world would be A the Fourth Raikage. Except that guy is a muscle bound idiot with a lot of experience and even at your level of speed it wouldn't be enough should you be forced in a fight against him" Tsunade tells him.

"Why would I fight against the Raikage?" Naruto asks.

"That brings me to another point. What is your goal as a ninja?" She asks him.

"Huh, goal?" Naruto asks.

"Yeah, do you dream to be an ANBU agent, a jōnin, do you want to get married, form a clan, secretly want to be Hokage?" Tsunade prods further.

"I don't know" Naruto ansers.

"Well until you do, you'll never get as strong as you need to be" Tsunade tells him.

"What does any of that have to do with training me?" Naruto questions.

"Because, like the pervert I want you to become my apprentice officially" She announces.

"Aren't you supposed to become the Hokage?" Naruto questions.

"I plan to divide my duties. Yes I will be the Hokage, and the head of the medical program, and I will take on the duty of training a few of the next generation" Tsunade declares.

"And what about my team?" Naruto asks.

"You will still be a member of Team 4, but you will also become my apprentice as well as several other shinobi including Jiraiya" Tsunade answers.

"What? Why?"

"You are an exceptional talent who's abilities have gone unnoticed for far too long. I plan to mine those abilities and make sure you become the best of yours or any generation and to do that I will expose you to multiple trainers, techniques, and experiences. You will become the 6th Hokage" Tsunade says with fire in her eyes.

"I decline" Naruto says firmly.

"You have no choice, I am your Hokage and you will become my apprentice and learn from me and others I choose while maintaining your place on Team 4" Tsunade declares.

"Is this final" Naruto questions.

"Yes, of course I can't force you to train or make you become the 6th Hokage. However, I feel like the main thing you lack is direction and seeing as your so obsessed with my ass I figure I can give you focus and make you a better ninja and man... " She says trailing off at the end.

"First, your butt is nothing special and I have no interest in it..." Naruto starts getting her attention and anger.

"But, I acknowledge what you say and if you can help me improve then fine. As long as I stay apart of Team 4 and have the right to refuse any training I don't agree with I will do it. If I have no choice ... then I'll become your apprentice, but I will decide my goals and future" Naruto declares.

Tsunade smirks.

"Fine, brat but just so you know I'm going to make you pay for that little comment on my butt. Your training will begin once we make it back to the village" Tsunade tells him.

"Why not right now?" Naruto asks.

"Because brat, the perv gave me until the end of the month and I plan to make full use of the time before all that responsibility and decisions are placed on me. You really didn't think I dressed up like this for your scrawny bratty butt, did you?" Tsunade says laughing as she leaves the makeshift training grounds.

Naruto watches her leave agrily, but decided against testing his luck again.

"Now, what do I do?" Naruto questions as his eyes linger a few moments longer.

He stopped staring when she shook her butt a little, letting him know she knew he was watching. A little embarrassed, but still angry he turned away and try to forget about the intruder. He wasn't sure why he was letting her get to him, he had been around attractive women before. He wouldn't tell her, but he thought Fuki was starting to become more attractive as she let her red hair grow out a little and her body was starting to change from all the excercise they were getting from training. So. just what was it about that old woman that was getting him so worked up.

He tried to go back to training, but gave up and decided to follower his future sensei's advice and go out to enjoy the festival a bit. It had to be nearing it's end, and he hadn't participated much since he'd been there after that first day. Naruto went back to the hotel, but realized he didn't have a decent change of clothes and if they were going to be there for a month he might as well do some shopping.

Naruto first went to a civilian clothing store figuring he needed a few regular shirts and pants. However, he found little that suit him. He was looking for more functional clothing over style, design, or looking good. As he still wasn't fond of standing out, no need to unneccesarrily put a target in his back. As he walked out of the shop he noticed a girl.

'What is with those eyes... could it be some type of dōjutsu?' Naruto thought interested.

The girl was shorter than him and looked to be around his age. She had forrest green hair with blonde highlights making for an unusual but beautiful combo with her unique violet eyes. Unfortunately she left his eye sight for a moment when someone bumped him and he couldn't find her, not that he tried or anything he has better things to do than go looking for some girl ...with beautiful eyes.


Hello again, I hope everyone enjoyed the newest chapter of Speed. Next chapter probably won't be until Christmas. Sorry for the long wait between chapters and any mistakes.

Until next time dear reader :-)