Authors Note: So I had a few people asking me about guren and why I did what I did with her as well as changing the facts about Sasuke's Curse mark. I know cannon went one way, but at the end of the day this is an AU, and this is mainly from Naruto's POV.

First off, Naruto doesn't know everything about the curse mark he goes off the little he knows, he isn't aware that the curse mark is a part of orochimaru's soul and is messing with Sasuke's head that way, he goes off what he knows about fuinjutsu and acts accordingly to what HE BELIEVES to be the best course of action

Secondly for Guren, she was pretty powerful in Cannon for that mini arc she was in before never being seen again in the show. There isn't a huge amount of history on her, and for that reason I decided to change her. I wanted something crazy and kind of out there, there needs to be a checks and balances. Naruto is strong but he is also mortal, he can only get so strong so fast it doesn't matter what knowledge he has, training the body is all on the person and how much work they put into it, that's why guren can out pace him and fight better than him. And why a Jounin (Zabuza) could do better against her because he has that speed advantage and the years of physical training.

Just because Cannon did something does not mean I am going to follow that, just like how I decided to make Haku a girl, there will be changes of course in case that isn't obvious by now. I hope this answers people's questions, anyways please enjoy this chapter!

"Are you kidding me?" Tsuande was looking at her teammate with a look of disbelief at what he said.

"You can't really stop me, you did the same with Shizune, unless he doesn't want to I'm taking Naruto with me and training him. He will be my prodige in every way possible, and when it's time for my next report I'll bring him back. That'll either be 3 years from now, or 5. By the time he comes back, he will know his history too, he knows about his mother already, and he's bright he probably already figured out who his father is." Jiraiya said, knowing full well that Naruto knew who his father was.

"What about his little follower, the other Uzumaki, Arashi? He's been on a mission for a few weeks now, he's due back any day now."

"He won't be coming with, I'll explain that to Naruto, if he's to come with me it will be just him, but he needs this, plus we can work on the Kyuubi's chakra" Jiraiya smirked, that caught Tsunade's attention, in reality Naruto's seal was going to come completely off, but he was going to make sure they were nowhere near the village, or any village when that happened so the boy could properly train with the Kyubi's chakra. "I'll also be training him to take after my spy network."

"Why is that? You're the best spy we have and you know that" Tsuande said, wondering what the man's ulterior motives were.

"We're getting old, and I won't live forever. There's this group coming around I'm sure I've mentioned to you. Akatsuki. They're composed of S rank individuals, they're leader goes by the name Pain. I have an informant apart of the group, I'm sure you know who I'm talking about" Jiraiya said as Tsuande's eyes narrowed.

"You mean a certain rouge crow."

Jiraiya nodded, "Exactly, no one will suspect him because he will follow every order to the letter. My updates come from him from his crow's, they're random and far apart, I don't expect that it's easy for him to give me any information. But it's clear they are after Bijuu, so Naruto will be with me."

Tsuande said as she rubbed her forehead, wishing she had a drink, "God this is all so annoying, at least send me updates on his progress if you see anything I need to know about. I don't want to be in the dark for years."

"I'll do what I can, but I can't promise anything either. How's your apprentice going?" Jiraiya gave a sly smirk.

"She's actually really good, she got her friend to join, the Yamanka heir, Ino I believed her name was. She's not nearly as good, but she seems interested in poison's. Who I really want to get is a Hyuga, I'm wondering if I can convert that Hinata girl who's interested in Naruto. A Hyuga would be perfect for this field of study honestly, it would change the game to. They can see more than anyone else with those eyes of theirs." Tsunade said starting to rant, meanwhile Jiraiya's smirk turned into a full smile.

"So it seems that coming back to the village has done some good for you, now you're actually helping the next generation" Jiraiya said glad to see his hime like this.

"Oh shut it you old toad" Tsunade said smiling as well before sitting up. "He was discharged yesterday, by that I mean he left the hospital"

Jiraiya stood up, "Well I'll go ahead and get him, we'll be leaving today if he's to come, don't worry hime I'll let you know. That's only because the sooner we leave the better. I have some contacts I need to see anyways, and this will make everything smoother" Tsuande nodded as the man left in a shushin.

"God it's boring here, fucking Arashi needs to hurry up on that mission, I could use some more Fuinjutsu training, half the shit in this book I don't understand. What I get for never learning the basics to everything though." Naruto was lying on his back wondering what there was for him to do, he was really bored. He was happy of course, he stopped Sasuke from getting taken, but everyone else is hurt now, he heard about Neji and Zabuza. He should of handled Guren but if he faced her he never would have been able to fight Kabuto.

Naruto shook his head as he groaned, the last couple weeks had been way to stressful, he really hoped things would get worked out soon. He hated thinking everything was going to be okay just for it to not be okay. He was stronger now than before of course, but that didn't mean anything, he could train all he wanted, but just knowing what to do doesn't make him strong. His body still had limits he couldn't train forever his body still gets exhausted. It didn't matter if he had all the knowledge in the world, his knowledge was like the sharingan. If he believed himself to be superior to everyone else because of it he would never be truly strong. He still had to train to be strong, put the work in, he couldn't go off thinking that because he knew how to fight and because he was faster than before that he would automatically be better.

Naruto kept tossing shuriken above his face and catching it before it hit him as he sat there thinking to himself. He was just unsure of what more he could do, he was leagues above where he was before, but that wasn't good enough. He still needed to get his chakra control up, though it was good, it's not the best and his physical strength and speed could always be better. He can't just do a technique because he remembers it, he still has to get his body to the point where it could use the technique and that's what bothers him the most. If he could bypass that no one could stop him. Naruto sighed as he chucked the shuriken into his ceiling, he needed to find Jiraiya, the best place to start is with the Hokage, maybe she would know, hopefully Baa-chan wouldn't be mad that he dipped out of the hospital.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn;t mean to bother you" the girl was about to close the door when she was stopped.

"It's ok Haku-chan, I know you're the one who brought him back it's only normal that you would want to check on him. How are you doing? I heard you were pretty beat up as well" Hinata said offering a seat next to her.

"I've been better, but I'll be fine, my two main concerns are Neji-kun and Zabuza-sama" the girl said softly as she sat next to Hinata, slightly uncomfortable because she didn't know her that well.

Hinata's ears perked up when she heard the other girl say -kun about Neji. "How well do you know my cousin Haku-sama? I haven't really seen much of you, I wasn't sure if maybe the two of you worked together or knew each other somehow" Hinata said, curious if maybe the girl had liked Neji.

"This was my first time officially meeting him, and he's really something else if I may say so Hinata-san" Haku said honestly, "Something about your cousin though makes me feel good and I do really like him" The girl's bluntness took her back.

"Ano?" Hinata was obviously shocked, she didn't expect the girl to be so forthcoming, she then smiled, "It's good someone has taken a liking to him, he's stubborn though."

"Oh don't worry, stubborn doesn't bother me too much, I'm more than used to it" Haku giggled a little bit thinking of Naruto when she said that. "I'm just glad he'll be alright I didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

Hinata smiled and started to talk with the girl more, figuring she should get to know the other girl more seeing as she doesn't know much of anything about her.

Orochimaru's screams could be heard throughout the entire base. The man was beyond livid and it didn't matter who anyone was, he was destroying his own base left and right. Of course losing the chance at getting Sasuke would upset him, and yes losing Guren and her squad was a big hit, but what had him enraged was that Kabuto was dead. He got the report back from one of the squads he sent out to find out what was taking so long. Nothing was worse than losing that man, Kabuto was the one who performed all of his medical procedures, years upon years of careful crafting of the young boy and cultivating him to make him the perfect person. All of this was only possible because he had Kabuto by his side, replacing him is impossible, he's not someone that can quickly be traded out.

Orochimaru tore down another wall killing a few people, not even caring he was lashing out in his anger. He didn't defect until he had Kabuto already made, the boy was a genius, finding another like him would be nearly impossible he was just lucky he got to the boy earlier enough in life to mold him. Careful nurturing for years upon years before his defection all wasted! Orochimaru let out another scream as he slammed his hands into the ground, the earth shaking beneath him. The man tried to calm his breathing he needed to think. He didn't have long until he had to transfer into a new body, and without Kabuto to help him through the process he was extra vulnerable. The sannin forced himself to calm down, it took a few minutes until his breathing evened out and then he started to think.

He knew he had an abundance of supplies, that was to be given he had a country, but that wasn't enough. He needed people he could trust, anyone here would stab him in the back in a heartbeat if they had the chance. He had to be careful about this or else he might truly come to an end, he needed a new Kabuto. With that thought in mind Orochimaru got to plotting, he might have to go deep underground for a while but it's okay, he is a snake after all.

"Good afternoon Jiraiya-sama how may we help you today?"

"Hey Teuchi-san, have you seen Naruto anywhere? I haven't been able to find him all morning" Jiraiya said as he sat down, while Ayame made him a ramen.

"No not today unfourtantely, he was here last night after he got out of the hospital though. He was in a good mood, said he needed to find you also. If he comes by I'll let him know you came in" Tuchi said.

Jiraiya started slurping down his ramen before he set it down nodding, "Thank you, it's important I find him today" The old man running the stand nodded as Jiraiya finished up his ramen before paying. "The food here is good as every Teuchi-san, it sucks to know you're no longer on the front lines with us, but an injury like yours was serious"

"Thank you Jiraiya-sama, it was an honor fighting alongside you in the war, but that was a long time ago, I like my ramen shop. It's peaceful here, and I was able to watch over young Naruto when he was little" The man said with a smile.

"Yea that was a good time, anyways I need to get going and find the little runt. We'll catch up next time I see you" Jiraiya said as the man nodded with a smile.

With that Jiraiya got out of the shop he sighed not knowing where to look for the boy, might as well check the forest of death make sure the gaki isn't training out there. The boy liked to push himself to his limits, and while that's good and all he also almost died, there's no reason for him to take a few days to himself. He just hoped the boy wasn't blaming himself for everything else going on, for everyone getting hurt.

The kid had a hero complex and it was understandable why, it was hard not to think about what all he saw when Naruto showed him the future. The kid was important there's no doubt, but he needed to relax sometimes or else he was going to overdue it. Yea he might never be injured for good, but the mental strain would get anyone and that's a fact. If he didn't have his hobby, he was sure the strain would get him too. Writing his books also helped him with his spying, it's how he became such a good spy. The fact was that everyone needs a distraction to keep him grounded, and the boys obsession with training himself into the ground wasn't a healthy hobby.

The man ran through all of the Forest of death and didn't locate or sense the boy, he checked a few other training grounds before giving up, he went to the hospital, but the staff said he had never come in that day.

Giving up Jiraiya went back to Naruto's apartment, the boy needed to sleep at some point.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't put you back in the hospital?" Tsuande had a tick over her forehead at who was in front of her.

"Because you love me?" the boy was quick to dodge the desk thrown at her, "Because we both know I can heal fast enough for it to not matter, jeez Tsuande-baachan. Anyways, do you know where Jiraiya is? I'm trying to find him" Naruto said as he cleaned off his shirt from the dust that was on him.

Tsuande chuckled, "You got bad timing kid, you just missed him. He just left to go find you, best bet for you is to go home or the ramen shop, hopefully you'll catch him there." The kage said as she sat down in her chair more so out of comfort even though the desk was no longer there.

"Why the ramen stand?" Naruto asked confused

"It doesn't take a genius to know how much you frequent the ramen stand, so of course he would go there" Tsuande said, Naruto groaned, the struggle to find his godfather was about to start.

"Thanks Tsunade-baachan, I'll go look for him now!" Naruo said before exiting through the door, not risking to go by the women. Naruto quickly found a window and jumped out heading to his favorite ramen stand, worse come to worse the man isn't there and he gets some good food. Naruto quickly made his way via rooftop through the village, it didn't take long to get where he was going.

"Oh Naruto, what are you doing in here" The man asked as he was dropping off ramen to some other customers already sitting at the bar.

"Figured I'd get some good food before I find my teacher, turns out he's looking for me so now it's a race to find him before he can find me" Naruto said with a cheesy grin before asking for 5 miso ramen. Teuchi gave him a look as the boy shrugged, "What? I can't race on an empty stomach" Naruto gave a cheeky smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

The old man smiled as he and his daughter got to work making the food, "Only the first one wil be free, you're paying for the other 4" He said as he made the Ramen. Naruto paled as he realized he didn't have his wallet, he silently made a clone to run back and grab it.

While waiting Naruto took out his Fuinjutsu book deciding to look through it. He was really interested in the book, and he couldn't advance further until he passed halfway point tests. To put it simply, it was like a boss fight in a game. You couldn't do anything more until you beat it, so until he could pass the test that would test his knowledge he couldn't advance further. It wasn't a multiple choice test either it was a seal, he had to figure out the parts of the seal, the underlying features, and what the seals purpose was exactly. Once he did that, the book would allow him to see the next few chapters of the book.

Naruto continued to study for the next few minutes until the bowls were placed in front of him, Naruto smiled as he very quickly closed the book, "Thanks Teuchi-jij!" Naruto said as he quickly grabbed his chopsticks and started to eat. Teuchi smiled saying nothing as he went back to working with his daughter, Naruto's clone quickly slipped back in with the boys wallet before dispelling himself.

After finishing his meal Naruto paid for the food before wishing the two a good day and heading out. He wasn't sure where to find Jiraiya so he checked the one place the man could always be found, the bath house. Naruto quickly hopped over spending a lot of time thoroughly making sure the old perv wasn't around. After not finding him he left the village to see if he was at any of the lakes or rivers. Young girls frequented there and Jiraiya was known for hiding around there for his research. After a couple of hours of looking though Naruto started to get frustrated, he was even using clones but couldn't find the man at any of his usual places, no bars, brothels, peeping spots. It was strange, he decided to go home for the night and hopefully find the man in the morning.

Naruto had just got done making dinner when he heard his front door being opened. He looked over and saw the man he had spent all day looking for walking through his front door. "There you are Ero-sennin, where have you been all day I couldn't find you anywhere. And I looked at ALL of your usual places" Naruto said upset he couldn't find the man.

"The irony in that, I spent all day looking for you in your usual places" The man chuckled before opening the boy's fridge before quickly shutting it disappointed at the lack of liquor. "Anyways pack your shit, we're leaving tonight, I have some contacts to meet and you're coming with, you're also going to be training with me again, and we won't stop until I can't even hurt you" Jiraiya said as Naruto smiled. Though it didn't last long.

"What about Arashi? Or Hinata even?" Naruto asked worried about what he knew was going to be said.

"Arashi cannot come, neither can Hinata. I don't have the time to waste unfortunately and by the time I'm done with you, not even Madara will be able to touch you. That's why we need to leave today, leave a clone behind if need be to tell everyone but we are leaving before midnight" Jiraiya said, more so telling the boy than asking him.

"Do I get a choice in this? Can I decline to come?" Naruto asked, even though they both knew that wouldn't happen. "Last time I didn't even leave for another couple months, hell I saved a prince last time with Lee and Sakura! What now? I don't get to do any of that and help out?" Naruto said kind of worried about the people he helped even if he never saw them again.

"There are other shinobi in this village, don't fret too much on it, and no you don't I told Tsunade we were leaving tonight. Now hurry and eat your food and start packing" Jiraiya said, Naruto decide better than arguing, he wasn't happy about it though. "I'm sorry kid, but this is important, I promise it will be worth it, I'll be right back, next time I walk in this door be ready to leave" Jiraiya said as Naruto nodded while the man left.

Naruto made a clone while he himself slipped out of the house, he wasn't going to leave a clone to do his job saying goodbye. With that Naruto quickly left for the hospital.

"So I'm guessing you found him than?" Tsunade asked as she put her pen down, sitting back in her chair relaxing from the work she had been doing.

"He's packing right now, I was gonna give him another hour before we head out give us enough time to be together hime" Jiraiya said in a sultry voice and winking at the women.

"Shut it you old perv, we both know no matter how drunk you get me I wouldn't sleep with you" Tsuande said as her friend just chuckled.

"I know, but can't say it isn't a good offer, get drunk and have some crazy sex on the hokage's desk" Jiraiya laughed as he offered, Tsuande couldn't help it as a smile broke her face.

She chuckled her response out, "Oh stop it, all the anbu in here would kill you before you could even get me on the desk" Tsuande said.

"Oh ho, is that a challenge I hear?" Jiraiya said as he raised an eyebrow.

"We both know it isn't now besides telling me that you found Naruto what are you really here for?"

"I just wanted to spend time with an old friend before I left is all" Jiraiya put his hands up in a defensive manner, before he unsealed a very expensive, and very rare bottle of saki. "Plus I figured we could share a drink before I leave for a few years. Who knows when I'll see you again, it would be nice to just hang out for a while" Jiraiya spoke honestly, Tsunade could tell and to her it actually sounded really nice.

The woman let out a sigh as a small smile could be seen, "Yeah that does sound nice," her voice was soft as she rested her arms on the desk and she laid her head down for a moment. Jiraiya got up as he went to grab some glasses from behind the bookshelf, he knew where Hiruzen kept them of course.

Tsunade waved her hand in a manor that told the anbu they were dismissed for now. The guard knowing full well that the two Sannin were more than capable of handling themselves as they waited outside the door and window for a little while. Jiraiya brought a chair with him as he sat across from the women before pouring two full glasses. "What do we cheer for?" Tsuande asked, figuring Jiraiya should be the one to toast seeing as it was his bottle.

"To being together and enjoying the good times as long as they may last" The man said, Tsuande nodded as they dinged the glasses together before drinking. After finishing Jiraiya poured them a more full glass this time so they could drink it and not shoot it. "It's good being able to see you again, I know we've had our differences hime and things have been hard on you, but I'm truly happy we can at least have time's like these."

"As annoying as you can be, I wouldn't lie if I didn;t say I missed you either. You're perviness has a sort of charm to it sometimes" Tsuande said, emphasising her last word. Jiraiya chuckled, knowing better than to press his luck on that statement. "It's crazy to think how far we've come though. I'm the hokage, never did I see that happen. I figured Minato would hold the hat forever, after the Kyuubi though, I assumed Hiruzen would make you take it."

"Oh trust me he did, but he also knew that no one was a better spy than I am, and with no one to replace me he was forced to keep it. There may be some good options in this village, but no one better than either you or I for this position. That's why you got it" Jiraiya said as his teammate rolled her eyes before sipping the drink. A small blush starting to appear on her face from the liquor.

"God this is good stuff" Tsuande said after another sip.

"Be careful, it's very potent, even with how heavy of a drinker you are this will put you on your ass." Tsunade looked at her glass and shrugged, not caring but setting it down nonetheless.

"It is nice to know I have someone that will 100% have my back always within this village" Tsunade said as she went back to lying down.

"Want to move this to the couch and sit together?" Jiraiya asked pushing his luck, Tsunade gave the man a look for a minute before shrugging her shoulders and standing up. Jiraiya wasn't actually trying anything, he just wanted to be closer to the girl he loved was all.

The two sat on the couch, no awkwardness between the two of them at all, Tsunade turned her back to the man as she laid back against him getting comfortable. Jiraiya smiled and thought best against trying to put an arm around her. The two sat in silence for a moment just sipping on there drinks before Jiraiya spoke again. "So what do ya think is gonna happen to us?" Tsuande raised an eyebrow giving him a look, "I don't mean with us, but in a general sense for the future. Do you think we'll be remembered as we are? Or forgotten?" Jiraiya asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea, it's probably too late for me to have kids, so the Senju line will die out with me. If anything I'll be remembered for being the last of my clan and being a kage. If you're lucky you won't be remembered for you books, but for being my teammate and a protector of the village" Tsuande said, sadness lingering in her voice as she mentioned never having kids.

Before Jiraiya could speak Tsuande continued on, "It's unfair honestly, we deserve to be happy, you and I should be married with someone we love, and be happy not sitting here nearing our 50's and alone" Tsuande said. Jiraiya could tell the woman was drunk, but she made a good point, life was unfair.

"I never had a chance with the woman I loved hime, she loved another" he said, she knew he was talking about her though. She looked away from him.

"You know Dan was the only one for me, if I never met him things may have been different, but…" her voice dropped she wasn't sure what to say. "I don't know what you want from me Jiraiya that's in a world that doesn't exist, my heart will always belong to him."

"And mine will always belong to you my hime" Jiraiya made her look at him, his face wasn't sad, or happy. It showed comfort, "I'm fine with never truly being with someone, I know my heart belongs to you. I would never force you to betray your memory of Dan though, I know you love him and I came to terms with that years ago."

Tsuande downed her glass before setting it on the floor, she turned on her side as she laid down on the man fully, "I'm sorry"

Jiraiya put his hand on her head, running his fingers through her long hair, "It's okay hime, I'm not upset. At the end of the day I would do anything for you, but for now Naruto comes first, we can't let Minato and Kushina down. I have to make sure he can defend himself, and you need to make sure this generation of shinobi can defend themselves for what's to come."

Tsunade nodded her head, "You're right, but do know that I will always care for you Jiraiya. You hold a place in my heart as well I hope you do know that, I just don't think I'll ever be able to get over Dan" Tsuande admitted to the man. Jiraiya could feel his heart pull at this, now he wanted to stay, have more nights with her so he could win her over, but he knew that wasn't in the cards for him. He had to train Naruto, yes without him the boy would be unbelievably strong, but with them training he can teach the boy so much more. It had to happen.

Jiraiya leaned down and kissed Tsunade's forehead, they had been there for well over an hour, "I love you Hime, just get some sleep" Tsuande didn't even question it, she had a headache and was tired anyways. Jiraiya waited for her to be asleep before making a clone to switch places with him. "She may be mad at us for me leaving, but make sure she sleeps well" The clone nodded as the original Jiraiya put a blanket over the girl before leaving letting the anbu back in. The Anbu came back in to see the Tsunade and the clone asleep together, they all knew better than to ever say anything though knowing they needed to forget about this scene.

Author's Note: Well that's the 42nd chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it, because when we come back there will be another time skip. Quite a few years will have passed, and to learn about what happened during the training trip there will be the occasional flashbacks throughout the chapters. I never planned on making a training trip arc, but a lot of future chapters will refer back to it some way or another, I hope you all enjoyed this though!