Let's start this from the beginning

The Festival

IV

"C'mon, Sasuke. There is really no need to sulk, is there? I don't think I am such bad company."

The younger boy at his side threw Shisui a gloomy look. "You are not," he said. "And I'm not sulking!"

"Could have fooled me," he chuckled, his amusement growing even more when Sasuke's reaction to that was turning around to hide his obvious pout. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you dislike being with me."

"That's not it…"

Oh, Shisui knew all too well what was bothering the younger boy. It wasn't that Sasuke disliked being with him, but that he disliked not being with his brother instead. That Itachi decided to accompany Naruto, who was Sasuke's best friend, home first before joining them made things even worse. It was stupid to be jealous about silly things like this, Shisui thought, but neither of the brothers was ever logical regarding each other.

"I'm sure Itachi will hurry and catch up with us soon," he consoled the boy. "You understand why he went with Naruto, right? It can be dangerous to be out alone at this time of the night and I don't think you would want your friend to be hurt, do you?"

"Of course not!" Sasuke exclaimed, clearly offended by that question.

"Well, then you have no reason to be sad about it either."

Sasuke huffed. "You could have taken him home too, you know. Then Nii-san would be with me now instead."

Shisui dramatically clutched his chest with an exaggerated gasp. "What? And here I thought you just said you enjoyed my company! How am I to endure the pain of this betrayal?"

"All I said was that you aren't bad company, not that you're good company."

However, while that sounded a bit harsh, the twinkle in his eyes and the small smile on his lips made it clear that he was only joking.

"Oh, now I see how it is," Shisui said. "Well, in that case, there is no reason for why I should teach you this super awesome technique like I planned to. I guess I will just go and teach it to someone else, then. Maybe Naruto would be happy about it, don't you think?"

Sasuke snorted before grinning up to him. "You can't manipulate me that easily, Shisui. Besides, I can just ask Nii-san to teach me something. I bet he knows much cooler Ninjutsu!"

"Ah, yes, he would probably teach you something as well," Shisui agreed unperturbed. "However, what will it be? A kickass technique like the one I would teach you, or a much less impressive but more safe technique like the one Itachi would show you? After all, he can't let his little baby brother get hurt, right?"

Sasuke blinked. "That-"

"Furthermore," he said while throwing one arm over the other boy's shoulder and pulling him closer before continuing in a conspiratorial tone. "You can't use only the things he taught you in your spars against him if you ever want to beat him. As long as he knows everything you're capable of, you will never truly catch him by surprise. With a technique taught by me, on the other hand, you might actually win one of these days!"

This was all it took to make Sasuke completely forget about how much he missed his brother.

However, while he had successfully distracted him from it, Shisui couldn't help but get curious himself about what his friend was up to. Yes, letting a child wander around on his own was indeed a tad too dangerous, but that didn't explain why Itachi needed to be the one to accompany the boy. He even declined Izumi's offer to do it herself! Sure, his whispered argument that he was not actually bringing Naruto to the orphanage but his godfather –and why was the boy even in the orphanage if he had a godfather?!- explained it somewhat as the other children would only get jealous if they found out their friend got to stay outside longer than them, but it didn't quite satisfy Shisui.

Whatever, he thought. I will just make him tell me later. I bet it's something interesting.

Although some aspects of this Naruto were quite different from the one that had existed in the previous timeline, others remained still the same. His ability to lighten the mood wherever he went fell into the latter category.

He and Sasuke had been friends for a while now, meaning Itachi had had the chance to observe the boy more closely than he had ever been able to before, and in that time, Itachi didn't think he had encountered a single person who disliked him. It wasn't like he was friends with everyone, of course, and there were a few people that were annoyed by his antics for sure, but no one actively disliked him.

This time observing him meant Itachi now understood better than ever why he had been able to trust Naruto with Sasuke's fate after his own death, and he was glad that his meddling hadn't changed this aspect of his character.

Tonight's plan would have been impossible to pull off if it had.

"Hey, Itachi?" Naruto said, sounding more curious than he had previously when he regarded him with a tale of his latest prank. "Why are you even here? Sasuke said you were at your family's fancy party and didn't think you would be able to leave."

He chuckled softly. "Well, technically I never left, you see."

"What?" Naruto looked at him with wide blue eyes, confusion written all over his face. "But you did! You're here now, aren't you?"

"I did," he agreed. "However, another version of myself did not." Then, when he realized that Naruto still didn't understand what he was implying, he continued: "You know the Bunshin no Jutsu, right?"

Now he understood. "So you used a clone to stay back while you sneak out and have fun? That's so cool!" However, just a moment after the words had left his mouth, he frowned. "Wait, aren't the clones fake? They're only illusions, right? How comes that nobody notices that?"

"You're correct," Itachi said with an approving nod of his head. "And I'm sure your teacher at the academy will be glad to hear that you actually pay attention to his class from time to time instead of thinking about your next prank. And to answer your question, the technique I used wasn't the Bunshin no Jutsu but a variant of it called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It creates real copies of yourself instead of fake ones like the former one, making it perfect for situations like this."

Naruto blinked. "Wait, there is actually a way to create clones? Like, real ones? That's amazing! Why did no one tell me about that earlier? I want to learn it! Can you teach me please?"

Itachi regarded the boy for a few seconds. While he certainly had the chakra reserves to use it already, he wondered if it would be wise to teach it to him. After all, he was still rather young and could do a lot of damage if he went out of hand with it. Stuff that was nothing but a small, harmless prank now could quickly evolve into something that would be a problem. On the other hand, it might also become quite useful in the future. And then there was also to consider that Naruto still struggled with the normal Bunshin no Jutsu, meaning that teaching him the advanced version would give him an alternative he would need for his graduation at the latest.

Naruto was unfortunately not very talented in terms of chakra control, so the odds of him mastering the basic technique weren't all that great.

"I have some conditions before I agree to teach it to you."

"Of course! I will-"

He raised his hand to stop the boy. "You might not like what I have to say, so listen to me first and make your decision afterwards."

Naruto looked a bit annoyed but grudgingly nodded his consent.

"If I teach you the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, you must promise me to not use it for your pranks." Naruto immediately opened his mouth to complain, but Itachi just ignored him and went on. "And secondly, you will not use it to skip school by sending one of your clones there in your stead. Do you agree?"

The boy looked a tad annoyed about these limitations, but to his pleasant surprise, he didn't try to argue with him about them. "Yeah, fine. I agree."

"You promise?"

"Yes, I promise!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "If I find out that you lied and used them for either of these two reasons, I-"

"I said 'I promise', didn't I?" Naruto interrupted him with a frustrated growl. "I never go back on my word, so if I say I will not use it for that, I won't!"

They kept glaring at each other for a few more seconds before Itachi let the façade fall. "That's good," he said with a smile. "In that case, I will teach you."

Let's hope I don't regret it.

It would be a lie to claim that she wasn't enjoying herself, and while Tsunade was great at lying to herself, she saw no reason to do so right now. Not that she would ever confess that out loud, of course; Jiraiya would never let that go if she did.

However, that didn't stop her from leaning back in her seat with a drink in her hand and a smile on her lips as she watched her old teammate and sensei banter just like in the good ol' days.

Coming back to Konoha after all these years had been simultaneously easier and harder than she had expected. On one hand, once she made the decision to return for a short visit, she had surprisingly little hesitation to actually go through with it; on the other hand, seeing countless reminders of the life she had left behind no matter where she went was just as painful as she had thought it would be.

Although in the end, she couldn't say she regretted coming here.

As much as it pained her to admit, she had missed her childhood home. For every painful memory, there were a dozen good ones. In fact, even some of the things she had dreaded for years turned out to actually be a welcome sight, the Hokage Monument being a prime example. While not the majority, Tsunade had had more than one nightmare that involved her family over the years, and when she arrived at Konoha yesterday, she hadn't even been able to look at their pictures at the wall on her sensei's office. Today, however, she spent several hours looking at their stone faces, and honestly? It was a relief. She didn't think she was ready to look at their pictures yet, but if she was lucky, that too could change before her departure.

It would be really nice to see their faces again to refresh her memories of them. Maybe she should look for some pictures of her parents as well when she was already at it…

However, as much as she enjoyed watching Jiraiya make a fool of himself and no matter how much it eased something inside her chest to see her sensei smile in a way that made him look at least a decade younger than he actually was, she was neither oblivious nor stupid. Jiraiya might think himself subtle, and maybe he was when he really tried, but he couldn't fool Tsunade that easily.

She freely admitted that he might have succeeded if she hadn't been suspicious from the very beginning –after all, there was no way that Sarutobi-sensei would simply give up on bringing her back as fast as he did- but as it was, she had noticed several strange things about his behaviour:

For one thing, he didn't drink quite as much as he should have. That wasn't to say that he didn't drink at all or even just a little bit, of course. The amount of alcohol in his blood would surely kill a lesser man. Tsunade was familiar with her former teammate, however, and thus knew that he could drink much more than that. This late in the evening, after several hours of drinking, he should be not only tipsy but drunk.

And then there was also the fact that she had caught him looking at the clock several times already. Now, that alone wouldn't be too suspicious in and on itself. Unlikely as it was, he might have had other obligations this evening. The truly strange thing was that every time he checked the time, he would also look out of the window as if he was looking for someone.

Tsunade was neither oblivious nor stupid. She knew when someone was planning something, and in this case, she was clearly the object of whatever was going on.

Sensei doesn't let anything on, of course. She snorted. No surprise there. Jiraiya was always the idiot of the group, after all.

Maybe that was a bit too cruel, but whatever. She wasn't known for mincing her words anyway, and as long as she only thought them, nobody would even know.

"Anything funny?"

She blinked, needing a second to realize that it was her Jiraiya had addressed. "You mean something other than your antics?"

"Well," he said with a silly grin while puffing out his chest. "I am very entertaining if I may say so myself. However, I didn't say anything that would have made you snort, so there must be something else. Care to share it with the class?"

She casually swirled her glass with one hand while considering that for a few seconds before deciding to just go with it. "I was just wondering who you are waiting for," she said. "Must be someone really special if not even I can keep your attention."

"What?" Jiraiya said. "Waiting on someone? Me? What gave you that idea?" He then laughed while scratching the back of his head, obviously trying not to act suspicious.

Sometimes Tsunade seriously wondered how that buffoon could be an excellent actor during missions while failing so spectacular in a more private setting.

Sensei chuckled. "I think she refers to your regular glances at the clock, Jiraiya."

"… was it that obvious?"

She chuckled. "For everyone that knows you? Yes, it was."

Both men snorted at that.

"There's no harm in telling you, I guess," Jiraiya said after taking a sip from his glass. "I'm meeting my godson after this and I don't want to disappoint him by being late. I'm doing enough of that already as it is, no need to add to the list."

"You aren't doing too bad," Sensei consoled him while Tsunade blinked in surprise. "You are a very busy man. With that in mind, you're doing all you can."

"That's not always enough, though."

She felt as if there was more to that, but when he didn't continue, she didn't push. If there was someone who knew how it felt not wanting to talk about something, it was her.

"So," she said. "I guess that's also the reason you didn't drink as much as usual?"

"Well, I can't be completely wasted when dealing with a child, can I? Probably not the best idea if you ask me."

"I wish you would have been aware of that before I beat it into the thick head of yours."

Tsunade gasped in disbelieve at the old man's words before turning an incredulous look at Jiraiya. "Please tell me you weren't drunk while with that brat."

He winced. "That was one time! Besides, nothing happened! I-"

"Gods," she interrupted him before emptying her glass with a single gulp. "The boy doesn't live with you right?" She turned towards Sarutobi. "If he does, you better change that."

"Don't worry," he said, completely ignoring Jiraiya's indignant complaints in the background. "The boy lives in the orphanage. Jiraiya only visits him whenever he is in the village."

The man in question let his head drop onto his arms with a groan. "The two of you are impossible."

"And you love us anyway."

"Anyway," he said as he raised his head again, completely ignoring their sensei's comment. "It's almost time, so I should probably get going. Wanna come and meet him?"

She thought about it for a second before she nodded, ignoring the feeling of walking right into a trap. "Sure, why not?"

Tsunade thought there was something liberating about walking through the streets of Konoha at night.

While she had already accepted that returning wasn't as terrible as she had previously thought, there had still been a lump in her throat when she first came back. Talking to the people who had been unexpectedly excited to see her considering she had been gone for years had helped her avoiding to fall into a darker mood, but she had only so much patience to waste on dealing with crowds, so once she used a Henge to hide herself, nothing stopped her mind from bringing up painful memories.

Now, however, the night helped to mask the familiar building, making them almost look like the ones she had seen in countless other villages and towns over the years. Still familiar enough to be comfortable and yet distinctly different enough to dull the edge of her pain.

Tsunade's current company probably helped as well, silent as they may be.

Just an hour ago, she would have laughed about the image of a silent Jiraiya, but now she didn't have the energy to be anything but thankful. While she might blame the alcohol for her exhausted state –which was ludicrous considering she hadn't drunk that much compared to her usual consume- she knew that it was truly the place itself that got to her.

It was just so mentally draining to be back here.

However, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; being here in the heart of her home with the only two people from her childhood that she still had left and watching the starry sky on a cloudless night wasn't something she had thought she would do ever again.

It was nice.

If she was honest, this was probably the most peaceful she had been in a very long time.

"Ero-sennin! Jii-chan!"

It was just then that the peace was broken by a child's voice.

Tsunade had half a mind to punish the brat, a blond-haired boy wearing an orange kimono, for that, but when she saw him throwing himself into Jiraiya's waiting arms, the little anger she felt melted away.

So that's his godson, then, she thought with a small smile. I guess that idiot must have done at least something right if the boy likes him that much.

"Well, isn't that cute?" she chuckled before turning towards the boy that had accompanied the child. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Itachi Uchiha," he said with a bow, his ponytail falling over his shoulder in the process. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsunade-sama."

'Uchiha', huh… That was somewhat of a surprise as she couldn't spot a single Uchiha emblem on his dark blue kimono. Considering that clan loved to put it everywhere, that was rather unusual.

Tsunade didn't care much about the ancient feud between the Uchiha and Senju. She didn't even carry that surname anymore anyway. However, the countless triads of her granduncle during her youth had left their mark on her. Not so much in that she distrusted them, though, but in that she relived the annoyance she felt every time her granduncle brought them up all over again whenever she saw one.

"Any what business do you have with that brat?"

"I was merely accompanying Naruto to meet Jiraiya. A child shouldn't walk around all on their own this late in the night, after all."

He is calling him just 'Jiraiya'? With no honorifics? "And-"

"C'mon, Tsunade," Jiraiya interrupted her as he walked up to her side with one hand on the blond boy's shoulder. "There's no need to interrogate Itachi like this. I asked him to bring Naruto to me once his friends went home, that's all." A big grin appeared on his face. "On that note, meet my godson! Tsunade, this little rascal is Naruto. Naruto, this is my former teammate Tsunade. I told you about her, remember?"

"Nice to meet ya!" the boy exclaimed with a way too loud voice.

Tsunade hadn't interacted much with children since she left the village. There had simply been no reason to. After all, she spent much of her time in casinos and bars; children rarely visited these kinds of places. However, when she did interact with them, it was usually because some people recognized her even after all these years and pleaded for her to help their sick children. More often than not, her healing was completely redundant as the children in question rarely had something worse than a fever, but she could never quite bring herself to say 'no' to the worried parents. Either she let herself be talked into helping them or, in case the child in question had some kind of injury that involved blood, let Shizune handle the situation.

What she was trying to say was that the few times she interacted with children, they were usually too weak to do much more than lie in their beds. If they spoke to her at all, it was in a tired and hoarse voice.

Maybe it was the fact that being back in Konoha brought back a lot of memories she had suppressed for years now, maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it were both of these things together, but whatever it was, when she looked at the brightly grinning boy, his form was momentarily replaced by the image of Nawaki.

"So Jiraiya told you about me, huh?" she said while trying to dispel the painful image, cursing inwardly at the slight crack in her voice. Not that anyone but Jiraiya or her sensei would notice, of course, but that was already bad enough. "I hope he knew to keep his tongue in check."

The grin on the boy's face, which had no business at all looking so similar to her brother's, became even wider. "He said you're the best healer there is and the most beautiful woman in the world!" Suddenly, his face shifted into a more thoughtful expression. "Though I guess he hasn't seen you in a while either. You're a bit too old for that now, right?"

Whatever spell he had over her broke in an instant. He had said that so casual and innocently, clearly meaning every word of it and only voicing what he thought was a fact…

"Who do you think you are to call a woman old to her face?!"

Before he could react, she flicked her finger against his forehead and made him fly backwards.

Tsunade wasn't a monster, of course. Insult or not, she wouldn't actually hurt a child. Because of that, he flew only a few feet before landing on his ass with a surprised yelp, rubbing his forehead with one hand while using the other to steady himself. "What the hell, Granny? Why did you do that?!"

"I wouldn't have done that if you knew your manners, you brat! I see Jiraiya has been a bad influence on you if that's how you treat people you have just met!"

"Are you stupid? I thought Ero-sennin was lying when he said you have a temper like a devil, but looks like he was right!"

Her head swung around to glare at the white-haired man who was smart enough to instantly take a step back, knowing full well that he wasn't under the same protection as the child. "Hey, calm down, yes? It was said in good fun, that's all! No need to get angry, aye?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes some more as she considered if it was worth it to punish Jiraiya as well, completely ignoring her sensei and the Uchiha boy who had distanced themselves from the spectacle and now watched it from further away, when she suddenly felt an incoming attack.

All it took was a casual swing of her hand to deflect the punch to her face, which she quickly followed up by another weak flick to her blond assailant's forehead that this time only made him stumble a few steps back instead of throwing him to the ground like before.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said with a slight grimace. "Maybe don't attack her, alright? She's kinda out of your league."

That would indeed be the smart thing to do. The boy wouldn't have any of it, however.

"Shut it, Ero-sennin!" He pointed a finger at her. "I'm gonna beat that witch's ass, just watch me!"

Unexpectedly, rather than making her even angrier, that proclamation actually made her laugh. "You're want to beat me? Big words for a little wimp." Although it was certainly stupid, she had to hand it to him; saying something like that when he clearly knew who she was took some guts. "But do you really think you can back them up? I'm one of the Legendary Sannin, after all, while I assume you haven't even graduated from the academy yet."

"So what? I'm gonna become the strongest ninja the village has ever seen, dattebayo! That means I can't let myself be stopped by an old bully like you!"

Something in her chest squeezed painfully at that while similar words from years past echoed in her ears, but she ignored all of that. "The strongest ninja the village has ever seen?" She snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. Do you even know what that means, or what heights you need to reach for that dream to become true? I'm sure you don't even know how strong Jiraiya is once he stops goofing around and he is your godfather, not to mention the Hokage. My grandfather and the old man" -she jerked her head in the direction of her sensei- "both are called 'God of Shinobi', did you know that? He's over sixty years old and still could beat your ass in a second straight. That's what you're aiming to surpass." Then, much quieter, she added: "Dreams are foolish, and they never come true."

Tsunade took great pleasure in seeing the doubt in the boy's eyes, only to be surprised when it vanished as fast as it appeared. "Well, if the Hokage are really so strong, all I need to do is become the strongest Hokage ever! If I do that, even you will need to acknowledge me, right?"

("Hey! I want to be like grandpa someday… I will be honoured with the name Hokage, because being Hokage is my dream!")

("For the sake of everyone's safety... Ever since my sister died, that sole thought has sustained me. Becoming the Hokage is my dream.")

She involuntarily took a step back while all energy seemed to drain out of her. Naruto, on the other hand, continued without even noticing her changed mood. "I will surpass Ero-sennin, Jii-chan, you, and even your grandfather! And once I'm the strongest, I will be able to protect everyone!"

The absolute conviction with which he said that and the complete trust in his own words; it was as if Tsunade had been thrown into the past to relieve Dan's and Nawaki's proclamation all over again. Tsunade wanted to hate the boy for that, wanted to be angry with him for reminding her of ghosts that she had tried so long to forget, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. And how could it be any other way? Wouldn't hating that boy who was so similar to the people she had lost be in a way like betraying their memory?

She couldn't stay here, so she didn't.

Just like she had done all her life, she ran.

"Ehm, did I say something wrong?"

In any other situation, Hiruzen would have found it adorable and even admirable that Naruto found it in himself to worry about a person he had just fought with. However, after watching Tsunade getting so upset, he didn't find the energy to feel anything but sadness.

"Don't worry," Jiraiya told the boy as he stepped back to his side. "You didn't. I think you just remind her of someone that died a long time ago."

"Oh," the boy said. "So, should I apologize or…"

His former student chuckled, though it sounded somewhat forced. "No, there's no need for that. In fact, what you have done might actually help her."

At least that was the plan. Hiruzen had known that confronting Tsunade with her past through Naruto would wake memories she would probably prefer not to think about, but you couldn't overcome past trauma by ignoring it. Confronting what had hurt you was the first step towards recovery.

That didn't make it any easier to watch her being in that state, of course.

"Itachi," Jiraiya said. "Would you mind accompanying Naruto home? I'm afraid I will be too busy tonight to spent time with him after all."

"Of course."

"Thanks." Jiraiya then turned towards his godson. "Listen, Naruto, I'm-"

"It's alright," the boy interrupted him. "I understand. You want to help her, right?"

It was always amazing to see how observant children could be.

"I do."

Naruto grinned. "Good. That's what friends should do."

Jiraiya nodded. "That it is."

He and Hiruzen shared one short glance before his former student vanished in a shunshin.

He sighed. No matter how much he wished to accompany the man and help him console Tsunade, Hiruzen knew that he wasn't as well suited for that task as Jiraiya. Right now, she needed a friend much more than a teacher. Furthermore, as the Hokage and therefore leader during the conflict that had costed Tsunade her loved ones, it wasn't unreasonable to think that his presence might actually be counterproductive right now. For all that she had never blamed him, people acted unreasonably and lashed out at others when they were hurt, and if there was one word that described Tsunade right now, it would be just that.

All he could do right now was to hope Jiraiya could help her.

He found Tsunade sitting on the railing of one of Konoha's highest buildings right in the centre of the village, her head turned upwards to watch the stars.

"You followed me, huh? I should have expected that. You never knew when to leave someone alone."

Jiraiya hid his worry at her hollow voice and chuckled softly, much different to the usual boisterous laugh he preferred, as he sat down next to her. "With how upset you looked? Of course I followed you. You don't leave someone alone when they're like that."

"Even if I ask you to?"

"Yes, even then."

Tsunade snorted. "So you know what's good for me even better than I do myself now?"

"Maybe not," admitted easily, making her turn towards him in surprise. "But even if I don't know for sure what's the best course of action, I can still try to do what I think is right. That's the only thing all of us can do."

When Tsunade spoke this time, he was glad to hear that her voice sounded slightly more alive than before. "Look at you, trying to sound all wise like this. Finally trying to live up to the hype?"

"Well, someone has to set a good example for the next generation, right?"

She just shook her head before surprising him by crossing the distance between them and leaning her head against his shoulder. If there was one thing that showed him in how much pain she was, it was this. After all, the last time she had hugged him was when Dan-

Yeah, let's not think about that right now.

"Don't think I don't see what you and Sensei tried there," Tsunade said, her voice now somewhat muffed. "It's cruel to bring up bad memories like this, you know."

He hesitated for a moment as he thought about the right words before deciding to just say whatever felt right. There was probably no perfect way to do this anyway, so he could just as well follow his own words and do what he thought was right.

"And what exactly did we try?"

While she didn't raise her head from his shoulder, he could feel her tense. "Seriously, Jiraiya? Bringing a kid that's so similar to-" Tsunade's voice trembled and she was forced to take a deep breath before she could continue. "A kid that's so similar to them in an effort to make me stay. That's low, even for you."

A rueful smile crept up his face. "It is, yes."

"You knew that and did it anyway?"

"Tell me, Tsunade," he said instead of answering her question. "Do you think we were subtle?"

"What?"

"I asked you if you think Sensei and I were subtle in bringing you into contact with Naruto," he elaborated. "Did we really manipulate you without you even realizing it?"

She was silent for a few seconds until-

"Don't play games with me. What are you getting at, Jiraiya?"

"You say we set you up to meet Naruto in an attempt to make you stay in the village by counting on the fact that his similarity to Dan and Nawaki" -he ignored the way she flinched at these names- "would convince you to do so. But tell me, does that work if you're aware of what we were doing? After all, if you know you're being manipulated, the trick is over, right?"

"So you're saying you weren't trying to manipulate me because you weren't subtle about it? So what, you didn't try to make me stay here and all that was just in my head." Her voice was one of disbelief.

"No," Jiraiya confessed without hesitation. "We want you to stay, and it's also true that we wanted you to meet Naruto because of his similarity to those two. However, we don't want to manipulate you into it. In the end, it must be your decision, not ours."

"I don't understand," Tsunade said, clearly lost. "You say you don't want to manipulate me into staying, but your actions speak otherwise."

This was the critical moment. So far, Tsunade had been too stuck in her grief to get angry, but Jiraiya could feel that this was about to change. If he said one wrong word, this conversation was over.

"Tsunade," he said slowly while turning his head to look into her eyes. "Can I be completely honest with you?"

She hesitated for a second, caught off-guard by the seriousness in his expression, before nodding.

"You say that Naruto is similar to Dan and Nawaki, and that's not wrong, but if such similarity is all we wanted, we could have brought countless other children as well to fulfil the same role." He raised his hand to make her stop in her tracks when she opened her mouth to disagree, only continuing when he was sure she wouldn't interrupt him. "It helps that he looks similar to Nawaki, and that his dream is the same as his and Dan's. However, he isn't alone with that. There are literally thousands of children in this village who have big dreams as well, hundreds of which include becoming Hokage. Maybe not all of them have the same willpower as Naruto to strive for such a lofty goal in the long run, I will give you that, but they all have one thing in common: they have absolute confidence in their abilities to achieve their dream one day.

They work hard with their dreams before their inner eyes, no matter whether that dream is something big like becoming Hokage or something objectively easier like being the best older sibling they could possibly be. They all sweat and bleed to achieve whatever they set out to do. And while there are doubtlessly many who will ultimately accept defeat, there will also always be those that don't give up until the very end.

There are hundreds of little Narutos, Dans, and Nawakis dreaming of the future all over the village right now, and the reason we brought Naruto to meet you was to remind you of that. Tsunade, there are so many people with bright hopes for the future, but all you seem to remember when you think of Konoha are the bad things when there is so much more."

There was a profound silence when he finished, but Jiraiya didn't push her to reply immediately. He took the fact that her head was still on his shoulder as a good sign, though.

It was almost fifteen minutes later that Tsunade finally replied.

"You're full of shit, you know that?"

He suppressed a wince. Now that wasn't the reaction he had been hoping for. "Tsunade-"

"So what if they all share the same conviction and even the same dream? In the end, all of them will be disappointed. Sure, some might claim to be happy, claim that they have fulfilled their dreams, but they're lying. At best, they simply realized the impossibility of their goals and changed them to something achievable. They pretend to be happy with what they have to the outside world, but on the inside, they know full well that they have failed in what they truly wanted. They understand that choosing the second-best is the most they can ever do because their true goal is forever out of their reach." She took her head off his shoulder to direct her gaze towards the few ant-like figures of people walking below them in the streets. "Dreams are for fools."

Jiraiya looked at her for a moment while he fought down the impulse to put an arm around her shoulder. He doubted she would react well to that right now.

"Were Dan and Nawaki fools, then?"

Her head jerked around. "Jiraiya-"

"I asked you if I can be honest with you and you agreed," he reminded her before she could finish. "So that's exactly what I'm gonna do. So, let me ask that again: do you think Dan and Nawaki were fools? Were they blind idiots who followed dreams they could never achieve, that they never even stood a chance? Can you really look into my eyes and tell me you believe that?"

Tsunade opened her mouth, but no tone escaped her. She tried several times to say something, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Just like he had thought.

It was after her fifth attempt that she finally gave up and averted her eyes from him with a growl that sounded suspiciously like a sob, but not before he could catch a glimpse of the open anguish in them. "What does it even matter?" she said, her voice once again hollow. "They're dead, whether they were foolish or not will not change anything about that..."

"That's true, but letting that loss define the rest of your life will neither."

She snorted, sounding more bitter than amused. "Oh, you think I don't know that?"

"Tsunade-"

"Do you think I'm not aware that others have lost their loved ones too? I don't think I'm special, Jiraiya. Many have lost even more than I but still go on with their lives, I know that just as I know that just running away will solve nothing, but that doesn't change how I feel. Just because I know that they wouldn't want me to waste my life like this doesn't mean that I can change the way I feel!"

He hesitated a moment before slowly putting his arm around her to pull her close, giving her more than enough time to turn the offer of comfort down.

She didn't.

"I just want to hold them in my arms one more time…"

When it became clear she was done with swallowing all her hurt down and he heard her openly sob into his side, Jiraiya fully realized in just how much pain she really was.

Tsunade only ever cried when she was at an extremely low point. In fact, this was actually only the third time he could remember her crying at all.

When he spoke next, he kept his words slow and steady. "Even when someone dies, they're never truly gone. Just like we carry the will and dreams and ideals of our sensei and the generations before us, there will always be people who carry on the believes and hopes of the people we have lost. Even if you extinguish their light, there's no way that their flame will ever burn out. That's the Will of Fire."

Tsunade knew that as well, of course, but he thought she needed to hear it nonetheless.

Jiraiya could feel the wetness of his clothes when she pressed her face harder into his shoulder. "That's not enough for me."

"And it never will be. When someone dies, they will forever leave a hole in our hearts where they were supposed to be. All we can do is live on to the best of our abilities. If not for ourselves, then at least for them."

"And how do you do it?" When she raised her head again to look him in the eyes, Jiraiya could see the conflicting emotions in hers. There was the well-expected pain and sorrow, of course, but what gave him hope was the almost desperate wish for an answer.

"There is this one phrase I once read," he said. "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times." He chuckled softly. "It's simple, but there is some truth for it. However, what I think the person who wrote this didn't understand is that if the 'strong men' try hard enough, they should be able to achieve something akin to permanent peace. There will always be problems and crises, of course, but their extent can be limited. Just think about it: a mere century ago, the entire continent was in a constant state of war. No area was unaffected, no one knew peace. The loss of loved ones wasn't a heartbreaking tragedy but a reality of everyday life.

Then your grandfather came along and brought that age to an end. Yes, there are still wars, but honestly? Compared to the past, having only three major conflicts in a century is a great improvement! If you were to travel back in time and tell the people of that period about it, they wouldn't believe you and call you crazy! After all, a world not trying to tear itself apart all the time? Preposterous! However, your grandfather didn't let himself be stopped by such believes and went on to make peace with the Uchiha, made friends out of enemies, founded this village, and inspired others to do the same.

Today, people live longer than ever before in recorded history, much more children are allowed to have actual childhoods, and families don't need to constantly be afraid of losing one another. The world we live in isn't perfect by any means, but it is better than what it was before.

You want to know how I manage to live on? I strive to make the world of tomorrow even better than what it is today. I do my best to clean the messes our generation has made to stop them from becoming a problem in the future, I pass on what I have learned, and I have trust that the people that follow us will do the same.

I have hope that this world will get better bit by bit with every generation until ultimately, there will be peace."

That was what Jiraiya honestly believed. The Great Toad Sage had foretold that a student of his would be a force of great change in the world, but he knew that this one person alone wouldn't be enough to bring peace. However, if they could bring others to their side, to open other people's heart's to their cause, they could be the source of a revolution that would ultimately bring peace to the ninja world. Such a thing couldn't be done in one lifetime, but creating the foundation on which future generations could build on? Now that was more than possible.

It was notable to mention that the aforementioned abilities were skills Naruto already possessed.

"You said we tried to manipulate you," he said, bringing up the topic from the beginning of their conversation. "And in a way, that's probably true. It might not have been our intention, but a case can be made that it happened anyway. However, what we wanted to do was to give you the chance to choose. Regardless of whether you decide to stay or to leave after this, we want you to make this decision not only in the form of an emotional affect, but as a result of rational consideration. But to do that, you need to know and understand both sides of the argument. That's what this whole thing has been about.

If you now decide to stay here, you will no longer be burdened by the ghosts of your past because they will have become your strength instead. On the other hand, if you choose to leave Konoha, it will not be an escape. You will no longer be running from your past, but instead walking towards a new future. No matter what you ultimately decide, you will be free to look towards tomorrow instead of remaining stuck in yesterday."

That was it. Jiraiya had no more to say, and now it was up to Tsunade to make a decision.

They kept sitting like that for hours, with her leaning against his shoulder and his arm around her waist, as they watched the starry sky slowly give way for the rising sun in the east. He didn't pressure her and gave her all the time she needed to come to an answer. If necessary, he was ready to sit here for days. As long as Tsunade found comfort in his presence, he wouldn't leave her alone.

What she had said was true; even if you knew that your emotions were irrational and went against all logic, you couldn't just change them at will. You did not decide how you felt. Sure, it was possible to put emotions aside for a while, but in the end, they always came back. Tsunade was actually a good example of that: she had wandered the continent for many years, filling her time with gambling and alcohol that helped her forget, but in the end, her emotions caught up with her, leading to this very moment right now.

Jiraiya couldn't really blame her for running away, though. Not when he had apparently done the same in an alternative timeline and would have done it again in this one hadn't it been for his sensei and Itachi sharing the latter's tale with him.

In the end, humans were weak creatures. When a rare strong person appeared, they latched onto them for strength and support, looked at them for advice and leadership, and depended on them for safety.

On the other hand, when this strong person turned out to be malicious in nature and there was no other strong person to protect the people from them, humans banded together to find strength in numbers.

Yes, humans on their own were weak, but when they created bonds with others, they became strong.

If humankind one day truly managed to put its quarrels and disputes aside and allowed peace to settle into the lands, there was nothing they couldn't do.

It was in the early morning hours that Tsunade finally made her decision.

"I guess I should pay a visit to the hospital first to see how much the standards have fallen in my absence, don't you think?"

1) Please excuse my language, but this chapter fought me like a b*tch! After trying and failing to get it down on paper for over four weeks, I just decided to put it aside for as long as it took me to get the inspiration to finish it. As it turned out, that meant an unexpected hiatus of several months. I'm sorry about that.

2) In case you wonder what exactly the problem was, well, let me tell you! In case you don't care and just want to read what I have to say about the next arc, just skip to point 3.

No matter what I did, I was unable to convincingly make Tsunade decide to stay in the village. I refused to upload something that would make me go "wtf, that would never be enough to make her stay", but that's all I got! No speech felt convincing enough, no argument strong enough. Nothing I tried seemed like it had a chance of actually changing her mind. And to be perfectly honest, I'm still not 100% satisfied with the version you just read. But I am mostly satisfied, and that is enough.

On a plus note, I really like Jiraiya's speech. Seriously, I could become a scriptwriter for Naruto with that kinda stuff! /s

3) We will finally catch up with Anko next chapter. That part is actually already written, so it's definitively going up next week!

The week after that marks the beginning of the "Swordsmen of the Mist" - Arc. I've been looking forward to writing this one since the "Genin Days" - Arc, so I'm naturally quite excited. Since a lot of people have asked for one specific character, I'm assuming you'll like it a lot as well.