Chapter 4 – The Search for Tsunade, Bonding Moments, and Naruto vs. Kabuto Begins!

The party of six had stopped in a place called Shukuba Town for the time being. The white-haired Sannin had gone off in search of some clues as to Tsunade's whereabouts while the others split up into two groups. One group was meant to go rent a few rooms at an inn in town while the other group went to have a look around town and see if they could learn anything about this woman, Tsunade, and her whereabouts. Sure, Jiraiya was working on that very thing, but they figured that it couldn't hurt to have more people out there looking for information.

The group sent to rent the rooms consisted of Naruto, Shana, and Lavitz. So, while Dart and Rose went to look around town for any clues as to the Senju woman's current whereabouts, the three of them journeyed to a rather nice-looking inn. The moment they stepped inside, Naruto's hand shot up and he clutched his head as if in pain.

Quickly turning to her friend, Shana placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Naruto! What's wrong?!"

The young blonde shook his head and blinked a few times. "I…I don't really know. I suddenly felt two strong presences nearby, but they vanished just as soon as I picked up on them." Looking around the room they were standing in, Naruto found himself frowning. "But…it was more than that. There was somebody else that I picked up on. I think we're being watched by somebody."

Lavitz frowned at this and quickly led them to the counter. Having Shana order the rooms, the knight turned to his friend and stared hard into his eyes. "I don't like the sound of this Naruto. They no longer have the element of surprise, but it sounds like things could get really dangerous soon if we aren't careful. Let's get to our rooms and try to come up with some kind of plan."

As soon as Shana turned around with the keys to the three rooms they had managed to rent for the night, they hurried to one of the rooms and stepped inside. Seating themselves on the two beds in the room, the companions looked around at one another before Lavitz finally spoke up. "Okay, so we've got two strong, potential enemies closing in on our position, and another person watching us, whose intentions we, again, do not know. Going on the worst case scenario, I'd say we'd better prepare for a difficult fight. We at least know that two of them are coming for us, with a third just waiting out there for whatever reason. Any suggestions?"

Chuckling to himself, the whiskered Jinchuriki shook his head. "Without knowing the abilities, or even the identities of our enemies, it's hard to come up with a good plan. I can, at the very least, tell when they're outside, so they shouldn't be able to catch us off guard. The best thing I can think of would be for Shana to provide support while we confront the two of them head-on. If it looks like it's going to get really bad, you two at least have the option to transform and unleash some of your magic or something to at least try and turn things in our favor. Hopefully our allies will be able to sense our battle and hurry to 'save' us."

Shana nodded slowly at this and looked down at her hands. "I'm sure the three of them will get here in time to help us. If you two need healing, I can transform and use my magic, but that's about all I'd be able to do after transforming. Lavitz is the one that would really be able to help in combat here."

Lavitz shook his head at this and reached over, gently patting her hand. "Do not worry about it Shana. As Naruto said, you're best in a supporting role in this case. You are not weak, but instead we are choosing to trust you to keep us healthy should things get bad. Even if you can only cast your magic just once, if you time it right, you can really turn the tide of any battle back in our favor. Sadly…" Looking into Naruto's eyes at this point, the Jade Dragoon shook his head. "My magic isn't quite as powerful. Don't get me wrong, it's powerful, but I'm not exactly 'magic-oriented', if that makes any sense."

The blonde ninja shook his head and chuckled at that. "That's fine. From what you've told me about your spell, it targets all of the enemies in the immediate area. That will most definitely be important if these people are our enemies. Whether it only serves as a distraction or actually does some damage to them, it doesn't matter. It will still help. But first…"

Scratching his chin in thought for a moment, Naruto nodded his head and found himself grinning. "Rather than rushing out to meet them head-on, how about I learn their intentions and, if they happen to be negative, gauge their abilities?"

Lavitz frowned at this and slowly nodded his head. "That would work out just fine, but how do you intend to do this Naruto? You don't actually plan to go out there by yourself, do you?"

Smirking at his friend, the blonde shinobi shook his head. "I'll be using Kage Bunshin. One of them will use the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) to transform into you, Lavitz. The two Kage Bunshin will step out to 'greet' our guests. As soon as they are dispelled, if they are dispelled, that is when we attack. It's the best idea I can think of right now."

Shana smiled at that and nodded her head. "I like that idea! I think you should do it Naruto."

Lavitz nodded his agreement and took hold of his lance as he heard footsteps in the hallway. "Do it Naruto. Until your clones are dispelled, we'll hide out of sight. Give us the signal when it's time to strike."

Nodding at that, Naruto quickly performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and proceeded with the plan right as there was a knock on the door. As the three companions quickly hid out of sight, the two clones opened the door and looked into the eyes of the man who had visited their room. What the man said caused Naruto's eyes to widen. Now I understand. They want the Kyuubi!

The look on their friend's face showed the Dragoons that Naruto was the target of their new enemies. Feeling angered by that, Shana wanted to let loose an arrow towards whoever it was standing in the doorway, but she refrained from doing so. Hasn't Naruto been through enough already?! Why can't people just leave him be for a while?

Lavitz frowned at what he heard from the men outside the room. One of the men was trying to convince Naruto to come with him. If he refused, they would kill 'Lavitz'. The other suggested that he simply chops 'Naruto's' legs off so he couldn't possibly run away. Obviously these men were dangerous, and they had very bad intentions for the three companions. I don't care if they promise to leave Shana and I alone, there's absolutely no way we'll let them take Naruto. We'll just have to hold out until the others arrive.

When the Lavitz clone was suddenly dispelled, Naruto and Lavitz flinched. It wouldn't take them long to figure out that 'Naruto' was also a clone. Preparing themselves for the inevitable battle, the two of them took quiet, shaky breaths and waited. It didn't take much longer for the swordsman to cut down the second clone.

Taking a quick breath, the men rushed out of the room to confront their enemies. Naruto quickly threw a punch at the shorter man's midsection, forcing him to leap away. Lavitz, meanwhile, entered a fierce duel with the shark-like swordsman. His opponent was far stronger than the good knight of Bale, but Lavitz Slambert certainly had a high level of skill using his lance. For every inch that one of them gained in the fight, the other would pull off something that forced the other back.

Naruto, meanwhile, couldn't help but realize who his opponent was. "You…you're Sasuke's brother, aren't you?"

Itachi smiled at young Naruto, but before he could answer, the four froze and found themselves looking down towards the end of the hallway. Groaning inwardly, Naruto watched as his raven-haired teammate activated his Sharingan and prepared to attack his brother. Sasuke, you idiot! You aren't ready to fight him yet! They're too strong!

Sadly, Sasuke wasn't thinking about any of that. Instead, he prepared a Chidori (One Thousand Birds) and began rushing towards Itachi Uchiha. Before Naruto could do anything, the older Uchiha stepped past him and deflected his younger brother's attack before doing something to Sasuke that caused him to let out such terrible screams. Inside the room, Shana covered her ears and began praying that Dart and the others would arrive soon.

As Itachi Uchiha dropped Sasuke to the floor, Naruto flashed through a series of hand seals and pointed both his hands at the villain. "Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" Sadly, this attack wasn't enough as Itachi flashed through his own hand seals and unleashed a Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu to completely nullify Naruto's attack.

"You're stronger than I thought you would be Naruto-kun. But…" Pointing towards Lavitz and his partner, Itachi smiled again. "It would appear your friend is fighting a losing battle. I will say it again: come with us and he will not die. If you continue to resist, Kisame will kill him. The choice is yours Naruto-kun, but you would be wise to choose quickly."

Cursing under his breath, Naruto began trying to think of something that he could do to save not only Lavitz, but to buy them a little more time. When Shana suddenly appeared in the doorway and fired an arrow of light at Kisame, the blonde's eyes widened. "Shana-chan, don't!"

Sadly, it was too late. Kisame blocked the arrow, kicked the Jade Dragoon away from him, and turned his attention on the girl. Grinning her way, Kisame Hoshigaki began advancing towards her, fully intent on cutting the gutsy girl down where she stood. However, he suddenly froze and everyone looked down the hallway towards the three that had just arrived: Jiraiya, Dart Feld, and Rose.

Itachi sighed and shook his head. "Kisame, we should leave. Come." With that, the two villains quickly hurried off with Jiraiya chasing after them throughout the building in the hopes of catching them before they could get away. Sadly, the two of them did manage to escape. When Jiraiya returned to the others, he saw Shana tending to Lavitz while Dart and Rose were trying to question Naruto about what had happened.

"Those two were Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, members of a group of S-ranked missing nin known as Akatsuki." Looking towards Naruto, the white-haired Sannin frowned. "They are trying to collect the bijuu, but I don't know why yet. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before Naruto-kun, but I didn't think they would strike quite so soon. This is a worrisome event indeed."

Shana perked up at this and glared Jiraiya's way. "Are you telling me they're after that power inside of Naruto?! But…wouldn't that hurt him if they managed to take it?!"

Jiraiya shook his head and found himself staring at the floor sadly. "It would be worse than that Shana. A Jinchuriki that has had his or her bijuu forcibly removed…" Sighing heavily at this, Jiraiya walked over and placed his hand atop Naruto's head. "They die, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it."

Naruto found himself chuckling slightly at this, causing Shana to freeze before she could say anything more. "Doesn't that just figure? A bunch of powerful ninja out to take the Kyuubi from me, and I'll die if they succeed. Boy, wouldn't the villagers be happy with that one?" Laughing almost hysterically at this, the blonde shook his head and stepped into his room, clearly not doing too well.

Watching him leave, the two women frowned sadly. After a few moments, Rose turned her attention to Jiraiya once more. "What do we do then? Surely you must have some kind of plan to protect Naruto?"

Jiraiya of the Sannin shrugged his shoulders at this before turning his gaze towards Naruto, who was currently sitting on one of the beds in the room. "There are still things that must be done, but my plan is to take Naruto-kun away from the village for a few years and train him as best I can until I feel he has become strong enough to protect himself from Akatsuki. In the meantime, as long as he's under my protection, Naruto is safe."

Rose nodded her head at that before turning to look at Naruto. "In that case, once we find this woman, Tsunade, and bring her back to become the new Hokage, I have a request to make of you." Seeing Jiraiya nod out of the corner of her eye, the Dragoon of Darkness smirked a little. "Convince her to allow Naruto to travel with us. When you have made your preparations and are ready to continue training your student, you should journey with us as well. Naruto has been a big help to us and I'm sure he will continue to be. But, at the same time, he would be even better protected with all of us than with just you, wouldn't you agree?"

When Jiraiya looked like he was about to protest, Dart stepped forward and clapped the man on the shoulder. "I think it's a fine idea Jiraiya. There are things we must do as well, and we would most certainly welcome your help as well as Naruto's. You can continue to train Naruto, but he can also grow stronger by combating whatever enemies we meet along the way. It's a good idea and one you shouldn't refute just because you do not know us so well."

The white-haired man nodded slowly, accepting their reasoning. Sighing softly, the Toad Sannin shook Dart's hand and grinned. "Heh, I'm in. I'm not sure what you four have to do, but if Naruto trusts you, so shall I. I think it's also the perfect way to gather more information on this new world of ours as well. In fact, it should prove a good chance to broaden my network a bit now that I think on it." When the Dragoons looked about ready to ask him what he meant, Jiraiya waved his hand and smiled at them disarmingly. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing bad, and I don't have any ill intentions, it's just something I happen to be in charge of. It's not something that would interfere with your quest any."

Before they could continue their conversation, three people arrived through the ceiling of all places with one of them throwing a punch at the white-haired Sannin. Quickly drawing his sword, Dart blocked the fist and quickly raised his leg, kicking at the assailant. When the green-clad ninja flipped backwards, Jiraiya raised his hand and shook his head. "Stay your sword Dart-san."

Doing as he was instructed, the mercenary took a closer look at the three people and blinked a couple of times. "It's you three! Why are you here?"

Sure enough, these three people were jonin from the village of Konohagakure: Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yuhi. As Kurenai slugged Guy in the back of the head for not only breaking through the ceiling, but attacking Jiraiya of all people, Asuma stepped forward and lifted the comatose Sasuke into his arms. "We followed Sasuke when he left the village without permission. He overheard some of us talking about the attack made by Itachi and his 'friend'. Kakashi Hatake is in a coma in the hospital right now after whatever it is Itachi did to him. I guess, realizing that his brother was after Naruto, Sasuke gave chase after you guys. Though I doubt his intention was to help his teammate…"

Lavitz shook his head at that. "I don't think Sasuke even noticed Naruto. As soon as he saw his older brother, the youngling rushed in for the attack without any kind of plan and, well…that is the end result." The knight of Bale explained before sighing heavily. Without speaking another word, the Jade Dragoon walked into the room to join Naruto and speak with him for a time.

Shana looked about ready to offer to heal the young Uchiha with the use of her Dragoon Spirit, but Rose raised a hand and stopped her. "Jiraiya, this Tsunade Senju, is she truly as great a medic as you claim her to be?"

Jiraiya smirked at that and nodded his head. "Tsunade-chan is the best medic in our world. She could easily heal the two of them with no problem, so there's really nothing to worry about…so long as we can find her and convince her to return with us to Konoha-Lohan that is."

Rose nodded her head at that and turned her attention back to Asuma Sarutobi. "Then you should return with the boy to Konoha-Lohan and await our return. Tsunade Senju shall heal the both of them herself; we'll make sure of it."

Asuma nodded at this and thanked the group before quickly disappearing with Guy and Kurenai following after him. When Rose turned around to face the others in the group, she saw the look that Shana was giving her. "That boy isn't worth your time Shana. We'll let this Tsunade heal him if she chooses to, but I don't care about the brat in the least."

Shana slowly nodded at that before looking in the room at Naruto. He was talking calmly with Lavitz, but she could tell that his smile was another fake one. Sighing to herself, the young woman nodded slowly. "I…understand Rose. Sasuke is too selfish. It would have been fine if he had come after them in concern for Naruto's…his teammate's safety, but it was for a purely selfish reason." Shaking her head, the Light Dragoon walked into the room and wrapped Naruto into a tight embrace. "Naruto, please don't let these events affect you too much. Let's focus on your mission and go find Tsunade, tomorrow of course. We should get some rest tonight."

Lavitz rose from the bed at this point and took two of the keys. "Naruto, go ahead and get plenty of rest tonight. Jiraiya will be sharing this room with you. Dart and I will be in the room just across the hall, while Shana and Rose will be in the room right next door to yours. Nobody will be bothering us tonight, I'm sure of it."

Naruto watched as Lavitz left the room and sighed as he began hugging Shana back. "Thanks Shana-chan. I guess so much has just been happening lately that it's really starting to wear on me. Being responsible for our worlds merging together the way they did, killing Drake, my battles with Neji and Gaara, the invasion, Jiji's death, and now this? It's just…so much has happened and I don't think I know how to deal with it all."

Shana nodded slowly and looked him calmly in the eyes before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "It's okay Naruto. Try not to think about all of that and just sleep, okay? You need to rest. Rose and I will be right next door if you need us." Suddenly smirking, she poked her friend in the nose. "If you need to cuddle with somebody, you're welcome to curl up with me if it'll make you feel better."

Naruto suddenly blushed a deep shade of red and quickly shook his head furiously from left to right over and over again. "N-N-No, that's okay Shana-chan. Even though it's just an innocent suggestion, I'm not really ready to share a bed with a woman just yet. T-Thank you for the offer though." Deciding to get back at his friend a bit, Naruto suddenly leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "Besides, wouldn't you rather cuddle with Dart?" When Shana turned just as red as she had just made the blonde, Naruto broke out into a fit of genuine laughter.

Smacking Naruto in the arm, Shana mock glared at him for a time before she started giggling as well. "Sleep well Naruto. I'll see you in the morning." Seeing him nod, the Light Dragoon stepped out of the room and, taking the key to her room from Lavitz, went and entered it after wishing the others a good night.

Rose watched Naruto for a time before she let out a sigh and walked to her room, not even saying good night to anyone before going inside. I can't quite offer the same words of comfort that Shana seems to be able to. At least not that easily. Sighing to herself, the Dark Dragoon slowly removed her armor and laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling for a time before deciding to voice her question to Shana. "How do you make that look so easy?"

Shana blinked and froze in what she was doing, slowly glancing over her shoulder at the woman she hardly knew anything about. "What are you talking about Rose?"

Rose closed her eyes and sighed again. "How can you talk so easily with Naruto? I can't quite think of what to say or do for him to comfort the boy. But you? You make it look so easy. So…how do you do it?"

Shana shrugged her shoulders before climbing into bed. "Naruto's actually really easy to talk with. He listens and he's actually a sweet guy. I get along well with him I guess. I…don't really know what to say to explain it Rose." Frowning, the young woman rolled over on her side and looked into her friend's eyes. "I do know one thing I can say: just talk to him. Talk about whatever comes to mind and you might just end up being surprised. He's pretty smart for his age, and I'm sure he'll be able to easily hold a conversation with you on any topic you can think up, even if he mostly just asks you questions about yourself or something."

The senior Dragoon nodded slowly at that before offering a small smile. "I see. Well that's fine. Thank you." Suddenly donning a devilish smirk, Rose opened one of her eyes and began to chuckle slightly. "So, did you enjoy your flirting with the boy?"

Shana began to cough at this and began sputtering for a moment. "W-What?! I was trying to take his mind off of everything, I was not flirting! Wait…you're teasing me because we were both blushing, weren't you?! That's mean Rose. You know how I feel about Dart!"

Rose simply chose to smirk at that before she turned off the lamp and rolled over. "Good night Shana."

The Light Dragoon pouted at this before laying back and grumbling to herself. "Meanie."

Meanwhile, in Naruto's and Jiraiya's room, the blonde lay on his bed in his night clothes just thinking about everything. I wonder if everyone's okay. I haven't really talked with any of them since the invasion, so I don't know how anyone's doing. Heh, I don't think I even went to check on Sakura before I left. Some teammate I am, not even seeing how my own teammate is doing. Chuckling softly to himself, the blonde rolled over to face the wall. That doesn't matter right now though. So much has been happening lately, I haven't even had time to think about this new world I had a hand in creating. I wonder what we can expect from this new world. From what I've heard from Dart and the others, they were in the middle of trying to end a war before too many more people could suffer from it. Are we going to have to deal with their war as well? I really don't like the sound of that…

Naruto Uzumaki's thoughts were interrupted by Jiraiya's voice. "Naruto, I know you're having a hard time right now, but you should get some rest. If it helps you to rest a bit easier, I know where Tsunade is." Seeing his godson react to this, the white-haired Sannin grinned. "She's going to be in a town nearby called Tanzaku Quarters. She's a hopeless gambler, and there's something happening there that will definitely be attracting her attention. We should make it by midday tomorrow if we leave early, so I need you to get plenty of rest. Okay Naruto?"

The blonde Jinchuriki nodded slowly and found himself smiling a bit. "Alright Ero-sennin. Hopefully we can convince her to come back with us. I'm eager to get back to Konoha and see what that Hero Competition is like!"

Jiraiya smirked at that and chuckled to himself as he shook his head. "Then we should definitely hurry. I'll be cheering you on in the competition Naruto-kun, so you'd better do well. You hear me?" Hearing an affirmative response from the young man, the Toad Sannin smiled to himself and closed his eyes, rolling onto his side and slowly drifting off to sleep, his godson following suit soon after.

The Next Day – Tanzaku Quarters

Upon arriving at Tanzaku Quarters in the afternoon, the party of six couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. A variety of monsters had gotten in their way after leaving Shukuba Town and that had delayed the group somewhat, causing them a bit of irritation more than any real problems. But as they reached the outskirts of Tanzaku Quarters, the group couldn't help but notice a large structure off in the distance, just north of the town.

"Hey Lavitz, isn't that…?" Dart started, his mind reeling around the fact that this place had moved into such a strange location, a place it shouldn't be if the direction the group had left in after leaving Konoha-Lohan was any indication!

Lavitz's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I can't believe it. What in the heck is Hellena Prison doing way out here? We left through the west gate, didn't we?"

Jiraiya decided to pipe in at this point. "You have to keep in mind that after our worlds merged, things began to change drastically. There's no telling what we'll end up finding, as this clearly indicates." Sighing at this, the Sannin looked down at the town of Tanzaku Quarters. "If this Hellena Prison, as you called it, has moved to such a drastically different location, I wonder what we can expect from our world. I'd say it's pure luck that this town hasn't moved like your prison has."

Rose nodded at this and released a heavy sigh. "This is going to be frustrating. We used to know exactly which direction we needed to go in to get to where we were going. It looks like that will no longer be the case." Seeing the others nod, the dark-eyed woman frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "Let's just find this Tsunade woman and drag her back to Konoha-Lohan already. I think it will be important to purchase plenty of parchments. We're going to need to draw up some new maps…"

The others agreed with her and they began their way into the town. As they walked, Jiraiya decided it would be prudent to split into three separate groups. "Alright, I've explained to you about Tsunade's habits and what she looks like…well…a general description of what she looks like. Unfortunately, she oftentimes uses her abilities to change her appearance based on what she looked like at a certain age, so it could be a bit problematic." Shaking his head at this, the white-haired Sannin looked around as they entered Tanzaku Quarters proper.

"We'll split into three groups. Naruto-kun will come with me. Dart and Lavitz, I would like the two of you to search the area on the opposite side of town from where we are currently. Shana and Rose, please explore this side of town. Naruto and I will search everywhere based on whatever clues we can dig up. If we find anything, I'll have Naruto-kun send out some Kage Bunshin to find you. Is this plan acceptable with all of you?" Seeing everyone nodding in acceptance, Jiraiya nodded as well. "Good. If we are unable to find her today, we will continue the search tomorrow morning. We'll meet at the inn right over there." Pointing at the inn closest to them so they understood where to meet, everyone quickly nodded in agreement before they each split up to begin their search."

Later that night

Jiraiya and Naruto were really just about to give up. They had searched and searched and still they hadn't found her! Finally, they just decided to get something to eat. So, after being instructed by Jiraiya to send out some Kage Bunshin to collect the others, the two of them went inside and were about to request a booth for six when they heard something that caught their attention immediately. Glancing over towards the source, Jiraiya smirked. "There's our girl. Come on Naruto. Send out a couple more Kage Bunshin and we'll go say hello."

After Naruto did as he was told, the two of them walked over to Tsunade's booth and sat down beside the women. "Tsunade, long time no see. How've you been?"

Tsunade's right eyebrow twitched and she almost slammed her head into the table before she decided to simply grumble in irritation. "What do you want Jiraiya? I'm not exactly having the best day here and I certainly don't need you making it worse."

Naruto frowned at this and decided to say something before his sensei could. "Is it because you ran into Orochimaru earlier or because of what you were talking about just a moment ago? Because I would understand either, especially the second one, considering that's kind of my fault." True enough, Tsunade and Shizune had been discussing the changes in the world, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on with it lately.

Shizune blinked a couple of times before turning her gaze on the blonde boy sitting across from her. "How could the world changing be your fault? Do you know something we don't know?"

Jiraiya chuckled at that and nodded his head slowly. "You could say that. Tsunade-chan, this is Naruto Uzumaki. You should recognize that name." Seeing the look of recognition in his old teammate's eyes, the white-haired Sannin nodded. "Good. You should understand not only who he is, but of his burden as well." With a soft sigh, the Toad Sannin shook his head. "I was training Naruto-kun when he accidentally tapped into its power. His power resonated with a powerful force in another world and, in essence, these two forces worked as a kind of magnetic force. As a result, our two worlds have become one. Thanks to this, the world has changed in ways we still can't quite understand. That structure you see north of here is apparently known as Hellena Prison, according to our companions. From how our new friends talked about it, it doesn't sound like a good place."

After hearing this, Shizune looked absolutely flabbergasted while Tsunade actually smashed her head into the table. Groaning more from the shock of it all more than the pain, the blonde Senju woman slowly raised her head to look at the two. Only, as she looked, she spotted four more people that had brought up chairs to sit near them. "Oh great. Who are these people?"

Naruto grinned at this point and began to introduce his friends. "These are my friends from that other world we told you about. There's Dart Feld in the red, Lavitz Slambert, Shana, and Rose." As he introduced the Dragoons, he motioned with his hand to signify which person he was introducing at the time.

"It's nice to meet you Lady Tsunade." Shana said, bowing her head politely to the woman. "I'm glad we managed to find you!"

Dart nodded at this point and looked to his ninja friends. "Have you two talked to her about our purpose for coming to find her yet?"

Jiraiya frowned and shook his head. "We were getting to that. Before that, though, Tsunade, what did Orochimaru want with you?"

The Senju woman sighed and shook her head. "This is really not a good day. The bastard wants me to heal his arms. Sensei apparently did something to them a short while ago, and he's…"

Shizune, sensing her mentor was likely going to try and skirt around the deal offered to her, decided to speak up at this point. "That snake promised to revive Nawaki and my uncle Dan in exchange for healing his arms."

Rose scoffed at this and shook her head as Tsunade looked about ready to scold her apprentice. "A murderous snake like that and you really think he'll keep up his end of the deal, do you?"

Tsunade scowled her way, but before the blonde woman could speak a word, the young Uzumaki spoke up again. "Orochimaru killed Jiji! He…killed your sensei…" Shaking his head, Naruto rose from the booth and narrowed his eyes at Tsunade. "If you even so much as think about accepting his deal and betraying Jiji, I'll kick your ass Tsunade! I guarantee it, dattebayo!"

Jiraiya frowned as he watched his blonde godson walk outside, Dart and Lavitz following after him to look after him and hopefully calm him down as well. Turning his attention back to Tsunade, the white-haired Sannin spoke up. "Tsunade, we've come to bring you back to Konoha. You are to be the next Hokage. I'll leave it up to you to decide what the right thing to do is, but I will say this: if you decide to help Orochimaru, you will be considered an enemy to the village. Tell me, how long were you given to decide on whether or not you will accept that snake's deal?"

"I was given one week to decide. Let me guess; you want to give me until then to decide on which of these 'deals' to accept, right?" Tsunade questioned, clearly frustrated by this whole mess.

Jiraiya nodded, but didn't get to say anything as Rose spoke up again. "I think that's a fair deal. Hopefully you make the right decision, woman. If you betray what little trust Naruto has in you to make the right choice, however, I'll make sure to make you regret it. Is this understood?"

Tsunade scowled at the woman and, after some time, ended up scoffing. "And who are you to think you could threaten me? You don't look like anything special to me."

Jiraiya and Shana both sweat dropped at this, but before they could say anything, the Darkness Dragoon spoke up again. "I'm someone that has Naruto's best interests in mind. I care about him, and I don't want you hurting him by being a selfish woman who would rather wallow in her own miseries and regret than face the harsh truths of reality. As far as I can see, you're truly pathetic. You act as if your misfortune is the only thing that matters and you choose to drink and gamble your life away, thinking you have it so bad."

Turning red in the face, Tsunade thrusted her finger at Rose's face and slammed her right fist on the table, shattering it in her anger. "That's it! Outside! Now! I'm going to kick your ass you stupid bitch! You don't get to talk down to me as if you know anything about what I've been through!"

Rose shrugged her shoulders and rose from her chair, turning and walking towards the door. "As you wish. But when I win, you're going to apologize to Naruto. Understand?"

Tsunade was practically snarling as she followed after the Dragoon. "I'll accept those terms. But don't go regretting pissing me off after I kick your ass!"

Outside, Naruto, Dart, and Lavitz couldn't help but smirk to themselves as Rose and Tsunade came out and stood across from one another. Obviously, Rose had somehow managed to rile the blonde woman up and now something interesting was about to happen. So, grinning wider, the blonde threw his fist up in the air and decided to cheer Rose on. "Yeah Rose, kick her ass, dattebayo!"

The blonde woman's eyebrow twitched again and she pointed a finger at her godson. "Shut up brat! Do you want me to kick your ass too?!"

Rose scowled at that and drew the Demon's Stiletto, taking her battle stance. "Threatening Naruto now as well? You'll regret doing that Woman. Come at me!"

Tsunade began turning red again, clearly growing more furious by the second. "You must have some kind of death wish to allow me the first move. You'll regret that Rose. And, for the record, my name is Tsunade, not Woman!"

The Dark Dragoon smirked as the Sannin came charging at her. Quickly moving forward, Rose slipped under her punch, spun around behind her and slashed Tsunade in the side in one quick movement. As the woman growled out in pain, Rose jumped backwards, away from Tsunade and took her stance again. "You'd be wise to try a different tactic Woman."

Tsunade spun around and smirked as she slammed her fist into the ground, causing the ground to quake and earth to rise up, shooting towards her opponent. When Rose leaped into the air and propelled herself off one of the pieces of earth, the Slug Sannin's eyes widened, realizing she couldn't possibly move out of the way in time. Throwing her arms up in an attempt to at least shield herself, she was shocked when the attack didn't land. Opening her eyes, the blonde woman saw the young Uzumaki had jumped in the way and caught Rose's blade! "W-Why?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head while Rose slipped her weapon away. "Rose wouldn't have killed you Tsunade. But…" Turning to look into the Sannin's eyes, the young man smirked up at her. "You have to admit, you lost that fight. Don't try to make excuses or deny it either, you weren't expecting Rose to be that fast, were you?"

Tsunade Senju sighed and shook her head. "No, I really wasn't. Her speed is more than you'd see from most ninja. Tell me Naruto, what are your other friends capable of?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at this point and took a step forward. "What about our deal Tsunade?"

The blonde woman groaned and turned her gaze downwards once again. Sighing softly, she reached out and placed her hand gently on Naruto's head. "Naruto, I'm sorry. For more than just what happened in the restaurant too…"

Jiraiya quirked a brow at this and looked into his old teammate's eyes. "Wait, are you sure you want to tell him this?"

Naruto clearly had no idea what the heck they were talking about as he looked between the two Sannin. "Tell me what? What are you two keeping from me?"

Tsunade frowned and knelt down, gently pulling Naruto into a hug. "Jiraiya and I are your godparents Naruto. We were good friends of your parents, but before you ask, it's not my place to tell you who they were. That was supposed to be sensei's job…"

Jiraiya sighed and nodded his head slowly. "You were supposed to be told everything after you made the rank of chunin or after you were ready to know. I think with how you did in the Exams that you would have likely been promoted, but that's not up to me, and without knowing what sensei had planned, I can't tell you anything yet. I'm sorry Naruto-kun."

Naruto's mind was reeling once again as he took in this information. He was okay with not knowing who his parents were just yet, that part isn't what bothered him at this moment in time. Freeing himself from Tsunade's hug, the blonde stepped back and focused a glare on Tsunade first and then on Jiraiya. "You…are my godparents and you let me suffer without even trying to help me?! Do you have any idea what those assholes in the village put me through?! They still treat me like crap, and you two couldn't even think to check on me, help me out, help give me a better life?! No…no…" Shaking his head in disbelief, the young Uzumaki fought back tears and quickly jumped to the rooftops and dashed off, disappearing from sight almost instantly.

Shana tried to reach out to the young blonde after hearing the truth, but he had leaped away before she could reach him. Falling to her knees in disbelief, she looked at Naruto's godparents and shook her head. "After all he's been through lately, why would you do this to him now?! It's…it's wrong!" When Dart came to her and helped Shana to her feet, the Light Dragoon glared at the two Sannin and shook her head before rushing off with Dart and Lavitz to try and find Naruto.

Rose watched as her friends left to search for Naruto before leveling a dangerous glare on the two Sannin. When they turned to her, probably to ask if she was going with them, they ended up freezing in place once they saw her expression. "So…" Hands clenching into fists and unclenching repeatedly, the Dark Dragoon shook her head in disappointment and anger with these people. "Did you two idiots know that Naruto told us about his past? About everything that happened to him?"

When Tsunade went to speak, Rose silenced her with another glare and continued to speak. "Rhetorical question Woman. For a long time, those villagers beat him, and it was apparently much worse on his birthday. He has received no respect in that village until recently, and even then it's only from a select few people. Naruto has fought so hard all his life to just make his way in that village! The Hokage, Sandaime, Jiji, whatever he's called, was one of the few that tried to look out for him, but he could only be there so often. I don't know all of the details about his past, but I know enough after talking with him to know that you two really messed up. I don't care if you were named his godparents or not. As far as I'm concerned, you're both pathetic monsters, and trust me, that's really saying something coming from me." And with that, Rose transformed and flew off in search of Naruto. She knew that if she had stayed there any longer, there was a good chance she would have killed those two.

After she had gone, Shizune piped in, having practically shrunken behind Jiraiya after everything started to get bad. "A-Am I the only one who feels like we just narrowly escaped death?" Seeing the two Sannin and even the pig in her arms shake their heads, the black-haired woman nodded slowly. "Okay, good then. It's not just me…"

A few hours later – Somewhere in Tanzaku Quarters

The Dragoons had been searching for three hours already without finding their friend. At this point, Dart and Lavitz were actually cursing the fact that he was a ninja. After all, with his skills, if Naruto Uzumaki didn't want to be found, they most likely weren't going to find him! Shana didn't care about any of that though. The Light Dragoon simply wanted to find her friend and talk to him, keep him company, and try to cheer him up as well.

The one that did manage to find Naruto in the end was Rose, the Dark Dragoon. The dark blue-eyed woman finally found Naruto sitting in a location near the edge of Tanzaku Quarters with a perfect view of Hellena Prison. As she approached, Rose easily realized that Naruto already realized she was there, even if he made no outward indication of it. When he spoke, a small smile graced the woman's lips. "Heh, I figured you'd be the one to find me Rose. Sit down if you'd like. I don't mind if you join me."

Despite the fact that her young friend still had his back turned to her, Rose nodded her head and walked forward, sitting down beside him on the rooftop with one of her legs raised, her knee near her face as she looked out towards the prison complex. "How are you feeling Naruto?"

The blonde chuckled at this and shook his head. "Straight to the point. I like that about you Rose-chan." Smirking at each other, the ninja nodded his head and glanced back out towards the prison. "If I had to sum it up…I'd say that I'm pissed off, depressed, confused, conflicted…it's too much to deal with right now. I haven't had any time to just process everything, to take it all in and deal with it. More and more just keeps getting piled on top of everything else and I just…I don't know what to do about it. Shana recommended I just take some time to rest and let it all go, but…how can I just do that? I don't think I can…"

Rose simply smiled at him for a while before reaching over and taking one of his hands in hers. When she saw him blush a little at the action, she found herself smiling a little more before she looked out towards the prison again. "You just have to take it one day at a time. Only you can truly decide the best way to work through this. However, you do have friends you can rely on should you ever need us. Feel free to talk with us whenever you need to Naruto. Okay?" Seeing him nod slowly out of the corner of her eye, the raven-haired woman brushed her hair back a bit after the wind began picking up somewhat and blowing a little of it into her face. Squeezing Naruto's hand a little, Rose released a soft sigh and closed her eyes. "You know, I could always just crush the two of them beneath my heel until you feel like they've had enough?"

Naruto chuckled at this and gently brushed his thumb along the back of Rose's hand, blushing a little more as he did this. "I really like talking with you Rose. Did you know that?" Seeing his friend shake her head, Naruto was about to say more when he noticed a small tinge of pink in her cheeks. Shaking his head, the young man put that out of his mind before looking back towards the prison. "You're a good person, and a wonderful friend. Shana's really nice, but I feel like I can relate a little more to you. I'm not really sure how else to explain it than that, but…there it is."

The Dark Dragoon nodded her head slowly and gave his hand another squeeze. "You're really sweet Naruto. I have to admit something." Seeing him look her way, a brow raised in curiosity, Rose grinned. "I wasn't really sure how to talk to you. Shana made it look so easy, and in a way, I suppose I was a little jealous of her. You're a good person, and I was so suspicious of you and worried about your real intentions…by the time I realized you were growing on me, I didn't know how I could talk to you. Odd, isn't it?"

The blonde chuckled and shook his head. "No, that's understandable Rose-chan. You don't need to worry about having been suspicious of me either, nor do you need to apologize for it. I knew you were suspicious of me from the start, and that only made me want to prove myself to you all the more. I'd like to think that after the events in the Shrine of Shirley that things had improved between the two of us, but I knew you were still cautious of me. But then you got to see a portion of the power that lies in me, and you seemed to change a bit after that. I know it's not a good power, but at least you got to see a part of me that I had been hiding…"

Rose shrugged her shoulders and stared into the sky. "I'm glad I gave you a chance Naruto. You are good company, and it really is as Shana said: you're easy to talk to." Smirking, she glanced over at Naruto and started to laugh softly for a time. When she calmed down, the dark blue-eyed woman laid back on the rooftop and pulled him down with her to curl up against her side. "Since you've shown me a secret of yours, would you like to hear one of mine?"

The blonde next to Rose shook his head and simply smiled as he hugged Rose close and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's okay Rose-chan. You don't really need to feel compelled to tell me any secrets of yours in return. Everybody has things they don't want people to know, and I know you aren't any different."

The Dark Dragoon chuckled softly to herself and gently rubbed Naruto's shoulder as she hugged him close. "You're really smart for your age Naruto. You're a very respectable person and I honestly do appreciate your company." Sighing to herself, the Dark Dragoon looked into her companion's eyes. "Don't go telling the others this, but I happen to be one of the original Dragoons from over 11,000 years ago. I lived through the Dragon Campaign, fought the Winglies, watched my friends die…I've lived through so much and I still don't quite know how to deal with it all. I do know this though: it will get better. Give it time and spend time with your friends. Right now, your godparents are definitely coming off as real assholes, but they might have their reasons for what they did. I doubt they're good reasons, but you should talk to them and get to know them a bit better. I don't have to like them, but maybe you will. Just give it time."

The blonde frowned at this, but nodded slowly after a few minutes. Leaning up, the young Uzumaki kissed Rose's cheek and smiled brightly at her. "Thank you Rose-chan. I'll try to get to know them better, and I'll try to forgive them, but…" Sighing heavily, the blonde sat up and looked out towards Hellena Prison once again. "There will be absolutely no forgiveness is my dear 'godmother' decides to help Orochimaru. He's the bastard that killed Jiji and I won't forgive anyone that helps him. I'll become strong enough to kick that snake's ass and stop him so he won't ever hurt anyone again." Noticing Rose about to say something, the blonde shook his head. "Don't worry Rose-chan; I'm not going to get hung up on revenge or anything like that. He's just a really bad guy that has hurt a lot of people and, well…I don't know, I just don't want to see anyone else hurt."

Rose nodded slowly, glad the boy she was next to didn't notice the blush she had after he kissed her cheek. It was an odd experience for her, but she wasn't complaining. Naruto was a good friend and good company, as she had stated, but she just didn't understand that weird tingly feeling she got when spending time with him. Shrugging it off, the Dark Dragoon looked out towards Hellena Prison as well and smiled. "I'm glad to hear it Naruto. Would you like to go for a walk for a while? I doubt you want to return to the inn just yet." Seeing her blonde-haired friend nod, Rose smiled a bit brighter and took his hand, hopping down from the roof so they could walk for a while and talk about anything that came to mind.

One week later

The night that Naruto had learned who his godparents were, he and Rose had actually ended up returning to the inn very late after having a nice, long, relaxing walk. They had talked about a variety of things, including various places Rose had been and what she had seen during her long life. Naruto had also promised not to tell anyone about her secret, and he also assured her that he thought she was pretty cool the way she was.

The next day, when Rose hadn't emerged from her room by noon, Shana actually went in, planning to wake her. What she saw had her giggling. Naruto and Rose were actually cuddling together as they slept in the same bed! When the two of them sensed a group of people in the doorway, Rose spoke up from the bed. "Dart, Shana, Lavitz…are you going to go away and shut up or do I need to injure the three of you?" Needless to say, that shut the three of them up and caused them to leave the cuddle buddies alone.

That was the only night that Rose and Naruto slept together in the same bed. For the majority of the week, Naruto took the time to spend time with his godparents, Shizune, and Tonton. He had yet to truly forgive them, but they had talked about his past and they had apologized profusely for not being there for him through all of what he had been through. Jiraiya tried to explain his absence by claiming he had to monitor his spy network, but Naruto and Tsunade both refuted that fiercely, telling the man he was just making excuses. There were ways to manage a spy network while remaining stationary in a village to raise his godson, so they wouldn't accept his crap excuses.

Tsunade explained that what Rose had said was right. The medic truly had no excuses to give. Instead, she vowed that she would try to be there for her godson from that point forward. Despite not having forgiven her yet, Naruto did enjoy spending time with Tsunade and had even confided in her his dream to become Hokage someday.

By far, the one that Naruto got along with best out of the three (or rather four, if Tonton was included) was Shizune. The young blonde had learned from her about her uncle Dan, and Tsunade's brother Nawaki. Despite understanding the pain Tsunade had felt from what she had been through in losing the two of them, Naruto had said something quite similar to what Rose had said before. Shizune found herself agreeing, but didn't dare say anything about it to her master's face. Other than that chat, Naruto and Shizune had developed something akin to a sibling-like relationship with one another and were even referring to each other as otouto (younger brother) and onee-chan on occasion.

Finally though, the day had come for Tsunade to make a decision. Sadly, as Naruto and the Dragoons waited for news from Jiraiya, Shizune ended up bursting into the inn and into the room where they were waiting. What they heard from the Senju's apprentice caused them all to groan. When Jiraiya stumbled through the open window, clearly having been drugged, Naruto couldn't help but facepalm. "Well this is just great. Going to confront Orochimaru by herself is such a stupid, selfish thing to do. We need to go help her before she gets herself killed."

Agreeing with him, the group rushed off with Shizune trailing behind with Jiraiya, attempting to help him overcome the drug's effects as they tried to keep up with the others. It didn't take long for the group to reach the outskirts of Tanzaku Quarters where Tsunade and Orochimaru were. What Naruto saw had him scoffing as he landed next to the paralyzed Tsunade Senju. "Kabuto. I knew there was something off about you, but this? I guess I shouldn't even be surprised, but damn if I didn't think you would turn out to be Orochimaru's bitch. I'd ask how it feels, but considering the kind of person that snake bastard is, I'm going to have to pass on getting the answer to that question."

Kabuto took a step forward and glared daggers at the Uzumaki brat. "You don't know a damn thing Naruto. How dare you talk about Orochimaru-sama in such a way?!"

Orochimaru shook his head and sighed. "Do not worry about it Kabuto." Taking a step forward, the Snake Sannin smiled at Naruto. "It is good to see you again Naruto-kun. Do tell me, how is my dear Sasuke-kun doing?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at this and shook his head. "Yeah, the teme's comatose after his encounter with Itachi. Sooo, I'll just say not well and leave it at that Snake-Freak. Now, what the hell did you bastards do to Tsunade?!"

Kabuto smirked at this point and pushed up his glasses with his right middle finger. "It's quite simple Naruto-kun. Tsunade Senju happens to be hemophobic. But since I highly doubt someone of your low intelligence would understand such a term, let me put it in a way you can understand…"

When the blonde threw a kunai at the enemy medic nin's kneecap, Kabuto was forced to leap backwards to avoid it. Upon noticing the explosive tag strapped to it however, he cursed under his breath and threw up his arms to shield himself to the best of his ability. When the explosive went off, Kabuto Yakushi was sent flying backwards where he then slammed into a boulder rather hard. As he pushed himself off of the ground and began to heal his injuries, the silver-haired medic heard Naruto speak. "Hemophobia, in other words it's the fear of blood. It also goes by a few other names, but is that really what matters here Snake's Bitch? What matters is you hurt somebody I care about and I won't forgive you for it." Glancing towards Orochimaru at this point, the blonde pointed at him and narrowed his eyes further. "After I kill your little bitch Orochimaru, I'll be coming for you. You killed Jiji and I can't forgive that!"

Orochimaru quirked a brow at this and began to laugh loudly at Naruto's bravado. "Oh really? Pray tell Naruto-kun, what makes you so sure you could even kill Kabuto-kun? I doubt your dear Kakashi-sensei could pull it off, and you're just a simple, pathetic genin whose combat skills don't even compare to that of Sasuke-kun's." Taking a step back, the Snake Sannin nodded his head towards his right-hand man. "If you think you can pull it off, however, you are more than welcome to try. However, should your little friends try to interfere, I cannot guarantee their safety. You understand, don't you little Naruto-kun?"

The young Uzumaki found himself smirking at this as he looked into Kabuto's eyes. "I'm not some weakling that can't do anything you snake bastard. You'll regret giving me this chance." Quickly pulling out a couple of kunai, Naruto coated one in fire chakra and the other in wind chakra and took a battle stance. Staring down the medic nin, the blonde Jinchuriki watched him closely, waiting for any little tick that would indicate what Kabuto was going to try.

Kabuto eyed Naruto Uzumaki carefully and shook his head, a dangerous glint shining in his eyes as he activated his Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel) technique and noticed the curious look Naruto was giving him. "This won't even be a challenge for me Naruto-kun. Now, shall we begin?" Quickly dashing forward, aiming to render his opponent's arms immobile using his technique, Kabuto was quickly caught by surprise as Naruto slipped under his first attack and inflicted a deep gash into the medic's left side, the fire kunai cauterizing his wound as it was inflicted. Before Kabuto could swing his other hand in an attempt to sever at least something in Naruto's right arm to keep him from continuing with his attack, the blonde spun around and slashed deeper with his wind kunai.

As Kabuto was forced to leap back, screaming out in pain at the wound inflicted to his side, Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock. This pathetic wannabe ninja had actually hurt Kabuto! Glancing to his medic, the Snake Sannin watched as his wound began to heal slower than it usually would. "What the hell is wrong with you Kabuto?! Finish that little brat already!"

The silver-haired Oto ninja winced in pain and shook his head. "He used a clever strategy with that attack Orochimaru-sama. But more than that, he managed to nearly destroy some of my organs with that attack. It'll be fine, just give me a little longer to finish this punk off."

As his opponent healed his wound, the blonde quirked a brow and began to think of what he should do to negate his opponent's healing abilities. I suppose I could tap into the Kyuubi's chakra if need be, but I don't want to resort to that unless it's absolutely necessary. Another strategy would be to force him to use up all of his chakra. He wouldn't be able to heal himself if he were to run out of chakra…right? Shrugging, the blonde slipped away his kunai and quickly flew through a series of hand seals before bringing his hands up to his lips. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

This attack wasn't aimed at Kabuto. No, it was aimed at his dear master, Orochimaru. While Orochimaru could have easily dodged it, his precious medic leaped into the way and took the attack for him. Chuckling at this, the Konoha genin nodded his head. "I figured you might do that if I did something like that. That was incredibly stupid of you Kabuto. But, now I have some ideas to try. Come Boy, it's time that we really got started!"

A/N: Okay, this one took a little while to finish. Reason? Been feeling like crap so I ended up falling asleep CONSTANTLY while trying to write this chapter. lol. Damn glad I finished it!

Not sure whether this is fortunate or unfortunate, but, as with the previous chapter, I didn't reach the point where I had originally planned to cut the chapter off at. This chapter was getting pretty long as well, so I picked the spot that I did and cut the chapter off there. I think this chapter turned out pretty well as is, sooo...no complaints here. *nods*

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to more. Up next is chapter 3 of Naruto - Life of a Dragoon Ninja, so hope you're looking forward to that!

Good day to all of ya, take care, and so on and so on! lol.