Naruto: Tornado of Souls V2

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay, this interlude chapter officially starts V2. It has been a long, difficult road to get here. Aside of updating grammar, punctuation and such; three sub plotlines were dropped from the original:

-First was the original Snow Country Arc which resulted in an Ino/Weiss merger. That's totally gone. It was a mess to write and even got meconfused.

-Second was a possible "Evil" Shino plot. It was never popular, so I cut it out in the first revision.

-Third was a one chapter arc that had a Summer/Haku Merger. I dropped that because Summer really wasn't to my liking in the part.

The main characters were also aged to 16-17 years old because of the more adult relationships they are in.

There is one last major change in that the story won't stick exactly with RWBY Canon any longer. RWBY has changed enough that I really can't follow it exactly in the Naruto universe. Trying to keep both stories close to canon is what got me bogged down to begin with and the story got totally derailed as a result.

So, without further ado; here is Chapter 34. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Last time:

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha

Team 7 was gathered in Pyrrha's room at Konoha Hospital to discuss their situation. Kakashi was in his usual combat uniform but had his injured right hand wrapped and his arm in a sling. He was talking with his usual double eye smile as he held his Icha-Icha Paradise in his left hand. "In essence Hokage-sama has suspended Team 7 from active duty so we can all fully recover. Pyrrha-chan and I are fully suspended, Blake-chan is on light duty (she had her own copy of Icha-Icha in hand) and Naruto-kun is in reserve given he's already recovered due to his healing factor."

"What are we all going to do in the meantime Kakashi-sensei?" asked Pyrrha. "They say I'll be able to leave the hospital soon but I'm covered in bandages."

Kakashi smiled under his mask and said, "The order of the day is to heal up. Personally, I'm looking forward to some quality reading time."

Blake smiled softly and said, "I'm all for that. Still, I have to wonder how the enemy knew about Ozpin though. That's classified information. I wonder if we shouldn't be investigating that."

Naruto nodded. "There must be a leak here in Konoha. Maybe I-"

The silver haired sensei shook his head. "Leave that to Hokage-sama. He already informed me that he's looking into it."

…

Chapter 34

Konoha, Hokage Tower

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen was looking over his anti-Grimm genin roster:

-Team 7/Team Kakashi: Hatake Kakashi, Belladonna Blake, Nikos Pyrrha, Uzumaki Naruto (Inactive)

-Team 8/Team Kuenai: Yuuhi Kurenai, Aburame Shino, Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba (Active)

-Team 15/Team Anko: Mitarashi Anko, Amitola Ilia, Malichite Melanie, Malichite Miltia (Training)

There were also two Teams he was considering moving over into the anti-Grimm units:

-Team 9/Team Gai: Maito Gai, Hyūga Neji, Lee Rock, Tenten (Active)

-Team 10/Team Asuma: Sarutobi Asuma, Akimichi Chioji, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino (Active)

Lastly there were two additional members of the anti-Grimm units that weren't currently assigned:

-Branwen Qrow, Branwen Raven (Active)

Out of those groups, Team 7 (except for Naruto) was recovering from injuries and Aburame Shino had just returned to active duty.

'That leaves me with Branwen Qrow, Branwen Raven and Uzumaki Naruto as a temporary team.' thought Hiruzen. 'They have the skill and the firepower, but do they have the discipline? I guess I'll see soon enough.'

…

Branwen Raven and Qrow's Apartment

"Now that Shino is back on Team 8, I'm kind of floating to wherever I'm needed." said Raven. I'm happy for Shino but I wish I had my own team."

"Don't sweat it Raven." said Qrow. "Oz told me his Team is down so maybe you can link up with them for a bit."

"Naruto-kun is the only one on Team 7 that is active." replied Raven. "He and I aren't enough to form a cell for a mission…as much as I'd like it otherwise…"

"You've got me!" chimed in Qrow.

"NO!" she said with a blush. "You'd just embarrass me in front of Naruto-kun, Qrow."

Qrow sweat dropped. "Hello? I'm a Special Jonin. I can head up a mission."

"Oh you're 'Special' alright." she growled. "A special moron."

The twins glared at each other for a moment before she said, "I'm heading over to see Ino-chan."

He waved her off. "Fine, I'm going to the mission hall to see if there is a job to do."

…

Mission Hall

Qrow came into the Mission Hall to see if there were any Grimm hunting jobs he could do solo and was talking to Umino Iruka about it. The two met when Qrow first arrived in the village and had become friends. Iruka said, "Grimm hunting missions are being handled by the Hokage personally. You're still new enough on the roster that I can't give you any solo missions Qrow. I know you are capable but you'll either need to join up with a team or talk to the Hokage."

"Which route would you take Iruka?" asked Qrow.

"I'd talk to the Hokage first to be honest. He'll probably assign you to a team." said the Academy teacher. "You'll have a lot better chance at getting a good job that way."

"Sounds like a plan." replied the scythe wielder. "Thanks Iruka."

…

Hokage's Office

Hiruzen was having a less than capital day with all the requests coming in. The last one was from (of all people) Senju Tsunade. "You need to pay off the last of your gambling debts Tsunade? Really?" asked the aged Hokage.

Tsunade looked ticked and said, "I just need a couple of weeks off to go to Tanzuku Gai and I'll be debt free. I owe the Gyangu brothers a fortune and I can't afford to put it off any longer. Shizune, Tonton and I-"

"There is no way I'm letting you run off with Shizune again Tsunade." replied Hiruzen. "Shizune-chan and your pet pig stay here… Just in case you decide to go on a spree again."

She said, "But Surutobi-sensei-"

"Don't sensei me." replied the Hokage in a scolding tone. "I'm holding those two as hostages to make sure you come back. As a matter of fact, I'm sending a team with you to make sure you act responsibly."

"What?" screeched Tsunade. "You've got to be kidding me!"

…

It was the sight of a grouchy Tsunade storming out of the Hokage's Office that Qrow saw when he arrived and was talking to the Hokage's secretary, Maki. Maki sweat dropped and said, "I guess that Hokage-sama can see you now Qrow-san. Let me buzz him."

Hitting the buzzer on her desk, Maki said, "Ummm, Hokage-sama?"

"Oh sure! Send the next loon in Maki! I don't need time to do paperwork!" squawked the Hokage over the buzzer.

Now it was Qrow's turn to sweat drop. "Maybe I should come back tomorrow…"

"Do you want to wait in line again?" asked Maki with a weak smile.

Qrow sighed. "Since you put it that way I'll head on in." The lanky scythe wielder stepped quietly into the Hokage's Office and said, "Hokage-sama, sorry to interrupt your day but-"

The stressed out Hokage didn't look up from his paperwork and said, "Have a seat Qrow-san. I'm assigning you a mission but I want to ask you a couple of questions first."

The lanky man sat down and waited patiently for the Hokage to finish the document he was working on.

Finally, Hiruzen finished and looked up at Qrow. "What do you think about drinking and gambling Qrow?" asked the Hokage.

Qrow said, "I think they're great! But I don't gamble because I never win."

Hiruzen slumped in his chair. "Wrong answer Qrow-san… Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. My former student Tsunade has to pay off some gambling debts to a group of Yakuza at Tanzaku Gai. I'm assigning you and a team to escort her there and back and to keep her out of trouble. Tsunade is rather notorious for drinking and gambling and I don't want her falling off the proverbial wagon again."

"Sounds great! …I mean, sounds serious." said Qrow. "How did she end up owing money to Yakuza gangsters anyway?"

The Hokage sighed. "She borrowed money from them to cover her gambling needs and lost it all. Then she skipped town. Now she's saved up enough to pay them back, but I could see her going straight to a casino with that money instead. Catch my drift Qrow-san...?"

Qrow cringed. "So who else is on my team?"

Hiruzen explained, "I'm sending your sister Branwen Raven and Uzumaki Naruto along with you. I'm praying that the three of you can keep Tsunade out of trouble. I'm marking this as B-rank because you have to babysit a sanin."

"I understand Hokage-sama." said the Huntsman. "I'll round up my Team and let them know."

…

Qrow and Raven's Apartment

"You got us a job?" asked Raven. "Are we going Grimm Hunting?"

"It's nothing like that. The Hokage kind of threw this job in my face." explained Qrow. "It's an escort mission."

Raven looked bored. "An escort mission? Include me out."

"Sorry but no can do sis. The Hokage ordered me to take you and Uzumaki Naruto with me as Team Qrow." He handed her the orders. "See for yourself."

Raven's eyebrows raised. "We're escorting Tsunade of the sanin? Why on earth would she need an escort? She's stronger than all of us put together."

"Our job is to keep her out of trouble more than protect her." he explained.

Her red eyes were filled with mirth. "You're telling me that you, me and Naruto-kun are supposed to act like responsible adults? Bwahahahaha! That's a riot!"

Qrow said, "It's the Hokage's idea, not mine."

Getting her hysterics under control, Raven said, "Alright, I'll find Naruto-kun and you arrange things with Tsunade. How does that sound?"

"Sounds fair enough." said Qrow. "I'll head over to the hospital and see if Tsunade is there."

"I'll head to Naruto-kun's apartment then." agreed Raven.

…

Naruto's Apartment

Raven showed up at Naruto's apartment and found that the blonde ninja was taking a shower. One of his clones answered the door and said, "Hello, Raven-san, I wasn't expecting company. Boss just got out of the shower. You can come in if you are willing to wait."

Raven found herself blushing at the idea of Naruto in the shower but said, "I'll come in and wait for him." She soon found herself sitting on Naruto's couch with some bottled water. 'Looks like Naruto-kun has rearranged since I was here last.' She noticed a shogi board on the table and thought to herself, 'I never knew Naruto-kun played strategy games…'

Naruto soon came out of the back in shorts and a t-shirt and said, "Hi Raven-san. I'll be right with you." He stepped into his kitchen and poured himself a glass of water before coming out to the front room. "What brings you by Raven-san? I just got done training for the day."

'I wish he'd call me Raven-chan.' she thought forlornly. 'The way he always called Sakura that…' Seeing Naruto sit down across from her on the couch she blushed slightly again and asked, "Would you be up for an escort mission with me Naruto-kun? I know that Team 7 is recovering but you're still on active duty aren't you?"

Naruto nodded, "Yes, I heal faster than most people. What's the job?"

Raven smiled and said, "All we have to do is escort Senju Tsunade-sama to the casino town of Tanzaku Gai and back. It's B-ranked. What do you say?"

Naruto pondered a moment and said, "We'll probably need a third teammate. Two genin aren't enough to make a team."

She deflated. "My brother Qrow is coming along too. He's a cough*special*cough jonin."

The blonde nodded and said, "Okay, count me in. We'll need to clear it with Hokage Jiji though."

"It's already cleared!" said Raven excitedly. "I knew I could count on you Naruto-kun!"

…

Konoha Gates

The next morning a grouchy Tsunade, a slightly hungover Qrow, a bright-eyed Raven and sleepy Naruto gathered at the Konoha main gates to set out for Tanzaku Gai. "You call yourself a jonin? You are a drunk!" said Tsunade to Qrow.

Qrow shrugged. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? You are notorious for drinking too much. I just have to shake off the morning beer fog and I'll be fine."

'They are both hung over…' thought the two genin. 'This is going to be a long trip…'

The odd quartet set off toward Tanzaku Gai with Qrow praying things wouldn't get worse and that he had a larger flask.

…

Hokage's Office

Shizune was talking with the Third Hokage about the situation with her Master Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, you just sent a genin team on a mission that may involve bounty hunters and who knows what else. Please reconsider letting me go to help Tsunade-sama."

Hiruzen replied, "Shizune, you know as well as I do that Tsunade would take you and rabbit."

The medic nin sighed, "I know but-"

The Third Hokage fixed her with a glare. "With the exception of Uzumaki Naruto, everyone on that Team needs to have their loyalty put to the test. I'd really rather Naruto not be involved but he's going to be the glue that keeps all the others in place. Trust me Shizune, this is as much for Tsunade's sake as everyone else's. If it was as simple as paying a debt then we could have made a number of arrangements where Tsunade would not have left the village."

"I understand Hokage-sama." said Shizune. "I just wish there was another way. The war with Oto really shook Lady Tsunade to the core you know."

Hiruzen said in a Fatherly tone, "I know that Shizune-chan but I need Tsunade to cement her loyalties for good. She has to make a choice and it has to be on her own."

"What if she runs again?" asked Shizune.

"Then I will have lost two of my precious students." said the aged Hokage.

…

Road to Tanzaku Gai

Naruto here three shuriken and whispered, "Shuriken shadow clone no jutsu!" and followed it with, "Gale palm!" The three shuriken multiplied into a virtual wall of metal before being accelerated to unbelievable speeds. Nearly half of their would-be attackers were reduced to bloody shambles as Qrow and Raven tore into the other half with their scythe and sword respectively.

Tsunade sat back and watched the horrific carnage end as quickly as it began. Sixteen bounty hunters were dead and they hadn't even come close to the sanin. She said coldly, "Are you brats sure you haven't had enough? That's the third group of bounty hunters today and we aren't halfway there yet."

Qrow was stone cold sober by now. He looked at Raven and Naruto to make sure they were okay before he said, "Okay Tsunade-sama, this job has been a cock up from the start. What's the real reason we're here?"

The straw blonde woman said, "Simple, the Hokage wants to make sure I don't leave Konoha for good."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "Why would you leave? Isn't Konoha your home?"

Tsunade smiled meanly. "You tell me little girl. As the chief medic I'm one of the few that knows who you were Haruno Sakura."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He whispered, "What?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there!" said Qrow. "That's classified information you're spouting off Tsunade-sama!"

Naruto felt like he was going to have a meltdown and saw tears running down Raven's face. She said, "Give me a chance to explain everything Naruto-kun!"

The blonde jinchuruki had a moment of clarity and said, "You old battleaxe; you are trying to divide us so we can't complete our mission!"

Raven blinked and wiped the tears from her face. "You are trying to run away like a coward!" 'Just like I did from Yang!' "How…how dare you!"

Qrow put the pieces together rapidly himself. "It's bad enough that you want to abandon you post but-"

"SHUT UP!" roared Tsunade. "You three don't know what it's like to lose everything dear to you!"

"Maybe we do, maybe we don't." said Naruto. "We're going to haul your ass back to Konoha kicking and screaming if that's what it takes. Your debts can be damned!"

"Wanna bet?" asked Tsunade as she cracked her knuckles.

The orange loving ninja said, "Sure I'll bet. I'll wager this whole mission. If I lose we let you go. But if I win then you come back to Konoha with us."

Tsunade's mouth went dry. 'This is too good to pass up but…what if I lose?' "Say I take your bet…What game do we bet on?"

"Cards, coins, dice…It doesn't matter." said Naruto. "I will win."

"There's a small village near here called Nessuisen with a hot springs." said Tsunade. "We'll gamble there."

Naruto said, "Fine by me."

Changing course, Tsunade led the three younger nin towards the Village of Nessuisen.

Qrow whispered, "Are you sure about this Naruto? What if you lose?"

"It's this or we have to fight her head on." said Naruto. "She supposed to be Kage level so we won't win that way."

"Naruto-kun, I believe in you." said Raven. "After this is over, I'll tell you everything; I promise." 'I'll never run away again.'

The orange loving blonde said, "I'll listen Raven-san." 'What on earth happened to Sakura?'

The quartet made it to Nessuisen that evening and decided on poker as the game of choice. Tsunade was betting everything on one hand. They had Raven dealing. Naruto said, "I'll take two."

Tsunade said, I'll take three." She had a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights and internally the sanin lit up. She looked over at Naruto and thought, 'Amatuer. I've got two good pairs. Beat that!' She said, "I'll stand kid, show me what you've got."

Naruto laid his cards down. He had four queens much to Tsunade's horror.

Tsunade's head lowered and she said, "I lost…"

The orange loving ninja said, "I won fair and square Tsunade. There's no more running away now. Let's go home."

The crestfallen sanin replied. "I made a bet. I'll honor it."

…

Tanzaku Gai

Having failed utterly to recoup their losses via bounty hunters, the desperate Gyangu brothers decided to send bill collectors instead and hope for the best. Genkin and Okane were professional collectors that were told to get the money from Senju Tsunade or to not come back…

…

Nessuisen

Tsunade was sitting in the women's half of the hot springs with Raven. They were both slightly buzzed from the sake and were talking. "For what it's worth I'm sorry I exposed your identity, Raven. I can tell you like that boy."

Raven was down and said, "I can't run away from Naruto the way I ran from my first man. I even left my child behind so I could… I was a coward. I thought I was being strong but in reality, I was being weak. Now I'm in another place and can never go back."

The straw blonde was shocked. "You left behind a child…?"

He red eyed young woman teared up. "I had a beautiful little girl named Yang. I left her with her father to raise and never looked back… I'll regret it as long as I live." She looked at Tsunade. "You aren't the only one who lost everything. When I became who I am now I wanted to start over but it still seems like the ghosts of the past won't let me go… but you're no better than I am…"

Tsunade was taken aback. "Maybe it's time we both start over Raven. Sarutobi-sensei wants me to become Hokage in his place. I couldn't face it and I ran like a coward. I guess it's time to stop running and face up to the responsibilities."

"You plan to become Hokage?" asked Raven incredulously.

The amber eyed woman nodded. "My grandfather was the First Hokage and my Granduncle was the Second. They would be ashamed of the way I've acted all these years. It's time I faced the music."

"I guess it's time that I do the same." said Raven. "No more running away."

…

Over on the men's side of the hot springs Naruto was soaking along with Qrow. "I started drinking because of my bad luck." said Qrow. "Now that my bad luck is gone, I'm still drinking. What's up with that? Am I just stupid or what?"

Naruto looked at the slightly older man and said, "Maybe you've got an addictive personality. You should probably stop before your liver gives out though."

"Part of the problem is I like to drink." said Qrow. "It would be easy to stop if I thought it tasted bad."

Naruto shrugged. "I can't get drunk thanks to my metabolism. It's virtually impossible."

"That's terrible!" bellowed Qrow. "Why, it's a fate worse than death!"

Naruto just sighed…

…

The next morning Naruto woke up early and found there were two problems. The first problem was Qrow, Raven and Tsunade were all totally wiped out from drinking too much and the second was a pair of bill collectors named Genkin and Okane were waiting for Tsunade outside with a bill for a massive sum on behalf of the Gyangu Brothers.

Being the only one conscious, Naruto unsealed the money he was hauling in a scroll and said, "How much does she owe you?"

"50,000 Ryo." said Genkin.

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard that amount but after looking over the IOU with Tsunade's stamp on it, Naruto said, "Let's see how much I have here…"

It took all three of them two hours' worth of counting small bills before the debt was fully paid and Naruto had signed off on the receipt. The two billing collectors bowed and said, "Thank you Uzumaki-san; you don't know how thankful we are."

"As long as everything is square with Tsunade-sama and the Gyangu brothers it's all good." said Naruto as he waved goodbye to the pair of collectors.

'Drinking, gambling and women are the three major vices of a shinobi is what Jiraiya told me.' thought Naruto. 'I'll be damned before I rack up those kind of debts…'

It was afternoon when the other three came out of their alcohol induced comas and clambered out of bed to have a very late lunch. "…So I used the money to pay off the Gyangu Brothers bill collectors." said Naruto. "They said the price on your head has been recinded as well Tsunade-sama. Hopefully our trip back to Konoha will be a little more peaceful as a result."

Tsunade smiled softly and said, "You're growing into a fine man Uzumaki Naruto. Thank you." Naruto blushed slightly in embarrassment of the praise and Tsunade laughed. "Well, I guess we should head back to Konoha. Sarutobi sensei is waiting no doubt."

The group of four made it back to Konoha by evening without any further incident and unexpectedly found Shizune waiting at the gates for them. She embraced Tsunade much to the older woman's surprise and said, "Welcome home Tsunade-sama. You've been missed."

The straw blonde hugged Shizune back and said, "I'm sorry I worried you Shizune-chan. It was a bit of a rough trip. We need to report in to Sarutobi-sensei and tell him the news."

The dark-haired medic cocked her head to the side. "What news is that Tsunade-sama?"

"I've decided to take up the mantle of the Fifth Hokage." said Tsunade.

Shizune beamed at her mentor. "I'm sure your ancestors will approve from the pure land."

…

To say the Third Hokage was immensely pleased would be a huge understatement. "Finally, I can retire once again and spend some quality time with my family." he thought aloud.

The next week was a momentous one as Senju Tsunade was proclaimed the Fifth Hokage and Sarutobi Hiruzen was once again able to retire. There were lots of speeches made and with the Oto War behind them the people of Konoha were looking forward to an era of peace. Naruto was down in the square with the rest of the crowd watching the events along with his Team and the Branwen twins.

It had been very difficult for Naruto to lay Sakura's ghost to rest but he concluded that Raven would be a good friend to have and that the original Haruno Sakura he knew had gone on to the pure land. Ino had come to a similar conclusion and Raven found that she was welcome among Sakura's friends even with the truth known among them.

…

POSTSCRIPT:

This interlude chapter was transitional as I wanted to do my own version of the Search for Tsunade Arc and have her become the Fifth Hokage at last. I had several ideas that I went through and rejected before committing it to paper. The nice thing here is most of the loose ends are tied up so we can move on to the Shippuden arcs. That being said there will not be a two-year time skip as the genins are already older. I will have a short time skip in the next chapter to put them all at chunin rank though as it is appropriate for their age group. See you next time. Blue out. 4/9/22