Chapter 51

Tsunade and Shizune faced the two men in an alley. The air was tense, and everyone were prepared for anything.

"It's been a while Tsunade." Orochimaru greeted.

"Not long enough." Tsunade stated. "So, why seek me out? And what happened to your arms?"

"A little mishap from my visit home. It is why I seek you out. I need your medical expertise. I would very much like it if you healed them." This made Tsunade scoff.

"Any why would I do that? Even if I still practice, I wouldn't heal your arms. It's your own fault for thinking that the village was so weak." Tsunade explained.

"I will admit that I underestimated the strength of the village but that was only a minor setback." Orochimaru stated.

"Minor, huh?" Tsunade asked with amusement. "You and Rasa got your asses handed to you. It's all over the Elemental Nations. Not only that, but you also betrayed and killed Rasa before he could help. He may have not been the strongest Kage, but he could have tipped the scales. Then there's your arms. The old monkey certainly hurt you." Orochimaru just smirked at the mockery.

"It is true what you say. Perhaps I did overestimate my old home. However, the joy I felt after watching the life fade from sensei's eyes, I guess that makes my failure a success." He said with a smirk.

"Is that so?" Tsunade asked, flashing a smile. That suddenly changed when she smashed a wall with one punch. The glare she gave Orochimaru promised great pain and death.

"Come now Tsunade, there is no need for this. You stopped caring for the village a long time ago. Besides, if you heal me the reward will be worth your time." He explained.

"I am giving you until the count of five." She threatens. Orochimaru did not move nor did Kabuto. "Five… four… three…"

"Dan and Nawaki, I can bring them back." Orochimaru said. Tsunade looked at Orochimaru like he was crazy and almost launched herself at him. "I have mastered that jutsu your granduncle created. I can bring them back. I can bring back your happiness." Tsunade was struggling to move forward. Why was she hesitating to kill him? She knew who this man was, so why? It was because she saw the look in his eyes. He wasn't lying. Shizune saw that she was hesitating and was not pleased.

"Lady Tsunade, what are you doing?!" Shizune asked urgently. Orochimaru just smirked.

"I'll give you a week Tsunade. Think about my offer." With that, the two men vanished. Tsunade just stood there, ignoring the voice of Shizune. She could only think about Orochimaru words. Could she really be happy again? Could she really sell out her village to be with her loved ones again?

XXX

Tsunade took another sip of sake. Shizune just sat in silence as she hugged the pig tighter. She was just worried about her mistress. She hoped that she wasn't really thinking about this.

"Well, well, if it isn't my 'two' favorite friends." A voice said. The two women looked up to see Jiraiya. The white-haired man was grinning like an idiot, making Tsunade look at him with a glare.

"Your eyes better not be looking where they shouldn't be." Tsunade warned. Jiraiya was grinning only to be kicked in the shin hard by Naruto.

"For real Pervy Sage? For once, stop thinking with your lower brain. I don't need another incident." Naruto berated. Jiraiya glared at him and vice versa. He turned his attention back toward Tsunade. The two took seats across from them.

"It seems that I'm getting visits from a lot of familiar faces." Tsunade muttered.

"Oh? Someone I know?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade didn't say anything but brought out a deck of cards. She shuffled them before dealing them. Jiraiya too the cards and held them up.

"So why are you really here for Jiraiya?" she asked.

"Straight to the point, huh? Alright then, you probably know about Sarutobi-sensei? It is the decision of the council that you take up his mantle." He explained. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that.

"You can't be serious?"

"You're the only one capable enough."

"Now I know you're joking. Why would I want such a position? Only a fool would become Hokage." Tsunade said with amusement. Naruto's eyes narrowed while Jiraiya expression got serious.

"That's kind of cold Tsunade." Jiraiya said.

"I'm not saying anything untrue. All you must do is look at every Hokage. They died young doing something foolish. They gave their lives for a villager that would forget them in an instant. Hiruzen should have retired a long time ago. Her didn't have the power or skill to finish Orochimaru. He died when he could have lived. You've wasted your time Jiraiya. I will not commit suicide by taking that mantle." A loud slam turned everyone's attention toward Naruto. The blue-eyed blond was glaring daggers at Tsunade. The woman didn't look impressed or intimidated by the glare. Sher smirked at him.

"You angry brat?" she mocked. Naruto wanted to lash out at this woman but his training with Ibiki just kicked in. Naruto would stare at her for as few moments before calming himself. He was still angry at her, but he decided to just leave.

"I'm going to train Pervy Sage." Naruto said. Jiraiya nodded and Naruto got up to leave. However, the blond could not just leave after Tsunade insulted his surrogate grandfather and the position he wished to claim. He turned around and looked at her. "You know what Granny; you dishonor your loved ones."

"Excuse me?" Tsunade asked, now at full attention after his granny comment.

"I can see that you never got over their deaths. You might be able to hide your age, but you can't hide that pain from your eyes. I'm guessing that they wanted to be Hokage too, but they died before they realized their dreams. To ease your pain, you badmouth the Hokage position and you blame the village but to do that is just pathetic. All you're doing is spitting on their dreams and dishonoring their names. You should be ashamed of yourself." With that said, Naruto turned on his heels and walked out of the restaurant.

Tsunade was stunned. She was wasn't the only one as Shizune, Tonton and Jiraiya. No words could be said now. Never had anyone spoken to her like that. What really stunned her were the words. Those words cut her deeply, deeper than any blade. Jiraiya was the first to come out of his stunned state and had a grin on his face.

"Well, that was impressive." Jiraiya joked. That woke Tsunade up and she was not happy.

"That punk, who the hell does he think he is speaking to me like that? Doesn't he know who I am?" Tsunade demanded.

"Oh, he knows who you are. The whole generation knows. I guess he's just as disappointed as I am in the real you." Tsunade shot him a glare but Jiraiya did not look all that afraid of it. Tsunade stood quickly and stormed out. Shizune quickly followed. Jiraiya sighed as this just got difficult.

XXX

"Yahoo!" Kiba cheered and pumped his arms. "My arms are finally free!" Behind him, Kurenai just smiled at her charge. She agreed to take Kiba for his check up as his mother was busy and sister was out of the village.

"Yes Kiba, they are free. However, don't expect any hard training. You'll be doing light training until I deem you ready." Kurenai stated.

"Aww, but I'm at one hundred percent. I need to find out if I've missed a step." He argued.

"I know about the training you learned from Guy. You can continue that exercise, but you will limit your miles. I won't have you running around the village like my fellow jonin and his mini-me." She said firmly. Kiba pouted at that. It earned an elderly chuckle and a young giggle. The two turned to the amusement to see Tamaki and her grandmother, Granny Cat.

"Quite a childish pout on such a strong shinobi. Your sensei is right about taking it easy." The elder said.

"Thank you and it is pleasure to see you again." Kurenai greeted. "What brings you to the Leaf?"

"Well, we are in the process of finalizing an outpost on our lands. I figure that I would come here in person to see it to the end." She explained. She then looked at Kiba. I have heard whispers about your match. Quite an accomplishment, almost breaking the unbreakable."

"Yeah, but my success has come with some consequences." Kiba said somberly. Kurenai could only sigh in agreement. From what Hinata told her, things were quite stressful whenever she crossed Neji's path. The boy would growl at her. It got to the point that her caretaker, Ko, would accompany her almost everywhere. She had spoken to Guy about his charge and he promised to deal with it.

"But that's why I want to get back to my training. I think I've taken the Lightning Style: Depth Charge as far as I can. I think I can really make my Lightning Fang better." Kiba explained. Granny Cat nodded and understood what he was taking about. She looked at Kurenai.

"I think that when you deem him ready, you teach him his element affinity." Granny Cat said.

"It was something I was considering when I believe he was ready, but he is still a bit immature to try." Kurenai joked. Kiba pouted again, making Tamaki giggle.

"Then perhaps you can work on your taijutsu and ninjutsu. No offense to your clan but fighting using just your instincts can lead to an unbelievably bad situation." The elder said.

"Huh, that sounds fun. Maybe we can ask Guy-sensei." Kiba said.

"Absolutely not. For the time being, you will not be asking Guy for any advice without my supervision." Kurenai stated seriously.

"Where is all this distrust coming from? What have I or Guy-sensei done to earn it?" Kiba asked with annoyance.

"Well, I remember someone being told not to push himself only to find said someone doing squats on the side of the Hokage monument using only their chakra with two green beasts. Said beasts faced the wraith of an angry sensei and said someone could not sit due to the punishment delivered by their angry mother." She explained with a serious look.

"Okay, okay, I was just asking." Kiba said. Kurenai just sighed while the two females were amused.

XXX

Neji slammed his palm into the post, nearly splitting it. He calmed himself down before he lost any more control of his anger. Even after two weeks, he could still feel the wounds on his back. They didn't hurt as much anymore but it was a reminder of his failure. Even thinking about, he would feel the three marks pulse. Then there was the punishment. It was not unexpected, but it did not make him any less angry that mongrel had embarrassed him. He swore that he would pay for that.

While that was bad, the praise Hinata was receiving made him sick. The elders congratulated her on her win and her actions during the invasion. He didn't understand why she was getting such praise. She fought an opponent that she should have defeated easily but didn't. As for her part in the invasion, all she did was protect the injured and healed. He didn't understand why she was getting so much praise for minor accomplishments. It was infuriating.

Neji took several deep breaths to calm himself. It didn't matter what either of them did. Fate was still on his side and he would show them both that their fate was to always be weak.

XXX

Tsunade was enjoying the night air. It wasn't as if she was getting any sleep. For the past two days, she would be plagued with nightmares. It was always the same as her brother and lover would not even look at her. Their back was always to her and they would not even acknowledge her. She had not had a decent sleep since meeting that brat. She didn't even know his name, not that it mattered. If she ever saw him again, she would give him a piece of her mind.

A loud shout caught her attention, which was followed by an explosion. Curious, she made her way toward the sound. She came across a small field. There, she saw the brat in question. She watched as the blond held his palm out and began the gather his chakra. He then used his other hand, moving it quickly across his palm. Tsunade eyes went wide as a sphere of chakra formed. Naruto used both hands to contain the sphere. With a shout, Naruto drove the sphere into the tree, causing another explosion.

When the smoke cleared, there was a descent size piece of the tree grinded out. She watched the blond look at the damage.

"Tch, still isn't right." Naruto muttered to himself.

"What is Jiraiya thinking, teaching you that jutsu?" Naruto turned toward the voice to see her. Naruto narrowed his eyes at her before turning back to the tree. Tsunade sucked her teeth at the disrespect. "You should just give up on this jutsu. You'll never master it." Naruto continued to ignore her and prepared to try again.

"You don't need to answer me, but it will never happen brat. It took the Fourth and Jiraiya three years to master." Again, she was ignored. Naruto formed the Rasengan and launched forward again. Tsunade just watched as another explosion happened. She waited for the dust to clear to see another grinded out piece of the tree. This made Tsunade smirk. "See, what did I say? Just give up." Naruto looked at the damage and nods. He stretched a bit before turning around to leave. He walked pass Tsunade without a word.

He got about a foot before he was hoisted up. He was spun around and grabbed by the scruff of his shirt. Naruto was not happy and glared at the brown eyes of Tsunade who glared right back at him.

"You think you can judge me brat?! You don't know jack about me or my loss! The Leaf Village has taken everything from me! You don't have the right to be disappointed in my ways! What the hell do you know brat?!"

"Don't know much and I don't care. I lost my mother and father when the nine-tails attacked the village before it was sealed ion me. Not to mention that I can't ask any of my mother's clansmen about her since they are all dead. I've lived alone for the first seven years of my lifer being hated and ignored for something out of my control. So yeah, I don't know much about your pain, but I've got my own to deal with. Only difference, I face them instead of running away." Naruto said to her.

Tsunade was surprised at who she was holding. She knew about the young container of the Nine-tails, but she only saw him when he was just a baby. However, this did not make her any less annoyed. Naruto just looked at her without flinching.

"Are we done now?" Naruto demanded.

'Okay, I've had enough of this brat.' She thought. She dropped the blond and gave him look. "Hey brat, since you're so confident, how about a bet?" Naruto just raised an eyebrow.

XXXXX

Authors' Notes

Hello to all. I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Disclaimer; I do not own any of the characters of the series Naruto.