"Normal speech"

'Normal thoughts'

"Demon/Summon speech"

'Demon/Inner Sakura/Summon thoughts'

Jutsu name

(author comment)

flashback/memory

~locations and transitions~

Beta-read by: Irusha the Kitsune

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I just own the stories in my heads

Chapter 38: Gambling and the Gambler

"Ok Gaki, you finished both steps, even though you had such odd problems... So! Let's see how you do on the last step!"

Naruto was about to start but he paused to looked at Jiraiya "You mind showing it to me again...?"

Jiraiya grumbled at being asked this "You're gonna kill me with chakra exhaustion if you keep asking me to do this for you..." Jiraiya brought his hand up and created a Rasengan for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Naruto leaned forward to look at the attack. After a minute he pulled back and decided to try it himself. He brought both hands up with one palm facing upwards and the other hovering a foot away. He began to focus on gathering chakra in his palm, he didn't know why it was so hard to gather chakra in his palm when he could focus chakra in his fingers so easily... After a few seconds, he shut his eyes and tried to force the chakra into the desired shape.

Jiraiya could see the start of the jutsu begin but soon his look of amazement became dread as he saw that the orb that was forming wasn't a swirling blue... It was a dark purple. He felt the air around them begin to become heavy and watched as the ground under Naruto slowly started to crack "Uh Gaki…"

Naruto continued to focus on the jutsu in his hands, tuning Jiraiya out.

"Gaki!"

Naruto felt that he was close to getting it right... 'Just a little more...'

"NARUTO!"

Naruto's eyes shot open in surprise and due to the weight and shock the orb of purple chakra dissipated and he fell on his ass. He then realized that he felt lighter now as he didn't realize that he was getting heavier. Looking to Jiraiya he quirked an eyebrow when he saw that the man was a few feet further away and hiding behind an earth wall.

Jiraiya peeked out from his hiding spot and sighed in relief, seeing that the extremely dangerous mini Bijuu-dama dissipate. "Ok, scratch everything else. We need to work on separating your chakras"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion "Huh? Why...?"

"BECAUSE YOU DAMN NEAR BLEW US TO KINGDOM COME..!" After taking a breath to calm down he spoke normally. "The old man told me that you have your human chakra, your demon chakra, and the Kyuubi's chakra. What you need to do is just use your human chakra. What you were doing was mixing your human and demon chakra, I don't know if you are adding Kyuubi's but since you were mixing them, you were creating a mini Bijuu-dama."

Naruto grew excited, visibly perking up. "Really!?"

"DON'T BE SO HAPPY! FROM WHAT I COULD TELL YOU COULD BARELY HOLD IT TOGETHER...! LOOK AT THE GROUND RIGHT NOW!"

Naruto looked at where he was sitting and noticed that there was a set of footprints that were a few inches buried in the ground and cracks all around them. There was even a small crater... "Oh... Wow... I did that?"

"That's why I didn't want to teach you the Bijuu-dama... You're not ready to handle the weight of the attack."

Naruto felt crestfallen at this. 'I was just excited about using an attack our kind is known for...'

Jiraiya sighed 'Maybe I should have taught him some water jutsu instead...? Sure would've been easier...' He looked behind him to see that they were almost at Tanzaku. "Ok, let's call it a day. We're almost there and I can almost guarantee that we'll find who we're looking for."

Naruto got up and dusted off his pants. "How can you be so sure?"

Jiraiya smiled fondly as if he was lost in a memory "She's a chronic gambler... With the event going on she's bound to be here!"

~Tanzaku town~

Naruto and Jiraiya went around asking people if they had seen a woman in a picture. Thankfully they kept pointing from one casino to another. This meant that she was is in town so they wouldn't need to move on.

After the fifth casino they went to, Naruto was starting to get frustrated "Why is everyone so hung up on these stupid gambling games!?"

Jiraiya looked behind him at Naruto "Don't knock it till you try it, kid. Why not try your luck at one of them right now actually?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders not seeing the harm in using some money on one of them. They made it to the next casino and Naruto looked around at all the pachinko and slot machines. Pulling out his almost empty fox wallet, he went to one of them and tried playing a bit while Jiraiya asked around the casino.

~later~

Naruto had the biggest smile on his face as he was carrying both his fox wallet and toad wallet as well as a storage scroll. Each filled to the brim with money that he had won from the casino.

Jiraiya was walking behind Naruto with his arms and mouth dropped as he could not believe what he was watching. 'This is the first time he's ever gambled and yet he leaves the casino with all the money they have...! What kind of bullshit luck is this!?'

~back at Casino~

The owner and employees of the casino were sitting outside of his casino as they cried waterfall tears. Behind them was the casino with its doors closed with a sign on it saying "Shut down until further notice."

~back with Naruto and Jiraiya~

Naruto smiled as he put the scroll in his jacket and looked at his two wallets "They sure do look better when they're full..."

Jiraiya shook his head as he walked a bit faster to catch up with Naruto "Maybe you should let me hold on to those so you don't get tempted into one of the Shinobi Vices..."

Naruto could feel the greed coming off Jiraiya in waves, so he pulled out a paper fan and hit him in the face "You're the one that should be wary about the vices of Shinobi!"

Jiraiya rubbed his face "Why the hell do you have one of those, gaki!?"

Naruto pulled out a small storage scroll and sealed the fan away "Tenten said that there are going be moments in my life where I'll want to hit someone with a fan. I believe her so I usually have a small one stuffed in my weapons pouch. Now that you've taught me seals, I can bring a full-size one and use it!" The sheer happiness in Naruto's voice as he said this made Jiraiya shiver as he thinks back to times he pissed off Kushina.

Jiraiya grumbled as he rubbed his nose 'I shouldn't have taught him seals. Damn the Uzumaki blood in him!'

They continued the search until they came upon a pile of rubble that could've once been a casino.

Naruto was worried as he thought there might've been an attack but when he looked to Jiraiya, he saw the man smiling.

"Oh yeah, she's here!"

"Who?"

"The one we happen to be looking for, of course!"

Naruto grew a tick mark as he was getting tired of not really knowing who they were looking for "Alright, come on! You gotta tell me who we're looking for!"

Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively "You'll find out when we find where she went." He then went to ask where the one who did the destruction went.

Naruto was grumbling as he just crossed his arms and followed the old man.

~Bar~

Naruto and Jiraiya were walking into a bar as this was the last place that they were told to go to.

Naruto scrunched up his nose "I hate the smell of alcohol."

Jiraiya looked around for the one he was looking for "Oh stop whining... It's not like we are going to be here for long!" Jiraiya finally saw the blonde he was looking for "Tsunade!"

Said woman turned in her seat to see who had called her "Jiraiya...?"

Naruto followed Jiraiya to the booth that the woman was sitting at. They sat opposite of Tsunade and another woman who was holding a small pig that wore a red vest. Naruto eyed the pig for a bit 'Based on the fact that the pig is in the woman's arms, wearing that vest and beads means it belongs to them. Damn! It looks tasty too...'

Tonton felt a shiver down her spine as she noticed the boy eyeing her like she was a piece of meat.

Tsunade eyed Jiraiya for a second before pouring herself some sake "First the crippled snake and now the perverted toad. Is there a reunion that I didn't hear about goin' on?"

Jiraiya gained a grim expression when he heard that "What did he want?"

Tsunade drank her sake "Nothing. He just dropped by to say hi."

"Liar."

Tsunade and Shizune looked to the one who spoke and saw that it was the boy that came with Jiraiya. Tsunade scrutinized the boy before asking "And how would you know if I was lying, brat?"

Naruto was looking at a menu and trying to decide what to get... At the old man's expense, of course. "For one thing, the only snake I could think of that could possibly meet someone that Jiraiya knows is Orochimaru-teme, and based on the last time I met the guy he isn't the type to just come and say 'hi'... That and I can tell you're lying."

Tsunade looked to Jiraiya after taking in all that the boy said "Who is this brat Jiraiya? I thought after your last student, you wouldn't take on another one."

Jiraiya chose to ignore that small jab at him "This is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm teaching him because he has a lot of potential and raw talent."

Tsunade shook her head as she grabbed the bottle of sake "Tch! Ok than, the hell do you want?"

Jiraiya leaned onto the table. "The old man has decided that he wants you to be the next Hokage of our village..."

Tsunade looked saddened for a bit but it soon turned into a scowl "No thanks. Why should I accept a job only fools want?"

This didn't sit well with Naruto as he had respect for the Hokage and the choices that they had made. Even if he didn't like some of the ones that revolved around him, he understood that it was thought to be for the best. Also, it wasn't that long ago when he wanted above all else to be Hokage. He still gritted his teeth at the statement

"Tsunade-hime, you're going a bit too far. You know that those two wanted to become Hokage…"

"Shut up..." Tsunade's voice carried a hint of warning this time.

Jiraiya sighed "Don't you think you've had enough time to grieve...? You can't just drown yourself in-"

"I said SHUT UP!" she slammed her fist down on the table but thankfully not full strength so all that happened was that it cracked a bit.

Naruto looked down at the table to see the cracks. He then looked up at Tsunade who was glaring at the man...

"I'm never going back to the village that took everything from me! And there is no way I would take the job of a fool!" After Tsunade finished her angry comment, her face was suddenly hit by water. It wasn't like an attack or anything that would hurt. It was more like someone was spitting water at her. Looking at who did it she saw that it was the blonde kid that was with Jiraiya. He had his index finger pointed at her with his thumb extended as well (finger gun). He also had an intense glare that seemed to radiate anger but what shocked her the most was that his eyes were now slitted.

Naruto brought his hand down "If this is who we came here for then we're better off looking elsewhere... A washed-up hag like this wallowing in her own self-pity doesn't deserve the position anyways."

Tsunade was fuming at what the brat did to her. "What'd you say you little…!?"

"The feeling just comes off you in waves... You're filled with regret, sadness, and anger and here you are drinking and gambling. Yeah, that's totally a good way to live! You lost someone, sorry to hear that, but wallowing in your own negativity doesn't change anything! So act like the kunoichi you are and get over it!"

Tsunade grabbed Naruto by his shirt and in anger tossed him towards the entrance.

"Tsunade!"

"Lady Tsunade!

"Oink!"

Naruto was quick enough to flip in the air and plant his feet on the ground, but he still slid on the ground and his back hit the wall of the building across the street of the bar. "Ow..." He watched the woman walk out of the bar, looking ready to kill him "Ok, fine..." He moved to the side, not taking his eyes off her.

Both moved until they both were in the middle of the street and facing each other.

Jiraiya and Shizune ran out of the bar and watched on the sidelines at the fight about to start.

"Lady Tsunade, you shouldn't fight him! He's just a boy!" Shizune yelled.

"She's right Tsunade-hime, you really shouldn't try and kill the kid..."

Tsunade had heard them and took a breath to calm down a bit. She was still angry but she was no longer seeing red. "Don't worry, I won't kill him. But I will teach him a lesson on respecting his betters."

Naruto didn't know how strong this woman was but his gut was telling him not to underestimate her so he began to undo his bracers and grieves "I know how to respect my betters… But you? You're not one of them."

Tsunade grew a tick mark but she was interested in seeing him remove his arm and leg protection. "Heh! I'll show you. I only need one finger to beat you."

Naruto just grabbed his equipment and smirked. "Sure… just give me the win ya hag!" He tosed the four pieces to land in between them.

Tsunade was surprised to see that the grieves and bracers impact the ground and create four large plumes of smoke. She had to jump back as she saw the boy come out of the smoke and kicked where she was. Landing on the ground she pushed forward. She swung her finger at the boy, hitting his headband off his forehead before bringing it towards his forehead again.

Naruto had clenched his eyes when his headband was flung off him. The force of it had been enough to push his head back a bit. He cracked open an eye to see her getting ready to flick him and at the last second, he smirked.

Tsunade flicked hard and saw him fly away and into a building. She felt a bit of regret at putting as much force as she did but it was too late to take it back now

Shizune was stunned to see Tsunade do that to a young boy "Lady Tsunade that was too much!"

"I agree. I almost feel sorry for him."

Both women turned their head to where Jiraiya was standing only to be dumbstruck seeing Naruto standing there with a cocky smirk and arms crossed

"He's going to have a headache for a while..."

Both women looked to where the body was and they could see a leg with a wooden sandal on the foot, twitching. They realized it was Jiraiya that was sent flying.

Shizune looked at the boy "How did you do that?"

Naruto smiled as he looked to where Jiraiya laid "Everyone only ever uses the Kawarimi to switch with inanimate objects, but I learned you can switch with people too. I'm just glad he wasn't flaring his chakra and that boss gave me just enough to switch."

Tsunade was impressed at what he said until she noticed "'Boss'...?" She saw the Naruto they were talking to poof away before she heard a swirling sound come from behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see a glaring Naruto coming at her with what she could tell to be the Rasengan between both of his hands. She turned as quick as she could and slammed her fist into the ground, causing the earth to upturn towards the boy.

Naruto saw it coming and jumped at the last second. He thrust the Rasengan but due to his jump being at a low angle, his foot got caught a bit by one of the chunks of earth and it threw him off target.

Tsunade saw the jutsu still coming towards her and jumped out of the way but unfortunately, she was still grazed in the leg by the jutsu. She gritted her teeth at the pain but she was thankful that she was able to get out of the way. She saw the jutsu impact the ground and caused some damage to it but not enough to show that it was complete.

Naruto hated the fact that he had missed but he was somewhat glad that he was able to get the jutsu closer to completion. "Well at least I got it to work….sort of."

Tsunade glared at Naruto "Who taught you that jutsu? Jiraiya?"

Naruto wanted to make a snarky remark but the only one that came to his mind had to do with his dad Minato but he didn't trust this woman about that truth so he told her the actual truth. "Ero-Senin is the only one that could have taught me that."

Tsunade was internally laughing at the name the boy called Jiraiya but she still grimaced a bit "How could he teach something like that to someone who wouldn't be able to master it...?"

Naruto gained a tick mark but held his tongue.

"That jutsu is too much for someone who lets their temper take over."

"And you know me so well that you can just up and say what I can and can't do?"

Tsunade put her hands on her hips "It's obvious that you're far from mastering that jutsu, and I doubt you ever will."

"Wanna bet on it?"

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow "Oh...?"

Naruto walked to where his bracers and grieves were before walking back to her and started putting them back on "I bet I can master this jutsu within a week, and if I win you come back to the village without complaining."

Tsunade smirked "Fine, if you win then I'll go back with you. Hell, I'll even throw in my necklace... But if I win then you have to give up on being a shinobi!"

Naruto hated the fact that she was making him give up being a shinobi but a little voice in his head told him that it wouldn't matter and he had to agree. In a moment of vain ego he realized that even if he wasn't a shinobi anymore, it didn't mean that he couldn't protect those important to him. It just meant that he would need another way of getting money. So, in the end, he didn't really lose. "You're on, baa-chan!" He chose to get started and leaped away before she could hit him for the old lady comment.

Shizune walked up to Tsunade with Tonton following "Lady Tsunade, was that wise?"

Tsunade shook her head "It doesn't matter." She winced as she felt the spot that the incomplete Rasengan grazed before she sat down and started healing herself with medical chakra.

The three heard a groan and the clanking of wooden footsteps before they turned to see Jiraiya walking up to them on wabbly feet and a hand on his forehead

"What hit me...?"

Tsunade smirked "I did. It's interesting how your student uses such a basic jutsu like that..."

Jiraiya was still rubbing the spot that Tsunade hit "He's the first to ever really use it in such a manner."

Shizune looked at the man "So you know how he does it?"

Jiraiya nodded "Yeah. Told me that he basically uses the jutsu like everyone else but when he tries with a person, he pumps in more chakra than the person he switches with has. I never thought he could do it with me though..."

Tsunade finished healing herself "He said that he was glad you didn't flare your chakra."

Jiraiya palmed his fist "Ah so that's how you counteract it!" He then gained a serious look "Hime, we need to talk."

Tsunade gave a frustrated sigh "Fine!"

The two older adults left to a bar and Shizune decided that she should check up on Naruto.

End of chapter

Well, I found a way to put in the Kawarami explanation after I gave it in the author's comments in the last chapter.

Remember that although Naruto would still like to be Hokage, it's not his dream anymore.

The hand water gun was something I wanted him to do for a while and what better way to use it than to piss off someone like Tsunade?

The accidental forming of the bijuu-dama that Naruto did was something I realized that would happen since he has his demon chakra flowing in him. It came to mind when I remembered how he did it in Shippuden.

To the Guest. In a very early chapter, Naruto met Guy when he was coming up with a prank for Kakashi. There was no real section of the meeting but many can guess what had happened. He was introduced by Tenten and that is how he met Lee as well.

Nothing really against you "Guest" for asking these questions, but I have received a bunch of questions that ARE answered in the story and for ones that are not, I cannot respond to you if you don't have an account for me to PM!

Now a lot of people have thrown in the idea of giving Ino and Hinata a summons and honestly, I think I could do it and since Naruto is getting two I MIGHT be able to give two to them. BUT I don't think I will be able to give them two. It would be extremely difficult to put it in this section of the story. Heck, I might be able to give them a summons in the Shippuden era...

So now I ask: if Ino and Hinata do get a summons, which ones should they get?

I was also given the idea of Hinata getting an Owl summons

Please read, favorite, follow, and review!