Jiraiya's body fell to the ground with a large crash and he was soon lying in a puddle of his own red, sticky blood. He was stabbed in the back with a large shuriken and the pain was so much that it overwhelmed and crippled him. He felt himself slip in and out of consciousness and every sound around him was no more than a distant echo. Soon after he collapsed, a wave of shuriken came their way. Tsunade and Orochimaru sprung into action, whipping out their kunais to deflect each weapon headed towards them. With each of their swift movements, the enemy weapons were reduced to nothing but dented scraps of metal, lying helplessly in the grass. The weapons were no longer being thrown but instead, Amegakure ninjas who more than likely served the main enemy, Hanzo of the Salamander, were coming their way. Hanzo was the man who bestowed the title of Sannin on Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade a few months back. They survived their first battle with him and returned to the Leaf Village but now, they would more than likely have to face him again.

The ninjas didn't hesitate to throw a kunai at Jiraiya to try to kill him off so that they would have one less person to deal with, but luckily Orochimaru reacted in time and blocked their fatal attack with his kunai, "Tsunade, take Jiraiya and heal him. I'll hold them off in the meantime."

Tsunade said nothing but quickly did as she was told. Yes, she was in a sticky situation with Jiraiya but she couldn't just let him die. He was a part of their team and for that, she was responsible for his life. She quickly bent down to the bleeding man and draped one of his limp arms around her shoulder and dragged him into a nearby cave. One of the ninjas saw them escaping the confrontation and went after them but Orochimaru sent his snake sword straight through the man's body, piercing into him until the man went limp and died, "Go quickly!" Orochimaru shouted and pursued the other ninjas.

Once in the safety of the cave, Tsunade worked quickly. There was no time for hesitation for he was bleeding profusely through his wound and was slowly but surely slipping away. The point of the shuriken was buried three inches into his back, causing him excruciating pain. With one quick movement, she pulled the weapon out of his back and the moment she did that, blood spewed out of it, covering her hands and clothes in the deep red substance. She placed her hands over the wound and immediately poured her healing chakra into it. Her hands glowed green as she worked on him. Never losing concentration, she maintained a steady flow of chakra, directing it into the pierced flesh and muscles. Little by little, the wound closed up and Jiraiya regained his consciousness.

"I-I need to sit up." He muttered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the position he was in. Tsunade stopped her chakra flow and allowed him to sit up. After he did that, she placed her hands on his wound and started to heal him once again.

"Where's Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked, just noticing the absence of their other teammate.

"He's fighting the ninjas who attacked us." Tsunade said, "We'll rejoin him after I finish healing you."

"No!" He shouted and rose to his feet, stumbling as he did so, "We must go back out there now. He's all alone and needs our help!"

Tsunade rose to her feet as well, "What help would you be if you collapse on the battlefield because you aren't completely healed yet?!"

"I feel fine!" He said, bending the truth a little. The truth was that his back was still sore due to the almost fatal injury he sustained but he couldn't let Orochimaru fight on his own. Orochimaru was many things. He was uncaring, cold and strange but he was still their teammate and teammates stick together.

"You aren't fine though! I'm a medic so there's no use in lying to me. I can't see that you're still in pain!"

"You obviously don't give two shits about your teammates but I do!" He snapped, "I'm going out there to help him and if you don't want to join me then to hell with you!"

"If you want to go out there and kill yourself then be my guest!" She shouted, "I'm going to go help Orochimaru because unlike you, he's not a stubborn, pig headed asshole!"

She ran out of the cave to go to Orochimaru's aid, completely uncaring about the sure pain that Jiraiya was in. He was being stubborn and wouldn't listen to her reasoning so he deserved to suffer. If he dropped down on the battlefield then so be it. Jiraiya muttered a few expletives under his breath due to the pain that ripped through his body but took a deep breath and tried not to think about the pain before he joined his teammates. Maybe he should have listened to Tsunade but in the heat of the moment he wasn't thinking clearly. He just hoped that he would survive the battle that he was now running into.

"Back so soon?" Orochimaru said as he noticed Tsunade come by his side.

"Yup." She stated before she left his side to pursue one of the ninjas. He came at her with aggression and held out his kunai to her in an attempt to stab her but when he came close enough to her, she kicked him with such force, such power, that he ended up pinned against a tree with every bone in his body cracked. From the looks of it, one of his cracked ribs, pierced one of his lungs and he was now gasping for air. It was as if he was breathing through a straw. He stayed there, unable to move, suffocating until his air supply was cut off. The remaining two ninjas were now tackling Orochimaru so Tsunade went to his aid. Orochimaru took hold of one of them and didn't hesitate for a second before he sliced the ninja's neck in a straight line across, from ear to ear. With a slit throat, the ninja fell to the ground and Orochimaru watched as he bled out. Tsunade on the other hand used her medical ninjutsu to paralyze her opponent and when he was crippled, she punched the life out of him until he stopped breathing. The enemies were all dead and now it was only Tsunade and Orochimaru standing victorious among the corpses.

"Where's Jiraiya?" Orochimaru asked, noticing that Jiraiya was nowhere to be found, "I thought you healed him."

"I was healing the bastard and as soon as he got the strength to stand up he refused to let me heal him any further. Therefore I don't give a damn where he is."

"Tsunade, he isn't fully healed. He might be collapsed somewhere trying to hold on to whatever life he has left in him." He smirked and then started to giggle, "That poor old fool. That's what he gets for being stubborn." He shrugged his shoulders and started to move off, "Let's go find somewhere safe to stay for the night."

"What?" Tsunade said confused, "So we aren't going to look for him?"

"Didn't you just say that you didn't care where he was?"

"I didn't mean that idiot!" Tsunade said, now running in the opposite direction, trying to find Jiraiya.

"Where are you going?" Orochimaru called out.

"I'm going to find him idiot!"

Feeling obligated to follow Tsunade, Orochimaru trailed behind her in her search for the stubborn white haired man.

Jiraiya was running towards the battlefield in order to help his teammates. Pain was ripping through his body and left him in complete agony but he didn't give up, he still pushed himself to continue running. It probably wasn't a good idea and perhaps he should have allowed Tsunade to fully heal him but there was no use crying over spilt milk. Tsunade was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. As he was running, he felt a ripping sensation in his back around the area where he was stabbed. It didn't take him too long to realize that his wound reopened for he felt a warm liquid which he suspected to be blood running down his back. A sharp and intense pain ran through his body and caused him to go weak in the knees. He fell face down on the hard, dusty ground. When his body made contact with the ground the pain only intensified and he received a bloody gash to the forehead due to it's hard impact on the ground. His eyes fluttered open and closed as he fought to maintain his consciousness but he lost his battle and found himself engulfed in absolute darkness.

Tsunade and Orochimaru were on their way to Jiraiya. They searched all over the place in every nook and cranny of the forest but he was nowhere to be found. Tsunade regretted ever leaving him alone, not fully healed. If anything happened to him she would blame herself. As the only medical ninja on the team it was her responsibility to heal her comrades and yet she failed to do that. If word of this got to Sarutobi, she wouldn't hear the end of it. She had no idea why she was so worried. All that was on her mind was finding Jiraiya. Maybe she cared so much because she felt bad for leaving him or perhaps it was because of something else. Whatever her reasons for her concern, she just wanted to find him and heal him.

"We've been searching for a long time Tsunade." Orochimaru stated while he watched as Tsunade walked around, looking for their comrade, "Perhaps we should forget about him and get some rest. We're going into the war tomorrow and there's no telling what will happen. We need to recover from today's battle so that we can be as strong as possible for tomorrow."

Tsunade was ignoring every word that her unsympathetic teammate was saying. She tuned him out and continued to search.

"We need to think about the mission. The more rest we get, the more successful we will be." He said and continued to watch Tsunade ignore him, "Why do you care about him anyway? Don't tell me you want to save him just to get another sexual favor from him."

This caused Tsunade's blood to boil for she approached the black haired man and punch him so hard that like the enemy ninja from earlier, he found himself against a tree that was now broken down due to his body's impact on it. Luckily for him, she didn't punch him as hard as the now deceased Amegakure ninja. Tsunade walked over to his sore body and pulled him close to her face by grabbing hold of the neckline of his shirt, "I want to save him because he's a part of this team asshole! Three is better than two and if he's with us, the likelihood of success increases!" She threw him down into the broken bark which caused him more pain, "How could you be so willing to forget about your teammate like that?! He's your friend and he would do anything for you! The very sight of you disgusts me and I sincerely hope that you rot in hell!"

Tsunade stormed off, leaving Orochimaru behind. She didn't need his help. No, she would find Jiraiya on her own and when she did, she would heal him completely. She walked for what seemed like hours before she stumbled upon an object that looked like feet coming from behind a tree. She approached it with caution with a kunai in hand just in case it was a trap from the enemy. Slowly she approached the tree and when she was finally there, she saw Jiraiya, face down on the floor. His wound was bleeding again, causing his white hair to obtain the color of red mixed with dirt from the dusty floor and his forehead was home to a nasty gash with blood running down his face. His forehead protector must have fallen off when he was falling to the ground for it was discarded beside him. His breathing was shallow, he was unconscious and he was an absolute mess. Tsunade didn't hesitate to rip the shirt off his back and immediately began to pour her chakra into him. How damaged he was and it was all her fault. If she could relive that moment when she stormed away from him, she would but this time she would pin him to the ground and forcibly heal him completely. But now, she refused to stop her chakra flow until his wound was no longer existent. Even if she had to release her seal to get more chakra, she would. She would not allow him to die.

For what seemed like forever, Tsunade healed the wound on his back until it was completely healed. It was now as if he had never received a stab wound. He was still unconscious though, so she gently flipped him over and worked on the gash on his forehead. She directed her chakra to the wound until it disappeared. He still had a little scratch on his flesh where the wound was but that would disappear in time. It wasn't safe to stay out in the open like that so she draped his limp arm around her shoulder like before and walked until she found a safe place to stay for the night. She walked and walked, trying to manage the weight of Jiraiya and soon stumbled across another cave. She let out a sigh of relief and walked into the cave and laid Jiraiya gently on the ground. He was still unconscious so she took the opportunity to clean him up a bit. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water and a wash cloth. She wet the cloth with the water and pressed it against his forehead. She wiped away all the dust and the dirt that accumulated on his face from being face down in the dirt for so long. When his forehead was free of blood and grime, she moved on to his torso. She rubbed his body clean with the washcloth and then poured the bottle of water over his hair, ridding it of blood and dirt. He was now somewhat clean and she figured that it was the best she could do. Afterwards, she reached into her bag again and pulled out some crackers and an extra bottle of water and ate in silence, waiting for Jiraiya to wake up.

Jiraiya's eyes fluttered open and saw sunlight streaming into the shadowy place where he was lying. He was confused as to how he ended up in there for all he remembered was feeling excruciating pain and passing out. However, his pain was gone and he was no longer covered in blood or wearing a shirt. He rose into a sitting position and looked around the place he was in. He figured he was in a cave after seeing the stalactites and stalagmites all around the enclosed space but then his eyes fell upon a sleeping form with blonde hair. It was Tsunade! Tsunade found him, healed him and saved him from his certain demise. But why? Why did she do all of that when she made it so clear that she hated every bone in his body. And where was Orochimaru?

He sat there, not sure about what he should do. Should he wake her up or should he just leave her alone? Today was the day that they were to enter the war so they should get moving but he was so reluctant to approach Tsunade. His worries and concerned only intensified when he saw her stirring. He watched as her eyes opened and as she got up. She looked directly at him and he could sense that she too was unsure of herself. However, she spoke to him.

"I was beginning to think that you would never get up." She said and rose to her feet, "How are you feeling?" She asked and walked towards him, only sitting down when she was beside him.

"All my pain is gone. Did you heal me?"

"Of course I did. I wasn't about to make you die."

"T-Thank you."

"Don't thank me." She said softly, "I healed you because with you around, the likelihood of us coming out of this alive will increase. Also as a medical ninja it's my duty to heal you."

Jiraiya just nodded his head, not sure about what to say to that.

"Where's Orochimaru?" He asked.

"Who cares where that asshole is."

"What happened between you two."

"Nothing important." She lied, not willing to tell him that she punched him into a tree for not wanting to help Jiraiya. She reached into her bag and pulled out some white bandages, "I have to wrap your torso to prevent your wound from opening up again." She began to wrap him in the bandages and couldn't help but feel aroused by the sight of his muscles. When she was healing him last night, it was too dark to see a thing and the situation was too dire to allow herself to be turned on by the feel of his toned body but now that it was daylight she admired each and every one of his muscles. Her mind wondered to the day that they had sex. Never in her life did something feel so good. He treated her like a woman when he felt each part of her body and pleasured her. The way he touched her breasts and kissed each and every part of her body, leaving nothing untouched drove her insane. A deep red tint rose to her cheeks and luckily Jiraiya never noticed it for she quickly suppressed her feelings and maintained her composure. She quickly bandaged him and walked away.

"I'm going to the river." She announced, feeling somewhat flustered, "When I come back we'll head out."

She quickly walked out of the cave and headed straight to a nearby river. It was a scenic view that made on feel completely at peace but she ruined that vibe when she stormed into the area feeling embarrassed and confused. She kneeled down at the bank of the river and splashed it's cool water on her face in an attempt to calm herself down. Why was she thinking about the passion that they had for each other that one and only time they had sex? She wasn't sure and she wasn't about to try to figure out a reason for her answer. All she had to focus on now was being victorious in the blood bath that they would soon walk into.

Suddenly she felt an unwanted presence coming from behind her and quickly turned around to see Orochimaru standing before her. He looked as if he was bruised up for he wasn't standing straight like usual. He was somewhat slouched over. She had to take the blame for that. After all, she did punch him into a tree.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, feeling disgusted by the very sight of him, "I thought I told you to go to hell."

"I'm still a part of this team remember."

"Really?" She smirked, "After you were so willing to leave our teammate on his death bed? I don't think so." She proceeded to walk past him until he spoke up.

"This is war Tsunade. You need to put the past in the past and move on. I'm here to help us emerge victorious from this war. You know you need my help."

"The only thing I need from you is for you to get the hell out of my sight!"

"Tsunade."

"What?!"

"Heal me."

"Go to hell! There's no way that I'm going to do that!"

"There's no time to argue woman! There's a raging war going on and we need to put an end to it! Don't think that you're doing me a favor because you're not. By healing me you're helping the Leaf Village. Imagine us not winning the war. What will become of the village? Imagine all the blood that will be shed, the lives lost! We have no time to waste here!"

There was much sense in what Orochimaru was saying and as much as it pained her to admit it, Orochimaru was right. They were all strong but they worked better as a team. Together they would emerge victorious.

"Damn it." She cursed and walked over to Orochimaru and placed her hand on his back, healing him in the process. It took her a few moments but he was as good as new and ready to fight, "After this war, don't come near me. Got it?"

"Fine by me." He giggled, "I have more important things to do with my time than hanging out with the likes of you."

"Great!" She said, "So do I."

They walked back to the cave and as they did that Tsunade wondered how their relationship deteriorated to what it is now so fast. In their youth, they were the best of friends since they were both over achievers. Unlike the relationship that Tsunade shared with Jiraiya, they always got along, mostly because Orochimaru wasn't perverted nor annoying like Jiraiya. But now, the couldn't even call themselves friends. They were more like acquaintances on the brink of being enemies.

They walked into the cave and now Jiraiya was dressed in his shinobi attire and had his forehead protector tightly fastened over his forehead to prevent any more unwanted injures.

"Orochimaru, where have you been?" He asked.

Tsunade glared at Orochimaru, silently telling him not to reveal the real reason as to why he was missing. How hurtful it would be for Jiraiya to know that his best friend was willing to leave him to die. No, he would never know.

Orochimaru noticed Tsunade's death glare and decided to do as she wanted, "I was busy surveying the area, looking for any unwanted company." He lied, "Shall we get moving then?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya gathered their belongings and headed out with Orochimaru to the war. They had no idea what to expect for war was always unpredictable but they were determined to come out of it alive. They were all too young to perish so soon and Tsunade had Shizune to worry about. She made a promise to that little girl that she would come back alive and she wasn't planning on breaking that promise. With her teammates fighting alongside her, she knew that she would make it out alive because they were strong, they were the Three Legendary Sannin of the Leaf Village.

The trio made their way to the depths of the war. The closer they got to the battlefield, the more blood and corpses they saw. It was so bleak, so morbid, so sad but they couldn't cower in fear. No, they got so far that there was no going back now. They've passed the point of no return and it was time for them to give the battle their all and become victorious. They had the lives of millions on their shoulders. That was a heavy burden to carry but when they thought about all the children whose lives would be in danger, all the innocent faces, they carried that burden proudly because it was their duty to protect their home and all the people in it.

They were true patriots of their homeland so they would defend it with all their might, especially Tsunade. She was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, the man who built the village so there was no way that she would allow the enemy to stomp all over her ancestor's treasure. She would lay down her life for her village.

They finally arrived at the battlefield but before they went into the blood bath, they stayed at a distance to observe the area. All that could be seen were dead, bloody bodies, people fighting mercilessly, explosions and blood shed. It was a terrible sight, a sight that could make one so frightened that they would run far, far away. But there would be no running away for them. They had to go down to face the enemy.

"Are you guys ready for this?" Jiraiya asked, eyeing both Tsunade and Orochimaru. If they were nervous, they were doing a great job of hiding it because no signs of nervousness and uncertainty were seen in their faces. They were being brave and professional. They were being exactly what they were; Sannin of the Leaf Village.

They nodded their heads, never taking their eyes off of the battlefield before them.

"Let's go then." Jiraiya stated, "Remember that we're fighting for our village."

They came out of hiding and walked confidently into the battlefield. As they were walking in, they saw an ally ninja who was no more than fourteen years old approach the leader of the war, Hanzo. She had a kunai in her hand and a look of complete terror on her face. It looked as if she was planning on trying to kill him but for her it was nearly impossible. She was no more than a Chunin and Hanzo was stronger than a Jounin. The difference in their strength was as clear as day and if that girl really had the intentions of killing him, she would surely die instead.

"You have got to be kidding me." Hanzo laughed, "They send a child before me?"

"I-I will de-defeat you!" She said with a shaky voice. She was obviously afraid but she was determined to defeat him. She jumped at him with her kunai and tried to stab him but he simply punched her away from him. She landed on her back and nearly cracked her spine due to the force that he used but she managed to rise to her feet, nearly stumbling onto the floor in the process. She wiped away some blood that was dripping from the side of her mouth and grabbed her kunai that was on the floor. She wasn't going to back down.

"Not giving up I see." Hanzo said in a condescending tone, "For being so stubborn, I will kill you where you stand!" He said before he started to make some hand signs. He was just about to unleash his jutsu when a large puff of smoke appeared that was so thick that the girl could not be seen. He held back until the smoke cleared and when he did, standing before him was a giant toad, a giant slug and a giant snake. Standing on top of the frog was Jiraiya, Tsunade was on top of the slug and Orochimaru was standing on the snake. They unleashed their summoning jutsu and immediately stood out in the war.

A smile appeared on Hanzo's face when he saw the spectacle before him, "So my three Sannin decided to show their faces. Came to thank me for bestowing such a title on you? How sweet."

The girl slowly looked behind her and when she saw the giant animals, she nearly screamed. Never in her life has she seen such huge animals. Realizing that this battle was beyond her abilities, she fled the area and looked for some place safe to hide until the battle was over.

"We came here to defeat you." Orochimaru stated the obvious.

"Defeat me?!" He laughed, "I know you three are strong but do you actually believe that you can defeat the likes of me?"

Tsunade's anger overcame her and she instructed her slug Katsuyu to unleash her power, "Katsuyu now!"

"Right away Lady Tsunade." She said and turned to Hanzo, "Acid slime!" She shouted and squirted acid through her mouth. Unfortunately he dodged her attack and instead of the acid burning him to the bone, it landed on the ground and caused a huge crater to form in the earth.

"Damn it." Tsunade cursed.

"Surely you'll have to do better than that if you wish to defeat me sweetheart." Hanzo mocked and further angered Tsunade.

"Shut up!" She shouted and was about to jump off of Katsuyu to pursue him directly before Orochimaru stopped her.

"No Tsunade! Don't be so hasty."

Suddenly, Hazo's salamander released green poisonous gas from his mouth.

"Watch out! That gas is poisonous!" Jiraiya shouted to his teammates and moved away from the toxic fumes with Gamabunta. Tsunade and Katsuyu did the same but instead of jumping, Katsuyu divided into millions of smaller versions of herself and moved away while Tsunade jumped away from the attack and Orochimaru and Manda moved away from the poison. They were now behind Hanzo and Jiraiya and Gamabunta combined their skills to make a large fire bomb. Jiraiya used his fire style Justu and blew the fire into the oil coming out of his frog's mouth. The attack was directed at Hanzo but he simply dodged it.

"Tsunade watch out!" Jiraiya shouted as he saw paper bombs traveling to Tsunade. The bombs started to travel up her legs but were stopped when Jiraiya used his jutsu to wrap his hair around her body, concealing her as well as himself from the dangers of the paper bombs. They exploded one by one but left Tsunade and Jiraiya unharmed.

Jiraiya unwrapped his hair from her and fell to his knees, feeling drained from that act of defense. His chakra levels were running low and he could feel the effects of that taking place.

"I'm sorry you had to do that for me." Tsunade said and helped him to his feet.

Orochimaru took the opportunity to have Manda wrap himself around the salamander. Manda was successful in this and managed to squeeze the very life out of the slimy creature. It was nothing more than a lifeless body now. This angered Hanzo for he now no longer had his trusted summoned animal. He wrapped his hands around Orochimaru's neck and proceeded to strangle him until he was no longer breathing. Orochimaru could feel his air supply be cut off and he was becoming limp in the enemy's hands. Only when Tsunade charged at him with her medical ninjutsu and short circuited him, did Hanzo release his grip on Orochimaru's neck. He fell to the ground but was helped up by Jiraiya. Hanzo was now at the mercy of Tsunade hands and she didn't hesitate to punch him directly in the face, breaking his nose in the process. He screamed out in pain but he couldn't move for Tsunade confused the nerves in his body. He didn't know what to do or how to recover from such a Justu, he was defeated. Orochimaru approached the paralyzed man and regurgitated the snake he had within his body. The snake then regurgitated a long sword and the moment it did that, Orochimaru, pierced the sword straight through Hanzo's heart. He passed away instantly and his dead body laid there with blood leaking out until no blood was left in his body. He was lying in a pool of his own blood right beside his salamander. That was the end of the man who terrorized millions. The war was finally over.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade were standing before the monuments that had the names of all those innocent people who perished in the war, engraved in it's concrete. They were back in the leaf village and after reporting their success to the Hokage, they decided to pay their respects to those who have fallen. So many names were before them, even those of children. Nawaki's name was among them and that made Tsunade happy. At least he would be remembered and honored for dying for his village.

It was a breath of fresh air that the war was done and over with. Perhaps now, people can breathe a sigh of relief and go on with their lives. How long would the peace last though? How soon would it be until war breaks out again? Living in the ninja world meant living in fear, waiting for the next war to emerge. It was a tough life but nobody could do anything about it. As long as hate existed, war would always be ever present. Just a spark of animosity and hatred was needed to start a fire.

Lives were indeed lost but lives were also saved. If it wasn't for the Sannin, many more lives would have been lost and a lot more blood would have been shed. They should be proud of their accomplishments but all that they were was tired. They were tired of war and hatred. They just wanted a world of peace but they knew that a world where nobody hated would never exist. That broke their hearts, well the hearts of Tsunade and Jiraiya. It seemed as if Orochimaru felt no pain while staring at the stone monument. He was expressionless and his mind seemed to be far off. He was surely thinking about something but nobody had any idea what was on his mind. Surely he showed a different side of him when he was all too willing to leave behind Jiraiya. Sure he was cold and indifferent but he was never like that to Jiraiya or to Tsunade. They practically grew up together so they were like his siblings and yet he treated them so badly. He was ready to leave Jiraiya to die and he said cruel, unforgivable things to Tsunade. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting like this? Those answers were beyond them for they just couldn't seem to figure Orochimaru out. It was as if they didn't know him at all.

"Why is it that we can't live in a world with peace? Why must there always be war?" Jiraiya said as his finger gently outlined the names of those who died on the monument.

"Jiraiya you fool." Orochimaru smirked, "There will never be peace in this world. The sooner you figure that out, the better it will be for you."

Jiraiya ignored Orochimaru's comment and continued to stare at the monument.

"I will be taking my leave now." Orochimaru announced, "There is much work that needs to be done. Perhaps when you see me again I shall be immortal..." He walked away into the sunset and neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya knew what to make his words out to be. Immortal? That was impossible. Just what was Orochimaru up to?

They stood there for a few more moments until Jiraiya broke the silence, "I'm sorry for not listening to you." He blurted out, "Perhaps if I did I wouldn't have collapsed. I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be apologizing." She said, "It was my duty to heal you and I failed to do that so it was my fault."

"You only failed to heal me because I wouldn't allow it."

"Can we just forget about it?" She pleaded, "You're fine now and that's all that matters."

They were silent once again. There was a strong feeling of awkwardness in the air. They didn't know what to say to each other or what to do. They had no idea where their relationship was now and neither was willing to bring it up. Things have gotten so complicated that they reached the point where they weren't sure if they could continue being around each other. To think that they're relationship has come to this just because of one stupid mistake.

"So..." Jiraiya began, "The war is over, what are you going to do now?"

Tsunade looked directly into his obsidian eyes and said something that he never expected to hear, "Move on..."

She said that with such seriousness but also with a hint of regret. Did she mean that she wanted to move on from the war or from him? He wasn't sure but if she wanted to move on from him, he would understand. After all, he was trying to move on from her as well.

"And you... What are you going to do?" She asked, with her eyes still locked onto his.

He thought about it for a second. Yes, he told Sarutobi that he was going move on with his life and forget about Tsunade. She used him and hurt him and he deserved better than that. He looked deep into her eyes and said something that he never thought he would ever say to her, "I'm going to move on..."

She nodded her head, understanding the hidden message in his words. She accepted it but for some reason, she felt sad. She didn't understand her emotions and in that moment she didn't attempt to understand them. She was too exhausted to think about her complicated situation. All she wanted to do was go home, have a long relaxing bath and crawl into bed in an attempt to forget about all the horrors that she witnessed in the blood bath that they called war.

She turned her back to him and before she walked away from him she said, "I don't hate you by the way."

He watched as she walked away from him and his heart was in knots. He couldn't help but feel as if that was the last time he would ever see her. He agreed to let her go but a part of him still wanted to run after her and hold her in his arms, never to let go again.

Updated early because of all the great reviews!

I just want to make a few things clear. I know that Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't actually kill Hanzo in the manga and anime but in this story they did. And as for their Sannin title; in this story, they fought him a while back in the initial stages of the war and survived that battle so he gave them their Sannin title. They returned to the Leaf Village afterwards but the war was not over. As you know, Sarutobi sent them back in the final stages of the war and that's when they killed him. I hope you guys aren't a confused or anything.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you to my faithful reviewers, especially Mafia13 (you're awesome by the way). And thank you to all of you who favorited and followed this story. All your support means the world to me and encourages me to write more and more and dish out the chapters even faster.

Keep your eyes open for the next chapter!

Bye!

Xoxoxoxo