12 years later...
Jiraiya stood there in his solitude, in the pouring, unforgiving rain. Nothing could happen in that moment to make him feel better about the terrible situation he was in. His old sensei was dead. Once again when someone who he held in high regard needed him the most, he wasn't there. No, instead he was off wandering the world like a nomad, chasing after women who would never love him, and writing perverted novels.
Sarutobi was an elderly man, but old age was not the cause of his death. Orochimaru, the one who Jiraiya used to call teammate, friend, and brother, murdered Sarutobi in cold blood without any remorse in the world. Jiraiya kept wondering to himself why Orochimaru would do something so vile, so evil to the man who taught him everything he knew. However, Orochimaru didn't completely get away with murdering the Third Hokage. Before Sarutobi drew his last, dying breath, he paralyzed Orochimaru's arms, preventing him from being able to use any of his jutsu. At least that way, he didn't die in vain.
The funeral was about to begin, but Jiraya wasn't at the venue. It was too hard and painful for him to stand among weeping people and not break down himself. Out of all those people, he knew Sarutobi the best, and he was certain that he admired him the most. Therefore, Jiraiya stood by the three tree stumps that sat in the middle of the training field that Sarutobi always took him, and the other two members of the team to train. That training field held so much meaning to him, that it was only fitting for him to say goodbye to his old sensei in that very field, all by himself, with nobody to see him shed a tear.
After a few hours, and many raindrops, the funeral was over and the sun came out. The villagers returned to their daily lives, but Jiraiya couldn't continue the day as if nothing happened, as if he didn't feel guilty that he couldn't save his own sensei from death.
He walked straight into a bar in the middle of the day without any remorse. He didn't care who saw him or who talked about what he was doing. All he wanted was to get so completely drunk in order to forget everything unpleasant that happened in his life.
After Minato died, his life wasn't exactly a bed of roses. He went through a lot of drunken nights at the bar to cope with his emotions, a lot of late night escapades with random women who meant absolutely nothing to him, and too much traveling. In fact, it was only a few months ago that his life took a turn for the better.
He decided to return to the village for a little to see Naruto, the son of Minato. He felt compelled to at least see the boy, but never did he expect to get attached to him and actually become his sensei. It seems as if young Naruto had an infectious personality that made anyone who came in contact with him to feel a lot better about their circumstances. He trained the boy for the well known, and highly anticipated Chunin exams, and the blonde actually became a stronger, better ninja. However, nobody anticipated the tragic event that would occur right when the Chunin exams were to come to an end.
With each and every drink he consumed, he felt himself start to succumb to the drink and lose his consciousness. He was face down on the bar and snoring loudly so that the entire population of the tavern could hear. He stayed like that for quite some time until nightfall came down upon the village. Nobody dared to wake him up, for they knew what he was going through.
"Jiraiya, you have to stop falling for the most obvious of traps." Sarutobi said while squeezing the bridge of his nose in frustration.
Team Sarutobi just finished a training session, and once again Jiraiya fell victim to the traps that Sarutobi strategically set up all around the training area. Their task for that day was to manage to lay at least a finger on Sarutobi. Tsunade and Orochimaru managed to complete their task, but Jiraiya never succeeded due to his gullible personality. As punishment, he was tied to a tree stump while Tsunade and Orochimaru were allowed to go home.
"How are you ever supposed to become a strong ninja if you can't even recognize a trap?"
Jiraiya didn't answer his sensei, he just continued to look at the ground and grumble.
"Look Jiraiya." Sarutobi sighed, "You may think that I'm picking on you, but you must understand that I only want the best for you."
"No you don't!" Jiraiya shouted, "You don't care about me or my future, you're just doing your job and that's it. However, you prefer Orochimaru and Tsunade over me and care about their futures because they show promise, while I'm just a screw up!"
"That's not true Jiraiya." Sarutobi stammered, "You're my student and therefore I care about you. I hold each and every one of my students in a special place in my heart." He said as he untied Jiraiya from the stump.
Jiraiya was about to run away before Sarutobi stopped him by wrapping his arms around the boy and pulled him into a short hug, "We'll work together. In no time, you'll be a strong, respected ninja, okay?"
Jiraiya looked up at the man in shock. Sarutobi, his sensei and Third Hokage hugged him. He would be lying of he said that the hug didn't make him feel special.
"You mean it?"
"Yup." He smiled, "And once you become a strong ninja, all the girls will fall at your feet. Maybe even Tsunade too." He winked.
"Let's start training right away!"
"Hey dude, you gotta wake up." The bartender said as he shook Jiraiya awake. "Look, I allowed you to crash here all night, but it's morning now so you gotta leave."
Jiraiya sat upright while holding onto his head that was now pounding, "It's morning?"
"Yeah, you slept here all night." The bartender repeated, "Go home, take some aspirin and clean yourself up man."
Jiraiya rose wobbly to his feet and stumbled out the bar and headed home. Once he was within the privacy of his four walls, he popped open a bottle of aspirin and gulped down a pill, in hopes that it would relieve his unbearable headache.
When dizziness got the better of him, he laid himself down on the bed and waited for the room to stop spinning. He laid there for what seemed like hours, thinking about the dream he had of his sensei. That dream reminded him of the day when he truly began to trust Sarutobi and respect him. That was the day they formed their bond. Whenever Jiraiya needed him, he was there, but when Sarutobi needed Jiraiya, he was nowhere to be found.
He wouldn't be able to get over Sarutobi's death easily. One does not simply get over something as tragic as that overnight. When his thoughts got the better of him, he decided to close his eyes, in hopes that he could fall asleep again.
The following day, Jiraiya found himself on top of a building overlooking the women's section of the hot springs. With a pair of binoculars to enhance his sight, he observed the beauty of the human body. It was blatant perversion, but he claimed that it was simply research for his latest novel.
"Enjoying the sights?" Said a stern voice.
"You bet-" Jiraiya chuckled as he turned around to see who was speaking to him. When he completely turned around, he saw none other than the village elders Homura and Kohrau standing before him with an unimpressed look on their old, wrinkled faces, "Oh... It's you two." He rolled his eyes and turned around to continue his research.
"Don't you have anything better to do with your time than stare at naked women?" Homura asked.
"And we know about your little bar escapades yesterday." Koharu chimed in, "For the love of God Jiraiya, you're one of the Sannin, conduct yourself in a respectable manner."
Jiraiya was in no mood for a lecture from two old people. He was too miserable, and too distraught to listen to them or to think about anything else other than the fact that his sensei was dead, and he wasn't there to help him.
"What do you two gas bags want with me?"
"As you know, the village is without a Hokage." Homura started, "Right now we need a Hokage more than ever given the current state of the village. Therefore, we have come to the decision to name you as the Fifth Hokage."
Jiraiya didn't say anything. He simply put down his binoculars and turned to face the elderly pair.
"You're the only one who is in the capacity to become the next leader of this village. You are one of the Sannin, taught by the Third Hokage himself. Therefore, you are more than capable of taking up the title of Hokage. There is no other."
"You know you can't refuse Jiraiya." Koharu said while staring at him in an attempt to intimidate him into accepting his position.
"Stop." He said, "If you two are so dead set on one of the Sannin becoming Hokage, there is another who can take up the job."
Homura and Koharu looked at each other as if Jiraiya was speaking a foreign language.
Seeing that they were confused, Jiraiya decided to make things a little more clear for them, "You're forgetting Tsunade."
"Tsunade?" Homura repeated.
"Yes, Tsunade. She's just as skilled as me, perhaps even more, she has the brains for it, and furthermore, she is the granddaughter of the First Hokage. When you think about it, she's even more qualified for the job than I am." Jiraiya explained.
"Even if all of that is true, nobody knows where she is."
"I'll find her." Jiraiya blurted out, not really thinking about what he was offering to do. He had not seen the woman in twelve years, and now he was offering to go look for her as if she wanted to be found. Then again, if he didn't look for her and make her become the Hokage, he would have to take on the job.
"Tsunade is not the easiest person to find. Who knows how long it will take to find her, and there's no guarantee that you will actually find her!" Homura said.
"You're forgetting who you're speaking to. If anyone can find her, it's me." Jiraiya said.
Homura and Koharu spoke amongst themselves for a few moments before they came to a decision, "Alright Jiraiya. Go find Tsunade and bring her back to the village. However, members of the ANBU black ops will accompany you."
"No need for that, I'm not going to make a run for it. But, I would like to take along Naruto Uzumaki."
"Take whoever you want, we don't care. Just bring back the slug princess."
Jiraiya had no desire to see Tsunade after such a long time. Over the past twelve years, he didn't give her a thought, and now he was put in a position where he had to think about her and wonder about where she could be. She broke his heart over and over again, and furthermore, she didn't return to the village when they needed her the most. He could live the rest of his life without seeing her and he would be just fine, but if he didn't find her and convince her to become the Hokage, he would have to take on that title. Being the Hokage had it's perks, but he wasn't the type to just sit around and do paperwork all day. He liked to be free, and if he became the Hokage, he would be restricted to staying in the village. All his freedom would be taken away from him in an instant, and that was something that he didn't want.
He didn't have to search for Naruto, for he knew exactly where he would be. He simply walked into Ichiraku ramen shop and found the blonde sitting happily at the counter, eating what seemed to be his fourth bowl of ramen.
"Having fun?"
Naruto turned around to see his master standing behind him, "Pervy sage, what are you doing here?" He said after he gulped down his mouthful of ramen.
"What would you say if I asked you to go on a mission with me?" Jiraiya asked and took a seat beside his student.
"I would say hell yeah!"
"Good answer kid." He smiled and looked at Ichiraku, "One bowl of ramen with miso pork and another for the boy."
"Right away sir." Ichiraku said and turned to prepare the meal.
"Thanks Pervy Sage." Naruto said, "So are you really inviting me to go on a mission with you?"
Ichiraku placed the bowls of ramen in front of Naruto and Jiraiya, "Enjoy."
"I am, but while we're on this mission, you'll be learning a new jutsu, so eat up, you're going to need your strength."
Naruto's eyes lit up with joy at the mention of him being taught a new jutsu, "Are you serious Pervy Sage? That's awesome!" He squealed.
"Calm down kid, you're going to choke on your food."
"So what kind of mission is this? Are we going to fight some major bad guy?"
"No. I'll tell you more about it when we're on the road. It's kind of a secret mission."
Jiraiya didn't want everybody to know that he was searching for Tsunade to name her the next Hokage. Homura and Koharu were right, there was no guarantee that he could find her. It was better not to get everybody's hopes and expectations up too high.
Naruto scarfed down his ramen as fast as he could and rose to his feet, "I'm going home to pack right away!" He declared, "A secret mission, this is so exciting!"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes and continued to eat his ramen while the boy rushed home to prepare himself for his journey. If only Jiraiya could be that excited about the mission as Naruto, but sadly, he wasn't.
About an hour later, Naruto met Jiraiya at the main gate of the village, and they walked out together.
"So tell me about this mission!" Naruto said with excitement.
"We're looking for a woman."
"A woman?!" Naruto repeated in disbelief, "That's it?!"
"It's my duty to take her back to the village."
"What makes this woman so special that you have to take her back to the village?"
"She's one of the Sannin like me."
If all the events that he went through with Tsunade didn't happen, he would have spoken about Tsunade in high regards, even in love. However, he had no desire to see her, and he was no longer in love with her. Therefore, he had nothing good to say about her other than that she was a Sannin.
"I'm not impressed."
"She's a great healer." He added, "Now, walk up. We gotta find her within a reasonable time, and she's not exactly the easiest woman to find."
"Okay, okay."
Tsunade and Shizune were walking down the streets of Tanzuku town. Like in any other town, they were just passing through. For the past twelve years, they managed to survive by borrowing money, skipping out on debt, and gambling some more. It wasn't the best lifestyle, but it was their lifestyle.
There was not a day that went by that Tsunade did not think about the baby that she lost, and the life she could have lived if she wasn't so selfish and stubborn. She couldn't change the past though, so she had to live with her mistakes.
"Where are we going Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked as she held her loyal pet pig close to her chest, "We've been walking around for hours."
"They have to have one in this God forsaken town." Tsunade said to herself.
"Have what?" Shizune asked.
"There it is!" Tsunade exclaimed and pointed her finger at a building.
Shizune looked in the direction in which Tsunade was pointing and let out a squeal, "Aiyeeee! Lady Tsunade that's a gambling hall!"
"I know that. Did you think that I was walking around this damn town for hours looking for a boring tea shop?" Tsunade said sarcastically and rolled her hazel eyes.
"We don't have much money left Lady Tsunade. If you gamble it all away then we won't have any money for food or for accommodations. Furthermore, there's nobody in this town who we can borrow from."
"Just pipe down and follow me."
Shizune let out a sigh and hung her head down to the ground, "Fine."
They walked into the gambling hall and Tsunade immediately seated herself down on a stool right in front of a gambling machine while Shizune stood beside her, whispering in Tsunade's ear every now and then to tell her not to gamble away all of their money.
Tsunade inserted some money into the machine and pulled the lever. She expected to lose, but when three grapes appeared on the slot machine, she could hardly believe her eyes. She watched as money came out of the machine and Shizune squealed with excitement.
"Lady Tsunade, you actually won some money!"
Tsunade brushed off her winnings and played once again, only to win some more money. She kept playing, and every time she won money. It was strange for her to be winning instead of losing, but it was when she pulled the lever and three sevens showed up did she get really taken back. She never hit it that big ever, so it was only logical of her to take her winnings as a bad omen.
Tsunade grabbed her briefcase beside her and quickly put all the money she won in it. Something was wrong. She didn't know what it was, but she wasn't about to stick around to find out.
"We have to go." She said and rose to her feet.
"Why?" Shizune asked feeling confused, "We're finally making money in an honest way. Why would we leave now?"
"Something isn't right." She said, "You know I never win anything. We have to leave now!" She got up from her seat and walked out of the gambling hall, feeling extremely frazzled.
Shizune didn't know what to say, all she could do was follow her master, and thank the heavens for the money they won.
They were in an alley, about to leave the town, when they heard a familiar voice coming from behind them.
"It's been quite a while Tsunade."
She immediately felt shivers run down her spine. With caution, she turned around and saw none other than her old teammate Orochimaru and a man with gray hair standing behind them.
"Orochimaru." The name escaped her lips as if it was poison. Never did she expect to see him standing before her.
"You haven't changed a bit Tsunade." He said in his usual strange, snake like tone.
Shizune eyed the man with nothing but hatred. Tsunade told her all about Orochimaru, so she knew that he almost killed Jiraiya. She looked at his arms, and noticed that they were bandaged. Something must have happened to them, but she wasn't quite sure what. All she could do was wonder what the man wanted with them.
"Why are you here?" Tsunade asked while taking notice of his bandaged arms.
"I wanted to speak to you."
"After all these years what could you actually want to talk to me about? If you feel like kicking around old stories of our childhood forget it. Have you forgotten that I hate every bone in your wretched body?"
"So hostile." He giggled, "I actually wanted to ask a favor of you."
"No." She said, "Whatever it is you want from me the answer is no."
"Oh come now Tsunade, don't be like that."
"Your arms, what happened to them?" She asked out of curiosity alone.
Orochimaru looked down at his arms and smiled, "Our dear old sensei paralyzed my arms before I killed him."
Tsunade's eyes grew wide with shock and so did Shizune's. Orochimaru killed Sarutobi.
"You what?!" Tsunade shouted and felt her anger rise to her cheeks, "You bastard!"
"Oh calm down princess, you abandoned him years ago. Why should you of all people care whether he is dead or not?" He said coldly, "I came here to ask you to heal my arms. You see Tsunade, I'm on a mission, a mission to destroy that pathetic village I once called home."
"Why the fuck would I heal your damn arms?" Tsunade asked with hatred, "Get away from me now or I'll kill you."
"Don't be ridiculous Tsunade. If you kill me then who will bring your dear little brother and baby back to life?"
Tsunade paused. Orochimaru was actually offering to bring Nawaki and the baby she lost back to life. How was that even possible?
"How do you know about my baby?" She asked.
"I have my ways of knowing these things." Orochimaru informed her, "It has been eighteen years, but I'm sure that you would love to meet your baby and actually raise him. If you heal my arms, I will ensure that you get your baby and your dear Nawaki back."
Naruto and Jiraiya have been traveling for a total of three days. Naruto was taught the rasengan, the Fourth Hokage's jutsu. He hadn't mastered it, but he was getting there. They were now in Tanzaku town, and they hoped that they could actually find Tsunade there.
"Kid, I'm going to go gather information. Maybe someone in this town saw Tsunade and can tell me where she went."
"Fine, I'll continue to work on my jutsu."
"You do that." Jiraiya walked off, and hoped that someone in this town saw her.
Before asking anybody, he walked into a gambling hall. He knew that Tsunade loved to gamble, so if she was anywhere in the village, she would be in the gambling hall.
He stepped in, and saw that it was packed with gamblers, hoping to hit it big. He was never into gambling. He saw it as just another way to lose money. Back when they were friends, they used to drink together to have a good time, instead of gambling. Gambling was something that Tsunade did on her own.
Jiraiya saw a man sitting at a slot machine. From the numerous empty styrofoam coffee cups discarded beside him, Jiraiya could tell that the man has been sitting there for quite some time. He gently tapped the man on the back to gain his attention.
"Can't you see that I'm trying to gamble here?" The man said in hostility.
"I just wanted to ask you a question." Jiraiya explained.
"What is it?" The man grumbled and watched as Jiraiya pulled out a photo and held it up to the man.
It was a picture of Tsunade. Jiraiya had that photo of her in his possession but always kept it in the bottom of one of his draws. He recently took it out because he needed it to find her. Other than that, he hasn't looked at that picture for years, "Have you seem this woman?" Jiraiya asked.
The man eyed the photo carefully and recognition came to him, "Yeah I've seen her."
"You have? Where?" Jiraiya said in relief. Finally, after three days he was getting close to finding her.
"Right at this machine beside me." He said and pointed to the machine that was now occupied by a lady with brown hair, "She kept winning. She even hit the jackpot. I've never seen a person with that much luck in all my life."
"Luck? Tsunade never wins." Jiraiya said in confusion.
"Tsunade. So that's her name. Well I would love to have me a piece of Tsunade. She's sexy and now she's rich. What man wouldn't want her?" The man said with a smirk, "Are you looking for her because you want a piece of that hot ass?"
"I just want to know where she went." He said, choosing to ignore the man's question.
"I overheard her telling her friend that something was wrong so she left. Went that way I believe." The man said as he pointed in the direction that he saw Tsunade walk off.
"Thank you." Jiraiya said, tucked the picture back in his coat and left the gambling hall in search of Naruto.
He went straight to an open field where he knew Naruto was training. Once he was there, as expected, he saw Naruto working hard on his jutsu. He didn't wish to interrupt the boy, but he had no choice. There was no telling whether Tsunade was still in the town or not. It was important for them to travel in the direction Tsunade walked off into.
"Kid we gotta get moving. I got a lead on Tsunade."
"Do we have to? I almost got it." He whined, referring to his jutsu.
"Look Naruto, we have to go now or we could lose her."
"Ugh fine, but if and when we don't find her, I blame you for wasting valuable training time."
"Well Tsunade, what's your answer?" Orochimaru asked.
Tsunade was too lost in her thoughts to answer him. She thought about holding her baby in her arms, and being a happy family with Nawaki present. It was all so tempting, but could she actually sacrifice the village and all who lived in it for her own selfish desires. What would her grandfather say? What would her dear sensei say? Even though she would be happy to have her son and brother back, how could she look in the mirror at herself and truly be happy after completely sacrificing the village?
"Lady Tsunade, don't do it, there's no guarantee that he will actually hold up his end of the bargain. And the village, you can't allow him to destroy it." Shizune said.
"Orochimaru." Tsunade said to gain his undivided attention.
"Yes Princess?"
She looked him straight in the eye and said, "I'm a Senju, the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, a member of the Legendary Sannin, and a citizen of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. As much as I wish my brother were still here and that my son could have lived, I will never put my personal happiness and selfish desires over the village. I refuse to heal your arms."
"So that's how it's going to be dear Tsunade?"
"Damn right!" Tsunade shouted and jumped in the air only to land with her foot crashing into the ground, causing a huge boulder to appear. If Orochimaru and Kabuto didn't jump away in time, they would have been dead.
"Looks like she wants to fight Kabuto. Are you prepared, remember she's basically on the same level as I am."
"I'm ready Lord Orochimaru. Don't underestimate me."
"Come on Shizune, let's end these bastards' lives once and for all."
Tsunade and Shizune ran towards them, but they ran away from them. They kept chasing each other until they ended up in an open field, only a few minutes away from the main gate of the town.
Clearly exhausted Kabuto took a food pill to enhance his power. He decided to take Tsunade on however, he couldn't get to touch her. She was too skilled for him. She punched him into a boulder and assumed that he was knocked out. Her guard was let down, so Kabuto took the opportunity to attack her. He pulled out his kunai and was just about to stab her right in the chest before a smoke bomb appeared and separated the two. When the bomb cleared, standing beside Tsunade and Shizune, were Jiraiya and Naruto.
"Long time no see Jiraiya." Orochimaru said when he saw the white haired sage, "It's like a reunion. All the old faces coming back."
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, but had no words to offer. She was too shocked to see him.
"Master Jiraiya." Shizune smiled.
"Nice to see you again Shizune" he said and then eyed Orochimaru, "However it's not good to see you again."
"I was certain I killed you, but our dear Tsunade saved you. How sweet."
Tsunade's blood started to boil. She hated Orochimaru with every ounce of her being, so she charged at him and started to beat him up. She punched him and kicked him until he was bleeding severely. Jiraiya decided to join her in her battle, while Shizune and Naruto took care of Kabuto. Finally, Naruto managed to master his rasengan and used it to defeat Kabuto.
When Tsunade and Jiraiya were done with Orochimaru, he could no longer stand. The battle was over. Although he could barely move, Kabuto moved beside to Orochimaru.
"So you refuse to heal my arms." Orochimaru said to Tsunade, "That's alright, I don't need you. I will find a way to get my arms back, and when I do, I will destroy the Leaf Village. You can bet your life on that."
Kabuto formed some hand signs and with a puff of smoke, they were gone.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Naruto were now alone in the wide, open field. Shizune hugged Jiraiya, clearly happy to see him, but Tsunade tried to avoid eye contact with him, and he did the same.
"This is Naruto Uzumaki." Jiraiya said, "Naruto, this is Shizune and... That's Tsunade."
Tsunade looked at the boy and couldn't help but think that he looked almost identical to Nawaki. The only differences between them were that Naruto was blonde, had blue eyes, and had lines across his cheeks. She also couldn't believe that he was the jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox.
"This is Tsunade?" Naruto asked, "I thought she was the same age as you. She looks young!"
Tsunade didn't respond to the boy. Instead, she looked straight at Jiraiya and asked, "Why are you here?"
"I needed to find you-"
"Find me?!" She cut him off, "What made you think that I wanted to be found?!"
"I was looking for you to tell you that the village wants you to become the Fifth Hokage. That's the only reason." He said, making sure to put emphasis on the fact that finding her to make her the Hokage was the only reason why he wanted to find her.
"What?" She gasped, finding it hard to believe that she was chosen to be the next Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Tsunade and Jiraiya are in the same place at the same time again so that's a good thing.
I can't wait to put the next chapter up, and I hope you guys are anxious to read it.
So remember to leave a review.
Thanks for reading!
Xoxoxoxoxoxo