Orochimaru never seized to wreak his havoc on the Leaf Village. He manipulated Sasuke Uchiha, and caused him to abandon the village, labelling himself as a rogue ninja. There was only one thing the snake Sannin wanted from the Uchiha boy, and that was the well known, much feared sharingan. Sakura Haruno, the female member of team seven reported the incident, obviously distraught by the departure of the one she was certain she loved. Upon hearing about Sasuke's decision to leave the village, Tsunade could not just sit idly by and allow him to go to Orochimaru. In fact, anything having to do with Orochimaru could not be taken lightly, after all, he did succeed in killing the Third Hokage.
She looked through her ninja files, and realized that most of the jounin ranked ninjas that she would assign to the task of returning Sasuke to the village were away on other missions, and the ones available had to remain in the village in case of an enemy attack. She was put in a situation where her back was against a wall, and had no other choice but to send the only ninjas available. Therefore, Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga, Lee, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, and Choji Akimichi were sent to go after Sasuke. Of course Tsunade was apprehensive about sending out such young ninjas, but what other choice did she have?
The mission to bring Sasuke back was a complete and utter failure. The ninjas she sent out were hurt. In fact, some were in intensive care. Sasuke was gone. He was a rouge ninja, and teamed up with Orochimaru. Therefore, he was an enemy of the Leaf Village. Tsunade walked out of the hospital, feeling a huge weight on her back. She managed to stabilize her intensive care patients, but that didn't make her feel any better about the situation at hand. She remembered when Orochimaru went to the bad side, and couldn't help but think about Sasuke. She still felt as if there was something that could be done to save him from darkness. As the Hokage there should be something that she could do, right?
"I know you're stressed out about Sasuke." Shizune said after walking up next to her mentor.
"Find Jiraiya and tell him to meet me in my office." She instructed her student and headed in the direction of the Hokage mansion.
"O-Okay." Shizune said, wondering why Tsunade wanted Jiraiya to meet her in her office.
Jiraiya stepped into Tsunade's office feeling nothing but confusion. She never requested for his presence in her office before, so it was quite strange. He saw her sitting at her desk with a look of worry plastered on her face as she read a piece of paper. Surely whatever it was she wanted him for had her in a state of apprehension.
"You wanted to see me Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked as he stepped further into her office. She was reviewing the report of the failed mission that was sent in not too long ago. It was quite unfortunate that Sasuke could have turned against Naruto, who was supposed to be his friend. In fact, the boy almost killed Naruto. She couldn't help but compare the incident to that of when Orochimaru left the village and almost succeeded in killing Jiraiya, the one who was sent to stop him. Funny how history repeated itself.
"I assume you heard about the Uchiha boy incident." She said as she transferred her attention from the report to the white haired man standing before her desk.
"Yeah I did." He sighed, "Naruto told me all about it. Physically he's fine thanks to the fast healing capabilities of the nine tails, but emotionally I'm not so sure." Jiraiya couldn't help but think about how he felt when he couldn't stop Orochimaru. It was as if history was repeating itself, and he wished that his student didn't have to go through what he went through with his old friend. There was nothing worse than the feeling of complete helplessness and utter failure when he could not save his friend from eternal darkness.
"I don't want to ask you to do this, but there's nobody else who is up for the job." She started, "I need you to track down Orochimaru's hideout and get the Uchiha kid to come back to the village." Jiraiya was skilled at tracking down people, after all he did manage to find Tsunade. Now that they had a lead to Orochimaru's hideout, it was the perfect time to send Jiraiya out to hopefully bring Sasuke back to the village. "I know how it feels to have your teammate betray you, we both do. I just don't want Naruto and Sakura to go through that. From what I can see, they both enjoyed spending time and going on missions with Sasuke. I want them to be able to be together." Tsunade admitted, "I know it's going to be difficult, but as the Hokage, I want to at least try to make things better."
"I understand." Jiraiya said, "I'll track down that bastard and drag the Uchiha brat back to the village." Jiraiya was nervous about possibly going up against Orochimaru again. Orochimaru was powerful regardless of the fact that his arms were paralyzed. The outcome of the possible battle between them would be unpredictable. He just hoped that he could bring Sasuke back to the village for Naruto's sake. He could see that the blonde knucklehead had a bond with the Uchiha kid, and even considered him as a brother. Jiraiya felt the same towards Orochimaru at that age, but now he can't stand the sight of him. He didn't want Naruto to get to that stage, for nothing is worse than feeling hatred towards those you once appreciated.
"If you want back up I-"
"No need for that." He assured her, cutting her off, "I'll be fine by myself."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Tsunade looked down at her desk, remembering the last encounter that Jiraiya had with their old teammate. She just hoped that the outcome would not be the same, "Please be careful Jiraiya." She pleaded, "If you find yourself in a situation where you feel as if you can't defeat Orochimaru, retreat, come home. He won't hesitate to kill you."
"I know Tsunade. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
And with those words, he left the room. He was about to start his journey to find Orochimaru. It would be dangerous, so Tsunade only hoped that this time around, he would come back unharmed.
Tsunade could not sit still in her office. She couldn't focus on anything but the fact that she sent Jiraiya out on a dangerous mission that could result in a fight between him and Orochimaru. If anything happened to Jiraiya, she would feel as if she was the cause of it. When she couldn't stand being in that room for another second, she walked out of her office and went to the hospital to occupy her time with checking on her patients to ensure that they were alright and healing as they should.
First, she decided to visit Naruto. As she stepped into the room, she saw that his nurse was changing his IV. The kid was beat up pretty bad, and that was all the doing of the boy who was supposed to be his friend. She actually felt sorry for Naruto, for she knew how Jiraiya felt when Orochimaru betrayed him. In fact, Jiraiya was suicidal. All Naruto wanted to do was stop his friend from turning to the bad side, and what did he get for it? Broken bones, and bruised, bloody flesh.
The nurse noticed Tsunade's presence in the room and decided to leave. When it was just Tsunade and Naruto in the room, Tsunade walked up to the battered boy and sat on the edge of his bed. He looked so broken. Not just externally, but internally as well.
"How are you feeling Naruto?" She asked, but received no answer from the boy. All he did was stare down at his lap with tears unwilling to fall from his bright blue eyes. The boy was obviously blaming himself for Sasuke's departure even though he didn't utter a word. She knew, because that was how Jiraiya was; unresponsive.
"It's not your fault that Sasuke left the village." She said, feeling the need to make that fact clear to the twelve year old, "He left on his own free will and there was nothing that you, or anybody else could do to stop him." She reached for the damp cloth that was over his forehead, keeping his temperature down, and went over to the nearby sink to wet it again with cold water. After wringing it out, she placed it back on his forehead and returned to her previous seat, "I should be apologizing to you. I'm the one who sent you on that mission that almost resulted in your death. If I didn't you wouldn't be so beat up now. I'm sorry."
"You're not to blame." He finally said, "I was one of the only ninjas available. You had no choice." He didn't want Tsunade to feel guilty, for it really wasn't her fault. She was just doing her job, "Where's Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, wondering why the old hermit has not visited him all day.
"I sent him on a mission to track down Orochimaru and hopefully bring Sasuke back to the village." She informed the curious boy, "He left not too long ago."
"He's gone after Orochimaru and Sasuke?" Naruto asked and waited for Tsunade to nod her head. When she did, he felt a hint of joy. Naruto knew how skilled Jiraiya was as a ninja and knew that he was an equal to Orochimaru. Perhaps Jiraiya could bring his friend back to the village, "I'm glad you sent him."
"You are?" Tsunade asked, for she thought that the boy would be upset that she sent his teacher out on such a dangerous mission. "Of course I am. The Pervy Sage is basically on the same level as Orochimaru. If anyone can defeat that bastard and bring Sasuke back to the village, it's him."
"You have a lot of faith in Jiraiya." She smiled.
"So do you. If you didn't you would have never assigned him to that mission."
"I guess you're right." She said softly, "Not to worry Naruto, Jiraiya will bring your friend back to the village." She checked the boy's vitals before she left his room to go and visit Neji Hyuga.
Out of all the ninjas she sent out on that mission, he was injured the most. A few hours ago, his life was hanging by a string, but now he was stable and well on his way to a speedy recovery. That was thanks to Tsunade. She would not rest until he was stable. Without her, he would have died. Hiashi Hyuga, the leader of the Hyuga clan, and his daughter Hinata surrounded Neji in his hospital room. When they saw Tsunade enter, they bowed respectfully to her.
"I never got the chance to properly thank you for saving Neji Lady Hokage." Hiashi said as he came up from his bow.
"Don't worry about it." She said, "As the Hokage it's my duty to protect the villagers. I couldn't just let him die."
"Despite all of that, I would like to express how grateful I am to you. You saved Neji from death. How can I ever repay you?"
"You don't." Tsunade told the aged man, "I saved Neji because it was the right thing to do. I'm not looking for repayment."
"Thank you Lady Hokage." Hiashi said and bowed to her once again. She hated when people bowed to her. She didn't see why they had to do that. She was a person just like them, only with a title.
"H-How's Naruto doing?" Hinata asked her, clearly concerned about the blonde haired boy.
"He's doing okay." She told the girl, purposefully forgetting to tell her that he was damaged emotionally.
"I'm happy to hear that."
The truth was that everybody who belonged to team seven were emotionally drained. Naruto was in the hospital, feeling guilty for something that he should not feel guilty about, Kakashi didn't want to speak to anybody, and Sakura locked herself in her room, refusing to come out, and crying her eyes out. It was a horrible situation, and Tsunade knew that the only way to make it better was to get Sasuke to come back to the village. In the event that he does return however, things will still not be the same. He would have to suffer the consequences of leaving the village to team up with the likes of Orochimaru. Perhaps he would even lose his ninja rank. If only Sasuke didn't leave the village, things would be exactly as they were.
In that moment, she decided to visit Sakura. She had to get that girl to understand the situation properly. Crying and shutting the world out was not the proper way to deal with the problem on hand. She excused herself from the hospital room, and walked the streets of the village until she stumbled across the Haruno household. It was a very normal house. It wasn't fancy nor big simply because Mr. and Mrs. Haruno were not highly ranked ninjas, nor did they hail from a prestigious clan. In fact, they were almost like civilians. She knocked on the door and was immediately greeted by Mrs. Haruno. She was a thin, frail looking woman with orange hair and a kind smile. She looked nothing like Sakura, with the exception of her green eyes.
"Lady Hokage?" She said, "What brings you here?" Mrs. Haruno was abviously shocked to see the Hokage herself at her doorstep.
"I need to speak to your daughter." Tsunade simply said.
"Lady Hokage I'm afraid that Sakura refuses to speak to anyone. Since Sasuke left she locked herself in her room and won't come out. She won't stop crying."
"That's exactly why I need to speak to her."
"Who's that at the door?" A masculine voice said. Suddenly, a hefty man with dark pink hair approached the door behind his wife. He could only have been Sakura's father.
"The Hokage wants to speak to Sakura."
"Well let her in." He said, "Maybe she can get through to her."
Tsunade stepped into the house after receiving permission to speak to the pink haired kunoichi.
"Sakura's room is upstairs." Mrs. Haruno said.
Tsunade climbed the stairs of the rather small house and walked straight to the only door that was closed shut. She knocked on the door and received no answer, "Sakura, open up. It's me, Lady Tsunade." A few moments after Tsunade told the girl that she was at her door, Sakura opened the door. She looked pale, with glassy eyes from all the crying, red rims beneath her eyes, and flushed cheeks. She was a mess all because Saskue decided to leave the village.
"Why are you here Lady Hokage?" Sakura asked while sniffling and holding back tears.
"I need to speak to you." Sakura allowed Tsunade to enter her bedroom which was dark, for all the windows were closed and covered with thick curtains. Tsunade shook her head in disappointment and opened the curtains, allowing sunlight to enter the room. Now that the room was no longer dark, Tsunade could see that there were empty boxes of tissue scattered all about the room, and a trash can in the corner was pilled high with used tissues. This is not how a ninja should live, especially not a female ninja, and Sakura had to understand that.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" She asked and then grew hopeful, "Did Sasuke return?"
Tsunade didn't want to crush the girl's heart, but she had to have some sense knocked into her, "Look Sakura, there is a high possibility that Sasuke will never return to the village. The faster you learn to accept that, the better it will be for you."
"So he hasn't returned." She said in defeat and sat on her bed, feeling as if her world was coming to an end.
"I know what its like to be separated from the person you feel that you love." Tsunade started, "But if allow yourself to wallow in self pity, there's no way that you can ever improve yourself. You have a life to live. Don't allow your love for Sasuke to get in the way of you leading an amazing life. Learn to let him go."
"So you're asking me to forget about him?"
"You don't have to forget about him and pretend as if he was wiped off the face of the planet, but let him go, live your life. You're a ninja for God's sake, and this is not the way a ninja should live. Pull yourself together."
"But it's so hard Lady Tsunade." Sakura sighed, "I really liked him."
"Of course it's going to be hard. I never said it would be easy. It just takes time." With those words, Tsunade left, hoping that she made an impact on the girl's life. She had a village to run, and the last thing she needed was a lovesick, heartbroken kunoichi.
It took him nearly two days, but he managed to track down Orochimaru's hideout. It was situated in a lonely cave in a deserted section of the forest. Apprehension was all he was feeling after he made up his mind to enter the dark cave, unsure if he would ever emerge from it alive.
As he walked the lonely walkway that was only illuminated by dim candles, he could only wonder how many steps it would take for him to actually encounter his old friend. It was cold, so cold that he felt a chill run through his entire body. How could somebody actually live in such seclusion? Such darkness? His steps eventually led him to a door that was creaked open. He took a deep breath and opened it only to find it empty, without a soul in it other than a snake that was kept in the captivity of a glass container. He stepped closer to the cold blooded animal and examined it closely. He noticed that it was a black snake covered with bright blue spots. He was taken back when he realized just what that snake was. He gasped and stepped away from the creature, for that was the snake whose poison almost killed him.
"Admiring my snake old friend?"
Jiraiya turned around to see that familiar black haired man who resembled a snake. His arms were still paralyzed, but Jiraiya knew that his old friend was dangerous and wouldn't hesitate to kill him, "Where's Sasuke?" Jiraiya snapped.
"Why would I tell you that Jiraiya?" Orochimaru smirked, "In fact I'm quite surprised that you're here. I was almost certain that they made you the Hokage since our dear sensei, passed away."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the pale man. He was disgusted by him, so much so that he wanted to kill him where he stood, but he needed to know where Sasuke was. That's what Tsunade sent him there to do, "I can assure you that I'm not the Hokage. Tsunade is. Now where is the boy?"
"Tsunade is the Hokage." Orochimaru said in amusement, "Who knew that they would make somebody like her be the Hokage."
"What do you mean by that?" Jiraiya asked, feeling angry that Orochimaru was speaking about Tsunade in such a condescending tone of voice.
"Somebody who would keep such a big secret away from the one person who ought to have known. However, seeing how mad you're getting by me talking about her in such a manner tells me that you have forgiven her. Am I right?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Jiraiya shouted, feeling annoyed by his words as well as confused as to how he knew about Tsunade's secret, "Where's the boy?!"
"So she hasn't told you." Orochimaru smiled, "Our Tsunade is quite the vixen."
"Told me what?!" Jiraiya shouted, "I'm getting pretty pissed off with you! If you want to tell me something just come out and say it!"
"I assume that Tsunade deliberately forgot to tell you that she was pregnant with your child, but had a miscarriage eighteen years ago."
Jiraiya felt as if the wind was knocked out of him. Did he hear correctly? Was Orochimaru just telling a lie to get him worked up?
"She was pregnant?" Was all he managed to say.
"Of course she was. I thought she would have told you by now." Orochimaru laughed and simply walked passed the confused man who was paralyzed by that bombshell that was just dropped on him.
Orochimaru could have been lying, but Jiraiya believed him. Tsunade did have a secret that she couldn't seem to tell him. Never did he expect that the secret was so big, so life changing. He was going to be a father, but his child died within it's mother's womb and he had no idea. His shock was now replaced with anger, and all he wanted to do was confront Tsunade right away.
He turned in the direction to return to the Leaf Village, when he realized that Orochimaru was no longer anywhere to be found. The snake Sannin managed to escape, but that was the least of Jiraiya's worries. He started to run towards the village, not thinking about anything other than the fact that he could have been not only a father, but a father to Tsunade's child, and he had no idea.
So Jiraiya found out, but it was Orochimaru who told him.
What is he going to say to Tsunade? And how is she going to react after he tells her that Orochimaru told him? Wait and see in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading and leave a review!