Another Chapter is here!
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"You have my sincerest apologies that I could not be there to protect you," Rock Lee told Sakura as they sat outside the hospital. It had been an obvious target during the attack, so they had ANBU dedicated to protecting it. However, one Sound shinobi had slipped through the net while the Toads dealt with the Snakes that sought it out.
Lee had gotten himself involved, worsening his injuries in the process. It left him confined to a wheelchair and with his arm in a cast. The medics had been clear that doing that one more time would leave them both permanently disabled—he'd likely never use them again for ordinary life, let along being a shinobi.
"It's fine, Lee," Sakura said, peeling an apple for him. "It happened so suddenly that no one was prepared. Besides, apparently I took care of myself this time."
In truth, she didn't remember much of what happened that day after the Invasion had started, because of the hit to her head. Naruto had regaled her with how great a job she did, while Sasuke personally told her she was useful after they'd healed his physical injuries and told him to take it easy, until his chakra system corrected itself. That was as high of a compliment she was going to get from him, given his personality.
Lee's eyes drifted down to his arm and wheelchair. "Even so, I hate that I was not able to participate more. It is a feeling that troubles me like no other, knowing that others are doing everything they can while I…."
Can do nothing, she finished for him in her thoughts. She didn't dare say it out loud because there was nothing more painful that having someone else pointing that out to them. Being told how useless she was by that kunoichi during the Forest of Death, after Lee and the others got hurt defending her, had been the moment she decided to take steps to rectify that.
But Lee didn't have that option. His injuries meant that even work in the reserves was unlikely. The Lee Clan wasn't very big, but the majority of the men had some role in the shinobi forces. He was likely the first one born with his inability to shape chakra properly and struggled so hard to make it as far as he had, only for him to be nearly-crippled. That probably made Lee feel like even more of a failure.
Sakura could do nothing to help him as things stood. Not even as his dreams were being crushed before her eyes. She couldn't help the others in the Forest of Death before and, while she finally became capable of doing so for them during the Invasion, there was nothing she could do for Lee now. It left her with a bitter feeling in her chest that quickly grew unbearable as she laid the peeled apple and knife down.
"…I'm going to go get something to drink," Sakura said, rising from her seat. "Do you want anything in particular?"
"No thank you," Lee said. His eyes remained downcast as he reached for the apple with his good hand.
Sakura pursed her lips and then walked off. Traversing the hospital corridor, the kunoichi found herself wondering how many were like Lee. How many were so crippled during the Invasion that they could never again fight, after spending years working towards it?
She wondered how badly her teammates would take it if they ended up in such a state, incapable of pursuing their dreams. Naruto would be completely lost without the chance of becoming the Hokage, leaving him gloomy and his goofy smile never to be seen again. Sasuke… well, she couldn't even imagine how badly that would hurt him.
It was a miracle that they managed to come out so well from what she had been told second-hand. The only lasting injury was that she lost her memories of most of that day, and that was a best-case scenario. It could have been so much worse.
That thought was only made more abundant as the medics rushed a gurney down the corridor. She spotted the familiar hair and facial features of the patient being carted off to a room. The words came out in a low, faint-hearted, voice.
"Sasuke?"
[0-0-0]
An unfeminine groan left Tsunade's lips as she stirred awake. The familiar, unwelcomed acquaintance that was a hangover headache immediately made itself known. It pounded at her skull like it was trying to hammer it open, telling her she knew that it was coming when she downed that last bottle.
Her entire body hurt with a throbbing ache that covered every inch. Her tongue and throat were dry, painfully so. She caught the scent of alcohol wafting from her pores and it only served to make her stomach curl from the abuse she put it through the night before.
Even for her, it would take time to treat—purging the toxins, soothing the muscles, reinvigorating her body. And she could only do that once she was able to concentrate again, something that would be immensely easier if her head wasn't trying to crack itself open. She made a low, indecipherable noise that her apprentice should recognize well enough to act on.
Sure enough, a wet and cold glass was pressed against her cheek. She grabbed it and sat up slowly with her eyes closed, finding the rim of the glass with her lips instead. The fizzling liquid within tickled as it went down her throat and she sighed.
Shizune's special blend would work miracles in minutes to get rid of her headache. After that she could deal with her aches and pains. Then they would go get something to eat before hitting the parlors.
"Feel better?" asked a masculine voice. Her blood froze when she recognized it.
Tsunade forced her eyes open, briefly catching his figure and features before they felt like they were going to pop out of her head from a stab of pain. She covered them with one hand and used the other to make sure the bed-sheet covered her body up to her neck. "What happened to Shizune?"
"I sent her off to babysit for a bit since I wanted to have a word with you." Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the weight of his eyes staring at her body as he spoke. "Though, I admit that I did want a chance to see you in person since it's been a few years now. You're still as beautiful as always, Princess."
"Only you would be interested in seeing a woman in this state," she said, with a note of displeasure in her voice. At least the drink was working well enough that her headache was fading fast. "What do you want, Jiraiya?"
"The Old Man sent me after what happened to the last guy who tried to get a message across to you."
"I thought that would make it clear that I didn't want to talk to anyone from the Leaf." She opened her eyes a bit to test if the pain was still there. It was tolerable. "Apparently the message didn't reach."
Jiraiya sighed, rubbing the bridge between his eyes. "Princess, have you really not been keeping up with events there?"
"Why would I?" she asked. "I want nothing to do with the village."
"The Leaf was invaded during the Chuunin Exams by Orochimaru, his village, and Sand," he said in a slightly lower tone, eyes fixed on her in a focused stare. "They even went so far as to bring their Jinchuuriki, who went into a full-on Tailed Beast state."
A single, simple question was her response to that. "How many died?"
"Not as many as it could have been," he said. "I was there with the Old Man. He managed to get the killing blow, but it cost him an arm in exchange. It looked to be a clean cut by Orochimaru's sword, but the reattachment wasn't as good as it could have been. The arm doesn't work as well as before."
"The Snake got that blade from Ryuuchi Cave, didn't he?" She fought off a yawn as the remnants of her headache faded enough to begin sorting out the rest of her body. A pale, thin, green glow swaddled her body as she continued. "A legendary weapon from one of the three sage regions wouldn't stop at simple damage, so you should have had them check down to the microscopic level. There's probably cellular and nervous system damage that should have been sorted out before reattachment."
He drew up into himself, crossing his arms. "We couldn't risk him bleeding out before then. The medics did the best that they could at the time and it saved his life."
Tsunade rolled her eyes and scoffed. "And I'm assuming the village is still standing?"
His long, white hair shifted as he nodded his head. "Luckily, the One-Tailed Raccoon Dog was successfully fought and captured… by a group of really talented Genin."
She gave him a flat look, clearly unamused by the perceived joke.
"It's the truth." His lips curled into a small, proud smile. "I gave Minato's boy the Toad Summoning Contract and he used it to call up Gamabunta when they were in the forest. The resulting battle pretty much leveled the area, but, in the end, he and his friends managed to knock out the host by the time we got there."
"Well, as riveting as that information is, it doesn't explain why you've come for me." The healing glow flared a bit as she looked him in the eyes. "Again, what do you want, Jiraiya?"
"I'm here to bring you back," he said firmly. "Officially, the Old Man is only calling Shizune back, but we both know that he wants you back too and it's only a formality to keep things quiet."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "And if I refuse?"
"Then the next time it's ANBU and myself," he told her bluntly. "After the Invasion, the Old Man can't keep turning a blind-eye to everything you've done and the reputation you've built up. And we all know that if you run, Shizune will go with you because she's given up her youth to see to it that you're not alone. As callous as you are to the thought of going back to the village, I know that you wouldn't turn Dan's niece a trai—"
In a single, swift motion, she moved to cut him off. Strong, slender fingers grabbed him by the collar and then hoisted him in the air, with his back against the wall. "Never…bring him up… again."
Undeterred from her glare and posture, he reached up and wrapped his fingers around her wrists. The touch was surprisingly gentle, all things considered. "You can't keep running from the ghosts of your past, Princess. No matter how hard you drink, or how far you go, they'll never stop chasing you. You've had years to figure that out."
"Why now?" Tsunade demanded to know. "You know how much it hurts—both you and him. So why, after all these years, are you dragging me back to the same place that you're running from?"
He frowned. "I'm not running from anything."
"With Sensei injured and my reputation in the toilet, I'm betting you're the last viable candidate for the title of Hokage, right?" she asked. "What excuse are you going to use to run away from it now that Orochimaru is gone?"
Her question was met with a looming silence as neither one spoke. Her arms grew slack and she lowered him down, their eyes locked. "We're the same, Jiraiya. You lost those kids in Ame and your apprentice; I lost my family and the love of my life. You throw yourself into your work to forget about them, and I drink until the pain goes away. So you, of all people, should know what it means for me to go back."
"…The Old Man knows he doesn't have more than a few years left in him, and wants to help you before he takes his final rest," he finally said, after a long pause to gather his thoughts. "And I tried to give you space since I couldn't do or say anything to help you get over it, but now neither of us has an excuse anymore to keep running. It's time to go back home."
Tsunade scoffed. She didn't believe they could help, nor did she want their help after all this time. But she didn't delude herself into thinking that she could elude ANBU forever, especially not when Shizune would follow her and slow her down.
The life of a missing-nin was hard. Taking refuge in another major village would lead to more bloodshed on her shoulders. And the fact that she was afraid of blood would render her worth little-to-nothing as a medic—advice and counsel could only go so far without the ability to demonstrate.
And then there was Jiraiya. He would come after her if she did that to Shizune. He would follow her footsteps with the same relentless zeal he spent hunting down Orochimaru. It wasn't worth it.
"I don't want to be seen in public," she said. "People will have expectations and I don't feel like dealing with them."
"The Old Man expected that. We've got it covered."
"Then get out so I can change," she ordered. When he quirked an eye, she crossed her arms. "If I was going to run, I'd let you stay so I'd have an excuse to deck you into the next town over. Just wait outside until I've had a chance to clean myself up."
[0-0-0]
Naruto grumbled in frustration, eyes squinted as he spun the water inside of the balloon resting between his palms. His frustration only mounted as the balloon simply shifted with the chakra, rather than break. "This is impossible!"
"Umm… Naruto-kun?" called the tall, dark-haired woman that sat across the table from him. So far she had been nice to him, only asking him the occasional question of what living in the village was like since she had been gone for years. In one of her hands was a slice of fruit that she fed to her pet pig, which sat in her lap. "What are you doing?"
"The Toad Guy told me that if I managed to get the water to spin and pop the balloon, I'd learn a technique from the Fourth Hokage," he explained. "But when I make it spin, all it does is just stretch the balloon out like it's trying to become flatter."
"I see." She tapped her chin in thought for a moment. "The water is being used as a medium to help you pop the exterior. But that won't work if you keep doing it like that."
His head snapped up towards her at that. "Why not?"
"Because the flow is too stable." She picked up an empty balloon that had yet to be filled and stretched it. "The exterior of the balloon is flexible to a certain degree, so it can withstand stretching as long as the flow is stable and moves along a set path. You would have to stretch it far beyond the elasticity of the material in order to break it that way."
"But that's not how he did it," Naruto said with a frown. "His got all lumpy and then popped."
"I suppose he might have destabilized the flow of chakra to make it more violent." She reached across the table, pressed a finger to his forehead, and closed her eyes. "The flow of chakra circulating in your body is spinning clock-wise, so you can try to force it rotate counter-clockwise inside the balloon and that should make it less stable."
He nodded his head and then gave it a try. The balloon began to shake again, jostling a bit more unstably and threatening to jump out of his hand. "That's better, but it wasn't enough to pop it."
She extended her hands and cupped the top and bottom of the balloon between her palms. "I'll hold it steady this time. You just focus on spinning it as violently as you can."
He closed his eyes and focused on doing so, injecting his chakra in from both hands holding onto the sides of it. The chakra flowed out and mingled with the water as it churned in place. The faster he rotated it, the more it struggled to remain in her palms and pushed against their hands from multiple points—like a cricket in a cage, bouncing around and trying to get out.
A thought occurred. What if he could make more crickets, more points where his chakra pushed against the balloon it was trapped within? "I think I have an idea, but I need to be able to move my palms around."
Shizune let go and then stood up to walk away with Tonton, taking a seat on the windowsill. "If you're that sure of yourself, then we'll keep our distance. We don't want to get wet."
With them out of the splash-zone, he held the balloon with one hand and began to channel the chakra within it with that hand. Then he brought his palm across the top with the other, moving it at angles while manipulating the chakra within. He made it sharper, transitioning from smooth motions to quick grazes with his palm hover just over the surface as he speared it across.
The still-flowing chakra bent and pulled more violently as he went faster and came from different directions. It was like multiple crickets were bouncing around inside of the stretching sphere, forcing the elasticity in multiple points rather than a set one. He wove it further, forcing his chakra to spin in multiple directions as fast and hard as he could, until the balloon ruptured and splashed water all over his face and table.
"I did it!" he exclaimed, uncaring of the fact that his face was wet and the upper-portion of his shirt was soaked.
"Congratulations," Shizune said with a small applause, causing him to grin. "You might want to towel off though. You'll catch a cold otherwise."
Naruto chuckled for a bit until the door opened. Jiraiya walked in with the woman he saw sleeping on the bed. She looked down at Naruto for a moment longer than a passing glance before she turned her attention to her apprentice.
"Pack your things, Shizune," she ordered. "We're going back to the village."
The dark-haired woman shot up from her perch with the tiny pig. "Really?"
She nodded. "Let's go see the Old Man."