Hello everybody, and welcome back to chapter thirty-two of the Winds of Change! Yes, yes, I know this chapter is a week late. Well, I'm horrible with writing fight-scenes, one of which takes up this whole chapter. They usually take twice as long to write than the normal chapter, so get used to that, sadly. I don't have much to say in this authors note, but a ton in the one at the end. Enjoy this super long chapter! So, without further ado, I bring you chapter 32, of the Winds of Change.

Chapter 32:

"You're serious, aren't you?"

The two kunoichi stood facing each other in the courtyard. The sun was slowly descending, giving way to night. It would be upon them soon.

Tsunade's amber eyes were filled with a mixture of emotions. Annoyance, surprise, and a slight hint of respect.

Tenten's on the other hand, were far different. Cold, steeled and ready for action. The brunette nodded.

"Don't be stupid. Go back to your teammates bedside."

She still did not speak, her gaze leaving leaving Tsunade's face. By now, a small crowd had gathered.

"Yosh, this is most unyouthful!" Gai yelled, his dark eyes filled with concern, "Tenten, I ask that you withdraw!"

Tenten did not respond to her sensei. She just stared.

"Gai, I'd let her be." Kakashi said, flicking through the pages of Icha Icha, keeping one eye on the two kunoichi. "She'll soon learn."

Neji stood in front of the two Jounin, his gaze drifting from Tenten to Tsunade, his brows furrowed into some imperceptible emotion. White eyes scanned them both, looking for any tenseness, anything that would indicate an attack. He shuffled restlessly.

Beside him, Shino adjusted his glasses. "The odds of your teammate being able to lay a hand on Tsunade-sama are unlikely."

Neji nodded slightly. That was true. Tenten was good, but this... was a member of the Sannin. This was out of their league.

"Come on girls, let's get to fightin'!" Kiba yelled, his worry for Hinata momentarily forgotten in the prospect of a good cat-fight. Kurenai slapped him on the shoulder, giving him a chiding look.

"Kiba, do not encourage them."

The Inuzuka grumbled under his breath, turning to Shino and elbowing him lightly in the ribs. "C'mon Shino, you telling me you've never wanted to see a Sannin fight?"

"Of course. However, there are far more prevalent things at stake. What, you ask? Hinata's safety-" He paused for a moment. "Never mind."

"What? Whatcha mean never mind!?"

Then her scent hit him. Lavender, jasmine, and... ramen. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, but smiled. "Knew you wouldn't miss a scrap Uzumaki."

Naruto didn't respond to Kiba, instead fixing his cerulean eyes on Tsunade. Hinata stopped beside him, her own lavender eyes filled with concern at his expression. Ino gently tugged on her arm, pulling her away reluctantly from the blonde haired boy.

Naruto walked forward, brushing past Kakashi and Gai, Neji and Shino, until he was standing next to Tenten. He turned his head to the side, opened his mouth, and yelled, "BRING IT YOU OLD HAG!"

Tenten looked at Naruto with something akin to surprise. Their eyes locked, and they both shared unspoken words for a few brief moments.

"What, now you're fighting with her, too?" Tsunade asked, cracking her neck. "I don't even see the point in a fight, honestly. Can't you just accept I'm not going to help your friend. Being beaten to a bloody pulp won't do you any good."

Naruto gritted his teeth in rage, "It doesn't matter! I'll fight you until my heart stops beating! Believe it!"

"That could be sooner than you think brat," Tsunade mumbled under her breath.

Tenten still stood there, motionless.

"Naruto," Kakashi put his hand over his face. "Stop being such an idiot and get back over here."

"Screw you Kakashi-sensei!"

The Copy-Ninja merely sighed, and buried his face back into his book.

Neji stepped forward, walking over to where Tenten and Naruto were standing with big strides. He slipped into his Jyuuken stance, his eyes blazing with the Byakugan.

Tenten's mouth opened, as if she was going to say something, but stopped. Naruto grinned, slipping into his own fighting stance. "Prepare to get beaten down you old woman!"

"Three against one?" Tsunade questioned, a tick appearing on her brow at being called old. "Hm, I'd stand down. You can't win."

"I don't care!" Naruto yelled, "Prepare to be destroyed!"

There was a tense silence. And then the battle began.

Neji rushed forward, his feet barely touching the ground as he sprinted. Tsunade barely reacted, examining her nails. Naruto quickly formed a familiar hand sign, ready to begin his signature jutsu.

The Hyuga dodged from side to side, trying to fake out the Slug Sennin. He pulled his palm back, and thrust it forward.

Tsunade smacked his hand away as if it was a childs. She placed her hand near Neji's chest, and flicked him. He flew backwards, colliding with Naruto. Both teens tumbled and rolled in the dirt, before slamming into the house's wall.

The collective response from the younger generation of ninja were opened mouths and wide eyes. "Holy shit." Kiba said stunned. Shino adjusted his glasses.

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

Tsunade's amber eyes landed on the motionless Tenten. "Well? I've gotten rid of your 'back-up'. Your turn."

The brunette reached behind her back, before three kunai were flying towards the Slug Sannin. Tsunade stepped to the side as they thudded into the bark of a tree. "That all you got?"

Tenten got into a low crouch, analysing the terrain. With hard brown eyes, she charged forward. Pulling out two small scrolls, she threw them up into the air and made a hand sign. The scrolls unraveled, and two long metal pipes popped out. Tenten caught them in both hands, before joining them together.

"A Bo-Staff. Impressive." Kakashi stated. Gai's serious face mellowed somewhat with a smile.

"Yes, she is."

Tsunade didn't seem to think so, merely scoffing. The brunette kunoichi leapt high into the air, raising her staff above her head. The Slug Princess side-stepped as it crashed into the dirt. She then ducked a swipe, and began to trail backwards, dodging and ducking every attack that Tenten used against her.

Team Gai's kunoichi did not falter, however, and continued her barrage. Finally, Tsunade seemed to grow bored, easily grasping the end of the staff. With one hand, she lifted it high into the air, with Tenten still attached, and threw it.

Tenten quickly adjusted herself, tucking into a rolling position as she hit the ground hard, but avoiding most of the damage. She exited the roll drawing three shuriken from her pouch and lobbing them at the Sennin.

Tsunade did not side step them this time, instead placing her hands in a clapping motion. As the shuriken drew near, with an almighty bang, Tsunade clapped her hands together. The sheer force blew back the shuriken and tore up some earth.

Tenten grimaced as she managed to dodge the shuriken, but not the earth. It slammed into her side, eliciting a cry of pain as she collapsed on one knee.

Tsunade made a noise of annoyance, before she turned her attention back towards the two teens running towards her. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a loud cry, and multiple puffs of smoke six Naruto's materialized. With a roar of rage, they began to assault Tsunade. Or, rather, tried to.

Tsunade did the exact same thing she did earlier, clapping her hands together loudly. The force of the clap caused the clones to disappear and Naruto to be blown backwards. The Slug Sennin's amber eyes followed the blur to her left. "He's fast."

Neji, with an outstretched palm looked to strike Tsunade in the side. She had other ideas. Leaping upwards, Neji's attack missed. Tsunade then pushed her foot downwards, smashing against the elbow of the Hyuga. He cried out in pain, barely managing to pick up enough momentum to dodge Tsunade's other foot as it crashed into the ground. However, Neji tripped and skidded through the dirt.

"Heh, not bad kid. But not good enough."

Neji grimaced, slowly leveraging himself up. His arm certainly wasn't broken, but it was struck in such an area it pretty much made his limb useless. He watched as Tenten sailed over his head.

Tsunade caught Tenten's foot with ease, barely looking towards her as Naruto once again charged. She applied enough pressure to sprain the girls ankle. To her surprise, Tenten disappeared in a puff of smoke. Momentarily blinded, Naruto took this opportunity to attack. He slammed his fist into Tsunade's stomach. She didn't flinch or move.

The smoke cleared, revealing the annoyed face of the Slug Sennin. Naruto gulped.

"She didn't even flinch!" Ino cried in exasperation. Hinata watched in horror as Naruto was promptly uppercutted in the jaw, sending him sprawling backwards. She silently thanked Kami that Tsunade hadn't used any of her strength. She would have taken his head off!

Ino turned to Kakashi. "Sensei, why didn't Tsunade-sama flinch? Naruto hit her square in the stomach!"

"I wish to ask the same question," Shino stated, "Either Tsunade-sama has a massive amount of endurance, or it was a technique of some kind?"

"You are correct on both assumptions, Shino," Kakashi eye smiled, "While Tsunade-sama has a massive amount of endurance, more so than any other shinobi in existence, that was a technique."

"One of her own creation, I believe?" Kurenai questioned.

The Copy Ninja nodded. "Yes. Tsunade-sama channels chakra to a certain part of her body, effectively creating a piece of 'chakra armour'. It can be penetrated, but a normal punch is simply a scratch to one of the Legendary Sannin."

Naruto leapt to his feet, growling. "Bitch!"

Tsunade smirked, but her face soon turned into one of annoyance as she ducked, an array of thrown weapons sailing over her head.

"Gah!" Naruto leapt to the side just in time to avoid being skewered.

The Legendary Sennin swung around catching the halberd as it came inches towards her face. "You have an impressive repertoire."

Tenten sneered.

Tsunade didn't wait for the brunette kunoichi to move, instead kicking out her leg. Tenten felt the weight of gravity was she lost her balance, falling face first into the dirt.

Neji charged as Tsunade stood up, his injured arm flailing behind him. The pain was insurmountable, but he had to reach Tenten before any major damage-

A stiff kick caught him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Tsunade didn't even look towards him as she lowered her foot, instead opting to dodge a sloppy punch from Tenten.

"Heh, you should stop playing little girl," The Slug Sannin laughed, sweeping Tenten's legs out from under her. She fell onto her back, and felt the air leave her lungs as Tsunade stood on her chest. "Perhaps then you will learn to respect your elders."

The blonde kunoichi pressed down on the younger female nin, causing her to cry out in pain at the pressure.

She had to take a step back was Naruto sailed forward, fist cocked. He missed his punch, but surprised the Slug Sannin by gripping onto the fabric of her shirt. He swung back around, ready to strike the kunoichi in the face. She simply raised her hand and caught his fist, and swung him upwards.

Naruto stayed upside down, Tsunade keeping him that way with one hand. After a few moments, she pulled him back down. Straight onto her knee. Naruto yelped in pain as he collapsed to the floor. And poofed into smoke.

"Attack!"

Tsunade spun around as ten Naruto's leapt from the bushes. She grimaced. "Annoying brat!"

She went to do her clapping move, but let out a gasp of surprise pain. Neji breathed in heavily, his palm on Tsunade's leg. With a curse, the blonde collapsed to one knee.

"Yeah!" The Naruto's yelled simultaneously as they neared Tsunade.

The Slug Sannin merely growled in annoyance as she disappeared in a puff of smoke, replacing herself with Tenten. "Oh sh-"

The Naruto's collided with Tenten's surprised body, puffs of smoke and loud thuds filling the air. Neji had managed to roll out the way in time, avoiding the barrage of orange.

"I'm somewhat impressed." Tsunade muttered as she healed her leg in a couple of seconds. "But you're all still weak."

Tenten growled, throwing Naruto off her as she clambered to her feet. "Shut. Up!"

Tsunade quirked an irritated brow. "Make me."

"With pleasure!"

A clone wrapped its arms around Tsunade, binding her with a bone-crushing hug. "Now Tenten!"

The brunette charged forward, producing a kunai from her pouch. "Die!"

Tsunade simply flexed her muscles, and the clone poofed out of existence. The Slug Sennin swatted Tenten's hand away, grasping at her neck and lifting her upwards.

She coughed for air. "You should stop this pointlessness." Tsunade said, dropping Tenten to the floor as she choked violently. "But, I know you won't, so I'll take out your allies first."

The Slug Sannin was there one moment, and gone the next.

Neji had managed to rise to his feet, his eyes slightly glassy. That was one powerful kick. Tsunade's palm lightly touched his heart. He spasmed uncontrollably for a few moments, before slumping to the floor. He couldn't move! She had paralysed him!

"Hey, leave Neji alone!"

Naruto was making his way to his feet also, about to use his Shadow Clone technique. Tsunade was faster, placing her hand at the top of his head. It took about six seconds for Naruto's eyes to roll into the back of his head, and for him to fall backwards unconscious.

"Take notes girls," Tsunade turned her head and shot Ino and Hinata both a pointed glare. They both gulped.

Tenten rose to her feet, her steeled eyes giving way to pain. Her whole chest burned and ached. Was this it? Would she be swatted away like a bug trying to help her friend?

"I'm not sure whether to be impressed or not. The genius of the Hyuga clan, so easily defeated. I switched around your nerve endings." Tsunade stated to the teen, who found this out soon after. He tried to move his leg, and moved his index finger. Moved his right arm, caused his left big toe to twitch.

"Wh-what did you do to N-Naruto!?" Hinata called out worriedly. Tsunade turned to her, a hard look in her amber eyes.

"Nice of you to show up for something," She half-snarled half-sneered. Hinata took a step back. "I simply stopped the oxygen to his brain for a few seconds, which was more than enough to knock him out."

"Why won't you help him!?"

The Slug Sennin turned her attention to the seething brunette. "Because I don't want to."

Tenten's eyes widened, and she bared her teeth in an act of primal aggression. She charged.

Kakashi was impressed at how fast the girl had moved. Training under Gai really must have improved her speed and stamina. "She's good." He said to a stony faced Gai.

The Spandex Clad Jonin shook his head. "Yes. But not good enough."

"She's so strong..." Ino trailed off as Tsunade deflected one of Tenten's punches, following up with a chop to the solar plexus.

Kiba winced as the brunette flew backwards. "It's so unreal. Tsunade-sama has such strength, it's just..."

"She would easily be capable to leveling the whole town if she wished," Shino stated, as he adjusted his glasses for the millionth time. "Be glad you didn't decide to jump in Kiba."

There was an odd look in the Inuzuka's eye that Shino did not like. Not one bit.

"Kiba-"

"Man Beast Clone!"

Akamaru hopped down beside his master, turning into another form of Kiba. With a growl, they both charged forward, leaping into the air.

"Kiba, stop this!" Kurenai cried in exasperation. "Shino, talk some-"

Shino was already speeding after him, and Kurenai almost sighed in relief. Until she saw the Kikaichu swarming out the Aburame's trenchcoat. "Shino!"

Kiba and Akamaru sped towards Tsunade at a breakneck pace, there bodies contorting into grey cyclones. The Slug Sennin noticed them, sending an already reeling Tenten flying backwards once more with a stiff kick to the abdomen. She made a hand-sign.

"Chakra Shield!"

A dome of solid chakra formed around the kunoichi as the two spinning vortexes of grey slammed into green. There was a loud smack, before the chakra shield expanded and sent Kiba and Akamaru backwards. Both skidded on the ground, but righted themselves.

Tsunade grimaced as a cloud of Kikaichū descended upon her. With the shield of chakra dissipating, she leapt backwards. "What are you two doing!?"

Shino leant down and helped Kiba up to his feet, before turning his glazed eyes onto amber. "Rock Lee is a shinobi of the Leaf Village, and an ally. It has taken me this long to realize this, and as such act. As a loyal Shinobi of Konoha, it is my duty to help defend other members of my village. I should have stepped in with the others when I had the chance."

"Shino, stop-"

Kurenai stopped talking as Kakashi held up a hand. "Let him speak Kurenai." He eye-smiled.

Shino continued, "And as such, I shall interfere now. You may be stronger than me, and faster than me. Logic clearly shows I'll be destroyed facing you down. But, sometimes logic must give way to emotions. Logically, I can't beat you Tsunade-sama. Emotionally, I'll do everything in my power to try. In a commonly used phrase by Naruto, 'Believe It'."

Kiba grinned wolfishly at him. "I'm glad you've started to see things less about smarts and more about feelings Shino!"

The Inuzuka Heir swore Shino smiled at him from behind his collar. "Enough talk, let's-"

"Shino's right."

Shino and Kiba turned their heads to witness Ino step forward, her own blue eyes shining. "Lee is a shinobi of Konoha. If I've learned anything over the past few months, it's that the shinobi of the village should be considered family. And what you're doing Tsunade-sama, it's wrong."

Kurenai seemed to be having a fit in the background, but all Ino could think of was, "Shikamaru would kill me if he found out about this. Screw him!"

Tsunade placed a hand on her hip. "Is that all? Or do anymore of you brats want to join this little brawl we've got going on here?" Deep inside, she felt something. Something alien, and off-putting. Something that snuggled warmly in her stomach. This kids would face odds they could not beat, for one of their friends. It reminded her of what Dan would do, of what Nawaki would do... No! She ruthlessly crushed this warm feeling. Konoha Shinobi were not her friends, and she was not a Konoha Shinobi. Not anymore.

"I-I c-can't let you do this T-Tsunade-sama."

"Hinata!?" Kurenai cried as the petite girl slowly walked forward, her eyes glued to the floor and her fingers twitching together.

"Y-you need to help Lee. P-Please?"

"No."

"I s-see..."

Hinata slipped into her Jyuuken stance, Byakugan blazing.

A small part of Tsunade admired her strength. The rest crushed that feeling with annoyance. This was going to end quickly.

"T-Thank you guys so much." Tenten spoke, wiping at her eyes as she made her way to her feet. She was bruised and battered all over. But refused to give up.

"No problem Tenten," Ino smiled. "Now, let's do this! For Lee!"

"This is insane." Kurenai stated, nervously tapping her foot. "We can't let them do this!"

Kakashi turned his head to the side, raising one grey eyebrow. "Oh? And why ever not?"

The red eyed kunoichi shuffled uncomfortably. She respected Kakashi as an ally and a friend, but at times he was just so slothful! It was maddening. "They'll get killed!"

"Have some faith Kurenai," The Copy Ninja stated, flipping another page of his book. "They'll be just fine. In fact, they may even learn some things."

"Learn some things? Don't be stupid Kakashi. They're going to be beaten to within an inch of their lives!"

"I highly doubt that. Tsunade-sama knows we have an important mission. She will merely give them some bruises, both physically and mentally, and then everything will be alright."

"You think?" Gai finally spoke, his face still rather stony, but slightly softened around the edges. "Can they take some bruises right now?"

"Physically or mentally?"

"Mentally. I have the utmost faith in my teams abilities. But, Tenten's not coping at all with Lee's poor health. If she doesn't stop soon, she'll be badly beaten. So severely, in fact, she may resign from becoming a ninja."

Kurenai blinked. Gai was certainly an eccentric man, but he knew his stuff. "You think she may resign?"

"Sadly, yes. Tenten has always been the most emotional on my team, believe it or not. Lee is certainly an emotionally shinobi, with strong burning flames of youth. Tenten too has that flame, only to a different extent. Lee's able to deal with the loss of his comrades. It's happened to him before, and it'll happen to him again. Tenten, however, has never been good at coping with loss. In fact, she is so emotional, I almost recommended her to be pushed out of the academy and become a civilian."

"Wow, I had no idea Gai. However, in a certain way, she's dealing with it far better than she was a few hours ago, would you not agree?" Kakashi asked. Gai grimly nodded.

"Of course. She's gone from crying and not dealing with her problems head on, to furiously attacking them with every single beat of her heart. But, as much as I immensely dislike that Tsunade-sama will not help Lee," His jaw tensed and his hands closed into fists, "Attacking her would do nothing. And I would be soundly beaten. My pride could take the hit. Tenten's could not. And coupled with the stakes..."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Perhaps, but the stakes hanging over her may help. By pushing her to her limits, and her love for her teammate, it may end with her winning in the end."

"There is no way she can beat Tsunade-"

"I never said that Kurenai. There are multiple ways to beat your opponent. Just watch. And, to nip your worries about the other kids in the bud, they'll be fine. They'll just help strengthen Tenten's resolve."

"But they'll still be slaughtered." Kurenai stated blandly, folding her arms. "We should try to get them out of there."

"And then what?" Gai asked, smiling slightly, the stoniness of his face ebbing away bit by bit. "We are forced to hold back four genin who desperately want to help their comrade? No, my Eternal Rival is right. It will not only help morale, but may give Tenten the ability she needs..."

"What ability?" Kurenai asked, "What are you two going on about!?"

Gai and Kakashi shared a look. "Older Jonin stuff, you wouldn't understand."

The dark haired Genjutsu master's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing. Looks like they're about to start again. Let's focus on watching them. And then afterwards we tell them what was wrong with their attack patterns and style. Sometimes it's fun being a teacher to cute little fiery genin."

And so, the trio of Jonin watched as the battle began once more.

A normal ninja would be concerned that she was facing down five to one odds. But Tsunade wasn't worried. She still felt odd though. Something was off with all of this. Something was wrong with her...

Amber eyes flicked upwards as a barrage of kunai sailed towards her. Being a honed kunoichi, Tsunade easily dodged them all, and found the group had scattered in different directions. Wonderful, they were using their brains now. She took stock of what she knew about the group. A Hyuuga, a Aburame, a Inuzuka, a Yamanaka and a girl with a penchant for sharp weapons. A piece of cake.

With trained ears, Tsunade easily picked up the sound of something flying through the air. She ducked as another kunai sailed over her head. Quickly twisting around, she withdrew some shuriken of her own and threw them towards her assailant.

Kiba's face turned from pride as it looked like he would hit the Slug Sennin, to horror as she dodged and returned fire. "Shit!" He quickly tried to fumble together the hand signs for an Earth Wall Jutsu. However, the shuriken was quickly closing in-

There were multiple clang of metal as the exact number of shuriken Tsunade had thrown had been countered with more shuriken. They embedded into the ground with soft thuds.

Tenten charged out of the bushes, her bo-staff held tightly in her grip. Tsunade scoffed. And then leapt to the side as a chakra enhanced palm almost grazed her side. With a sharp growl of annoyance, the Slug Sannin turned on the petite Hyuuga, readying a colossal fist. She forgot about Tenten.

There was a thick whack as Tenten's bo-staff connected roughly with Tsunade's shoulder. The Sennin gave a growl of pain, momentarily forgetting Hinata as she twisted around.

The brunette was not expecting Tsunade's speed, and was met by a fearsome fist to the face. She was lucky it wasn't chakra enhanced as she stumbled backwards. But the Slug Princess was not done yet, twisting around once more and trying to kick Hinata in the chest. The lavender eyed teen blocked with her arms, but was still sent flying backwards and rolling into the dirt.

"Fang over Fang!"

Two grey cyclones narrowly missed their target as Tsunade leapt to the side, cursing widely. These genin were getting the better of her. And they were genin for Kami's sake! Was it because she was deliberately going easy on them? Well, yes, of course she was. She didn't really want to kill them. But she was only blocking and defending... That was going to have to change.

Before Kiba and Akamaru could react, both were sent hurtling off as Tsunade delivered a devastating double punch to the solar plexus. She didn't stop there, forcefully striking Tenten in the shoulder, forcing her to drop her bo-staff, before she roughly grabbed her collar and yanked her upward. "I'm growing tired of your games!"

Tenten smirked. "Are we getting to you, Tsunade-sama?"

She didn't get time to answer.

The brunette kunoichi dissolved into hundreds of Kikaichu bugs, all latching onto Tsunade's skin and draining her chakra. She let out a cry of rage, no more playing around! She made a hand-sign, "Chakra Pulse!"

The results were staggering. A large visible wave of chakra shot out from Tsunade's body at all directions, enveloping the area before quickly dissipating. All the genin from their hiding places were blown backwards, revealing their positions. Even the three Jonin watching had to use chakra to stay upright. And, all of Shino's Kikaichu were laying motionless on the floor.

Ino was thrown against a tree, wincing at the pain in her spine. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, and Shino was struggling to get up. She stealthily crept over to him.

"Shino!" Ino hissed, helping him to his feet. "What's going on with your bugs?"

The Aburame actually seemed perturbed. "She has rendered them unconscious. An overload of chakra."

"Can you still fight?"

Shino readjusted his shades. "Not offensively. Not very well. Defensibly, that may be a-"

To Ino's surprise, the bug ninja pulled her behind him, quickly making hand-signs. "Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu!"

Slamming his hand into the ground, a wall of solid earth quickly formed in front of the two. Ino soon understood why. With a loud crash, the wall was shattered into a million pieces. Ino was knocked aside with a backhand,smashing against the tree with a loud crack. She groaned in pain. Her blue eyes flickering open, she realised Shino had it much worse.

He was engaged in hand to hand combat with Tsunade of the Sannin. And losing badly. Tsunade easily caught his fist, returning it with a bruising knee to the ribs. The Aburame sputtered at the loss of breath, and was quickly dispatched as Tsunade picked him up by his shoulders, and flung him into the trunk of another tree. If Ino was very unlucky, her whole group would be repeatedly thrown into the small patch of forest that made up the garden of Tsunade's home. It was a rather odd place. Nice agriculture area one minute, small patch of forest the next.

Ino really didn't have time to debate that though, as she raced off to help Shino.

Hinata breathed in heavily, her small frame pressed up against the bark of a tree. This was... insanity. Her father would flip if he found out she was challenging someone with such stature as Tsunade-sama. But she had to do it. For Lee and Naruto. Still, her chest felt like someone had piled a bunch of bricks onto it, and they refused to fall off. In fact, it felt oddly like a Jyuuken strike. Tsunade was really powerful.

The petite Hyuuga reactivated her Byakugan, having turned it off to conserve energy. She took stock of her surroundings.

There weren't many trees at all. Maybe about sixteen to twenty rows. Enough to hide in, but not enough to stay hidden for long. She could see Tsunade, running through the rows of trees trying to find any of the group. Ino was talking and trying to help Shino, who thankfully, from what Hinata could tell, was still able to talk. Kiba and Akamaru were lying in wait as Tsunade neared them. And Tenten... was at the top of a tree.

The trees were certainly high enough for someone to fall and hurt themselves, but surely Tsunade would spot her from up there? What were those two planning?

Hinata absent-mindedly noticed Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei and Kurenai-sensei make there way to the edge of the trees to watch the action as she darted off towards Kiba and Tenten.

Tsunade was tearing forwards. She really wanted to tear something apart. Kiba gulped. Here went nothing...

It happened in the space of four seconds. Tsunade tripped the wire that Tenten had set up, releasing a volley of kunai from the trees. Then, Akamaru jumped from his position and nipped Tsunade in the ankle. Kiba then charged, looking to barge into Tsunade to distract her.

The plan did not go well.

Tsunade kicked Akamaru off her foot, and twisted around Kiba's efforts to barge into her. She used his own momentum against him, grabbing hold of his shoulder. With a push, and his own speed, Kiba slammed his head into a tree. Then, with speed far surpassing her age, she dodged the kunai and cocked back her fist. The tree Tenten was in splintered easily, and the brunette kunoichi almost fell out. She was forced to evacuate her hiding spot as it came collapsing down. She leapt haphazardly into another tree. Or, rather, tried.

Tsunade had leapt upwards, grasping at the foot of Tenten. With a show of force, she yanked the girl downwards.

Tenten cried out in horror, twisting her foot so it was out of Tsunade's grasp. She landed on her hands, praising her teachers intelligence at teaching her something that seemed so pointless. It may have saved her from a major bruising. For now, anyway.

She brunette gave a quick look to the unconscious Kiba, grimaced, silently thanked him for helping her out, and dashed away. Tsunade growled. This brat was beginning to annoy her!

Hinata managed to reach a sprinting Tenten as Tsunade flew towards them. "Tenten!" The Hyuuga cried in horror as the Slug Sennin collided with the brunette, sending her flying head first towards the trunk of a tree. She sighed in relief as a log replaced her.

Her relief soon fell short as she ducked Tsunade's massive fist. What followed was a thirty second game of 'dodge the punch'. Hinata gracefully ducked and weaved around Tsunade, and while unable to get a hit in on the Sennin, was able to stop herself from getting seriously injured.

Tsunade momentarily admired the girls strength. In fact, all of these genin were rather talented. She smashed the thought into little pieces, and refocused. She was still being soft. Even now, she wasn't trying. These kids dared desecrate Nawaki's death!?

Amber eyes hardened until they were as strong as stone and as cold as ice.

Hinata didn't know what hit her; at first she was facing down the Slug Sennin, and the next she was staring up into the canopy. She could feel the bruise forming on her face. She tried to move her muscles, but found she couldn't.

Tsunade finished her medical ninjutsu, most likely the same one she used on Neji, and frowned. "You should have stayed out of this." She muttered, stepping over the girl.

In an act of bravery that was few and far between for the dark haired teen, she said, "Maybe. But I fought for the honour of my c-comrades. C-can you say the s-same?"

Tsunade paused for a moment, her hand resting on the trunk of a tree. She tore a chunk off, and marched away.

"What is going on!?"

Shizune angrily stomped over to the trio of Jounin, who all looked rather nervous at the prospect of an angry medical ninja. They were certainly one of the more dangerous things in the world of a shinobi.

"Tenten challenged Tsunade-sama to a fight. Then Naruto and Neji jumped in, and then the rest jumped in..." Kakashi shrugged.

Shizune looked horrified, "And you didn't try to stop them!?"

Another shrug. "There would have been no point. Besides, they're fine. More or less," He winced as Kiba's head was slammed into the trunk of a tree.

The dark haired woman sighed. "Why are they fighting, exactly? Over Lee?"

Kurenai nodded. "Yes. If Tenten wins, Tsunade-sama has to try her best to heal him."

"Ah. I did try to make her, you know? She just refused..."

"We understand Shizune," Gai sighed. "Let's just watch what happens. Kakashi has a feeling.

"A feeling?"

Kakashi turned to her and eye-smiled. "A good kind of feeling."

Tenten ducked downwards as another large rock sailed over her head. Tsunade was getting impatient, all she had to do was-

The wind was knocked out of the brunette as Tsunade slammed into her side. She hit the tree with a thud, wincing. Shit, her shoulder hurt like hell. She hesitantly stood up, her eyes locking with amber. "Now, you will give this up."

"No!" Slapping an explosive tag on the trunk of the tree she was leaning against, Tenten darted away. There was an explosion of debris and bark behind her, but the kunoichi kept running. Who was left? Naruto and Neji were still incapacitated, from what she knew. Kiba was unconscious, Hinata was unable to move... that left Ino and Shino. She had to get to them.

She picked up speed, only to have it stopped as Tsunade substituted in front of her. With a crunching kick to the stomach, Tenten was sent back the way she came. The ground was hard and unforgiving as she skidded and rolled, eventually stopping at the base of the tree with a loud thwack.

She coughed awkwardly, her ribs burning. Things were becoming harder and harder. Her shoulder was injured, and she was sure a rib was broken. However, she was not perturbed. She had fought with Gai and Lee numerous times, and they hit almost as hard as Tsunade. Almost. She stood up slowly, using the tree trunk for support. Tenten knew she was outmatched. Badly. She needed reinforcements.

With nimble fingers, she withdrew a bunch of shuriken and lobbed them at the busty kunoichi. Tsunade swatted them away easily, watching as Tenten ran off. Not for long.

The Slug Sennin made two hand signs, her gaze never leaving the brunette as she sprinted off. "Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu!"

Tenten bit out a curse as a large mass of dirt rose upwards, blocking her path. With nowhere to go, she pivoted around to run back. And was met with a large fist to the jaw. Sent hurtling backwards, it took her body a few seconds after she crashed through the wall of earth to begin the pain.

This time, however, she did not hit a tree. She felt big strong arms wrap around her, catching her and coming to a stop.

Shino placed her down. "Are you injured?"

The large bruise on her cheek was an answer in of itself. He frowned behind his collar. Her eyes kept going out of focus, she was very dazed. He lifted her into his arms bridal style, quickly leaping to the side as Tsunade's strong fist snapped a tree in half.

Shino's feet barely touched the ground as he ran, his heart pounding in his chest. This was by far the scariest opponent he had ever faced. Forget that Lightning Ninja, compared to him, Tsunade-sama was something else entirely. Joukei was as much a kitten as Tsunade was a bear. And he knew he couldn't outrun her. It was obvious, however, that she was not really trying to hurt them. In fact, he could've sworn he saw some hesitancy in her amber eyes before she struck. Still, she was trying to beat them down till they could not get back up. And that was not an option.

He weighed up his options. His plan with Ino was flimsy at best, having to be altered several times as each member of their group was taken down one by one. Tenten was flitting in and out of consciousness, her brown eyes squinting as the creep of night began to take over.

Shino grimaced. This had to end before nightfall. Or, rather, Tsunade-sama would end it before nightfall. And that was fast approaching, only the tip of the sun being visible on the horizon. A light grey was cast over the trees, painting them in an eerie, ghostly manner.

He didn't have time to admire the scenery, he was getting close to where he was supposed to meet Ino. In fact, it was just ahead-

Shino took a second to realise that he had not detected Tsunade's chakra signature behind him for some time. He took one more to second to glance up. He took one more to throw Tenten as far as he could as Tsunade came crashing down on top of him.

Tenten's crash into the floor woke her with a jolt, knocking her out of the different zones of unconsciousness she kept slipping into to. She leapt upward, the pain in her ribs, jaw and shoulder almost unbearable. But she had to press on.

Tsunade stood up, examining the prone body under her. He was knocked unconscious, certainly not dead. This was good, she thought she may have overdone it a bit. But, it was finally coming to a close. This ridiculous fight. She spared a glance at Tenten, who looked worse and worse for wear for each second that passed.

The ninja wire that wrapped around her body was unexpected, and she cursed. Again, she was caught by Genin. She was pulled back against a tree, the wire zipping around and binding her tightly to the trunk. Ino leapt out from behind another tree, her hands forming a sign. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Tsunade scoffed, substituting with a squirrel. Ino's body slumped to the floor as she entered the squirrels mind. She cursed loudly. She had missed!

She went back to her own body, but found it couldn't move. Tsunade leaned over her, a sneer on her face. "Try better next time."

"You don't need to do this Tsunade-sama," Ino's voice was calm and clear. "Just help Lee. He's a Konoha ninja just like you! Think about what the Third Hokage said, about The Will of Fire-"

"The Will of Fire is a lie!"

The sun had now set, darkness swarming over the landscape. The trees became shapeless against the black canvas of night. Tsunade shook angrily, Ino lying prone on her back, and Tenten frustratingly trying to focus on times gone to get the pain to go away.

"The Will of Fire is a lie," Tsunade repeated, "Everything that old man has ever said was a lie. A pathetic facade to pull the wool over your eyes. There is no comradeship in Konoha, or any ninja village. I lost the two most important people in my life because of that village, and I am not returning, nor helping anyone from there!"

Tenten bit back tears. "You truly are scum. And to think I used to respect someone so foul!"

"I'M TIRED OF THESE GAMES!"

With a roar, Tsunade mercilessly charged forward. Tenten smirked.

She leapt into the air, using her chakra enhanced feet to stick to the two trees. Tsunade couldn't stop in time as she tripped a ninja wire, and with it, a pair of explosive tags on the floor. Tenten leapt downwards, scooped Ino into her arms, and bolted. The explosion rocked the forest, the shockwaves sending Tenten flying straight into a tree. Ino took the brunt of the impact, crying out in pain. "Shit," The Yamanaka swore. Tenten leant against the trunk of another tree.

"Are you alright Ino?" The brunette asked, panting heavily.

"Been better."

Despite the situation, Tenten laughed bitterly. "I know what you mean."

Ino smiled softly, wincing as she moved. "I think I've broken a rib," she muttered. "Listen to me Tenten," She began, whispering hushed things into the brunettes ear as they rested.

Tenten's eyes widened. She thanked Ino, placed her safely down, and went to investigate the carnage.

Tsunade was at the end of her rope. Properly, this time. She'd been saying that a lot. But this time... she meant it.

She was lucky enough to reinforce her body with chakra, rendering the explosion almost useless. Still, the smoke had covered her tracks. She was masking her chakra carefully as Tenten came to inspect...

Leaping out from cover, Tsunade kicked Tenten in the back of the head, sending her flying out of the patch of trees and back into the courtyard.

"Tsunade-sama, stop this!"

Shizune's voice didn't reach her. Or, rather, it reached her ears, but didn't break the barrier of rage. She stomped forward as Tenten shakily rose upwards. She certainly had a concussion. Good. One more punch, and she'd be out.

Drip, drip, drip.

Tsunade froze. The ruby red liquid trailed down Tenten's arm, a twisted smirk on the brunettes face. "You have a fear of blood, Tsunade-sama?"

The Slug Sennin stood transfixed on the blood as it dripped down Tenten's arm and onto the grass. "It's a shame that you do. A mighty member of the Legendary Sannin, stopped in her tracks by a simple drop of blood.

Tsunade didn't even notice Tenten getting closer. And she certainly didn't notice the fist as it smashed into her face, most likely breaking her nose. She staggered back, the feeling of blood trailing down her face. It was on her fingers, it was on her fingers! She closed her eyes, trying to block out the visions of Nawaki and Dan...

Another blow to the gut, and another, and another. Tenten viciously pushed back Tsunade, every blow doing more and more damage. The Slug Sennin could only feel the pain as Tenten's fists rained down upon her. Blood, blood, blood, blood, BLOOD!

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune's voice reached her ears, but the deafening pounding in her head blocked it out. She could feel the four pairs of eyes, all Jonin, watching her. Judging her. Pitying her.

"You must help him, you must help him! HELP HIM!" Tenten's anguished cries grew louder and louder as her fists grew bloodier and bloodier. Tsunade's face was covered in cuts and bruises. But it wasn't enough.

"Help hi-"

Tsunade caught her fist. There was a beat of silence. Tsunade's amber eyes flickered open. Tenten's brown ones widened.

The Slug Sennin's hand shot out, grabbing and squeezing Tenten's neck. The brunette tried to cry out in fear, but couldn't, her windpipe being crushed. "This is the end!"

With a roar, part anger and part anguish, Tsunade raised Tenten high up into the air by her neck, and slammed her down to the floor, a colossal explosion of debris coating the area with a thick cloud of dust.

Shizune went to race off, but Kakashi stopped her. "Are you an idiot!?" She roared, "Tenten could be horribly injured."

"Let's wait and see what happens."

"No, I-"

"Shizune-san," Gai spoke, "Let's us see what happens."

Shizune blinked, but fell back into line as the dust settled.

Tsunade breathed in and out, in and out. She felt immensely tired, but also as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Blood... it didn't seem so scary anymore. She had beaten it, she had beaten it! She looked downwards, amber eyes filling once more with anger at the beaten form of Tenten. But... she still ruined his day. If it wasn't bad enough already.

Rage consumed the Slug Sennin, ugly sadistic rage. With a vicious punt, she kicked Tenten squarely in the ribs, sending her flying a few feet away.

It took a moment for horror to set in. She had punted a child, a child so hard in the ribs, she could of cracked them all.

It was then, to her shock and rage, Tenten slowly stood up. What was this girls problem, why wouldn't she stay down!? The busty kunoichi gritted her teeth, racing forward and hitting the genin with an uppercut. She staggered backwards, landing on the floor with a thud. But she stood up, wiped her jaw, and advanced.

Tsunade almost didn't dodge the sloppy punch that the girl had thrown her way. Why wasn't staying down. "Admit defeat!" She yelled, slamming her palm into the brunette's gut. She coughed up a glob blood, collapsing to her knees. And yet, in the space of a few seconds, she was back up.

"Stay down! Why do you keep rising!?"

Tsunade back-handed the girl, sending her spinning and crashing into the earth. She was down for longer, Tenten's pained breaths filling the air. Finally, with shaky arms, she began to push herself up. "Because... My friends are my family. Every single one of them is a precious person. Lee is like my brother... and you won't help him."

She woozily swung around, despite all the pain in her eyes, one emotion beat them all; defiance.

"You'll have to kill me to stop me from standing up to help my family. They're my precious people and I won't let your selfishness endanger their lives! I will keep getting up till my legs don't work. If my legs don't work, I'll claw at you. If my arms don't work, I'll bite your head off!" Tenten paused, breathless. "And... if that's not enough... then I'll die knowing I tried my hardest to protect the ones I love."

Tsunade opened and closed her mouth multiple times. Pictures of Dan and Nawaki flew through her mind, pictures of her trying to save her love, pictures of her mourning over her little brothers grave. She replaced that with Tenten, mourning over the loss of one of her closest friends. Her family.

"I'll help."

Tenten blinked, thinking her ears must of failed her. "What?"

"I said... I'll help," She spoke louder this time, "You win." Amber eyes locked with brown in a show of understanding. "You've got guts kid. More importantly, you got heart. I've lacked both of those for a long time."

Tenten looked wary, but offered a small, tired smile. She then collapsed to the floor.

Tsunade sighed, tiredly surveying the destruction and bodies of genin she had fought. What a day.

"Shizune!" She barked, causing the dark-haired woman to jump out of her skin.

"Y-yes Tsunade-sama?"

"You got enough energy to heal these brats?"

Shizune blanched, but nodded her head. "Good, 'cause I need a drink and some sleep."

And the member of the Legendary Sannin sauntered off back into the house.

"I... what... huh?" Shizune asked.

Kakashi shrugged. "Told you, everything would work out for the better. The kids got a bit of exercise, got their asses soundly beaten. This helped them learn what it was like to face a powerful opponent, and we got to observe their improvised tactics. We can use that to benefit them. And, Lee is now getting help from Tsunade-sama. I'm a genius."

Shizune was still opening and closing her mouth in disbelief as she walked over to Tenten's prone form, leaning down to examine her.

"YOSH! My most hip and youthful rival has once again used his ingenious intelligence to help my students! The fires of youth burn within us all my eternal rival. For your bout of generosity and wise ways, I shall do three-hundred one finger push-ups while balancing two boulders on my back. But first, to help the lovely Shizune-san gather up the most wondrous genin. Yosh!"

Kakashi and Kurenai both stuck a finger in their ears as Gai skipped away. Youthful Gai was back, which made a... change to the serious Gai they had been stuck with for the past hour.

"You totally winged that, didn't you?" Kurenai said.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Me, winging something? No, not at all-"

"Kakashi." The wine eyed Genjutsu user threatened.

"Fine. Yes, totally winged it. I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did, I thought I was going to have to step in a few times."

"Maybe we should of. They were beaten badly Kakashi!"

"Yes, and? The life of a ninja is dangerous, and they need to learn to fight on their own. We can't always be there to look after them. They'll all wake up tomorrow with some aches, bruises, and their egos in tatters. And they have a week to recover, so they'll be fit and healthy by the time the mission starts."

Kurenai merely shook her head in disbelief. "You really like driving them insane, don't you?"

"Indeed. It's part of the fun of being a teacher, teasing your cute little genin is what makes this job worthwhile!" Kakashi eye-smiled.

And so the most explosive night that most of the young genin had ever experienced came to a close. Well, until next week.

And there we go! So, I've got quite a few things to talk about, mainly questions I reckon I'll get in reviews.

We'll start with Tsunade herself. As you may have noticed, I've given her some more abilities, including some Ninjutsu and some special chakra techniques. I've always felt that Tsunade was a bit underwhelming in canon, and I've taken the liberty of increasing her move-list. So, in my fic, she'll most likely be a fantastic combatant, more so than in canon. Now, obviously she was tricked quite a lot in this fight, whereas if this was an honest fight, Tsunade probably could've done one or two moves and wiped everybody out. That wouldn't have made for very interesting writing, so I took some liberties with that. Let's just say she underestimated them.

We come to now, probably a part of this chapter that may split peoples opinions and how it was handled. I'm talking about Tsunade's change of heart from the beginning to the end of the fight. You could say it was sloppy writing, I suppose. I wouldn't say that. I'd use this in my defense.

During this fight, Tsunade's mindset has not been the greatest. Considering that this was a day of pain, sorrow and anger for her, her mood would most certainly swing from calm, to angry. A small part of Tsunade realises how horrible she is being, and is trying to fight that, but the ferocious bitter side continues to dominate. Slowly but surely, the groups reasoning gets through to her, but also increases her anger tenfold. She's constantly being questioned for something deep down she knows is right, but just can't bring herself to agree. This makes her angry, deeply so. Keeping in mind the adrenaline running through her veins, it certainly must've affected her judgement. Now, with her getting over her fear of blood; she hasn't. Well, she's taken steps, but she hasn't gotten over it. Again, it was in the heat of the moment, anger and bitterness took over. So, while she's improved in her fear of blood, it's certainly not gone. With this 'triumph', coupled with the words Tenten spoke, the adrenaline coursing through her veins, and her conscious finally catching up with her, she realises what a fool she's been. Was it very well-explained why she changed her mind? Not overly, but give it time. I will go into more detail about it later.

That's my little defence rant thing. If you have any questions, leave them in a review. And, to round everything up really fast, I'm looking to give each character their own unique Taijutsu style, or each have different variations of a similar style. Having done research, I've found it hard to find out much information on different styles of martial arts that only go into the bare basics. I will try to create my own different styles, but a decent understanding of the basic and normal martial arts, and their different variations and styles would be most beneficial. If anybody knows of a website, knows firsthand about Martial Arts, or would like to help me come up with different Martial Styles for the characters, let me know in a review or a PM, and we'll talk.

I'm off to watch some Dr. Who and then some Anime. So, have a great morning/afternoon/evening/night!