This chapter marks the start of the Search for Tsunade Arc.

I only realized it was Chapter 50 last chapter just minutes after uploading it. What a milestone. :)

This chapter is a little bit fast-paced. Bear with me. The Search for Tsunade Arc is not an arc I particularly enjoyed, but I will try my best to write it nonetheless.

Solareon: Thank you! :D

Pyr00tje: Probably, but remember, in the canon Sasuke Retrieval Arc, Naruto only had the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Rasengan ;)

Awais: If you get all sad and unfocused during work and break something - and then someone comes in and resolves your sadness, will the thing remain broken? There's your answer ;)

Rain Dove: I missed your reviews. Unfortunately I am the type of writer who will just make things worst by re-writing, although I will have to consider that. And I know what you mean about Naruto being an overnight Kage thing... seriously.

FrozenFlamingFire: Yeah, I wish Tobi was really a good boy :/

Thanks to guest, Solareon, Pyr00tje, S.R.457, hi1235, Awais, Rain Dove, FrozenFlamingFire, The True Not Important, Guest, tamu, KAYKAY22PRINCESS and Hachibi8tails for the reviews!

Itachi Uchiha paced around. Finally, he stopped and fell onto the chair, placing his head in his hands. In front of him was the operating room of the Konoha hospital, and the sign of 'Operating' was still glowing a bright red.

"Coffee?"

Itachi looked up to lock gazes with a familiar masked ninja.

Kakashi Hatake gave him his signature eye-smile.

Gratefully, Itachi took the coffee from his fellow Jonin, gulping it down.

"So... how's Naruto?"

Itachi stared worriedly at the 'Operating' sign. "I don't know."

It had already been a day after the mission. Sasuke was back, but threatened by immense chakra exhaustion and was rushed to hospital immediately. Sakura was still unconscious - although expected to wake up any time now with her life out of danger - and Naruto...

Itachi frowned. Sasuke had told him how he'd used a Cursed Seal enhanced Chidori and struck home - there was no way Naruto was alive.

Fortunately, the Hokage had sense to check on the boy's heartbeat and breath instead of focusing on the hole in his stomach. Naruto was alive, and had been rushed to be operated on.

"Don't worry." Kakashi smiled. "It won't let Naruto die."

"It?"

"The Kyuubi," Kakashi shrugged. "It's obvious. If Naruto dies, it dies too. So it'll be doing everything it can to save it's container."

"You've got a point, but I can't help worrying." Itachi sighed.

The Copy Ninja nodded. "I guess. A Chidori went through him, after all." He gave Itachi an apologetic look.

Noticing this, Itachi quickly said, "I wanted you to teach Sasuke the Chidori. It isn't your fault Naruto's inside there now because of that jutsu... No one thought something like this would happen."

The one-eyed man smiled.

Before he could reply, the 'Operating' sign darkened, and Itachi jumped to his feet.

A doctor emerged, giving the prodigy a nod. "Naruto's life is out of danger."

Falling back into the chair he had just been sitting on, Itachi sighed in relief.

"Naruto Uzumaki used the Summoning Jutsu... summoning the toad known as Gamahiro to aid him in the battle against Sasuke..." Jiraiya read off the report with interest. "Naruto used the Summoning Jutsu, you say? And to summon Gamahiro? Wow. I'm impressed."

The man read on.

"Jiraiya, I asked you here today to discuss matters unrelated to Naruto," Hiruzen sighed.

Jiraiya pouted as he placed the report down on the Hokage's desk, and Hiruzen rolled his eyes.

"What's up, old man?"

The Sandaime paused, considering what his former student's answer would be.

Jiraiya stared at him, wondering what his question was.

Finally, Hiruzen spoke.

"I think... I'm ready to retire. And I want you, Jiraiya, to resume duties as the Fifth Hokage."

"Wait, what?" Jiraiya stared at Hiruzen. "How very abrupt."

"Yes," Hiruzen chuckled. "The Sand and the Sound's invasion of the Leaf... I've been thinking about retiring since then."

"Why?"

"Orochimaru said something about my age and how I should be retired already," Hiruzen said embarrassingly. "After our battle, I realized he was right." He smoked on his pipe. "Without Kakashi, Itachi, Guy and Asuma, I would not be here at this moment."

"And?"

"I am old." Hiruzen continued. "I am not as strong as I used to be. The Hokage must be the strongest in the village. That's why I feel... after that battle with Orochimaru, that it's high time I retired."

Jiraiya snorted. "Come on, old man. Just a few words from Orochimaru and you're done?"

"It is fact, Jiraiya." Hiruzen nodded sagely at his own words. "So? Will you accept-"

"No."

"Ouch." The older of the two winced, and then frowned. "That was rather direct."

"You were rather direct too," Jiraiya pointed out. "But I'm not interested in being the Hokage. You should have known that by now."

"Yes, yes," Hiruzen sighed. Part of him was delighted Jiraiya had declined - imagine the horror if the Hokage was caught peeping at women in the village's own hot springs. However, another part of him was also disappointed.

"So is that all you asked me here for?"

"No," Hiruzen revealed. "I am adamant that I want to retire."

Jiraiya shook his head, muttering something about the Third being a "stubborn old man".

"If you don't want to replace me, you are going to have to find a replacement for me." Ha, he won't be able to do that. The best Jonin in our village is either Kakashi or Itachi, and if Jiraiya comes in with them I'll say they're too young. This way, he has to be the Hokage. I just have to make sure he doesn't continue doing that shameless thing of peeping into bathhouses once he becomes the Godaime...

"Okay."

"Okay?" Hiruzen frowned.

Jiraiya smirked. "The Legendary Sannin did not comprise of me and Orochimaru alone, you know. I will find her."

"Her?" Hiruzen shook his head, laughing. "That's impossible. She'll never want to-"

"I know." The Toad Sage grinned. "That's why I'll be bringing him. He's really good at convincing people, so I heard."

"Him?"

Jiraiya simply looked back and shot his old sensei a huge grin, and jumped out of the office window.

The Third sighed.

In Tanzaku Town of the Land of Fire, a certain Tsunade Senju sneezed.

"Tsunade-sama, are you catching a cold?" Shizune asked worriedly.

"Of course not," was the snorting reply.

"Jiraiya, the kid's awake."

"Really? Hm."

Naruto opened his eyes slowly.

Where am I?

Seconds later, he recognized his location as Konoha Hospital.

There was an aching pain in his stomach, and Naruto instinctively slipped his hand down to clutch the spot. Instead of his skin, there was the papery feeling of bandages.

Suddenly, a figure leaped in through the window, giving Naruto the shock of his life. Outside the window was a giant red toad, much to Naruto's surprise. After blinking for awhile, he realized who it was.

"Boss!"

Gamabunta stuck his head into the window, careful not to damage the hospital walls. "Hello, kid."

"Oi!"

Naruto turned to the front. Jiraiya grinned at him, striking his usual comical pose.

"Pervy Sage!"

Jiraiya frowned at the nickname, but decided to put that aside for now. "How's your injuries, Naruto?"

"Injuries?" Naruto questioned. "... Oh yeah... Wait, where is Sasuke? How is Sasuke? Did Itachi-sensei bring him back? Huh?"

Seeing the blonde jumping into panic mode, Jiraiya quickly revealed what he knew of the mission outcome. Naruto sank back into his bed in relief knowing that Sasuke had returned.

"T-Then... what about Sakura-chan? Is she alright?"

"Who is Sakura?"

"Oh yeah, you don't know her..." Naruto smiled. "She's this really cute, smart, good-looking..."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow as Naruto continued giving his teammate compliments, finding his thoughts on this particular teammate of his familiar. After Naruto seemed finished with his description, he jumped to his feet.

"I'm going to see what happened to the rest of the squad."

"Relax, kid," Jiraiya gave him a disapproving look. "From what I've read in the mission report, every single member of the squad returned safely. Now sit down and rest."

Reluctantly, Naruto relaxed back into his bed. "Why did you come, Pervy Sage?"

"Well, I'm here to see if you're fine, of course. Also, I want to bring you along with me on a quick journey."

"Must I come?"

"Yes."

"No."

Jiraiya sighed. Why was this boy being so difficult to handle? "We are going to find the next Hokage! You should be honored you're being chosen for something like this!"

Naruto was genuinely surprised. He and Jiraiya were complete strangers just two months ago, and now the Pervy Sage was ready to bring him on some journey to find the next Hokage.

"Wait, did you say next Hokage?"

"Yep. The old man's retiring."

"Old man?" Naruto looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Old man Hokage?"

"Who else?" Jiraiya chuckled. "We'll be leaving right after you recover."

"I haven't said yes!"

Jiraiya shrugged, simply exiting through the window again. "See ya, kid!"

"Stupid pervert..."

Orochimaru breathed heavily.

The pain all over his body was impossible to disregard.

"What... what's the situation... Kabuto?"

Kabuto looked worriedly at his master. "You took a direct Amaterasu even before recovering from another. To be honest... the report isn't good-"

"Just tell me," Orochimaru hissed.

"R-Right." Kabuto agreed, feeling intimidated. "Well... according to the tests I've done... you won't able to recover fully again."

"What?!"

Kabuto took a few steps back, a little afraid Orochimaru would kill him in rage. "U-Unless, of course, you get treated by a person with one of the best medical skills in the world."

"Where? Where can I find such a person?" Orochimaru said angrily. Then his lips broke into an evil smirk. "Ah... yes. How could I forget?"

"Huh?"

"My old teammate... Tsunade..." The snake-like man got off the bed he was on, wincing. "Kabuto, get ready. We're leaving!"

In just another week, Naruto was officially discharged from hospital, although he had escaped two days early.

He hadn't seen Sasuke or Sakura yet, which was a disappointment. However, Itachi had visited, and updated him about his other two teammates. Naruto was relieved to find out they were both okay.

Unfortunately, Sasuke and Sakura had to wait. The Pervy Sage was adamant about leaving right after he was officially discharged.

Now currently with a small backpack and his ninja tools, Naruto waited at the gates. Jiraiya soon arrived.

"Must I really go?" Naruto questioned, as the duo walked past the guard and through the giant gates.

"Don't worry," the older man winked. "I will be teaching you a super strong jutsu, so it will be worth your time."

Hearing this, Naruto's eyes sparkled.

"Alright! Let's go on this mission thing to find the next Hokage! Yeah!"

Ah, this boy is so easy to convince, Jiraiya smirked. But then again... it's high time to see the Rasengan being used by another living being besides myself. Isn't that right, Minato? He smiled at the thought of his former favorite student.

"Where are we heading first, Pervy Sage?"

"Hm..." Jiraiya considered the question for a moment, and then looked up ahead. "Shukuba Town."

Moar short chapters! Yes, the only long chapters I can write are probably just fight scenes. Unfortunately.

Question of the Day: If you were a ninja, what would be your preferred chakra natures?

Mine would be Fire and Wind. Both are badass.

In the next chapter, Naruto and Jiraiya reach the first location of their journey, but in pursuit of the Kyuubi, the Akatsuki quickly reappears in the same location. Can Naruto defend himself from the Akatsuki? See you in the next chapter.