Naruto: Densetsu no yonnin

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Divine being talking"

'Divine being thinking'

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

AN/ Hey guys, I got this done over the Easter break and I didn't see the point on making you wait any longer for it, so here you go.

Chapter 12: The great shinobi, Hokage Forever…

Team seven were staring down the three Kumo Jōnin as they approached the centre of the arena. Naruto felt uneasy as he got closer to the Jōnin. As he got closer, it started to centre itself towards one Jōnin in particular. He had a scar running from his left jaw to the corner of his mouth. His eyes were a dull hazel colour and his hair was tied into a neat, low pony-tail and was black while his skin tone was light. He could feel a familiar chakra coming from him but weaker than he remembered. He couldn't quiet put his finger on it but he knew it was bad. The two men beside him looked slightly arrogant, but cautious as well. The first was black and had dark blonde hair, he was also the smallest of the three. The third man however was a mystery as a mask covered his face but like the first man, Naruto felt like he knew him. There was a sick feeling forming in Naruto's stomach as Keiko introduced them for the match. "Ready, Hajime" Keiko shouted, bringing him out of his thoughts. The three men charged team seven at speeds that most of the ANBU would have trouble keeping up with. Naruto yelled for Jiraiya and Orochimaru to jump back as he created a clone to fight for them. The three Jōnin smirked when they saw the look of shock on Jiraiya and Orochimaru but frowned at seeing Naruto and Tsunade. Naruto sent signals to Jiraiya and Orochimaru to keep their distance and attack from long range.

.

He then sent a signal to Tsunade and his clone to attack. The six stayed locked in a taijutsu battle while Jiraiya and Orochimaru helped from the distance, using every available jutsu in their arsenal. At some point, the masked man managed to get a hold of Naruto's clone and tried to stab it with a kunai. He jumped back in surprise, as only fractions of a second later, the clone exploded. Naruto was fighting two of the guys by himself and was doing alright, but Tsunade had already taken off her weights and was using her monstrous strength even though Naruto told her she should only use it when she was struggling. "Banshō Ten'in" Naruto yelled. Just before Tsunade was about to be struck down, an invisible force pulled her away. "You alright" Naruto asked her. Tsunade just nodded. Jiraiya and Orochimaru jumped down. "What do we do, they're way stronger than us" Tsunade said, her worried tone was obvious in her voice. Naruto silently placed a seal on the three. They didn't get time to speak any longer as the Jōnin rushed them again. Naruto managed to get away, but his teammates weren't so lucky. The three Jōnin knocked the three out and took them hostage. "Give up kid, and we'll let them live" the masked man said. Naruto smirked and dropped a kunai he took out when he jumped. He then activate the Hiraishin seal on them. The three Jōnin were surprised when the three kids were flashed away and beside their teammate in less than a second. Tsunade got up groggily and when she realised where she was, she felt relieved. One man smiled and Naruto knew where he knew the man from. He didn't necessarily know the man, but what was inside of him. Hashirama never gave the bijū away to other villages but there were a few that managed to seal some bijū chakra inside themselves, one way or another. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were perfect examples. This man held chakra from the Nanabi.

.

He also proved he wasn't afraid to show it as his companions stepped back and he entered a five-tailed state. "Shit" Naruto said as he created three clones to set up a barrier to protect them. Both he and Tsunade then rushed the man but were forced to jump away as he jumped up to stab them. "Dammit, what are going to do" Tsunade said. Naruto then came up with an idea. "Throw a kunai at him, maybe he'll gloat" Naruto said quietly. Sure enough when she did, he gloated with arrogance. "Hahaha. It's no use, no metal can harm me in this form" he said as he caught the kunai and made it melt. Naruto smirked and drew his swords. "A bold claim, let's see if you can dance as well as you run your mouth" he said. This made the man angry and he attacked Naruto. Naruto brought his swords up to block and the man, expecting them to melt, went straight for them. To his surprise and agony, the swords didn't melt but instead, sliced right through his left hand and bruised his right. "Gyaaaa, what, kind of, genjutsu is this" he said in between grunts. "No genjutsu, just two swords that can resist the burns of youkai" Naruto said. "Of what" the man asked, obviously confused. Naruto let out a light laugh. "You don't even know what you're using" he said before giving a hearty laugh. Naruto looked to Hashirama who gave a nod of approval. "Now that I have permission, I can show you one of my strongest techniques, it's based off of the strongest technique known to man, the bijūdama" he said, making the man gulp. "I, call, your, bluff" he said, starting to feel confident.

.

Naruto started forming a Rasengan in his hand before it shot out into his Rasenshuriken. "Fūton: Rasenshuriken" he said before throwing the large spiralling shuriken. The man was so shocked he only barely got out of the way, the Rasenshuriken clipping his foot. What happened next was something no one expected. It blew up. When it dissipated, all that was left of the man was his torn headband. The whole audience was shocked at the sheer power Naruto had displayed, in fact the only ones who weren't shocked were Hashirama, Naruto and Tsunade. Naruto ran forward and absorbed the Nanabi's chakra that was left hanging in the air. The other two men rushed down, hoping to catch them off guard, but Naruto just threw a load of Hiraishin kunai at them. "Heh, maybe you should work on your aim kid, you didn't hit us with any of them" the masked man said. "Wasn't aiming for you" he said, charging a Rasengan. He suddenly flashed away and appeared next to the man's partner and shoved the Rasengan into his gut. Before the masked man could do anything, he flashed away again. His eyes widened in realisation. "Those kunai, they're what you use to use that technique, impressive" he said. "But I have a job to complete" he said, making a hand seal. There was an explosion and the masked man ran faster than anyone could see, towards the Kage booth. Naruto and Tsunade both shunshined there. The crowd would have been hysteric, only the explosion released a genjutsu that put them to sleep. When the two got there, they were shocked to see both Hashirama and the Raikage staring him down. Without his mask, which was on the ground, Naruto recognised who it was.

.

Standing there, in all his old glory, was Kakuzu. "I am truly sorry Raikage, but my allegiance lies with someone else, you should have known not to trust a nuke-nin" Kakuzu said sarcastically. Tsunade tried to surprise him by using her strength, but Kakuzu just turned with a kunai ready to kill her. Luckily, for the third time that day, Naruto saved her by using the Hiraishin. "You really have to stop trying to kill yourself" Naruto said to her. Tsunade just grumbled. "Tsunade, go heal Jiraiya and Orochimaru and get them onto the roof" Naruto said. Tsunade was confused but the look on Naruto's face told her he wasn't messing so she just complied. "I have to admit kid, you really surprised me today, but your life is forfeit" Kakuzu said before rushing to stab Naruto. He was in shock when he went straight through him, literally. "What the hell was that" Kakuzu asked in fear. "You should know, you've fought Madara enough times to have seen it" Naruto said. "Kamui" Kakuzu whispered. Naruto smirked. "Still, it's no use, even as we speak, my allies are attacking and killing the shinobi and civilians, whether you make it out or not, your village will be crippled, heavily" Kakuzu said. Hashirama's eyes widened. "Shit, this is bad" he mumbled to himself. "I thought so" Naruto said aloud. "Oh really, care to share this with the rest of us" the Raikage said. "I'd assume that the lightning Daimyo has allied himself with Ame, with you gone, he would have more control over your shinobi, with Hashirama gone, Konoha would lose morale and with my team and I gone, he gets rid of a potential threat" Naruto said. Kakuzu looked shocked. 'How the hell did he figure it out, oh well, he'll be dead in a few minutes' he thought.

.

"If you think that you've got me all figured out, then you're wrong kid" Kakuzu said. Kakuzu then tried to use his earth grudge fear technique on Naruto but it just passed through him again. "Come on kid, we both know you have to turn tangible again to hit me" Kakuzu said in frustration. In his argument, Kakuzu had totally forgotten about the Raikage and Hashirama. "Jigokozuki" a gruff voice shouted. Kakuzu turned around and to his shock, the Raikage was right in front of his, with his fingers driven through his chest. "It's going to take more than that" Kakuzu said as he used his earth grudge fear to take hold of the Raikage and began to squeeze. "Mokuton: Mokuryū no jutsu" Hashirama said. A giant dragon with a trunk nose burst out of the ground in the arena and went straight for Kakuzu, who was forced to release his hold on the Raikage. Kakuzu jumped to the roof in an attempt to escape the dragon. It was then that he saw team seven, fully healed. "Just because you're technically immortal, doesn't mean we can't kill you, Kakuzu-san" Naruto said from behind him. He turned around to a sight he wasn't prepared to see. Naruto was there, in a three-tailed state, silver chakra had consumed his body and made him look more feral. "You're a Jinchūriki" Kakuzu shouted in fear. "Yes, only unlike your friend, I cannot be consumed by the hatred that comes with it" Naruto said, his grin becoming more feral as he entered the four-tailed state. Naruto's teammates jumped to his side and Tsunade followed suit and entered her own four-tailed state. "Two Jinchūriki, dammit" Kakuzu whispered to himself. He was brought out of his thoughts when Naruto started charging what looked to be a bijūdama, only about as small as his palm. "Chō mini bijūdama" he said before firing.

.

Kakuzu managed to dodge it but the explosion was great enough to reach the bottom mask on his right hand side. He didn't get any time to rest as when he landed, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were right on top of him and they were attacking with such precision that he had to jump back or risk losing another mask. At least that's what he thought until Tsunade came and threw a punch right through his wind mask, leaving only his earth and fire mask. He jumped away from the four when he realized that he had forgotten about the Hokage and Raikage. "Jigokozuki" the Raikage said, driving two fingers though his earth mask. "Kakuzu, the invasion was a failure, they knew we were coming" a voice behind Kakuzu said. Naruto recognised the voice, it was Hidan. "Pray tell, what time do you call this, you were meant to be here as soon as the explosion went off" Kakuzu shouted at his companion. "I just told you, the invasion failed, the Nidaime Hokage was waiting for us, we only managed to injure a few, we're in full retreat" Hidan said while he panted, beads of sweat were falling from his chin. "We need to get out of here, I only have two hearts left" Kakuzu said. Hidan looked at the group before the two shunshined away. Naruto and Tsunade dropped their tailed beast states and while there were a few visible burns and scars, it was nothing serious. Hashirama had a look of relief on his face as he looked over the village. The group, including the Raikage, rushed towards the only place that had smoke rising from it. When they got there however, it wasn't a sight they were expecting. Tobirama was lying on an operating table, unconscious. "What the hell happened here" Hashirama said in a demanding tone. "I'm afraid that Tobirama-sama was taken by surprise, we don't have time to get to the hospital so we're operating here" a nurse who was carrying equipment to the table said, her voice was reasonably distressed.

.

Naruto looked over to Tsunade and saw that she was extremely worried that Tobirama wouldn't make it. He held on to her hand and even after all this time, it amazed him at how easily it calmed her down. Tsunade looked to Naruto and he just smiled. Tsunade seemed to calm down a bit but Naruto could still feel her tense grip and sweaty hand, telling him that she was only putting a brave face on. After an hour of intense surgery, Tobirama woke up. The only problem was that they were still doing surgery on him. "Shit, he shouldn't be awake" one of the doctors yelled. "H-Hashirama" Tobirama's voice was raspy as he reached out to his brother. He then made a hand sign and touched Hashirama's forehead as he whispered "Memory transfer" making Hashirama stumble back. Tobirama then looked towards Tsunade and Naruto. When he saw their interlocked hands, he smiled, before letting out his final breath. There was a morbid among everyone there. Tsunade's eyes were filled with tears but her expression stayed the same as she knew it would have been hopeless. The surrounding shinobi all turned towards the small, makeshift surgery table. A look of despair and anguish on all of their faces. The silence stayed as time seemed to stay still. Naruto put his arm around of Tsunade's shoulders when she started to shake and tremble. Since Naruto was slightly taller than she was, she was able to cry into his shoulder silently. Naruto comforted her quietly as he didn't want to break the silence. 'Only three remain' he thought as he felt his shoulder becoming increasingly damp. Naruto looked to the Raikage and even he seemed to be paying his respects. Naruto looked to the sky as a drop of rain splashed against his forehead. The rain started to pour down. Later that day, Konoha would find out what had happened. Naruto knew that it would be a sad time for Konoha and there would be people in the thousands to pay their respects, but right now, let them go about their normal lives, as they remain in the dark about the death that would send shockwaves through the nations.

Three days later

Naruto slowly stirred out of bed. He stared at the ground beneath him as he remembered the last three days he spent comforting Tsunade. It was only now that he realized just how close he himself had grown towards the people he now called his friends and family. When Konoha had been informed of Tobirama's death, the silence was so great that even the noise of the rain seemed to lose its volume. It hadn't stopped raining in the last three days. Some people said that even the heavens were crying as Konoha gained the record for most rainfall in Hi no Kuni. Naruto remembered the funeral for Sarutobi in his old time and knew that it proved to be the third largest amount of rainfall Konoha ever had. He walked over to his closet and got dressed in funeral attire. He knew what kind of grief Tsunade must be going through and he would take all the things she would say to him in his stride, because he knew she would regret the bad things she'd say after a while. He walked downstairs to see Tsukiko beside a blood clone to take care of the twins while she was dressed in a funeral dress. She looked over to see Naruto. "Ready to go" he asked her. She nodded and they slowly walked towards the memorial shrine. As they walked, more people began to leave their houses and joined them. They eventually reached the graveyard, which was large enough to hold hundreds of thousands of men and women. There weren't that many graves for shinobi compared to civilians as they were split down one side. However, at the head of the graveyard, was a large shrine. Naruto saw Tsunade, just staring at the grave that her grand uncle would soon occupy. He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

.

Tsunade was so deep in thought that she jumped when he placed his hand on her shoulder. Tsunade turned to see Naruto and moved closer to him as she looked back to the ground. She probably didn't understand what love meant when it came to someone she wasn't related to since she was still young, so she didn't seem to think that her actions as anything out of the ordinary. Naruto frowned when he saw the look on her face and was about to say something to her but a gong sounded through the quiet graveyard. People made way as the coffin that contained Tobirama was carried through the crowd. When they reached the grave, they laid the coffin next to the grave. The priest at the head of the grave started to speak but Naruto wasn't paying attention. He used his free hand to from some hand signs and two red roses appeared in his hand. Tsunade looked at him when he handed her one. She took it from his hand and stared at it intently. Unknown to her, Naruto had placed a seal on it that would stick to her. It would open when she was calm enough for it to do so. Soon enough, perhaps a little too soon, it was time to put the coffin into the grave. Everyone started to drop flowers on top of the coffin so Tsunade walked over with Naruto and the two dropped theirs in. Tsunade looked up at the pictures of Tobirama and a fire in her eyes that had been reduced to embers relit itself as she gained a look of determination. Naruto looked at her in surprise. He didn't think that the seal would take effect so soon, nor did he think it would take effect as well as it did. When they were walking out of the graveyard, Tsunade turned to him. "Can you help me get stronger than them" she asked. Naruto was slightly confused. "Like who" he asked.

.

"You said your parents put you through a strict training regime when you were two and you could take on the Raikage only two years later, can you help me get to that level" she asked with complete determination. "If I did, what would you do with that power" Naruto asked, worried that Tsunade might turn out like Sasuke did. Tsunade looked down to the ground. "I don't want the people I care about to die like that, I want to protect them till they die from a natural cause, not by being killed" she said, looking straight into his eyes. 'She's matured a bit, I think it's safe' Akira's voice rang through his head. Naruto sighed. "Alright" he said. Tsunade visibly cheered up. "On one condition" he said with a smirk. Tsunade's face halted the smile she was about to show. "You don't complain about anything, just do it, you complain too much and too often" Naruto said, his smirk turning into a genuine smile. Tsunade smiled and they walked out with the last few people. They were so busy with their thoughts that they never noticed their fingers interlock. They both went home that evening, ready for different things. Tsunade was ready to dedicate the next couple of years of her life to training with Naruto. Naruto was ready to start what he came here to do. Jiraiya and Orochimaru would also be training with his blood clones, he wasn't about to leave them behind while he and Tsunade advanced. Naruto walked into Tsukiko's house and as soon as he entered, Amaterasu was coming to greet him. It sometimes crept him out how she was able to get to the door just as he was about to walk in. He picked her up and closed the door as he walked into the sitting room.

.

Tsunade walked home to her grandparents. She knew how close they were with their brother/brother in-law. She saw her mother, staring at a picture of him. It amazed her at how many lives one soul could touch. She even noticed that Nawaki was quiet, though that might be because he was put to bed early, she honestly didn't know. She walked to her room and on her bed, were the healing books she had been reading before the third exam. "Dammit, I'm so close, I know it, just a little longer, then I'll be as good as Jiji" she said to herself. She started to put the books away when she saw one that she had never seen before. At a first glance, the book looked plain and old, not really appearing to have any worth. When she opened the inside, the title showed it all. "Healing, an advanced look on the art of no hand signs, by Hashirama Senju" she muttered aloud to herself, feeling like slapping her forehead at the title her grandfather came up with. She saw a small note on the bottom, hidden by a genjutsu. When she released it, she was surprised at its contents as she read the note out loud. "Dear Tsunade-chan, don't tell your grandfather but I borrowed one of his books, I know you'll love it, maybe in a couple of years' time you'll be as good a medic as he was in his prime, love Mito". Tsunade smiled. "Don't worry Baa-chan, I'll be the best at everything I do" she said to herself. In her head, a little voice laughed a bit. "Except gambling" the voice said. Tsunade started muttering about a cheeky fox before putting the book under her pillow. These next few years were going to be long and with war breaking out soon, Konoha would need all the help it could get. She started to think about what happened with Naruto earlier and smiled again, only this time, she blushed. She was glad Nawaki was too young to say much, otherwise he'd be teasing her about it. It was in this moment, that Tsunade realized she had a crush on him, and it wasn't a childish crush either.

THE END

Sorry that it was so short, it seemed to play out longer in my head. Review your thoughts to me. I just barely managed to get this done between study and socializing, so don't expect another chapter until summer holidays, a few other stories roaming around my head as well, making this story slow down a bit. Also, sorry about the poll, something went wrong with my computer and it didn't come up the first time, but it's up now. But anyway, see you next time.