Naruto was in deep discussion with the Kyuubi as he and Jiraiya approached Tanazuka Gai, the city of gambling where Tsunade was located. The great beast wanted some answers from its jailor, because several things it "knew" from the last time it had interacted with shinobi longer than to kill them or be sealed wasn't adding up.
"Why did you lie to Jiraiya Naruto? You know as well as I do that you would die from being skinned alive, and if you did lose all your limbs I wouldn't be able to regenerate them. An arm or hand at once, maybe, but all four limbs plus skin? You would have died from the amount of my chakra required to heal that." A light, mental smirk was directed towards the Kyuubi as Naruto explained his terrible lie.
"I am well aware of that, along with the fact that the closest thing to me being skinned alive was when that mob tattooed the word the word demon on my back with blood and alcohol. You know of my intention to leave Konoha and join another village correct?"
"Of course I do, it's the only thing that keeps you going. Your two goals of survival and ditching the village at the earliest opportunity are well known to me, even if you only gave one of them to your godfather."
Naruto nodded. "Well, I will never get a better time then this. From what the hawk scouts I sent out have said Orochimaru is in the village ahead, so it will be a good chance to fake my death and flee to another village. However, I didn't know that at the time in Konoha, so I had to improvise. Seeing as I don't particularly hate Konoha, but neither do I like it, I am adopting a "live and let live" policy.
This is one of the rare moments in a village where both the light and the shadow are both busy, far to busy to pursue one ninja, no matter how important. I told Jiraiya those lies to cripple him with guilt so that when I take the opportunity to make my escape he will not chase me. It would be quite a problem if a man of Jiraiya's skill was chasing me down after I have finally gotten away from the village.
This is the prime chance for me, as it is the first time I have gotten out of the village with only one guard. We were followed by ANBU during the wave mission, and I was always surrounded by Root when I was working with Danzo. The man, while he cares for me, has never truly trusted me. He has experienced far too many betrayals for him not to expect me to do so. In fact I'm pretty sure that if this wasn't right after an invasion I would have Root members tailing me."
The Kyuubi understood now. While it liked to tease its vessel with images from passing females in hopes of attracting Naruto to someone, the Kyuubi itself had a very poor understanding of human's motivations. It had given up trying to understand them.
"Okay, but what about the Uchiha and the fish-man? You stabbed one through the lung and the other right through his stomach. People, shinobi or otherwise should not be getting up from that! Hell the only reason you got up after those irritating twins stabbed you was because you consciously channeled my chakra to the wound, healing it not long after it was inflicted."
"Ahhh, that is the result of a rather unique little jutsu. It's actually the one Kisame used in the genjutsu, one that stops any bleeding no matter how serious so long as two conditions are met. You feed a continuous amount of chakra to it and you don't get injured again.
This jutsu is called Ninpo: Freeze, for the fact that it seems to freeze the wound. While one would think that this jutsu would be much wider spread with how useful it is, it is a terrible double-edged jutsu.
For starters the pain you feel is amplified for as long as you have the jutsu up. For an injury like the ones I gave the two of them it must have hurt something fierce. So instead of numbing your pain, you cannot fight effectively while using this jutsu. Sure, all shinobi worth their forehead protector can stop themselves from feeling pain if they have a few moments to concentrate, but this jutsu prevents that.
Second is the effect after you stop using the jutsu. Pray that you are in the hands of a skilled medical Ninja, because this jutsu induces temporary hemophilia, a condition where your blood cannot clot properly and results in the loss of a lot of blood even from small injuries. People with that disorder have died from paper cuts, so imagine what happens with a stab wound like that?
The hemophilia lasts only a minute, on the dot actually, but the damage is done, and both Itachi and Kisame will need blood transfusions if that is the jutsu they used. It's possible they used some other way to stop the bleeding though. I do know one thing however. Kisame's injury was healing as they left, which means he has some form of regeneration."
The Kyuubi's confusion cleared up the two returned to discussing strategy until they arrived in Tanuzuka, specifically on how Naruto could fight Orochimaru's Kusanagi without ruining his own blade and spending massive amounts of chakra in the process. Naruto had an idea, more of a hope really, but they were praying it would work.
~Break~
Naruto sighed to himself as Jiraiya finally found Tsunade, screaming her name and generally making a fool of himself as he walked towards her. The icy cold greeting he received did nothing to dissuade him either.
"What are you doing here Jiraiya?"
"What? Can't a man drop by and see one of his old teammates every now and again?" the white-haired man asked. The Senju woman glared at him, poisonous and hateful. Both Naruto and Kyuubi stared at her, coming to several conclusions about her easily and quickly. 'She holds grudges, hates Konoha, and blames Jiraiya for something that most likely wasn't his fault. Why is she becoming Hokage again?'
"Seems like today is a day for meeting old acquaintance," she muttered to herself before talking to Jiraiya. "Don't give me that bullshit." She snarled as she took a deep drought of Sake, causing Jiraiya to wince. Tsunade had once been as anti-curse as he was, but now look at her.
"You haven't even looked at me since I turned you down after Dan died." Jiraiya sighed, the woman was right. He had always loved Tsunade, but the woman had never even gone on a date with him. What she had done however was take advantage of his desperation for her, and they had slept together three times. The first time after the fight with Hanzo, the second after the death of her little brother, and the third time after the death of Dan. He had asked her to marry him each time, but she had refused. He had given up on trying after the third time.
"Fine." He said; his voice full of remembered pain. "I am here because the elders and the Daimyo, along with the council, have decided that you are to become the Godaime Hokage." Naruto tuned out the two after that, focusing instead on his surroundings. He already knew what the answer was going to be. It wasn't long before he was proved right as Tsunade lost control after a long rant about the failure of the Kages.
"I thought you were better than this Tsunade. To happily curse the village which your grandfather and grand-uncle worked so hard to build, I…"
"Shut-up Jiriaya! You have no right to lecture me you filthy pervert! You talk of my failings and opinions, but what of yours? You failed to save Dan when you gave me your word that you would look out for him. Oh, who's that? He looks like a min-Minato. Have you been getting desperate enough to attempt to take another apprentice, looking for one that looks enough like Minato that you can replace him?" Jiraiya glared at her.
"You go to far Tsunade."
"Not far enough you useless fool. Couldn't save Dan, couldn't' stop Hanzo, couldn't save Orochimaru." Every word she spoke was like a hammer to Jiraiya, who was visibly wincing with every hissed word. Naruto sighed, his attention having been drawn back to the pair. Despite his lie to Jiraiya he did like the man, so he decided to draw Tsunade's attention away from him to give him time to recover.
"Useless? Considering the fact that he is the strongest of the three Sannin along with forming and managing an effective spy network amongst a world of Shinobi, I'd say he is far from useless. What are your achievements in comparision? Greatest med-Nin? You haven't practiced in years, and you have never made any major pushes in the field. One of the Sannin? There are three Sannin, but only two disgraced ones. Orochimaru is one. I'll give you three guesses as to who the other is, and the first don't count."
Tsunade turned her icy glare onto him, but he didn't even flinch. He had faced down her teammates, and they were far stronger than her. She growled out her reply from in between clenched teeth.
"You. Me. Outside. Now." That caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow, before continuing his little mocking session.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were a Neanderthal. Me man, you go kitchen, you make man sandwich." The table shattered from Tsunade's grip as Jiraiya choked down a snort and Tsunade's apprentice looked on in horror.
"I will kill you." Naruto gave a feral grin, stolen straight from the Kyuubi.
"Good luck." He stood up, heading outside as Tsunade stomped out behind him, the other two following as well. Shizune tried to convince Jiraiya to stop the fight, but to no avail.
Tsunade glared at Naruto while holding up a single finger. "One finger Gaki, That's all I will need to defeat you. Try not to die." She said arrogantly. Jiraiya groaned, and Naruto nodded apathetically.
Tsunade vanished from sight, but Jiraiya sighed in disappointment as soon as she did so. "It's over. She's gotten slow." He turned around, not wanting to see his teammate get hurt.
Naruto dodged the finger flick she sent at him, striking her in the stomach with his fist and whirling around to strike her down, three hits landed on her back, one on her kidney, one at her lungs, and the third at the base of her neck. Tsunade was laying on the ground, in a great deal of pain. Naruto had probably damaged her kidney.
"Pathetic. And you call yourself a Sannin. If I was an enemy I could have easily killed you." He turned around and walked away, leaving Jiraiya to attempt to pick up the pieces of Tsunade's shattered pride.
~Break~
"You didn't have to do that Naruto." The blond looked at the older man, viewing the serious expression that was so out of place on Jiraiya's face.
"Your right, I didn't. I wanted to prove a point, both to you and to her. Whatever is left of the Tsunade you once knew is gone now, and all that's left is a pathetic husk of a woman. Can't you tell it? She's unfit for shinobi duty, mentally weak. It's saddening how far the once mighty Senju clan has fallen." Jiraiya winced, but was unable to deny it. Tsunade, listening in the shadows unknown to the two felt like she was on the receiving end of the boys punches again, wondering if she really was that weak.
Jiraiya tried to excuse her behavior. "Tsunade has lost everyone important to her." It was noticeable to both other ninja that there was a large amount of bitterness in Jiraiya's voice when he said that.
"Your point? Uzumaki Kushina, the Red Death of Konoha, became a successful S-Rank Ninja despite losing her entire clan, homeland, parents, and even the one person she had left died not long afterwards. You, a well known imbecile are actually a high S, borderline SS-Rank ninja despite all that's happened to you. Let me see if I have the list right. You're an orphan, your sensei never trained you properly, every comrade you have ever had has died with the sole exception of your teammates, one of which hates you and the other is a traitor. You watched your teammate lose both her brother and her lover and then just give up, not even attempting to recover. Your apprentice and the man who was like your son died sealing away a Biju while you were sent out on a mission.
Did I miss anything? Oh, wait, I did. You were captured by Iwa during your youth and were tortured for sixth months, the scars of which you still bear.
Then we have Tsunade. Had a loving family all her life, even if her parents died not long after she became a shinobi. She knew her grandfather and granduncle as well before they passed, and then had a father figure in the Third for quite a while. Had two caring and supporting teammates along with a little brother for a large portion of her life. Eventually gained a lover.
However, the moment this charmed little life of hers came crashing down with the deaths of those last two she has given up, turning into a worthless alcoholic and disgracing the memory and actions of everyone she loved. I guarantee you that a genin would be able to surprise her at her current level easily, and you had best pray to god that you don't fight a high level ninja with her at your side. She will be a terrible liability, despite her so called super strength." Jiraiya winced again, but yet again was unable to speak up in her defense.
"Would you like another example? The Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Lost his parents at an early age, watching them be tortured in front of him by members of the Uchiha clan. Spent years on the run, teaching and guarding his little brother Tobirama as he did so. He becomes the first Shinobi to reach SS-Rank threat level, engaged in several battles that changed the landscape of the earth, united with the very clan that killed his parents and created the first Shinobi Village. He is also well known for his compassion and wisdom.
So, tell me Jiraiya. In what way is Tsunade special that she can be allowed to collapse like a house of cards when things go against her when thousands of shinobi have gone through far worse circumstances than her?"
Jiraiya bowed his head, and in the shadows Tsunade was nearly crying in shame. Had she really fallen so far? She knew the answer even before she finished the question.
Yes.
'Well no more.' She swore mentally. She would recover her S-rank status and show the world and that pathetic brat just what happens when you cross a Senju, starting with Orochimaru! The first step was to get rid of her hemophilia.
~Break~
Jiraiya staggered into Tsunade's hotel room a week later, spotting Naruto and Shizune, the latter with her hands glowing green as she cleaned up the last parts of a swiftly healing injury. The two looked at him, both eyes demanding an explanation.
"Tsunade drugged my drink last night. I can barely see straight, nor can I properly channel chakra." Shizune gasped in horror at that, falling down and stuttering out her mentor's name. Naruto stood, forgoing the shirt for the moment and just throwing on his Haori. "Let's go. She's on the north side of town, and there is another two sets of chakra nearby as well." He said emotionlessly. Jiraiya nodded, snapping Shizune out of her funk while he did so, getting a partial remedy from her. The three left, arriving just in time to see Orochimaru biting his thumb and holding it out.
"You have hemophilia right?" He was cut off from saying anything further by Tsunade's fist swinging through the air where his head used to be. Orochimaru dropped his hand back to his side, laughing as he did so.
"Kukuku, I guess not." His head cocked to the side suddenly, and a feral grin spread across his face. "Naruto-kun come on out! I want a continuation of our little fight." The group of three leaped down from the roof as Kabuto joined Orochimaru, acting as if his presence was a great surprise. The ninja looked a little confused when no one even blinked.
"How did you manage to kill Sarutobi, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked. The Snake Sannin looked at him, still smiling.
"Ah, Jiraiya. Nice to see you too. Sarutobi fell easily once I revealed to the Shodaime just what happened to the Kyuubi after he died.
~Flashback~
"You're telling me that Sarutobi, little kind Saru, turned the newest Jinchurikki of the Kyuubi into a weapon?" asked a man that was still feared in the Elemental Nations, Senju Hashirama, in a cold and nearly dead tone. This man did not look like one that could inspire fear, standing at just over six feet with tanned skin, dark eyes, and long silky black hair which framed his face, he looked more like a Samurai then a ninja.
This look was further enhanced by his armor, a deep crimson in the Samurai style, leaving open only the sides for greater mobility, focusing on protecting the chest, shoulders, thighs, and forearms. A Konoha Hi-tai-ate was on his forehead and an unremarkable Katana at his hip. This was the man that was called the "Peaceful Demon of the Forest" for his way of life. This was the man that made the forests of Konoha, and brought a clan to the forefront of the world.
Hashirama stared at Orochimaru for several minutes, trying to tell if the man was lying. "You speak the truth." He said, his voice now heavy with sorrow. Orochimaru nodded wordlessly.
The ground itself shook as chakra poured for the great Senju's body, water swirling around him, drawn from the atmosphere by his rage. Both Tobirama and Orochimaru stood back, fearing the man's rage.
"You, Orochimaru. You brought us back using the technique my brother created, yes?" "Hai." Orochimaru was not stupid, he knew he would be unable to place the seals in Hashirama as the man was now, and also knew that Hashirama could destroy him.
"I will lend you my full strength to kill this traitor to the ideals of Konoha in exchange for one thing." Orochimaru practically drooled. He had summoned the two for a shock factor against Sarutobi, as well as using what little he knew of their abilities. Having a willing Hashirama using the full force of his skills to kill Sarutobi however, well, that was on a level far above what Orochimaru had planned. Yes, Orochimaru would do damn near anything to have this happen.
"Teach the Kyuubi Jinchurikki this jutsu and tell him to summon me. I have much to apologize for." That was easy enough for Orochimaru. The boy was incredibly talented, and would easily be able to learn the jutsu. The downside however was that the dead could come back to harm Orochimaru. He looked at the Senju, deciding that it would be better for his health if he obeyed the man.
"Very well." He would only give Naruto enough DNA for a single summoning though, no sense in allowing the boy to summon the might of the Shodaime to aid him if Orochimaru wound up fighting him.
Hashirama turned towards a very pale Sarutobi, his glare nearly causing the man to faint. He knew that Hashirama was more than a match for him. After all the man had needed fifteen S-Rank ninja to take him down, and that was after he contracted a terminal illness and fought it off for months, and had been hospitalized for four days before that fight. There was a reason Hashirama was the first ninja to reach SS status.
Regardless, Sarutobi mustered up his courage, reminding himself that he was quite talented as well. He knew he would be able to fight the man, and possibly beat him. Or so he convinced himself.
"I have surpassed you Hashirama-sama! I will defeat you, and then I will kill this traitor to the Leaf!" The Senju's anger only increased, little pieces of earth now floating up from the cracked surface. "Let me show you, Sarutobi, just how Konoha deals with traitors." The great man spat. Hashirama vanished from even Orochimaru and Sarutobi's eyes; proving just how much higher an SS-Rank ninja was above the rest.
Sarutobi knew as soon as the man vanished he would never win with a taijutsu fight, even with Enma in his staff form. Hashirama was also quite talented at genjutsu, something that Sarutobi had never put much effort into. 'I have but one way to match him.'
"Doton: Doryu Taiga! (Mud river)" Sarutobi caused most of the earth around him to turn to mud and flow, knowing that no matter how fast Hashirama was he still had to touch the ground. He saw a glimpse of Hashirama at the crux of his technique, on hand in a half tiger seal, the mud flowing around him and into large balls above him.
"Try not to die to quickly Sarutobi. I have much more to do to you. Doton: Yougan Ryuu Bakuha no Jutsu! (Lava Dragon Explosion Technique)" The mud balls compressed on themselves, the sheer force of Hashirama's control over earth chakra turning them to lava, which formed into massive dragons with pitch black eyes, snarling at Sarutobi.
The two dragons flew towards Sarutobi at an unbelievable speed, the old fire shadow now fearing for his life. Even with his entire arsenal in the forefront of his mind he knew of no technique that could stop it. He was forced to jump as high as he could to avoid it, the lava dragons cascading down onto where he was standing. Sarutobi cursed, as now he was open to anything Hashirama wanted to do.
As the lava melted the land Hashirama prepared his next jutsu at the helpless Sarutobi. "Suiton: Suigadean! (Water fang bullet)" A circle of a dozen massive water spikes around Sarutobi, drawn straight from the air while Sarutobi furiously went through hand seals to counter it.
"Katon: Hellfire!" Sarutobi breathed out a small wave of condensed fire, focusing on a single fang, The two forces clashed, the fire evaporating most of the fang before it was ended. Sarutobi created a shadow clone, having it throw him out of the encircling fang-like spikes scant seconds before the spikes collided with his clone in the middle. Sarutobi was headed to the ground, but Hashirama gave him no time to recover.
"Doton: Yougan Tsunami no Jutsu! (Lava Tsunami)" The lava on the ground collected together, forming together into a massive wave the size of the Kage monument, headed straight towards Sarutobi. The man closed his eyes, expecting his death. A fist to his gut ruined that thought. He opened his eyes, getting up from where he had been smashed into a crater to see Hashirama in front of him, with a completely unchanged landscape and the man's glare unchanged.
'Genjutsu!' That meant Sarutobi's position was even worse than it had been to begin with. Sarutobi had only used two jutsu during the genjutsu, but the second one had used up a full third of his chakra so he could escape what he thought was a lethal technique. Sarutobi went on the offensive, hoping to finish this quickly.
"Katon: Cremation!" Sarutobi breathed out fire, the pure blue fire scorching the ground as it wrapped around Hashirama. The last thing Sarutobi saw of the man was a pair of eyes with a fire inside them that was far greater than the one Sarutobi had created.
"Mokuton: Fire suppression." Sarutobi turned back to the man in shock as wood lashed out from the ground in the shape of dragons, drawing the flames into their mouths and coming to rest around Hashirama, the heads waving in the air above the man who was completely unaffected by the S-Rank technique, not even having his clothes burnt.
"Normally I wouldn't fight a Konoha ninja if I could help it, but you have made it personal. The last request my wife made to me was that I make sure the Jinchurriki are protected and safe, not treated like garbage or turned into weapons. It was the cause of my death, actually. But I keep my word, and you will suffer." Hashirama's visage softened as he looked above him to the wooden dragons.
"Do you know how many kinds of unique woods there are? Thousands. This is the very rare "Absorption" wood, originating from a now sunken island called Atlantis. This wood brought the island to power, because this wood could absorb and amplify most substances placed in it without being destroyed or damaged. Imagine just what it does to fire?" Sarutobi paled even further, now nearly making Orochimaru look tan.
"Mokuton: Collaborating Fire." Two of the six dragon heads opened the mouths, flames flickering within. A loud whooshing sound was all Sarutobi heard before pure white fire spewed from their mouths. "The flames that can outclass the legendary fires of Amaratsu, the "Flames of Kagu-tsuchi! (Flames of the Fire Kami)" The ground where the flames struck just vanished in an instant, a large part of the roof was just gone. The flames died down after a few seconds, Hashirama not wanting to risk them destroying too much of the village. The smoke cleared to reveal Sarutobi surrounded by a cage of half melted adamantine staffs. "I can help you no more Sarutobi…it's over for me." So passed Enma, Summon boss of the Monkey clan, who all parties involved in the fight had forgotten about.
The dragons vanished, a sad expression on the former Kage's face. "He did not deserve to die for you." Sarutobi glared at Hashirama, the death of his greatest, and by this point only, friend and ally striking him deeply.
"I will destroy you! Katon: Flames of the Goddess." The strongest fire technique that most users could create, this fire was orange and formed into the body of a large female, nearly ten feet high. Hashirama sighed in disappointment, and ended the fight.
"Mokuton: Binding." The fire technique vanished as Sarutobi's concentration was broken by four branches of wood wrapping around him, one on each limb. He tried to break out but was unable, even with half of his remaining chakra enhancing his limbs to help him and going so far as to open four of the gates in his attempt.
"Don't even bother. This is a unique wood, and harder than diamond. This is the result of fossilized wood being compressed by immense pressure, and even I can't break it and I created it." Sarutobi was a sickly white and sweating, the fact that he had been beaten so easily nearly killing him.
"Do you see the difference now? SS class ninja are truly gods amongst shinobi. Both Madara and I at our worst could have easily beaten you at your best." Hashirama sighed and shook his head, the teacher in him coming out to play one last time.
"You will die slowly Sarutobi. Mokuton: Crucifixion." A cross of wood rose slowly from the ground, Sarutobi tied to it by the crystalized wood. Hashirama grew four large spikes, nailing one each through Sarutobi's hands and feet, the binding wood dissolving when he finished. Sarutobi was left staked to the cross, cut off from his chakra and bleeding from four areas. He was forced to raise himself up for each shuttering breath, somehow the life was being sucked out of him.
"This is Erebus, the wood of the Abyss. A unique and one-of-a-kind wood, Erebus holds all the despair of those that exist in the Abysses depths, never to escape. It sucks the will to live right out those it is connected to, and that will kill you within just a few minutes. But that is not enough for someone Tobirama and I taught, and who betrayed the very existence of those who helped you. Oh no, you will suffer worse.
Mokuton: Muchi. (Whips)" Large cylindrical strips of wood rose in front of Sarutobi, looking for all the world like wooden bull whips, which were known for striking the very flesh from man.
"You will be killed by those whips Sarutobi. They will strip the flesh from your bones and your mangled body will be shown to the village from the cross. Let your sins be known.
Mokuton: Judgment of the Fool."
~Break~
The field was silent except for Orochimaru's laughing when he finished his story. "He deserved every bit of it. Oh, and before I forget." Orochimaru tossed a scroll to Naruto. "My promise is fulfilled. I hope you live long enough to summon him." Tsunade sighed, speaking up for the others to hear.
"My Grandfather was generally a peaceful man. However, if an enemy did something he considered fundamentally wrong, well, that was when he earned the title of demon." Orochimaru laughed again, savoring the memories of Sarutobi's bloody and brutalized body hanging from the cross. Something happened that stopped his enjoyment, however.
Tsunade's fist sent ripples through the ground where it struck, Orochimaru having barely avoided it before he was sent flying from the shockwaves. "Enough. Sensei never did wrong by me, and I will not let you mock his memory." That gained her four incredulous glances, one from her former teammates and one each from her apprentice and Naruto. Tsunade stood from where she had been bent over after overextending trying to hit Orochimaru, and everyone there noticed a change in her.
As if a genjutsu had been dispelled they noticed the streamlined muscles, ones that hadn't been there a week ago. The entire group looked in surprise at the only female sannin as she smirked at Orochimaru, vanishing from view for a moment and reappearing in front of Orochimaru.
'Shit.' He dodged several strikes, forced to use all the agility he had worked for over his life to do so. He dodged another one, but this time Tsunade expected it, swinging her knee up as Orochimaru dodged her punch.
Jiraiya and Shizune winced at the audible cracking sound before Orochimaru went flying backwards with a spray of blood. Kabuto immediately shunshinned to the mans side, already attempting to heal the injury as Tsunade appeared beside her group.
"You all were not supposed to be here, Jiraiya." The Toad Sage winced lightly, fearing getting punched.
"How was I supposed to know you somehow got back into shape over the course of a week?" The blond smirked, watching with no small amounto of pride as Orochimaru slowly walked back towards them, nose still broken despite Kabuto's attempts.
"Don't bother little medic, his nose is shattered beyond heal…" She was cut off by Orochimaru's mouth opening, a pair of hands grabbing both sides of his mouth and pulling, another Orochimaru climbing out without the broken nose. Suprisingly it was Shizune who said what the entire group was thinking.
"Well, that was disgusting." Orochimaru smiled at her, creeping her out further. Then he turned to the three big threats, those being Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Naruto. Coming here he had thought there would be only two threats to his abilities, Jiraiya and Naruto, but with Tsunade coming back strong he was forced to reconsider. He spoke to Tsunade as he used what blood was left on his thumb earlier to mark his snake tattoo.
"So, Tsunade-chan, how did you get back in shape in a week? I know quite a few people who would love to know your secrets."
"Any medic Nin with a decent amount of skill knows just what to do to get the most out of a workout. Then there's me, far better than your average medic. What do you think happened?" That surprised Orochimaru, but not as much as Naruto nodding his head in agreement with her.
"Well then, I'm afraid that I don't quite have time to play with you and Jiraiya at the moment, so I'm going to ask that you fight with Kabuto. I have a little bit of fun to have with Naruto today, before I get what I came for."
"And what was that teme?" Asked Jiraiya. The pale shinobi smiled, a genuine one that stopped Jiraiya cold.
"A new ally."
~Break~
Naruto faced down Orochimaru as several large snakes with Kabuto on ones head attacked the two Sannin, Shizune leaping out of the fight as ordered. She was the only one there who was not in good condition, years of following Tsunade without training causing her abilities to rust.
For the second time today a head poked out of the Snake Sannin's mouth, this time it was diamond shaped and purple. The snake opened its mouth, revealing the hilt of a katana, which Orochimaru drew out. He smirked in anticipation at Naruto, hoping for a good fight.
"Let's see if you gotten any better." He said, appearing in front of him and swinging the Kusanagi. Naruto blocked it with his blade, the icy blue eyes staring apathetically into his amber ones. Orochimaru attempted to overpower him, but the boy didn't even blink from it before kneeing the sannin in the stomach, causing Orochimaru to smirk even wider.
"There is no give in your blade now boy. This time, however, we are moving into my arena, rather than your stealth fighting. Katon: Blazing Red Cannon!" A ball of red chakra formed over Orochimaru's hand, the sannin swinging it at Naruto in a punch. Naruto disengaged, jumping back to avoid it, but the ball came off Orochimaru's hand and rocketed towards him.
Naruto gripped his ninjato in his right hand, slapping the ball back towards the pale man with his other with the help of his earth chakra. Orochimaru easily weaved around it, as well as the following senbon. He moved forward, katana swinging at the blond's neck as his fist moved towards Naruto's gut, the boy dodging the blade and catching the fist. Orochimaru's smirk let him know something wasn't right.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Poisonous adders, a full dozen of them flew from the sannin's sleeves in an attempt to bite the boy's fist. Naruto didn't blink, didn't falter as the snakes approached his hand, only saying one word.
"Boom." The Naruto holding Orochimaru at bay exploded, and Orochimaru was forced to substitute away in order to avoid it. That was anticipated by the original blond however, and it was into a very well set trap that Orochimaru appeared.
"Doton: Kyuu Tsuchi dageki! (Sudden Earth Strike)" An armed formed before Orochimaru had substituted, grabbing the Sannin once he appeared and catapulting him into the air. The Sannin had no time to prepare a defense, as Naruto's next attack was already on the way.
"Katon: Dragon Breath Jutsu." The first thing that Orochimaru had noticed when he stopped flying up was an odd smell, almost like that of sulfur. He figured out Naruto's plan as it was happening.
"Katon: Ignite." An explosion rocked the field, Naruto watching on with a small amount of satisfaction. He knew Orochimaru wasn't dead, but he was injured. Sure enough, on the ground was the burn corpse of a large snake, a corpse which was defiled further by a katana cutting through the mouth, and out came a scorched Orochimaru.
"Not bad, but since you've made it a proper ninjutsu fight now, well, let's see how you do. Doton: Mud Shot." The Sannin shot a continuous stream of mud at Naruto, strong enough to punch through steel. This was not something easily dodged either, as the Orochimaru could easily face him and continue the attack.
"Suiton: Suihou no Jutsu! (Water Cannon Technique)" The mud shot crumbled into dust half way to Naruto, the water drawn from the technique for Naruto's use. Orochimaru cursed mentally. That was the problem with mud techniques, which were a combination of earth and water. If your opponent had a large amount of skill with water manipulation they could steal the water from your techniques and use it for their own, as Naruto had just done to him.
Steaming water shot towards the black haired, man, and Orochimaru took action. "Doton: Earth Wall Absorption!" Designed specifically for taking on water attacks, an earthen wall rose in front of Orochimaru, absorbing the water like a sponge. The water could then be used for another technique by whoever drew upon it first.
'He's too good at Ninjutsu for me to do anything other than match him.' Orochimaru thought, his eyes sliding to where his medic Kabuto and the several snakes he had summoned were getting beaten. 'Jiraiya must have taught him, and with Tsunade back to her former strength there is no way I can win this fight. She was always better in Taijutsu then us. Fine, I'll skip the fight and see if I can get what I came for. Should be easy enough, after all the weapon's owner is dead. I just hope that Sarutobi didn't program a strong loyalty to the village instead of to him."
"Very nice Naruto-kun, most impressive. I would love to have someone like you on my side, all of my current soldiers are weak, unwilling to properly succeed. Oh, you could join me! After all, Konoha has nothing to offer you other than scorn and death, the latter only after they betray you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, asking "and if I was to betray Konoha, it should be for you? What can you offer me?" 'Orochimaru is too dangerous for me to work with. Allies, certainly. Him as my Kage? I value my life, and Kyuubi would never give me any peace.'
"I'm glad you asked." The Snake Sannin said, living up to his name as he attempted to slither inside of Naruto's defenses to achieve his objective, his words dripping with promises.
"You are obviously good enough that you don't need to be trained, and with the Kyuubi there is nothing I can give you to trump its power. However, I can give you a home, a place where you will be appreciated. I can give you servants, subordinates, even slaves if you so desire. You can have anyone in my village, and if you wish for something or someone from another all you need do is ask and I will set it up so you can take it. I can also give you a sparring partner to push your limits, to always be improving in the form of me."
It was a good offer, especially for Naruto, and if he hadn't been aware of the fact that Orochimaru would experiment on him in an attempt to replicate the Kyuubi's power he would have accepted. However, what Naruto wanted was to disappear, and Orochimaru would also want to use his power as a trump card, keeping him public for the greatest affect.
Besides, when Naruto left Konoha he already had a good idea of where he wanted to go.
As Tsunade and Jiraiya appeared behind him, and a burnt and beaten Kabuto showed up next to the Sannin he gave his answer.
"Sorry, but I will not follow you." That irritated Orochimaru, but resolved to put events into motion to make the boy see his side of things. He started the beginning of a plan to have the village ostracize Naruto even more, for a failure in a mission that was impossible to complete, even for one of his talents. Perhaps he could use that Uchiha to do so. Originally he had wanted Sasuke to counter his brothers Sharingan, but Naruto would be able to beat the Uchiha after a year or two of experience.
"Well then, this was a nice little reunion, but I am afraid that I have something waiting on me. Goodbye." Were the last words Orochimaru said to the group before shunshinning away.
The group of three looked at each other, before Tsunade said to them.
"Let's go home."
AN: Okay, first up I apologize for not putting the talk with Kyuubi last chapter. I wasn't quite expecting so many people to be unhappy with it. To clarify though, Naruto lied to Jiraiya about that so that if he actually leaves the village the man will be too filled with guilt to chase after him for a while, therefore letting him get away successfully. And no, I did not have a bad day the day I wrote that.
Next, no Hashirama is not over powered, Madara can outclass all five Hokage, and he has had years to perfect his bloodline. I will go further in depth on the skills of the shinobi.
Not much of a fight between Orochimaru and Naruto this time, but that is because Tsunade was there. Orochimaru knows Jiraiya can beat him, and he didn't know about the poison. Tsunade can beat him in taijutsu, so if he had stayed he would have died.