Naruto Dragon Ascendant

by Freedom Guard

Orochimaru thought that using the seal would disrupt the Kyuubi's chakra and render Naruto weak and helpless in the Forest of Death in the Chuunin Exams...little did he realize that in Naruto lies a dormant power...older than all the Kekkai Genkai. Story is now in the ice box, will thaw it when non Naruto stories are updated to my satisfaction.

8. Chapter 8

Naruto Dragon Ascendant

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Naruto, if I did, I wouldn't be writing about this at all.

Chapter 7

Life Choices...

( ): Thoughts

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Along a road…

Naruto continued to be silent as he thought about what he had witnessed now less than half a day ago, having seen the man that Sasuke wanted dead, knowing that it was Sasuke's own brother. They had left Gai in charge to take Sasuke back for treatment in Konoha, Gai had also filled Naruto in with the details of what had happened to Kakashi.

That made Jiraiya comment that they should do what they could to bring Tsunade with them in order for her to heal both Kakashi and Sasuke. That was enough for him to push on with what they needed to do. However, as they walked towards the next destination, he couldn't help but feel that those men were not going to give up.

"Pervy Sage...."

Jiraiya turned and was about to snap a bit at Naruto for calling him that name again, but that stopped when he saw the deep look in the young man's face.

"What is it Naruto?"

"I was thinking about those two....that Itachi and the shark faced swordsman....they are the Kyuubi aren't they?"

Jiraiya nodded at that as he had found out about the organization Itachi and the one known as Kisame worked for. The organization known as Akatsuki were very much a band of renegade ninja who did mercenary work and had no ties to any villages even their former villages. However, the ninja that formed Akatsuki were not a band of ninja rookies or semi veterans trying to earn a simple payment of ryo. The ninja that formed Akatsuki were all S-ranked ninja, the most skilled and the most dangerous ninja today. It was known that Orochimaru was once part of the group and obviously Itachi was as well as Kisame, but he also knew that the group expressed great interest in the Bijuu and their containers the Jinchuuriki. And with Naruto being one of them, he couldn't blame Naruto for not liking the news.

"You're right about that, the group Itachi and Kisame work for is called Akatsuki, they are a band of ninja who are all missing nin from their own villages. And they are not Genin or Chuunin rank either, they are Jonin or higher and are considered S-ranked ninja, too dangerous for normal people to fight."

"But why the heck are they after the Kyuubi?!"

"To be honest, I have no idea, it confuses me why they would want to have the Kyuubi in their possession, but I can bet that it is not going to be something that anyone here today will like in the least, and since all of them are S-ranked ninja, you can guess that their plans with the Kyuubi's power is will not be good for everyone involved."

Naruto had to agree with that and as he thought about it, he knew that if what the Pervy Sage said was true, then there was no doubt he would be facing the two again, or worse yet, the rest of Akatsuki, while he was able to take on the two of them, he was doubtful that he could win against so many. But he was also able to know that he could use the Kyuubi's chakra as well for defending himself and there was no doubt in his mind that with his newfound Kekkai Genkai, he could stand up to them as soon as he developed the strength, both physically and mentally to use his powers well. He was not happy with being the one containing the Kyuubi, but he was not going to let some criminals with dark intentions take it from him and use it on the world.

"I won't let them have it Pervy Sage, I might dislike the Kyuubi….hate it even, but I will not let it be used by others as a weapon."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and he could see that Naruto was dead set on the matter, he smiled at that and decided to make sure that he would teach Naruto as much as he could manage, and he knew just the jutsu that would suit Naruto well enough.

"Good, anyhow, as soon as we get to town we can rest for a bit, and then we can get down to the training bit. I did promise you that I would be teaching you a good jutsu and I keep my promises Naruto so perk up and let's get moving."

That was more than enough to perk Naruto right up and he grinned as they headed off to get to the town, besides that, he had the urge to have some ramen to eat, he had not been able to pack some extra food supplies for the trip and therefore he was eager to have some good food to eat as well. As they made their way to the area where the next town would soon be before them, Jiraiya wondered how well Naruto would be able to learn the technique that he was about to teach him. This was something he was going to be looking forward to.

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In a hidden location…

"Itachi….you seem to be rather early."

Itachi nodded a bit as he and Kisame met with the other members of Akatsuki, however, the other ninja who formed the group of Akatsuki were not really there before the pair, rather these was the images of the other members, the ninjas who formed the group of Akatsuki were a very secretive bunch and preferred to only gather together physically when the need was great enough for that.

The slayer of the Uchiha clan and his partner were in position and then Itachi spoke.

"I apologize for that, we ran into complications."

"Complications? You and Kisame were sent out to capture the Jinchuuriki who possesses the Kyuubi due to the power of your Sharingan."

"That is correct....however..."

"Cut the chatter Itachi! You don't have your target with you after all! You failed didn't you?"

One of the images spoke in a very hostile tone towards the Uchiha, Itachi however ignored it and the apparent leader of Akatsuki spoke to the one in question.

"Deidara, lower your tone and hold your tongue."

"Hmpf!"

"Now then Itachi....what happened in your mission?"

"We ran into Jiraiya-san who was accompanying the Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. We managed to move him away from Naruto, but apparently the young Jinchuuriki was able to stand up to both of us."

"Why didn't you use your Sharingan against him then Itachi?"

Itachi thought over what he saw back there when he was fighting with Naruto, the eyes that he had before him, and as he wondered just where the blonde Genin had gained his powers, he spoke of the battle where he and Kisame had to put all their effort into fighting Naruto who was more than able to hold his own against the two of them. As soon as he finished, the other members of Akatsuki were deep in thought while the one named Deidara spoke in the same hostile tone.

"So the great Sharingan was outdone eh? I guess you Uchiha aren't as good as you claim!"

Itachi then replied.

"That is because....he too wielded a Kekkai Genkai, but unlike anything I have seen before, it was able to allow him to keep up with my movements as well as even copy the jutsu that my clan uses in a daily basis, what is more, it allows him to see beyond physical objects as well as see into a person's body to see the chakra pathways. I believe his Kekkai Genkai is a combination of my clan's Sharingan and the Hyuuga Clan's Byakugan."

The leader spoke.

"Really? This doesn't seem to match up with what we have gathered about this Naruto....we will have to avoid him for now and observe him, see if there are any details that can help us solve this mystery, therefore, he will not be taken yet until we ascertain the reasons for him having this kind of power."

Itachi nodded at that and so did Kisame. They decided to consider to keep Naruto under surveillance for the time being to figure out just where the blonde Genin of Konoha gained such powers, there was a chance that the Kyuubi had given the blonde that kind of power, but Itachi doubted it, there was something else going on here and until they were able to get the right information to make sense of Naruto's sudden powers, attacking him was off limits to everyone.

It was then than that he thought about Sasuke, he wondered if this could work to make Sasuke push himself even further to finally have the power needed for his own plans, he needed to be in order for him to fulfil the role that he wanted his brother to take. For now, all he could do was wait and observe, but if he had to....he would be more than ready to remind his brother just what his goal was for getting stronger.

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In the town...

As soon as Naruto and Jiraiya arrived in the town, they were quick to find that there was festival going on and as soon as Naruto saw it, he was in the mood for some fun, however, Jiraiya was able to take his money and remind him to limit his expenses, Naruto was not the least bit happy, but decided to make due as he played with the games offered.

He then found out that the Pervy Sage had left behind his pack and decided to take a peek, much to the blonde ninja's chagrin, the man had more money than he could ever home to save in his life time, making him a bit angry that the perverted ninja sage was using his hard earned money but not his own, however, Naruto's money matters were about to change when he stumbled on a nearby game booth that offered quite a large sum if Naruto won the random luck of the draw.

Seeing that he had nothing left to lose, Naruto gave a small part of his still remaining ryo to the game and took the shot. And boy did he win! He got first prize at that instant and won over fifty thousand ryo. Naruto grinned happy at that and decided to lace all that money away and go about and enjoy the celebrations a bit more. He eventually stumbled onto a group of guys who were getting into a fight with another man. The blonde groaned and decided to get ready for a fight, however he then spotted the silver hair, the kabuki style jacket, and the big scroll and knew that the gang had attacked his companion. That was enough to stop Naruto in his tracks, and the next event was enough to make Naruto's jaw drop.

As Jiraiya created a glowing sphere of pure chakra in his hand and with shocking swiftness, slammed the sphere into one of the men and sent the guy flying, the other man panicked and high tailed it out of there. The blonde teen was flabbergasted by that and Jiraiya noted that and grinned at Naruto's direction.

"Hey Naruto, how's the festival?"

"W-W-What was that?!"

Jiraiya smirked and replied.

"That my dear student is the jutsu I promised to teach you, it's the Rasengan, something I think you will have some good time learning."

"Jiraiya-sama!!!"

Naruto turned and spotted the women who were dressed in some really revealing clothes that resembled kimonos, but were apparently meant to entice men and make them enjoy the company of women, and the women, even with the make up they had on were already physically pleasing to the eye. The blonde quickly turned away and Jiraiya could see that he was trying not to peek at the women.

This made the Sannin grin and boy was he tempted to have Naruto inducted into learning just how much fun it was being with women, namely women who were very much open minded as well as being able to know how to pleasure a man. But he decided against it for now as Naruto would learn in his own time. Besides, now that he had shown the Rasengan to Naruto, it was time to get to work on teaching him.

"Naruto, give me just an hour or two and I'll see you at the northern section of town so we can begin the training."

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Back in Konoha...

Fenrix looked over the documents that were handed to him, it seemed that the Konoha Council were doing their best to gain an advantage over the clan and get some level of control in it. The one named Danzo certainly made his moves on the clan and while the old man who lost an eye and an arm was very skilled in matters of politics, the senior Ascendant was no fool and countered the man's actions well enough. It galled him to know that such a war hawk was trying to get him involved in a new clan's matters, but considering all he had learned about Danzo, he was not all that surprised to say the least.

There were other matters that were naturally LESS annoying than meeting the elders of Konoha, he had just met Hiashi as well as Tsume and Baki, these people were speaking about having ties to the newly formed clan headed by Naruto. He looked at the documents that they presented and while the Ascendant was familiar with Naruto's class mate Hinata, having observed her for some time, he decided to look at the documents to be a bit more familiar with the three prospective mates that his student was going to be dealing with.

Hinata was already a good person by heart, he knew that much after observing her for nearly twelve years, while she was not as courageous or eager for fighting, at least not after being encouraged by Naruto to stand up for herself, she was kind hearted, gentle natured, as well as being able to think clearly in stressful situations, these plus her other traits meant that she would make an excellent mate for Naruto, the fact that she had an already existing affection for the blonde ninja in question was already a bonus on her part. As he looked Hinata's file over, she studied her history a bit more to be able to really know her, while he had gathered a great deal of information about the Hyuuga Clan it paid to have a bit more information for better use. He also knew that Hinata possessed a good deal of chakra control, no doubt from being a Hyuuga clan member and using the Byakugan.

He was well aware that the Dragon Eye that Naruto would soon use was the ancestral form of the Byakugan and therefore was stronger in terms of potential, but since Hinata was able to use the Byakugan she could help her mate perfect his own use of the Dragon Eye. Not to mention being the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan made her very capable and he had also gotten her test scores, showing that she was well gifted with intellect, something that would prove handy in helping her prospective husband in managing clan affairs.

(Yes....Hinata Hyuuga would prove to be a worthy mate....though it will be interesting to convince Naruto to see Hinata in the way she dreamed of.)

He then directed his attention to the next document that had information pertaining Hana Inuzuka, the young woman was by far the eldest of the three women whose names were put forward, he was aware of the Inuzuka Clan's ability to interact with their canine familiars and knew about Tsume and her son Kiba, Hana however seemed to be a bit different than both her mother and little brother, she was a veterinarian and also a Chuunin ranked ninja, having her own canine familiars, she apparently was a bit more gentle natured than her family as well as being more patient than her hot headed sibling as well as laid back and loving, there was no doubt however that Hana was as fierce and strong as her family if they were ever threatened as well as the village of Konoha, he had gathered the reports when she and her mother along with their canine familiars fought with the invading forces of Suna and Sound. While she was an expert in medical jutsu as her file suggested, she was no doubt using those said abilities to heal animals, not that it was a bad thing after all. He was also aware of her slight lack of domestic skills due to her long hours as a healer.

However that can be fixed well enough in his mind and her already considerable resume made her a viable candidate, however it would be better that Hana and Naruto would take time to get to know one another first in order to get better acquainted and there was no doubt in his mind that her brother Kiba was not really liking the fact that he was going to be an in law to Naruto considering their history before in the Academy. However, time can do wonders if the two could work together.

(This might take a while, but this could work out, though I doubt Naruto would see it completely that way.)

He then looked Temari's file over, she was the strongest of the Genin from the village of Suna, she was naturally overshadowed by her youngest brother due to him carrying the Shukaku. Temari was able to use wind in battle, and when aided by the iron fan she carried. She appeared to be exceptionally educated due to her standing as the eldest child and daughter of the late Kazekage, another trait he found to be very much needed in a newly born clan such as this one that his student was heading, she is also mentioned to be the only Genin in Suna able to summon a familiar though she had never been seen using the said familiar in action. The one in question also possessed a considerable level of chakra for one so young, there was also the fact that while she did have exceptional strength in body to carry such a weapon as well as mental strength, she also had a kinder side to her personality despite her fierce temper and stubbornness.

As far as he could see, the changes Gaara had undergone after fighting Naruto had made the relationship between them a lot more relaxed and the two were seemingly repairing bonds with one another, something that Fenrix founded to be favourable by most if not all standards, it would take time however for her to adapt to being with Naruto as well. At the very least this day was not going to get the least bit boring.

Another thing that Fenrix had to consider was informing Hana, Hinata, and Temari about Naruto's condition as a Jinchuuriki, it was considered needed to inform them of it so they would understand Naruto's condition more so he could determine just how far they would be willing to go in being married to Naruto. It was not going to be easy, but it was far better this way to truly see how far they would go to be in this clan.

"Fenrix-sama, your tea is ready."

Fenrix turned from his work to see Kin walking up to him with a small tray with a cup of tea in it. He smiled gently at the newest member of Naruto's clan and something of a ward for him, it had taken some time to explain Kin's presence in the household. The Council members including Danzo, Homura and Kohane had seen the body of Kin dead after the battle, yet here she was alive, breathing, and whole. Fenrix then explained how he had brought her back from the land of the dead and explained that such a power exists in the Ascendants, and also in Naruto as well.

This shocked them and it was not long before the three, namely Danzo asked, or thinly threatened him to reveal its technique and methods, however the senior Ascendant was not frightened and replied that the only way a technique can be learned is if they have the blood of an Ascendant as it was a very difficult process by most if not all ninja standards. He also replied to their veiled threat by speaking on the Uchiha matter. His smile told the three that he was well aware of something and his next words proved it as he spoke to them privately while the others were looking at Naruto's mansion home.

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Flashback...

"You want to teach that technique? No, I will not, that is a clan secret and will remain so as well unless my clan head says otherwise."

"True, but the Uzumaki clan is new and therefore it is still under the supervision of the Council."

"Just like the other clans? Including the Uchiha before they were wiped out?"

"Yes it is, so such techniques must be known to the rest of the village to increase it's power and ability."

"You mean yours, I do not think that it would be wise, after all, while the Uzumaki Clan is new in it's creation, it is not going to give out clan secrets, I certainly do not recall the Hyuuga Clan teaching others the Gentle Fist, or the other clans teaching their techniques. Those are their own techniques and abilities so no one else may use them. The same goes for the Uzumaki Clan as well."

"I'm sure we can work something out, for all parties involved."

"You are very persistent for a trio of children, you think that you can just ask and even threaten the clan just because it's new? Do not think that I am not aware of your past deals. I wonder what others will think of your actions when I tell the rest of Konoha how you three helped in the death of the Uchiha Clan?"

'What?'

"I am well aware of what happened that night all those years ago in Konoha, and how you three played a part in it by forcing one of their own to act as a spy in his own clan, how you three used his love for the peace of Konoha to turn him on his own people. I know how that one lone Uchiha was forced to slay his own kin under YOUR orders when you decided that it was after the Kyuubi's attack that the clan should die."

"How did you know this?"

"Ahhh....that would be telling now would it? Make no mistake however; I am not someone you three can threaten as easily. Ascendants like me have lived far longer than normal humans and compared to me, you three are but children. So let me make this clear to you three...the techniques of this clan are for this clan alone, no one else can learn it unless willed so by the clan head. As long as that is understood, there will be now problems between all of us, I am merely reminding you that you should NOT overstep your actions here, this clan might be newly created but it is a clan nevertheless."

"But it is under Konoha's sphere."

'I do not contest that fact, but even the Council respects the Hyuuga Clan as noble house am I correct? And before the events that led to their destruction, even the Uchiha were given some semblance of autonomy in Konoha. The same is expected of this clan as well. That is your laws and if you are willing to break your own laws to get an advantage, then there is no reason for this clan to remain under your protection no does it?'

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End of Flashback...

As he thought about that, his own veiled ultimatum had hit home on the three elders, he was right after all, the Uzumaki Clan could chose to sever it's ties to the village and relocate to a new location and it's powerful Kekkai Genkai would be lost forever to them. While Naruto was indeed loyal to his home village, Fenrix could convince him otherwise, though Fenrix had no intention of that happening just yet, he only did that as a warning as Naruto did have that authority. The three couldn't take that chance and backed away from their moves to try and acquire the ability that Fenrix had used to bring Kin back to life. However the Ascendant knew that they were not going to give up anytime soon in their plans to get a chance foothold in the clan, he was not bothered by it and focused on the time to drink his tea.

Kin smiled a bit as she handed her adopted master the cup of tea she had made, it took some time to learn how to do it but she managed and waited to see if he liked it.

"How's the tea?"

Fenrix sipped and finished the drink, he looked at Kin and nodded.

"Not bad Kin, anyway, there are some important things that we will need to discuss with Naruto as soon as he gets back, we also need to ready some rooms for our soon to come guests here in the fortress."

Kin nodded at that as Fenrix placed aside the documents for the time being to work on the matters at hand. He knew that when Naruto arrived, things were going to get rather interesting, he was rather looking forward to it.

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Jiraiya nodded happily at Naruto's growing progress as they travelled towards the next town as the blonde Genin was currently making yet another Rasengan and this time the blonde Genin was doing it well enough to pass as a full Rasengan. He had kept his word and began to teach Naruto the basic steps of making the Rasengan. Of course he had to explain such steps in detail when Naruto asked him how it worked, he didn't mind but at least Naruto was a quick study and began to quickly grasp the steps of making the Rasengan.

The first step was fairly simple in terms of description, but Jiraiya knew that the first step was not as easy as one might think; Naruto had to spend hours figuring out the concept and grasp how to use it, however, his already present training in the use of Elemental Manipulation as well as recalling the training that went into focusing chakra back in the Academy, the blonde began to get the basics into play.

That was good news for the Sannin as the blonde Genin was showing great seriousness in trying to learn the jutsu, he had asked a tip or two but vowed to learn on his own, no doubt keeping to his promise to put all the things that he had been able to learn to the field. Jiraiya knew that the training was going to be rather humorous as he had a number of water balloons for Naruto to break.

It had taken a day for Naruto master the first step of the making of the Rasengan and naturally, Naruto had soaked himself several times while working out how to do the step, showing that while he could easily master the move with his already existing powers, Naruto still had difficulty in learning new jutsu, but challenges were what made a good ninja after all, and with that of the way, now was the time for Naruto to take it further.

He then got Naruto to be ready for the next step, explaining that his first lesson was on the effort of rotation and the next was going to be power. Naruto worked with the next step and this one also took Naruto at least a full day as well, the second step required him to try bursting rubber balls and focus on power. This took a bit longer, but the blonde Genin was more than willing to take a lot longer in how to perfect the second step to learn the Rasengan. Naruto managed to complete it, but he had to have a VERY late dinner afterwards, however, the blonde Genin had no problem

The longest part of the training came the next day as he told Naruto how to use the two steps to master the third and last step, this time he had to make the sphere of chakra without moving the ball. The Sannin had a good laugh at Naruto's expression and just how exactly he was going to do that, he explained that this step three was meant to create the need for stability. It had taken a day and a half for Naruto to work on it as this proved to be a real challenge for him. However Naruto was more than willing and ready to do what he could in order to master the third and last step.

While Naruto was able to complete the rest of the steps, Jiraiya could tell that Naruto needed a bit more time, however instead of spending a whole week, Naruto insisted on learning on the fly at the moment instead of staying in one place, saying that he could do it while they looked for Tsunade. Jiraiya was not sure of that was a good idea, but seeing that there was nothing that he could say in order to change Naruto's mind, they decided to go ahead. And it was there on the way to town that Naruto completed the Rasengan and revealed on a nearby tree...making Jiraiya smile at his happiness at the moment.

"Nicely done Naruto, you mastered it in half a week. The Rasengan was made by the Fourth you know."

"Really? I never knew that, so did you teach it to him?"

"Not exactly, it was the other way around, he taught me how to do it and it took me a bit longer than him to master it myself, so you should be proud you were able to do it in only half a week. Now you can use it to make your own variants as well."

Naruto was in high spirits, he was eager to show Sasuke and Sakura as well as the others back in Konoha how he had grown in only half a week, but he kept the idea on how to make his own variant. As they arrived in the town, Naruto decided to relax a bit while Jiraiya looked about for the new information, he quickly found one of the men who had won a good haul from the blonde Sannin and as soon as he was able to know it, he sighed as he heard how much the gamblers had taken from his former team mate.

(I knew it....she's still at it yet again...)

It was then that shouting was heard and when he got there, he found out that Naruto had decided to try his luck again with a gambling machine, and to the Sannin's surprise, the blonde won the jackpot, much to the collective surprise of the people there. That sight of the blonde Genin winning the jackpot on the first try made Jiraiya realize that in terms of gambling luck, Naruto had the one up over Tsunade.

As they left after Naruto once more collected his winnings, they arrived to see a number of people running as if there was something terrifying chasing them. It was then that Jiraiya asked what was going on all of a sudden, it was at that same moment that one of the men said that there had been a tremendous fight in the area and some sort of massive snake was seen in the area, as well as a blonde woman along with a dark haired woman carrying a pig, as well as two other men with one having deeply white skin.

As soon as he heard the words giant snake as well as the people mention, Jiraiya gave a deep sigh.

(So....Orochimaru's after Tsunade as well, it figures...)

Naruto was not being dense this time, he knew that the only way a giant snake would show up was when a certain snake summoning bastard who killed the man he considered to be a grandfather to him. He had a feeling that this was going to be a very tough mission from here on out and he turned to face Jiraiya.

"You think that the snake summoning bastard is after Tsunade?"

"Looks like it, we'd better hurry up, the sooner we get there, then all the better, Tsunade is not someone even a Jonin like Kakashi can take on, but we can't take any chances."

As soon as they got there, it had taken some time as they had no idea of the place's layout, as soon as they looked about, Jiraiya was able to see that this was indeed the work of both Tsunade and Orochimaru. There was no doubt in his mind that this discovery of Orochimaru pursuing Tsunade has just made this mission a lot more interesting and a lot more risky.

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In the bar...

"Waiter....another round please!"

Shizune looked on with considerable worry as Tsunade drank yet another round of sake as they were resting in the bar. Tsunade was not in the best of moods due to what she had learned, and the offer made by Orochimaru to bring her loved ones back to life in exchange for healing his arms. She couldn't help but feel as if all her emotions were moving around like a river in a storm.

Shizune looked at Tsunade in great worry, she knew that when Tsunade got like this, there was nothing she could do in order to stop her she tried her best to stop Tsunade from taking Orochimaru's offer, she knew just how evil the former Sannin was and hearing that he had killed their own sensei was something that Shizune considered immoral. Yet, she couldn't help but try and find the fact that Tsunade was indeed tempted.

Ever since the death of both her brother and her fiancé, her master was deeply hurt inside, she used her current appearance to not just avoid the debt collectors who hounded her, but to recall the things she had missed all because of the deaths of her loved ones, but now Orochimaru wanted to bring them to life for her in payment for healing his dead arms. Shizune however knew that the snake Sannin was criminal and a traitor and she doubted that his offer didn't come with a price.

The meeting between them was far from pleasant, Tsunade had just won a considerable fortune in a gambling area, but instead of being relieved like she and Tonton were at her sudden change of luck, the blonde Sannin was deeply worried and left the gambling area before she could even collect her winnings. Sure enough Orochimaru showed up and after a brief but showing battle the former team mate of her master told them that he had killed their master. She knew that it got quite a reaction from Tsunade and then the request to heal his arms of Sarutobi's jutsu in exchange for resurrecting her deceased comrades.

It was also there that she was able to see that Orochimaru knew of Tsunade's weakness to seeing blood, no doubt due to the fact that they had been a team before with Jiraiya. She tried her best to let Tsunade take this course of action at that time but even Tsunade forbade her to interfere....and it here they were now at this point and time.

It was then that two people walked in and one of the mentioned Tsunade's name.

"We can't just give up Pervy Sage! That Tsunade's got to be around here somewhere."

"I know that kid, but we can't do anything on an empty stomach, besides we can get more information in the bar sicne I know also that she like to...."

Tsunade looked in the direction where the voice was, she didn't recognize the first voice, but she seemed to recognize the second voice and it was not long before the blonde Sannin looked to see none other than Jiraiya himself.

The Sannin in question also looked in that direction, spotting a familiar face and it was not long before the two Sannin spoke.

"TSUNADE!!!!"

"JIRAIYA?!?!"

Naruto looked at Tsunade and had to whistle mentally to himself.

(So that's Tsunade....I guess the picture does do justice in this case.)

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Later...

Naruto happily munched away at the food as he and Jiraiya was sitting before Tsunade and Shizune were, it was then after finishing her drink that Tsunade spoke…

"All these old faces…here at once…I swear if I wasn't in a drunken mood…I'd think this was a reunion party…"

Jiraiya poured her yet another round from the sake bottle…and Naruto stopped eating his fish and he looked at the two as he already had an idea on who Tsunade was referring to as he knew the three Sannin and since there was one more.

"So Orochimaru's here too…what exactly happened here?"

Shizune was about to speak, but Tsunade gave her a warning glare…however, Naruto and Jiraiya were already aware of what was going on, Jiraiya had a sneaking thought as to what Orochimaru was up to and Naruto also had a feeling that the snake bastard wanted something from Tsunade. The blonde continued to eat, but a part of his mind was already at work, his training under Fenrix had made him a little bit harder to catch off guard as well.

"Nothing…just catching up on old times…"

Jiraiya knew better…he had seen the look Tsunade gave Shizune…a warning look, that look from Tsunade to Shizune easily told him that Orochimaru had far more interesting things to talk about to Tsunade than reminiscing about the past. That told him that he had to hurry before things got even worse.

"The reason I got here is the fact that the Village Council had sent the request that you become the Fifth Hokage."

Naruto knew about it firsthand before back in Konoha so he ignored it and continued eating…while Shizune was shocked and Tsunade was stunned slightly by the announcement. Jiraiya was about to say that the Third was dead…but Tsunade beat him to it.

"I know about the Third…Orochimaru told me himself that he killed Sarutobi-sensei."

Naruto was shocked by this as he stopped eating and then looked at Tsunade, he found her impassive response angering and made that point clear when he spoke to her.

"And you just stood there as he said that? You did nothing to at least kill that traitorous bastard who tried to destroy your home village and killed your sensei? You had a chance but never took it…why is that?!"

Tsunade turned and looked at Naruto…wondering why he seemed somewhat familiar to her somehow…as if she had seen him before…despite the rather off looks that he had…not that they were ugly or anything…but just a bit off for someone so young.

"Who's the loudmouth Jiraiya?"

"You know him well enough Tsunade…even though you two never officially met…he's Naruto Uzumaki."

(So he's the Kyuubi container…I never he'd look more like a young adult than a adolescent…)

"So what's your answer Tsunade?"

"What you're asking me is impossible Jiraiya…I decline.."

(This is not looking good…)

"Funny you should say that of all things Tsunade…that was the exact same phrase you said when I asked you out a long time ago…"

"Hey Pervy Sage…we're supposed to be asking her to come back to the village and heal Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, and even Bushy brows Lee, and to be Hokage…not going on a date of all things…and she already said no."

"I'm aware of that Naruto…but don't forget…I'm not cut out to be Hokage…Tsunade's own grandfather was the First Hokage and like I said…she's got the abilities and intellect to be a better Hokage…plus she is not a Sannin for nothing…her battle skills were legendary and her healing skills were unmatched…and she still has them."

"I'm aware of that Pervy Sage…you told me on the road remember?"

"Jiraiya…this young kid accompanying you is a lot louder and more different than your last apprentice."

"Normally I'd take that as a compliment, but I get the feeling it's more of a joke than a compliment Old Lady."

"Well it's tough being compared to the Fourth…he had the talent, the skills, the jutsu, the looks and the compassion to go with it all…he was a genius and the best Hokage the village had then.."

"But he died young didn't he?"

Jiraiya looked on silently and so did Naruto as Tsunade continued to speak.

"He gave up his life for his village…Life is not the same thing as money…you can get money back…but a life is one time thing…you can never gamble it or win it back…anyone who throws his life away was a fool."

Naruto gritted his teeth in growing anger as Tsunade spoke onwards.

"My grandfather and my grand uncle focused so much on making the village peaceful and prosperous…but in the end…they died in the middle of their dreams…they lost everything…and ended up dead…"

"I'm surprised at that way of seeing things Tsunade…you have changed a lot, and you've said all you've thought and had on your mind."

"I'm already 50 Jiraiya like you…age can do that to people."

"it's no wonder Sarutobi-sensei died…he was already too old to live his dreams."

Jiraiya glared at Tsunade and wondered just what made her like this…though a part of him already had a clear idea of what happened to her long ago.

The title of Hokage is a foolish and worthless thing …anyone who wants it will be nothing but a fool…"

"I'VE HEARD ENOUGH!!!!"

Naruto rushed up and was about to draw out his sword staff when Jiraiya stopped him…

"Keep your temper cool Naruto…we're in a public place for Kami's sake…"

"I don't care about that even if we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a scorching hot desert in our birthday suits at this very moment Pervy Sage! I am not going to stand by and let this old hag insult the Fourth, and all the Hokages and the title!!!"

Naruto glared darkly at Tsunade's smirking face and he cracked his knuckles and looked even more enraged while Jiraiya and Shizune looked on. He could feel his Dragon King Blood

"You have the audacity to not only insult the Third who was among the very few people I ever cared and respected…the man who was like a Grand Father to me…but your own Grand Father The First Hokage and even the Fourth?! I don't know what kind of incident in your life made you in a cold and heartless ice woman Old Lady…but if you think you're going to get away with those remarks…you're dead wrong…for all those who died living their dreams…I'll make sure to rip that smirk off your face with my bare hands…even if you are a woman!!!!"

Tsunade stood up and glared back with a smile.

"Oh yeah? You've got guts and gall to be saying such things in my face kid. Then let's take this outside."

--------

Outside...

Tsunade expected this fight to be fairly direct as well as easy and she decided to make Naruto react first to finish it, however, the very second she struck him on the forehead of his forehead protector and sent him back, she was surprised that instead of flying back, the blonde loudmouth was only sent back a few feet and without lasting harm.

Jiraiya looked on and replied.

"This just got interesting."

Tsunade looked on with some considerable surprise as the blonde young man before her managed to get himself up without any trouble and began to creek his neck. Naruto was surprised at the strength that Tsunade possessed but he was not going to back down as he cracked his knuckles and replied.

"Not bad you old hag!!! You've got some strength, now let's see you match up to an Ascendant!!!"

Tsunade barely had enough time to react as Naruto punched his open hand into the ground and literally rip a chunk of the earth right out of the ground, and there before her was the blonde Genin carrying a sphere of earth the size of a building roof. The blonde Sannin had never seen anyone do that with using chakra enhanced strength before, just how was this young kid doing it?!

Jiraiya had to admit that getting Naruto riled was a bad idea, even with the bracers on him, Naruto's strength was more than able to match Tsunade's in combat as the blonde Genin tossed the massive rock as Tsunade, his former teammate was forced to shatter the stone to avoid it hitting her. However, he knew that Naruto was far from done with his attacks.

Shizune was surprised at this as she never expected that there was someone who could match her sensei in the area of powerful strength! But this young man was proving to be able to match her right before her eyes.

(How can someone like him have that level of strength?!)

The blonde Sannin managed to avoid the next blow from Naruto as the blonde Genin attacked her with a powerful straight up punch, she managed to parry the move but was surprised at the sheer force behind it, the strength this kid had was comparable or higher than her own chakra enhanced strength, that told her that being hit by this guy was asking for trouble.

Naruto and Tsunade began trading blows and the blonde Sannin found herself fighting someone who was not only able to fight in par with her in terms of physical strength, but can take a serious beating too as she was forced to use her full strength, she lashed out with a fierce straight punch and hit Naruto in the chest, a normal person would have died from the impact, but Naruto was only pushed back a foot or so and he shrugged the blow off and growled at Tsunade and lashed out with a straight kick that she avoided but then heard a tearing sound and then she glanced at her pants to see that while the blow missed, Naruto unleashed enough force to cut the cloth and come close to tearing her skin..

The two looked at one another and Naruto growled, allowing his energy to flow into his body at that moment, and then he allowed his Kekkai Genkai to awaken once more at full force.

"DRAGON KING BLOOD!!! RELEASE!!! WIND!!!"

The others watched as Naruto's body was covered in glowing tattoos and as soon as that was over, Naruto gathered a massive amount of wind to him and unleashed a powerful blast of heavily focused air pressure that forced Tsunade to evade as a tearing sound was heard and a massive trench was made where she had been standing before....much to her surprise as the blonde Genin grinned back as he prepared to use the Rasengan and made the move. The blonde Sannin recognized it but was surprised that Naruto was able to do it with one hand while using Wind at the same time with a spear of pure air made in his other hand, showing that Naruto's training was paying off greatly and his growing powers also added power to it all.

But that was then that Jiraiya stopped the fight before it could get ugly but stepping and forcing Naruto to stop his attack before things got ugly.

"All right, that's enough you two, Naruto, keep your cool and deactivate those powers of yours."

"But..."

"Do it Naruto, we can't force Tsunade to join us, so we should at least give her a week to decide this for herself."

Naruto saw that Jiraiya was serious and did so, allowing his tattoos to fade away and also his Rasengan but he looked at Tsunade once more and moved away, but not without saying that he was going to go back to the hotel. But not before he spoke to Tsunade.

"You old hag....you spat at the names of all the people who gave their very lives to keep the village safe! Those people who made the ultimate choice to lose their lives to make sure that the peace of the village would remain and grow to full strength! I don't know why you are like this, the granddaughter of the First Hokage no less, but if those people who gave their lives were to be alive and heard you mock not just the title of Hokage but the sacrifices of all involved as well as their own, even your own sensei...they would consider never forgiving you if you ever help that snake summoning bastard to destroy the village they gave their lives to protect! And considering all I heard from you ...you don't EVER deserve to protect those dreams since you dare to mock them!"

With that, Naruto quickly created another Rasengan and smashed it hard into the stone wall nearby. He was unaware however that the meaning of his words had an effect on the blonde Sannin, she shook her head and looked at the retreating form of the still irate Konoha Genin and Dragon Ascendant Tsunade then decided to turn and face the white haired Sannin who shook his head at his student with a slight grin. As soon as that was done, she spoke to her former team mate.

"We need to talk."

Jiraiya nodded at that and the two headed off, while Tsunade's assistant Shizune and Tonton decided to follow Naruto, she knew that she had to tell Naruto the truth about what was going on and why Tsunade was the way she was at the moment.

--------

In the small bar...

"You haven't changed much Tsunade, still as beautiful as ever."

Tsunade snorted a bit at that as she and Jiraiya began to drink again in a nearby open night bar, the blonde Sannin was still trying to digest what was going on here, as far as her memory went, the blonde kid that accompanied Jiraiya didn't have that level of power, but until she could get her head sorted out, she decided to play along.

"And you haven't changed much either Jiraiya, you realize that you're the one man I don't plan on dating, and besides that, we're the same age right?"

"I know, besides younger women is more my thing anyway."

As the two drank their sake, Jiraiya then dropped the bomb.

"So Tsunade, are you planning to meet Orochimaru at the end of the week?"

Tsunade was unhappy with that and wondered just where had he figured all of that it out. Jiraiya noted that look in her face and replied

"I saw the handiwork you guys left earlier and I met some people who said something about a giant snake. And considering that you mentioned meeting him I assumed that he wants you to heal his arms and like me he offered something in return, I'm not as dense as some might think Tsunade, including you."

"Damn it...."

Jiraiya could tell that this was a tough time for his team mate and from what he had been gathering on his former team mate ever since he left the village, there was no doubt that Orochimaru had planned something to tempt Tsunade into siding with him to heal his arms.

"You realize that you are going to be helping him destroy all the things that the Hokage had built ever since the founding of Konoha if you heal his arms, Konoha is more than the buildings and monuments there, it's the people, their hopes, dreams, beliefs, and more for the future. The Hokages of the past including your grandfather and grand uncle, our sensei, and my own student gave everything to help ensure that the happiness, security, hopes, and dreams of the people of Konoha would survive and prosper even in the darkest of times. Yes they died, but they died knowing that they protected not the buildings of Konoha, but the people who lived in it. If you decide to help Orochimaru, then all they have done up to this moment will all be for nothing.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade seriously.

"You and I both know that Orochimaru hates Konoha so you can have no doubt that he will destroy it and kill all those people there just to test his power. I can't imagine that someone like you would be willing to allow that to happen and also help in making it happen....but Kami help me, because if I do find out about you helping him, I will kill you Tsunade."

Tsunade could see that Jiraiya meant those words and she stared back.

"That has nothing to do with me..."

Jiraiya sighed at that and replied.

"That is wrong, you cared for the village once Tsunade, you loved it with all you had for their sakes...."

"Stop it...."

"Listen...I know about why you left the village. I know I cannot grasp how you felt when Nawaki and Dan died and that was what drove you to leave Konoha. But helping Orochimaru will do nothing more than destroy it all, everything that they..."

"Jiraiya....stop it. You think I don't know how it feels?! Every day, ever since I left I wondered what I should have done to save them! I had to watch the corpse of....my brother in the morgue....I couldn't recognize him. He was so young, so eager, so full of lie, and now he was gone from my life only half a day after his birthday....and then I watched Dan die, and I couldn't save him....I, the greatest Medic Nin in Konoha couldn't even save the man I wanted to marry...."

Jiraiya knew that this was very touchy territory for Tsunade as well as himself. The blonde Sannin then spoke about another subject....Naruto.

:"That kid....why did you bring him?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's such a loud mouth....saying those things..."

"He struck a nerve didn't he?'

Tsunade said nothing but Jiraiya could tell that Naruto's words before had hit Tsunade hard, she might be a tough and stubborn woman, but the way Naruto said those words that she was demeaning the deaths of everyone who fought to keep Konoha safe and saying that if she ever helped Orochimaru, the people who died in keeping Konoha safe would never forgive her for betraying their dreams for the village had struck her hard. The reason was that what Naruto said naturally included Dan and Nawaki as well, both of them had bright hopes and dreams for Konoha in their lives, and they died for those dreams. If she did what Orochimaru wanted, then she would betray them completely.

Jiraiya sighed and replied.

"At least he was honest about it. Anyway, I guess being the head of a new clan and wielding a powerful gift makes him a lot different than before."

"What was that?"

Jiraiya filled Tsunade in on the details that he was able to gather about Naruto's newfound powers, explaining how he was able to stand up to her as well as learn the Rasengan in a shorter time frame, as well as his current standing as head of his own clan despite his age. Suffice to say Tsunade was shocked by the implications of it all and as soon as that was done she looked at her glass and wondered just what was Naruto doing tat this moment.

Naruto in his case was currently being told by Shizune about what had happened and while his anger towards Tsunade's callousness had not softened, his understanding of her situation increased at least. Shizune hoped that her explanations would help ease Naruto's harsh treatment of her sensei and it seemed to work. Naruto then decided to spend his time training once more, this time, with a special surprise in store for not just the blonde Sannin and his own sensei, but the snake summoning bastard himself.

It was also at this moment that Tsunade succeeded in slipping a special drug into Jiraiya's drink, hoping that it was going to be enough for what she had in mind.

--------

A week later...

"Damn it....I should have known she'd try something like this to keep us away from this fight."

Jiraiya felt like he had been fed a serious dose of sleeping pills as well as some seriously strong drink at the very same time. In this case, he was as he was unable to move and focus his chakra; the drug had also helped in making him sleep for nearly a week. Tsunade made the drug especially for him in order to keep him from interfering in her plans. As soon as he work up, he managed to get some food to help build up his strength just as Naruto had finished his own training in his own time....having thought that the Pervy Sage had drunk himself to the point of being.

Now they had been told the whole story of what exactly happened between Tsunade and Orochimaru by Shizune. It galled Jiraiya that Orochimaru was using Dan and Nawaki to buy Tsunade's help, he knew how tempting such an offer was to Tsunade and would be too powerful for her to resist as both men were truly important to her, and this made the whole thing even harder to deal with.

"We have to hurry! Tsunade-sama is in danger, they know her fear of blood and might use it on her!"

Naruto and Jiraiya knew that to be true and the trio, supported by Tonton located Tsunade; they were surprised to see a trail of destruction going out of town, and that told them that something had happened and considering that Orochimaru's smell was being followed by Tsunade's smell away from the scene told them something good.

Shizune had filled them in on Orochimaru's companion who appeared to be very skilled, the description matched that of Kabuto and while Naruto was confused at first, he quickly decided to see for himself if it was true that Kabuto might be working for Orochimaru. If he was, he was going to deal with him personally.

--------

Outside of town...

Tsunade groaned a bit as she tried to get her energy back after chasing Orochimaru and Kabuto; she had made her decision only days before and vowed to end Orochimaru herself. While it seemed that she had agreed with Orochimaru's plans as well as accepting his promise to not harm Konoha, she had other plans, she knew that Jiraiya was right, and she knew that as well, there was no way Orochimaru would ever agree to leaving Konoha alone and he would also use Dan and Nawaki to control her.

Besides, that blonde was right, if she did agree to it, she was betraying Dan and Nawaki in the most brutal and most insidious way possible, and despite her desire to see Dan and Nawaki again, she knew that they could never forgive her for doing not just allowing Orochimaru to bring them back from the dead in the same way he had done to her grandfather and granduncle, but also destroying the village they had given their lives to keep safe. She had tried to kill Orochimaru using a special jutsu that had killing intent, but the young man named Kabuto revealed his own skill as a Medic Nin and stopped her....leading to the battle outside.

She was getting tired and Orochimaru taunted her while Kabuto fought her, she had to admit that the young man was good, even more than her in terms of skill and medical know how when she was at her own height. But that hardly stopped her and she had come close to finishing him off but that was when he used her fear of blood on her by slitting his wrists and allowing the blood to cripple her.

Kabuto attacked fiercely to even up the score, hitting the blonde Sannin fast and hard and as best he could, but as he attacked once more, it was then that a massive gout of flame came at him and forced him away from Tsunade, he turned and there was Naruto as well as Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Kabuto moved away and smiled at Naruto as the blonde Genin glared at him.

"So Naruto-kun, you arrived."

Naruto's vision, boosted by the Dragon King Blood in his veins had allowed him to see Kabuto attacking a helpless Tsunade and that galled him deeply, not only that the man he thought a friend was a Sound spy, but attacking Tsunade the way she was right now. He looked to see Jiraiya still uneasy on his feet, no doubt from the drug used on him by Tsunade and Shizune trying to help her sensei out of her state.

"So, you are indeed a spy, I tried to discount that, but I saw you attack Tsunade and the Sound forehead protector as well. I am going to beat you to a bloody pulp."

Kabuto decided to goad Naruto as Orochimaru looked on.

"How do you plan to do that? You are alone at the moment and I am not a Genin in reality, I know even how to kill ANBU you know?"

Naruto however growled and replied.

"Maybe you have killed ANBU, but have you ever killed a Dragon Ascendant in combat? Especially since the one in question has the blood of a Dragon King flowing in his veins?"

Kabuto had not idea what that was about, but he was going to get his answer soon enough as Naruto used his Dragon King Blood once more.

"DRAGON KING BLOOD!!! RELEASE!!! LIGHTNING!!!"

The tattoos came back to life and now Naruto attacked Kabuto, the Medic Nin knew that attacking Naruto directly was going to be out of the question and he used his arsenal to even up the odds. Naruto however was not going to make it the least bit easy as he unleashed waves as well as bolts of Lightning at Kabuto. It was also when Kabuto as well as Orochimaru were able to learn just how deadly Naruto was in close combat when he revealed his strength in shattering a nearby boulder with a straight punch.

That surprised Kabuto as Naruto replicated the same strength as Tsunade, but in a much faster form as he barely evaded an attack to his side, and he heard the tearing of cloth, seeing that while he had indeed evaded that attack, the attack had enough force to tear through his clothes and even his flesh, that was when Naruto unleashed a field of pure Lightning around himself that rapidly expanded.

Kabuto managed to evade the wave, but had his foot hit by the Lightning and that slowed him down and Naruto was quick to capitalize on that as he sent a powerful uppercut to Kabuto, sending the man flying backwards. Kabuto felt like he had bee n hit on the jaw by a massive hammer and it was only through his knowledge of medical jutsu that he got his body back from both the blows of the Lightning and the blow from the blonde Genin along with his other abilities. However he spat out a small amount of blood from the blow and spoke to the blonde Genin.

"Not bad Naruto-kun....I never expected that..."

"Quit talking and start fighting!!!"

Naruto charged at Kabuto but that was when Kabuto made his move and suddenly Naruto hit only the ground with his fist and Kabuto vanished. The blonde looked about to find his quarry and deal with him, it was then that he decided to summon his Dragon Eye.

Kabuto grinned as he lashed outward, he expected his chakra scalpel to cut down Naruto and with him hidden with the Meisaigakure No Jutsu, he had the advantage, as there was no way that Naruto could see him as only those with either the Sharingan or Byakugan could see it, he was proven wrong as Naruto suddenly turned and landed a powerful back hand to send him flying backwards. The personal Medic Nin of Orochimaru was surprised by this and looked at Naruto.

(How did Naruto-kun see me?)

He got his answer as Naruto revealed his face and there was the Dragon Eye staring right at Kabuto. The Medic Nin was surprised, it resembled the Sharingan, but it was not at the same time. The blonde growled and charged at Kabuto, unleashing a hail of blows at that forced him on the defensive. He had not expected this from Naruto as his records containing information on Naruto had no mention of this ability of his.

Kabuto wondered just what was going on at the moment as he tried his chakra scalpel yet again to attack Naruto, the attack came for Naruto's arm, but suddenly Naruto evaded the strike and to Kabuto's shock, Naruto created a chakra scalpel of his own, except this one was made from pure lightning and Kabuto was hit by it at the leg.

"AAAAAUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!"

The attack literally send waves of deadly force into Kabuto as the Lightning short circuited his nervous system as well as fry him deeply, the attack also rendered him unable to move, much to Naruto's enjoyment as he had ever intention of destroying the man.

Naruto roared and then unleashed a number of powerful attacks on Kabuto and one could hear the result as he felt the medic nin's bones break and then he quickly knocked Kabuto back from him and then decided that now was the time to deal with the pest. He summoned his powers once more as he focused his Dragon Eyes at Kabuto, looking into the man and spotted the exact spot he needed to hit.

"DRAGON KING BLOOD...RELEASE!!! FIRE!!!!"

Kabuto managed to get his body back in order but that was not enough as Naruto attacked him with a powerful kick and as he was forced back Naruto spoke.

"Here's something you are going to like you bastard...the Pervy Sage' taught me a new technique, but you know what? I have just discovered a new jutsu for myself!"

Naruto raised his hands and then created both spheres of chakra, two perfected Rasengan at the same time, making Tsunade gap in surprise as well as Shizune. Jiraiya smirked at that while Orochimaru saw it happen before him with a look of surprise. However they were going to being for an even bigger surprise as Naruto suddenly focused his energy and the tattoos glowed once more in fiery red.

"Here it is....my personal variant of the Rasengan...DUAL INFERNO RASENGAN!!!!"

Everyone watched as the two Rasengan were suddenly turning fiery red and sure enough, the two Rasengan began to be covered in deep flames. It seemed that when Naruto chose to use a particular element when using his Dragon King Blood, he could easily change his elemental affinity and therefore have an effect on the Rasengan as the massive burning spheres were unleashing massive amounts of flame around itself.

Jiraiya was impressed; he knew that it took half a week for Naruto to figure out how to make the perfect Rasengan and another half a week to create TWO Rasengan at once, he had decided to keep the technique a secret from Tsunade as a surprise. However, while he could use his own fire chakra to cover the Rasengan he could create in the same fashion as Naruto could, he had never attempted to do that with TWO Rasengan at once.

(Nice....looks like teaching him that was a good move after all.)

Tsunade looked on with shock at this, knowing that Naruto had taken only half a week to learn the Rasengan from Jiraiya, and now it seemed that he could use both hands to create two Rasengan at the very same time! But now it seemed that the blonde kid could combine his elemental chakra to create a more powerful Rasengan, it was even more shocking to see Naruto use TWO Rasengan at the same time.

(Incredible....making one Rasengan took three years for the Fourth, but in half a week, Naruto was able to make one...and now he could make TWO Rasengan....and now combine it with Fire chakra in one week?! This is unprecedented...)

Orochimaru was utterly shocked at the sight before him. Kabuto himself barely had time to react when Naruto closed the gap at high speed and then smashed both burning Rasengan into him, the personal Medic Nin of Orochimaru barely had time to ready his body for the impact and managed to survive....but he was blown literally a hundred or more feet back and the entire area that made the trench before him was incinerated in fire.

As the damage cleared Naruto looked to see that Kabuto was still alive....though barely. The man smirked as he got up despite the fact that his clothes were badly burned and he was still smoking in some areas.

"Not bad Naruto-kun....but I am not out yet."

Naruto could see that as the body cells in Kabuto's body began to heal and he spoke to Kabuto.

"So, you can regenerate dead or dying body cells eh?"

"That's right, that's why I serve as Orochimaru-sama's right hand."

"You might be able to heal, but my Dragon Eye allowed me to hit you right there where I can do the most damage, and while you're healing....I can see that you nearly used up all your chakra to do it."

Naruto was right as Kabuto suddenly fell to the ground as he was writhing in pain, the combined Rasengan attack with Fire surrounding both chakra spheres had nearly killed him as he had nearly run out of chakra to heal all those heavy injuries that he had suffered.

Naruto then decided to focus his attention directly at Orochimaru and this time the blonde Genin took out his sword staff, extending both blades outward from the handle and the blonde charged right at the man, riding a bolt of lightning right at Orochimaru. The Sannin had no time to react and it was then that they were face to face.

Orochimaru was stunned to see the changes in Naruto's eyes as he did his best to avoid the powerful attacks of the now enraged Dragon Ascendant. The snake summoning Sannin couldn't help but be shocked at the sight of Naruto's now transformed eyes, they resembled the Sharingan but unlike the Sharingan, there were five tomoe there that he was unable to recognize, the slit was there and instead of being red, the eyes were still blue, yet radiated power, the eyes of the blonde ninja wielding the double sword staff sent chills down his spine as he moved away at that moment, something that he had never felt before in his many years as a ninja.

Orochimaru managed to remain focused on the battle as he evaded Naruto's attacks, and he then decided that maybe he could get the advantage by goading Naruto into making a mistake.

"You are strong Naruto-kun, but not yet enough to be beat me or surpass Sasuke-kun."

"Why don't you stop talking and start fighting?!"

Orochimaru then replied as he managed to land a kick at Naruto, it felt like hitting a wall, but the snake Sannin unleashed a sword from his mouth at Naruto, the blonde grabbed it with his free and crushed the sword that turned into a snake.

"Do you intent to kill me for killing my former sensei? He was old and weak, to think he would be Hokage again after he should have retired...."

Naruto roared out in even greater anger at that insult to Sarutobi's memory as he unleashed massive gout of fire right at Orochimaru point blank.

"DIE!!!!!!"

Orochimaru managed to get away and unleashed his Kusanagi right and Naruto but the blonde ninja evaded quickly the attack and he decided to unleash his attention to his former team mates instead. He aimed his Kusanagi right at Jiraiya who he could tell was still unable to use his chakra well due to the drug that Tsunade used on him. He decided to finish them off, but Naruto spotted the attack.

He charged at both his former teammates and attacked with his sword, intent in finishing them off, but then Naruto appeared and he was shocked as the Kusanagi didn't even scratch the kid's skin or even pierce him, The blow was right at Naruto's heart area, a fatal attack that would mean a quick death that not even Tsunade's skills in medical jutsu could stop, but somehow, the Kusanagi couldn't cut deep into his body.

Naruto swatted the Kusanagi aside and quickly attacked Orochimaru who was forced to use some of his own techniques to stop Naruto, but with his arms no longer able to work effectively to use any jutsu, he had to evade as best he could, he used his own surgery and the experiments he did on his own body to attack with his extending neck to fire the Kusanagi again.

Naruto dodged the attack well enough and lashed out with a powerful kick to send Orochimaru back a fair distance from him, all the while disgusted at Orochimaru's actions.

"You sick freak! I am going to kill you!!!"

"Orochimaru-sama!"

Kabuto who managed to get himself to his feet despite the massive blast of the double Fire Storm Rasengan closed in and tried to attack Naruto using his medical jutsu in the form of the chakra scalpel once more, the blonde quickly evaded the attack at high speed and as soon as he dodged Kabuto's attack he lashed out with a powerful kick that slammed hard into Kabuto's body, sending the man flying backwards while coughing out a gout of his own blood at the impact of Naruto's attack, further adding more injury to him.

However, Orochimaru chose this moment to attack with a wave of snakes from his mouth, in a second, all the snakes exposed blades from their mouths, showing their dark intent to spear Naruto dead.

Naruto however was not deterred as the attack came right at him and he then tried a trick that he had yet to try in battle. He gathered the energy and air into his mouth and thought of it being arctic cold, enough to literally freeze the very air around it. As soon as he felt the energy ready he unleashed a massive gust of wind that literally froze the ground before him, catching Kabuto and Orochimaru off guard as the snakes were easily frozen solid.

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked on in surprise and so did Shizune as Naruto roared at Orochimaru and Kabuto and then unleashed a powerful blast of fire from his hand as his tattoos were now fiery red as the flames instantly reduced the snakes into nothing but ruined corpses. Naruto then took out his sword staff, extended both blades and then spun his newly revealed weapon and attacked Orochimaru who was forced to fight with his own Kusanagi sword and it was then that Naruto showed his own sword skills once more.

Orochimaru attempted to stab Naruto straight in the heart but Naruto quickly spun his weapon, the lower blade struck the Kusanagi and knocked it aside easily as Naruto charged in with a shoulder ram, forcing Orochimaru backward and he moved back and then unleashed another wall of snakes as Naruto began to charge, the blonde roared out as he spun his weapon into the snakes, the snakes tried to bite Naruto but Naruto's spinning sword staff cut them all down before they could really become a major threat to the blonde ninja, Orochimaru tried to move into the wall to attack Naruto at a much better angle and as soon as he found it via the sight of his snakes he charged, intent to stab Naruto in the back, but to his shock, Naruto's sword staff came right at him before he could react.

(WHAT?!)

SLISH!!!!

"EXPLOSION!!!!"

The snakes that surrounded Naruto erupted outward, being shredded by a massive blast of wind as Orochimaru was flying backward with Naruto's sword staff in his stomach, the snake summoning Sannin looked to see Naruto before him with the same unknown eyes as before. Somehow these eyes had allowed the blonde ninja Genin to see him attacking him from behind and impale him with his sword staff.

As soon as Naruto looked at Orochimaru, the snake Sannin grinned as he looked to see the sword staff sticking from his chest, he might be grinning, but he was using that grin to hide the pain of Naruto's unexpected attack. He reached for the weapon using a snake from his mouth and pulled it out and looked at the sword staff carefully, it was a different weapon, something that he had never seen before in his life and yet Naruto seemed very comfortable using the weapon itself. He tossed the weapon away with his still working hands despite the pain and then Naruto created a whip of flame that caught the weapon and brought it right back to him, surprising Orochimaru even more.

(This power....what is it? I must know more about this....if I can combine it with Sasuke-kun's Sharingan....then I shall become a true immortal!!!)

"Not bad Naruto-kun, you are showing a lot more power than i expected."

Naruto growled and replied as he spun his sword staff and replied.

"All you care about is power....no matter how many people you had to kill, all you wanted was power!!! Well it ends here!!!!"

Naruto leaped at Orochimaru and spun his weapon at full speed, intent on cutting Orochimaru into the ground and leaving him as a corpse, the blonde attacked and tore a massive blow tear into the soil that Orochimaru once stood in as the Sannin tried to escape. Emphasis on the word tried as Naruto unleashed a powerful whip of flame and caught him by the feet and Naruto roared out as he gripped the flaming whip and began to spin Orochimaru around with greater speed and then smashing Orochimaru around the area, unleashing clouds of dust and creating large holes in the ground with each devastating impact. He then tosses Orochimaru away as the snake summoning Sannin got back to his feet.

Naruto wasted no time as he finally decided to try using another element and transformed his tattoos once more to fit the battle field, he was currently using Fire and then he decided to try the next one.

"DRAGON KING BLOOD...RELEASE!!!! EARTH!!!!"

The tattoos changed form and colour and as soon as he was in the clear, the blonde charged at Orochimaru and then moved his hand forward and then a wave of pure earth rose up and headed in his direction as he leaped and rode it like a surfer, much to Orochimaru and Kabuto's surprise as well as that of the others as Naruto moved on the wave with no trouble and then he leaped into the air and made several grabbing motions with his free hand. The result was a massive wave of hands coming out of the wave of Earth, all grabbing for Orochimaru

Naruto growled even more, intent on killing Orochimaru, but he quickly stopped as he turned to check on the two other Sannin, seeing Tsunade recovering from the attacks Kabuto gave her, and Jiraiya still fighting the effects of the drug, Naruto knew that he had to help them in some fashion as a sharp biting pain in his eyes told him that his Dragon Eye was beginning to recede.

(Damn it....I need to stop before the pain...)

Naruto quickly moved back and quickly decided to heal both Jiraiya and Tsunade, it was going to be the first time he would use the technique that his sensei in the Ascendant arts, but since he was unable to fully master the level of control of the elements that Fenrix did, he would have to use the same technique that he had used on Neji, Fenrix had taught him the basics and it would help a great deal for him to use at the moment. As soon as he placed away his weapon, retracting both blades, he looked at both Jiraiya and Tsunade and spoke.

"I'm running low....and my Dragon Eye is hitting the end of it's limit, I guess you guys will have to do it. I'll deal with the situation; mind you....this is going to be a first for me."

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!!"

The blonde had several Kage Bushin with him and then used the same training shown to him but Fenrix began to gather the energy needed as the rest of his Kage Bushin had taken their different tattoo transformation s. The others watched in surprise as Naruto gathered the energy and it was so intense that despite the distance, Kabuto was able to feel it.

(So much energy....healing energy, it's unlike anything I have ever seen or felt before....where has he learned this?!)

Orochimaru himself felt the power, while medical jutsu was well known the technique that Fenrix taught Naruto was not, this was the very first time in Orochimaru's mind that anyone had controlled this level of chakra before. He could see that Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, and Lightning being transformed into potent life energy by both the real Naruto and his Kage Bushin. It was unreal.

For Naruto the strain was too much as he tried his best to serve as the main focus point of the ten Kage Bushin's respective powers as they focused their energies the way Fenrix had explained, Naruto had to use all of his training to make all the energies work in sync. He pushed himself to the limit and managed to complete it and imbued the two spheres that resembled the Rasengan but glowed deep silver and gold because of his Dragon King Blood into both Tsunade and Jiraiya.

The result was immediate as Jiraiya felt his body heal rapidly as well as feeling a great increase of vitality, strength, and more, he had never felt like this in years. The same was true for Tsunade, she felt her body fully heal as well as her chakra seemed to sky rocket, she felt as if reborn somehow. They looked at Naruto who's Kage Bushin disappeared and o their shock they saw him collapse and there was blood coming from his mouth and nose.

Tsunade was horrified and despite her fear of blood coming back she placed it aside and checked Naruto, she found that the effort of doing the Elemental Life Force technique as well as using the Dragon Eye had weakened Naruto internally and while he was slowly recovering, he was badly injured, without a second thought she began to heal him, putting all her knowledge into the forefront. This made Naruto open his now normal eyes weakly and he spoke.

"You're....trying to save me? Why is that?'

"Because of what you said you annoying kid..."

"Huh?"

"You said if I ever sided with Orochimaru....I would be betraying the dreams of everyone in Konoha....and that I don't deserve to protect those dreams...."

Naruto winced in pain and replied.

"Yeah....about that....I'm sorry about....that, I should have tried to...."

"No....you were right, I knew that you were right. I would have betrayed everyone, including my little brother and my fiancé if I helped Orochimaru, and they could never forgive me."

"So that means?"

"I'm taking the position of Hokage....and next time, as soon as I get my strength back....I want a rematch."

Naruto smiled a bit at that and nodded.

"Sure....I need to sleep."

Tsunade could tell that he would be fine at that moment as his body was already mending well. She looked at Shizune who was utterly relieved at not just her recovery and her now no longer present fear of blood. Tsunade turned to Jiraiya and nodded.

"You and I have some unfinished business with someone Jiraiya."

Jiraiya nodded at that and the two Sannin faced their former comrade as Kabuto....who managed to recover a bit more was now at his master's side.

Orochimaru saw that he had no choice but to retreat, there was no way he could beat both Jiraiya and Tsunade now that they were fully healed and seemingly at full strength. So he did something that he never wanted to do....retreat. He made the jutsu with Kabuto in tow and they were soon well on their way.

"Not this time Jiraiya, Tsunade, I will be back....you might have not agreed to heal my arms, but I will find my way yet, and I will have my revenge on you and all of Konoha, mark my words."

As he and Kabuto left, the snake summoning Sannin looked at the unconscious Naruto and vowed to find the answers to his power.

Once they were sure about him not coming back, Tsunade and Jiraiya decided to go back to town and get some rest.

--------

The next day....

As the group began to get ready to leave the town, it was then that Tsunade thought about all that happened to her this past week. She had felt something left from her shoulders, apart from her now lost fear of blood, it was also the fact that she had honoured Dan and Nawaki by not siding with Orochimaru as well as her grandfather and granduncle. But while she knew she did the right thing, she was still sad to never get the chance to hold Dan and Nawaki again.

That line of thought was not lost to everyone, and Naruto most of all.

Naruto looked at Tsunade who was currently deep in thought about things, after he had been told by Shizune about the offer given to her by Orochimaru to resurrect her loved ones, he couldn't help but feel a good measure of sympathy for Tsunade, and it was then that he decided to try doing the one thing his sensei Fenrix told him not to do unless he was ready for it. As they were out of town and near a field, he thought over the options and decided to go ahead with it.

"Hey Pervy Sage, hold up."

Jiraiya turned and Tsunade couldn't help but smirk a bit at the way Naruto called Jiraiya, oh Jiraiya had been called a load of names in the past for his perverted nature and actions, but Pervy Sage was a new one in her book.

Jiraiya sighed as both Tsunade and Shizune smirked a bit and looked at Naruto.

"What is it?"

Naruto scratched his head and decided to speak.

"You know that technique I used on you and Tsunade-san...well, I kind of forgot to tell you two things. The first is that it has a slight chance to make one affected by it younger, and I'm not talking about just feeling younger....but actually younger."

The two looked at one another at that and they could tell that Naruto was not kidding to say the least, it was then that Tsunade was the first to speak.

"Are you serious Naruto?"

"Oh yeah, I'm dead serious Tsunade-san, I'd say that you and the Pervy sage are about half your past age now. So that means that you really are 25 years old now."

Jiraiya grinned while Tsunade was shocked at the implications, to know that Naruto could actually have that level of ability was astounding to say the very least. To think he could have the power to reverse a person's age to youth was certainly something she had never expected of him.

"There's still the other part of it and this is very serious."

Jiraiya could tell that this was serious and looked at Naruto.

"All right....what's the other one?"

Naruto sighed and replied.

"The ability can bring a recently deceased person back to life as long as they are not in some sort of pact with the god of Death, so there is no way I can bring the Old Man back to life, even if I wanted to However, there is another variant that Fenrix-sensei told me about....and instead of creating powerful healing energy through the five elements....it could create a living body and with a special ritual....bring a living soul back to life."

That stunned the group into silence....Naruto knew that was going to happen as he looked at the stunned pair of now young again Sannin. It was Shizune who then spoke to him, she too was utterly shocked by the news and the implications of his statement, not that he could blame any of them for the reaction they had..

"You mean....you can bring someone back from the dead Naruto-kun?!"

"Yeah....and it's not like that Snake Summoning bastard's Kinjutsu either....it's different, and I want to try it before we go....I already have some people in mind."

The others had no idea what Naruto had in mind but he spoke to them all.

"I honestly don't know if I am up to this but there's only one way to find out, but I need both Tsunade and Shizune to help me."

The two wondered what was going on and seeing that Naruto was dead serious about this they waited and Naruto began to chant the spell and it was not long before a glowing amount of energy surrounded him and then began to expand outward and then create a glowing sphere that surrounded him and the two women in question, Naruto however assured them that while this was his first time he could tell that he was doing all right. As soon as the last part of the spell was done, the glowing liquid became opaque and covered the trio, all Jiraiya could do was wait at the moment.

However he did wonder what was going on and just who did Naruto have in mind to bring back from the dead.

--------

In the realm of the After Life...

It was not long before the two women in question found themselves in a near colourless environment and they were surprised by this and then they saw Naruto there before them and it was Tsunade to who asked the question.

"Where are we Naruto-kun?"

"This is the Spirit Realm, the sphere that surrounded us is a gateway into it, now we wait, supposedly this is where the Watcher is going to come here to see to who has died."

Sure enough, a robed and hooded form appeared before the trio, there were strange symbols on his clothes and it spoke in a hollow but neutral voice, showing that death was impartial in every form.

"A Dragon Ascendant, it has been a very long time since one of your kind has entered the realm of the dead, what brings you here?"

Naruto spoke then to the Watcher.

"I came here to ask for the chance to seek out the souls of two people, the uncle of Shizune and the fiancé of Tsunade, as well as the young brother of Tsunade."

The Watcher looked at Shizune and Tsunade, the two women couldn't help but feel that this was utterly different from what they expected to be death, it wasn't that the Watcher was evil, far from it, there was no evil that they could feel, no good, it seemed to be just plain different, the Watcher seemed to merely observe them and then it spoke to the two of them.

"You are Tsunade Senju of the Senju Clan, eldest sister of Nawaki Senju and also the fiancée of Dan, and the one next to you is Shizune, Dan's niece. Your loved ones spoke well of you in the realm of heaven, something that they deserve for all their efforts as well as their own beliefs, they shall come forth as asked by the Ascendant."

Sure enough a portal opened before them and there was a beautiful land before them and the three walked into the area and sure enough they found themselves in what one could call paradise at first glance, there were trees, hills, mountains, lakes, rivers, hills, and mountains as well, there was a massive city nearby and there seemed to be people milling there. It was then that the three were able to see two people approaching. The two people who arrived in the scene were easy enough to recognize, one was a young kid who resembled Naruto in a number of ways, while the other had deep silver hair. The two arrived and both were surprised to see Naruto, Tsunade, and Shizune, and for good reason as well for they had not seen them for a very long time.

"Tsunade?"

"Big sis?"

Tsunade looked at the two and couldn't speak for a second, she moved closer and finally as she was before them she reached out and touched them, she could feel them for real and the blonde Sannin couldn't help but react in a very natural fashion. She hugged them both.

The Watcher looked on silently, the being's impassive face unchanging despite the tender scene before it as Tsunade was reunited with her loved ones once more. It had seen things like this before so it was not surprised in the least that it was happening once more.

Naruto looked on with a smile on his face despite his exhaustion, he had managed the spell and now it seemed to be all right as he looked at the blonde woman before him as well as Shizune who was crying as well at the sight...

Of Tsunade hugging both Dan and Nawaki...

The blonde Sannin was crying her heart out as she held her loved ones again, even if they were in the Realm of the After Life they felt so real, it drove her mind to try and figure out how this was possible. They were dead, yet they felt solid, alive, she could feel their breath on her skin, their heart beats....everything. It drove the blonde Sannin to tears as she held them close to her. As she moved away, Nawaki spoke to Tsunade marvelling at how much she had changed since she had last seen her.

"Wow big sis! You've grown so much!!!"

Dan nodded with Nawaki and spoke to his former fiancé.

"You have changed Tsunade....but still as beautiful as ever."

"Dan....Nawaki....are you really here?"

Dan nodded as he replied

"We are allowed to have our original bodies returned here in this part of the Realm of the Dead, but only as long as the Watcher allows it. So we are real here as you and Shizune as well....speaking of which."

Dan turned to face Shizune as she walked over to her uncle with wide eyes.

"U-Uncle Dan...."

Dan smiled as he touched Shizune's face and spoke to her.

"You've grown Shizune, I am sorry I never got to see you grow up."

The reunion was everything Tsunade hoped for as she looked at the two people who meant a great deal to her, to feel them in her arms, to hear them, to see them. It was incredible to behold and feel. She turned to Naruto who was still in his tattoo form and he was smiling at her and Shizune. She couldn't believe the power Naruto had put into allowing this to happen....all for her to meet her loved ones again and not in the way that Orochimaru would have done it. She finally managed to say the words that were in her throat at this moment.

"Thank you..."

Naruto nodded and replied.

"You're welcome....but it's not over yet."

The Watcher turned to Naruto and spoke, already aware of the reason behind this meeting.

"You seek to bring them to life Ascendant?"

Naruto turned to face the Watcher and knew that what he was going to ask the ancient spirit warden was something that his sensei in the Ascendant arts told him he must only attempt if the situation truly called for it, but as long as Tsunade was given the happiness she deserved as well as being given a chance to make her life anew, he was willing to take the risks with his chosen decision.

"Yes."

"Know that your requests are not to be taken lightly, Dan and Nawaki's souls have already been allowed into the fields of Heaven and they have been dead for nearly three decades, you're powers as they are now, restrained by the bracers are not enough to bring them back to full life."

"What if I remove them?"

"Then your full power shall be enough to ensure their resurrection, yet you know that there is a price, even for one of your level of power Ascendant....do you know the risks?"

"Yes I do."

Tsunade then stepped in and spoke.

"Wait a minute...what is going on here?"

Naruto turned and replied.

"I plan to bring both Dan and Nawaki back to life and not in the same fashion as that of that snake summoning bastard. But at the level I am now, I can't bring them completely back to life in full so I have to remove the bracers that limit my powers, but my sensei told me that doing so at my level...."

Tsunade didn't like the sound of that and she wanted to know more, but that was when Dan spoke to answer his beloved's question in her mind, as he was now in the realm of the After Life, Dan had been able to learn much from his time there, even if it had been thirty years since he last set foot on the earth of his land, time was of no consequence to the spirits of the dead. So he had plenty of time to study on the past.

"If Naruto-kun does that spell at his current level of power....he will be severely weakened and a good portion of his powers would be lost, it would take many months or even years for him to recover..."

Tsunade was surprised by this and looked at Naruto to see if he was being serious about this and the blonde Genin nodded, showing that he was serious and his next words told the blonde Sannin the story.

"I'll do it....if it will make Tsunade-san happy then I will sacrifice that much power to bring them back to life. Watcher, can you remove the bracers?"

"Indeed I can, a portion of your Ascendant powers to return the souls of Dan and Nawaki back to the realm of the living, that is the bargain....prepare yourself."

The robed Watcher made it's way towards Naruto who offered both his arms to the spectral being who reached out to the locking mechanisms that held the bracers closed, it seemed that Naruto was about to make the great sacrifice for the happiness of Tsunade, but then as the Watcher moved to seal the bargain, she moved forward and blocked the watcher from approaching Naruto.

"No!"

The Watcher stopped and spoke to the blonde Sannin.

"Why do you stand in my way Tsunade Senju? Is it not your wish to be able to be with your loved ones again?"

Naruto himself was quite surprised at this as he looked at Tsunade as he spoke.

"What are you doing Tsunade-san? Don't you want the chance to be with your brother and fiancé again? To begin life anew as well as have the family you wanted years before? I can do that for you here and now..."

"I do....I want nothing more than to be with Nawaki again, to be able to watch over him and teach him all I can so he could be a great ninja. I want to be with Dan to I could be happy to be able to have children again, to be with the man I loved..."

Tsunade looked at both Dan and Nawaki as tears were in her eyes, Naruto saw this as well, further confusing him, if she wanted this so badly, then why was she stopping him from making the bargain with the Watcher.

"Then why are you stopping me from doing this?"

Tsunade turned, showing Naruto a radiant smile with her tears as she spoke to the blonde Genin.

"Because....because you've done so much for me already Naruto-kun, you've given me back the fire to be able to live again, to recall the dreams that both Dan and Nawaki gave their lives for as well as what the title of Hokage meant to them. You've freed me from my fears and you've given me the chance to be able to hold Dan and Nawaki again."

"You've gone and did all this for me....with your powers and your Kekkai Genkai as well, I can't have you suffer and lose your chance to be the best ninja of Konoha you can become if you do this. You will become a far greater Hokage than anyone....even more than my grandfather when he was Hokage as well as my uncle, and even Sarutobi-sensei. You've given me hope in the future, something I lost along with my faith in the title of Hokage....and I want you to grow and reach your true potential to be a true Hokage. That's why....even if it hurts me to not be with Dan and Nawaki again....I can't let you sacrifice yourself for my sake...being able to make peace with my past, and to hold them one last time is enough for me."

Naruto didn't know what to say at this point; he could tell that Tsunade meant every word she said, but still he wanted to do something to make Tsunade truly happy, it was then that he had an idea.

"Tsunade-san....thank you for those words, but I must at least do something for you, let me do this one thing for you and it will be all right."

Tsunade had no idea what Naruto intended to do, but despite her misgivings, she felt that she should allow it and stepped aside as the Watcher waited. Naruto then spoke to the ageless spirit warden.

"Watcher, I wish to change my deal, I wish to make a new deal involving the souls of Dan and Nawaki."

"I am listening."

"Is it possible to allow them to be allowed to return in the land of the living for a short time, to be with Tsunade for that time before they are allowed to be returned back to the realm of the dead?"

The Watcher looked at both Dan and Nawaki as they awaited it's judgement on the matter placed before it, the Watcher then turned to Naruto as well as Tsunade and Shizune as it spoke out it's decision.

"it can be done as it is within your power Ascendant, however, Dan and Nawaki may only be within the realm of the living for a week, once that time has passed, then they must return to the Realm of the Dead, they shall have all the abilities of their once living bodies for that time, and when it ends they shall be allowed to return to their spirit forms to return to the Realm. Is that enough for you Ascendant?"

Naruto smiled and Tsunade as well as Shizune were stunned. Even if it was for only one week, Dan and Nawaki were going to be allowed to live again. The blonde Ascendant spoke then to the Watcher.

"It is, let's do it."

--------

Jiraiya watched the sphere of glowing liquid where Naruto as well as Tsunade and Shizune were before. He was told by Naruto what this spell was and he couldn't believe the power coming from it, it had been nearly a full three minutes since Naruto completed the spell, all he could do was wait and wonder what was going on in there.

It was then that the sphere faded away and there was Naruto, along with Tsunade and Shizune....but the three were joined by two new figures....both he was quick to recognize.

"DAN?! NAWAKI?!"

--------

The next few days were hectic as they decided to travel back to Konoha, all the while Tsunade was doing all she could to treasure the moment. After all, she was with the two men who were of great importance in her life, her only brother and her fiancé, it hurt like mad to know that they were only going to be a week with her, but Tsunade was not going to let that stop her from enjoying the moments she would have with them. Shizune herself also was doing all she could enjoy the time with her uncle….and all this was being seen by both Naruto and Jiraiya.

Dan and Nawaki were very much living beings in all senses, the very second they were allowed back into the mortal world in their new though temporary bodies, they felt great hunger and thirst, Tsunade wasted no time ordering as much food and drink as she could in order to make them feel full and happy, both men amazingly ate a lot, no doubt due to the fact that in the spirit realm, hunger and thirst was not an issue for anyone there. Shizune normally would have tried to convince Tsunade not to spend so much, but in this case, she was going to let it slide, and it helped that both Naruto and Jiraiya were more than willing to lend some of their own money to help with the cause as she herself didn't have much with her.

Dan and Nawaki were amazed at how much things had changed ever since their days while they were still with the living, Nawaki and Naruto quickly became fast friends and despite Naruto being physically older than Nawaki, one had to be blind and dense not to see that they were almost like twin brothers, something that made Tsunade happy as well. The blonde Sannin spent as much time as she could with all of them devoting time to both Dan and Nawaki, and Nawaki loved it, he had missed his sister deeply and it was nice to see her happy again. Tsunade bought Nawaki what she could get to make him smile, as well as spend time with him and it made her happy that Nawaki had a friend in Naruto as well.

As for Dan, she wanted to be with him in private times walking and doing all the things they used to do before he was killed in the war that eventually led to her fear of blood. Dan was shocked at finding out what she had been doing for the past years as well as hearing how Orochimaru had tried to bribe her with having them brought back to life using a forbidden jutsu. He had been happy that she had not agreed to it and told her so himself, making Tsunade happier than ever.

Dan also spoke to Jiraiya about something important, though he asked that the white haired Sannin not tell Tsunade about their discussion until the time was right. Jiraiya agreed and it seemed that the discussion was enough to help him overcome the past dislike or hatred for Dan. The next few days were heaven to Tsunade and when the time came to let them return, she had to admit that it hurt a bit, but knowing that they were in heaven was more than enough to make it easier.

On the appointed day, Naruto and Shizune decided to leave the four be, though Dan bade his niece a tearful farewell before being with Tsunade and Nawaki as well as Jiraiya, the two soon to depart spirits shared their farewells with Tsunade and told her that they were proud of her and told her to live for the future and to protect the village not just for their own dreams but for others as well. The two began to glow and their bodies began to break down into light and the two gave Tsunade one last smile until they became nothing more than energy.

As both of them faded away, Jiraiya stepped forward to Tsunade, unsure of how she would react to him, he placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her as best he could, he doubted she would like it, but he did it anyway.

"Tsunade….you going to be all right?"

Tsunade sobbed a bit more as she looked at the spot where Dan and Nawaki were before the returned to heaven, but she nodded to Jiraiya.

"I'm fine….I am Jiraiya…"

Jiraiya nodded and then looked at Tsunade as she raised her face, still wet with tears, but instead of being sad or angry that she was no longer able to see Dan and Nawaki again for a long time, she was happy, she had a smile on her face and as she wiped her face Jiraiya spoke to her.

"You look happy…"

"I am, at least I know that Dan and Nawaki are in heaven, and they are going to be all right."

Jiraiya nodded at that, to see Tsunade finally happy was worth it, but just as he was about to move his hand away, Tsunade placed her hand there as well, stopping him cold as she looked at him with a smile.

"By the way Jiraiya…."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being here."

Jiraiya was surprised, that was the first time Tsunade thanked him for something, they used to argue and fight a lot growing up after all, so the feeling of Tsunade thanking him was different… it felt….good. He smiled at that and replied.

"You're welcome Tsunade."

"Yeah, but I doubt you'd be calling me that anymore, I guess you can call me the new Hokage of Konoha now. Come on, we still have to get to Konoha. And one more thing…"

"Yeah, what is it Hokage?'

"I think we need to share a drink when we get back. That might very well be the last drink I'll get before I get swamped with paper work."

The two Sannin moved on to join the waiting pair of Naruto and Shizune as well as Ton-ton and off they went to finish their trip back to Konoha.

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To be continued…

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Author's notes:

Now that wraps up this number well enough. Now that was unexpected as Dan and Nawaki have been given a chance to return to the land of the living, now I know most people would have wanted me to make it permanent, but keep in mind that if I did that, a vast portion of Naruto's inherent powers would be lost and he would be badly crippled. Besides, while it was only for seven days, at least Tsunade got to make peace with her past and got to be with her loved ones who were brought back to life by Naruto temporarily.

As for the next chapter, we get to see Naruto's reaction to finding out that he has three prospective brides. One who has a deep crush for him ever since they were younger and back in the Academy. Another who is the elder sister of his new friend Gaara, who he now hopes is in better straits than last time. And the last happens to be the sister of his former rival Kiba who is not quite happy with the news that his mother wants to have her be part of his clan.

This might take a bit longer than most as this is going to be focusing on how Naruto deals with being a clan head as well as getting to know his potential partners in leading his clan, of course it's not going to be easy and there is the fact that he will have to tell them about his other secret of being a Jinchuuriki. How Hinata and Hana will handle it is going to be good, although Temari would have a slightly easier time considering that her brother Gaara is like Naruto as well.

Of course, the floor is open for any more female additions to Naruto's new clan, but keep in mind that Tsunade is not going to be in it since this is a different story format. And I do have other plans for Tsunade, sure she would be a good addition with her abilities and the Senju name, but I have a much different plan in mind.

There will be a few chapters of that plus other things I will release soon enough, until we get to the part where Sasuke decides to up the ante and pick a fight with Naruto on who is better between the two of them.

How that will turn out is my call, but feel free to send ideas my way when you can, but please make sure that they are not too many.