Opening - Uragiri no Yuuyake by Theatre Brook

"The Curse of Hatred." Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he sat up in his inner world. Kurama was seated in front of the entrance to his lair. "Naruto, I think I've figured out Itachi's motives," he continued. "It's about the Curse of Hatred."

Naruto rubbed his eyes and stood with a yawn. "That's great, but uh, what the hell is the Curse of Hatred?"

"It began all the way back in my father's era," the fox began. "You already know the story of how the Sage of Six Paths chose his younger son as his successor, and the older brother was consumed by hatred as a result. You know that the Senju and Uchiha Clans continued that blood feud until both eventually died out, leaving only a few members of their lines left in this world. What you don't know is that it runs even deeper than that."

"I'll begin by saying that Indra Ootsuki, who went on to found the Uchiha Clan, possessed a doujutsu called the Mangekyougan. I believe it was a mutated form of the Rinnegan, corrupted by the chakra of the Ten-Tails since it was still sealed in my father when Indra was born. That doujutsu grew stronger at an accelerated rate when Indra obsessed over things like hatred and vengeance."

"Mangekyougan," Naruto repeated. "Does it have any connection to the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

"Of course it does," Kurama snorted. "You see, after a few generations of Uchiha, new Mangekyougan wielders stopped being born. In their place, those children had the Sharingan, a weaker version of the Mangekyougan that was also afflicted by the Ten-Tails' chakra. The Sharingan at its basic level can grow stronger in two ways. First, it can evolve itself to protect the user from an enemy he would otherwise be killed by. Second, it can automatically be strengthened by mental trauma such as a loved one dying in front of you."

"But once the Sharingan has a full set of three tomoe," Kurama went on, "Its basic form is complete, and jt's ready to evolve into something much like the Mangekyougan. This is done through killing someone close to you in cold blood, or at least that's what Madara claimed when he told me this."

"Why would Madara tell you anything about his power?" Naruto cut in, confused.

"He probably believed he could control me forever, so there was no danger in revealing a few things about the Sharingan. He simply loved to brag about those eyes he was so proud of." Kurama shrugged. "I imagine he thought I'd never be able to put the information to use, but regardless... The Mangekyou Sharingan is still only an incomplete reflection of the Mangekyougan. Its use gradually makes the wielder go blind."

"So that means, Itachi's eyes..."

"His vision is deteriorating as we speak, but I'm sure he knows why. He uses his eyes carefully. Now, the real problem is the path to the Sharingan's final form. The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan can only be obtained by one Mangekyou wielder having another's eyes transplanted into them. It's impossible to get that doujutsu using the eyes you're born with. And there's more... the ideal candidate for Itachi's transplant to get the Eternal Mangekyou would be a brother or sister."

"Sasuke," Naruto breathed. "He wants Sasuke to get the Mangekyou and bring them right to him! That's what all this talk of 'strengthening his hatred' is about!"

"That was my theory as well," Kurama answered calmly. "But then I thought about it some more. I believe Itachi knowingly provoked Sasuke into his own Curse of Hatred, this downward spiral of misery and killing to obtain stronger eyes."

"...Why?"

"Because there's only one way to break the Curse of Hatred." Kurama grinned. "The one consumed by hatred needs to resolve their quest by interacting with the one who sent them down that road. In this case, it would be for Sasuke to kill Itachi."

"I still don't get it," Naruto said in an exasperated tone. "You're telling me Itachi wants to die? Just so Sasuke can break free of a curse Itachi put on him in the first place!?"

"Yes, because an Uchiha can experience the Curse of Hatred only once. If Itachi's plan succeeds, Sasuke will be free of that curse for the rest of his life, and he'll be the hero who avenged the Uchiha Clan. More importantly, Itachi has made sure that no one else can provoke Sasuke's curse, because he's already done it himself. In a sick, convuluted way, Itachi did all of this to preserve Sasuke's sanity. And there's one last bonus too: Sasuke might one day take Itachi's eyes to achieve the Eternal Mangekyou."

"This is crazy," Naruto muttered. "I've gotta find Itachi and talk to him about this, right now."

Kurama looked down at his host with confusion, and opened his mouth to question this, but Naruto turned and walked away to vanish from his inner world in an instant. "...Damn impatient brat. What's he thinking?"

X

"Hina-chan!"

Startled, Hinata looked up from the entralling book she was reading to see Naruto walking toward her in his pajamas. "Naruto-kun-"

"I need your help, Hina-chan! We've gotta find Itachi Uchiha!"

Hinata blinked. "But... it's..."

Jiraiya stepped into the room and cuffed Naruto lightly on the back of the head. "Kid, you've kept her waiting 'til noon and this is how you greet her?"

"Noon!?" Naruto checked the nearest clock, wide-eyed. "I don't get it, how'd I sleep in so late!?"

"We let you," Jiraiya replied evenly. "It's your birthday; were we supposed to wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly?"

Naruto took a moment to digest this. "...I'm sorry," he mumbled then. "I completely forgot."

"Don't worry about it, Naruto-kun." she set down the book and cast a puzzled look at him. "But why do we have to find Itachi?"

"Because he's a psycho idiot and I've gotta set him straight before this mess with Sasuke spirals out of control," Naruto replied cryptically.

"Um..." Hinata shrugged after a moment, and activated her Byakugan, stretching the boundaries of her vision to cover all of Tanzaku. "Itachi and Kisame have secluded themselves in a hideout south of here. Kisame seems to be unconscious and recovering from... burns and shrapnel wounds. He was caught in an explosion." Naruto glanced over to Tenten, who smirked. "If Itachi leaves the hideout, we could make a move to contact him," Hinata suggested. "But we'd have to be careful about it. We know that both of them are being monitored by a third Akatsuki member."

"Right," Naruto agreed. "So..."

"So we should go out and do something while we wait for that to happen," she continued eagerly. "It's your birthday, after all, and we haven't had any time to do anything fun for a while."

The Rinnegan wielder grinned. "That sounds great, Hina-chan!"

"If you two are gonna kill time out there in Tanzaku," Jiraiya interrupted, "There's one place I'd like you both to check out. There's a shop here in Tanzaku that sells ninja equipment, which is weird since there isn't a single ninja in this village. They're selling stuff like weapons, flak jackets and med-kits to civilian collectors."

"Is that illegal?"

"Nope," Jiraiya admitted, "But it's frowned upon. Shinobi clothing and medical equipment isn't so bad, but if we're handing out sealing scrolls and kunai, civilians might get hurt. The real danger lies in them using fuinjutsu. All living things have chakra, so a civilian with no training can use something like a storage scroll. The problem is, if they overdo it and use too much chakra at once for something like that, they might knock themselves out or something. Just pay this place a visit, check out what they're selling, maybe talk to the owner about the risks involved here."

"Right," the two quickly nodded. Naruto stretched then, and declared, "I'm gonna go put some clothes on. I can't really go on a date in my pajamas, ya know?" Hinata blushed faintly, and vanished to her own room as he said this.

He glanced first to his neon orange outfit, then his ANBU uniform. Itachi and Kisame would recognize me on sight if I wore either of those... after a few moments, he picked up his weapons pouch and pulled a sealing scroll from it, then unsealed a set of civilian clothes and put them on. The outfit consisted of a loose black hoodie worn open over an orange t-shirt with a black spiral emblazoned on it, as well as a pair of deep blue pants and black sneakers. Much better. Neither of them would recognize these clothes, and I can put my hood up to cover my hair if we run into them.

Reluctantly, he left his forehead protector with his ANBU uniform. He slid the bronze ring containing his cutlass onto his right middle finger, then emerged from the room. Immediately, he spotted Hinata making her way toward his door. She was wearing her favorite lavender hoodie along with a pair of deep blue sweatpants. He glimpsed a brown camouflage pattern at the top of her hoodie's zipper, and grinned. She's wearing her armor in case we run into Akatsuki. Clever Hina-chan. "So, is there anywhere you'd like to go first?" he asked.

"I heard something about a 'Tanzaku Castle,'" she admitted. "Apparently it's a major tourist attraction, and it takes up almost a quarter of this village. Maybe we could check that out?"

Naruto nodded. "Sounds great! After that, we can take a look around the festival that's going on around here. I'm kinda curious what it's all about, ya know."

Mere moments later, Naruto and Hinata stepped outside, only to be confronted by the sight of a massive rising cloud of smoke. "That smoke is coming from the northeast," Hinata observed. "Tanzaku Castle was that way, so let's check this out on our way there."

Naruto activated his doujutsu, and scowled. "There's traces of chakra in that smoke; I can see it glowing. Someone used a Fire Release ninjutsu over there, and a big one too. Let's go!"

Hinata nodded, and triggered her Byakugan as they leapt toward the smoke cloud. "I don't see any shinobi still fighting over there, but there's a lot of rubble from destroyed buildings. It looks like someone might've been using the Earth Release over there, since a lot of the walls are solid stone. Wait... that's... Tanzaku Castle! The smoke is coming from Tanzaku Castle; the whole place is destroyed..."

"All of it? But you said it made up a quarter of the village! What kind of battle could cause something like this?"

"Either we had two sizeable forces of shinobi infiltrate a minor civilian village and fight each other... not likely... or there was a conflict between a smaller number of powerful shinobi, one or more of whom had a summoning contract. We don't know of any Akatsuki members with such a contract, but all three of the Legendary Sannin have summoning contracts."

"The Pervy Sage wouldn't do this, and I doubt it was Tsunade either. What would she have to gain from making a mess here? But that just leaves Orochimaru. We know he wants a Sharingan, so maybe he ran into Itachi here and tried to kill him. They fought, and Orochimaru ended up summoning one of his snakes. Itachi's Fire Release would also explain the smoke..."

"But how could that be?" Hinata countered. "Itachi's still hiding on the other side of Tanzaku, but there's still smoke in the air. Whoever did this only left the scene a few minutes ago at most."

"Huh... must've been someone else then, but who?"

"Maybe someone at the castle saw it happen." Hinata redoubled her speed, shortly followed by Naruto. She spotted a middle-aged man surveying the destruction miserably, and called, "Hey!" he turned toward them. "Could you tell us what happened here?" she asked as she landed in front of him.

"I only came around when I heard some kind of explosion," he admitted. "There were these two gorgeous girls who both looked pissed. Then there was this greasy-lookin' guy with long black hair, and a kid with silver hair. The girls and the guys started talking, and I couldn't make sense of a lot of it, but the younger-lookin' girl and guy started fighting, and the girl starting breathing out this smoke. The kid told the old guy it was poison, that's when I ran. When I looked back, there was a giant snake wreckin' the castle. When it was done ruining the place, it just went up in a puff of smoke and vanished. I know it sounds crazy..."

"No, it's fine," Naruto waved a hand lazily. "Can you describe the two women you saw?"

"Well, they were really good-lookin,'" he declared, looking up with a wistful smile. "One had black hair, and the other one was blonde. The blonde one, well..." he blushed faintly, and held his hands a foot out in front of his upper chest. "The best way to describe her was that she had really big..." he trailed off helplessly in the presence of two seemingly innocent children. "You know what I mean, right?"

"That's how the Pervy Sage described Tsunade," Naruto admitted to Hinata. "Blonde hair, usually pissed, and boobs bigger than her head." the civilian's blush deepened, and Hinata's cheeks turned faintly pink. "So now we know she's here." he turned to the older man with a friendly smile. "Thanks for your help. Hopefully with this information, we can keep a fight like this from happening in your village again." he frowned down at his feet. "This is such a mess. There's us, Akatsuki, Tsunade and now Orochimaru all in the same little village. All of us is looking for at least one of the others, too. I don't see how this can end well." he sighed.

"Don't worry," Hinata flashed her best imitation of Naruto's grin. "We can handle this!" after a moment, she added cheerfully, "Believe it!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Hina-chan?"

"Like I said, don't worry about it. Just enjoy this peace while we have it. Just enjoy your birthday; it'll be okay."

After a moment, he grinned back and nodded. "You're right! I don't know what I was thinking there, but we've got a lead now on where Tsunade is. That should only make us more happy, and on top of that, here I am about to go on a date with you. Let's make the most of it, Hina-chan. Thank you."

Hinata nodded enthusiastically. "That's my Naruto-kun. Nothing can keep you down for more than a moment."

"That's thanks to you," he answered. "If you hadn't cheered me up just now, I'd still be freaking out." he paused, and glanced at the ruined castle. "We were gonna spend some time here, but the whole place is destroyed, so where should we go now?"

"Um..." she considered this for a moment. "Let's go see that ninja shop Jiraiya-sensei wanted us to investigate. After that, we can check out the festival going on."

X

"Higurashi Bukiko: Evening Cicada Armory. Authentic ninja weapons and equipment," Naruto read the sign aloud. "Hm..."

"They've got a bunch of kunai on display in that window," Hinata observed and pointed. "I suppose that's part of the advertising. Kunai are the most recognizable ninja tool in this era, next to shuriken. Hanging them right in the window should draw attention. They're definitely real, and they look sharpened."

"Let's take a look inside, then," Naruto decided, and opened the door. The shop was larger inside than it looked. "Weapons pouches over there, shuriken are sold in sets on that shelf, and those look like senbon packaged together," he pointed to each display, then spotted a shelf of heavy green vests. "Those are Konoha's flak jackets. Not surprising, but it means that somehow this shop is getting ninja tools from our village."

"So you're ninja, then?" the apparent owner of the store stepped forward. "Judging from your age, I'd say you're Genin, right?" the young woman had shoulder-length black hair and eyes almost as dark, wearing a permanent smile.

"We just got promoted to Chuunin," Naruto admitted. "I'm Naruto, and this is Hinata. Nice to meet ya," he greeted.

"Chuunin at your age, not bad. I got promoted when I was thirteen, but I'm retired now," she admitted. "My name's Shizune."

"Shizune-san, can I ask why you're having these weapons shipped here and sold to civilians?" Naruto asked, and inspected the edges of the kunai. They were sharp enough to cut, but not the razor's edges he was familiar with. Probably dulled a bit for an untrained wielder to be a bit safer when handling them, he guessed.

"Honestly, it's a sneaky way of trying to help the civilians lead safer lives, let me explain," Shizune smiled. "Obviously anyone who comes in here will be looking for weapons, but they're being sold at a little more than the full price a ninja would pay for them. On the other hand, we also stock a wide selection of different-sized medic-nin kits, which we sell for less than a ninja would pay. Although they're no substitute for a real doctor, such a kit might help to save an innocent life."

"Ah... That's actually a really noble goal," he smiled back.

"Naruto-kun, come look at this," Hinata called his attention to the back wall of the shop where a vast collection of weapons were mounted, none of which were as simple as a sword or dagger. Elaborate scythes, axes, oudachi, spears, and weapons unlike any others could be found there. And yet, as Hinata observed, "All of these blades are real, deadly weapons. They aren't decorative pieces; they're ninja tools."

Naruto leaned in to inspect the blade of a scythe. "Look here, at the base of the blade. It's engraved with Konoha's emblem, so it was made in our village. Weird."

"All of our weapons and medic-nin kits come from Konoha's exports," Shizune agreed.

Hinata turned to Naruto, and saw him looking with interest at an ankle-length, brown leather coat hanging on a mannequin nearby. She pointed at it where Naruto couldn't see her, and asked, "What can you tell me about that?"

"It's one of a kind," Shizune replied. "Since it's all real leather, it's expensive, so whoever made it wanted to be sure it fit the buyer perfectly. It has a fuinjutsu on the inside of the collar that makes it change size and shape to fit the wearer. In between the leather outside and the fabric lining it, there's a layer of thin chainmail, so it's armor too. The maker also applied storage seals to strategic places inside, such as inside the sleeves."

Hinata nodded, and turned to the blond boy who continued to inspect the coat. "Naruto-kun, could you take a look at the katana selection over there for a moment?" Naruto turned to her with a grin and a nod, then left her to quickly sweep the coat off the mannequin. "It's his birthday," she explained quietly, "and he used to have a copy of the Fourth Hokage's haori. He loved it, but while we were fighting a missing-nin it was destroyed."

"...How did he get a copy of the Fourth's haori?" Shizune asked, then glanced at Naruto with wide eyes. "No way, he couldn't be..."

"Naruto Uzumaki, son of the late Fourth Hokage," Hinata smiled. "And trust me, he lives up to his family's legacy." she glanced down at the coat for a moment when her fingers brushed smooth, cold metal. She noticed a Konoha hitai-ate plate was sewn into the upper arm of the right sleeve. "I'm sure he'll like this."

"That's him..." Shizune blinked at Naruto's back, awed. "Right here in Tanzaku, wow..." she watched Hinata approach him from behind, and smiled. He seems so happy. That's more than I could have hoped for... I'll be sure to tell Tsunade-sama about this. She'll love it.

"Naruto-kun, don't turn around," Hinata whispered in his ear, startling him but bringing a smile to his face. Gently, she pulled his arms back and slid the sleeves of the coat over them. "Happy birthday."

"My Hina-chan," he murmured, as he turned around and grinned before they moved to kiss each other.

Shizune blinked, surprised. So they're together, then? I guess I should've seen that...

"Hey, Hina-chan, maybe Tsunade comes here for her supplies."

She froze.

"Hey, Shizune-san!" he turned to her with a broad grin. "If you see an angry blonde lady with boobs out to here," he mimed his hands in front of his chest, "Let us know! We're staying in the hotel near the center of town, and our room's booked under the name 'Ogata Hiroyuki.'"

Shizune blinked and gulped. "Why... why are you looking for her?" she asked, fearing the worst. Has Konoha finally declared Tsunade-sama a missing-nin?

"Apparently she's gonna be the Fifth Hokage if we can get her to accept the job," Naruto admitted. "Don't tell her that, though! The Pervy Sage has some kind of plan to convince her with tact, so we gotta play our cards right, ya know."

"...S-Sure. I wish you the best of luck," Shizune smiled after a moment. Tsunade-sama, back in Konoha with me at her side... that would be wonderful! This is such a relief...

"Thanks for the coat, Hina-chan, it's perfect. Now let's go check out that festival!"

"Right!"

X

A tall man under a flowing black cloak wandered aimlessly through a beautiful festival. Under a hood that obscured his features, his long dark hair was tied back. His onyx eyes gazed up at the evening sky contently, and he was smiling. Fireworks, hm? He watched an array of multicolored explosions light up the darkening sky. How quaint. This is a nice change of pace.

It had been a long time since he was followed without knowing it.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

By his upbringing, his circumstances, and his inherent nature, Itachi Uchiha was not the sort of man who showed when he was surprised. Even so, he felt adrenaline pump through his body immediately, and shortly after that he felt the ever-so-faint pain of his heart rate doubling in an instant. This shouldn't be possible. He flared his Sharingan, and glared out of the corner of his eye at Naruto, who was standing next to him. Otherwise, he showed no indication that he hadn't known Naruto was there.

"Indeed," he replied after a moment. "What madness possessed you to seek me out here, child?"

"My eyes can see chakra far more clearly than yours can," Hinata declared, revealing that Itachi was standing right between them. "The third Akatsuki member who was watching us before is gone."

"His name is Zetsu," Itachi confided quietly. "I'll ask again, why are you here?"

"Sasuke." Naruto's voice dripped with accusation. "What the hell are you really planning with him?"

"My brother will come to kill me, and succeed. He'll never learn the truth of the Uchiha Massacre, which I'm sure you've already been told by now." Itachi turned to Naruto, and was briefly amused to see him wearing a black hood similar to Itachi's own.

"That's right. Kurama figured out the rest this morning. You're doing this all so that Sasuke's Curse of Hatred can be dealt with. What I don't understand is why you aren't planning to tell Sasuke the truth in order to break him free of the curse."

"That way lay madness. It would never work, and I'm already dying. It's better that Sasuke kills me, rather than let me die a slow death from this illness."

"The greatest medic-nin in the world is here in Tanzaku," Naruto replied evenly. "Not to mention the healing potential of my Rinnegan. There are other solutions available to you, but you're reaching for the only one that requires your death."

"...Tsunade is here?" Itachi glanced down from the fireworks momentarily. "If I consulted with her about this, it might give me more time to carry out my plan for Sasuke..."

"You won't carry that plan out," Naruto commanded.

Itachi turned to face the boy with fire in his Sharingan eyes. "You won't stop me. I have to do this, to save the only family I have left."

A blur of purple and brown movement drew Itachi's attention to Hinata. The girl had shed her hoodie and her pants had fallen away in two pieces, revealing the odd armor that had stopped his attacks earlier.

Naruto glanced to her for a moment, then turned his attention back to Itachi. "Your current plan will drive Sasuke insane. He's already halfway there, or had you not noticed? Come up with a new plan, or I'll tell Sasuke everything, and take my chances with that."

A kunai slipped out of Itachi's right sleeve, landing in his palm with practiced, comfortable ease. "I'll kill you right here unless you take that back. Who are you to give me an order?"

Naruto flashed his Rinnegan, and glared back at Itachi as he unsealed his cutlass. "Me? I'm one of the only two people on this planet you won't kill."

For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at each other tensely. Rinnegan waged war against Sharingan, silently, invisibly. Then, slowly, a cold smirk came over Itachi's features. "You're brave," he acknowledged, "But you're forgetting that you're not the only one here." he flipped the kunai in his hand, now holding it in a reverse grip. "I can kill Hinata."

"No, you can't," Hinata corrected as she turned on her barrier armor.

"Enough of this, Itachi." Naruto sealed his sword and deactivated his eyes. "Consider one last thing: Madara Uchiha is alive. I know you're aware of it, but you need to really consider it. I'm sure you mean to thwart him somehow by making Sasuke stronger, but imagine how much of a threat he'd face from two Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan wielders."

"How do you even know about that power?" Itachi shook his head. "Never mind, it's pointless. I know you mean for Sasuke and I to exchange our eyes so that we can both unlock the Eternal Mangekyou. I admit, I've dreamed of such a sight. The two of us fighting Madara, wielding each other's eyes together, crushing the Akatsuki and saving the world... but it's not possible. Sasuke must kill me. I intend to guide the course of our final battle in such a way that he unlocks the Mangekyou by killing me. If I don't die, he won't get the Mangekyou, since he'll never kill his best friend to get them. He's still so innocent..."

"You're Itachi Uchiha. Find a way." he turned to walk away, then paused. "Eh... Hina-chan, why'd you take your clothes off?"

Hinata blushed faintly at his choice of words. "If I'm wearing clothes over the suit, they get in the way of the barrier forming properly. I can't use my armor if I'm wearing anything over it."

"Naruto." Itachi slid the kunai back into his sleeve. "I've been considering this for years. I've never had any other way to save Sasuke from the Curse of Hatred. It's impossible; I can't do this."

"You can." Naruto turned back, and grinned. "Because now you don't have to do it alone. When you've got a plan, send one of your crows to tell me about it. I'll help you with Sasuke, in any way I can."

"...Why? What does Sasuke mean to you? Why help me?"

Naruto laughed. "Why not? Sasuke has the potential to be a great guy, once his Curse of Hatred is done with. So do you; that's the whole point. Both of you are worth saving, and I'm gonna save you. Now then... the night's still young, and Hina-chan and I have more to do. See ya 'round, Itachi."

Naruto disappeared into the crowd, unnoticed by the countless civilians staring up at the fireworks in awe. Hinata followed shortly behind him. "Naruto-kun, you said there was more we have to do. What's next?"

"Aside from just enjoying the rest of the night together, there's only one thing." Naruto grinned. "We just gotta find Tsunade."

"They aren't staying here in Tanzaku," Hinata noted. Seeing Naruto's confusion, she added, "When I used my Byakugan this morning, I saw Itachi's and Kisame's chakra signatures glowing like the sun compared to the stars at dusk. Their chakra signatures are so much stronger than anyone else's in Tanzaku, they're impossible to miss. Tsunade should've been the same way, but I couldn't see a third person in Tanzaku with such chakra, so she must've left immediately after fighting Orochimaru at the castle. It also means Orochimaru is hiding outside Tanzaku as well."

"You didn't see anyone else with a shinobi's level of chakra? Not even Kabuto or Zetsu?"

Hinata paused. "Well, the owner of that ninja supply shop, Shizune, had Jounin-level reserves, but I saw where she was and guessed that she was the owner of the Higurashi shop. It turns out I was right, so she... isn't... suspicious..."

Naruto realized she had activated her Byakugan while she was talking. "Hinata? What's wrong?"

"I just found Tsunade. She's back in Tanzaku, drinking sake east of the hotel." she looked into Naruto's eyes as she deactivated hers. "Shizune is with her."

X

It was typical of Tsunade's luck that, when a certain someone opened the door of a certain tavern, she happened to look up at said door when she had ignored every previous newcomer that evening. The extent of her ability to communicate was reduced, not by alcohol but by numbed disbelief, to a quiet "...Huh?" Further proving that she wasn't quite drunk yet, she leapt up out of her seat and pointed at Jiraiya accusingly. "Jiraiya!? What are you doing here!?"

"Long story," he answered simply, then turned to a young kunoichi following him. "Nice work, Hinata."

Tsunade took notice of the other four children accompanying her old friend. Including Hinata, there were two girls, two boys, and... one kid she really couldn't figure out. If she was sober, she might've known he was a boy, but that was still a stretch...

Meanwhile, Shizune was grinning excitedly. I've met all three of the Legendary Sannin in the same day, and we might finally be going back to Konoha! Squee!

Jiraiya led the others to the booth where Tsunade resumed her drinking. "It's like a reunion or something," she declared glumly.

"You mean Orochimaru," Jiraiya noted. "I heard you fought him. What happened?"

Tsunade flashed a sly smirk. "Ah, nothing much. We said hello, that's about it."

Naruto snorted, drawing the mighty kunoichi's attention. "Then how come the two of you leveled Tanzaku Castle?"

Tsunade sighed. "You've got me there, kid. Not that it matters." she turned to Jiraiya. "So why have you been looking for me?"

After a moment, Jiraiya leaned forward and meshed his fingers together under his chin. "I'll cut right to the chase, Tsunade. Sarutobi-sensei chose you as the Fifth Hokage before he died."

For a brief moment, Tsunade looked shocked, but she gathered herself and observed that no one else, not even Shizune, had reacted with surprise. "So he's really gone, then," she said flatly. "Orochimaru said he'd killed him..."

"...and you didn't believe him right away," Naruto finished. "After all, he is a 'snake.' Not a particularly trustworthy image he's made for himself."

"...What's with all these brats you've got with you, anyway?" Tsunade asked, unamused.

Jiraiya flashed a grin, intriguing her. "This here," he patted Naruto's head, prompting the boy to glare at him, "Is Naruto Uzumaki." Tsunade turned and looked at him with renewed interest. "Would you like to know a little more about him?"

"...This kid... he's the Nine-Tails' Jinchuuriki?"

"And he happens to have the full cooperation of the Nine-Tails. The thing calls itself 'Kurama Ootsuki.'"

"What's his rank? I know the Chuunin Exams were carried out in Konoha a few weeks ago. Did he enter, did he pass?"

"Little Naruto here got promoted to ANBU about a week ago, now."

"...Is that so? How'd he pull that off, with Sarutobi dead? The Hokage has to handpick each ANBU member."

"Sensei left a will." Jiraiya pulled the precious scroll from his pocket. "I think there are some things you might want to read in it."

"Pass." Tsunade reached for the bottle of sake itself, and took a swig. "I'm not going back to Konoha. I don't want to be Hokage, that's a stupid job."

"I wasn't finished. See, if you accept the hat then you'll only need to stay for-"

"I said no. You listen here, Jiraiya." She set down the bottle. "The Fourth Hokage had the potential to be the greatest ninja in generations, assuming he wasn't already. He was a prodigy in all of the ninja arts, so powerful that in the Third War, Iwa ordered all of their soldiers to flee from him on sight when he was still a Jounin. But he died young, he threw his life away. For what!? The village? Let me tell you something about gambling, Jiraiya. Money's one thing, a life is completely different. Risking your life when the odds are completely stacked against you, time and time again? That's a sucker's bet."

"Enough," Naruto growled. He slammed his fists down on the table, splashing sake out of Tsunade's glass. "I've had enough of diplocmacy, so how's this for a sucker's bet? Fight me. When I win, you come back to the village and put that damn hat on."

"Naruto," Jiraiya declared in a warning tone. "Bear with us here."

"No way." Naruto pointed at Tsunade angrily. "On principle alone she deserves an ass-kicking. No one gets to say stuff like that about the Hokage! The Senju brothers, jiji, my dad, all of them were heroes! They saved countless lives, countless times before they died! The way she's talking is a slap in the face to everything they stood for! I'm gonna kick her ass and drag her back to Konoha!"

Hinata calmly cleared her throat. "Sarutobi-sama died in front of Naruto and I, saving our lives along with the entire village from certain destruction. He was a great man, and he deserves his dignity in the afterlife. If you intend to teach her a lesson, Naruto-kun, count me in." She activated her Byakugan, since without it she couldn't properly glare at anyone.

During the absolute silence weighing down the air like killing intent, Tsunade met Naruto's eyes, glowing faintly purple with the pattern of the Rinnegan. "...I see," she finally declared. "Fine. I'll take your bet! I'll beat both of you with... let's see... just my right hand. Yeah, that should be enough to deal with you two brats. Let's take this outside!"

Moments later, all of them were standing outside in a moonlit street. Naruto glanced at Hinata, noting that she looked as angry and determined as he imagined he did. She had already shed her hoodie and pants to prepare her barrier armor for the fight. He turned his attention back to Tsunade, whose left arm was relaxed and hanging loosely at her side. Her right was balled into a fist, aimed forward in a taijutsu stance. "So... that's your specialty," Naruto realized. "Taijutsu. I thought it was weird that you'd promise not to use your left hand, since you'd need both for hand seals. You don't intend to use ninjutsu or genjutsu here at all, do you?"

"Not bad," Tsunade admitted. "I didn't expect a stupid, snot-nosed brat to figure that out until a few days after I beat you. Still, just because you know doesn't mean you can do anything about it."

Naruto vanished, then reappeared behind her with his cutlass in hand. "Try saying that now!" he brought the sword down, and Tsunade lazily leaned out of the way. She caught the blade of his sword as it passed by, and twisted her hand to bend it ninety degrees. Then she let go of the weapon, and reached forward to flick Naruto's bare forehead, right where the symbol of his forehead protector would've been. "Shinra Tensei!"

Tsunade gasped, just before she was thrown backward with the same amount of force she'd expected to use on Naruto. Skidding along the ground, she dug the fingers of her right hand into the earth to stop her momentum. She stood, dusted herself off, and took a deep breath. "Hey, kid, before I knock you out-"

"Hollow Water Dragon Horde!" Hinata shouted, sending a total of eight water constructs to close in on Tsunade from all sides. The famed medic-nin backhanded one into a spray of harmless mist, then stepped forward into the space it had occupied to dodge the other seven dragons. She let them crash together and explode upward into a torrent of water, then watched as Hinata reached for that water with both hands. "Water Dragon Bullet!"

The water flowed together into a slightly larger, solid construct that Hinata then froze before directing at Tsunade. The older kunoichi turned around and punched the dragon's snout when it got close enough, obliterating it.

"Rasengan!" Naruto roared as he charged through the field of ice fragments. Tsunade's eyes widened and she dodged the attack, letting him keep running by her until he stopped at Hinata's side. "Seal Summoning Jutsu!" he continued, and a stone chest appeared in front of him. He threw the lid open and reached inside, pulling out an exact copy of the cutlass Tsunade had crushed. "Hina-chan, she crushed all our other attacks except the Rasengan. Maybe we should...?"

"I get it," Hinata replied, and formed a Rasengan in each hand, further shocking the inebriated Sannin. "Twin Rasengan!" she cried, and threw the sphere of chakra in her left hand.

Tsunade threw herself to the side of the deadly attack, then she sharply drew in a breath when Naruto appeared before her, wielding a Rasengan of his own. "Take this! Rasengan!" she grabbed his wrist and spun, flinging him down the road violently. "Banshou Tenin!" he continued even as he flew, pulling her toward the hand still clutching the Rasengan.

"Damn it!" Tsunade cried out in fury. "You two are starting to piss me off!" She reached for the ground, touching it with her fingertips as she was pulled by Naruto's jutsu. Using the same chakra control necessary for water-walking, she made her fingers stick to the earth. This sudden shift in her momentum made her legs shoot forward over her hands, and she continued the motion by executing a simple forward roll. This left her still being pulled by Banshou Tenin, but she was now running along the ground to control her movement somewhat.

Rather than flinching and dodging her as she expected, Naruto charged toward her with his Rasengan in hand. That's it, kid, come right to me! I'll take you down here and now! She grinned, and pulled back her right fist to attack him.

Naruto's Rasengan vanished, and he formed hand seals while diving headfirst to the ground. He slammed his palms down on the road, and shouted, "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!" Tsunade scowled and cast a furious glance at Jiraiya, then kicked off of the ground just before it dissolved into mud.

"Hollow Water Dragon Bullet!" Hinata called again, and this time Tsunade was floating in midair with no way to dodge. Her scowl deepened as she saw Hinata had already frozen this attack to increase its power. She aimed a punch at the dragon, shattering it, but the ice fragments around her melted back into water before enveloping Tsunade's entire body.

Hinata's hand remained aimed at the flying Sannin until this point, at which she brought her hand down forcefully. The aura of water holding Tsunade suddenly shot downward, directly into the center of Naruto's swamp with enough force to send a splash of liquid earth twenty feet into the air.

"We got her!" Naruto roared gleefully. "Yeah! That's what you get for mocking the Hokage, believe it!"

A person-sized blob of mud stood up at the center of the disrupted Swamp of the Underworld. "...That actually kinda hurt," she admitted. "First the Rasengan, and now this jutsu... Jiraiya, you've been training these two?"

"Damn right I have," the Toad Sage answered proudly. "Are you done messing around now?"

"Are you kidding?" Tsunade slowly managed to wipe enough mud from her face to see. "I'm just getting started. I've gotta teach these brats a lesson!"

"Good luck with that, ya crazy old lady!" Naruto vanished, and blurred back into existence in front of her with a Rasengan in hand. Behind her, Tsunade heard the popping sound of Hinata appearing through a Substitution, with a Rasengan in her hand as well. "It's over!" they called together, and reached forward. "Rasengan!"

"Damn it all to HELL!" Tsunade roared, and caught each of their wrists at the same time, spinning herself to throw them both away. Both Naruto and Hinata splashed down into the mud that had replaced the road, and resurfaced after a moment, gasping. "You two brats made me use both hands!"

"Does that mean we won?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Tsunade turned on him furiously. "You... you! What the hell does it matter to you anyway? So what if I badmouth the old man? Why does it even matter!?"

"Because I'm gonna be Hokage someday," Naruto replied sternly, and used water-walking to climb out of the mud and stand on it. "That's been my dream for as long as I've had one. When you insult everything jiji stood for, you're insulting what I stand for! What Konoha stands for! You're insulting the Will of Fire, and I won't have that. Remember this, baa-chan. To be Hokage... that's my dream."

Tsunade paused, just long enough for Jiraiya to make his way to her and show her Sarutobi's will. "As I was saying back in the tavern, you're being offered a two-year term as Hokage, after which you'll be free to leave the village if you want. Sarutobi-sensei was a crafty bastard; he's promised that Konoha will pay for all of your gambling debts if you do this."

"Why..." Tsunade shook her head vigorously, and turned away from Naruto. "Why only two years?" she asked numbly.

"Because the Sixth Hokage is already going through leadership training," Jiraiya replied proudly. "Once Naruto is finished his term as an ANBU squad leader, he should be ready to take up office as the Sixth Hokage."

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