The orange evening rays of the sun were peaking through the windows and cast upon the facility floor.

Jiraiya's face was plastered with an unpleasant frown. Two guards eyed him closely as they talked. Jiraiya didn't care enough to listen to what they had to say. He was too busy contemplating how he could proceed with his mission.

He had found Tsunade. That was the easy part. Now he had to convince her to come back to Konoha with him and treat Naruto. And Jiraiya's hopes of doing that were pathetic. He doesn't see her for fifteen years and comes back to fight and expose her in front of her medical facility. It was hard enough that Tsunade despised the Great Nations.

Jiraiya stared at his right arm. It was wrapped in bandages. It was the least the facility could do for the deep lacerations that bore into his skin. He understood why they wouldn't use medical ninjutsu to heal him though.

The firm tip taps of footsteps coming down the stairs attracted Jiraiya's attention. The last time the stairs were used was when the Tani Ninjas escorted Tsunade to the upper floors just after the fight.

Jiraiya eyed the stairway with an expectant glare. Tsunade was being escorted down the steps by two other Tani Ninjas. The look on her face was dreadful. Jiraiya could tell that things didn't go to her liking and that may not fare well for his mission.

At the bottom of the steps, the Tani Ninja behind her passed a large green scroll with a shoulder strap to her. "Here are your things," the guard said.

Tsunade brought her lethargic hands up and took the scroll without giving the ninja a response. "Take a seat next to your intruder buddy," the other guard instructed her.

Tsunade turned away from the guards and her eyes met Jiraiya's. She scowled at him with devastating anger and fury. Jiraiya averted his gaze to the floor, trying his hardest to shield himself from the Slug Sannin's scornful glare.

She sauntered over to Jiraiya and took her seat as she was told, placing the scroll against her chair. "Why aren't they letting you leave yet?" Jiraiya quietly asked.

Tsunade studied him for a moment, probably trying to discern if she should even dignify him with a response. "They are getting Shizune's things too."

"Ah, I figured that she would work here as well," Jiraiya sat up in his seat. "What's she up to now?"

Tsunade scoffed at him. "You already met her when you tried to take me hostage," she pointed out bitterly. "Dr. Katō didn't ring any bells in that empty head of yours?"

Jiraiya's eyes grew wide. Tsunade was totally right. 'How the hell could I have missed that?' he mentally cursed himself. "I guess I just didn't notice in the heat of the moment, heh," he weakly defended. "So, they're kicking her out as well then?"

"She stepped down willingly. Didn't want to leave me behind despite telling her to stay." Tsunade's voice was somber. A sudden cacophony of footsteps could be heard on the steps once again. "Here she comes."

Jiraiya peeked over to the stairs again, and sure enough, the Tani Ninjas accompanied Shizune as she lumbered down to the lobby. At the bottom of the steps, they tossed her another heavy red scroll similar to Tsunade's.

"Stand up, you two," the guards instructed Jiraiya and Tsunade who did as they were told.

The two guards who had been watching him the entire time made their way to the door. "Come along."

Tsunade strapped her scroll over her back and made her way to the door next to Shizune and Jiraiya followed suit.

The guard nearest the door opened it and motioned for the rest to follow. The guards shoved the trio along and out of the door until they reached the gate. Jiraiya tried to avoid sharing a glance with the guard he knocked out and impersonated who stood watch at the entrance.

The Tani Shinobi opened the gate and shoved the trio outside of the facility grounds. "Don't come back," the guard warned before slamming the gate shut.

For a moment the area was permeated with an awkward silence as each of them stood there and regarded the facility. "Well, where to, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade heaved a labored sigh and began walking along the path away from the facility. "I don't know." She clenched her teeth as she stormed away. Shizune followed closely behind her, leaving Jiraiya behind.

"Wait, Tsunade." Jiraiya began to jog to her. "Can I please talk with you?" She did not reply. "Tsunade, please," he tried again. He still didn't get a reply. Jiraiya couldn't back down because of the cold shoulder, he had to force her to speak to him. He stepped out directly in front of her, impeding her path. "Tsunade, if you would just lis – UGH!"

His back hunched over and spit flew into the wind. He could feel his stomach touching his lungs as the air left his body. His feet jolted off the ground at least six inches high and he keeled over in the path onto his hands and knees. He cradled his stomach between his arms and cursed.

"Lady Tsunade – !" Shizune exclaimed with a gasp. Jiraiya wiped the saliva from his mouth. His countenance was ravaged with agony having felt his intestines just kiss his ribcage. He lifted his head to face Tsunade and it made him feel so much worse.

Her eyes were overflowing with tears that streamed down her cheeks and dripped from her chin. She hung her head low in defeat. The shadows cast from her blonde hair covered her glossy brown eyes. She held her fist in the air in a firm uppercut position. She squeezed it so tight that it began to violently shake and her knuckles turned white. "Tsunade – !" Jiraiya's words got caught in his throat.

"You've ruined everything," Tsunade managed to get out between her clenched teeth and her wobbly tone. "Now what am I going to do?" she beckoned between sobs. Jiraiya stared at her somberly. "I dedicated more than a decade to that facility and to helping these people," she declared with a hoarse tone. "It gets taken from me like this?" Her fist fell limply to her side. She lifted her head from the ground and stared far away into the clouds. "I just wanted to help people who really needed it."

Jiraiya couldn't even describe the level of self-loathing that he felt having to sit there and watch his former teammate break down in front of him. He would've done anything if it meant there was another way but he knew that there wasn't. Between Tsunade's facility and saving Naruto from dying, Jiraiya had decided who was going to take the fall. The damage was done and now he needed to salvage the situation as best as he could. "Tsunade," he said under his breath. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't help anything!" Tsunade shot back with a nasty yell.

Jiraiya knew better than anyone that 'sorry' means nothing and does nothing. A useless gesture. 'Sorry' did not resurrect Minato and Kushina from the dead. 'Sorry' wasn't going to erase the hardship and discrimination that Naruto endured. But at the end of the day, 'sorry' was all that Jiraiya had to offer right now.

"What the hell does Konoha want with me now?!" she demanded to know. "All the good medics died and Hiruzen needs me back?" she berated the village through the tears. "After all these years and now they come looking for me? That's bullshit!" she raged. "Does that old fool not understand that I want nothing to do with that village?!" Tsunade glared at Jiraiya with frustration.

Jiraiya sat on his knees in the dirt. He shared an intense, worried expression with Tsunade. "There is an emergency in Konoha. We needed a highly skilled medical specialist and you were the first that came to mind," he softly explained to her.

Tsunade clenched her fists. "How the hell did you even know I was here?!"

"I'd be stupid not to think you didn't have a hand in making the greatest medical facility in the world," Jiraiya admitted.

A tense silence danced in the atmosphere. Tsunade wiped her stained cheeks. Her eyes were still assaulted with tears. She broke the silence, "I want nothing to do with the Leaf. Our business here is done, find a different medic," she concluded bluntly.

Jiraiya could feel the panic set in watching her start to walk past him. "W-Wait Tsunade, please!" He hopped to his feet again and grabbed her by the shoulder. She was stopped in her tracks. "Just hear me out! Your decision could mean the difference between war and peace," he pleaded with the medic-nin.

Tsunade reared her head around to meet Jiraiya. "Has the geezer finally fallen too ill to be Hokage?" she beckoned.

"No," Jiraiya clarified. "The Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi was put into a coma and we need your expertise to wake him up."

"The Jinchūriki? Really?" She perked up with surprise. "Just put the Nine-Tails in a new host. How is this an issue?"

Jiraiya ignored how offensive Tsunade's crude suggestion was. In all fairness, that is how it has always been done since the times of Hashirama, but with Naruto, things had to be different. Jiraiya prepared to give her the full context. "Tsunade, the host is just a little boy – Minato's son." Tsunade and Shizune's eyes fluttered with surprise at this revelation. "Sarutobi-sensei and I don't want to replace him because his seal is special, it's unique." He trudged through the sadness of the resurfacing memories as he explained. "It's the Reaper Death Seal."

Tsunade's jaw went slack for a moment. Jiraiya could see the cogs spinning through her eyes, putting things together. Such a high-level seal is invaluable. There isn't anything known in the Sealing Arts that could better restrain the power of the bijū, especially the ferocious Nine-Tailed Fox.

The seals often used to restrain the Beasts were prone to deterioration over time as they poked and prodded at it trying to break free. This had typically resulted in violent outbursts and even Tailed Beast rampages in extreme cases. Most jinchūriki needed their seals replaced every few years in a life-threatening process that exerted the host's body exponentially which is why they did not often reach old age.

The Reaper Death Seal was different. A seal so strong and complex – in conjunction with the Eight Trigrams Seal, it could hypothetically keep a bijū at bay for almost a decade without needing maintenance. This would help to prolong Naruto's life far greater than the average jinchūriki which makes him a more valuable asset to the village.

"How long has he been comatose?" Tsunade asked.

"He's been out for twelve days," Jiraiya explained. "The council is going to have him replaced if he doesn't wake up within the next couple weeks."

"They are already taking a huge national security risk by leaving the village without a jinchūriki for so long," Shizune realized.

Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "And besides, I'm sure you heard about the Hyūga Affair. The longer this persists the more likely some foreign spy gets this information out to another village," he explained to the blonde. "If that happens it would mean war," he finished.

"I see," Tsunade said with understanding. Her face scrunched up with an unfair, bitter look.

"So will you help us prevent the death of a child here?" Jiraiya asked a final time.

Tsunade scrutinized him for a moment before sharing a thoughtful glance with Shizune. Her features softened and she let out a deep sigh. "Fine, I'll heal the boy for you."

Her voice was riddled with apprehensive tones but that didn't stop the immense pressure that lifted from Jiraiya's heart. He exhaled a relaxing sigh. "This is fantastic, thank you," he said. "I doubt you'll even be in Konoha a week."

The trio raced through the flourishing forests. They hopped from branch to branch, ignoring any snaps and cracks that rang in their ears as they went.

It had already been three days on the move. They had passed through the Land of Fire's borders yesterday evening which meant that Konoha was close. Jiraiya still had to fight off a smug smile remembering the flabbergasted looks of the border patrol seeing Jiraiya and Tsunade together. It was the first time two of the Sannin had been spotted together in a decade and a half so Jiraiya could understand their shock.

Despite that short and exciting reprieve, the vast majority of the journey back had been consumed by a tense silence. Nearly nothing had been said between them. It really ate at Jiraiya, because he knew he had emotionally wounded Tsunade. He could tell she did not want to talk by the way she constantly stayed far ahead of him as they traveled.

Jiraiya had quickly developed a seething disdain for her cold shoulder approach though. He was not sure of how to resolve it or even begin to tackle the issue and he secretly feared that trying would be even more detrimental to his relationship with Tsunade.

But three days was enough. Jiraiya could not allow this ordeal to persist, he had to resolve it now. He picked up the pace until he was hopping from branch to branch right along the Slug Princess.

She didn't show any sign of a response to his presence; she remained totally indifferent to him. He watched her staring directly ahead and had to brush away the bothersome wave of anxiety that washed over him knowing she may not take kindly to him.

Jiraiya resolved himself and broke the ice. "Tsunade, I know that apologizing means nothing, but I promise that I'll make it up to you somehow."

She made no reply, staring blankly ahead as usual. Jiraiya struggled to formulate another sentence, something to try and make her open up. He wavered. "Your arm is bandaged heavily," she finally replied.

Jiraiya perked up and his eyes snapped open in surprise. "Oh yeah," he acknowledged. "Some medic dressed it after they took us inside," he examined his injured arm a bit closer.

"Let's stop in the clearing up ahead," Tsunade proposed. "I'll heal your arm and we can discuss a few things before we enter the Leaf."

"Well alright," he obliged. The matters that she wished to discuss were a cause of great concern. He locked eyes with Shizune for some sense of reassurance to which she shrugged her shoulders.

"It probably won't be that bad," she weakly added.

Jiraiya didn't reply. The clearing was upon them and it was time to talk. The opening in the forest was blanketed with green grass, there was nothing in the field. Shizune relinquished both her and Tsunade's scrolls from their backs and laid them in the grass. Tsunade sat on top of her scroll and formed a couple of hand seals.

"Earth Style: Mobile Core," a round slab of firm sediment erupted from the grass and was made convenient for Jiraiya to sit on. "Have a seat," she insisted, gesturing towards the stone pillar. Jiraiya humored her. "Give me your arm," she held her hand out, ready to examine his condition.

Holding his arm before him, Jiraiya quickly undid the wrappings around his hand and up to his elbow. He noticed Tsunade stave off a wince seeing all the dried blood that seeped into the rags.

Reaching his hand out to her, she grasped his wrist and began to scrutinize the deep gashes that lined the edges of his fingers down to the tip of his elbow. Jiraiya could see that they had healed slightly but if he were to use his arm much they would surely tear open again.

"Never thought I'd see the result of a Chakra Scalpel clashing with the Rasengan," she remarked. "Your jutsu tore through mine but it sent the jagged, sharp wisps of my chakra flying around sporadically and cut us both up," she explained. Tsunade raised her other hand up and it was quickly enveloped in a glove of green aura. She pressed her palm onto his hand to begin the healing process.

Paying little mind to the relief he felt welling up in his hand, Jiraiya decided to kick things off with a serious tone. "What did you want to discuss with me?"

He watched Tsunade carefully repairing the gashes before she spoke. "What's the village like now?"

Jiraiya made a slight frown. "I couldn't really tell you. I've only been to the village once in the past ten years," he answered honestly.

Tsunade had an air of curiosity oozing from her. "What have you been doing all these years then?"

Jiraiya's face was flushed with disappointment. "After Minato died, I took it upon myself to seek out who was behind the Nine-Tails' Attack," he revealed, withholding Orochimaru's involvement. "Haven't had the greatest luck with that," he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Shortly after the Hyūga Affair went down, Sarutobi-sensei got in touch with me and we decided to focus our efforts on improving the Leaf's counterintelligence and creating a more efficient spy network," he explained with a slightly prideful grin.

Tsunade reciprocated his smirk. "And how has that gone for you?"

"Heh," Jiraiya began. "There's no spy network like it. You'd be impressed," he cracked a toothy smile. "I could tell you things about the other Hidden Villages the Kages probably don't even know about," he boasted.

"Is there anything else your spies keep tabs on?" Tsunade inquired further.

"High profile politicians, nobles, military activity, even big-time criminals," he counted off to her.

"So you got eyes on all the Kages?"

The wind in Jiraiya's sails was knocked away with this question. "Not any of the Kages, no…" he reluctantly admitted. "But we do have eyes on the Water Daimyo," he rebounded.

"Impressive," Tsunade replied.

"Enough about my ventures," Jiraiya began. "Tell me about what you've been up to these years."

Tsunade's face became more deadpan. "Shortly after our battle with Orochimaru, I left Konoha and wandered around the world for a while," she reminisced through a pained expression. "After a couple years Shizune finally convinced me to become a medic again, but I wasn't going back to the Leaf. Too many fresh wounds that hadn't healed yet were still there."

"I understand," Jiraiya added with a dash of comfort.

"So I decided that Tanigakure would be best since it had such an active crisis going on," she explained. "I changed my appearance and started curing the sick and dying. After a while we sorta became local legends until the Rivers Daimyo got in contact with us," she waved her hand elegantly across more of Jiraiya's cuts. "We asked for funding to build a facility dedicated to ending the poison crisis. I would offer to teach aspiring medics in exchange for their help in curing people. Eventually, it bloomed into the largest medical facility in the world," she finished with a pained expression.

"That's amazing, Tsunade," Jiraiya praised.

"Yeah," Tsunade weakly agreed.

"Don't worry," Jiraiya shot. "If you can convince Hiruzen to let you, I'll help you fund a new medical facility somewhere," he assured her.

"So what criminals have you been looking into with your spies?" she abruptly changed the subject.

Jiraiya glanced at her confused. "Oh, uh… Well, there's lots of interesting things going on in the Land of Water with the Kiri Civil War," he explained. "Zabuza of the Mist hasn't been spotted in the Land of Water in some time. We know that Kisame Hoshigaki is talking with an anti-war organization in the Rain. The Mad Bomber Deidara is being hunted down by the Stone after attempting to assassinate the Third Tsuchikage," Jiraiya halted. He could see the displeased look on Tsunade's face. He knew something weighed on her mind. "What is it specifically you want to know about?"

"What do you have on Orochimaru?" He could tell she had been holding that question in for a while now.

"Ah, well," the confidence fled from his body. "We speculate he was involved in the Kyūbi Attack and the Hyūga Affair, but other than that…" Jiraiya trailed off, letting Tsunade come to her own conclusion.

A silence fell over the duo. Tsunade let go of Jiraiya's wrist and left him to examine it. No more cuts. "We should get moving," she suggested with an impassive expression.

The journey back to Konoha wasn't as fulfilling as it was long. Jiraiya still got a kick out of watching people's eyes pop out of their sockets at seeing two Sannin together again.

But standing in front of the Hokage's office door, that excitement had tapered off significantly now. It was time to finally wake Naruto up.

He entered Hiruzen's office with Tsunade and Shizune in tow. Hiruzen instantly jumped out of his seat, his quickness betrayed his old age. "Tsunade – !" He rounded his desk stacked high with paperwork and stood before his former pupil. "I can't believe you're really here!"

"It's nice to see you too, Sensei. But I'd like to get to the task at hand," Tsunade said.

Hiruzen's excitement was not deflated. "That's great news! Yes, of course, let's go right now." He snatched his Hokage hat from a coat rack and rushed his students out of the office with haste. "Come, we need to get you to the Anbu Medic Bay this instant," he insisted.

A few successive Body Flickers were used and before long Hiruzen was leading everyone up the steps of the hospital and to Naruto's room. He stopped before the door to the room and stared inside. "He's in here," Hiruzen clarified and twisted the door handle open. The white light of the hallway flooded into Naruto's dimly lit room.

Hiruzen stepped forward ready to enter the room before Jiraiya felt the need to interrupt him. "Ah," Jiraiya began. "Master, please let Tsunade and Shizune handle it alone. I have something to discuss with you." The trio offered him a curious look.

Hiruzen nodded at Tsunade and Shizune and left them to tend to Naruto alone. "What is it that you need to tell me?"

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and grinned. "Back in Tanigakure, I sorta got Tsunade kicked out of her own facility," he stiffened up, "But I know that it was for the best. This is our chance to keep her in the village, at least for a while," he proposed.

Hiruzen quirked his eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

"We need to give Tsunade an incentive to stay. First of all, promise her a plot of land somewhere for a new facility. She won't leave if her facility is going to be nearby," Jiraiya argued.

Hiruzen rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Alright, I can do that. But that won't be enough to keep her around, you know that."

"Yeah," Jiraiya agreed, "Which is why you're going to pay her, pay her a lot. She needs money for the facility and she hates doing missions for the village. If she can get her money easily she'll do what you want," Jiraiya explained.

"So what am I going to have her do for money exactly?"

"That's simple," Jiraiya said. "Make her look after and train Naruto."

Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya like he was insane. Jiraiya's proposal was brash but he knew it was effective. Everyone would get what they want. Tsunade gets paid and Naruto gets a real guardian. Hiruzen had to wrestle with the idea for a minute, but Jiraiya could see that after thinking it over, even the Hokage could not say it was far-fetched.

"She would be a great teacher for Naruto," Hiruzen admitted. "And the village would probably be reluctant to challenge her since she can be so confrontational."

"She's a doctor, her whole life has been dedicated to offering help to others," Jiraiya added. "She did the same for Shizune, she'll do the same for Naruto, especially for a paycheck," Jiraiya surmised. "The plan is ingenious," he boasted with a puffed-out chest and a confident smile.

"I'll see what I can do," Hiruzen concluded.

Just then the door to the hospital room opened and Shizune peeked out into the hallway. "He's about to wake up," she alerted them. Jiraiya and Hiruzen swiftly entered the room and shut the door behind them.

Jiraiya watched carefully as Tsunade loomed over the boy with her green hands. Naruto was writhing around in the bed and jolting back and forth. "Be careful," Tsunade warned. "When he wakes up it's going to be like he was right where he was when he got knocked out."

"What happened to him anyway?" Shizune asked.

Hiruzen sighed. "A group of boys broke into his apartment and beat him half to death," he somberly explained. "We found him unconscious the morning after."

Tsunade's face developed a deep scowl and Shizune's face was overcome with intense sorrow. "How horrible," she said.

"Did he put up a fight?" Tsunade beckoned.

"He hurt them all pretty badly," Hiruzen admitted.

Tsunade hmphed. "Then he's probably going to wake up in a fighting mood," she revealed. "He's about to come to."

"Why did the boys attack him anyway?" Shizune asked.

Hiruzen and Jiraiya both frowned. "The village thinks he's some reborn version of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox," the Hokage explained. "They treat him like he's a horrible monster because of it."

"That's ridiculous," Tsunade spat. "These damn villagers wouldn't know sacrifice if it died in their beds," she scoffed in disgust.

"Ge… wa… fro… me…" Jiraiya's ears straightened at the quiet ramblings. Naruto was trying to say something.

"That's a good sign, right?" he asked.

"Of course, he's almost awake," Shizune explained with a warm smile.

Tsunade flushed her hands with more healing aura and her face was made stern. Naruto's hands and feet wriggled and writhed uncontrollably underneath the pale green hospital blanket. "Get… away… from… me…" Naruto mumbled slightly more intelligible this time.

"The amount he's writhing around isn't normal," Tsunade revealed. "Be on guard in case he does something."

"Get… away… from… me…" Naruto mouthed out again only semi-consciously.

Jiraiya shared a serious glare with Hiruzen. He stepped forward to the side of the bed next to Tsunade.

"Here goes," she warned as she withdrew her hands from his head. The green chakra wilted away and she stood there expectantly.

Naruto's eyes flung open. 'Blue like Minato's,' Jiraiya thought. His pupils were wide and dilated by fear and probably an obscene rush of adrenaline. Naruto's eyes darted between Tsunade and Jiraiya. He threw the blanket off of him.

"Get away from me!" he screamed. His voice was wrought with fear. He sprang to his feet in the hospital bed and looked all around the room.

"Calm down, Naruto," Jiraiya instructed.

Naruto didn't listen. He spotted the window behind him and immediately dived to open it. He got the window wide open and a foot outside the frame before Jiraiya snatched him by the arms. He fought and fought against Jiraiya's grip with explosive bursts of energy. "Let go of me! Get away!" he screamed.

"Naruto," Hiruzen's voice rang out causing his spasms to immediately cease. "You have to calm down. These people are here because they helped you," he explained to the whiskered boy.

Naruto's panicked face was awash with confusion. Jiraiya released his grip and let the boy stand in the bed on his own. The need to ensure survival had left him. His breathing was still labored and sporadic, but he was calm now.

"How are you feeling, son?" Hiruzen asked with an edge of concern.

His breathing was slowing down. "I'm okay," he managed to respond. He removed the respirator from his face and went to remove the tube in his nose too.

"Don't touch that," Tsunade warned. "We'll take it out shortly."

He lowered his hand from the feeding tube in his nose and fell into the bed, crossing his legs in a sitting position. "What did these people help me with, Old Man?" He scrutinized everyone with a glint of curiosity.

"You've been in a coma for over two weeks now," Hiruzen explained. "She woke you up from it," he gestured to Tsunade. "She's the greatest medical specialist I know."

The whiskered boy froze. "Naruto?" Hiruzen pried for his attention.

Naruto gritted his teeth as if in pain. He met Hiruzen's gaze with his own. Tears welled up in his eyes that rolled down his cheeks. "What did I do to deserve this?" he cried to Hiruzen.

Jiraiya couldn't bear to watch Naruto start breaking down in front of him. He softened and spoke first. "You didn't do anything wrong," Jiraiya affirmed.

"Then why do they hate me so much?!" he retorted. His face scrunched up in desperation as the tears dripped on the hospital bed.

Jiraiya held his hand out much to Naruto's confusion and then Jiraiya embraced him in a sudden hug. "It's okay now," he comforted the boy.

Naruto fought against his instincts and embraced Jiraiya back. "Thank you, sir," he managed to mumble out between sobs.

"Call me Jiraiya," he said.

"Tsunade, Jiraiya, if you would," Hiruzen motioned for the door. "We need to talk."

Tsunade waltzed out into the hallway and Jiraiya followed closely behind after a couple of comforting pats on Naruto's back.

"What did you want to talk about?" Tsunade inquired as Jiraiya shut the door behind him.

"It's about Naruto," Hiruzen began. "Me and Jiraiya had talked it over and we think that you'd be a great guardian for him."

Tsunade scowled at Jiraiya and then at Hiruzen. "That's ridiculous," she immediately shot back. "This was your idea wasn't it?" she asked Jiraiya.

Jiraiya developed a sheepish grin. "Yeah it was my idea. But it isn't a bad one, promise. Just hear us out," he suggested.

"We understand that you recently lost your position at the Tani Medical Facility," Hiruzen started. "I would be willing to let you begin a new one here in Konoha."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Yeah that's great but it's not going to make me raise that boy," she reiterated.

"That's not all though," Jiraiya interjected. "As I already said, I'll pay you and so will Hiruzen. You can use our money to start building the facility all without needing to go on missions," he added with extra emphasis.

Jiraiya watched Tsunade clench her teeth. "That's a damn clever way to keep me in the village, Jiraiya," she pointed out.

"Guilty as charged," he admitted. "But it's for the best. The village is safer and better with you in it. And if you can train the village's jinchūriki for some money while you're here then that's all the better," he argued. "You saw him, Tsunade, he needs someone to look after him. The situation is desperate and I just can't do it myself," he somberly admitted.

Tsunade glared at Jiraiya and Hiruzen in deep contemplation. "How much money are we talking about here?" the Slug Sannin inquired with intrigue.

"I'll lend you two hundred thousand ryō for every month he's in your care," Hiruzen posed.

"And I'll chip in too so we'll call it a quarter million a month," Jiraiya added.

"That's a really great deal, Tsunade," Hiruzen said.

Tsunade considered the offer for a moment. "That is a lot of money," she admitted. "And I still get to stay in the Senju Estate as well?"

"Of course," Hiruzen assured her. "It's all yours."

"Hmm…Alright, I'll look after the boy and train him for you," Tsunade gave in.

Jiraiya shared a victorious smile with his mentor. "He'll be lucky to have you," Jiraiya celebrated.

END

Author's Note

So that's chapter 5.

I hope you guys enjoyed it thoroughly and a big thanks to Kastra, V3X, and carnage1699 for helping me put it together.

This is the end of Jiraiya's mini-arc. I hope you liked it. So yeah, now we're going to have Tsunade training Naruto. I'll just go ahead and say that no, Naruto is not going to be a medical specialist nor is Tsunade going to be his main mentor. This is all just circumstanial.

Anyways, follow and favorite the fic. Review the chapter 736 times to prove you read it. Chapter 6 comes out around 12-1pm on October 28th.

Godspeed,

Salt.