[Author-Notes: This chapter marks the start of the Search-For-Tsunade arc. I'm going to be honest, this chapter is pretty skippable since it kind of follows what happened in canon. The next chapter after this has more alterations from canon.]


June 15th 2002:

Soft droplets of rain poured down on the village. Ryomen Sukuna was seated on his sofa in the comfort of his home. It had been six days since the unsuccessful invasion on the Hidden-Leaf.

The funeral for those who had lost their lives during the operation to destroy the Hidden-Leaf had taken place four days ago. Slumping against the cushions of his sofa, Sukuna looked at his television.

Konoha was in a little crisis of leadership after Hiruzen Sarutobi's death. The council of Jonin, advisors, and the fire lord's councilmen hadn't decided on who would take on the title of the Fifth-Hokage.

Team seven's missions had been put on hold by Kakashi Hatake for unexplained reasons, so he hadn't seen either Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke Uchiha for the last three days. Sukuna sighed to himself.

From what he had heard from Kakashi, Kimimaro Kaguya had been placed into a cell under the direct supervision of Ibiki Morino. However, Kimimaro had refused to answer any of Ibiki's questions.

Sukuna peeked out the window to his right and noticed that the rain had cleared up. Small particles of sunlight streamed through the blinds of his window and illuminated parts of his living-room.

(-)

June 16th 2002:

Sukuna and Naruto were settled on their stools in Ichiraku-Ramen. The two of them were eating Tonkotsu-Ramen and Miso-Ramen. Slurping on his noodles, Sukuna heard the bell chime.

"I knew I'd find you here, brat." Jiraiya's voice called out. "You drained my wallet last month by making me pay for all of your damn Ramen."

In the middle of sipping the broth from his bowl, Naruto turned his head to Jiraiya in surprise. "Pervy-Sage? What the hell do you want?"

Jiraiya ignored Naruto for a moment, noticing Sukuna seated next to him. "Isn't that four-eyed brat one of Naruto's other teammates?"

"Whatever." Jiraiya shook his head, addressing Naruto afterwards. "Naruto! I've chosen you to help me look for the next Hokage!"

"The next Hokage?" Naruto tilted his head, pointing his chop-sticks at himself. "You don't have to look far! I should be the next Hokage!"

"I'm serious, you brat!" Jiraiya shook his fist at Naruto, annoyed. "If you help me out, then I'll make sure to teach you even more Jutsu!"

"More Jutsu like the Rasengan?!" Naruto's mood changed to a more excited one. "Why the heck didn't you say so? Where do we look?"

"Hey, wait a second!" Naruto had made a 'time-out' gesture. "Sukuna, do you want to help us out? You told me you've been pretty bored."

"It's fine. I'm not really that interested." Sukuna declined his friend's offer, paid for his meal, and rose from his stool. "Have fun, I guess."

Sukuna slipped his hands into his pockets, nodded at Naruto, and departed from Ichiraku-Ramen. The streets of the Hidden-Leaf had retained its usual cheerful atmosphere, despite what had happened.

Civilians casualties had been rather low because they had been escorted to the shelters beforehand. Though, a decent number of Genin, Chunin, and even some Jonin had lost their lives in the attack.

"I wonder if Naruto or Sasuke will become Chunin this time." Sukuna grunted. "I doubt I will. I did tie against Lee during the preliminaries."

An hour had passed and Sukuna found himself on a wooden bench in one of the countless local parks in the village. Having purchased a bottle of water, Sukuna popped open its lid and took a little sip from it.

"I have nothing to do." Sukuna lowered his head in boredom. "Naruto and Jiraiya should have left to look for Tsunade and Shizune by now."

"I wonder if I could get clearance to talk to Kimimaro." Sukuna sipped more of his water and sighed. "Who would I even ask for clearance?"

Sukuna binned his water bottle and stood up from the wooden bench. Inserting his hands into his pockets a second time, Sukuna resumed his pointless stroll through the Hidden-Leaf and wandered around.

Ten minutes had passed in a flash before Sukuna was approached by Rock-Lee—who looked worried. Picking at the entrance of his ear in curiosity, Sukuna said. "Hey, Lee. What's got you in such a hurry?"

"Sukuna!" Lee shouted in response. "Gai-Sensei wants you to come to the hospital! It's urgent! Kakashi-Sensei's been attacked by someone!"

(-)

Sukuna entered the hospital room—Lee followed behind him. Kakashi was unconscious on his bed, a blanket placed over his body. Might-Gai, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi were also in the room.

"So, what the hell is going on?" Sukuna paid no attention to the other Jonin assembled in the hospital room. "What happened to Kakashi?"

"If I remember right from my past life, then Itachi attacked him." Sukuna mused to himself. "I guess the Akatsuki's making their move."

Asuma blinked at Sukuna in recognition. "You're Ryomen Sukuna, right? One of Kakashi's students? Itachi Uchiha put him in this state."

"Is it really wise to share information like this to a Genin?" Kurenai raised her eye-brow at him. "Even if he is one of Kakashi's students."

"Word will get out sooner or later." Gai interrupted them. "What Asuma told you is correct, Sukuna. Itachi Uchiha was the one who did this."

"Itachi Uchiha, huh?" Sukuna murmured to himself, acting contemplative and surprised. "The one who killed the Uchiha-Clan."

"Will Kakashi-Sensei be alright, Gai-Sensei?" Lee asked his mentor. "I can't believe someone was able to defeat Gai-Sensei's rival like this!"

"I'm not sure, Lee." Gai scratched the back of his head in concern. "But worry not! I have faith that my eternal rival will recover from this!"

"Maybe this is our chance to get a look under his mask." Asuma elbowed Kurenai in amusement. "We've never seen his real face."

Kurenai rolled her eyes at him in response. "I'll never understand why you're so curious about what Kakashi's unmasked face looks like."

Sukuna's gaze travelled over to the entrance of the room when Sasuke walked in and stared at Kakashi on the bed. "Kakashi?"

Confused, Sasuke approached Sukuna and asked him. "Would you mind telling me what happened to him? Why is he bedridden?"

Hand lifted to stop Sukuna from speaking, Gai coughed into his closed fist. "It's nothing too bad, Sasuke! Kakashi just overworked himself—!"

Gai was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Aoba Yamashiro—who shouted out. "Is it true that Itachi came to the village for Naruto?!"

"This won't end well." Sukuna sighed in annoyance. "Anything that's related to Itachi or the Uchiha-Clan always makes Sasuke pissed."

Sasuke touched his Curse-Mark, clenched his teeth, glared at Aoba, and gritted out. "Itachi's in the village?! And he's looking for Naruto?!"

"He'll be fine." Sukuna waved off Sasuke's concerns. "He and Jiraiya left the village looking for the next Hokage or something like that."

"Jiraiya won't be enough against Itachi!" Sasuke yelled, shoving Aoba out of the way and blurring out of the room. "Naruto could be dead!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Sukuna went towards the door to chase after Sasuke—but Lee planted a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, Lee?"

"Allow me to help you look for Naruto, Sukuna!" Lee bellowed out, mouth stretched into his usual cheerful grin. "I'm also worried about him!"

"Sure, the more the merrier." Sukuna shrugged Lee's hand off of his shoulder. "I'm sure Teuchi knows where Naruto and Jiraiya went."

"I'll leave stopping Sasuke and looking for Naruto to the two of you!" Gai smiled at them. "I'll stay here and see if Kakashi gets better!"

"Thanks." Sukuna rolled his shoulders, walked to the window, opened it, and vanished in a burst of unnatural speed. "Let's head out, Lee!"

(-)

Sukuna and Lee learned from Teuchi that Naruto and Jiraiya had left the village to go to a neighboring town that had a pleasure district. Paying Teuchi in advance for his next visit, Sukuna rushed out.

"I think I know what town Naruto and master Jiraiya are going to!" Lee hopped onto his fifth roof-top. "I visited it during one of my missions!"

"I'll follow your lead, then!" Sukuna landed in front of the northern gate of the Hidden-Leaf. "I guess I'll be meeting Itachi and Kisame soon."

Once they had registered themselves out of Konoha, Lee and Sukuna sprinted across the path ahead of them to reach Naruto's location. After some time spent running, they arrived at this town and stopped.

"What now?" Lee placed a hand over his eyes, looking around the town. "By now, master Jiraiya and Naruto must have gone to an inn."

"There are too many inns to check out, though." Sukuna rubbed his chin. "I doubt we'll have enough time to look through all of them."

Out of nowhere, a massive deluge of crimson chakra exploded from one of the inns at the end of the district and rattled a number of people. Sukuna smirked, then he and Lee disappeared in two blurs.

(-)

Sasuke and Naruto had been knocked back to the other side of the corridor of the inn they were in by Itachi Uchiha. Kisame Hoshigaki shouldered Samehada, a nasty smirk plastered across his face.

Having entered the synchronized state between himself and the nine-tails, Naruto clenched his clawed hands. Sasuke had activated the first stage of the Curse-Mark and his Sharingan glared at Itachi.

Itachi's presence alone cowed Naruto a little. "This is Sasuke's older brother, huh? He's the one who Sasuke told us he wants to kill…"

"How about you finish the job, Itachi?" Kisame pointed Samehada at Itachi and chuckled. "And I'll just capture the nine-tails Jinchuriki."

"I'll kill you, Itachi." Sasuke cast five hand-signs, then fired off a Flame-Stream at him point-blank. "For slaughtering our entire clan!"

"Sasuke, wait—!"

It was too late, however, and Sasuke fired off a straight line of fire towards the end of the corridor where Itachi stared at him from. Itachi tilted himself to the side, regarding the Flame-Stream like it was nothing.

Burning the wall it had hit, the Flame-Stream dissolved into fumes. Sasuke remained infuriated, performing a number of hand-seals. Itachi body-flickered in front of Sasuke and kicked him back.

"I see your Sharingan has developed its third tomoe." Itachi said in a bland tone. "But—even now—you lack the hatred to defeat me."

Coughing out blood, Sasuke failed to move away in time before Itachi buried a chakra-enhanced punch into his stomach. More blood streamed from his mouth. "How can he still be so much stronger!"

"The Curse-Mark hasn't helped me at all!" Sasuke gasped once a second punch was drilled into his stomach. "I still can't beat him!"

"Sasuke!" Naruto blurred towards Itachi, only for Kisame to intercept his path and block him off from his friend. "Damn it! Who are you?!"

"We haven't introduced ourselves, have we?" Kisame smirked. "We're members of the Akatsuki and we're here for the nine-tails in you."

"Relive that day once more." Itachi's Mangekyo-Sharingan swirled to trap Sasuke in a Tsukuyomi Genjutsu. "And sharpen your hatred…"

Itachi raised his hand to redirect a kick to the face downwards. Lee distanced himself from the elder Uchiha, stance guarded and defensive. A bored glance was Itachi's response. "More backup…"

"Bushy-Brows!" Naruto saw Sukuna enter the corridor and grinned. "Sukuna, you too! The three of us together can kick their asses!"

Kisame snorted at Naruto in mockery. "You're being quite overconfident. Didn't your Sensei ever teach you to not underestimate an opponent?"

"Naruto." Lee's voice was sharp, lacking its natural cheer. "Just from looking at these two, I can tell that the four of us stand no chance."

Sukuna had been silent for a majority of this confrontation—but then spoke. "We came here to make sure you and Sasuke were still alive."

Hands tucked into his pockets, Sukuna gazed at the two Akatsuki members. "I'm surprised they haven't killed the four of us yet…"

"We are only interested in the Jinchuriki." Itachi appeared next to Kisame in a body-flicker. "We have no qualms against you two."

"The Jinchuriki?" Lee stole a small look at Naruto. "I remember Gai-Sensei told me that Naruto himself was a Jinchuriki…"

"I see!" Lee took on a stance for combat. "But I'm afraid I cannot let myself fall into fear when my comrades' lives are on the line!"

Some smoke built itself up in the hallway, cutting off further conversation. Jiraiya had appeared alongside some kind of toad and placed the unconscious lady on his shoulder against the cracked wall.

"Was I not invited to the party?" Jiraiya's voice rumbled out. "Naruto! I leave you only for less than two hours and you let all of this happen?"

"Shut up, Pervy-Sage!" Naruto yelled in response. "Bushy-Brow, Sukuna, and Sasuke got here faster than you! What's your excuse?!"

"Kisame." Itachi spoke to his partner. "There are too many variables in this situation. We'll get a better chance to capture the Jinchuriki later."

"I suppose we could." Kisame yawned into his other hand. "A battle between us and Jiraiya of the Sannin would be quite fun, though."

"I won't let you two escape!" Jiraiya cast a hand-sign. "I'll capture you two for more intel!"

Itachi and Kisame disappeared through one of the massive holes in the wall in the blink of an eye. Naruto gritted his teeth and readied himself to chase after them. Jiraiya's voice halted him. "Stop!"

"Itachi placed him under some kind of Genjutsu." Jiraiya analyzed Sasuke's condition. "Will one of you carry him back to Konoha?"

Sukuna had remained casual throughout this entire situation. "Lee." He addressed his friend. "Can you take Sasuke back to the village?"

"Of course I can!" Lee exited his stance, picked up Sasuke, stared at everyone in the corridor, and left the inn. "Be on the lookout for them!"

"What happened to Sasuke, Pervy-Sage?" Naruto's red eyes melted back into blue. "If it's Genjutsu, can't you just dispel it yourself?"

"Itachi's Genjutsu is unique, let's leave it at that." Jiraiya approached Sukuna and crossed his arms. "You planning on sticking around?"

Sukuna tilted his head to the side, shrugging. "If you don't mind. I've had nothing to do for the last week since our missions are on hold."

"I suppose I could allow you to accompany us!" Jiraiya struck an over-dramatic pose. "Of course if you pay me a fee, I'll let you join us!"

"Yeah, ignore him." Naruto whispered at Sukuna, treating Jiraiya like he had escaped a psych ward. "He tried to steal my wallet one time."

Snorting at his blue-eyed friend, Sukuna replied. "I'll remember that. So, who's going to pay for all the damage that we dealt to this inn?"

Jiraiya grabbed Sukuna and Naruto, body-flickering out of the inn and yelling. "I'll come back here later and tell them to put it on my tab!"

(-)

Jiraiya and Naruto resumed their journey to find Tsunade, accompanied by Sukuna this time. Hands tucked into his pockets, Sukuna and his travelling companions walked down a wide dirt path.

Once Jiraiya had explained Tsunade's identity and abilities to them, Naruto grinned. "So this 'Tsunade' can get Sasuke out that Genjutsu?"

"If she can't, then no-one can." Jiraiya waved his hand around the air. "I thought you'd be more worried about the Akatsuki members."

"Nah, I get it." Naruto tapped a palm onto his stomach. "They want to take the nine-tails out of me, right? I'm guessing they want its chakra."

Jiraiya was pleased. "He's taking this better than I thought he would. I'll have to accelerate his training faster than I had planned at first."

Sukuna remained silent for the duration of the journey to a large town where Jiraiya wanted to fish for information on Tsunade from. There was some kind of festival like the Rinne-Festival that was taking place.

Naruto looked at the numerous stands in the area, keeping himself out of the crowd of people in the town. "Man, all of this looks pretty fun!"

"Like the Rinne-Festival." Sukuna vocalized his thoughts. "That sure takes me back. Remember when you blasted us into the damn sky?"

"You were laughing, don't deny it." Naruto nudged Sukuna's shoulder in retaliation. "I remember the bastard's hair got all messed up by it."

"Since you two are having so much fun, I'll leave you alone for now." Jiraiya's eyes were focused on a tavern. "I'll look for some more intel."

"Or talk to some ladies." Jiraiya chuckled into his palm. "This festival won't be ending soon, so we'll meet up here in thirty minutes."

"Hey!" Naruto jabbed a finger towards the Sannin, annoyed. "You said you'd teach me even more Jutsu if I helped you out, Pervy-Sage!"

"Have some patience, brat!" Jiraiya pointed at Sukuna, then said. "Your friend over here hasn't been complaining! Follow his example!"

"Patience is one of the most important traits a Shinobi must have!" Jiraiya said a moment later. "I'll teach you more Jutsu later! Buh-bye!"

"Hey, wait!" Naruto reached his hand out, watching Jiraiya disappear into the crowd of people in irritation. "That lousy old man ditched us!"

"I still wonder to this day if he's qualified to teach you." Sukuna spoke in a sarcastic tone, amused. "How about a spar to pass the time?"

"We haven't fought in ages!" Naruto turned to his friend, grinning and declaring. "You're so going down! Don't complain when you lose!"

(-)

Sukuna and Naruto stared at each other. At the moment, they stood in opposite directions in an isolated spot in the woods on the outskirts of this town. Naruto moved first, disappearing in a vicious burst of speed.

Four red eyes swept themselves across the area to locate Naruto—who appeared behind him and struck his fist out. Sukuna turned around a split second after, fore-arm raised to divert the punch.

"His physical strength has gotten higher." Sukuna analyzed in his mind. "And that's without Kurama's chakra or chakra enhancement."

A front-kick to the solar-plexus hurtled Naruto ten feet back. Regaining his footing in an instant, Naruto cast a few hand-signs, opened his mouth, and shot out three orbs of condensed wind towards Sukuna.

Sukuna shot off a blast of compressed blood at the orbs of wind and dispelled them. Surprised at this, Naruto lifted his eye-brows in disbelief and asked him. "Hey! Since when could you do that?!"

"I learned some things during the month before the end of the Chunin-Exams." Sukuna shrugged. "Don't tell me you're scared?"

Scoffing at his friend, Naruto closed the distance he had made and roundhouse kicked him. Sukuna endured the blow, breaking into Naruto's guard and burying a powerful punch into his abdomen.

"Crap!" Naruto closed one of his eyes in pain. "I forgot how strong Sukuna is! I swear this bastard's always had really high strength…"

Naruto grabbed Sukuna by the wrist, then pressed the sole of his foot into his chest and propelled him backwards. Sukuna flipped onto his feet as Naruto blurred in front of him and pulled out a pair of Kunai.

Slapping his hands against both of the Kunai, Sukuna used Cleave to destroy them and prepared to bash a punch into Naruto's nose. Hands mixed into a hand-sign, Naruto conjured a number of Shadow-Clones.

Sukuna leaped away from Naruto, unleashed a number of Dismantles at the Shadow-Clones, and witnessed each of them dissipate. Naruto took advantage of this opportunity, forming a Rasengan on his palm.

"A Rasengan, huh?" Sukuna channelled cursed-energy into his fist. "I should be able to use Reverse-Cursed-Technique to heal any injuries from it."

However, their small spar was interrupted by the Shadow-Clone of Jiraiya. The clone body-flickered in between them, stopped Naruto's Rasengan, and said. "I think that's enough of that, you two brats."

"Pervy-Sage!" Naruto yanked his wrist out of Jiraiya's hand. "Since you're back, does this mean you're ready to teach more Jutsu?!"

"Patience." The clone of Jiraiya snorted, thinking about their fight. "So the brat who has mutated chakra also has blood manipulation, eh?"

"I know that the Ketsurygan of the Chinoike-Clan gives them some level of blood manipulation." The clone mused. "But not on that level."

"Hey, brat." The clone directed its attention onto Sukuna in curiosity. "What other abilities does that mutated chakra of yours give you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Sukuna grunted. "And—if you're wondering—no, I can't learn any Ninjutsu or any Genjutsu."

"Yeah." Naruto chimed in, snorting. "Kakashi-Sensei's only able to teach Sukuna Taijutsu since his bloodline limit is a pain in the ass."

"It ain't that bad." Sukuna said. "I can still use my 'mutated chakra' for water-walking and tree-climbing. And it enhances my physical power."

"I'm surprised Danzo didn't try and train him as a Root Anbu officer." The clone huffed. "Whatever. The original got Tsunade's location."

"Head back to the meeting spot in the festival." The clone cast a hand-sign, then soon dispelled itself. "Don't make me wait, you hear!"

(-)

Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sukuna had departed for Tanzaku-Town to track down Tsunade's whereabouts. It hadn't taken them too long to get to this town—but Jiraiya was worried that they had just missed Tsunade.

"Run for your lives!" A frantic man shouted at them. "Some giant snake appeared out of nowhere and crushed Tanzaku-Castle!"

"A giant snake?" Naruto questioned him, then looked at Sukuna in annoyance. "That's got to be one of Orochimaru's summons, right?"

"Yeah." Sukuna scratched his hair, watching the man run off into the distance. "Sasuke and I had to fight one back in the Forest-Of-Death."

The three of them hurried towards Tanzaku-Castle's ruins. Sukuna followed after Jiraiya and Naruto until they reached it. Besides the piles of rubble around them, there was no-one else in the area.

Sukuna picked up one of the larger stones, used Spiderweb to scatter it into smaller chunks of rock, and tossed them at Naruto. Annoyed, the Uzumaki glared at his friend and shouted out. "What the hell!"

"Stop that." Jiraiya groused at them, searching for any traces of Tsunade or Orochimaru. "Come on, you two. Let's go."

Having taken the two of them to a drinking establishment, Jiraiya opened up their flap and looked around the restaurant. Much to his surprise, he spotted Tsunade and Shizune seated at the back.

"Jiraiya?!"

"Hah, Tsunade!" Jiraiya laughed at her in recognition, dragging Sukuna and Naruto over. "I was looking everywhere for you!"

Tsunade watched the three of them settle themselves down on a seat. "First Orochimaru, then you? I've been seeing familiar faces a lot…"

"I heard about what happened at Tanzaku-Castle." Jiraiya folded his arms on the table. "Would you mind telling me what that's about?"

"You know how Orochimaru can be." Tsunade sipped from her cup. "He's always had the tendency to get a little destructive at times."

"Why is lord Jiraiya here?" Shizune blinked at Sukuna and Naruto: who were playing rock-paper-scissors. "And who are those two?"

Tsunade slammed her cup down on the table. "Spill it out and don't waste my time, Jiraiya. What the hell do you want from me, huh?"

Letting his pleasant demeanor fall, Jiraiya responded. "I'll be blunt. Tsunade, the village wants you to be the Fifth-Hokage."

"So she's the one who Pervy-Sage wanted to ask to be Hokage." Naruto thought. "I just want her to agree and help heal Sasuke."

"I'm sure you heard about Sarutobi-Sensei." Jiraiya said. "His funeral was around four days ago. I'd be surprised if you hadn't been told."

"Moving on from that topic." Jiraiya leaned forward, placing a hand under his chin. "Will you accept the title of Fifth-Hokage, Tsunade?"

"She won't accept." Sukuna slumped in his chair, yawning. "I still remember enough about the series to know she didn't accept the title."

Tsunade sipped from her cup once more and responded. "No. I'm not really interested in taking on the title of Fifth-Hokage, Jiraiya."

"Would you at least come back to the village to heal my friend and teacher?" Sukuna asked. "They were put under Itachi's Genjutsu."

"Huh?!" Naruto turned to Sukuna, surprised. "Wait, what? Why didn't you mention that Kakashi-Sensei got hit by the same Genjutsu?!"

Annoyed, Naruto slapped the table. "Whatever! Pervy-Sage, we still have to take her back to the village to fix Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei!"

"And, worse, she didn't even accept the title of Hokage!" Naruto gritted out. "Aren't there any other candidates for Hokage? There's gotta be!"

"Calm yourself." Jiraiya stole one of the untouched cups that Tsunade had ordered. "Tsunade's the only possible option for the Fifth-Hokage."

"She's the greatest practitioner of Medical-Ninjutsu." Jiraiya smirked. "And she's also the granddaughter of the First-Hokage himself…"

"If she agrees to being Hokage, then we can go home." Jiraiya said. "And then she can take a look at Kakashi and Sasuke's conditions."

"This was decided by the councillors and myself." Jiraiya drank from his cup. "No offense, but the opinion of a Genin doesn't matter much."

"I'm still waiting to see if I made Chunin!" Naruto growled. "Gaara stopped our match because he tried to transform or something!"

"Heh." Tsunade chuckled in mockery. "Compared to your last student, this one is quite the downgrade. And who's the four-eyed brat?"

"I ain't his student." Sukuna propped his knuckles on his cheek. "I'm just here to ask if you'd be willing to heal my friend and teacher."

Naruto heard Tsunade's comment about him and shouted. "Hey!"

"You're not wrong, Tsunade." Jiraiya chuckled. "Minato was a one-of-a-kind talent. He had the intelligence, charm, and the skills."

"Naruto still has no clue that Minato is his dad." Sukuna sighed. "I'm surprised my presence in the timeline didn't change that detail."

"Even then." A bitter smile crossed Tsunade's features. "He had all of that so-called intelligence, charm, and skills and he still died early."

"Sacrificing his life for the sake of that damn village."

"My grandfather and granduncle wanted peace more than all." She snorted in disdain. "Yet they died in vain for the village. A shame."

"The same applies to Sarutobi-Sensei." Tsunade scoffed. "A geezer like him got in over his head against Orochimaru and then croaked."

That statement angered Jiraiya—but he kept himself calm. Tsunade smiled. "The title of Hokage is a huge joke. Only a fool would take it."

"Now you've pissed me off!" Naruto leaped out of his chair, a Rasengan forming on his hand. "Don't talk about the Hokage like that!"

"Naruto!" Jiraiya grasped Naruto's wrist, pulling him back into his seat and stopping the Rasengan from forming. "Don't let that get to you."

"Like I care!" Naruto glared at Tsunade, then shouted. "I ain't going to stand here and let her disrespect the Fourth-Hokage or the old man!"

"I've already fought Orochimaru and sparred against Pervy-Sage!" Naruto growled. "How about pummelling the last member of the Sannin?!"

"You too, Sukuna!" Naruto shouted at his friend—who watched the situation in boredom. "Both you and I have fought Orochimaru!"

"And you two survived?" Tsunade chuckled in disbelief. "That Jutsu the brat used was the Rasengan. I suppose I could humor him."

"I'll fight you two. Meet me outside." Tsunade grunted at them, mocking. "Once I beat you two up, you'll have to leave me alone."

"Of course I got dragged into this." Sukuna sighed. "How annoying."

(-)

Jiraiya, Shizune, and Ton-Ton watched from a decent distance once Naruto and Sukuna had positioned themselves across from Tsunade. Stretching, Naruto clenched his teeth and sucked in a deep breath.

"One question before we begin this fight." Tsunade tilted her head, curious. "Why are you so sensitive about the title of Hokage?"

"Unlike you, I want that title!" Naruto clenched his fist. "To be the strongest Hokage in history is my dream! And it will happen!"

"Now that I think about it." Sukuna glanced at his blond-haired friend. "Did my presence change his goal into being the strongest Hokage?"

"He reminds me of those two." Tsunade lowered her gaze for a moment, saddened. She looked up afterwards. "I don't have all day! Stop wasting my time!"

Sukuna pondered. "I know she has a fear of blood."

Naruto summoned an crowd of Shadow-Clones. Impatient, one of them grabbed Sukuna and hurled him towards Tsunade. Hand extended out, Sukuna widened his four eyes and concentrated.

"I haven't had much training in using this."

Channelling Nue's power without summoning the Shikigami, Sukuna let off multiple pulses of electricity in Tsunade's direction. She stepped forward, then vanished in a blur and struck a fist into his abdomen.

Sukuna was hurtled back—but a Shadow-Clone of Naruto caught him and helped him restabilize his footing. Naruto appeared behind Tsunade, creating a Rasengan on his hand and driving it forward.

Her foot lashed out, redirecting Naruto's hand upwards and dispersing the Rasengan. Not wanting to prolong their fight, Tsunade grabbed Naruto's shoulder, threw him into Sukuna, and flung them away. The other Shadow-Clones were soon dispelled.

"Pathetic." Tsunade shook her head. "I'll admit you impressed me a little since you can use the Rasengan, but that's as far as it goes."

"And you, the four-eyed brat." Tsunade scoffed. "Using Jutsu without hand-signs is impressive, sure, but that won't take you anywhere."

"Okay." Sukuna clasped his hands, compressing his blood. "Screw this."

Naruto stopped Sukuna and shouted. "What the hell is it going to take for you to at least go to Konoha to heal Kakashi-Sensei and Sasuke?!"

"What's it going to take?" Tsunade looked amused. "How about creating a new variation of the Rasengan in three days, huh?"

"Three days?!" Naruto grinned, then yelled. "That's easy! I'll create a new variation of the Rasengan by then!"

Sukuna separated his hands. "Keep me out of this."

Tsunade offered. "How about a wager that has some different conditions?"

"A wager?"

"I'll give you a whole week instead." Tsunade said. "If you make that new variation of the Rasengan, I'll heal your friend and teacher."

"And I'll even acknowledge that you're worthy of being Hokage." She tapped her necklace. "Hell! I'll even throw in this necklace."

"Naruto!" Jiraiya interrupted. "That necklace is made from a unique ore that belonged to the First-Hokage. If sold, you can buy three mountains!"

"Just give it to me if you win it, okay?"

"Shameless geezer." Tsunade sighed. "If you can't make a variation of the Rasengan in a week, then you lose and your and your friend's money is all mine!"

She pulled out Sukuna and Naruto's wallets from nowhere.

"Huh?" Sukuna scowled. "Damn, I never noticed."

Tsunade returned them their wallets until Jiraiya spoke out. "Tsunade, would you like to buy another drink together?"

"And, Shizune." Jiraiya said. "Could you take these two and look for some lodgings for us?"

"Yes." Shizune sighed. "Lady Tsunade's never bet on that necklace…"

Naruto grunted. "I'm not going to lose!"

"Time for some sleep." Sukuna yawned. "I have gotten pretty tired."

The three of them were able to secure multiple rooms in a good inn.

Sukuna entered his room and went to sleep.


A/N: Thanks for reading.