Chapter Two.
"So Naruto, would you like to be a medical ninja like the two of us?", Tsunade asked her ward as they stood in a clearing that served as training ground near the leaf village.
"Sure," he replied, not wanting to upset his guardian, and seeing the value in having medical knowlegde.
"Medical Ninjutsu requires excellent chakra control Lady Tsunade. Naruto has the nine-tails, which will affect his negatively," Shizune whispered in her mistress's ear.
"Don't worry Shizune, I've got a solution," the Slug Sanin whispered back. Turning back to Uzumaki, she said, "I imagine that you have trouble making Clones kid."
He nodded in response, and she continued.
"It's not your fault, there is a reason for it. Unfortunately, the old fool won't let me or anyone else tell. It's the same reason why most of the villagers despise you."
Naruto was stunned; he always knew that the Leaf hated him for a reason but had no idea that the Third had a law prohibiting it from being told to him. His repressed anger towards Sarutobi grew.
"When we're teaching you how to heal, I'll put a seal on your stomach. It will help tremendously. For now I'm going to show you a jutsu that I think would suit you well," Tsunade said with a smile.
"What is it called?"
"The Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) Justu. Unlike the regular Bunshin, this jutsu creates physical clones, not illusions." Naruto's eyes lit up and he said, "That sounds Awesome!"
Both women smiled at his enthusiasm. Then Tsunade told him to focus and slowly but steadily performed handsigns. Two puffs of smoke appeared on both sides of the Legendary sucker. The boy ran up to the clones and felt them, gasping as they felt like the real thing.
"Now you give it a try."
Naruto focused his chakra, performed the same hand-signs carefully, and shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Immediately afterwards, hundreds of solid clones poofed into existence.
"WOW!" both shinobi shouted; they figured he'd easily complete the Jutsu, but they didn't expect him to create so many Kage Bunshin at once.
"Very good my boy!", Tsunade congratulated.
"Now for the next excercise. Shizune will spar with you. I want you to avoid or redirect her attacks. She's bigger and stronger than you, so blocking won't work."
Naruto nodded, as did Shizune who stepped forward. She pulled back the sleeve of her arm to reveal a senbon launcher. They weren't poisoned as usual, but would hurt like hell if they hit him.
"Get ready Naruto," Tsunade's assistant warned. Then she shot the needles. Naruto focused both on the whistling air and the reflected sunlight from the senbon. He turned left, then right, then bent his body backwards, then twisted to the right again, then left again, then went prone. Then Uzumaki rolled out of the way as Shizune's feet crashed onto the spot where his legs had been.
'She'd have broken my legs had I not moved,' Naruto thought as the black-haired women charged at him. He pushed aside her hands, flattened and straightened like knives, with his fists and pushed down her incoming knees with his palm. When she tried to kick him, he deflected her ankles with his forearms. When his hands and arms started to tire, he started using his feet and legs. When they began to buckle under the pressure too, the blonde Jinchurikki started dodging. Shizune did a feint with her elbow at Naruto's face, the when he tried to avoid it, she swept his legs. Grabbing his orange jacket by the shoulders, she tried to headbutt him, but he brought up his knees to block her hard skull.
"Alright that's enough!" Tsunade announced. Her assistant and new student separated.
"Heal the bruises on his hand, and on your forehead, then we've got some business to take care of."
"Business," Shizune said dryly. She knew they were going gambling.
/
When the trio entered the Casino, all eyes turned toward them. Some were curious, others indifferent, but the majority were hostile. One couple, a man and a woman, were bold enough to whisper to each other, " Great, those three just ruined our afternoon."
"I know right. Why'd Lady Tsunade have to bring that Ky- ?"
Focusing chakra to her ears, Shizune heard their words clearly. She zoomed behind the two, disappearing and reappearing, and held scalpels to their throats.
"Finish that sentence and your both dead. You know the law and the penalty for breaking it."
The two froze and sweat bullets. Shizune moved away from the two and then turned to the crowd saying, "Same goes for all the all the rest of you!"
"I'm usually the one who loses my temper," the Senju woman said in surprise at her apprentice's actions.
"Shizune, Naruto Uzumaki, Lady Tsunade, please come to my office on the fifth floor?" a voice sounded on the loudspeaker. The casino was five stories with different sections on each floor. They were currently in the bar section.
Walking to the management office, Tsunade opened the door and saw two security guards wearing Shaolin monk outfits and the manager wearing a jungle camoflague shirt and shorts. He had tan skin and lemon-yellow hair, which made him look like a lion.
"Hello, my name is Batta Ken (grasshopper sword). I can assure you lady Tsunade, that I neither harbor nor will tolerate any hatred towards Mr. Uzumaki. But I can't allow those underage to gamble," the casino owner explained.
"He's not here for that sir," Tsunade countered.
" When we were outside of the village, and he was near me when i used a slot machine . I won every time! This kid's my good luck charm."
"Really?" Batta asked with raised eyebrows
"How much did you win?"
"Ten grande."
"WHUUHH?" was the response of the guards while Ken just said, "Impressive. Very well, gamble to your heart's content. And let me know if any of my patrons give you any problems. I also hope you improve this child's life Tsunade."
The trio nodded and bowed to their host. Then they walked out.
They went to back the fifth floor gaming area which had Spin and Roulette wheel games. The dealer of the first spot they went to was genuinely kind to the blond Jinchurikki. The other dealers varied. None of them openly hateful, but a lot of the smiles were forced. So as not to clean the place out, and to give other people a chance to win, Tsunade decided to play only five times per game. As happened previously, she won every time she played either wheel. On the fourth floor which had pool and billiards, the Senju woman knocked all pool balls into the pockets on the first try. She also hit her both the red and black balls with the white ball each time in Billiards. On the third floor, there was Baccarat, Texas Hold' Em, Solitaire, Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Blackjack, Dominoes, and Dice. As Tsunade played, Shizune explained how each game worked to him. She also sent KI to those patrons who dared to glare at her diminutive companion. As Tsunade continued to successfully press her luck, it attracted the attention of others and a crowd gathered around them. They all gaped in amazement that the Legendary sucker was not only succeeding but not losing even once! They stared at the village pariah with interest, knowing he was the cause of it. The blonde sanin won five royal flushes in a row playing baccarat, five blackbeat jackpots in Texas Hold em, got all dice to land on six each round in roll-the dice, all of her edges were divisible by five in All Fives dominoes, and so and so forth. When they left the Casino three hours later, the first Hokage's granddaughter had 15 times as much more money as she originally won. Her cash was all sealed in a scroll strapped to her back.
"You are my sunshine, Naruto Uzumaki," she complimented. Her hand were on his shoulders and she bent down and kissed his cheek. Again, the long-neglected child gained a profound blush on his visage.
"Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen. I have two great friends there; Tecuhi and Ayame. They treat me like family," Naruto said.
"Really? I'd Love to meet them, " Shizune replied happily.
"We can go right now if you want," Tsunade suggested. The boy nodded and they set off. The two older leaf residents sensed that a young girl was following them but said nothing. After a while they reached their destination, and Ayame jumped over the counter and glomped her favorite customer.
"I heard you ran away, I was so worried!" she said
"Me too," Teuchi added in a much calmer tone of voice.
"Sorry for worrying you," Naruto said apologetically.
"I just wanted…"
"No need to explain my boy. The Hokage gave us your letters. There's not a thing in it I disagree with."
"Thank you so much for bringing him back, Lady Tsunade. Now that you're here and taking care of him, maybe his skills will improve."
"You're welcome and I'll do my best," the blonde sanin replied, holding out her hand for the girl to shake. Ayame reciprocated the gesture, and Tsunade went to shake Teuchi's hand as well. Shizune introduced herself to the two ramen chef's and shook their hands too.
"Have a bowl of ramen lady Tsuande. You too Shizune. It's on the house," Teuchi offered. The two medical kunoichi graciously accepted and sat down to eat. In contrast to his previous visits, the Uzumaki boy had only one bowl this time. That was because he'd eaten his fill of seafood at the casino and drank his fill of fruit juice. Shizune made sure the food preppers didn't slip anything into his food. When they were still outside of Konoha, both of them made sure Naruto ate a balanced breakfast of eggs, ham, cereal, apples, and French toast.
Once was every was done, and the blond jinchurikki said goodbye to his friends, he led his two female caretakers to his familar lonely swing.
"I never had someone push me on it before. Would you mind…?"
"No I wouldn't."
"Neither would I."
Tsunade and Shizune took turns pushing the boy on the swing, switching places every sixty seconds. One of them warded off glares from villagers while the other played with Uzumaki. Not everyone was hateful, some were pleased at the sight. From the shadows, Kurenai and Asuma watched the women and boy carefully. If people knew they were Uzumaki's bodyguards, they might find a way to get around their protection, so observing from a distance was the wisest choice.
"Excuse me lady Tsunade," said a male medical ninja in uniform.
"We could use your help at the hospital," he said while bowing in reverence.
"Sure thing," the Sanin replied. Then she turned to her apprentice and said, "Shizune, watch Naruto for me."
"We'll do it," said Asuma's voice as he and Kurenai made their presence known.
His female partner said, "It's a pleasure to meet you my lady," acting as though she and her boyfriend hadn't already met Tsunade.
"And your apprentice," the Hokage's son said. After telling Naruto their names and shaking his hand again, the duo were warned what would happen if they hurt or allowed the blonde boy to be hurt, and getting their reassurance that neither would happen, Shizune and Tsunade left.
"Do you want to play on the swing some more or would you like to do something different with us?" The Black-haired Red-eyed beauty asked him. Naruto replied that he'd swung enough; he and his two previous companions had been at the tree for sixty minutes.
"Well's then let's get some meat," Asuma said and bent down backwards in front of Naruto's swing seat.
"Hop on Kid," the chronic smoker said. Uzumaki complied after a brief hesitation. The younger Sarutobi stood up and started walking with Kurenai following.
As expected, most of the other villagers looked at the sight with bewilderment. Unlike with Tsunade and Shizune, two Shinobi directly confronted him and his lover.
"Asuma why in the world are you carrying that thing?"
"You two are dishonoring yourselves by having anything to do with that monster."
In a flash, the Hokage's son punched both shinobi, one bald and one with a pony tail, one tan and one with pale skin, in the stomachs.
"Naruto Uzumaki is NOT a monster and NOT a thing. He is a human male child, and you will treat him as such, or leave him the hell alone!"
Most Konohans got the message, but one drunk woman, whose inhibitions were lowered, said contemptuously, "He's no boy, he's just taken the form of one. Everyone knows that brat is really the n-"
She was cut off as Kurenai slammed her left knee into the woman's throat, crushing her trachea. The hateful lady coughed up blood onto her khaki shorts and shirt and collapsed clutching her throat. Yuuhi then pointedly looked at the other leaf residents as if to say, "You want some?!"
They all hastily retreated. Afterwards Kurenai suggested to Asuma that they take to the rooftops. He agreed. As they speedily jumped and landed, Naruto expressed his joy.
"No one's ever let me ride on their back before, fast or slow. This rocks!"
"Glad to hear it son."
"Hey Naruto," Kurenai interjected.
"Have you told Lady Tsunade about your dream?"
"No way! After what happened to her fiancee and little brother, I don't want to retraumatize her or make her change her mind about training me."
"Never thought I'd here you use complicated words, Naruto," Kurenai remarked.
"I'm smarter than I look Kurenai sensei, I just don't like complicated things."
"I know why you want that position Naruto," Asuma cut in.
"But you shouldn't be trying to gain anyone's approval. People should respect you for who you are, not what you're title is. And you should know that everyone in Konoha doesn't respect the Third Hokage. A better idea would be to gather the people who don't judge or despise you and protect them . You could even create your own village or clan."
Naruto took the older man's words to heart, though it didn't rid him of his desire to be loved and accepted by the village. It was a great contradiction that he both despised and sought praise from the Leaf village.
'What would I call my own clan or village?' he thought. Looking up at the Sun in the afternoon sky, a lightbulb went off in Uzumaki's head.
"I know what I'll call them!" he shouted getting both Shinobi's attention.
"Taiyo gakure no sato and the Taiyo clan!
"Village hidden by the sun? Great name!" Kurenai commented.
"I'm going to make the flag white with a red circle, after your beautiful red eyes and white dress," Naruto replied.
The Genjustu mistress blushed involuntarily. Asuma just smiled. Eventually, the three arrived at a grilling restaurant with hamburgers, hotdogs, beef steaks, turkey, and chicken.
"That smells really good," Naruto opined.
" Yes it does," Asuma replied.
"Let's go in."
All eyes turned to the three as they entered the grill. Asuma stared them down and sternly asked, "Are we going to have a problem here?"
Everyone looked away, and a male waiter came up to them.
"Asuma, Kurenai, young Naruto, welcome. Follow me please."
The man's smile towards Naruto wasn't fake, and all three were glad that the Uzumaki boy had found another unbiased villager. They sat at a booth. A minute later, a waitress walked up to them and asked,
"Can I get you three something to drink?"
"A ginger ale for me," the younger Sarutobi replied.
"Root Beer for me," Yuhi replied.
"Chocolate milk please?"
She nodded and left. Then a pigtailed red-haired Jonin approached their table. Instead of expressing hatred towards Naruto, she asked the two ninja, "I thought Tsunade was watching him, what are you two doing….?"
"Lady Tsunade asked us to be his bodyguards, to prevent any future attacks on his physical well-being," Kurenai interjected.
"My father needed someone he could trust," Asuma added.
"That's great, now he has four people looking out for him!"
Reaching forward and patting the boy's head, the woman smiled and said, " Your fortune has changed Naruto, good for you."
In another minute, the waitress came back with all of their drinks. After placing them down, she said, "Now what I can I get y-"
"Drink it," Asuma abruptly commanded.
"What?"
"Drink the milk you brought him. And don't ask why, you know why!" the son of the Hokage repeated with a glare. Kurenai's eyes widened as she realized what he was saying and hadn't considered someone trying to poison Naruto. The woman nodded with a neutral face, and without hesitation, opened her mouth and poured some of Uzumaki's drink into it. The ninja waited for thirty seconds before nodding at the waitress.
"Glad to see two people looking out for him."
"Let's take him to the hospital just in case it's a slow acting poison," Kureni whospered to her future husband, who agreed.
"We'll do it after were done eating. Plus I think the nine tails would stop any damage from being done," Asuma said.
"Now, what would you like two eat Naruto?" she asked the eight year-old Jinchurikki with a warm smile. He stared at her in awe, having rarely been the recipient of such a gesture, or any like it.
/
"Lady Tsunade, Miss Shizune, two Shinobi are here to see you," a voice over the Hospital intercom announced. The two knew who it was immediately and were just doing lab work, so they could afford to stop. Going to the building's lobby, they met Kurenai and Asuma.
"Is there something wrong with him you two?" Shizune asked in a concerned tone. Asuma blurted out the situation, after which Tsunade demanded a physical description of the waitress.
"If she poisoned my boy, I'll wring her neck!" the Sanin snarled. Bringing Naruto, who was still awake but being carried by the Genjutsu mistress, to a spare room, she laid him down on the bed, lifted up his jacket and shirt and her hands glowed with green chakra.
"This is a diagnostic justu Naruto," Tsunade explained.
"I send chakra through your body and it sends signals back to me. If something is wrong, being damaged, or not working properly, it will let me know. Understand?"
"Yes Tsunade-sama," the boy said smiling. Then Shizune cut in.
"It's what you'll be learning after you perfect your chakra control Naruto-kun."
"Got it Shizune-san."
"I'm surprised you're so polite Naruto. Let me guess, it's because of her super strength and notoriously short temper ?" Asuma asked with a smirk and raised eyebrow.
"Absolutely!" Naruto answered honestly.
"Before we left for the Leaf , I asked Miss Tsunade to demonstrate her power to me, and she cut a tree in half with her pinky! I won't say or do anything I even think will piss her off!"
"Wise choice kid, but you still need some lessons in etiquette, protocol, and manners."
"Whatever you say Miss Shizune."
The slug sanin pressed her hands to his belly and he sighed at the calming sensation. After twenty seconds, she ceased her technique and said, "It's all good!"
"That's great!" both of his bodyguards said. Then Tsunade asked the two soul-mates to go find Hiruzen and ask him to create a supression seal for the Uzumaki child.
"It shouldn't be a problem for the God of Shinobi," she said referencing his famous nickname.
They both bowed and said, "As you wish my lady," before using the Shunshin (body flicker) technique to disappear. The Shziune took out a scroll and gave it to Naruto. It's first page read "The layman's guide to Medicine and Medical Ninjutsu."
"This will tell you everything you need to know about what Medics like the two of us do Naruto, in simple, easy-to-understand language."
"You'd better get started kid."
"What?! Homework?! Now?!" Naruto asked the blonde shinobi incredulously. Tsunade simply smirked and said, "You could always spar with me instead."
The boy in front of her paled, and quickly sat down and started absorbing knowledge. Shizune chuckled and said, "I can tell your one of those folks who doesn't like to sit still or study. You prefer hands-on and on-the-job training. But written words and reading material are crucial in our line of work."
"I understand Shizune," Naruto agreed reluctantly. Then he felt her hand grab his chin and turn his face towards her.
"Aren't you forgetting something Naruto-kun?" Tsunade's apprentice asked in a sickeningly sweet tone of voice with a smile to match.
"I mean, I understand Shizune-san! Dang, you're as scary as Lady Tsunade," Naruto stated sweating bullets.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
/
By the time Naruto finished the scroll, he was mentally exhausted and fell asleep, flopping down he was sitting on. Both of his Guardians watched over him like a Hawk, not taking any chances in a building full of dangerous ninja who knew how to harm as well as heal the human body. Their three least least favorite Leaf nin soon walked into their room.
"What do you three want?!"
"Always straight to the point, aren't you Tsunade-hime (princess)," Danzo said in a sarcastic tone.
"We'll just come out and say it. We think it best that you not train Naruto as a Shinobi," Homura interjected.
"You both know about what's inside of him. If he becomes a shinobi, he may inadvertently, willingly when he finds out about, or be forced by someone else into using the Kyuubi no Yoko's chakra. When that happens, he, someone he cares about, or innocent bystanders/civilians may end up dead or injured," Koharu added.
"Unlike you three, me and Shizune have faith in the boy. Hopefully he won't use it, but if he does, he'll be able to control it. Am I wrong?" Tsunade asked gazing at her apprentice.
"No you're not Tsunade-sama," said woman replied shaking her head.
Tsunade smiled at her, then turned to the three elders and said, "Is there anything else? If not, I think you should leave."
"As you wish princess. But know this; if you're faith in Naruto Uzumaki is misplaced, any damage he inflicts on others or himself will be your responsibility," Danzo warned.
"Get Out NOW!"
All three promptly exited the hospital room at the slug Sanin's command. The sun was setting outside now. The third Hokage suddenly appeared in the window sill and Shizune bowed in reverence.
"No need for that Shizune, and Tsunade I had the seal made. Here are the instructions on how to impose and remove it," Saurtobi said handing her a small scroll.
"Thanks old timer," the Senju mistress said gratefully.
End of second chapter.