111 Returning To Konoha

After convincing Tsunade, Jun hesitated to personally look for Jiraiya right away. He canceled his Shadow Clone jutsu and recovered the memories of the clone. He felt a wave of fatigue as he reviewed the memories from the clone. A particular memory grabbed Jun's attention. It was a conversation between Jiraiya and the Uchiha's clone. His clone had mentioned to the Sannin that he was planning to take Tsunade back to Konoha. Jiraiya was so shocked that he immediately set out to see it with his own eyes.

Jun let Tsunade know Jiraiya was also coming back. He still couldn't believe Tsunade accepted to return with him. But here she was with Shizune on their way to Konoha. He had succeeded in his mission. He was very happy about it.

They talked a little about Jiraiya. Tsunade noticed that Jun was calling him Jiraiya-sensei. Jun thus learned some funny anecdotes that he would gladly use against Jiraiya when he sees him again. Then the conversation drifted on more sensitive topics, such as Yamato and his Mokuton. Orochimaru, too. And then… The Sandaime. Or rather his future as a Hokage.

"I know the Council will try to push the responsibility onto me, Uchiha. I'm not naive."

Jun's innocently shrugged his shoulders.

"You said it, not me," Jun replied

"You didn't need to say anything," the Sannin retorted with disdain. "It's pretty obvious. Bringing me back to Konoha to help you change the village? You're smart enough to know others don't care about that? Sarutobi-sensei is old; I know he needs a successor."

Jun turned his head to look at her. He tried to avoid the subject as much as possible, but since she brought it up of her own volition…

"And you will do it?"

"No," Tsunade replied.

Jun's shoulders sank. His hopes for her to become Hokage after the Hiruzen Sarutobi went down the drain.

"Are you sure?" He insisted anyway.

Tsunade gave him a smirk.

"Absolutely. I think you'd make a great fifth Hokage, though."

Jun laughed nervously.

"You must be Joking; I'm too young, Lady Tsunade."

"No more than the Yondaime," the Sannin retorted. "Also, don't you think it's about time a Uchiha leads the village? Your clan founded Konoha just as much as the Senju. My grandfather always told me that. Most people believe the village was founded by Hashirama Senju. But he didn't do it alone. Without Ma… well you know who, he couldn't have created the village alone. I also like the idea of having a Uchiha in charge for a change. Let's see what you can do. The day the geezers from the Council ask me to become Hokage, I will nominate you."

She looked dead serious about it. Jun slowed the pace, horrified at the thought that the Sannin would put her threat to execution. No, she wouldn't dare. Nobody would want a Uchiha leading the village, anyway. And yet Jun couldn't help but have a bad feeling.

He hastily searched for ways to change the subject and glanced around at Shizune. Tsunade's apprentice wasn't hostile, but she hardly spoke. Was she shy? Or was it because she didn't trust him? Jun didn't want to be paranoid. To break the ice, he turned to Shizune and asked in a natural tone.

"I didn't think about asking you the question, but are you okay with coming back to Konoha?"

Shizune looked a little caught off guard.

"I'll go wherever Lady Tsunade goes. I have no problem with Konoha."

"You could have, you've been gone for… a while."

"I had just become Chunin back then. I was Lady Tsunade's apprentice for a couple of months when she told me she was leaving.

"And you followed her?" Jun enquired. "That's very loyal. I'm not sure my students would do that."

Karin, Neji, Tenten, Shin… They all had some connections to the village. People they loved, people they would refuse to leave behind. Maybe Karin would follow him… Neji? It was hard to say. Tenten and Shin? He had no idea.

"You have students?" Tsunade asked in a surprised air.

"Four. Karin Uzumaki is my apprentice in Fuinjutsu. And I'm the Jonin-sensei of Neji Hyuga, Shin, and Tenten…"

Jun began to talk about his students. One could feel he was passionate about them. Karin had a unique personality character, but so much determination! Neji was a prodigy, unsurpassed in his Gentle Fist. Tenten had an innate talent for weapons, and her versatility in ninjutsu promised her a bright future. 

Shin had overcome so much hardship with his past and his health problems, and he had come so far. From there, the conversation drifted on to Jun's other kids. Kazuma, his little brother, was gifted with taijutsu and shurikens as well as Ninjutsu… especially the Katon. Izumi, his little sister, the only Uchiha medic-nin of their generation. The grumpy and tormented Sasuke… who was so gifted, so full of potential. And then his friends, Iruka, Kanna, Miyamoto, Natsumi, Susumu, Anko…

Jun talked about what Konoha meant to him. He talked about people he cared about and the progress they made. The Academy and its reforms, with emphasis on teamwork, more history lessons… The ANBU and its system of command, and the way the Root had been dissolved. The new police department and their non-lethal techniques… the way Shiba-sensei was trying to promote the skills of medic-ninjas within the police.

The village was already very different from the one that Tsunade Senju had left behind. Of course, since she had left years ago. But most of the changes were recent. And the majority was born from Jun's influence. He hadn't done it alone. All the merit went to the people with the power to make these changes. But the Uchiha was there in the background, giving ideas or paving the way.

Tsunade had asked to show her how he could change the village. However, it was a challenge he had been facing for a few years already. 

At the end of the second day of travel, as they approached Konoha, the conversation drifted to the immediate future of the village… what Tsunade would have to face when she returned. Jun described Konoha and its changes as well as a few things… The approaching Chunin exam…The fact that the Kazekage would be there. Suna was on the verge of a coup and the one behind it would be there as well. 

And then there was the fact that Kiri would have a new Mizukage, and he may be present as well during the exam… to forge alliances but also perhaps to get back some immigrants of the Land of Water who lived in Konoha for several years. In a nutshell, the exam would definitely be eventful.

However, there was one thing Jun couldn't say… the fact that Orochimaru would attack Konoha during the Chunin exam. No one knew that. The Division was preparing for the possibility things may get heated because of all the parties coming to the exam and their political environment. But they weren't expecting Orochimaru. And how could they? 

Jun had found no credible way to warn Shikaku, because, to his great frustration, he had found no evidence. The snake was a master at covering his tracks. But did he need to warn them? He didn't even know if it would happen for sure in this timeline. The world had already changed so much. Orochimaru was lying lower than what Jun expected. He wasn't so sure of Orochimaru's motivations in this timeline. 

Jun didn't know if Orochimaru had met Itachi. He didn't know if Itachi had joined the Akatsuki. He didn't know if Orochimaru was going to continue his quest for the Sharingan in Konoha ... And if he was, would he still dare to go after Sasuke now that he had a clan to defend him, though it wasn't on the same scale as the former Uchiha clan. Or would he come after Jun, the only one in the clan to be known to have the Sharingan? The idea wasn't very reassuring. Just thinking about it, Jun felt a cold sweat bead behind his back.

"Among the three of you Sannins, which one is the strongest?" Jun suddenly asked.

"Hmm It's not an easy question to answer. When we were at the Academy, I guess Orochimaru was overall the strongest… unless I managed to land a hit on him. But now, it's hard to tell. We know each other fighting techniques and tendencies. One on-one, any of us three would have trouble defeating the others." Tsunade answered. "But why did you ask?"

"Well since I beat you in arm wrestling, I was wondering how I measure up to the others Sannins." Jun lied.

He wanted to get an idea of Orochimaru's power.

Jun suddenly felt a presence near him and before he could react, a powerful kick sent him crashing against a tree. Jun barely had the time to put his guard up to block the blow. Tsunade was standing not far away from him.

"You're talking big, yet a mere kick sent you flying."

Jun rolled his eyes.

"Anyone would be sent flying by such a kick… That was a sneak attack." He replied getting up.

"That's exactly why I said you were talking big. Orochimaru and Jiraiya wouldn't have been caught off guard by that attack. Orochimaru would have dodged it. His instincts and flexibility are uncanny. And Jiraiya… even if he was fooling around, he would have blocked it without getting blown away. To send those two flying, I need to put more effort into it…"

The Uchiha clan leader sighed. He needed to reassess the Sannins's level. He was the most powerful ninja of his clan. Probably one of Konoha's most powerful jonins. But he wasn't sure if he was at Orochimaru's level yet. Even by using his Mangekyo Sharingan, he didn't know if he could kill the snake. And yet, if he had to stand between him and Sasuke, Jun wouldn't hesitate. He had people to protect, and he would give his best to defend them. 

The return to Konoha passed quickly. Tsunade wasn't always good company; she had her unpredictable personality, but Shizune was there to calm her down. Though Shizune tended to be a bit in retreat behind them most of the time. Jun felt a little uncertain about her. While Tsunade was straightforward, Shizune was the type to beat around the bush and evade questions. After four days of travel, Jun didn't learn a single thing about her he didn't know before. She was way too private for Jun's taste.

The shinobis finally arrived at the gates of the village. Jun was looking forward to going home, taking a nice hot bath, and seeing his siblings and students again. But he wasn't the only one.

"Tsunaaadee!"

Jiraya seemed to fall from the sky, in all his glory and his usual loud voice. He grabbed Tsunade by the waist and hugged him in a burst of joy. The Senju generously granted him a few seconds before crushing his foot, which made Jiraya let go of her groaning in pain while hopping in a circle. Jun had trouble holding his laugh. It wasn't every day one gets to see the gallant Jiraiya acting in such a way. With those two around, the Uchiha clan leader believed he would be very entertained.

"Tsunade, why?" He asked with big eyes.

"Stop acting like a fool! And what are you doing here?"

"What? I obviously came to see you."

"And you had to wait for me to come back to the village for that?! Am I that hard to find? Even this Uchiha had no trouble finding me… Are you telling me you're lacking compared to him?"

"Haha, you must understand… I was very busy… I had a lot of research to do."

"You never change… still acting like a kid"

Jiraiya finally seemed to have noticed Jun.

"Ah, the little Jun Uchiha! You have grown up since the last time I saw you. I had a nice talk with the clone you sent after me."

Jun looked up at the sky. This guy would never change. But, while Jun had always found Jiraiya irritating because of his personality of seemingly never taking anything seriously… He couldn't help but feel happy to see him. 

"I was fourteen when you last saw me, sensei. I may have changed a lot, but you haven't changed a bit."

Jiraiya burst out laughing and ruffled his hair vigorously. Jun was so surprised that he let him do it. When he had been his pupil, Jiraiya had never been this affectionate before.

"I'm glad to see you, kid. And... Thank you for bringing Tsunade back."

"I'm no longer a kid. And I didn't bring Lady Tsunade back for you." Jun said with a smile.

"You'll always be a kid in my eyes." Jiraiya laughed. "And thanks to you, I get to see Tsunade again."

How long had Jiraya and Tsunade not seen each other? Years, no doubt. Jiraya was a powerful ninja, but he also had his own issues like the rest of the veterans in this village. Jun had forgotten it because it was so much easier to see in him only a clown who overplayed his pervy side ... But Jiraya had experienced two wars, had lost friends, and thought he also lost the students he trained during the last war in Amegakure. But what probably pained him the most was the death of his favorite disciple, Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, and the betrayal of the one he considered his best friend, Orochimaru.

"Tsunade!" Jiraya called, turning to the Senju. "Come on, we have to celebrate. Let's get something to drink. It's my treat."

Tsunade seemed to think about it, but Jun could sense she was also happy to see her old teammate and catch up. She patted him on the back. Jiraiya almost fell over on the ground.

"Alright, let's go. Let's see if you still hold your liquor like a kid." She said

Then she turned to Jun, and he quickly shook his head. He didn't know if Tsunade was going to invite him to come along. In any case, he had plans.

"You guys have fun! I need to go see my family and make sure they haven't set our house on fire in my absence. I also need to check up on my students to make sure they're not slacking off. We can see each other tomorrow if you want. I still have something to give you." Jun hinted at the kunai with Itachi's blood.

Tsunade nodded understandingly and pushed Jiraiya forward. They were headed to the nearest bar. Shizune looked at the sky powerlessly and followed them. Jun sighed and walked home.

He knew it was too early to relax. The Chunin exam was coming. Sasuke would soon go on a mission to the land of the Waves, Orochimaru would attack, and there were a whole bunch of potential problems with the new Mizukage… There was so much in his mind and yet Jun hadn't thought about future problems, such as the Akatsuki. But he just came back from an important mission… and deserved a little rest.