Chapter 94 : Ultimatum (1)
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A couple things you should know:
Tsunade hasn't read Naruto's newest Bingo Book entry.
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I see before me a shadow of her former self. She was the greatest, most powerful kunoichi the Elemental Nations has ever seen, and if she chooses the right path, I will remind her of this.
She is Senju Tsunade, the Slug Sannin of Konohagakure no Sato.
It is time she started acting like it again.
It's time the monster showed her the light.
...
Two figures stood outside a pub within Tanzaku-gai, a lively town known for its gambling opportunities and fine women. Behind them, the sounds of the ongoing festival filled their ears. It was dark; the sun having set an hour ago, and the gentle breeze was cool.
"I figured she'd be in a place like this." Jiraiya of the Sannin spoke in a knowing tone, his features as a man who accepted the inevitable.
"Let's go," Uzumaki Naruto began, taking a step into the pub.
"Listen, kid," Jiraiya started, "Tsunade… she's not herself." His tone was hesitant. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei. "She's lost everyone she's ever loved to the shinobi lifestyle," he explained.
"I haven't spoken to her in a while, but I think she may be a bit… cynical."
Naruto gave a small smile. "I will let you take the lead, sensei." He said. "I will stay silent until I am needed." Jiraiya gave his student a look of gratefulness, sending him the emotion the best he could.
He loved how Naruto didn't need words. Words were too complicated. One slip up, one misunderstanding, and relationships could be torn apart forever.
Taking a second to center himself, Jiraiya pushed through the doors of the bar/restaurant. The moment he stepped in, he was greeted by warm walls and a multitude of tables, sectioned off by red dividers. The air smelt heavy of grease and sake, which, considering where they were wasn't a surprise.
It literally took five seconds for him to spot the woman he was looking for, as she was sitting at a table facing the entrance.
"Tsunade!" he shouted in a cheery tone, completely masking his emotions.
A woman with blond hair and bronze eyes suddenly stood, her cheeks hinting at a small "buzzed blush".
"Jiraiya?!" she called out.
Taking their time, student and teacher walked to the woman. Her table was littered with sake bottles, and the young woman sitting next to her – with a pig in her arms, oddly enough – looked a little nervous. The two sat down without preamble, ordering a drink.
A few minutes of silence passed before the drinks were served. Tsunade and Jiraiya gulped down sake, while Naruto just smiled back at the nervous woman accompanying the slug Sannin.
After taking a rather large gulp of liquor, Tsunade sighed deeply. "In any case…" she began in a slightly tired voice. "Today is a day I see many old friends."
Jiraiya leaned over the table, pouring what was left in the sake jar into his longtime friend's cup, before downing what was left in his own. He was quiet for a second before he spoke. "You mean Orochimaru..."
The woman next to the blonde-haired kunoichi visibly flinched, her eyes widening slightly.
"What happened?" Jiraiya asked in a commanding voice.
Unknown to the others, Naruto had gone deathly still, his mind racing with thoughts of murder and rage. Even the mention of the bastard who killed his jiji made him incredibly furious. It didn't matter if he was alive again. The fact that he was even injured by the traitorous snake angered him. He kept his emotions in check, staying silent like he promised his sensei.
He respected Jiraiya more than most, despite their friendly banter. He had taught him many important things, jutsu and life lessons alike.
Tsunade gave the black-haired woman a pointed look, one that told her to keep her mouth shut.
"Nothing, really." The slug princess began. "We exchanged a greeting."
A lie, Naruto could tell.
The last Senju pulled out a deck of cards from her blouse, flipping through the cards like it was second nature. She then placed the deck on the table.
"What about you?" She asked. "What do you want from me?"
Jiraiya picked up the cards. "I'll be straight with you." He began as he started to shuffle the deck. He finished shuffling, before placing the deck back on the table, pushing it slightly in Tsunade's direction.
"Tsunade, it is the will of the village that you become the Godaime Hokage."
The "legendary sucker" had been reaching for the deck while he spoke, and when he finished, she froze, her hand hovering over the cards. Naruto was still silent, keeping his promise to stay quiet until he was needed.
The woman to Tsunade's right, however, expressed her shock through her body language, and the little pig that had been munching on food paused, oinking in a questioning way, as if it knew what was being said.
Jiraiya crossed his arms, waiting for a response, while Naruto just took in the storm of emotions that the woman was feeling.
And then, like nothing had even been said, Tsunade started dealing the cards, staying silent.
When both Sannin held five cards, Jiraiya looked the woman in the eyes. "Did you know about the Sandaime Hokage?"
Tsunade picked up her five cards, giving them a short look. "Orochimaru did it, right?" She asked in a calm tone. "I heard about it…" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Directly from him." she stated. Naruto almost wanted to chuckle. The woman was holding some information back.
"I'll say it again, Tsunade." Jiraiya continued, ignoring her apparent conversing with the enemy. "Konoha needs you to take the mantle of Hokage." His face was the picture of seriousness. "Will you accept?"
The medic-nin felt emotions so powerful, Naruto could almost read her mind.
"I'll bring your beloved little brother and man back to life." The words had a distinctly grotesque feel to them, obviously the words of a serpent.
Images of a man with hair such a light blue that it practically glowed alongside a boy with a huge smile on his face flashed through her mind, Naruto feeling them they were that strong.
The kunoichi just stared at her cards before throwing them onto the table, face down, and giving her fellow Sannin a somewhat dirty look.
"Impossible." She stated in a cold voice. "I refuse."
Everyone was quiet, including Naruto, as Tsunade just stared at Jiraiya, her gaze determined.
The toad Sannin, as it was, just smiled. "I remember… those words." He said. "You said those same words when I asked you to go out with me."
Naruto sighed at his sensei's nonsense, somewhat annoyed how this conversation was going. He had been compared to the woman on many occasions. Apparently, his chakra control was rivaled by only Senju Tsunade-hime. Tales of her valiant efforts in the wars and her incomparable battle medic prowess were always his favorite to hear about from his godfather.
But, the woman before him seemed like a drunken, for lack of a better word, bitch.
Catching the sigh, the blonde-haired woman turned to him, raising a delicate eyebrow. "Who's the gaki?" she asked.
Naruto had enough. Jiraiya opened his mouth to speak, but Naruto beat him to it. "I'm the Kamikage," he stated in a stoic manner, "Maybe you've heard of me." He added, tired of the woman's sarcasm.
Not used to being in the presence of so many powerful and famous people, Shizune, the woman accompanying Tsunade, froze. Not only had she finally met all three of the Sannin, but now she was in the presence of the Bringer of Hope.
Tsunade, being her usual stubborn self, showed no recognition to his name. "Unlike your previous apprentice, this kid is quite arrogant." She said with a smirk.
Naruto just chuckled softly. She thought she could hide from him. Inside, the slug-hime was just as shocked as Shizune.
"It's tough on anyone to be compared to the Yondaime Hokage." Jiraiya started with a smirk of his own, only Naruto and himself knowing why. "He had all the qualities to be the greatest ninja in all history." Naruto smiled.
"Brimming with talent in jutsu, and he had a brilliant mind!" He then gave off a smug look.
"Popular with people and well… he was as handsome as me."
"But even that Yondaime Hokage died quickly." Tsunade stated suddenly. Naruto gave her a glare that could kill, not that she noticed from behind her cards.
"Risking his own life for the village…" she stared at her cards and continued. "Life is different from money…" Shizune looked like she disagreed with what her shishou was about to say.
"To easily risk it and lose it is a fools doing!"
Below the table, Naruto clenched his fists.
Tsunade continued. "Both my grandfather and the Nidaime Hokage seemed to want to subdue the disturbances of war above all else." She was giving a small smirk that held nothing but contempt. "But after all, they died in vain, in the midst of their dreams for the village."
Jiraiya cast a glance at Naruto, knowing that Tsunade was on thin ice with the way she spoke. He then looked to Tsunade, a disappointed expression marring his face.
"You have changed, Tsunade…" Jiraiya started. "I don't know what you thought in your heart before, but to say such a thing out loud…"
Tsunade just smiled a humorous smile, placing her chin on her hand. "Although I look young, I'm already in my fifties..." Her eyes were closed as she spoke.
"Years change people." She opened her bronze orbs to stare into Jiraiya's black ones. "Same goes for Sarutobi-sensei." Naruto felt the words she was about to utter before they even left her tongue. "No wonder he died showing off at that old age."
Jiraiya scowled, while Naruto tried with all his willpower to hold back. The woman was speaking against god, after all. Tsunade felt her fellow blond's anger towards her. She stared at him blankly before returning to her cards.
Apparently, her cards weren't to her liking, because she sighed deeply, before she leaned her head back against the wall.
"Hokage is a bother." She spoke those ugly words into existence. "No one but a fool would take it on."
As soon as she spoke such blasphemy, all hell broke loose in the pub.
Naruto snapped.
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