Chapter 36

Jiraiya walked on, into the heart of the town where he happened upon a little bar, and on a stool sat Tsunade. He moved next to her, sitting down and ordering some sake.

"Nice night, isn't it?" Jiraiya prompted some conversation from the women who seemed content to just ignore him.

"Hm." Tsunade mumbled. "Say, Jiraiya . . . what really made you go and seek out Naruto? I thought you were content behind the scenes with him?"

Jiraiya drank from a cup, "Not exactly. You see, I met him when he was young, for he was trying to master fuinjutsu…." Jiraiya recounted the tale of when he met his godson for the first time. After the tale was finished, Tsunade hummed in realization.

"So you're doing it because he guilt tripped you?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "No…well, partially. I failed with my duty as his godfather before, this was the best chance I would ever get to make it up to him. I wasn't about to just let it go. Minato trusted me with his legacy."

"And your fool of a student just left him without so much as a by your leave." Tsunade grunted.

"No . . . he did say to treat the boy as a hero." Jiraiya defended.

Tsunade dismissively waved a hand and scoffed, "Just empty words!"

"Quite enraged on his behalf aren't you?" Jiraiya teased.

"Well . . . his mother and I were friends, weren't we? Certainly we were blood related. In a distant sense, he's family." Tsunade mumbled out her excuses.

"Family, right. Certainly looks like family." Jiraiya agreed.

Tsunade glared at Jiraiya. She knew where he was going with that look comment. "Oh yes, I did in fact notice quite the resemblance between him and Nawaki, you manipulative asshole."

"Guilty as charged." Jiraiya allowed. "Blasts from the past all around this week, huh?"

"Hmph, seems you and Orochimaru are just gunning for my weak spots. Bastard actually had his lackey cut open his hand and I froze." Tsunade grumbled.

"Still got that fear, huh? Too bad . . . take it as an omen for whatever Orochimaru has offered you." Jiraiya recommended.

"How do you know he offered me anything?" Tsunade demanded with an affronted expression. Jiraiya couldn't possibly know what was going through her mind now! She knew Orochimaru was a bastard . . . but when he offered to bring back Dan and Nawaki, even she had to stumble a little.

"Hime, whatever it was, it is serious enough for you to give it thought like this. Otherwise you wouldn't be sticking around, right?" Jiraiya guessed. Though Tsunade gave no appearance of it, just returned to nursing her sake, he knew very well.

"It's none of my business, it might be true." Jiraiya went on, "but I just want to make one thing clear. If you betray Konoha, I'll kill you myself." He pinned her with a dark look, intent clear in his eyes, and Tsunade knew he wasn't joking.

Tsunade thought back to the time when Naruto had called her trash. She knew exactly where he was coming from. Obviously, they were Kakashi's words, taken from his late comrade, Obito. Those who abandon the rules were trash, but those who abandon their comrades were worse than trash. He wasn't wrong at all. After a minute of thinking, she finalized her decision.

Jiraiya went back to drinking, not noticing that Tsunade had discreetly slipped a drug into his drink.

XXXXXXX

Naruto's prediction was only partly false. It took him a total of four days to form a rasengan with one hand within an instant. Not only that, but he had mastered it so that he could do it with both hands. In addition to that, he had managed to learn and master the Kanashibari no jutsu (Temporary paralysis technique) with the help of Jiraiya and his shadow clones.

Shadow clones were so awesome!

Kanashibari was a jutsu that physically immobilized targets, as though they have been tied down by invisible ropes. However, the jutsu was only as powerful as its user. Naruto, with the help of Jiraiya and Kurama, was able to estimate that he was powerful enough to restrain most jonin with it, but he would have trouble restraining someone of Jiraiya's power. Jiraiya seemed to have some strange chakra that was powerful enough to counter his own, which was saying something since his chakra was incredibly dense and filled with a large amount of vitality, as is the norm for most Uzumaki.

Anyways, the usual way to use it is physical contact, but Jiraiya proved himself why he was an undisputed spymaster, for he taught him how to use that jutsu with just eye contact. It was incredibly difficult to mold and project the chakra through just eye contact. But Naruto's chakra control was refined enough that he was able to master it to that degree, though that took him the whole week to do it. Not that he was complaining.

Freezing his enemies with literally nothing more than a glance was badass.

Right now, he was wolfing down a well-deserved meal of ramen from a stand he had found. While it wasn't as good as Ichiraku's, it was ramen all the same. As he was in the process of polishing off his seventh bowl, he sensed a chakra signature coming, and immediately knew who it was.

"Fancy seeing you here, Shizune-san. How's it going?"

Shizune greeted him with a smile, "I'm fine, Naruto-kun. How about you?"

Naruto put down the empty bowl with a sigh of satisfaction. "I'm eating a well-deserved +3meal after training. You gotta admit, hard work is bitter, but the results of it are just as sweet, if not more!"

Shizune smiled and nodded. "They are. Naruto-kun, I was hoping to talk to you about the bet you made with Tsunade-sama," she requested.

Naruto made a contemplative face and stood up. He put some money on the counter and turned to her, "Let's take a walk."

They roamed in the streets, with Naruto keeping a constant lookout for eavesdroppers. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Please drop your bet with Tsunade-sama," she implored. "If not for her sake, at least for your own life. You see, the necklace that she offered you….it's cursed."

An amused smile lit up on his lips, "Cursed, you say? And pray tell, how exactly is it cursed?"

Shizune informed him in a solemn voice. "Whoever receives the necklace dies the very next day."

Naruto shook his head, "That sounds like a load of crap."

Shizune cried out earnestly, "But it's true! Her own brother and lover both dies after they received the necklace! Please, give up the bet."

Naruto sighed and turned to her, stopping their little walk. "First of all, I can't do that. Giving up has never been my way of doing things. Second, I have already accomplished what I told your master, but seeing we're in quite a busy place right now, the rasengan will have to wait until later."

Shizune wanted to protest more, but seeing the look on Naruto's face, she heaved a big sigh. "Very well, if you are so set on it. Tsunade-sama can't be found right now, so it will be better tomorrow. What will you do now?"

Naruto made a thinking face, "I don't know…." Then his face lit up with a smile as he turned to her, "How about we go for ice-cream? My treat, since I'm feeling really good today."

Shizune giggled, "Are you treating me to a date?"

Naruto smirked as she hooked her arm around his, "It's not a date, for your own sake. Otherwise, I would have to call you a cradle robber."

Shizune made a mock affronted face as they set off to get ice cream.

After a good night's rest, Naruto was up and fully rested. He cleaned up and dressed up as usual, without his vest or hitai-ate, and was about to head to the hot springs for one last time, when Shizune burst into his room, panting and looking very frantic.

"Where is Jiraiya-sama?!" she asked, sounding extremely harried.

Naruto was used to Jiraiya's random disappearances, so he just shrugged. "Beats me. What's the matter, though?"

"Orochimaru offered Tsunade-sama something in return for Tsunade-sama's unique, self-healing jutsu. I fear she's gone to accept the offer. Naruto, we must hurry and stop her!" Shizune explained in a rush as she moved to the window.

'Unique self-healing jutsu? Is that what the seal on her forehead is all about?' Naruto wondered as he followed Shizune. His danger sense rang just as she opened the window, and he pulled her back just in time for the kunai to whiz past the spot where she was a second ago.

Shizune yelped as she was pulled back, a hand on her upper back preventing her from falling over on her butt. She looked back to see Naruto's face set in an exasperated expression. However, the confusion that followed soon turned into slight panic as Naruto himself leaned out of the window.

"LOOK WHERE YOU ARE AIMING AT, YOU SENILE, PERVERTED OLD MAN!"

She leaned out of the window herself to see the man she was looking for. Naruto jumped out of the window himself, face frowned in confusion. "Who the hell managed to get a jump on you?"

Jiraiya was panting heavily, and his skin was covered with sweat as he gripped onto the window frame like it was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Damn Tsunade….drugged my drink. The effects will wear off soon, but not soon enough for the fight….Naruto, can I count on you to help me out with this?" Jiraiya ground out, looking at the blonde.

Naruto nodded as he passed a jug of water to the man. Jiraiya gratefully nodded at him and chugged down the whole thing within a minute. He gave a sigh of relief, muttering, "That's better."

However, Naruto still hadn't dropped his guard. He was sensing a highly suppressed chakra signature a few rooftops away. And it seemed to be slightly familiar, with that feeling of snakes coating from it. Without any warning, he threw three shuriken in the air, which looped mid-air to converge on the position of the spy. All three of them spotted a slight movement as the spy fled away quickly.

Shizune asked, "Who was that?!"

Naruto muttered as he walked to his backpack, "Whoever it was, I have a feeling we'll be seeing him soon enough."

He took out his hitai-ate, taking off the sash and wrapping the headband back on his head. He did not have time to take off his jacket and switch it with the vest. Shizune and Jiraiya were ready to go, even if the latter hadn't fully recovered. He gave a nod of approval for shooing away the spy.

"Let's go!" She said as she jumped out of the window. Naruto and Jiraiya easily followed suit. They spotted a faint dust cloud in the distance, and were able to hear the low, thunderous noises of something getting smashed. They all arrived at an open field, with Shizune sighing in relief and Jiraiya grinning- whatever Orochimaru had offered Tsunade, she had refused.

Running a little further, they arrived at the fight. They weren't surprised to see Orochimaru and Tsunade fighting, the former's hands looking as if nothing happened to them, but Naruto's eyes narrowed as he spotted Kabuto.

He called out to the traitor. "Kabuto! You were the one who was spying on us, weren't you?"

"Indeed, Naruto-kun. You must be an accomplished sensor if you managed to sense me, for I was highly suppressing my chakra." Kabuto admitted with a chuckle.

"Enough of this!" Tsunade spat, flying forward to smash a fist into Kabuto's face. Kabuto smirked, and with his chakra scalpel in hand, sliced a large cut across his palm, right in front of Tsunade's face. The woman automatically froze, eyes wide and body trembling minutely.

"Tsunade?" Naruto questioned, and then his eyes went wide when Kabuto landed a vicious hit to her jaw, causing her to topple backwards."

Jiraiya grunted, "Damn it…it's hemophobia. Shizune, you handle Kabuto! Naruto, you will protect Tsunade! I'll take on Orochimaru." He ordered them, striding forward to meet the snake face.

Kabuto sneered, "Pathetic! What kind of a medic-nin is afraid of blood?" He was about to punch her in the face once more, when Shizune intercepted him. "Stay away from her!"

While she engaged Kabuto in a fight, Naruto flash stepped to Tsunade and crouched down to the still, shell shocked Tsunade. "Come on, this really looks pathetic. You are the foremost medic in the world! And just who allowed you to show him your weakness?!" He scolded her, and when he received no response, he rose up and took out two of his special kunai, ready to defend her in case Kabuto slips past Shizune.

On the other end of the field, Jiraiya was having a lot of trouble. His body had still not fully recovered, and Orochimaru was bearing down on him without any signs of slowing down. He sighed in slight relief when Orochimaru backed off from swinging the Kusanagi on him, but almost groaned at what he did next.

Orochimaru cut his thumb, and in the next moment, a large, brown snake appeared. Orochimaru grinned, "Ready to die, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya grit his teeth. His chakra control was pretty bad enough, and he couldn't risk calling the smaller toads here. He would just have to fight this another way it seems.

Naruto noticed his godfather in trouble, and was about to create a shadow clone to go and help him when the things got worse. Turns out, Kabuto had managed to catch Shizune's ankles with his chakra scalpels, catching her off guard with the headhunter technique. And now he that he was done with her, he was heading for Tsunade, who still hadn't snapped out of her shock.

Naruto mentally cursed and threw the kunai before his feet, flying through hand seals, ending on the tiger, a crimson barrier enveloping him and Tsunade. It was a moderate level barrier that protected the user from low to mid-level physical attacks, so Naruto had no problem holding it. Kabuto's hand, lit with a scalpel, sliced at the barrier. He flinched and jumped back, glaring at Naruto. "What is that?"

Naruto smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

In the corner of his eyes, he watched as Jiraiya buried the snake in an earth-style swamp, and then collapse onto a knee. He mentally cursed- Jiraiya still had yet to recover from the drug. If this kept going on, Jiraiya will be killed. Kabuto seemed to notice this as well, and wasted no time in taunting him.

His pleasant voice, slightly jeering, grated on his nerves. "It looks like Jiraiya-sama isn't faring quite well. It won't be long before Orochimaru-sama manages to kill him. What will you do, Naruto-kun? Save your master, or save the woman who doesn't even care what you think of her?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "You don't know what you are talking about. To answer your question," a smirk graced his lips, "I don't see why I can't do both."

Still holding the tiger sign, a shadow clone popped up beside him. He disengaged his right hand from the seal, forming a joint tiger seal with the left hand of the clone, thereby transferring the control of the barrier to the clone. He watched amusingly as Kabuto's face went right from triumphant to annoyed, having figured out his plan. Still, the traitor was gracious enough to praise him. "Your abilities in fuinjutsu are truly astounding, Naruto-kun. But how long do you think your clone can hold this barrier for you?"

Naruto smirked as he picked up his kunai. "Long enough." That was all he said before vanishing in a blue flash. Truth was, he had roughly twenty seconds before the clone dispelled itself, leaving Tsunade vulnerable to attacks. Not that his clone was weak, but if he had to dispose of Kabuto, he needed the element of surprise, along with a bait.

Kabuto cursed and immediately turned to where his master was fighting Jiraiya once again, with the sword of Kusanagi. "OROCHIMARU-SAMA! WATCH OUT!"

Orochimaru was having a blast fighting his old teammate. Jiraiya was slowly recovering, but he knew that at some point in this fight, Orochimaru will pull out the boss summon, and he would be helpless against Manda if he couldn't summon Gamabunta. The drug still wasn't completely out of his system, and he hated that damn sword!

Orochimaru was in mid-swing to cut off Jiraiya's head when he heard Kabuto's warning. At first, he didn't know what Kabuto was warning him about. He was fighting Jiraiya, Kabuto had disposed of Shizune, leaving Tsunade and-

Oh shit.

His epiphany came too late, as Naruto flashed right in front of him, blocking Jiraiya and his swing with a wind laced kunai. He had no time to block as Naruto completed his spin, crashing his left foot right into Orochimaru's left jaw, sending the snake Sannin flying back. He flipped in the air to land on his feet, but Naruto was already moving.

Or rather, his hands were. Naruto spoke nothing as he swiftly cut off the wind chakra, sliced a shallow cut on a surprised Jiraiya's thumb and wiped the blood on his own palm. Five rapid hand signs, and he and Jiraiya were standing on the head of the boss of toads.

Naruto had summoned Gamabunta with Jiraiya's blood.

Before Jiraiya could say anything to his godson, Naruto had flash stepped away. Jiraiya looked over to where Naruto had gone with wide eyes. Orochimaru was snarling in rage- Naruto had robbed him of too many valuable opportunities. His eyes widened as he watched what happened next.

Kabuto smirked as he gazed at the scowling shadow clone protecting Tsunade. He was not the one to stand idly while someone turned the tables against his master. He had created a shadow of himself to finish Shizune off. He was surprised though, when he saw the toad boss suddenly appear, but then again, Naruto was the apprentice of the toad sage. He looked back to see his shadow clone almost upon Shizune, the chakra scalpel heading for her open throat.

Fully expecting for her to get killed, he was shocked when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her, catching the shadow clone by the wrist and dispelling it with a well-placed hit. At the same time, he heard the pop sound of a shadow clone dispelling behind him. Looking back, the clone was gone, and so was the barrier protecting Tsunade.

Kabuto seized his chance and activated his scalpel, prepared to cut right at her throat. Just as the hand was about to reach its destination, another hand grabbed his by the wrist, stopping it in its tracks.

Kabuto was stunned when Naruto suddenly appeared before him, stopping his attacks. It happened too fast for him to comprehend- he had attacked the moment Naruto had attacked his clone. There was no way he was that fast to stop his attack so accurately! How did he even counter the instant that he appeared?! It made no sense!

Naruto flashed right to Tsunade's mark, his danger sense slowing down his perception to show the scalpel heading towards his side, since the previous target was now blocked by him. But he had no intention of letting that scalpel touch him. His left hand caught the wrist behind, stopping the advance. He saw shock fly across Kabuto's face, but he had no intention of letting his enemy regain his thought process.

With a little bit of force, he cleanly snapped Kabuto's wrist, the sound almost music to his ears.

Kabuto couldn't hold back the scream when Naruto broke the bone cleanly, his wrist bending forwards at an angle it really shouldn't. It was a surprise the bone didn't break out of the skin. He was given no chance to numb the pain with his healing ability, for suddenly, a whirling noise caught his attention.

By breaking Kabuto's wrist, Naruto ensured he wouldn't be able to block his next attack because of the sudden, high influx of pain. A rasengan formed in his right hand in an instant, spinning at high speed, slightly bigger than his hand and with a gleeful roar, he drove the spiraling sphere of chakra right into Kabuto's stomach. "RASENAGN!"

Naruto watched with a smirk as Kabuto flew back from the powerful attack, blood flying from his mouth. He flew back so far and fast that he smashed through a rock, breaking it into pieces and skidding backwards until he was stopped painfully by a second one. He fell forward on his stomach, yelping and coughing, the pain nearly overpowering. Doing an internal diagnosis, his eyes widened in extreme shock- he had broken more than a few bones, along with his torn and near liquified internal organs and muscles. The eyes widened further when he discovered that he couldn't heal as fast as usual! Just how strong was that jutsu?!

Naruto turned around to face Tsunade, who had seemed to finally snap out of her shock. She was still looking at him with fearful eyes, as if she was still looking at fresh blood. "What are you….."

Naruto held up a hand, "Wait a second." He flash stepped to Shizune, who was still unconscious, picked her up and flashed back. Tsunade choked upon seeing her unconscious apprentice. Naruto assured her, "Don't worry, she's just unconscious. I was able to stop Kabuto from killing her."

Tsunade hastily crawled over to Shizune, checking her pulse. It was a little weak, but thankfully it was still there…

"Kabuto managed to catch her ankles with his chakra scalpels. I only know that, not what happened before," Naruto's voice made her look at him, tears falling from her eyes. She looked back to Shizune, her hands glowing green. A tremendous weight seemed to leave her shoulders; Shizune did not require any immediate attention.

She shakily stood up and faced Naruto, who was smirking softly with his hands crossed. "You saw what I did, right? I win."

Tsunade's expression was of a surprise and relief, which turned into a shaky smile. She tightly hugged Naruto, ignoring the surprised grunt from the boy. After a long time, she sobbed like a little girl. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…." She didn't know what she would do without Shizune.

Naruto was surprised, but upon hearing her crying, he wrapped his arms around her. It was a surprise to see her crying, not at Shizune's state, but in relief. "It's ok….." he whispered, tenderly rubbing her back. If not for the situation, he would have had a nosebleed upon feeling those mounds against his chest. He figured that everyone needed an emotional outlet like this sometimes. Ironically, this was the second time he had a girl hugging him while crying because he saved someone who was close to her.

On the other side of the field, Orochimaru was cursing the brat for all his worth. Naruto had proven himself way too good to be left alive, if he was able to dispose of Kabuto in a single hit. "The brat you've taken on is quite good, huh Jiraiya?"

He was currently dodging attempts to either get squashed or sliced by the toad boss. Jiraiya sneered at Orochimaru, "Looks like your apprentice needs only one hit to be taken off the field, teme."

Orochimaru weighed his options. He could not let Kabuto be killed at any cost. The guy was too valuable with his medical knowledge, and he was the only one Orochimaru trusted with his secrets the most. But he could also not let Naruto live, for he was too good for his liking, and would no doubt give him trouble in the future, if Akatsuki got a hold of him. He needed to be taken care of right now as well.

'Looks like I don't have a choice,' he thought as he bit his thumb, preparing to summon the snake boss, Manda. In a flourish, the snake boss appeared, as sour as ever.

"Orochimaru! You dare to call me?! You better have my hundred sacrifices ready!"

Orochimaru chuckled, "Of course, Manda. I just thought you would like some toad meat today."

Manda glared at Gamabunta. "Disgusting toad!"

Gamabunta chuckled in mirth. "I'm sure my wife would love a snakeskin wallet!" With that, the two summons clashed in battle.

With Jiraiya's summon taken care of, Orochimaru immediately jumped off Manda, running for Tsunade and Naruto. Jiraiya cursed and leaped after him, hoping he could stop him in time. "NARUTO, WATCH OUT!"

Naruto, who was still rubbing Tsunade's back, snapped to attention at Jiraiya's warning. A second later, his danger sense rang loudly, alerting him of Orochimaru's approach. He was about to flash to a marker, but did not expect for Tsunade to disentangle from him, placing herself before him to shield the boy with her own body, and Orochimaru's sword ran right through her chest.

Both Naruto and Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock, and the latter retracted his sword. "It wasn't my intention to hurt you, Tsunade. Just move aside, my aim is the boy."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, his anger at the old woman's stupidity evaporating. It seemed that Orochimaru held two grudges against him now. The first was foiling his plans of Konoha, the second was almost killing Kabuto. His eyes then widened at Tsunade's next words.

"You won't touch him!" She snarled, wincing from the pain in her chest.

"Why do you defend him?" Orochimaru asked curiously.

"Because it's my responsibility from here on out…as the Godaime Hokage of Konoha!" She declared. A second later, she shot forward and punched the snake Sannin sending him flying.

She took a deep breath and formed the tiger seal. "Ninpo: Sozo Saisei!"

To Naruto and Orochimaru's wonder, the diamond on her forehead morphed and extended, forming tattoos around her face. Her wounds closed up and healed at an astounding rate, and she looked fully revitalized when she opened her eyes. Orochimaru was almost salivating as he witnessed the effects of the jutsu he had come for in action, while Naruto was gaping at the medical miracle Tsunade had pulled off.

What followed next was a battle of epic proportions. He witnessed firsthand, the power of three of the most powerful shinobi to come out of Konoha. 'No wonder they are called legendary,' he mused as he sat back and watched the show. Kabuto still hadn't managed to get up, so no worries there. Shizune regained consciousness somewhere when Tsunade was reintroducing Orochimaru to her fists, so that was also good. Unfortunately, she didn't have enough chakra to heal her ankles on her own.

The battle came to an end when Tsunade drove the Toad boss's tanto straight through the snake boss's mouth, pinning him to the ground. Orochimaru finally decided that he wasn't going to win this battle anytime, so he decided to flee. He looked over to where Kabuto was and winced- his right hand had barely managed to sit up and was only just managing to remain in his position. He body flickered to Kabuto, ready to assist him to flee. Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared before him, their summons disappearing as well, stance battle ready. He glared at them- he had taken way too many hits from Tsunade, and Jiraiya-baka had managed to give him a hard time as well. "Be stubborn if you wish, Tsunade- I have other ways to remain alive."

He then disappeared with Kabuto, gone as if he wasn't even there.

"Tch! I guess we won't be seeing him for a while, "Tsunade muttered, breathing deeply and walking towards Naruto. She was surprised and happy to note that Shizune was now conscious. Jiraiya and Naruto on the other hand, stared at Tsunade. In the fleeting moment that her seal had restored, they had managed to catch a glimpse of what she really looked like. She looked so old and fragile, much more so than Jiraiya. Was that the price of her technique?

She healed Shizune's ankles, allowing her to walk, albeit weakly, due to lightly chakra exhaustion. Jiraiya grinned and slapped Naruto on the back, throwing him a bit forward. "Damn brat, I don't give you enough credit! You took Kabuto out in just one hit! I haven't seen anyone move that fast since your father!"

Surprisingly, Tsunade also joined the conversation with high spirits. "So that was Hiraishin, wasn't it?"

Naruto smirked, "Wow, I'm surprised it took you so long to figure out, considering you yourself have a mark on you."

Naruto pointed the mark out to her on the side of her wrist, the place that no one usually sees with their own eyes. Tsunade suddenly looked scary and turned to Naruto, a fist shaking. "And just when were you planning to tell me that?"

Naruto kept smirking, "It slipped my mind…..baa-chan."

"Don't call me that, brat!"

Naruto laughed cheerfully as he easily avoided the swat of her hand, but Tsunade smiled fondly as she gazed at his face. 'He really is just like them.'

XXXXXXX

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, getting up and stretching after a good night's sleep. Jiraiya was already awake, sitting by his bed, smirking at him.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" He teased.

Naruto just raised an eyebrow in deadpan, not seeing the humor at all. He put the covers aside and got up, heading to the bathroom. "When are we leaving, ero-sennin?"

"Today. Shizune is downstairs, checking out. Tsunade is taking care of some last minute things. You freshen up though- we'll most likely leave in an hour," Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded and took his time to complete his morning duties. Twenty minutes later, he came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and another rubbing his hair dry. He sighed in relief- the hot shower was great in here. Jiraiya was just packing up his and Naruto's belongings, when the door opened to reveal Tsunade and Shizune.

Naruto raised a brow when Shizune suddenly went red in the face and faced away from him. He then smirked, but slowly put on his clothes. He innocently asked her, "Shizune nee-san, are you alright? You look a little red."

Jiraiya giggled perversely, but stopped as soon as Tsunade glared in his direction. Naruto mentally smirked, 'Whipped, for sure.' Tsunade turned to Shizune and whispered something in her ear, which caused the girl to utter a small meep and scuttle out of the room, a confused Tonton clutched tightly in her arms.

Naruto asked her curiously as he put on his shirt, "What did you whisper in her ear?"

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, "Just some lady talk. Nothing you need to be concerned about."

Naruto shrugged and unsealed his jonin vest and put it on, surprising Tsunade. "You are a jonin?!"

Naruto smirked, "Let me guess, you thought I was just a mere genin, right?"

Tsunade only nodded as she watched Naruto tie up his jaw length bangs and put on his hitai-ate. She barely held her gasp- Naruto looked a literal clone of his father!

She snapped herself out of shock and slowly walked towards him, surprising him hen she lightly brushed his cheek while looking into his eyes. She whispered, "You really do look just like your father…"

Naruto smiled as he gently removed her hand, "I would be worried if I didn't. I am his son, after all."

Tsunade smiled and nodded, taking off her necklace. She pulled it over Naruto's head, smiling slightly, "The necklace, as promised."

Naruto cradled the necklace, inspecting the crustal that hung. It gave off a strange feeling, a strong sense of contentment and soothing. "Who does this belong to anyway?"

Tsunade picked up her suitcase, "My grandfather, the Shodai Hokage."

Naruto, to his credit, only raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. No wonder it felt soothing- Senju Hashirama's Mokuton was capable of calming down tailed beasts, and Naruto strongly suspected that the bloodline limit had a much higher connection to something other than just earth and water.

Naruto slung on his big and moved to the window, "Let's go then!" He then promptly jumped out of it.

Tsunade lightly scowled, "He seems to have the same hate for doors like you, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya grinned, "Why use doors when you have windows?"

Tsunade gave a weary glance to her teammate as they walked downstairs. "Am I going to regret this?"

Jiraiya pondered on this and replied, "Mostly, yes. But deep down, you will know that it would be totally worth it."

They met Shizune and Naruto downstairs, who were making light talk. Naruto turned to Tsunade with a grin, "You better be prepared, for you have a lot of work to do when we get back to Konoha!"

"I'll take whatever you dish out brat!" Tsunade assured him with a smirk. Suddenly, she moved forward and gave him a soft peck on his forehead. Moving back, she saw the bewildered look on his face, accompanied by a bright blush. Naruto looked away from the group when he couldn't will it away.

"Besides, who's going to teach you how to be a proper Hokage if not me?" She challenged.

Naruto smiled at her high spirits. 'Looks like the will of fire still burns within her.' Out loud, he just waved his hand, "Hai, hai."

They all set off in high spirits, back home. The reward for bitter hard work really was sweet.

XXXXXXX

Hiruzen had gathered the council for a meeting to discuss the rather surprising offer he received from Sunagakure for the renewal of their alliance. After he dissolved the civilian council, what remained was the heads of various shinobi clan heads and the elders, Homura and Koharu, along with Danzo as well.

After reading the scroll out, he put it down, gauging the reactions of his council.

Koharu quietly commented, "This is certainly interesting. It seems our esteemed colleagues in Sunagakure wish to make amends for their foolishness."

Homura snorted, "Of course, they do. Recent reports suggest that Iwagakure is testing their borders. If they don't make amends with us, Iwa will crush them. However, we cannot let Iwa get a strategic advantage such as that, even if we have another flash among us now."

Surprising everyone, Danzo spoke up.

"It would be in our best interests to accept." Upon seeing the rest of the council look at him in mild shock, he internally and continued. "As you are all undoubtedly aware, I would prefer to simply crush them outright for their betrayal, but circumstances argue against it. Since we cannot punish them without drawing attention from other countries, especially Iwa, I see no harm in accepting a deal that will benefit Konohagakure far more than Sunagakure."

"Logically, you are correct, Danzo-san," Aburame Shibi droned in the usual Aburame monotone. "This offer does seem to be to our advantage, but I find your stance puzzling. You have always petitioned for Uzumaki to be trained by you as a weapon. Accepting this offer would seem to directly counter the position you've held for nearly a decade and a half."

Danzo considered how to respond and replied. "It is true that I wanted him to be trained as a weapon."

Hiruzen picked up on his friend's choice of words. "Wanted?"

Danzo knew what context his old rival was talking about. "Yes, wanted. At first, I had worries that he would grow up to be a weak, average shinobi or worse, a straight idiot. But he has proved his strength in the invasion, stopping a tailed beast very effectively without resorting to his own. He is the second coming of his father."

That was all he needed to say on the subject. It was a well known fact just how much Namikaze Minato was feared. While the short term he was Hokage, no nation dared to make a move against Konoha. If Konoha had someone who was just as powerful as the Yondaime, he could sleep without any worry.

"Moving on," he cleared his throat, "Sunagakure is now offering the daughter of their late Kazekage - by all reports a powerful kunoichi in making – in marriage to Uzumaki." He smiled grimly, "I suspect that Sunagakure has discovered the boy's heritage."

"Troublesome," muttered Shikaku. "If they hadn't discovered Uzumaki's heritage, this deal would be completely in our favor. I remember this Temari girl from the exam- she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. On top of that, she is a very proficient wind style user, which is quite rare in Konoha. The deal is evened out if they know Naruto's heritage. Marrying the children of two kage will produce exceptionally powerful children, not counting the fact that Naruto is the Kyuubi's jinchuriki and his children will no doubt be influenced by its power. But they don't know that."

Everyone sat back to consider his words and examine the agendas behind the offer. Hiruzen, meanwhile, was contemplating what effect would this have on Naruto. He was asking for a lot from Naruto by asking him to do this. He was sacrificing the boy's chance at love by arranging a marriage for him with a person he didn't even know. A huge weight suddenly made itself known on his shoulders, and he sighed in sadness. Sometimes, he hated being the Hokage. Decisions such as these, putting the good of the village before his shinobi, made him sick to the bone. He knew Naruto would never forgive him for this.

"At this point, I don't see any option but to accept this offer. It is slanted too far in our favor to decline without tipping our hand regarding the boy's heritage. If we chose to decline by announcing that heritage, I have no doubt Kumogakure, and ESPECIALLY Iwagakure, would react unfavorably," he announced with a heavy heart.

"We also need the boy to produce more Uzumaki, as possible future containers for the Kyuubi, if not outright shinobi for our future ranks," Danzo added, but before he could continue, a heavy, potent killing intent flooded the room.

"You are going too far, Danzo." Hiruzen whispered with narrowed eyes. "We already have placed a heavy burden on him by making the jinchuriki against his will, which he knows, mind you. He knows his heritage, and he knows that that his own father cursed him to this life. I think I can safely say on his behalf that he would sooner set the Kyuubi free rather than making his own progeny the jailors of the beast."

Danzo grit his teeth, "He will do what is asked of him by the village!"

Hiruzen snapped back, "And I have no intention of asking him to do that! I'm also sure that neither does the next Hokage! Remember Danzo," he warned his rival, "If you push him too far, you will lose him. For him, his family will always come before the village." Until he becomes Hokage, that is went unsaid.

Danzo put his blank mask on again, but he was seething inside. Uzumaki's children would have made some very valuable additions to his ranks of root, but it seemed Hiruzen wasn't willing to go that far. Looked like he would just have to wait for a few years.

Hiruzen turned to the council, "Since we are in agreement, let us send our response."