chapter 22

A Fight Amongst Sannin

Disclaimer: I don't even own an orange jumpsuit.

It had taken them awhile to get to the meeting point due to Shizune needing to heal Jiraiya a bit to keep him going, and heal her own stomach where Tsunade had punched her to knock her out earlier. Neither injury was life threatening, but having them healed would give them a better fighting chance in the battle to come. They knew even before they hit the dirt road that they were too late. Their fears were confirmed as they saw the newly wrecked wall and the obvious path leading through it.

"Looks like we won't have to use Tonton to track them after all, whatever the gaki and Orochimaru said must have pissed her off. I haven't seen craters like that for decades..."

Shizune stood wide-eyed at the destruction before them. "Hai, I haven't seen her this mad since those Yakuza tried to openly peek on her in the hot springs."

Memories of his own run in with Tsunade at the hot springs made Jiraiya shudder involuntarily. "Well, not much we can do standing around here. Let's get going."

"Right." The two shot through the hole in the wall, following the numerous areas where the landscape had been recently remodeled. They only slightly lost the trail a couple of times, which was easily remedied by walking over the crest of the next hill or standing on a large rock or tree nearby.

"*Huff*...*Huff*...Stop running you bastard! I'm going to make you into a stain on the grass!" Tsunade yelled out in rage.

'Yeah that'll keep him in one spot.' Naruto just rolled his eyes from his hiding spot behind a large boulder not too far away.

"Why Tsunade, you seem tired. Is old age finally starting to creep up on you?" The Hebi-sannin was forced to dodge again as a chakra powered hammer fist was brought down where he once stood. 'If one of those even scrapes me it'll be game over...' Before he had time to think further she was after him again.

This time it was Kabuto who reacted as he took out a kunai and...sliced his own hand right in front of Tsunade's face. As soon as the crimson liquid enterred the woman's sight she collapsed in a heap. 'The hell?' Naruto thought as he hadn't seen any actual attack. He continued to watch as Kabuto simply punted the slug princess away from the pair.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk Tsunade. Still afraid of a little blood? What kind of medic are you? Now I don't even have to lift a finger...not that I can. Kabuto, take care of her please." Orochimaru decided to take a front row seat in order to watch the show as Kabuto proceeded to hit and kick Tsunade around the plains.

'Shit...Hemophobia? Didn't expect that from a legendary medic. Come on Ero-Sennin, we could really use you here about now. If this keeps up much longer we're going to need a legendary medic for Tsunade...aw screw it.' Naruto couldn't watch such a one sided fight anymore, so he quietly made a dozen clones and ordered them to fan out. This wasn't the time for a rash charge. Kabuto was still an unknown, and for all they knew he could simply level the area and take them all out. Grabbing a few shuriken, he got ready to head into the fray just as Kabuto was kicking Tsunade in his direction. As soon as he deemed them close enough he launched his attack. Kunai, shuriken and senbon rained towards Kabuto and Orochimaru forcing them to back off as Naruto rushed in to grab Tsunade.

"It's that brat! Kabuto kill Tsunade now!" Orochimaru ordered, to which his assistant readily obeyed. Kabuto dodged and weaved through the hail of steel as he made his way towards the, still downed, sannin. He quickly made a chakra scalpel as he neared, but was denied his target when a new wave of shuriken came at him from directly in front. As if that weren't bad enough he had to deal with the extra effect of fighting against someone who had access to the leaf's more formidable jutsu.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" It was a little risky but he had to do it. Naruto just prayed that Tsunade would stay down long enough for the attack to pass over her. It was a needless worry though as she was still frozen from the blood, some of which was now her own due to a busted lip and bleeding nose. As the attack passed over her, Naruto didn't waste a second. He grabbed her and slung her over a shoulder, not bothering to watch as Kabuto was forced to retreat and dodge the massive wall of bladed metal headed his way. The clones he had spaced out previously now went on the offensive as they rushed the two Oto-nin in order to give Naruto and his charge time to run.

The bunshin weren't really a match for Kabuto and only served as a minor annoyance to Orochimaru himself, but they served their purpose. When the two ninja looked up they were just in time to see their target's back disappear behind a hill leading back towards the town. "He plans to meet up with Jiraiya. Quickly Kabuto, after them." The Hebi-sannin ordered as the two bounded after the weighed down genin. It didn't take them long to catch up due to his burden, but they also didn't like what they saw when they did. About an equal distance away from Naruto, and closing in, were Jiraiya and Shizune. "Dammit. Kabuto, you will engage Shizune and Naruto-kun while I deal with Jiraiya. Tsunade should not be a threat so ignore her."

"Hai lord." Kabuto readied his chakra scalpels once again and prepared to charge while Orochimaru caught Jiraiya's eye and moved in from the opposite side. Due to the old pervert's current limitation, he and Shizune were a little slower in their approach, causing all parties to meet at the same time.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." Naruto was running as hard as he could towards the only friendly people in the field as he listened to Kabuto getting closer. He saw Shizune step to her left and grab something under her sleeve indicating she was ready to attack, so he made a break for her since his sensei seemed to be preoccupied with the more dangerous opponent. Breaking to her right he saw her raise her arm out of the corner of his eye, revealing a senbon launcher not unlike the one he had given to Kurenai. He couldn't watch the actual attack though as he bolted past and made some distance between himself and the battle.

Satisfied that they were, for the most part, out of danger he set Tsunade down behind some rocks to give her at least some protection. "Now is not the time for your fears to be acting up hime. Get a hold of yourself!" *Whack* He smacked the dazed sannin across the face, but she made no move to retaliate. Instead she just lolled her head back into position until she was staring at the blood on her hands. Naruto growled in frustration until a yelp of surprise brought his attention back to the fight. Shizune had just taken a hit from Kabuto and she was now holding her stomach the same way she had been that morning. "Fine. You stay here and cry about a little bit of liquid and I'll go save the ass of your precious apprentice, ok?" He got no response, but he hadn't expected one either.

Shizune was having a rather difficult time in her fight. She had to give her opponent credit though, his fighting as a med-nin was top notch and he threw in some nasty kicks. The most recent attack had hit her in the small intestine, just below the stomach, and it definitely didn't feel like a massage. Even in glancing it was going to leave a bruise. She saw that he wasn't going to give her a chance to recuperate though as he renewed his assault. It wasn't that she wasn't good at fighting, but she was worried about her sensei and friend. When she'd seen Naruto rushing towards them with her on his back she feared the worst, but when she saw Orochimaru and his henchman pursuing it allowed her a little relief. After all, why would they pursue Naruto if Tsunade was already taken care off. She was dashed from her thoughts as someone landed beside her and made a slash at Kabuto only for the boy to back away.

"Shizune, you could have told us Tsunade has Hemophobia. It was bad enough that they knew, but it almost cost her, her life." Naruto scolded as he sized up their opponent. "You're Yakushi Kabuto from the chūnin exams. I see you're finally showing your true colors, traitor."

"I'm hurt Naruto-kun. I'm not a traitor. After all, I was never actually loyal to that weak village you come from. Orochimaru-sama has been my lord for a long time."

"Tsch. As if it makes a difference now. Your master failed and was forced to run away with his tail between his legs, and now he can't even bribe one woman into healing his ruined arms. You know, if you had just offered her money instead of some twisted resurrection, she probably would have been putty in your hands by now. Instead you chose a sick perversion that will cost you your lives."

Kabuto didn't take the bait. He remained as calm as ever, his smile creeping them out a bit as he readied himself to strike. "Well if I'm going to die now, I would really hate for it to be of old age." Further charging his scalpels he rushed the two to engage.

Naruto sheathed his ninja-to as it would do little against a completely chakra based weapon. Instead he opted for ninjutsu as he flew through hand seals. "Fūton: Soyokaze!" A gentle breeze seemed to wash over the area putting the grey haired youth on guard for anything.

Kabuto started to laugh a bit as the breeze ruffled his hair. "Is that all Naruto-kun? You're attacks were more impressive during the exams." He continued his attack as though nothing were wrong as Naruto began a new set of seals, and Shizune prepared to attack with her own scalpels if he got too close.

Naruto finished his seals with tiger. "Ninpo: Ensho..." It was a combo technique of Katon along with the Fūton that was already in place and it's effects were immediate.

The soft breeze surrounding Kabuto turned into a sweltering sauna as beads of sweat began to form and drip off his face. They watch as he began to pant from the new exertion it was taking him to move, but he was still able to function. To prove that point he charged once again, this time aiming for Naruto as he was now deemed the larger threat. "I suppose I shouldn't have underestimated you after watching you fight, Naruto-kun, but this little bit of heat will not deter me from completing Orochimaru-sama's goals." His attack was once again thwarted as Shizune showed up in his path, slicing her arm down. He jumped to the side of the attack and landed his own on her forearm, cutting some of the muscle and making her wince from the pain. The small distraction was enough for him to land a kick to her ribs, causing her to roll out of his way.

Seeing he was open to attack now, Naruto turned to different tactics. Bringing his ninja-to back out, he now hoped that his kenjutsu was better than Kabuto's taijutsu or he would be in for a whole lot of pain. There was little time to think on such things though as his opponent rushed right to him and took a swing. He was able to dodge the fast strike, barely, and now knew that this had disaster written all over it. He couldn't block the scalpel for fear of his own blade being cut in two, and attacking would result in the same if Kabuto blocked his strikes. He could run chakra through the weapon to even the field a bit but if Kabuto had more control over him than it would make little difference, and considering he had never pushed chakra through a normal weapon before it was pretty much guaranteed that his control over the technique would be shoddy at best. All he could hope for would be to dodge until Kabuto gave him a glaring opening.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he gave that opening first and Kabuto seized it. With a double palm thrust Naruto was thrown backwards into a rock, hitting it hard enough to make an audible smacking sound. Had that been a normal attack he might have been able to push the pain aside and hop right back up, but Kabuto still had his scalpel's active and as such he had cut through some of the muscle in the blond's chest. Naruto groaned as he sat up, then immediately tossed to the side and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Jiraiya wasn't fairing much better. Sure he had the advantage of having all of his limbs mobile, but they might as well have been useless for all the chakra control he had at the moment. Since neither could use jutsu to any real effect, they settled on a taijutsu match. The problem in that was that Orochimaru was always the better of the two at hand to hand combat. Even with his arms swinging around uselessly he was able to fend off Jiraiya's attacks with ease though he still managed a scrape or two.

"Come Jiraiya-kun, you know it's pointless to play these games so how about stepping it up a notch?" With a retching motion Orochimaru brought up his Kusanagi while Jiraiya made some distance.

"So from taijutsu to kenjutsu. That isn't much of a change up teme." The hermit looked warily at the blade. He knew all too well the power it possessed. One wrong move and he'd be right alongside his sensei.

"Oh I'm sure you would just love to go into ninjutsu, but with your chakra all messed up that isn't really an option now is it?" The snake sannin laughed at his foe's obvious discomfort. "Oh come now Jiraiya-kun, you didn't really think I couldn't sense that did you? Your chakra is fluctuating like Tsunade's temper. I'd be surprised if you could even cast a decent D-rank right now."

The Otokage's taunts ran Jiraiya's patience thin, but he managed to keep a level head. "There's more than one way to skin a snake, and I plan on showing you all of them, traitor." Diving into his own pouch he dug out a couple kunai. They wouldn't do anything against the legendary blade, but it was a far cry better than trying to stop the thing with his bare hands. He managed a meager guard against Orochimaru's first strike and was able to push it away as he stepped in closer. Dodging the second strike he swung his left arm, but his own attack was blocked as the tongue holding the Kusanagi wrapped around his wrist. The elongated muscle jerked him off his feet and threw him into a boulder away from his attacker.

With Jiraiya temporarily dealt with the snake checked on the other fight going on. He watched with glee as Kabuto's strike hit and the jinchūriki was thrown back. When the teen was almost on him again he saw Shizune charge in to intervene. He was about to do the same, but a strong kick to his head proved that he had other matters to deal with. "Well, attacking when my attention was elsewhere. You surprise me Jiraiya. I thought you were a little more noble than that."

"We haven't seen each other in decades freak. Things change. Next time it'll be a kunai instead of my foot, so keep your attention off my apprentice."

"So it is true then. You made Naruto-kun your little follower. I admit the boy is surprisingly intelligent, which makes me wonder why he'd agree to learn from an oaf like you."

"Well unfortunately we can't all have secondary reasons for attracting little boys to our causes. Some of us actually want to teach them rather than enslave them."

"My, my, you assume much Jiraiya-kun. Immortality does have it's downsides you know, but you needn't know about those since it isn't a path someone like you would follow. No, you will wither and die one day while I will be around forever. Don't worry though, I'll make a nice little memorial for you to go along with all the other insignificant bugs that I've crushed along with sensei and Tsunade."

That was enough for the toad sage as he rushed in once again until metal met metal in a shower of sparks. The Kusanagi easily cut through one kunai, but with its lost momentum it was blocked and turned aside by the second, which in turn was followed up by the broken blade being tossed into Orochimaru's face as Jiraiya once again made some distance while digging out another kunai. The broken kunai he had thrown bounced harmlessly off his opponent's face before the man realized there was a sizzling tag on it's handle. Unfortunately he noticed it with enough time to leap away and put up a hasty guard, keeping the damage to a minimum.

"You're just full of tricks today Jiraiya-kun. I'm going to enjoy watching them all fail fruitlessly." The man just growled back as he brandished his new kunai and got ready for another assault.

Kabuto started to advance on the injured Naruto but was blocked as a black blur shot in front of his target. As soon as she appeared, Shizune grabbed Naruto and shot a couple senbon at their opponent. It didn't do as much as she'd hoped it would since he easily sidestepped them all but at least it kept him from moving forward before she could jump away with Naruto. She wouldn't have much time with Kabuto on their heels, but she managed to start her diagnostics jutsu, but when she went to start looking over Naruto she found her charge no longer in her arms. She almost screamed as she looked back and realized that no one was following her either. Jumping on top of the closest rock she soon found out exactly what happened.

Naruto was able to see behind Shizune when she picked him up. He watched as Kabuto shot towards the side instead of following them and instantly knew what he was planning. Since the medic was too busy starting her jutsu he simply slipped out of her grip and went after the older teen, cutting him off before he could round the next boulder with a solid kick to the ribs. He could feel a couple crack under the pressure and grinned as Kabuto went skidding back the way he came. He had a problem though. His muscles were still torn and the pain made it difficult to breath. Sweating from the exertion he just put on himself he was forced to take a knee as his target was getting back to his feet.

"I admit I'm surprised Naruto-kun. Not many could bare the pain of such damage. Yet here you are, not only taking the pain so well but also able to attack back. Though I must admit you looked a bit winded." The teen's voice was jeering and matched his smile as a glowing hand went to his side to fix the damage that had been done.

"Yeah well...when you've live a life...like mine...pain is pretty much your...closest friend." The blond struggled to his feet again as he got ready for anything. He was already in bad shape, but he could push through this pain. He'd done it before, many times.

Kabuto charged him again, but again was interrupted when Shizune appeared in front of him. "Naruto what were you thinking?! You can't fight like that!" She watched out of the corner of her eye as the boy next to her slumped a bit before readjusting his stance and straightening back up.

"And if I had let him go he would have killed Tsunade and the old man wouldn't get healed. Fuck that. I'm not risking the life of the first person who protected me just so I can have a more comfortable fight." He spat out another globule of blood off to the side as he glared at the grey haired youth before them.

As if an unheard command hit them, the two boys flew at each other and started to exchange blows. Kabuto, with his chakra scalpels active, slashed and stabbed at his foe as he tried to do as much damage as possible. Still under the effects of the boy's jutsu though, he was quickly beginning to tire. His clothes were already soaked with sweat and his glasses had steam and water droplets obscuring his vision. Still he was able to fight and push the blond.

Naruto on the other hand was only constrained by pain, and that was something he could deal with even though it was a bit distracting. His main goal at this point was to not let the cutting chakra on his opponent's hands touch any part of his body. His best bet at doing that was to block the older boy at the wrists or forearms, the fact that Kabuto had longer arms made it a little easier once he got in close. Even with his above average taijutsu though, he still managed to get hit a few times. He now sported a few cuts along his own forearms as well as more muscles torn in his lower left ribcage and right calf. The latter was a surprising strike and had made him stumble enough to give Kabuto a wide opening on his heart.

Seeing the opening the older teen shot a hand forward with the intent on completely incapacitating his opponent, but to his aggravation, or pleasure depending on how you look at it, he found himself cutting into a female's chest instead. A loud, high pitched scream was heard as his victim felt the pain rip through her before she collapsed. Taking a moment to consider the situation, Kabuto stepped back and admired his handiwork. It appeared that Tsunade's apprentice, seeing his intent, had stepped into the strike and took the deadly blow for the boy. Of course because she wasn't lined up exactly the same way due to their size difference and general positioning, the hit ended up in a non-lethal area...as long as she got healed soon. With the blood dropping from her torn clothing though, and the only readily available medic having Hemophobia, it wasn't likely that she would live past the day.

"Shizune!" Naruto caught the woman as she fell so she wouldn't take more damage. He looked into her eyes in confusion. "Why?"

Shizune coughed up a little of her own blood before answering. "Because...you remind me so much of...Dan. I just...saw him in you...and couldn't stop." She winced as the pain got to be too much.

Naruto made two clones and handed the girl off to them. They simply nodded and headed over towards where Tsunade was most likely still curled up in a ball. It was a long shot, but it would be the only hope the girl had. When the clones were out of sight amongst the rocks he took a deep breath, once again pushing the pain aside easily since it was lessened at this point thanks to his own healing, before settling his gaze on Kabuto. "I may have only known Shizune for a little while, but she is one of the few who has never acted cold towards me. You'll pay for what you did to her asshole." He created another four clones as he took his stance again, waving the ever confident Kabuto to him.

"Tsk, tsk Naruto-kun. You should have taken the momentary reprieve to rest yourself. I'm sure your injuries could have used the break. It doesn't matter either way though." Kabuto charged in, intent on taking the boy out of the fight for good. What he got was another look at Naruto's jutsu repertoire.

"Suiton: Teppōdama!" Three water bullets shot from Naruto's mouth and headed for Kabuto. One straight for him and one towards his sides, forcing him into the air to avoid the barrage. "Suiton: Teppōdama!" The older teen looked up, shocked at his opponent's repeated attack. Now that he was in the air it would be extremely difficult to dodge the same attack. Seeing five water orbs headed his way this time he quickly formed his chakra scalpels to slice through them. There were too many though and the fourth one hit his dead center making him fly away from the blond, but at least causing the last bullet to miss.

Naruto wasted no time and rushed over to where his clones had taken Shizune to check her situation.

Tsunade was still on her knees, staring at the blood on her hands and shaking when Naruto's clones arrived with Shizune. She barely registered the thump of the other woman's body hitting the ground in front of her, a fact that greatly annoyed the boy. "Hey Baa-san time to get to work! Shizune-san needs you now so snap out of it!" The only reaction he got in return was her blinking. "...Oi! I said your apprentice is hurt. If you don't help her now she might die!" Still no reaction. He looked worriedly between the sannin and her charge before nodding his head in determination. *SMACK*

The slug princess blinked in surprise, wondering why her cheek suddenly stung so much. She dazedly turned her head to see a furious looking Naruto staring at her. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She saw him frantically pointing at something on the ground nearby so she turned her head that way. What was laying there? A ninja, it seemed so familiar. A female with short, dark hair and black clothes. Where had she seen this person...Flashbacks of her travels came to her with vision of a little girl turning into a woman standing next to her, her apprentice..."Shizune!" Suddenly the idea of blood didn't seem so bad now that another precious person to her looked to be in pain. She turned to one of the clones and glared at him. "What the hell did you do to her!" She demanded.

"She got injured fighting the ninja that you ran away from, and if you don't do something fast she's going to be nothing but a pile of cells!" His retort earned him a punch in the face and a return to oblivion as Tsunade unleashed her rage on him.

"How dare you even insinuate it's my fault. Get out of here before I take you out too." She yelled at the other clone as she turned to her downed apprentice, quickly running through diagnostics to figure out what was wrong.

"She was hit by a chakra blade. I don't know how bad it is, but it should be the only hit she took. If you concentrate where the..." The clone never finished as he was kicked out of existence as well.

"Who the hell is the legendary medic here? I don't healing advice from a runt like you." The sannin growled out as she got to work on the injured area. She was too proud to admit that she had been so flustered that she was completely skipping the possible mortal wound in favor of doing a full scan of the woman. 'I won't let another one die. Not this time!' She became so focused on her work that she never noticed the figure creeping up behind her.

Kabuto was blown right into the fight between Jiraiya and Orochimaru as they met at another standstill. The two sannin were rather shocked at the sudden appearance, but for Orochimaru this turned out to be just what he needed to end the stalemate. He jumped over to the recovering teen and helped him up by yanking him off the ground with a tongue wrapped around his neck. "Kabuto-kun, how nice of you to join us. Judging by your manner of entry I would say that you are having a bit of trouble with your fight."

"Apologies Orochimaru-sama. They managed to catch me off guard. It won't happen again." Before he could run off again he was stopped by a slight spike of killing intent.

"Now Kabuto-kun, how could you leave without giving me a present." Orochimaru made his intentions known as he held out one of his arms. Getting the idea, Kabuto pushed up the sleeve of his master's shirt revealing a black snake tattoo. With an apology he went through hand seals for his master and assisted him in summoning two large snakes to their aide.

Hissing was as far as the two giants got though. "Doton: Yomi Numa!" Jiraiya was able to capture them in his swamp, but only partially as the technique stopped when his chakra control dipped too low. 'Shit, Tsunade couldn't have picked a worse time to think she knew what was best.' Jiraiya assessed the damage done. While the snakes could still move their heads, they were going to be held stationary in the mire until the chakra sustaining what was there dissipated. Running through his seals he tried his own summoning. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" His own summoning was noticeably smaller and made the man curse his old crush once again.

"Jiraiya?" The summoned toad looked at his summoner then to his most likely opponent. "...I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but I don't think I was the best choice for this one."

The hermit just sweat-dropped. "Yeah, no kidding. Look Tsunade screwed up my chakra so instead of getting Gamabunta I got you. I don't expect you to fight it, it can't move right now anyway. I may need your help though once Orochimaru comes back down, at least with his assistant. We just need to bide our time until I have enough control back to summon Gamabunta. Think you can handle that?"

The toad spat on the ground in disgust at hearing the rogue sannin's name. "I should be able to hold them off for a bit, but if it's that man's apprentice I don't know how long I'll be able to last."

"Just try your best and...Oh, shit!" Jiraiya ducked for cover as Orochimaru swung under the giant snake's neck by his tongue. Had he realized that the traitor wasn't aiming for him he may have tossed an attack, but now it was too late and he could only watch as the pendulum neared the peak of it's arch and the shape at the end flew off in the direction where Tsunade was at. For all he knew the woman could still be freaking out and he couldn't count out that both of their students were injured, though based on Kabuto's entry to the scene at least one of them had to still be alive. Even if they weren't hurt though, they would be no match for the traitor. "Gama, let's go!"

"Sorry Jiraiya...A little busy here." Jiraiya looked over to see the toad currently in battle with Kabuto. "Little punk wanted to take our backs."

Kabuto pressed his kunai harder into the amphibian's armored bracer as he grinned. "I can't let you interfere with Orochimaru-sama's plans."

"Too bad kid. Go Jiraiya!" With a heave Gama pushed Kabuto's blade back and gave him a swift kick in the stomach sending him tumbling backwards.

"Thanks Gama, fight defensive." The toad just croaked in response letting the sannin know that the time for words was over. Not looking back, he jumped to the nearest boulder and bounded across the plains towards his goal.

Shizune was starting to stabilize and was thankfully out of danger for now. She still had a lot of work to do though to make sure there wouldn't be any lasting damage. Tsunade was so intent on healing her apprentice that she never noticed the person behind her until they were standing in front of them and she heard a loud clang of metal. Looking up from her work she found herself staring at the back of a blond head. The shaking of the body told her that whoever the person was up against was giving him a rather difficult time. Peering around the body she laid her eyes upon another person who made her snarl.

Before man or boy could get the upper hand, the choice was made for them. Naruto was harshly thrown sideways into a nearby boulder. His scream of pain was completely ignored by his assaulter though while Orochimaru simply grinned evilly at his original target. "Why Tsunade-hime, it seems that you've overcome your fear of blood somewhat. Such a pity, I guess this may be a challenge after all." Inside he was seething a bit for multiple reasons. First was that he had planned on using the woman's weaknesses to get the better of her. Then there was his other former teammate showing up and neutralizing his summon, though only partially. Finally there was the little blond brat. The same brat that had helped the Hokage during the invasion had now cost him a free healing of his arms. Not only that but he stopped another easy kill on his blond teammate. What was the little hero going to come up with next?

"Sorry to disappoint, but nobody, and I mean nobody hurts my precious people and gets away with it."

"And yet you just smacked the kid into a rock..."

Tsunade looked over to where Naruto was starting to shakily get to his feet and sneered. "It's his fault I have to go back to that detestable village. He deserves at least that much."

"My, my. Such a harsh attitude for a princess don't you think? That's ok though. After all if I can't exploit one weakness..." Orochimaru hefted his Kusanagi with his tongue, making Tsunade get ready to dodge or defend the strike. "...I'll just have to exploit another!" With a dash and a thrust he aimed straight for the woman, who easily dodged out of the way.

Too easily in fact. She watched him streak past, not even turning around, making his target obvious. 'Shizune!' Tsunade was too slow to react though and the blade came down, hitting metal once again. For the second time Naruto stood between her ex-teammate and his target. This time he held a black blade against the legendary Kusanagi, but despite the sannin's sword's fame it seemed to do little against the katana.

'I just had to ask.' Orochimaru cursed to himself. His famed blade was stopped again by this brat, but truth be told the blade that blocked it intrigued him. Despite his desire to learn about the curious weapon though, his desire to get it out of the way was far stronger and he channeled chakra into his own sword in order to sharpen the edge and cut through both his opponent's weapon and his opponent. To his surprise though, the more chakra he put into his blade, the stronger the resistance against it became. Soon it was too much and he was beginning to be pushed back. 'Impossible. Overpowered by a kid!' Sneering at the way the events were unfolding he swiped his sword away, causing Naruto to lose balance for a second. That was all the time the sannin needed as he planted a swift kick in the boy's side, sending him into yet another boulder.

With his opposition removed, Orochimaru made another stab at the unconscious girl on the ground. Once again a shape came in front of him, but this time he did see blood, and it brought a smile to his face. He grinned even more when she lifted her head and showed him her pained scowl. "Why Tsunade-hime. I didn't think you had it in you to bleed for someone else. Why it's almost like something sensei would do. Of course he, unfortunately, lived through his ordeal so you're not exactly like him because I'm going to kill you now." He pulled his sword from her chest and tried to make a swing for her head, but was denied the final contact as she ducked.

"I told you nobody hurts my precious people." She stepped in quickly and punched his pale body away, sending his blade a short distance further, before dropping to her knees. 'I didn't think he hit that close. I-i can't fight him like this.' Tsunade looked over to the woman who became like her own daughter, though she had never told her that. She swiveled her gaze over to the blond who was slumped on the ground nearby. 'And it looks like he's not going to save the day again.'

"That actually hurt hime, but it seems like that nasty gash is sapping your strength quickly. With this kind of performance even a Haruno could beat you." He saw the confusion cross her face at the jab. "A really weak ninja from Konoha. I'd love to tell you about it sometime, but I have a schedule to keep." He casually moved over to his discarded weapon to pick it up but had to stop as two words reached his ears and nearly froze his blood.

"Ninpo: Sōzō Saisei!"

He looked behind him and saw Tsunade's chest wound healing before his eyes along with the small abrasions she had acquired during their previous engagement. Nearly gaping at the technique's power he almost missed her charging towards him. Even reacting at the last minute cost him his sword as he was forced to dodge or become one with the ground. "Ku ku ku. What and intriguing technique. I can't imagine how useful It could be. Mind telling me about it?"

"How about you learn it from Shinigami-sama on your way to hell bastard!" Tsunade jumped high in the air, but it was nothing he hadn't seen from their run to this location from the town so he easily dodged out of the way. This fight wasn't in her favor as long as he could dodge and she knew that.

"Need some help hime?" Jiraiya landed next to the blond as she let out a relieved sigh.

"Something troublesome has appeared..." Orochimaru grimaced. This fight was quickly moving away from his favor. That changed slightly when his own help showed up. "Kabuto, I would have thought you could keep Jiraiya occupied a little longer."

"Apologies Orochimaru-sama. Though his summon was easily dealt with, it gave him an opening to retreat." The teen handed his master the Kusanagi once again, allowing the man to swallow it into himself.

"No matter. It seems we will need to pull out all the stops. Do it." With only minor concern, Kabuto began the summoning ritual once again. Seeing the action taking place Tsunade jumped back towards Shizune and began her own summoning while Jiraiya followed suit, taking a look around frantically before necessity overcame his worries and he joined in the three-way test of sealing speed.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The three shouted.

Jiraiya, finally having decent enough control over his chakra, was standing on Gamabunta. "Jiraiya? What's going on?" The toad boss looked around and saw the slug to his left and the snake to his right. One of them he openly sneered at, though his attitude was more towards it's summoner. "Orochimaru...So we've caught up to him again. I can't say I'm happy to see Manda either, but I am surprised to see Katsuyu here. Finally found Tsunade eh?"

"Sorry Bunta. No time for small talk. We're in a fight here."

The toad put a ready foot on his weapon as he prepared for the fight. "The wife was bugging me about a snake skin purse anyway."

To their left stood Tsunade on the head of the leader of the slug summons, Katsuyu. Beside the sannin laid Shizune, still partially suffering from her injuries. "Tsunade-hime. It has been awhile since you called upon me."

"I had been living a peaceful life until lately. It seems that trouble likes to seek me out though. Take Shizune to safety please. I don't want her caught in the crossfire."

"Understood." Out of the slug's back another slug formed under the younger medic, a miniature version of it's creator. "I will take her back to the town hime." Not waiting for an acknowledgment, the small slug dove off and made it's way out of the battlefield.

"Tsunade, where's Naruto? I didn't see him before we summoned." Jiraiya shouted to her, concern for his student evident in his voice.

"Who knows. Maybe this will teach him to stay the hell out of the way next time." She scowled at the man. It was their fault this whole situation got so screwed up. If they would have all just left her alone she wouldn't be in this whole mess and Shizune wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Orochimaru and Kabuto stood atop the head of the large, purple, snake boss summon Manda. The reptile did it's best to look at the detestable man on his head. "Orochimaru, how dare you summon me to such a place. I don't want to be involved in your petty battles. I should eat you for even thinking of summoning me."

"Manda-sama, please don't say such things. We merely required your help in dealing with some troublesome opponents. We will give you one hundred sacrifices for assisting us." Kabuto tried to be as polite as possible in the face of the summon.

"You dare speak to me whelp? I demand two hundred sacrifices just for allowing you to keep your miserable existence." Manda sounded furious and Kabuto wisely backed away.

"You will get your sacrifices Manda, now kill them." Orochimaru hissed out, not really caring either way so long as he got what he wanted, and right now he wanted both of his old teammates dead.

"Katsuyu!"

"Right. Zesshi Nensan." The slug spouted a geyser of green acid at the snake forcing it to dodge. By the aftermath of the attack it seemed the action was well founded as the landscape where the gel hit began to melt away.

In retaliation, Manda slithered over to the mobile toxic factory and wrapped himself around, squeezing hard. Gamabunta tried to take the opening with a sword swing, but his weapon was grabbed away by the serpent's mouth, who then turned it on his captive.

"Katsuyu!"

"Katsuyu Daibunretsu!" Just as the tip of the blade was going to drive into her, Katsuyu split into countless small slugs and simply dissolved out of the snake's grasp.

Looking around, Orochimaru got a bad feeling. His suspicion was proven true as he saw Tsunade running up Manda's back right towards his perch. Kabuto was forced to abandon the fight quickly as a stray foot nearly took off his head. Meanwhile the two sannin engaged in a fierce taijutsu battle until Tsunade went for a strong ax kick. While she didn't hit her intended target, she did come into contact with the summon's head, forcing it to drop the blade in its mouth. Orochimaru hissed at the lost advantage, but managed to whip his tongue into Tsunade to unbalance her before kicking her away. Katsuyu partially formed under her, giving a softer landing than she would have otherwise had.

"Thanks Katsuyu."

"Be more careful please, hime."

They had little time to converse further as they heard Jiraiya calling out his own jutsu. "Tsunade, stay back. Katon: Gamayu Endan!" As Gamabunta spat a stream of oil at the coiled Manda, Jiraiya lit it on fire causing an inferno to engulf the snake.

"Did we get him?" Gamabunta and Jiraiya both waited for the flames to clear a bit to get a look at their target.

"No, that's..." the toad summoner never got to finish as the ground started to tremble and earth spewed up in front of them as something headed straight towards them. "Bunta, underground!

"What?!" As quickly as he could the giant toad reached out and grabbed the thing that came out of the ground that was trying to impale the duo. While he successfully stopped the purple end of the great snake's tail, the ground behind them erupted and the head of the serpent came shooting right for them.

A shadow passed overhead as Tsunade attempted to strike Orochimaru's summon with Gamabunta's discarded blade. 'So tired...no...I can make it. I won't let him get away unpunished.' Bringing the giant knife forward, she aimed to impale the snake, but looked on in horror as she realized her timing was off. The blade would impale her target, but not before it would be able to sink it's teeth into the preoccupied duo. She closed her eyes and prayed for a miracle.

"Kuchiyose: Kusemono no Gyofu!" Another huge cloud of smoke puffed up, surprising all three sannin as it shot out right amidst the chaos.

Unable to stop her path, Tsunade plunged into the cloud hoping that she wouldn't hit a potential ally. As the wind picked up and the scene became visible to the three and their summons, there were many mixed feelings. Rage, appreciation, relief and astonishment were among the expressions crossing their faces as they saw a new toad with its weapon pinning the snake's neck to the ground. The new toad kept its shield on its back while it held a spiny sasumata against Manda. The spikes on the weapon's twin prongs served to keep the snake just out of reach of Gamabunta while the sword of its leader was shown to have pierced the snout of the serpent.

"Gamaken?!" Gamabunta and Jiraiya both looked a little shocked at the new arrival. "I'm thankful for your aide, but...how did you get here?" The boss toad asked.

"Dunno, ask the kid, when he wakes up." Their eyes were drawn to his head as they made out a small shape between his eyes.

Jiraiya's eye's widened at who he saw. It was obviously Naruto, the yellow hair being a dead giveaway, but he had definitely seen better days. One arm was cocked at an odd angle while the opposite leg was bleeding through the torn cloth of his pants. More blood ran from his forehead and mouth as his determined eyes started to close. "Naruto!"

"Good thing he was in a good spot, I can't stay any more. Good luck." With another poof of smoke, Gamaken was gone again, leaving Naruto to plummet to the ground. Having seen him starting to go unconscious, Jiraiya was already there to grab him before he hit.

"Naruto! Come on, stay with me..." Jiraiya frantically checked over what he could of Naruto's injuries as he set the boy down. "Tsunade get down here and help him. I'll deal with Orochimaru!"

Ignoring the two, Tsunade set her focus on her other teammate. "Orochimaru..." Her voice was cold as she glanced down at the seething man.

"Orochimaru, I would eat you for getting me into this mess, but I can't do that with this hole in my mouth! Pray you never need to summon me again, because if you dare to I will eat you!" Seeing himself unable to move any longer, Manda dismissed himself in order to heal. It wouldn't do for him to die this day.

'This is not good. With Manda now out of the picture...' The Otokage looked between his two teammates with a little apprehension, then smirked at what he saw. It seemed their teamwork was not up to par anymore. 'With that idiot too concerned about the kid it'll at least only be one on one.' Looking back at the female blond his smirk grew into a grin. 'And she's lost a lot of chakra.' Without anymore hesitation he shot his tongue out and had it wrapped around her throat. "Die Tsunade!"

With the slimy muscle wrapped around her neck the blond was struggling to free herself. She was choking and needed air, but she stayed clam and was able to work her hands under the offending flesh in order to push it away and slip out. Holding tightly onto the tongue she gritted her teeth and let out a roar as she yanked Orochimaru to her. It took all of a second for him to cover the distance and get rewarded with a punch to the face that sent him shooting back the way he came only to be tugged up again. She released a new assault on him in a flurry of kicks and punches, taking him on a guided tour of the surrounding area and accentuating each new landmark she made with the sound of flesh on flesh. With one last punch she launched her victim across the field and into the blade that remained where Manda was once pinned.

Gamabunta wanted to finish this fight once and for all, but he himself was too low on chakra to even move while Katsuyu was too low to even reform herself completely. "We're sorry you two, but this is the end of our fight as well." In a huge burst of smoke the last two summons disappeared, leaving the surrounding area covered in a haze for a few minutes.

As soon as the haze cleared from their vision, Tsunade and Jiraiya both had to grit their teeth in anger. Across from them stood Orochimaru, obviously battered but still alive. Beside him crouched his henchman Kabuto who was healing him as well as he could through is own pain and lack of chakra. "It seems that taking you both on at once is, admittedly, a little beyond my capabilities with my arms like this. Don't worry though. I'll make sure our next reunion is even more heartfelt than this one. Next time it will just be the three of us, without any interruptions..." His yellow, slitted eyes shot to Naruto before he and Kabuto began to disappear. "Next time I will make sure there are no interruptions."

With that last statement their former teammate was gone and they just stared at the spot where he once stood, seething in anger. A groan snapped them out of their dazes as Naruto shifted on the ground at Jiraiya's feet. "Tsunade! A little help over here!" He shouted out as he once again went over the boy's injuries, not liking what he saw at all.

To his dismay, Tsunade let out a snort and turned away. "He shouldn't have been here in the first place. Serves him right to be hurt."

Jiraiya just looked at her. Shocked that she would even suggest just letting him be. That shock soon turned to anger though. "Tsunade he saved the life of your apprentice. He saved my life and he even saved your life. Don't you think he deserves some HEALING?!"

"If you want to give him healing, Jiraiya, then go find a hospital. I never asked him to help me, he was the idiot that decided to try to take on a sannin and a jōnin level ninja as a GENIN. Honestly does Konoha only breed morons now? Now, if you don't mind I have an apprentice to look after." Tsunade simply started to walk off.

"Tsunade you have no idea what this kid's been through. Give him a chance and maybe he'll surprise you just like he did with everyone else!"

"I've given enough chances to people in my life hermit. Don't you dare tell me who I should or should not give another one to." Before hearing another word she sped away back towards town, ignoring the sounds of shouting behind her.

"Shit. Well kid, I hope you're not hurt as bad as you look..." Jiraiya glanced back between the blond's arm and leg as he gave an involuntary shiver. "A-anyway, let's get you back to town. I can't help you out here with no supplies." He picked the boy up carefully, trying to ignore the pained groans as he rushed back towards the town as well.

Because he had to be careful with his burden, Jiraiya didn't make it back to the town until later that afternoon. He was able to find a doctor in a few minutes and left Naruto in the man's hands as he went back to the hotel where they were staying. Reaching their room he quickly packed before heading over to where Tsunade and Shizune were staying. Knocking a couple times he waited until Shizune opened the door for him, wincing a bit from her sore muscles.

"Jiraiya-sama! W-we didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah well, we're all just full of surprises today it seems. Where's Tsunade?"

"..."

"Shizune..."

"She's packing." The girl flinched at the scowl the man gave her as he shoved his way past. "J-Jiraiya-sama! Wait!"

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya went into the bedroom area without hesitation and found Tsunade there grabbing clothes and sealing them away. Her rough handling making it clear that she was in a very bad mood. Had this been any other time the toad sage would have hightailed it away from there, but at the moment his foul mood easily matched, if not surpassed, her own. "Tsunade what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm leaving this place what's it look like?"

"And what about sensei?"

"What about him?"

"Tsunade you said you were going to go back and heal him!"

"Do you really think that I'm going to go back to that place after all this? You're a fool Jiraiya!" She got up and stood in front of him, glaring as if daring him to make her leave. He wouldn't let her down.

*SLAP* Shizune stood wide-eyed with her hand covering her mouth while Tsunade covered her reddened cheek in shock. "I'm the fool? I"M THE FOOL?! Fine, but then you're the cold hearted cowardly bitch. You won't even save the kid who's the reason we're all still standing here right now!"

Shizune looked back and forth between the two in disbelief. She knew all about their past, having been there for more than a few interactions between the two, but never had Jiraiya struck Tsunade no matter how bad their arguments got. More than that though, she was surprised that Tsunade had refused to heal someone. "Tsunade-sama, what is he talking about?"

The sannin glared at each other before she spoke. "Nothing Shizune. Get your stuff, we're leaving."

"I'm talking about how she blatantly refused to heal Naruto after he saved you, then defended Tsunade until she woke up enough to fight, then saved me when Manda was about to eat me. Tsunade you've changed too much. Dan and Nawaki would be rolling in their graves if they could see you now."

Tsunade was about to slap him, but her hand was stopped mid strike. She looked over into Shizune's pleading eyes. "Please...Tsunade-sama. You didn't really do that did you? I mean you wouldn't just leave Naruto-kun like that would you?"

"You bet she would. I had to carry him back here and hand him off to a common doctor to get his leg and arm fixed. Who knows what else could be wrong. For all I know he could have been pinned under one of our summons since Tsunade wouldn't tell me where he was."

Shizune shrunk back from her mentor as if she were suddenly a stranger. "He's lying right Tsunade-sama? He has to be lying!" All the answer she got was Tsunade turning her back towards her to continue her packing. She wanted to cry out. Sure the woman had her quirks, but to deny someone their health because she held a childish grudge was taking things a bit far. "...Jiraiya-sama...where is Naruto?"

While still glaring at his teammate Jiraiya answered her. "...Two blocks down, take a left and go another three. You'll see the red cross outside." He listened as she strode towards the door.

"Shizune! Where are you going?" Tsunade demanded as she scowled at the girl.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, but I'm going to do my job. I'm not going to leave an innocent in pain if I can help it...just like you taught me." Before Tsunade could retort she slammed the door behind her.

'Thank you Shizune...' Jiraiya closed his eyes for a second in relief, then reopened them in a steely gaze towards the one other occupant of the room. "At least one of you remembers your vows as a medic. Maybe it's time the master becomes the apprentice." Not bothering to let her reply, he shunshinned away, leaving Tsunade to wring out a shirt as she tried to relieve her anger.

'Damn you Jiraiya. You want to twist people around your finger? Well two can play that little game. You want me back in Konoha? Fine, I'll play that one too. We'll see who's following who around soon enough.'

• • •

He sat in the waiting room, playing with some of the kids as he waited for news on his student. Thinking over his latest conversation with Tsunade, he wondered if she really would accept the position of being Hokage, and if she did, would she be the right one. Suddenly her wasn't so keen on his decision to not take the position himself. Had he done so he wouldn't have been able to train Naruto to protect himself from the dangers he faced from Akatsuki and possibly Iwa as well, but on the other hand not taking the position left him wide open to his enemies inside Konoha and if Tsunade decided to back them in their plans there would be little he could do. Sighing, he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment to try to gather his frantic thoughts.

At least Shizune had a level head. When she left her mentor behind at the hotel she wasn't sure if she'd done the right thing or not. Jiraiya could have easily been exaggerating Naruto's wounds after all and just been mad since Tsunade refused to heal him on the field. She had almost turned back when she saw the doctor's office and decided a quick check wouldn't hurt at that point. One look at the blond's bandaged and patched form proved her standpoint easily. As soon as she saw the state he was in she rushed over and shoved the doctor out of the way ignoring his protests. Those stopped though once she started her diagnostics jutsu. It wasn't every day that a normal doctor's office was given the assistance of a medic ninja after all, and Kami knew he needed the help with this one.

"How bad was it doctor?" Shizune asked the old man with a little hesitation.

"You mean aside from the fractures and concussion? I may not be a ninja, but even I know the signs of chakra exhaustion. It took almost a half hour to get his leg and arm set. All of our pain relievers and attempts at anesthetization failed, so he had to stay awake through the pain. We were going to close the clinic so people wouldn't hear the screams, but he told us to just set them...that it wouldn't be the first time. He was a real trooper through it and only passed out after we were finally finished. He's a true testament to what you ninja go through to be able to handle so much pain." The doctor was rambling on, so impressed by his recollections that he never noticed the blanching that took over Shizune's features.

"After that was over we checked the rest of him and, well, it could have been better. Torn muscles, the concussion I mentioned, a dislocated shoulder, one of his ribs almost punctured a lung but we were able to set that right though that one made him grunt a bit. All in all it was one of the worst cases I'd seen in a long time and I'd prefer not to see one of the like again if at all possible. If you see anything else that I can help with just let me know. My services are at your disposal." The doctor finally took in the girl's complexion and was slightly unnerved. "Girl are you ok? You look like you might need a bed of your own soon."

"I...I'm fine doctor. It was just a lot to take in." Shizune could hardly believe what she was hearing or what her diagnostics was telling her. 'Kami, is this what Tsunade-sama refused to heal? No, his body is healing rapidly. Whatever she refused to heal was far worse than this.' She involuntarily gritted her teeth as her mentor's lack of concern for the boy's health. If it was true that he'd saved them all at some point then it should have been the least she could do to heal him. She took the time to heal his minor cuts and his bruises before moving to the torn muscles and stretched tendons. By the time she was done she was sweating and tired, but he would be at least a little more comfortable for now.

Slightly wobbling, she made her way out to the waiting room to see Jiraiya leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. "Jiraiya-sama." She gently shook him awake and giggled as he mumbled something about nurses 'healing' him. "Jiraiya-sama we've stabilized Naruto. He still has some injuries, but from what I've seen we may want to take him out of here soon. I don't think it would be a good idea for the people here to witness any kind of miracles."

Jiraiya looked at her with a little confusion until he heard her whisper something about advanced healing. As soon as she mentioned that he shot up from the wall. "I think I agree with you there Shizune. We'd better get him now, we need to be leaving after all." Gliding into Naruto's room he picked the boy up and the two slipped out of the building before any questions could arise. The only thing the doctor would find upon his return would be a stack of money and a simple note to say 'thank you'.

As the two made their way across the rooftops towards the hotel, Jiraiya turned his head towards Shizune. "Thank you for helping him Shizune. You are a testament to what a true medic is." He felt a small pang of guilt at his statement when he watched the girl flinch.

"Thank you Jiraiya-sama, but I fear Tsunade-sama won't feel the same way..."

"Bah. Forget her. If she wants to act all high and mighty just because this guy gets on her nerves she can go right ahead and do it, but that's no excuse for acting like a kid herself. She should know better than to let a comrade injured in the field, especially after her experiences."

"...I know it's hard on her, but you're right, her medic training should come first. To let someone out there on the field, especially after a fight like that...I really don't know what's gotten into her lately."

"Yeah, it'll be hard enough getting her back to Konoha...I don't know if her bet with the gaki is going to be enough to push her there."

"Don't worry about that. The Sandaime seems to be a very special person to Naruto-kun. If there is anything I can do to repay him for what he did for me than I'll help you get Tsunade-sama back to Konoha."

"And just how do you intend to do that?" Jiraiya gave her a skeptical look.

"By going to Konoha with you."

"And that will make her go to Konoha how?"

"Because she's lost without me. Even if we parted ways here, today, she would be running back to pick me up in a couple hours." They both shared a bit of a chuckle as they landed in front of the hotel Jiraiya and Naruto were staying at.

"Feel free to wait in the lobby, I'm just going to grab our things and I'll be right back down." The sannin told her as he gently set Naruto in one of the lobby chairs before hitting the stairway to the upper floors.

Shizune sat in the chair opposite the sleeping genin as she watched over him. 'What makes you so strong Naruto. How is it so easy for you to go up against sannin like Orochimaru and Tsunade without flinching. How can you be hurt so bad, yet still be able to jump in at just the right time to save the day? Heroes are a myth Naruto. I know it, but it seems like someone forgot to tell that to you.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a tapping on the glass next to her. Looking over she let out a little shriek of surprise as she saw Tsunade looking around the area a bit before peeking back through the window. Her muffled voice barely came through the glass, but she was still heard by her companion. "Come on Shizune, while he's not here we'll skip out."

Shizune gave one more worried look over to Naruto before looking back at her mentor and scowling. She shook her head no causing a little surprise to cross the sannin's face before she scowled in return.

"Now Shizune! Let's go." Again Tsunade's muffled voice was met with a furiously shaking head before she decided she would need to get a little more personal if she wanted to get out of there without Jiraiya noticing. Rushing into the hotel's lobby she grabbed Shizune's hand and tried to drag her out of the building. To her annoyance the girl didn't budge. "Shizune, what the hell are you doing?! We have to go now before that pervert comes back."

"No. I'm going with them."

Tsunade was stunned. "Wh-what do you mean? You're leaving me for them?!"

"No Tsunade-sama. I'm doing what's right. Naruto-kun saved us and went through a lot of pain to do it. It's our obligation to repay that to him."

"No one asked him to help..."

"No, but he did and without it both of us could be dead right now. If healing Sandaime-sama is how we can repay him for that then I will do what I can, and you should too. Honestly I'm ashamed to call you my mentor right now. You left an injured ally on the field when you could have at least made sure he would live! You've broken your oaths as a medic Tsunade-sama and that is something that I will not follow your teachings in. Naruto-kun isn't completely healed yet, and he's going to need to be looked after for a while before he's completely stable. I plan to do exactly that."

Tsunade was shocked and angry. The blond brat had turned her own apprentice against her. "Do what you want then. I'm leaving. Don't even think of crawling back to me later."

The younger woman just smirked at her as she started to stalk out of the lobby. "Suit yourself Tsunade-sama. See how long you can last on your own. I'm sure Dan and Nawaki will look out for you with the shining example you've become."

The sannin froze mid step. Hanging her head she shook in rage and a little sorrow. "That's a low blow Shizune..."

"You want a low blow? How about a sannin fighting a genin in a back alley, while drunk, over a pointless bet!"

"Shizune...!"

"Run away all you want Tsunade-sama, but I'm going to do what I can to help them, and I also want to see just why Naruto is so strong. Aren't you even a little curious about that?" Despite her words, she was trying to keep her mentor from leaving alone. If bringing her medic's curiosity into play was the way to do it, then she would push every button she could. "Please, Shishō."

"You really are a brat, you know that right?" Tsunade turned to her student with tears forming in her eyes. "I'm scared Shizune. That place, it...it brings back so many bad memories."

"Than meet them head on." Both women looked over to the chair where Naruto was sitting. He hadn't moved an inch, but his eyes were now open and he was staring at them. "Even if there is more pain than joy there, you have to make it so the joy outweighs the pain. It at least makes it...easier..."

'How? He shouldn't even be awake for at least a couple of hours. The shock from the pain should take at least that long to wear off!' Shizune was in awe at the moment since she knew what he'd been through as far as injuries that day.

Tsunade on the other hand only knew about his arm and leg from what she had seen. "And what would you know about facing my kind of pain gaki? Ever had the person you love die? How about a sibling? No huh? Then how can you even come close to knowing what I would be going through going back to that place?"

"No I haven't had a loved one die, thank Kami, but I also haven't had a loved one until recently. From before that though I have had the pain of loneliness. I also don't have any siblings because I'm an orphan, but then you wouldn't know that pain, the pain of being unwanted, disrespected, hated. I have many pains you couldn't even fathom yet I still find reasons to continue going back to that village because there is more than just pain there for me. I have people who love me. I have friends. I have family, even if they aren't blood related. For them I'm willing to return to that hell and I will continue to do so until they give me a reason not to. As long as I can protect those precious to me, I will be there for them."

Both women could see the hurt in his eyes as scenes only known to him flashed across his vision. In comparison, Tsunade's own reasons not to return seemed to dim and flicker. "Y-you talk a good story gaki, but I plan on seeing for myself this so called 'pain' you go through. You better pray that it's worth my time or you'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

"Like I haven't heard that threat before."

Shizune was about to start questioning him on some of what he said when a couple loud thuds were heard announcing the arrival of another sannin. "Hey everyone. Ready to go?" Jiraiya was all smiles as he took in the somber scene in front of him. 'Knew the kid could do it. Never had a doubt...ok, maybe one...or three.'

Ignoring the hermit, Tsunade walked over to Naruto's chair. Glaring at him for a minute she finally sighted. Reaching around her neck she took off her necklace and slung it over his head. "A bets, a bet." She said before mumbling, "With any luck its curse will keep up and I won't have to deal with you again."

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Oh can it and let's get this over with." The female sannin started to walk out of the building again as the other two adults stared after her, shocked that she would give up such a precious item. "Well are you coming?" She turned and glared at them with a little annoyance.

Rushing to comply, the two gathered their belongings with Jiraiya picking up Naruto before following Tsunade out the door. The group began their journey back to Konohagakure without another incident. Two of them satisfied with the results of their mission, one disgruntled and dreading their destination and the last stealing glances at the young blond, wondering just what it was that made him tick.