Once More by ItsHardToFindAPenName

Chapter 21: A New Old Mission?

"But isn't Tanzaku Town the biggest gambling district in the Land of Fire?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is she doing there anyway?"

"Well, Tsunade is not only well known as a legendary medic; she is also known as the worst gambler in the world," Jiraiya scratched his head. "Her luck in gambling is so abysmal she can lose even with a four of a kind. Sadly, she likes gambling, and..."

"... So the so-called Legendary Sannin consists of a pervert, a homosexual pedophile and a sucky gambler who likes to get drunk," Sasuke remarked dryly. "I lost every bit of respect I used to have for you, if there was any."

"Ouch, burn," Naruto winced.

"Somehow I suddenly have an irresistible urge to punch something," a blonde busty woman muttered in her breath.

After three days of walking nonstop, the team finally arrived at Takayama Town.

They had decided to go straight to Tsunade's next destination without following her trails. After all, even if they tried to go after her, they wouldn't be able to catch up with her like that, considering she had had half a day of headstart before them.

"Wow, this town is not the same as I thought."

Naruto marveled when they took their first steps into the town. Anyone who saw it would have realized it's not a mere town; the fresh and clean air of the coast, the beautiful beaches with snow white sand, the old historical buildings, together with its famous brand of sake, made the rather small town a great tourist attraction. No wonder why there were so many people here.

"Well, by taking the shortcut here, we are already one day ahead of Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "If my calculation is right, she will arrive here tomorrow morning. We will have a day to rest and prepare ourselves. I doubt the talk with Tsunade tomorrow will be an easy conversation."

A tense silence followed these words. Then, Sakura raised her voice.

"Um, Jiraiya-sama... We're here to find Tsunade-sama, but we haven't met her before. How can we find her if we don't know what she looks like?"

Jiraiya scratch his head. "Well, she is blonde, and beautiful... Oh well, the best way to know is to show you what she looks like. Here."

He pulled out a photo from inside his pouch. The three children stared at the square piece of paper.

"This is Tsunade?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"She is so... young," Sakura agreed. "I thought she was of your age, Jiraiya-sama?"

"She is of my age, but..." Jiraiya answered with a wince. "Well, let's just say as a legendary medic, she possesses a jutsu that allows her to change her appearance to be younger than her age shows. That's why she looks like that."

"Sounds too much like a vain woman who cannot accept that she is old," Sasuke snorted.

'That's because she is one,' Naruto rolled his eyes, thinking.

Jiraiya winced again. "Don't say that to her face if you don't want to get punched into the sky, brat."

"This is stupid," the Uchiha complained. "Why should we waste our time chasing after someone like that? I should have stayed at home and trained!"

"This is a team mission, and you have accepted it," Jiraiya glared at Sasuke; there was no trace of the goofiness from before on his face. "If you go back now, the mission will be considered a failure. You don't want your first mission as a chuunin to fail, do you?"

"Ugh..." Sasuke winced. The man's words had struck right through his heart. He really didn't want to fail the very first mission he took as a chuunin.

"Fine," he spat out. "I'll go book the hotel rooms."