After having dinner, Naruto found Tsunade alone outside, watching the night sky with a forlorn expression. "Tsunade-san, may I join you, if you don't mind?" "Sure Gaki. Might as well answer whatever you wanted to ask me here and not in the bar." She replied, voicing her suspicions.
"Ah, yes. Nothing much. I just wanted to know what happened in your life that caused you, the granddaughter of the one who introduced the Will of Fire, to lose the said Will." "I'd rather not talk about it." "I insist, Tsunade-san. It might help you sort your feelings and make your decision. You look rather conflicted." "Do I now?" Tsunade asked with a challenging glare. "I think so, no offense. I've seen and studied several formidable shinobi in Konoha. Konoha seems too bright to be real. My wish is to make the superficial peace a reality.But now, it has many dark shadows beneath the light. It gave rise to many unhappy shinobi such as you. I merely wish to fix it. If not for the sake of the village, then for the sake of one human, who tries her best not to suffer." Naruto gave a pointed look at Tsunade, who sighed.
"I had a brother, Senju Nawaki. When he was around your age, I gave him this necklace I have on my neck for his birthday." She pointed to her necklace that had a prominent green gem as a pendant. "It belonged to our grandfather. My brother was proud of it and declared that he would become Hokage and protect the village just like Ojii-sama. However, we were in war then, and the next day, that idiot had got himself caught in a blast and the necklace was the only thing that came back to me in one piece.
To reduce casualties in war, I devised few medical guidelines, and formed various rules for medic ninja to follow. It was during a meeting for the guidelines that I met Kato Dan, Shizune's uncle. He had lost his little sister just like I had lost my sibling and shared the passion to protect the village. He dreamed of becoming Hokage and serve his village and people. We grew close and soon became lovers. I gave him the necklace as a symbol of faith in his dream and our love. But in a battle after that, he was gravely injured. I tried my best to heal him, but it was of no use. He died in my arms. He died with his blood in my hands." She looked at her hands and teared up.
Naruto caught her hand and held it in comfort. She understood why a doctor such as herself was afraid of blood. After a few minutes of crying, Tsunade collected herself and said, "I lost my precious people for Konoha. One after another. I didn't want to stay in the village that took their lives and be constantly reminded of what I loved and lost. Orochimaru... He offered to bring them back. He said he could revive them."
After a long pause, Naruto said, "We are shinobi Tsunade-san. The job comes with risk. The risk of losing our lives, the loves of the ones we hold dear. But we strive everyday. We may not be able to protect everyone, but we can try to save as many as possible, if not all. There had been no villages like today in the time of Hashirama-sama and Madara-sama. It had been worse. The villages were built to stop the fighting and protect more people and they succeeded. We have to take this further and make sure the rate of deaths and losses reduces to nil. Or, that's what I plan to do. We can change the way the world works. You can change that, by becoming Hokage; by making sure Konohagakure stays safe and strong. Isn't that what Dan-san and Nawaki-san would want? Of course nothing can replace what has been lost. But we can try create new bonds and do our best to protect them. We can make sure the future would be better than the past. Upon experiencing a loss, we mourn, train harder, and become stronger and move on with a valuable lesson, trying our best to not repeat our mistakes.
I am not quite fit to be the one saying all this, since I haven't experienced loss as great as yours. I have no siblings, nor any lovers. But I have friends I cherish above all and do my best to make sure they are safe from all kinds of threats, both inside and outside the village. But perhaps, I had experienced a loss, when I was too young. I might not remember much but I miss her. As of recent, I've come close to the feeling of loss. But I don't have much experience like you Tsunade-san.
You have power in your punches, strength in your kicks. I believe you have both in your will." She squeezed the older's hand in hers. "Ultimately, you are obligated to no one but yourself." A long silence prevailed.
"Oh, by the way, Jiraiya-Sensei said that you use Genjutsu to look younger, but I don't sense a genjutsu. You are naturally beautiful. But if there's a Jutsu that is retaining your looks, oh, won't girls kill for it?" She joked and Tsunade laughed. "Thank you Naruto, I'm flattered." The talked casual topics for a while.
Naruto stood up and went back to the room. At the doorstep, she turned back to the older lady. "I know how much you want to see those two. They cannot be revived. But I am trying to get you meet them, if only for a short while. If you want, that is... Please make your decision as soon as possible. As long as you will be happy and with lesser regrets, I won't oppose you and ask Sensei and Hokage Jiji to do the same." She said and left.
Tsunade contemplated over the words of the not-so-little girl. She chuckled to herself, "Damn Gaki, lecturing me about my grandfather's ideals. Well? My decision is made. I'll put Jiraiya and Shizune on the brink of their deaths by keeping them in the dark till breakfast tomorrow." She gave a smirk that promised mischief.
The next morning, Jiraiya was joking with Naruto while hiding his nerves. Shizune looked openly worried, but didn't say anything. Tsunade looked normal as if the future of Konoha was not in her hands, but she was enjoying the anxiety of the other two adults too much. Naruto was simply amused at the ordeal.
After breakfast, Tsunade spoke up, "I'll consider returning to the village. I have no interest in helping that Snake. He might have promised not to attack Konoha if I healed his hands, but does anyone trust his promises?" She scoffed. "He might be a former teammate. But he is a vile serpent nonetheless." Jiraiya was relieved and she continued, "We shall finish of that traitor today once and for all." "Do you have a plan, Hime (Princess)?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yes, it involves a killer jutsu that is identical to the Mystical Palm Technique in all but effects."
-------
Tsunade faced Orochimaru. "So you have come, Hime." "Yes, but I need to know if you mean to keep your end of the bargain." Orochimaru was patient. "Yes Tsunade. I will not attack Konoha and revive your lover and brother." Tsunade looked down as if thinking over and resolving herself. "Fine." she resigned and stepped closer to Orochimaru, hands glowing green. She was close to touching his hands, so close that he would be dead in a moment, when a kunai was aimed at their almost conjoining hands. Tsunade and Orochimaru each jumped away from each other, the former looked at the cause of interruption finding Kabuto standing on the rooftop nearby. Orochimaru questioned, "What's the meaning of this... Tsunade?"
Kabuto explained, "You might have made your Jutsu seem like the Mystic Palm, but the killer intent of the Jutsu was evident to me, since I'm a medic myself. It is a unique jutsu after all."
Tsunade, in an attempt to attack, punched the ground, forming a huge crater that caused the crumbling of a nearby abandoned castle. Orochimaru and Kabuto started running away, closely pursued by Tsunade. They were in an open field when she punched the ground again, creating a crater, effectively stopping the Snake Sannin and his apprentice. Kabuto coated his hand with chakra, making it an effective scalpel. He attacked Tsunade who dodged the attacks of the 'scalpel'. All of a sudden, Kabuto cut himself just enough to make him bleed, and Tsunade stopped in fear.
Kabuto came closer to decapitate her when he was kicked away by Naruto. Jiraiya and Shizune landed. Kabuto's chakra scalpel had caused a deep cut in Naruto's stomach- nothing that Kurama couldn't heal, but she asked him to slow down the healing process. Jiraiya went off to fight Orochimaru, while Shizune took on Kabuto.
Tsunade looked at the situation in fear. She saw a bleeding Naruto telling her to snap out of her stupor and to stand up. She remembered the younger one's words the previous night. She mentally slapped herself out of her fear and resolved her strength. She approached Naruto to heal her. The teen lifted her shirt to show her stomach and help Tsunade heal faster. The healing took few minutes. "See, Tsunade-san, I knew you were strong enough to overcome your fears." She grinned and Tsunade smiled back. "Arigatou Gaki. Now I'll make sure that idiot is alright and is not in trouble because of Orochimaru."
Naruto turned to Kabuto and Shizune's fight. Shizune was on the ground, tendons on her ankles and calves in deep cut. Kabuto wasted no time in taking out a kunai and approaching her to kill her. Naruto went to kick him away, but this time, he dodged her and jumped back. There was a low sound of a low thud, and they turned to see Jiraiya standing on Gamabunta, Tsunade standing on a giant white slug with blue stripes, Katsuyu. "Kabuto!" Orochimaru called. Kabuto sprinted to Orochimaru, took some blood from his master's wounds and performed the Summoning Technique.
Naruto took this time to heal Shizune's wounds on her hands so that she could heal her own legs. They turned to see a third summon, a snake with purple scales and a bad attitude. Orochimaru gave his usual evil chuckle, "Hello Manda."
[A/N: So... For no reason in particular I'm mentioning this...
But...
Tomorrow is my birthday 🤩
Just thought I'd share it with all, my friends on Wattpad
i.e., YOU GUYS!!!
Anyway, How's the story so far?
I'm very pleased with all the support I'm getting through the reads and votes and following.
I hope you like this chapter too
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NamikazeNaruto20]