Tsunade sighed as she down on the living room couch in boredom. She had just arrived to the village earlier this morning and was sent straight to the Hokage's Mansion along with Shizune. Naruto had gone home and Jiraiya ditched her not long after he accompanied to the mansion. She rolled her eyes at the thought. There were two places he could have possibly had to be: the Hokage or the hot springs. Of course, she thought the latter.
She moaned, feeling herself going through a minor withdrawal. Shizune had lectured her about being presentable to the public and political officials. As far as she knew, the elders would be calling her to meet soon and she "needed" to report to them sober. What a load of bullshit. There was a reason why her sensei nearly smoked himself to death.
Her brows furrowed as she lied on her back, staring at the ceiling. From what Jiraiya had told her, the Sandaime was in critical condition and has been for the past month. When he last saw him, he mentioned he was on life support. While she was pretty sure his condition was probably more stabilized now, she couldn't help but worry about him. Along with his sensei and friends, Naruto made sure to remind her that she needed to heal the old man - repeatedly.
A faint smile spread across her lips. There was still something off about the boy that she couldn't put her finger on. She wondered if Jiraiya realized it as well. From what she could tell, he seemed oblivious to it, but she could never be certain. He was considered a spymaster for a reason. Maybe she could talk to the old man about it. From what she heard, he and the young blond were close.
Tsunade signed again as she turned over on her side, facing the coffee table. Why did she even let that brat convince her to comeback and become this village's Hokage? She could have been somewhere near the Land of Iron right now, drinking gallons of sake and gambling loads of money. That is, if she knew who was mysteriously paying off her debts. While she wouldn't verbally admit it, the thought of someone doing that bothered her immensely. It made her wonder what sorts of other information they had on her.
The last Senju laid on the couch for the next few hours, allowing her mind to wander until there was a firm knock on the door. She heard foot-steps rushing down the stairs followed by the small clacks of hooves against the floor and knew that it was Shizune going to get the door. To be honest, she had almost forgotten that her former apprentice was up there. She needed some sake.
Shizune unlocked the door and opened it. "Good morning, Master Jiraiya." she greeted kindly.
"Good morning, Shizune." Jiraiya said as he entered into the house. "You're looking lovely as always."
"I appreciate the compliment, Jiraiya-sama." Shizune said, shutting the door.
"Finally done with your perverted schemes at the onsen?" Tsunade said as she sat up on the couch.
"I'm only a perv for you, Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya said cheekily. "And I'm a super pervert! Must I remind everyone of that?" he complained.
Tsunade frowned before she glared at him. "I'm surprised you haven't lost your manhood yet." she scowled. "Now what do you want."
"It's time to go to the tower." Jiraiya said with a serious expression. "The elders want to meet with you within the next two hours."
"Then why do I have to go now? I'm only 10 minutes away from the place."Tsunade frowned.
"It's not like you got anything else better to do." Jiraiya commented, earning a small glare from Tsunade. "Besides, you need to at least get out and familiarize yourself with the village a little. A lot has changed since you left."
Tsunade scoffed. "Yah. I can see that." she said sarcastically.
"Ne, come on, Lady Tsunade. Jiraiya-sama's right." Shizune said. "You should get out and see the village."
"Bleh." Ton-Ton commented in her arms.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. She was about to say no when she paused. Maybe she could find a good bar to go to. She knew she was going to need a drink after everything was done. She didn't need to waste her time searching and wanted a straight shot to her sake when she needed it. She also needed to find the nearest gambling house. Becoming Hokage meant she had a steady income coming in so she didn't have to worry too much about debt. Now, if Shizune would only mind her own business.
"Fine." Tsunade said with displeasure.
Jiraiya gave her a bright smile. "See? I know you would see things my way." he said.
Tsunade gave him a blank look before she stood from her chair and stretched a little. She could feel Jiraiya's eyes on her chest and her left eye twitched. A resounding smack echoed through the house as Tsunade marched out the front door with a slightly annoyed look on her face. Shizune looked down at the Gama Sannin that was on the floor with red hand imprint on his face and a bit of blood coming from his nose. She shook her head and walked toward the front door with Ton-Ton. Why were all the strong shinobi she met so weird or crazy?
Unfortunately for Tsunade, her plans of scouting for bars and casinos were thwarted by attendant, much to her dismay. She was dragged through the marketing and shopping districts by Shizune before they visited some of the landmarks and important sites. Despite of her annoyance, Tsunade was a little surprised at how much the place had grown over the past decades. Everything seemed a bit more livelier and happy since she'd been there last.
She didn't worry too much about being seen because most people didn't recognize her. Not had she not been there since the Second Shinobi War, but her appearance did match her age. To outsiders, her and Shizune looked like two young women visiting the village for the first time. By the time they were heading for the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya had caught up with them, further annoying Tsunade.
As they entered the building, shinobi sent Jiraiya respective nods while sending curious glances at Tsunade. Poor Shizune was cast into their shadows once again. Jiraiya had lead her to an empty conference room and told her to wait there. They had less than an hour before their meeting with the elders. Of course, Tsunade ignored what he said and did what she wanted.
After a few minutes of being bored out of her mind, she left the room, ignoring Shizune's small protests. She decided to wander around the Hokage Tower and check things out herself before she began to head toward the exit in attempt to sneak out and get sake.
She was headed out of the building when something crashed into her, falling into her cleavage. Surprised at first, Tsunade looked down to see a mop of dark brown hair and a cold pair of goggles. It didn't take her long to realize that he was just a kid. She narrowed her eyes as she felt him bury his face further into her bosom.
He rubbed his face into her soft chest until he realized that he was snuggling into a person. A woman, at that. His eyes widened and he quickly jumped away from her. With a flushed face, the little boy pointed an accusatory finger at her.
"Wh-What are you doing, kore?!" he exclaimed with a stutter.
Tsunade frowned before she scowled at him. 'This little brat...' she thought to herself as she looked down at him. He short spiky brown hair with dark blue eyes and a small chip in his tooth. He had blush marks on his teeth and a beige skin complexion. His outfit consisted of gray shorts, a yellow shirt with a red leaf symbol printed on it, and a long blue scarf. 'He looks like a Sarutobi...' she noted herself although there were some clear differences. Most Sarutobis she's met had a darker skin complexion and darker eyes.
"That's exactly my question for you!" she said with her hands on her hips. "You perverted kid...."
The little boys blush grew as he glared at her. "I dare you say that again!" he said in anger and embarrassment.
"Huh? You want me to say it again?" she taunted, amused by this little gaki threatening her. "Per-vert-ed kid!"
This got a rise out of the boy. "Don't call me that, kore!" he said, waving his arms up and down in protest.
"Lady Tsunade!" a familiar voice called.
Tsunade stared down at the boy with her hands still on her hips before she turned to look in the direction of the one who had called her name. It was no one other than her attendant, Shizune. The woman she had been trying to sneak away from. She inwardly sighed. 'Well....it was worth a shot.' she thought as she turned to face the younger woman.
"The elders are all waiting, so we had better hurry." Shizune said as she stopped a few feet away from the bickering pair.
Ton-Ton simply oinked, adding her two cents.
"Hm." Tsunade said as she dropped her hands. "Yes, I know."
The little boy was still growling at her with red cheeks when she poked at his forehead, flicking his goggles. The boy paused and brought his hands to the spot she flicked, looking up at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"Be careful, little boy." Tsunade said with a smirk before she walked away from him and toward her attendant.
The boy just simply blinked at her as she walked away, his face blank with confusion as he continued to hold his head.
"Please be more conscious of your actions." Shizune said as she began to walk along side her master. "I'm the person who has to deal with the complaints.
"Okay, okay." Tsunade said.
Shizune simply sighed. She didn't know why her master decided to entertain herself by antagonizing children. It was like watching Naruto all over again. Speaking of the devil, she wondered where the little guy was. She hadn't seen him since this morning. It actually surprised her that he hadn't come storming into the building look for her master yet. He had damn near made her promise to help his friends when they got back to the village. Maybe he was out with Master Jiraiya or something.
When they arrived to the meeting room, the elders were already there. Shizune stood outside the door while Tsunade walked in. The door was shut behind her and she walked toward the seat at the front center of the room. She walked up the single step to the platform before removing her sandals and taking a seat on large, fluffy zabuton.
She crossed her legs, resting her left elbow on her leg with her propped under her chin. Her brown eyes lazily wandered to the two elders in front of her who had long aged since her departure. They were also the same elders that were against her argument for inclusion of medical-nin on all four man squads during the war. She forced her eyes not roll at them. She was surprised they were still living to be honest.
"Lady Tsunade." the elderly female greeted. "Welcome back."
"Utatane-san." Tsunade said. "Mitokado-san."
"How have you been, Tsunade-hime?" Homura spoke.
"Peachy." Tsunade said sarcastically. "Jiraiya said the council summoned me. Here I am."
Both elders nodded, seeing that she was not one for pleasantries.
"As you know, the Third Hokage was injured during the invasion a few months ago." Homura spoke.
"Yah, Jiraiya told me that as well." Tsunade replied. "What I don't understand is why I have to do it. He needs to be healed right? Why can't I just treat him and be on my way. I'm sure there are plenty of other candidates that qualify for the Hokage position." she challenged.
"Because there simply aren't any other candidates who qualify for the Hokage position." a voice said from no where.
In a swirl of leaves, a tall dark figure appeared on the far left side of the room, catching everyone's attention. The first thing Tsunade noticed about their new arrival was his mask. It was distinctively decorated with a star at the center of his forehead followed by two red lines that ran down the bridge of his mask. He wore all black with a cloak with white fur trimmings. He stood tall at 5'10" and had short, spiky black hair.
"Not even the Sandaime qualifies for the position." he stated boldly, surprising Tsunade.
"Commander Kitsune." Homura greeted with feign politeness. "Pleasure to see you."
The commander to look at them. He stared at Koharu who could barely contain her scowl before turning to Homura. He stared at the older man before giving him a light nod in greeting. He knew was not supposed to be here nor was his intrusion welcome. But, when has he ever cared what the elders thought. Their place was with the civilians. He paid them no mind.
"Kitsune." Koharu nearly spat, causing Kitsune to smirk underneath his mask. "I thought you would be busy with work at the ANBU Headquarters."
"I was." Kitsune said. "But I made time to come and greet our new candidate and future leader."
"Don't you think that neglecting your duties leaves a bad impression of yourself in front of our new leader?" Koharu said
Kitsune ignored her and turned to Tsunade, who was looking at him with mild interest.
"While Sandaime-sama is indeed loved by his village and his benevolence brings smiles upon the faces of his shinobi and residents, his time as Hokage is long past gone." he stated bluntly. "He is simply to old and cannot keep up with occurring changes of this new time. His council has too much power because he is not going to live long enough to put whatever practices he wanted to put in action, through."
"The council undermines his authority to point where I have to step in at times to support him and they give him so much paperwork that he cannot even pay attention to the most important aspects of this village." Kitsune continued. "This village needs a new guiding light. Although you have been gone for nearly 3 decades, your name alone still holds weight within the council as well as with the people of this village. Your power is nearly equal to that of a Kage and your family holds strong political connections."
"You are undoubtedly intelligent and resourceful if you were able to evade Master Jiraiya's spy network and Konoha's best operatives all these years, despite of your excessive gambling and drinking habits." he said. "No one else in this village would nearly hold as much influence as you if they were Hokage. Your reach touches all levels of politics."
Koharu and Homura glared at him while Tsunade just blinked at him. By this time, she was no longer slouching but sitting straight and listening attentively to everything this man was saying. When he was done, she was stomped. She had been expecting many things in this meeting, but never this. He was honest and wasn't sugarcoating anything for her. He wasn't trying to entice her with flattery nor did he try to preach to her about duty. He stated the facts and laid all the cards out on the table.
Her eyes drifted over to the elders that were scowling and glaring at the ANBU Commander. It was painfully obvious that they didn't like him. Koharu could barely contain her resentment at his arrival. She suppressed a smirk as her eyes traveled back Kitsune and she gave him a slight nod.
Koharu and Homura were fuming on the inside. How dare he disrespects the Sandaime in such a manner? And who did he think he was accusing the council of such things? His very presence there was a step beyond his boundaries. And then he slandered the name of the entire council on top off it. He was pushing things too far.
If they had their way, Kitsune would have been removed from his position. However, they couldn't deny that he was a powerful shinobi. And such a shinobi should stay under the control of the village and watched. Although he wasn't in their control, at least he was in the control of someone. Even if that someone was weak.
"I don't mind telling Sandaime-sama these things myself if that's what you like?" he said monotonously as he turned to the two elders. "Despite of how rude that came across, I'm sure he would ultimately agree. Do you not think Lord Third deserves a peaceful retirement after all these years of service?"
"Surely you understand patience and discernment dulls overtime and requires one to be in less stressful environments to maintain their overall health. Knowing the many vacations you've taken over the years since your retirement, I would say that you two understand completely, ne?" he asked.
This infuriated the elders even more. Kitsune simply hummed at their lack of response before he turned back to Tsunade who was staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face.
"I hate to cut our time short, but I must be going." Kitsune said. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Tsunade. I hope we work together well in the future." he replied as he walked up to her and offered his hand.
Tsunade reached up and shook it with a small smirk on her face. "Likewise." she said. "Commander Kitsune."
Kitsune released her hand bowed to her before turning to the elders and doing the same. He then phased out of existence, causing Tsunade to blink again. Her attention drawn by a small huff from one of the elders. Amusement sparkled in her eyes as she rested her chin in her hand again and allowed them to recollect themselves. Whoever the hell Kitsune was, was A-okay in her book. Maybe being the Hokage wouldn't be as dreadful as she thought.
"Listen carefully, Tsunade." Koharu started. "We must call the feudal lords and announce the fact that the Fifth Hokage has been chosen. We will start preparations today for the inauguration ceremony in the village."
She changed her mind. Being the Hokage was a death sentence.
"Feudal lords and ceremonies are just a big pain." Tsunade groaned.
"Tsunade!" Homura chided.
"Yes, yes, I know....." Tsunade said, waving her hand dismissively. "This is the job of the Hokage."
"But, what about Lord Third?" she questioned. "He's not awake so he wouldn't be able to approve."
"When a Hokage is indisposed, it is up to the council to elect a new Hokage." Koharu responded. "However, in honor of Konoha's traditions, we will offer Sandaime-sama a grace period of three weeks to wake up after you have checked his conditions."
"If he is not awake by then, the official ceremony will take place without him." Homura finished. "This village needs a Hokage and it would put everyone at ease when we introduce a new one. We need to at least look stable. Our enemies are always watching."
Tsunade simply hummed in response as she casually glanced out the window.
"Genma!" Koharu called. "Aoba!"
"Here!" the shinobi said respectively as they appeared in the room, prostrated on one knee with their heads down.
"Issue an official notice and convey this matter to those in the village within the next few days." Koharu ordered. "We must introduce the Fifth Hokage."
"Yes, ma'am!" they said simultaneously as they disappeared.
"Are there anymore questions you have for us, Tsunade-hime?" Homura asked.
"Mmm....no." Tsunade said as she moved to stand.
She stretched a little, popping a few joints back into place before slipping her sandals back on. The two elders simply nodded to her.
"Very well." Homura said as he walked toward the door.
"Have a nice day, Lady Tsunade." Koharu said. "And congratulations."
"Right." Tsunade said as the two elders left the room.
Tsunade sighed as she gazed out the window again. Her eyes traveled to the Hokage Monument, drifting over to the very first head to have ever been sculpted on the cliff's face. 'Who would have ever thought.....' she said to herself as she looked at the monument of her grandfather. Her gaze, then, gradually shifted to the last face on the monument. Her brows furrowed a little at the sight of his face, reminding her of the information she had not long ago found out.
"I wonder where he is." she thought out loud as she walked toward the door.
She was surprised that he hadn't found her yet, knowing how much he wanted her to get to hospital to help his friends. It was all he talked about on their way to village. When she walked out of the room, she saw Shizune standing near the door with Ton-Ton in her hand. Following her master, Shizune began to walk with her, staying quiet for a moment before she spoke.
"You did good, Lady Tsunade." Shizune said. "I'm proud of you."
Tsunade sucked her teeth as they neared the entrance of the tower. "Gimme a break." she replied. "My shoulders are so stiff. Hopefully I'll get a comfortable chair when I get into office."
"I'm sure you will." Shizune said.
"Ne, I wish I could just down a nice cup of hot sake and relax." she said as she walked out of the building.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune scolded.
"Wait a second!" a familiar voice exclaimed, causing both women to pause.
Tsunade lightly smirked as she turned around to be greeted by the gaki that had brought her here in the first place. 'There he is....' Shizune and Tsunade thought as they turned to him.
"Before you do that, you have something else you need to do, Tsunade-baachan!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at her.
"What was it?" Tsunade said, feigning ignorance and receiving a look from Shizune.
"I told you, didn't I?!" Naruto exclaimed, getting riled up for no reason. "About Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke and Bushy Brow and Jiji!"
With a small smirk, Tsunade turned away for her and continued her way toward the stairs. "Oh....right, right." she said nonchalantly, earning a growl from Naruto and a sweat-drop from Shizune.
"Hey, if it isn't Naruto!" a male voice said, catching the blond's attention.
"Huh? Shikamaru?" Naruto recognized as he looked up the stairs and saw the lazy Nara walking up the steps with an older version of himself.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you in a place like this?" he asked with drawl although Naruto could hear the underlining interest.
Naruto inwardly groaned. These Naras can be persistent when they want to be.
He looked at Shikamaru with squinted eyes. "That's my question—Why are you in a place like this?" he asked.
"I have no idea why," Shikamaru said as he stopped in front of him. "but my father told me to come along with him. Probably something with clan."
"Hm." Naruto said as he looked passed Shikamaru to see the Nara clan head greeting the Slug Sannin.
"Long time no see, Lady Tsunade." Shikaku said with a respectful nod.
"Oh, the kid from the Nara Family, huh." Tsunade said as she looked at the now fully grown clan heir. "Are you taking proper care of the deer? The antlers of the deer from that area make very good medicine."
"Yes, I'm somehow managing." Shikaku answered.
"Hey, Naruto, who's that person who acts like such a big shot when she's so young?" Shikamaru whispered to him as he watched his father talk to her.
"That's Senju Tsunade, a hot-shot medic. And apparently, she's the new Hokage." Naruto whispered back.
"Huh?!" Shikamaru exclaimed in seemed like a mixture of surprise in horror.
"Despite her appearance, she's an old lady in her fifties." Naruto continued.
"Yikes!" Shikamaru said as he stared at her back.
"Well, see you again sometime." Tsunade said as she gave Shikaku a back-handed wave walking down the stairs.
"Yes, ma'am." Shikaku replied.
"Hate to cut this meeting short, but I gotta go." Naruto said as he moved to chase behind her only to be stopped by a hand grabbing his arm.
Naruto turned to see that the hand belonged to Shikamaru who was staring at him with a bored yet annoyed expression on his face. Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. Shouldn't he be the one annoyed since he's the one being held back.
"Play a game of shogi with me." Shikamaru said.
Naruto quirked another eyebrow before he shook his head. "Maybe later, Shikamaru." he said. "I got somewhere to be."
"I mean it." Shikamaru said, holding his grip. "I want to play against you."
Naruto scowled at Shikamaru before snatched his arm from out of his grip. "Like I said. Maybe later." he said before turning to Shikaku who was quietly observing the two boys.
He huffed as he ran down the stairs, trying to catch up with Tsunade. Shikamaru stared at the back of the blond with a small frown as he chased after the other blond woman. When he could no longer see them, he looked up at his father who was staring down at him with an unreadable glint in his eye.
"What?" he snapped with irritation.
"Are you alright?" Shikaku inquired.
"I'm fine." Shikamaru answered as he briefly glanced down the stairs. "So that's the new Fifth Hokage...?"
Shikaku shook head at his son's dull tone as he walked toward him and stopped beside him. "Hey, Shikamaru." he said as he glanced in the direction Tsunade just left. "That person is the strongest and most beautiful person in the world."
"Huh?" he said as he turned to his father.
"I mean, she's the lone female amongst the Legendary Sannin." Shikaku said with a hint of admiration.
Shikamaru gave a rugged sigh. "She sounds troublesome." he commented. "A female Hokage, huh? Look, I'm not very comfortable with women."
Shikaku suppressed a sigh. Kami help him.
"Even though they're unusually frank, they always hang around and you're never quite sure whose side they're on." He said, thinking about a certain blond kunoichi and her friend. "They always think they can make men do whatever they want. Basically, they're just a pain."
Shikaku simply hummed. He looked down at his son before he closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"Hey, Shikamaru...." Shikaku said as he looked at nothing in particular. "Without women, men wouldn't be born."
Shikamaru looked at his father with a raised eyebrow. Why did he feel like they've already had this conversation before.
"If women weren't around, nothing good would come of men." Shikaku said as he looked down at him with a small grin before turning to walk away toward the entrance of the building. "No matter how hard-edged a woman might be, she'll show her gentle side to the man she loves."
'I can't believe that Pa's saying that when he's tied to Mom's apron strings.' he thought to himself. He couldn't even believe that they were having this conversation again. He would never understand women, so why did he even bother. It was all such a drag.
"You'll understand once you reach that age." Shikaku said over his shoulder before he body tensed a little, remembering something important. "Oh no!"
He turned to Shikamaru who was giving him a raised eyebrow. "Let's hurry up and get our business done...." he said before moving to enter the building. "because Mom will chew us out if we're late."
"Didn't she go shopping?" Shikamaru drawled.
"Yeah, but we promised we'd be back in time to have dinner at the Akimichi's and I have a feeling this meeting's going to be long." Shikaku said. "So, hurry up, Shikamaru!"
Shikamaru looked at his dad with a light sweat-drop as he stepped into the main hall of the building. He sighed as he eventually followed.
"Looks like nothing will come of some men, even if they have a woman." he said solemnly. "What a pain."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Meanwhile.....)
Tsunade lightly hummed to herself as she walked down the road to the hospital. Walking to her right, was her attendant and her pig and to her left was Naruto. The walk to the place was surprisingly quiet and the silence made her glance at Naruto a few times since their walk. He wasn't doing anything in particular. His eyes were just wandering around aimlessly and he had his arms folded behind his head.
She noticed some of the looks he would receive from passersby and she frowned a little. Did he not notice them or was he ignoring them? She couldn't really tell. As the approached the park, Tsunade decided to strike up a conversation, having gotten used to the talkative blond. Being quiet just didn't suit him and his quietness made her worry a little. For what reason, she did not know.
"Tell me about these friends of yours, Naruto?" Tsunade said, catching the boy's attention.
Naruto glanced up at before shrugging his shoulders and a thoughtful expression crossed his features.
"Well, their my comrades." Naruto stated.
"Bushy Brows is cool. He's always happy and screaming about youth and he's super fast! He even beat Sasuke in the chunin exams!" he said.
"What happened to him?" Tsunade asked.
Naruto frowned a little at this. "Well, he fought this Suna genin during the exams who could control sand. The guy was scary." he said with a small shiver. "When Bushy Brow fought him, he gave him everything he had and was beating him until the scary guy even scarier. His sand started to move on it's own and in the end, he crushed Bushy Brows leg and arm."
Shizune winced at that while Tsunade frowned.
"What do you mean the sand moved on it's own?" she inquired.
"I don't know." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head. "I can't really explain it."
It was silent for a moment. Tsunade allowed herself to process what she was hearing before turning to the blond again.
"What about your other friends?" Tsunade asked.
"Sasuke's a bastard." Naruto said bluntly. "But, he's very strong and is my rival. He recently got in a fight with his brother and he did something to him. One moment they were fighting and the next he was screaming before he went silent. I don't know exactly what happened to him."
"Kakashi-sensei is cool I guess. But he's lazy and perverted and always reading Pervy Sage's books. He also wear's that stupid mask. He's pretty strong, too." he commented.
"Hokage-jiji is nice." Naruto said, immediately catching Tsunade's attention, he noticed. "He helped me get what I needed for the Academy and got me my own apartment after I left the orphanage. He also came to visit me and would give me money to get stuff for myself. I spend most of it on ramen, though." he added with a sheepish grin.
A small smile formed on Tsunade's face at that last statement. It seemed the boy inherited his mother's love for ramen. When they arrived to the hospital, they immediately went to the front desk. Naruto had told Tsunade that he wanted to visit Sasuke first and the woman simply nodded her head. He ignored the small glare she sent him as he walked toward the stairs with Tsunade and Shizune. He childishly blew her a raspberry and flicked a bird at her before moving to walk alongside Tsunade.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at slight grin she saw on his face when he reappeared beside her. When she looked up closely, she could see that it was rather strained which caused her to frown a little. What in the hell was going on with this kid? The trio walked in silence again as they walked up to the third floor and toward room 361.
"I hope you really know what you're doing, baa-chan." Naruto said as they approached. "I guess I get to see you're expert medical skills are as good as people say they are in person."
Tsunade's eye twitched while Shizune sweat-dropped. Naruto was suddenly sent crashing onto the floor with a lump already forming on his head. He groaned into the cold, hard floor, hearing the room door open beside him. Thanks to his fast healing, he was able to get up and he rubbed his head as he glared up at the blond woman who looked satisfied.
"You didn't have to hit me that hard, that hurt, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed angrily.
Tsunade scoffed as she entered the patient's room. "It's supposed to hurt. I told you to stop calling me that, you brat." she said as her eyes landed on the dark-haired figure in the bed.
"So this is Sasuke Uchiha." she said out loud as she approached the bed.
"Who are you?" a feminine voice demanded, catching Tsunade's attention.
Tsunade turned to see a pair of pupil-less light blue eyes staring at her with narrowed eyes with her body tense as if she were preparing to defend herself and the boy. She had platinum blond hair and wore a purple outfit with bandages wrapped around her stomach and thighs. She could tell that girl was around Naruto's age and looking at her hair, she recognized her as a Yamanaka.
Her eyes then drifted over to the girl that was standing up not too far from the blond. She had pink-hair that was cut short and wore her hitai-ate as a headband. She had emerald green eyes, fair skin, and a noticeably large forehead that oddly suited her. She wore a red qipao dress with short sleeves and slits along the sides accompanied by a zipper and white circular designs. Under it, was a pair of dark green biker shorts and blue sandals.
'This must be Sakura.' Tsunade deduced as her eyes lingered on her before they returned to the blond that addressed her. She smirked at her. She had spunk. She liked that.
"I'm Tsunade Senju. New head doctor and Fifth Hokage." she said, causing their jaws to drop.
Sakura was the first to recover and she blinked a couple times as she stared at the woman in front of her. 'What a beautiful woman....' she inwardly commented as she took in her features. She had read about Tsunade Senju, but she had never met her in person. She had to admit, she looked a lot different than what she expected her to look like. She blinked again. She couldn't believe she was standing in front of the Tsunade Senju. The infamous Slug Sannin and most renowned medical-nin in the Elemental Nations. She didn't even know what to say.
"Ne, Sakura. Everything will be fine now." Naruto said as he moved near the bed. "I brought back this awesome medical-nin to help us out so Sasuke will be fine now." he told her confidently.
Sakura just stared at him as she watched his eyes travel to the boy on the bed. She didn't really know what to say to him either. Ino looked back and forth between Naruto and Tsunade before her eyes finally landed on Sakura, who was rendered speechless.
"Naruto..." Sakura finally said.
Naruto didn't even respond to her. He got her what she wanted so everything was fine now. Kakashi would be getting soon and the Sandaime and Rock Lee were next. There was no need for him to linger in this cold place anymore and he was finally freed up to do other important things that he needed to do. Unfortunately, his restuarant was effected by he invasion so he had to make sure that everything was fine there. Luckily, the feudal lords would be arriving in Konoha soon for the Godaime's inauguration as well as the daimyo. That should give him plenty of enough time to get things back up and running.
Tsunade looked at the unconscious boy before her eyes landed on the flowers near the boy's bed. One set was fresh while the other one was a bit older. She thought about the two kunoichi that were currently in the room. Had they been here everyday to check on this boy? She was pulled out of her musing when Sakura finally turned to her to speak.
"I heard from Gai-sensei who you were." Sakura informed, earning a look from Ino. "Please save Sasuke." she said with a bow.
Tsunade simply smiled at her, impressed by her commitment. "Ok, leave it to me." she said as she turned to face Sasuke.
She stared down at the boy and inspected him before placing a hand over his head. Suddenly, a green colored energy began to emit from her hand. Sakura watched with worry as she operated on Sasuke while Ino watched with interest. She didn't know much about medical ninjutsu, only that it existed. She really hadn't shown much interest in it. However, watching Lady Tsunade work peeked her curiosity and she watched the process attentively, trying to see how it actually worked.
Naruto just stood there and watched with a blank expression on his face. He wondered what his teammates state of mind was going to be like when he woke up. As he watched her, his eyes began to wander up the rest of Tsunade's body, lingering on her chest before drifting up to her face. Her brows were furrowed in concentration and her breaths were calm. Her hand was steady and she had a look on her face that told you that this woman knew what she was doing. Naruto found this look very attractive.
'Does she always look this hot when she's working?' he thought to himself.
'And you call Kakashi a pervert.' Kurama commented.
'Tch, leave me alone, baka-kitsune.' Naruto said.
'Ero-gaki.' Kurama responded, earning a tick mark from Naruto.
While Naruto was bickering with Kurama in his head, Tsunade was glancing over at Sakura and Ino while she was working. The both looked worried, however, Tsunade could see the spark of interest in Ino's eyes at the technique she was using. In Sakura's eyes, she could only see concern and fear. She didn't miss the tear that trailed down her eye. Out of the two of them, she would say that Sakura liked him the most and was possibly in love with him. She had seen that look in her before. She had that shared that same look whenever Dan would get hurt.
When Naruto cut the link, his attention returned to what Tsunade was doing he had to admit that he was impressed. Sasuke didn't look as dead as he used to and soon his eyes began to twitch, indicating that he was trying to wake up. The green chakra that was emitted from her hand ceased when his eyes began to open. Sakura nearly cried at the sight of those dark pools she hadn't seen in nearly a month.
"Sasuke." Naruto greeted.
"Sasuke-kun." Ino said with relief.
"Sasuke-kun....." Sakura said, trying to hold her tears as she looked at him.
Sasuke slowly blinked a few times before moved to sit up. He seemed a little out of it as he stared down into space. With a few tears pouring out of her eyes, Ino was first to embrace him. Her hug was gentle and warm. She did her best to be careful, not wanting to hurt or anything. He didn't respond to it or anything. He just sat there.
"I missed you." she said softly as she slowly pulled away from him and took a step back to give him space.
Next, he was completely glomped by Sakura who was nearly crying rivers. "Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed as she embraced him tightly, holding him close to her.
He didn't respond to her either. He just moved his head where his chin was resting on her shoulder. Naruto silently watched Sakura cry as she held onto him like a life line. His expressions were unreadable as he watched. After a couple of more minutes of watching the tearful reunion, he turned to walk out the door. Tsunade, Ino, and Shizune watched him walk away as Sakura completely forgot about him. Tsunade and Shizune felt a little bad for him while Ino didn't know how to feel. She eventually went after him, something that kind of surprised them.
"Naruto!" Ino shouted down the hallway, causing Naruto to pause before turning to look at her.
"What?" he asked.
"Where are you going?" she asked him as she walked toward him.
"I'm going to see, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto answer. "He's next on the list."
"What about Lady Tsunade?" Ino questioned. "Don't you need her?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Ne, baa-chan knows were to go." he said. "I practically told her over a hundred times already."
"Oh...." Ino said as she looked down a little nervously. "Well, you mind if I tag along?" she asked shyly.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at this but didn't comment on it. "Sure." he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
The two walked down the stairs to the second floor, heading toward room 283. On their way there, Ino stole a couple of glances at Naruto. It was still hard to get used to - dealing with this new Naruto that is. Right now he seemed so aloof whereas in the past, he would have been jumping around and babbling about nonsense. She was still trying learn how to handle the new development. They were a couple of blocks from Kakashi's hall when Ino spoke again, catching Naruto's attention.
"Naruto?" Ino called out.
"Yeah?" he responded.
"Thanks." Ino said nervously.
"For what?" Naruto asked.
"For bringing Tsunade-sama to heal Sasuke." Ino said, looking down. "It means a lot."
Naruto turned to look at her for a moment. She was fiddling with the hems of her skirt and looking down at the ground, things that were uncharacteristic for Ino. As he continued to stare at her, pink dusted her cheeks and she looked up and glared at him.
"Why are you just staring at me, baka?!" she exclaimed.
Naruto blinked at her a few times before turning to look ahead. "Hn, I just only did what I was supposed to as a teammate." he said, causing Ino's eye twitch at his dismissal. "But it means that much to you, your welcome."
Ino was about to open her mouth to say something before it closed. What was she going to say? She stared at Naruto for a moment before she turned to look ahead with a huff. She couldn't understand him for the life of her. No wonder why Shikamaru got annoyed with him sometimes.
The two genin walked to Kakashi's room in silence. Ino continued to steal glances at him but Naruto ignored it. He wished Tsunade would hurry up and bring her ass down. He had things to do.