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66.66% The Rise of a Warrior: Naruto / Chapter 16: Chapter 10: Tsunade Found, A Despicable Bargain

章 16: Chapter 10: Tsunade Found, A Despicable Bargain

Tatsu was leading Dosu and Naruto along the path "For the record guys, I can't sense out her chakra because I've never felt it before. I'd have to get a solid feel for it first." then he noticed that Naruto had stopped walking "What's wrong?"

"Tatsu, what exactly do those guys want with me anyway?" asked Naruto.

"Well…"

"We've been educated on it by Orochimaru." Dosu told him "We also knew about the seal he put on Naruto during the Forest of Death."

"Okay that makes it easier. Anyway Naruto, they're after Kurama."

"But why?"

"Short version, they probably wanna use its power for some nefarious purpose. For now, we've just gotta get you as strong as possible so that you'll be ready when they come back."

"I'll just have to hurry up and get stronger, no other choice! Alright Tatsu, let's find this Tsunade woman you're talking about so she can fix up Kakashi-sensei and we get down to some serious training!" and he bolted ahead.

"I give it 10 minutes before he realizes he doesn't know where he's going."

"Tatsu." said Dosu "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?

"Tsunade is a great healer according to my understanding, do you think… she would be able to heal the scars on my face?"

"Of course, the real question is whether or not she will. Don't worry though, I'll figure out a way to persuade out."

Then Naruto finally came back "Hey Tatsu, this beautiful woman that you've been scouting around for. Is she the Tsunade you mentioned?"

"Hey you can listen, good for you. Why?"

"Well you said she was one of these three legendary Sannin, the same as Pervy Sage right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"How old is she?"

"Same age as Jiraiya."

'She's ancient. So what's she like anyway?"

"I've never met her myself but I've heard a lot about her. Well she's been described as kind of unpleasant, she's known throughout the land as a diehard gambler."

"Great, this should be a piece of cake if she's as famous as that."

"Oh she's famous alright, you might even call her legendary. She's known as the Legendary Sucker, but true as it may be she's not known for being easy to find."

"Why, what makes you say that?"

"From what I've heard she doesn't grow old gracefully, according to Jiraiya she'll be using a transformation to mask her appearance. She's actually in her 50's but she'll look more like she's in her 20's. Plus I've heard that she's started transforming on the fly, going from teens to young adult all to avoid debt collectors."

"That's awful, she sounds like a charmer."

"She's called the Legendary Sucker, what the hell do you think?"

"So do you actually have a plan for finding her?"

"Not really, the three of us have some work ahead of us but we'll come up with something."

"So you don't even have the slightest idea how long this is gonna take?"

"Well I know that we've got less than a month, but you don't have to worry because all of our time on the road will be devoted to you two."

"Me and Dosu?"

"Yep, we've gotta get you stronger so let's get to training and if you pull out that jumpsuit Guy gave you I'll feed it to Kurama. But I've gotta train you to gather information on Tsunade, otherwise it won't mean anything." he looked over a cliff to see a town "Here's where we'll do it."

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Naruto looked around the town "This is gonna be great, I've never seen anything like this before in my life."

Dosu looked around "It's definitely a lot more active and inviting than Sound."

"Downtime is important." Tatsu handed them some money "This festival is gonna go on for awhile, we'll hang around down here until it's over. I'm gonna go see if I can get some information and supplies, you guys take this much and do whatever."

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5 hours of binging on stands later…

Tatsu met up with Dosu and Naruto on the hill outside of town "Alright guys, let's get to it."

Naruto noticed the gigantic bag he was carrying "What's in there?"

"Training equipment." he tossed him a water balloon.

"What's this for?"

"Just think for a minute, you saw the jutsu I used on Gaara in the preliminaries right?"

"Yeah."

"How would you describe it? And not the Leaf Dragon God."

"Oh, you mean the one that sent him spinning like a pinwheel?"

'I should've seen this coming, but maybe this'll help. Fortunately during that month of training I perfected the Rasengan so I don't need a Shadow Clone. I guess it just took some practice. Spinning is one approach you could use, but let's try this." he held up a water balloon and began rotating the water.

'He's spinning the water in the balloon without even moving his hand.'

Tatsu then popped the water balloon "With the tree-climbing technique you learned to gather chakra and maintain it, with the water-walking technique you learned to release a steady amount of chakra. With this, you'll create a stream of chakra."

"Huh?"

"Don't strain yourself, I'll go into more detail on how it works once you've gotten the basics down. First, use the tree-climbing to gather the chakra in your hand and then release a steady stream using the water-walking, and finally you'll have to use the chakra to push and churn the water inside the balloon."

"Wait, I get it! So you're aiming to spin the water inside the balloon until it eventually pops."

"Exactly. Now then, you get a move on with it. Dosu, here." he handed Dosu a scroll.

"What is it?" asked Dosu.

"Just an Earth-style jutsu Jiraiya gave me, I don't have an Earth element so I thought you'd get some use out of it. Go practice it on the other hill, that way you and Naruto don't distract each other."

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3 hours later…

Naruto was losing patience "This is crazy, what do I have to do?!"

Tatsu finally came back "Alright, Dosu's got the jutsu down. How're you coming along?"

"Well I'm really close, I swear!"

"...You haven't gotten anywhere have you?"

"...Come on, how do I do it?"

"Like I said before, you won't know it's done until after you've done it. But if you want, I can show you how I figured it out when Kakashi showed me the technique. We're gonna need a water balloon and a cat."

"...What?"

Tatsu bit down on his thumb and slammed his hand down "Summoning Jutsu!"

Then a certain red dragon appeared "What's up Tatsu?"

"Hey Hiryu, I need you to find me a cat."

"...Rasengan training?"

"Yep."

"Alright, hold on a second." he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and after a few minutes he reappeared with a cat "Alright, fork over a balloon."

"Got it." Tatsu put the balloon down and watched as the cat started messing with it until it popped "Alright, you got it now?"

Naruto blinked and stared into space for a few minutes "...Yeah, I got it! I knew I'd have this down in less than 3 days!"

"Don't be so impatient, it took me almost 2 weeks to master it. Just to make sure he doesn't try anything stupid. Besides, this jutsu was created by the Fourth Hokage and it took him 3 years to perfect it. In terms of difficulty, this is an A-rank jutsu, the rank being second from the top. To learn this requires 3 different phases of training, and the water balloon is only the first."

"Wait, when did you learn this?"

"When you were trying to get off Kakashi's mask."

'It took the 4th Hokage 3 years, and he was the best.'

"And you're gonna master this jutsu in 3 days? Well you work on that, I'm gonna go dig up some information on Tsunade. Come back to the room when you've had enough, and be sure not to overdo it." and he left.

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Naruto came into the room and found Tatsu fast asleep "Come on Tatsu, get up."

"Shut up…" Tatsu grumbled "Too early…"

"Oh is that right? Well then…" Naruto performed the water balloon exercise and let it splash all over Tatsu's face.

"Okay, that was uncalled for."

"So that's the first phase of training, what's next?"

"Let me guess, you tried spinning it in all sorts of different directions within the balloon to make it burst."

"Exactly, and once I figured it out the rest of easy."

'Well he still can't do it with only one hand, but then again I couldn't at first either. Alright then, let's wake up Dosu and head out to work on the next step."

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Tatsu led Naruto out to the hill "Alright then, I think you're ready to move on to the second step of the training."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered "Enough with the kid stuff, what's next?"

"More kid stuff." Tatsu held out a rubber ball and was quick to pop it "There's no water inside so it's a lot harder to pop."

Naruto tried performing the same technique on the rubber ball, to no avail 'Dammit this is hard.'

"The first step is rotation, the second is power. I'll let you figure it out, I'm gonna have a Shadow Clone go watch over Dosu's training while I myself go see if I can dig up some info on Tsunade."

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By nightfall, Naruto was lying on the ground with his hands twitching 'Just like he said, this is way harder than the water balloon. My arms and hands are killing me, don't know how much more they can take.'

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A few more days went by and Naruto was getting nowhere 'How many days doing the same thing over and over? I've gotta keep going.'

"Hey." then Tatsu came back and tossed him a rice ball "Here's a little something to build up your strength. How's your training going?"

"How the hell do you think?" Naruto angrily bit down on the rice ball "The closest I've gotten is a tiny leak."

"I saw, and I think I know something that could help. Give me your right hand."

Naruto did so.

Tatsu drew something on it.

"What is it?"

Tatsu drew the same symbol on his hand "Take a look."

"It's the same mark, I don't get it. How's this supposed to help?"

"You remember those times when Iruka yelled at us and the others for not being focused?"

"Yeah?"

"This is when you'll regret not paying attention."

"You mean the whole leaf on the forehead thing?"

"Yeah, that one. Try building up chakra and concentrating on that one point while you do it, and see if that helps." and he left.

Once he was gone, Naruto got back to it 'Let's see, I've gotta concentrate to make this work. Concentrate only on one point… Looking back, maybe I should've listened to what Iruka-sensei was telling us. I'm so stupid. Well I guess there's no use crying over spilled milk.' he turned the mark into a leaf symbol 'Alright here we go, I'm doing this no matter what. Concentrate… concentrate… concentrate… come on, almost there… this is it!' with a suddenly burst of strength, he began pouring his chakra into it, and with one massive burst, he finally managed to get it to pop, only to be sent skidding back.

Tatsu came back and examined his hand 'I knew he'd do it, the chakra was so dense it burned his palm though. I thought as much.'

"What do you know? It finally popped Tatsu."

"Good work, you finally mastered the second step."

"Come on then, let me hear the third one."

"That's gonna have to wait, I've finally got a solid lead on Tsunade's location. Let's go get Dosu and head out."

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In Tanzaku Town, Tsunade hit an unusual winning streak, leading her to believe something bad would happen.

This was proven right when she tried to leave the city, only to be met by Orochimaru and Kabuto.

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Tatsu led Dosu and Naruto on the road "Alright guys, we've gotta move if we wanna find her."

"Yeah, whatever." Naruto grumbled.

"What the hell's got you in such a bad mood?"

"What do you think? We're still in the middle of my training, you said there were three steps and I've only learned 2 of them now quit holding out on me."

"Calm down, you can work on the third one while we're walking. The first step you learned was rotation, the second was power." Tatsu held out his hand and formed a Rasengan "Let me guess, you're thinking it's like a small typhoon. In case you can't tell, there's a big difference between this and Sasuke's Chidori. The Chidori is more of a drilling technique, this technique is more for grinding. For example." he pushed it against a tree, grinding away a good portion of it "That's the completed version." he pushed an incomplete version further down, leaving a large spiral pattern on it "This is what you'd have right now. If you can keep that small typhoon the size of your palm then the energy won't be able to disperse. It'll keep spinning faster, and its power will become more and more compressed and its destructive power will reach its max. So there you have it."

'Right, this'll be no sweat.' he held out a balloon in his hand and began generating chakra 'Okay, this feels right. Now!' he began pushing chakra with both hands 'Keep it going, keep it going, keep it going. Keep it going!' it eventually popped.

"No cutting corners on this one, get your power and rotation at 100% and then maintain them."

'This is crazy, unless I can perfectly control my power it's impossible. I see now, this third step is on a whole other level.'

"Like I said this is an A-rank technique that the 4th Hokage himself created. That's enough for now, we've gotta get moving. Besides, there's no guarantee Tsunade will stay in this town for much longer. It's not like she'll bump into some old acquaintance and start reminiscing over the good old days, that is unless Jiraiya showed up to try and seduce her."

Tatsu didn't know how wrong he was.

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Frail and sickly after being hit by the Reaper Death Seal, Orochimaru asked Tsunade to heal his soulless decayed arms and the pain they caused him.

Needless to say, she wasn't exactly compliant.

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Tatsu and the others stopped outside of the town "Alright guys, we've gotta move before she leaves or we may never find her."

Dosu studied him intently 'Tatsu was willing to come here alone to find this woman, I suppose I should expect no less from a legendary Sannin.'

'I just hope she's still here.'

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So they made their way to a gambling house, where Naruto quickly discovered his talent for gambling while trying to perfect the Rasengan 'Dammit, I screwed it up again!'

Tatsu breathed a sigh of relief 'Thanks Naruto, that saves me 1,000.'

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This basically repeated itself until Tatsu finally had it "Well this is just perfect, at this rate it'll be a year before we track her down." then he noticed Naruto was missing "Where's Naruto?"

"Getting a scratch-off card." Dosu told him.

"He's basically being suckered."

Naruto came back with one fat frog-wallet "Alright!"

"...Unbelievable. He won from one ticker, the kid's got a knack for gambling. If only he was that sharp on jutsu. Anyway, I've gotta focus on tracking her down. The only question is where she could be? I mean she couldn't have gone far in such a short time period. For now, I think we should find some high ground. If I remember correctly, this town surrounds a castle so if we climb up to a top. Hey guys, let's head over this way."

Dosu and Naruto shared a look, then shrugged "Okay."

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Though she had no intention of healing Orochimaru after hearing what he did to Sarutobi, Tsunade decided to consider the matter when he offered to revive her dead brother Nawaki and lover Dan.

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"Hey Tatsu." said Naruto "Where's this castle you're talking about?"

"Weren't you listening? It's-" Tatsu looked and saw it wasn't there "And it's not there. Okay, now I know something's wrong." he looked down and saw the castle in ruin.

"What caused this?" asked Dosu.

"I don't know." then he saw people running from something "Hey you there, what's going on? Tell me, what are you running from?"

"If you're smart then you'll run too, there's a monster up there!" the guy yelled.

"Just calm down, what kind of monster?"

"A huge snake that crushed the castle without even trying!" then he ran off.

"Come on guys, I'm gonna get a closer look at this monster."

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Orochimaru gave her a week to think about it, and then took his leave.

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By the time Tatsu's group showed up, Tsunade's group was nowhere in sight "Looks like we were too late."

"Did the snake do this too?" Naruto wondered.

"Let's go guys, we won't find her here."

"What's the plan from here?" asked Dosu.

"I've got no choice, I'm gonna have to track her down the old-fashioned way."

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Nightfall came.

"This is ridiculous." Naruto grumbled "How many places are you gonna drag us to? I'm starting to think this old lady doesn't even exist."

"I'm checking out any place that serves alcohol." Tatsu said dryly "For now, let's just stop here and get a bite to eat."

"Hey, what're you talking about? It's a tavern."

"And?"

"All three of us are underage!"

"I'm not making you guys do anything, just get us some snacks and stay out of the big boys' way."

"If we're just gonna eat then why don't we go somewhere real like a ramen shop?"

"Because taverns are some of the best places to pick up information." then he paused 'I can sense a strong chakra presence, even when it's suppressed it's so clear.' he saw a blond at the other end of the tavern 'I think I found my target. Guys, wait here." cautiously, he made his way over to the booth "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be Lady Tsunade would you?"

"Maybe, what of it?" Tsunade slurred.

'Drunk already, this is gonna be easy.' Tatsu pulled out some papers "I'm here on Hidden Leaf business, we need to talk." he looked back "Naruto, Dosu, it's her."

Naruto stared in awe 'That woman's Tsunade? An old lady, right Tatsu.'

"Naruto." Dosu called "Come on."

"Oh right." Naruto made his way over.

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10 minutes in, Dosu and Naruto were munching on some snacks while Tatsu and Tsunade were playing poker.

"It's like a reunion." Tsunade grumbled "All y'all faces and reminders coming back at the same time."

Tatsu poured some sake for her "You mean Orochimaru. So what happened?"

Tsunade shot a look at her assistant Shizune, then lied through her teeth "Nothing much, we said hello and that's about it."

Naruto was still skeptical 'Is she really a great healer or did he make that part up too?'

Tsunade placed a deck of cards on the table "Well then, why have you been looking for me boy?"

Tatsu picked his hand "I'll cut right to the chase then. Lady Tsunade, the village has chosen you as the Fifth Hokage."

Tsunade froze, while Naruto nearly choked.

"If you met with Orochimaru then you must already know about what happened to the Third Hokage."

"It was Orochimaru's doing right? I heard about it, in fact he told me himself."

Naruto couldn't stay silent any longer 'Orochimaru's doing? Hold on, you're saying he's the one who killed the Old Man? Who is this Orochimaru guy?"

"He's one of the Sannin, like Tsunade here and Jiraiya."

"But then why? The Sannin are all from the Leaf Village right? Why'd he do it?"

"It's complicated."

"Who're these brats you've got with you?" asked Tsunade "Especially the loud blonde one."

"Mummy-boy here is Dosu Kinuta, one of Orochimaru's former lapdogs who turned on him and joined the Leaf. The loud one, as you put it, is Jiraiya's latest apprentice, Naruto Uzumaki."

Tsunade's eyes snapped towards 'This kid is the Kyuubi's-?'

"Okay wait I second, I haven't finished yet!" Naruto exploded "There's something about this I'm not getting! So this guy, you know he's the one who murdered the Hokage, what've you done about it? He's a Sannin, one of her and Pervy Sage, so why's he still walking around? And oh yeah, what's the deal with her being the Fifth Hokage?!"

"Naruto, sit down and shut up." Tatsu ordered.

"Absolutely not!"

"Sit. Down. Now."

That one actually intimidated him, so he did, albeit reluctantly.

Tatsu checked his hand 'Looks like I've got a good one. I'll say it once again, the Leaf has made its decision and chosen you as the Fifth Hokage. So what's your answer Lady Tsunade? Do you accept?"

Tsunade thought back to Orochimaru's offer and put down her cards "Impossible. I decline."

Tatsu was trying to keep himself composed "Funny, Jiraiya mentioned something about those being the exact same words you used to shoot him down the one and only time he ever asked you out. Alright, enough being mature, now it's time to do this my way. Look, my sensei is dying and you're the only person with the medical know-how to save him."

"Would somebody tell me what's going on?!" Naruto lost it "What the hell are we doing here? You said we were going to bring her back to the village to cure Kakashi-sensei and Hayate, and then you pull this stuff about making her Hokage, and then she goes and refuses it!"

"Naruto, shut up. She knows she can't refuse, there can be no one else. There was no one who contributed more to the Leaf's victory in the great wars. She combines unrivaled skills as a warrior with the ability to heal others, not to mention she's the granddaughter of the First Hokage, so in heritage and abilities she's the clear and only choice to be the Fifth Hokage. And once she accepts the offer, which she will, then she'll have to come back with us to the Leaf and cure both our senseis. The village elders carefully thought this out, it's not something an underage genin is expected to understand."

"Jiraiya must be slipping, this apprentice isn't at all like his last one." Tsunade commented "He's a fool with a big mouth, funny looking too."

"Well to be fair there are high expectations, he was the Fourth Hokage for crying out loud."

"Oh sure, but all that didn't save him from dying young. Throwing his life away all for the sake of the village, money's one thing but a life's another. To risk your life against all the odds, that's a sucker's bet."

'Oh shit, she pushed the button.'

Naruto unconsciously snapped his chopsticks 'A sucker's bet?'

"My grandfather and his successor, they were also willing to die to defend the village. Well they're both dead alright, and the village is no safer than it ever was."

"...And you were a student of the Third? You're nothing at all like I expected." Tatsu noted "I don't know what happened to make you like this, but you've got a lot of nerve to say things like that out loud. How drunk are you?"

"Don't forget, I'm not as young as I look."

"I know, I can see the wrinkles through the transformation. Tenseigan, remember?"

"Whatever, the years have taught me a great deal. Sarutobi-sensei too, he should've known better. What did he expect trying to be a hero at his age? Playing at Hokage, count me out. It's a fool's game."

"THAT DOES IT!" Naruto instantly pounced, only to be held back "Let me go- Let me at her- Stop it!"

"Dude!" Tatsu barked "People are staring, and that's saying something in a place like this."

Naruto bit down on Tatsu's hand and got up on the table "I'm not gonna let her sit here and make fun of the old man! I don't care if she is a lady, I'll knock that cynical sneer off her face!"

Tsunade put one leg on the table "Are you challenging me? You've got guts if nothing else, let's take this outside kid."

Tatsu let out a sigh "Dosu, have some first aid ready on standby. This is gonna get ugly."

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Tsunade was still cocky as ever "One of the legendary Sannin taking on a snotty-nosed genin? I oughta be ashamed of myself?"

"Who're you calling snotty?" Naruto snarled.

Tsunade held out a finger "You see this? One finger, it's all I'm gonna need to take you down. What're you waiting for kid?"

"Don't ever underestimate me!" Naruto charged in with a kunai.

Tsunade disarmed him and knocked off his headband, then flicked him in the forehead and sent him tumbling back.

"A flick to the forehead? I'll show her."

Then the kunai and his headband fell right in front of him.

'Woah, she's good. I guess I can rule out using Crimson Wind or any of my fire jutsu?'

"Hey kid, one question before you pass out. Tell me, what makes you so touchy about the Hokage?"

"It's because unlike you, that's my goal. Just watch, someday I'll be Hokage. Remember this, to be Hokage, that is my dream."

Tsunade froze.

'She let her guard down, even with all of the jutsu I know there's no way I can take her head on. Now's the time to use that jutsu. Focus!' he started making the Rasengan in his hands.

'What? Wait, that jutsu, it's-' right before the Rasengan made contact, Tsunade created a fissure in the ground, negating his attack and trapping him 'Unbelievable, I never expected the Fourth Hokage's jutsu. Still, it's not like the real thing. Not coming from this little genin.' then she turned to Tatsu "Tell me something kid, who taught that little runt the Rasengan?"

"You're looking at him." Tatsu told him "Jiraiya told me to teach it to Naruto. What of it?"

"Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage are the only ones who can use that jutsu."

"Actually Kakashi can use it too."

"Whatever, what's the point of teaching it to someone who can never master it you foolish brat? Giving him false hopes like that, filling his head with stupid ideas, making him think he could actually be Hokage someday."

"First of all, his head was full of stupid ideas long before I came into the picture. Second…" he paused, then formed a Rasengan in his left hand "You were saying? It took me a week to learn this jutsu from Kakashi, give him that same time limit and he'll have it down flat."

"What what you say kid, I might just hold you to it."

"Don't insult him!" Naruto barked "Give me 3 days and I'll have that jutsu down! And I will too, I said it and I never go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way."

"Well then, care to make a bet on it? I'll give you one week, if you can master that jutsu by then then I'll admit I'm wrong and that you're worthy of becoming Hokage. I'll even throw in my necklace."

"Lady Tsunade no, no you don't really mean that!" Shizune protested.

Naruto shrugged "You can keep it, I'm not really into jewelry."

Tatsu whacked him on the head "You idiot, that necklace belonged to Hashirama Senju the First Hokage himself. It's the only one like it in the world, that little thing is worth three gold mines and the mountains on top of them."

'Ka-ching! Alright lady, you've got yourself a bet."

Tsunade nodded "Alright. However, if you don't master it in a week then you lose and admit I was right. And I get the money in froggy here. Let's go Shizune."

"Freeze blondie." Tatsu cut in "The bargaining isn't over yet. If he does, then you give him the necklace, you come back to the village to become Hokage, you heal my sensei, and see what you can do about Dosu back there." he held out his hand "Deal?"

"Deal." Tsunade shook it "Alright Shizune, let's go." and she walked off, with a nervous Shizune behind her.

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Later, Naruto heard a knock on his room's door "What the-? Who could that be at this time of night?"

It was Shizune "I know it's awfully late, I'm sorry but I must talk to you."

"Just make it fast, I wanna get a good night's sleep cause I'm gonna start training first thing in the morning."

"That's just it, before you get into this there's something you must know about the necklace. And also about Lady Tsunade."

"I couldn't care less about that crazy old bat."

"Don't say that, she's not the type of person you think she is. What right have you- You don't know anything about her!" then she composed herself "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to shout. Lady Tsunade wasn't always like that. She used to be so kind, dedicated to the village, but she's changed. But ever since that day."

"What day?"

"The day she lost all she had. Dreams, hopes, everything. She had nothing left after that, except the necklace and all of its memories. Please understand, that necklace is more precious than life for her. It's not simply a piece of jewelry to be gambled away on a silly bet."

"Look a bet's a bet, and it was her idea not mine."

"You'll be sorry if you think it's something you'll be able to wear like a trophy. This is not just any necklace. It won't accept anyone else wearing it, only on Lady Tsunade does it remain safe. When anyone else puts it on, they die."

Naruto let out a loud gulp.

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Tsunade sat on top of the Tanzaku Gate staring at her necklace, reminiscing over how she'd given it to both her brother and lover and how they both died 'Nawaki… Dan…'

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Shizune finished explaining the whole situation to Naruto "So you see Naruto? That was the day, it changed her. She's been in torment ever since."

"I see…" Naruto slowly made his way towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Out, I need to start training." and he left without another word.

Dosu only stared at the door with his one eye 'Naruto… Shizune, was it?"

"Yes? Dosu right?" asked Shizune.

"Tell me, does Lady Tsunade have the ability to heal the scars of my face?" he removed his bandages.

Shizune examined it "Actually, I could do this for you but you'd need to keep the bandages on for another week."

"So you'll do it?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next morning, Naruto stared at the spiral pattern in the tree in front of him 'Dammit.'

"Hey."

Naruto looked to see Tatsu walked up to him.

"Hey."

"Any luck mastering it?"

"What the hell do you think?"

"I've got a tip for you." he held out a scroll "Read it over a few times and burn it when you're done." then he left.

Naruto looked at the scroll several times 'Son of a- Why didn't I think of that?!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey."

Tsunade looked to see Tatsu sitting next to her "What the hell do you want?"

"To talk. I have to say, I never expected you to hold onto that necklace after all those years of suffering, at least from what Jiraiya tells me. From what he says, I thought you might've gambled it away. Then again, it's all you have to remember them by."

"So you know?"

"He told me everything I need to know. Is he on your mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto, who else?"

"Not much?"

"I don't know, taking on a kid like him as an opponent. You know he'll never master that jutsu in a week, it's not much of a bet. What're you so glum over anyway?"

"Who's glum? I don't know what you're talking about kid."

"When are you meeting Orochimaru again?"

Tsunade froze.

"Shizune can't keep a secret, I don't know what sort of deal he might've offered you but you'd better think carefully before he accepted it. Remember the Hokage that have come before, and all they've accomplished for the Leaf. They're the only reason the village has survived and even prospered through troubled times. This was their dream, and they were all willing to risk anything and everything to achieve it, including their lives. Betray that dream, and you make all of their sacrifices meaningless. Why am I saying this? Could you of all people really do such a thing?" he shot her a look "If I thought you could, I would stop you here and now even if it killed me."

"It has nothing to do with me anymore."

"A person who feels nothing at the death of those close to him is no different than the filthiest of butchers, but I can tell that you're not like that. From what I heard, there was no one who cared more for the village or felt its pain more deeply-"

"Okay, that's enough with the lecture! That dumb kid, why did you have to bring him here and why did Jiraiya send you instead of coming himself?"

"Well Jiraiya said something about having faith that I could do it without him. As for why I brought him, from what I've heard he and Naruto are a lot alike."

"It's not just that. They're more alike than you could ever know.'

"He will master it you know, I have faith in him. I'd risk everything in that kid, and I know he'll deliver." and with that, he walked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dosu woke up to find Naruto's bed empty 'He never came in, he must've been training all night.' he looked outside 'I guess it's time for me deal my hand in this game. It's time I do something worthwhile.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The week was almost up, it was the night of day 6, and Naruto had finally passed out from exhaustion.

Shizune observed the destruction from his training and rushed to his side "Naruto, are you alright? Naruto!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade opened her door and found Tatsu standing there "What do you want?"

"We need to talk." was all he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tatsu led Tsunade to a bar "Correct me if I'm wrong, but the week you gave Naruto ends tomorrow right?"

Tsunade downed her sake "Yeah."

"Dosu and I haven't seen him in days, I wonder where he is."

"Beats me."

"Don't forget what I said, if you do turn on the Leaf and accept Orochimaru's offer then I will do everything in my power to kill you."

"I'll be sure to remember that."


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