Naruto : Advent of the Flash

Tsunade shook off the cobwebs from her mind, and all but crawled like an infant towards her downed boy with all her accumulated haste. Seeing him within arms length, however, made her mind go blank. Barely even breathing, in all her years of seeing him grow up, she had never seen him look so frail - so quiet.

As if afraid her mere touch might hurt him, she hesitantly caressed his whiskers, "N-Naruto…?!" her whisper served to break Jiraiya off his trance, who himself all but stumbled down by Naruto's side. "Kami," he breathlessly spoke. Swirling burns encased Naruto's arm like a web, as if they were a part of him. For a moment, and just for a moment, Jiraiya blamed himself for having played any part in teaching the boy of eight an A-rank assault technique.

Just as he was about to touch Naruto's arm to inspect it, his hand was harshly slapped away with a strength that caused his skin to redden. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Tsunade all but hissed in fury. Carefully, as softly as one might pluck a feather, she collected her son's torn form in her arms and nuzzled her nose in his hair. "My baby…" she sobbed thickly.

"...M-Mom?!"

Eyes snapping open, "Naruto?" she couldn't believe her eyes. His eyes, hazy and dazed were trying as they might to focus in on her. "I'm here." she told him.

"...are you -ugh," coughing weakly, and much to Tsunade's displeasure, "…alright?" he whispered. Tears she had been holding back broke free, she laughed lifelessly, "How can I be alright, silly?" she choked.

"How can I be fine when my life is right here, barely even conscious?!"

Even in his near-unconscious state, Naruto couldn't help but laugh out a pained giggle, "I think I'm gonna sleep, mom." he told her, his own vision darkening. Kissing his eyes clean off their tears from the pain he had endured, "You go do that. I'll be here until you wake up, alright?" she softly cooed him, glad he was alright. He said nothing more, merely nuzzling himself in her ample bosoms and drifting into blissful unconsciousness.

"Jiraiya," she called out him. "Do me a favor, will you?"

"What is it, hime?"

"Take Naruto to his room," she told him, carefully placing him in his arms. Jiraiya hesitated, dreading what she was about to do. "Tsunade…" he tried to argue.

"Take him upstairs, NOW."

Seeing she was in no mood to argue, he did just that and signaled Kakashi to do the same. The masked jonin was shocked, but knew when not to argue and followed him wordlessly. Both dared to look back, only to flinch on seeing Tsunade's hawk like eyes still trained on them - warning them to walk away and never look back. Both were smart enough to do just that, it was beyond their hands now. One way or another, there was going to be a fallout they would have to clear up later. Better it would be, if they weren't with broken bones and ruptured arteries when the time came to clean up the mess that was, no doubt, about to be made.

Getting up from her knees with a heaved sigh, Tsunade leveled a look on the frozen redhead that would have repulsed the reaper himself, "YOU!" she snarled, looking ready to breathe fire from her nostrils. Kushina blinked, her own eyes widening.

"I-I didn't mean t-to, it was an accident!"

Kushina nearly got beaten to the punch by Tsunade, literally, when Tsunade's fist passed harmlessly by her ear and created a push of air that drilled a hole in the opposite wall. "I swear Tsunade, I would never hurt him intentionally." tears were already leaking down her cheeks by this time. The thought of hurting the very boy she was trying to win over was flashing through her mind like venom. The seal on her forehead breaking free, Tsunade tore off her kimono from the knee down and threw it aside, cracking her neck and knuckles in preparation for her onslaught.

"Does it look like I care?!"

Before Kushina could so much as think of a retort, Tsunade was already in front of her, one heel pivoting on the ground with the other making it's way for the redhead's jaw. Kushina wasn't stupid enough to try and block that brute force of nature Tsunade called a kick, and was right in her thoughts when that very kick created yet another shockwave that blew off some furniture by their sides. What she wasn't prepared for, however, was a chakra infused palm to meet her face with an audible smack, square on her cheek. Flung aside like a rag doll, Kushina just had enough time to collect her bearings and;

"He's my son, I won't-"

That had clearly been the wrong thing to say, since as soon as the third word flew off her lips, Tsunade saw red. Flying through hand seals, "Lightning Style," she muttered, making Kushina's eyes go wide in horror. She hadn't even heard of the female Sannin ever using elemental ninjutsu before. Opening her palms at the front of her chest, Tsunade lamented for a moment before whispering;

"Electromagnetic Murder!"

Waves over waves of electricity cackled out from her palms, engulfing the entire hall within it with a deafening silence before a huge blast shook the entire Fire Capital awake. Everything, be it wooden, steel, or otherwise was thrown out the other end of the restaurant like paper balls. Many gasps of shock went around her as Tsunade walked out from the non existent wall of the hotel into the streets of town. She knew that wasn't nearly enough to take a kunoichi of Kushina's caliber out of battle, and rightly so, mere moments later, chains upon chains of chakra broke her free off the rubble and hurled it straight at Tsunade.

"It was all your damn fault, everything is your fault!"

Kushina's wail of agony didn't even serve to faze Tsunade, the annoyed mother who was looking up at the sky and the humongous amounts of rubble coming down from above with nothing short of amusement. "Yin Seal : Release!" she down her fist, her head tilted down to stare at the ground and shadowed her eyes from Kushina's point of view. The people around her screamed and begged for Tsunade to move away, thinking she was frozen out of sheer fright and rooted helplessly in place. Tsunade was anything but helpless though, without ever looking up she let her fist go up and unleashed the full brunt of her chakra, effectively creating a shockwave that turned all the falling rubble to dust - in mid air. Looks of awe and admiration ignored, Tsunade glared at Kushina with the intensity of magma. Both kunoichi glared each other down in a battle of stares and intimidation, upping their chakra for the battle that was about to go down. When all of a sudden;

"That's enough!"

The abrupt bark made them break free of their reveries, both women turning their heads to glare at the source of that annoyance in sheer trite. Kushina almost flinched when she saw just who it was, and the unbound hatred he was leveling her with for the first time, "Stand down, the both of you." barked Hiruzen, looking to be in no mood for pleasantries. Retreating back her chains when Tsunade pursed her lips into a thin line and let her molded chakra die down with a throb of air circling around her, the Uzumaki heiress fell down on her knees from sheer exhaustion - mental and emotional being the most prominent.

"Do you two have any idea what you have done?" Hiruzen barked angrily, "How it has made us, the ones people here were supposed to look up to, seem like?" he questioned in fury. "You had better have had a damned good explanation-"

"Naruto's arm nearly got torn off…!"

Silence befell the area, the look Hiruzen gave Tsunade was almost comical. "S-Say what?" he asked, perturbed. She gave him the same look of hatred she had leveled Kushina with mere moments ago, "Your esteemed guest from the Leaf, attacked my child in broad daylight. You had better be ready to compensate, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for I am in no mood for apologies." Tsunade bit right back. Hiruzen couldn't believe his ears, as far as he knew, there was no way she could;

"K-Kushina, tell me this is all just a misunderstanding!" he begged. Seeing shimmering drops dripping down her nose, his heart sank, "It was an accident, I didn't mean to." cried Kushina. Pinching the bridge of nose, "I'm getting too old for this," Hiruzen muttered tiredly, sighing near the end.

"Tsunade-chan," called a new voice, one that made said woman cock an eyebrow. "Go tend to your heir, you have my word anyone won't bother you again for the remainder of your stay." the steel in his voice didn't surprise her as much as to who it was who had said that. "Daimyo-sama, I can't just let her-"

"Such little faith in your host, you wound me Tsunade-chan!"

Pressing her lips in a tight line, Tsunade knew she had lost in his battle of words the moment he had said that. It wasn't his jokingly made promise that made her back down, it was the thought of reaching her fallen angel that made her turn around and run right back to her room. But right before going out of sight, Tsunade rummaged through her sleeve and took out a booklet. Biting her thumb, she signed the paper with her bloodied nail and tore off the slip - all but throwing in the direction of the Daimyo's face without a thought of fear, "For the damages and repercussions, fill the amount yourself." she told him icily and walked away.

The Daimyo watched her trudge back with a saddened gaze, he kept quiet for her demeaning tone, for her anger wasn't unfounded today. This event had taken place on his soil, when she was his guest no less. Turning around with the click of his fan, "Bring her with us, I'd like to have tea with the Uzumaki." he spoke in a tone that left no room for arguments. The trio of Fire Guardians behind him went on to carry out their orders, and Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief. The fallout had been contained to a much smaller degree than it would have been, had his or the Daimyo's interference been mere minutes later.

Just as he was about to thank the heavens for his luck, "You come too Hokage, this concerns you just as much as it does her." the Daimyo told him an all too knowing tone. Hiruzen cursed his luck, just when he thought everything was going smooth, he was the one who would have to clean up this mess.

He really was getting too old for this shit.

"Now Kushina-chan, I won't ask for an explanation as to what occurred back there."

"B-But, it wasn't-"

Raising his hand up to quieten her desperate pleas, he shook his head wearily. "Whatever it was that has happened, happened at my soil. She was an esteemed guest of mine, just as you are, or any other person here is." he told her with the wizened tone of an owl. His tone alone made her bow down her head while he took a sip of tea from his cup. "She was the one who taunted me, I wasn't in the wrong this time." she told him in a small voice, sounding hesitant herself.

"Be that as it may, it was her heir that was harmed - not yours!"

Her flinch made his face soften, before it hardened considerably more. "You will go to see her again, and apologize for your actions." her eyes widening, she almost scoffed when he continued, "…and in no way will you try to go near her son. Today, or for the remainder of your time at the capital. Am I making myself clear?"

"That's completely unreasonable!"

"Kushina," Hiruzen warned her, quieting down her appeals at once. "You will not meet Naruto," he told her, and seeing the fury in his eyes, "…unless he wants to meet you himself." words dying down in her throat, she gave him an odd look. Even the Daimyo himself looked interested, "Why would he wish to meet her after this little fiasco?" the Daimyo was the one who asked the million dollar question.

Hiruzen sighed, his wrinkles deepening, "He will meet her, trust me on this." he knew the boy, and the father whose blood ran strong in him, enough to know that he would demand closure for this with the redhead. Face to face, no less. "He'll meet me?" Kushina demanded hopefully, her voice tender and caring.

Seeing her desperate eyes clinging on to her last hopes, Hiruzen didn't have the heart to dash them and make them turn lifeless, "Yes, he will. But unless he approaches you himself, you will not force yourself on the Senju family anymore than what is necessary for a simple apology, do you understand?!"

"I-I understand."

The Daimyo clapped joyfully, "Marvelous." he laughed, "Now that this fiasco is done and over with, there is the matter of some reparations I wish to make on behalf of Tsunade-chan-" Hiruzen shot him a dirty look. Tsunade would rather die than even take a penny worth of change from the village, be it any reason whatsoever.

She loathed the village with a passion.

Civilians were scum when it came to money related affairs, Hiruzen cursed his luck for the second time that day.

Time came and went, two days passed in what seemed to be mere hours. The usually lively annual gathering at the capital had turned into a quiet affair as soon as word of those violent events taking place between the oldest of allied families had reached to various ears.

"How is he doing?" Jiraiya asked, for what seemed like the millionth time. Tsunade had all but locked him and herself up in his room like a princess in those old tales. Right after kicking him out of that room no less. Needless to say, it was disgraceful for the Toad Sage to be treated that way if he were to be honest. Though, after years of being manhandled by nearly half the female population of this world, he was, quite honestly used to it.

"He is doing rather well," Shizune told him. "Lady Tsunade is still keeping him in an induced coma though." she told the man, easing his worries a little.

"To ease his pain, I guess…?"

Shizune nodded sadly, "Yes, his wounds were rather severe. Being the bouncy bundle of joy he is, he might have reopened his…" Shizune trailed off. "Yeah, I get the gist." Jiraiya waved her off. Inside the room though, was an entirely different matter altogether.

Tsunade's eyes fluttered, blinking off the tears she willed back forcefully for the tenth time. Placing her fingers on his forehead, she forced in a pinch of lightning chakra to jolt his senses awake. It would have been better to let him sleep for a day or two more, but her heart was demanding that she see his shining eyes and twinkling smile once more. "Wake up." she cooed, brushing the hair off his eyes that were clenching themselves awake.

Tiny arms gathering around her neck, she collected him in her arms, being extra careful for his bandaged arm. "…ma?!" he whispered, his voice raspy. She ran soothing circles down his back, forcing more and more medical chakra down his coils than what was necessary to dull his pain.

Breaking free off the hug, she saw his lidded eyes barren with confusion. When his little palm swiped the wetness off her cheeks, only then did she realize her silent tears were confusing him to no ends, "I'm just happy, silly." she told him. Seeing him regaining his senses completely as his eyes widened themselves awake, she nuzzled her nose on his own, eliciting those soft giggles from his mouth.

"Mom, stop it!"

Laughing herself, she cupped his cheek with a smile and took in his features. "You shouldn't have done that, Naruto. I could take care of myself, you know?" her voice lacked any energy behind her words, and Naruto felt bad for making her feel that way. He still didn't know why he had done what he had, but it felt right at the moment. "Why did you jump in front of me like that, Naruto?" she asked tearfully.

Looking ashamed, Naruto averted his eyes, "I-I don't know. I knew I wasn't no match for that woman, or that you needed any help. But when I saw her attacking you like that, I was scared mom." he told her shakily.

"Scared of what, munchkin?"

"...I don't wanna lose you, mom." he whimpered, hugging her for dear life. "Hey," she kissed the side of his side, "…why would you do that, if you were so scared?"

Naruto's eyes went hazy, his mind replaying those horrifying events again, "I don't really know mom. At that moment, blood started pumping into my head. When I was in front of you, trying to block that attack - I was scared, but I wasn't - argh-" he scratched his head, knowing how stupid he sounded.

"I couldn't run away mom, not when you were right behind me-"

She had no words to put her thoughts into, Tsunade had never been so proud in her life. Though, "Kuso…!" Naruto shrieked as proceeded to pinch his butt with her legendary strength.

"It was stupid, and you are grounded for three months, young man!"

Naruto broke the embrace, looking horrified, "WHAT~" he wailed. Tsunade huffed and looked away, faking annoyance, "You'll be eating green vegetables for the whole period of time, training twice as hard-!"

Her words died down when Naruto's little fingers covered her lips like a veil, "Mom," he choked, looking troubled beyond belief. "I-I have a favor to ask…" he whispered. The look on his face made Tsunade's heart ache, she all but melted in a pile of goo.

Her anger dying down, "What's the matter, sweetie?" she questioned him tenderly, stroking his puffed up cheek out of a force of habit.

"Train me."

Tsunade blinked, and she blinked again before repeating it several times to comprehend she had actually heard him correctly. "But I am training you-"

"No."

Tsunade had never heard him raise his voice before, and the way he was gnawing away at his lip, she had a dreading idea as to where this was heading. "I was so weak, I feel so pathetic…" she tried to hush him up, to tell him the difference between him and a seasoned ninja like Kushina was only natural - to do anything to stop her bundle of joy from breaking down right before her eyes.

"What good am I, when I can't even protect the ones I hold precious…?"

That was all he said, before breaking down in a fit of thick sobs, the bedsheet clenched tightly in his fists while he started balling his eyes out. Tsunade flailed her arms around, tried to make funny faces to make him stop his painful cries, doing so to the point of looking hysterical. But it served to do nothing more than making his wails grow even louder than before.

"WHA~"

Reaching forward, she tried to hold him in a hug when he started fighting back with all his might. Surprised, nonetheless she shook away his arms and forcefully clutched him in her chest. "Hush up, you." she whispered, holding him in her arms while the fight slowly left his body. Whether it was exhaustion, pain, or even hopelessness, Tsunade didn't know. Her eyes roamed around to see the floor around them cracked, no doubt from the burst of chakra he must have let loose unknowingly.

"Train me, mom."

His sentence, coupled with a hiccup, served to make her heart give way and she knew she was way too mushy right now to make a coherent decision. Curse him and those adorable blue eyes, "Alright." she sighed in defeat.

Blinking and looking as though he hadn't been on the verge of having a mental breakdown seconds ago, "Really?" he asked chirpily.

Laughing, she wiped the wetness off his cheeks while he did the same for hers, "Really." she told him. Naruto eyed her suspiciously, "You promise…?" he asked her, pointing his little finger at her. Tsunade shook her head and circled her own finger around his, "I promise." she said.

Naruto's smile would have blinded a Hyuga, he started waving the interlocked fingers up and down while singing a makeshift chant Tsunade had made up years ago to keep him off the alcohol shelf in their house. So busy was he in focusing on his chant, that he didn't notice Tsunade's loving gaze staring at him longingly. She collected him in her arms and kissed his head, snuggling her cheek in his satiny soft hair.

"Don't ever change, Naruto."

"...Huh?"

"Nothing, just stay still."

Having no idea what else to do, Naruto figured his mother had gone into what he called 'Bear Mode'; where she would clutch him for god knew how long until she was satisfied for the day. So he clutched her back for dear life and took in the soft scent of lilies she emitted to his heart's content.

"Five years," she muttered. Naruto blinked, breaking free of the hug to look at her in honest confusion with a subtle tilt of his head. "I'll teach you all that I can in five years. By the time you turn thirteen, there will be nothing left for me to teach you." she told him knowingly, quite enjoying the way his face lifted up to give way for that blinding grin of his. Try as she might, her attempts at keeping his childhood as sheltered as possible were failing horribly. So, the least she could do was train him and turn him into the kind of man she knew he could become.

The kind of shinobi who could roam these hell forsaken lands as he pleased, without the slightest amounts of fear for anything whatsoever. That thought did rile her up a bit, the stronger he got, the more free spirited he would become. She knew when his mind was made up, there wasn't a way in hell he wouldn't go forth to pluck it and hold it in his hands. What if, someday, he decided to…

As if sensing her darker train of thoughts, "Mom…?" she blinked out of her stupor and gave him an owlish stare, unbelieving of his understanding gaze. "I won't leave you, ever." he told her. It took her a moment to comprehend how keen his senses were, before she nodded with a smile.

"I won't let you either."

Eyes twinkling with mischief, "…is that right?" he mocked her humorously. She matched his look with a catlike grin of her own. "Why you, c'mere…!" she laughed, forcing him back into the comforters while her fingers started their assault under his arms. Naruto tried to paw her away with tears of joy prickling his ducts, only to have all his limbs swatted away harmlessly by her bear like form towering over him. Their little banter ended when Naruto's entire body went rigid, and his eyes stared coldly in the direction of the door. Before Tsunade could so much as utter a word;

"She's here, again." Naruto almost repulsed at the look of murder that crossed through his mother's face. He caught her wrist before she could go for the door and solve this matter once and for all, "…she is sad, mom. I don't think she's here to attack us or something…" the uncertainty in his voice made her will waver, she him knew well enough not to underestimate his power at sensing people's intentions.

"I'll talk go talk to her," was all her could utter before Tsunade's face was inches from his own, her eyes as cold as the iciest of glaciers, "You'll do no such thing, you hear me!" she hissed, not even ashamed at the tone she taking with him.

"Mom, I have to talk to her."

"Absolutely not-"

"You can be with me the whole time," he suggested, making words die down in her throat. She could see it in his eyes, that stubbornness which screamed he would meet her one way or the other. Sighing, "Alright, if I'll be there the whole time…" she agreed in defeat. Plopping down the bed, Naruto took her hand in his own little one and tugged her along to the door. Had he looked behind, he would have seen the look of utter despair on the buxom blonde's face while a thousand questions raged in her mind. As they walked through the hallways, her palms were sweating already.

"What if she tells him who she is?"

"Would it affect what we have?"

"Will it hurt him in anyway?"

Each step she took, this was looking to be more and more of a bad idea. Stopping prematurely and effectively doing the same for him, "Naruto, let's get you back." she told him in a voice of authority.

"But you said-"

"I changed my mind. Let's just-"

Once more, for what seemed like the millionth time, words died down in her throat when a crown of crimson peeked out the corner of the hallway they were trudging along. Her stomach most probably would have dropped a couple pounds if she were to be honest, "Tsunade! I was looking for you." chirped a lively Kushina.

The redhead staggered and stumbled in her steps when she saw the little companion she was holding hands with. Tsunade had half a mind to pluck those wide eyes of hers so she wouldn't teddy up her son with those vile eyes of hers, as stupid as it sounded. "N-Naruto…?!" whispered Kushina.

It seemed as if time had stood still for the pair who were staring at nothing but each other, Tsunade, being the annoyed mother she was broke their stare fest by pulling her child behind her legs before she tried anything funny.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, Uzumaki?"

The venom laced in her voice wasn't lost at all to the redhead, who raised her hands in surrender to show her peaceful intentions. "I came to say I'm sorry…" the dirty look Tsunade shot her with made her glare right back, "Really, I did." Kushina told them. Tugging her kimono from behind, Naruto had to remind Tsunade that he was here too. "Ma, your grip is too tight." Naruto whispered out of Kushina's earshot.

Tsunade, realizing she had held him in a painful grip involuntarily loosed her hand up and caressed his hair softly. "I'm sorry." she apologized seeing his pain ridden face, feeling guilty as all hell.

"Do you, by any chance, know who I am?"

Tsunade's glare would have repulsed Kushina, that is, had Kushina been actually looking at her. Her attention, and her question were aimed at the blonde toddler of eight hidden behind her legs. "I have a fair idea, yes." Naruto whispered, clutching his mother's leg with a shiver.

"You do?!" Kushina had half expected from Tsunade to hide all evidence of her existence from Naruto to keep him tied around her finger. Even Tsunade, whose face was the picture of indifference was shocked and truly frightened on the inside.

"You are the woman who gave birth to me, right?"

Looking as if struck by acid, Kushina hadn't expected such an indifferent answer from the boy. Smiling a strained grimace, "Y-Yes, I'm your mother." she told him, tad bit on the hopeful side. Though, much to her confusion, Naruto only shook his head.

"You just gave birth to me, my mom's right here - by my side."

Tsunade's and Kushina's expression were like heaven and hell - one was looking the picture of happiness while the other looked ready to fall on the verge of despair. Before she could so much as utter a word, "I've wanted to talk to you, will you hear me out?" clutching onto her last hopes, Kushina nodded vigorously, eager to hear him out. "I know I'm neither strong enough, nor do I have the power to fight you back, but," taking a deep breath to stop his shaking, "Don't come near my ma again, much less try to hurt her. She's all that I have." he whispered forlornly.

"I didn't-"

"What I am capable of may not amount to much, but if anything happens to her…" Kushina's eyes went wide when a visage of her late husband hovered over his shoulder, his face the same as she had seen in countless battles in her younger years, "…there will be hell to pay. In the name of the forests we hold dear, I'll make sure you get dealt with - even if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself to do so." Naruto, in a sudden turn of moods, threatened her in a small voice. The last sentence shook Kushina, even Tsunade was shaken to the very core.

He had all but declared a conflict not declared since ancient times by referring himself as the heir to the forests - the Senju's pride and joy. "Let's go, mom." Tsunade let herself be pulled away without uttering a word to her son, leaving behind the redhead; who seemed no more than a shell of her former self.

She guided herself to the receptions desk, checking herself out and leaving a message to be sent to Shizune and the two perverted ninjas upstairs to rendezvous with them at the Senju estates. She had hoped Kushina won't be able to locate them if they stayed at a hotel instead of their accustomed residence, but that plan had gone; how should we put it, peachy. But that had her surprised the most was quite certainly the long stretch of silence that had settled between her and Naruto.

Placing her palm to cover his little head, "What's wrong, munchkin?" she inquired, her tone turning as gentle and caring as it possibly could. Much to her surprise, she got no answer; instead his head dipped further down in shame to the point where his hair were shadowing his eyes to the fullest. Knowing something was up, she stopped abruptly and pulled her little one to a jerky stop. Bending on her knees, she flicked his forehead playfully, forcing him to let out a yelp.

"Come on now, spill it."

"I'm sorry, mom."

Tsunade blinked, "Sorry…?" she titled her head in honest confusion. "For what?"

"For using your name and status like that, it wasn't my place to-"

Placing her finger on his lips to stop his babbling, she smiled knowingly. "It's not my status and power you just used, Naruto." she told him, her tone firm and wise. As expected, she could see he was utterly lost from her words. She poked his chest for an added measure of reassurance, "That was your name you used, it was the power I've handed over to you. You are the heir to Senju, Naruto. Be careful what you use that name for the next time around; never let your emotions get the best of you." she honestly felt like a hypocrite right now, but these were lessons she had to impart onto him to make him realize the true weight of the name he had to carry now.

"Toddlers grow really fast", she lamented inwardly.

"That doesn't change what I did though," he whispered woefully. She hummed, agreeing with him on that point though the pride in her eyes could be seen by any passerby looking at the mother-son couple. "Does it feel wrong?" she asked.

"Huh?"

Giggling at his reply, "What you did back there, does it feel wrong?" she asked, gauging him intently for a reply. That would tell her if her teachings over the years really had come to fruition or not. Falling silent for a moment, finally, Naruto shook his head in negative. "Oh…" Tsunade drawled, amused. "How so?"

"She hurt you, I'd do the same thing a thousand times over ma." Tsunade's lips stretched widely, she hauled him up in her arms and coddled his nose with her own; eliciting happy laughs from her bundle of life. "Then you did nothing wrong." she told him. "Nothing is truly right or wrong in life, Naruto. The only thing we can hope to achieve is to live a life without regrets, so if you don't regret your decision - everything's fine." she recited sagely, making Naruto frown.

"But I was greedy, you said being greedy was wrong." his counter argument made her eyebrows shoot up in surprise, leave it to her son's sharp mind to recite her own words to argue with her. "Greed is misunderstood by most people too, at least to an extent." she settled his hips snugly on her arm; quite aware of the shadowing presence looming behind them and eavesdropping on their conversation.

But the presence was familiar, most importantly it was non hostile.

"How so?" Naruto asked, breaking her out of her stupor. "Hm." she wondered, trying to come up with a plausible argument. "Greed isn't good, but it's not exactly bad either. Most people think greed means having more money or power, but everyone wants something they can't have - like you did." she poked his nose teasingly.

"You wanted to make sure I was protected, without thinking of the consequences. That's the perfect example of greed accumulated in a good way, but wanting something that you absolutely cannot have is dangerous - so try to stay clear of that." her cheeks flushed seeing the wide eyed, admiring look he was showering her with. Snuggling his face in her neck, "So long as you're fine and with me ma - I won't get greedy; I promise." he swore in little more than a whisper. His words made her heart sore and her stomach tie up into a knot.

"If something happens to me…" the entirety of the population in the bustling streets came to an abrupt halt when a wave of killing intent washed over the streets. Sensing the center of it's source, Tsunade was shocked to realize she was holding it in her arms. Naruto looked at her, his eyes crimson and slitted.

Instinctively she jolted his neck with a hint of lightning, knocking him out instantly and looked around to see people finally shrugging off their weird phenomenon and going back to their lives.

No one had noticed, thankfully.

This was the second time it had happened, whenever she placed him with a scenario in which something happened to her - 'this' happened. But this time she knew one fact for sure;

She was the involuntary trigger to her son's rage.

Author's notes : There is the next update. I'm halfway through reworking Desert Flower's second chapter so that it's redundant sentences are worked out to leave with an immaculate draft. As most of you know, I did it for the first chapter a while back; so the second one's coming too.

I don't know what I'll be updating next, but I'll try to see what intrigues me next. It won't be this story for sure, I don't want to focus only on one story and leave the others hanging; so I'll see what I can do.

But this was it before I take the timeskip and start moving along the plot at a much faster pace, with lot's of action inbound. Naruto's progress after the timeskip, where he'll turn 13 for those who were wondering; five years from now to be precise, will be huge. I won't believe that most of you will find it difficult to believe someone with out protagonist's potential, with Tsunade training him for five years will leave much to be desired - so look forward to that.

Sorry for the slow updates, but I've been busy. Point out any flaws you may have encountered in this chapter, and I'll fix em; I promise. Until next time, keep reading and reviewing and as always; stay awesome.

Ja Ne ;)