Pop!

"Damn it!"

Naruto looked at the shreds of the balloon still in his hand. He growled in frustration. He still could not maintain the constant rotation and power inside the balloon. He swallowed his impatience with visible effort. He never did like it when things went slow. The heat of the moment was more his game. But he had been taught against that philosophy, so he would adhere to those teachings. Besides, Ero-Sennin had said not to expect to master this stage anytime soon. So, naturally, he would prove the Hermit wrong, just like anyone else who doubted him. And, for once, pure strength wouldn't win him anything. He had to remain calm and rational, or else he could say goodbye to learning such a great jutsu as the Rasengan. Naruto looked up and forward, unconsciously brushing the balloon pieces from his right hand.

He was in an alley. Despite the orange glow of the setting sun, the alley was very dark. There was a constant stench lingering in the air, a mixture of filth, decaying food, dead rodents, and the general unsanitary conditions to be found in such lower class areas of any metropolis. Even in the darkness, Naruto's enhanced vision could easily pick out the decaying litter from the dead rats, and his now very sensitive nose didn't make it any easier. If it had been up to him, he would have chosen a much more … healthier environment. But it wasn't up to him. Ero-Sennin needed him out of the way and somewhere unobtrusive and secluded where he would attract the least attention and cause the least trouble. Naruto understood the logic behind the decision perfectly. That didn't mean he had to like it, of course.

Five shadow clones were busy in the dark alley, trying to find a way to speed up Naruto's mastery of this stage. The key to the third stage was to make a chakra shell with which to contain his chakra in. Since he already had enough mastery of his chakra, thanks to his immense shadow clone training in the forest, which left him feeling stronger, and Ero-Sennin's water balloon training, he only needed to learn how to make the chakra shell strong enough to maintain his power. After that, it would only be a matter of combining the two sets of knowledge, which would be a hell of a lot easier than doing this the old fashioned way. Naruto unconsciously started to gather chakra in his right hand. That action, gathering chakra, like so many things, had become much easier, almost to the point where Naruto could term them innate. Gathering so much swirling chakra in his hand in an instant proved no difficulty for him, even though he had only been training for a month. After a second, Naruto dispersed the chakra. It would be pointless to continue. He knew he couldn't do the jutsu just yet.

Naruto did not need to look to know that his shadow clones were not making much progress. The chakra shell had to be thick enough to contain chakra, but composing chakra in such a way was not easy at the best of time. Naruto had to actually turn his chakra from a stream into a spherical solid, something he had never even imagined possible, at least, not without hand signs. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try. Already he, or rather the shadow clones, had figured out how to finally make a chakra shell. All that remained was to make it stronger. But the end result was always massive chakra depletion and no thick chakra shell. He still needed to learn to control his chakra in this new and strange way. But Naruto was no slacker, and he would never give up. This was just another challenge.

Naruto reached behind and held something. For a second it looked like he was holding air, but then there was a shimmer, and in the next second, Naruto's hand was holding the hilt of a sheathed katana. Naruto's hand travelled lower down until it was holding the crossguard, and with a little effort, Naruto pulled off the sword from his back. He placed it in his lap and properly looked at it for the first time. He still preferred his old Jian type blade, but he ha to admit that this type held a certain appeal. He couldn't believe it when Ero-Sennin had his sword re-forged. A swordsman and his sword were inseparable, they were one. That was the way it had become with him and his sword. Strangely enough though, unlike other swordsmen, he had not named his blade. He did not see any reason to. But he had felt a reason to rebel for what Ero-Sennin had done, so after a hard day of travelling yesterday, the day they had set out, he had changed the colour of the tsuka, the hilt, the handle of the katana. Instead of the grey design, which he removed, he had put on a crimson red design. It appealed to him, seeing as the scaled sheath was sapphire blue in colour. The sword, he thought – like any other swordsman would think – symbolized him, Naruto, the Demon Container. The sapphire blue sheath represented him, Naruto, the sheath that guarded, and protected, the weapon within at the same time. The crimson red tsuka represented the Demon, Kyuubi no Yoko, a weapon of great power that stretched from the visible red hilt – the demon chakra Naruto could often call upon – into the unknown depths of the sheath, where much more power resided, chained and controlled from causing harm. Naruto sighed and placed the katana back on his back. He felt the blue scales sticking to his back and a moment later, the katana going invisible.

Naruto took a deep breath. Freedom. Not until he had left with Ero-Sennin, he had not realized just how much being in Konoha restricted him. True, his personality had changed from the hard, militaristic shinobi he had been trained to be, but only slightly, but still, being in Konoha, surrounded by people who had some sort of grudge against him, in one form or another, had made him very wary. But out here, where people did not know who he was, only that he was a shinobi, life proved much more bearable. Naruto suddenly blinked. The shadow clones had finally done it, hard as it may have seemed. They had managed to figure out how to create a chakra shell. Naruto ignored the white smoke of the dispelled shadow clones as his mind unraveled what the shadow clones had learnt. Ah, so that's how it was done. Now all that was left was to combine these two sets of knowledge, and he'd be one step closer to mastering the Rasengan!

His musings were disrupted by a loud bang. He stood his whole body tense and alert. It felt like a slumbering beast suddenly come awake, ready to move. After a second of silence, he rushed out of the alley, his hands trailing behind him, his left hand a few centimeters from his weapons pouch. He rounded the corner and screeched to a halt. Two women were standing in the middle of the road. They were young, very beautiful, and apparently very dangerous. In front of the blonde woman was a long trough formed when she had apparently struck a man. The tough was deep and ten feet long. The black haired woman looked slightly worried, but as Naruto assessed the situation, he guessed that she wasn't worried about herself, but at the three thugs that were advancing on the two of them. Naruto watched, sticking to the wall so as not to attract attention. The man who had been hit slowly got up from the pit, his suit still somehow immaculately white.

"You're going to regret that," he growled. He clicked his fingers. The thugs advanced. A second later, they completely stopped and toppled to the ground, unconscious. The women had not moved, or so it seemed. Naruto's eyes narrowed. He had been able to see the movement, but just barely. The people, however, had not seen a thing. The man in white paled whiter than his suit. He turned and fled. The blonde woman sniffed and turned round, dismissing the entire event.

She's fast, and strong. She's also very scary.

"You can come out. That is hardly an ideal hiding place for a shinobi." Naruto was not surprised he had been spotted. After all, from what he could see, these two women were shinobi, and better than Kakashi at the least. He walked to the centre of the street and faced the two women. The black haired one had a desperate look in her eyes. Naruto ignored it. He looked at the two impassively.

"A Konoha ninja?" the blonde said with a raised eyebrow as she took in his hitai-ate. Naruto got lower, ready for anything. Something about these women struck a chord in his mind, but he had no time to figure it out.

"Yes," he replied. "And who would you be?" The blonde woman huffed and glared at him.

"I don't answer to midgets like you," she said. Naruto controlled his anger. He always hated being called a midget. Instead, he took a deep breath and relaxed his body. These people were dangerous. He knew the only thing on his side was surprise, which was if he attacked first. They would never expect that. He brought his hands together.

The two women started. His hand seals … so fast! He is no ordinary genin. Shizune was a bit edgy now. This kid was good, no doubt, but he was preparing to attack one of the Sannin, and her, a Jonin level shinobi who was an excellent medic Nin. He stood no chance. But before she could say anything, the boy was suddenly swallowed up by the earth.

"Huh?" Tsunade said. "Now where did that little runt hide?" She was already in a bad temper, and now this little kid though he could challenge her, keeping her away from her sake. She suddenly jumped to the right as a shuriken came her, and then to the left, and the forwards. He arms suddenly tightened at her sides as the wire attached to the shuriken was manipulated, the shuriken twirling around her, and she could see that as when they finished revolving, they would slam into her neck. She gritted her teeth in annoyance. Why was he being so persistent? She used her strength and simply pulled the runt from his spot, sending him flying toward her. She cocked a fist. She wouldn't need to use any of her special strength with this runt. But still, she could punch pretty hard. She sent the kid flying over ten feet. But she was surprised when the kid suddenly burst into a puff of smoke.

"Kage Bunshin?" both ladies said at the same time. That was a Jonin level jutsu. The kid suddenly came out of the ground by Tsunade's feet, a kunai in his right hand. He lunged toward Tsunade's throat, but she jumped safely away.

"You're getting annoying," Tsunade said. In a blur, she suddenly appeared in front of Naruto. She put her index finger through the pommel ring of the kunai and slipped it out of Naruto's hand. She twirled it and slashed upwards, removing Naruto's hitai-ate. As the headband flew off, she threw the kunai after the headband. Finally, she flicked at Naruto's forehead.

A finger-flick? Naruto wondered as he saw the flick coming, but was too slow to do anything about it. As the finger hit, Naruto flew fifty feet. He crashed into the ground and all the air was knocked out of his lungs. She's strong! Naruto swore as he quickly got up. Tsunade appeared in front of Naruto.

"I've got you," she said. She was going to finish up this kid fast. Her sake was already getting cold. Naruto looked straight into her eyes and smiled.

"The first attack is always a feint," he said. Tsunade only had time to be surprised before three blue Dragon Flames flew straight at her from three different directions. She jumped into the air, but straight into a trap, for a fourth fireball raced up toward her from the ground as the Naruto she had finger-flicked performed another Ryuka no jutsu. Tsunade cursed, but she saw an opening and took it, going through to of the dragon flames and performing a much reduced version of her Painful Sky Leg technique. The ground shattered and all four Narutos landed in a heap. Three burst into smoke. Tsunade was in a temper now. She leapt toward the last Naruto, but while she was in the air, another Naruto suddenly burst from the ground, a kunai in his hand.

"The first attack is always a feint" he grunted as his hand came toward her throat. Shock was all over her face, and that of Shizune. Another shadow clone? Just how much chakra did this kid have? And he seemed to have mastered their use at such a young age. He had coordinated them perfectly, almost as if he could read their minds, which was impossible surely. Suddenly a mass of black hair appeared in front of Tsunade and a moment later Shizune batted away the kunai and kicked Naruto backwards sending him next to the other Naruto. The other Naruto burst into smoke and the Naruto who had appeared from the ground stood up fully, brushing off dust from his clothes.

"I have only seen three people move like you do," he said, addressing Tsunade, "so I can easily guess who you are."

"Oh yeah?" Tsunade said.

"Yes," Naruto said his face still impassive. "Your taijutsu has some similarities with old man Sarutobi, just like Ero-Sennin and Orochimaru, which would make you the last member of the Sannin, Tsunade-hime, although you look nothing like a great ninja and more like an old lady." Silence. Shizune looked at Tsunade, scared. No one insulted the queen of bad tempers like that. As Tsunade began running at Naruto, there was a blur of red and white, and a moment later Jiraiya appeared in front of Tsunade, a big smile on his face, and a Naruto shadow clones beside him. The clone disappeared.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted. "It's been a long time!"

XXX

The bar was clean and quiet, a place for regulars, which is why the four ninja sat in a corner were getting curious and suspicious looks from the surrounding people. All four ninja, plus the pig, ignored the looks and concentrated on the food in front of them. They ate in silence, eyes constantly on each other. When they finished, Tsunade ordered some sake, much to the protest of her assistant, Shizune.

"So," Tsunade said.

"It's been a long time, Tsunade. How've you been?" Jiraiya said affably, a smile on his face.

"Hm," she replied. Naruto looked at the two of them in close detail. There was something about these two women that smelt … wrong. Suddenly Naruto got it. The setting of his face did not change, nor did his posture, but his eyes got harder. Tsunade noticed it instantly but said nothing.

What's wrong with you? Jiraiya wondered mildly before he turned his attention back to Tsunade.

"What do you want?" Tsunade said to Jiraiya. Jiraiya shook his head sadly.

"It's been decades since we've seen each other and you don't even have time to catch up with old friends?" as he talked, Jiraiya pulled a deck of cards from his jacket. He shuffled them and dished five out to Tsunade and him both.

"What do you want?" Tsunade asked again, picking up her cards.

Surely you cannot be thinking about Orochimaru's offer, Shizune thought in worry. Jiraiya saw the furtive glances Shizune was casting.

Something is going on, he thought, and so did Naruto, but unlike Jiraiya, Naruto was beginning to guess what was wrong with the two kunoichi.

"The Sandaime is dead," Jiraiya began. "Orochimaru killed him." Jiraiya paused for a second for his words to have effect. "Orochimaru, the Sound Village and the Sand Village banded together and attacked Konoha during the Chunin Exams. Konoha managed to win but at a heavy cost. Half the village was destroyed, and shinobi numbers were almost cut in half. With the amount of work still needing to be done repairing the village to full and the amount of missions that need to be completed to keep Konoha on its feet financially as well as retain the village's reputation, Konoha is literally at breaking point." Jiraiya paused again, eyeing his cards carefully before discarding two and picking up two.

"I see," Tsunade said, also discarding two and picking up three. She looked up at Jiraiya. "But what has this got to do with me?" Jiraiya sighed.

"After much consideration, the Council came to the decision that will raise moral, reassure clients and make other nations think twice of attacking Konoha; they want you to be the Fifth Hokage." Silence. Naruto managed to control his visage but inside his emotions were roiling. So this was the person who had been chosen to be the Fifth. Already he was evaluating her, seeing if she was fit for the job. She was a drunk, which didn't raise her high in his regard at all. Unconsciously he found himself comparing her to the Third and the rumours of the Fourth. Could she measure up to that?

"No way," Naruto said suddenly, his right hand thumping the table hardly. He was surprised at his outburst as much as the others'. Jiraiya looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye.

"What?" he asked nonchalantly.

"She can't be the next Hokage. She's just meant to heal Sasuke and Hinata. There's no way she can be the next Hokage. I won't accept it." Naruto looked at the drunken form of Tsunade. The woman did not even look at him but the hard gaze she was giving her cards suggested she wasn't very pleased with what he said.

"That's neither here nor there," Jiraiya said his voice still nonchalant. "This decision has been made by the Council, the highest ruling body in Konoha at the moment and is therefore no matter a simple genin can voice his opinions on." Naruto snorted.

"Since when have the Council have anyone's best interest at heart," he scoffed. But his grumbling was not very loud and he shut up after it. Jiraiya sighed inside but did not deign to respond. Shizune and Tsunade both studied the boy.

"Your apprentice seems to be ruder, stupider and uglier than your last one, Jiraiya," Tsunade commented. Jiraiya snorted as he discarded a few more cards.

"The only thing that's the same between Naruto and the Fourth is their blond hair and blue eyes. It's hard for anyone to beat the Fourth at those fields at any rate. The Fourth was smart, talented at jutsu and popular. He was also handsome, like me. Naruto does not have the Fourth's talent." Naruto did not deign to respond to that. After all, it was true, but it still hurt a little to be talked of that way.

"Who is he?" Tsunade asked.

Feeling the need to introduce his self Naruto said, "My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade made no outward reaction, but she and Shizune had the same thought. The Kyuubi brat? Tsunade snorted after a second.

"So what do you say, Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked, now once again eyeing his cards as Tsunade was hers. It seemed to take ages for the answer to come, but after a moment Tsunade sighed and put her cards down in defeat.

"No way, not a chance," she said. Jiraiya smiled.

"That's the same thing you said when I asked you to go out with me." That got Naruto's attention. He had an idea by no of how the Perverted Hermit's mind truly worked, despite how he acted. Jiraiya was a genius. He was driven by morals and principles that were now a rare sight to see in today's shinobi. If he had asked Tsunade out, then there must have been something he saw in her. The big boobs were a given answer and it was the answer Naruto readily accepted because at this moment in time he could not see anything else worthy of attention in Tsunade, anything that made her special.

"Being Hokage does not interest me in the least. Despite everything you've said about the Fourth, he still died young. He gave his life up for that village. Life is not like money. It cannot be betted away so easily. Only an idiot bets his life."

Naruto had to fight hard to control his temper. His posture did not change but inside his rage was at an all time high. An idiot, eh? he thought.

"My grandfather and the Second wasted their lives trying to end the war. Sarutobi is the same. If an old man tried to act brave, then of course he'll die."

"You've changed, Tsunade," Jiraiya said, his eyes hard. "I don't know what you've been thinking but you've definitely put it into words." Tsunade shrugged.

"I'm in my fifties despite what I look like. Time changes people, Jiraiya." Tsunade sighed and leaned back against the back wall. "The title Hokage is a piece of crap. Only an idiot would accept it."

If the ninja present hadn't been two of the Sannin and a Jonin level medic ninja, they would have been very impressed and surprised by the speed at which Naruto moved, and hard pressed to react in time, especially seeing as Naruto was barely a metre away from Tsunade. One moment he was sitting beside Jiraiya and the next his katana was drawn and barely an inch from Tsunade's neck. Tsunade made no move whatsoever, instead living it to Jiraiya to discipline his apprentice. Jiraiya held on to Naruto's kimono shirt, holding him back from doing something he might regret. He was surprised by how much strength it required to hold the kid back. A little more push and he would have to use both his hands. The kid had grown strong indeed in the month he had been training.

Where did that katana come from? Shizune wondered. He seemed to draw it from his back but there was nothing there a few seconds ago. And his speed, it's amazing for a genin. If it was me he was attacking I would have barely been able to react. He definitely had the element of surprise on his side. And he seems very strong if the strain in Jiraiya-sama's arm in anything to go by. And that look in his eye. I have never seen any genin or chunin who can hide his emotions so well and produce such a killer intent. It makes me shiver just to look into those cold blue eyes.

"Let me go, Ero-Sennin," Naruto said quietly, his eyes narrowed and focused on Tsunade. Jiraiya sighed. Now the kid had gone and done it.

"Calm down, Naruto," Jiraiya said. "This is a bar."

"No," Naruto replied simply. "No one disrespects the Fourth and old man Hokage like that and gets away with it. They had morals and principles, and they stuck to them. They didn't give them up at the next junction because it suited them like this person did."

"You're pretty brave to say that to me, kid," Tsunade remarked. Naruto did not reply but stopped struggling and so Jiraiya released him. Naruto stood on the table looking into Tsunade's eyes. He placed the katana onto his back and Shizune watched in awe as the katana stuck there, as blue scales ran along the blade, effectively sheathing it and finally as the sword shimmered and disappeared.

"I don't care who you are but you owe the Fourth and old man Hokage an apology for what you said … or else." It probably sounded ridiculous for a genin to be threatening one of the Sannin but at that moment the killer intent roiling off Naruto had stirred the quiet bar as men looked on at the scene in terror and cut off any feelings of ridicule.

Tsunade had heard enough. She stood on her chair and smirked at Naruto, her face an inch from his. "You and me brat, outside, right now."

XXX

"I was one of the Sannin, kid, despite what I look like."

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune said as she tried to convince her mistress from fighting this little genin. Tsunade ignored her and raised a finger. Jiraiya and Naruto looked at it in surprise.

"A K.O. notice?" Jiraiya said.

"This doesn't mean one minute," Tsunade explained. "It means one finger. This will do against a little genin like you." Naruto's gaze hardened as he crouched lower.

"You're going to regret that," he said quietly but they all heard him.

Naruto formed several hand seals, his face deadest. He realized that he was fighting one of the Sannin and he would have to give his all. Tsunade blinked, Shizune's jaw dropped and even Jiraiya was slightly surprised. Jiraiya smiled. So the idiot hadn't been idle in his training. No genin had such seal speed, only Jonin. In a second and in quick succession Naruto summoned ten shadow clones which covered his other move as he was swallowed up by the ground by his Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique. Jiraiya and Shizune, because of their lateral view point, saw how Naruto used his shadow clones to cover his escape underground.

He's smart, Shizune thought.

Nine shadow clones charged, one staying behind to watch. The strategy was readily realized by Jiraiya and Shizune. Tsunade had no idea that Naruto was underground and therefore would think that the shadow clone staying still was the real Naruto. Very smart. The shadow clones pulled out kunai as they nearer to Tsunade and threw them. With her finger Tsunade casually hit them off course. The shadow clones used this opening and three jumped forward and formed fast seals. They performed the Katon: Kasumi Enbu no jutsu, or the Fire Release: Covering Mist Technique. Their chests swelled and they released a highly flammable spray of gas that completely covered Tsunade. In the same instant the other six shadow clones threw kunai that had exploding tags wrapped around their hilts. The Fire jutsu and the kunai came into proximity to Tsunade at the same time and so Tsunade was only visible for a fraction of a second before the six shadow clones activated the exploding tags and the Fire jutsu was ignited, blowing a big hole in the ground, destroying the three shadow clones upfront and anyone inside the blast radius. When the smoke and dust cleared, Tsunade was standing just at the end of the blast radius, her finger still pointed and she completely unharmed. The last shadow clone's gaze sharpened. This woman was fast.

Five shadow clones rushed Tsunade, kunai in hand. But as the got near her, Tsunade flicked her wrist and arm left, right and centre and destroyed them all in two seconds. But suddenly Tsunade felt a large spike in the kid's chakra. As the smoke from the last destroyed shadow clone cleared she saw the sixth shadow clone rushing at her with incredible speed, faster than any genin had any right to move at. But it wasn't his speed that caught her. It was the large black orb with crackling light green chakra in the shadow clone's right hand.

No way, she thought. It can't be. That's Sakumo's jutsu. This boy can't have known of or mastered the Chisemi… But Naruto had learned and mastered the supposedly dead Hatake Sakumo's jutsu and now one of his shadow clones was running fast toward Tsunade with it in hand. Tsunade overcame her surprise and stepped to the right. The shadow clone had jumped into the air and had now pummeled its Chisemi into the ground. A large explosion of dirt and a big hole were created and the shadow clone was destroyed. Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she looked at the crater. This kid, it seemed, was full of surprises.

It's true what they say, then, the Naruto shadow clone thought. Medic ninja have sharp eyes. She saw through my Chisemi. The Chisemi is like the Chidori in everything apart from the type of elemental manipulation. The speed required for the 'thrust' so to speak creates a tunnel vision. Unlike Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei, however, I do not have the Sharingan and therefore I cannot see everything as clearly as they can. If someone sees through my attack I'm done for because I won't have time to react … damn it.

"Two A-rank jutsu, two Jonin jutsu, and a C-rank jutsu, a Chunin jutsu," she said to herself. Again she felt a large spike in chakra and she couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed and a little expectant at what the kid was cooking up. She looked up and saw the boy had called up ten shadow clones. The shadow clones started running toward her, but not to attack her she immediately saw. They were going to circle her. Before she could move to do anything she saw a circle of lightning encircle the boy's feet. The boy seemed to become charged somehow for his hair stood on end like he'd been electrocuted. She watched in fascination as the boy formed circular motions with his arms in the air.

A Raiton jutsu this time? she wondered. The boy definitely seemed to be full of surprises. As the shadow clones started to encircle her Naruto gave her no time to think about them as he suddenly opened his eyes, which seemed to be glowing blue. Tsunade raised an eyebrow. But her indifference disappeared as Naruto shot a lance of lightning straight at her. she leaned to the left to avoid it. behind her the bolt of lightning continued on until it hit a wall, which it demolished. Tsunade's eyes narrowed. This jutsu was powerful also, possibly B-rank, and yet she had never heard or seen it before. What was it? she tried to rush forward to stop the kid from shooting any more lightning bolts at her but every time she even moved, the kid knew where she was and where she was going and was able to stop her fro moving forwards. How? She looked closely at his glowing blue eyes and her sharp eyes caught a film of cloudy white. He was blind! This jutsu, with so much chakra and electricity needed, blinding the user! So how was he able to know where she was? Maybe he had sharp senses. Someone who used this jutsu needed sharp senses of hearing and smell to stay safe, but her long earned experience and instinct said otherwise. She looked round her and saw ten exact copies of the kid, dressed as he was in the blue kimono shirt and the green trousers. An answer hit her, but it was too preposterous to even bear to think about. Was the kid actually using these shadow clone's eyes in addition to his own? Impossible. She knew of the powers of the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. She had never heard of it being used like this. And yet as she experimented by moving left and right, Naruto shot lightning at her. so that was his game, eh? However, before she could take out the shadow clones, Naruto seemed to realize her game and shot a wide beam of electricity at her. She had to jump into the air to dodge it, and that was when the shadow clones struck. They each took a shuriken from their weapons pouch and threw them at her. She smiled. These would be easy to dodge. However, what happened next she did not foresee. The shadow clones performed another Jonin jutsu.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu," all the shadow clones intoned. The ten shuriken multiplied into one hundred. Tsunade's eyes widened at this. She had been caught in a trap made by a vertically challenged genin. She could not escape without breaking her promise. With a smoldering glare she used two fingers to use a Substitution jutsu and a log took her place in the shuriken barrage. When she appeared on the ground Naruto was immediately on to her, up close and using all his speed and strength in his taijutsu attacks. She had to give it to the boy; he was a perfect taijutsu user. His movements were fast and economical. But as Naruto spun on his left hell and pulled a kunai from his pouch, Tsunade gained an extra fraction of a second to react and that was enough for the Sannin. She easily dodged under the kunai's arc. Naruto could only watch as she put her finger into the kunai's pommel ring and took it from him. In the same motion she twirled the kunai and hit Naruto's hitai-ate, taking it off and throwing the kunai after it. Naruto was still suspended in space, the Sannin's movements too fast for him. Tsunade brought her right arm up to Naruto's face and flicked him on the forehead. Naruto went flying a hundred feet before he hit the ground, hard. He took his time getting up as the injuries caused to him were severe. His kunai landed in front of him and a moment later so did his hitai-ate. Naruto looked down at the two and then up at Tsunade. He was smiling. Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"Got you," the shadow clone said. Naruto suddenly burst into smoke and so did the kunai and the hitai-ate. Tsunade was caught in shock. All this time? It had been a shadow clone? So what had happened to the real brat? She felt a presence behind her and a moment later a katana blade rested on her neck.

"I told you," Naruto said. "You would regret your words." Tsunade's face hardened. This had gone on for long enough. It was time to end it. She suddenly burst into smoke and a log replaced her. Naruto's eyes widened. He felt her behind him.

"It's over, brat." She flicked him once more and he was sent flying a hundred feet. He landed in a heap but came back up instantly. He summoned five shadow clones and rushed her. She destroyed the four shadow clones with ease with only her finger. Smoke surrounded her as she flicked the last one, the real Naruto. But that too, turned out to be a shadow clone. Even as it was destroyed it was smiling. Tsunade gritted her teeth. The smoke was slowly clearing and she could see the slightly panting form of the real Naruto. Tsunade smirked.

"Well done kid. You actually lasted more than a few seconds. Now before I finish you off, tell me, why is the title of Hokage so important to you? You seem to value it highly, an idiot's mistake." Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"It's because … being Hokage … is my dream!"

Naruto stood straight. His hands were a few inches apart. Between them a chakra shell formed. Chakra appeared inside the shell, increasing by the second, spinning with the speed and power of a compressed typhoon. Naruto started running toward her, his face set. Tsunade was rooted to the spot as she saw him come.

It can't be, she thought. No way. That chakra, that spinning motion… How could this boy have learnt this jutsu? But even as these thoughts rushed through her mind something else of more import was occurring to her. At two separate points in her life two different men had said the same to thing to her, and the same look of sincerity and altruism had burned in their eyes. a combination of these two trains of thought rooted her on the spot and Naruto's blurred form rushed toward her. However, her shinobi instincts finally kicked in and she regained her senses enough to flick her finger to the ground. A long fault formed on the ground which tripped Naruto. Naruto was thrown into the air and then came crashing to the ground. His Rasengan created a small deep spiral crater in the ground. Tsunade looked down at it first with surprise and then satisfaction.

He hasn't mastered the jutsu. It's at about at seventy percent of what it should be and yet it had so much power behind it. No doubt because of the boy's large chakra reserves.

"Are you the one who taught this boy the Rasengan, Jiraiya?" she asked as Naruto stood up and jumped away, his face calculating. He had lost, he knew it. Tsunade had had him at her mercy. What would she do now?

"Are you the one who taught him a jutsu he can't master?" Tsunade continued. Naruto's eyes narrowed, his mind already seeing the challenge Tsunade was giving him. Did she really think he could not master the jutsu?

"It seems you lost, Tsunade," Jiraiya said not answering the question. "You said to only use one finger and yet I distinctly saw you use too when Naruto had you trapped in the air." Shizune nodded in agreement. Naruto stood up and blinked in surprise. Had he heard right? Had he just won against one of the Sannin? Although deep inside he couldn't exactly call this a victory. Tsunade merely shook her head.

"You're a waste of my time, the both of you. The kid's grasping for dreams he can never obtain. And you haven't changed at all, Jiraiya. You're still the same free spirited, irresponsible person you were. To think that Sarutobi-sensei wanted you to succeed him. He trusted you to see sense and settle down to do your duty just like he trusted Orochimaru to come to his senses and return to Konoha. And now looks what's become of him for being so trusting. He's dead." Something happened then Tsunade had not foreseen. A large demonic chakra suddenly filled the street. She did not even manage to see what happened before something with blond hair and red eyes stood before her, its right claws outstretched and aimed at her throat. Another movement too fast for her to see happened and a large, mature and manly hand gripped the claws by the wrist. It took a few seconds for her mind to register that the demonic form in front of her that was covered in the red demonic chakra was the kid, Naruto, and that it was Jiraiya who had stopped Naruto from finish his attack. Naruto growled in an unearthly tone as he looked up at Tsunade with malicious eyes, killer intent roiling off him.

"Let me go," Naruto said for the second time that night. "She's going to pay for that."

"You really need to work on that temper of yours, Naruto," Jiraiya said in a reprimanding tone. Naruto did not answer instead focusing his energies on overcoming Jiraiya's grip. In this time Tsunade regained possession of her faculties and stepped away from the two with a dismissive snort. Naruto managed to calm down enough to dispel the demon chakra he had summoned but his body was still tense and his eyes cold.

"You owe old man Hokage and the Fourth an apology," Naruto said. Tsunade whirled around, her face a mask of anger. But after a second the expression changed from anger to thoughtfulness and finally into smugness.

"I tell you what kid," Tsunade said with a smirk on her lips, "if you can master that jutsu, the Rasengan, in a week's time I will give you this necklace." Tsunade took off her necklace to show it to him. Naruto's face did not change.

"I don't want your necklace," Naruto began but Jiraiya interrupted him.

"Hold on, kid. Do you know how much that necklace is worth? It used to belong to them First Hokage. It could buy three whole mountains!" Still Naruto's expression did not change. It was clear by now he did not like Tsunade.

"What's with the scary expression?" Tsunade asked lightly.

"I don't trust you," Naruto replied. For once he had completely ignored a challenge, and for once the challenge had a valuable prize too. To master the Rasengan in a week and get the First's Necklace! Normally that would have gotten him motivated but there was something eating away at him. This woman had a scent he recognised well and his fast mind had reached many logical conclusions, none of them good. It was best to take her out now, but he knew he couldn't on his own. He had already lost his chance back in the bar when Jiraiya stopped him. That had been hid only chance. But now he would only be a hindrance in such a fight as this.

"Oh?" Tsunade asked. "And why is that?"

"I can smell Orochimaru on you," Naruto said, "and that traitor Kabuto, too." For a second everything went still. Tsunade and Shizune were looking at the boy hard, surprise written all over their faces. Jiraiya's eyebrows rose as he looked from Naruto to Tsunade.

"So that's why you looked so drawn," Jiraiya said after a second.

"Stop talking crap, Ero-Sennin," Naruto snapped. "She can't be trusted. After those ANBU reports we read, there is only one reason why Orochimaru would seek out the greatest medical ninja of the age," Naruto said. "She can't be trusted."

"Naruto!" Jiraiya warned his tone serious. You have drawn natural and logical conclusions, true, but until we find out more we cannot afford to be rash. Konoha is in desperate need of Tsunade's talents so we cannot afford to alienate her. I understand your pain, kid. Orochimaru killed Sarutobi-sensei. You do not want Tsunade to help Orochimaru destroy what the Third died protecting. Just trust me on this.

Naruto looked hard at Jiraiya. Jiraiya watched as Naruto's manner changed. suddenly he was the same impassive shinobi he had always been, all traces of hostility gone. It seemed Naruto had cottoned on to Jiraiya's thoughts, which was a surprise in itself for the blond shinobi had never been that intuitive. It seemed he had changed a lot over the past month. Jiraiya made a note to test how strong the boy had gotten. His shadow clone training seemed to have produced quite a few results, all positive.

"Whatever," Naruto said as he turned round a started walking away.

"Hey, kid!" Tsunade called after him. Naruto ignored her and kept walking. Tsunade's face was briefly drawn taught in anger at the disrespect but it passed. Instead, she smiled.

"Hey, kid," she called again. "If you manage to master the Rasengan within a week … I will accompany you and the "Super Pervert" back to Konoha and heal your friends in addition to giving you this necklace." Naruto stopped short. He slowly turned round and looked at her straight in the eye.

"If there is one thing I can tell in any person it's when they are lying and when they are telling the truth," he said after a few seconds' pause. Do you give me your word?"

"I give you my word," Tsunade said. Naruto's eyes held her gaze for a few seconds before he turned round and started walking away. After a few paces a gust of wind picked up and a whirlwind of leaves surrounded the blond ninja. The leaves scattered the leaves showing that Naruto had disappeared.

"You have yourself a bet, Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto's voice echoed back to them on the winds.

XXX

Naruto was sitting on a rock outcrop. The surrounding area was a pretty desolate place. The trees were small and thin and the ground was hard and scarred. There was a constant stench in the air of something burning. There was a waterfall a little ways off and a river that fed off from the waterfall, both surprisingly large and clean. Of course Naruto did not expect anything different from an area that was so close to the bubble of humans in the nearby metropolis. No doubt this area had once been densely forested but the trees had been cut down in favour of development. But Naruto found solace in the fact that the people weren't stupid. They did not drain one area for sustenance, rather rotating the areas in which they harvested their needs from.

These were just the basic thoughts as Naruto sat in the lotus position, his elbows on his knees and his chin resting in his palms. He was going over numerous other thoughts in his head. First of all he was wondering whether or not Hinata was alright. The severe trauma she was suffering from was beyond any medic in Konoha to cure, and seeing as she was a Hyuga and from the Main Branch, a lot of people had tried their best. He relieved in his mind the scene of Hinata's embarrassment. He relieved the scene in which his rage had become all consuming and he had been taken over by the Kyuubi's chakra. He relieved the moment he had finally killed the Konoha Jonin traitor, how absolutely pure and satisfying it had felt to rip the man's heart out with his bare hands. He remembered how tired and emotionally spent he had been afterwards, how completely empty he had been. He wondered what he would say to Hinata when she woke up.

His gaze shifted to the waterfall. Sasuke. Another problem in the boy's life. Just what jutsu had Itachi used on Sasuke? It was a genjutsu that much Naruto knew, a doujutsu activated genjutsu. Even Jiraiya had never heard of such a jutsu. There had been rumours, Jiraiya said, of a superior Sharingan that had many powers but seeing as there wasn't a record of such a thing no one knew for sure. And since there was no record there was no way to know what exactly had been done to Sasuke. Only a powerful medical ninja like Tsunade could delve into Sasuke's mind and heal him, just like Hinata's case. An attachment had slowly grown between Sasuke and him, Naruto knew. At first Naruto had not taken Sasuke seriously unlike their Academy days. He had been trained by his sensei to be a soldier. Personal vendettas did not help anyone. But slowly Naruto's teammates had grown on him. At first Naruto had fought these emotions with hatred like in the case of Sakura where he threatened her. But slowly Naruto had begun to feel a deeper sense of attachment that cold not be fought; camaraderie. This was one of the main ideals Konoha was built on. He had seen this, accepted this, and in doing so had finally embraced his teammates as friends, despite what they all behaved like with each other. What was going to happen after this mission was over? Naruto had this suspicion that Sasuke's temper was going to flare up as usual over his failure with Itachi. Although why a genin would feel bad about losing to the great Uchiha Itachi Naruto could not fathom.

"I feel sorry for you situation, Naruto. On one hand you are not strong enough to defeat anyone who comes after you like Itachi did and so you have no choice but to use Kyuubi's chakra when troublesome situations arise. On the other hand by using the Kyuubi's chakra too much in battle you risk growing dependant on it or losing yourself to the demon, like Gaara. And I can see it in your eyes every time you think about the Demon Fox. You despise him for attracting all this danger to you and your friends and you despise yourself even more for not being strong enough to deal with the danger yourself, instead relying on Kyuubi's chakra. Since I know this I will not trouble you overmuch about the situation. I will, however, warn you. Kyuubi's chakra is a dangerous thing. It will eventually hurt you so do not so readily bring it out. I am glad your stealth and strength and speed have increased so much because it means if danger arises you will not have to battle but can run away. I know you don't relish running but it's the only way. Your Kage Bunshin training had an adverse reaction with Kyuubi. Instead of only your mind being affected like any person, your physical body was affected. We do not know the extent of Kyuubi's influence on you since you have but begun to use the abilities he grants you so please, bare this in mind, Kyuubi will only be used as a last resort."

Those words had been spoken to him by Ero-Sennin. Naruto saw the wisdom in them. He accepted them. This is why his hatred for any weakness in himself increased. He just had to get stronger. Now he began to have an inkling of what it must be like for Sasuke. Now he understood how bad the urge for strength burned within the young Uchiha. Akatsuki was a danger to Naruto inasmuch as Itachi posed a danger and a threat to Sasuke. Neither boy could afford to take it lightly because of the fires that burned within them, the Flames of Youth so to speak. So instead of constantly being at each other's throats perhaps they could aid one another? No. The answer was readily available. It was Sasuke's burden alone to take care of Itachi just as it was Naruto's appointed task to oppose the threat of Akatsuki. This would be Sasuke's thought pattern as much as Naruto was thinking it now. But still…

Mastering the Rasengan. Another large thorn in Naruto's side. It was the most immediate problem and therefore needed to be dealt with. He was close to mastering it, he knew. Tsunade had said as much herself. Only thirty more percent to go and he'd have it in the bag. He just needed to master his chakra and make the chakra sphere strong enough to contain the power of the jutsu.

"Just because I can't see you, and just because I seem so preoccupied in thought, doesn't mean I don't know you're there," Naruto said out loud. It took a few seconds but finally Shizune revealed herself.

He sensed past my jutsu? Impressive. Truly he is no normal genin. Even experienced Chunin shouldn't have been able to sense me. As a medical ninja my ability to suppress my chakra are perfect. And I'm standing out of sight and downwind of him as well. So how did he know I was here…?

"How did you know I was here?" Shizune asked as she stepped closer to Naruto.

"I do now," Naruto replied. Shizune shook her head. She had no time for this.

"Listen, Naruto-kun," she began. "You must not go through with this bet with Tsunade-sama. She is not known as the Legendary Sucker for nothing. She has the worst luck ever. She rarely wins bets, and when she does nothing good comes of it. Her life has wasted away these years after … after those incidents, but that necklace is special to her. It is the last remnant she has of her past. It means so much to her. And the necklace, it's cursed. You must not take it from her!" Naruto did not reply. "Please, do not judge Tsunade-sama harshly. You don't know anything about her. She has had a hard life and seen many things. She has grown bitter, that's all. You might not trust us after we hid out meeting with that man from you, but we thought it best. We were only trying to prevent this very situation from happening!" I just hope that Tsunade-sama has time to think this true. She cannot seriously consider betraying Konoha like that. But will the lure of Orochimaru's offer be that strong? I just don't know…

"You," Naruto finally said as he stood up, "are the worst liar I have ever seen. I would be guessing Tsunade gave me this week to master the jutsu because that's when Orochimaru will come back, right? I have read the ANBU reports on how the Third was killed. Orochimaru revived the First and Second. Is that what he offered Tsunade? Did he offer to revive her dearly departed precious ones?" Shizune did not answer. Her expression was of one defeated. If this brat could guess the truth then that surely meant Jiraiya had as well. Jiraiya was very loyal to Konoha. What would he do…? Suddenly she panicked. Jiraiya would kill Tsunade if he discovered the truth.

"Don't worry," Naruto said. "Ero-Sennin does not know anything. Fortunately. In any case he wouldn't do anything rash. Now if you'll excuse me I have a jutsu to master. Please leave." With that Naruto jumped down onto the ground and walked past her toward the river. Shizune walked away wondering how the week would play out but not before she saw the boy take off all of his clothes apart from his shorts. She could not help but wonder where the boy had gotten such a deadly collection of scars, some of which seemed years old. Maybe the boy knew a lot about how life could be, which was why he held promises highly and regarded loyalty to the Village, the only thing he knew, as a life or death matter. She left him to train.

XXX

First of all let me say how sorry I am that I have not updated in so long. The major problem was that I hit a massive case of writer's block. By now everyone knows how the first part of Naruto goes. I am doing a retelling with my own elements so that everyone will understand how my story is going but I just couldn't quite handle this chapter well. It all suddenly seemed very repetitive. I was looking for ways to write out the rest of my chapters properly but I couldn't. The second thing is that I started sixth form in September (senior year for any people who hail from the U.S of A) and my timetable is therefore very much booked. I spared what time I could but since I already had a block on this story I concentrated on others so sorry about that. But that's all finished with. I'm back in business with this story so don't give up on me yet!

And secondly many of you have been complaining that I started my second part without finishing the first. First of all let me say sorry about that. Again I was trying to find ways past my block and thought maybe writing what's gonna happen in the future would help me write the past. I didn't even intend to post it but it's kind of a habit to post as soon as I finish writing so it just happened. But nothing in that story is going to ruin anything in this. I mean sure there have been some bombs dropped but don't worry. There are still some things in this story to grab your attention. That's why I'm writing the Kirigakure mission at the beginning so that this story gets time to catch up and so that you all get acquainted with a few things. Also some of you have said that I did too big a time skip and that you want to know what happened in those seven years. Well much of what happened to Konoha shinobi will be revealed in the Kiri mission Arc but I'm afraid Naruto will remain a mystery and we'll all discover what happened to him as the story progresses.

And lastly thanks for sticking with this story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.