[OP4: GO! FLOW]

We are Fighting Dreamers

Takami o mezashite

Fighting Dreamers

Narifurikamawazu

Fighting Dreamers

Shinjiruga mama ni

Oli Oli Oli Oh! Just go my way!

Right here, right now (Bang!)

Buhhanase like a dangan liner!

Right here Right now (Burn!)

Kewashī shura no michinonaka hito no

Chizu o hirogete doko e iku?

Gokusaishoku no karasu ga sore o

Uneri o agete fukiareru

Sā kokoro no me mihiraite

Shika to ima o mikiwamero!(Yeah!)

Ushinau mono nante nai sa

Iza mairou!

We are Fighting Dreamers

Takami o mezashite

Fighting Dreamers

Narifurikamawazu

Fighting Dreamers

Shinjiruga mama ni

Oli Oli Oli Oh! Just go my way!

Right here Right now (Bang!)

Buhhanase like a dangan liner!

Right here, right now (Burn!)

Buttagitte ku ze get the fire!

Right here Right now (Bang!)

Buppanase like a dangan liner!

Right here Right now (Burn!)

Buttakitteku ze catch on fire! (Bam!)

(If you haven't already, go to Youtube, and listen to the Anniversary version of this song. It's really good.)

"A hot spring?" Jiraiya questioned.

It hasn't been long since they left and were on the road back to the village, but instead of just going straight there-Tsunade suggested they go to a hot spring. The suggestion wasn't a bad one as they could all use it actually. Having encountered Orochimaru, fought him and his two sidekicks, both of whom weren't pushovers by any means, a hot spring sounded like heaven right now.

"That's right, just up the road here there's a sweet little town here with a beautiful hot spring." Tsunade said, pointing in a certain direction.

Shizune had her nose in what looked to be a travel guide, "Hot spring resort, it says here the hot springs promote health and beauty."

Jiraiya gave Tsunade a knowing look, "So that's it, huh?"

"What do you mean by that?" She inquired, brow raised.

He wisely kept his mouth shut instead of saying something that would result in him getting sent flying through a wall.

Naruto inclines his head over at Hinata, "I don't have a problem with it if you don't." He believed going to a host spring sounded really good right now. This will also be his first time actually going to one, so this is an opportunity he doesn't want to pass up.

Hinata smiles, "I think it's a good idea. We all fought a hard battle and a hot spring is just what we need."

"Then it's settled." Naruto states.

Jiraiya frowns, "Nothing's settled, we've got a long way before we get back to the village. We really oughta get back, for all we know the village could be in trouble."

"Oh, loosen up. One day's not gonna make that much of a difference." Tsunade dismisses his worries, "Besides, the kids are all on board for it so there's no problem."

Jiraiya shakes his head in the negative refusing to budge. Tsunade frowned before smirking as she suddenly got an idea, leaning up close to his ear she whispered, "I hear it's popular with women, and that they allow mixed bathing."

That was all it took.

Jiraiya was already walking towards the hot spring with a pep in his step.

"What's the matter? I thought you said we needed to get back as quickly as possible." Naruto sarcastically says.

Stopping, Jiraiya turns back, "Oh, uh, I got this kink in my uh—well everyone deserves a break once in a while!"

"Really? Funny, you didn't seem to think that way a few seconds ago, why the sudden change of heart?" Naruto dryly said.

"Uh, well…"

Hinata sighs and looks away from the man, Shizune gives him a nervous expression. The only reason the man changed his mind was because Tsunade said the magic words.

Kurama scoffed, "Pathetic, and he's the one referred to as the "Toad Sage."

"Not a very fitting title if you ask me." Gyūki comments.

Naruto agreed with them completely, "Your real intentions are painfully obvious, but right now the only thing I'm focused on are the hot springs." He walks ahead of the toad sage, followed by Hinata, then Shizune.

Tsunade smiles, patting Jiraiya on the shoulder, "Well now, shall we get going?"

As they all walked towards town, they were being watched by two men, one of them was holding a picture of Tsunade. The two looked very suspicious, and them having a picture of Tsunade was even more troubling.

"Yeah, it's her all right. No doubt about it." One of them said.

"I don't believe it, we finally found her."

They were happily greeted by the receptionist when walking through the door. This town really was nice and quiet, and the locals weren't all that bad either. A nice place to take a break and just relax. Once they checked in, they didn't waste any time dipping into the water.

Naruto didn't even bother to hold back a moan as the water was nice and hot, not only that but it was already doing its magic and getting his sore spots. Coming here really was a good idea, he reminds himself to thank Tsunade for suggesting they come here later.

"This is nice…" He was really enjoying himself.

But the same couldn't be said for the other person in the water with him.

"I can't say I'm having much fun so far, just me and Naruto…" Jiraiya slumps a little in the water, "When's the mixed bathing gonna start…?"

"Why don't you keep that perverted tendency of yours in check for once. Relax those old bones of yours." Naruto sighs, relaxing further into the bath.

Jiraiya just grumbled in response.

Meanwhile with the girls, Tsunade, Shizune, and Hinata were all outside in their pink kimonos.

"Since we've got time to kill before dinner, I think I'll hit the Pachinko machines." Tsunade said with a smile.

Shizune gives her a dry look, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you promise Naruto-kun that you'd stop gambling?"

"You did promise him, Tsunade-sama." Hinata said, agreeing with Shizune.

"Urgh—! Okay, fine. Why don't we just take a walk around then." Tsunade suggests.

"That sounds good." Shizune fully agrees.

Hinata was also in agreement of that plan as she followed behind the two. She stops for a moment, looking behind her to see that no one was there. She lingers there for a moment before following Tsunade and Shizune.

The same men from before watched them leave before looking at the other, "Hm." They said with a nod.

Back in the hot springs, Naruto opens the door, "That's enough for me. Are you getting out?" He asks Jiraiya.

"Not quite yet. I'm going to soak a little longer." Jiraiya replies.

'In other words, you wanna stay so you can be a creepy old man.' He thinks, "Right, try not to stay in for too long, otherwise you'll pass out." He slides the door shut.

Dressing up in the robes that were prepared for them, Naruto opens the door to the room, "That really felt nice. I think a nap is in order now."

"Eat first before napping, kitten." Matatabi advises.

Kurama rolls his eyes, "He's a mini brat anymore."

Naruto chuckles inside his head before stopping, his senses telling him something was wrong.

'Something doesn't feel right.'

"Kit, the room is a mess."

'What?!' Why would someone come into his room to rob it? Walking inside the room, his foot comes into contact with his pants. Leaning down, he inspects it to see if his wallet was taken. It wasn't taken, thankfully, but his eyes widen when he doesn't feel something that should be there.

"The necklace is gone…" He breaths out in clear anger.

"Taking someone's possessions without permission, how uncouth." Matatabi scoffs.

"But why would someone break into Naruto's room and steal his necklace?" Asura wondered.

"Someone who has a death wish." He growled before walking in the room, "They must have left some sort of clue behind."

Asura sees something posted on the wall, "There's a note on the wall, it says, "If you want your necklace back, pay us the money you owe. The Akagi family will be waiting at the three cedars on the hill outside of town."

"Money?" Wait a minute, money you owe, meaning this has something to do with Tsunade and her debts. Rubbing his temples to push back the obvious headache that was starting to come, he decided to go confront the ones that ransacked his room.

Kurama sighs, "That Senju is more troublesome than Hashirama."

"Yeah, but these guys messed with the wrong kid. Almost feel sorry for them." Gyūki snorts.

Naruto wasn't listening to them, only thinking about busting some heads of the one who took his necklace.

Naruto arrived at the intended destination with some help from Kurama and Asura. This was the correct meeting place, so all he had to do now was wait for the perpetrator.

"I'm here! Come on out!" Naruto demands.

He felt the presence of two individuals, so it wasn't just one person, but two? Fine by him.

"What do you want, kid?" One of them demanded.

Naruto steps forward, "My necklace. Hand it over, now."

"Your necklace? What are you talking about? The same man questioned with a confused expression.

"Wait. we couldn't have gotten it wrong, right?" Said the other one, holding up the necklace.

Naruto didn't bother to wait anymore and attacked the man holding the necklace, with a kick to the gut. Hearing something fall to the ground, he leaned down before feeling around the grass and picking the necklace up.

"Now then...to deal with you." Naruto said, his voice laced with venom.

"W-Wait a minute! There's been a big misunderstanding!"

"You're right about that, but I'll let you speak before deciding your fate." Naruto said, bluntly.

"My, my, he has such a dark side, doesn't he?" Matatabi comments.

Kurama puffed his chest out with pride, "Of course."

"Is that something you should be proud of?" Gyūki comments.

Both men got on their knees and started to say that their real target wasn't Naruto, but Tsunade herself, but Naruto had already suspected that after hearing Asura read the note.

"So, Tsunade really is the one that owes you money." Naruto states.

"Right. She's called the legendary sucker. She always loses, and she lost at our village, too. She was broke, so we took her IOU." One of the men explained.

The other dug inside his pocket and handed something out to Naruto, "Right here. This is what she owes us."

Naruto takes the paper from him, 'So guys, what's the damage?' Already knowing Tsunade's track record, he deduced that the balance must be very high.

"Let's just say that there are a lot of zeroes." Gyūki sweat-drops.

"How does one woman rack up this much amount of debt?" Matatabi was honestly bewildered by what she was seeing.

"That troublesome Senju woman…" Kurama sounded so done with everything right now.

Naruto sighs as he figured that it would be pretty high, 'Let's hope she keeps her promise and stops gambling from now on.'

"My name is Senta, and this here is Bunzo. More than three years ago, the head of our family sent us to collect the debt." Senta spoke.

'I can feel a long explanation, followed by a flashback coming on.' Naruto dryly thinks.

And he would be right.

"We set out from Akagi Mountain knowing we couldn't come back without the money. But the trail was cold. We searched everywhere. " Bunzo explained.

"We'd hear rumors that she was here or there. Always somewhere else." Senta said.

"She has a reputation for being hard to find when you wanna find her, and it's true." Bunzo said with a sigh.

"At last, we got some solid information. She'd been seen in the area, headed toward this village." Senta said.

"So we staked out a spot on the road outside of town—" Bunzo was cut off.

"That's enough, I know where you're going with this. That's when we came along with Tsunade, and you saw us with her, but that doesn't explain why you raided my room." Naruto was still mad about that.

Senta quickly spoke up again, "She may be an easy mark, but we've heard she's a tough customer, so we figured we couldn't just show up and ask her nicely. We'd never get out money back that way."

'You're right about that.' Naruto silently agrees.

"Everybody tells us that the necklace is as precious to her as her life. We thought she might pay to get it back." Bunzo said.

"Brilliant plan, except you found the necklace in my room not her's." Naruto reminds them.

"We never thought—it didn't occur to us that the necklace was no longer hers." Senta said, bowing his head in shame.

"Obviously." Naruto said.

"Maybe—you know her so well. Maybe you could ask her to kindly give us our money?" Bunzo wondered.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know her that well, and besides even if I were to ask her there's still no guarantee you'll get your money." Naruto said.

Bunzo decides to plead with him, "Please! If we don't get that money back, we can never return to our village!"

"Our wives and children are all alone." Senta also pleads with Naruto.

"Please, young friend. Won't you help us?" They both plead at the same time.

Wow, these two must really be desperate to ask a child they just met for help. He can already feel another headache trying to come on.

"I'm still angry at you for tearing up my room." Naruto says to them, he can feel them squirm in place, but pays it no mind, "Here's what you two are going to do, first things first, you're going to clean up my room."

"Yes!" They both salute.

"Once you finish cleaning it, I want you to wait there."

"Eh...?"Both men said, looking confused.

Naruto stands up, "Just do it, once I take care of something, I'll come back to the room."

"Um…" Bunzo started to say.

"Go!" Naruto ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" Both men stood up straight before running away.

It was quiet for a moment before Kurama spoke up, "Well, what are you going to do?"

"Go to Tsunade directly to have this whole mess settled. Since this is her fault to begin with she can settle it herself." Naruto states with a smirk.

Kurama smirks as well, "You should show this side of you more often."

"Maybe~" Naruto teases.

Later on, Naruto does indeed find Tsunade and the others and tells them what happened. Hinata and Shizune felt sorry for the two and wanted to help them. Tsunade didn't respond and instead walked off somewhere, but Naruto had a feeling she was going to deal with this mess she herself created.

And he was right.

He went to his room to get the two and told them to follow him, which they did. Once the two saw Tsunade standing there, they looked ready to pass out. But she wasn't alone however as she brought a man with her.

"You're from the Akagi family, aren't you?" The man inquired.

They both stiffened, having recognized him, "B-Boss Jirocho!"

Naruto hums, "I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

"You probably have, this man standing before you is Boss Jirocho from the Land of Tea. He's also an old friend of mine. I heard he was here and went looking for him, luckily the two of us bumped into each other earlier today." Tsunade smiles.

"You two are Senta and Bunzo, if I'm not mistaken. It's good I found you. I have a message for you." Jirocho tells them.

The two give each other unsure looks.

"What?!"

Naruto winced a little, 'Too loud.'

Tsunade crosses her arms, "My debt to the Akagi family is old news. I paid it off a year ago."

They were all gathered around a table when Tsunade told them this.

"Well, what do you know about that?" Shizune said, nervously.

"So everything was okay in the end, I'm glad." Hinata said with a smile.

Naruto closed his eyes, "This whole thing could have been avoided is she would just pay off her debts when she's supposed to."

Hinata has nothing to say to that.

Tsunade ignores the jab and looks over at Shizune, "You were there, Shizune. Don't you remember? When we passed by their village last year?"

Shizune shrinks a little as all eyes were on her, "I—I forgot."

Jirocho turns to the man next to him and holds his hand out, "Where is it?"

"Here." The man gives him something.

"I received a letter from the head of the Akagi family. I'm just gonna read the last that applies to you." Jirocho said.

"If you see Senta and Bunzo, tell them the debt has been paid and they can come home.

—Shigeru Akagi."

Tsunade huffs, "There, you see?"

Shizune, Senta, and Bunzo nervously laugh.

Naruto sighed, "So much for a peaceful relaxing day at the hot springs."

Hinata lightly taps his leg in support.

"Thank you for all your help, Naruto." Senta and Bunzo thanked, with a bow.

"I didn't really do anything, so there's really no need to thank me." Naruto tells them.

They both shook their heads, "Even so, we must thank you. Now we can go home knowing we did our best."

The fact that these two had to search for Tsunade for so long was worthy of respect. Let her slip away, and chances are you won't ever see her again for a long time.

"Good luck to you both." Naruto said.

"Same to you. And thanks again." They bowed once again.

As they left, Shizune let out a sigh of relief, "I'm glad we left the suitcase at the front desk, it wouldn't be good to let everyone in the world see all those IOU's. The people of Konoha might not be so eager to make her Hokage if they knew."

Hinata can understand why she would worry about that.

"You worry too much, Shizune. Who cares if I run up a little bit of debt?" Tsunade said with an easy going smile.

"I think we all know that your definition of "little bit of debt" isn't so little." Naruto retorts.

"Shut up." She blushes out of embarrassment.

"And besides, you've only paid off the Akagi debt. I paid off one of your debs, but something tells me you have more to pay off." Naruto comments.

Shizune has a glum look, "Unfortunately you're right about that. She has plenty more that need to be laid off."

"Don't be such a worry wart." Tsunade smiles.

"Oink. Oink, oink."

Tsunade looks down at Tonton, "Really? We forgot something?"

"Oink, oink!" Tonton nods her head.

"Ah." Naruto said as he just remembered who they forgot.

Back at the hot springs, Jiraiya was as red as a tomato and sinking into the water, "Women...the women…"

'Oops.' Naruto thinks.

Oh, well they can always go back for him.

Later.

Konohagakure no Sato

Back in the league village, everyone was doing their own thing. Members of different squads were training, while others were just off doing their own thing.

Iruka was walking down the halls of the Academy wondering what Naruto was doing.

Ishida-sensei, who was still working at the hospital, was looking at something that had something to do with the blonde, "This is…"

Speaking of Naruto and the others, they were currently standing before Sarutobi Hiruzen. The old man was pleased to see they were all well.

"It's good to see you again, Tsunade. You look well." Hiruzen was happy to see her again after such a long time.

"Can't say the same thing about you, old man. Perhaps taking the Hokage position from you isn't such a bad thing after all." Tsunade teases lightly, but was worried about the old man's health.

Hiruzen chuckles, "Indeed. Are you ready to be inaugurated?"

"Not just yet, old man. I've got some people I need to heal first." Naruto and Hinata told her about Sasuke's condition, as well as Rock Lee's.

"I understand, you, Shizune, Naruto, and Hinata can go now. There's something me and Jiraiya need to discuss." Hiruzen requests.

Naruto can tell by his tone that whatever it is the old man wanted to discuss with Jiraiya was important. They leave without protest, leaving the two men alone.

"Tell me everything that happened." Hiruzen didn't waste anytime, "I also have some things to discuss with you about."

Jiraiya doesn't hold anything back.

Konohamaru was angry.

The reason why heck advanced is because of some dumb rumor going around that his grandpa wasn't going to be the Hokage anymore. What a bunch of liars! There's no way his grandpa would ever give up being Hokage!

Why were they saying such lies in the first place?

Whatever the case was, there's no way he was going to let them just forget about everything his gramps did for the village!

No way—

He blinked a few times when he came into contact with something soft. It felt...really good. But that blissful emotion faded when he looked up into the eyes of Tsunade Senju.

Konohamaru quickly backs away, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Demands, pointing a finger at her.

Tsunade didn't look all that impressed with the kid, "What am I doing here? Well, what are you doing here, you pesky little runt?"

Blushing slightly, he gives the woman a weak glare, "Who's a little runt? I dare you to call me that again!"

Smirking, Tsunade decides to tease him, "Oh, yeah? So you're a glutton for punishment, huh?"

"You're a pesky...little...runt."

This only makes him angrier, "I'm warning you! If you call me that again—"

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune calls her, walking over to the woman.

"Hm?"

"The elders are waiting for you." Shizune said.

"Oink." Tonton mimics her stern expression.

The look on Tsunade's face expressed just how much she loathed having to meet them, "All right, Shizune, I'm coming. Might as well get this over with." Before she leaves though, she flicks Konohamaru on the forehead with an amused smile, "And you watch your step, little boy."

Shizune sighs at her as they walk away, "Honestly, I really wish you would try and behave nicely, because of course I'm the one everyone complains to."

"Yeah, yeah."

Konohamaru watches them leave with a dazed expression before coming back to reality, "I don't like being called a "little boy, either—"

"Stop yelling in the halls, Konohamaru." Naruto said, walking towards him, followed closely by Hinata. Shun, the cat was perched on top of his head.

"Naruto-nii-chan!"

Hinata gives him a concerned expression, "Is something wrong? Why were you shouting?"

"It's her fault!" He yells suddenly.

"Her," who?" Naruto questioned.

"That big breasted blonde lady!"

Hinata sweat drops, "Big breasted...blonde lady…?"

"He probably means Tsunade." Naruto was really glad the woman wasn't here to hear him say that.

"You know that lady? Just who the heck is she?" Konohamaru demanded.

"The next Hokage." Naruto reveals.

Konohamaru's eyes widened, "Hokage?"

"Yes, her full name is Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage." Hinata clarifies.

The Fifth...Hokage…?

Her…?

"You're lying…" Konohamaru denies.

Naruto doesn't say anything as he can Konohamaru's obvious dislike of the news.

"It's not true!" He runs out of the building, still in obvious denial.

"Konohamaru-kun!" Hinata calls out to him, but Naruto stops her.

"Let him go, Hinata. This is a lot for him to take in." Naruto knows that the boy felt pride for his grandfather being the Hokage, and wanted the man to keep the position.

But nothing lasts forever.

"Don't you wanna check in with your clan?" Naruto asked her.

She shakes her head in the negative, "They can wait. Should we wait for Tsunade-sama?"

"Yeah, she did say something about stopping at the hospital after she meets up with the elders." Naruto said.

"She didn't seem very pleased about meeting with them." Hinata points observed.

"That's because she doesn't like them all that much. Something about them being, "annoying old fossils," I think she said." Naruto said.

"I-I see…" Hinata said nervously.

"Ugh, those two really are annoying." A female voice complained.

"Sounds like she's done." Naruto said.

And sure enough, Tsunade Senju came walking out of the building where the two were waiting for her.

"Have you finished your talk with the elders, Tsunade-sama?" Hinata asked.

"Well, not exactly, but she told them that she had other business to attend to, and so they let her go." Shizune explained.

"The hospital." Naruto said.

Tsunade nods, "Let's go before they try to stop me."

Naruto has never come into contact with the elders, but he knows the old man never wanted them to come into contact with him. There's a reason for that, but he doesn't try to bother the old man about it.

"Hey, if it isn't Naruto."

Naruto recognized that voice, "Shikamaru."

Shikamaru wasn't alone however as he was with his father, "So this is where you were."

"Yeah, I'm supposed to see you still awake and not off taking a nap somewhere."

Hinata giggled.

"Very funny. My dad asked me to come along with him, but don't ask me why." Shikamaru explained.

"I see." Naruto said.

Shikaku bows his head to Tsunade, "Greetings, Tsunade-sama. It's been a long time."

Tsunade stares at him for a moment, "You're that kid from the Nara clan. Hope you're still taking care of those deers do yours. Their antlers make excellent medicine."

"Yes, the deer are fine." Shikaku assures her.

Shikamaru whispers in Naruto's ear, "Who's the blonde girl? And why is she talking to my dad like she's his boss?"

"Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage." Naruto informs.

"Wha—?!"

Naruto nodded, "And by the way, she's a lot older than she looks. Like 50 years old."

Shikamaru looked at the woman in disbelief.

"If you see any of the others could you tell them, Shikamaru?" Hinata requests.

"S-Sure…"

"Naruto, Hinata, lets go." Tsunade calls out to them.

"We're coming." Naruto said, walking away from Shikamaru, with Hinata.

Shikaku smirks at his son, "Don't let her good looks fool you."

"Yeah?"

"After all, there's a reason she's the only female among the Legendary Sannin." Shikaku states.

"Okay," Shikamaru said with a groan, "But I mean, a woman Hokage? Not to sound prejudiced or anything, but is that such a good idea?"

Shikaku grunts at his son.

"Come on, you know what they're like. You can never figure them out, and you never know where you stand with them. All it takes is one small thing to put you in their bad side." Shikamaru thought about Ino and Sakura.

"Not to mention always playing their little mind games and trying to get you to do what they want. In other words, they're just a big pain, basically." He finishes.

Shikaku grunts again before placing a hand on his son's shoulder, "Listen, Shikamaru."

"Hm?"

"Keep in mind that without women, you and I wouldn't even exist. And take my word for it, they make men better people than we'd ever be without them." He states, "Unlike us, even the strongest of them isn't afraid to be gentle with the man she loves."

Shikamaru went silent as his father tells him this, 'It's rare to hear him talking like this, always tied to mom's apron's strings the way he is. Ugh.'

"You'll understand what I'm talking about someday. Oh, we'd better hurry up. Let's finish up our business here and get back. You know how your mother gets when we're late. Come on, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru has an exasperated look in his face, "Well, if a woman has made him a better person, I'd sure hate to see what he was like before."

Probably a real hot mess.

Konoha Hospital

Sakura was by Sasuke's bedside once again. Ever since he was brought back to the village like this, Sakura has been by his side. Ishida-sensei said it had something to do with a powerful genjutsu. When asked who was responsible, they wouldn't tell her anything.

"May I come in?" Tsunade asks, walking in.

Sakura sees her enter and stands up quickly, "Uh, who are you?" She takes the time to observe the woman and notices her smooth facial features.

'Whoever she is, she's beautiful.' She stares. Her eyes then see both Naruto and Hinata come in.

"Naruto! Hinata!" Sakura was surprised to see them.

"She can take it from here, Sakura." Naruto said, "Sasuke will be fine."

"Naruto…"

Tsunade noticed something by the window, 'Those flowers look like they weren't picked the same day. She's been visiting him for awhile now.'

Sakura looks back at Tsunade, "You must be the person Guy-sensei told me about. Please, if you can save Sasuke—"

"Well, I'll see what I can do." Tsunade smiles at her before turning her attention over to Sasuke. She placed a hand on his forehead, a green glow emanating from it.

Sakura stares in awe at what Tsunade was doing. When the green light faded, Sasuke let out a soft groan before slowly opening his eyes.

Hinata tugs on Naruto's sleeve, "He's awake."

"Good." He sighs in relief. Hopefully the genjutsu Itachi used on him won't have any after effects.

Slowly, Sasuke gets up from the bed in a daze. Sakura immediately launched herself at the Uchiha, "Sasuke-kun!" Seeing that he was awake and doing just fine made her cry.

Hinata leans in towards Naruto, "We should go."

Naruto hums in agreement.

Sasuke's fine, so now it's Lee's turn.

Just as they were about to leave, Ishida-sensei came walking in. Smiling once he saw Naruto, "Hey, there Naruto. I'm glad you're here because I want to give you your daily check up."

Naruto sighs, "And here I was hoping you'd forget about that for today."

"Nice try, but no." Ishida said with a grin.

"Damn." He cursed.

Hinata became worried about what they were talking about, "Daily check up?"

"It's nothing bad, don't worry about it." Naruto gently waves off her concern.

Tsunade was interested in their conversation, but tried to make it seem like she wasn't interested.

'It could have something to do with his eyes.' She deduces.

Ishida then greets Tsunade, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsunade-sama. I'm sorry to bother you, but if you wouldn't mind checking in on both Kakashi and Guy's boy next, I'd be grateful."

"Of course I will, after all I came here for that very reason." She assures him.

Once they got to Kakashi's room however, Tsunade let him have it.

"Disgraceful. To be completely out of the game by two low life punks like that." Tsunade scoffed.

Naruto and Hinata weren't expecting this, but for some reason this scene is highly entertaining.

"And here I thought you were supposed to be the best." She went on.

Kakashi lowers his head a little, being scolded like this was very uncomfortable, but since this was Tsunade berating him, he had no choice but to take it.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Was all he could say.

"First time hearing him get berated like this." Naruto comments.

"She didn't hold anything back, either." Hinata added.

Gai, who was in the same room with them couldn't contain himself anymore, "Rock Lee—he's right next door. Next door!"

Ishida sighed at the man's impatience, "Calm down, Gai. She's going to see him now."

Speaking of Lee, he was walking down the hospital halls on his crutches.

"Lee!"

Hearing someone call out his name, he looks up to see not only his sensei, but Naruto and the others, too.

Gai was widely gesturing at Tsunade, "Look who's here to see you. It's Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade narrows her eyes at Lee, at first glance she can automatically tell that his condition was far worse than it looked. With a frown, she addresses Gai, "Is this one of your students, Gai?"

"Yes, he's more than a student. He's like a son." Gai proudly proclaims.

"I see." She then addresses Naruto, "Naruto, do you really have time to be procrastinating around here?"

Naruto for his part groaned, "Yeah, I know. Go for my daily check up, I get it."

"It'll be over before you know it." Ishida promises.

"You say that every time, and every time it doesn't go by quickly as you claim." Naruto retorts.

"I'll go with you." Hinata volunteers.

"Okay, lets go." Naruto said.

'That's all it took?' Tsunade, Shizune, and Ishida all think. Ishida was thinking that every time Naruto fights with him on his check ups, he'll ask Hinata to come along.

"Come on, Ishida-sensei. After all, it'll be over before I know it." Naruto teases the man, walking away with Hinata.

Ishida huffs in amusement before walking off himself, "Little smartass."

Tsunade was starting to like Ishida despite only just meeting the man today. She gestures all of them into an examination room so she can see what she has to deal with. Lee's bare back was facing Tsunade as she examined him.

After a few minutes of silence, Tsunade finally spoke up, "No one will hold it against you if you give up on being a shinobi."

Lee gasps.

"Huh?" Gai said.

Shizune looked down in silence.

Unable to stand the uncomfortable silence, Gai speaks, "But—but you're not serious. You're exaggerating, right, Tsunade-sama?"

The look her face told him that she wasn't, "His injuries have left numerous bone fragments embedded in his spinal column. It's a miracle he can still move at all." There's no point in sugarcoating it, might as well tell them like it is.

"He's physically incapable of carrying out the duties of a shinobi." She states, bluntly.

Gai refuses to believe her words, "This is some kind of test, right? You don't really mean that."

"Even if I were able to operate—"

"Don't listen to her, Lee! That's not Tsunade-sama. It's an imposter. It's some kind of demon that's transformed itself to look like her. Who are you? What do you want?" Gai rants.

Instead of getting angry, Tsunade looks at him with pity. Shizune placed a hand on his shoulder before shaking her head.

Lee sighs, "So...I have no chance? It is truly hopeless?"

Tsunade looks back over at Lee, "No one but me could even attempt the operation. But even with my skills, the risks would be enormous."

"What risks?" Gai questioned.

"The chances of it being successful are 50-50 at best. And if it should fail…" She trails off.

"...he'll die."

Lee could literally feel the weight of the world pushing down on him at that moment. Gai looked horrified when Tsunade said that there's a chance Lee may or may not die.

Gai thinks back to how hard Lee trained even after he got injured. How he kept training until he was all sweaty and looked ready to pass out. Lee was always trying his hardest, only for this to happen.

"It's best if you give up being a shinobi. Find a different path." Tsunade says to him.

"Lee…" Gai said.

Lee was breathing heavy, sweat pouring down his face. Without saying anything, he pulls his uniform back up, and grabs his crutches and hauls himself up.

"Lee." Gai started to say, but the boy merely walked right past him without a word, and left the room.

Gai frowned, "If I had known you were going to do this, I would have never let you see him."

"Don't say that!" Shizune angrily protests.

Tsunade lifts her hand up, stopping her from yelling at the man. She had expected this, and wasn't surprised in the least.

"I understand your pain. Believe me, I get no pleasure from this. But he needs to know the truth, and to know it now," She said, grimly, "A choice has to be made. Putting it off won't make it any easier."

He closes his eyes, knowing she was right. In the back of his mind, Gai knew there was a chance Lee might not become a shinobi ever again, but didn't want to believe it.

'Lee…'

Konohamaru's Last Stand