"Jiraiya-sama," Hinata said cautiously after the three had gotten well clear of the first town and it appeared that no one was around. "Why would those nukenin be after Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grimaced at the question, especially as Jiraiya glanced toward him inquisitively.

"I've got the kyuubi," Naruto said quietly.

Hinata's eyes widened then and her hand went to her mouth and she thought back to the Chunin Exam and the strange chakra that Naruto had called on to face against Shukaku.

"That's top secret, Hinata," Jiraiya said. "You would normally not even be told about the Jinchuriki until you were confirmed as the Hyuga heir, possibly at jonin level. However, there's nothing keeping Naruto from saying anything."

Hinata nodded slowly wondering if this is one of the things that her father couldn't tell her.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly.

Naruto cringed slightly as if expecting Hinata to step away from him or something. Maybe run screaming back home. He didn't expect her to move closer and tentatively grab onto his arm. The jinchuriki flushed then and scratched the back of his head with his free hand as Jiraiya smirked and looked on.

"In any case," Jiraiya said. "It's probably the kyuubi that they want. But for now I don't think we'll be having a problem with them."

Hinata tightened her grip on Naruto's hand.

"Uh, Hinata-chan," Naruto said. "It's all right."

"Not as such, no," Jiraiya said seriously. "Itachi Uchiha is an S-Class wanted nukenin and his partner is as well. And we can reasonably assume that they are not the only ones interested in you."

Hinata wondered how she could protect Naruto from that. How was it possible.

While most Naruto was really relieved that Hinata seemed to feel so attached to him and not about to run away, the most conscious part was wondering if he was going to get blood flow to his arm back.

"So, while we're looking for Tsunade," Jiraiya said, walking over to an old crumbling statue on the side of the road. "We're going to be working on something."

He smiled and held out his hand, as the two kids watched a bundle of chakra started to swirl about in his hand until a globe of visible energy was held in his hand which he then smashed into the statue, obliterating it.

Turning back around he smirked at the awestruck looks on the two kids' faces.

"Did you catch that Hinata?" he asked turning toward the Hyuga and then noting that the girl's face was normal, well, for a Hyuga. "You didn't activate the byakugan when I started to demonstrate that?"

"Well, Jiraiya-sama," she said quietly.

"I don't think she wants to let go," Naruto said.

Jiraiya smirked again then, almost leering as she responded.

"Well, I don't think either of you can train with your hands full like that," Jiraiya said. "And aren't you a bit young for getting into that sort of sparring anyway?"

Hinata and Naruto blinked in confusion for a moment before both turned bright red and took a quick pair of steps apart and both expressing denial that either was thinking anything about anything like that.

"Really, it's alright for girlfriend and boyfriend to be getting a little bit close," Jiraiya said. "But I have to insist that you wait a few years so that it's less disturbing."

Naruto stopped then, gave Jiraiya a flat glare as Hinata turned even redder.

"Ero-sennin, you're a pervert," Naruto said.

Meanwhile Hinata proved that while she'd much improved, she still hadn't completely escaped old problems.

"Ahh, Hinata-chan!" Naruto gasped as he moved to catch her before she fell. "What's the matter?"

Jiraiya sighed and chuckled under his breath.

Once the demonstration was made a second time, once Hinata was again awake and ready to watch with her byakugan, things were ready to continue.

"Did you catch that Hinata?" Jiraiya asked.

Hinata blinked and stared, mouth slack. It was like her Shugohakke. No, it was more like the Kaiten. She shook her head clear. It was like the Shugohakke and the Kaiten performed at the same time and held in the palm of a hand.

"I...think so?" Hinata said, glancing toward Naruto. "It is...complex."

"Ehh?" Naruto said.

"All right, onto the description," Jiraiya interrupted jovially. "There are three components to this technique. Rotation. Power. Control. There are no hand-signs for this technique, so it should be perfect for Naruto given his pathetic skill with forming signs."

Naruto growled at that last comment.

"Watch it Ero-Sennin," Naruto said.

"We all have our flaws Naruto, and it is hard to get past that," he added.

Naruto leaned over toward Hinata and whispered.

"What did it look like?" he asked.

"It was like a hurricane," Hinata said. "Held in the palm of his hands. Take Neiji-ni-san's technique and main and put it together. And...I'm not entirely sure that's accurate."

"The Hakkeshō Kaiten?" Jiraiya said. "Hmm, yes, that would be appropriate for the basic idea of the rotation, and you mentioned another technique?"

"Yeah, she's got this great thing where she cuts stuff with chakra," Naruto said.

"Hmm, I think I saw that in the chunin exam tapes," Jiraiya said. "Care for a demonstration, Hinata?"

Hinata glanced toward Naruto.

"Go ahead and show him, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said.

Nodding and stepping over toward the, side Hinata took a large breath before launching into her Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō. Most of her was focused on directing the sharp arcs of chakra around her body and slicing into the ground around her, but at least one part saw Jiraiya watching the technique with a critical eye.

He nodded as she brought the technique to an end and took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"That might be another comparison," Jiraiya noted with a nod. "Though, like the Kaiten, it's only a part of the rotation that goes into the Rasengan."

Inwardly he resolved to spend a bit more focus on watching Naruto and Hinata in the first stages of the training. The girl was a bit more impressive than he'd thought. However, his original worry was bearing out.

The girl might have had high chakra for a genin, but she didn't have chakra to be throwing around in practicing an A-rank jutsu.

He walked to the crest of a hill and looked down into the next town, another tourist centric town leading off to the Land of Hot Springs.

"And now time to get the training materials," he said.

Hinata's breath was coming in heavily as she gripped one of her arms with the other and tried to physically lift it up. She grimaced at the numbness in her arms and noticed Jiraiya frowning at her back as she tried to hide her fatigue from both him and Naruto.

Then the rubber ball in her hand dropped weakly the ground and she dived down to pick it up with her left, causing the right to drop deadly.

"Sure enough," Jiraiya thought. "She needs to build up a larger chakra reserve."

"Hinata-chan? Are you all right?" Naruto asked, looking over from his own training.

Another Naruto a little ways away tried to get an angle to see around Hinata's back and get a look at what she was hiding as well, though the Hyuga caught sight of the ploy.

"I'm...hf...fine, Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "Please don't concern yourself."

"Can you turn around and show me your hand at least?" Naruto asked.

"Uh...it's fine," Hinata said, noting that apparently he'd noticed her attempts to keep her hand unseen this time.

She waved with her other hand over her shoulder, turning slightly and smiled.

"See," she said.

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms, feeling there was something off about that but not sure exactly what it was.

"All right," he said hesitantly, turning back to his training with a worried glance back towards Hinata.

Turning to focus back on her hand she took in a deep breath and started to gather chakra together again, until Jiraiya's hand clamped down on her own and split her concentration before she could gather anymore chakra.

"That's enough for...GAAAHHH!" Jiraiya's statement ended in a shriek.

"I'm...I'm sorry Jiraiya-sama," Hinata said. "But..."

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched as his blood-shot eyes stared back at the girl that was currently bowing apologetically in front of her. The same girl that had just maced him.

"You sort of asked for it Ero-Sennin," Naruto said with a slight chuckle, though he was glancing toward the way that Hinata was holding her right arm in place.

"What is it about Hyuga women and causing eye damage?" Jiraiya thought bitterly. "Her mother and aunt were just about the same."

The Toad Sage rubbed at his abused eyes then, grumbling and directed a gesture toward Naruto.

"Keep practicing, Naruto," he said. "I need to arrange something different for your girlfriend here."

Hinata and Naruto flushed again and exchanged looks. That response never got old for Naruto. It was so nice to see a couple that actually reciprocated and in which massively destructive fists were not involved.

"I'll be right over here, Hinata-chan," Naruto assured her.

"I still have the sprayer, Naruto-kun," Hinata noted.

Jiraiya groaned and dipped his head forward. Really, what did he do to deserve the distrust?

"You realize I'm not that kind of pervert, right," Jiraiya asked irritably.

Hinata and Naruto exchanged a look then that was definitely getting old.

"Just sit down on that stump," Jiraiya said with a sigh.

He waited for Naruto to start trying to burst his water balloons again and for Hinata to get comfortable before talking.

"At this rate," he said. "You're going to kill yourself before you learn this jutsu."

Hinata frowned sadly and looked down.

"This is not a thing to be ashamed of," Jiraiya said. "As of now, there are only two people in all the world that can perform this jutsu. Myself and Kakashi Hatake. You've already proceeded to the second step of the training and Naruto is only getting the first down. This is to be commended."

Hinata frowned and nodded at that.

"But you don't have the power you need, yet, to perform this level of jutsu," he noted.

"I am sorry for the failure, Jiraiya-sama," she said quietly.

"It is not yet time to declare this a failure," Jiraiya said. "You'll simply take longer than Naruto to reach where you can do it."

That was assuming Naruto figured out the first stage fairly soon. He'd gotten the hint from Hinata about rotating in many directions, but Jiraiya wasn't sure when he'd get the technique.

Plus given the way that Naruto was using clones in the training, Jiraiya had to be on the look out for the Nine-tail's chakra. Fortunately, he'd already prepared some seals for disrupting that occasion.

"If I do not have the physical capability then how will be able to perform it no matter how much I understand the theory?" Hinata asked.

"Chakra capacity can be improved," he reminded her. "But first, you need to rest. At least for an hour rest, and we won't get started again until I can see that arm moving with full ability. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama," Hinata said with quiet excitement.

"Okay, now give me the mace," he said.

"No," she responded, causing him to drop his head in defeat.

"I'll be right back with more supplies," Jiraiya said.

"Chakra is a combination of mental and physical energies," Jiraiya reminded Hinata later as they listened to Naruto yelling at water balloons in the background. "The physical energy provides the substance and fuel and the mental energy provides the shape and direction."

"Yes, they have taught us this in the academy," Hinata said.

"Damn balloon," Naruto shouted. "Burst already!"

There was a splashing sound and one of the clones, or maybe the real Naruto, it was hard to tell, protested loudly.

Jiraiya sighed and shook his head, wondering how long he had until the whole thing descended into a water balloon fight and then went back to Hinata and gestured toward the pile of bricks.

"Have you practiced brick-breaking?" he asked.

"Yes," Hinata said. "In the academy."

"All right," Jiraiya said, standing up and walking toward the pile of bricks to pile them up in a typical demonstration style. "What I want you to do is break the third brick of each pile of ten, and only the third brick."

Hinata nodded and stood up to move over to get ready to do so after he'd arranged the pile. She activated her byakugan entered stance and slammed a jyuken charged strike into the top to the top of the pile. Jiraiya looked on with a thoughtful expression as the third brick did, indeed shatter.

"And can you do that to a brick without the jyuken?" he asked.

Hinata blinked.

"Ehh?" a Naruto asked. "Why should she not use her Jyuken?"

"Because she's going to be working to build up her body and her mind," Jiraiya said. "A jyuken strike is going to be of little use in working her body and mind. She is too used to that sort of focus for it to force the mind to grow and her chakra does most of the work rather than her body. So I ask again, can you shatter a brick without the jyuken?"

"I can, Jiraiya-sama," Hinata asserted.

"Good, then you'll be trying to break the third brick and nothing else for two hours a day," Jiraiya said. "For another two-hours, you will work on that Shugohakke and making it more efficient. The rest of the time, I have another jutsu to teach you. It's called the Transparency Jutsu."

"Yatta!" Naruto called out. "I did...hey! No fair throwing them at me!"

"And there goes the water balloon fight," he said with a sigh just before a plastic water-filled projectile burst over the side of his head.

"Beyond this point is mostly wilderness and the next village we will find is likely to be that of the Joketsuzoku," Mokya noted, looking toward Ranma and Akane.

"All right, then we'll stop here for the night and stock up in the morning," Kurenai said noting that the shops were starting to shut down as the sun grew closer to the horizon. "We'll likely be here the next two days."

"Oooo, they have a hot springs here!" Tenten declared cheerfully as she pointed toward an advertisement on the edge of the town.

"That would be beneficial for my mistress as well," Mokya noted.

Kodachi cupped her chin in thought and then nodded in agreement.

"All right," Kurenai said, admitting to herself that it sounded good to her as well. "I guess we're staying at the hot springs then."

Sasuke kept his commentary to himself as the decision was made.

"Are we on a mission or some kind of holiday?" Kiba asked.

"Don't overlook the chance to enter into danger rested and refreshed," Ranma said. "You can't start too healthy."

"Besides, I like the name of this inn," Akane said with a smirk. "Nature's Bending Laws Inn."

Ranma and Kodachi turned to look at her briefly as Mokya explained the situation.

"My Aunt's maiden name can translate to the 'Laws of Heaven and Nature'," the girl noted.

"Ah, I see," Shino said, nodding.

It was still a somewhat weak joke and he could understand the grimace on both the other two chi users' faces.

The inn in question was very well maintained with courteous staff that made sure of their guest's comfort while respecting their privacy. Sasuke found especially that last part appealing as he sat in the hot water past the sunset.

He frowned briefly as the door opened and Ranma Saotome came out into the area and settled himself down into the water.

"Ahh, I have never stopped loving hot water," the man said. "You have no idea just how great hot water feels. And if you stay away from the springs, you'll be lucky enough never to know."

"The curse," Sasuke said idly.

"Yes, the curse," Ranma said. "It's sort of a fact of life now, and not something I really worry about too much about. But still something I'd rather never had to experience."

Sasuke grunted in something like understanding.

"Have you had some time to think about what I was talking about on the road here?" he asked.

"The virtues," Sasuke repeated uncomfortably. "I've thought about it some."

"And?" Ranma asked.

"And it crosses my mind just why you are so interested in me," Sasuke noted.

"Well, aside from the fact that you're teamed with my sister," Ranma said. "There's the fact that I'd rather not have to say 'oh, I wish I'd said something before he became a false master and I had to put him down.'"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at that.

"I've seen what that leads to," Sasuke said. "I have no interest in burning myself to ashes."

"It ain't that easy to spot coming all the time," Ranma said. "The old-style Musk have problems cause they think Yin is evil and try to enforce that on the world. You'll find a couple of others who focus on Yin without Yang, but one or the other ain't the problem."

"And how do you know when you're striding the line then?" Sasuke asked.

"When you're trying to push the world into doing something it doesn't want to," Ranma said. "The flashiest techniques push close to the danger point, an that's why we teach those only to disciples like 'Dachi. Basically, if you're trying to master yourself, your on the right track. If you're trying to master what's outside of you, things get dangerous."

"And why doesn't chakra have the same problem?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, chakra is just an extension of you, isn't it?" Ranma asked. "Can't say I know much more, you'd have to ask someone else. Maybe Ryoko in a few years, or maybe you, will be able to answer that."

He chuckled.

"Right now, there aren't any experts," Ranma finished. "Is that all you wanted to ask about?"

"Where does revenge fit in your virtues?" he asked grimly.

"Ahh," Ranma said. "Revenge ain't something I've felt much of. Not really, not like some people. When I was kid I threw some fits, but it wasn't my obsession. I had two others: to get a cure and to be the strongest. I caused so much trouble and hurt so many people just trying to get one of those two things. Revenge seems like just the same sort of obsession."

Sasuke sneered at that.

"How can you possibly be sure about that?" Sasuke said.

"I can't," Ranma said with a shrug. "But can I ask why don't you forget about this whole revenge thing?"

Sasuke stood up in flash of water and glared at Ranma, stepping forward as he did so.

"I am not about to forget how my brother slaughtered my entire clan," Sasuke snapped angrily.

"I didn't say anything about forgetting that your family was killed," Ranma said. "I said why not forget about getting revenge?"

"I have to get revenge!" Sousuke shouted angrily. "And I will do anything possible to get that revenge!"

"Oh, that's a familiar declaration," Ranma said nostalgically. "Though I don't think Ryouga meant it the same way you do. Anyway, listen to your phrasing. 'Have to' not 'want to' or 'hope to' or 'plan to.' Or anything else. Once you say 'have to' or 'got to' then you take your choice away. You've got no Fuki."

"There isn't a choice in this," Sasuke snapped bitterly.

"Then you aren't ever going to be a master of your self," Ranma said calmly. "You can't deny the choice without denying your will and you can only pretend to deny your responsibility, and people will likely get hurt that didn't have to. You'd have no power to even control yourself, just a puppet on a string."

"Does it matter if I accomplish what I set out to do?" Sasuke demanded. "And what does it matter if I'm a puppet if I'm pulling the strings."

"You won't be," Ranma said. "Just your emotions and obsessions."

"What's the difference?" Sasuke demanded.

"The difference is," Ranma said, stretching out. "After you kill who you need to kill, whether or not you still have a life to get to."

Ranma stood up then, calmly.

"You don't have to do anything," he said. "Heck you don't even have to eat or breathe."

"If you don't eat and breathe, you'll die," Sasuke said.

"Yeah, but doesn't mean you can't make the choice not to," the martial artist said. "Everything is a choice and everything has consequences. And they're wide consequences. I don't eat, I die, and then my family's sad and people I could have helped won't get that help. And eating feels good anyway. So I eat. I don't have to, but I choose to."

He shrugged and walked to the door then.

"Don't stay out here much longer," Ranma said. "You'll catch a cold."

Sasuke frowned in a mixture of anger, confusion and thought as the man left the area. He sat back down into the hot water and stayed there for a few minutes longer before stepping up and leaving the hot spring areas to head to the rooms.

As he left the bath area he found a woman waiting outside that wasn't a part of his group. She looked like someone out of the Lightning country, actually. Characteristically, he glared at her suspiciously, the way she was leaning in one of the inn robes and smirking knowingly down one of the hallways.

"My, my, Saotome has sure gotten wordy over the years," she said.

"Who..."

"Before you start thinking about raising a little volume, Sasuke-Baby," the woman interrupted him with a teasing tone of voice. "You might want to wait until you've heard what I can offer you. That won't happen if you catch my baby sister's attention. Or anybody else for that matter."

"What do you mean?" the young ninja asked. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I'm someone who got a chance to see what you could do in the chunin exam," the woman noted. "You beat a Saotome in the air. That is impressive. I almost lost a substantial sum on you."

The way she spoke was outwardly playful and casual with traces of admiration, but there was something hollow or rehearsed about it all. And there was something disturbingly broken about the look in behind the woman's eyes.

"As for what I want," the woman said. "I want to see you get your revenge. I think it will be..." she seemed to search for the correct word. "...entertaining."

"Entertaining," Sasuke repeated angrily. "My quest for vengeance is entertaining to you?"

She chuckled slightly and turned fully toward him.

"Make no mistake, Sasuke-Baby," the woman said cheerfully. "I'm a woman of no maidenly feelings. I am a plague on this Earth. If Saotome's school had one less virtue, I'd be a master even without knowing thing one about fighting. But I do have information. Lots of information about lots of things."

She straightened away from the wall and started walking down the hall way.

"Information such as secret techniques, powerful weapons," she said, letting her back turn toward Sasuke. "Whereabouts of people, places and things."

She smirked again at the bluff which hopefully wouldn't be one by the next time she saw the boy.

"When Rochi-Baby comes to call for you," the woman said. "Just remember there are other options. And options that don't have a vested interest in your death. Go look for Nabiki Tendo, and I'm sure we'll meet again. Ta."

Sasuke stood watching the woman walk away and frowned, part of him wanting to chase the woman down and force the information he wanted out of her, but another portion urged caution and patience.

For once he listened to the latter.

The woman who had introduced herself as having no maidenly feelings to Sasuke took a turn down the hallway and found her rooms, humming a quiet little tune past a carefully crafted smile that broadcast that she knew everything a person didn't want her to know. Walking to the bathroom connected to her feet she turned on the faucet and reached down to wash her hands.

The water came flowing out with the ringing screams of a little girl echoing somewhere in the distance as the dark-skinned blonde calmly went about the task of cleansing her hands before looking up into the mirror and shutting the faucet off, leaving only a slow drip of water to strike the basin as she examined her face for any sign of a speck of dirt or a smudge of make-up.

The water thudded rhythmically against the basin in time with the screaming little girl and the dull, barely noticed throbbing ringing out from the center of her forehead.

The success of the operation still astounded her as she looked herself over and remembered staring up into a coldly smiling face with sparkling, lively and malevolent eyes sometime ago.

"Hmm, you could almost have me believing I was one of the decoys," the woman said with a chuckle.

The chuckle struck sharply into her ears and down her spine, failing to raise a chill as she walked into the main room of the suite and snatching up a manga before sitting down on the bed and leaning back to spend a little time with one of her new favorite series.

"Where is Gosunkugi?" she wondered idly before nodding in sudden realization.

The water was still dripping out of the faucet with exaggerated loudness and her head still seemed to feel each slow impact as the screaming and pleading continued screeching through the room around her.

"Oh, that's right," she said. "He's supposed to be monitoring the most stable decoy. About time he stopped wasting his time here and got to work."

The manga was a cute story. Some sort of slice of life thing set in the Fire Lord's court. A page was turned and she came to see an image of one of the characters, a younger girl, doing something silly and unrealistic. But it did remind her.

"Hmm, I think I saw a traveling family with a six year old girl," she commented aloud to herself.

She changed the page again, tapping her free hand to the time of the drumming, throbbing pain that she continued to remember.

"That girl Rochi-Baby gave me was much too old," she added. "Too much time spent living and far too many memories that could be used to bring her back. Still, she might serve some purpose when she's finished."

A particularly funny punchline from the manga drew a soft snorting laugh out of her and she sat up.

"Perhaps I should say hello to my baby brot..." she paused in confusion cricking her neck to the side as she blinked and tried to remember what she had just said.

After several seconds of listening to the screaming and thudding drops of water, she blinked and started speaking.

"Perhaps I should say hello to my baby sister and her beau," the woman repeated again as if she had never paused. "Really it has been way too long without my favorite entertainment. I wonder what they'll think of my new look."

A knock came on the door and she sighed irritably before standing up to walk through the room toward the door. She wasn't worried about whoever it was hearing the constant screaming, nobody yet had noticed it while it was going on and she didn't think it would last much longer.

She did have to admit however that whoever that little girl was, she had endurance and a set of lungs to keep up screaming for so long. Where had that one come from?

She opened the door to see one of the staff bringing her a meal tray and caught the sight of a dark-skinned woman with blonde hair and realized in a flash.

"That's right, this one is from the Land of Lightning," she noted aloud.

"Pardon, Ma'am?" the woman who'd brought her food asked.

"Nothing, Baby," she said with a smile at the naive woman. "Just realizing something."

"Right," the woman said with a pleasant smile. "Well have a good meal, Miss."

"Oh I intend to," the woman said, giving her normal twisted smirk before the girl left.

The door was closed and she walked back in the suite with her dinner, including a substantially sized ice crean.

"I wonder what I would look like black," the woman said as if forgetting what she had seen of herself in the mirror. "I'll have to see how that decoy turns out eventually."

Another scream burst out loudly carrying words.

"I am..." the girl seemed to be screaming.

"I am Nabiki Tendo, of course," the woman said with a smile as she started eating in the midst of her private and unique musical accompaniment.

Tsunade, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, stared bitterly down the walkway toward the former friend who stood there smiling. Shizune stood in front of her protectively, eyes narrowed and her arm held up, ready to reveal the needle launchers she had hidden under her sleeve and glaring at both of the Konoha traitors before them.

This explained why she was on such a winning streak.

"That is the offer, Tsunade," Orochimaru said in his slick tone of voice outside of a sickened smile. "I have a subordinate who has acquired a disease that is beyond my own ability to heal and I was wondering if I might enlist your aid."

Tsunade kept still as she kept her visage stony, keeping her bluff. She could tell that Orochimaru was, more or less, in the peak of health and didn't have her hemophobia to deal with. A battle between them had the potential to rework the landscape around them, but even thinking about the potential of blood being spilled was sapping her strength.

She couldn't let him know that though. She hoped it would seem like she'd gotten past that problem, because with that, the advantage was all Orochimaru's.

"Get your face out of here, Orochimaru," Tsunade said firmly.

"You heard Tsunade-sama," Shizune said in support, eyes narrowed and one hand at the ready.

"Surely there's something I could offer," Orochimaru said with a smile.

At his side, a white-haired young man stood easily and watched with a calm expression.

"There is nothing you have that I could want," Tsunade informed him.

"Really?" Orochimaru said. "Let's see about that. I could, perhaps find a way to give you chance to see those who you've lost. Your brother and the man you loved."

"And what would you do once you had your subordinate healed?" Shizune demanded.

"Why...destroy Konoha," Orochimaru said simply.

"Because that worked so well the first time," a new voice added, drawing looks toward that direction.

Orochimaru frowned as he saw Jiraiya dropping down from atop one of the walls to walk idly up to a third point equidistant to both Tsunade and Orochimaru. Behind him, Orochimaru recognized the kyuubi-brat and another young genin he didn't know but looked a lot like a Hyuuga to him.

No wonder he'd found Orochimaru so quickly.

"What are you doing here, Jiraiya," Tsunade demanded as Kabuto and Orochimaru eased backwards into a watchful stance.

"Well," the broad shouldered man said. "I was happening through the area and look at that, a sannin reunion going on. Hey, Orochimaru, how's things been since you were run out of Konoha a couple of weeks ago."

The snake sannin frowned and considered his options as the two kids with Jiraiya nervously took up positions in support, though it was clear from the look on the girl's face that at least she didn't expect to have much impact on a fight with these three.

"I think I shall take my leave now," Orochimaru said with a smile.

"Oh, don't leave on my account," the Toad Sage said in a conversational tone. "Naruto, Hinata, stay back."

"Hell no!" Naruto said, "That's the guy that was behind everything in the attack on us, right?"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly. "This is a out of our level."

"I don't care," Naruto shouted. "This guy needs to be taken down."

"Still a loud one, I see," Orochimaru said with a smirk, "but I'm afraid I shall have to insist on leaving now, giving you some time to consider things."

"I'll be seeing you later, Naruto-kun," Kabuto added before both vanished into thin air.

"Tch!" Jiraiya grimaced bitterly before glancing over toward Tsunade carefully.

"Why the hell did we just let him get away?" Naruto asked.

"Because we need to focus on the mission, Naruto," Jiraiya said. "And that means speaking to Tsunade and not letting her slip just now."

"You're looking for me too, eh?" the woman said.

"Yeah, so you're saying this lady is the fifty year old granny we're looking for?" Naruto demanded.

"Naruto-Kun," Hinata suggested quietly from behind him. "Perhaps it would be best not to..."

"Fifty ye...who are you calling Granny, brat?" Tsunade shouted.

Tsunade stared grimly across at Jiraiya, she was doing a lot of that recently. Then again, she'd been doing a lot of that for a good number of years. Just right now, it was a bit more pronounced than usual.

"So, I'm a mission now, hmm?" Tsunade asked, glancing toward the Hyuga girl and noting the lack of either a headband or one of those abhorrent caged bird seals. "Apparently important enough to send some brat from the Hyuga main family to come and beg me to come back with you. If you really wanted to stroke my ego, they wouldn't send a kid even a well-regarded one."

Hinata blinked and looked toward the blonde woman, her mouth hanging open.

"I'm well-regarded?" she asked hesitantly.

"After your performance at the chunin exams, you're at least respected," Jiraiya said with a laugh.

The exchange caused Tsunade to blink in confusion slightly, the mannerism of the Hyuga had been quiet and controlled, as she expected, but as soon as she started talking it became apparent she was also something much less than arrogance.

"Sarutobi wants to talk to you, Tsunade," Jiraiya said calmly while Tsunade took in that strangeness for a Hyuga princess. "He's not in the best shape of his life."

"I should say not," Tsunade said firmly. "What's he thinking, running around like he's still in his prime? I'm surprised he didn't die from such foolishness."

"Hey! Watch what you say about the old man!" Naruto said angrily. "He actually fought that snake freak."

"Brat, close your mouth when your elders are speaking," Tsunade said, casually dismissing him with a side look. "What is it the old man really wants to see my about, Jiraiya? He wouldn't send you out just for his medical needs."

"There's also Lee and Ryoko-chan," Naruto said quickly.

He paused for a moment, he'd heard something about Sakura too, but she was up and around and didn't look like there was anything wrong with her. Granted she'd seemed a bit more upset than she used to be, and he'd noticed she was living with the crazy snake lady that Ryoko had gotten along with at the start of the Forest of Death thing, but none of that called for a medical ninja.

Jiraiya frowned thoughtfully and looked toward Hinata and Naruto as Tsunade glared at him and Shizune looked on, holding the little pig nervously. Naruto's attitude so far had been less than exemplary, and he wondered what the boy would do with this next piece of information.

"Fine," Jiraiya said, leaning back. "The Third Hokage has named his next successor, Tsunade."

Naruto paused and glanced from Jiraiya to the blonde woman as Hinata and Shizune both took in their breath.

"He wants you to come to Konoha to be the Fifth Hokage," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade gave a humorless laugh and leaned back crossing her arms.

"That's an offer only a fool would take," she said bitterly as Naruto fumed. "It never ends well for the person in the position."

"That's generally understood," Jiraiya agreed.

"And you expect me to take that offer?" Tsunade asked. "You're as foolish as the old man if you think I'd take that doomed position."

Naruto growled and stood up onto the table and glared into Tsunade's face.

"There's no way we'd want a dried up, bitter old woman like you, Granny!" Naruto said. "Why did we even come to find this lady, Ero-Sennin? Just to hear her complain about stuff like an idiot? You said we were looking for a medical genius!"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said as she nervously noted the woman's body language. "Perhaps you shouldn't..."

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune noted. "Please calm..."

"What the hell does a brat like you know about anything!" Tsunade demanded angrily standing up and placing her hands down on the table.

If she'd had a chance to drink more, she'd probably be placing one foot on the top of the table and posing even more dramatically.

"What can you even know about the sort of thankless position that really is?" she demanded angrily. "Get back to walking dogs and weeding gardens."

"If you don't want the job, then he can give it to me," Naruto said. "I'm going to be Hokage someday! Might as well be today."

Tsunade flinched, her face faltering a moment as she placed Naruto's face alongside two others. But she recovered quickly and sneered at him.

"I can beat you with one finger," she laughed. "How does that make you ready to be Hokage?"

"Oh yeah?" Naruto said. "We'll see about that!"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said quickly. "Please don't do this. Jiraiya-sama, tell him to calm down please."

"Tsunade-sama, what are you thinking?" Shizune asked nervously.

Jiraiya just sighed and shook his head, feeling vaguely disappointed as Hinata and Shizune each moved to stand in front of the person they were respectively most concerned with.

"Hmph," Naruto said. "That sounded like a challenge to me and heck if I'm going to turn that down."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "That's sort of Ryoko's code."

"And mine is to always follow through with what I say!" Naruto said. "And I ain't going to let her talk crap about being Hokage!"

"Well then, brat, let's go outside and settle this," Tsunade snapped angrily.

Tsunade frowned as she watched the backs of Jiraiya and his charges. The fight had been almost predictable. Right up to the point where he'd tried to peg her with an incomplete Rasengan.

She was glad at the moment that she hadn't been drunk. The brief inclination to place a wager on his learning the technique with her necklace as the prize crossed her mind.

The fact that she even thought about sent a bit of a shiver through her body. Did she want him dead, that she thought about giving him that cursed thing?

The Hyuga girl came down out of the inn rooms and walked past Tsunade, bowing nervously to the woman as she passed on some errand judging by the way she was lipping over a list to herself.

Shizune had been behaving similarly when she'd left to arrange rooms for the two of them just minutes ago.

"Hey, Hyuga, over here," Tsunade said.

"Tsunade-sama?" Hinata asked nervously. "I have to go get some more rubber balls and balloons."

"Jiraiya sent you out of the room so he could talk to that boy alone, didn't he?" Tsunade asked.

"That may be," Hinata agreed.

For the first time, and Tsunade snapped a curse relating to her state of medical awareness, she noted the bandaging around the girl's right hand as she came closer. She didn't let her think about what is probably under those bandages oozing from what were likely scraped knuckles.

"Why are you, a Hyuga, doing hard style training like that?" Tsunade asked, curiously. "And why do you act like a servant? You are main Hyuga, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am the daughter of Hiashi Hyuga," Hinata said quietly.

The sannin's eyes widened fractionally for a brief moment as Hinata identified herself as the daughter of the head of the house.

"And why is the Hyuga princess so respectful of that brat?" Tsunade asked.

"Because he and two others were the first to tell me I wasn't useless," Hinata said quietly under her breath. "Might I go, Tsunade-sama? If rubber balls are on the list, it means Jiraiya-sama thinks I might be able to try training in the second step again. I should like to..."

"He has you training in this jutsu too?" Tsunade asked. "Foolishness. Go ahead, get on with your errands, princess."

Hinata bowed and walked away.

"Just why do these kids get me so riled up?" Tsunade wondered bitterly.

The overlapping images of Dan and her brother came again, and she knew. That was why she had gone away in the first place, to avoid seeing kids like that throw their lives away on something useless.