Hi everyone, long time no update, I know. But here is the longest chapter so far. I hope this pleases everyone. I apologize in advance for the gratuitous angst in this chapter. Kakashi angst, Naruto angst, Itachi angst, Tsunade angst, and even Jiraiya angst, with just a little bit of KakaNaru sexiness to lighten it up. So, I once again disclaim anything Naruto because I'm not Kishimoto. Without further ado, here's chapter 14.

As it turned out, it wasn't nearly as easy to find Tsunade as Naruto thought. It took them about four days to find her instead of the day and a half he'd expected. Their information broker had apparently distributed the information before the Legendary Sucker hit a minor winning streak, sending her scampering like a frightened rabbit to somewhere a little more remote. The tiny gambling house (the only one in the northern district of Kyoraku-gai) was far too close to the border with Ta no Kuni for comfort and therefore was naturally exactly where their quarry had chosen to sequester herself.

The bar attached to the gambling den smelled of sake and cheap tobacco. The clatter of dice and pachinko machines reverberated in the smoky air as Naruto, Kakashi and Jiraiya approached the bar where they had spotted the Senju princess's pigtailed head above the crowd.

They'd been lucky so far. They weren't here to make her Hokage and Orochimaru – despite sending out feelers – hadn't managed to find her and/or had decided it wasn't yet time. So, the slug summoner hadn't had any ominous wins to chase her away from this particular establishment before they could find her. She was, in fact, at the bar nursing the loss of the last 20,000 ryo Shizune had rationed for this gambling house with a bottle of Ta no Kuni sake.

Jiraiya dropped onto the barstool next to her, "Long time no see, Tsunade-hime," he said while Kakashi and Naruto walked up behind them.

"Jiraiya," she replied fuzzily as she threw back another saucer of sake, "Why are you here?"

"Sensei is requesting that you return home. Orochimaru has been planning an invasion and we'll need every medic we can get our hands on if he decides to go through with it."

"Impossible, I refuse."

"That's what you said the last time I asked you on a date, come on hime! Konoha needs you! You're the best medic in the Elemental Nations!"

"I've told both you and Sensei time and time again that I'm never going to set even a foot back in Konoha." She stated firmly, as she directed medical chakra to her liver and kidneys to speed up the sobering process.

Kakashi and Naruto had moved to sit with Shizune in a booth not too far away. All three were watching Jiraiya try and fail to convince Tsunade to return to Konoha with not a little amusement.

Tsunade stood and began to walk toward the table where the three younger shinobi sat. "You know I'm useless as a medic nowadays, Jiraiya. Don't try to butter me up. With my hemophobia I'd just be a liability. Sensei wants me back to be Hokage, doesn't he? I won't do it. The job's a death trap; only morons want to be Hokage." The woman said with more than a hint of disdain.

Although he no longer desperately coveted the position of Hokage – having already held it, if even for a short time – Naruto still had a monumental amount of respect for the mantle and those who bore it. He would also strive to regain the position again in the future. To Naruto, the seat of Hokage was neither a job nor a rank, but the treasured burden of the safety and well being of his beloved village. Senjuu princess or not, future-past Hokage or not, cousin or not, Naruto would not let Tsunade denigrate the position of Hokage.

"Oh yeah!?" Naruto snarled, bringing Tsunade's attention to who exactly had come with Jiraiya. "You may be the granddaughter of the Shodaime, the great-niece of the Nidaime and the student of the Sandaime, but you have no right to insult the sacrifices of those who have led us and given their lives for the prosperity of our village."

Kakashi smothered a chuckle as he watched Naruto bait Tsunade. It was incredibly interesting to watch Naruto's 'Talk Therapy no Jutsu' in action; especially when it almost always started with a fight.

"Who do you think you are, brat, to question my right to ensure idiots are regarded as idiots?" Tsunade shot back, incensed that this child thought he had the right to condescend to her.

"You really wanna know, Baa-chan?!" Naruto goaded.

"Baa-chan you said!? I'll show you what this baa-chan's got hiding up her sleeve!" Tsunade replied menacingly.

Shizune was about to intervene before Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and raised a finger to his masked lips to gesture for quiet. "Just watch," he said. Shizune frowned and pulled TonTon closer to her chest.

"Riiiiight," Naruto drawled, "taking a washed up drunkard like you will be a piece of cake; what'cha gonna do, smother me in your bust?" Jiraiya winced at Naruto's jab and discreetly made note that the civilians were beginning to vacate their area as Tsunade's killing intent became more palpable.

"That's it, you little maggot! We're taking this outside!" the pigtailed blonde growled before grabbing the seemingly twelve year old boy by his shirt's hood to drag him outside.

"Fine by me, you cantankerous old hag!" Naruto shouted, allowing himself to be hauled along by the enraged medic.

Kakashi and Jiraiya trailed after the cousins sedately, the former not bothering to hide his chuckles and the latter failing to disguise his amused smile. As Shizune followed the two men anxiously with TonTon in her grasp, she couldn't help but wonder if either man cared for the kid at all.

Ten minutes later the group was standing in a clearing with a copse of trees on one side and the town half a mile out on the other. Kakashi, Jiraiya and Shizune stood to the side; two of them were a mixture of baffled and amused, and one just confused as Naruto and Tsunade faced off.

"This will only take one finger," Tsunade said smugly, arm straight up, pointing at the sky with her right index finger to make her message clear.

"Wanna bet, Baa-chan?" Naruto taunted with a vulpine grin.

Tsunade looked at him with a bemused but indulging smile, "Sure, gaki, what are the stakes?"

"If I win, you have to come back to Konoha with us. If you win, you get all the money in my wallet, and my solemn promise to never try to get you to return to Konoha again. Uzumaki Naruto never goes back on his word." Naruto said holding up his toad-shaped wallet that was stuffed to bursting.

Tsunade was startled as she recognized his name as Konoha's most recent Jinchuuriki, but didn't show it as she replied. "What's got you all in a tizzy about the Hokage title anyway brat?"

"Unlike you," Naruto started in an uncharacteristically solemn tone, "Becoming Hokage is my dream!" he stated resolutely, channeling his resolve to do whatever it took to keep Konoha and his precious people safe. The determination in his words shone brightly through his brilliantly blue eyes as he stared down the pigtailed woman.

Tsunade gazed at him blankly for a fraction of a second too long as his image overlapped with those of her deceased loved ones. Her chest was tight with emotion before she shoved it all behind a barrier in her mind and locked it down tightly. She laughed at him. "Fine, if you can force me to use more than one finger, I'll come back with you. Hell, I'll even throw this in as an extra," she said, holding up the Shodaime's necklace.

"Get ready to live up to your title, then, Densetsu no Kamo-sama!" Naruto replied, flashing a feral grin.

Tsunade snorted in derision. The kid couldn't be higher ranked than genin, not with the peacetime standard Academy graduation age. Sure he had some muscle, but even if she was rusty, she'd still be more than a match for someone like Kakashi, who was an A bordering S-rank ninja. She dropped her arm so she was pointing at Naruto and curled her extended finger in a coy beckoning motion indicating the start of their match.

Naruto, taking advantage of Tsunade's clear underestimation of him grabbed one of his tantou and seallessly replaced himself with a pebble near his opponent's left foot, moving in close to slash at her side. Tsunade, startled by Naruto's sudden appearance, reacted instinctively. She grabbed Naruto's wrist before the blade could make contact and flung him toward one of the trees bordering the clearing. Flipping himself around in the air, Naruto landed on the tree trunk feet first and stuck there. He looked up grinning smugly as Tsunade froze, realizing what she had done.

"What do you say, Ero-sennnin?" Naruto taunted from his position on the tree, "I think that was not only a finger, but a whole hand, ne, Baa-chan~?"

Tsunade fumed impotently as Jiraiya responded, turning toward Kakashi, "It looked like a whole hand to me, what about you, Kakashi?"

Kakashi realizing what Jiraiya was doing continued to bait the reddening medic, "That's what I saw, what do you think, Shizune-san?"

Not wanting to enrage her mentor further, Shizune just looked away and gripped TonTon more tightly, causing the pig to squeal and flail a bit.

"Y-you sneaky little bastard!" Tsunade growled. She stomped in frustration, causing a tremor strong enough to shake loose the tree to which Naruto had attached himself. Naruto flipped gracefully forward off the tree, landing perfectly fine as the tree tipped backwards, uprooted.

Shizune watched the entire scene with trepidation. Tsunade usually wasn't one to be messed with.

"I may be a sneaky, but I was assured that my parents were married," Naruto replied glibly, his grin not dimming even an iota.

"This whole bet was rigged!" Tsunade exclaimed incensed, "There's no way I'm going back to Konoha; you can take your righteous bullshit and shove it!"

"Of course the bet was rigged!" Naruto told her with absolutely no shame, "I'm a ninja. I always work with a stacked deck. I know you can't help yourself from taking practically any bet that falls into your lap." He held up an index finger, counting the ways he'd duped her, "I also look underwhelming, and in spite of the fact that I'm technically a genin, I have skills far eclipsing the rank I hold. So, in being assured that you would completely underestimate me, I stacked the deck in my favor again." A second finger, "And, by making sure your first move against me was reflex rather than deliberate, I stacked my deck even higher. So yes," Naruto concluded with three fingers wiggling smugly and a giant grin still on his face, "the bet was totally rigged in my favor."

"I knew it!" Tsunade growled through gnashing teeth, hands curled into fists at her waist. "There's no way I'm fulfilling my end of the bet, forget it!"

"It's no different than playing against a house that uses loaded dice-ttebayo," Naruto said gleefully, accidentally allowing his verbal-tic to slip, "You still pay up with them."

Tsunade snarled at Naruto ineffectually for another couple of minutes before turning around and stomping back toward the town, her blonde pigtails bouncing along behind her. It took two and a half minutes before she'd calmed down enough that she wasn't shaking the earth with each step, and after a few more steps she stopped, turning back toward the other blond, "Gaki, you've got a week to convince me that going back to Konoha isn't the stupidest decision on this side of the Fire Country border," she said; her voice was cold like morning frost. Done with the shinobi for the evening, she continued her trek back to the town. Shizune followed with a conflicted expression on her face. Naruto, Kakashi and Jiraiya watched them walk off, knowing they'd accomplished the first step in convincing Tsunade to return – getting her attention.

The three shinobi followed the Senjuu princess and her apprentice at a sedate pace, in no hurry to catch up, knowing Tsunade, despite her anger, was intrigued by Naruto. The blond shinobi was conflicted about his next approach. He knew what he had to do, but it would be harsh. Naruto needed her to confront and overcome her trauma; he needed her to face the truth of her actions. He wanted the blonde medic to be willing to come back to Konoha on her own before returning her memories.

He knew giving her her memories would cause her return to Konoha. But by forcing her to take on the burden of Hokage, he felt as though he would be subverting her will. In the now erased timeline, she had shouldered that weight – the weight of the lives of every Konoha citizen – willingly, but by giving her her memories without giving her that choice, he would be forcing her to carry that burden. And the burden of "Hokage" was not one that a person should take without full and complete willingness to uphold the Will of Fire which Tsunade had long let fade to cooling embers.

Kakashi watched Naruto over the edge of his omnipresent Icha Icha, paying careful attention to the emotions that were reflected in the younger shinobi's eyes. Determination warred with uncertainty and upset. A unhappy grimace was pulling at the corners of Naruto's mouth, dragging the edges of his whisker marks down a fraction and exacerbating the unsettled expression on his face.

The silver haired shinobi didn't like seeing his blond in such obvious emotional discomfort. Kakashi was used to having to look underneath whatever surface Naruto projected to figure out what the blond was really feeling. He was well aware that Naruto had as many issues as any other shinobi, but the blond was usually much better at hiding his inner turmoil. The worst he'd ever seen was when Jiraiya died. But his current level of distress was more reminiscent of the period just after the disastrous 'Sasuke Retrieval Mission' before Naruto's training trip with Jiraiya.

Reaching out he tugged the blond shinobi to his side. Naruto stumbled a tad before adjusting to Kakashi's stride and looking up at the older man. The blond's head barely brushed Kakashi's shoulder while the blond pretended to be the age he was supposed to be. Kakashi caught Naruto's eye with his own uncovered one and smiled at him comfortingly from behind his mask. The blond's eyes widened briefly, before he smiled back and leaned slightly into Kakashi's side, accepting the comfort offered.

Jiraiya viewed all of this with a disgruntled look from his peripheral vision, unable to fathom his apprentice and his greatest fan in a loving homosexual relationship. Not that he had anything against those who chose to seek romance with their own gender, but seriously! Kakashi practically worshipped the ground Jiraiya walked, and Naruto… well, Naruto was his apprentice, not to mention his godson! He'd edited and critiqued Jiraiya's erotic novels, without even showing a hint that he might swing in both directions.

Not that it mattered… As long as both of them were happy… As long as Kakashi kept his hands above Naruto's waist until the blond was past the initial stages of puberty, Jiraiya thought, completely disregarding the fact Naruto was actually 20 and no longer an awkward pre-teen with his first crush. Turning his eyes back to the road, the Toad Sage huffed a breath through his nose and rolled his eyes, definitely not wanting to get caught in the mushy emotional vibes radiating from the duo behind him.

It didn't take too much longer to reach the only hotel in the small border town, and the proprietor was more than happy to let another couple rooms for the night. Jiraiya took his own while Naruto and Kakashi took the other. Tsunade and Shizune were roomed on the floor above, Naruto could tell from the roiling chakra radiating off the perennial gambler. Not that he expected anything else. Tsunade liked her creature comforts if they were available, she wasn't frugal by any means (ehem – gambling habit), so she wasn't going to try to save money by camping in the surrounding forest if she didn't have to.

Naruto and Kakashi began to ready themselves for bed, pushing the two single sized futon together and changing into nightclothes. Naruto extracted a stasis scroll from one of the storage seals on his belt (don't ask him how to explain why storing expanded space in expanded space works, it just does. At least that's what his Dad said his Mom had told him when he'd asked. The Uzumaki Clan hadn't been able to figure it out either, apparently) and released two warm bentou boxes and two pair of chopsticks. Handing one off to Kakashi, the two shinobi sat side by side on one of the futon, and chorused a subdued but not unenthusiastic "itadakimasu," before digging into the meal. Neither felt the need to speak as they ate, basking in the quiet companionship.

After finishing their meal, Naruto sealed the empty boxes in a different stasis scroll, and resealed both scrolls in his belt, and both he and Kakashi set to getting ready for bed. Quickly completing their evening ablutions, the two shinobi sat back to back, each supporting the other's weight as they both pulled out things to do. Naruto grabbed a book about ninjustu creation as Kakashi pulled out the most recent volume of Icha Icha, and both began to read.

By the time Kakashi had been killed, the shinobi world had been at war for nearly three years; he'd had neither the time or inclination to drown himself in adventure porn. If he wasn't sleeping he was training or on the front lines or helping devise strategy. Maybe once or twice a week he and Naruto had time to be a couple without the risk of interruption, and they used that time to its fullest. Icha Icha hadn't even factored into his life at that point except to sometimes serve as inspiration during 'bedroom' activities (not that they'd had bedrooms on the warfront, just tents). So, it was nice to have time to reread his favorite erotic fiction without worry. He knew Naruto didn't mind it – in fact Naruto had taken quite a bit of solipsistic pleasure in telling him exactly which parts of Icha Icha needed reenactment in their tent. Grinning at the memory behind his mask, he did his (futile) best not to get an erection while his lover still looked twelve.

Naruto, used to Kakashi's almost preternatural still – discounting the blushing and giggling that usually accompanied Icha Icha – was quietly amused when he felt Kakashi's infinitesimal fidgeting against his back that followed the odd squirming sensation that his chakra gave off when the jounin was horny. Naruto knew that particular reaction didn't come just from reading Icha Icha, he knew Kakashi well enough to know that the silver-haired man actually read Icha Icha for the plot (which actually existed, surprisingly; the smut was really icing on the cake of a good story) so it wouldn't get him worked up enough to radiate horniness in his chakra. A leering grin took its place on the blond's lips. It wasn't really a good place to get intimate – too exposed – but maybe if he put up enough sealing barriers…

He pushed against Kakashi's back with his own before standing up and moving toward the door. Allowing his sensory ability to flood him with information as he moved, he noted that the only chakra signatures in the town were he, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Tsunade and Shizune. Deciding it was safe enough, he set up a series of three chakra barriers. He knew that Jiraiya, on the other side of the wall, would know exactly what was happening in their room when he noticed the barrier seals, but at this point Naruto didn't care. He released his henge seal and made his way back to Kakashi. Standing in front of the older man, he plucked the orange covered book from Kakashi's hand and situated himself in his lap, giving himself a small height advantage.

Kakashi looked up, briefly stunned, before realizing Naruto's intentions. The silver-haired man grinned as he allowed Naruto to remove his shirt, hitai-ate already discarded prior to dinner. They made quick work of their clothes, taking advantage of their time alone. Clothes gone, Naruto retook his position in Kakashi's lap and pulled his lover into a slow searching kiss. By the time they parted, both were breathing heavily, Naruto leaned in again pressing his lips to Kakashi's chin; slowly making his way up the older man's jaw-line with kisses, nips and soothing licks, before taking Kakashi's earlobe into his mouth.

Naruto's breath was hot against Kakashi's ear; the lingering taste of mint toothpaste mingled with his blond's natural scent of summer and forest and Naruto on his tongue as he licked bold stripes across Naruto's collarbones. This wasn't like before, in Naruto's apartment. He and Naruto both were unready for too much before. But now his hands were slipping down his lover's back, paying tribute to the strong muscles beneath velvet skin before dropping lower, and they both knew that this wouldn't stop with some necking and heavy petting to reach orgasm. Not tonight. No, tonight he would worship this beautiful, strong, vivacious person in his lap, turn his world inside-out and upside-down and know he would be given the same in return. Tilting his head to the side, he slipped his ear from between Naruto's lips and flipped their positions as to hover over his lover, his hands by Naruto's sides and his knees between spread legs. Kakashi dragged his tongue languidly down the blond's defined torso, tracing the few scattered scars – pale reminders of wounds the Kyuubi had been unable to heal completely – evidence of Naruto's uncanny ability to survive just about anything. Finally, he reached Naruto's navel, dipping his tongue into the small hollow between the younger man's rigid abdominal muscles, the center of the intricate seal which kept the Kyuubi bound to his lover, body and soul. Naruto threaded deft fingers through Kakashi's hair as he drew his tongue along the vivid black lines and swirls, reveling in the symphony of moans and growls and gasps he was ringing from the man below him; he enjoyed the gentle tugs on his hair, trying to direct him this way or that, knowing that soon it would be his turn…

…Naruto lay sprawled across Kakashi's chest, his head cradled in the crook of the older man's collar. Both were breathing hard, sticky and sore in places they hadn't been for a while; Naruto breathed a contented sigh. He lay there for a few minutes more, soaking in the comforting scent of his lover before reluctantly rolling off Kakashi with a short grunt, he knew if they didn't clean up soon there would be uncomfortable consequences in the morning. Kakashi made a disgruntled noise when Naruto moved and opened his one grey eye just a tad, his eyelid still heavy with the lingering euphoria of orgasm. He watched with a satiated air as Naruto stood, staggering a little as if reacclimating to solid land after getting off a boat. The blond quickly tore down one of the sealing barriers and slid open the window before using a watered-down wind technique to air out the room. If someone showed up at their door in the morning, they didn't want the smell of sex haunting the room – especially since Naruto still had to look like a twelve-year-old.

Always prepared, Naruto unsealed a few towels and some hot water from one of the storage seals inked onto his arm and began to wipe Kakashi down gently, removing the drying crust of sweat and semen from his skin. Kakashi hummed in pleasure, the towel was warm and soft and it felt really good against his skin. Closing his eye again, he basked in Naruto's attention and allowed the sure strokes of the cloth against his skin to lull him into half-asleep haze knowing Naruto would take care of everything.

Naruto smiled as Kakashi relaxed into the futon, Kakashi wasn't actually as lazy as his public persona painted him, in fact, the silver-haired man was probably one of the least lazy people Naruto had ever met. Often times when Kakashi didn't know what to do, he reverted to his standby phrases and a wait and see approach, which often had the effect of causing him to appear lazy. But Naruto knew that this time, just after sex, was the only time Kakashi ever really let himself relax and be lazy and let someone else worry about everything. The jounin was crazy intelligent and his mind was always running a mile a minute, calculating the pros and cons of every decision. It's what made shinobi like he and Shikamaru and Shikaku so dangerous. But that meant that it was difficult for his mind to turn itself off. So Naruto didn't mind allowing Kakashi his time to savor the fog of post-coital bliss. Kakashi was always in an excellent mood the next day too, which was definitely a bonus.

After he'd finished cleaning Kakashi and helping the man redress, Naruto got to work getting himself clean, back into clothes and then back into his younger body. He sealed away the dirty cloths and dumped the dirty water, then finally, after releasing the last of his barrier seals and airing out the room once again, he snuggled into the warmth of Kakashi's side. The days to come would be trying, but soon they would be home with Tsunade-baa-chan in tow.

The Spartan cleanliness of the ANBU barracks was a familiar comfort to Itachi. Before the Chuunin Exams he'd been reinstated into the Hokage's ANBU under the alias Uo. His mask resembled an open mouthed carp; there was no connection to anything Uchiha, no hidden meaning, it wasn't even intimidating. It was perfect for hiding in plain sight. Then he'd gone to tie up loose ends with the Akatsuki…no, rather he'd gone to cut loose threads attached to the Akatsuki. Kisame and Zetsu, to be specific. He'd thought to approach Pein and Konan, but had decided against it. Jiraiya would have to be the one to approach them first.

The first thing he'd done upon his return to Konoha was check on his little brother, who seemed to be having a little too much fun with Orochimaru's former apprentice in the Forest of Death. Itachi was pleased to see Sasuke smiling again, it was a sight he hadn't seen since the night he'd been ordered to exterminate his family. At least the man masquerading as Madara had taken most of the burden of actually massacring the majority of the clan members, leaving Itachi only his immediate family.

Shaking dark thoughts from his head, he followed Sasuke for a few minutes until the younger Uchiha had acknowledged his presence, then he went to report to the Hokage. The Sandaime was pleased to hear he'd completed his mission with little difficulty, but prohibited him from taking on any more large tasks until the Chuunin Exams had been concluded successfully. "We both know you're not at full health, Itachi-kun," the Sandaime had told him, "Before we confront Danzou, I want you checked out by Tsunade. Jiraiya, Naruto and Kakashi have made contact with her and are in the process of persuading her to return to Konoha."

Lying back on the surprisingly comfortable futon, Itachi decided to rest his failing eyes. Itachi knew his illness was crippling him. It honestly surprised the 18-year-old that he could still operate at S-class standards, but he knew that he wasn't nearly as powerful as he'd been at 15. He'd contracted his illness at the young age of 12 on a mission near the outskirts of Swamp Country. He hadn't been sure exactly what kind of illness it was; Tsunade had long left the village by the time he'd been diagnosed and none of the medics left behind were even within degrees of her caliber. The best had been Yakushi Nonou, who was killed in action a year before his diagnosis.

He couldn't help but wonder if the contraction of his illness had been manufactured by Danzou to take him out of the picture once Itachi had done his bidding. It would be in line with the modus operandi of the man known as the Shinobi no Yami.

However duplicitous Danzou was, Itachi could still respect the man to a degree. He was willing to put the village first. The thing Itachi couldn't condone was that the man couldn't discern the trees from the forest. He put his ideals for the village first, paying no concern to the wellbeing of the shinobi who protected it, inhabited it, made it live.

Itachi knew though, that as he was, any battle he had with Danzou would end in a pyrrhic victory. The man would be dead, but so would Itachi.

He would just have to wait until he could be seen by Tsunade. Sakura was good, but even she wasn't as good as Tsunade. Sasuke's pink-haired teammate had identified his illness as a degenerative disease which had originally been caused by a poison. The poison had mostly left his system but done more than enough damage. It left traces in his muscle fibers and internal organs, which caused an auto-immune reaction; his own body was slowly breaking itself down in an attempt to rid itself of the last traces of the poison. It was only Itachi's larger than average chakra reserves that kept the worst of the symptoms at bay.

His chakra strengthened his body, but the longer he went without real treatment, the worse it would get. The reason he'd already degenerated to this point was his use of Mangekyou Sharingan, which was a real chakra syphon; allowing the disease to eat away at him while he recovered his chakra. By the time of his death in the previous timeline, Itachi had been consuming dangerous chemical cocktails that could barely qualify as medicine rather than poison to keep his body moving at the level of efficacy he needed to make his last battle with Sasuke meaningful. It was also why he had, and still continued to, rely so heavily on genjutsu over nin and taijutsu. Genjutsu required finesse, but not too much chakra.

He hoped Naruto and company would manage to bring Tsunade soon. If he was going to be cleared, he wanted a chance to live the life he was offered. Rolling over, he grabbed a fantasy novel from the few stacked neatly next to his pillow. Coating his fingers with chakra to enhance tactile sensations, he relied on the minor relief of the ink on the paper to discern the words on the page, rather than straining his eyes.

The next morning Naruto and Kakashi were up and about by seven. After so many years of getting up before dawn for missions or training, most shinobi couldn't sleep much longer than sunrise, which, in the summer, meant that the majority of Konoha was awake and bustling by four-thirty, five o'clock. Seven was considered sleeping in. Returning to the scene of Naruto and Tsunade's confrontation, the two shinobi began a harsh training menu of chakra and muscle building exercises to get Kakashi working toward the strength he'd obtained by his death in the former timeline. Both of them knew that level was just a benchmark, and wouldn't suffice if the Elemental Nations were once again to be consumed by war against the godlike figures of the Juubi and Uchiha Madara. Kakashi still hoped for a chance at changing Obito's mind too, and he'd need to be much stronger than he had been if he wanted to go toe to toe with his former teammate.

Naruto blocked Kakashi's axe kick with a frontal cross guard while he flexed his chakra to create a handful of kage-bunshin (the technique was so second nature that hand-seals were more optional than necessary) who tried to jump Kakashi from behind to no avail as the the silver-haired man flipped backwards using Naruto's guard as a springboard, sweeping lightning coated hands through the dense chakra constructs causing them to disperse into clouds of residual chakra.

Kakashi knew Naruto was sparring at barely twenty-five percent power, not bothering with bijuu or sage mode or fuuinjutsu, and it made Kakashi both frustrated and proud that he had to push seventy-five percent to even begin to challenge his blond companion. He could hardly believe that this brilliant person in front of him was the same hyperactive, undertrained brat who couldn't even pronounce 'chakra' correctly when he first graduated the academy. Kakashi was astounded and a little miffed that he – who had graduated the academy at 5, had been a chuunin by 6 and a jounin by 11, who had run A and S class missions for over six years in the ANBU and had been a ninja for longer than Naruto had even been alive – was so far behind. There was no resentment toward Naruto, only a sort of desperate, self-deprecating feeling of underqualification.

Kakashi had always been ahead of the curve, so why now, when all his most treasured things, places, emotions, people were on the line, was he not strong enough to protect them!? Who had he been to preach to Sasuke about not using the sharingan as a crutch, when that was what he leaned on each time a situation got hairy? Who had he been to try to help Sakura find herself as a ninja, when he was just cobbled together bits and pieces of his fallen comrades? Who had he been to tell Naruto that those who abandoned their comrades, nakama, family, were trash when he had been the first to give up on Sasuke? What right did he have to love this awe-inspiring, powerful, wonderful, loving, quirky, downright incredible person? Absolutely none. But if Naruto was willing to love him, who was he to deny Naruto that right, the right to give his love freely to whomever he so chose. And Kakashi just happened to be that one lucky bastard. And he was lucky, he had time, because now he knew what was coming and he could prepare. The spar was winding down and Kakashi was sweaty and bruised and breathing harder than he should. Naruto was also breathing hard, but he wasn't nearly as beat up as he looked.

Both shinobi could feel someone (and Naruto multiple someones) approaching from the town side of the clearing. The only visible visitor was Shizune with TonTon trotting after her faithfully. But Naruto knew Tsunade wasn't far behind and neither was Jiraiya. Tsunade was excellent at concealing herself and very good at cloaking her chakra, but Naruto could practically taste the vexation and curiosity she was emanating thanks to some of the abilities he'd inherited from Kurama. Jiraiya was a master at stealth, but Naruto knew the man better than almost anyone and could find Jiraiya no matter how he tried to hide. It irritated the Gama-sennin to no end.

He and Kakashi were seated now, Kakashi on the stump of a tree Naruto had felled with a fuuton jutsu during their spar, and Naruto on one of the scarce patches of grass left after they'd trashed the clearing with scores of destructive ninjustu.

Kakashi eye-smiled at the dark-haired medic, "Good afternoon, Shizune-san," he said as she drew near enough to hear.

"Ah, good day, Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun," she replied.

"Hi, Shizune-san," Naruto greeted.

A few moments passed in silence as Shizune fidgeted, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted.

"Shizune-san, is there something we can help you with?" Kakashi asked lightly, prompting the woman to blush.

"Yes, actually, I wanted to speak to Naruto-kun about his bet with Tsunade-sama,"

"What about it?" Naruto asked tilting his head slightly to the side. A breeze blew through the clearing.

"You should cancel the bet, Naruto-kun. Tsunade-sama won't return to Konoha, not unless Sandaime-sama threatens her with missing-nin status, and we both know that he won't," the young woman said with a straight face. Even TonTon oinked and nodded confirmation.

Naruto scowled, "No way, why should she get special privileges to wander and drink away her life on the village's dime while the rest of us fight for our home's continued prosperity? She's still a commissioned shinobi of Konoha, if she wants to spend her time being a wasteful drunkard, she shouldn't be doing it with money that is earned on the lives of Konoha shinobi, lives that she could be saving were she still in the village. Not only that, she's depriving Konoha of another incredible medic. You."

He could feel Tsunade's chagrin as he spoke, hopefully he would be able to change her mind. Jiraiya's surprise at Naruto's well presented argument was also registered but promptly ignored with an irritated mental eye-roll.

Shizune pinked at the complement but was still stubborn, "That necklace she offered you, wasn't really a prize, it was a curse. Tsunade-sama gifted that necklace to two of her most beloved people, her younger brother, Nawaki, and her fiancé, my uncle, Dan, both were killed soon after. My uncle died in her arms, bleeding out as his life slipped through her fingers despite her best efforts to heal him. She made it through the Third War, but developed severe hemophobia, she's an amazing medic, but the minute she sees blood she freezes."

"So what?" Naruto replied, "She could undertake therapy for that, PTSD isn't uncommon among shinobi and the Yamanaka clan runs the mental healthcare division of Konoha's hospital; mind-walkers are very good at figuring out how to put people back together. There are plenty of other shinobi who have post-traumatic stress symptoms who don't abandon their village and go out on misplaced, self-deprecating, binge-drinking, pity parties while draining money from Konoha's coffers that could go to a more worthwhile cause. Hell, most of them end up in ANBU running S-ranked suicide missions; and while that's unhealthy, at least they haven't abandoned the rest of us.

"Look at Kakashi," he said gesturing to the cycloptic jounin, who saluted her with a bottle of water, "he spent over half a decade in ANBU, working through his issues with the deaths of his teacher, family and friends. His psych records are redacted to highest clearance, but he's still a functioning Konoha shinobi who is earning his paycheck fair and square. If he reads porn in public and is perpetually two to three hours late because he's talking to dead people at the Memorial Stone, it's not such a big deal." Kakashi pouted behind his mask, it's not like what Naruto said wasn't public info, but still, harsh much? "If Tsunade wants to be a perpetually debt-ridden, useless drunk she can do it after withdrawing from the shinobi forces. We can put her commission toward a better medical research training program, since she refuses to at least tutor the next generation of iryo-nin." Naruto finished, not bothering to pull his verbal punches.

Tsunade's frustration with the truth in Naruto's words built steadily throughout his speech. Coming out of her hiding place, she spoke in her own defense. "My proposed medical program was turned down flat!" she snarled, "and what right do you have to speak about loss? You can't be more than twelve or thirteen, what battlefields have you seen!?"

"Of course your proposal was rejected. Your program was a drain on the village finances and human resources that we didn't have immediately after the Third War. Our coffers were dry, our forces were thin and tired and we didn't have people or money to spare. You could have taken your pick of apprentices and trained them for a few years until our economy recovered and they would have been ready to help run your program which would be much more feasible during peace-time. But no! My way or the highway, you said." Naruto replied just as heatedly, but not failing to notice Jiraiya up in a tree just above Tsunade's head. "And what right do I have to speak, you ask? I may not have lost people to war or death like you have, but I also have my issues with Konoha. I'm a Jinchuuriki, a known Jinchuuriki-ttebayo. There are people – lots of people in Konoha who blame me for the Kyuubi's appearance and attack in Konoha. I taught myself how to read; I taught myself how to write. I was given my own apartment at the age of four with only a rotating ANBU guard who I almost never saw. Loneliness and frustration were my constant companions, and Jiji-sama is a busy person. The only people I can truly call friends at this point are my teammates, Kakashi, my academy teacher Iruka, and Sandaime-jiji. I only met Jiraiya a month ago, and he's supposed to be my godfather dattebayo!" his verbal tic was slipping, "I didn't even get a chance to lose people like you did. My parents were taken from me the night I was born. For the longest time, I didn't even know who they were dattebayo! The only thing I was told was that they were heroes, and I should be proud to have parents as brave and strong as they were!" Tears climbed Naruto's throat and pooled in his eyes. These were not things he was making up as he went along. These thoughts had been collected and buried in his subconscious since childhood and even though he was actually twenty and he'd long worked through his issues, starting at the Waterfall of Truth, talking about them was still as hard as ever. He didn't know when he stood up, but he was on his feet and his voice was cracked with puberty and rough with tears, "But I have precious people now dattebayo! And their lives depend on me, and how strong I can get to protect them! I can't heal people. The Kyuubi's chakra in its most basic state is corrosive and there is constantly a small amount circulating in my chakra coils. If I work with him, form a fully equal partnership with the Kyuubi and soothe his hatred, it's possible to restore people's chakra to a degree, to share my chakra around, but I can't heal wounds like you can, Baa-chan. I can only get strong enough to try to protect them from injury in the first place-ttebayo. But my precious people are shinobi, I won't always be there to jump in front, I can't always jump in front if I want them to be strong enough to protect themselves. And one day, when I am Hokage, it will be my job to stay behind and send them into danger, only able to hope that they have the skills to return home safely.

"You, Baa-chan, you are strong, and you can heal, you can make sure that people like my teammate, Sakura, are strong like you, and can heal like you so that those people who I will one day send into danger come back home because someone was there to patch them up when things went wrong, as shinobi life tends to-ttebayo."

Tsunade's eyes widened as she listened to Naruto speak, she could hear echoes of her grandfather in his words, could see the stern but proud face of her great-uncle, could feel her Sensei's arms around her after her brother's death. She could see the wide bright eyes of her brother, and the warm, loving, determined smile of her fiancé. Naruto wasn't just speaking pretty words. In fact his words weren't pretty at all. For all the times Sensei and Jiraiya had tried to convince her to return, neither of them had just told her the bald truth like Naruto was.

"You don't want to be Hokage, fine dattebayo." Naruto continued, voice low and scratchy, "Sure Jiji-sama wants to retire, but if you don't want to shoulder the lives of the thousands of shinobi who wake up each day and fight – sometimes to the death – for the possibility that their precious people will be safe for another day, that's fine. Hokage isn't just a job or a fancy hat-ttebayo. That robe is the heaviest garment in Konoha because it carries the weight of every single life that resides in or out of Konoha's walls that fights for her people. If you don't want that burden, fine, I won't force it on you. Nobody can. But don't you dare spit in the face of every person who has carried the burden of your life, Shizune's life, my life, Kakashi's life, and Jiraiya's life on his shoulders. They cared. Each of those people carried those precious lives and mourned every single loss, because despite their best efforts, their most cunning plans, and their most organized teams, those lives were on their shoulders and they failed-ttebayo. To be Hokage is to be the proudest failure in Konoha, to be so proud when your family, your children, your people come home safe and sound and smiling one more day, and the most devastating failure when one of them can no longer return because you sent them out on a task you were sure they had the ability and resources to complete safely and they don't because you were wrong. I can't make you do it. I won't dattebayo. Because I'd rather have Sarutobi Konohamaru, Jiji-sama's squirt of an eight-year-old grandson, as Hokage than someone like you, who refuses to even acknowledge the sacrifices and hardships that a Hokage has to make and overcome every single day they wear that hat dattebayo." Tears were running down his face, his breath was coming in harsh pants and he hoped beyond all hope that somehow he had gotten through to her. He would not give her her memories if she refused to return on her own. He loved her like the grumpy aunt he never had, but he wouldn't let her trample on the lives of Konoha shinobi anymore, because he had been Hokage, and he would be Hokage and he couldn't let it continue.

"Forget it," he said; his voice was broken and his face ran with tears he wasn't trying to control anymore. "Come back or don't, but never forget the lives that are being lost because you're not there to make sure they're being saved. I'm done for today dattebayo. Let's go," He held a hand out to Kakashi and the silver-haired man grasped it and stood. He pulled Naruto into his side as if he could shield him from all the world's hurts. He threw a look that was two parts disappointment and one part anger over his shoulder at Tsunade, before turning back toward the town and leading Naruto to the inn.

On her part, Tsunade just stood there stunned. Naruto had said so many things that she'd known, but refused to see in the face of her own hurts. To look at this young boy who reminded her so much of her precious people, so aware and accepting of what it meant to be Hokage, who despite his own issues was pushing forward all for the sake of keeping the people in her grandfather's village safe – she wasn't sure what to do. He'd unashamedly told her everything Sarutobi-sensei and Jiraiya had been too compassionate to say to her face, things she was sure they'd thought more than once, because Sarutobi-sensei was Hokage and Jiraiya's student, Minato, had been Hokage. She couldn't be more ashamed of herself than she was now. She didn't think is was possible.

She glanced sideways at Shizune, who looked just as stunned as she was. Tsunade plopped down on the ground and grabbed TonTon, hugging her to her chest like a child with a teddy bear, unaware of her pig's squeals of squished displeasure. Her face was a mask of combined self-disgust, shock, confusion, and unhappiness. She couldn't keep doing what she had been, not with a dressing down like that from a boy who couldn't be older than thirteen.

"He's kind of amazing, isn't he?" She jumped as Jiraiya's voice echoed her thoughts from the lowest branch of the tree behind her.

She couldn't say anything.

"He's one of a kind, you know. Even his dad didn't have such a deep understanding of what it meant to be Hokage until he'd had the position for several months. Minato was right to have faith in him, and I know that I'm going to get the beating of a lifetime from he and Kushina for not taking care of Naruto as I should have. I excused it as making sure he was safe from outside threats, when in reality I couldn't bare to look at his face because he has all of Minato's looks and charisma with Kushina's spunk and energy. He's the best of everything I lost, and I was a coward who looked away from a child who could have been, should have been mine to raise, to nurture and care for. Perhaps one day I'll be able to make it up to him, like Kakashi has. But you know, even if I never manage to completely heal that rift, knowing him, having his attention and respect and love…it would be enough," Jiraiya spoke wistfully.

"He already loves you," he continued, "you and Shizune. He's trying to make you see what's best, and I hope you can see that he didn't yell at you because he hates you, he did it because he loves you and he wants you to stop hurting yourself just as much as he wants you to stop hurting others. There's not much else I can say, but I hope I've given you something to think about, too." He finished.

Silently he descended from the tree and stood behind her, a quiet sentinel as she rearranged her world which had just been thrown into chaos, scrambled in such a way she didn't quite know which direction was up anymore. But she knew, at least, that her decision was made. She would return to Konoha.

She wasn't ready to take on that mantle of Hokage, yet, but at least she could go see a Yamanaka, find another apprentice, maybe. Perhaps the sunrise tomorrow would look brighter. A light wind swept across the clearing setting her ponytails aflutter. Maybe it was just her, but the wind smelled cleaner, fresher. Tomorrow, she would tell him. She would hand over her beloved curse one more time, because this time, she was sure.