Chapter 31

TSUNADE SENJU
It was the next morning. The Sun had only begun to rise up. Tsunade had woken up earlier than her routine. Shizune was still asleep beside her. She got up quietly and made her way down the stairs. The hotel owner was awake as well. A serving girl bowed to her as she took her seat.
Today was the day she would begin making her journey back to the place she had left all those years ago. But before that, she had yet to receive the answer from the two little kids Jiraiya had brought him. Minato's kid had a temper that resembled his red-haired mother's overly extroverted nature. That declaration by him about becoming a Hokage had reminded Tsunade of her younger brother. Natsuki had said those exact words. Yet he had not been the sole person to say those words. Those words had been on the tongue of almost every kid born in the village. Few ever had the drive to turn them into reality. Lesser even understood the implication and reality behind that title they coveted.
She heard the door to the shop open and saw two forms entering the shop. She narrowed her eyes and saw the form of the latest Uzumaki. The girl entered the shop and she stopped as she sighted her sitting at a table. Then she began walking towards her and took the seat opposite to her.
She noticed the battered clothes and the sheer exhaustion on the girl's face. She had been hard at work for quite some time.
"So, do you have an answer? Why should I take the hat? Why should I help the village that took so much from me?" she asked as a serving girl placed a tray filled with breakfast in front of her. The red-haired girl bit her lip. Then she began to speak in a low voice.
"Shizune san told me quite a bit about you yesterday. Of course, what she told me probably only scratches the surface of what you went through. The truth is that I could find no reason to convince you to take the Hokage's position."
At this Tsunade stopped for a moment. The girl continued.
"I have not been in the village for a long time, unlike Naruto Kun. I was not born in it. I know quite less about the will of fire that your grandfather preached about. But, your village has become my home now. It became so because someone from that village saw a girl crying and suffering and decided that this was enough. He went against the tide because he cared about that single girl's smile. He carved out a place for her in the village."
And now the girl looked her straight in the eye as she spoke.
"The truth is that I do not care if you become Hokage or not. But that same person is now lying on a bed in the village I call home. And you are the best hope he has. So, I do not really care about the Hokage or the Will of Fire. I am going to take you back to the village."
The girl spoke with determination, making Tsunade smirk. Selfishness. She had not expected this. Everyone had a different interpretation of the Will of fire. The girl had that same will. But to her, the nucleus of her being was not the village. It was a single person. Tsunade was quite the girl.
"And just how are you going to accomplish it?" she said with a little drawl. She tilted her head as she saw the girl clench her fists.
"As I said yesterday. Make me move a step and I will go back to the village." She added and she saw the girl narrow her eyes. And then she felt chakra build-up opposite to her.
"Then I will just have to do that!" the girls spoke.
SHRING.
And suddenly Tsunade was assaulted by chains from all different directions. Chains made of pure chakra. Adamantine chains. They were weak and fragile. Nothing like the chains she had faced in her childhood. Her grandmother's chains had been strong enough to silence the nine-tailed beast. Yet these chains were nothing but parlor tricks compared to them. She could feel them rattle in her grip.
"I do not think they are going to be enough," she said mockingly. But instead of despair and anger, she saw a smirk on the girl's face.
And suddenly she was surrounded by clones clad in blue and orange. The iconic technique of his father in hand.
"GOOD WORK! LEAVE THE REST TO ME!" the boy shouted as she noticed four bodies rush towards her with a swirling mass of chakra.
"YOU ARE GOING BACK TO THE VILLAGE WITH US. AND IF YOU ARE REALLY THAT RELUCTANT TO TAKE THE HAT. THEN JUST WAIT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. BECAUSE THEN I WILL TAKE IT OFF OF YOU." The boy shouted.
"RASENGAN."
BOOM.
0000
KARIN UZUMAKI
Karin saw as Shizune san continuously apologized to the hotel owner. A feeling of accomplishment was present in her heart even as she was being berated by the hotel owner. Besides her Naruto was also smirking and giggling.
They had succeeded in convincing Tsunade sama to return to the village. They might have destroyed a part of the hotel in the process. But it was an acceptable loss. Jiraiya and Tsunade sama stood by their side. She noticed the slight smirk on Jiraiya sama's face showing his amusement at the whole ordeal.
"Honestly, it is probably this idiot's influence that has led to this." Tsunade sama spoke as they made their way towards them.
"Hey. Hey. Why are you dragging me into this? This was completely their plan. I had nothing to do with this," the man clad in red tried to explain. Yet it seemed that his explanations were falling on deaf ears.
Shizune san joined them outside the shop as well. Now they were ready to go back to the village.
"All right, now I will be on my way. You all can rush back to the village. I have a little errand to take care of," Jiraiya sama spoke suddenly. Karin was a little startled by the news.
"WHAT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? DIDN'T YOU PROMISE TO TEACH ME SOME SPECIAL TECHNIQUES? DON'T TELL ME YOU ARE FORGETTING ABOUT YOUR PROMISE YOU PERVY SAGE!" the blonde beside her shouted.
And as If on reflex, Jiraiya sama hit Naruto on the head.
"Do not call me that you brat!" he said animatedly. Naruto sniffed in pain as he held his head in his hands.
"Plus, I remember my promise just fine. Do not worry. I will be back in the village shortly. I just have a small errand to take care of."
Then the man gave a small nod to Lady Tsunade and walked off in a completely different direction.
"All right kids, let's pick up the pace." Lady Tsunade spoke up and they began to rush through the forests. As they were on the move, Lady Tsunade inched closer to her. Naruto was behind them still holding his head.
"Hey, kid! Your name is Karin right," Karin nodded her head at that. Then she continued in a much lighter and quieter tone.
"The person you talked about. It's that fiancée of yours, right." She asked suddenly. And Karin felt her face flush at the reminder of her words. She nodded her head at that. She noticed a slight smirk on her face as she continued on.
"Why don't you tell me more about the guy? In return, I will tell you more about your clan."
At this Karin looked up at the legendary healer. Surprised by the question. Yet on noticing her continuous gaze, she opened her mouth and began to speak.
0000
UZUKI YUGAO
Uzuki Yugao jumped back as several earth spikes pierced the ground she had been standing on. She saw the platoon from Iwa advance. She had been deployed along with several ANBU squads to stop their advancement yet it seemed that the intel had been wrong.
This was no half-measured platoon. This was Iwa's vanguard force and this spelled very bad news for their village. She felt another ANBU land beside her. Both of them dodged a barrage of projectiles.
"Their numbers are much higher than expected. Without any backup, we will be slaughtered." Her comrade spoke up as she saw him take another Iwa shinobi out with s a slash of his tanto.
"You know that we cannot expect any backup in our situation," she said as she took out two Iwa shinobi who had overreached. She said with gritted teeth.
She felt the earth shift beneath her feet she tried to jump but before she could jump away.
"LOOK OUT!" an Earth spike went right through her side.
"AHHH," she hissed in pain. Her comrade rushed towards her. She could see her whole squad getting overwhelmed. This was perhaps their end.
She could sense Iwa shinobi surrounding her.
"You have brought us much trouble. The rumors about Leaf's hunter nin are not exaggerated it seems," someone with a deep voice said. She looked up and recognized a shinobi with a huge body wearing the traditional Iwa armor. Yet she recognized the face.
"Kitsuchi, Iwa's immovable mountain," she recognized the huge commander. The man was a veteran from Iwa. If he was leading the attack then Iwa was very committed to this attack.
"Last time, you people were saved by the Yellow Flash. But he is long gone. So, who will save you now?" the man said imperiously. And his words were somewhat true. Lord Fourth had single-handedly turned the trajectory of the Third War and right now Konoha needed someone else to strike fear into their enemy's hearts.
A face of a certain brown-haired kid appeared in her brain. But it was too early for him. He was a bit too young. It wasn't his turn yet. It was her generation's turn to do their duty. She pushed her body up. Chakra gushing in her coils.
She concentrated the chakra into her blade. The sounds of battle around her drowned out as she made her senses focus on the huge form of Iwa's immovable mountain.
But before she could jump to attack the man, her eyes widened as she spotted a certain blue orb crash into an Iwa shinobi's body. She could feel the whole atmosphere thicken with the chakra of this new intruder.
Her senses were screaming at her to stop. She held her ground as someone landed right in front of her. She recognized that huge white mane and the huge scroll. Her eyes widened as The Legendary Sanin stood right in front of her.
She felt hope rise in her heart. Perhaps this was not her last dance after all.
"Well, what do we have here? It seems you people have gotten quite a bit rowdy." She heard Jiraiya sama speak jollily.
"You guys seem to have forgotten the lesson from my student. As his teacher, I guess it is my duty to remind you, people." The man continued ominously. She felt the pressure increase once more. Each muscle of her body tensed. Every Iwa shinobi in front of her was also shaken by the the sheer promise of devastation hanging in the air.
She noticed a familiar blue hue appear in his hand. But this time, it grew larger than before. Much larger. Her eyes widened as she felt the sheer volume of chakra getting concentrated in his hand. It was like a miniature moon.
"DO NOT MESS WITH KONOHA!" Lord Jiraiya finished his words as he held up the huge ball in his hand. Several Iwa shinobi began to back off. Uzuki Yugao smirked slightly.
It seems It was not their turn just yet.
0000
On the other side of the continent, two shinobi stood on the wall surrounding the village hidden in the leaves. But their uniform was not of the village. They were clad in black cloaks with red clouds stitched on them. Their hats covered their faces.
"So, are you sure one tails is imprisoned here?" one of them spoke. The other guy was scanning the whole village from the vintage point. His eyes landed on a certain building.
"Yes, I am quite sure," the other once replied. Both of them jumped off the wall, landing softly on the ground despite the height they had jumped from. But before they could anymore they found themselves facing a whole group of people.
The man with red Sharingan recognized some of the people. A bit surprised at their ability to detect him despite all the caution. It seems that the defenses had been upgraded.
"I do not remember issuing an invitation to the Akatsuki to our village." One of the shinobi wearing the jounin vest said. Itachi's memory supplied the name. Shikaku Nara stood in front of him. The man was said to be the smartest person in the elemental nations. Besides him stood Hatake Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi. All of them, renowned across the land.
"Despite no invitation, you guys seem quite ready to welcome us," the man beside Itachi spoke up. Hoshigaki Kisame had no hesitation or doubt in his voice. The man was not called the tail-less-tailed beast for nothing.
Itachi was about to take off his hat as well when all of them were disturbed by a large explosion.
BOOM.
0000
Akatsuki makes a move. Itachi faces off against the slug princess. Karin shows her resolve.
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