Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 115: A Long Waited Reunion
Naruto felt the eyes of the two women on him.
"This is troublesome… I wasn't supposed to show myself. That Orochimaru left me in a difficult position."
"Are you really a ninja from Konoha?" Tsunade asked.
"I am," he admitted.
"You don't look like an A.N.B.U… are you a new Jounin or something? I don't remember hearing your name before," Tsunade said.
"Lady Tsunade, you left the village a very long time ago. I'm sure there are a lot of ninjas you don't know about," her assistant reminded her.
"I am not a Jounin, though. I graduated from the academy around three months ago. I'm still a genin," Naruto told her.
"A genin?!" Shizune exclaimed.
"A genin?..." Tsunade looked at him with suspicion. "How is a genin given the task to track me down? And you seem to have a history with Orochimaru. He would never pay attention to a random newbie…unless."
"Over there!"
"They broke the other wall too!"
The voices of a large number of soldiers approaching could be heard clearly.
"Lady Tsunade, we must leave!" Shizune said. There was no way they could pay for all the damage they had caused. It was better to avoid the city guards.
"I know…" Tsunade gave Naruto one last glance but jumped away without saying another word to him.
"Phew… that worked out somehow," Naruto sighed. He had been wondering how to get away without telling her too much.
"Hey you!"
"The blonde one, wait there!"
"Oh…" Naruto hurried to throw a smoke bomb and disappear from the scene before they could identify him as a ninja from Konoha.
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"It wasn't my fault. He found me first," Naruto complained to the Sannin as they walked through the streets at night, looking for a place to eat.
"You should never have gotten that close. What were you thinking?" Jiraiya scolded him. "Not only did you put yourself in danger, but you also alerted her to Konoha ninjas in the city. She's probably left by now."
"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been so busy with your 'entertainment.'"
"I was collecting important information!"
"And what important information did you find?" Naruto asked him.
Jiraya flinched "That's not important right now."
" I thought so... but at the very least, I'm sure Tsunade won't leave until tomorrow morning." Naruto hadn't had the chance to tell him about Orochimaru's deal. The twelve-hour limit they gave her would place their meeting in the early hours of the morning...if she were to accept. He just didn't know the exact place where they would meet.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?" he asked as he opened the door to the first restaurant he found.
"You see…" Naruto's eyes scanned the crowd of patrons inside the establishment and stopped at a particular table. "I found her again."
"Mmm?..." Jiraiya followed his gaze until he saw what Naruto was looking at. "Tsunade!" He spotted her, sitting at a table next to Shizune.
"Maybe I have a talent for this job after all," Naruto considered.
"You?! I'm the one who chose this restaurant," Jiraiya huffed.
"Jiraiya?!" Tsunade said in shock. "What are you…?" She then saw Naruto. "Ah… so he was with you." Now she understood a bit better. It made no sense they would send a genin on a mission like this, but if he was with her old teammate, it was a different situation.
"Do you mind if we sit and talk?" Jiraiya asked. "It's been a while since the last time."
Tsunade seemed a bit hesitant but eventually agreed. "As long as you pay the tab."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Are you broke already? You just got here."
"Hmph! I'm not broke, but I need to reserve enough for the dice tables," the woman answered.
"Lord Jiraiya…" Shizune joined in. "Did you pick a new apprentice?" she asked, pointing at Naruto.
"Naruto?... Yes, I suppose he is my apprentice... or something like that." Jiraiya wasn't sure how to answer that. He had taught Naruto a few things, but he never recognized him as a proper disciple, and Naruto had never referred to him as Sensei or Master either.
"Quite reckless of you to bring a genin along. Today he could have gotten killed. Has he told you about…?" Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya.
"Orochimaru… yes. We were just talking about that. What did he want?" the Sannin asked.
Tsunade hid her surprise well enough. She had expected Naruto to have told Jiraiya about the offer, but apparently, she was wrong. Her eyes moved to Naruto for a moment before returning to Jiraiya.
"I think he just wanted to brag about having killed our old sensei to my face."
Jiraiya flinched. "Did he?... So you already know what happened."
"Is it true then… Sensei is dead." Sadness could be glimpsed in Tsunade's eyes.
"He is," Jiraiya confirmed.
They remained in silence as the waitress brought several trays of food and drinks.
Eventually, Tsunade spoke again.
"And what about you? I doubt you went through the effort of tracking me down just to inform me about his death. And don't tell me it's a coincidence either."
Jiraiya grinned. "You know me too well. I can't lie to you. The village elders sent me here to offer you the position of the Fifth Hokage."
Shizune spit her drink on the table. "I'm so sorry!"
"What?! What are those old fools thinking?" Tsunade was truly surprised now.
"I agree," Naruto put his glass down and looked at Tsunade. "This woman is not fit to become the village leader. You should find someone else."
The blonde woman slammed her hand on the table, making everything tremble. "What did you say?..."
"Did I stutter?..." Naruto glanced directly into her eyes. "After everything I've learned about you so far, I can say without a doubt that you would be a terrible Hokage. We would be better off naming almost anyone else."
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