Chapter 3

Senju's Heir

Emotions ran rampant in Tsunade's mind. She stared into his jewels for eyes, and wondered if he'd find it weird if she tried to get a closer look at them. She reached for him as her bottom lip started quivering, but the child just kept staring with those innocent, beautiful eyes.

She had decided then and there that tears were unbecoming of them.

"Um," she mumbled, a pathetic start to a first impression. An explosion in the distance warned her Jiraiya wouldn't be able to hold the hundreds of Anbu agents by himself. She shook her worries away and decided to be frank. "Look, there's no time to explain but I have to get you out of here!"

When the child did no more than stare further, Tsunade was tempted to tug on his cheeks and hug him until his little blond head popped like a cherry. Considering her strength, that was probably not so farfetched.

"Get up!"

"A-ah, yes!" Naruto didn't know why, but he did as he was told and instantly stood erect. His small body trembled as he wiped away the tears over his eyes. "Um, what's going on? Who are you, lady?"

"That's not important!" Tsunade picked the boy up and carried him like a sack of rice, her mind arguing that his question wasn't just important, it was critical. Still, she did her best to ignore that side as she scurried through the corridors and directly to where she could hear Jiraiya blasting walls and chanting Jutsus. "And he's the one who said we should be gentle...!"

"Ow...!" Naruto whimpered and ruffled one lip over the other. "Don't run so fast...!"

"What?!" Tsunade stopped and sat him down. She instantly brought her hands forward and started hunting for injuries. "Are you hurt? Did those bastards do something to you?!"

"No, I..." He blushed, his legs curling and his hands rummaging right above his crotch. "Um... I need to use the..."

Naruto's words stooped too low for Tsunade to make sense of them. "What...? I can't hear you."

"I need to go..."

Tsunade frowned, "Go where?"

"To go!"

"Go where!"

"The bathroom, geez!"

"Oh," she probably looked very foolish right about now. After locating a bathroom where Naruto could do his business, Tsunade waited outside the door whilst tapping her fingers on her crossed arms. "This is ridiculous... Needing a bathroom break during a battle against one of the most powerful organizations in the world... You really are your mother's son..."

"Tsunade-sama."

No shinobi was skilled enough to get within one hundred feet of her without her knowledge, so Tsunade believed. But apparently, as she dropped into her stance and saw who had called her, such honed senses seemed to be easy prey for this man's skill. Fifty feet down the hallway stood Kakashi of the Sharingan.

"You've made a really scary name for yourself, Kakashi. Your technique has improved drastically, too." Tsunade didn't need him to take that obscene mask off his face to know it was him. She smirked, the bones in her hands adjusting as she clutched them fiercely. "But you're still no more than a toddler compared to me."

"I am well aware," Kakashi removed his animal mask and held it next to him. "Are you sure this is the best for Naruto, Tsunade-sama? Even if you do make it out of here, you know well the consequences you will face with Konoha against you. Are you willing to lose it all just for him?"

Tsunade dropped her stance realizing the young man had no intention of fighting. "Unlike everyone in this village, I don't see Naruto as a tree that will sprout Senjus like apples. You're one of the rare few who know of my relation to him, Kakashi. So either get out of our way or get ready to have most of your bones turned to dust. I'm game for either or."

Kakashi's bangs of silver hair hid his distinctive eyes. Nevertheless, the wrinkles forming where his mouth should lay, said the young Anbu captain was smiling. "I loved Minato-sensei like a father. He was all I ever looked up to, he was my goal and my friend. The day I lost him is the day part of me died. I looked to Naruto as the last remaining star in my sky, one I could never reach and protect because of my own cowardice."

Kakashi replaced the animal mask over his face, the one that had saved and damned him, all to hide the tears welling in his eyes. He started walking towards Tsunade, but his shoulders held no intention of combat. "I ask for your forgiveness, Tsunade-sama. I've used you. I've used you to do something I was not strong enough to accomplish: save Naruto from his loneliness and give him the life he deserves."

Tsunade felt for the boy. Not just because she sympathized for his lack of strength, but because he too lost everything to this lifestyle. As Kakashi strolled by her with his hands shoved away, Tsunade remembered that Jiraiya had never mentioned just who was the one sending her the pictures of Naruto. Her eyes widening, she turned around.

"Kakashi, were you-!"

The solemn Copy Ninja was gone, only a couple of dangling leafs from a Body Flicker remained.

Minato had once told her just how grand of a genius one of his students had been. But as she watched the assortment of leafs twinkling and seething their struggle against gravity, she realized that this brat didn't just have genius in him, he also had the manipulative abilities of a born Kage.

"Ahhh..." Naruto stumbled his way out the bathroom door trying to button up his little shorts. "Come on! I hate these things! They never do what I tell 'em to do!"

"Oh, for the love of..." She kneeled before the child and pulled on his shorts upwards. "You have to pull them up a little fir- eh?! Oi, these are way too small! Who bought them for you?"

Naruto stared at her strangely and said, "Bought 'em? I stole 'em."

"Did you now? Oh, me and you are gonna get along real well. And it's not 'em, it's them."

Naruto swallowed, "Y-yes, ma'am."

"There," she retook Naruto under her arm and started running at full speed - they had wasted way too much time on shenanigans.

As they got closer and closer to the sounds of battle, Tsunade could clearly feel how Naruto's body started trembling like he was suffering from hypothermia.

"Hey," she called for him, and his eyes met hers. She grinned, "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Seeing her eyes sparkle so strongly with confidence, Naruto had never felt safer and so protected. Nodding his head, he accommodated himself into her embrace. He dug his face into her neck and twirled his arms around it, her own arms encircling him so he remained steady.

'Uaah... She smells so nice...'

Tsunade could remember clearly the times she had held Minato just like this. His slim, petite body, his curls of blond hair tickling her neck, and the strength in which his small arms wrapped around to show affection. A tear made its way into her eyes wondering how she could be foolish enough to wait so long to claim this feeling.

'It scares me just how much I love you already, Naruto...'

Turning yet another corner, Tsunade finally saw Jiraiya behind a Mud Wall a few feet away from the holes she had made on the various roofs. Dodging a few kunais in her way to him, she slid and took shelter behind the defense Jutsu. "Jiraiya, we're here! How are you fairing?"

"You kidding?" Jiraiya grinned as his eyes sparkled like newborn stars. "There isn't an army on earth that can stand against the Gallant, Jiraiya! Conqueror of lands and lover of female underwear!" When Tsunade giggled, Jiraiya gawked - she had never laughed at one of his perverted jokes before. "You think that was funny?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Of course not! I just heard Naruto deadpan saying something about smelling a pervert nearby."

Seeing the smile and glow about Tsunade, Jiraiya found himself smiling too. "I see he's got a good nose, then." Falling to a serious demeanor, he turned to the matter at hand. "They have us surrounded from nearly all sides and you can bet there's a team heading around to try and flank us. They've long started using explosive tags and Jutsu, so you should let me head out first to serve as a distraction. We should've used the other exi-"

An Anbu came from the right side of the wall, another from the left. The first sent a kick for Tsunade and she had no other alternative but to turn and allow the attack to meet her back, preferring to receive the damage in Naruto's behalf. She crashed against the Mud Wall face first, but immediately turned and impacted the agent's chest with her own leg, shattering the armor over it.

Jiraiya too saw his assailant's aim was to kick him, but he had no need to protect anyone. He caught his enemy's leg, and flung him towards the Mud Wall. His fist, hard and overwhelmed with inertia, crashed against the Anbu's chest, piercing the armor with ease.

"No time to change plans! Tsunade, I'll make you a four second window! You get him out of here!"

"Alright!"

Using his Wild Lion's Mane, Jiraiya covered himself and used his steel-hard hair to jump across no man's land while absorbing the impact of kunias, fire Jutsus and explosive tags. He stood in the middle and withstood the assault of over a hundred Anbu agents.

He sprung through seals and breathed in. "Fire Release," he unmeshed the top of his hair Jutsu. "Fire Bullet!"

Aiming it directly where their entrance was, Jiraiya unleashed his molting fire straight for the surface, forcing every agent around the various holes to scurry back before facing severe burns.

He turned towards his fellow comrade with his hands preparing to boost her up. "Tsunade, move!"

"Naruto... Keep your head down...!" Tsunade held the boy close and ran straight for Jiraiya. She pumped her legs with refined chakra and used Jiraiya's hands as a springboard. "I better see you up here next!"

Jiraiya watched her take off and make it out of the death-pit with little difficulty. Dread quickly drained his face of any positive emotion feeling the crumbs of Natural Energy telling him just what was on the surface.

"TSUNADE!" His digits started making seals like machines born for said purpose. 'It's too cramped for Gamabunta, but for them...!'

As soon as the final floor had been cleared and she reached the surface, Tsunade knew this had been a horrible mistake. The first thing she saw was a male with a white cloak and black trousers; the Anbu commander, and another fifty Anbu agents.

She landed, and they all finished their hand seals. "Oh, God..."

"Anbu," the Commander spoke, his voice void of all emotion and lacking any shade of mercy. "The unbroken law has been breached by the Slug Princess of Konoha." He raised his hand with his index aimed skyward. After a moment of silence, he dropped his hand and pointed. "Process her."

"Fire Release-!"

"Lightning Release-!"

"Earth Release-!"

"Water Release-!"

From all directions, a Jutsu from most elements started heading straight for her with the intention to kill. She fastened her teeth and squeezed Naruto's quivering form tighter. "Strength of a Hundred...!" Yet again thick lines of black markers spread across her figure, filling her being in practically perfect chakra. "I won't let you!" She hugged Naruto with one arm, and used the other to slam her fist against the floor.

The explosion that ensued consumed the area with dust, but not before countless rock formations were lifted and used to cover the center of ground zero, where Tsunade and Naruto stood. Another round of countless booms followed suet from the elemental Jutsus destroying the rocks summoned by Tsunade's monstrous strength.

After that, however, Tsunade could do no more but hope Jiraiya or someone would come to assist her. But instead, as she swiped away the airborne dust with a flail of her arm, all she could see were the dozens of kunais coming her way from every direction. Tsunade hadn't even realized she had thrown Naruto on the ground and decided to use her body to cover him until after she had done it.

A sharp pain penetrated every nerve in her body.

"Hold your fire, fools!"

Naruto had scarcely seen blood before. At best, he had seen his own blood from scrapes on his knees, or from the result of sloppy fiddling with shuriken. But nothing on the level of what he was about to see.

He tipped his head up to see the scene playing out before him. The sight of the lady who had rescued him, Tsunade was her name, shielding him from dozens of knifes. He assessed her further and saw kunais in her arms, legs and back, all of which had drawn blood and had started touring down her body.

"Why...?" Drips of it splashed his forehead, and Naruto gawked with horror etching his clammy face. Even more started pooling under him until his hands could feel the thin warmth of it at the tip of his fingers. "W-why...?!" He inquired yet again, his voice small and cracking. "Why would you go so far... for me...?"

"Idiot..." Tsunade's grin would've been infectious, had there not been a reasonable amount of blood making her lips a tad redder than usual. "Didn't I promise to keep you safe...? Besides, do you think a grandmother would ever let her grandchild suffer pointless injuries...?"

His eyes flashed a very thick scarlet.

Family? Was that why she had taken the blow on his account? Naruto had never felt angrier, and so confident in his abilities than this very moment. "You're my... grandmother...? Then, you know my father and mother...?"

Tsunade chuckled at such a convoluted question. "Of course I know them...! Your dad was my son..." She groaned as her body started mending, the thought that told her this was not the time to have this conversation, ignored by the adrenaline coursing through her veins. "I loved your father very much, Naruto... And I love you just as much... I'm so sorry I left you alone...!"

"Damn..." Hiruzen cursed much more strongly in his mind. The scene before him was that of a war-torn battlefield, one punched in the face by countless meteors right after. "I was almost too late..."

The respected council landed behind their Hokage, Danzo unsurprisingly in the lead. He assessed the damage with a critical eye. The procedure to this was obvious to him. "Anbu, arrest them."

"Wait!" Hiruzen swung his summoned staff and halted all agents at his command. They stood down, and he frowned. "Nobody touches them without my permission."

"And mine!" Jiraiya landed cracking the floor under him, his impeding figure much larger than usual. It wasn't because of his height, however, but because of the two legendary toads fused to his shoulders and the silky, controlled nature of his killing intent. His face was toad-like, his marks were longer along the sides of his face, a goatee graced his chin, and his nose was larger. 'To have to resort to this... Dammit!'

Every Anbu, including the commander, took a step back from their line. His eyes were as intense as any other Sharingan, and his appearance and aura guaranteed he would not take kindly to any who stepped closer into their space. This, they mentally argued, is what it meant to be a Sannin. The power of just one of them was being showcased right before their eyes, and it was a magnificent sight to behold as a ninja.

Shikaku phrased it the way everyone thought it, "Sage Mode, eh...? This'll be beyond troublesome..."

Only Sarutobi had the stones to invade Jiraiya's little ground. His chakra flared amongst his soldiers like a king reclaiming his authority. Those there were reminded just why he was hailed as the God of Shinobi.

"You two are testing my patience. You may be my students and I cherish you both deeply, but I will not show mercy to those that harm my village."

"Hypocrisy runs well in Hokages, eh?" Jiraiya knew he struck him good when the old man's eyes narrowed. Seems that wound Orochimaru left is still fresh. "Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, are we ready?"

Fukasaku brought his hands together into the ram. "Aye, Jiraiya-boy. Ma, let's do this for the sake of the Child of Prophecy."

Shima too squirmed her toad hands into a seal. "Yea yea, let's just hurry! I've dinner ta prepare and little time ta get to it!"

"Fukasaku-dono, Shima-dono..." Sarutobi sighed seeing two of the strongest summons in existence on each of Jiraiya's shoulders, the two Sage Toads. Not only that, but while their interactions may have been limited, they still knew each other fairly well. "I find it difficult to accept that you have taken Jiraiya's side..."

"It's not about sides, Sarutobi-boy." The dense power of Fukasaku flourished like a cloudless eastern sky in the morning. The ground under Jiraiya cracked, hinting at the amount of energy streaming through the Sannin. "It's about what's right! You should know that better than anyone!"

"Bah!" Shima was not dwarfed by her husband's exposition of energy. She concentrated and processed Natural Energy with just as much ease, if not faster. "Let's get this on already!"

Jiraiya sneered seeing the Hokage's pace quicken, "I've wanted to go all out against you for a while now, sensei. Think the student finally surpassed the master?"

"You're a thousand years too early to even cogitate such a foolish thought!" Sarutobi dashed forth, his mineral-hardened staff reeled.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Jiraiya fused his right fist with great amounts of Natural Energy. "You've long been out of your prime, old man!"

A steel-hard fist met a diamond-hard staff with immense force. The shockwave that resulted lifted dust yet again, but this time those standing around were pushed back by the sheer inertia of it all. As the view cleared, cracks spread from the center where Jiraiya and Sarutobi had clashed, like spiderwebs woven by the very laws of physics.

"I believe this has gone too far," the Fire Daimyō appeared with his two Guardian Ninja at his sides. Yet again the man was presenting himself in a precarious situation, one where royalty had no place, but no Konoha ninja had the courage to point out. "I admire your courage and loyalty, Hokage-sama. But isn't there some other way we can solve this?"

The eyes of Jiraiya and Sarutobi flashed for a moment.

"They've cost this village millions, Daimyō-sama." Danzo growled. "There is no excuse for their actions. The least they deserve is a death sentence for their betrayal!"

"NO!" All eyes went for the child in the middle. Naruto stood defiantly before the hundreds of shinobi, all with the capacity to kill him with as little as a swing of their arms, he knew... yet his eyes... they were fearless. He stood guard with his arms outstretched in front of Tsunade. They were no longer trembling. "Nobody will take her away from me!"

A child this young shouldn't possess such unwavering courage, everybody present knew this. Then they recalled just where his roots were, and the reason he was being kept in the Anbu's pits in the first place.

This boy was undoubtedly a Senju.

"What magnificent, staggering bravery...!" The Daimyō stood awed and inspired on his own two feet. "One so young and already demonstrating the virtues of a born protector... My, if I didn't know any better, I would say you were the Lord First reincarnated, child!"

"He may not be the reincarnation of my