In the end, Tsunade gave up in finding her own moral ground, and went to drink with Naruto anyway. Since she's already done it once, a few more times won't hurt.
Jiraiya stared at the two leave the bar and sneered.
"Kid, don't blame me for being ruthless" He said
-Next day-
Naruto woke up groggily in an inn, and when he looked around, he realised that it was an absolute mess in here...
Bottles of alcohol everywhere, some spillages here and there, to make matters worse, he had a splitting headache.
"Tch...good thing I always come prepared" He grumbled as he took out a small sachet that contained some purple powder.
He mixed a bit of it with some water before drinking it, and the headache faded nearly instantly.
"Seems like I drank too much" He yawned and cleaned up the bottles before leaving the inn
The moment he stepped out, he saw Jiraiya waving at him with a friendly smile, but something felt off...why would Jiraiya show him such a friendly smile?
From another room, Tsunade walked out, holding her head, and there was a black haired lady beside her, grabbing her ear.
"I get it, I get it, let go already, the headache is killing me" Tsunade shouted
"Only if you promise you won't go drinking like that again! And where did you even get all that money from? I could have sworn you lost it all the other day when you went gambling" The girl was Shizune, Tsunade's attendant.
"Fine, I won't" Tsunade was helpless against Shizune's persistent nagging
"Sup Tsunade" Naruto waved
"Urgh, hi" Tsunade gave him a smile, but she still held her head
Seeing her like this, Naruto lifted a brow
"Can't you heal yourself?" He asked
"Right, I can" Tsunade said as she placed a hand on her head as a faint green glow emitted from her palm.
"..." How did she forget? She's a medical nin! The best of the best as well!
Naruto turned to Jiraiya
"So, are we leaving now that we failed to convince lady Tsunade?" Naruto asked
"Not quite yet" Jiraiya smiled
"Huh? You still have another sound argument you want to say to her?" Naruto asked
"Hehehe, nope, it's for you" He replied
"Hah?" He felt even more confused, how is this old perv supposed to convince him? In fact, what is he even trying to convince him of?
His response also made Tsunade curious
"What are you even trying to convince me to do?" Naruto asked, utterly confused
Jiraiya just smile as he looked outside.
"He's back" He had summoned Gama, one of his contracted toads, to go retrieve something from the hidden leaf.
Well, rather than something, it was...
"Na-kun!" From above the toad, Naruto saw Ino, who had a less than pleased expression on her face...
"I-Ino!?" Naruto was stunned, he then shot a glare at Jiraiya who was smirking at him
Ino jumped down and stormed up to him before grabbing his ear tightly
"How old are you? Smoking is one thing, fine, it's a special medicine you made, but now you're running wild and started to drink?" She said with a growl, she pulled on his ear so tightly he nearly stumbled
"Ino, not the ear, not the ear! You'll pull it off!"
Tsunade and Shizune stared at this scene...it looked familiar...
"How much did you drink?" Ino asked
"N-Not much...."
"Rea~lly? Jiraiya-sama told me you drank until the bar was out of alcohol!"
"..."
"So you won't deny it!" She asked
Naruto sighed as she placed his hand on her cheeks
"Ino, you know I can never lie in front of you" He said gently
"Y-You, d-don't change the subject!" Ino became a little flustered, but she maintained a strong front
"Yeah, sorry, I won't do it again, kay?" Naruto pulled her into an embrace and gently whispered into her ears.
"You-You...j-just don't do it again..." Her voice became like a mosquito near the end, and as a result, Jiraiya's jaws dropped yet again.
Damn, he even managed to pull himself out of that situation!?
Tsunade blew a whistle at how smooth he handled the situation. For a thirteen-year-old boy, that was quite the move.
Ino soon realised that there are many pairs of eyes on her, and her face began heating up again as she pushed Naruto back.
"Uh...h-hi" She waved at them awkwardly
'Cute' They all thought to themselves
"Ino, this is Tsunade-san, my drinking bud-*cough*, one of the three sanin" Naruto said, cutting off what he originally said and changed it up.
"...mn, I hope I don't catch you drinking" Ino pouted as she pinched his waist
"Yes, yes, I won't" Naruto said with a smile
Ino then bowed to Tsunade
"Hello lady Tsunade, I am Ino Yamanaka" She greeted respectfully
"Nice to meet you, Ino" Tsunade gave her a graceful smile
Ino looked up, so this is what Tsunade is like...a faint sense of admiration grew in her heart as she stared at this woman who is known to be one of Konoha's strongest.
"About lady Tsunade, will she be coming back to Konoha?" She asked Naruto
"Nah, we couldn't convince her" Naruto shrugged
"Ah?"
"Yep, I prefer to just be free and wonder the land" Tsunade rubbed her nose and smiled
"It's not a big deal, after all, the perverted sanin will take over as the next Hokage since she won't come back" Naruto said as he pointed to Jiraiya, who was fuming
But Jiraiya sighed
"I have no intention of becoming the Hokage either" He shook his head and said
Naruto sighed
"You two are being very difficult" Naruto said with a frown
"Never thought I'd have a thirteen-year-old kid say I'm difficult" Tsunade chuckled
Naruto felt that if neither become the Hokage, then Hiruzen would pretend to be sick or something, forcing someone to take over. But when that happens, Danzo might start taking action, which isn't something he wants...
"Urgh, I'm going to do something real quick" Naruto said before teleporting away
Once he left, Ino felt a tad awkward, as she was now trapped between two of the three sanins...
Neither of which are familiar to her, and Shizune was someone she doesn't even know.
As for Naruto...
"Sup Orochimaru" Naruto popped up behind Orochimaru, who nearly dropped everything in his hand due to fright.
He turned around and hissed
"What do you want? Finally here to pick up those two wretches" He said in a low voice
Naruto chuckled
"Almost, once I'm done with my current mission, I'll take them away" He nodded
"Good to hear" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes
"But I need some help with this mission" Naruto stuck his tongue out and said
"Be quick with it" Orochimaru hissed once more
Naruto explained the situation about Tsunade, and of her needing to become Hokage. When he heard this, he was left speechless.
"What am I supposed to do? Go ask her to become Hokage? She'd try to attack me before I even get a word out" Orochimaru shook his head and said
His response was well within his expectation
"Nope, I need you to stab me in front of her"
"Huh?" Orochimaru was stunned, stab him!? There's such a good deal?
"I'm listening"
Naruto sighed, the things he's willing to go through for the village...well, he just doesn't want Danzo to succeed.
"She still hasn't gotten over her trauma, has she?" Naruto said
"No" Orochimaru shook his head
"So what I want you to do is attack them, splash some blood onto her, get her shaking, then try to stab her, I'll jump in front, take the hit for her, and use that as an excuse to force her to become Hokage" Naruto said
"And if she refuses still?" Orochimaru asked, he wants Haku and Zabuza out of his hideout as soon as possible, so he can't have Naruto failing.
Naruto rubbed his chin
"Dunno"
"You...*sigh* I require more compensation" Orochimaru replied
"Hm, what would you want as compensation?" Naruto asked
"Hand over some of the chemicals you have in your lab, some are most fascinating" He said with a rather excited glimmer in his eyes.
Naruto thought for a bit, at the moment, a lot of the chemicals in there requires ingredients not of this world, but if Orochimaru could find substitutes for them...
"Sure" He agreed
'I still get small portions of ingredients periodically, but it's inconsistent, perhaps if Orochimaru could break it down with ingredients of this world, I can start mass-producing them'
"Then it's a deal" Orochimaru smiled
He happily received the various chemicals, most of which are poison substances that Naruto often use during combat. He made sure to give Orochimaru the especially lethal ones, as they were the ones he wanted to prioritise.
Upon inspecting the 'goods', Orochimaru revealed a satisfied smile
"Fascinating, I don't know how you made these, but you are a genius of your field, I look forward to our future cooperation"
"As do I" Naruto chuckled
-Back to the village-
"Tsunade, what would it take for you to return" Jiraiya was practically begging her at this point, he'd have dropped to his knees if there were no one else around.
Tsunade scoffed
"I won't return no matter what, just go back and become the Hokage yourself" She said sternly, not budging to anything he says to her.
Ino was sitting by the side with Shizune, enjoying a dango that she bought.
"Say, what do you think Na-kun is doing?" Ino asked
"I'm not sure either" Shizune shook her head, she hardly even knows Naruto, so how can she know what he's up to?
"I heard from Jiraiya-san that he drank with Tsunade until they both got knocked out...is that true?"
"Well...I certainly know lady Tsunade drank herself under the table" Shizune's lips twitched at the thought, just what was she thinking, drinking that much with a child!
"Yo, I'm back" Naruto appeared behind them and waved
"Ah!" Ino almost jumped up from fright, she then turned around and glared at him for scaring her
"Na-kun, don't just pop up like that, you scared me" Ino puffed up her cheeks and huffed
Naruto laughed it off as he rubbed her head
"Sorry, your reaction is just too cute" He replied with a grin
"C-Cute? Na-kun, you're becoming way too smooth for your own good" Ino puffed up her cheeks and said
"And here it is, one of the most irresistible faces you make" Naruto laughed as he pinched her cheeks
Shizune sighed, she glanced between these two, then at Jiraiya and Tsunade. One pair is happily chatting, while the other looks like one is about to kill the other...
However, her expression changed quickly when she realised a strange mist slowly surround them.
"Enemy attack!" She yelled
Suddenly, Jiraiya and Tsunade snapped out, and their expressions became serious.
"What's going on" Ino looked around, but Naruto pulled her behind him
Tsunade made her way to Naruto and the rest, whilst Jiraiya prepped himself. From within the mist, a figure slowly walked out, a pale faced man that made both Jiraiya and Tsunade freeze up.
"Orochimaru!" Tsunade's expression was less than pleased upon seeing him
"What? Not keep to see your old teammate?" Orochimaru chuckled
'Did he bring Zabuza to create this mist? And I still dont understand how he even create the mist...' Naruto was wondering this, still confused as to how Zabuza was able to use jutsus with one arm...
"Why are you here" Jiraiya asked in a low voice
Orochimaru smiled
"You don't need to know" He replied as he snapped his fingers
Everyone quickly realised that amidst the fog, a purple coloured mist was spreading around them, mixing in with the fog and making it impossible to see beyond just a few metres around them.
*Thud*
Behind Naruto, Ino and Shizune suddenly dropped to the ground, their eyes shut as their consciousnesd faded.
Jiraiya and Tsunade felt that it was some sort of sleeping gas, and used their chakra to force it out of their bodies. But by doing so, their chakra was depleting quite a bit faster than it normally would.
"Don't think you'll get away in one piece" Tsunade sneered as she dashed at Orochimaru
Her fist came down on him, but he slipped away with ease, avoiding the fist that smashed through the ground. Every one of her punches resulted in a small crater, but none of it would hit the mark.
"Enjoy" Orochimaru smiled as his arms twisted into snakes that shot towards Tsunade
*Fwoosh*
Jiraiya jumped out from behind Tsunade, and flames burst out from his mouth, incineration the snakes.
*Ssss*
When the snakes were ignited, they began releasing a strange green mist into the air, making the two frown.
"Naruto, teleport those two away, we'll hold Orochimaru back" Jiraiya called out
"Can't" Naruto replied
"Why?" Jiraiya's expression changed
"The white mist made it impossible to teleport to the flying raijin marks outside of its radius, so I can at most keep these two safe from crossfires" Naruto replied
Jiraiya sighed, it was better than nothing.
Tsunade glared at Orochimaru and leapt at him, her fist tightened.
*Splash*
However, before she could make it to him, he slit his hand and splashed his own blood onto her, which caused her body to tremble.
*Thud*
Tsunade fell to the ground, she stared at her own hand, covered in blood as her pupils trembled intensely. She couldn't stop shaking as she lost the strength to even stand.
"Seems like you still never got over all that" Orochimaru chuckled as he took out his blade, the kusanagi, and thrusted it towards her.
"Tsk" Jiraiya clicked his tongue as he jumped over, and made a hand sign.
*Shing*
His hair spiked up like a porcupine, hardening up and stopped the blade in its track. Orochimaru sneered as he spewed out more poison.
Now, the area is densly packed with toxins and poison. Had Naruto not asked him for the antidote beforehand, Ino and Shizune may be in quite the pickle right about now.
He watched this all unfold silently, awaiting for a chance to act.
Even Jiraiya was slowing down due to the toxins that is now invading his body. With Tsunade out of commission, he could hardly fight as he stood before her, making sure no harm came to her.
Injuries started to pile up on his body, and it was when he flinched from his injuries that Orochimaru slashed his arm with the kusanagi.
Jiraiya then received a kick to his abdomen, sending him flying back, struggling to get back up as the poison started to spread through his entire body.
"Tsunade, how does it feel to let the people around you die again?" Orochimaru smirked as he approached her
Tsunade looked up, her face was paler than a sheet of paper, and no sound was able to escape her mouth.
"This is goodbye" He raised the kusanagi up, and shot for her heart.
However, as his kusanagi was raised, a kunai shot by him, followed by a golden flash.
*Psht*
*Splash*
The pain she expected didn't come, rather, warm liquid started to flow down her face...
"Ah! Naruto!" She looked up in horror, as Naruto stood before her.
He held the blade with his hand as it pierced his chest. Blood seeped down the side of his lips as he created a rasengan in his hand that he bashed towards Orochimaru.
"Hm..." Orochimaru dodged and pulled his blade out
"My, I can't have you dying yet, the experiments won't be as effective" He licked his lips as he grabbed Naruto's throat.
"BACK OFF!" Jiraiya roared as he jumped down, his eyes were now toad like as lines ran down his face.
Orochimaru chuckled
"What's wrong?" He smirked at Jiraiya who has now entered sage mode.
"Tsuande, heal Naruto, NOW!" Jiraiya yelled at Tsunade, who was in a momentary daze from Naruto's shielding.
"H-Heal?" She stared at Naruto, who was in front of her, bleeding profusely from his chest.
*Cough*
Naruto looked up at her as his shaky hands reached up
"Tsunade, wh-what's with those wet eyes hahaha, you weren't like this when he drank thirty bottles in one sitting" He said with a wide smile that one wouldn't expect from an injured man with a chest wound.
She grabbed his hand
"D-Don't talk" She said, but her body still trembled so much that she couldn't even look at him properly.
Her vision is blurred from the tears, and a nauseating feeling was building up inside her.
Jiraiya at this moment fended off Orochimaru with everything he's got, however, even with sage mode, the poison was doing him in slowly.
"Why shouldn't I talk? You look like you need it...I know what happened to you before, but Tsunade...don't blame yourself" He said as he held her hands tightly
"Just promise me...look after Ino for me, kay?" He grinned, but started to cough
"No! How old are you to say this crap, I won't let you!" Tsunade yelled
Out of sheer desperation, a faint green aura began to glow from her hands, and through that, the diamond shaped symbol on her forehead began spreading.
Lines ran down from her forehead, and the fear in her eyes were replaced with indigant resolve as a green aura covered Naruto. Almost immediately, his injuries began to heal rapidly, and before long, the hole in his chest closed up completely, making one wonder if he was ever injuried to behin with.
'Damn, that's the good stuff!'
[Kid, you-...no, never mind] Kurama wanted to say something about that sentence, but decided it wasn't worth it.
After healing Naruto, Tsunade stood up with a firm expression, her body no longer shaking
"Hm?" Orochimaru frowned upon seeing Tsunade's recovery
"Tch, what bad luck, just a bit more and I would have gotten you all" He clicked his tongue, and using the fog as cover, he slipped away as quickly as he arrived.
'Kid, after this, you better take those two pricks away!' Orochimaru grumbled in his heart
The main issue isn't Zabuza, in fact, Zabuza is quite compliant, the issue is Haku! That brat always pushes his bottom line, knowing he won't hurt him!
Once Orochimaru left, the fog and mist also began dissipating.
"Tsunade...thank goodness" Jiraiya heaved a sigh of relief as his body fell forward.
Tsunade caught him, and smiled faintly
"You haven't changed a bit..." She muttered as she began treating his injuries
After this, she went to check on Shizune and Ino, who were only unconscious, which was a relief for her.
"Man, that was way too close" Naruto walked over with his hands behind his head as he sighed
"Close indeed, if I didn't heal you in time, you'd be meeting your parents in the pure lands" She rolled her eyes, how can he be so nonchalant about all this?
Naruto stuck out his tongue
"Counter point, you would have died if I didn't take that hit for you"
"Then we're even" Tsunade smiled
"Hey now! That ain't how this works!" Naruto gasped, she is actually being so shameless now?
Tsunade laughed, she picked up both Jiraiya and Shizune in one arm each.
"Thanks" She said to him sincerely
"You're welcome, now please become Hokage" Naruto said
[Wow, real subtle] Kurama rolled his eyes and scoffed
"See if you can tempt me" Tsunade replied
At least she was willing to hear some reasons now, before, she'd disagree no matter what they said, so this is still progress.
"We can drink together more often" Naruto replied as he walked over and picked Ino up
Tsunade chuckled
"Indeed we will, but it still doesn't seem worth it on my end"
"I have some top quality booze that I'll send to you once a month" Naruto replied
"Oh? How high is the quality?" She asked
Naruto sighed, it seems he is never going to save up much for the future...
He took out a small bottle of the same wine he gave Gamabunta and passed it to Tsunade. With just one whiff, she was captivated, and took a sip.
"Ah~ not bad, but once a month is too little, how about..." She grinned at him, wanting to get more out of him
"The quality alone should tell you how precious it is, if I could mass produce this, I would be using this for our drinking games" Naruto snorted
"True" Tsunade grinned
She tucked the bottle away and proceeded to bring the two injured people away as Naruto followed behind with Ino in his arms.
"So, is it a deal?" He asked
"Who knows" Tsunade replied
"Oi oi oi, don't tell me you're taking my booze without any returns" Naruto gasped
Tsunade laughed
"I can't wait to drink this once a month" She smiled at him
Hearing that, he heaved a sigh of relief, at least she has a consciousness. If not, he's have lost the booze, and gotten stabbed, all for naught!
With the success of the mission, they decided to return to bring back the good news. Along the way, the three finally woke up, and gotten back on their feet.
"Tsunade? Wh-What happened to Orochimaru" Jiraiya jumped up and looked around nervously
"He ran" Naruto replied
"That's good" He smiled, Tsunade had recovered, and he couldn't be happier.
Shizune was overjoyed by Tsunade's recovery, and hugged her tightly
"Lady Tsunade, thank goodness you're fine now, since it is all over, can you finally drop the gambling addiction?" She asked
"..."
"Lady Tsunade?"
"..."
"..." Shizune retracted all her joy as she stared blankly at her...
On the other side, Ino was nudging Naruto's back
"Na-kun, you can put me down already" Ino said
"Don't feel like it" Naruto replied
"Fine~, then I'll enjoy this ride" Ino puffed out her chest and rode with a prideful look
Tsunade chuckled, she then had a playful idea
"Say, Naruto, how's your injury, Orochimaru's blade pierced your chest, even with my medical skills, it is quite the problem" She said
"Huh? I'm already fully hea-"
*Bang*
Ino slammed his head down as she jumped down from his back. She then grabbed him by the collar with a fierce expression.
"Let me see" She said as she began pulling at his shirt
"No! Not there, not there!"
Ino sneered as she took out a kunai and ripped his shirt to shreds...
*Two minutes later...*
"Boo hoo, I've been sullied" Naruto was on the ground, hugging himself as he wept
Ino had a rather satisified expression
"Thankfully the injury is fully healed" She nodded gleefully
"I said I was fully healed already!" Naruto exclaimed
"Well, I need to make sure, y'know?" She grinned back at him
Naruto wiped his tears
"You've seen everything, you need to take responsibility" He said with a pitiful look in his eyes
"Urk" Ino was stunned, he's still playing at it?
But she didn't back down, she crossed her arms
"Of course I will" She huffed
Naruto sniffled
"My heart is in shambles, the only thing that can heal it is a bowl of ramen"
"..."
*Bang*
Ino knocked on his head
"Dammit, my mum already said you can eat at our place for free" She growled
"Ramen is love, ramen is life" Naruto muttered
"Then..." Ino leaned in
Her face was extremely close, as she stared into his eyes
"Between me and ramen, which would you choose" She asked
"Are you asking right now, or for the future?" Naruto asked
Ino was a little confused by this question, the answer can change?
The other three were also leaning in, wondering what Naruto was hinting at when he asked that question.
"Mn, how about right now, if it is right now, which would you pick" She asked
"Ramen" Naruto replied
"Hm!?" They all gasped, is he asking for death!?
Ino's cheeks puffed up immediately as she began pouting
"So I'm not even comparable to ramen?" She asked with an indignant look
'This kid, what is he thinking!' Tsunade and the rest all were stupefied, does he even know how to win over a girl's heart!?
Naruto looked up as he pinched her cheeks. He then leaned in and whispered into her ears.
"I can eat one now, but the other can only be eaten in the future" He said calmly
!!!!!!
*Sizzle*
Ino's face changed from annoyance to a shyness as steam began rising from her head. She didn't expect this! Neither did everyone else, he actually came up with that strange line out of nowhere!?
'Just what books did he read growing up!' Jiraiya wondered, wanting to find it and use it as inspiration!
Naruto stood up and changed into a new set of clothes, yet even after that, Ino was still frozen in place, in a daze as her face heated up.
"Jeez, how is she this cute" He muttered as he got a change of clothes before he carried her on his back once more
At this point, she completely overheated, and can no longer think...
The three adults watched as their lips twitched, this kid is way too fluent with this! He shows zero shame in saying all those embarrassingly cringe stuff!
"Well, you three keep walking, Imma go home now" Naruto said
"Huh? How?" Tsunade asked
"Flying raijin" Naruto replied
"...uh, any chance you can teleport us back as well?" Jiraiya asked
"Of course, pay me a hundred thousand ryo per person" Naruto smiled
"...I'll just walk" Jiraiya touched his wallet, he hardly has enough for himself, why would he spend that much just for a damn teleport?
"Tsk, stingy brat" Tsnade took out a string of coins and tossed it to him
The amount was exactly two hundred thousand, for both herself and Shizune. Jiraiya saw this and gasped.
"Uh...a-any chance you also pay for mine?" He asked with a silly smile
"...no" Tsunade replied
Before Jiraiya could argue, Naruto already teleported them all away, leaving him behind...
"...DAMN! They really left me!" He clutched his head and yelled
-Back to the hidden leaf, in the Hokage's office-
*Shing*
Hiruzen was blinded by a golden flash, and by the time he realised, Tsunade and Shizune were standing before him, whilst the person he expected, Naruto, was nowhere to be seen...
"Uh..." He quickly started to cough violently as he placed his pen down
His gaze remained calm as he stared at Tsunade
"It's been a while" He said slowly
"Indeed, sensei" Tsunade's lips twitched, as if she couldn't see though such obvious acting!
He wad fine a second ago, then he starts coughing violently? Who would believe that!? She walked over, and grabbed his wrist.
"Sensei...I don't seem to find any problems with your body" She gave him a dark smile as she leaned closer
"...*sigh*, perhaps it isn't this old body of mine that's giving in, but my weary mind" He shook his head and replied with a bitter smile
"Oh, really?" She asked
Hiruzen stared back, not backing down. He was surprised to see Tsunade suddenly appear, but since she's here, he mustn't back down. He MUST have her take over!
Seeing his deterimed look, Tsunade was left at a loss, just how much does he want to drop this job? She sighed, it was her intention to take over anyway, since she already promised Naruto.
"I promised someone I'll take over, so drop the act already" Tsunade said
"Truly! Please take over the paperworks!" Hiruzen stood up and revealed a wide grin that was unbefitting of him...
"Finally revealed your true colours, huh?" Tsunade cracked her knuckles and smirked
"H-Huh?" Hiruzen suddenly realised that he stepped into a trap, but if it means dropping this job...we will gladly take the beating.
*Bang*