The night breeze offered a sharp, cooling contrast to the heated atmosphere of the bar. Tanzaku Town felt different under the moonlight; the distant roar of gambling dens was muffled, reduced to a low hum behind closed doors. Dust and discarded scraps of paper danced in the sudden gusts of wind, swirling around the figures standing in the street.
Shizune stood off to the side, her knuckles white as she clutched the strangely dressed pig to her chest. Beside her, Jiraiya remained uncharacteristically still. The playfulness had vanished from his face, replaced by a weary, watchful sobriety.
Opposite them, Naruto and Shorai took their stance. Naruto's fists were white-knuckled, his chest heaving with suppressed rage. Beside him, Shorai was a study in stillness, his turquoise eyes tracking every shift in Tsunade's posture.
"You two are angry because you heard words you did not like," Tsunade said, her voice carrying a jagged edge of mockery. She stepped into the center of the street, the moonlight catching the amber in her eyes. "Brats, it's not too late to ask for forgiveness... or you might find yourselves asking the Almighty for it instead."
She smirked, looking at Naruto. "A childish outburst won't change what the title is. It's a fool's errand." Her gaze shifted to Shorai, lingering on his calm expression. "And you—whatever is going on in that head of yours—you are just as unworthy of that crown as he is."
"Did I say I wanted it? Or do you just have a habit of putting words in people's mouths?" Shorai's voice was cold, cutting through the wind. "I actually agree with your assessment of the position. It takes a special kind of person to carry a burden that heavy without becoming a tyrant."
Naruto jolted, looking at Shorai in betrayal, but the white-haired boy didn't blink.
"However," Shorai continued, his eyes narrowing, "their selfless act was a choice you clearly lack the strength to understand. By mocking them, you only tarnish your own name. Your clan's name." Shorai raised his hand, pointing a single finger at the Sannin. "As it stands, the only person here unworthy of the Hokage title is you."
Tsunade, now fully sobered by the insult, felt the air grow heavy.
"I understand leadership, Lady Tsunade," Shorai said, raising four fingers one by one. "First: a leader has a defined goal. Second: he plans and actively moves toward that goal. Third: he finds those who share his vision. And fourth..." Shorai's frown deepened, his aura radiating a chill that matched the night air. "...all those people choose to follow him. You have none of those things. You are just a ghost running from a shadow."
A heavy silence followed. Tsunade looked away, a flicker of something old and painful crossing her face before it was replaced by a sharp, dangerous irritation.
"You talk big for a twelve-year-old," she spat. "Arrogant, blind, and stuffed with naive idealism. You aren't even old enough to have a family, yet you think you can lecture me?" She raised a single finger in return. "Fine. I'll play along. I won't bully children. One finger. That's all I'll use."
"Are you going easy on them, or are you just looking for a quick exit?" Jiraiya asked, his eyes narrowed.
"What's this? You look down on me, grandma?" Naruto roared, stepping forward.
Shorai tapped his shoulder. "Naruto, she is a Sannin. Don't let your emotions blind you. Remember what happened last week."
"This is my Ninja Way, Shorai!" Naruto declared.
Shorai sighed, observing the yellowish radiation pulsing along the edges of Naruto's spiritual signature—the Mind Stone's influence responding to its host's fury.
The energy struck Shorai's triple-layered shield, rippled once across its invisible surface, then vanished as the barrier converted and absorbed the foreign signature.
"Fine, you stubborn mule," Shorai whispered. He looked at Tsunade. "He chose this challenge. I won't take that from him. But if you mistake a lesson for an excuse to cripple him, Lady Tsunade... I will intervene."
Tsunade's smile was thin and cruel. "It goes without saying, boy. I'll heal him once he's done breaking himself against me. But you... you chose to open your mouth back there. You're part of this now."
"It would be a disaster if you somehow ended up losing, wouldn't it?" Shorai replied. His face shifted, his composure turning ice-cold and combat-ready. The turquoise of his eyes seemed to glow in the dark. "Your fighting style is taijutsu-centric. Pure brute force. Tell me... can you even touch a specialist who doesn't want to be caught?"
"One more word, brat, and I won't hold back!" Tsunade barked. She gestured playfully at Naruto. "Come on, boy. Make it worth my time."
"That's it!" Naruto lunged.
The exchange was a blur. Naruto swung a kunai; Tsunade stepped aside. He hooked an arm; she flowed around him like water. Shorai watched the chasm in skill—her movements were the result of decades of life-and-death encounters. She wasn't just fast; she was reading Naruto before he even knew his own next move.
"Try harder," Tsunade mocked, parrying another strike. "You were in the Chunin Exams? This is pathetic even for a genin."
Naruto turned, ready to dash again, but Tsunade moved first. With a burst of chakra-enhanced speed, she closed the distance instantly. She disarmed him with a flick of her wrist, sending his kunai spinning into the dirt. As his forehead was left exposed, she flicked her finger with terrifying precision.
Thud.
Naruto was sent skidding across the street, his clothes gathering dust as he tumbled. His headband landed with a metallic clack beside him.
Tsunade turned her gaze to the pristine white-haired boy standing a few meters away. "And you? Does that calm little stare mean you've figured it out yet?" She gestured for him to come forward. "I didn't forget you."
Shorai took a steadying breath. 'A direct strike is suicide, he calculated. 'I need diversions. I need to bridge the gap between my speed and her instinct.'
"Naruto," Shorai whispered as the blonde boy scrambled up, rubbing his bruised forehead. "Listen. I'll distract her. You prepare that jutsu and wait for the gap."
Without waiting for a reply, Shorai vanished. He used a Shunshin-boosted dash, appearing within a meter of Tsunade.
'Let's test the waters...'
Shorai unleashed a barrage of precise strikes aimed at her pressure points, his chakra extending like needles from his fingertips. Tsunade's eyes widened; she hadn't expected a kid to use a style this sophisticated. She retreated, her instinct screaming as Shorai's hands moved in a blur.
Reflexively, Tsunade threw a direct punch. Shorai felt the pressure of the air displace before the fist even arrived. He twisted mid-air, feeling the gust of wind whistle past his ear.
"Ten pressure point strikes... and I didn't even use acceleration," Shorai noted, landing softly two meters away.
"What kind of technique is that?" Tsunade asked, her playful tone dying.
"Something only a Hokage would know," Shorai replied. He looked back at Naruto. "Start."
He dashed at her again. This time, the stakes were higher. A hook, a dodge, a finger-flick—Shorai moved with a grace that defied his age.
'Closer. Closer.'
"Had enough?" Tsunade shouted, lunging forward with a sudden burst of speed.
'Now!'
Swift Release: Shadowless Flight.
Tsunade's finger reached for Shorai's forehead, but the moment it touched, his silhouette distorted and flickered. She blinked, her finger passing through empty air as the image vanished.
Woosh!
By instinct alone, she stepped back, narrowly avoiding a strike from the real Shorai as he appeared at her flank.
'Final act,' Shorai thought.
He sent a thin pulse of chakra toward Tsunade, threading it through the residual chakra left behind by his special substitution clone. The connection slipped past the surface of her awareness and reached for the memories buried deepest within her mind—the ones she had spent years trying to drown beneath sake, distance, and contempt.
As Tsunade turned to strike the vanishing Shorai again, the illusion shifted.
Another Shorai stood before her. A dark, visceral trail of blood ran down his face. Heavy droplets struck the pavement one after another, each impact echoing through her mind like thunder.
Tsunade froze. Her breath caught. Her pupils dilated as a tremor ran through her body.
"Naruto, now!" Shorai shouted, releasing the genjutsu immediately.
Naruto, a swirling blue sphere of chakra screaming in his hand, charged from the shadows.
Tsunade blinked, the blood-illusion vanishing just in time to see the Rasengan inches from her chest. With a roar of effort, she struck the ground with her finger. The earth groaned and shattered, a massive fissure tearing through the street.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune cried out.
Naruto, caught in the upheaval of the earth, lost his footing. The Rasengan slammed into the ground instead, leaving a deep, spiraling crater in the debris.
The dust settled. Jiraiya stared at the scene, a mix of shock and profound pride warring on his face.
Tsunade straightened her clothes, her chest heaving as she sent a murderous glare toward Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya! Are you the one who taught him the Rasengan?" she demanded. Her voice was shaking with a mix of fury and something that sounded like grief. "Stop filling these children's heads with foolish dreams. They won't last a day in the real world!"