This chapter is dedicated to cmartin's grandmother. May she rest in peace.

Author's Note from Panda: Hey all you crazy kids, happy 2017. We know that you are all waiting patiently for the next chapter to one or more of our many get series (or two, if we're being honest) so instead of doing that, here is a brand-new series that isn't a crossover for once. Slug and Fox.

This one I personally don't think will be another huge project. Not like Legacy of Heroes. But we'll see how people respond to it. If its popular, we can give it more attention, if not, well it is still a fun little story to write. Tell us what you think. Are the charaters too OOC? Is the premise too done before? Is this a fresh spin and you love everything about it?


It was another beautiful day in the tourist trap known as Tanzuka, Fire. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and an omen of death hung in the air. For at that very moment in one of the city's many gambling halls. The Legendary Loser was actually winning at pachinko.

DING! DING! DING! The machine rang as it spilled out a mountain of casino coins.

Sitting in front of the winning slot machine was none other than the Slug Princess Lady Tsunade, formally of the Leaf. She was a busty woman, with brown eyes, blond hair, a purple diamond on her forehead, and a face so beautiful, men would swear she was twenty. Not bad for a fifty-year-old woman using medical jutsu to change her appearance.

"Alright M'Lady!" Her assistant cheered. A dark haired woman with simple features and a modest body, beautiful in her own right, and was carrying a pig dressed in beads and a red vest.

"Yeah, way to go!" Her second assistant cheered, holding up her fist in a, "Hell yeah!" pose. She was the youngest women of the trio, a girl by all accounts, no older than 13. Her features were modest as well, you could call her pretty, but perhaps not cute. Her most striking features had to be her emerald green eyes, bubblegum pink hair, and large forehead.

"Keep it down, Shizune, Sakura!" Tsunade hissed. The Slug Princess narrowed her eyes as she looked back and forth down the rows of pachinko machines. Something wasn't right. Something felt off.

"Gather up the winnings. We're leaving." Tsunade ordered as she stood back up.

"Huh? Why?" Sakura asked.

"Don't question it." Shizune said as she put Tonton the pig down so that she could start collecting the winnings.

"Any time we can leave a casino with more money than we entered is a good time to leave." Shizune said.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at her surrogate older sister.

"But that's when your luck is highest. So you should keep playing until so you'll win more." Sakura said logically to her. Making Shizune sigh. Despite her best efforts, Sakura took to Lady Tsunade's gambling instincts.

"Just help me pick up the winnings, please." Shizune begged.

"Alright." Sakura sighed as she picked up as many coins as she could gather.

After trading in their coins for cash, the girls met outside the casino with cash in bags where Lady Tsunade was waiting for them. She was looking side to side down the road and holding her hand to her lip like she was nervous.

"Why the long face, Lady Tsunade? You won didn't you?" Shizune said as she hoisted up her bag of cash.

Sakura stood next to her in equal curiosity. This behavior was unlike her mentor, no matter how little she ever won anything.

"Lady Tsunade? What's wrong...?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Tsunade turned back to face her two pupils. A wave of concern washed over her face.

"I've got a bad feeling about this place. We're leaving the city right now." Tsunade declared.

"What? But I wanted to see Tanzuka Castle." Shizune protested. "It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the Land of Fire!"

"Fine! But let's get on with it!" Tsunade snapped back.

'Woah...I have never seen her this agitated before...' Sakura thought.

Shizune however didn't seem to care. It was a rare thong that she got to do what she wanted to do and she'd enjoy it, gosh darn it.

The two older women and Tonton walked ahead while Sakura slacked off behind to look up at the breeze. Try as she might, she couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling in the air either. It was like a chill had sweat through the city and she found herself subconsciously placing her hand on her chest where her seal was located. The seal she was forbidden to show any one that she didn't absolutely trust. And right now that consisted of exactly two women and a sweet little piglet.

"Sakura! Let's go!" Tsunade barked from down the pathway.

"Coming!" Sakura shouted back as she followed her family into the woods.


Several minutes later the women found themselves inside the Tanzuka castle compound where they could get the best view of the main structure. A six-story tall white marble castle made to withstand sieges waged by armies of 100,000 men. Now a tourist trap for the rare well-traveled civilian.

"Isn't this amazing?" Shizune praised as she gazed upon the structure. "It's so beautiful."

"Yea it's cool..." Sakura said simply. She really wasn't that interested in it.

"This castle was built over a thousand years ago. Back before there were even shinobi. And yet it's survived all the way to today." Shizune said after having read the free pamphlet provided to them at the entrance.

"Yes, this is all fascinating... can we hurry up?" Tsunade said impatiently.

"What's the rush? Looking is free." Shizune said. Before either women could respond however, the castle exploded into a gigantic plume of dust and rubble.

"AAAAH! THE CASTLE!" Shizune shrieked while Sakura and Tsunade took cover.

Thankfully the debris only fell into the main courtyard, not getting anywhere near the trio. The women all looked up to see a massive figure larger than the former castle itself stand tall, hidden behind the smoke.

'Is that a... snake?' Sakura thought as the dust began to clear. Revealing one more shocking thing. Standing on top of the giant purple snake were two figures, both male, one seeming much paler than the other. Almost as if his skin was bone white.

"Who is that?" Sakura asked. Her attention focused on the pale looking man with long black hair and a creepy stare that the pink haired girl could feel all the way down on the ground.

"Orochimaru..." Tsunade growled.

'The Snake Sannin.' Sakura realized. Lady Tsunade's teammate from back when she lived in the Leaf, before Sakura was even born. Tsunade had talked about him once. Said that he was a gifted ninja once that went bad. Now he was a rogue ninja, like M'Lady, only more twisted.

Sakura immediately spread her legs in a defensive stance as the duo leapt from atop their snake and landed right in front of Sakura and the others.

"Hello, Princess." Orochimaru hissed out in a voice that chilled Sakura to the bone. She observed him and noticed (thanks to Lady Tsunade's training) that he was not a well man. His breathing and heartbeat were irregular, his composure told her that he had a high fever and had been in constant pain for many days. What was most interesting were his bandaged arms. He seemed to let them simply sway in the breeze, as if he couldn't bring himself to lift them. 'And that other one...' Sakura thought as she eyed Orochimaru's companion. A young grey haired man with full moon spectacles. His eyes showed focus, like Shizune's. He was Orochimaru's assistant no doubt. Probably even a medical ninja like she was, only much more experienced.

"What do you want, you sick bastard..." Tsunade growled.

"My, my, Princess Tsunade, is that anyway to talk to an old teammate? And here I thought we were friends." Orochimaru chuckled.

"Save it, snake. I'm not in the mood." Tsunade spat. Sakura noticed that Orochimaru's assistant began to tense up at Tsunade's response. Probably not what he was hoping for.

"So hostile. And after all the trouble I went through to track you down." Orochimaru responded, keeping a cool and collected tone.

"What business could you possibly have with me? Don't even try to tell me you just wanna catch up..." Tsunade said, her eyes narrowing and her patience wavering.

Orochimaru chuckled as a wave of pain washed over him. "Actually I have a small favor to ask of you."

"Is that right?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Yes. Lady Tsunade, you probably already know..." Orochimaru's assistant began, having noticed Tsunade's eyes running over Orochimaru's haggard body and coming to the same conclusion Sakura and Shizune had already made.

"Go ask somebody else. I gave up medicine a long time ago." Tsunade waved off.

"But we cannot. You must understand the severity of his wounds. No one else can heal his wounds." The assistant spoke up. "Nobody except you. You who gained fame as a medic specialist. One of the three great shinobi of legend, Princess Tsunade."

Tsunade looked closely as she saw Orochimaru's arms twitch. 'Those are no ordinary wounds. Some kind of curse mark or something...'

"What happened to you, Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked.

"Nothing much. Just a minor incident after I killed the 3rd and 4th Hokage." Orochimaru breathed out between waves of pain.

The women all froze. The man just admitted to murdering two Kages as easily as you would mention swatting a pair of flies.

"You did what?" Tsunade asked, her voice as cold as ice.

"Humph, no need to scowl, Princess." Orochimaru lectured. "All things must eventually come to an end."

Sakura felt her blood begin to boil. The way this man talked disgusted her. He was evil, that was for certain.

"You ought to know." Orochimaru added. "For you let the two people you loved most in the world...die."

Sakura felt herself being filled with rage. Shizune was about to attack Orochimaru with her hidden spring loaded poisoned needles when she felt Sakura's overwhelming chakra beginning to spike. All eyes turned on to the tiny pink haired girl currently emitting a kind of angry green chakra from her pores.

'What in the...?' Kabuto gasped as he looked at the girl currently being covered with nasty green chakra.

"SAKURA!" Tsunade barked to get her youngest apprentice's attention. Thankfully it was enough to snap Sakura out of her rage and force her secondary chakra system to recede.

Orochimaru couldn't help himself from chuckling some more. "Heheh, so it's true. You did manage to find yourself your very own jinchuriki to keep as a pet." The Snake Sannin laughed.

Sakura gasped. "A-a what...?"

"Oh ho... the poor thing doesn't even know what she is. Have you been keeping secrets from her, Princess? Why, that would make you no better than all those Hidden Villages you claim to despise, wouldn't it?" Orochimaru laughed.

"Wait...what's a Jinchuriki? I never heard of anything like that." Sakura asked.

"Be quiet, Sakura!" Tsunade barked. The last thing she needed was for her apprentice to speak with Orochimaru about anything. "And you..." She hissed.

"You always were a creep, Orochimaru." She gave a fake smile. "But you ought to know me better than that. You mock me." Tsunade smiled as she pounded her fist against the stone wall directly opposite her, smashing it into rubble.

"And I'll kill you...okay?" She whispered darkly.

All the non-Sannin in the vicinity sweat dropped. Tsunade's strength was something to behold and fear. Shizune and Sakura could attest to that.

'Oh man. Lady Tsunade is pissed now.' Sakura thought. Remembering back to the few times that she had misbehaved and was sent hurling through a tree trunk.

"Please, we didn't come here to fight. We came here to strike bargain with you." Kabuto said in meek desperation.

"Enough of your squabbling. I'll give you both five seconds to disappear before I smear you across these marble walls." Tsunade declared.

Sakura got back into her combat stance. She would need to protect Tonton and the money if things got ugly. She could fight, but Shizune and Lady Tsunade were definitely the more experienced ones.

She made a countdown in her head. '5...4...3...2...'

"I'm offering to bring your lover Dan and your little brother Nawaki back to life." Orochimaru spoke as a final trump card. "I've learned the forbidden jutsu."

The temperature in the air seemed to have dropped thirty degrees. Of the many taboo subjects to discuss when traveling with Lady Tsunade (among them were her weight and her age) the absolute most forbidden subject was Dan and Nawaki.

Sakura gulped. Did that snake even realize what he had offered Lady Tsunade? If it was Sakura...

"Does the fact that were both standing here whole and hearty mean that our offer is acceptable?" Orochimaru asked.

Tsunade gripped her green stone necklace in her hands to steel herself.

"Say that I do fix your arms? What are you going to do?" Tsunade spat.

"I hate lies, so I'll be square with you." Orochimaru said. "Along the way of acquiring what I desire...this time I'll annihilate Konoha once and for all." Orochimaru spoke in an icy tone.

"Lady Tsunade, you can't even possibly consider-"

"Silence Shizune!" Tsunade barked.

Sakura was taken aback. She had never seen Tsunade act like this. Her face was sunken and pointed at the ground. She looked so helpless.

"Please Lady Tsunade. Orochimaru is weakened. We can take him down together, the three of us." Shizune pleaded, only to earn another chuckle from Orochimaru.

Sakura looked over and saw the Snake Sannin biting his finger hard. His bandages soon grew red and began dripping with blood, which he held out for all to see.

'Oh no...' Sakura thought.

"Lady Tsunade! Please!" Shizune begged.

But Tsunade had frozen up at the sight of blood, her greatest fear.

'Shoot.' Shizune thought. She knew her boss would be useless now that she had seen blood.

"We do not expect your answer this very moment. We shall allow you one week's time to think it over." Kabuto spoke up, hoping to move this along before anyone happened to crash their little party. "This jutsu also requires two living sacrifices. So please have to people ready on your end. Male or female." Kabuto said, eyeing both of Tsunade's assistants. The girls were both taken back, but not as much as when Tsunade didn't stand up to their defense.

"I shall see you then, Princess." Orochimaru cackled as a parting goodbye before disappearing into smoke. Leaving the three frightened girls alone in the ruins of the castle.


Hours later, the women found themselves where they always found themselves after one of the Legendary Loser's rare winning streaks. Throwing it all away on cheap booze at a local dive bar.

"Yo mister! Nuther!" Tsunade barked as she held up her empty glass to the bar keeper.

"Lady Tsunade, please!" Shizune begged as the former medical queen of the Leaf made a drunken fool of herself in the bar. Sakura tried to focus her grilled eel, but her guardian always made a point of being one of the rowdiest drunk she had ever met. And unfortunately for the 13 year old girl, she had met a lot of drunks.

Ever since they had left the castle Shizune had been trying to talk to Tsunade about the deal Orochimaru had offered her, and why she should refuse it. How neither Tsunade's brother nor Shizune's uncle would have wanted the Leaf to be destroyed. And Sakura could see where Shizune was coming from, but another part of her sympathized with Lady Tsunade too much.

'What has the Leaf ever done for me?' Sakura thought. 'Who is to say that they don't deserve it?'

If someone came and offered Sakura two loved ones brought back to life in exchange that they might attack a village Sakura had never been to... Well it was an easy decision. Sakura would have her parents back.

"What the Hell, Pervy Sage? This is a bar!" A loud and obnoxious voice declared from outside the inn.

"Great observation there, brat. This is also the best place to collect information on her whereabouts." A huge man said to his young ward as he entered the establishment. He had white hair as long as a lion's mane and red paint running down his eyes like tears. All while wearing a sage's outfit and green pants.

The boy on the other hand...

He was shorter, shorter than Sakura at least, with spikey blond hair, piercing blue eyes she could see from across the bar, and…whisker marks? He had three thin whisker marks on either cheek. Sakura wasn't sure if they were tattoos or birthmarks. Either way, he had the face of a whiney brat. He was handsome, sure, but the way his face was scrunched up in whining ruined that. He wore an orange jacket with matching pants, blue sandals, and had a Leaf ninja headband wrapped appropriately around his forehead.

'He's kinda cute, but he looks stupid.' Sakura decided.

"I don't have time to be sitting around in a bar! In case you forgot, my dad is in a coma!" The blond boy snapped.

"I hear you kid. Your father is like a son to me if you'll remember. But we can't help him unless we find..." Jiraiya lectured before looking over and noticing the blond haired beauty sitting at one of the booths. Exactly who they were looking for.

"Well I'll be...Princess Tsunade." Jiraiya spoke, seeing his teammate for the first time in twenty years.

"Wait, that's her? But she looks like a...woah..." Naruto had laid eyes on the pink haired girl with them and instantly was at a loss for words.

Large forehead, vibrant pink hair, deep, emerald green eyes, nothing going on in the chest department but that didn't matter to him.

'She's pretty...' He thought before shaking his head. 'No...I can't think about that now. Saving my dad is top priority.'

'Did he just check me out?' Sakura thought. She had never been checked out by a boy her age before. A lifetime on the road with Tsunade, stopping only for gambling halls with perverted men and creeps didn't leave her a lot of time to converse with kids her own age. It was...flattering... She thought was the word. She then shook her head. 'No wait. Focus.' She thought.

By the time she looked back up she saw that the duo had invited themselves to their table with Jiraiya scooching in next to Shizune so that he could be face to face with Lady Tsunade, leaving Naruto to sit opposite Sakura in the booth.

"Yo barkeep, two more plates of whatever these ladies just had and another round on me." Jiraiya ordered.

"That's a familiar voice..." Tsunade slurred before looking at her other teammate. "Been a long time you old pervert."

"Good to see you too Princess." Jiraiya replied, not very fond of being referred to as a pervert by both his pupil and his former teammate in public.

"So, what brings you here?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm going to be straight with you. We need you to come back to the Leaf. It's urgent." Jiraiya said seriously.

"To hell with the Leaf." Tsunade spat. "I'm never-"

"Minato is in critical condition." Jiraiya said, cutting her off. "The doctors there can't heal him and is in a medically induced coma. If he has any chances of living, it rests with you."

Tsunade sat up a little straighter. Both her teammates being straight with her in one day. Something big was going on. Even Shizune and Sakura cued in on this. Sakura noticed that the boy seemed to tense up at the mention of this Minato character, whoever that was.

"So the great and mighty Leaf village needs me to save their precious Hokage, is that right?" Tsunade asked. Sakura's eyes went wide. Now she remembered where she had heard that name from.

Minato Namikaze, the hero of the 3rd Shinobi World War, at least on the Leaf's side. He was considered by many in the villages dotting the Land of Fire to be the best Hokage the country had had in ages.

"You can find someone else to do it. You wouldn't come to me if this was some civilian kid with the same condition. So why should I care about some so called hero?" Tsunade spat.

"That's my dad you're talking about, dammit!" Naruto shouted before putting his fist through the table.

"You're the only one who can save my dad and I'll drag your ass there if I have to! I will NOT let my dad die!"

"Oh pipe down, brat. Nobody cares that your daddy was Hokage. Take it from a girl that grew up the granddaughter of the First Hokage." Tsunade spat before taking a big gulp of her beer. "It's all honorable lineage this and living up to your legacy that until you realize that it's all a bunch of crap." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as Tsunade spoke those hateful words. God knows how long they had been stewing in her head, but to actually say them out loud...

"You'll figure it out when he's dead." She said. shocking Sakura.

Naruto leapt up to the top of the table to throw a punch at Tsunade, only to be held back by Jiraiya as he took ahold of his jacket.

"Hey! What gives, Pervy Sage?!" The boy barked.

"Down! This is a pub." Jiraiya ordered, but the boy would not budge.

"So, this is the infamous Naruto Namikaze, right?" Tsunade asked as she downed another beer. "A scrawny little loudmouth with the face of a fool. Not impressive at all."

"Yeah, but so what?" Naruto spat back.

Sakura looked back and forth between Naruto and Tsunade.

"I ain't gonna just stand by and let you talk crap about my old man." Naruto stated. "I DON'T CARE THAT YOU ARE A LADY, I'LL SLUG YOU WITH EVERYTHING THAT I'VE GOT!" He declared with his knuckles cracked.

"Is that right?" Tsunade smirked.

'Oh no...' Sakura thought as Tsunade put her boot up on the table.

"You've got guts kid. Meet me outside if you wanna prove that you walk the walk." Tsunade said before pushing the table out of the way and walking outside. Naruto jumped down to follow after her.

"Wait is he serious? He's actually going to fight her?" Sakura asked no one in particular.

'Idiot!' She thought as she ran outside to join them.

"I'll make things interesting for you kid. If you can land a blow on me just once, then I'll come back to the Leaf. But if you fail, you have to head back with your tail between your legs." Tsunade offered.

"Just one? You don't want to give yourself a chance and make it three?" Naruto shouted as he got into his Frog style taijutsu stance and drew his kunai.

"Because you won't even land a single hit, let alone 3." She jeered.

"I wouldn't put money on that." Jiraiya said.

"Oh, why is that? Did you train the little punk? I can see him using your stupid Frog stance. I take it your pupil ordered you back at the Leaf to train and watch over him. And like a good little hound dog, you obeyed." Tsunade spat.

"I honestly haven't done much to train him except a little refinement. His father did most of the work." Jiraiya smirked.

"You mean the young upstart that couldn't best our old snake of a comrade even with that old fart the 3rd backing him up?" Tsunade asked, making Jiraiya's blood boil.

"You take it back!" Naruto shouted.

"Who's gonna make me?" Tsunade smirked.

"ME!" Naruto shouted as he charged at Tsunade with his kunai drawn.

'Oh, please like that's gonna...wait a minute...' She got a good look at the kunai just as it whizzed by her face. It was different from the others. It had 3 prongs instead of just one.

Naruto launched a fury of attacks at Tsunade, who dodged all of them with ease and was about to cock her fist back to deliver one of her chakra enhanced punches, the kind that turned castle walls into rubble.

Sakura almost screamed when she saw her master's fist connect with Naruto's torso, only for him to vanish in an orange flash and reappear next to Sakura, holding on to the three pronged kunai he had thrown.

"WAAH! H-how did you..." Sakura stammered.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique." Tsunade answered for Sakura. "That's almost impressive brat." Tsunade said.

"Yeah..." Naruto wheezed as he clutched his gut. Tsunade having still grazed him before he could teleport away fully.

"Don't tell me that's all you've got, brat." Tsunade smirked.

"Not even close you old bag." Naruto shot back.

Everyone felt the temperature drop 100 degrees at Naruto's sudden outburst.

"Welp...it was nice meeting you." Sakura said before she backed up.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Because she's going to kill you now." Sakura said simply.

"Oh come on, she wouldn't actually-" He began saying before being punched through the building behind them. Kicking up more dust and debris.

Sakura went over and stood over his tattered-up body. "Yes...she would. That's the one thing you should never call her if you value your life."

Naruto forced himself up and threw off a support beam that had fallen across his chest. "Whatever! I'm still gonna beat her and bring her back to the Leaf." Naruto coughed.

Sakura wanted to say something, but what could she say? He was fighting to save his father's life. If the situation was on her shoulders, she'd probably do the same thing. The way he stood defiantly to her master and his unfaltering determination...something about him made her feel strange.

"You kids done flirting? I'm getting bored over here!" Tsunade called out.

"Who's flirting?!" Naruto snapped before he charged at her again.

'ACK! IS that what we were doing?!' Sakura thought frantically.

'Yea, kinda.' Her friend said to her.

Sakura felt her face flush with embarrassment. She had never even talked to a boy her age before. Why did she feel so self-conscious about this?

'I wouldn't overthink it too much, but I should caution you about that boy.'

'And why is that?' Sakura thought as the boy called Naruto took another punch from Tsunade that sent him skidding across the dirt road. Only to sit back up like it was nothing.

'Because my brother, the 9 tails, resides in him. That Naruto boy is also a Jinchuriki, like you.'

'Your brother?' Sakura thought. 'He also has a demon slug sealed inside him?!'

'No... I'm the only slug out of all 9 of us. The 9 Tails is a fox who is full of hatred and malice. He cares not of the living and would rather see Human kind destroyed instead of co-existing like myself and my brother the 7 tails.'

'That's...then...he's just like me...' Sakura thought as Naruto leapt out of the way of Tsunade's latest earth shattering punch and began charging up another attack that Sakura didn't recognize. There were no hand signs or verbal commands. Just swirling chakra.

'Yes, my dear, but sadly, if memory serves, Kurama's Jinchuriki's were not kindly treated in life. That could be why he's hanging onto his family with every fiber of his being like he is.' Saiken added.

'Oh my God...' Sakura thought as she got a look at Naruto as he charged at Tsunade with his mysterious technique. Sakura thought that it would just be another failed attempt at attacking her master, but the look on Tsunade's face said otherwise, she looked nervous.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he thrusted his attack forward.

Tsunade just brought her finger down on the ground and ripped open a sink hole that Naruto and his attack fell into.

"Aaah!" Naruto cried as his half formed attack blew up in his face.

'Nice try kid. But old Slug Princess Tsunade hasn't lost any of her monster strength. You're going to have to do better than that.' Jiraiya thought.

"Hey Jiraiya? We're you the one that tried to teach him the Rasengan? Or was that his father again?" Tsunade asked.

"That was me. It is expected of me, being his mentor and all." Jiraiya shouted back.

"Needs work." Tsunade called out.

"Well we only started two month ago. It took our Lord Fourth a good three years to create this jutsu I'll remind you."

"First off, he's not 'my Lord anything.' Second, this kid couldn't master this jutsu if you gave him 30 years." Tsunade scoffed just to be mean.

"3 DAYS!" Naruto shouted. All eyes turned back on to Naruto.

"What was that, brat?" Tsunade asked.

"Just give me three days and I'll master this jutsu! You'll see!" Naruto declared.

"Oh ho, bold words brat, but a man doesn't just run off his mouth and go back on his word." Tsunade said smugly. Sakura started to feel bad for the blond boy.

"I never go back on my word." Naruto stated. "Because that is my shinobi way." He declared. Exciting a fire deep inside both Tsunade and Sakura.

"Well then, how about we make a wager?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm listening." Naruto glared and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Since you obviously can't land a hit on me, I'll cut you the same deal. If you can master that Jutsu in 3 days, I'll go back to the Leaf and take care of your father." Tsunade said. "Hell, I'll give you a whole week to master it. Just to be sporting." Tsunade added.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered.

"But if you can't..." Tsunade said as she pulled out a fat froggy wallet filled to the brim with Ryo bills. "All your easy cash is mine and the two of you give up on chasing me."

"My froggy!" Naruto shouted. 'Where did she get that?'

"So, do we have an accord?" Tsunade asked.

"Lady Tsunade, that's hardly fair!" Sakura shouted, earning her mentor's attention. "He's risking his father's life in this bet. Why don't we just go to the Leaf and help them out. We can simply ask for payment." Sakura desperately tried to negotiate. Fellow jinchuriki or not, she wasn't about to stand by and see someone lose their parent. Not while she could stop it.

"You're right, Sakura. How about I throw in my necklace? Just so that I risk something important to me in this bet too." Tsunade offered.

"I don't want your dumb jewelry! I'm here to save my father's life, ya old hag!" Naruto snapped back.

"Now now Naruto, don't be so hasty." Jiraiya consulted. "That necklace of hers was owned by the First Hokage. You could buy three mountains if you sold it."

"Then again, my father always taught me there is no shame in accepting payment for hard work." Naruto quickly changed his mind, but Sakura felt uneasy at him being offered that necklace.

"Then it's a bet. See you in a week, brat." Tsunade said before turning to leave for her hotel room.

"But what if his dad doesn't make it after a week?" Sakura called out.

"Then his son had better master that jutsu beforehand." Tsunade called out before disappearing inside the hotel lobby. Sakura looked horrified at her master's answer. Naruto didn't say a word as he pulled himself out of his hole and started walking towards the outskirts of the city.

"Naruto! Wait a minute..." Sakura said in hopes to talk to him.

"I need to get started on my training...what's your name?"

"I'm Sakura. But listen...I...wanted to talk to you about something kinda private."

"Can it wait? I kind of need to master this jutsu really quickly." Naruto said as he started walking to the woods while inflating a small balloon the size of a baseball. He then held it with both hands as his face became screwed up in concentration. Sakurai didn't know what he was doing until his balloon popped with such tremendous force that she realized it was the same jutsu he had tried to use on Lady Tsunade not a few minutes ago.

'Maybe you should talk to her.' Kyuubi said to Naruto.

'Why? I'm more worried about my dad right now and-'

'She has the 6-tailed slug inside her, but whatever. Do what you want.'

'The what? Why are you even talking to me, you damn fox?' Naruto thought.

'Whatever, kid. You wanted to know more about other Jinchuriki's and I point one out to you. But do what you want. I'm going back to sleep.'

'You didn't when I met Gaara! Why is this one any different?' Naruto asked.

The Kyuubi didn't respond.

'Damn fox...whatever, I'll talk to her after my training. This is more important to me right now.' Naruto thought as he continued onward to train. He was going to save his father, come hell or high water.

"Um, okay...some other time then." Sakura said as she stopped trying to walk beside him. Soon they were a block away and Naruto called back, "Great. We'll talk tomorrow after I master this thing." Naruto waved off as he tried to compress his chakra ball again, only for it to spiral out of control. "Damn it!"

Sakura felt a little dejected but completely understood why. His father's life was on the line. He had a week to get this jutsu down pat and if he didn't, not only would the Leaf need a new Hokage, but he would be without a father. It was a pain that she had experienced before (albeit when she was an infant), so she wanted to see him succeed no matter what. But another part of her was worried. He said that he'd master the jutsu tomorrow. Did that mean that he was going to train all night? After he had just fought Lady Tsunade? Fought being a gentler way of saying getting smacked around like an angry lamb.

'Could he even master such a jutsu in time for the week deadline?' Sakura thought. 'It looked like a rather simple jutsu. Then again. If Lady Tsunade is offering her Grandfather's necklace than she must have thought it was a sure bet.'

Sakura decided. She needed to ask her master about this. Maybe it was all a joke to inspire that kid to complete his jutsu. 'Yeah that's right. Lady Tsunade is helping the kid out...by risking her necklace...'

Sakura ran back all the way to her hotel room.

"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura cried as she opened up the room she, Shizune, Tonton, and Tsunade were staying at to only find Shizune and Tonton.

"She's not here, Sakura." Shizune informed.

"I can see that, but where is she?" Sakura asked.

"She went out to go drinking with Lord Jiraiya. Catching up I believe." Shizune sighed as she unpacked hers and Tsunade's clothes. A whole week of staying in one place meant the rare luxury of getting to pull out your clothes from a drawer.

"Oh...I see...I needed to talk to her about something."

"It'll have to wait until morning. You know how she gets whenever someone mentions Dan or Nawaki." Shizune said sadly. They both knew exactly what she was talking about. Even Tonton.

"I'm here if you need to talk though."

"I learned what a Jinchuriki is and I also learned that Naruto is one as well."

"Oh...that..." Shizune nervously said. Hoping that she could pick her words carefully. "Well jinchuriki is a word for people who have these demons sealed inside them. Like you with the Six Tailed Slug and Naruto with the 9 Tailed Fox." Shizune said.

"Right, I know. Saiken told me."

"Right. And that's all you need to know about it, basically. It's just a word." Shizune said.

"There's more to it than that, I'm sure. I can either learn about it from you, or Lady Tsunade, or Naruto or I can go to the source and ask Saiken myself. Either way, I want to learn all about this that I can." Sakura said with determination.

'Shit.' Shizune thought. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, right now I wanna know why Lady Tsunade is doing this to that poor boy. His dad is dying and doesn't have a lot of time. Why can't she just help him and just accept a payment for it? Why make him work for it?"

Shizune looked upon Sakura with sadness in her eyes. She was still so young and still so ignorant to the tragedies of this world. "Do not judge M'Lady too harshly. She has her reasons, I assure you."

Sakura just sighed. "I guess..." She walked over and sat on the cot she was sleeping in. "Tell me more about this Jinchuriki business. Tell me everything."

"I mean...you know why Lady Tsunade had to seal Saiken inside in the first place right?"

"Because the villagers had attacked him, so he went overboard and destroyed their village. Including killing my parents. Lady Tsunade didn't realize that he was acting in self-defense and sealed him inside me to save the entire region from his destruction." Sakura listed off.

"Yes that's true. And that is the purpose of all jinchuriki. To act as a vessel or a jail cell to demons and keep everyone else safe." Shizune explained.

"So... why me of all people? Why was Saiken attacked? He's practically harmless and he's friendly to me."

"Well you were a baby. The seal Lady Tsunade knew was best for use on someone with a still developing chakra network. I.e. an infant." Shizune explained. "As for Saiken being attacked. Well you'd have to ask him. He'd no better than us."

Sakura thought about it and nodded. "Alright...I'll ask him. But what about Naruto and the 9 tails? What's the deal with that?"

"That...is up to Naruto if he wants to tell you. Sufficient to say that his demon was also sealed inside him to protect other people. Probably his entire village." Shizune said.

"And what if he doesn't know? Who would know about that?"

"Then it wouldn't be any of your business then I'm afraid."

Sakura sighed. It wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it's the answer she'd have to accept.

"Come on. Let's go to bed. Maybe we can earn some extra cash working at the local clinic tomorrow." Shizune said as she got changed into her PJ's.

"I'm going to be up a while longer. I got too much on my mind." Sakura said before she took out a book and her own sleepwear.

Sakura changed into her PJ's and laid down on her cot. She opened her book, but she found it hard to concentrate. All her thoughts seem to come back to that boy.

'Why can't I stop thinking about him?' Sakura thought.


Meanwhile, at a field of trees in the outskirts of town.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto cried as he thrusted his sphere of chakra into the side of a tree, only to imprint the bark of the tree with a swirling pattern.

"Damn it, again!" Naruto shouted to himself as he continued to train late into the night.


The next morning Sakura awoke late the next morning by Shizune's light nudging.

"Sakura...wake up." Shizune whispered.

"Mmmm...five more minutes..." Sakura groaned as she tried to pull the covers over her head.

'Come on, my dear. It's time to rise and shine. Maybe that boy mastered that jutsu.' Saiken said.

'Huh? Boy...jutsu...?' Sakura thought as her brain started to wake up. She opened her eyes and saw Shizune's worried face.

"Come on Sakura, you said that you were going to help me with the clinic, remember?" Shizune asked.

"Oh...right, yea...sorry, I didn't get to sleep until sometime after 4..." Sakura yawned.

"Understandable. Yesterday was very trying." Shizune said as she handed Sakura a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, wheat toast with jam, and a side of grapes.

"I saved you a plate from the free buffet downstairs. Eat up, you'll need your strength." Shizune ordered.

"Right. Did you hear anything about Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"No I didn't I'm afraid. The only other person I've seen today was Lady Tsunade when she woke up this morning." Shizune said as she helped Tonton get dressed for the day.

"Oh..." Sakura said sadly before she started picking at her breakfast.

Shizune saw the look on Sakura's face at the mere mention of the boy and she smirked. "You seemed to be quite taken with the boy."

"Yea..." Sakura said, only half paying attention to what she was saying until she tried to figure out what she said. "Wait, what?"

"Nothing." Shizune teased. "Get dressed. Maybe we can go check on him after were done working at the clinic."

"Sure." Sakura seemed to perk up after that and began attacking her plate of food.

Shizune smiled. 'Ah, young love.' She thought.

Soon the two were fully dressed and headed out the door towards the local clinic. Along the way they could hear shouting in the distance.

"RASEN- BOOM! A familiar voice echoed across the town. Followed by an explosion of the release of great energy.

"Seems like Naruto is still at it." Shizune mused.

"He's been at it all night?" Sakura asked in awe.

"Possibly. You have to admire a boy with such dedication." Shizune smiled, even if a part of her was worried that the boy might overdo it.

"There's gotta be a way to accelerate this..." Sakura mused.

"Shizune...do you think that Naruto will complete the jutsu in time?" Sakura asked. Maybe she was over thinking things. 'I mean, they don't call Lady Tsunade the Legendary Loser for nothing. The day that she wins such a Longshot bet would be a dark day for the Land of Fire indeed.'

"If his determination is anything to go by, he will." Shizune smiled.

Sakura smiled as the two of them arrived at the clinic and got to talking with the owner.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't have any work for you two." The doctor in changed stated.

"Please sir, we'll do any work that you ask of us. So long as it pays. We're desperate." Shizune bowed to the man to show his mercy with Sakura and Tonton following suit.

The man got a good look at them. "Any work?" He asked.

"We're medic ninja and we can do whatever you want us to do." Sakura said.

"Perfect. Cause I need some crates moved." The doctor said.

"I can take care of that." Sakura offered.

"Really? It's a lot of boxes. I mean a LOT of boxes." The man said.

"Don't underestimate her, she's stronger than she looks." Shizune stated.

"It's not about strength, it's about quantity. There is no way that one person can deliver all these medical supplies from the post office across town to here."

'He doesn't know me very well, does he?' Sakura thought with a smirk. "Believe me, the training I have done, moving a few dozen crates will be a cakewalk for me."

"And if she can't hack it, I'll be right there to help her." Shizune said.

"I'm talking a hundred crates. But if you can get it all done today and put away into storage, I'll pay you the fee I was going to have to pay to one of those delivery boys."

"Consider it done." Sakura and Shizune said with confidence.

"Alright then, head to the post office on the other side of town and tell them you're picking up a shipment of medical supplies for the clinic. Show them this pass and they'll let you collect the merchandise." The doctor said and handed them a card.

"And you can stay here." The doctor pointed to Shizune.

"Me? Okay." Shizune said while Sakura took the pass and made her way towards the post office.

"Come on, Tonton, let's get this done in an hour!" Sakura cheered.

"Oink!" Tonton said as he ran up beside Sakura.

It didn't take long for her to reach the post office and walked inside.

"Can I help you?" The clerk lady at the desk asked Sakura.

"I'm here to pick up a shipment of medical supplies for the clinic." Sakura informed and handed the clerk her pass.

"Aren't you a little young to be doing delivery jobs of this nature?" The woman asked.

"I don't think so. I'm a medic ninja trained by Lady Tsunade Senju." Sakura informed.

"Isn't she the female ninja that abandoned the Leaf after the war?" The clerk asked.

"I... don't know the specifics about that. She doesn't like to talk about it."

"Well I'm sorry you had to be trained by a traitor then." The clerk said, making Sakura's blood boil.

'Do not punch.' She thought.

"Can I just get the crates please? I have a job to do." Sakura requested as politely as she could while handing the woman the card.

The clerk looked over the card and nodded. "Yes, please come this way."

Sakura followed her into the back with a moderately sized storage house and a hundred heavy crates waited for her.

"Well, at least the guy wasn't lying." Sakura said simply before picking up 4 crates and holding them on her shoulders. "I'll have these all out within the hour."

The clerk sweat dropped when this little girl was able to carry four 120lb crates on her shoulders like they were nothing. Then she saw the girl sprint down the street.

"Kids these days..." the clerk said in awe.


All day it was this for Sakura. She would haul the crates 4 or 2 at a time. Once back at the clinic, Shizune would be there to unpack with the help of the doctor and one of his assistants while Sakura went for more crates. It was strange in a way, having to walk up and down the street drawing a lot of attention to herself from civilians that had never seen any girl so strong. She especially enjoyed watching one civilian boy her age try and act tough by offering to carry one of the crates for her, only to struggle under the weight.

His three other friends ended up helping him carry it, but only after Sakura had come back with another stack of crates.

By midday she was over half done and felt the need to take a break.

'Well...so much for having it done in an hour...' Sakura thought as she took a drink from her water bottle.

The back door to the clinic opened and Shizune walked out carrying two bento boxes and some food for Tonton.

"We got lucky. The doctor was so impressed with your hard work that he gave us free lunches as a reward." Shizune smiled.

"Oh nice! I'm starving." Sakura beamed.

"Eat up, it's jambalaya." Shizune said, uncovering the bento boxes to reveal the steamed seasoned rice with shrimp, chicken, and alligator.

"Oh my favorite!" Sakura grinned before she started attacking her lunch. "Haaa! Spicy!"

"It's good right?" Shizune said as she too began to chow down. The two surrogate sisters just sat together and enjoyed a well-earned meal.

"Oh definitely." Sakura smiled. As they ate, something began to dawn on Sakura. "Shizune?"

"What's up?" Shizune asked.

"Do you think Lady Tsunade will accept Orochimaru's offer?"

Shizune stopped eating and set down her bento box and sighed. "I honestly hope not..."

"So you think there is a chance?" Sakura asked.

"If given the opportunity to have your loved ones brought back to life, wouldn't you take it?"

Sakura nodded. "I would. If I had the chance to have my parents back I would. Don't get me wrong. I love both you and Lady Tsunade. You're my family too. But I'd give anything just to meet my parents. Maybe have a family that always stayed in one place and didn't have to do all these odd jobs." Sakura admitted. "Is that selfish of me?"

Shizune gave a sad smile. "Not at all, Sakura."

Sakura smiled in relief. "What about you, Shizune? What would you choose?"

"Oh...I don't know."

"Oh, come on, you know." Sakura pressed, making Shizune sigh.

"Honestly, I would never accept Orochimaru's offer."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Even if he could bring back the dead, it always comes with a cost. Death is meant to be a permanent thing. So, if he does know that jutsu, they could never come back to life forever."

"But they'd still be back." Sakura countered.

"And a monster would be set free to hurt more people and tear more families apart." Shizune countered. "Trust me on this, Sakura. One person's grief does not equal the weight of the world."

"Damn..." Sakura cursed. So much for her dream of getting to meet her parents.

"But then why isn't Lady Tsunade blatantly refusing that snake's offer?" Sakura asked.

"She's old, Sakura. Do not tell her I said that. But when you live to her age and you see the things that she has seen. You start to look out for only yourself and your happiness."

"So then, we should stop her, or at least talk her out of it."

"That's what I plan to do. You just leave Tsunade to me. One way or another, she will not be healing Orochimaru's arms." Shizune said firmly.

"Right." Sakura nodded.

She finished off the last bite of her meal and sighed in content. Until she heard another boom coming from the distance and it gave her an idea.

"Shizune. Do you think the doctor would give us one more bento box?"

"Are you still hungry?" Shizune asked.

"No, I just thought of a way to be nice." Sakura said.

Shizune looked at her and saw that she was looking in the direction of where Naruto was training. She smiled warmly at that. "I'll see what I can do."


A few minutes later, Sakura was walking down the road with a fresh bento in her hand, following the sounds of trees being ripped apart.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he slammed another half formed Rasengan into a tree, leaving more spiral marks. The tree still splintered in two after so much repeated abuse. Sakura meanwhile came up over the hill and saw that the field was littered with trees all stripped of their bark and covered in spiral marks. And Naruto was standing in the center of them with his hands on his knees and his face dripping with sweat.

'He's been training so hard for so long...he deserves a break.' Sakura thought.

"Hey, Naruto, right?!" Sakura called out to him.

"Huh? Oh...hey..." Naruto gasped, trying to catch his breath.

Sakura came up to him and handed him the bento box. "I figured you could use a break."

Naruto was taken back. "What is that?" He asked.

"It's lunch silly." Sakura giggled.

"Oh...um...thank you?" He asked as he took the bento box.

"It's jambalaya. It's a little spicy so be careful."

"Right. Thank you." Naruto repeated. This was a new experience for him. Someone other than his mom was offering her lunch to him.

It was...nice...

Naruto opened the box and got a whiff of the hot food. "Dang, that smells good." He said before digging in. "It's tastes good too." He said.

Sakura giggled. "Great. I paid for that bento myself."

"Y-you did?" Naruto sputtered. "W-why would you buy me lunch?"

"I didn't actually. The clinic I was working at has a deal with a local restaurant. They get discounts on meals for discounted medical care and I worked so hard that the head doctor let me have two meals." Sakura clarified.

"Oh...okay." Naruto said before eating again, then he remembered something. "So...someone told me that you're the 6 tails Jinchuriki. Is that right?"

"It is. And you're the 9 tails jinchuriki. Is that right?" She repeated back to him.

"Yes, it is, but I bet the 6 tails is not a stuck-up prick like mine is." Naruto grinned.

'Piss off, brat...' Kyuubi growled.

"Oh, the six tails can be a Primadonna when he wants. But overall I'd say that he's a good guy." Sakura replied.

'Primadonna? Really?' Saiken questioned.

'Yes really.' Sakura thought.

"Must be nice..." Naruto said sadly.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Sakura asked.

"No reason." Naruto said, clearly wanting the subject to be dropped.

"You wouldn't be sad about it if it was for no reason, Naruto..." Sakura said softly before scooching closer to him. "Saiken, the 6 tails...suspects that he's making you miserable...is that true?"

"I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you." Naruto said calmly.

Sakura was a little dejected but nodded and complied. "Alright...you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Thank you. Truly, this is the nicest someone has ever been to me." Naruto said which just made Sakura worry even more. Before she knew it, Naruto had finished his meal and stood back up to continue his training.

"Is... there anything I can do to help? I know Lady Tsunade can be harsh, but..."

"Don't you worry about her...erm... I'm sorry, I don't think that I've gotten your name yet." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed way.

"I told you last night that my name was Sakura..." She said annoyed.

"You did?" Naruto replied. "Sorry, I must have been too distracted by your pretty face." He said slyly.

Sakura just blew air out of her nostrils. "Nice, do you use that line on all the girls back in your village?"

Naruto's smile tuned into a sad frown. "Why would I when they barely even know I exist..."

Sakura was taken aback and felt bad for what she said. "Oh gosh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that...its just...well, I've been on the road for as long as I can remember and we deal with a lot of smooth characters that...I just..." She stammered.

"Nah nah, it's fine. I was using some line that Pervy Sage taught me. He's a notorious womanizer back home and...well I don't know what I was thinking." Naruto apologized.

Sakura felt bad and a little dejected. Did he not think that she was pretty? "So then...you don't think that...I'm..."

Naruto realized his mistake and started to panic. "No, no! You do have a pretty face. For real! The prettiest I've seen!"

"You're just saying that to cheer me up..." Sakura said sadly.

"No, no, it's the truth. You're the prettiest girl I've ever met. Prettier than Ino, and Ayame-chan, and even my mom." He said before realizing how weird that sounded. "Uh, I mean..."

Sakura felt a warmth in her chest from as her cheeks turned a rosy color. "Am...am I really...?"

Naruto looked over to make sure that he wasn't imagining having gotten out of hot water.

"Yeah of course. When I take you back to the Leaf I can show you my mom to prove it to you."

Sakura smiled lightly. "Even though I have a huge forehead?"

"Well yeah. Your forehead is charming. Like really cute." He said.

That did it.

The most hated feature Sakura has about herself and he just said it was charming and really cute. Anyone who had ever gazed upon her forehead said that it was awful and too big to make her look pretty. Yet here was this boy who she only knew by name, saying such kind words about her. It melted her heart that he would say such a thing.

"R-really...?"

"Yeah really." Naruto smiled, his confidence growing.

Sakura felt her cheeks growing red.

"I... I've got to get back to work!" She cried suddenly. She turned to run away but not before turning back to look at Naruto again. "I'll see you later!" She called before taking off at a dead sprint.

"What was that about? Girls are weird." Naruto said aloud before getting back to training.


As Sakura ran, her mind was all a whirl. 'He just called me pretty! He called my forehead cute! Oh, my god!' She thought giddily. She never had this happen to her before and she ran like an idiot. Her emotions were in overdrive right now and she couldn't think straight.

'Looks like somebody has a crush.' Saiken sang teasingly.

'What? No I don't! I'm just happy that I got complimented is all.' Sakura defended. Although why she felt the need to defend herself she didn't know.

'Uh huh...suuuure...' Saiken smirked.

'S-shut up!' Sakura stammered, flustered and embarrassed.

'I've been around long enough to know when a girl likes a boy, my dear. And you are throwing off all the signs.'

'Well you're wrong!' Sakura thought, even as she unknowingly skipped to back to the clinic to finish up her job.

"Well, someone is in a really good mood." Shizune smiled.

"Just had a really good lunch." Sakura said as jogged off to grab the rest of the crates.

'Must have been some lunch. I've never seen her this happy before.' Shizune giggled to herself.


The next hour, Sakura worked with renewed vigor. Carrying 6 or 8 crates at once, all with a skip in her step. So much that she got the other half of the work done in half the time. And by 2 o clock she has helped finish unpacking the last crate and had reported to the doctor's office.

"It's done sir." Sakura gleefully reported, swiping some sweat from her brow.

"Wow, done already? I'm amazed young lady. It would have taken 4 strong men nearly 2 days to do what you did." The Doctor said in amazement.

"Gotta have some perks to being a kunoichi." Sakura smirked.

"And how. I was going to pay you and your friend a little less than I would pay those delivery boys, but my daddy always taught me that an honest day's work deserves an honest day's pay." He said as he handed Sakura 5,000 Ryo (around $500 US).

"Wow, thank you sir." Sakura beamed. This was four months' worth of groceries. Or a month of dinners out on the road.

"Don't mention it. You earned every penny." The doctor smiled. "Are you two still looking for more work?"

"We're always looking for more work." Sakura smiled.

"Well I'm sad to say that I've got no opening for you here in the clinic. I have heard of the Slug Princess and anyone trained by someone trained by Tsunade is high up on recommendations. But anyway, I got a call from the post office and the owner was impressed by your leg work. He's willing to hire you both as delivery girls for commission. It's not hourly work, but the man pays fair and the deliveries are common enough to put some decent cash in your pockets. How's that sound?"

"Well, medicine is really are thing, but we don't tend to stay in one place for very long to have full time jobs." Shizune said.

"Well I'm sorry. Serious ailments aren't that common in these parts. Nothing that would require the likes of your skilled attention. I'm afraid this is the best offer you're going to get."

Sakura and Shizune both sighed when a frantic woman practically busted down the door, an unconscious man in her hands that looked like he had suffered a serious chest wound.

"Please help!" She cried in a panic

Sakura and Shizune were now in full medic mode and tended to the man before them.

"Several stab wounds to the chest." Sakura observed while Shizune checked his internal organs.

"Liver has been hit, left lung collapsed and a nicked aorta. This man needs immediate attention." Shizune said to the doctor.

"I'm also detecting a neurotoxin in his system. Most likely a poison dipped Kunai." Sakura added.

"I have anti-venom in the back." The doctor said as several nurses came rushing out with a gurney.

"No need. We have another method. Get him onto the gurney." Shizune instructed the nurses. Said nurses turned back to look at their chief of medicine who just gave them a knowing nod. These two were far more qualified than he was. The nurses carefully picked up the injured man and gently placed him on the gurney, where he was quickly wheeled into the triage bay. There, he was hooked up to a 12 lead EKG and the two medics could see what kind of trouble this man was in.

"Bradycardic. Sakura, shock him once while I get ready to extract the venom." Shizune ordered.

"On it." Sakura said as she grabbed the defibrillators and had one of the nurses drizzle burn gel on the metal pads. She them rubbed them together to spread the goo and held them up high. "Clear!" She called as she pressed them down on his chest, making sure everyone's hands were clear and pressed the buttons.

ZAP

The man's chest surged up and came to rest, his heartbeat back into a normal rhythm for the time being.

"Good. Work on healing his aorta, then get to work on his liver." Shizune instructed while she pulled out the venom using a special water based medical jutsu. Sakura did exactly as she was instructed and began to notice the man's breathing starting to level out. It always gave her a warm feeling seeing the fruits of her labor pay off.

"Doctor. Get me two units of O-, stat." Shizune ordered.

"Right." The doctor said as he dashed away to fetch the blood.

"Aorta is fixed." Sakura informed.

"Good, now work on the liver."

"Liver is fixed too." Sakura reported.

"Good. Work on his punctured lung and seal up the wounds."

"Already on it." Sakura said and Shizune couldn't help but smile. Hers and Tsunade's apprentice had grown up fast. Even at her young age she could keep up with either Shizune or Lady Tsunade on the operating table.


After a solid hour, the man was finally stable and free of any venom. He was hooked up to 3 different IV's, one for blood, one with saline and another for anti-venom on a slow drip, in case Shizune missed some.

"He's through the worst of it, but I expect him to pull through with 100% recovery." Shizune reported to the waiting doctor.

"I have to say. That was extremely impressive. If this was an actual hospital I'd hire you both on the spot. But perhaps we can come to a better arrangement?"

"What are you thinking?" Sakura asked.

"This isn't going to happen every day. Not even during our busiest season, and this is the off-season. So what I'm thinking is paying you 10,000 Ryo for lessons for my staff. Per day." The doctor offered.

Both women gasped. 10k ryo a day to teach them medical ninjutsu? It was like they just hit the lottery.

"Now this wouldn't be per person. I'm still a free clinic. This is coming out of my pocket. But if it gets my staff even more prepared to save the next life then it is worth it. I might even be able to negotiate with the state that for netter wages for my staff since higher skills demand higher pay. Everybody wins."

"I'll take it." Shizune said. "Sakura, you go take the post office job."

"Wait...seriously? But we-"

"We'll be here at least a week. That's long enough to save up enough money to pay for even Lady Tsunade's gambling habits."

"Yeah but I..." Sakura stuttered.

"I know you want to help, but you are just not at the level to be teaching just yet. You are close though, so close. But again, he isn't paying per person so it makes no sense to squander an opportunity to make more money."

"Oh, right." Sakura nodded.

Shizune then leaned in close. "I also need for you to keep an eye on Lady Tsunade whenever you can. It'll be easier for you since you'll be out and about."

"Oh, right. Good thinking." Sakura said in realization. "Leave it to me." She said with determination before heading to the post office.

"Tonton, go with her. Make sure that she doesn't get into trouble." Shizune ordered to her pet pig.

"Oink!" Tonton said before running after Sakura.

"Alright. let's get to work." Shizune said to the clinic staff.


Sakura and Tonton meanwhile were dashing towards the post office.

'If I can't be training my mind, then training my body will be a good start. If Naruto is working his butt off than I can't slack off either.' Sakura thought with determination.

'Smart thinking. Gotta look good for him ya know.' Saiken teased.

'Good for him?' Sakura asked.

'Yea, can't look all skin and bones. Guys don't like that. Take it from someone who used to be male.'

'Well I don't see how that...wait what?' Sakura thought as she stopped dead in her tracks.

'What what?'

'What do you mean you used to be male?'

'Don't you know anything about slugs?'

'Wait, so you can change genders?'

'Overtime yes. So, I'm a female like you are after being a male for half a millennium.'

'Huh...how about that...'

'So, yeah. Can't be skinny for that boy now.'

'I don't want to be a twig neither. You've seen those civilian girls in those big cities. Can't even do a push up and expect to be treated like loyalty.'

'Well, I'd take another look at yourself first.' Saiken said.

Sakura did just that. It's true, even with her current outfit that consisted of a red skirt that stopped midway down her thighs and a top that only covered her chest, she could still see ribs just above her exposed belly and her legs and arms were rather scrawny.

'I'm thirteen!' She exclaimed.

'Don't give me that excuse. I used to see girls your age with a lot more meat on their bones than you do.'

'Well I'm sorry that I can't control my body chemistry.' Sakura said.

'Well you can work out more and stop eating like a mouse to start with.'

'I eat plenty to keep up with Tsunade's Kick Ass training!'

'But you mainly eat fruits and vegetables and don't tell me I'm wrong.'

'I live like a nomad. I don't exactly have a lot of choices most of the time.' Sakura said.

'You've had plenty of opportunities to eat some thick and juicy meet, but you always shy away from it because you think you'll get fat. Am I wrong?'

Sakura sighed. Saiken was right. 'No... you're right...'

'Then I think we both know what you need to do. I can hear your stomach growling after that medical emergency, how about you go get yourself a nice double bacon cheeseburger at one of the local stands?'

'I already had jambalaya for lunch.'

'And yet your body is asking for more.'

'Fine. Just let me talk to the post office and then I'll eat a damn cheeseburger!'

'Fair enough'

"Oh, hello again." The post office clerk greeted. Sakura had absentmindedly made her way back to the post office without even realizing.

"Hello. The doctor at the clinic said that you could use help with deliveries?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yes, right in the back." The clerk directed her.

"Thank you. can you tell me what's going where?"

"My husband will explain everything to you."

"Okay, thank you." Sakura responded before making her way to the back room.


As the week progressed, Naruto continued to train with Sakura stopping to see him every day for lunch. The two really got to know each other, but as far as the reasons on why or how they became a Jinchuriki still remained secret. They still didn't know each other enough to trust one another with such sensitive information. Sakura was really starting to develop feelings for this boy and Saiken, the nosey slug, was doing his...HER best at reminding her about it. Almost to the point where it was becoming annoying.

It had been about 5 days since they met up with Naruto. Sakura had been working just as hard as Naruto had been while making a paycheck. It had gotten to the point where she couldn't get that boy out of her mind. It's the most she thought about as the days rolled on. And today was no different. She was just returning after a rather hefty delivery of a cast iron stove to the local bakery that left people in utter shock. A skinny little girl carrying around a 600lb stove in naught but her arms and hands!

She was making her way to the local burger stand to pick up a steak and cheese sub for Naruto and a double beef and bacon burger with chili fries for herself. Who knew eating such greasy food tasted so good?

'So, you gonna ask him out?' Saiken asked.

'Ask him out? We're friends, aren't we?'

'So? Don't you know that most successful relationships happen with good or best friends. Are you still denying that you have feelings for him?'

'Well...no... I just want to wait a little longer...' Sakura thought.

'Urgh, fine, I can wait a little bit longer. Just don't keep him waiting. The son of the Hokage, one of the most powerful ninja villages on the continent? The boy is practically royalty by your human standards.'

'Were you not paying attention when he said that other girls pay him no mind?' Sakura reminded her.

'I was paying attention alright. And then I noticed how dimwitted the boy is. If he doesn't have at least one admirer that he doesn't know about I will revert back to male.'

'You're strange, you know... that...' Sakura stopped when she saw Naruto training. He just turned a 120 year old oak into splinters in a matter of seconds.

"Holy shit he did it..." She said in awe.

The boy realized this too, for he threw his arms up in joy and then promptly fell flat on his back unconscious.

Sakura dropped their food on the ground and ran to his side. "Naruto! Are you okay?!" But the boy was unresponsive. Sakura dashed to his side and tried to shake him awake. "Naruto!"


Back in the hotel room, the two older women were having words when Sakura burst in through the door carrying Naruto over her shoulders.

"Sensei, please help!" She pleaded.

"What happened to him?" Shizune asked frantically.

"He completed the jutsu, but then he fell down and is now unconscious." Sakura reported.

"Lay him down on the bed." Tsunade instructed.

Sakura carefully laid down the unconscious boy on the bed so Tsunade could check him over.

The senior medic ninja ran her Mystic palm over his forehead to get a feel for his body's condition while simultaneously giving a visual inspection.

"Incredible, that little fool..." Tsunade muttered to herself.

"What? What is it? Is he going to be okay?" Sakura asked with concern.

"Look there." Tsunade said as she pointed at Naruto's hands. Which Sakura noticed that his palms were torn and burnt. "This punk actually practiced the jutsu so much that his chakra burned his skin. That's chakra exhaustion the likes of which I've only seen on dead men."

"But...he's going to be okay...right?"

Tsunade sighed. "He'll be fine, nothing that bed rest can't cure. But he'll be out cold like this for at least two days."

'He's going to miss his deadline...even though he did complete the jutsu...' Sakura thought sadly.

"Which means that I win the bet by a technicality." Tsunade stated. Sakura gasped.

"But he actually did complete it! I saw it with my own eyes!" Sakura defended.

"And how do you even know what the completed jutsu looks like, hmmm?" Tsunade snapped. Shocking both the girls and Tonton.

"You probably just saw another failed Rasengan and thought it was the real thing, you stupid girl. In any case, the boy won't be awake tomorrow to dispute the matter and so I'll have won the bet anyway." Tsunade spat.

Tsunade then dug her hand into Naruto's pocket and pulled out his froggy wallet. "Pack your things. We're leaving." Tsunade said as she pocketed Naruto's money.

"What are you doing?! We made more than enough money busting our asses this week, you don't need his!" Sakura protested.

"It's my winnings from the bet! That brat is gonna learn the consequences of losing a bet in this world today." Tsunade snapped.

Sakura growled and glared at her master before turning her back to go pack her things. "Absolute bullshit." She spat to herself.

"Fine, take his money. But we can at least still go to the Leaf and heal his father!" Sakura snapped. "He worked really hard to save his dad! You can at least do him that kindness!"

"Weren't you listening, girl? I won the bet! That means that I don't have to go anywhere. So we are now going anywhere but the Leaf!" Tsunade spat.

"What?! NO! You can't just let his father die! Are you really that old and bitter that you'd rather care about an empty promise by some lying snake bastard than saving one poor boy's father?!"

"Don't you speak to me like that, Sakura Haruno. Not after I took you in and raised you as my own! And if those genius doctors at the Leaf can't save their own Hokage with their books and funding then he wasn't going to live anyway, so there!"

"I don't care! This is wrong and you know it! If you won't help him then I will!"

"Go then! Leave! Just like everyone else!" Tsunade shouted. Sakura was about to get up and do just that when she was stopped by Shizune.

"Nobody is going anywhere." Shizune said in the coldest tone either women had ever heard her speak.

"Lady Tsunade. You lost the bet. Just accept that and let's go to the Leaf to save the Hokage. We don't have to stay any longer than that. But please forget about this ridiculous dream to revive your loved ones."

"Then you can go with her! I'm done with the both of you." Tsunade snapped

"I'm not leaving you until you promise that you won't take Orochimaru's offer! M'Lady you know what he is capable of. Please, just let him die and let's go save a life worth saving." Shizune pleaded.

"I will do no such thing. They matter more to me than anyone else. And if you're not with me, then you're against me. And I will not allow you to stop me." Tsunade growled before phasing out and knocking both Shizune's and Sakura's heads together, knocking them out cold. The two fell on a pile together. Sakura could only look at the door as Tsunade walked out of it. Before fading into unconsciousness.


"Hey, wake up." Spoke a familiar voice.

Sakura groaned as she felt her head spinning.

"Ohh...my head..." Sakura groaned. Her head felt like someone stabbed a pike through it.

"Sakura-chan. Wake up." Naruto said trying to shake her awake.

"N-Naruto-kun...? My head...it really hurts..." Sakura whined.

"Oh boy. You look like Pervy Sage after he gets back from a bender. Here, drink this." Naruto said as he pressed a glass to Sakura's lips.

Sakura opened her mouth and some kind of liquid poured into her mouth and it tasted nasty. She started to cough and gag at the flavor.

"Ugh! What are you trying to make me drink?!"

"It's better that you don't ask. This is what my mom makes whenever Pervy Sage crashes on our couch after a long night of 'research.'" Naruto said.

Thinking that this was some kind of home remedy, Sakura sucked it up and drank the nasty tasting fluid until it was gone. Interestingly enough, despite the bad taste, it cured her pounding headache.

"Wow... that really did the trick." Sakura said in awe. Then she realized something. "Wait a minute...how are you awake?! I was told you'd be out for two days! Wait...how long have I been out?"

"Um, well the guy in the kitchen said it was Friday, so one day I think." Naruto said.

"A whole day?! Oh shit!" Sakura cursed as she scrambled to her feet.

"Ah don't worry but it Sakura-chan. I mastered the jutsu. Now all I've got to do is hunt down your teacher and show it to her. Then we'll be on our way." Naruto smirked.

"No that's not it! She's gone to make a deal with Orochimaru!"

"Orochimaru?!" Naruto's eyes darkened. "That snake attacked my village, killed the Old Man and nearly killed my father. What's he got to do with this?"

"He's bribing her. He wants her to heal him in exchange to bring back to life her lover and her little brother, which we both know is impossible."

"No it's not." Naruto said darkly.

"What...?"

"The ANBU in charge of protecting my father told me that after Orochimaru sealed himself in with the 3rd Hokage and my father, he summoned two coffins that contained the 1st and 2nd Hokage. He brought them back to life to fight against my dad."

"Dear god...but wait, when he confronted us, he said he needed two human sacrifices to bring them back. Wait, what are we doing debating this? We need to stop her!"

"Right. I'll wake Shizune and then we'll go." Naruto said as he quickly rushed over to Shizune's side.

Sakura went over to her things and pulled out her weapons pouch and a tanto. A type of short sword used for close quarters combat and a pair of black gloves.

"You use a sword?" Naruto asked in awe.

"Huh? Oh this. Yea it was one of the first weapons Lady Tsunade taught me to use."

"That's sweet. I practice with a halberd myself, but it's hardly a weapon for a ninja." Naruto said as he let Shizune get a whiff of his mother's wake up juice.

Shizune coughed awake and she had the same massive headache Sakura had.

"Oh my god..." She groaned.

"You awake?" Naruto asked as Shizune began to regain her bearings.

"Ugh...barely..."

"Drink that up, Shizune." Sakura said as she sheathed her sword and tied it to her waist. "It tastes like bear piss, but it works."

"How do you know what bear piss tastes like?" Naruto asked as he fed Shizune the drink.

"Don't ask." Sakura said as she tied her kunai pouch to her mesh stocking covered thigh.

Naruto double checked his jacket and found that he still had all his gear on him. All his gear for fighting anyway. Even his lucky three pronged kunai that his father had gifted him.

Sakura then took her rather long hair and tied it into a pony tail with a hair tie she kept on her wrist. Anytime she was about to get serious, this is the way she would prepare herself.

Naruto also untied and retied his head band to make sure it was nice and tight before a mission.

Sakura looked over to get a good look at Naruto's outfit.

Naruto had on an orange and black jacket with a hood on the back and black pants on. On his shoulder was a red circle with a spiral in the center. The symbol of the Uzumaki clan.

"Right, let's go!" Naruto shouted as he stuck his head out the window, only for a kunai to go whizzing past his face.

"Get down!" Sakura exclaimed as she tackled him to the floor.

"Relax Sakura-chan! It's only Pervy Sage." Naruto informed.

Sakura sweat dropped. "Oh...my bad..." She said sheepishly.

"Jeez, this is why I told you not to date firecrackers, Kid. Too wound up." Jiraiya wheezed as he stumbled into the room through the window. He looked like he had been knocking on death's door.

"Who says we're dating?" Sakura grunted as she stood back up.

"Oh, so I misunderstood you bringing him lunches every day during his training? The little twerp wouldn't shut up about you and your talks." Jiraiya teased as he struggled to breath.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto hissed with embarrassment.

Sakura was going to protest, but noticed Jiraiya's shallow breathing. "Are you okay?"

"No. I've been drugged by your mentor, on top of nursing a wicked hangover. Cause I think that Tsunade meant to use me and Naruto as the sacrifices to get her brother and Dan back." Jiraiya wheezed out.

"Damn her..." Sakura growled. "Shizune. Can you heal him?"

"I can try, but if it's one of Tsunade's special brews, I'll only be able to clear your head. Your chakra will still be extremely hampered." Shizune said sadly.

"Grrr, doesn't matter. We need to find Tsunade now and stop this meeting before it begins." Jiraiya said as he tried to leap up to the rooftops, only for his foot to slip and cause him to nearly fall three stories down to the alleyway. Thankfully Naruto was there to catch him by his shirt collar.

"You're in no condition to continue, sir. I think you should stay here." Sakura advised.

"The Hell I will. Even in this state I'm still the strongest shinobi in this room. Just carry me on your shoulders, brat." Jiraiya ordered.

"Urgh, fine, whatever, let's go!" Naruto said before hoisting Jiraiya over his shoulders onto his back. In a single bound, all four of them dashed out of the window and down the street.

"Do you have a location?" Sakura asked.

"The meeting place was to take place at the same spot as when we first met Orochimaru." Shizune said.

"So, the castle then. Good thing we're heading the right way." Sakura said.

"Yes, I just hope that weren't not too late." Jiraiya said.


They arrived too late, for when they did arrive at the spot where Tsunade had destroyed the wall a week earlier, the very ground beneath it had been shattered like glass with a path of destruction seeming to head out from the castle compound.

"Holy crap. It's like a freaking wrecking ball came through here." Naruto said as he placed Jiraiya down to help inspect the grounds.

"This is Tsunade's handiwork alright. Whatever happened here, Tsunade was set off on a rampage." Jiraiya deduced.

'That means that...Tsunade refused!' Sakura and Shizune thought in delight.

"Now we just need to track her down." Naruto mused.

"Shouldn't be too hard." Sakura said as she pointed to the path of destruction leading away from the castle.

"Huh. Yeah, we should probably do that." Naruto said.

'Cute, but stupid.' Sakura thought before she and Shizune lead Naruto and Jiraiya to where they hoped Tsunade would be.

'View must be great from that glass house of yours.' Saiken thought.

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

'Nothing, focus. I think I see your mentor throwing that boulder- OH SHIT!' Saiken thought as a car sized chuck of rock came hurling towards them.

"DODGE!" Shizune barked.

The four shinobi leapt out of the way of the incoming rock with nearly a half second to spare. The boulder then crashed and skipped across the ground before settling some 300 meters away. The four looked back to see Lady Tsunade trying to fight the glasses wearing assistant to Orochimaru, who seemed to be putting up a valiant fight.

"This ends now!" Kabuto shouted as he did the unthinkable. He sliced his own arm, spilling blood all over Lady Tsunade and freezing her in place.

"Oh shit!" Sakura growled. She drew her sword and prepared to attack. "Naruto. If you have any tricks, now's the time to use them."

But Naruto had frozen too.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. 'Is he also afraid of blood?'

"K-kabuto?!" Naruto exclaimed when he got a good look at the man who attacked Lady Tsunade.

"Wait, you know him?" Sakura asked.

"I do. H-he is my friend. I don't understand why he is here...and why he is wearing a Sound headband!" Naruto exclaimed as he earned Kabuto's attention. Who merely smiled at the sight of his old target of interest.

"Hello, Naruto..." He said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Face the facts Naruto. He wears a Sound headband, he's fighting with Orochimaru. He's a traitor to the Leaf. A double agent." Jiraiya stated.

"No, it can't be. I fought alongside him with my team out in the Forest of Death. We fought those creepy bastards from grass or wherever." Naruto stuttered out.

"Focus Naruto!" Jiraiya barked. "I need you to keep your head. Orochimaru hasn't appeared yet."

'I think we lost him. Saiken, is there anything you can do to help me? A summoning technique, chakra transfer, anything?' Sakura asked mentally.

"Naruto breathed out. "Okay...I'm good." He said as he dropped into his defensive stance.

'I...can lend you some of my Chakra, but you have to keep your anger in check. If you get too riled up, you could lose control and be consumed by my chakra.' Saiken said.

'Hold off on that. Let's see what happens next.'

'Very well. Just let me know.'

"You ready Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, now fully steeled and ready to go.

"Ready." Sakura responded, equally as ready.

"Wait." Jiraiya ordered as another figure appeared behind them, one as pale as bones.

'Great...' Sakura thought.

"Well...it seems the old team is now completely reunited." The figure hissed.

"What team? You've crossed the line Orochimaru. Today marks the end of the Three Great Shinobi when I being you back to the Leaf to stand trial for the murder of our sensei." Jiraiya stated.

"I wouldn't wager on that if I were you. You can barely move and Tsunade is out of the fight now." Orochimaru sneered.

"And you are just as handicapped as me with your arms sealed away." Jiraiya countered, making Orochimaru narrow his eyes in anger.

"Besides, you got us to contend with." Sakura glared.

"No, he doesn't. Orochimaru is mine. Shizune, you take four eyes. Naruto and Sakura, you watch over Princess Tsunade." Jiraiya ordered.

"Oh, I don't think so." Sakura refused.

"Sakura. This is not your average everyday highwayman. This is Orochimaru, the man who went toe to toe with two of the Leaf's Hokages and killed one of them. Plus his assistant is on Kakashi Hatake's level, an expert Jounin. I'd rate you both as Chunins right now, but that won't be enough to make a difference here. Just keep Tsunade safe and see if you can't get her back in the fight. That will be the difference between victory and defeat for us."

"You shouldn't underestimate me-"

"Sakura-chan...as much as I want to stay and fight this asshat, he's right." Naruto said.

Sakura grit her teeth, but even she knew Tsunade was a sitting duck right now and needs help immediately.

"Fine..." She gave. But not before she sent a hard Chakra enhanced foot through the ground, creating a large crater in her wake before sprinting away to help her master.

'She's got Tsunade's monster strength...maybe I should have kept her around.' Jiraiya mused while Naruto looked on in absolute shock.

"What are you standing around for? Go protect them!" Jiraiya shouted at Naruto.

"Eh?! Oh right!" Naruto said quickly before darting after Sakura.

Sakura meanwhile had already knelt by Tsunade's side, who sat down shaking and looking at her hands.

"Lady Tsunade! Snap out of it!" Sakura said to try and get her master to focus. But Tsunade would not move, she was covered in blood and frozen in fear.

"Lady Tsunade..." Sakura said sadly before pulling out a clean handkerchief and started wiping away the blood from her face as gently as possible.

That was when Naruto skidded to a stop next to Sakura. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's afraid of blood." Sakura said as she continued to remove the blood from her master.

"Huh? But she's a doctor, isn't she? What kind of doctor is afraid of blood?"

"The kind that gave up medicine!" Sakura snapped. This was not the time and place to explain Tsunade's phobia. "Now keep a look out."

"WHAT?! Then how is she supposed to save my dad?" Naruto exclaimed.

"I don't- LOOK OUT!" Sakura screamed. At that moment, Kabuto took the seals on Orochimaru's arms and used them to summon a snake larger than any the young ninjas had ever seen.

"Holy..." Naruto began.

"Shit..." Sakura finished.

'Um...Saiken...now would be a good time to give me an idea...' Sakura thought desperately.

"Don't despair kids, I got this!" Jiraiya called as he munched down on his finger, drawing blood.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" He cried as he slammed his palm down and was enveloped by smoke. When the dust cleared, a tiny orange frog no bigger than Tonton appeared.

Sakura and Naruto sweat dropped. "Seriously...?" They both said.

"Hey! I got drugged, remember?!" Jiraiya cried in his defense.

Up on top of his snake summons, Orochimaru and Kabuto were laughing at Jiraiya's foolishness.

'Grrr, I can't just have them be laughing at my Godfather like that.' Naruto thought as he leapt forward to join his mentor, but not before looking back at his pink haired friend. 'Watch me Sakura.' He smiled while giving her the thumbs up.

Sakura returned his thumbs up and smile. 'Go get'em, Naruto! Shannaro!' She silently cheered.

Naruto bit his own thumb and flashed through the hand signs before slamming his palm down.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" He cried as he was also enveloped in smoke. Which cleared to reveal the fat little yellow frog the same size as Tonton.

"Hi-dee-hooo!" The yellow frog spoke.

Naruto fell flat on his face before looking back at Sakura, whose eyes were full of disappointment that said to him, "loser." Naruto's spirit broke.

Sakura sweat dropped. 'We're doomed...'

'Want my Chakra now?' Saiken asked.

'...please, before these idiots get killed...'

"SAKURA! MOVE!" Shizune shouted as the massive tail of the snake came barreling down upon them.

Sakura quickly jumped out of the way with Tsunade in her grasp. This wasn't going to be easy in the slightest.

'Look. Even with my chakra, you'll still be hard pressed to deal with that snake. You would need a summon of equal of greater power.'

'I don't have the slug summoning contract! I never needed it before now!' Sakura thought frantically.

'Right I know...however, I can teach you how to summon me. It won't take long.'

'I think that I need to focus on getting Lady Tsunade back in fighting shape! She'll be worth more on the battle field than you will!' Sakura thought.

Jiraiya meanwhile was running up the side of the massive snake and flashing through his hand signs.

'Earth style: Dark Swamp!' He thought as a massive black tar swamp appeared right beneath the gigantic snake, not sinking it completely, but immobilizing it to one location.

'Damn, still too weak that I can only pull off this tiny ass swamp.' Jiraiya cursed. He ran up the side to confront his old teammate head on.

Shizune meanwhile was firing her spring loaded needles at Kabuto who nimbly dodged out of the way. The two met in close quarters combat where Kabuto managed to land a good hit in, doubling Shizune over. The medical expert grit her teeth and released a toxic cloud from her mouth. 'Poison Mist Jutsu!' She thought as the thick cloud of purple gases spread across the battlefield.

'Come on...' Sakura thought as she tried her best to get her master to focus, but she was just petrified with fear. 'Oh enough of this...'

SMACK!

Sakura slapped her master hard to get her to regain her focus.

"S-Sakura...?" Tsunade sputtered.

"Get a hold of yourself! You're supposed to be one of the Legendary Sannin and the world's greatest doctor! You're too great of a person to freeze up at the sight of a little blood. Now get in there and help Naruto and Jiraiya!" Sakura berated.

"I...I..." Tsunade stuttered as the two medics heard a screaming boy fly overhead. They looked up and saw Naruto held between the jaws of the snake, trying to stop himself from being eaten.

"Lady Tsunade! What happened in the past is in the past! You can't change it, you can't dwell on it! You have to move on and focus on the here and now! And right now, we all need your help! If you don't then we'll all die!"

Sakura then looked over when she heard the thunk of a kunai landing at her feet. Naruto's lucky kunai to be exact.

She looked back up and saw Naruto being swallowed whole by the snake, his orange outline disappearing inside its massive jaws.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out.

"I'm right here." Naruto said as he stood next to her. She whipped around to see him alive and well. Aside from being covered in snake saliva.

"Actually, I'm a clone, the boss just has a plan." The clone pointed up at the snake, which was starting to turn bloated.

"What the heck?" Sakura asked as the snake continued to bloat up.

"Just watch." The clone smirked as the snake's belly grew bigger and bigger and its face looked sicker and sicker until...

BLECH!

It vomited out a thousand bile covered clones, all of them piling out in front of the trio before exploding into a mountain of smoke. The snake staggered about before smashing its head against the ground in dizziness.

"Okay...that was gross..." Sakura gagged.

Naruto then walked out of the smoke. "Well it's a tried and true tested method." Naruto said as he wiped the gunk off his sleeves.

"Urp! Oh god...you stink Naruto!" Sakura gagged before covering her nose.

"Please don't remind me, Sakura." He pouted. All he could do was not think about how disgusting he must be to keep himself from vomiting. "More importantly, how is Tsunade doing?"

"She's not good. I think we need to get her out of here." Sakura reported.

"The old bag isn't going anywhere." Kabuto shouted at them as he threw Shizune's beaten body in front of them. "And neither are you..." He said with an evil grin.

Sakura looked over to see Jiraiya in the same predicament and Tsunade was still frozen in fear.

"Shit..." Sakura cursed as she readied her tanto. "Naruto...I want you to ready yourself and try not to be afraid of what I'm about to do."

"What do you plan on doing?" Naruto asked as he readied his kunai.

'Saiken...its time.' Sakura thought to her 6-tailed friend.

'Right. I'll give you two tails worth, but I don't dare go any further.' Saiken said before releasing her Chakra, which poured into Sakura's Chakra network.

On the outside, she was slowly enveloped by thick, green chakra. Her eyes became solid Green with larger, round pupils as two thick slug tails from the chakra started to protrude from her backside. On her head, the chakra cloak created the shape of two antennae that stuck out on either side. Her muscles bulged a little bit and her face was steeled and ready for battle.

"Sakura...what have you...?" Naruto asked in horror.

"Saiken has given me some of her Chakra. I'm perfectly calm right now and she said she won't give me more than two tails worth of Chakra. If you can do this as well, I suggest you do it now. I need your help with this." Sakura explained calmly.

"No." Naruto said firmly.

"No? What do you mean no?"

"I said no." Naruto snarled as he prepared himself for battle.

"W-what the..."

'The Kyuubi's Chakra is full of hate and malice. He probably can't access it without being consumed by it.'Saiken explained.

"You know something Naruto? After I spent some time in your company. I realized something. You don't have what it takes to be a shinobi." Kabuto stated.

"You shut the hell up." Sakura snapped.

"Oh? You object to my assessment?" He asked Sakura.

"Completely. I may not have known Naruto for very long, but I know that his heart burns with the passion of becoming a true ninja. The strive and dedication that I have witnessed from him, only true shinobi would really have." Then she smirked. "And I'm proud to fight alongside him."

"Oh is that so? And yet in my experience he lacks the one vital characteristic of all great ninja. The will to do what needs to be done. In that, he is an idealistic fool that would limit himself from doing whatever necessary to win." Kabuto lectured.

"Take you for instance. You who is willing to work alongside your monster to achieve victory. Yet this fool despises his inner demon." Kabuto stated, cutting deep into Naruto. "He wouldn't even use his powers to save his own teammates. And all because the Kyuubi turned his family into a family of outcasts."

"SHUT UP!" Naruto cried.

Sakura remained fixed on her opponent. "He has his reasons I'm sure."

"He's a coward. Refusing to use the Kyuubi's chakra just because he is hated for it and his mother was crippled by it." Kabuto stated.

Sakura was taken aback. She looked at Naruto who was glaring at Kabuto with unbridled fury. It couldn't be true could it?

"N-Naruto...? Is what he said true?" Sakura asked softly.

Naruto grit his teeth and Sakura could see his hair start to wave and grow harsher like a wheat field in the wind, the whisker marks on his cheeks grew harsher and his eyes changed from deep blue to angry red with slit pupils with each blink.

'That's...the start of the Kyuubi's cloak...isn't it?' Sakura asked in thought.

'Yes, it is...my brother is feeding Naruto with his Chakra.' Saiken replied. 'But he might lose control because he's using it out of anger. You're his friend, you need to calm him down.'

"I'll kill YOU!" Naruto screamed as he exploded at Kabuto like a rocket.

'Well, I guess I'll go help him.' Sakura thought before exploding towards Kabuto as well, her sword drawn and ready.

But Kabuto was already engaged in a frantic battle with Naruto. His rage had poured out into a Kyuubi cloak level zero. Yet all that amounted to was increasing his already impressive speed, speed that Kabuto could just barely keep up with.

'Okay, maybe not. But I'm all dressed up and I have no dance partner. Who do I fight?' Sakura thought as the giant snake began to stir awake.

'Perfect.' She smirked before changing direction.

'Oh my god I feel woozy.' The snake summon thought to himself.

"SANNARO!" Sakura yelled before dealing a devastating right hook to the snake. The snake was knocked straight into the ground and cried out in pain before looking back at its new opponent. A tiny little slug girl with pink hair.

"What the?!"

"Nice to meet you. But now your ass is mine." Sakura smirked as she cracked her knuckles.

"I'm a sssnake. I don't have an asssss." The summon hissed.

"You will when I'm through with you." Sakura grinned deviously.

"One lucky sssshot doesn't give you the right to be cocky-GAAAAH!" The massive snake cried out when Sakura put her foot through his tail.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Sakura asked innocently.

"MMMMM!" The snake hissed in pain as he threw his tail up into the air, therefore sending Sakura flying high in the sky due to the differences in physics.

'Big mistake.' Sakura thought before righting herself to go into a full nosedive.

The snake then jumped up at the freefalling jinchuriki with its mouth opened wide.

'Hmm...got a jutsu I can use with this chakra?' Sakura asked.

'I like the way you think.' Saiken smirked. 'Syrup Trap. It's a water style. Ram and Tiger.'

Sakura made the Ram and Tiger seal and charged her Chakra. "Water Style: Syrup Trap!" She shouted. Soon her arms turned to some kind of sticky goop and she figured that's what it was. She flung her arms forward, launching a mess of sticky slime into the snake's mouth. Sakura then used the slime as a rope to swing out of the way of the snake's mouth and kicked it hard in the side, sending the overgrown reptile crashing to the ground in a sticky mess.

'Holy...' Naruto thought as he was distracted by his fight with Kabuto.

'Shit...' Jiraiya thought as he too was distracted.

The snake was encased in a sticky syrup to the point where he couldn't move. Sakura touched down on the ground with a thud, creating a small crater in her wake.

"That worked better than I thought." Sakura sighed contently as she admired her handiwork.

Meanwhile, Kabuto and Naruto were still duking it out, Naruto with his Kyuubi chakra and Kabuto with his medical jutsu.

'This has gone on long enough.' Kabuto thought. As soon as Naruto charged at him again, Kabuto waited a half second longer to dodge, giving Naruto the opening he needed to swipe at Kabuto's eye, while giving the medical ninja the opening he needed to pat Naruto on the belly.

'Mystic Palm: Severed Threads Technique.' Kabuto thought as his right side of his face was permanently scarred. Even with his pain killers flowing through his system, he still winced when Naruto's claw gouged out his left eye and shattered his glasses.

The two ninjas rolled away from each other and only Naruto leapt back up to his feel.

"They say you're on Kaka-sensei's level. Well now you've got the eye to match!" Naruto mocked in a dark voice. The young ninja laughed before he felt his strength leaving him and his anger receding. "AAGH! Aaahhhh!" Naruto cried as his claws retracted, his whiskers became less harsh, and his eyes turned back to blue.

Sakura heard that and instantly started rushing to his aid.

"What did you...?" Naruto gasped as he fell to his knees.

Now it was Kabuto's turn to laugh evilly. "I severed your chakra system from the Kyuubi's. No more demon chakra for you. Temporarily of course. But you'll be long dead before that should matter."

"I see..." Naruto sighed. "Thank you." He said sincerely.

'Hurry up, my dear. I can only hold this constant amount of Chakra for another 5 minutes.' Saiken advised.

'Noted!' Sakura responded hastily. She was almost there.

"Thank you? Have you still not realized that we are enemies?" Kabuto asked, bemused.

"Nah, I just really wanted to beat you with my own power." Naruto said as he got back into his stance.

"Humph, amusing as always, Naruto." Kabuto said as he assessed the situation. His opponent was weaker, but still fresh based on his breathing. Lord Orochimaru was still engaged in combat with Jiraiya. Their snake summons was defeated and the girl responsible was barreling down towards him as they speak.

'I can fight the jinchuriki one on one, but two is too tall an order. Which leads my only available option is...' Kabuto took off in a dead sprint away from Naruto and towards Tsunade, who was still just stilling on her ass, being scared.

"Hey where are you going?! Come back you bastard!" Naruto shouted as he gave chase.

'I take out the Princess and the 4th Hokage will surely parish in time. Forgive me, Lord Orochimaru, there is no other way.' Kabuto thought.

'Is that glasses guy running towards Lady Tsunade?' Sakura thought. 'Shit! We won't make it in time!'

Sakura quickly changed direction and poured on as much speed as she could, causing her running to sound like a passing jet.

Tsunade meanwhile looked up at the commotion and saw Kabuto baring down on her with his bloody kunai drawn. She couldn't move, she couldn't react, all she could do was tighten her grip on the three pronged kunai that Naruto gave her.

"This is the end for you, Princess!" Kabuto jeered with blood lust as he stabbed his kunai right at Tsunade's chest. He was quickly blinded by a flash of orange light and felt his kunai skewer something.

When Kabuto opened his eye he saw what he had hit, Naruto's hand.

The blond had teleported in front of Tsunade and stopped Kabuto's knife the hand way. The blade slipped right through the bones and Naruto took that opportunity to tightly grab Kabuto's hand. He wasn't going anywhere now.

"No." Naruto countered. "This is your end."

Tsunade snapped out of her stupor and looked upon the 12-year-old brat attempting to save her.

"The Hell are you doing you stupid brat?! Run already! Just take my apprentice and run!" She pleaded.

"Hell no Granny!" Naruto shouted as he held our his free hand. "I ain't leaving until I win that bet."

Tsunade wanted to argue some more when she noticed the chakra beginning to gather in Naruto's hand. That swirling blue chakra, compressed and concentrated.

"That cursed necklace of yours... I'm gonna take it."

The spinning ball of chakra became a perfect sphere and Naruto pushed it directly into Kabuto's chest, the rotating energy drilling through his shirt and skin.

"RASENGAN: SPIRAL CHAKRA SPHERE!" Naruto shouted as the incredible attack sent Kabuto flying away like a spinning bullet. The traitor spun end over end until he finally crashed with a sickening thud against a boulder sticking out of the ground. They could all hear his bones creaking against the stone.

Sakura arrived just as Naruto sent Kabuto into a world of hurt and stood in front of her master.

'Woah...' Sakura thought as she watched this jutsu of his tear Kabuto apart.

Naruto just stood over them triumphantly as Kabuto crashed into the side of a rock. He felt like the king of the world until his legs gave away and he fell backwards.

Sakura caught him before he hit the ground and knelt down to treat him, the 6 tails healing Chakra enveloping him in a warming and calming sensation.

"You did great, Naruto-kun. Just let me fix you up." Sakura said happily whereas Tsunade eyed her apprentice in awe.

'The Rasengan...' Tsunade thought. 'He mastered it in 7 days.'

That's when Naruto coughed up blood, something was wrong.

"Wha! Naruto?" Sakura asked in shock.

"SAKURA, MOVE!" Tsunade barked as she pushed her apprentice away and placed her ear against Naruto's chest.

Ba-dump...Ba-dump...

Tsunade's eyes went wide.

'His heart, it's enduring arrhythmia!' She thought as she cut open his shirt with a bit of chakra.

'That must have been when...' Tsunade thought back to when she saw Kabuto grab Naruto's chest right before he rocketed off.

Kabuto used all his strength to raise his head. "If you want to save him. You'd better act quickly." Kabuto mocked.

Sakura slowly turned to face Kabuto, glaring daggers at the spectacled boy. If looks could kill, Kabuto would be nothing more than a puddle on the ground.

"You will pay dearly for this..." Sakura growled darkly.

"Oh, what are you going to do?" Kabuto mocked as he coughed blood. 'Too much damage.' "Kill me?"

Sakura's 6 tails cloak intensified and she blasted off towards Kabuto with blistering speed, dealing a hard chakra enhanced kick right were his left eye would have been.

'Sakura my dear! Please calm down!' Saiken exclaimed with worry. She was tapping into too much of her chakra and the slug was worried her host would lose control.

But Sakura was now on a rampage. She was mad, furious even. This bastard had attacked her friend, her first friend. He had also attacked Lady Tsunade, Sakura's mother, and Shizune, her older sister. This bastard would pay!

'Sakura please! If you take much more, you'll lose control and target your friends! Please stop!'

Sakura didn't listen and instead smashed her fist into Kabuto's face, the uninjured side, and set him skipping across the dirt.

"RAAAAAAAAGH!" Sakura roared like a ferocious beast.

Suddenly, a third slug tail grew out of her backside and now she was completely out of control. She only knew fury, rage and hatred.

Tsunade meanwhile had her hands full with Naruto, pumping a specific amount of chakra into his heart at specific intervals to get his heartbeat back up to a sustainable level.

'Come on, don't die...' She thought as she pumped more chakra into his system.

'Don't die...'

Still more chakra, and nothing.

'Don't die!' She pleaded as Naruto's breathing drew silent.

'Please...' She begged desperately before she felt a tug on her necklace. She looked up in surprise as Naruto held up his hand to grab the necklace while smirking at her that dumb smirk of his.

"Hey Granny..." He wheezed out. His eyes felt so heavy.

"The bet... I win..." He said before falling asleep.

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. It was almost like she felt Naruto's life force leave him at that very moment. Her eyes turned solid white with rage before grabbing Kabuto by his neck.

"You will tell me how to save his life or I swear to the sages, no jutsu out there will fix what I do to you and your boss." She growled darkly.

"Why bother? Your master already saved him?" Kabuto laughed.

'It's true Sakura! Search your senses again!' Saiken exclaimed.

This time, Sakura heard her and checked again. A moment passed, then another, then...

Ba-dump...

It was just a small spark, but his life force was slowly returning to him and she could feel it.

"...Naruto...?" Sakura asked softly. Her rage subsiding and her chakra levels started to return to normal, but not before Glaring at Kabuto.

"If you think I'm done with you, you're sadly mistaken." She said before taking out a roll of ninja twine from her pouch and strung hip up like a pig to the slaughter.

"Oh please. I can escape out of this easily." Kabuto lied.

Sakura then punched his freaking lights out and the medical ninja went limp.

"Escape from that." Sakura spat.

Sakura dragged Kabuto's limp body next to Naruto before kneeling down by her friend's side.

"Is he okay?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"He'll be fine. He's just resting right now." Tsunade said fondly as she stroked his spiky bangs out of his face.

"Oh, thank god..." Sakura sighed in relief.

Tsunade looked at her apprentice who seemed to be a lot better off than anyone else on the battlefield, and who was holding Naruto's left hand concerningly.

"You seem to be quite taken with this boy, aren't you?"

Sakura blushed. "W-what? No way! I don't-"

"Sakura...it's written all over your face. I may look like it, but I wasn't born yesterday you know." Tsunade said before looking at the blond boy to rested comfortably.

"W-well he's my friend, isn't he? My first friend..." She said sadly as she healed the knife wound in his hand.

"That he may be...but the vibe I'm getting from you is something more. Deny it all you want, but you really like this boy. I can see it and I gotta say...I'm proud of you." Tsunade smiled.

Sakura looked up at her mentor. Her praise was few and far between, and never undeserved.

"Really?" Sakura squealed.

"I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. You have done a great deal today, despite going into a rage against Kabuto and letting the 6-tails Chakra consume you."

Sakura groaned and shied away, but Tsunade put her hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled. "But it was because of this boy, wasn't it?"

"Well yeah. He's my friend..." Sakura said.

Tsunade gave Sakura a knowing look with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura blushed. "O-okay...he...means a lot to me..."

"Which is why after we get our affairs here all settled, we're heading to the Leaf." Tsunade said.

"You mean it?" Sakura gasped with joy.

"Of course, because I know you'll never shut up if we don't." Tsunade sighed before looking down at the boy's sleeping face. "And I'm a woman of my word." Tsunade then untied her crystal necklace and draped it over Naruto's neck.

'Once more...just once more...I'd place the odds in you.' Tsunade thought as she gave Naruto a kiss on his forehead.

Tsunade looked up to see Jiraiya limping towards them with a still unconscious Shizune in his arms. "How about you go help your sister? Naruto will be okay and just needs to rest."

"Okay." Sakura said reluctantly as Jiraiya came up close.

"I'm sorry Tsunade. Orochimaru got away." He bitterly reported. "Again."

"That's fine. We got something of his anyway." Tsunade said simply before pointing out Kabuto.

"Heh, your doing?" Jiraiya smirked.

"Nope. Sakura's doing." Tsunade grinned.

"Bullshit. My apprentice was the one who dealt the finishing blow. Yours just gift wrapped him."

"Oh? And what do you call Orochimaru's snake?"

"Also, weakened by my pupil using his disadvantages to his advantage." Jiraiya Gabe a cocky smirk.

"Uh huh...well at least she can control her tailed beats chakra to a point."

"Fair point. But in all seriousness, that was some impressive skills there little lady. You'll make a fine ninja one day." Jiraiya stated.

"Thank you, sir." Sakura smiled. Getting praise from two Sannin in one day? She must be dreaming.

"Alright. Let's get this lot back to the hotel. Rest up and then head out tomorrow. To Konoha!" Tsunade declared.


Author's Note from Panda: Did you all enjoy that? I hope you did. We always love it when people enjoy our work. If you guys have any questions, suggestions, or comments to give on the story, let us know through reviews or through PMs. We love to answer questions and hear from you guys.

Like, should we have included a conversation that informs Naruto about Tsunade's cursed necklace, or can we get away with leaving that out? I just really liked the line from the manga.

Whatever the case, hope you all have a great day. And may you all have a great year.