[Konoka]

Hidden somewhere in the center of a massive forest in the heart of the Land of Fire was one of the five great villages known as Konohagakure No Sato. The village has stood for nearly a hundred years after Hashirama Senju founded it and was named it's First Hokage. And even after his passing, his image is still immortalized on the great mountain behind the Hokage tower. His face, side by side with his brother Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage who was currently the reigning Hokage now and Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage who was one of Konoha's most beloved heroes, laying down his own life in defense for the village and saving everyone from the wrath of the feared Kyuubi No Kitsune or Nine Tailed Fox.

In a park near the market district of the village, was a playground where many children were playing. Many were on the monkey bars or in line for the slides while others were on the jungle gyms. Many others were out in the grass and playing games like tag or ball games. Near the park benches were the children's parents who kept a close eye on them while they played and smiled as they watched them laugh and interact. But one child wasn't playing with any of the other children. He sat off to the side on his own at the swings all by himself while he watched the other kids play and have fun. Instead, he sat and gently swayed back and forth on the swing under the shade of the trees behind him while watching them with a sad and lonely look on his face.

This boy had spiky blonde hair, sky blue eyes and whisker markings on his cheeks which gave him a real feral look. He was wearing a white tee shirt with a red swirly design on the front and back, green shorts and blue sandals on his feet. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He's five years old and an orphan who lives all by himself in the village. About six months ago, he ran away from the local orphanage because he couldn't take the abuse from the adults that worked there anymore. He was probably living on the streets for about a week before the Hokage found him and had him moved into his own apartment in the more rural district of the village. Every other day, Naruto would come to the park and watch the other children play, wishing he could too.

But he never could. Every time he tried working up the courage and ask other kids if he could play a game with them, some parent who was close by would see him and immediately intervene. They'd make sure to put some distance between him and their children and try and make him leave. Sometimes they'd try and be real calm and insistent by simply telling him to go away while other times, they'd be as cold and cruel as can be as they'd curse him and yell until he'd simply turn around and go. So most days, Naruto would just watch other children on the playgrounds play and have a good time, wishing he could play too but knowing their parents would simply force him to leave. One by one, boys and girls would leave with their loving parents until it was just him.

As the sun began to set in the distance, Naruto got up off of the swing he was on and walked down the concrete stairway then get back on the road to head home. While he walked, Naruto noticed eyes on him while others would whisper to each other as they watched him pass by. By now, he was well aware that they were talking about him. They always looked at him with such hatred and disgust whenever and wherever he walked in the village. Each and every day, he asked himself why? What did he do wrong? Why was everyone so mean to him? And why was he the only one who wasn't allowed to have a mom or dad? For so long, he envied what the other children had. Seeing the love and warmth other kids got from their parents made his heart ache.

Not long after he left the park, he'd make it to his dirty and isolated apartment in the run down district of the village. He opened the door and let himself in, closing the door behind him. The little boy sighed and then walked over to the pantry where he kept his ramen. Usually, a bowl of instant ramen when he came home would make him feel a whole lot better, at least for the rest of the day anyway. Given that he was still pretty small, he would have to push one of the chairs around to stand on so he could reach certain places in his kitchen. Naruto would first bring out the packet of pork miso instant ramen and place the foam cup on his table. Then he'd push the chair over to the sink and fill up a kettle with water before pushing the chair over to the stove.

Once the water was nice and hot, he carefully poured it into the cup of instant ramen and waited for it to cook the noodles. That was when he heard a knock at the door. Naruto walked over and opened it up before smiling when he saw who his guest was.

"Old Man!" he greeted happily, seeing the Hokage smiling back down as him.

The man in question was none other then Konoha's own Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. While quite old by now, Sarutobi was still quite a powerful Shinobi in his own right. He was trained from a young age by both the First and Second Hokage before him and has reigned over and protected his village for many years. All the while, he'd seen many young ninja graduate the academy and become very capable shinobi in their own right. Over the last few years, he's developed a good relationship with Naruto, visiting him often and finding within him a surrogate grandson. Today, he decided to leave his desk and the mountain of paperwork that comes with it and see how Naruto was doing. It always brightened his day to be so warmly greeted by him.

"Hello Naruto." he replied happily. "I was hoping to see how you were doing. May I come in?" he asked him.

Naruto nodded and walked back inside with the elderly man following right behind him. The Hokage sat down on the chair at Naruto's dining room table while he watched the young boy take his cup of ramen over to his own seat. Naruto got up on the chair and sat down to talk with his guest.

"So Naruto, how have you been?" asked Hiruzen.

"Oh, y'know...I went to the park today." he replied, trying to remain upbeat. "I played on the swings too." he added.

The old man knew Naruto was just trying to hide his loneliness like he always did. He was a young boy who wore a mask with a smile painted on to hide the pain and loneliness he felt all the time.

"What about the other children Naruto?" he asked him. "Did you get a chance to play with any of them? Maybe make a few friends?" he asked as well.

Naruto's smile dropped and he looked back down at the table. "Well, there were grownups there so..." he began.

"And you were afraid they'd yell again if you tried talking with their children, were you?" he asked with a saddened look as well. Hiruzen had been hoping that the villagers would finally try opening up to him, but clearly they still showed fear or even open hatred towards him, as well as try and keep him from coming anywhere near their own children.

"Old Man, why don't any of them like me?" he asked him. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"No Naruto, none of it is your fault in any way." Hiruzen replied, trying to make him feel at least a little better. "It's just, they don't know you yet. But I'm sure that one day, they will and they'll see how important you are. Not only to me, but to the whole village." he told him. He then smiled before continuing. "What was it I've told you about the bad days?" he asked him.

"Bad days don't last forever." Naruto replied. "They do come to an end. We don't know when they do, it could come tomorrow or even the day after, but even if it doesn't, there's always the next." he explained with a small grin.

"I know things are gonna get better for you Naruto. I'm sure of it in fact." he told him.

Naruto smiled again and by now, his noodles were cooked so he took the top off the cup, grabbed his chopsticks and started chowing down. Hiruzen got back up and walked over to the window near Naruto's sink. That was when he noticed the potted plant he gave him and smiled, seeing how the leaves were nice and a healthy shade of green which meant that they've gotten plenty of water and sunshine.

"I see you've been taking very good care of Ukki-San." he remarked.

Naruto smiled again and nodded after swallowing another mouthful of noodles. "Yup. I've watered him just like you've shown me every day." Naruto replied.

"Very good Naruto, very good." the Hokage said before turning. "I'm afraid that I need to go now Naruto but before I do, I have something for you." he said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small purse.

Naruto got up and walked over to the old man who handed him some money. "Wow, thanks Old Man." Naruto said graciously.

"Please spend it wisely and not just on ramen." he asked him. "You should try to buy some new cloths and some other foods as well." he told him.

"I will, thanks Old Man." Naruto replied as he watched the Hokage leave through the front door.

One of the things that made life in Konoha a little easier was having the Hokage. He always visited when he had the time and was always very kind and caring to him as well. While he wasn't his father, Naruto felt that he at least had someone there for him, even if it was just to a certain level. Naruto took the cash he had, about three hundred Ryo back to his room before resuming his dinner. Naruto would then get a bath and head straight to bed afterwords. He would lay awake for a bit, hoping that things really would get better like the old man told him they would. What he wanted more than ever were parents, or even just a mother. Someone to talk with him, listen to him, help him when he really needed it. Someone to make him feel loved and wanted.

[Another Village]

In another land far to the north of the Land of Fire, there's a gaming village where travelers can come and go after a heavy night of gambling, drinking and partying. This place made all it's money from all it's casinos, hotels and booze that all it's visitors would buy, pissing away all their cash. At one of these very inns, a young woman with black hair and onyx colored eyes made her way up the stairs to one of the bedrooms she was sharing with her Sensei. She gently opens the door and clicks on the lights, only for her roommate to yell back at her.

"Shizune! Please turn those lights back off!" shouted the blonde woman under the sheets of her bed.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-Sama, but it's almost noon and it's time to wake up." she replied before walking over to the side of the bed. She placed some meds and a glass of water down on the end table. "This will help you with the headache and a nice hot shower should help too." she told her.

Tsunade sat back up, holding her head in her hands before grabbing the pills and then washing them down with the glass. "Ugh." she groaned. "How hard did I party last night?" she asked.

"I think the three empty bottles of Sake should answer that." she replied, looking over at the empty rice wine bottles on another table.

"Wait, they're empty? Shit." she complained, thinking now that she really did go a little overboard now.

"I'm gonna get breakfast Tsunade-Sama." said Shizune who made her way over to the door. "Take some time to sober up and we can have it together, okay?" she asked.

Tsunade nodded and allowed her student to leave before getting up and heading over to the bathroom for her shower. Lady Tsunade was one of the legendary three Sannin and the last living descendant of the Senju Clan. She was a student of the Third Hokage and the Granddaughter of the First Hokage as well as the Great Grandniece of the Second. She was also a medical genius and one of the strongest woman on earth. However, these days don't really reflect the glory days. Out of grief for the loss of her younger brother Nawaki and her fiancee Dan, she left Konoha behind and for well over a decade now, has just been going to one village like this after another drinking and berrying herself deeper and deeper in debt because of her gambling addiction.

Her apprentice Shizune, who was also Dan's niece, decided to follow her and since then, has done her best to try and take care of her. Certainly hasn't been easy for her, given that Tsunade has done nothing but rack up higher and higher debts only to skip town and leave before paying any of them back. Still, she's always held out hope that one day, she'll turn things around and start making better decisions with her life then this reckless one that she's living now. Tsunade's biggest problem however was that she just can't seem to let what happened to Nawaki and Dan go. Nawaki was killed in cold blood by Iwa ninja on his very first mission after graduating the academy while Dan died during the Third Shinobi World War. She partially blames herself.

Tsunade would exit the bathroom fully dressed and feeling much better, what with the meds finally kicking in. She'd see Shizune setting a table for them and thanked her before taking her seat and digging into her morning meal. Both ladies would eat silently for a while, but Shizune would notice something off about her Sensei.

"Tsunade-Sama, are you okay?" she asked her.

"Hmm?" replied Tsunade before swallowing. "The meds have kicked in, so I feel fine." she told her.

"That's not what I meant." said the younger woman. "You seem very distracted." she told her.

"Distracted? How so?" Tsunade asked her.

"While you've never been the sort of person who'd shy away from a game, a hard drink or just dance to some pulse music for parties, last night was way crazier than usual." replied Shizune. "I've been around long enough to tell when you're thinking hard about something. Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked her.

Tsunade smiled and sat back in her chair while crossing her arms. "I guess there's no way I could have hidden it from you, could I Shizune?"she asked her. She then sighed before continuing. "You're right. I have been thinking a lot lately and it's not been going on since yesterday, I've been thinking about this for a little over a week. And I can't stop thinking about it. No matter how much booze I drink, how many parties I go to are how high the stakes are in a game I'm playing, the thoughts just keep on coming back." she told her.

"Tsunade-Sama, I had no idea. What have you been thinking about?" she asked her.

Tsunade smiled and even laughed just a little bit. "Konoha." she answered. "In fact, I've seriously thought about going back." she told her.

Now that was something she really wasn't expecting to hear. "Konoha?!" she asked back with a shocked expression. "Tsunade-Sama, I thought that you said that once you left, you'd never go back or even think about it. You said that it caused you too much pain to even consider it. Why the change of heart?" she asked her.

"I know what it is I said Shizune." she replied. "And truth be told, I don't really know. I don't know at all why it is I wanna go back to the village, but I feel that I wanna go back, even if it is just for a time. Part of me wants to say I'm feeling a little homesick, but I honestly don't know why it is I want to go back and I feel like I won't know what it is until I get there." she explained. She smirked again, seeing the younger woman smile before her. "That must sound really stupid to you, huh?" she asked.

"Not at all." she replied. "In fact, I miss Konoha too and I'm really happy to hear that you actually wanna go back." she told her.

Tsunade stood back up and walked over to the dresser to get packing. "Than I guess we should both get packing and get ready to go. Konoha is several days away and if we wanna get there before I change my mind, we'll have to move quickly." she told her.

"Yes Ma'am." replied Shizune. "Come here Tonton." she called out.

Over in the corner in her little basket, Shizune's little piglet Tonton woke up and trotted over to the young brunette who picked her up. The three of them would be packed up and ready to go in only a matter of minutes before they were out the door, on the road and on their way to Konoha.

[Three Days Later]

In the Hidden Leaf Village market district, young Naruto was making his way over to the stands where all the food was. All the while he walked, there were people who were staring at him with pretty cold glares, all thinking something along the lines of "What is THAT doing here?" Naruto simply ignored it and kept walking on to his destination. Soon, he found the stand he was looking for. He thought he'd take the Hokage's advice and try eating more than just ramen. He thought that oranges tasted really good and they were his favorite color. He walked up to the stand where he saw the oranges on display and called up to the lady who worked. She smiled at first and looked to who was calling her, but her smile vanished when she saw who it was.

"Can I have some Oranges please?" Naruto asked her.

She didn't know how to answer, not knowing what to do about the boy who stood before her stand. She knew who he was and just wanted him to leave.

"Is everything alright Hon?" asked a man who was likely her husband. She looked over to the boy, turning his attention to him as well. He scowled when he looked at him and then back to his wife. "I got this, you can have a break now." he told her. She smiled and left, leaving her husband to deal with Naruto. "What do you want?" he almost growled.

"I wanted to buy some oranges." Naruto replied.

"I've got nothing to sell to the likes of you and as long as you're here, nobody else will come. Now beat it." he told him.

Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out some Ryo before holding it up. "I've got some money." he told him.

The guys huffed in annoyance before putting some oranges into a brown paper bag and walking around to take the money and drop the bag in his hands. "Now get lost." he grumbled.

Naruto readjusted his grip on the bag and turned to head back home with his fruit. That was when he noticed the crowd gathered who've been watching the whole time. Naruto kept his eyes down and walked around, seeing some move to get out of his way as well.

"Daddy? Who's that?" asked a little girl to her father.

"He's nobody." he answered, urging her to walk away. "He's a worthless nobody." he told her.

Naruto paused when he heard that for only a moment before he'd began walking again. While he walked, he kept on noticing people staring at him like they always did. He tried to ignore it as best as he could, but it got harder and harder as it went on. Why? Why were people like this with him? They didn't act this way to other children, so why him? These things he wondered while he walked past another group of teenagers. They were just chatting and joking around until one of them saw him walking by with the bag of fruit. He gently nudged his friend to his left who was the leader of their gang and pointed to Naruto once he got his attention. He sneered and told his buddies to follow him when he started walking towards the little boy with the paper bag.

Naruto wasn't too far from where he lived when he heard someone behind him.

"What do we have here?" asked an older boy. He'd turn to see about seven of them sneering down at him. "And what have to got there freak?" he also asked.

Naruto was a little intimidated but managed to answer. "Just some oranges." he replied.

That was when he snatched them out of his grip and held them up high where Naruto couldn't reach them. He also took one out and looked at the sticker on it. "These are the same kind that are sold at one of my Father's stalls. You've been stealing from us you little Rat?" he asked while Naruto tried jumping up to get them, making the other guys snicker at the scene.

"I didn't steal them!" Naruto protested. "I paid for them with money given to me by the Hokage, now give them back!" he shouted, still trying to recover his fruit.

"And now you insult me by lying." he replied before tossing the bag behind him and letting on of his guys hold onto it for him.

"I'm not lying, they're mine!" he shouted again. He was then surprised when the guy grabbed him by his shirt and started dragging him off to the side of the building off the road. "Hey! Let me go! Let me go!" Naruto cried.

Overhead, a single Anbu Black Ops watched on as the group of teenagers continued abusing the five year old. But rather than intervene, she turned and disappeared, leaving him to his fate. The leader of the band then hoisted Naruto up off his feet and held him against the side of the building with his hands around his throat. Naruto started gasping and gagging for air as the guy's grip became tighter.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here Freak." he sneered. "Coming to my Father's Market District and stealing from one of our Stalls." he added. Naruto only continued to struggle against the guy's grip, desperate for air. "You are nothing." he told him. "You've always been worth nothing and you'll always be just a cur that everyone wants dead. You are garbage! You are filth! You are the lowest form of life on Earth! Lower than dirt!" he shouted into Naruto face.

That was when Naruto managed to loosen the guy's grip just enough for him to take a breath and then spit back in his face in defiance. "I'm not nothing!" he protested. "I'm somebody and one day, I'll be somebody important!" he shouted.

The guy wasn't happy about having some kid spit in his face. He immediately got very angry before bringing his knee up full force into Naruto's chest, knocking the wind out of him and even causing him to spit up some blood. "You little Bastard!" he shouted before throwing him to the ground face first. Naruto struggled to get back up but couldn't catch his breath. That was when the same guy kicked him in the face, knocking him onto his back. "KILL IT!" he shouted to his gang and they'd all jump into the boot party, ruthlessly kicking and stomping the poor child without mercy. People who actually saw what was going on just left as quickly as possible so as not to get involved. Naruto tried to call out for help, but he still couldn't breath from the first assault.

Besides, he didn't know who else to call out to. The Hokage wasn't there and he was the only person other then the Ichirakus at his favorite ramen stand. Besides, they would be on the other end of the district and they wouldn't be able to hear him, even if he could call out to them. Naruto laid there, taking the beating of the lifetime as the seven older boys kicked and stomped down with hatred and full force, breaking bones under their weight. Naruto's vision began to dim as the assault continued. He was scared and truly alone as he was at the mercy of the teens and they were showing him none at all. Before he'd pass out, he came to accept that this was to be his fate now. All alone with nobody to save or help him as he'd die in the streets of Konoha.

[Konoha's Gates]

Tsunade and Shizune would arrive and enter the gates of their old village for the first time in over a decade. Tsunade looked up to see the faces of the Hokage Stone Monuments which overlooked the whole village. She couldn't believe it at all really, but she was happy to be back in her home village. The place had hardly changed at all since she was last there and it filled her with a warm sense. She walked on through the streets with her apprentice by her side. Both ladies would see people smiling at them, probably not really knowing who she was though. This was fine with her actually. She didn't want to draw a whole lot of attention to herself anyway. She simply wanted to pay a visit to some familiar faces and then move on.

Besides, many people would have been too young to know her at a first glance anyway.

"So what do you think we should do first Tsunade-Sama?" Shizune asked her.

"First, I'd like to get some rest and maybe even something to eat." she replied. "We'll probably stay here for about a day, maybe two. I just wanna see how Sensei is doing, say hello to a few more people and pay my respects to Nawaki and Dan. Then we'll leave again, understood?" she asked.

"Alright, I'll find a nice Hotel for us to stay and reserve us a room." said Shizune. "Come on Tonton." she called down to the little piglet.

Tsunade would walk by herself for a little bit shortly after Shizune left to find the hotel for them to stay at. She'd make her way through the market district, seeing various stores, shops and eateries. While she walked, she couldn't get over how little of it changed. She would also see children playing games in the streets with shop owners and stall vendors trying to sell their wares to whoever is willing to shop. She picked up a few things she needed such as shampoo and conditioner as well as other feminine products she was in need of. Once she got everything she was looking for, she decided to meet back up with Shizune and Tonton. Tomorrow, she'd drop on by the Hokage's Office to see how he was doing. He'd probably learn of her arrival soon enough.

While she made her way down the road, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked to see laying out in the middle of the street a humanoid shape. As she got closer, she saw that it was a small child. To her horror, he was covered in cuts and bruises all over and his cloths were covered in blood and dirt. She also saw evidence of broken bones.

"Kami." she gasped as she dropped down to her knees to get a closer look. "You poor little thing. Who would do something like this to a child?" she asked, bringing a hand up to check him, hoping to see if he was still alive. He looked to be no older then four or five. That was when one of his hands reached up to grab hold of her finger, surprising her a bit. She watched as his eyes opened up halfway to meet her own. Tears formed up and started rolling down his whiskered cheeks as he looked into her brown eyes with his sky blue ones. He opened his mouth as if to try and beg for help, but no words came out. His eyes then shut and he let go of her hand, loosing all strength he had left. His little hand dropped to the ground and didn't move afterwords.

Acting purely on instinct, Tsunade ripped open his shirt to reveal his chest before bringing her hands to his torso and apply healing chakra. After a couple of seconds, he gasped and started breathing heavy while she acted as his life support. Tsunade needed to do something for him. She couldn't treat his injuries effectively out here. She needed to get him to a hospital and she was also gonna need help to preform surgery. The internal damage to his body was even worse then the external damage and that was bad enough.

"SHIZUNE!" she screamed to the top of her lungs.

[Author's Notes] So as you can probably tell from the title of the Story, this is a Reboot of the original. I've been meaning to do this for a long while now and I'm glad that I've finally found the time. Just to give all readers something to look forward to, this will be a Tsunade and Naruto Adoption/Family story but also involve Tsunade and Jiraiya Romance and I figured since my first one was deleted, I'll make this a Naruto and Tayuya love story too. That however is gonna happen much, much later down the road.

As always, thank you all so much for reading my stories, please leave me either a Review or a PM and let me know what you think as I love getting them from my readers. If you have any other ideas that you wish to share, lay em on me and if I like it, I'll try and work it in.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)