[Tsunade's House]

Tsunade was up early the next morning and in the kitchen. Shizune was away on a mission so she had to manage the house my herself for a bit before she'd go to Konoha Hospital for work. Last night Naruto had a sleepover with Sasuke, Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru. Very soon they would be waking back up and she was gonna make sure that they all had some breakfast before their moms came and got them. She also worked things out with Tsume yesterday so that when she came to get Kiba she would watch him at her clan's compound until she got off from work. The boy's mothers offering to watch her son was a god send because she really needed to bring in some additional income and Shizune, while she worked very hard wouldn't be able to handle everything such as food, clothes and bills.

Naruto was the first to wake up and walked into the kitchen with a yawn before smiling and climbing up into a chair at the table. "Good morning Mom." he greeted hapily.

"Good morning Naruto." she greeted back with a warm and motherly smile. "I hope you and the boys had fun last night." she said as she walked over to the cabinets to grab a bowl for her son.

"Yup, we played all sorts of fun games and they even showed me some of their cool toys that their moms got them." he replied while he watched her pour some cereal into a bowl with some milk.

"Well that was nice of them to share their toys with you." she said before grabbing a spoon and bringing Naruto his breakfast.

Naruto thanked his mother for the bowl and then started chowing down. After a couple of bites, he turned to her again. "So what are we gonna do today?" he asked her.

"Well, I've got some work I'm going today." she answered. "I've got a new job at Konoha General and I'll be there most of the day. I've talked with Kiba's Mother. She's agreed to let you stay over at her house so you can play with Kiba until I come back later to pick you up." she explained to him.

"Oh okay." he said before taking another bite.

It was then Kiba walked in while yawning and holding a sleeping Akamaru in his arms. "Morning Tsunade-Sama." he said in a groggy yet friendly manner.

"Good morning Kiba. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes Ma'am, thank you." he replied before pulling himself up into a chair.

"Hey Kiba, Mom said that when your Mom gets back, I'm going over to your house while she goes to work." he told him.

"Aw cool!" he said while Tsunade placed a bowl of cereal before him. "This will be great. You'll get to see where my Family and Clan live, you can meet all our dogs and my Big Sister Hana-Oneechan." he told him.

"Didn't you say that she's training to be a Ninja?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah and she's really good at it too." he answered. "Oneechan can be a big pain in the butt and kind bossy a lot of the time but she's really nice mostly." he told him before taking a bite of his cereal.

It didn't take long at all before the rest of the boys showed up and took their seats at the table where Tsunade poured them bowls of cereal. She smiled and went back to cleaning the counter tops in her kitchen while the boys ate and talked. It made her so happy to see Naruto happy and surrounded by friends. She was really hoping that things would turn around for him shortly after she took him into her family and adopted him as her son. She was a little worried about the boys talking about shinobi in front of him like with Kiba telling him about Hana taking her classes or Sasuke telling him about his older brother Itachi and his skills as an Anbu Black Ops but she didn't want to spoil their fun and while Naruto thought that was all cool, he didn't say for certain that he was interested in becoming one.

Tsunade was pulled from her chain of thoughts when she heard a knocking at the door. When she answered, it was Yoshino Nara. "Hello Yoshino." she greeted happily.

"Good morning Tsunade. I hope my Son wasn't too troublesome." she replied.

"Not at all. He and Naruto had fun along with the rest of the boys." she told her.

"That's good to hear." she said smiling before being invited in.

She would enter and see the boys sitting around the table having their breakfast. Shikamaru would look up and notice his mother and speak once he finished swallowing his mouthful of cereal.

"Morning Mom." he greeted.

""Are you about ready to go Shikamaru?" she asked him.

"Do I have to? I haven'y even finished packing or my breakfast." he replied with his usual scowl.

"Shikamaru, we need to get going. Tsunade-Sama has work today and so do I." she said crossing her arms.

"There's no rush Yoshino, I'm not needed for another hour." replied Tsunade who held up a pot of coffee. "Care to have a cup while we wait for the boys?" she offered with a smile.

Yoshino smiled back. "I'd love a cup." she replied.

One by one, the boys' mother came and soon, Tsunade would offer a cup to each of them while the boys finished eating and then packing up their backpacks. They also had to brush their teeth and help Naruto clean up his room. The ladies had enough time to talk and enjoy a hot cup of coffee before Tsunade accepted their mugs and placed them into her dishwasher. Everyone then headed outside where they all said goodbye to Tsunade and her son until Tsume and Kiba were the last there with them.

"I really appreciate you doing this Tsume." said the blonde with a kind smile.

"I'm more than happy to help out Tsunade." replied the Inuzuka Matriarch.

She then got down on her knees to Naruto's level. "Naruto, please be good for Tsume and the Inuzukas. I'll pick you up later today once I finish work okay?" she asked smiling.

"Okay." he said grinning back.

"I love you my special little boy." she told him before giving him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too Mom." he said before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She then stood up and they went their separate ways but Naruto did call back to her and they waved until they were out of sight. Tsume walked with both kids and Kuromaru at her side and smiled while the boys goofed around and talked. It really did warm her heart to see that Kiba was able to socialize with other kids his age. Being part of a clan often times left children isolated from other children so he was only able to play with other clan children like Shikamaru, Choji and Sasuke. Naruto got along great with her young son and it made her happy as well to watch Kushina's son finally happy and no longer all alone. It broke her heart the day Minato and Kushina died and it wasn't fair that the Hokage and the council wouldn't let her adopt him as one of her own when she really wanted to.

But now Naruto was able to start over with a mother who really loved him and wanted to give him a better life. And she was one of the Sannin too which was great. Naruto had the best protection anyone could afford to give him. She's had the chance now to speak with Tsunade several times since she's come back to live in Konoha and she can already tell that Tsunade absolutely loves her son. He may not carry her blood, but that doesn't mean a thing to her because she wouldn't let anyone hurt him. And she pitied the idiots who even dared to harm him now. While they walked, her smile disappeared when she saw someone who she detested standing in the middle of the road and by the look on his face he wanted to speak with her. The old War Hawk looked at her as if he was trying to stare her down.

"Hey Mom, who's that?" Kiba asked pointing to Danzo who began making his way forward.

"Don't worry about it kiddo. You and Naruto head straight for the compound, I'll handle things from here." she replied. "Kuromaru, keep an eye on the Pups for me." she ordered.

"Yes Ma'am." he replied. "Come along Pups, follow me." he said and both Naruto and Kiba responded by following the old war hound.

Danzo allowed the dog and the boys to run past and continued walking to Tsume so they could speak. "Greetings Tsume, I hope you have been well since the last time we spoke." he said to the Inuzuka Matriarch.

"I'm fine. Now what do you want?" she asked crossing her arms.

"While your manners are certainly lacking I can appreciate that you want to get straight to the point." he replied. "I want to know what you're doing with the Kyuubi's Container in your possession." he told her.

"I don't have him in my possession Danzo and don't talk about him like he's someone's property. His Mother has asked me to watch him while she's at work." she said back almost snarling. She really didn't like it when he spoke about Naruto or even children in general as if they were objects and not people. "You and the rest of those old farts have already forbidden me from adopting him no matter how many times I've tried asking. But you didn't say that I couldn't watch over him for a friend." she told him.

"Of course Tsume." he replied calmly. "I'm not bothered all that much if you wish to babysit the boy for his Mother. My concern is the loyalty of our Shinobi clans and their leaders." he added.

"Are you questioning the Inuzuka Clan's loyalty to the village?" she asked him.

"Of course not. I have absolute faith that the Inuzuka Clan are one of our most loyal clans and will remain loyal to us as they always have." he replied. Tsume was familiar with his word games. He pretends to flatter you while at the same time putting you into a position where you can't argue with him and watch yourself even if he's made no threats against you. "How's your Daughter?" he asked. "I understand that she's going to graduate from the Academy in a couple of months." he told her.

"Her studies are going well and she's a straight A student. She receives glowing praise from all her instructors." she told him.

"You must be proud of her." he said with a stone cold face.

"Very much so yes." she replied. This was another part of his games. Reminding you that he had files and information on everyone. He isn't directly threatening her but he is subtly telling her that he has his eye on her and her clan.

"Well I'm pleased to see that Tsunade has chosen someone trustworthy to watch her Son." he said now excusing himself from her. "I believe now that I should go and speak with her. It has been a very long time since I last spoke with her and I'm interested in seeing how she's doing and if she's adjusting well to life with the village again." he said as he made his way to Konoha Hospital.

'Don't be surprised if you aren't well received.' she thought as she continued on to her clan's compound. Not long after her unpleasant talk with Danzo, Tsume made it home and noticed that her daughter was home too. She was happy to see this because she was hoping to get her to act as a sitter again. "How's it going Pup?" she asked her.

"Going great Mom." replied the young Inuzuka heiress.

"No class today?" she asked her while she looked to see Naruto and Kiba playing in the backyard.

"Not today no." she answered while she petted her Ninken, the Haimaru Triplets. "Our teacher is getting married in a few days so we have several days to ourselves." she told her.

"Well that's good to hear because I want you to keep an eye on Naruto and your Brother for me." she said with a smirk. "I have a few meetings today with the rest of the Clan and I can't babysit at the moment." she told her.

This was not what Hana wanted to hear. "Aww Mom really?" she asked in a really tired manner. "You make me watch Kiba on all my days off." she whined.

"None of us sass." said Tsume who turned to head inside and get ready for her meeting.

"Yes Ma'am." Hana groaned as she looked to see her little brother and his friend play. 'As if watching Kiba wasn't enough now I gotta watch two kids. This is such a pain in the butt.' she thought to herself. She really wished that her mother wouldn't make her babysit on all her days off. She wanted to relax, watch some TV and maybe even have some dango.

[Konoha General]

It's been several hours now and Tsunade was already right at home and in her environment. It was a little busy today because several squads of shinobi and kunoichi came home from their missions and were pretty banged up but fortunately their injuries weren't anything that she hasn't already treated before in her career as a medic ninja and the best part was that they would all make full recoveries and be back on duty again in no time at all. There was some complaining from a few of them but she honestly thought they were overreacting to the damage and she would tell them that they were lucky enough to make it back home in one piece and that they should be more careful next time. All in all, she had to set a few broken bones and stitch a few nasty cuts as well as prescribe some medicine.

And she was glad that the Hokage was able to train some excellent medic ninjas of their own. Konoha General had some very skilled doctors for sure but their job was much easier because of such smart medical ninja working out in the fields during their assignments. There were a few things she could probably teach them here or there but for the most part they were well educated in the medical field and able to provide excellent care in an emergency. The medicine that was available for her to use here was also top notch. She was glad that the place was stocked up on such high quality medicines. That was one of the best part about working in Konoha General. Whatever equipment, staff or medications she needed she got. And the best part was this was gonna make providing for her new son much easier.

It was about three and she was heading off for her lunch break. But it seemed that she wouldn't be having it by herself because someone else would come to speak with her. She was not in the least bit happy when one of the elders came to speak with her. And not just any elder, it was Danzo.

"Tsunade, I'm sorry I wasn't able to greet you properly when you first arrived but I wanted to welcome you home." he said in a polite yet serious tone. "I hope you've been able to settle back into your home." he added.

"I've adjusted well enough." she replied. "My old house hasn't changed a bit since I last left it so settling back in was easy. The village seems the same for the most part. There are new faces that weren't here when I was last here but I expected that. The only real challenges for me now is being a Mother." she explained.

"I had heard that Hiruzen granted you permission to adopt Naruto. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job raising him." he replied.

"While I can appreciate that you and I both know you're not the kind of man who cares all that much about formalities." she told. "Would you care to tell me what you're really after?" she asked.

"I'm glad to see that you wish to get straight to the point." he replied. "Let's sit. I will have lunch brought and don't worry, I'll cover the bill." he offered.

Tsunade allowed him to pay for their meals at the closest restaurant they could find. She really didn't want to talk to him because she knew that he wouldn't be talking with her unless he felt that there was something he could gain. Still, she may as well here him out and she gets a free meal out of it which was nice.

Once she had taken her seat across from Danzo, Tsunade sat back comfortably with one leg over the other. "Now, I believe that you said that you had something that you wanted to talk about Danzo." she said after taking a drink of some green tea.

"I'm a man who's interested in the future of Konoha Tsunade." he replied sitting back in his chair as well. "And part of that as the head of the Foundation is of course training new Shinobi and building up our village's military power. To get to the point, I want to talk to you about Naruto's shinobi future." he told her.

"I see." she replied with an even tone.

"I would like to extend the offer to you Tsunade to train Naruto Uzumaki in the Foundation." he continued. "I can offer him the finest training and education any shinobi student could hope for and more importantly I can see to it that he'll learn how to harness and control the Kyuubi's chakra which will make him a far more effective weapon for this village in the future." he explained.

"I have no doubt that your training sessions will indeed improve his skills as a shinobi if that is indeed what he wants to do with his life but I'm not sure it would be best for him." she replied.

"If you are at all worried about whether or not you'd allowed to see him Tsunade you have nothing to fear." he told her. "My training programs are flexible and you'd still be able to spend plenty of quality time with him like you do now. You'd still be the boy's legal guardian, I'm only interested in making sure that he receives the proper training he needs so that he can be the best weapon available to us should the need arise." he added.

"Danzo he's not a weapon, he is a human child." she said with her brows forwarding in offense to the language he's using. "More importantly he's my child now and while I do care about the safety and future of Konoha I care very deeply about my Son and want what's best for him and I don't think the Foundation is the sort of place for children. Besides, he may not even want to be a ninja when he grows up, have you ever considered that?" she asked him.

"You speak to me as though I'm being naive young Tsunade. But it is you who's being naive here." he replied. "We live in a shinobi village. Most children here dream of entering the shinobi academy and graduating at the earliest possible age. Furthermore Naruto is a Jinchuuriki and the only one that we have. It's important that his power is ours to control and to use should Konoha ever enter into war. Naruto Uzumaki will become a weapon for this village Tsunade. But at the Foundation, he'll be better for it. If you were to enter him into the academy he'll simply receive standard training like all the children do but under my apprenticeship he'd be an Anbu Black Ops by the time he's ten years old and he'll have full mastery of the Kyuubi's chakra by the time he's twelve. That is his fate Tsunade." he finished.

"Ugh, Fate." she said in a slightly disgusted tone. "Don't give me any of that crap. Fate isn't real at all, there's only tragedy and coincidence and if fate is real then it's cruel to all of us." she told him, remembering that fate of her brother and fiancee from years ago. "I agree that this is a shinobi village but that doesn't mean that Naruto's destiny is decided for him. My Son can be anything he wants to be when he grows up. I doctor, a scholar, a carpenter or a metal worker, there are so many other fields he can pursue in life. He doesn't just have to be a ninja." she told him.

Danzo was quiet for a moment but then finally responded. "Very well Tsunade. I can see you've made up your mind. I don't believe that the Boy won't wish to join the shinobi academy but I do believe that you believe otherwise and that you'll raise him to the best of your abilities." he replied. "But I must ask, what if he does wish to join and become a ninja, what then?" he asked her.

Tsunade paused and thought on that for a moment. She really really didn't want to think about the possibility that Naruto would actually wanna become a ninja. She lost some of the people she deeply loved years ago and her losses still hurt and she never wanted to revisit that again. Truth told, she didn't want Naruto anywhere near that dangerous lifestyle. But she couldn't ignore that maybe one day he will ask to become a ninja. So she gave the best answer that she could think of.

"If Naruto wants to become a ninja, "If" he asks to join the shinobi academy I'll enter him and also personally tutor him so that he receives the training needed." she answered. "But remember, I said "If" he wants to join. It's his decision to make, not yours or mine." she told him.

"That's acceptable." he replied. "While I still believe that he's better off at the Foundation I do believe that being tutored by one of the Sannin will be sufficient for him as far as training goes." he told her. "But now that leaves me with one other issue about the boy I must ask." he added.

"And what would that be?" she asked him.

"I was wondering how you felt about him being put forward in an arranged marriage to further strengthen Konoha politically." he said plainly.

"...Marriage?" she asked him.

"Hiruzen and I have been in contact with many nobles and shinobi clans both here in Konoha and in Suna who are our allies." he began. "Many of them have some lovely young daughters, many of which are close to Naruto's age. It would greatly benefit the village if we could make some arrangements for him to wed a young lady of one of clans to further strengthen our village's relationships with our allies." he explained.

"Naruto is only five years old." she replied calmly but irritated.

"Of course it wouldn't be right away Tsunade." he said as if it were obvious. "I'm speak of course when he's much older. Perhaps in his mid teenage years." he told her.

"I'm well aware of the fact that shinobi clans and noble families still practice arranged marriages for political reasons. But I'd really rather not force my Son into this. I want him to be free and find someone on his own time." she replied.

"I figured that would be your response." he said before taking another sip of tea. "And while there's no immediate need for it now that may change in the future and you can't deny that by adopting him you've brought the boy into the world of shinobi politics. You are the last known living member of the Senju Clan which means that you've made Naruto your heir. While others may not know his true heritage, he's still seen as the future successor of your family and many lords and clan leaders will come forward with marriage proposals for him. I'm just asking if you yourself have considered it." he explained.

Once again Tsunade really didn't like this but she couldn't deny that he had a point. It was probably well known by now that she was his adoptive mother which made Naruto the rightful successor of the Senju Clan and there were gonna be plenty of nobles and clan lords in the future who were gonna offer their daughters to him. She hated having to admit that Danzo was right but she knew he had a point. It wasn't a matter of if now, it was simply a matter of when before Naruto would start receiving marriage proposals. Danzo was still waiting for her answer before she finally answered after a tired sigh.

"If there was no other way, if it was the only way to prevent a war or the only way to end one, I would agree to put my Son forward for an arranged marriage." she said begrudgingly.

"I'm glad to hear it." he said finishing up. It looked like Tsunade was just about done too. "I believe that I've taken enough of your time Tsunade. I have my own duties to attend to and I'm sure that you still have some work back at the Hospital." he said standing up.

"Yeah, my lunch break is about done." she said standing up as well.

"I appreciate that you were willing to speak with me today about these issues." he said with a slightly nod.

"And I appreciate the free lunch." she replied before they went their separate ways.

[Inuzuka Compound]

It was the late afternoon now and Naruto was with Kiba and Tsume in their kitchen. Tsume had finished her meeting not long ago and was preparing a snack for the boys before Tsunade would come by to pick up her son. Hana would enter the room as well and get herself a drink from the fridge. She had a strange feeling when both boys started snickering and she looked back to see the biggest shit eating grins on their faces they've had all morning. She didn't know what they had planned but she kept her eyes on them while she made her way to the table. However, she should have kept her eyes not on the boys but on the chair because of the prank they were about to pull. But by the time she realized what had happened it was too late and when she took her seat there was a loud and unladylike noise.

"SHE FELL FOR IT!" shouted Naruto and Kiba in unison.

Both boys burst into laughter and high five one another while a blushing Hana reached underneath and pulled out a whoopee cushion. This caused a tick to form on her head in frustration. Both boys have been playing jokes on her all day long and it was getting really annoying.

"BOYS!" she screamed in anger.

"Calm down Hana." said Tsume who was doing her best not laugh at her daughter's expense.

"Come on Mom, you can't tell me that this is okay!" whined Hana who looked at her with an 'Are you kidding me' face.

"It was just a harmless prank Hana and you've gotta admit, you've walked right into it." she snickered. "Or in your case, sat on it." she added which got the boys to laugh again.

"Mom they've been doing this all day and it's annoying." she said shooting both boys an angry look.

"Come on Hana, boys will be boys." she said before handing everyone their snacks. She was taken completely off guard though when she sat down and everyone heard the same loud and unladylike noise from her chair.

"TWO FOR ONE!" Naruto and Kiba cheered as they high five and laugh again.

Tsume pulls out the second whoopee cushion they cleverly hid on her chair before shooting dirty looks at the still laughing boys. "Come on Mom, boys will be boys." said Hana who got her mother to look over at her. "You've gotta admit, you walked right into it. Or in your case, sat on it." she said with her own satisfied smug.

Tsume was annoyed at first but finally cracked a smile. "Alright alright you got me boys, you had your fun." she said before there came a knocking at the door.

Akamaru and the Haimaru Triplets started barking with their masters trying to calm them down while Kuromaru looked up calmly to his mistress. "Tsunade-Sama is back." he told her.

This got Naruto really excited and when Tsume answered the door to let her in, Naruto ran up to her and she smiled before sweeping him up into her arms. "Mom!" he greeted happily with a big smile and a hug.

"Hello Naruto, I hope you had fun here today with Tsume, Hana and Kiba." she replied smiling motherly.

"Yup, Kiba and I had so much fun and played lots of funny pranks on Hana Oneechan!" he beamed.

While she didn't really like the pranks, Hana was touched by the new honorific he gave her 'Awww, he called me his Oneechan.' she thought with a smile.

"Hope work was kind to you." said Tsume as Tsunade put Naruto back down to speak with her.

"Busy but not bad at all." she replied.

"Well that's good to hear." she said to the blonde medic ninja. "By the way, I had made the boys a snack and I was gonna start dinner in about an hour. Care to stay?" she offered.

"Oh I don't want to impose." replied Tsunade.

"Come on, there's plenty and I'm sure that the boys will enjoy at least a few more hours together before you have to go." she told her.

"Thank you very much Tsume." replied Tsunade who entered.

She and Naruto would stay for dinner for at least a couple more hours which involved Tsunade talking with Tsume some more and Hana having to watch the boys again while they played. Poor thing was extremely tired from having to watch them the whole day. She definitely didn't know how her mother managed to do it for so long when it came to raising her and Kiba. Once dinner was finished, Tsunade and Naruto thanked the Inuzukas for their generous hospitality and then were on their way. Naruto held her hand while they walked and she smiled and listened while he told her about all the fun things he and Kiba did while she was at work. Tomorrow was gonna be much easier because she learned on the way home that Shizune had completed her mission and would be arriving in Konoha soon after Naruto went to bed.

It would be much easier for her now, or so she would think.

[Dawn]

Outside of Konoha, there stood a tall man dressed in a traditional grey shinobi uniform with a red vet. He had spiky white hair and onyx colored eyes with red markings running down from his eyes to his cheeks. He smiled as he looked over the village as the sun began to rise in the distance.

"Ah Konoha, it's been a long time." he said with a smile on his face. "I can hardly wait to see everyone again after being away for so long." he added before striking a dramatic pose. "And I hope all you lovely young ladies are ready for the powerful! The pleasurable! The Mighty Toad Sage Jiraiya!" he shouted with a big grin.

[Author's Notes] So yeah, same as before I'm still without a PC and still overwhelmed at work so I'm sorry for the long waits in between updates. Once I get a new PC I promise that it'll change and I'll be able to update sooner but until then I hope you'll all forgive me.

As always thank you all so much for reading my stories. Please leave me either a Review or a PM letting me know what you think and if you have any ideas you'd like to share please lay em on me because I love hearing from my readers.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)