-Hana-

Hi all!

Guess what?

ORIGINAL CONTENT!

That's right, from this chapter on is going to be entirely original because I've already used all the material from the original story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, this should also be the last of the exposition dumps xD

See ya at the bottom!

(Tsunade's Apartment, Konohagakure no Sato – Year 73)

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief when her grandson finally decided to wander off into the village. She didn't want to be mistaken, she absolutely loved the boy with every fiber of her being, but the energetic blond was a little too much to handle on a regular basis.

Especially when he got bored.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much in their humble apartment that could keep the boy occupied long enough for Tsunade to get any peace, so she shooed him out of the house with a handful of coins and told him to be back before sundown.

The boy, fortunately for her (and unfortunately for the rest of the villagers), loved wandering around the village looking for new potential targets for his pranks. Most villagers were too afraid to offend the only two remaining Senju so they usually went along with whatever harmless fun the boy got into, even the more antsy ones knew better than to retaliate against the boy because of the group of ANBU that followed the boy at all times to make sure the youngest Senju remained out of harm's way.

It wasn't only that the boy was related to the Shodai Hokage, he was also the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune, and the village would not like it one bit if the beast was released one more time. It was best to just let the boy have his fun rather than risk the wrath of not only the Nine Tailed Fox, but also his (very) overprotective grandmother.

Tsunade plopped down on her couch, coffee and magazine in hand. She was intent on having some moments of respite to herself so that she could just relax after a long week. Ever since she returned to the village, she had been working herself to the bone to ensure that the villagers hadn't lost their faith in her. Her long shifts in the hospital began to relax after a few years, but it was still a lot for her to handle.

She idly flipped the pages of the piece of mindless entertainment before her, not really paying it much attention. They had a television in their home, but Tsunade didn't really want the peace and quiet of the apartment to be broken.

She took a long sip of her steaming hot coffee. The bitter flavor of the drink tickled her tongue, and its warmth sent a feeling of comfort and familiarity down her spine. She had taken to drinking the russet decoction ever since she made the mistake of imbibing alcohol for the first time. An action that was directly responsible for the birth of her son when she was far too young.

Tsunade, back when she was younger and still the student of the Sandaime Hokage, had never expected that she could be completely satisfied having retired from being a working kunoichi and instead, just staying at home and raising a kid who she loved more than anyone else in the world. Especially at the young age of forty-six.

If anything, her expectations were even further from when she had abandoned her son mere weeks after he had been born.

She hadn't been ready to be a mother back then but she was now and she was going to make sure that she did a damn fine job at it, she had lost her chance with Minato and Naruto was her chance to prove herself.

On that note, Tsunade decided to prepare Naruto and herself a meal. She got off the couch and made her way to the kitchen after slipping on her apron. Her grandson was probably going to stuff himself with as much ramen as he could eat when he went out, but it was still her responsibility to make sure the boy ate healthy. And, while it was a herculean task to make the boy slow down when it came to ramen, the least she could do was make sure he got some vegetables into his system.

Tsunade began by washing the rice to be put into the rice cooker. She measured enough for the two of them into a wide bowl and ran it under the sink. The steady flow of the water into the bowl reminded her of her flighty nature the fifteen years she was away from the village.

She had spent years in constant motion, always moving from one settlement to the next. She had tried not staying in the same establishment for longer than a day or two at most. While on the run, she often missed Konoha and her teammates and her sensei, but the urge was never strong enough to drive her to return to the village.

She earned her keep by working as a ninja for hire. A hired mercenary that would do any job for a high enough pay. She had made a name for herself, albeit not always the most flattering.

Many sought her work as the 'Buxom Blonde Beast' and many more were terrified of the title. It was a name Tsunade wasn't particularly fond of but her opinion on the matter was moot because that was the name that had stuck. With her increase in infamy, she began training herself to become a better medic because she was being hunted constantly and she had to get good at healing herself and quickly. She soon discovered her affinity for the art.

By chance, or by fate, she had run into Jiraiya a few times in her travels. The first time, she had been completely blindsided, not having expected to run into the white-haired man merely a couple years after she had bid him farewell. Ever since then, Jiraiya had kept 'running into her every six months or so. Tsunade personally believed that he had used his spy-network to track her down, but she never voiced her concerns.

It felt good when she spoke with her best friend, and he never tried convincing her to return to the village. He had probably only been checking up on her, which was understandable as she was still considered a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf, even though she had relinquished her Hitai-ate a long time prior. She also had a sizable bounty on her head, which Jiraiya never failed to express his concerns over.

With the rice having been washed thoroughly, Tsunade put it into the cooker and got to peeling and chopping the vegetables. She had decided to make a vegetable stir-fry to go with the rice. She figured eggs on the side would go nicely with the dish.

After a life of constantly moving around, it had felt strange when she had decided to settle down and retire from going on missions outside the village. She had felt like she had done enough running around to last a lifetime and this was her chance to take a breath and just raise Naruto. She grabbed that opportunity and never let go.

She had been a coward. She was not proud of what she had done. She was selfish and a terrible person. She was the last person to be trusted with raising a child but when Jiraiya showed up at the inn she had been staying in seven years ago with the little blond in his hands and news that Minato was dead, she left her old life behind in a heartbeat.

She grieved for the lost Hokage and cried for a son she didn't know.

She didn't get to know her son. Everything she knew about Minato, she knew from tales by Jiraiya and by reputation. He was the Yellow Flash and the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure after all.

The moment, when she found out that Minato was to become the Hokage, was the closest she had ever been to returning to Konoha ever since she left. But she didn't return. She was still far too ashamed of her actions to ever face Minato after she had simply abandoned him so many years ago. So, she stayed behind in the little inn she was renting while Jiraiya went back to Konoha to congratulate Minato on becoming the Fourth Hokage.

Tsunade tossed the chopped-up vegetables into a frying pan and seasoned it well.

What had surprised Tsunade the most when she returned to the village though, was that her old teammate Orochimaru was dead.

When Jiraiya and her had returned from the village, the white-haired man told her about their battle against Hanzō of the Salamander. Jiraiya had been dubbed the Legendary Ichinin of Konoha for being the only Konoha shinobi to survive the attack. Orochimaru had been one of the causalities.

Jiraiya had tried apologizing profusely for not telling her earlier, but the apologies fell on deaf ears.

She hadn't spoken to her best friend for the first six months after returning to the village. Mostly because the man had kept it a secret from her for nearly seven years but also partly because she felt like if she had been present then maybe he could have survived the encounter.

He had, eventually, broken through her defenses and in time Tsunade learned to forgive Jiraiya for allowing their teammate to die.

Tsunade was snapped out of her reminiscing by an urgent knock on her apartment door.

She hurriedly took the frying pan off the heat so that the vegetables don't burn and answered the door.

She was surprised to find a breathless, genin-rank shinobi at her door. The shinobi at her door looked to be in his early thirties and had dull-pink hair which was styled into the shape of a cherry blossom. He nervously held a flower pot with a singular yellow rose in his hand.

"Tsunade-san," the man wheezed out, "There is something I need to tell you."

Her interest piqued, Tsunade invited the strange man into her home and offered the man a place to have a seat.

"What did you need to tell me…," she paused, not knowing how to address the man.

"Kizashi, my name is Kizashi Haruno."

"What did you need to tell me so urgently Kizashi-san?"

Tsunade was incredibly curious, the man looked like he had run across the entire village to tell her something, something that seemed to be quite important.

The man took a deep breath,

"Today my daughter made a new friend -"

Tsunade was confused, why would she need to know about some random shinobi's daughter making a friend. Just as she was about to tell the man to leave and stop wasting her time, he continued after taking another breath.

"Naruto."

Tsunade's eyes widened, then she grinned with elation. She had always been worried that Naruto didn't have any friends his own age. Today seemed to be a good day as Naruto had finally made a new friend.

Although, Tsunade wondered why the man took it upon himself to run all the way to her apartment to let her know something like this this in person, Naruto would no doubt tell her all about it when he came home.

Kizashi continued,

"My daughter, Sakura was telling me about her interaction with Naruto," he held up the pot in his hands for Tsunade to see.

"This flower," he continued, "Was dying this morning."

Gears began turning in Tsunade's head. She wasn't stupid, she had an idea as to where the man was going with his tale.

"Sakura told me that Naruto just held the pot for a few moments and the flower came back to life."

Tsunade's eyes widened,

"You can't be suggesting – "

Kizashi cleared his throat,

"Tsunade-san, I think your grandson, Naruto Senju has access to Mokuton."

So ye, this one has a whole lot of Tsunade and a whole lot of exposition. I've made some pretty big changes to canon which I'm sure can be a little surprising.

Don't forget to read and review!

BAIII!