AN: Alright guys, on to Chapter 3! So far, one of the biggest criticisms I'm getting is about how closely this is following canon, and I happen to agree! What's the point of writing a fanfiction if all I'm doing is regurgitating what's happening in canon in a slightly different way. So for you detractors out there, don't worry, my story will start carving its own path. I just plan to be very careful with it because (and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I've said this before) I don't want to accidentally make a prediction only for Kishimoto to completely come in from left field and screw me over (Kazama Arashi fics, amirite?). Anywhoooo, let's get on with the story :D

Disclaimer: Naruto is the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto.

–

"Easy, Naruto. Easy," said Tsunade as she guided his hand over the poor creature. "That's it. Not too much, or you'll-"

Her words were cut short as the fish under their hands began to expand. Pockets of its flesh erupted in large blisters, and in it's last throes of death, exploded in a gory mess of fish guts and innards.

"Ah shit," said Naruto dejectedly. "We can't eat that one either."

"Haha!" Tsunade laughed. "That's the spirit. Again!" From the bucket sitting next to her she pulled out another fish. "This time, maintain your focus and try to keep the flow of chakra stable. This is our last fish for the day. If you think it's gonna explode, just stop so we can salvage it for dinner."

The Slug sannin and her brand new apprentice had set up camp in the middle of the woods somewhere halfway between Konoha and Kiri. It was still a few days' ride away from their next destination. It had been two and a half weeks since they began their journey, but Jiraiya was nowhere in sight. In the mean time, there's nothing like the present, so she decided to begin training Naruto in the basics of healing.

The boy, however, was far from a natural. While the shadow clones had helped in reigning in his chakra control, he was a long way before approaching her level. Fortunately, he was still progressing. Small increments it may be, it was still proof to her that given enough time, he can grow to be a powerful medic ninja.

Naruto, on the other hand, was quite frustrated. Why couldn't she just teach him cool fire jutsu like the ones Sasuke threw around?

The Shousen Jutsu, or Mystical Palm Technique, was a tricky one. It wasn't flashy or attack-oriented, but it was damn useful to know. What it did was jump start the natural healing process, speeding it up and essentially forcing the body to heal itself at insane speeds. It was very basic, and didn't require anything technically difficult, but it did require a lot of finesse and a constant level of chakra being pumped through the user's hands and into the injured person's body. Too little chakra, and the jutsu healed too slowly to be effective. If a person was bleeding out, for example, it wouldn't do very much help if it took an hour to close the wound. Too much chakra, on the other hand, can overload the patient's circulation and trap them in a comatose state. Useful at times, but generally not the goal of the technique. Even more dangerous, are large, uneven bursts of uncontrolled chakra like in Naruto's case. These cause the cells to over-replicate, creating cancerous tumors that can burst if exposed to the chakra for too long.

The right hands however, used this jutsu to devastating effect both in and out of battle. Tsunade herself is the perfect example of this. She was known world-wide for her mastery of the jutsu, healing thousands of people with it during her long tenure as a medic nin.

While her close-combat prowess and monstrous strength were also equally publicized, not many knew she utilized the Shousen for offensive purposes as well. Few people could survive a serious clash with one of the Sannin, and those that did were victims to Tsunade's Mystical Palm. Every time Tsunade landed a hit- a punch here, a kick there- not only were bones broken, but the areas hit would develop invisible, malignant tumors that terrorized the enemy nin's body. Most of the time these ninja would perish during battle, but those lucky few who were strong enough to escape death soon found themselves perpetually weakened as cancer wreaked havoc on their bodies.

It was one of the reasons the Sannin spent so much time at the top of the ninja totem pole, as anyone who had the potential of ever surpassing them found their bodies and ninja careers crippled by a deadly disease that only medic nin of her caliber could cure.

"Ne, Baa-chan," Naruto ignored her angry glare. "How am I supposed to be Hokage with wimpy jutsu like this? What am I gonna do when someone attacks the village- heal him to death?"

Tsunade sighed. "You are an idiot, Naruto. Being Hokage isn't always about being the strongest. Don't get me wrong. You have to be strong to protect the village, but there are many different types of strength out there in the world. So get it out of your head that you have to muscle your way to your goal. You can't always punch your way through your problems."

"Coming from you, that's a little on the ironic side, isn't it?" said Naruto.

"Don't get cheeky with me, brat. One of these days, you're going to be in a situation where spitting fire and shitting lightning bolts isn't gonna do shit for you. What then?" she challenged.

"Pfft. Obviously that's when you pull out the Earth jutsu." At his answer, Tsunade felt like banging her head on the nearest tree. The kid can't be this dense, can he?

"Kid, just shut up and keep that fish alive." The kid needs to be taught a lesson, she thought. Too bad for him I'm the only teacher he's got right now, hehe.

–

Naruto didn't notice it until it literally hit him in the face. He made another not-so-smart remark about Tsunade's age, and found himself quickly flying through the air and into the sign hanging above the bridge.

"Great Naruto Bridge, eh? Nice name. Wait, what the- Great NARUTO Bridge?!" He sat up quickly and stared at it. Very rarely was he recognized for his talents and contributions, but when he was, he cherished those moments dearly.

"Pfft. What a shitty name for a bridge." Tsunade said.

"Shut up you old hag!" Naruto yelled. "What the hell are we doing in Wave Country anyway?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" At his blank look, Tsunade clarified. "While you were playing Doctor with the fish, I told you my sources say that Jiraiya is somewhere in Wave Country. Now let's go before it gets dark, again. I've secured lodgings for the next few days while we scout around for my teammate."

It only took a few minutes for the pair to cross the bridge and enter Wave Country proper. As soon as they got to the other side, Naruto's eyes widened. It had only been a few months since he had been here, but the place had completely transformed. Gone were the ramshackle houses and dilapidated buildings. Everything looked to be new, and the villagers were bustling about like they had purpose. Naruto could see kids playing in the street, no longer begging for scraps like the last time he had been here.

Tsunade led Naruto to the biggest house in the village. While not exactly the epitome of opulence, Naruto could tell that whoever lived here was comparatively well-off. Tsunade knocked on the door, and he was surprised at who answered.

"We've been expecting you, Tsunade-sama. And you brought Naruto-kun!" said Tsunami, as she greeted them at the doorway.

"Tsunami-san?" he asked, not sure if the woman in front of him was really the same as the one that had housed Team 7 before.

"Naruto-nii-chan!" he heard right before a little boy barreled straight into him.

"Inari! Whoa, how do you guys know the old lady?" he asked, pointing a finger at his companion.

"I was in Wave a few years ago, actually" said Tsunade. "At the time they couldn't afford real doctors here, so I set up a free clinic for a while. I even delivered this little brat here." She picked up Inari in a hug, and held him close to her.

"Tsunade-sama was the one who suggested we go to Konoha to ask for help," a familiar voice said. From the top of the stairs, Naruto could see Tazuna. Out of the three of them, he could honestly say that the old man had changed the most. For one thing, he no longer had the perpetual smell of alcohol on his body. He also held himself in a manner that conveyed confidence. "Of course, she could've saved me a ton of money if she'd just come her herself."

"Tsk, I told you I was busy." She turned to Naruto. "A few towns away there'd been an outbreak of some pretty nasty shit I had to take care of."

"It's ok, Tsunade-sama," said Tsunami. "Why don't we all head inside? Dinner should be read soon."

"Oh yeah! I haven't had your cooking in a few months! This place changed so much since the last time I was here, it'll be nice to eat something familiar," said Naruto. With this declaration, he made his way into the house, followed by Tsunami and Tazuna. Tsunade gave Inari one last hug before putting him back down on the ground. No one noticed the subtle green glow emanating from her hand as she led the boy into the house.

–

"Goddamn it, all this running around's got me riled up. Ne, Itachi, can't we just bust in there and grab the brat? I can't spend another two weeks running around you know. My sword's hungry!" Hoshigaki Kisame, the Monster of the Hidden Mist, was getting on his nerves. The man really was too bloodthirsty for his own good. Good thing that he was Uchiha Itachi; lesser men would have kowtowed to the beast, but not him.

"Very few people nowadays can see the virtue of patience," Itachi remarked, his face impassive as always. "Do not underestimate her," he warned. Kisame rolled his eyes at this, but said nothing. Tsunade may not have been able to match him or Itachi in terms of pure, raw chakra, but that did not make her any less dangerous.

"But don't fret. I think your... talents... will be of use sooner than you think."

–

Looking around the table, Naruto could barely control himself. Arrayed in front of him was quite possibly the most delicious-looking feast he'd seen in years. Gone was the bare-bones rice porridge he'd had in the past. In its place were sumptuous cuts of meat, delicate and savory at the same time, ready to be grilled. Yup, he thought, Tazuna and his family definitely moved up in the world.

Inari himself had grown up a bit. He had seemingly left that shadow of his former self behind, carrying a perpetual smile on his face. Tsunami no longer looked worn down. Without the threat of death looming over her family, she had come out of her shell and exuded confidence like never before. With his completion of the bridge, Tazuna had given his family and his country a way out of the depression that plagued them for years.

In their company, Naruto had never felt happier. These people were concrete examples of the good that was out there in the world. The good that stemmed from his own hands, and represented the good he would do in the future. With a large smile on his face and without hesitation, he dug into the meal.

Were he more observant, he would have seen that his sensei wasn't nearly enjoying herself as much as he was. Sure, Tsunade had a smile plastered on her face like all the others, but it did not reach her eyes. Furthermore, while naruto noticed that she was still wearing her shoes- normally a faux pas, as it was customary to leave footwear at the door- he attributed it to the fact that he didn't think anyone would be brave enough to berate the legendary ninja on her lack of manners. Lastly, was the fact that Tsunade did not take part in her second-favorite past time, alcohol binging.

But alas, in the company of friends and the promise of a roof over his head for the night, Naruto let his guard down. What an idiot, Tsunade thought. After tonight, though, he'll never make that mistake ever again. In fact... here they come now.

Naruto was about to place the last piece of yakitori in his mouth when he felt it. A monstrous amount of chakra seemingly exploded from out of nowhere as a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds and a large, bandage-wrapped sword on his back, crashed through the ceiling and landed right on top of the table, sending food and dinnerware everywhere. To his credit, as soon as he felt the man's presence Naruto immediately charged his entire body with chakra, grabbed Inari, and jumped away. The enemy swung his sword at Naruto, only to find empty air as the blonde successfully dodged the strike. Naruto put Inari down and switched to a defensive stance. He quickly glanced around the room, noting that Tsunade had done the same with Tsunami and Tazuna.

"Hehe. You're fast, kid," said the strange man. Upon closer inspection, Naruto saw that the man had grey skin and that his teeth were all sharpened to a point, giving him a distinct shark-like appearance. "Name's Hoshiga-"

The man's introduction was cut short as a fist planted itself in his gut, making him double over. This was quickly followed up by a knee to his face, partnered with an elbow to the back of his head, as Tsunade made herself known. Unfortunately for her, instead of the satisfying, crunchy squish that was normally associated with the collapse of the human skull, her victim slowly became transparent, like water. A Mizu-bunshin, she thought. On reflex, Tsunade turned around and caught the large, bandage-wrapped sword in her hands as it came down towards her.

"You bitch. I wasn't done tal-" Kisame started. Yet again, before he could finish his sentence, Tsunade pulled at the sword, drawing him forward and throwing him off balance. Once he was within reach, she threw out her leg in a crescent kick, hitting his head with the inside of her foot. This time, she smirked, as she knew her foot made contact with the real thing. She was disappointed, however, when she failed to decapitate him with her kick. Instead, he flew through the wall, skidding to a stop thirty feet away down the street.

Seeing the hole she made, she looked to Tsunami and Tazuna. "My apologies. You can send the repair bill to Konoha. Naruto, stay here and protect them. I'll take care of the garbage" Gripping the sword in her hand, she made to jump out of the house to follow her opponent. However, she felt a flare of chakra coming the sword itself. Within seconds, it exploded in large, grey spines that would have most likely killed her, had she not hurled it back at its master.

Kisame was almost back on his feet when he felt, rather than saw, the large spiky ball that was Samehada head his way. A large explosion of water marked the use of another water clone. A few meters away stood the original. Barely 30 seconds into the fight and she's already got the upper hand, he smirked. Finally, a real fight.

The smile on his face didn't last long, as Tsunade pushed her advantage. Despite cutting off his introduction earlier, she knew exactly who it was she was facing. Hoshigaki Kisame was as famous as they come. Known as the Monster of Kirigakure, the Tail-less Tailed Beast, Kisame was no laughing matter. In order to stand toe-to-toe with him, she would have to dictate the fight and bring it into close-ranged combat. His jutsu would obliterate her from far away if she let him, so her best bet was to keep him within range of her fists. This wasn't an easy task, as Kisame used to be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Fighting up close and personal was his thing too. Meh, she thought. We'll just see who's better. With that thought, she charged.

–

From afar, Naruto watched as his sensei fought the missing-nin. "Yeah! That's right, Baa-chan! Give him the ol' one-two!" he called out to his sensei, who tore after her target in hot pursuit. Somewhat childishly, he was mimicking his sensei, punching the air in front of him as if he was fighting in her place. Luckily, his adrenaline-heightened senses picked up the incoming kunai before it embedded itself in his neck. Ducking and making his way in front of the scared family, Naruto stood defensively over them, ready to face the new threat.

"You're grown, Naruto-kun." His voice was cold, and sent a chill that Naruto could feel in his very bones. Like the other one, Naruto could feel the power rolling off of him in waves. What surprised him the most, however, was how much of a resemblance the newcomer had to his team mate Sasuke.

"H-How do you know my name?"

"Hn." Just like Sasuke,Naruto thought. "Let's just say you are famous." Before Naruto could retort, he saw the Sasuke look-alike form a single hand seal and take in a deep breath. When he exhaled, a large fireball erupted from the ninja's mouth, headed straight towards Naruto and the family. No! I can't dodge that! thought Naruto, knowing that if he did the family behind him would burn to a crisp.

Instead of the searing heat of flames, however, Naruto suddenly found himself engulfed in a strange, sticky liquid, floating a foot or so above the ground. He couldn't see anything, but was glad he wasn't dead. He felt the fluid surrounding him shift, as he was deposited back on the ground.

"Naruto-san, please be more careful next time."

Hearing the kind voice scolding him, Naruto knew at once that yet again he owed his life to the slugs. Naruto looked up to see an elephant-sized Katsuyu towering over him. Getting back to his feet, Naruto dodged as he saw the large slug unceremoniously regurgitate a frazzled Inari, Tsunami, and Tazuna.

Looking around, Naruto saw that they were no longer inside the house. Rather, the slug had carried them outside, where it knew he wouldn't be trapped in another dangerous situation.

"Thanks again, Katsuyu-sama. You're the best!" he said. "But how did you get here? I didn't summon you."

"Like before, Tsunade-san has taken to hiding slugs on your person, Naruto-san. In case of emergencies." Naruto nodded at the slug, silently wondering to himself when the last time was that he had a bath. This was getting ridiculous.

"That was... disturbing, Naruto-kun." A cold voice interrupted his musing. The enemy nin was back. The large slug moved its way in front of Naruto to protect him, but before it could do anything it soon found itself covered in black flames, forcing it to dispel itself. With the slug out of the way, the dark-haired ninja turned his focus back on the blonde. With a quick burst of speed, he made his way in front of Naruto, and before he could react, grabbed him by the throat.

"Let go of Naruto-nii!" Afraid that he would see another one of his heroes die in front of his eyes, Inari charged blindly at the enemy ninja. He never made it to Naruto.

From his position, Naruto saw the entire event in slow motion. He saw Inari running towards them as his captor pulled out a Tanto from beneath his cloak. He saw a stream of blood arc it's way through the air as Tsunami's and Tazuna's screams could be heard in the background. This was the last straw, as Naruto pulled from deep within himself the Kyuubi's chakra. It was faint at first, but after a few seconds, he was covered in a thick cloak of red energy.

–

Itachi felt his arm start burning as it held on to Naruto by the throat. So he can use it... he thought. Itachi wasn't stupid. He knew that fighting a Jinchuuriki was dangerous. Besides, I got what I came for. With that, he gripped his short sword and drove it through Naruto's shoulder, pinning him to the ground. Calling upon his chakra, he threw out a hand seal and used a Shunshin jutsu to teleport away.

–

Naruto screamed as the cloaked ninja stabbed him with the sword. Red chakra flaring, he used his other arm to grab the metal sticking out of his shoulder and pulled it out. The wound cauterized on he flaming red cloak of energy, before slowly closing itself. Naruto could literally see his flesh knitting shut in a sedate pace. Looking around, he saw that his enemy was gone before letting go of his control of the kyuubi's energy, letting it dissipate. Standing up, he suddenly remembered Inari. Looking over to where the boy was laying in a growing puddle of blood, he saw Tsunami and Tazuna weeping over him.

"Move back!" he commanded, making his way to the boy. At first, he tried to staunch the bleeding by applying pressure to the boy's chest, where the wound was at its deepest, but it did nothing as the red liquid continued to pour out. Making hand seals, he summoned a couple of slugs, placing them on his person and on Inari, before channeling his chakra.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-san, but this is a major injury. Channeling your chakra to me to heal him would be too slow, and he will bleed to death. You need to heal him directly," said the slug.

"I can't!" he said vehemently. "What if I get it wrong? What if I end up killing him? Where is Tsunade?!"

"I do not know, Naruto-san. But we have no time to wait for her. You must perform the procedure." Her kind voice didn't help ease Naruto's mind as he stared at the bleeding boy. He tried gathering chakra in his hands, but it came in flashes. He couldn't hold a steady stream of it.

"Naruto-san. You must believe that you can do this. You are his only hope." Steeling his nerves, the blonde genin pushed more chakra out of his palms, solidifying the glow before pressing it to Inari's wounds. He saw the wound start to shrink, and he gained more hope. It was working! Naruto's focus was rock-solid. When he put his mind to task, few things could throw him off course. And this was Inari! Failure was not an option.

The first sign that something went wrong was when the jutsu stopped working. Naruto tried pushing more chakra to it, but no matter how much he converted, the healing chakra was no longer entering Inari's body. But, that would only happen if-

"Inari? Inari, wake up." Tears welled up in his eyes. "Inari, no. You can't die. You just can't," he begged. He couldn't hold it in anymore. Behind him he heard Tsunami collapse, wailing at her father that her only child had perished. Tazuna himself was in shock, and couldn't move.

–

It was a somber scene that greeted Tsunade when she finally found her way back to Naruto and the others. Her student was kneeling over a cold corpse of a child while mother and grandfather held onto each other for their lives.

"Naruto." The boy didn't answer. "Naruto, we have to go. We can't stay here or they'll be back."

"Baa-chan." The humor was gone from his voice. "This can't happen again. I won't let it." At this declaration, she nodded at him. "I need to be strong. You're going to teach me everything you know." She nodded again. "I'm going to save everyone." She nodded one last time, before summoning a travel slug. Naruto took one last look at Tsunami and Tazuna before jumping on the slug's back. Tsunade followed suit. Wordlessly, the two blondes made their way out of Wave Country, never looking back.

–

It was only a day later that the two made camp again. While Naruto prepared the fire, Tsunade stood up and spoke for the first time since the day before.

"I'm going to go scout the area and set up traps. I'll be back later. Take care of yourself until I get back." With that, she created a single shadow clone, and the two shunshin'ed away.

–

"Good job, Itachi." Said missing nin nodded at the blonde hologram. "Now that we know the nine-tails' capabilities, we can continue with our plans with more confidence. Where is Kisame?"

"We were separated, Leader-sama. But it is not a problem. We are set to rendezvous in three days at the designated location."

"That is of no consequence, then. I will contact you with your next assignment once you rejoin your partner." With that, the hologram disappeared.

"Good job indeed, Itachi." He heard a slow clap behind him. Itachi tensed, his hand grabbing his tanto, only for him to realize he had left hit behind in Wave. "Looking for this?" A heavy silver object landed at his feet. From the black handle, he recognized it as his old weapon from his Anbu days. Itachi looked up, just in time to see Tsunade emerge from behind the tree.

"Tsunade-sama," Itachi bowed his head. "I have done as you commanded."

"You followed my orders perfectly. I am grateful to have such a competent subordinate," she replied.

"Forgive me for my impudence, Tsunade-sama, but if I may?" he asked. She gave him a slight nod, prompting him to continue. "But why are we all the way out here in Wave Country? You already know that Jiraiya-sama is in Otafuku-Gai."

"Ah, that old pervert can wait. These people here are the only ones that Naruto actually gives a damn about, other than some of the people in Konoha, and I wasn't about to let you and sharkface run amok there." Itachi nodded in understanding. Letting his bloodthirsty partner release his pent-up aggression in the middle of a crowded village was not exactly ideal.

"Speaking of Kisame..." he prompted.

"Ah yeah, the slippery bastard's alive, but he'll think twice before trying to take me on again. On the plus side, he can tell Akatsuki just exactly what's standing between them and the Kyuubi. It should buy me some time. I just hope I can train the boy enough before they try again."

"And Naruto-kun... was that not particularly... cruel?"

"Maa, maa Itachi. Don't worry. You taught Naruto a valuable lesson yesterday. From what I observed in training him for the Chuunin exams, he needed a reality check. If anything, we've forcefully shoved him down the right path. With his new determination, I'll mold him into the most powerful ninja since his father. No one, not even Akatsuki, will be able to use him, and he'll be able to stand on his own."

"For the good of the village?" he asked.

"For the good of the village."

–

Tazuna heard the knock on the door. He didn't have to open it to see who it was, thanks to the large opening on the side of his house.

"Tsunade-sama."

Without waiting for a further invitation, the blonde Sannin let herself in.

"Tsunami!" Tazuna yelled. "Tsunade-sama is back!" The woman emerged at the top of the stairs, looking all the worse for wear. Her eyes were still red, having spent a majority of the night crying.

"Tsunade-sama," she bowed.

"Tsunami, Tazuna," she nodded at the both of them. "Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. As promised, here is the payment." She took out an envelope and handed it to Tazuna, who promptly opened it without hesitation. His eyes grew wide.

"T-This is twice the amount agreed upon! Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" he bowed to her again.

"For the damages," she smiled.

"And Inari?" asked Tsunami. At her inquiry, Tsunade nodded and went into their living room- one of the few parts of the house that remained relatively unharmed. She grabbed one of the pillows at the side of the room and placed it before her. A few hand seals later, a little boy appeared in place of the pillow. Gathering green healing chakra in her hand, she touched him lightly on his forehead, releasing the jutsu she had placed on him a couple of days before.

"I put him in a comatose state. He'll be back to normal in a few hours." Tsunami rushed forward and hugged her son. "I'm sorry for what you had to see, Tsunami. That can't have been easy."

"No, Tsunade-sama. It wasn't," the woman replied. "Thank you for the payment." Tsunami picked up her son and made her way back up the stairs. Recognizing it as a sign of dismissal, Tsunade looked at Tazuna and shook his hand.

"Thank you again, Tazuna." With that, she let herself out. The old man watched as she walked away whistling without a care in the world.

–

Woot! That was fun to write haha. I had a version of this chapter ready to go like, two days ago, but I thought it was crap, so I redid it. Pretty glad I did :D Hopefully it came out alright haha. A couple of hidden gems in this chapter that I thought I can build upon for the future of this story. One, is Tsunade's ability to create real goddamn (Inari's doppleganger). Not illusions, not shadow-clones, but a real, flesh-and-blood clone. The other is the fact that Inari's actually alive haha. How do you think Naruto's gonna react when Tazuna shows up with his grandson to help rebuild Konoha (whoops, spoiler? Kind of? Idk, lmao) in later chapters? To clarify, Tsunade put Inari in a coma when they got there, made a clone, Naruto saw the clone die, tsunade comes back a few days later and sets things right.

I can't remember if I promised Jiraiya and Shizune for this chapter, and if you were expecting them, sorryyyyy! I'm pretty sure I'll get to them next time. Oh, and just a side note- In this story Tsunade's not evil or anything, she's just manipulative :D

Remember, keep sending in ideas! I'm literally flying by the seat of my pants here, so if you think of something awesome, and I agree, maybe I'll take the fic in that direction.

Anywho, hope you enjoyed! Seeya next time!