Chapter 23

It had been 2 days since Naruto and Jiraiya met Tsunade at a restaurant.

Tsunade refused to be Hokage from the very beginning. But Jiraiya decided to stay for a while, perhaps in hopes of persuasion.

Naruto saw Tsunade sitting alone on his way back to the hotel from practice at night.

"She must still be considering the offer." Naruto thought as he walked over to Tsunade.

"You think too much." Naruto said as he sat next to her.

"Is it that obvious?" Tsunade said while sipping her drink.

"Yes, it is very obvious. You're probably thinking about Orochimaru's offer, right?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade continued to drink with her eyes closed without any answer.

"Sometimes it is necessary to leave the past in the past. Otherwise, you will never be able to live in the future." Naruto said as he bought a drink and drank it.

Tsunade began to think about the words Naruto had said. Later, when she opened her eyes and saw him drinking, she said, "You're still a child, you shouldn't drink at this age."

"Child? I stopped being a child a long time ago. Jiraiya has already told you who I am, right?" Naruto said with a small smile.

Tsunade nodded as she continued to drink.

"Frankly, on the one hand, I can understand you. You are very angry because you lost all your loved ones. Also, remember what your loved ones' dreams are. So don't do things that they won't like and you'll regret it after doing it." Naruto said after taking another sip of his drink.

"So you know a little bit about what I've been through. Besides, I must say, you are very good at comforting speech." Tsunade said with a mocking grin on her face.

"I noticed it too. Anyway, know that I'm here if you need any help or call someone you want to talk to. You know, I'm an Uzumaki and we used to be a pretty close clan. We're both almost the last members of our clans." Naruto said and continued to drink his drink with a smile.

Tsunade stared at Naruto in surprise for a while, then continued drinking with a smile on her face.

***

A few days had passed. Naruto and Tsunade were talking to each other sometimes. Also, Tsunade poured out a little bit of her sadness onto Naruto.

At this time, Tsunade was on her way to meet Orochimaru alone.

"Tsunade, you've finally arrived. Don't worry, I'll revive your little brother and boyfriend after I've healed my hands." Orochimaru said excitedly.

Then, Orochimaru approached Tsunade and extended his hands.

Tsunade began to stretch out her green glowing hands to Orochimaru's hands. Just when the two hands would meet, a kunai was thrown between them.

Kabuto, who had previously participated in the Konoha Chuunin Exams, jumped off the roof and landed behind Orochimaru.

"How could you betray me at the last moment?" Orochimaru said while squinting at Tsunade.

Kabuto said as he walked over to Orochimaru, "I realized that her chakra was meant to kill since I'm a medical-nin myself."

"I knew I could count on you, Kabuto." Orochimaru said.

"I know you won't keep your word that you won't harm Konoha. I just wanted to see them one last time. But then I realized that my request was very selfish. I would not have the face to look at them if I did something that would not please them out of my selfishness." Tsunade said with a sad expression.

"If you will not do it with beauty, then you will do it by force! Kabuto!" Orochimaru said angrily.

Kabuto rushed to attack Tsunade.

Tsunade began to lose because of the blows she received after the two fought for a while. Because Kabuto knew that she had a phobia of blood, and using this weakness, he started to win the fight.

While Kabuto was about to stab Tsunade with his kunai, Jiraiya came out from one side, hitting him and throwing back.

Kabuto retreated to Orochimaru's side without being hit hard. Then, after biting his finger and spilling blood, he pressed his hand to the ground and summoned a huge snake.

Jiraiya immediately put his hand down and summoned a frog.

"Damn, I'm still under the influence of poison." Jiraiya thought as he looked at the little frog he had summoned.

While Orochimaru and the snake were fighting against Jiraiya, Kabuto was fighting with Shizune, who was Tsunade's assistant.

Kabuto easily defeated Shizune and started walking towards Tsunade.

"Tsunade-san, I have a lot of respect for you actually as a medical-nin myself. But I pity your current state, the best medical-nin has a blood phobia. It's a laughing matter." Kabuto said as he approached her.

Just then, Naruto appeared in front of Tsunade.

"Looks like I'm a little late to the party. Looks like we're seeing each other again Kabuto-san." Naruto said with a smile.

"Oh? Aren't you the genin in that chuunin exam? This is not a matter for a small genin like you to mess with. Back off, little one." Kabuto said sarcastically.

"Naruto back off! He is not someone you can handle!" Tsunade said worriedly.

Naruto looked at Tsunade with a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry, I can handle it, leave everything to me."

"Looks like you don't remember the surprises you encountered in the second stage, Kabuto-san? I loved watching you run away as you looked around in fear." Naruto said with a grin.

"It's… That was you!?" Kabuto was trembling with fear as he remembered the nightmare he had in the forest.

There were explosions near him constantly throughout the night. Worst of all, he was constantly stuck in the dreaded genjutsu. That night might have been the time he feared the most in his life.

"Yes, it was me. I was very lucky to find a lab rat like you to try out my new technique. You managed to pass the second stage, despite all the torture. I wish you didn't give up, I want to play with you more. But luckily, now we meet again. I also have a much more effective technique now. I hope you like my new technique." As Naruto finished words, his eyes had changed and tails had sprung up behind him.