"Is this some kind of fate, Jiraiya?"
On the way back, Tsunade walked, occasionally glancing at the bankbook in her hand before turning to the white-haired man beside her. "Your savings are almost the exact amount of my debt..."
Jiraiya pressed his temples and waved his hand. "Even though I already agreed to lend you the money, at least leave me with a little something!"
This was a rare occasion for Tsunade to ask him for help. Besides, he was a single man, and publishers regularly sent him royalty checks from reprints that would make most authors drool. He didn't have to worry about money at all.
"Forget it."
Tsunade took one last wistful look at the bankbook before tossing it back to Jiraiya. She sighed softly. "I'll pay back the money I owe myself."
Jiraiya caught the bankbook, surprised. "But we're friends..."
The blonde kunoichi looked up with a smile, the wind blowing through her long hair. "Ha, maybe it's because I'm worried I won't want to pay you back in the future!"
"That's fine!" the white-haired man said, his face flushing red. "We... we've been friends for so many years. Money isn't that important."
He felt a bit upset as he spoke. It was a rare chance for Tsunade to ask for his help with something he could actually do, and now she was turning him down.
"Hahahaha, you and Orochimaru have already lent me a lot of money in the past." Tsunade laughed and patted Jiraiya's shoulder, but then her smile faded. "Orochimaru is a rogue ninja now. Does that mean I don't have to pay back the money I borrowed from him?"
"You still have to pay it back," Tobirama Senju said, tapping her on the head. "You can pay him back first, then kill him. You'll get the money back that way."
Tsunade was speechless. Isn't that just a massive insult to Orochimaru?
The Second Hokage was a rigid man who emphasized rules. Because Tobirama himself was someone who liked to create rules, he tended to act only according to his own will. Or, occasionally, his brother Hashirama's.
Tsunade slowed her steps until she was walking alongside Naruto, who was behind her. She suddenly wrapped her arm around his neck. "Hey, brat, I'm a little short on cash. Shouldn't you show some consideration? I gave you the position of Fifth Hokage!"
"..."
Naruto rolled his eyes and tossed her his frog wallet. He had a feeling that if he really did become the Fifth Hokage, he'd be blackmailed by Tsunade for the rest of his life.
The blonde kunoichi opened the wallet with a look of pleasant surprise, which immediately soured. "How come there's so little money?"
"Because I'm just a genin!" Naruto sighed and looked at Shizune beside him. "And I have to thank Shizune for helping me pay for the houses we destroyed back in Tanzaku Town..."
He reached for the wallet. "Since you think it's too little, give it back. That's enough for a few bowls of ramen..."
Blehh. Tsunade stuck out her tongue, took out the largest bill, and tossed the wallet back to Naruto. "Here. I'll leave you enough for one bowl of ramen!"
"Well, thank you for your kindness..." Naruto gave her a listless look. As he was about to put the wallet away, a bright glint of light flashed in his vision.
It was a gleaming shuriken.
No, not just one.
Naruto suddenly looked up. A dense volley of shuriken rained down, instantly enveloping them. Someone was ambushing them.
Most of the people present had excellent sensory skills. When the ambushers used their chakra, they all looked at each other. "There are five of them," someone noted.
Tsunade said coldly, "And each of them is quite strong."
Naruto pulled Tsunade down with one hand while forming a spiral shield of chakra with the other. His expression was grim. "The chakra of two of them is very familiar. Itachi Uchiha and that shark-faced guy. Danzo might have sent them to ambush us..."
"Wait, what does this have to do with Danzo?"
"When Danzo ambushed Team 7, he mentioned he had a good relationship with the Uchiha. But Pervy Sage told us Danzo's relationship with the Uchiha was terrible, second only to the Second Hokage's. They were practically mortal enemies."
As Naruto spoke, he lowered the shield and gestured for Tsunade to stand behind him. He looked up at Jiraiya, then at Tobirama.
Jiraiya added, "Itachi Uchiha killed almost every member of the Uchiha clan in Konoha. After the massacre, the old man put Danzo in confinement. Not long ago, just as Orochimaru was attacking Konoha under Danzo's orders, Itachi briefly appeared and attacked Team 7. And before that, Danzo and his Root ninja had already attacked Team 7 twice."
The evidence suggested that Itachi and Danzo must have been colluding. Their original plan was to deal with Danzo after returning to the village and securing the Hokage position. Unfortunately, it seemed they wouldn't get the chance. If they had hurried back to the village, they might have been able to see Danzo's urn and attend his memorial service.
Tobirama sighed in a low voice, "So the Uchiha clan was still massacred?"
This time, even Shizune spoke up, somewhat confused. "Lord Second Hokage, that's not really the point, is it?"
"Is a bunch of audacious idiots the point?" Tobirama glanced contemptuously at the group of ninjas in black cloaks with red clouds who had leaped down. The one rushing towards him, Kisame Hoshigaki, was particularly eye-catching.
"Flying Thunder God Slash!"
Swoosh!
The Second Hokage's body instantly appeared at Kisame's side, and a sharp slash left a long, diagonal wound across his body.
The shark-faced man touched the wound in surprise. "What's going on?"
"Hmph. As long as I've touched you once, the Flying Thunder God technique leaves a mark on your body," Tobirama said, confronting Kisame with his sword. He continued coldly, "The mark will never disappear."
"..."
Kisame was speechless. He gripped his own sword tightly and waited for Samehada to slowly heal his wound. For some reason, he felt that the Tobirama Senju he saw this time was different... Yes, just different. The current Tobirama was like a living person.
Kisame couldn't help but sigh. Today was truly an unlucky day. All he could do was hope to stall Tobirama and let Itachi complete the mission of capturing the Nine-Tails jinchuriki. As for the immortal duo, who cared if they lived or died?
The immortal duo was having a rough time.
Hidan rushed towards Tsunade, laughing wildly. "Ahahaha... one of the Konoha Sannin, the legendary Princess Tsunade! Let me offer you to Lord Jashin! You are so beautiful, Lord Jashin will definitely like you!"
"Get lost!"
A sharp shout entered Hidan's ears. Before the silver-haired man could curse back, he felt a huge force slam into him, sending him flying backward even faster than he'd charged in. With one punch, who knows how many bones were broken.
Naruto scratched his head. "Granny Tsunade, you didn't have to do that..."
Tsunade's smile was a bit wicked. "Ha, I was bored anyway..."
Her smile froze on her face. A man with an activated Sharingan stood before them. "Long time no see, Lady Tsunade, Miss Shizune, Naruto..."
"Uchiha... Itachi!"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
-----
Bonus:
Naruto: Did Danzo send you to ambush us?
Itachi Uchiha: ...Yes.
Naruto: Holy crap, I knew it was him!
Danzo Shimura: Damn it, you can't even see through such an obvious lie from Itachi Uchiha?
Naruto: He was lying?
Danzo Shimura: In the entire ninja world, is there anyone better at lying than him?
Naruto: You have a point. He even tricked Sasuke into losing everything...
Danzo Shimura: Naruto, he killed me! His crime is unforgivable! You must avenge me!
Naruto: That's exciting! Then I should give him an award!
Danzo Shimura: ...
Itachi Uchiha: Actually, it doesn't have to be that troublesome. I just did a little something within my power, not worth mentioning. Just give me some prize money. If there's no prize money, just give me the salary for the years I was a spy...
Naruto: You're not picky?
Itachi Uchiha: The Akatsuki is a startup company. They never paid me, always talking about Tailed Beast stock options or something. Konoha never paid me either. Maybe the Third Hokage embezzled it...
Naruto: That's possible...