The Zero Tails Jinchuriki #19

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Konoha, Land of Fire

–Kenta Senju–

Coming out of the Hokage Tower, he looked at the night sky and sighed, for this was not the way he wanted things to go. What he pulled off today, it certainly angered Sarutobi and put a damper on their relationship. He had not wanted that but it was clear for anyone with eyes to see.

Sarutobi had grown weak, not just in the might of his chakra, which was arguable since old shinobi in their profession were almost always more dangerous than their younger counterparts, but in the strength of his mind,

The man was mentally tired and drained, and not of the mindset required to bring Konoha to its highest potential. But the situation called for it and in his opinion, Sarutobi was the best choice for the moment and some would say the only choice at the moment.

While bringing the village to new heights would certainly be hard for him, keeping the village as is? Helping it survive through tumultuous times without compromising on most of the village’s tenets? That he could certainly do.

Sarutobi had a weak spot for his students, whom he considered his children. Of those children, only Jiraiya somewhat listened to him and that too, barely. Hell, the man could barely bring himself to attack Orochimaru, despite catching him red handed.

What else could he expect if nothing when it came to Tsunade? Having her back in the village was the best possible outcome out of all of this, and neither he nor the village had the time necessary to do it the right way.

So he stuck hard and fast, leaving Sarutobi or Tsunade no choice. She was unconscious, the whiplash of the fight draining her mentally but she would be fine, he knew that. The only question that remained was, what would she do when she woke up?

Would she be amenable to Jiraiya and Sarutobi’s suggestions or would she stubbornly dig her feet in and try to leave the village? She would be allowed to leave, obviously. Konoha did not have the capacity to restrain someone like her but when he would be back from his mission, the first thing he would do is seek her out and lay down the options for her.

Certainly, losing the Senju name, the only thing she had of her family with her by now, would be enough of a motivator to either kill him or submit to his demands? Both of them would work, though obviously, the second option suited him better.

Shaking his head, he pushed Tsunade out of his mind as the outcome of that particular chapter was out of his hands and jumped to the nearest rooftop, heading outside the village. He always slept better when he was out there, surrounded by Hashirama trees. It reeked of familiarity to him as the comfortable bed and warm flooring only made him uncomfortable, making it harder for him to rest properly.

After all, he had to guard the Daimyo tomorrow, and had to then run to the border and potentially deal with the strongest rogue ninja that Konoha has ever produced.

Out of habit, mid air, he stilled for a second, jumping into Sage Mode a bit and then, seamlessly, he turned course and jumped towards the hospital, startling the poor ANBU that was tailing him.

He had someone important to talk to. Someone who was the only person Tsunade would probably listen to, and who was arguably more harmed in the decade long crusade that Tsunade had waged against herself.

Shizune was awake.

____xx___

Konoha General Ward

–Kato Shizune–

She sat there, the smell of the cleaning chemicals of the hospital the only thing on her mind as she looked at the sleeping face of Tsunade-sama. One of the few times she had seen her sensei sleeping peacefully, without a bottle in her hand or around her bed, and without having to physically herd her into the bed, or into a makeshift bed in the forest after the debt collectors got too close.

In the beginning, it was hard. Harder than it had any right to be. She was strong, scored decent marks in the academy and was stronger than almost all of her peers, and then, out of nowhere, her idol, Tsunade-sama herself, offered a chance to be the disciple of the Greatest Medic of Konoha and perhaps the world as well.

Naturally, her younger self jumped on the chance. Reality did not take long to settle in, only a few weeks at best. Even then, Tsunade-sama had money to throw around, even after losing a fortune every night during her gambling spree, so she lived in comfort.

Nothing like the state they had been in for the past couple of years. No money, no connections, no clear path, no recurring clients, nothing. For Tsunade-sama had squandered away almost everything else.

Only a long line of debt collectors, and a freakishly strong shinobi who had the strength to punch them all away but not the debt. She could not do much about their debt, astronomical as it was, but she did do whatever she could in terms of their living situation.

Once Tsundae-sama had gotten to sleep, or knocked herself out, or cried to sleep, depending on the day of the week it was, she would go out, offering her services as a decent medic and a modest shinobi, earning enough money to keep both of them fed and out of the forests.

It worked, initially, that is. For almost three years, they had food two times a day, cooked properly and not hunted, a warm, somewhat comfortable bed to sleep in, and an occasional change of clothes, all without a single ounce of debt.

She was particularly proud of herself at the time, having done something to help Tsundae-sama. Not that it lasted long.

One fine day, Tsunade-sama, without asking, took all of their money before she could wake up, and by the time she finally tracked down Tsunade-sama to the nearest gambling den, which was two towns over, Tsunade-sama had lost almost a year’s worth of her savings, money that she intended on using for herself.

When confronted, the casual response from Tsunade-sama had disappointed her so much she considered leaving right then and there. She still remembered it.

“What do you need money for? I can just bring you whatever you need. Don’t sweat over that small amount. Haha!”

It might have been small for her but for Shizune? It was a year’s worth of work and from then, she just resigned herself to it. She stopped making any effort. She kept an ear open for whenever Tsunade-sama felt like giving her little nuggets of information about medical ninjutsu but aside from that, she just followed Tsunade-sama, not knowing anything about their destination or their route.

She had resolved to follow Tsunade-sama for a few more years and barring any significant changes, had decided to go back to Konoha to register as an active shinobi once more. Alas, before she could do any of that, a tragedy struck Konoha and now, here she was, watching Tsunade-sama’s peaceful face, whilst waiting for her to wake up, knowing that she would be asked by Tsunade-sama to leave with her.

A question she had no answer to.

The door opening had her turning around, subtly wiping her tears as the words in her mouth were stuck at the sight of Kenta Senju-sama entering the room.

“Eh,” She racked her brains for the right word and then ended up blurting out the first thing that came to her mind, “Visitation hours are over right now.”

She almost bit her tongue on the spot out of embarrassment. Visitation hours might be over but this was someone who had managed to beat Tsunade-sama, a S-class shinobi. Normal rules did not apply to them, certainly not for people from the same clan.

Before she could say anything else, Kenta-san chuckled and replied, “I am aware of that, Kato-san. I am not here to see Tsunade. Actually, I am here to speak to you.”

“Me?” She questioned, pointing at herself in confusion.

“Yes, you.” He gestured at the room outside. Still a bit confused, she nodded and followed him.

She wondered what Kenta-san had to say to her. After all, she was nowhere near as important as Tsunade-sama was and if the days she spent in the hospital were anything to go by, there were at least half a dozen other medics just as skilled as her.

The only reason she was more successful than they were was because she had Tsunade-sama whispering the solution in her ears, since Tsunade-sama herself could not do any ninjutsu when in sight of any blood, a crippling vulnerability for someone whose entire profession revolved around killing and healing. Both things that involved a healthy amount of blood.