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The following 12 chapters are already available to Patrons.
Chapter 102, Chapter 103, Chapter 104, Chapter 105, Chapter 106, Chapter 107, Chapter 108, Chapter 109, Chapter 110, and Chapter 111, Chapter 112, and Chapter 113 are already available for Patrons.
The lottery ticket lay forgotten on the table as Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the blonde shinobi before her. Her gaze darted around the gambling den, scanning every shadow, every corner, every seemingly innocent patron. The place had emptied considerably since Naruto's arrival, as if the civilians could sense the dangerous atmosphere, even without chakra.
"If you're looking for my allies," Naruto said, casually leaning back in his chair, "you won't find them. I came alone."
"Do you take me for an idiot?" Tsunade scoffed, her fingers drumming against the table. "No one walks into a meeting with a Sannin without backup, especially not someone who just declared war on the entire shinobi system."
The corner of Naruto's mouth quirked up. "Why not? I already fought Orochimaru."
The drumming stopped. Tsunade's green eyes widened slightly, while Shizune's sharp intake of breath broke the momentary silence. They both knew about the Rinnegan, had heard his voice in their heads like everyone else with chakra, but sitting across from them was still a young man – barely more than a boy.
"And how exactly did you survive that encounter?" Tsunade asked, her voice carefully neutral.
Naruto's response was casual, almost bored. "The snake is dead."
The words hit Tsunade like a slap in the face. Her hand unconsciously clenched around her sake cup, memories flooding unbidden – team training sessions, shared meals, laughter before everything went wrong. Despite everything he'd become, despite the hatred she'd nursed for years, something in her chest constricted at the news.
"I don't believe you," she said, but there was a slight tremor in her voice that betrayed her uncertainty.
"I don't particularly care if you do," Naruto replied, his blue eyes shifting to Shizune. His expression shifted to mild annoyance. "And if you're planning to attack, you will need stronger poison. That mix of nightshade and hemlock wouldn't even slow me down."
Shizune's hand, which had been slowly moving toward her hidden senbon launcher, froze. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as those blue eyes seemed to pierce right through her. She'd faced missing-nin before, had stood alongside Tsunade against formidable opponents, but this was different. This wasn't just fear of a powerful enemy – this was primal, instinctive, like a rabbit caught in a fox's gaze.
"Lower your arm, Shizune," Tsunade barked, never taking her eyes off Naruto.
Shizune complied reluctantly, her hand trembling slightly as she brought it back to her side. The movement caught Naruto's attention again, and his expression softened almost imperceptibly.
"What do you want from me?" Tsunade demanded, trying to regain control of the conversation.
"I want you to join me," Naruto stated simply.
A harsh laugh escaped Tsunade's lips. "Not a chance in hell."
"You haven't even heard my offer."
"I don't need to. I heard your speech, just like everyone else. Your 'new world' speech was very moving, I'm sure, but I've heard grand promises before. They all end the same way – with more dead bodies."
"Like Dan? Like Nawaki?"
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Killer intent rolled off Tsunade in waves, strong enough to make the remaining civilians in the den flee in terror. Shizune's face had gone pale.
"You don't get to speak their names," Tsunade growled.
"Why not?" Naruto leaned forward, completely unfazed by her killing intent. "They died for this system. The same system that sent children to die in wars. The same system that treats people like weapons to be used and discarded. The same system you ran away from."
"And your solution is what? More violence? More death? I wasn't there, but I have heard the rumors, they say half of Konoha is in ruins. How much of it was because of you?!"
"To break a cycle of violence, sometimes you need to use violence," Naruto countered. "But unlike the current system, my violence has a purpose beyond profit and power. Every death under my campaign serves to end the need for future deaths."
"Pretty words to justify mass murder."
"Says the woman who abandoned her village to drink and gamble away her pain." Naruto's voice remained calm, but his words cut deep. "At least I'm trying to change things. What have you done except run away?"
The sake cup in Tsunade's hand cracked. "You know nothing about me, boy."
"I know everything about you, Tsunade Senju. I know about the nightmares that still wake you up screaming. I know about the blood phobia that makes you freeze in combat. I know about the debt collectors you keep running from. And I know that deep down, you agree with me."
Tsunade's jaw clenched. "You're delusional."
"Am I? Then why haven't you attacked me yet? You've had seventeen opportunities since I sat down. Instead, you're sitting here, listening, because part of you wants to believe that maybe, just maybe, someone can actually change this broken world."
The silence that followed was deafening. Shizune looked between them, torn between her instinct to protect Tsunade and her growing realization that Naruto was right – they'd had multiple chances to attack, and Tsunade hadn't taken any of them.
"What exactly are you offering?" Tsunade finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
A small, genuine smile crossed Naruto's face. "A chance to heal more than just bodies. A chance to build a world where medical ninjas aren't needed primarily for warfare. A chance to create a system where children like Dan and Nawaki don't have to die for someone else's profit."
"And how many will die to achieve this dream of yours?"
"Fewer than will die if nothing changes." Naruto stood up slowly. "I'll give you time to think about it. Three days. After that, I'll need your answer – one way or another."
As he turned to leave, Tsunade called out, "And if I say no?"
Naruto paused at the door, looking back over his shoulder. "Then we'll meet again under less pleasant circumstances. But I hope it doesn't come to that. After all..." his eyes seemed to glow slightly, "we're family, aren't we, Granny Tsunade?"
"What exactly happened in Konoha? I haven't been there in over a decade."
A knowing smirk spread across Naruto's face. "For someone who claims not to care anymore, you sound awfully interested."
Tsunade's glare could have melted steel. "Answer the damn question."
"Well," Naruto leaned back, as if telling a mildly amusing story, "Orochimaru had this brilliant idea to use Suna, their Jinchuuriki, and his own forces to try and conquer Konoha. But that was just the surface plan. His real goal was to kill the Third Hokage and get his hands on The Silent Secret Scroll."
"The what?" Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed.
"The scroll Hashirama was given long ago. The one he placed in Konoha's Seventh Vault."
"And what exactly is in this scroll?" Tsunade pressed, trying to maintain an air of indifference.
Naruto's eyes gleamed. "That's not for you to know."
"Listen here, you little—"
"I don't have to tell you anything, Lady Tsunade," Naruto's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "Unlike your debt collectors..." His eyes shifted, the blue replaced by the rippling pattern of the Rinnegan, drawing a sharp gasp from Shizune. Even Tsunade, who had faced down some of the most dangerous shinobi in history, felt a cold shiver run down her spine as those ancient eyes fixed on her. "I'm not afraid of you, Lady Tsunade."
The pressure in the room seemed to increase tenfold before his eyes shifted back to their normal blue, but the unspoken threat lingered in the air like static before a storm.
"How many?" Tsunade said after a moment of silence, her voice dropping. "How many died?"
"Why do you care?" Naruto's voice took on an edge. "You haven't been in that place for almost two decades. You don't act like someone who cares about anything anymore." He leaned forward, his voice growing colder. "Because of your mourning, many shinobi – perhaps hundreds – died in the last two decades because you weren't there. And the worst part?" His eyes flicked to Shizune. "The only other shinobi who knows your healing technique has spent the last many years wasting away with an alcoholic instead of helping people."
The sake cup in Tsunade's hand cracked under her grip. "What happened to Hiruzen?" she asked, her voice barely controlled. "Did Orochimaru kill him?"
"He didn't," Naruto said simply.
A flash of relief crossed Tsunade's face.
"I was the one who killed the Third Hokage."
The sake cup shattered completely in Tsunade's grip, shards embedding in her palm. She didn't seem to notice the blood dripping onto the table.
"You..." Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with emotion. "You killed Sarutobi-sensei?"
"I did." Naruto's voice remained steady, his blue eyes never leaving hers. "I drove a sword through his heart and watched him fall from the top of the Hokage Building."
Shizune moved before anyone could blink, her senbon launcher clicking into position. "You monster—"
"Shizune!" Tsunade's sharp command froze her apprentice in place. The legendary Sannin's face had gone pale, but her eyes burned with intensity. "Why? Why did you kill him?"
"The same reason I'm here talking to you now," Naruto replied. "The old world needs to die for the new one to be born. Hiruzen Sarutobi represented everything wrong with the current system. He preached peace while training children to be killers. He talked about protecting the village while allowing its darker elements to fester." His eyes hardened. "He knew what happened to me as a child and did nothing."
"So this is about revenge?" Tsunade demanded.
"No," Naruto's voice softened slightly. "This is about change. Real change. Not the empty promises of peace that the hidden villages keep making while preparing for the next war." He gestured at her bleeding hand. "You can't even heal yourself anymore because of your trauma, yet you were once the greatest medical ninja in history. How many could you have saved in the last twenty years? How many died because you chose to run away?"
"You don't get to judge me," Tsunade snarled. "You have no idea how much I have lost—"
"I know exactly what you've lost. I already told you," Naruto cut in. "Dan. Nawaki. Your father, your mother, your big brother. All are dead because of a village that sends children to war. Dead because the system values profit over peace. All dead because the people in power decided their lives were worth sacrificing." He gave her a look of sympathy. "I'm offering you a chance to ensure no one else has to make those sacrifices. A chance to build something new from the ashes of the old. A world where medical ninjas aren't needed primarily for warfare."
"By killing anyone who stands in your way?" Shizune spoke up, her voice trembling with anger.
"If necessary," Naruto acknowledged. "But I prefer to convince people to join me. Like I convinced Gaara. Like I convinced Pakura. Like I'm trying to convince you now."
Tsunade finally seemed to notice her bleeding hand, staring at it with a mixture of disgust and resignation. "And if I refuse?"
"Then the next time we meet, it won't be as family." Naruto turned to leave but paused. "You have three days to decide, Lady Tsunade. Think about what Dan and Nawaki would want. Think about all the lives you could save or condemn with your choice." His eyes seemed to glow slightly in the dim light. "Think about whether you want to keep running from who you are, or if you're ready to help build something worth fighting for."
He vanished, leaving behind only a slight breeze and the lingering weight of his words.
Tsunade stared at the empty space where he had been, blood still dripping from her hand. After a long moment, she spoke, her voice hollow. "Shizune, get me another bottle. A full one this time."
"Lady Tsunade..." Shizune hesitated. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," Tsunade admitted, finally allowing Shizune to heal her hand. "But that boy... he's either going to save this world or burn it to the ground." She laughed bitterly. "And the scariest part is, I'm not sure which outcome would be better."
The gambling den remained silent as master and apprentice sat there, both lost in thoughts of what the next three days might bring, and what their answer would mean for the future of the shinobi world.
Later
Tsunade sat alone in her hotel room, staring at a half-empty sake bottle. Every time she closed her eyes, memories and doubts clashed in her mind.
"Damn that brat," she muttered, pouring another cup with trembling hands.
The faces of the dead haunted her tonight. Dan, smiling softly as he spoke of his dream to become Hokage. Nawaki, proudly wearing her grandfather's necklace. Both died serving a system she'd come to despise. Then newer faces – Hiruzen, her old sensei, supposedly killed by the same boy who now sought her allegiance.
She scoffed at herself. "Boy? No... whatever Naruto Uzumaki is, he's not just a boy anymore."
The way he'd seen through her, named every defense and vulnerability she'd built over decades – it terrified her. But what terrified her more was how his words had resonated with truths she'd buried deep within herself.
"A world where medical ninjas aren't needed primarily for warfare," she repeated his words, tasting their bitterness and hope.
How many times had she patched up children, only to send them back to the battlefield? How many times had she questioned the system that turned hospitals into merely pit stops between missions?
Her grandfather's face appeared in her mind – Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, who'd dreamed of peace. "And now his dream has become this," she whispered to the empty room. "Villages that trade in child soldiers and call it tradition."
The memory of Naruto's presence made her grip tighten around her cup. There was something in those eyes – something ancient and terrible and yet undeniably genuine. He truly believed he could change everything.
"But at what cost?"
The reports from Konoha's destruction weighed heavily on her conscience. Thousands dead. The village in ruins. Yet hadn't countless thousands died maintaining the current system? Hadn't entire generations been sacrificed in the name of village pride and profit?
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune's voice came through the door. "You should eat something."
"Later," she called back, knowing her apprentice worried constantly now.
Poor Shizune. The girl had followed her faithfully for years, never questioning their nomadic existence. But Tsunade had seen the look in her eyes during Naruto's visit – that mixture of terror and fascination. Even Shizune, who'd never known peace, recognized that something had to change.
Tsunade stood, walking to the window. The gambling town sprawled below, its lights twinkling with false promises of fortune. How many years had she wasted here, running from her responsibilities?
"A chance to heal more than just bodies," she murmured, touching her grandfather's necklace.
The cruel irony wasn't lost on her – that the boy wearing her grandfather's dream like a mantle had also supposedly defeated him in combat. Naruto had fought both Hashirama and Madara, if the rumors were true. The sheer impossibility of it made her head spin.
Yet she'd felt his power. That casual confidence wasn't bravado – it was the certainty of someone who'd already calculated every possible outcome.
"We're family, aren't we, Granny Tsunade?"
His parting words stung with another truth she'd tried to ignore. Uzumaki blood ran through his veins, just as Senju blood ran through hers. Their clans had always been more than allies – they were family.
"But family doesn't justify everything," she argued with herself. "Orochimaru was like family once too."
The news of his death still felt unreal. Despite everything he'd become, some part of her had never stopped seeing him as the brilliant, awkward boy from their genin days.
Dawn was breaking now, painting the sky in shades of blood and gold. Two more days left to decide. Join the revolution that might reshape the world, or stand against it and face the consequences.
"What would you do, grandfather?" she asked the rising sun. "What would you say to this child who carries your dream in one hand and destruction in the other?"
No answer came, of course. Just the weight of decades of choices, regrets, and possibilities pressing down on her shoulders.
She touched the window glass, her reflection showing every year of her true age despite her jutsu. "A world where children don't have to die for someone else's profit..."
The sake cup shattered in her other hand, blood and alcohol mixing on the floor. She didn't flinch at the sight of blood this time.
Perhaps that was answer enough.
Later
"My lady?" Shizune's voice came softly from the doorway. She'd woken to find Tsunade still on the balcony, the sake bottle beside her barely touched – a concerning sign in itself.
Tsunade didn't turn around, her honey-colored eyes fixed on the distant horizon where the first hints of dawn were beginning to appear. "You should be sleeping, Shizune."
"So should you." Shizune moved to stand beside her mentor, noticing the unusual tension in Tsunade's shoulders. "You're actually considering his offer, aren't you?"
"He killed Sarutobi-sensei," Tsunade said, but her voice lacked conviction. "Destroyed half of Konoha."
"But?"
Tsunade's hands gripped the railing, her knuckles turning white. "But he's right. The system is broken. Has been for generations." She let out a bitter laugh. "You know what the worst part is? When he spoke about creating a world where medical ninjas aren't just tools for warfare... those were my exact words to the council fifteen years ago."
Shizune's eyes widened. "I didn't know that."
"It was before I left. I proposed a complete overhaul of the medical system. Mandatory medical training in academies, civilian hospitals in every major town, preventive care programs..." Tsunade's voice trailed off. "They shot it down. Said we needed to focus resources on combat medical techniques. That civilian care wasn't a priority during wartime."
"And when is it not wartime?" Shizune finished quietly.
"Exactly." Tsunade finally turned to face her apprentice. "How many people have we watched die of completely treatable conditions because their villages prioritized military spending over civilian healthcare? How many talented medics have we met who were forced to abandon their research because it wasn't 'tactically valuable'?"
"But Lady Tsunade, supporting him means..."
"Becoming an enemy of every hidden village? Going against everything we've known?" Tsunade's laugh was hollow. "We've been doing that for years, Shizune. The only difference is we've been doing it by running away."
Shizune was quiet for a moment, processing this. "When you trained me... was that what you really wanted to teach? Not just combat medicine?"
"You've seen my personal scrolls. How many healing techniques have I developed that have nothing to do with battle trauma? Treatments for genetic conditions, procedures for civilian ailments..." Tsunade sighed heavily. "All gathering dust because they're not 'militarily significant.'"
"Lady Tsunade, I understand where you are coming from, but I really don't think we can put our faith in this killer, whatever he says, whatever he promises, those are just pretty words. What he does doesn't justify—"
"No, it doesn't justify anything. But it does explain why someone might decide that the only way to fix a system built on violence is to use violence to tear it down." Tsunade pulled out her lottery ticket, staring at it. "You know what really scares me? Part of me wants to believe him. Wants to believe that maybe, just maybe, something better could rise from the ashes."
"And the other part?"
"The other part remembers every other dreamer who thought they could change the world. My grandfather. Dan. Nawaki." Her voice caught on the names. "They all died believing they could make things better."
"I understand your pain, Lady Tsunade, but you should not believe his words. He is trying to deceive you," she said, sounding harsher than ever with her Mistress.
"The system is broken, Shizune. You've seen it yourself—"
"Of course it's broken!" Shizune's hands trembled with emotion. "But his solution is to break it further? To kill more people? How many civilians died when he fought Hashirama and Madara? How many children became orphans in one day because of his 'revolution'?"
Tsunade's hands gripped the railing. "You don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly," Shizune's voice cracked. "He's offering you everything you once wanted. A chance to reform the medical system, to save more lives. But at what cost, Lady Tsunade? How many more will die to build this supposed better world of his?"
"Sometimes to heal something, you have to break it first," Tsunade said quietly.
"Listen to yourself!" Shizune stepped forward, her face pale with distress. "You're defending someone who murdered the man who was like a father to you! Who destroyed the village your grandfather built!"
"A village that sends children to die—"
"And his solution is to kill more people?" Shizune laughed bitterly. "He talks about protecting children while making more orphans. About healing the world while leaving bodies in his wake. He's not a revolutionary, Lady Tsunade. He's a killer with a silver tongue."
Tsunade fell silent, her apprentice's words hitting home. Shizune continued, her voice softening slightly.
"I know you want to believe him. That this time it's different. That this time someone really can change things. But look at what he's already done. Look at how he's trying to achieve his goals. Through fear. Through destruction. Through death."
"The current system kills people too, Shizune. Every day."
"Yes, and that's terrible. But at least it doesn't pretend to be righteous while doing it. At least it doesn't mask murder behind grand speeches about a better tomorrow." Shizune's eyes filled with tears. "Please, Lady Tsunade. Don't let his pretty words blind you to what he really is."
There was a long silence and Shizune looked at Tsunade, waiting for her to say that she was right, and following Naruto was madness, but instead she said.
"Two days," Tsunade said, turning back to the horizon. "I need two days to think."
"Think about what? About how many more people need to die for his 'perfect world'?" Shizune's voice was sharp with disappointment.
"Long time no see, Tsunade."
The familiar voice cut through their tension like a knife. Tsunade turned to find Jiraiya perched on the balcony railing, his white hair swaying in the night breeze. He looked older than she remembered, the lines on his face deeper, his eyes carrying a weight she'd never seen before.
"Jiraiya," she acknowledged, surprising herself with how relieved she felt at his presence. It had been years since she'd last seen her old teammate.
Shizune took a step back, looking between the two Sannins with wide eyes. The air seemed to crack from their chakra as two teammates locked eyes after many years of not seeing each other.
"We need to talk," Jiraiya said simply, his usual playful demeanor nowhere to be seen.
If you want to Read 12 More Chapters Right Now. Search 'patreon.com/Drinor' on Websearch