The Power to Heal and Destroy by Phoenixsun

Chapter 20: Take Flight

Things were starting to look up for the Naruto these last couple of days. Sure, his arms were still covered by fresh bandages, but he could now maintain a Rasengan for well over three minutes before the spherical chakra mass would blow up on his face and, for most battle situations, three minutes should be enough to impale the jutsu into the opponent's gut. That, plus the fact that his wallet was becoming uncomfortably heavy due to his casino winnings made up for a fruitful week for the young Jinchuuriki.

If only the mission itself could go as smoothly.

Most of the day had already gone by and the Sharingan user was still following the Sannin through crowded streets.

Curses and grunts of frustration could occasionally be heard from Jiraiya's general direction as the white haired man marked everything his from casinos to lottery stands within two days of travel. "She has to be in one of these..." He spoke what had already become his mantra for the last couple of days.

"This is taking us nowhere..." Naruto commented. "I thought you had some idea about where this... Tsunade is, but we've been at this for over a month now and there is no trace of her." The blond criticized. "I sure hope that they never send you to look for me if I go missing during a mission..." He commented in a low voice, but still loud enough to make sure the older shinobi heard it.

The legendary pervert gritted his. "Perhaps I should have let your father drown that one time when we went to Wave while he was still a genin..." He shot back.

Shrugging the Sannin's comment off, the spiky haired boy simply brought his hands to the back of his head and silently continued to follow the senior nin.

With frustration having gotten the best of him, Jiraiya could no longer discern any of the illustration on his map. Letting out a roar in irritation at the offending piece of paper, the Sannin crumbled the map and shoved into one of his pockets. "Ok, Hotshot!" The white hared man called out as he turned around to look at the young Sharingan user. "Since according to you, I have no idea about what I'm doing, why don't you pick our next destination?!" He offered as he folded his arms and continued to regard the genin.

"Ok, if you have so much doubt in yourself, then I guess I'll do it." Naruto answered with a shrug of his shoulder, earning a glare from the white haired man. "I say we go to that place next." The Jinchuuriki stated as extended his right and pointed at his intended destination.

Jiraiya's eyes followed the direction indicated by the blond. "There?" He asked looking at the boy with confused eyes. "But that's only a restaurant!" The legendary shinobi pointed out.

The spiky haired genin nodded. "Yeah, get the hint." Naruto commented as he proceeded to fold his arms as well. "We haven't eaten anything since breakfast... Yesterday!" The Jinchuuriki reminded as he started to walk towards the establishment.

Grunting in defeat and sighting, the Sannin started after the young shinobi. "Very well, we'll take a break for food... But you're paying!" He exclaimed.

Naruto ignored Jiraiya's declaration. The blonde's eyes were solely on the restaurant's door while his mind was preoccupied hoping that they got ramen in the establishment.

As he followed the Sharingan user through the door, Jiraiya's trained eyes immediately scanned the room. The white haired man's field of vision was moving from one side of the restaurant to the other when suddenly, something caught his attention. "Oh... There is no way the kid is that lucky!" He exclaimed in a mix of surprise and frustration.

"I cannot believe you tracked me down!" Naruto was currently sitting with Jiraiya in front of a grouchy, well-endowed, blond woman, her nervous, black haired assistant, and a pig wearing a red jacket. Needless to say, Naruto was a little skeptical about the famed Tsunade, but the genin decided to leave the situation for the adults to deal with for now, because there a bowl of ramen right before him meriting all of the spiky haired boy's attention.