Crossroads (A Naruto Fanfiction)

In The Wake Of Change

Senju Tsunade was revolutionary in the field of medicine. She made a century's worth of improvements in forensics and hospital practices such as DNA sequencing, fingerprints, surgical techniques, and overall standards in just one decade of hard work. Her standing as a Sannin was nothing to look down on as her brute strength alone was enough to scare the average Jounin, let alone her perfect ninjutsu capabilities. She was a deserving S-class shinobi, and a human who suffered under the pressure of grief.

Tsunade tried to ignore the nostalgia as she stared out the window of the Hokage's office. The main market street was so different from what she remembered; there were new buildings and the absence of some faces she had once been familiar with. She didn't have the courage to go ask if they survived the Kyuubi attack. With that thought, Tsunade finally turned away from the village and faced the Fourth Hokage.

Namikaze Minato had always been that one brat she could never argue with. He was the youngest Hokage to be appointed and would most likely lead the village for a few more decades - well, only if nothing got him killed before then. He was organizing the papers strewn across the desk that she had always dubbed to be her Sensei's. To suddenly see a new face to something she had grasped as the one constant in her life felt wrong. It made her frustrated and short tempered, but she knew better than to act on these meaningless emotions. Changes were meant to happen and the current Hokage was one who deserved the hat. Truth be told, if it were anyone else, even Jiraiya, she would have been breaking the walls apart as of now.

"Jiraiya was persistent," she broke the silence. It started almost over a year ago when he popped up into the many casino's she frequented in Wind Country and then all the way to Steel. He challenged her constantly in bets and met her fists when he dared try and peek into the bathhouses she attended. She knew that he was trying to convince her back to Konoha what with the death of their sensei. The news spread across the elemental nations like wildfire with the moniker of the Fourth Hokage - The Yellow Flash - on the lips of every gossiper she came across. That made her all the more reluctant to go back. If she did, all the words they spoke of would become reality in her little bubble. However, Jiraiya's presence that followed her for so long, so much like that of their genin days, wore her down enough for her to sit down and listen to the full details of what occurred in the last few years. It left her with no choice but to return.

Minato smiled despite the tense atmosphere. "I would expect him to be so with the situation as it is," he replied.

"You do realize that I can't physically do what you want me to do, right?" Tsunade's tone was deceptively calm.

"I know." Minato's usually kind gaze hardened. "That doesn't mean there isn't anything you can do."

Tsunade sneered, "So what's your plan, Yondaime?"

Minato brought out a few documents from his drawer and placed them on his desk. On it were Tsunade's files. "You never officially retired as a Konoha Kunoichi. You're time away from the village was treated as an extensive mission to avoid any rumors, but its been voided as of today. The goodwill of the Sandaime does not extend to my own decisions, and so, if you were to leave Konoha without any real missives, you will be treated as a missing nin."

Tsunade's heart jerked before she forced herself to think objectively. She knew she had taken full advantage of her sensei's kindness and used his attachment as a means to be away from the village without really removing her identity as a Konoha Shinobi. Even then, she couldn't argue for her rights of choice. After all, Kage's were military dictators. Jiraiya managed because he led an information network that spanned the elemental nations, and Orochimaru... She was nothing like him.

"All we need to be able to do is to keep Obito stable while we remove his heart to copy the seal around it, which is easy to do using the Uchiha's Sharingan and the Hyuuga's Byakugan. Our medical team is not equipped with the right practices for such a procedure, let alone the major complications that can occur if something were to go wrong. You are to lead the team and find the best solution." Minato explained.

Tsunade took it all in and felt incredulous. "You speak of it like it's another day in the field. You want me to figure out how to remove your students heart right out from his body and then put it back in again like he's some kind of puzzle piece."

"Is it not a puzzle? You have the idea, you have all the pieces, now we just need to figure out the method."

"I should have realized that you're just as crazy as the rest of them. I don't know how I missed it." Tsunade slumped against the wall besides the bookshelf that held many important literature, some written by her grand-Uncle himself.

Minato smiled ruefully, "I waited patiently for you to come back as my way of showing respect. I have no more room for leniency, not with my student's life on the line."

"This is already putting him at risk."

"I'd rather his life be at risk with us than with a stranger."

Tsunade stared out into the village once more. The bright afternoon sun was too optimistic for what she would have to prepare for. "Alright," she replied, but she knew there was never a choice to disagree. "Grandma Mito should have lived just a while more."

"Indeed," Minato agreed as his eyes glazed over. He momentarily lost himself in his memories. "If the Uzumaki still stood as strong as they did before, there would be no reason for all this trouble."

Tsunade's heart finally ached, a pain she could no longer avoid. She dismissed herself and disappeared back to the empty Senju family compound. In her designated childhood room were pictures framed of her and her parents, grandparents, and her genin team. The ones she treasured most were that of her brother and Dan.

Everyone lost someone dear to them. Everyone dealt with it differently. Was she wrong to be so affected despite being so respected as a Kunoichi? Did she have a right to call herself a medic-nin after all that she's failed to do?

For now, she had a goal to accomplish and left it to fate to decide whatever came after.