The Hunt for Tsunade

Chapter Three: Haku and Lee! A Battle of Wits!

The Leaf Village was surrounded by forests, appropriately enough. Within the headquarters of the Hokage the Third Hokage, Sarutobi looked at paperwork. Eventually, a door was opened, and a man walked in. He was clad all in green spandex and wore a bowl cut of black hair with bushy eyebrows. He radiated an aura of absolute confidence as his students came in behind him.

'You called for us, Hokage?' said the man.

'Yes.' said Hiruzen. 'Might Guy, you and your students have demonstrated great teamwork in the past. And you have exceptional skill Truth be told I was surprised you didn't enter them into the Chunin Exams.'

'I felt it best if they get themselves a bit of youthful experience.' said Might Guy.

'Well whatever the case, I have a C ranked mission for them.' said Hiruzen.

'Alright!' said one of Guy's students, who looked like a younger version of him, complete with the same spandex. 'We'll show the world the spirit of our youthful vigor!'

'Calm yourself, Lee.' said Guy. 'We do not even know what our assignment is.'

'Yeah, let's not get ahead of ourselves.' said a brown-haired girl in pink. 'No reason to get too excited.'

'You are to track down the Legendary Sannin Tsunade-' Began Hiruzen.

'The Lady Tsunade! Oh my god, this is so great!' said Tenten. 'This is the greatest moment of my life! I've wanted to meet her for years, and now I'm finally getting my chance!'

Hiruzen smiled. 'I am pleased you are enthusiastic. However, this mission is not without risks. I have reason to believe that a banking conglomerate intends her harm. They have hired some rogue ninja to take her captive in retribution for gambling debts.'

'But Tsunade is one of the greatest medical specialists in the world!' said Tenten. 'She invented healing jutsu that no one ever thought possible! And nobody could beat her in a fight, except maybe the other Sannin or you!'

'Tenten, I'm glad to see you in the full spirit of youth, but I should be the one doing the talking.' said Guy.

'Oh right, sorry sensei.' said Tenten.

'I want your team to find Tsunade and give her this letter.' said Hiruzen, drawing out a folded sheet of paper with his seal on it. 'I hope that she will return to the Leaf Village. In exchange for her services, I am offering her assistance in paying off her debts.'

'A righteous cause if ever there was one.' said Guy. 'Come on, students! We'll bring back Lady Tsunade with the power of our youthful vigor!'

'I'm finally getting to meet Lady Tsunade!' said Tenten. 'This is the greatest thing that has ever happened! Did I ever tell you she's the entire reason I became a ninja in the first place?'

The third member of the ground was a long brown-haired boy with pupilless eyes that now narrowed. He wore all white and black shorts. 'Yes. Quite frequently.'

That had been nearly a week ago. Since then they had been jumping from town to town, gradually honing in on the location of the Lady Tsunade. Tenten couldn't wait to meet her. This was going to be so great.

They came to the village they knew she had been heading for.

'Is this the place?' asked Neji.

'Yes, this is the last known location where the Lady Tsunade was seen headed.' said Guy. 'Come on students, break up and look for clues.'

Tenten and Neji quickly realized that ninja had been here recently. Several buildings were damaged, and there were signs of battle everywhere. Also sand. 'What happened here?' asked Tenten, 'It looks like a hurricane hit the place?'