The two other Konoha ninja blinked, looked at each other for a second before simultaneously pointing towards Sasuke who was lying some distance away.
"Yosh! I thank you my most youthful comrades! I must be off!" Gai shouted as he hefted Sasuke on his back piggy back style. He gave the two a thumbs of, "Farewell my comrades who burn brightly with the flames of youth!"
The pair watched the most eccentric Jonin take off with only a small cloud of dust to signify he had ever been there, "Well dealing with Gai-sensei was as awkward and creepy as always." Naruto said, "We should probably get a move on now."
"…Right," Jiraiya agreed, walking up to the blond as the two began to make their way out of the village.
"Hey Ero-sennin, what's your teammate like?" asked Naruto as they walked down the dirt road. "I mean, I know she's the greatest healer and all that, and I've heard the stories about her super strength, but I really don't know anything else."
"Tsunade?" Jiraiya tapped his chin in thought for a moment, "To sum her up in one word, fiery. That woman has one of the largest tempers I have ever seen. That, combined with her super strength makes her a dangerous woman." The older male reached into his vest and fished out some pictures, handing them to Naruto.
Naruto took one look at it before his eyes promptly widened, "This is your teammate! From what, forty years ago or something?"
Jiraiya smirked, "That may be an old picture but I can guarantee she will be looking somewhere around that age. Tsunade has always been a vain person. When she got older she cast a permanent genjutsu on her that allows her to change her age at will. From what one of my informants told me, she usually sticks between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-eight."
Naruto pocketed the picture as he looked up at Jiraiya, "So is there anything else I should know about your wayward teammate, aside from the fact that she's extremely vain?"
"Hmm…well there is one more thing that I suppose is important," Jiraiya said. "In certain circles she has the very well-earned nickname of 'The Legendary Sucker'."
A sweatdrop appeared on Naruto's head, "You do know that can be taken in so many ways right? And none of them are the right ways."
Jiraiya laughed as he realized at least 'one' of the ways wished his words could be taken, "Her nickname doesn't mean something like that *though I wish it did* I was actually talking about her terrible luck at gambling."
Naruto blinked, "Gambling?"
"Yep. Tsunade's always had a huge addiction to gambling, and she's always been absolutely terrible at it. She is well known in every gambling parlor within Hi No Kuni as the legendary sucker because she has never won a single bet."
"I swear, you Sannin and your addictions," Naruto sighed. "You know, I bet most of the ninja that respect you guys just don't know the truth about you. Seriously, one is into peeking in the bath houses, one's a chronic gambler who's earned a title for being so shitty at it, and the last is a snake who likes to play with little boys."
Jiraiya's right eye twitched, "Hey! We're still some of the most powerful ninja in the world! Stupid, smart aleck gaki!"
"I didn't say you weren't," Naruto grinned. "I just you guys have more issues than the dude who invented glitter cannons."
Jiraiya sighed as he figured it would be best to stop while he was ahead. The pair continued walking down the dirt path for a while longer without speaking, "Hey gaki, you still want to learn that jutsu right?"
Naruto blinked as he looked over at Jiraiya before grinning, "Of course I do! What kind of fool would I be to pass up a new jutsu!"
"Alright then, I'll need to get some materials in the next town to teach it to you, so we'll do it then ok?" Jiraiya chuckled a bit at the kid's enthusiasm.
Naruto nodded as he pumped his fist into the air, "Ok! Then let's get to the next city pronto!"
Jiraiya suddenly had to blink as the area Naruto was in became covered with a dust cloud in the shape of said Genin, while the real one was running towards the nearest town…in the wrong direction. The old Sennin pinched the bridge of his nose, "Ugh…I swear this kid is a person of mass contradictions."
When Naruto and Jiraiya came upon the next town, it was to see a festival taking place there. Having never actually been to a festival before, Naruto was looking around at all the stalls that sold food, and had games of all kinds to play in awe.
"Well, why don't we take a break for a moment?" Jiraiya suggested, seeing the look in Naruto's eyes. "After all it's good for shinobi to rest there feet after a long day of traveling and it's not like we're going to run into Tsunade today."
Naruto nodded, "That sounds like a plan Ero-sennin. And if that's the case then I'm going to go see what some of the stalls have to offer, I've never gotten to go to a festival after all."
"Never?" asked Jiraiya, slightly surprised to hear that. Didn't Sarutobi-sensei take him to one at least once?
Naruto gave the Sannin a blank stare. "Ero-sennin, the one festival Konoha has is the festival celebrating Kyuubi's defeat. Do you honestly think I would be welcome there?" The question was completely rhetorical and the blond did not give Jiraiya a chance to respond anyways, "Well, I'll see you later Ero-sennin!"
Jiraiya watched the kid run off before realizing something, "Damn it! I forgot to convince him to give me his wallet! Great, now that means I have to use my own money to find good company."
As Jiraiya walked off to find a place to get good drink and female companionship, Naruto was trying his hands at the many game stalls, and utterly dominating them with his ninja talents. He would sample some of the food they had and just generally have a good time. Since he had never done anything like spending time at a festival before, Naruto made sure to milk it for all it was worth before he got bored.
Eventually though he realized something significant; that made him stop and find a secluded spot earlier than expected. Throughout the entire time he had been journeying, Kyuubi had yet to talk to him. He had the distinct feeling she was ignoring him after he had essentially cut all contact with her off after the Sandaime's death. And he knew he would have to go see her and apologize for that, something he had been holding off on long enough.
Naruto sighed as he found himself outside of Kyuubi's hut within the forest. Walking up to it, the blond knocked several times and waited for Kyuubi to answer. Much like the time she had gotten depressed about his treatment on his and Tenten's date however, Kyuubi did not answer. Not particularly caring if the vixen threw a fit for it, Naruto entered the house.
When he did it was to find Kyuubi glaring at him fiercely. "Erm…hey Kyuu-chan," Naruto greeted kind of awkwardly, not really sure what to say.
Kyuubi did not reply and instead, just turned away from the bond, ignoring his presence.
Naruto walked forward and crawled onto the bed behind the red haired vixen. "Look… I know your upset with me, and I'm sorry that I ignored you. But I-"
"I don't care one way or the other," Kyuubi replied stiffly.
"Yes you do," Naruto said in a quiet voice, causing Kyuubi to stiffen even more. "Come on Kyuu, you know that I'm not quite as dumb as I act. If it didn't bother you, you wouldn't be ignoring me. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry but I-"
"As I said, I don't care one way or the other," Kyuubi turned around to glare at him. "The only thing that I care about is the fact that you ignored me, I do not take well to people who ignore my presence. And I will not take it from you."
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