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The day the fourth hokage had fallen. October the tenth.
It was a day that was as widely known amongst the community and not just by the people in the hidden leaf no it was known by people around the world. Not only because of the damage that occurred to the hidden leaf village. The day the ten tails was set loose from its jinchuruki.
Or even the amount of lives that was lost and construction damage. It was honestly destroyed and squashed into the ground. It took months to rebuild and even then it was never the same as it used to be.
But the hokage. Minato ; he was extremely famous amongst ninjas and non shinobi people. He was that famous. Known as the yellow flash. Due to his incredible speed. Taking out groups of enemies in the second ninja war and being a huge asset to the war efforts.
After that the world was rocked. The lives of the people in the hidden leaf left grieving. Although the fourth hadn’t ruled for very long. The third Hiruzen was put back in the position shortly after his retirement. At least until a new hokage could be found.
He couldn’t just leave anybody in the position with such power. Even if there was figuratively a line of people waiting to be let in.
Tsunade wasn’t the type of woman to settle down and raise children; she wasn’t a family person. Not after Dan. He was her one true love. He made her fairy tail come true. There was no other man or woman that she could ever love like him. No one she felt she could settle down with and marry.
Dan ruined her for all the right reasons.
After his death. After the third shinobi war was over. She left the hidden leaf village. It held too many memories. Some good but some horrible. The death of her lover. The death of her little brother. Her parents. Her team was torn in half after the betrayal of orochimaru.
She swore to herself and to jiraya that she was never going back.That she couldn’t bear it.
But then the death of Minato came out. And tsunade was distraught. But that wasn’t why she came back to the village. There were only a few that knew of the baby between Minato and Kushina. And tsunade was one of them. She took care of Kushina during her pregnancy.
She watched out for normal complications every day mothers could possibly go through. But she also watched out for the seal holding the
There was word that the baby didn’t make it. That the baby had passed during delivery.
And Tsuande believed it. She had no reason to question her old teacher. The man that taught her not everything but a majority of everything she knew. The man that was trained to become hokage by her grandfather Hashriama himself.
Then she heard a few whispers but trusted birds. Even though Tsunade had left the village. It didn’t mean she didn’t still get word about what was going on in the village. Even some coming from the hokage himself. Some come from Jiraya. And sometimes even Shizune herself heard words and of course let her teacher know.
As soon as word started coming in that Minato and Kushina's baby had survived. Tsunade was packing what she had and leaving for the hidden leaf village. She'd rather get there and it not to be true then to not go and it to be true.
She just couldn’t stand the idea of Minato and Kushinas baby being raised in an orphanage. To be treated so horribly.
Just because Tsunade didn't want a baby. She didn’t want to be a mother, she didn’t want a family. But it didn’t mean she could just stand leaving a baby in an orphanage and to be treated… un humanly.
So that’s how Tsunade ended up in the Hokage's office yelling at her old sensei. Standing above him with crossed arms like she was his parent. “So you were just going to leave him there” She hollered out. Voice not wavering one bit. Eyes squinting down hard at him. She was not leaning up one bit.
Sighing lightly. Hiruzen hadn’t planned on Tsunade finding out. Nor had he imagined she would have come all the way from wherever she was just to yell at him. But maybe he was getting crazy with old age. He hadn’t seen or had all three of his students together in years. It had been so long since he was just sensei and not hokage.
“I had no other choice” He said dismissively.
That only pissed Tsunade off more. She bent over the desk. Palms on the wooden desk holding herself up. So she was in her sensei's face. “You always have a choice,” She said determinedly. That was the face and voice of a woman who was not taking shit from him.
But still Hiruzen was not relenting. He didn’t move his hands away from being clasped together on the desk. “It was a tough situation” He said in a voice that made her palms pressed down further on the desk. It was almost like he was dismissing her.
Trying to baby her and not piss her off. Well she was in her late thirties. She did not need to be babied. She did not need to be held with soft gloves. Tsuna Senju was a grown woman. Who had handled worse than her old sensei.
Leaning just an inch closer she lifted her finger up. Her red sharp nail pointed into his face. “You just chose to be lazy” She seethed.
Before standing straight up. Hands on her hips. And nail taping on her green cloak. Exposing the crack that was imprinted on the hokages desktop. “Naruto is coming with me and you’re not going to do anything about it, you hear” She was not taking no for an answer. And if he wanted to stop her. She didn’t mind a fight.
“I wasn’t going to stop you,” Hiruzen said. Causing Tsuandes anger to settle down just a tad. But she could still feel the anger seething throughout of her body. Just maybe she wasn’t at risk of punching a hole into the wall or floor. Or honestly at tearing the whole place down.
Wouldn’t be the first time she brought a building to the ground.
Hiruzen leaned back into his chair. So his hands were still clasped just brought closer to his body. “Tsunade being hokage is not as easy and glorious as it seems” He explained in a sigh. Just because something seemed like the right thing to do doesn’t mean you should do it. You have to look at the whole picture.
Turning her head and closing her eyes. A sneer fell out of her mouth before she could stop it. “That’s why i’ll never be Hokage,” She said nearly immediately. She began to walk away to the door. But paused in her step. She just couldn't fathom how Hiruzen was just so nonchalant about the whole thing.
“How does politics matter more than a child, the fourth hokage's child at that” Tsunade spit out before turning to the door and heading out. She had to go find the child. She was going to take Naruto with her. And she would do everything in her power to keep him safe. To raise him how his parents would have wanted to.
It wasn’t hard to find the orphanage. There were only two. One was filled with children and the second one was filled with teenagers.
Tsunade walked into the old broken down building. Her blonde hair in two loose ponytails that hung down her back and the cloak that flew in the wind with each stride she took. Heels tapping against the floor with a small thud. She had such a determining look on her face almost like she was preparing for a fight.
She stopped at the small desk in the front. A younger woman maybe around her twenties sitting behind it. “Good morning-” The woman chirped with a large smile.
But before the woman could continue. Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you have a Naruto Uzimaki?” She questioned straight forwarding.
Instantly the smile fell from the woman’s face and a more worried and stressed one took over. She cleared her throat and looked down at her paperwork pushing the small piece of her hair behind her ear. Like a nervous tick.“Yes but we have a few other children around the same age” She said with a smile growing back on her lips but not as big.
“And babies that need a home” She added next. Then a small laugh fell out of her lips. Like a choked chuckle. “...More deserving” She said next.
Instantly any friendliness or politeness tsunade had for the woman dropped completely. “Did I say I wanted to see another child?” Tsuande questioned stubborningly. She came in there for a reason and the woman still was trying to talk her out of seeing Naruto.
It was crazy that everybody was treating a three year old boy so horrible because he was coincidentally born the same day that the nine tails attack occurred. They didn’t even know that he was the fourth hokage's son. They just assumed that he was the reason that Minato was dead.
What kind of logic was that? Was she the only sane person in the hidden leaf village?
Standing up the woman at the desk rolled her eyes at Tsunade. Which already made her want to grab the woman by her neck and wring her. But she knew when to push her anger down. “Fine but don’t say i didn’t warn you lady” She murmured before walking out.
There a small boy was walking out. He didn’t even reach her knees. He had a small t-shirt and long sleeve shirt under it. Instantly her face softened at the sight of him. His blonde locks and blue eyes that looked just like Minato. The whisker marks on his face that reminded her of Kushina.
She crouched down so she was lowered to the floor still not even eye to eye level with the small boy. But at least she wasn’t towering over him. “Hey baby” Tsunade mumbled instantly. Eyes softening at the sight of him. His blue eyes looked so lost.
“Who are you?” He asked nervously. Wrapping his arms around himself like he was giving himself a hug. He reminded her of a small dog abandoned on the streets. A stray that had been hurt and cheated by humans and was now terrified.
“Tsunade” The woman said with a small smile.
The boy tried to say her name but completely butchered it. Which only made her giggle. On any other day she might freak out. But he was only three. But it was the reaction of the secretary that made her eyes fly up to her. Her lip curling up and a pissed off expression taking place.
“You brat,” The secretary said. Making the boy's shoulders slump and his eyes connect with the floor. It was that moment. That exact moment where Tsunade knew for certainty that she was taking Naruto with her. Not anybody would stop her or she would make sure hell was to pay.
Tsunade tilted her head at the little boy. “That’s okay it’s a hard name” She said trying to cheer him up.
The boy looked up at her. His eyes widening at her not yelling at him. “Really?” He questioned in a small voice.
Tsunade nodded with a smile that was growing as Naruto took a couple small steps closer to her and away from the secretary. “Really” she agreed. A butterfly feeling appeared in her stomach. He almost reminded her of Nawaki. The innocent look on his face.
“Try saying baa chan”
She could watch as he concentrated trying to say it. His eyebrows squinting together and lips moving trying to find the right sound. “Baa - can” He said slowly.
She held out one of her hands, the palms facing up lips smiling down proud at him. “Very good sweetie” She cheered kindly.
“What’s your name huh?” Tsunade asked again. Watching as he nervously sat his small hand on her own. Fingers the size of sticks. He grabbed a hold of her thumb holding it tightly.
“Naruto” He mumbled.
Already Tsunade knew this little boy was going to have her wrapped around his fingers. “It’s nice to meet you, Naruto”
“Would you like to come stay with me?” Tsunade questioned. She wasn’t really sure what his reaction was going to be. Either a panic and scared reaction. Or he was going to be relieved. Maybe he was going to be excited to go somewhere to get away from the orphanage. Whatever she expected. This was not it. Nowhere near it.
The boy’s eyes widened every further and he nodded lightly. Running into her arms. So his head was tucked against her chest and arms wrapping as tight as they could around her torso. Which wasn’t much at all. He was holding her as tight as he could. Almost like he was scared she was going to disappear.
She looked away for one second at the secretary. Her face instantly changed from the soft and happy expression to a much darker one. “Where’s the paperwork?” She asked bluntly.
The woman rolled her eyes at Tsunade and waved a hand at her like she was dismissing her. “Just take him” She said with a sniff of her nose. Already moving to go back to her desk. And the magazine that was waiting for her. For a woman that worked at an orphanage she was sure a heartless bitch.
Without another word. Tsunade scooped the boy up. His head was still against her chest. And hands only tightened around her cloak. “Where’s his belongings?” She asked next with no politeness. If Naruto wasn’t there she probably would have jumped over the counter.
“That’s all he has” The woman shrugged without looking up from her magazine.
This? Was all this little boy had. Just the clothes off his back. No pajamas, no more outfits, no stuffed animals or toys or pictures or crayons? He had basically nothing.
Looking down at the boy in her arms that was almost digging into her like he was trying to hide himself. Tsunade frowned. That was going to change very quick. He was going to have anything he needed or anything he wanted. She was going to make damn sure of it.
“Let’s go home Naruto” Tsuande whispered in a soft soothing tone. A hand cupping up to rake through his blond locks. He never said a word but wrapped his little feet around her torso almost like a sloth tugging onto her.
Not only was October tenth the day Naruto was born and left at an orphan in all but twenty four hours. It was the same day his life was changed and made for the better. It was the day Tsunade became a mother and took Naruto Uzimaki home with her.