There was a comforting familiarity to seeing his team waiting for him at the village gates, looking just as expectant as their first C-rank mission. With the distraction of the war and the revelation that he would be a father he hadn't had time to consider just how much he missed this. It seemed his old genin – chuunin now, the lot of them – felt the same way; although not everything was the same.
They were all older for one, with both the girls beginning to grow into their bodies. The red slip of a dress that had looked so ridiculous on Ami when Anko was first trying to boost her confidence, now showed off some developing curves. Sakura looked every bit the medic-nin she was trained to be, with a professional pony-tail keeping her long hair in order and her old dress swapped out for a shirt, shorts and a pack strapped to her waist.
Sasuke continued to honour the style of the Uchiha, with their high-collared shirts proudly emblazoned with the red and white fan. However, he no longer looked like a kid playing dress-up, trying to emulate the adults around him. Now he looked the part of the hardened Uchiha shinobi, even adopting a long nodachi from his family's armoury. He wouldn't be a match for Ami's swordsmanship anytime soon, but with his Sharingan reflexes he was still a menace with the blade.
Hiruzen hadn't been too vocal about it, but Naruto knew the old man wasn't too keen on this excursion. Whether it was sentimentality for his wayward student – Tsunade had been allowed to wander around unopposed this long for a reason – or because of how recently Naruto had come into his role as Hokage, the redhead couldn't say. He could understand the last point; the inaugural celebration had been only the other day and already it appeared that Naruto was absconding from his duties.
Still, Naruto trusted the village to run under Hiruzen's steady hand for the few weeks he might be gone. Besides, he really didn't trust anybody else would be able to bring the wandering Sannin back; not because he didn't trust his ninja… it was Tsunade he didn't trust. From what her knew of the legendary medic, she didn't take kindly to unwanted news. After a war, he couldn't really afford a couple of ANBU limping back to the village with broken bones.
"Hey Sensei," Ami called as the trio spotted his approach, only to smirk theatrically. "Oh, sorry. Good morning Hokage-sama." Sakura slapped her arm in exasperation at the teasing, but even the pinkette was smiling slightly.
"You know, I technically have the power to demote you now?" Naruto shot back as he joined the group, nodding a greeting at Sasuke.
Ami's eyes widened almost comically as she floundered for a moment; it was nice to see Anko hadn't gotten her hooks in the girl completely. "Ah well, anyway, looking pretty good Sensei; very… Hokage." Her two teammates just looked at her incredulously.
"Very Hokage," Sasuke repeated, his deadpan somehow managing to sound both amused and scathing.
Sakura was grinning. "And might I add the sky looks very airy today, wouldn't you say Sasuke?"
The Uchiha nodded, a smirk pulling at his lips. "And Konoha seems just a bit… city."
Briefly ignoring Ami's indignant defence of her rushed choice of wording Naruto stole a glance down at himself. He still wasn't quite comfortable with his new look, even though Anko had insisted.
"What's wrong with the way I look?" Naruto asked, feeling a tad affronted as he glanced down at his clothes. The Jounin jacket, improved to hold a lot more than it used to, was extremely practical, and the lightweight pants and sleeveless vest allowed him full mobility. His knee-high sandaled boots were an affectation of his father's youth – resized, of course – and the simple arm-guards connected to the back-plated fingerless gloves completed the look. In lieu of anything to sew it on to, he now wore his hitai-ate on his forehead again.
Admittedly he had considered getting something like his father's iconic haori made, but he wasn't just a clone of his father… no matter how awesome the damn coat was.
"Nothing, I think it makes you look rugged," Anko consoled lightly, running a finger up his exposed arms that sent a shiver down his spine. "I'm just saying you look too much like… well, a Jounin."
Naruto's eyebrow rose. "I am a Jounin." He thumbed the olive jacket to that effect.
"No, you're the Hokage," Anko reiterated, poking him in the chest for good measure. "Which is why…" She reached under the bed, taking something out of the secret panel Naruto knew about but ignored for her privacy "…I got you this." She handed him a large, flat box with a bright smile.
He eyed it warily for a moment, gifts from Anko could go one of two ways, but after a moment he decided that the slightly anxious smile she wore was too genuine to be a prank and opened it. He was a little surprised at what he first took to be a shirt, but when he opened it up it turned out to be a haori. It wasn't nearly as long as his fathers, only going down to the top of his legs, and it was longer in the sleeve, just about covering his elbow.
More importantly it was a vibrant red; not quite the deep bloody colour of his hair, but the bright, joyful red of the Hokage hat. He somehow knew they were supposed to be worn in concert. After a moment of just admiring it he realised Anko was still waiting for a response.
"I… I know it won't really go with the flak jacket… red and green and all. But it's got more pockets than I think even you could use; I made sure to give the guy the specification for those bigger-on-the-inside seals you like so much so… plenty of room. It's made out of the same material as the ANBU uniform so it's wont tear easily, although I've got a couple spares for when you inevitably find a way. I mean, I know you didn't want everyone thinking you're copying your dad, but I thought it was different enough, but still enough to honour him, and…"
Naruto thought it was the most adorable thing in the world when his fiancée rambled, but he finally put her out of her suffering by silencing her with a kiss.
"I love it," he whispered, holding her for a moment before letting her go to try the thing on. After shucking his flak jacket he found it was a great fit. He had to admit it gave him something of a distinguished look; he supposed that was somewhat important for a Hokage.
"Well of course you do," Anko asserted, recovering admirably. "I picked it out after all." Her look immediately took a sultry turn. "Now where's my thanks?"
Admittedly, he didn't wear the haori for very long that night, but there was something to be said for waking up the next day and finding it hanging there right next to his father's.
The word 'legacy' couldn't help but spring to mind.
The Hokage hat did in fact compliment the haori quite nicely, as he had found out when Hiruzen had handed it to him and he had cheerfully slung it on his back. He didn't remember everything he'd said to the awaiting crowds from up on the Hokage tower; he'd had this whole speech planned about successors and the Will of Fire... but in the end he was too caught up in the excitement and adrenaline of the moment to remember it.
They had cheered fairly loudly though, so he couldn't have botched it too badly.
"Sensei?"
He started when he realised Ami was tugging on his sleeve; it was still rather novel he had a sleeve to tug. "Sorry, zoned out a bit." He glanced up and took note that they had started moving; he recognised the stretch of country road they were on instantly – he had used this route out of the village too many times to count – and estimated they were about five minutes out of the gates. That was about enough to reach the threshold where the village stopped frowning on Shinobi moving too quickly.
Time to pick up the pace.
He grinned and took up a light jog, slowly increasing his speed. His students threw glances at one another with thinly veiled irritation; they knew what was coming.
He was rather proud with how well they kept up with his punishing pace; some green ANBU recruits would have balked an hour ago. He really had trained them well; even Ami and Sakura, who used to be exhausted by a brief sprint through the village, were only breathing heavily by the time he wound back down to a more manageable pace. They didn't even complain about the slight sheen of sweat.
"Was that… really necessary… Sensei?" Ami gasped, already using the techniques he taught them to quickly regulate her breathing and promote recovery. "We don't even have… a solid location on Lady Tsunade."
"Maybe, but that means we'll just have to search harder and faster. I want this mission over with as soon as possible." Although he knew that was slightly optimistic. Tsunade was known to wander in what appeared to be a random pattern; but she was far more skilled at avoiding detection than her occasional drunken rampage let on. How else was she able to escape all her various debtors so often? Still, no use wasting the time he had with his students.
"Last known sighting was Ebizura Gai, up in the north. We still have a fair way to go so I figured I'd teach you each a new technique." He'd been anticipating the sparkle that entered their eyes immediately; younger shinobi were easy like that. "We won't be stopping often, so I expect you guys to learn on the go." He could already see that wouldn't be a problem from the determined look they each adopted.
"Sakura, I know how much the med-corp stresses dodging in the field," ironically because of the very woman they were now tracking down, "but sometimes that just isn't an option." He ran through hand seals purposefully slowly, both to show them off and because this wasn't a jutsu he used often. When he slammed his foot down a thick wall of stone rose up in the middle of the road. "Doton: Doryuuheki." He checked to make sure the pinkette was paying attention. "Useful for blocking routes to your position, and if made strong enough can even stop a few jutsu before breaking."
He casually wound up a Rasengan in a hand and shoved it through the wall. "It's not indestructible," he warned, pride welling up as Sakura nodded seriously. She'd figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the technique for herself; she was a smart girl.
"Sasuke." He nearly chuckled at how the Uchiha straightened, Sharingan already spinning in anticipation. "I noticed your fondness for the little flame-hands trick of yours, so I thought you'd appreciate this. It was one of the few pure fire-manipulation techniques I was able to scrounge up." His hands entered the rat seal and after a moment's focus, twin streams of fire erupted from each of his hands. A moment later they intensified and shrank until he was holding two white-hot knives of fire in each hand. "Draining, but they can cut through damn-near anything."
He tossed the Uchiha a pair of thick gloves from one of his many new pockets – thank you Anko – and gave the younger Chuunin a level stare. "Be careful learning and using this technique, it's not only dangerous to your enemy." Again, he waited until he was sure the warning had been taken on board. He had such good students.
Finally, he turned to last of the trio; the violette was nearly bouncing with unrestrained excitement. She had been a bit harder to plan for. While the utility of the other two's techniques were apparent, Ami was a bit more straight-laced. She was a skilled Kenjutsu practitioner, that much was obvious, but it wasn't all that defined her. She was creative, often the brains behind some of Team seven's crazier – but no less effective – strategies. Really what she needed was a versatile tool that she could work into her own unique blend of skills.
It was a good thing Naruto was so well-travelled then. "This one might be a bit trickier Ami, as I can't really profess to know the technique myself, I've only seen it in use and reverse-engineered what I could." Fuu wouldn't be happy with him; but then, she was already a prisoner of the village… and it wasn't like he'd stolen the technique or anything. It was a credit to Ami that the violette didn't seem at all put off by his hesitance.
"As far as I can tell the Kunoichi who uses it applies a thin layer of wind Chakra to the soles of her feet, sort of like the water-walking exercise, but as a nature transformation. Then you expand and contract the chakra to the timing of your movements, and…" His eyes narrowed a moment in concentration as he slowly began to bounce on one foot. Slowly though, it wasn't the ground he was bouncing on as he rose into the air bit-by-bit.
Finally, he lost focus, he hadn't really spent a lot of time trying to learn this before realising he had better ways of moving faster, and dropped back to the ground. "Well, you get the idea." The only reason he'd gotten as far as he had with the Taki Jinchuuriki's signature jutsu was his extensive experience with Fuuton Chakra during his work on the completed Rasengan. "Helpful for manoeuvring around a battlefield, or escapes if need be."
He regretted adding that last note as he noticed some of the enthusiasm drained from Ami's posture. Too soon perhaps. "Still, when you master it…" and he had no doubt that she would, given time "…you'll have a means of moving incredibly fast, silently and unpredictably." Kami knew it had given him the run around the first time he was forced to deal with it.
With that little reaffirmation, Ami nodded, turning to look curiously at her feet.
"Right, now you've all had a chance to recover…" He took a moment to savour the sweet horror that entered their eyes "…let's get going, Ebizura Gai isn't getting any younger."
How hard could it be to track down somebody that famous anyway?
He should have known better than to tempt the Gods. Tsunade was a wily one, even with her rather… distinctive description, she was able to completely elude all of her pursuers with what had to be practised ease. It wasn't hard to pick up a trail on her, he just had to flash a photo and most of the people in the various gambling dens they search could remember her.
He could only imagine why.
It was following the leads that proved nearly impossible. Tsunade seemed to have a habit of leaving in the middle of the night, without informing anyone at the hotels she stayed at. It made figuring out where she was going… problematic. The only advantage they had going was their speed. Tsunade meandered around at about a civilian pace, according to whatever whim drove her. They, on the other hand, were able to zip between towns in a fraction of the time.
Unfortunately, this meant their only solution was to try and nail down a timeline of the Slug Sannin's visits by going to every nearby town in turn, then repeating that process while hoping she wasn't getting even further away. After a few days of this Naruto was even beginning to figure out the beginnings of a pattern. Tsunade had a tendency to visit larger towns when she could – better gambling dens and finer alcohol – and only made for the smaller, fringe villages when the heat from her various debtors became too much.
Right now, despite their own pursuit, Tsunade hadn't caused much trouble in a while, so she was a lot more likely to head to the bigger, flashier casinos. So, when they slowed from their gruelling pace at the outskirts of Meizu Gai, the redheaded Hokage was feeling optimistic. After a few moments to give his team time to recover – they were needing less and less of that as the week progressed – they ambled into the town with all the nonchalance that only trained Ninja could properly muster.
There appeared to be some form of festival going on, although that wasn't too surprising. Every town had their own traditions and special days and they were all looking for any excuse to attract tourists and bump off a day or two of work. Sun down was still a few hours away so only a handful of people were perusing the stalls – most of which were still being set up – so the shinobi quartet didn't draw too much attention as they threaded through the streets towards the seedier area of town they were sure to find the gambling halls.
It took another hour of scoping out cho-han games, knucklebones and a number using karuta, before they struck lucky, sort of.
They were passing their fifth gambling hall of the evening when they heard a commotion from the other side. Before they could even investigate a man's head suddenly broke through the wall, looking suitably dazed for somebody who had apparently just headbutted a few inches of plaster. His eyes widened in horror a few moments later as the rest of his body promptly joined him in a shower of dust and wall fragments.
He was promptly followed by a fretting young woman with short, dark hair who – for some reason – was clutching a pig. "I'm so sorry about this, she's usually much better at restraining herself."
Naruto and his team took all this in with a quiet sort of a bemusement. The redhead noted that the villages records of Shizune Kato were wildly out of date; she had grown up a lot from the young girl Tsunade had absconded with just before the third shinobi war. As if by clockwork the young woman's master was quick to join them, climbing through the hole she had made with a drunken elegance that was only counteracted by years of hard-wired shinobi reflexes.
She still managed to trip over a bit of loose debris.
The Sannin… wasn't what Naruto had expected. Hiruzen had warned that she had a tendency to change her appearance around to throw off pursuers that weren't well versed in genjutsu. Still, he had been expecting a woman of middling years bearing the proud stature suitable of somebody with her storied past. He should have known better than to put stock in such legendary figures; Jiraiya was exhibit A on that front. Instead, team seven saw a woman who didn't look much older than Anko stumble out of the gambling den.
"That's Jiriaya's teammate?" Ami asked, bewildered at the sight of the young woman berating the battered man with a drunken slur. She was trying to reconcile the image she had of the Toad Sannin with the bombshell blonde before them. The woman who was supposedly Tsunade wore clothes that would have made Naruto's fiancée proud, with a revealing white top and red skirt over mesh underclothing. The only thing that properly identified her was the iconic blue diamond on her forehead and the jacket draped over her shoulders that bore the kanji for 'gamble' on the back.
Shizune finished healing the man just in time for Tsunade to launch her now-empty bottle of sake at his head, getting him to sprint away like he had glimpsed hell itself. Naruto chose that moment to make their presence known.
"Tsunade Senju?"
Shizune took notice first, her eyes going wide and panicky as they flickered between the Konoha team and her mentor. Tsunade lacked even that much situational awareness as she took a few moments to turn ponderously – it looked as though any faster would have caused her to fall over – and glare at them suspiciously.
"Who's asking?" The tone was more than a little confrontational.
Naruto's gaze flickered between the two women and the hole in the wall where, even now, patrons from the hall were beginning to peek their heads through to watch the confrontation with a kind of morbid curiosity. There was also the owner of the gambling hall lamenting the destruction of his property, but he was going largely ignored.
"Perhaps we could move somewhere a bit… quieter," Naruto suggested, earning a surprisingly grateful look from Shizune.
It took a fair amount of coercion from her illogically older ward, but they eventually managed to get Tsunade situated in the far booth of a nearby bar. Apparently, all it took was the promise of more liquor; if that was the case then getting the woman back to Konoha might not have been such a problem. Unfortunately, the moment he brought the idea up…
"Pffffhhhhaaaahaaaaa."
Naruto had to compare the sound the blonde made to a large piece of fabric being torn in half a few times.
"You shouldn't be finding this funny; I'm very serious. It's time for you to come back to the village." He thought his voice conveyed that quite well. Tsunade seemed to disagree.
"Or what exactly?" She declared with all the swagger afforded to her by her blood-alcohol content.
Naruto had a certain tolerance for people taking advantage of his good will, or even the occasional joke at his expense. If he didn't, Anko would have been found strangled in her sleep years ago. That tolerance wasn't without limit though; so when his eyes narrowed slightly and an unidentifiable pressure settled over the booth, his student quickly snapped out of their goggling – over Tsunade's reputation, drunkenness or bust varied between the three of them – and subtly shifted away from their sensei.
"Or you'll be branded an S-rank missing-nin under the authority of the Godaime Hokage, like you should have been years ago for your flagrant dereliction of duty for over two decades."
You could have heard a fly gasp in the silence that settled over the bar, at least until Tsunade let out an undignified snort, nearly knocking over her drink as she banged the table. "Oh, oh, it's too funny when the young ones try to front up!"
Naruto sighed and leaned back in the booth, the noise rushing back into the room like the return ripple from a particularly violent splash. "You're clearly too drunk to talk to, we'll be back when you've sobered up a bit."
"Tsunade just jeered at him, sloshing her drink expertly so that she didn't spill a drop. "Yeah, good luck with that."
Naruto stood up and made to leave, already planning how he'd position his team so that they could best watch the potential exits from the town – Tsunade wasn't getting away after all the trouble they had gone to tracking her down – only to pause as the woman quietened. She was staring into her saucer of Sake, idly tilting it this way and that and watching her reflection shift and distort.
"So, the old goat finally stepped down again; who's the sucker who was stuck with that shit show?"
Naruto took a moment to debate the worth of continuing the conversation before sitting back down. "You're looking at him."
The blonde snorted childishly at the fact he'd called himself a sucker before tilting her head up to look him over. "You don't look like much, what's with the dumb coat?" She managed to get a twitch out of the redhead for that, especially considering the haori she was wearing wasn't dissimilar to his. "I suppose you'll be the one sending the goons after me when all this goes official."
Naruto tilted his head; she didn't seem all that concerned with being on the run. He supposed it wasn't all that different to the life she lived now. In fact, he could see her point, given her famed power and her experience evading people there probably weren't many that could take her in. Jiraiya, the sentimental bastard, would probably refuse on principle. Instead, Naruto leaned across the table with a vindicitive smile, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder so that she was forced to meet his steeled gaze.
"I assure you, if I do put that order through… and I will. I'll be the one dogging your trail every step of the way."
The blonde met his stare without fear, grinning right back as she downed another swig of sake straight from the bottle. "Seems like a lot of work for the incumbent Hokage; don't you have some paperwork to go and drown in?"
"Work? Depends on how attached you are to that coat," he shot back as he settled back into the booth.
Tsunade gave him a confused look before glancing at her shoulder, just in time to watch a hiraishin tag swirl to life. It took her alcohol-haze of a mind a moment to recognise her own uncle's technique before she sneered, quickly shedding the coat and throwing it at the redhead's face and standing up.
"There you go, enjoy the show while you can…" She sidled out of the booth, pulling Shizune with her "… because next time you track me down I'll start by breaking every bone in your arm." She absently crushed the Sake bottle in her hand. "And there are a lot of them."
"Tsunade-sama, please." To everybody's surprise it was Sakura who called out, deftly climbing out of the booth to stand in front of the legendary medic. "There are so many in the hospital who could use your help, so many medics who could be that much better with your teaching."
The blonde gave the girl a searching look, taking in her neat, clinical appearance and the tell-tale signs of medical equipment in her pouch. "You get your kids to fight your battles now?" Tsunade asked, not even turning to address Naruto. "You're fitting into your position already."
She shouldered past the disillusioned pinkette easily, only pausing again when Naruto called out. "It doesn't have to be this way; Hiruzen is basically gifting you the hospital. Free run of how things work, entire overhauls if need be. He wants his student back just as much as the village needs you."
To her credit, Tsunade did turn back, if only to flip the redhead off. "On second thought, maybe you're not such a good Hokage; the sweet talk is supposed to come before the threats in negotiation."
Naruto had risen to meet her, undaunted by her narrowed eyes. "Yeah, well I was always more of a doer than a diplomat… I'm still learning that part. Besides, I've read all about you, what the village took from you, what you've lost. I didn't think you'd come back just because a few bounty-hunters were after your head. It was mostly for the old man I even bothered."
"So, are we done here?" Tsunade growled, already turning to leave.
"What I had heard though, was that you were a gambler."
Tsunade stopped in her tracks. "What of it?"
"Well? How about a wager?"
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked as Tsunade's apprentice, Naruto's three students, and the pig – who had been introduced as Tonton at some point – stood at the edge of the small garden. "You don't look too worried about all of this." She motioned vaguely to Tsunade and Naruto, who had taken up in the middle of the garden across from one another at a large stone slab.
"Oh, I'm just sort of resigned to it at this point." Indeed, the young woman seemed to be fretting in a remarkably controlled, practised manner. "Tsunade-sama, does what she wants and I'm just sort of here to… well, I'm just sort of here."
Ami frowned from the other side of Sakura. "That doesn't sound right."
Shizune's eyes widened as she instantly began backtracking over her words. "Oh, don't mistake me. Tsunade-sama is a wonderful woman, I learn more from her than I could have imagined. She only really gets this way when the memories become particularly bad, otherwise she can be quite lovely."
"Yeah, but what about what you want to do?" Ami soldiered on, with all the tact that Anko had forced out of her.
Shizune simply took on a wistful smile at that as she glanced back to the main event. "What about your sensei? Naruto seems like a remarkable man himself, to challenge Tsunade in a contest of strength like this."
Sakura and Ami shared a look at that. Sasuke might have joined in but he was somewhat busy scrutinising the pig sitting in his lap with a perplexed expression.
"Why is this pig wearing a pearl necklace?"
"Yeah, that's Naruto-sensei." Ami answered, ignoring Sasuke completely. "Unpredictable as ever."
"But do you really think he can win?" Shizune asked, glancing back at the pair. Somehow the poor bartender had been roped into all of this and was doing an admirable impression of a rabbit stuck in front of a fire jutsu. "I mean, I know Tsunade-sama has a reputation when it comes to gambling… but an arm wrestle?"
Ami and Sakura shared another look before shrugging at the same time.
"It's Naruto sensei."
Sure enough, the two in question were just squaring up their arms on the table, the nervous bar-owner glancing between them furtively.
"You ready to have those arm bones crushed earlier than expected Namikaze?" Tsunade asked, wearing a savage grin as she clenched and unclenched her hand experimentally.
Naruto on the other hand looked quite neutral about the whole affair. "Just as long as we're still clear on the rules."
"Yeah, yeah; best two out of three. You win…" her eyes betrayed just how likely she thought that was "…I go back to the village and take up as chief medic. And when I win, Konoha pays off my gambling debts and leaves me the hell alone."
Naruto nodded his affirmation and motioned for the bartender to do his thing, locking hands with the grinning Sannin. The barkeep placed his hand atop theirs and, after a quick muttered prayer, began counting down.
"Three… two… one… g-"
The slam of Tsunade's hand hitting the stone table could have made the Daimyo's court silent. For everyone watching it was as though both their arms were upright one moment, then flat to the side the next, at no point occupying the space between. Both Tsunade and Shizune were staring at it opened mouths while Naruto's students looked on smugly from the side lines.
'Fast…'
The Sannin recovered quickly, glaring across at the redhead. "You cheated."
Naruto stared right back, now sporting a smirk of his own. "We're shinobi, there's no such thing."
Tsunade reset her features and put her arm back up. "Well it won't work a second time." And Naruto could see that it wouldn't, the muscles in her arm were already tensed when they locked fingers. Luckily that wasn't the only trick in his bag.
"Three… two… one… g-"
This time the last word was drowned out by the sudden flared of power from both shinobi. A thin aura of yellow enveloped Tsunade, clearly hoping to overpower Naruto in an instant just as he had her. But the Namikaze was holding on admirably, his skin starting to turn red as he unlocked the first three inner gates. It was a technique he didn't like using, thinking it too short-sighted and damaging for the advantage it gave. Still, he had explored a lot of avenues for increasing his speed when he was younger; currently three gates was as far as he could go. He would have to do something to thank Gai when he got back; maybe give him some way to track down Kakashi?
It still didn't seem enough though as, inch by inch, his hand was forced down. Three gates were a lot, but against the Sannin's raw, unmatched strength he might as well have been doing nothing at all. It seemed inevitable when his hand finally touched the stone table, cracking it slightly under the pressure of their combined aura. Both let go instantly, Naruto quickly locking his Chakra back down again as his skin returned to its normal tanned hue.
"The gates huh, nice trick," Tsunade said, with all the swagger of somebody who thought victory was already theirs.
"And not my last," Naruto shot back, putting his arm back up without hesitation.
It took them a moment to realise that nobody was coming to adjudicate the contest, as the bartender had passed out at some point during their last exchange. Instead Ami bounced over, cheerfully putting her hands over theirs.
"Kick her ass sensei!" She declared, quickly moving on before either could react. "Three… two… one… Go!"
Through exuberance alone was her voice heard over the sudden wave of barely restrained energies the two powerful shinobi released. Naruto instantly unlocked all three gates again, but Tsunade simply let her hand stay where it was, taunting him with her immovability. She didn't even try to push him down, meeting his eye with a victorious smirk. The moment she did though he made sure she regretted it.
In that single moment of distraction, he went through the first two steps of creating a Rasengan… in the hand that was currently clasped against Tsunade's.
In the time it took the signal to travel from her hand – that her grip had been almost forcibly loosened by the sudden outpouring of spiralling energy – up to her brain, Naruto had already forced her hand down onto the table with the dull thud of a tomb being sealed.
There was one, long moment of utter silence in the little garden before the slab of stone they were using as a table gave a suffering groan, and split clean in two.
"I win."