The Fateful Uchiha

One would have thought that Jiraiya, with his stature, his colorful clothes, and his white hair, would easily stand out than Tsunade. Jun remembered well how easily he and Genma and the Root ninja at the time had found the Pervy Sage during their mission to improve their Fuinjutsu. The hardest part had been finding a place where Jiraiya had gone in person. 

Then, it hadn’t been hard to find witnesses, people who had seen him pass by, women whom he had flirted with, passers-by whose eyes had been attracted by his build. But it was Tsunade whose last location was known, and she was the one who would become Godaime Hokage; therefore, Jun decided to start with the Senju Princess.

He still sent a Kage Bunshin on Jiraiya’s trail to save time. After returning from the mission with Team Yamato, the first thing Jun did was to track down Shiba-sensei and ask him to teach him the Kage Bunshin technique. With the Sharingan, he had copied it in no time, but then it took him some time of training to truly master the ins and outs of the forbidden Jutsu.

He felt a new respect for Naruto, who had learned the Jutsu without help in one night in the original story. Well, Jun took less than an hour to do it, but he was a Jonin. A twenty-year-old Jonin, specialized in ninjutsu. While Naruto, on the other hand, was a simple Genin, with poor control of his chakra. The fact that he achieved this feat in such a short time was impressive. Then again, the boy’s chakra reserve was immense. That helped him as well.

Jun had discovered with jubilation that he could exploit the Jutsu to the fullest. All his clones materialized with an exact copy of everything he had on his person. His equipment, but also his seals. More specifically the Eternal Chakra Gate seal on the back of his neck, which allowed him to store chakra. That meant the clone could charge the seal for him or even use the seal to access the accumulated chakra if needed.

It was really useful! A Kage Bunshin dissipated when it ran out of chakra with time or because it was dispersed with a violent blow. But since Jun's Kage Bunshin had access to a secret reserve, it would last significantly longer than a normal clone. Jun even wondered if his clone wouldn’t be more resistant than the average one. With the amount of energy stored in his Eternal Chakra Gate, his clone could probably last several weeks or months depending on its activity before completely emptying the chakra in it. He was eager to test his limits.

However, he was a little apprehensive about when the clone would dissipate and when he would receive all its memories. Would he also receive fatigue from several days of tracking Jiraiya nonstop? He hoped not! It was something he wasn’t looking forward to.

Jun therefore left to search Tsunade. It was surprisingly easy to find her. She probably didn’t expect to be tracked down after all this time. On the other hand, who would be stupid enough to go after her? The Sandaime had never ordered her return. Enemy ninjas feared her legendary strength and marveled at her medical skills. Most people knew that it was better to stay in the good grace of the prodigious medic-ninja than to piss her off. Therefore, Tsunade had never bothered to hide her trail. She never needed to do so.

In just one week and counting the travel time, Jun had found her. She was in a casino. It wasn’t surprising as she loved gambling. On the other hand, Jun had never been to a casino. He knew a lot of games, but they had been taught to him by colleagues in the Division, friends in the Sensory Department, or by Anko. But, he didn’t play often and was far from being an expert.

Weapons were forbidden in the casino, so Jun wisely handed over his kunai pouch to the guards at the entrance. However, he said nothing about the countless kunais, shurikens, and other weapons he had in his storage seal. He went in, looked around the room, and walked casually towards the place where a tall blonde wearing a green haori was getting angry at the slot machine in front of which she was sitting. A brunette carrying a little pig in her arms sighed with amused resignation by her side.

Tsunade still looked like she was in her twenties. It was almost shocking. Jun couldn't help staring at her; she was pretty. Not just physically, even though she had a regular and expressive face, and... ok, a huge chest. What attracted Jun the most was the way she carried herself. He couldn’t put his finger on what exactly he liked in her demeanor, but it was impressive to see.

Tsunade was pretty. Anyone could attest to that. But the Uchiha clan leader didn't care. What caught his attention was her energy, her movements, and her expressions. She occupied the room with a ferocity worthy of Anko… but with something more concentrated, attentive, and sharp, something that almost reminded him of Shikaku Nara’s presence. Even from afar, even in a relaxed atmosphere, Tsunade radiated a contained power to the trained eyes.

The young Uchiha leaned against the wall and scrutinized the Sannin. Tsunade Senju, the legendary granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, one of the founders of Konoha and also the First Hokage. Even though the Senju clan was no more, she was undoubtedly the heiress of the Senjus. 

Jun couldn't help but stare at her, looking for a resemblance to the Senju he knew. But Tsunade had hardly the typical traits of her clan. She had hazel eyes of a lighter shade than those of Tenten and hair of a pale blond who evoked more the Yamanakas than that of Yamato or the silky hair of Ume. Moreover, her skin was paler than Genma or Ibiki. In short, her appearance looked nothing like a Senju.

“Hey, you! You want my picture or what?”

Jun stiffened, caught red-handed when the Sannin suddenly turned towards him. For a second, he didn't know what to say. It was Tsunade Senju, the future Fifth Hokage. It took him a few seconds for his brain to start functioning normally and for him to remember the speech he had planned.

“I was going to propose we play a card game.” He said in a neutral tone.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes with a suspicious air.

“You… you want something from me, don’t you?” She replied, getting up from her seat.

Jun realized with surprise that the Sannin was shorter than he thought. Even with her heels, Jun still towered her by a good margin. It felt strange to look down at the legend. Compared to Jiraiya for instance, she looked like a teenager height-wise.

"In a way, you could say that.” Jun replied.

“Easy money? Medical consultation? A helping hand on a mission? If it’s any of those, give up now. Also, I don't get involved in Konoha's business.” Her gaze naturally noticed his ninja headband.

“Should we bet on it?”

Jun wasn’t too focused on betting. He loved to have control. When he played cards, there was usually no stake involved. It was just for fun. But it was paramount to appeal to the vices of Tsunade. And the Sannin took the bait. With an amused sniff, she headed for a poker table. Jun followed. Behind, he heard Shizune sigh. He had identified the brunette with the pig as Tsunade's apprentice. The animal she held was named Tonton. It was Tsunade’s ninja pet. Jun assumed Shizune probably saw the Uchiha symbol embroidered on the back of his haori.