~*****~

"Okay! Let's go!" Jiraiya screamed the next morning, and pointing off in a random direction. "Eh?"

"Let's go? Are you kidding me? Quit acting like a stupid little kid, will ya?" Naruto said in annoyance.

"What the-- why are you in such a bad mood?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, what do you think?! We're still in the middle of my training! You said there were three steps to learn, right? Well, I've only learned two of them! Now quit holding out on me!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily. "Relax! You can work on the third one whole we're walking."

"What?! Are you serious?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"It's amazing how fast you can switch moods." I comment dryly, patting my damp hair.

"Aw, shut it, Ren!" Naruto bellowed, taking a swing at me. I held my hand up and knocked his fist away as he crossed his arms with a huff. Jiraiya blew up a green and yellow balloon. "A balloon?" Naruto wondered with a grumpy expression.

"Here." Jiraiya tossed the balloon over to his pupil.

"Okay... so what's the deal?" Naruto asked, squeezing it a little. "An ordinary balloon?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya went into explaining the third step to Naruto as I zoned out. Why couldn't he walk and talk? All these explanations have nothing to do with me. I sighed inwardly before my mind drifted to Shikamaru. I felt a flush crawl up my neck. I shook my head, and my mind wandered to Sasuke this time. I slapped at my cheeks roughly concentrating on what Jiraiya was saying. By the time I decided to stop daydreaming, Jiraiya held the Rasengan in his hand.

"Woah!" I cooed, immediately becoming enthralled by it. "It's like a small typhoon!"

"So then, what you're doing in your left hand is also happening in the balloon on your right?"

"That's right! What do you think?" Jiraiya asked excitedly. "Nifty, huh? Now listen; In the third step, you've gotta draw up 100% of what you've learned so far. And then, maintain it. In other words, keeping the power and the rotation of your chakra at their maximum. First, visualize a thin membrane just inside the balloon, then of compressing the chakra inside it."

Naruto remained silent for a moment. "Hey, I think I get it now!" He cheered. "So, this stage is about keeping the power and rotation that I learned, only this time without letting them pop open a delicate balloon!"

"I thought it would've taken you a good twenty minutes to understand it, Naruto." I jeered, earning another half hearted glare.

"Wait, why exactly am I going through all this trouble?" Naruto asked curiously.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Come here." He commanded, tossing the balloon back to Naruto, who nearly stumbled to catch it. "I'll show you. Watch closely. After the first two steps of your training, you get this." He formed a loose Rasengan, and hit the wood, which created a spiral pattern in the bark. "Then, once you've master the third step -- you get this!" He formed yet another Rasengan, but this one held a lot more intertia and power. He slammed his palm into the tree, and the Rasengan ripped it open, creating a dome like crater. "If you can keep that small typhoon the size of your palm, then the energy will be unable to disperse. It'll spin faster and faster, and it's power will become more and more compressed." Another Rasengan formed in his palm. "And it's destructive power will reach it's max. So, there you have it."

Naruto gazed down at the balloon for a second before pocketing the first one he had, and started focusing his chakra. I half expected him to actually get it on the first try with that determined expression he held, but it burst after a few moments.

"There's no cutting corners here. Get your power and rotation to 100%, and then maintain them." Jiraiya scolded him. "I told ya, didn't I? This is an A-Rank technique. It's a highly advanced ninjutsu, kid. Okay, that's enough explaining for today. You can practice on the road."

"Hey, hold on a minute!" Naruto called out as I started following after Jiraiya. "Do we have to rush? Give me a chance to--"

"We've already wasted enough time waiting for you to recover your strength. There's no guarantee that Tsunade will stay in this town much longer."

Naruto started to stutter. "Yeah, but-- but--"

"It's not like she's gonna bump into some old acquaintance and start reminiscing over the good old days. Come on, let's go!" Naruto sighed out in defeat and followed after us.

~*****

"Master Jiraiya?" I ask aloud, gazing up at the old man. "Lady Tsunade is a medical genius, right?"

"Hm? Yeah. Your father and her were the best in the medical field." Jiraiya confirmed.

"Do you think she'd be open to teaching me?" I ask curiously. Jiraiya just smirked a little.

"I probably wouldn't ask right off the bat." Jiraiya stated, a frown settling on his face.

"Why's that?"

"Tsunade's impatient, and extremely quick to anger." At that moment, Naruto's balloon popped. He flew back and hit the ground. "Come on, kid. We don't have time for kicking back. If we don't hurry, who knows where that wayward woman will scamper off to next."

Naruto was quick to get back on his feet. "Listen, you pervy sage! That's no way to talk to an apprentice who's working his butt off!"

"Oh, zip it. Just calm down, will you?" Jiraiya retorted. "Tsunade's the priority here."

"Son of a-- well, how do you like that?" Naruto grumbled. I huffed and followed after the old man.

~*****~

"Is this a..... gambling hall?" I hummed as we stopped at the third place while on our search.

"Why, yes. Yes it is. Does that bother you?" Jiraiya asked in a jeering tone. I felt a flush crawl up my neck as I pulled out my froggy purse.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked over at me in curiosity as he stopped trying to pop the balloon for a second.

"Hold onto my purse... please." I groaned heavily and hunched forward after I plopped it into his hand. Jiraiya had already gone inside. Naruto and I followed after.

"Yeah, I know the young lady." The gambler said.

"You're sure?" Jiraiya asked as he held up her photo.

"Yeah. Think she said she needed to win back the money she lost. Said she was heading over there." The gambler replied. I tightened my hands around the straps of my backpack as I focused on Naruto trying to pop the balloon.

"Hey, kid." We hear a voice. "How about it, sonny boy?" The man asks Naruto while playing with some dice in his hands. "Wanna throw the dice around?" Naruto didn't respond, so the man scooted closer. "Check it out, if you roll the dice and it comes up odd, that's han. And if it's even, then it's cho."

"Look, zip it pal! I'm trying to get some training done here!" Naruto snapped. "Quit buggin' me!"

"What are you talking about?" The man asked. "This is a gambling house. Now, why don't you ditch that balloon there? We'll have more fun with these."

"What are you kidding?! I have work to do!" Naruto snapped once again. I let out a breath of relief. He seemed more interested in having Naruto play rather than myself. And if I played, I might fall victim to the one prohibition that mattered to me. "I don't have time to be messing around shooting dice."

"Man, what a boring kid. What about you, sweetheart? You wanna play a round?" The man asked, holding the dice up for me to see.

'And just like that, I'm falling victim to the disease of gambling....' I shook my head and hands back and forth. "N-No thank you! I really shouldn't- Well, maybe just one game." I sighed, and slipped my sandals off. I stand before the mat and sit on my butt. "Han it's odd, Cho it's even, right?" I ask, and set down my froggy purse, which I stole back from Naruto in one second. The man nodded and did a flashy roll of the dice in the small black cup.

"So? What'll it be? Han? Or Cho?" The man asked, a leer settled on his face.

I grasped my chin gently and gazed at the cup, humming lightly. "Cho." I said simply.

"If it's Han, I get that entire froggy purse you got there. If it's Cho, I'll double what's in it." The man offered.

'Oh boy, that's a big bet.... this is all the savings from each mission with Squad Seven.' I nod once, and he starts to reveal the dice. It felt as everything went in slow motion, and as he was removing the cup, I notice; underneath, the number for the dice had been odd. 'Oh, god, it's Han! I'm gonna lose all my ryo!' At the last possible moment, Naruto's balloon popped, and sent a wave of chakra through the air, and toppling the dice over. I leaped upwards and pointed down at it. "Aw yeah! It's Cho!" I cheered.

"What a coincidence, looks like I won too." Jiraiya commented with a chuckle.

We left that gambling hall with Jiraiya's new found information, and my second purse full of my winnings. Jiraiya found the slot building Tsunade was supposed to be at, and he went inside, forbidding me to enter, considering I inherited my father and aunts insatiable need to gamble. "Man, Naruto, you sure are a life saver." I commented as I split the earnings and gave the half over to Naruto.

"Hm? Ren, you won this, not me." Naruto said as he got another balloon.

"Yeah, but I owe ya!" I giggled and pocketed the rest of my ryo. 

"Well, that's great. Where am I supposed to look now?" Jiraiya asked as he stepped out. Naruto popped another balloon as we followed after. We walked around for a little bit, and tried every gambling hall in the vicinity. But she was nowhere to be found. "Well, I'm stumped. That woman isn't anywhere to be found." Jiraiya commented while he looked around the bustling street we were on.

I stopped in my tracks as Naruto veers off to the side. I follow after to a stand for scratch off tickets. The woman seemed to be beckoning him over. "Kids, grownups, everyone loves the lotto." The woman said cheerfully. "Give it a whirl, cuties, it's fun!" Naruto cocked his head at her as she held up a card with three scratch off's and an arrow going through a target. "What about this one, hm? You'll know right away if you've won." Naruto and I looked at each other before nodding and taking a card each.

Somehow, on all that is unnatural, Naruto won the jackpot, and I got the minor prize. Which was about a fourth of what he won. His froggy purse was full to bursting. He held it above his head with an amused giggle. "You're cuter when you're chubby, aren't you, froggy?" Naruto cooed to his froggy. I giggled at his enthusiasm. "Yes, you are!" He started cuddling it, and I think that's where I drew the line.

"Master Jiraiya?" I hum, looking back at the old man. "Isn't there some really old castle here?"

"Hm? Yeah, why?" He pulls out a telescope.

"Wouldn't it be better to find Tsunade if we found high ground?"

"Hey, Naruto! Come on, this way!" Jiraiya calls, and sends me a grin.

"All right!" Naruto screams, and follows after us.

~*****~

"Where's this castle you were talking about?" Naruto asks as he catches up to Jiraiya and I.

The three of us look upwards, to the large structure that previously held the oldest standing castle for miles. The castle was gone, and something that large, would've taken years to fully deconstruct. "It's gone!" I gasp.