Chapter 41
In the outskirts of the Land of Fire, a town with a forgettable name, Iruka sat down with all the other losers in the gambling den. He looked at the woman with a well-developed figure as she threw her dice on the table, and others cheered as they knew that they would win, as she always lost.
But Iruka wondered whose luck was worse, Tsunade's or his. So, when she bet that she would throw even, Iruka bet on odds. It was the only thing he was interested in, even to the point that he forgot the reason why he was there to begin with.
And just as the dice touched the table and continued to roll, there was a loud crash. Then all chaos broke out as uniformed men barged in and pointed their swords at all of them. Iruka followed the dice, not letting anyone distract him, only for the table to be turned over by one of the uniformed men.
The dice were lost under all the feet of the men who surrounded them. He was so distracted by the dice that he didn't even notice Tsunade was already gone. With a sigh, he looked up at the men around him.
"Don't dare to resist. Under the orders of the lord, this establishment is closed down, and everyone involved is to be arrested."
Iruka had his hands cuffed and was pushed out of the gambling den with dozens of other people. Outside, even more uniformed people were waiting for them. It looked like they wouldn't let anyone go this time.
Dislocating his thumbs, he slipped out of the handcuffs the moment they were outside. Then, by tripping a few people for distraction, he disappeared by jumping onto the rooftops. Leaving only a gust of wind for others to follow him through.
After jumping a few buildings over and just as he was about to go looking for Tsunade to see where she went, he was stopped by another woman. Iruka knew very well who she was: Tsunade's assistant and student, Shizune. Even before she left with Tsunade, she was a Jonin.
"Can't we talk things through?" Iruka asked.
The answer to his question was a handful of needles flying at his face. Unlike other throwing weapons, it was nearly impossible to deflect needles. And there were way too many of them, even if he tried.
Seeing as Shizune had already put weight on her right foot, Iruka guessed that she wanted him to dodge and fall right into her grasp. Sadly, he was used to pain far too much, so he just let the needles hit his arm as he blocked them.
It sure did prick him quite well. Though he didn't expect to feel his arm go numb a mere second later. Paralyzing poison. He could recognize it almost immediately, as he used it quite a lot, too. His left arm went limp almost immediately after it was hit.
Using what he had learned from the Hyuga's Gentle Palm technique, Iruka hit his chakra points on his left shoulder, blocking chakra and blood flow from his left arm. He couldn't let the paralysis set in the rest of his body, as it would mean his loss.
And that would mean losing Tsunade. It was already quite difficult to find her, and she didn't even know he was looking for her. If she managed to escape now, who knew how long it would take to find her again? And he didn't have time for that.
"I just want to talk."
Since his left arm was already useless, he used his right hand to lift it and block another handful of needles flying at him. Seriously, why wouldn't people listen to him? Did the scar on his face make people so damn disgusted with him that they refused to even listen to him?
He already had to work his ass off to convince the Third Hokage to let him do this. He wouldn't let this woman stop him so easily. The future of his kids depended on the success of bringing back the lost princess.
"There is nothing to talk about," Shizune replied as she appeared before him.
Damn, he didn't expect her to be this fast. A Jonin was still a Jonin, even if she wasn't an active one. There was no way Iruka could risk blocking her kick, but she was as fast as Might Guy, so he could barely keep up with her.
The roof below where her foot landed collapsed. Well, that was going to come from his paycheck. Not wanting to wreck even more buildings, Iruka landed on the ground, away from people. But he didn't try to make any distance, as that was what she wanted.
"She's not coming with you or anyone else," Shizune said. "Leave while I'm being nice."
Was this her being nice? Iruka somehow didn't believe it as he took out the needles in his left arm. Now that she wasn't attacking him, he had time to take an antidote and unseal his left shoulder's chakra points.
"That won't be possible, lady," Iruka replied. "Not until I talk with Tsunade myself."
"You are not getting anywhere near her." Shizune was way too overprotective.
"We will see about it."
Though he said so, it would be hard to get past this woman. Especially when he didn't even want to harm her, so he couldn't use most of his tricks. And he didn't think he could match her without going all out.
And Shizune didn't seem to like his response, as she rushed forward. Even letting her punches graze him would be dangerous, and there was only so much he could avoid. So, he waited for his moment as she extended her arm a bit too far and took a bit too long to pull it back.
Iruka grabbed her hand and bent it. He was under no illusion that this woman was physically weaker than him. So, he kicked her legs out to make her lose balance, then went behind her and held her in a chokehold, only for her to whip her head back and hit his nose.
He blacked out for a moment before he regained his footing. Wiping the blood from his face, he realized that his nose was broken. That's what he got for trying to act smart. Even without being active for years as a shinobi, Shizune knew very well what to do in a fight.
"Is that all you have?" Those should have been his words, but he had no right to say them. "Leave before it gets serious. Lady Tsunade has no intention of coming back to the village, even if it is by the orders of the Hokage."
"It isn't by his orders," Iruka replied. "He is the last person who would want to force her to return. But the village needs her. Many things have changed since she left. And she is needed."
Of course, she didn't listen. The moment his words left his mouth, Shizune created a mist surrounding them. He only needed one whiff of it to know it was poison. Damn, she was fast. He didn't even have time to react before she weaved hand signs and used the jutsu.
He couldn't see anything, and it seemed like the mist continuously expanded. Holding his breath, he tried to jump away. But Shizune was waiting for him to do just that. From within her sleeves, five senbon needles shot out
With such force that they easily pierced through his mesh armor on his chest. The moment the senbon grazed his skin, it was already over for him. He could only think of how she sure didn't go easy on him, as he collapsed to his knees on the spot.
"Goodnight."
He could only look up as she lifted her leg and brought it down on his head. Even if he could lift his arms to block, he didn't think it would change much. The next moment, he couldn't feel anything at all, and darkness descended on him.
…
Sadly, it wasn't his first time crawling out of trash. This wasn't even the worst place he had crawled out of. There were way too many times when he had to go through narrow sewers to escape the enemy or hide in even nastier places.
And sadly, it wasn't the worst headache he had woken up to. But it still hurt like hell. Shizune really didn't hold anything back. He never expected her to be so damn vicious. She even threw him into a pile of trash. As first impressions went, he didn't think he impressed her too much.
Tidying up, Iruka took out his flask from the inner pocket of his jacket. And as always, when he needed it the most, it was empty. His luck was really the worst. At least he was alone in this and didn't have to show this embarrassing side of himself to anyone.
He had been beaten to a pulp. He knew Shizune would be strong, but in the end, he still underestimated her, or maybe overestimated himself. He must have forgotten that he wasn't anything special to begin with, and without his tricks, he couldn't put up much of a fight.
If he was going to feel this shitty, though, at least he should get drunk first. There was no point in going through this sober. So, he dragged his tired and hurt body through the town in search of a bar. It was already dark, so he hurried away.
As his luck didn't turn around, the only bar in the town was on the other side of where he was. It took a lot to finally reach it, and too many eyes were set on him to ignore. He must have looked like shit for him to get so much pity from onlookers.
"Fuck." The moment he came inside the bar, he couldn't help but curse.
Sitting straight ahead of the entrance were Tsunade and Shizune. The latter looked surprised; she probably didn't expect him to wake up so soon or for her poison to dissipate so fast. Either way, she seemed ready to finish him off at any moment.
Iruka just lifted his hands in surrender and went to the barman. Probably noticing Shizune's look at Iruka and how he looked, the barman decided to fill Iruka's cup with the strongest drink he had.
It burned quite well in Iruka's throat, making him forget the massive headache he had. Ordering another cup of it and filling up his flask, he went to Shizune's table. He couldn't let go of this chance and could only hope that Shizune wouldn't kick his ass in public.
"You don't know how to give up, do you?" Shizune asked.
"Girl, please, I gave up on my life a long time ago," Iruka replied. "It's just that life hasn't given up on me just yet, clinging to me so much it only hurts."
"What does the old man want from me this time?" Tsunade didn't seem to be even a bit concerned about Iruka.
Well, if Shizune could mess him up so much, he probably wouldn't be able to take one punch from Tsunade. Though from how she looked at his bloodied nose, she might be an easier opponent to take on. She looked like she was fighting not to look away from it.
In the end, Iruka could only sigh and take a napkin to clean up his face a bit. He didn't feel pity for Tsunade, but he understood her far too well. At least he had hatred in him to keep moving; she only had her fear.
"He doesn't want anything; it is I who had to beg him to let me bring you back."
"Do I know you?" She looked confused at Iruka.
"Never met before," he replied. "A lot of things have changed while you were gone."
"I heard." She really didn't sound like she wanted to talk to Iruka, not even a bit interested in what he had to say.
"Fuck, you really are annoying, you know." Iruka didn't give a shit about Tsunade's feelings, though. "If you had heard about it, you should have returned by yourself. Don't you realize how much your presence alone would have helped?"
"Don't speak so rudely." Shizune seemed ready to move on him at any moment.
"Or what, you going to kick my ass again?" Iruka asked as he downed his drink, enjoying the burn, then turned back to the princess. "How long are you going to feel bad for yourself? I know you are fucked up in many ways, but why can't you be fucked up in Konoha, huh?"
Iruka's head whipped back as he was slapped by Shizune. A silence fell upon the bar as eyes turned toward them. Iruka ignored it all, spat out a bloody clump, and took one of Tsunade's bottles before pouring it into his cup and downing it.
"What can you possibly know?" Shizune was way too overprotective of Tsunade.
"I know what it feels like to hold someone dear to you while he is dying in your arms and know it is all your fault. I know what it feels like to be powerless and not able to even take revenge for it. I know how empty the world is, and how painful it is to live in it while sober. You think you alone lost someone dear to you?"
Iruka knew that people were hurt in different ways, and nobody could truly understand another's pain. As much as Iruka lost, the Third Hokage lost way more: his sensei, his wife, his son, and not that long ago, even his friend.
And how many failures did he have to live with? And yet, he still stood tall, still did his job, and tried to protect this village so others wouldn't lose anything anymore. He was one of the reasons why Iruka hadn't drowned himself in alcohol yet.
And then there was Kakashi, another fucked up person. And after that, there was Sasuke, who probably had nightmares every day. Compared to them all, Iruka should probably be the least fucked up, but he was just that much more pathetic than anyone else.
"Well, let's not beat around the bush. Since I am not going to talk you into returning, how about a bet?"
"Heh, you did your homework." Tsunade seemed amused now. "Since you know I won't refuse a bet, get on with it; what is it?"
"I don't have the energy for anything complicated, and all I want now is to drink," Iruka replied, picking up another bottle. "So, the last one standing wins. How about it?"
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.