Chapter Text
“Finally!” Tsunade grinned as she opened a new bottle of sake.
It was the evening of Kakashi Hatake’s hokage inauguration.
For the first time in 5 years Tsunade was once again free from responsibility.
She took a shot of sake and savored the taste.
“Finally free of that pesky desk job.” She grinned as she sat back in her chair.
Mandatory conscription for each war had left her with little choice about joining.
Each time she sacrificed everything. From her family to her own health. All of the wars she had fought in had taken something from her.
The second shinobi war took her close family, her brother, cousins and distant relatives. Nobody survived in Konoha and in Uzushiogakure.
The third war took her beloved fiance and her sanity. She had been left with a severe phobia that had plagued her for a few decades.
The fourth shinobi war took her health.
All five kage were nearly killed and she had been split in two by Madara.
Ignoring her own health she sacrificed herself to save the Kage .
Thankfully with her summons she was able to heal herself and the other kage.
Regardless the ordeal had caused her to lose decades off her life span.
That and she was forced to interact with her scumbag ex teammate.
Having to receive his help haunted her.
After finding out that he desecrated her grandfather and granduncle’s graves, her heart had turned cold towards him.
She could have expected that from Danzo. But Orochimaru?
He crossed a line that she could not forgive.
The only reason she did not kill him was because he did not disturb Nawaki's grave.
Orochimaru was left alive, but under extreme house arrest.
It was the best option due to the fact that the snake bastard was too hard to kill.
With how many vessels he had there was always a chance of him reviving outside of their control.
That was something that they could afford to let happen.
But none of that was her problem now.
She once again was free to travel and drink till her heart's content.
She picked up the bottle again and filled another shot for herself.
With a quick swig she took another shot.
“Watch it!” A man yelled in the booth next to hers.
There seemed to be a scuffle and they bumped into her chair.
Tsunade grunted as she was shoved slightly and a black book hit her arm.
“Bastard you dare-” the man was cut off by the sound of a table splitting in two.
“Watch it! Some of us are trying to relax!” She snapped as she slammed her hand on the book.
The men seemed to quiet down for a split second, but before any of them could react Tsunade was engulfed in a bright light.
The ground seemed to vanish beneath her, making her fall back.
Since she had been sitting down and her chair suddenly vanished, she was falling back.
Tsunade could make out the runes of a seal around her and she felt her heart skip a beat.
It took less than a second for her instincts to kick in.
She dropped the sake cup the moment her back touched the ground she pulled her legs toward her chest and kicked up.
The momentum pushed her forward and made her land on her feet.
Her left hand was still clutching the sake bottle, which she had thankfully not spilled.
“Hero's-” before the person in front of her could finish his sentence she had jumped up and kicked him right on his solar plexus.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” She snapped as the man was kicked back so hard that his body was flung back and he crashed against his companions behind him.
There were a few yelps of pain coming from the robed figures on the ground.
Tsunade's eyes scanned the room.
Five men on the floor, two women in the corners of the room, and three young men with weapons standing beside her.
The only exit seemed to be right in front of her, but that led to some corridor meaning they were in some building.
“Hero please! Let us explain!” One of the robed men cried out as he struggled to get up.
The one she had kicked had passed out from pain, probably broke a rib or two seeing how he was curled up on the floor.
“You better explain quickly before I start breaking limbs.” She sneered as she held up a perfectly manicured fist.
“W-we summoned you four heroes because our world is in chaos! The waves of calamity have appeared and we need the four cardinal heroes to take up arms and defeat it!.” The man exclaimed and Tsunade felt annoyed.
These waves of calamity sounded like bad news and she wanted no part in it.
“So what does that have to do with me?” She asked while taking a step forward.
“You are one o-of the h-heros… the weapon… it… it is proof.” The man began to stammer out while taking a step back and pointing at the green shield on her arm.
She looked down and she noticed the shield.
Her eyes widened slightly. The shield weighed almost nothing and had been on her arm without causing her any kind of discomfort.
As a ninja she was quick to notice something on her. Being diligent against paper bombs throughout 3 wars really made her an expert at awareness.
But she had not even realized it was on her.
She glanced back at the young men who were staring at her and the robed men.
“The seal, the transportation seal that you used. Where have you summoned me to?” She asked and the man trembled at her killing intent.
“Y-you are in the kingdom of Melromarc….. in the kingdom’s castle!” The man blurted out the last part as he noticed the dissatisfaction on her face.
“Send me back. I do not wish to join another cause or war.” She stated and placed a hand on her hip.
Waves of Calamity, summoning seal, another kingdom? She was not in the mood to end her retirement the day she entered it.
“I am sorry there is no way to send you back-” the man began to reply and she stomped her foot leaving small cracks on the floor.
“Take me to someone who can. NOW.” She snapped and the men stumbled to get up and quickly ushered them out of the dark room.
The three young men followed behind her looking aghast.
It was a silent walk towards the king's throne room; the only sound was clicking of Tsunade's heels.
Tsunade looked down at the small sake bottle in her hand and she felt annoyed.
She was already quite agitated by the whole ordeal. Why should she waste a perfectly good drink?
She took a long swig and chugged the remaining sake in one gulp.
The familiar burn filled her throat and warmed her stomach.
The stiff drink calmed her nerves enough that she wasn't fuming in anger anymore.
They passed by a pair of Knights who opened the door for them.
“Now announcing the arrival of the four cardinal heroes!” A loud voice called out as they entered the room.
Tsuande scanned the room.
Nobles, without a shadow of a doubt. She had been to the capital plenty of times, as the granddaughter, grandniece and student of all the Hokage, her team held enough prestige to take a few missions in the Damiyo's court.
It was her beauty, acting and ‘charm’ that earned her the name Princess of Konoha. Which later changed to the Slug Princess after she made a debut with her summons.
So, seeing the people here she could quickly deduce what kind of environment she was in.
“Welcome heroes, I am Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, as you've been told we have summoned you to ask for aid against the waves of calamity. Know that we humbly welcome you to the kingdom of Melromarc. Please introduce yourselves”
Tsunade glanced at the three young men who still seemed a bit stunned and quickly stepped forward.
She bowed deeply. “Greetings your highness. I am the Slug Princess Tsunade Senju.”
She straightened up and noticed the crowd erupt in whispers.
“My name is Ren Amaki, 16-year-old Highschooler. I greet your highness.” The sword hero spoke up. Ren had been too stunned to speak at first, but seeing Tsunade speak up first brought him out of his stupor.
“I am Motoyasu Kitamura. 21-year-old college student.” the blonde guy chimed in while glancing at Tsunade.
His face was a tint of red as he tried to keep his composure while looking over her voluptuous figure.
‘It has to be illegal to have a chest that size! It's almost popping out and she is so goddamn pretty! She has a supermodel face. I think I’m in love!’ Motoyasu was daydreaming about the bombshell blonde beside him.
“Greeting your highness, I am Itsuki Kawasumi, I am also a 17-year-old Highschooler.” He bowed respectfully like Tsunade had.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, young heroes. I know the summoning was probably a shock. I apologize for that, we cannot control who gets summoned. The Holy weapons pick the Heroes.” Aultcray explained as he let out a small sigh.
“We will support you in your endeavors to end the waves of Calamity and will properly compensate you-”
“I apologize for interrupting your highness. But it seems that there is a misunderstanding. I do not wish to help with the waves of calamity.” Tsunade spoke up and there were shocked gasps.
“I would also like to be sent back home as soon as possible.” She added and Ren stepped forward.
“I would also like to be sent back. I have unfinished business at home.” He added.
“Your Highness, what type of compensation are we going to receive? I might be willing to stay if it is worth it.” Motoyasu spoke up.
“I am also amenable to hearing what perks are available if we do stay.” Itsuki added his tone a bit more reserved than his counterparts.
The king looked dejected and let out a frustrated sigh.
“I apologize, at the moment there is no way for me to send you back home. The summoning is a one-way spell because of the instability of the region. Although once the waves are dispersed, we are able to open a portal back to your homelands.” The king responded and Tsunade was immediately annoyed.
“I see, then in order to go home we must assist with these so-called waves?” Tsunade asked with a hint of annoyance.
‘This task better take less than a week! I do not wish to put my retirement on stand by much longer.’ She thought to herself.
“What? What do you mean portal?” Ren asked in shock and the king sighed.
“The waves of calamity are ripples in our sky that allow hundreds of demonic beasts to attack our world. To open a portal back to your world without resolving the waves of calamity here. They could spill over.” The king replied.
Tsunade immediately sobered up. She remembered the reports submitted by team seven. Since they were the only ones left behind after the infinite tsukyomi, they were the only ones that witnessed Kaguya and her godlike abilities.
Sasuke had mentioned that the goddess had ripped through space and time and left him in an acid-like desert.
Careful reports had described the other worlds that they had been taken to. If the so- called worlds were different places in their own world or completely different planets, it was Sasuke's job to find that out.
But the kid had not yet been sent out for that mission.
The five elemental nations were preparing for that mission and the goals for it. It was a joint effort and they were still dealing with the backlash of the 4th war.
The plan was to send Sasuke after he returned from his journey.
The waves of calamity sounded too similar to Kaguya's space ability.
Tsunade felt her stomach twisted. Could they have been a victim of Kaguya’s interference?
Did she have to self-appoint herself to a mission?
She felt a wave of annoyance at the thought. This was the worst day ever.
“I understand, if that is the case I would like to request for Melromarc to hire me for my services.” Tsunade stated and the King's face fell.
“Hire?” He asked incredulously.
“I am a high-ranking official in a mercenary city state. I've recently retired from active duty, but regardless I cannot accept any contracts without strict stipulations and a clear mission with parameters. Hence a mission request should be created with strict stipulations. So that I might submit it to the current reigning leader of my people” Tsunade stated.
The other three heroes started whispering something amongst themselves.
“I agree with Tsunade. I would feel a bit safer with something in writing. Like a job contract.” Itsuki spoke up.
His mind was more focused on how the Hero's of his world worked.
Yes people were born with abilities. But in order to prevent employers from exploiting them all jobs had specified contracts.
For example a secretary wouldn't be forced to protect their boss if they had an offensive or defensive ability.
It removed a lot of ‘implied’ expectations that could cause issues in employment.
The king of Melromarc frowned and gritted his teeth.
He was annoyed at how easily the Hero's were siding with the shield hero.
He was even more annoyed that the shield hero was this voluptuous woman who carried herself with grace.
It gave him no openings to isolate her.
Besides, finding out that she was a mercenary didn't help at all.
“We can create those contracts. It would take a few days to mend them to a satisfactory level, which would cause a delay in your training. Please rest for now and we will write up a draft and deliver it tomorrow and go over the fine details.” The king replied.
‘Heroes can understand any language due to their weapons but reading was something else.’
‘We still have the advantage.’ Aultcray thought to himself.
“For now please enjoy the banquet I have prepared for you. The council and I will discuss terms for your contracts and present them to you at a later date.” He replied.
The four Hero's glanced at each other as they were dismissed.
Tsunade wanted to snap at the old man, but in reality there wasn't much she could do.
With a final glance she looked at the Nobles in the room as they were escorted out.
The robed men from earlier were now guiding them through the corridors again to the dining hall.
Tsunade's focus had shifted to the shield on her arm.
She tried to crush the side of the shield with her strength and all that happened was a flash of red numbers appeared in front of her.
She swatted at the numbers and they simply vanished.
“So, Tsunade right?” Motoyasu immediately hurried to walk alongside her, and she glanced at him momentarily.
“Lady Tsunade.” She corrected him and he nodded. “My apologies... Lady Tsunade. I couldn’t help noticing how beautiful you were and wanted to know if you wanted to team up.” Motoyasu smiled as he scratched the back of his head.
“You want to team up with me? Is it because of my looks or because you want to be useful?” She asked as she cocked a brow and Motoyasu’s face flushed a crimson red.
“Well, you are the shield hero. And because shields don’t have offensive capabilities you will have a hard time leveling up. On the other hand, I have a spear, I just feel like we would make a really good team!” He smiled and she gave him an incredulous look.
“Heh, I guess there is some merit to that. So why not.” She shrugged.
She was already thinking about how she was going to drop most responsibilities onto him after they got started. She needed someone to watch her back when she went gambling and drinking anyway.
“Why don’t we all join one team? It would make us pretty balanced.” Itsuki spoke up from behind and Motoyasu frowned.
‘Can’t this idiot see I am trying to shoot my shot with her.’ He thought to himself.
“I’m more of the lone wolf kind of guy so count me out.” Ren muttered.
Motoyasu couldn't help but feel relieved that Ren wanted nothing to do with the team.
Itsuki was pretty young so maybe he could be a little tag along while he tried to swoon the princess.
“This is the dining room; the food has already been served. So please enjoy.” The maid bowed and all four heroes entered the room.
“Well then, it could be a team of us three. I'll take the frontline, Itsuki will take the rear, and you my lady will shield any people that need it.” Motoyasu stated as he hurried to pull out Tsunade's chair for her.
‘What a well-mannered kid.’ Tsunade thought to herself immediately comparing him to Naruto.
‘Not like that brat, all he does is complain about missions, stir up trouble with clients and call me granny regardless of where we are. Not to mention how he is always adding paperwork to my roster.’ she thought to herself.
How many times had Naruto burst through her office doors complaining about missions and complaining about shadowing her.
She was so glad that Kakashi would be the one dealing with the blonde menace.
She sat down and he quickly sat beside her.
Ren rolled his eyes as he noticed Motoyasu ‘what a simp.’ he thought to himself as he sat down.
“Itsuki you shoot arrows, correct?” Tsunade asked as she glanced over to the boy and then picked up chopsticks that were set on the table.
She noticed various other eating utensils but preferred chopsticks.
“Yes. I can shoot various arrows from a distance and they have different effects. Although most of them are locked in my system” he says and Tsunade gave him a confused look.
“System?” She asked, Ren rolled his eyes.
“You haven't seen it, there is a tiny icon on the bottom right side, just imagine clicking it and a screen will appear in your mind.” He stated condescendingly.
Tsunade looked around and found the icon had three horizontal lines.
A welcome screen appeared and then her stats screen appeared.
She saw her name, 59 yrs of age and a level 1 label. To the right there were her base stats
Beside her name label there was more.
Shield lv. 1
Exp 0/20
And beside that there was another line of stats.
Max HP 2,000
Max MP 30
Max SP 1
Max CP 2,000
Max stored CP 50,000
Vitality: 405/500
She then looked beneath that there were three columns of stats relating to her abilities.
Status
Attack Power 1 (2 x CP)
Magic 10
Physical Defense 75
Magical defense 10
Agile 80
Fuinjutsu 85%
Speed 3.5 / 5
Intelligence 5/5
Ninjutsu 5/5
Taijutsu 5/5
Genjustu 3/ 5
Stamina 4 /5
Tsunade scanned over it and wondered if these were considered good.
She felt a bit off about the attack power being only 1, but there was a multiplier beside it. She wondered what CP stood for.
Attributes
Fire 30%
Water %60
Ice 0%
Wind 0%
Earth 60%
Thunder 40%
Light 97%
Dark 95%
These made sense, considering the elements she focused on.
The terms light and dark stood out to her, did that mean yin and yang?
Beside that was the final column.
Equipment
Clothes from another world
Small shield
And at the very bottom there was a row of icons
Status. Items, magic, skill, recipe, party, contract, help.
“These stats aren't too bad. But there's a few things I don't know. Such as MP, SP, HP, and CP.”
She looked over at Motoyasu who was eager to respond.
“MP, stands for Magic points, SP stands for special points and HP, stands for health points-” he was cut off by Ren.
“Where do you see CP?” He asked as he seemed to be scrolling on his own stat screen.
“It's below SP, there are two rows for it. Max CP and stored CP.”
“I don't see it either. Could it be a special shield skill? As far as I know the shield is usually trash so it might have a patch that makes it usable here.” Itsuki speaks up as he also looks at his stat screen.
“Well since you are the only one with that stat check your help section and see what it says.” Ren added and Tsunade looked at the help button and clicked on it. She scrolled a bit before finding it.
“CP is a special energy that is available to unlock only at the time of conception and birth. It is tied to the genetics of an individual. Commonly known as Chakra.”
Tsunade read it out loud and Itsuki froze.
He was looking at his own screen; there was a skill called ESPer that showed the mastery of his Accuracy ability.
“Wait, so like bloodline ability?! How is that fair- uh not that I mean it in a rude way.” Motoyasu began to complain but quickly quieted down as he saw Tsunades glare.
“So, it acknowledges my chakra.” Tsunade murmured to herself as she glanced at the stored chakra points. That should be for the seal on her forehead.
“Let's compare stats. Maybe we all have something different or missing.” Ren stated.
“What's the point? We have different weapons so our attributes could be different because of that.” Itsuki spoke up. He didn't want them to know he was also an ESPer.
“So let me get this straight, none of you have chakra?” Tsunade spoke up as she glanced around at all of them.
“Well, I don't know about them. But I don't." Motoyasu stated and Ren gave a short headshake.
Itsuki was quiet for a moment but also shook his head.
"Hmm, that's odd. Everything has chakra, plants, animals and all humans. This must mean that we might be the same species, but not necessarily the same race. If we are all different races of humans I wonder if this world is more diverse.” She stated as she thought back to her shitty teammate.
Orochimaru would love this, it was right up his alley.
They did bond over biological studies back in their youth
But it was evident that their academic pursuits led them to two different areas. He became a mad scientist and she became a renowned medical ninjutsu specialist.
‘Are there any biological differences between all of us?’ she asked herself as she looked around at the table.
“Different race?” Itsuki voiced his thoughts.
‘We only discovered ESPer abilities 25 years ago and there is still so much to learn about them. I never considered that someone with an ESPer skill would be considered anything but a human. Tsunade has chakra, which could be considered a ESPer ability. Ugh I wish I could see everyone's screen. But if I agree to the sharing then I'll lose my advantage.’ Itsuki thought to himself.
“If you don't have chakra then it is very likely that you don't have a chakra system. That would biologically make you different since the chakra system is entwined with your cardiovascular system. If someone who has a chakra system runs out of chakra then they die.” Tsunade stated as she began to pick at her food.
She couldn't help but become curious, but if they had no chakra system, could using chakra techniques injure their bodies?
For a moment she wished she could study a person of this world via Forensic Pathology and an Autopsy.
But the thought of doing so reminded her of Orochimaru and she was not in the mood to reminisce about her estranged teammate.
She disagreed with the way Orochimaru experimented on living people, but when it came to cadavers for most of their youth they had worked together to do research.
It gave her a complicated feeling so she pushed the thought away. “That’s not possible, I mean we are all people….. humans. Right?” Motoyasu chuckled nervously.
“Well, I’ve never heard of chakra…. Other than some metaphysical concept. If it was some supernatural ability it would have been all over the news.” Ren spoke up as he crossed his arms.
Itsuki immediately looked away, ‘Ren is right, special abilities are something big. Back home people began to develop ESPer powers and it quickly made the news. There are even special schools for those who have abilities.’
Motoyasu slowly nodded. “Yeah, chakra is something you’d hear in folk tales and in temples. But everyone knows that it is not real.”
Tsunade took note of their expressions. Itsuki’s reaction caught her attention. ‘Unlike the other two he seems to be the only one familiar with chakra or some sort of abilities.’
“There are such things as parallel worlds and different dimensions. We might all be human, but there was definitely a point where we evolved differently. Your lack of chakra is proof of that.” She waved her hand in dismissal.
“But there is no point in dwelling on it.” She shrugged as she grabbed a pitcher that was on the table. She frowned as she noticed that it was water.
“Excuse me, do you have any alcoholic beverages?” She asked the maid that was standing off in the side of the room.
“Ah, yes we do have some. But Lady Shield Hero, are you sure that you want to drink alcohol at this time? It might be late in the evening, but you won’t be properly rested tomorrow morning.
Tsunade gave the woman a deadpan look. “I cannot survive off some water, I need something with a little more kick to it.”
The maid stared at her for a moment in disbelief. “Well are you going to keep me waiting or are you going to get me my drink?” Tsunade sneered in annoyance.
“Ah yes, one moment.” She stammered out before rushing out of the room. Tsunade sighed and started rubbing her temple.
The sake that she had chugged had not been enough. She was stuck in some parallel world or alternate dimension where there was this weird status screen and forced to join some group of teens in saving the world from some waves of calamity.
She glanced around at the table, she should have known that winning the bet in the gambling den spelled danger.