Chapter 157 - Cap 144: Happiness Disappears As Quickly As It Appears.

"I guess it's time to go" - said Menma while showing an attitude of not caring about anything, but his expression changed when he saw how Tayuya came running weakly - "Great... of the four of you, the most useless one had to survive"

"I'm glad to see you too, faggot" - said Tayuya with disdain.

"How did you survive your battle with Kurama?" - Sasuke asked as he frowned.

"Jirobo and the others sacrificed," replied the pink-haired girl, "They were true companions"

"Impossible..." - replied Menma as he frowned.

"Okay, the assholes showed up in the middle of the fight with Kurama and were in such bad shape that I took the opportunity to leave them behind and escape" - answered Tayuya with disdain - " Those motherf.u.c.kers wanted me to sacrifice myself for them and I told them to f.u.c.k off, simple and plain... although as you can see, I didn't come out unscathed"

"At least you got out alive... you're the first one" - answered Sasuke unselfishly - "Anyway, we'd better escape before Kurama and the others show up"

"Ok" - Menma nodded as the Seal began to glow and the three of them disappeared from the scene.

"Tch... they managed to escape..." - murmured Kurama as he frowned and approached the Seal - ". . ."

"What did you find?" - asked 'Shikamaru'.

"A Transport Seal... although it is not very well made and the person who created it is a novice," answered Kurama seriously.

"Shall we follow them?" asked 'Kiba' as he sniffed around.

"No... you're in no condition and I can't leave you alone" - answered the redhead - "We're going back to Konoha"

"Ok" - the 'boys' nodded as they turned around and headed for Konoha.

The snake who saw everything disappeared in a smokescreen so that he could inform his teacher that the mission was a success, without noticing the smile on the redheaded man's face - "Keikaku Doori (Everything According to the Plan)..."

* * * * *

"Bleargh!" - The first thing Tayuya did when they teleported, was to vomit - "I swear I'll never travel with you again..."

". . ." - Menma didn't answer her, he just threw up on the side because he wasn't used to that kind of movement either.

"Ugh... I feel like hell..." - murmured Sasuke, who had the most resistance of the three, thanks to the Gravity Seals Kushina had given him.

"It doesn't matter... for now we have to keep moving," said Menma as he shook his head. "We don't know if we still have Konoha behind us.

"I don't think it's possible" - answered Tayuya - "Those idiots were in a state equal or worse than Jirobo and his Powerpuff Girls"

"We'll keep moving anyway, it's better to be safe than sorry" - ordered the blond.

"You don't give me orders, you little piece of shit," said Tayuya coldly.

"Just keep moving," said Sasuke as the three of them began to run.

"By the way... how did you learn to use seals?" - Sasuke asked as he looked at the Namikaze.

"I still don't learn... Orochimaru-sama gave me a seal inside a scroll and I put it on the floor and completed it... although that was also a great effort," replied Menma neutrally.

"Heh" - Tayuya and Sasuke only sneered at the blonde but said nothing more, the most important thing was to get out of the area as soon as possible.

* * * * *

It took 15 minutes for Kurama to return to Konoha, only to be greeted by the sweet melody of Kiba being tortured for his ''Attract Bitches no Jutsu''.

"Rest in peace, my old friend..." - said Kurama as he began to pray for Kiba's soul to have a good journey to the next world - "I'd better go to Shikaku-san to talk in detail about the outcome of the mission"

After a few seconds, Kurama appeared in the Hokage's office, only to notice how the boys, minus Kiba, were waiting for him.

"From the report that I heard from my troublesome son, I can understand that everything went as planned" - Shikaku said seriously.

"That's right, Orochimaru lost his entire elite force while the only survivor is working for me... An interesting twist if I may say so," replied the redhead. "It was thanks to the information Sasuke left me when they came looking for him that he helped me decide this.

"Information I need to know?" - asked Commander Jonin.

"Name, Tayuya, danger level, untransformed is Low Jonin, transformed is Medium-High Jonin, I'm sure they managed to stop Kakashi and the others because their skills were strange" - added the redheaded man - "Anyway, what I asked her is to get me physical information from Orochimaru and to help me free 2 people from Oto... the reward will be to free her from that Cursed Seal that forces her to be in Oto under Orochimaru's orders"

"I see..." - Shikaku nodded normally. He did not care about the people the Spy took out of Oto because they were not relevant, but the information about Orochimaru was something else - "Thank you for the information, your rewards will be given in a few days when Kiba is back on duty"

"I'M SORRY! I'LL NEVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!" - shouted the poor Inuzuka.

"Possibly a week," added the Nara major, "You can go and rest, you deserve it"

"Hai!" - exclaimed the boys firmly, but before they could leave, a shinobi rushed into the office - "Shikaku-sama! We have good news!"

"Speak" - the Nara nodded.

"Hiruzen-sama has awakened!" - exclaimed the shinobi with excitement - "Tsunade-sama has succeeded!"

"Perfect! I can finally get out of this shitty job!" - exclaimed Shikaku with emotion, only to notice how everyone looked at him - "Ahem! Go on..."

"Hai!" - exclaimed the shinobi - "He says he wants to talk to you and Kurama-dono"

"Okay, we'll go right away," Shikaku nodded as Kurama was silent.

The Genin next to the shinobi withdrew silently, leaving Kurama and Shikaku alone.

"I don't think you should be so happy so quickly," Kurama said as he looked at the Nara leader. "If I know Hiruzen-dono as I think I do, then what he will tell you is that he will not be able to take command again for at least a month or two"

". . ." - Shikaku tried to deny it but his words were left in his throat. He knew how much Hiruzen hated working as Hokage, no, that was wrong, what old Sandaime really hated was the damn paperwork that came with the job - "Happiness disappears as fast as it appears. . ."

* * * * *

The two arrived at the hospital where Hiruzen was after a few minutes, only to hear how Tsunade seemed to be arguing with old Sandaime.

"Come on, Tsunade... You have to take my place as Hokage" - said Hiruzen who seemed to be begging the big-b.r.e.a.s.ted blonde to be his successor.

"Don't even think about it, old man, I don't plan to spend my life behind a desk with only the company of hundreds of sheets" - snorted Tsunade as he looked at Hokage with disdain - "Have fun reading your cheap p.o.r.n in that office"

"Bad luck, Hiruzen-dono... I see you didn't succeed in convincing Tsunade-san" - said Kurama as he entered the room - "For the next time put a seal of silence, your discussion was heard even at the entrance"

"Hello, Kurama... I see your mission was a success" - the blonde nodded as she folded her arms and in the process, remarking even more on her enormous mountains, although Kurama could see that she was doing this consciously - "Anyway, my answer will be the same, Old Man. ...I don't plan to take your place as Hokage because one, I'm not interested in being the leader of Konoha, and two, because I plan to take a short relaxing vacation in Yu no Kuni after I cure you, now that I have no debts and am taking my first steps towards the future".

"Ugh... Ok... I'm not going to try to convince you anymore... at least for the time being" - sighed Hiruzen as he looked at the redhead but quickly decided not to ask him if he wanted to be Hokage because it was obvious he wouldn't. Kurama was not only the leader of the Uzumaki Clan but also the Daimyo of Uzu no Kuni.

Hiruzen quickly changed the focus of his gaze, but Shikaku responded before he could speak - "I am sorry, Hiruzen-sama... I do not have the time or the skills to be the new Hokage"

". . ." - the Sandaime could only sigh with regret as he felt everything fall apart.

"If I may make a recommendation, I would say that Jiraiya-sama would be good material for Hokage," said Shikaku neutrally.

"That's it! Call Jiraiya!" - Hiruzen exclaimed with excitement - "He's probably at the Hot Springs"

"Right away, Hiruzen-sama!" - exclaimed one Anbu, but before he could move, another Anbu appeared beside him and said something in his ear - ". . ."

"Ok, I feel that something awkward is about to happen" - mumbled the redhead, although he wasn't the only one.

"Etto... Hiruzen-sama..." - said the Anbu with discomfort - "Jiraiya-sama left Konoha the moment he heard you were conscious again"

". . ." - A deathly silence appeared in the room while Kurama resisted the urge to laugh. He had to admit that Jiraiya was smart when he deserved it.

"I guess Jiraiya still has that talent for escaping when something very annoying is about to happen" - said Tsunade as she burst out laughing.

"Ahem! Are you sure you don't want to be Hokage, Tsunade?" - Hiruzen asked with an innocent look.

". . ." - and a new silence came over the place as they saw how shameless Hiruzen was.