"Hey, kid, before you pass out, I have one thing to ask you... Why do you get so excited from hearing the word 'Hokage'?"

She climbs unsteadily to her feet. "I don't have much of a personal connection, true... But to lead Konoha forwards into a world of peace was Rian's dream. She's moved on to different things, but I remember the person she was - and I won't let you sully her memory. Even now, having resonated with an enemy and left... She'd make a better Hokage than an old hag like you, who can't even dream of a better world. I'm going to continue her dream of old, and make it mine... It is my intention to become Hokage!"

Tsunade goes quiet, looking down.

She's vulnerable, now.

Mariko had placed a homing seal half out of habit when she attacked with her chains...

She vanishes in a flash, appearing next to Tsunade - too far, she's off kilter - she lashes out with her chains anyways, but Tsunade's barely able to dodge, striking at the ground with her single finger, opening a chasm beneath Mariko's feet. She doesn't quite fall, but she trips, and has to throw herself back from the woman.

"The Hiraishin... Jiraiya, was it you who taught her such a technique?"

He nods. "I'm currently her teacher, in principle."

She scowls. "Teaching her a technique like that, that she can't even do, and calling yourself her teacher... It's better if she doesn't think that way, so silly kids won't joke about foolish dreams like 'becoming Hokage.'"

"It's not a joke! Just you wait! Three days, and I'll have that technique mastered - "

"Hah! Some words, from a brat. You should never make a promise you can't keep."

"I'm Uzumaki Mariko... I don't lie, and I don't take back my words!"

"Well, alright then... I'll give you a week. If you have that technique mastered in that time, I'll acknowledge your dream... And I'll even give you my necklace here. But if you lose, and can't master the Hiraishin in a single week... Then all your money will belong to me, and I'll know that Konoha only produces weaklings."

Mariko scowls, but nods.

"What are you doing?" Shizune asks. "That necklace is..."

"Hmph... It's not like she can do it anyways, this is a done deal. Let's go, Shizune."

"Wait, Tsunade," Jiraiya calls out. "Can we have a drink together? It's been a while."

Tsunade hesitates, but nods, and Jiraiya turns to Shizune and Mariko. "Shizune, you and Mariko go find some hotel rooms to stay in for the night. Okay?"

Shizune nods, and the two Sannin walk off.

Rather than going with Shizune, Mariko stands and takes off into the night.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

She's a year at least out on mastering the Hiraishin - why'd she use it, let alone make that bet - she doesn't care about the money, but now there's no way Tsunade's returning, she heard the implication behind the bet loud and clear -

She's interrupted in her self recrimination by a very familiar chakra signature appearing in front of her.

"Mariko."

"Orochimaru. Or is it Rian nowadays? Orianchimaru?"

"Heh. You may as well call this body Orochimaru, that's the name appended to it..."

"Whatever your name is, what do you want this time?"

"A little cat told me about your bet with Tsunade. Reckless of you. But I have a proposition... You help me with improving a sealing technique, and I'll teach you something to help you win your bet."

"Depends on the technique."

"The one I want your help with is the Edo Tensei, a resurrection technique of the Second's. Currently it requires a sacrifice; that's undesirable for numerous reasons. The one I'm offering is the shadow clone - it divides your chakra among a certain number of physical, autonomous clones, who each have your personality. When one is destroyed, you regain its memories. They're not very useful for most, being chakra intensive, but for you..."

"I could have each clone working on a separate math problem. What're you going to use the technique for?"

"A first step towards true resurrection, to be implemented once I've cracked immortality. Only Rian and I will know your improvements; we'll memorize then destroy the notes, so you don't have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands."

She considers this, then: "Very well. I don't know how long it'll take me, though, and I'll be focusing on the Hiraishin first..."

"That's perfectly acceptable. Now, for the shadow clone, the secret to the technique is such..."

She listens attentively, practices with him until she has it mostly mastered, then heads off to work on the Hiraishin on her own.

(She's not giving her notes to him, even if he'd be able to help her. She's got some sense of caution left.)

It turns out she can maintain a thousand clones at once, if she's willing to run her chakra reserves down to the bare minimum required to function. She periodically dismisses and resummons the clones, eats more than she ever has before, and finds herself actually thankful for that damn fox, she'd never be able to do this without the reserves it supplies.

It still takes her the entire week of training over sixteen hours a day, getting the exact minimum amount of sleep and only 'resting' by switching what precisely she's focused on. She scrawls equations on napkins while eating, keeps a paper pad by her bed in case she dreams an answer (which she tends to, her mind's so focused on math right now). Her dreams take the form of fractals, numbers spiraling into the void.

One week (thirty eight years and a third worth of eight hour days, not counting breaks, nearly thirteen years worth of waking subjective time) later, she's streamlined the numbers and simplified the equations so they'll actually fit in her damn head, found and eliminated several inefficiencies (they clearly didn't have half the math theory they do now or even calculators back then; she is also so buying a nice one next chance she gets). 

She thinks she's mastered it. She's also been staring at it so long, it feels like it can never be truly mastered.

She collapses halfway back to the inn, and wakes up in the bed she'd rented what feels like so long ago, to see Shizune on the floor.

What happened?

'Tsunade went to meet with Orochimaru' is apparently what happened, knocking out Shizune when she tried to stop her.

Shizune rushes out of the room when Mariko wakes her up - and is brought short by Jiraiya calling to her. He's leaning heavily against one wall, chakra sluggish.

Shizune gets him resting against a railing, and asks what happened.

"Damn Tsunade..." Jiraiya grouches. "She put drugs in my sake... I can't mold chakra well, my whole body stings, I can't even hold chopsticks..." He goes serious, looking at Shizune. "You need to explain what Tsunade talked with that Orochimaru about. It's likely become a critical situation."

She bites her lip. "I didn't want to believe Tsunade-sama would do such a thing... We need to go, I'll explain on the way, but - I'm not sure where they'll be, Orochimaru said he'd find us, even if we moved towns."

Jiraiya turns to face Mariko. "Can you sense them, brat?"

"I have trouble with people who're expertly hiding their chakra signatures." Which is even true, and is what Tsunade's doing now - Orochimaru, however, isn't. And 'have trouble' doesn't mean 'can't.' "There's a chance they're that way, though, I think near a gambling den..." She points; it's believably where they might be, and just so happens to be vaguely perpendicular to the actual path they need to take. ('Opposite direction' would be too easy to figure out.)

"Let's go!" Jiraiya snaps, taking off, only slightly woozily.

Shizune follows, and starts explaining Orochimaru's promises, and the deal he offered.

"If Orochimaru's healed, he'll just attack Konoha again..." Jiriaya responds. "We can't let that happen." 'I might actually have to kill Tsunade, even...'

"You don't know that!" Mariko shouts. "Rian's in there, too!"

Jiraiya scowls. "I know you care about your teammate, but the sort of person who'd resonate with Orochimaru isn't someone you should hang your hopes on!"

Orochimaru hadn't acted like a violent megalomaniac when she met him, she wants to say but doesn't. Orochimaru hadn't acted entirely like Rian, but -

Their chakra's the same. And Mariko has faith in Rian, if in no one else.

Regardless of Jiraiya's determination, the street outside the gambling den is devoid of either of his past teammates.

"This's where he first approached us..." Shizune says uncertainly.

Jiraiya turns to scowl at his apparently wayward student.