Itachi dodged another strike coming his way, leaping backwards to gain space. He quickly went through the hands signs of the Great Fireball jutsu only for his opponent to dodge, with seemingly no effort. He only just ducked in time to avoid a kick aiming for his head, only to be caught by a jet of water. A kunai appeared at his throne as he tried to regain his bearings.

"Yield?" His opponent questioned.

"I yield." He admitted defeat, for the third time that day.

"You are improving." Tobirama-sensei commented. "The genjutsu affecting balance, that was good work."

"It didn't affect you." Itachi protested, only for his teacher to stare him down.

"I hope you won't be evaluating all your genjutsu based on whether they work on me or not."

"Why not? If they're good, they should work on anyone." He countered.

"I'm immune to genjutsu, Itachi."

"Is that even possible?" Itachi questioned.

"Why don't you tell me? How would it be possible to be immune to genjutsu?" If it was anything Itachi had learnt in the past week, it was that Tobirama-sensei didn't miss a teaching moment, be it life lessons or shinobi arts.

He thought out on the question a bit before attempting an answer, as his teacher waited patiently. "Is it because you can sense the foreign chakra entering your system and dispell it even before it has a chance to affect your senses?"

"That is a good answer." Tobirama-sensei complimented. "It would have been the right one if Izuna had never caught me in a genjutsu that affected my chakra sense."

"A genjutsu to affect chakra sensing? How would that work?" Itachi asked, eager to learn about a genjutsu he had never heard of.

"I wouldn't know. You'd have better luch looking into your clan archives." His teacher admitted. "The answer to my previous question, however, is seals. I invented seals that prevent foreign chakra from entering my system at all. It backfired for a bit when even medical chakra wouldn't work on me when I was severely injured. I had to make a few additions to the seal after that." He suddenly sat up straighter. "And speaking of medics, there is a famous one arriving at the gates of Konoha at this moment."

"Tsunade-sama?" Itachi deduced. It wasn't difficult, Tsunade-sama was the only famous medic he had heard off. Additionally, she was also related to sensei.

"Yes." Sensei confirmed, holding out his hand. "I'll teleport us to the gates. Try to keep your lunch in."

Itachi nodded and braced himself, before giving his hand to sensei. The next moment, he felt being squeezed through a microscopic tube and appeared near the main gates, gasping a bit. Atleast, he didn't throw up like the first time....

".... I don't care. If the Niidaime is really back, get him to the gates. I am not setting a foot inside if this turns out to be some scheme concocted by sensei to get me back here." A blonde women, whom Itachi assumed to be Tsunade, was shouting at the chunnin gaurd on duty, before falling silent as she noticed Tobirama-sensei.

"I'm here, Tsuna. You can stop terrorising the poor chunnin." Sensei said, gently.

"Jii-chan?" Tsunade asked in a small voice, suddenly sounding vulnerable.

"It's me, Tsuna. You can sense that, can't you?"

Tsunade nodded, regaining her stern expression. "How are you back? Was it that jutsu you created?"

"No. I'm afraid it was an accident with a space time seal."

Itachi observed a small smile appearing on Tsunade's face at that answer. "Only you, jii-chan. Does that mean I'm older than you, right now?"

"You sure don't look like it?" Tobirama-sensei answered, probably avoiding a pitfall, before gesturing to Itachi to come forward. "I'd like you to meet my apprentice, Itachi."

Itachi stepped forwards and bowed respectfully, as Tsunade observed him, before introducing her own apprentice, Shizune, who had appeared breathing heavily as they were talking, carrying a small pig.

"Will you be coming inside?" Sensei asked them, as both of them were still noticably standing outside the gates.

"What if we don't?" Tsunade countered.

"Then you don't." Sensei answered. "But then you don't get to come back ever, Tsuna. You don't run from your duties and get to enjoy your rights."

"So, that's it, then? After all I've done for Konoha, you'll just declare me a missing nin?" She asked.

"I won't declare you a missing nin. I'll declare you a shinobi with no association to Konoha and remove you from the citizens register." Was the answer. "You've been drinking and gambling your life away, and that shouldn't reflect on Konoha. You don't have to remain a shinobi if you return, though. You can retire. You can restore the Senju clan compound, something for which I haven't found time for. You can work on implementing that medical program you had proposed for, before leaving. You can heal, instead of keeping your wounds fresh and bleeding."

Itachi saw indecision warring on the slug sannin's face for quite a while. A few times, he feared that she'd just turn away and leave, but after a few minutes a determined look appeared on her face before she held Shizune's hand and resolutely took a step inside Konoha.