For Takuno, the journey over the next few days provided a literal masterclass in the legendary "unrestrained wildness" of the Great Toad Sage.
Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, had thoroughly transformed his "legendary" status into a vivid, living reality before Takuno's eyes. The title representing the lecherous aspect of the Sannin seemed to have found its long-lost home in him; along the way, Jiraiya practiced what he preached without the slightest hint of concealment.
While Takuno often wore a look of helplessness, he understood the method behind the madness. He knew this wasn't purely wanton debauchery, but rather Jiraiya's unique brand of intelligence gathering—scouring information from the clamor of wine and women.
Though rumors in such places were often a messy tangle of truth and lies, they were abundant. Between clinking glasses, various patrons would inevitably let slip news of recent happenings. With enough patience to sift through the sand, one could indeed find gold in the form of valuable leads.
This was especially true regarding the "Legendary Sucker," Tsunade. Would those who won money from her spend it on their families? Some, perhaps, but most headed straight for pleasure—making these establishments the perfect place to track her.
Currently, Takuno sat in a humble inn room, brow furrowed as his fingertips traced the surface of a sealing scroll. Thanks to Jiraiya heading out again to "gather intel," Takuno was able to safely dispatch a Shadow Clone to his laboratory to handle urgent business.
The original remained behind, but he wasn't idling; he was fully immersed in studying the secret sealing patterns etched directly into flesh and blood. In the dim light, the strange symbols on the scroll emitted faint pulses of chakra, reflecting off his focused face. He couldn't predict when the whimsical hero would come crashing through the door in a drunken stupor, so he kept his truly "unspeakable" forbidden research hidden for the time being.
"BANG!"
A loud crash shattered the silence. The thin wooden door was kicked open, and a thick stench of alcohol billowed in. Jiraiya's figure practically rolled into the room along with the fumes, a dazed grin on his face and his steps unsteady.
Takuno sighed, the sound carrying a hint of practiced exhaustion. "Jiraiya-sama, your room is next door..." This scene had repeated itself at least five times in the past few days.
"Hmph—" Jiraiya squinted, letting out a loud burp as his cloudy gaze fell on the scroll. "You kid—buried in those—damn scribbles again—"
Though his speech was slurred, there was a trace of genuine admiration in his voice. Jiraiya was no novice to Sealing Jutsu—his skill was "excellent"—but he was still a far cry from mastery. He had glanced at Takuno's research before; the distorted, overlapping, maze-like rune structures were enough to make one dizzy after just a few seconds.
While Takuno claimed to be researching a derivative of the Fire Sealing Jutsu, its complexity had long since diverged from the original. To Jiraiya, it might as well have been a book from heaven.
"I simply have nothing else to do," Takuno replied flatly, his eyes never leaving the scroll.
"Nothing... to do?" Jiraiya repeated drunkenly, his tone suddenly tinged with the annoyance of being neglected. "If you're so bored—why not come with the Great Sage—to track down Tsunade? Eh?"
He raised his voice slightly, as if blaming Takuno for a lack of initiative. Deep down, however, Jiraiya knew that finding Tsunade was essentially a reward he had promised Takuno. Demanding the young man run around for his "intelligence career" felt a bit unjustified. Still, seeing his companion relaxing with a scroll while he "worked" the taverns and brothels sparked a sense of "my teammate is slacking off."
"Who said I was doing nothing?" Takuno looked up, a slender eyebrow arching.
With a soft poof, an identical Shadow Clone appeared beside him. Both Takuyas looked at the swaying Jiraiya and spoke in perfect, logical unison: "Finding someone does not require the original body to personally tread upon every single corner."
"Shadow Clones?!" Jiraiya shook his dizzy head. Even drunk, his ninja instincts recognized the efficiency of the move.
The original Takuno nodded. "Jiraiya-sama could do the same. Sending out a few clones to gather intel would be twice as effective for half the effort."
"Nonsense!" Jiraiya's eyes widened. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he waved his arms wildly. "Something as sacred and vital as gathering intel—how could it be left to—a mere clone?!"
He gestured toward the red-light districts outside with a sense of "professional" righteousness.
"Personal—personal experience! Using every inch of the original's senses—hic—that is the essence of intelligence! It must be done in person!"
Takuno fell silent. This reasoning was... very Jiraiya. It was absurd, yet possessed a strange kind of twisted logic.
Note: Shadow Clones are not real-time sensory links. The original only gains the experience once the clone is dispelled. Until then, whatever the clone experiences—be it danger or pleasure—is unknown to the original.
Takuno's thoughts drifted. He imagined Jiraiya sending a clone to have "fun" while the original watched from nearby... the idea felt strangely creepy and logically bizarre. It was even weirder than "catfishing yourself." He shook his head to clear the thought.
Compared to standard Shadow Clones, Takuno preferred the advanced Wood Clone technique derived from Wood Style. Within a certain range, these clones maintained a subtle conscious link, syncing information in near real-time, avoiding such "ethical" dilemmas.
"THUD!"
Jiraiya had collapsed onto the floor, snoring instantly, a satisfied smile plastered on his face. Takuno's temple throbbed. He stood up, grabbed the Toad Sage by the collar like a heavy piece of luggage, and unceremoniously "tossed" him into the room next door.
Days blurred into one another. They moved from town to town, yet Tsunade remained elusive.
Takuno didn't mind the lack of progress. He utilized the time to the fullest. His Shadow Clones were deep in the underground lab, dismantling the structure of the mysterious Cursed Seal. Every night, a flood of data would return to him.
He realized that "creating something from nothing"—the leap from zero to one—was the hardest part. Once that barrier was breached, the path became clear. However, a shadow of dread lingered. The memory of the agonizing pain from the initial flesh-carving ritual made his body shiver. It was a modification of the human body without the mercy of anesthesia.
But the light in his eyes never dimmed. "Pain is temporary," he told himself.
He looked toward a grander future. This seal was just the beginning. Once his foundation was solid and he mastered Yin and Yang Release, he would weave them into this power web. Even more ambitious was his vision for Swift Release (or "Dark Release").
If he could integrate that, his body would become a black hole for ninjutsu. Enemy fire, water, and lightning would be converted into his own chakra. Even powerful Forbidden Jutsu could be stripped of their strength to nourish him.
He envisioned the ultimate form of this seal:
Absorption, Defense, Transformation.
Yin, Yang, Swift Release, and even Senjutsu.
It felt like an infinite abyss, capable of stitching together every powerful ability in existence. "Can I truly see it to completion?" he wondered, sighing as he refocused on his drafts.
Suddenly!
A flash of memory struck his mind. An outdoor Shadow Clone had been dispelled. The intel was crystal clear: Target located.
Tsunade's last confirmed location was a bustling casino in a neighboring town, and she hadn't left long ago. The probability of finding her was now higher than ever.
Takuno took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to bolt. He needed to wait for Jiraiya. Without the Sage, finding Tsunade would be a fruitless effort.