When Shinji and his group left the barbecue restaurant, night had already fallen.
Having finally found someone willing to foot the bill, Tsunade had no intention of letting go so easily.
Drunk as she was, she wrapped her arms around Shinji's neck, completely forgetting about Shizune, who was waiting for her nearby.
"Let go of me," Shinji said, a row of black lines appearing on his forehead.
It wasn't the awkward stares from passers‑by looking at their strange group that bothered him.
It was that every time he looked down, he caught sight of her snow‑white, soft flesh swaying right in front of his eyes, teasing and tempting him.
And that mark of the Cult of the Evil God right in the middle only added to the allure.
Tsunade, however, seemed completely unaware of the effect she was having. She mumbled, "Let go? And let you run away again? Let me tell you — unless you pay me nine million ryō today, you're not getting rid of me. Wherever you go, I go."
"Hold on! Nine million ryō? I don't remember ever agreeing to that amount!"
"What, you trying to wriggle out of it? Do you think I don't charge interest? Originally, with principal and interest, it would have been ten million. But since you paid my bill and bought me wine earlier, I'll knock off a million. Just pay nine million. See? I'm being very generous."
"…"
Shinji was lost for words.
The moment money was mentioned, her brain suddenly became crystal clear, and she spoke perfectly coherently.
He couldn't help wondering if she was actually drunk at all, or just pretending.
He finally gave in. Fine. It's just money. I'll pay it!
But he didn't have that much on him right now. Converting the value of his Wealth‑Generating Mist Beads into cash took time.
Even if he sent someone to the Land of Waves to fetch funds from his business partners, it would still take time.
So he decided to pacify her first.
"Alright — let go of me. Nine million it is. I promise I'll pay you. But you know very well it's a huge sum. It'll take a few days to arrange."
"Doesn't matter. I can wait. But you're not letting me out of your sight for the next few days, kid."
"…"
Shinji was speechless again.
He honestly would rather go fight that Mr. Gentleman and his group of Special Grade Cursed Spirits than keep dealing with Tsunade like this.
"Look — I have three million ryō in bearer notes with me right now. They can be cashed anywhere. I'll give you that first. Then you tell me where you're staying, and I'll bring you the rest in a few days."
Tsunade's eyes lit up, practically shining. She grabbed the notes from his hand without hesitation and stuffed them straight into the deep, cleavage‑like valley between her breasts.
"Fine. You've shown some good faith, so I'll let you go. But to make sure you don't run off again… I'm staying with you for the next few days."
"Huh? Staying with me?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. I mean staying in the same place — different rooms. And don't tell me your inn is already fully booked."
"Oh… right… that's what you meant."
"Heh. Kid… you sound a little disappointed."
"You're imagining things. I'm just annoyed. Stay wherever you want — just don't bother me."
Tsunade snorted disdainfully. She knew men all too well — they always said the opposite of what they really wanted.
Just then, someone ahead called out her name loudly.
"TSUNADE?!"
It was Jiraiya, walking toward them with Naruto. Seeing Tsunade with her arm slung so casually around a young man's neck, his joy at finally finding her was mixed with a complicated tangle of emotions — envy, jealousy, irritation, frustration…
But most importantly, when he got a clear look at the young man's face, he recognized him instantly.
He couldn't understand how Tsunade could possibly be involved with him.
"JIRAIYA?! What are you doing here?!"
Tsunade was equally surprised and thrilled.
After all, their bond ran deep; they were old, close friends. Reuniting like this naturally filled her with joy.
But they weren't the only ones who recognized each other.
"SASUKE?!"
"NARUTO?!"
Sure enough, Sasuke — standing beside Shinji — and Naruto — with Jiraiya — spotted each other at the same time and called out in shock.
Just like Jiraiya and Tsunade, neither of them expected to meet here, now, like this.
"Sasuke… are you alright? Sakura has been so worried about you."
After the initial surprise passed, Sasuke's expression returned to its usual cold, unreadable mask. He nodded briefly at Naruto's concern.
"I'm fine. No one needs to worry about me."
Naruto flared up immediately at that attitude.
"How can you say that?! You just left without a word, going off with strangers from another village! Did you ever stop to think how I felt? Or Sakura? Or Kakashi‑sensei?!"
A flicker of emotion crossed Sasuke's eyes, but vanished just as quickly.
"First: before I left, I left a letter explaining exactly why I was going.
Second: Shinji is my older brother. He is no stranger from another village. The reason I've grown so strong so fast is entirely thanks to his guidance.
Third: I decide the path of my life. Why should I care about what others feel? Do you all think you're that important?
And finally… didn't you leave Sakura and Kakashi‑sensei behind to go off traveling with someone else too?"
As he finished speaking, a faint, mocking smile appeared on Sasuke's face.
Naruto was left speechless, his face turning bright red with frustration.
The truth was, they were both equally "selfish" in their own ways. Neither had any right to judge the other.
But it wasn't supposed to be like this… Naruto felt wronged, but couldn't find the words to argue back.
Seeing his disciple cornered, Jiraiya put aside his reunion with Tsunade for a moment and stepped forward.
"Alright, that's enough. We're all friends here, no need for this. Tsunade… I have something very important to discuss with you. Can you come with me for a moment?"
Tsunade respected Jiraiya enough to agree immediately. She walked a short distance away with him, stopping only when they were far enough to be sure no one else could overhear.
"What is it, Jiraiya? Don't tell me you traveled all this way just to find me?"
Jiraiya gave a bitter smile.
"You're still as sharp as ever… but only half right. Actually, I left the village with Naruto to train him…"
Jiraiya kept his story short, but told her everything: the joint invasion of Konoha during the Chunin Exams by Sunagakure and Orochimaru, all the events that followed, how Sasuke had left, who Akagi Shinji was, and exactly what role he had played in all of it.
Only at the very end did he mention that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, needed someone to succeed him as Hokage.
Here, though, Jiraiya was being a little cunning. He didn't mention that Hiruzen had originally wanted him to take the position.
Instead, he simply said that you, Tsunade, have been chosen as the next Hokage — and I was sent to bring you back.
____________________
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