Tsunade kicked Hidan flying backward.
Because his scythe, Bloody Rain, was connected to his waist by a long chain, the weapon naturally followed his movement and swung away — slicing off only a dozen strands of Jiraiya's silver hair near his ear.
Seeing Hidan get hurt like that, Shinji was not pleased at all.
Even when you beat a dog, you should consider who its master is!
In a flash, he appeared right in front of Tsunade and threw a punch wreathed in dark, crackling lightning.
A woman?
Hah!
Whoever touches my people… I'll wipe out their whole family!
"Akagi Shinji — what do you think you're doing?!"
Tsunade had been pushed back more than ten meters, her feet dragging two deep grooves in the ground. She looked at him with a dark, angry expression.
That punch earlier had carried immense power; her arms were still aching slightly from blocking it with her forearms crossed over her chest.
"What am I doing? I should be the one asking you that question!"
Shinji rolled his eyes and pointed directly at Hidan, who was just picking himself up off the ground.
"He was about to kill Jiraiya. I stepped in to save a life — what was wrong with that?"
"Wasn't it your friend Jiraiya who started the fight first? Oh, I know what you're going to say next — you'll say he was actually trying to save that boy."
Tsunade's face darkened further. "This is no time to argue over right and wrong. If Naruto loses complete control, none of us here will get away alive."
Shinji thought to himself: You have no idea what you're talking about. If he really did go completely berserk, his father and mother would probably step right out of the afterlife and put the Nine‑Tails back in line themselves.
Truth be told, Shinji was the least worried person here.
"None of my business! Since your old friend made it clear earlier that outsiders aren't needed here, we'll just leave then. It's not worth it — trying to help you out of kindness just to get targeted and attacked in return."
Shinji's voice dripped with sarcasm and mockery — just enough to avenge Hidan's grievance.
"You are absolutely despicable!"
"Thank you for the compliment. Anything else you want to say? If not, we're leaving. Oh — by the way: come find me in five days to collect the money I owe you. Don't be late, or I won't pay up at all."
Still annoyed, Shinji signaled for everyone to follow him and prepared to depart.
He had seen the truth clearly just now: to them, none of his group mattered as much as Jiraiya alone.
People like Tsunade would never truly become their comrades.
Now that he understood that, there was no point in trying to win her over anymore.
Besides, Tsunade's value had already been fully used up the moment she signed that contract.
True to his word, Shinji took his people and left immediately.
Tsunade cursed him inwardly, but she had no time to dwell on it — Jiraiya was barely holding on against Naruto.
With no other choice, she rushed over to help him suppress the Jinchūriki.
But then Naruto saw Sasuke — and thought he was running away.
He went berserk again instantly.
Behind him, the number of chakra tails flaring out had now increased to four.
BOOM! BOOM!
Far from being able to stop him, Jiraiya and Tsunade were both easily sent flying by massive fists made of chakra.
"Sasuke…!"
Naruto gave chase immediately.
"Is this ever going to end?!"
"Imprisonment!"
Now Shinji was truly angry. Sensing his will and command, Moxi's head rotated 180 degrees backward, revealing the face of a strange, raccoon‑like creature. At the same time, a long tail appeared behind her.
With that strange face fully visible, Moxi opened her mouth wide and began gathering dark, ominous curse energy.
Even though it was only the power of the First Orb, it was more than enough to deal with the situation.
BOOM!!!
A pitch‑black energy sphere struck Naruto — now in his half‑tailed beast form — dead‑center, creating a massive explosion.
Even a real Tailed Beast hit by that attack would have been stunned and dazed for a while.
Naruto's chakra cloak was completely torn apart and blown away, and he fell heavily into the lake.
"Was that… a Tailed Beast Ball?! Is that little girl also a Jinchūriki?!"
Both Tsunade and Jiraiya watched in shock, their faces pale with surprise.
It wasn't strange they mistook it — the Nine‑Orb Curse technique Moxi used was modeled exactly after the Tailed Beast Ball.
But they had no time to wonder. Jiraiya immediately dove into the water to find Naruto.
Fortunately, the blast had knocked Naruto unconscious.
He was still young and hadn't learned how to control or use the Nine‑Tails' power properly; everything he did came purely from instinct.
Give him another couple of years, and the result would be totally different.
He wouldn't have been knocked out so easily — even if he couldn't have withstood the Nine‑Orb Curse completely unharmed.
"SEAL!"
Jiraiya didn't waste a second. As soon as he dragged Naruto ashore, he resealed the Nine‑Tails' chakra instantly.
Only when every trace of the escaping demonic chakra had been drawn back inside Naruto's body did Jiraiya finally sit down heavily on the ground, breathing hard, trembling slightly at how close it had been.
By that time, Shinji and his group were already gone.
"Is this boy's emotional state always this unstable?"
Tsunade — who had stayed behind — asked with a slight frown.
Jiraiya shook his head with a bitter smile. "If he were really like that all the time… do you think Lord Hiruzen would have let me take him out of the village to train?"
Then Jiraiya briefly explained the complicated bond, rivalry, and history between Naruto and Sasuke.
He told her that Sasuke was one of the biggest emotional weaknesses in Naruto's heart — which was exactly why things had escalated so wildly just now.
Tsunade nodded slowly in understanding. "What do you plan to do next? Take Naruto back to Konoha?"
Jiraiya glanced at her, hesitating for a moment. Seeing clearly that she had absolutely no intention of returning with him, he sighed deeply.
"If I can't convince you to come back… then that's really my only choice. But I don't plan to return to Konoha anytime soon.
For one thing, I'm not ready yet to take on such heavy responsibilities.
For another, I don't like giving up halfway. Since I promised to train him well, I need to bring him up to a proper standard first."
Truth be told, his competitive spirit had been awakened — especially after seeing Naruto humiliated so badly and losing control like that.
He refused to believe that under his serious, dedicated guidance, Naruto would keep losing to Sasuke forever.
"I trust Lord Hiruzen will understand my choice."
"Relax. That old man has plenty of years left to live. You go ahead and enjoy what's left of your freedom."
"…Thanks. I feel so comforted hearing that!"
Tsunade glanced at the unconscious Naruto, then thought about how Jiraiya had essentially taken on a big trouble that she might have had to face otherwise.
She hesitated for a moment, then took off the crystal pendant necklace left to her by Hashirama.
"Naruto's problem will have to be solved sooner or later. Keep this with you. When the right time comes, you can give it to him."
"Isn't that the heirloom the First Hokage left especially for you?"
"Inside it is sealed some of my grandfather's chakra. It has the power to effectively suppress the Nine‑Tails. Right now… you need it far more than I do."
"I can't take it. It's too precious."
"Just take it and stop talking. You're being as indecisive and soft as a woman."
Tsunade spoke with an impatient look, shoved the necklace directly into Jiraiya's hand, turned around, and began walking away.
…I hope giving this thing to you won't end up bringing disaster upon you, Jiraiya…
Holding the crystal pendant tightly, Jiraiya suddenly called out:
"Didn't you say we'd go have a drink and catch up on old times?!"
"Not in the mood anymore. Maybe next time."
Jiraiya smiled bitterly. It seemed Tsunade was still exactly the same woman she had always been.
That kind of free, unrestrained boldness… was something he would probably never be able to learn from her.
____________________
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