Chapter 38 — Jiraiya Wants to Confess to Tsunade
Jiraiya immediately dispelled the summoning, flipped down to the ground, and patted Kinoshita Hikaru on the shoulder with a bright smile.
"Haha, the wind is quite noisy today. Since we've already met through conflict, how about you just forget what happened earlier?"
He clasped his hands together, his expression unusually solemn—almost pleading.
"Impossible. You're too shameless."
Kinoshita Hikaru rejected him outright, leaving no room for negotiation.
…
"Hey, brat, eat a little less!"
Inside Ichiraku Ramen.
Kinoshita Hikaru was eating away. If there was anything that could cleanse the impurity his eyes had suffered at the hot springs earlier, it was food.
(ω)hiahiahia
Jiraiya's face was livid. He never expected to be extorted by a kid—and one with such an outrageous appetite at that.
"Kid, as fellow Konoha shinobi, you should learn moderation."
Hikaru ignored Jiraiya's complaints, eating calmly as he said, "If you want more information about Tsunade, you'll need to show some sincerity. After all, Tsunade is my dear sister~ (￣▽￣～)~"
Jiraiya immediately pictured Tsunade—her golden hair and stunning beauty, radiant like the morning sun.
"Then eat more ∪ω∪"
He instantly changed his attitude. For Tsunade, this cost meant nothing.
For that "treasure," even going bankrupt would be worth it.
Hikaru smiled faintly.
What information about Tsunade?
If you ask me, who would I ask?
I was just saying it casually—how did you actually take it seriously?
He let out a satisfied burp and said, "Pay the bill. Then I'll explain things properly."
Jiraiya went to settle the bill. Under Ichiraku's cheerful smile, he received the receipt:
200 bowls, 90 ryo each—18,000 ryo total. With a 30% discount, that came to 12,600 ryo, meaning he had to pay 12,600 ryō.
The corner of his mouth twitched. Ichiraku Ramen wasn't expensive—but Hikaru's appetite was terrifying.
"Why 200 bowls? This kid only ate 100!"
Jiraiya immediately exploded in anger. No one in Konoha had ever dared to cheat him like this.
"That's what I ate earlier before we meet."
Jiraiya looked at Hikaru with a strange expression, suddenly feeling like he had been completely played.
After paying, he turned serious and said, "Kid, you must train well and become a strong ninja. Otherwise, you'll starve to death."
"Thanks for the advice. →_→"
After leaving the ramen shop, the two walked down the street together. Hikaru's impression of Jiraiya improved greatly. Aside from being a bit perverted, he was actually a good person—gentle, sincere, just a little sharp-tongued.
"Brat, now that you've eaten, hurry up and tell me Tsunade's preferences."
"Gambling."
Jiraiya's face stiffened. He wondered if he hadn't been clear enough. After thinking for a moment, he carefully rephrased:
"Everyone knows that. I mean other preferences—like what she likes to eat, what she dislikes, things like that."
"She likes drinking. She hates being peeped on."
Hikaru glanced at Jiraiya again, his eyes full of disdain.
Jiraiya flew into a rage and grabbed him. "Brat! That's not what I meant! I already know those things—tell me something I don't know! (▼皿▼#)"
"That's all." Hikaru spread his hands. The tool had already been used—time to lay his cards on the table and slack off.
"You're messing with me?"
Facing Jiraiya's fury, Hikaru remained completely unfazed. Instead, he said with a look of disdain, "As long as you work from these points, you'll definitely win her heart. You're just too dumb."
He proceeded to share some toxic relationship "advice" and classic cases from his past life about how to make women fall in love.
Jiraiya was instantly stunned, as if enlightened. His face was filled with eagerness as he even took out paper and pen to write everything down, his attitude extremely serious.
After a while—
Hikaru's throat went dry from talking. Seeing Jiraiya still completely engrossed, he cleared his throat.
"The key is practice. Do you want to pursue Tsunade or not?"
At the mention of pursuing Tsunade, Jiraiya's face turned red. His body twisted awkwardly as he stammered:
"Wh—who would want to pursue her? She's so violent—who would even like her?"
"…(︶︿︶)=凸"
Can you not twist your body like that while saying this?
Not only are you saying the opposite of what you feel—it's also painful to watch, okay?
"Then forget it. Coward. I'm leaving."
Hikaru turned and walked away, only to be stopped by Jiraiya, who clasped his hands together again with a sincere expression.
"Please, I beg you—teach me!"
As a wandering playboy, Jiraiya normally wouldn't believe a kid's words.
But Hikaru's theories were simply too convincing—he had already been completely captivated.
"Alright." Hikaru extended his hand under Jiraiya's confused gaze. "Without funding, how can this succeed?"
"How much?"
"Brother, how can you talk about love in terms of money? You should call it yuan—1.8 million yuan."
"1.8 million?!"
Jiraiya shouted. This wasn't pursuing a girl—this was harvesting kidneys.
1.8 million yuan was equivalent to 180,000 ryō—basically the reward of an A-rank mission.
"Can it be cheaper?"
"Sure. It's your money anyway. There are methods for having more, and methods for having less."
Hikaru looked indifferent, but his sharp gaze locked onto Jiraiya, as if saying:
No money, and you still want to pursue Konoha's princess?
That look was too lethal. Jiraiya couldn't withstand it. With tears in his eyes, he handed over the money.
"Come find me at the Ninja Academy tomorrow. My name is Kinoshita Hikaru."
With that, he turned and left.
Only then did Jiraiya realize—
He had just spent nearly 200,000 ryō without even knowing the kid's name beforehand.
"So young, yet so good at scamming… especially that mouth. Truly terrifying."
…
After walking through two streets, Kinoshita Hikaru returned home. The moment he entered, he saw Namikaze Minato training.
"Minato!"
"Hikaru (＞＜)"
Through their conversation, Hikaru learned that he had actually slept for three days and three nights. After chatting a bit more, he returned alone to his room.
Sitting on the tatami, he began reflecting on the previous battle.
He noticed many suspicious points.
After sorting through the sequence of events, Hikaru was certain—
Everything had been planned.
It was just that, in the end, things seemed to have spiraled out of control.
If Iruwa Yoshi had initially been toying with them, then toward the end, they had truly intended to kill them—every move filled with lethal intent.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi… what a masterful game you're playing."
This also explained why Kushina's abduction had been moved five years earlier.
After all, such plans depended on timing. As long as Hiruzen deemed it appropriate, it could be carried out at any moment.
A Jonin-level operation—what a grand scheme.
Truly worthy of the Hokage.
At this moment, Hikaru genuinely felt that the Hokage had played an excellent hand.
Konoha's internal struggles were indeed infamous—each more scheming than the last.
But what could Hikaru say?
What dared he say?
He could only bury it deep in his heart and act as if nothing had happened—
While setting his sights on the position of Hokage.
…
The next day, at the Ninja Academy—
Jiraiya arrived early to find Kinoshita Hikaru.
He didn't have much time; he would soon be leaving on a mission.
But before that, he had to test it—To see whether Hikaru's theories would actually work.
After all, this concerned the happiness of his entire future.
He couldn't afford to take it lightly.