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"Alright, the matter is settled. Everyone, return to your duties. The Uchiha clan will cover the cost of repairing the training ground."
Repairing a standard training ground was a minor issue—it wouldn't cost much. Rather than let Tsunade deal with the headache, it was simpler to take care of it directly. Kazuki was confident that Fugaku would be more than willing to pay up, especially since his son had essentially gained a summoning beast with strength comparable to an elite jonin—free of charge. The village's ninja would handle the repairs, and the Uchiha would foot the bill. With that arrangement, even the Third Hokage, who had initially been somewhat displeased, could no longer complain.
"Try to avoid having summoning beasts like these fight within the village in the future," the Third Hokage reminded them before taking his leave.
Orochimaru left with Sasuke, while Jiraiya departed with Naruto. The latter now had plenty of headaches to deal with—Naruto required careful handling, and an explanation was owed to Mount Myoboku as well. Damn that Manda—why had it suddenly attacked?
"What's on your mind?" After everyone else had left, Tsunade sent Shizune and Izumi away, leaving only herself and Kazuki in the training ground. Only then did she voice the question on her mind.
"This has nothing to do with me. I didn't tell Manda to pick a fight. If Manda wanted to suck up to me, you can't pin that on me, right?" Denial was straightforward—there was no way Kazuki was taking the blame for this.
"I'm talking about the summonibg!" Tsunade rubbed her temples, clarifying her point. She wasn't referring to brawl itself, but rather Manda as Sasuke summons. "Sasuke is still young—he hasn't even graduated from the ninja academy yet. Is it really appropriate to entrust him with a summoning beast that's both powerful and has a sinister nature?"
"And why wouldn't it be appropriate?" Kazuki countered. "Jiraiya's approach was flawed from the start. He wanted to motivate Naruto but dragged Sasuke into it. Even if I'd refused this time, he would have brought it up again later. So, I decided to go all the way—let Manda follow Sasuke's orders directly. But don't underestimate Sasuke. That kid has immense pride. Even if he can command Manda, he won't summon it recklessly unless absolutely necessary."
"As for danger? What danger? The real danger is for anyone who might think of messing with him. If no one targets Sasuke, he won't summon Manda, and Manda won't go on a rampage. It's as simple as that."
"..." What kind of twisted logic was this? And yet, it somehow made sense. Tsunade found herself reluctantly convinced.
"Besides, isn't it better for the village's next generation to be as strong as possible? As for how Jiraiya handles Naruto and explains things to the toads of Mount Myoboku—that's his problem. If he hadn't started this, today's incident wouldn't have happened. Let's go—we still have plenty of work to do."
"Not so fast. Let's grab a meal first and then head back slowly."
"Woman, I suspect you're just looking for an excuse to mooch off me. Did you lose all your money again?" Kazuki's eyes widened. The moment Tsunade opened her mouth, he knew exactly what she was up to.
"Ahem, my luck was just terrible. It's all the arcade owner's fault—he rigged the machines and made me lose everything." Tsunade's expression turned slightly awkward. Losing her entire paycheck wasn't exactly something to be proud of, though she felt comfortable admitting it only to Kazuki. With anyone else, she would have been too embarrassed to bring it up.
As ninjas grew stronger, technology in the ninja world also advanced. Arcade machines, once a rarity, were now everywhere. Tsunade had quickly become addicted to them. Compared to other forms of gambling, the losses from arcade games were relatively small—though it still meant her paycheck often vanished entirely.
"Come on, with luck like yours, it'd be more surprising if you actually won anything. Fine, let's go. What do you feel like eating?" Kazuki was grateful he didn't have a gambling habit. With a decent amount of savings, he didn't have to worry about daily expenses. If he were like Tsunade, life would be much harder. Sasuke was either getting beaten up or on his way to getting beaten up. Tsunade, on the other hand, was either losing money or on her way to losing money.
"Barbecue!!!"
After leaving the training ground, Kazuki and Tsunade, along with their two assistants, headed straight for a barbecue restaurant. They enjoyed a hearty meal before leisurely making their way to the Hokage's office building to continue their work.
Since no effort had been made to suppress the news, word quickly spread throughout Konoha about Naruto and Sasuke summoning two powerful beasts that ended up fighting each other. Many ninjas couldn't help but feel envious. Contracting with a summoning beast was no small feat—most ninjas could only dream of finding a suitable one. Yet here were Naruto and Sasuke, with summoning beasts stronger than most ninjas. It was enough to make anyone green with jealousy.
The students at the academy were also buzzing with excitement, discussing the incident nonstop. Jiraiya's goal had been achieved—Naruto was indeed deeply motivated, though it had left him unusually quiet. In private, Naruto was practicing his summoning jutsu frantically, hoping to one day surpass Sasuke. He refused to be left behind.
Fortunately, Naruto didn't feel he had truly lost. Manda's obedience was only due to external interference—it didn't count as a real defeat. Without outside help, even if Sasuke could summon Manda, he wouldn't be able to control it. That was the assurance Jiraiya gave Naruto, and Naruto took it to heart. He avoided dwelling on the matter too deeply, though his training became even more intense.
Watching Naruto push himself to the point of exhaustion, even dozing off during meals, Jiraiya wondered whether such rigorous training was truly beneficial.
"Alright, let's dig in!" To reward Naruto for his efforts, Jiraiya took him out for ramen—all he could eat. Naruto was thrilled and began eating with gusto. But midway through his meal, he suddenly realized his "Grandpa Jiraiya" had disappeared.
"Ah!!!"
Jiraiya, chopsticks in hand, had taken a large bite of ramen. But as the noodles entered his mouth, his entire body froze. His eyes snapped open—only to find he was no longer in the ramen shop. What he was eating wasn't ramen at all, but a pile of brightly colored, wriggling insects.
"Guh!!!"
*****
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