Alex carefully inspects [Tsunade's Scroll], unsure what to make of it. Just for fun, he activates Gyo.
I already obtained a way back into this world… but it's so vague! If I return too early, I'll be roped into some task for Tsunade. She's bound to be Hokage by then. But if I wait, maybe I'll get a reward… who knows what kind of mess I'll land in. If it's during the Shippuden timeline, I'm screwed if I don't get way stronger before then.
"Why are you staring at it? It's those eyes again… you know, I'm starting to get interested in you," Tsunade says, watching him closely.
Alex smiles. "You know, I'm also very interested in you, to be honest."
In your body, to be specific.
"And I'd love to get to know you better!"
Especially your body.
As soon as the words appear in his mind, a certain spider stops using Zetsu and rushes into the bar, leaping directly into Alex's face.
"IIIIIIH, SPIDER!" Shizune screeches, panicking as Tonton bolts in terror, slamming her snout into the wall.
"Jewel, please," Alex mumbles through muffled lips.
Soulmate should stop befriending these weirdly shaped females. This one in particular looks and behaves like a total peasant. Jewel remembers Tereza calling someone like her a whore?
"This spider belongs to you?" Tsunade asks, raising a brow. "I had the feeling someone was watching, but I couldn't tell from where. That's a rather unique pet—almost as good as mine."
Jewel, now perched on Alex's head, stares at the still-suffering and stunned Tonton. She then shifts her gaze to Tsunade with blatant arrogance.
This Peasant has lost her mind. Princess Jewel doesn't even need to dignify this comparison.
"My lovely friend Jewel doesn't appreciate being compared to your pig," Alex says with a casual grin, "though I'll admit, it is quite lovely and funny—albeit not very useful."
"Heh. You couldn't be more wrong!" Tsunade smirks.
Soulmate and Princess Jewel shouldn't overstay their welcome. Princess Jewel advises retreat. The deal was to return after a few hours.
Fine Jewel… you know when I'm thinking something and not decide to share it, you don't have to assume it's something bad, you know?
Princess Jewel knows her Soulmate. She can perfectly read his expression!
Fine….
"I'm sorry, looks like we have to leave. The princess on my head wants some attention," Alex says, standing up. "The bet is on. I'll see you in a year."
"Heh, get ready to become my servant and work for me for free!" Tsunade grins with a smug look.
Alex heads out, glancing one more time at the two women and the little pig before walking away.
I have to say… this is so damn cool. Meeting those two beauties in real life… If this cockblocking spider wasn't here, I—
...forget it. Jewel is actually the reasonable one here. I can't afford to screw around. I need to return—people are depending on me. It's time to get serious after this little break.
With Jewel sitting proudly atop his head, Alex rushes back toward their room.
When he enters, he spots Menchi inside, but Tazuna is still missing.
"What is that old guy doing?!" Alex asks, puzzled.
Probably drinking!
Menchi gives him a slightly awkward look.
"Judging by your expression, I'm guessing it didn't go that well?" he asks.
Menchi shakes her head. "I relieved some thugs of their money, but that's about it. I spent half of it on food… I ended up with… 400 Ryō."
"Heh, that's fine. At least you tasted some real local food. You broadened your horizons a little—that's a win in my book," Alex says, slamming both cases of money down onto the table along with the loose cash.
"You can deduct 31,000 Ryō to make it fair," he says in a slightly smug tone.
"Okay, let's see what you got then," Menchi says, counting it quickly.
"Impressive… 1,165,000 Ryō," she says with a serious expression.
"Hahaha! It was easy," Alex brags, assured of his win.
But then Jewel steps forward.
She doesn't appear to be carrying anything, but then she reveals a lump of thick web. Using her sharp, pointy legs, she slices it open—revealing a small, shining bar of metal. Its surface gleams faintly, unmistakably rare.
"No fucking way!" Alex shouts, grabbing it. "Let me see!"
[Chakra Metal]
World: Naruto
Quality: Light Gold
Type: Metal
Effect: High-quality crafting material, at the very top of the world. This metal has a unique effect of absorbing the chakra of its user granting it additional properties depending on the Chakra user's affinity.
Note: One of the biggest treasures in the world of Naruto. This bar is not very large, but it is extremely pure.
Alex cheers and lifts Jewel off the floor, hugging her tight and spinning around with her.
"Great job!!! How did you get that?! This seems impossible! You're incredible!"
❤️❤️❤️ Does Soulmate concede then?!
"Yes, of course! But seriously—tell me. How did you get it?"
Jewel followed a robed man.
"Robed…? What did the robe look like?!"
Black, with a red cloud. It was an Akatsuki member.
"You!? You read the manga and we even watched some anime episodes together, Jewel! Why did you still attempt this—you could've died?!" Alex yells, nearly screaming, obviously worried about her.
Princess Jewel did not recognize the Akatsuki member, so she figured it was one of the weaker ones not relevant to the story. She followed him and saw that he was selling an item for a lot of money. Princess Jewel thought she should go after the item instead, since the Akatsuki member would be too strong for her current self. She approached using Zetsu and easily stole it from the buyers.
Also Princess Jewel likes the shiny bar. Normally, she would use it to finally start her collection, but that would be wasteful, right, Soulmate?
"I guess so… this spider… she's quite lucky! Good job, Jewel!" Menchi says with a smile.
Alex laughs, shaking his head. "Wrong, Menchi. At least until we return to the Land of Waves, you have to call her Queen Jewel."
❤️
Alex pulls out his two white chests and grins. "I guess I should do one more thing."
He opens them both, revealing a Light Green wooden bat, a Light Green spear, another Light Green leather armor, and a White-ranked pair of boots.
"Garbage," he mutters. "But I won't sell them here. As long as they're recognized by the system, I can either sell them for a few thousand FC or just turn them into shards."
As Alex finishes bagging the items, Tazuna finally stumbles in—visibly drunk. He doesn't say a word, ignores everyone, and collapses in a corner of the room, not even bothering to lie on the futon mat set aside for him.
"Well, he has a point. Good night. Let's sleep for at least a few hours," Menchi suggests, lying down quickly.
Let's sleep as well, my Queen.
❤️ Prin— Queen Jewel orders her Soulmate to hug her while they sleep.
Alex suppresses a laugh.
Sure, your orders are my command.
❤️
He lies down on his futon mat, stretches out his arms to hold Jewel, and gently pulls her into an embrace, partly tucking her under the blanket. Despite her cold body, it doesn't bother him in the slightest. As he lies with her in his arms, he feels their bond resonate more strongly—almost like their breaths and heartbeats sync. A serene calm settles over him, and he quickly drifts off.
…
Alex wakes up as sunlight hits his face.
What?! I just closed my eyes… this can't be???
He sees Jewel still curled up, peacefully sleeping in his arms. Slowly, he shifts, gently waking her and placing her on his head.
Menchi is already awake, stretching beside her futon. The three of them quietly leave the room and make their way to a nearby community bathroom to freshen up.
"That guy's still asleep. But there's something we need to talk about," Alex says, drying his hands. "We've collected quite a bit of Ryō. That opens up another option."
"Which is?" Menchi asks, not catching on.
"We could legitimately afford a B-rank mission now. I remember some S-rank missions only reward around a million. This is a long-term mission, so I doubt S-rank is even on the table… but we might be able to afford an A-rank."
"Let's do it then!" Menchi replies with a grin.
Alex sighs loudly.
"You sure that's wise? I mean, if we can afford an A-rank mission, I'm all in. But if we just barely afford a B-rank, it might be smarter to skip it. With bad luck, a Chūnin team would be dispatched—and some of those are probably weaker than the canon team. Kakashi alone could wipe out multiple Chūnin without breaking a sweat. Also, we can't justify it as an A-rank mission, as we have no real way of knowing what happens. I'd say this will most likely backfire, at worst, they think we're planning an ambush or something."
"I see… now I get your dilemma." Menchi nods. "How about this: we ask what an A-rank mission costs and decide from there. We can just tell them that we want to be on the safe side. If we find something useful, we can always spend the money on items instead. Also, it would be awkward to explain where we got all this cash—not just to Tazuna, but to any Konoha ninja who gets suspicious."
"Good idea. Do you agree, Queen Jewel?"
❤️ Queen Jewel approves!
Back in the room, Tazuna is still snoring away.
Alex gently—but firmly—kicks him in the head.
He suddenly wakes up and rubs his head.
"Ooooh my head… I overdid it yesterday. It feels like someone kicked my skull, that's how bad it hurts," he groans.
"Heh," Menchi chuckles, unable to hide her grin.
Silly Peasant.
Ten minutes later, the group leaves the inn and begins making their way out of Shukuba Town.
Alex glances back at it one last time and smiles.
It was fun.
The group continues their slow but steady march, and after around four hours of walking, they see the massive walls of the Hidden Leaf Village rising before them.
Impressive… Almost reminds me of Attack on Titan.
I hope I never have to go there… ever!
To Alex's surprise, they pass through the gate without trouble. The guards barely glance at them—then promptly ignore them.
We are here… Konoha!
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