"There's one more thing, Boss. A bounty has been placed on your head." Kaori said to Ryu.
The news lingered in the air, an abrupt announcement that sent a wave of surprise through the room.
Tsunade's eyes widened, the sheer audacity of the announcement momentarily breaking her composure.
Typically, bounties on children, especially those protected within their hidden villages, were extremely rare. It was like putting a bounty on a baby's head.
Tsunade said, "A bounty? On a kid? Is the world running out of actual criminals to hunt?"
Ryu, however, seemed to relish the news. His eyes lit up, and a playful, mischievous smirk touched his lips.
"Finally!" he exclaimed, a hint of genuine excitement in his voice. "My very first bounty!"
Tsunade, her momentary surprise instantly replaced by furious anger, delivered another sharp flick to his forehead. It was harder this time, accompanied by a sharp, "Ouch!" from Ryu. It was another auntie-level smack, delivered with practised precision.
Ryu scoffed and rubbed the stinging spot on his head in discomfort. "Seriously, Auntie? It's just a bounty! It was bound to happen."
Ryu thought, "She really needs to work on her anger management."
Tsunade, now truly beyond exasperation, delivered yet another, slightly harder flick to his forehead. This one carried the pure, unadulterated 'auntie' rage behind it.
"Don't you dare talk back to me, you brat! And don't joke about it; this is serious," Tsunade exclaimed.
With a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of her past gambling debts, Tsunade turned to Kaori and asked, "How much of Ryu's abilities, his ninjutsu and fuinjutsu, has been leaked in this bounty poster?"
Kaori leaned in and quietly explained, "A bounty has indeed been placed, Lady Tsunade, but strangely, there's absolutely no mention of his abilities on the poster. Just his name, the amount, and a nickname."
"A nickname?" Ryu echoed, his eyebrow quirked in surprise.
Tsunade's own brow furrowed in curiosity, while Shizune leaned closer to Secretary Kaori, trying to glimpse the document.
Ryu thought, "A nickname, huh? This just keeps getting better. I hope it's something suitably cool. Something that strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies. Or at least makes them slightly intimidated."
"A nickname? For an academy student?" Shizune sighed. "They're so rare. It usually means they're a truly exceptional or notoriously dangerous person!"
Kaori nodded.
"Exceptional or dangerous? That's me, baby!" Ryu smiled and thought.
Shizune's eyes widened as she read the poster, a sudden, almost uncontainable giggle escaping her lips. It started quietly, a suppressed snort, then blossomed into full-blown, shoulder-shaking laughter as she fought (and failed) to maintain composure and laughed out loud again.
Seeing Shizune's reaction, Tsunade's curiosity was piqued. She seized the bounty poster from Shizune's grasp, her gaze swiftly examining the words. Her stern expression first morphed into shock, then slowly, a wide, genuine smile spread across her face, transforming her features from stern anger to pure, unrestrained amusement.
Tsunade began to laugh, a deep, booming guffaw that reverberated through the quiet hospital, startling some of the other patients. The irony of the moniker was simply too much for both of them to bear.
Ryu thought, "What in the actual ninja world could be so funny? Did they give me Chopper's bounty?"
Ryu, sensing the unexpected and frankly alarming eruption of laughter from both Tsunade and Shizune and his own curiosity winning out, quickly snatched the bounty poster from Tsunade's grasp, his eyes scanning the text. His gaze first landed on the bounty amount.
"Thirty million," Ryu murmured, a satisfied nod. "Just like Monkey D. Luffy's first bounty. Not bad for a rookie." Then, his eyes dropped to the assigned nickname. His face, which had been brimming with amusement just moments before, slowly went utterly pale, a look of deep disbelief and utter horror replacing his earlier excitement. "What the hell…?"
The scene shifts dramatically, almost jarringly, to the Hokage's office in Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, a scroll clutched in his hand, its edges slightly frayed from repeated handling. He looked down at a bounty poster spread before him, his brow furrowed. "What in the world is this name...?" he muttered, a hint of genuine confusion in his voice, before his expression shifted to a faint, melancholic smile.
"A bounty on such a small child," Hiruzen mused aloud, his voice tinged with sadness, the weight of the ninja world's harsh realities settling upon him. "It certainly makes me old, knowing that even our youngest are now targets."
Danzo Shimura sat at a low, austere table in his Root headquarters' dark recesses. He carefully read the bounty poster with his one visible eye fixed and his face expressionless. The only sound in the room was the paper rustling in his hand. Cold calculation, no rage or satisfaction. Danzo saw the bounty as another variable in Konoha's complex power dynamics.
Dan Hamura sat at a sturdy wooden table with a bounty poster opened in his home study. He threw his head back and laughed heartily, filling the small space and drawing curious glances. "Ha! He laughed and wiped a tear from his eye, his eyes twinkling. He quickly turned from boisterous laughter to a deep, troubled frown. "What a funny nickname… It's karma at work… But this bounty came too soon… way too soon."
Far away from the clandestine villages' political intrigue, Jiraiya was engaging in one of his favourite pastimes—soulfully drinking sake and brazenly pursuing local women—in a lively inn. There was a lot going on, with people laughing, which was nice to hear. All of a sudden, an unknown informant—a mysterious character from the criminal underworld—strode up to his table, his serious face slicing through the celebratory atmosphere like a kunai.
"Master Jiraiya," the informant whispered, his voice low, barely audible above the din, "there's still no news of Orochimaru in any criminal circles. All my sources, even the deepest ones, have found nothing. It's like he's just vanished like a ghost."
Jiraiya's jovial facade vanished in an instant, his eyes sharpening, becoming instantly serious, the playful glint replaced by a shrewd, determined gaze. "Keep following every lead, no matter how small," he instructed, his voice now firm, authoritative, a true Sannin's command. He then discreetly handed the informant a small, well-worn pouch of cash.
The spy took the money. "There's something else, Master Jiraiya," he added, his voice dropping further, a note of intriguing curiosity, "something about your other comrade… Lady Tsunade."
Jiraiya's brow furrowed, his mind racing through possibilities, connecting the dots. He simply asked, "Tsunade?" The spy nodded, confirming his question.
"A bounty has been issued on her student," the spy revealed, pulling out a fresh bounty poster and sliding it across the table.
"Shizune?" Jiraiya asked, a flicker of confusion. "But she already…"
"No," the spy corrected, shaking his head slightly, "the other student."
Jiraiya took the poster, his eyes scanning the details, his interest visibly piqued. He read the name and then the assigned moniker: "The Gambler" , 30 Million Ryo.
A slow, knowing smirk spread across Jiraiya's face, a proper grin, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "He's her student, alright. With that kind of moniker. It's spot on!" He vaguely recalled snippets of conversation from doctors in a bar, whispering about a prodigy with unusual, unpredictable methods. "I have heard rumours of her taking in another disciple… didn't know they were true. Has her habit of gambling influenced this kid?"
The spy, misunderstanding Jiraiya's amusement, continued, "I don't know about that, but the kid must be something special to get a thirty million Ryo bounty. And the word on the street is… the kid is a once-in-a-century genius."
Jiraiya's smile widened. "Right, I'll definitely ask about the kid… and remind her not to spoil him too much. Or get him into too much trouble," He took another, longer sip of sake, his gaze distant, a nostalgic warmth in his eyes. "This kid… he reminds me of her brother, Nawaki, in a way." The thought brought a bittersweet smile to his lips. Nawaki's boundless energy, his eager curiosity... a stark contrast to the grim reality of the ninja world that had claimed him too soon.
A quiet, deep happiness settled over Jiraiya. Tsunade, after all these years, had finally taken a disciple. Both he and Orochimaru had taken on many students, but she had only truly accepted one until now. It was a good sign that she had finally come out of her trauma and reached out to someone, but Jiraiya was also worried that if something were to happen to this kid, Tsunade would not be able to recover this time. Jiraiya felt the weight of past losses, broken promises, and unfulfilled potentials settle heavily on his shoulders. He knew the cost of war, the toll it took on even the strongest of wills.
Jiraiya ordered his spy, "Gather everything you have in the criminal circles about this kid. If someone is about to make a move. Tell me without wasting a second." The spy nodded in acknowledgement of the orders and quietly left the room.
A/N: Liked the story?? please leave a review on Webnovel and Royal Road. It would help me a lot to reach a wider audience. Thanks.
and please share your thoughts on the nickname. i thought it would be funny after all the time Ryu made fun of Tsuande for her gambling habits and rotten luck.