"Ahh!! I didn't mean it that way!"
"I'm sorry!!"
Cries of pain echoed through the courtyard as every one of the young ninja trainees from the clan lay defeated on the ground, taken out by Tsunade alone.
Tsunade clapped her hands clean, dusting them off, and tilted her chin up as she said,
"With basic skills this poor, and you still skip school? What a waste of time."
Jiraiya snickered gloatingly off to the side. He could tell that these kids had picked him because he looked like the easiest one to beat.
But what they didn't understand was Tsunade's personality.
If they had kept quiet, maybe she wouldn't have bothered to fight.
But going straight past her to challenge Jiraiya?
That was asking for a beating.
Since all of the clan's young trainees had now been wiped out by either Orochimaru or Tsunade, Jiraiya stepped onto the veranda and handed the mission report to the client.
The client was the clan's patriarch, and his face darkened after seeing how his carefully trained ninja couldn't even hold their own against fresh graduates of the ninja academy.
Jiraiya didn't say much more. After all, this training match policy was something initiated by the Third Hokage himself.
Though the ninja academy hadn't existed for long, in just over a decade, it had already produced many talented shinobi.
Each of the academy's courses and training systems combined methods from major clans such as Senju, Uchiha, Sarutobi, and Hyuga—all legacies from the Warring States period.
Of course, not every graduate was as strong as Orochimaru or Tsunade, but their foundation as ninja was solid.
Smaller clans like this one often relied on methods passed down internally through the generations, which weren't necessarily advanced. Even if they had powerful secret techniques, those required sufficient strength to master.
And power alone had never been the determining factor in a ninja's true strength.
That's why in the years to come, after the Third Hokage pushed this policy through the various clans, nearly every clan began sending their promising youths to the academy.
After returning to the Hokage office to report the mission to Lord Hiruzen, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya once again went their separate ways to continue their training.
And so, a month quickly passed in repetition.
Today, the trio's task was to help a wealthy woman in the village retrieve her missing pet cat.
They completed the mission quickly, though the price was several new claw marks added to Jiraiya's face.
Inside the Hokage office, the three waited for the client to come and collect the cat.
Jiraiya's face twitched as he crossed his arms and muttered in annoyance,
"Why are there always missions like this...?"
"Are we sure this cat wasn't secretly a trained ninja beast?"
Just as he was deep in thought, a voluptuous, curvy woman in her thirties wearing a tight-fitting cheongsam sauntered into the mission hall.
As soon as she spotted the fluffy white cat in Tsunade's arms, a look of joy lit up her pretty face. She ran over, her chest bouncing wildly with each step.
Jiraiya stared, eyes glued.
"Shota~, Mommy was so worried about you~" she cooed, dragging out her words in a flirtatious tone that was affected—but to Jiraiya, it didn't matter in the slightest.
It was heavenly.
After thanking them repeatedly, the woman scooped up the cat and prepared to leave. Just before she did, the poor white cat—squished tightly between her large breasts and looking completely fed up—shot Jiraiya a death glare.
Jiraiya returned the look and muttered under his breath,
"Kid, you don't know how good you've got it."
In that moment, Jiraiya truly wished he could be reborn as a cat and dive into that warm, welcoming embrace.
"Ahem—"
At that moment, the Third Hokage deliberately cleared his throat and glanced directly at Jiraiya as he spoke:
"You all handled the mission very well this time.
However, don't blame me for nagging—remember the Three Ninja Taboos. Always be mindful of them."
"Lord Hiruzen, may we encourage each other to uphold them?"
Jiraiya chuckled as he scratched his head. Coming from Hiruzen-sensei, that warning sounded a bit ironic.
Then the Third Hokage handed out the mission rewards. The three turned and left.
"Ssssss..."
As soon as they stepped out of the Hokage building, a soft hissing came from inside Orochimaru's sleeve.
A snake with a triangular head and dusky gray-white scales slithered out from his collar, coiled around his neck, and rested its head against the side of his face.
Lately, Orochimaru had been researching poisons.
And around the Leaf Village, snakes were the most abundant source of toxins.
So each morning, he would go out and catch a few venomous snakes to tame and study after missions.
"Why doesn't Lord Hiruzen rein that guy in?"
Even though Jiraiya was used to Orochimaru's strange training methods, seeing them again still made him uneasy.
After all, having a snake slither out of your collar and wrap around your neck was undeniably creepy.
Orochimaru, however, paid no attention to Jiraiya's surprised expression. He even thought Jiraiya was overreacting.
To a ninja, this kind of thing was hardly worth fussing over.
Giving Jiraiya a disappointed look, Orochimaru turned and walked off.
Jiraiya then shifted his gaze to Tsunade, who also showed no reaction to Orochimaru's antics—her mind was elsewhere.
"This time, I have to win back everything I lost the past few days," she muttered under her breath, then turned to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, can you lend me your reward from this mission? Once I strike it rich, I'll pay you back for this and all the previous loans—with interest!"
She smiled confidently, clearly determined.
"Heh... Sure, best of luck."
Jiraiya generously pulled out most of the money from his wallet and handed it over.
Tsunade took it, then vanished in a flash using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Sigh..."
Watching her hurry away, Jiraiya sighed.
The personalities of his two companions... hadn't changed a bit.
But right after she left, Jiraiya also set off, heading toward a side alley near one of the village's gambling dens.
"Poof!"
Forming a hand seal, he transformed himself into an adult form and strolled into the establishment.
After scanning the room, he locked eyes on a young man who had just squeezed in front of a betting table.
The young man looked left and right nervously, clearly hesitant about where to place his bet in the first round.
Jiraiya waited patiently in the crowd. When the man finally made his decision and bet on one side, Jiraiya instantly bet all his money on the other side.
Everyone turned their eyes to the dealer and the dice cup. The young man especially stared intently, watching for signs of cheating.
But Jiraiya didn't even glance at the dealer.
He already knew—so long as he bet on the opposite of that guy, he was guaranteed to win.
After all, the legendary title of "Lucky Loser" wasn't just for show.
(End of Chapter)