-----
-----
"Thank you, Lord Jiraiya. And to the three of you as well."
Kashin Kōji kept his tone perfectly respectful.
Then—
He couldn't help complaining a little as he talked about Hirakawa Ken's history.
The guy was an old gambling addict. Hopeless case.
But the Hirakawa clan held considerable influence in the Land of Rivers, and they weren't short on money. It was just that Hirakawa Ken was useless and couldn't stop betting on everything that moved, so Hirakawa Hiro had already been thinking about grooming a different successor.
Which meant—
In recent years, the amount of money Hirakawa Ken could squander had been shrinking fast, and he'd racked up a mountain of debt.
He'd even skimmed off the payment their family owed to the Hirakawas earlier.
In short, things were… tense.
As Kashin Kōji spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Right—Lord Jiraiya, you're leading a genin squad right now. Does that mean you'll still be able to take missions?"
"In theory, yeah."
Jiraiya already had a pretty good idea what the man was planning—
A targeted commission.
Kashin hurriedly leaned in.
"Here's the thing. Our family is heading to the Land of Waves soon to do business with a man named Gato. But in the Land of Waves, he's apparently gathered a whole bunch of samurai. We're worried he might try something shady."
"I'll take it," Jiraiya said immediately. "But you need to file the mission with Konoha first."
The Land of Waves…
That place didn't just have samurai. There were likely to be a few stray shinobi lurking around too.
"I understand. Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."
Kōji's eyes brightened again.
Jiraiya grinned. "By the way, Mr. Kashin, there's something I want to ask. In your casino—or your friend's place—have you seen a young woman wearing clothes with the word 'gamble' on them?"
"The word 'gamble'?"
Kashin frowned.
He thought for a moment, then his expression sharpened. "Yes! Someone like that showed up just yesterday."
"Good. Thanks."
The corner of Jiraiya's mouth curled up.
He knew it.
As soon as she left Konoha, of course she'd come to Tanzaku Town.
He laughed quietly to himself.
"Thanks again, Mr. Kashin. That should wrap up your commission, right?"
"Yes. Thank you for your help." Kashin bowed.
Then he hesitated for a second and said, "But… if you're planning to look for that woman with the 'gamble' symbol, could you maybe do us a small favor?"
"What favor?" Jiraiya asked, already guessing where this was going—
And it wasn't good.
"She owes quite a bit of money at our casino. If you see her, could you… help us collect? At least get an IOU back…" Kashin asked cautiously.
At this point, he clearly had a pretty good guess about who that woman really was.
The big fish of the industry.
But also, a walking headache.
"Well, haha… I'll do my best. I'll make sure to get that IOU. How much does she owe?"
Jiraiya cleared his throat.
Who knew how much Tsunade had already lost?
Getting that money back anytime soon was wishful thinking.
He felt a little awkward.
Koji Kashin exhaled in relief. "No problem. As long as I have the IOU, I can report back to the family."
"You know, this kind of business… it's not just my family's operation," he quickly added.
Jiraiya nodded repeatedly, signaling he understood.
Kurenai followed behind, glancing at Leo and Kakashi, hoping for some clarity.
But both of them just shook their heads.
Of course.
Leo knew full well that Jiraiya's target might be Tsunade, who had already left Konoha.
As one of the Legendary Three, Tsunade was now grappling with hemophobia—she could hardly operate as a normal ninja anymore. Combine that with her mental state, and leaving the village was a reasonable choice.
He had no illusions about bringing her back. What he was really thinking was whether he could extract some benefit from her.
After all, this was Tsunade.
Even a tiny advantage from her would be a huge payoff for him.
Leo's eyes flickered as he began to think seriously.
Medical ninjutsu…
Konoha already had an advanced system for medical ninjas. He didn't need to interfere there.
Other techniques or knowledge Tsunade might teach? That would be much harder.
And as for regeneration…
She probably hadn't mastered that yet, he thought.
After weighing everything, he realized he could only take things as they came, dealing with each step as it arrived.
…
Short Scroll Street, near the ancient district. Jiraiya scanned his surroundings, sensing the area with a serious expression.
"Sensei, who is the person you and Mr. Kashin are asking about?"
Kurenai couldn't help but ask.
Jiraiya glanced at them and smiled. "Take a guess."
Kakashi thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No idea."
"One of the Legendary Three, right? I've only heard she's involved in gambling," Leo murmured.
Jiraiya looked at him and laughed. "You little rascal!"
Then he nodded.
"As I said before, besides the mission, there's one other thing—I want to see if I can get some news about Tsunade."
He started walking while continuing, "Leo, have you started researching the other properties of water release yet?"
"I've only tried compressing the water flow. Not sure if that counts as the property change you mentioned," Leo replied.
Jiraiya nodded. "That's enough."
He couldn't help but reflect.
"Sometimes I wonder… when the Second Hokage was young, did he experiment the same way you are? Compressing water waves, eventually developing them into the Water Severing Wave?"
He began explaining the terrifying power of that jutsu.
Unstoppable!
A horrifying, lethal water-style jutsu.
He also took the opportunity to tell stories of the Second Hokage's feats.
Kakashi and Kurenai listened, completely absorbed.
Leo, too, but he was more focused on the jutsu itself.
"So, my idea… was on the right track?" he asked.
"Compression and condensation are common techniques in advanced jutsu. Not just water release—fire release, lightning release, all have similar methods. Take the Third Raikage's signature Four Hits Technique, for example…"
Jiraiya explained as they walked.
Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, a thought forming in his mind.
Then, suddenly, Jiraiya stopped, looking toward a spot on the street.
An izakaya.
From upstairs came the voice of a girl.
"We're almost out of money!"
"Ah…"
Shizune's voice.
Leo immediately remembered. He had shared a brief time in class with Shizune. After she left with Tsunade, he hadn't seen her since—but the voice hadn't changed much.
"Found her!"
Jiraiya grinned, scanning the area.
"Sensei, I think we should go through the front door. I heard she nearly sent you to the hospital once," Leo whispered.
Huh?
Some hidden past, too?
Kakashi and Kurenai perked up, curiosity evident even behind masks.
Jiraiya scowled.
"You little brat, where did you hear that gossip?"
"Grandma told me," Leo said quietly.
"Damn it!"
Jiraiya's face turned red with a mix of anger and embarrassment, and he thumped Leo on the head. "Always know too much, huh?"
Still, he followed Leo's advice, entering through the front. They located the room Tsunade was in, careful not to barge in blindly and risk getting punched.
Tsunade wasn't surprised to see Jiraiya.
They knew each other too well, and the earlier commotion had already given him away.
"Well, Jiraiya," she said, leaning lazily against the wall with a bottle in hand.
Her presence alone was commanding; even relaxed like this, she radiated an overwhelming aura.
Even Kurenai, also a girl, couldn't help but widen her eyes, occasionally looking down…
Her face full of awe.
"....."