Chapter 264: Tsunade And Jiraiya
In the capital city of the Land of Grass, night had fallen, and the lights were just coming on.
As a buffer country sandwiched between several great nations, its capital instead presented a distorted prosperity, especially in the nighttime entertainment district, which was bustling with noise and brightly lit.
Inside a casino decorated quite lavishly, smoke swirled, and voices boomed.
Beside the largest gambling table, spectators crowded around, with exclamations of surprise or regret bursting from the crowd from time to time.
“Open! Open! Open!”
“Big! Big! Big!”
“Small! Small! Come on, small!!”
“Hahaha! House wins all!”
“Aw! Lost again!”
Inside the largest casino “Golden Full House,” voices boomed, and smoke swirled.
The crisp clatter of dice colliding, the clinking of chips being pushed over, and the gamblers’ ecstatic cheers or desperate curses wove together into a symphony of desire.
In front of the most lively gambling table, crowds gathered in three layers inside and out, with a golden-haired, waist-length, voluptuous mature female ninja at the center.
She wore a tea-green haori, with surging waves at her chest and a “gamble” character on her back. At this moment, her hands were pressed on the gambling table, her almond eyes wide open, staring intently at the dice cup flipping up and down in the dealer’s hand.
It was none other than one of the Sannin, Tsunade.
However, her complexion at this moment was not good, with only a few chips left in front of her.
“Open! Four-five-six, fifteen points big!”
The dealer uncovered the dice cup and announced loudly.
Tsunade slapped the table in annoyance, causing the few remaining chips to jump.
“Lost again!” she muttered discontentedly.
Shizune, holding the pink-and-white little pig Tonton, struggled through the excited crowd to Tsunade’s side and whispered, “Lady Tsunade…”
“Don’t bother me! Shizune, I have a feeling! This one is definitely ‘big’!” Tsunade replied without turning her head, casually pushing the entire large stack of chips in front of her to the “big” area.
The value of those chips made the surrounding gamblers gasp.
The dealer stopped expressionlessly, and the dice cup thudded heavily onto the table.
“No more bets—”
Instantly, all eyes focused on that small dice cup. Tsunade held her breath.
The lid was lifted.
“One-two-three, six points small!”
A deathly silence spread around Tsunade, soon broken by the sighs or schadenfreude of the other gamblers.
Tsunade froze in place, watching the dealer expressionlessly sweep away her pile of valuable chips.
“How is that possible… The feeling was so sure…” she murmured to herself, her face full of disbelief.
Shizune sighed helplessly and gently tugged at Tsunade’s sleeve. “Lady Tsunade, we’ve already… owed so much more.”
As if to confirm her words, the casino proprietor, a middle-aged man in a silk robe with a shrewd face, immediately approached with a humble smile, followed by an assistant holding a ledger.
“Lady Tsunade, if you please…” The proprietor rubbed his hands, signaling the assistant to hand over the ledger. “This is your… um, account for tonight. Please review it.”
Tsunade glanced at the long string of numbers, confirmed the amount, and irritably waved her hand. “Fine, fine, I get it.”
She took the pen and signed her name in the debtor column with a flourish, her movements crisp and decisive, as if writing not a huge IOU, but an insignificant note.
“The amount is correct, right? Can I go now?” She tossed the pen back to the assistant, her tone tinged with impatience.
“Yes, yes! Absolutely correct!” The proprietor bowed repeatedly, his face blooming with smiles. “Take care, and please come again!”
He personally escorted Tsunade and Shizune out of the casino door.
Watching the two disappear into the night market crowd, the thug leader behind the proprietor—a muscular man dressed as a samurai—couldn’t help but mutter, “Proprietor, this woman owes so much, why are you still so polite to her? How about we…”
“Shut up!” The proprietor whipped around and scolded sharply. “If you want to die, don’t drag us down! Do you know who she is? She’s a Konoha ninja! A real ninja who kills without blinking! Not something you samurai who just swing swords a few times can compare to!”
He lowered his voice, a flicker of fear in his eyes, followed by a greedy gleam. “Besides, she’s the legendary ‘big fat sheep’! The debt she owes will naturally be paid by that sucker Konohagakure! What do you know!”
The thug leader shrank back his neck. Hearing “Konohagakure” and “ninja,” he could only pout sullenly, not daring to say more.
…
Leaving the suffocating clamor of the casino, a late breeze blew, and Tsunade seemed to finally sober slightly from that gambler’s frenzy.
She pulled a reddish-brown wine gourd from her bosom, uncorked it, and took a big gulp. The spicy liquid slid down her throat, making her frown slightly, yet bringing a sense of relief.
“Shizune, why did you come find me specially today?” she asked while walking, shaking the wine gourd, her gaze sweeping over the dazzling snack stalls and shops lining the streets.
“Usually, you wait until I lose until dawn and go back on my own, right?” Her gambling luck was well-known; by dawn, she would usually lose everything and return to her lodging dispirited.
As for the money owed, she never worried about being extorted—after all, ninjas weren’t pushovers, and if they tried anything, Konoha’s Anbu wouldn’t mind stretching their muscles.
Shizune hurried to keep up with Tsunade’s pace, holding Tonton, her tone worried. “Lord Jiraiya has come. He brought some news from the village.”
“Jiraiya?” Tsunade paused, a flash of surprise in her eyes.
That guy, wasn’t he running all over the world chasing his “material” and the Child of Prophecy?
How did he have time to find her?
Soon, they returned to the rather quiet inn where they were staying.
A lantern hung at the inn’s entrance, casting a dim yellow light.
And right next door to the inn, in front of a flamboyantly decorated pleasure house called Flower Moon emitting bursts of music and coquettish laughter, a familiar white-haired figure was being surrounded by several colorfully dressed geisha.
Jiraiya wore a red haori and wooden clogs, gesturing animatedly as he spoke, making the geisha cover their mouths in giggles, trembling like flowers in the wind.
Blue veins in the shape of wells instantly popped on Tsunade’s forehead.
She clenched her fist, her knuckles cracking lightly.
“You idiot!!!”
A roar shattered the night’s tranquility.
Tsunade flashed forward, instantly appearing behind Jiraiya, her superhuman strength fist smashing mercilessly into the back of his head!
“Ow—!” Jiraiya let out a shrill wail, pitching forward and nearly face-planting.
He clutched the back of his head, which had instantly swollen into a large lump, turning back with teary eyes. “Tsunade! What are you doing! That hurts!”
The geisha first startled, then seeing a busty woman, couldn’t help giggling and soon dispersed laughing.
“What am I doing?” Tsunade slung the wine gourd over her shoulder, arms crossed, looking down at the grimacing Jiraiya.
“I haven’t even asked what you’re doing here, you old pervert? Not going to the Land of Hot Water to ‘gather inspiration,’ but coming to find me instead?” She emphasized “gather inspiration” with heavy sarcasm.
Jiraiya rubbed his head and stood up grimacing, but the grin on his face gradually faded, replaced by a rare seriousness.
He looked at Tsunade, his gaze complex.
Seeing this expression, Tsunade’s heart sank.
She knew Jiraiya— no matter how unserious he usually was, once he showed this face, it meant truly important news, possibly bad.
“Let’s go inside.” Jiraiya sighed, pointing to the inn behind him.
At the back of the inn, a guest room with a private little courtyard, the environment quite elegant.
Outside the veranda was a small courtyard, where a bamboo deer scarer filled with water and clacked lightly on a stone, especially clear in the quiet night.
The pond reflected the moonlight, rippling gently.
Tsunade and Jiraiya sat side by side on the veranda, gazing at the courtyard night scene.
Shizune knelt quietly behind, brewing a cup of strong tea for Tsunade to sober up, with little pig Tonton obediently lying at her feet.
Jiraiya detailed the recent drastic changes in Konoha: the Uchiha Clan’s rebellion conspiracy, Itachi Uchiha’s collusion with the mysterious organization Akatsuki, the brutal Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, and how the Star Ninja leader calling himself Shura took advantage to attack Konoha, taking away the Uchiha’s last survivor.
Next was the rebellion launched by Hizashi Hyuga of the Hyuga Branch Family and his son, a group of branch members breaking free from the Caged Bird restraint, defecting to join the emerging Land of Stars…
Tsunade held the teacup but didn’t drink, just listening quietly.
Moonlight illuminated her still beautiful profile, showing little expression, but her fingers tightened slightly on the teacup.
Uchiha… that clan entangled with the Senju Clan for decades, nearly annihilated in such a way.
As the last descendant of the Senju Clan, a complex emotion surged in her heart—sigh, reflection, and a touch of sorrow for shared fate.
“I never thought… the Uchiha would come to this.” She finally said softly, her voice tinged with fatigue and world-weariness.
She set down the teacup and looked at Jiraiya. “That ‘Shura,’ I’ve heard mentions a few times—a mysterious ninja who attacked Konoha and Cloud Village. Land of Stars… the country on the west side of the Ninja Continent?”
She traveled and resided abroad often, but wasn’t completely cut off from news, though most of her time was in prosperous Land of Fire or nearby small countries, with little knowledge of distant events in the western Ninja World.
Jiraiya nodded, arms crossed, expression grave. “Yes. According to the intelligence I have, a few years ago, this Shura took control of the originally weak Hoshigakure with thunderous means, overthrew the Land of Bears regime, slaughtered the daimyo and nobles, and established the Land of Stars.”
“In recent years, this country has expanded nonstop, annexing several surrounding small countries, even wiping out a sizable Snow Ninja force. Now, the Land of Stars has become a formidable power in the west not to be underestimated, bordering directly with the Land of Earth and Land of Wind. Its territory and ninja numbers probably second only to the Five Great Nations.”
Jiraiya paused, then continued. “Two months ago, I received intelligence from the village’s Anbu, and… Teacher Sarutobi’s command.”
Mentioning the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya’s tone held helplessness. “Teacher wants me to find a way to infiltrate the Land of Stars and gather intelligence on the country, especially on Shura.”
Tsunade keenly caught the key point. “The old man’s personal order? Is this Shura that important?”
Jiraiya took a deep breath, his golden pupils especially grave in the moonlight. “According to the intelligence from Teacher Sarutobi, this Shura is extremely unusual. He infiltrated Konoha multiple times, treating Konoha’s Village Protection Barrier as nothing, and various reports show even Cloud Village suffered big losses at his hands.”
“His Land of Stars seems deliberately collecting ninjas with Bloodline Limits. Reportedly, he has a female Uchiha Clan ninja under him named Uchiha Hikari, suspected to be a descendant of clan members who followed Uchiha Madara out of Konoha. In this attack on Konoha, rare Bloodline Limits appeared, including Kirigakure’s Corpse Bone Pulse, the Blood Pond Clan’s Blood Dragon Eye, and even… Uzumaki Clan members.”
“Uzumaki Clan?” Tsunade jerked her head up, shock flashing in her eyes.
That surname stirred her deep-buried memories, recalling her grandmother, the first Nine-Tails jinchūriki from the Uzumaki Clan who sealed the Nine-Tails—Mito Uzumaki.
Shizune beside her also gasped in shock, covering her mouth. “Uzumaki Clan? Weren’t they wiped out long ago due to warfare? And how could Hyuga Branch Family members escape the ‘Caged Bird’?”
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with equal bewilderment; the Hyuga Main Family’s Caged Bird curse mark was virtually unsolvable.
Jiraiya shook his head, his face full of bewilderment. “That’s the problem. This Shura seems to have some unknown power—not only finding these Bloodline Limit ninjas that should have vanished into history, but even cracking powerful restraints like the Caged Bird. I suspect…”
His voice lowered. “The ‘Child of Darkness’ prophesied by the Great Toad Sage, the one that might bring destruction to the world… might be this Shura.”
The courtyard fell silent, only the occasional “clack” from the deer scarer.
The moonlight seemed to carry a chill.
Tsunade fell silent.
She finally understood why Jiraiya had come to find her so seriously.
Not just to relay Konoha’s upheavals, but because he was about to step into an extremely dangerous and unknown realm.
The prophesied “Child of Darkness,” a rapidly rising, enigmatic, seemingly rule-breaking powerful ninja.
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, his tone lightening somewhat, but his eyes still earnest. “So, before heading into that dragon’s den, I had to see an old friend and check how much this ‘big fat sheep’ has owed this time.”
“Though before going west, I need to make a trip to the Land of Rain first; there seem to be some restless stirrings there too.” Jiraiya recalled the ‘Akatsuki’ mentioned in the old man’s intelligence, and the faces of Yahiko and the others came to mind.
‘I wonder how those three are doing.’ Jiraiya thought; it had been sixteen or seventeen years since they last parted.
“Heh.” Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, diluting the earlier heavy atmosphere somewhat.
She picked up the wine gourd and took another sip, her gaze turning back to the deep night outside the window.
She had only left Konoha a few years, and such huge events had happened: Uchiha and Hyuga rebelling out of Konoha, and the mysterious Land of Stars, the Child of Darkness from the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy?
Tsunade couldn’t help but think gruffly: ‘Old man, what the hell have you been doing…’
