"It's not expensive. This door is made of pearwood. You know how precious pearwood is, and such a large piece at that. Hmm... I'll charge you one million ryo."
"One million ryo?"
"Yes, one million ryo."
Hearing that they had to pay such a large amount, Shizune immediately tugged at Tsunade's sleeve and whispered, "Tsunade-sama, it seems we don't have that much money."
At this moment, Tsunade's face was something to behold.
Her expression shifted from pale to dark, sometimes gritting her teeth, and Jiraiya's heart couldn't help but race in fear.
"Jiraiya, are you looking for death? Trying to scam me for money?"
"Scam? I have the receipt right here."
With that, Jiraiya pulled out a receipt from his drawer.
"Here."
Tsunade took the receipt from Jiraiya's hand and gave it a close look, realizing that he wasn't lying after all.
With this realization, Tsunade's attitude did a complete 180-degree turn.
"Well, you know, it's been so many years since we've seen each other. Talking about money right away feels a bit tacky. Anyway, I'll take Shizune home to clean up. Don't bother me unless it's important."
With that, she left in a flash, before Jiraiya could react.
"Ah, Jiraiya-sama, I'm sorry, but I need to go find Tsunade-sama now. Goodbye."
Shizune awkwardly bowed to Jiraiya and then ran out of the office as well.
"Heh, it's been years, but Tsunade's personality hasn't changed at all."
"Considering the receipt, she probably won't want to see me for a while."
Knowing that Tsunade would be back soon, Jiraiya wasn't unprepared.
After all, the Legendary Sannins knew each other very well, and Jiraiya had anticipated this move based on his understanding of Tsunade's character.
The things about the Hokage's installation, the pearwood, and the receipt... it was all fake. All of it.
"Now, the pressure is on the old man."
"Hahahahaha!"
As Jiraiya expected, for the next two days, Tsunade didn't bother to see him again.
The excuse to trick her back in the end still had a flaw.
Jiraiya didn't know whether Tsunade had beaten the Third Hokage.
All he knew was that the Third Hokage's old problem had acted up, and he had to rest at home for a while.
"Jiraiya, you guys are something else. You actually used this kind of lie to trick me."
In the Hokage's office, Tsunade, looking furious, found Jiraiya. Her strong aura immediately made Jiraiya recall the fear he felt as a child when Tsunade was in charge and used to beat him up.
"Tsunade, we're familiar with each other, but if you keep talking like this, be careful I'll sue you for defamation."
"Do whatever you want, sue me anywhere."
Tsunade slammed the table in anger and continued, "Do you really think I'm an idiot? If you didn't approve as Hokage, do you think they'd do this?"
"Uh, well... alright, I did agree to this. My apologies!"
"Hmph."
Seeing Jiraiya's awkward expression, Tsunade, for some reason, huffed and then suddenly changed her attitude.
It was as if the angry person just now wasn't her.
With a grand wave of her hand, Tsunade said very generously, "Since you realize your mistake, I'll forgive you."
Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Tsunade.
That's it? She's forgiving him just like that?
It felt too easy.
Tsunade's attitude made Jiraiya feel extremely uneasy.
"Of course, as compensation, the small safe under the third board under your bed will be my apology gift. That's it, goodbye... no, I mean, never see you again!"
Tsunade was like a whirlwind, coming back wildly and then leaving just as wildly.
"Wait, Tsunade, I need to tell you something."
Seeing Tsunade about to leave, Jiraiya held back the sadness of his small safe being robbed and tried to stop her.
However, Tsunade thought Jiraiya wanted his safe back, so she ran even faster.
"Tsunade."
Seeing Tsunade disappear from his sight, Jiraiya sighed and didn't try to stop her anymore.
He originally wanted to keep Tsunade in Konoha.
After all, the ninja world would definitely not be peaceful in the coming time.
Tsunade, being alone, and with Shizune, Jiraiya was a bit worried about their safety.
However, when he saw that Tsunade had no attachment to Konoha, he gave up on the idea of forcing her to stay in the village.
"I hope it doesn't affect her."
"Lord Tsunade, is it really okay to leave like this?"
Having already left Konoha, Tsunade and Shizune were on their way to the Land of Fire.
Along the way, Shizune felt that Tsunade's decision was a bit hasty.
"Why stay? Are we going to stay for the New Year?"
Hearing Shizune's words, Tsunade glanced back at Konoha and said, "Jiraiya is doing fine. Plus, with Minato and the old man helping him, now Konoha... it doesn't matter if I'm there or not. Since that's the case, it's better to live freely outside the village."
"But still, I think it's a bit too much for you to put the gambling debt under Jiraiya-sama's name."
"Is it?"
Tsunade thought for a moment and felt she might have been a little too much.
But Tsunade being Tsunade, after just a brief moment of self-reflection, she returned to her usual state.
"Well~ since Jiraiya is Hokage now, he definitely has ways to pay off that debt."
She patted Shizune's shoulder, "Shizune, we need to speed up. I can't wait to start the next round of gambling."
With that, she quickened her pace, leaving Shizune behind.
"Lady Tsunade, wait for me~"
Seeing Tsunade speeding up, Shizune had no choice but to follow.
Recently, Kushina had been teaching Sakura some basic sealing techniques.
Following the principle that teaching one is the same as teaching two, she also brought Karin from Orochimaru to join in.
During this time, both Sakura and Karin left a strong impression on Kushina.
As for Karin, there's no need to mention her, just like Kushina, she belongs to the Uzumaki clan.
People from this clan have an incredibly high natural talent for sealing jutsu.
But Sakura is different.
Her parents are not ninjas; they are just ordinary civilians from the Hidden Leaf Village.
Even without the support of a special bloodline, Sakura's talent in chakra control is, in Kushina's eyes, top-tier.
With such talent, Sakura is indeed a great candidate for learning medical ninjutsu.
Originally, she had planned to find a chance to talk to Tsunade, who had just returned to the village, about Sakura.
But in just two days, Tsunade left the village again, with no word on where she went.
Kushina felt it was a real pity.
"Kabuto went to the Ryūchi Cave to learn Senjutsu, but hasn't come back. I wonder if he died there."
"Tsunade-sama left the village again."
"Looks like Sakura will have to continue learning sealing jutsu from me for a while longer!"
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