"Ross? You're here too? Don't worry, you have a copy as well. I only taught you the basics back in that village. You need to study these books too."
"Well... I won't bother you then. I'm leaving." Rosinante's head buzzed. Asking him to memorize all this was basically a death sentence.
"Leaving already?" Tsunade caught the determination in his tone but had no intention of letting him off so easily.
"Shizune, pack up these books for Ross. A medical genius like him can't afford to skip out on learning. We can't let the future Medical Saint slack off." Tsunade teased, crossing her legs with a mischievous expression. At that moment, she didn't look like a woman over fifty at all.
As for Sasuke? He was already squatting on the ground, flipping through the books in a panic. Two days! Even with his Sharingan, he might not be able to finish reading all of them. He had to use every second wisely.
Ignoring Sasuke, who was now yanking his hair in frustration, Tsunade hadn't said this because she genuinely believed in Rosinante's medical skills. She knew exactly what his abilities were.
A guy who could perform surgery while reading an instruction manual? The real miracle was that his patients didn't drop dead from sheer terror. Expecting him to become a medical master was wishful thinking.
But Tsunade still insisted on giving him the books as compensation. Even if Rosinante didn't care about losing all his money, she still felt guilty. After all, she was the one who had encouraged him to gamble more, and thanks to his absurd bad luck, he had ended up scrubbing dishes just to pay off his debts.
These books weren't all that valuable to her, but outside the village, they held priceless knowledge. If mastered, one could become an independent medical ninja.
"...Alright then." Rosinante sighed, accepting his fate. He had wanted to refuse, but he knew the books might be useful to Karin and the others. He had no choice.
His plan to leave Konoha by "disappearing" was now screwed. Damn it. He couldn't slack off again.
"When are you planning to leave?" Tsunade asked, signaling the ANBU tailing Rosinante to withdraw.
"The sooner, the better," he replied, adjusting the heavy book box that Shizune handed him. It felt like it could give him a herniated disc.
"Alright, I'll come to see you off. And remember, you better visit Konoha again in the future." (I'm counting on you to win me money.)
Tsunade helped him adjust the weight on his back and led him outside.
"Oi~ Jiraiya!" Tsunade made a quick stop at the Hokage's office. They needed to check in before Rosinante left.
Jiraiya, now buried in Hokage duties, looked nothing like the carefree wanderer he used to be. Before, he had been like a happy, jobless immortal. Now, he looked like a corporate slave, drowning in paperwork.
Head in his hands, eyes staring blankly at the documents in front of him, his mind was filled with existential questions:
Who am I?
Where am I?
Why am I sitting here doing this?
"So... this is what being Hokage means?"
"Ahem—Lord Hokage, we have visitors."
Kakashi, now acting as his assistant, put away his Icha Icha Paradise book and coughed to snap Jiraiya out of his daze.
Seeing Tsunade, Jiraiya's eyes instantly lit up as if he had found his savior. He jumped out of his seat.
"Tsunade! Are you SURE you don't want to reconsider becoming Hokage? You'd be PERFECT for the job! Don't worry, if you take over, I'll support you completely!"
Jiraiya clung to her dramatically. He didn't care if he wasn't Hokage—this job was absolute hell.
What kind of Hokage was this? He was basically an underpaid village chief drowning in paperwork! How the hell had Hiruzen Sarutobi endured this for so long without losing his mind?
"I shouldn't have made such a hasty decision," Jiraiya muttered regretfully. "I should've just left this mess to Danzo."
He had no time to spy on bathhouses anymore. Every day, he was buried in paperwork, cooking for Naruto, training him in Rasengan... he was practically a babysitter now. At this rate, all he wanted to do was sleep, only to wake up and repeat this cycle endlessly.
Tsunade patted him on the shoulder with a gloating smirk. "Sorry, but I love my freedom. I can gamble all day without a care in the world. No way I'm locking myself in this office."
After leaving the Hokage's office, Rosinante had an even deeper understanding of the job.
Forget Hokage—this is just straight-up overtime hell.
Rosinante unilaterally declared that the Hokage position was his natural enemy. He could never coexist with someone who worked this much overtime.
Tsunade walked with Rosinante to the village outskirts. Any further, and he'd be out of Konoha's borders. It was time to part ways.
"Take care of yourself. And don't die. I'm counting on you to make me rich."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm off."
With that, they parted ways. This time, Zixu's clone had memorized the route perfectly. No more getting lost.
"The pond should be nearby. After crossing it, there's the cemetery, then the village isn't far..."
Rosinante stopped abruptly.
He had followed the same path as before. This place had been that eerie cemetery last time, so why was it now an empty field?
"Ah, whatever. Small errors don't matter."
He shrugged it off and pressed forward. Nothing seemed particularly off about the open space.
Well... except for the fact that he saw an old woman standing with her back turned. From the side, he could see that her face was hairy—like a ferocious cat's face.
"Damn, even old ninja can't get the Transformation Jutsu right? That's just embarrassing."
Rosinante muttered under his breath, not expecting the old lady to hear him.
Apparently, she did. Without looking back, she suddenly bolted away.
"...Okay then?"
Ignoring her, Rosinante finally reached his destination. His energy, usually low, spiked with excitement.
"Finally back!"
He rushed into the village without stopping, hauling the heavy book box.
Gekko Hayate, standing guard, was caught off guard by the sight of a strange-looking man sprinting in with a massive load on his back. He instinctively reached for his sword.
"Whoa, whoa, chill! It's me!"
After a quick explanation, Hayate lowered his weapon.
Rosinante sighed in relief before dramatically dropping the book box onto the ground.
"This trip was exhausting..." he groaned, glancing at Aburame Hatsuizumi, who was instructing some villagers nearby.
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