Zabuza responded.
"Understood. I'll head to Clouds-and-Lightning Gorge to search right away."
With that, he immediately set off. As for Haku, there was no need to worry about her safety while she was by the God King's side.
Clouds-and-Lightning Gorge was likely a famous landmark; it shouldn't be too difficult to find.
Haku looked up at the God King.
"So, what should we do now?"
She was actually looking forward to the God King personally supervising her training.
Ryōsuke smiled and replied.
"We're going to have some fun, of course."
He had never been to the Land of Lightning before, so he wanted to experience the local customs and culture properly. He treated it as a chance to relax.
Haku was a bit surprised, but she was happy to do anything as long as she was with the God King.
Ryōsuke took Haku for a long stroll around the port, sampling many delicacies along the way.
As evening approached, they came across a hot spring bathhouse.
He was instantly intrigued.
Hot springs were wonderful things—they promoted blood circulation, improved sleep quality, and soothed muscle aches.
For Ryōsuke, this was naturally a good thing.
Even though his body was incredibly powerful and could heal itself automatically...
The hot springs were still beneficial for his physical well-being.
As for Haku, she definitely needed a soak.
She was undergoing taijutsu training, yet she was naturally a delicate girl. Her long life as a wanderer had also left some hidden physical issues.
He could use this bath to help her body recover and strengthen.
He looked at Haku.
"Want to soak together?"
Haku was more than willing. After all, wouldn't that mean she could stay by the God King's side?
Being with the God King always gave her an inexplicable sense of peace.
"Lord God King, can I really soak in the hot springs with you?"
Ryōsuke answered.
"Of course you can."
He felt that Haku was becoming a bit clingy.
But it didn't really matter; children were often like that.
She was still so young, so he didn't mind.
They approached the counter and found the owner.
"Boss, how much would it cost to rent out the entire bathhouse?"
Haku was an adorable young girl, and Ryōsuke naturally didn't want her bathing with a bunch of strangers.
The owner hadn't expected a customer to come in asking to book the whole place.
While renting it out might seem like a higher immediate income, it was actually quite bad for business.
If regular customers came to soak but were turned away disappointed, they likely wouldn't return in the future.
In the long run, it was a losing proposition.
He refused.
"We don't offer private rental services here."
Ryōsuke frowned. No private rental? That just meant the price wasn't high enough.
He glanced at the price list on the side. A single adult entry was 100 ryo.
This price could be considered expensive or cheap depending on who you asked.
After all, it was a hot spring bath.
People might soak a few times a week, but they wouldn't come every single day.
The total foot traffic for a night was only about 50 to 100 people.
He spoke directly. "I'll pay 10,000 ryo to book it."
The owner still refused.
"That won't work."
Satisfying one customer while offending all the others simply wasn't worth it.
Ryōsuke immediately raised his bid upon hearing the refusal. "20,000 ryo."
The owner was starting to feel tempted. That was equivalent to two nights' revenue, and it might even exceed it.
He wanted the money, yet he still felt like refusing.
He hesitated.
Seeing the owner like this, Ryōsuke pushed further. "30,000 ryo. If you don't agree, we'll just find another place."
This time, the owner was completely swayed. This was equivalent to three days' worth of business. He immediately shouted, "Fine! I accept!"
The workload of serving 300 people compared to just two was completely different.
And this was three days' worth of revenue in one go.
Taking a day off shouldn't be a problem.
Other customers would surely understand.
Most importantly, business had been tough lately because taxes on bathhouses had increased.
It was all the fault of the Fourth Raikage, who had initiated a war against the Leaf Village but lost, resulting in massive reparations.
A large portion of those reparations was paid by the Land of Lightning's Daimyō, but the Cloud Village had to shoulder a part of it as well.
There was no helping it; a country couldn't survive without ninjas.
Though he was angry, he understood that without the protection of ninjas...
The entire country would be overrun with bandits, thieves, and outlaws.
Things would be even worse for the civilians, and business would be impossible.
However, the burden of these extra expenses naturally fell onto the shoulders of the common people.
Even if they opposed it, there was nothing they could do.
They could only endure this extra financial strain.
Hearing the owner's agreement, Ryōsuke pulled out 30,000 ryo and placed it on the counter.
The owner's eyes lit up with joy at the sight of so much cash.
He went to the entrance and hung a "Closed" sign.
Then, he personally led Ryōsuke and Haku to the locker room and pointed out the bathing area.
Ryōsuke and Haku changed, wrapped themselves in snow-white towels, and stepped into the bathroom.
As they entered the steaming hot spring, Ryōsuke immediately felt a distinct sensation.
It was incredibly relaxing.
Haku, also wrapped in a white towel, entered the spring and felt her body become wonderfully comfortable.
But she felt a bit unhappy inside. Lord Ryōsuke had spent such a massive amount of money just to fulfill her wish of bathing with him.
Back when she had a home, that amount of money would have lasted them a very long time; her parents' income had never been that high.
"Lord God King, I've caused you trouble."
"Spending so much money just for a single bath because of me..."
She felt quite ashamed.
Ryōsuke smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. Money is meant to be spent."
Besides, this money had been squeezed out of the Cloud Village anyway, so he didn't feel even a hint of regret.
Haku saw that the God King truly didn't seem to care.
'The organization's funds must be quite abundant then; there's no need for me to feel guilty.'