Jiraiya stared at the unconscious figure of Kyojiro, his arms barely strained from carrying his body across the village.
His eyes wandered as he looked at the blond hair. 'The prophecy was about blond hair and blue eyes.' His gaze deepened as he looked at the vulnerable form of Kyojiro. 'And this guy doesn't even have blue eyes to begin with.'
His brows scrunched a bit. 'Even his hair has a bit of a fiery side to it... truly, I am mistaking it.'
He winced as he felt the burns on the boy's back. "I went too far," he grumbled.
Having long since unsummoned Gamabunta, his chakra was more or less in a good state. Utilizing more chakra throughout his body, he rushed forward, his speed almost doubling as he jumped over the houses.
His destination — a certain blond Senju.
The person he was searching for, however, was halfway to his destination — in a little sake spot....
The air smelled of sake and an obscene stench of drunk people. The seats were almost drowning from the high number of ninjas and civilians in the establishment.
Waiters clinked around, bringing sake and other alcoholic drinks.
CLINK
CLINK
"Those are some breakthroughs you've achieved. Even I am shocked at your mastery," Tsunade spoke.
Her long hair drifted down in perfect silk form, her skin — a pleasant and almost perfect mixture of fairness — seemed to glow under the lights.
Her eyes, slightly drunk yet comfortable, stared at the other person in front of her.
She didn't smile... neither did she laugh. Life had already taken everything she cherished from her — first her grandma, next her boyfriend, and finally even her brother.
These little moments of alcohol were the only times it felt like the world wasn't on fire. What helped more was seeing a face she had almost grown up with.
Sitting opposite her, a pale-skinned man smirked. His face seemed closer to a snake than a man's — his eyes, a unique yellow with slits, stared at Tsunade with care and curiosity.
"It's not a big deal... though I wonder, why did you call us three here?" Orochimaru's eyes darted across the booth. 'Still no sign of that fool.' He shook his head. "I doubt that fool is going to come on time."
Dark lines appeared over Tsunade's head. Her eyes darkened. "He better," she muttered, her fist clenching subconsciously.
However, unlike what both of them thought, the door opened beside them with a loud thud.
BOOM!
"Coming through, coming through — emergency here!" A loud voice boomed through the area. Everyone couldn't help but look at the new entry.
A tuft of white hair and a buff body — yet what caught their eyes more was the unconscious sack of a body in the man's arm.
Seeing Jiraiya come closer, Tsunade couldn't help but mutter, "What have you done this time, Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya merely scratched his head. "Well, I was sparring with Kyojiro, and my fire jutsu caught him in the back. There might be some bad burns." He diverted his gaze, embarrassed to meet her eye. "And I don't want to get a reputation as a sadist ninja who likes to torture juniors."
Hearing his words, Orochimaru wasn't even fazed. 'In fact, this is more in line with this guy's actions.' Shaking his head, he couldn't help but get curious about the blond-haired shinobi.
'He looks familiar.' Turning toward Jiraiya, he muttered, "So... who is he?"
Jiraiya turned toward Orochimaru with a smug smile on his face. "Well, what do you think — he's my disciple."...
Tsunade stared at the idiot with dark circles under her eyes. 'His disciple? Didn't he already have Minato?' Despite her curiosity, she turned to the patient.
The moment her eyes landed on him, her instincts kicked in.
She immediately assessed the level of the burns. 'Nothing too damaging... merely surface level.' Her eyes locked in, the tipsiness from the sake disappearing in an instant.
Chakra followed her command — almost as easy as breathing. It flowed toward her hand before changing nature. Yang chakra — something extremely crucial in learning the Mystical Palm Technique.
Her chakra, now a shade of green, touched the scarred back of the ninja. Her eyes widened slightly. 'It seems he was hit with some explosion from behind.'
Her chakra immediately worked its charm — the scars healed in real time, the pouches of blood disappeared, and the skin repaired itself to its prime condition, appearing dazzling white.
Tsunade, with her hand on his back, couldn't help but feel the muscles bulging. Her eyes widened — if barely. 'This guy... he seemed a lot leaner from afar.'
Seeing that the patient was no longer in any danger, her heart thumped with anger. She looked up, her hands twitching.
SWOOSH!
Picking up the white-haired Sannin by the back of his neck, she plunged him into the seat beside them, her voice ringing out, "You stupid fool! What were you doing with this guy to injure him so badly?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but let out a small grunt of pain. Yet before he could respond, Orochimaru — enjoying the situation — spoke, "He also seems so young... truly, Jiraiya, how low have you fallen?"
His snake-like eyes stared at the white-haired Sannin in mock disappointment.
Jiraiya winced, rubbing the area on his neck where Tsunade had grabbed him. Turning toward them both, he muttered, "It's not what you think — I wasn't bullying him. I had to use my jutsus to counter him."
Both of them stopped for a moment — Tsunade forgetting her anger and Orochimaru his amusement. Their eyes widened.
"You had to use your jutsus against him?" Tsunade spoke, her eyes shifting to the sleeping figure of Kyojiro, now seated upright against Orochimaru.
'He looks so young... is he a genius? A civilian?' she wondered inside her head.
Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh. Looking at the two of them, he knew he had to explain. 'These guys...' He muttered, "Alright, let me tell you from the start."