With Tsunade's current strength, her shout was like a thunderclap. Jiraiya, startled, pushed too hard on the door.
Bang!
The thin wooden door collapsed.
"Ah!"
Screams erupted inside as women threw buckets, brushes, and anything at hand, creating chaos.
"Ji—rai—ya!"
Tsunade's fury surged, each syllable heavy with menace, her golden hair rising as if charged.
With every step, the ground cracked beneath her.
Jiraiya trembled, seeing Tsunade with cotton candy in hand, a fear far worse than before gripping him.
"Tsunade, let me explain!" Jiraiya waved a hand, holding up his novel. "I'm just doing research!"
That made it worse.
Tsunade snapped, raising her fist, holy light gleaming on it, the air around warping before she even struck.
He'd die.
Jiraiya was certain—if that fist landed, he'd be obliterated.
When did Tsunade's monstrous strength get this terrifying?
At death's door…
Jiraiya made the wisest choice.
He leapt up, dropped to his knees at a forty-five-degree angle, and slammed his head in a perfect apologetic bow.
"I'm sorry…!"
"…Huff, huff."
Tsunade's chest heaved, clearly enraged.
But her raised fist didn't strike.
A blow like that would kill Jiraiya.
Not hitting hard didn't mean no punishment.
"Jiraiya! You're over fifty, and you're still this lecherous!" Tsunade's scolding, mixed with punches and kicks, echoed with Jiraiya's wails. The bathhouse girls, wrapped in towels, peeked out, eyes sparkling.
Lady Tsunade.
So cool.
Many also noticed Shen Mo and Ikaros, still licking her cotton candy.
Shen Mo glanced over.
Was… Tenten among them?
"Enough," Shen Mo said gently. "Tsunade, let's move elsewhere. You're making it hard for the girls to leave."
What a gentleman…
The girls' eyes gleamed again.
Shen Mo's looks were once average, but cultivation erased flaws, and with his enigmatic aura, deep eyes, and fitted clothes, he was a far cry from his pre-transmigration self.
Tsunade realized the setting was awkward, grabbed the bruised Jiraiya, and stormed toward a nearby grove.
Once alone…
She flung Jiraiya against a tree, still fuming. "Don't you know there are foreign ninjas in the village? Are you trying to shame Konoha?"
Tsunade despised Jiraiya's lecherous side.
It was like this when they met.
Decades later, no change!
"I know I messed up!" Jiraiya looked ready to reform.
"Hmph." Tsunade snorted, knowing by tomorrow he'd be back to his old ways.
Silence fell.
Despite their long separation, neither knew what to say.
"So," Jiraiya broke the quiet, eyeing Shen Mo with a slight grimace. "You still like the clean-cut, gentle type, huh? And you're way older than him."
"What did you say!?"
Tsunade's anger flared again, fists clenched, itching to pummel him.
Shen Mo, watching, was speechless.
You couldn't call Tsunade heartless.
Jiraiya knew what his crush disliked yet did and said it anyway.
Success? Fat chance.
But…
Change that, and he wouldn't be Jiraiya.
Tsunade, mindful of Shen Mo's presence, restrained herself, snapping, "Shen Mo's a valued guest. Show some respect and don't spread rumors. Also, you're wrong about one thing—he's older than me, by a lot."
She sounded almost smug.
Shen Mo resisted rolling his eyes.
Was it necessary to stress age?
"Oh?" Jiraiya, trusting Tsunade wouldn't lie, studied Shen Mo.
Nothing stood out.
But that clean, tidy look and gentle smile… definitely Tsunade's type.
Shen Mo's lips twitched faintly.
He opened his mouth to speak but turned, sensing something.
"Ha, can-selling uncle, you're here!" Naruto dashed from a side path, face lit with excitement.
"Naruto? Aren't you preparing for the Chūnin Exams' third round?" Tsunade, surprised, hadn't expected him.
"No one's training with me!" Naruto huffed. "Kakashi-sensei's coaching Sasuke alone, Neji's got bushy-brow-sensei, then I heard from Ichiraku's uncle that you and the can-selling uncle were on a date, so I chased you down. Hey, uncle, you can train me, right?"
Tsunade: "Granny?"
Jiraiya: "Date?"
Shen Mo: "…"
Ikaros: "(⊙﹏⊙)"
Naruto, oblivious to the awkward vibe, looked at Shen Mo expectantly.
"You," Shen Mo sighed, unsure what to say. "With your strength, hardly anyone can beat you now, right? Your opponent's Gaara?"
"Uncle, you know him?" Naruto seemed surprised.
Per the badge, Gaara wasn't a member.
Shen Mo had just read Naruto's mind.
He hadn't expected…
The plot to shift like this.
Neji versus Sasuke, Naruto versus Gaara.
There had to be something fishy.
"With your current strength, Gaara's a tough match," Shen Mo said, eyeing Naruto. "You've met him already, haven't you?"
"Yeah." Naruto nodded, shivering as he recalled. "That guy, after learning about the Nine-Tails in me, got this scary look, like…"
"Jealousy?" Shen Mo supplied.
"Exactly!" Naruto nodded vigorously. "Jealousy. He even said he'd kill Sasuke and Sakura. Damn it! I've gotta beat him!"
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