Mist rose gently from the steaming hot spring, water droplets shimmering like crystals as they slid slowly down the smooth, pale skin of the woman soaking inside. The warm water and swirling steam blurred the edges, but even so, the fullness of her chest was faintly visible beneath the surface. Her figure was perfectly proportioned—without an ounce of excess fat—displaying beauty in its purest form.
The woman was submerged entirely in the hot spring, with only the top half of her head above water. Soft bubbles escaped her lips as she muttered quietly to her companion, a hint of worry threading through her voice:
"Ali, that kid's acting weird… she's been there for quite a while."
She pointed toward a tree just outside the bathhouse.
Ali, the woman being addressed, followed the gesture with her gaze. Outside the bathhouse stood a robust, flourishing tree, its branches sprawling over the bathhouse wall. Perched on one of those branches, reclining with her hands behind her head, was a pink-haired little girl.
"You're overthinking it. Besides, Meiling has such a great figure—"
"Heh, let me feel it. Somehow, it feels even bigger."
Ali suddenly lunged toward Meiling, splashing water everywhere.
"Ah!"
"You jerk! I'll kill you!"
Meiling cried out in alarm, instinctively shielding her important parts, but even then, Ali's playful hands could not be stopped…
Sakura glanced briefly at the bathhouse full of women enjoying their relaxation without the slightest flicker of emotion crossing her face.
Heh. Women? That's just a distraction to Sakura right now.
Just a bunch of pink skeletons in her eyes…
But then again, that Meiling really was… huge. What was she eating to grow like that?
From what Sakura could estimate, Meiling's figure was just a tiny bit behind Tsunade's.
For a whole week, Sakura had been staking out several bathhouses in Konoha. She didn't even try to hide herself, boldly watching everything in the open.
Thanks to her being a girl, no one asked her to leave, and on the contrary, a few slightly inappropriate older sisters even invited her to join their baths.
Of course, Sakura turned down all their offers outright.
What if she accidentally ran into Jiraiya, that old pervert? Wouldn't that just be giving him a free show?
Although, judging by how flat she was, maybe Jiraiya wouldn't be interested anyway.
Hmm?
Sakura had a blade of grass between her lips, and her eyes caught movement in a nearby bush.
A lascivious white-haired figure was peeking through a crack in the bathhouse wall, spying on the women inside.
He was tall, dressed in reddish-brown robes, and carried a massive scroll strapped to his back. But the drooling, creepy smile plastered across his face made Sakura silently groan in frustration.
Damn it…
No wonder this guy could never get close to Tsunade.
With a disgusting and annoying look like that, Sakura was itching to punch him herself.
Taking a deep breath, she shouted toward the people inside the bathhouse:
"There's a pervert outside!"
"Catch that sick bastard!"
Her words caused an uproar among the women. The startled bathers scrambled out of the hot springs and rushed toward the changing rooms.
The perverted man's neck stiffened as he slowly turned his head toward Sakura in the tree.
"Ahhh!"
"You little brat!"
The white-haired man, growing angry, glared up at Sakura.
He had noticed her presence from the beginning but initially thought she was one of his comrades. He never expected this little girl to ruin his plans.
"What do you want?"
Sakura leapt down from the tree without a hint of hesitation, staring directly at the man before her.
Jiraiya's eyes shifted downward briefly as he looked at the pink-haired girl standing defiantly in front of him. He let out a sigh full of regret.
"Looks like I'm going to have to buy a lot of milk powder in the future…"
"Huh?"
Sakura blinked, not quite understanding at first. Then, following Jiraiya's gaze downward to her flat chest, a frustrated vein popped on her forehead.
This guy… actually tried to tease me?
Sakura refused to believe Jiraiya didn't know she was the apprentice of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. After all, his intelligence network was top-notch.
Yet, this was their first meeting, and this was how he decided to behave.
Her fist clenched tightly.
"Pervert! Go die!"
With a fierce whoosh, her pink fist slammed toward Jiraiya without hesitation!
Jiraiya watched the small fist flying at him, a subtle gleam flickering in his usually mischievous eyes.
The moment he returned to Konoha, the first person he sought out was the Third Hokage. He had also taken the opportunity to learn about this little junior apprentice of his.
He naturally knew she had Tsunade's monstrous strength.
But even so, he had no intention of dodging the punch. He wanted to test just how well his little sister-in-arms had mastered that power…
And actually, that was the real reason he was here today.
As for peeping?
Ahem…
A novelist gathering inspiration for their work can never be called a peeping Tom.
This was called research!
Jiraiya reached out his palm to meet Sakura's fist head-on…
Though Sakura had control over monstrous strength, she was still only twelve years old. According to his intel, she had held her own against Orochimaru, but to Jiraiya, Orochimaru was merely testing her, not truly fighting seriously.
After all, what harm could a twelve-year-old girl do?
Now, let this senior brother test your strength.
My dear little sister, now you'll learn what it means to be strong, what it means to be invincible, what it means to...
Bang!
The tall figure suddenly blurred into a dark shadow and was thrown flying backward, landing clumsily into the nearby river with a huge splash.
Holy crap, this is a twelve-year-old?!
Are you kidding me?!
Old man, when you taught me and Tsunade, were you holding back?!
This pink-haired girl is basically a mini Tsunade!
Feeling the incredible force of that punch, which resembled Tsunade's own strength, Jiraiya immediately questioned his entire existence.
"Heh, you senior brother aren't much better."
"You couldn't even take a punch from me. You're far behind Orochimaru."
Sakura crossed her arms, standing on the stone railing of the small river bridge, looking down at the drenched Jiraiya like a queen. Her delicate pink eyebrows lifted in a playful smirk.
Of course, she hadn't gone all out. In a month, she still expected him to have her back in a fight. What if she used her full power like Tsunade and seriously injured him?
"Ribbit~"
Jiraiya stood up from the water, spitting out a frog that had jumped into his mouth without him noticing. His deadpan eyes stared at the spirited pink-haired girl in front of him.
Well then, she recognized me as well.
Looks like that punch was wasted...
But her comparing me to Orochimaru?
When it came to running away, I can't keep up with him—otherwise, I wouldn't have spent all these years chasing Tsunade in vain.
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End of Chapter 68
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