"Tsunade-sama, why did you hit Jiraiya-sama? It didn't seem like he did anything offensive…"
"Because I didn't like his face. Got a problem with that?"
Tsunade waved it off casually, as if she'd just stepped on some insignificant ant.
"He's an old man drooling over a kiddie ride like that. If I don't beat him, who will?"
What a disgrace to the name of the Legendary Sannin.
Her face shifted into a serious expression, brows furrowing.
"Looks like the biggest threat to my 100-million-ryō prize… is probably that damn Jiraiya. I should've hit him harder earlier—hard enough to keep him in bed and out of the race."
"..."
Watching her master seemingly go off the rails, Shizune could only sigh and shake her head, giving up on the topic. Then she glanced around the area.
"Can't believe Sunagakure's gotten this prosperous."
"Right?!" Tsunade nodded with a bit of surprise. "Didn't expect the place to change this much. Now I believe they really might have a hundred million to give away."
…Tsunade-sama's seriously lost it…
Even the old Sunagakure could probably fork out a hundred million.
But…
"You only get the hundred million if you come in first," Shizune muttered. "There are so many participants. It's going to be really hard to win, Tsunade-sama…"
"I know that. But I believe my Byakugo is the strongest," Tsunade said confidently. "Relax. If I can't win first place, I'll just borrow the money from Jiraiya. As for now…"
She sniffed the air.
"Mmm, something smells good."
She looked toward a steaming food stall not far away, aroma wafting in the breeze.
"Golden Egg Fried Rice? Ugh, I'm starving."
Without even glancing back at Shizune or Tonton, she headed straight toward the stall.
"Let's eat something first."
"Wait—Tsunade-sama! We don't have much money left!" Shizune panicked, quickly chasing after her.
"Why don't we head back to the hotel first? The food there's free. No need to waste money!"
But no matter how much she pleaded, Tsunade just waved her off, repeating, "It's fine, it's fine."
In the end…
Shizune let out a long sigh, eyes drifting down to the little pig in her arms.
"Tonton…"
"Fu-yu~?"
...
"I'm back."
"Took you long enough!"
Little Naruto crossed his arms and huffed at Kakashi as he stepped into the room.
"You told me to wait here, then you went off and rode the kiddie ride yourself. That's just mean!"
"..."
Kakashi blinked his usual dead-fish eyes, said nothing, and swept a glance around the room.
"You already ate?"
"Yeah, the hotel staff brought food." Naruto puffed up his cheeks. "I waited for you to come back and then—"
Before he could finish, Kakashi shoved a bento box into his arms.
Naruto blinked, sniffed, and his eyes lit up.
"What is this? It smells amazing!"
"Golden Egg Fried Rice."
Kakashi waved his hand nonchalantly, then flopped down onto his bed.
He had intentionally booked the same room as Naruto—just in case anything unexpected happened. Of course, they weren't sharing a bed.
This "Sail Hotel" was pretty well-furnished, with spacious rooms and tasteful decor. It didn't feel cramped at all.
As he stared up at the bright ceiling, Kakashi thought about seeing Jiraiya and Tsunade earlier. He hadn't expected both of them to show up in Sunagakure.
As for the reason he'd gone out earlier—it wasn't to secretly ride kiddie rides. He was gathering intel, trying to understand just what was going on in this rapidly changing village.
After all, Sunagakure's transformation was too drastic to be normal. Especially when they were cooperating with Danzō and the rumors circulating about their ninja… Apparently, no missions had been issued for weeks.
And then there was that talking tanuki the little redhead kid was carrying last night…
A summoning beast, maybe?
For some reason, it gave off a very disturbing aura.
As Kakashi crossed one leg over the other and furrowed his brows in thought, he muttered, "Since both Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama are here, I should find time to ask Jiraiya if he has any intel."
With Jiraiya, Tsunade, and even Danzō in Sunagakure, Kakashi didn't think the village would dare do anything to Konoha's shinobi.
The only real concern was making sure the Nine-Tails didn't fall into someone else's hands.
"This is such a pain…"
Just then—
Knock knock!
A quick knock came at the door.
Kakashi sighed and got up. He already knew who it was.
He opened the door, resigned.
"I need rest."
"Aww, already?" Naruto pouted. "I was just about to take my Naruto Racer up to the rooftop track!"
His face lit up with excitement.
"They say the rooftop track is huge! Bigger than the one at the specialty shop—even bigger than the one in Konoha! And I just upgraded the Naruto Racer yesterday. I have to test the new speed!"
"A huge rooftop track?" Kakashi looked at the beaming Naruto, yawned, and said, "How about tomorrow morning?"
After a day of wandering—uh, investigating—he really was tired.
"Too tired already?"
Naruto squinted at him suspiciously, clearly unimpressed.
"Whatever, I'll go on my own."
"..."
Kakashi was silent for a moment.
"…Wait. I'll come with you."
As if he'd let Naruto run around on his own.
He turned, grabbing his mini 4WD off the desk—one shaped like an Anbu with a mask and all.
"Oh, right—where's Guy?"
"You mean Guy-sensei?" Naruto frowned and shook his head. "Not sure. Probably training upstairs or something."
Then he hurriedly added:
"Come on, let's go, let's go! What if the track fills up?"
"Don't be ridiculous…"
Kakashi sighed, shoved Naruto aside, pulled on his shoes, and opened the door.
"A true shinobi—a true racer—must remain calm no matter what. No panicking. Clear your mind and always think through every possib—"
Before he could finish, he closed the door behind him and turned—
Only to freeze on the spot.
Just two doors down, standing at the threshold of his own room, was a silver-haired, spiky-headed man.
"…Jiraiya-sama. And…"
To Jiraiya's left, standing outside another room—
"…Tsunade-sama?"
Why the hell are they all staying here?!