The winner of the Children's Division had been decided. First place went to Konohagakure's Uzumaki Naruto. Second place—Sunagakure's Gaara. As for third place…
Also from Sunagakure.
In the end, Black Ant managed to break free from Kizuna's control, but Kizuna… after using Black Ant to devour a whole slew of 4WD cars—leaving behind a field of crying children—was officially ruined.
As for the Regular Civilian Division, the winner was once again someone from the Land of Fire—a noble.
Well, it was the civilian division. There weren't any fancy tricks or ninja techniques, so it mostly came down to one thing: money. And unsurprisingly, as the current superpower of the shinobi world, the Land of Fire's nobles had plenty of that.
Both first-place winners came from the Land of Fire. So naturally, the people from that region, along with Konoha's shinobi, were overjoyed.
They didn't hold back on mocking the other nations and shinobi villages either.
By now, it was already past 5 PM.
Time for a break. In a little while, Kaguya was expected to appear as well.
After two major rounds of competition, everyone was getting hungry. It was the perfect chance for them to go out, grab food, and—of course—contribute to the economic development of Sunagakure.
All the village shops had opened early. The streets were packed with food stalls and local specialties.
To prepare for the event, Rasa had even ordered the supply department to stockpile food in advance.
So now, whether it swam in the sea, ran on land, or flew in the sky, it was on the menu. They'd even managed to create soda—despite it not officially existing yet in this era.
Cola and carbonated drinks wouldn't become mainstream until the Boruto era. Right now, the most popular beverage in the ninja world was still red bean soup. Most shinobi seemed to enjoy it. But who knew? Maybe vending machines would pop up soon too.
After all, it was already Year 52 of the Hidden Leaf calendar—a time of extremely weird technological development.
The award ceremony would be held after the Ninja Division finished their race. Because it was the ninja track, it was longer and far more complex than the others. To make it more fun—and more difficult—they had even set up traps at every stage for the participating ninja to handle.
This round was going to be intense.
It was a shame that Uchiha Sasuke hadn't made it into the top three. Otherwise, the award ceremony would've featured…
Uzumaki Naruto.
Uchiha Sasuke.
And Otsutsuki Kaguya.
What an emotional moment that would've been~
During the break, people started trickling out of the stadium—some to use the restroom, others to grab food or drinks, pick up snacks, or just wander around.
Even during the race, vendors had been walking through the aisles pushing carts and shouting about cream popcorn, candied sunflower seeds, grilled sausages, and cola. Of all the snacks, popcorn was a huge hit. Word was that more than half of the village's corn reserves—originally stored for winter—had already been used up to make it. At this rate, they'd probably sell out completely by the end of the competition.
Which meant… after the event, Rasa would need to sit down with President Danzo to talk about winter grain procurement again.
But at that moment—
"Why are you, of all people, running to me instead of chasing after Tsunade?" Rasa frowned at the man standing across from him—Jiraiya, who looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Rasa glanced at the food laid out on the table. "What? You here for a free meal?"
Thanks to a lucky draw, most of what they'd received was seasoning. So Sunagakure had plenty of spices and flavor enhancers these days. Not only were they selling some to restaurants and snack vendors, but it also meant the food around the village had gotten really good.
And selling even a portion of that seasoning helped replenish Rasa's treasury—at least a little. In fact, they'd earned quite a bit.
After all, rare goods like that shouldn't be sold at cost price, right?
The only regret was that Elder Ebizō's reseasrch lab still hadn't managed to deciphered the recipes they had exchanged from the system.
"Doesn't make sense," Rasa muttered. "This kind of food's available at the big hotels too. Shouldn't you be with your old flame, rekindling something? Why come here?"
"Uh… I just wanted to check how much money I still have in my account," Jiraiya scratched his head sheepishly. "Also, Tsunade said she was busy prepping for the evening match and told me not to bother her."
"Ah, that explains it."
Rasa nodded in realization. No wonder the poor sap had come to eat with the Kazekage. Turns out his dream girl kicked him to the curb.
"As for your account…"
Rasa frowned slightly, then grinned with a schadenfreude-laced smile.
"This quarter? Yeah, you're probably not getting paid."
"Thought so." Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. "It's only been one damn day…"
He trailed off, eyes growing wistful.
"Tsunade used to be really generous, you know. Back then…"
"Stop right there. Spare me the heartwarming tale of your tragic bond." Rasa cut him off without hesitation, munching on his food as he spoke. "Just get to the point."
"Well… if Tsunade keeps charging things to my name—"
"What, you don't wanna spend money on the woman you love now?" Rasa looked at him with disdain. "Seriously? Complaining over a little cash?"
"It's not just a little…" Jiraiya looked away awkwardly, his voice trailing into a mumble. "She bet hundred million on one match…"
And that was just one bet. Who the hell could afford that?
"So?" Rasa asked casually between bites. "You planning to ban her from using your name?"
He gave Jiraiya a pitying look.
"Think about it—what matters more? Your money or your life?"
She'd definitely beat him senseless if he refused.
And besides—refusing to pay for her? That was probably a bigger offense than the time he peeped on her in the bath.
Rasa sighed theatrically.
"Don't be that guy who dies with a full wallet."
"..."
You smug bastard, Jiraiya thought silently.
He stared at Rasa in silence, then gave a weary sigh. "That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?"
"I'm saying… if I run out of money and Tsunade still wants to charge things, what will Sunagakure do?"
"No problem. We'll just keep billing it to your name. Deduct from future quarters."
"But what if I can't earn money fast enough to cover her spending?!" Jiraiya practically growled. "She already burned through the entire Senju clan's savings!"
"I know," Rasa said, nodding solemnly.
After all, most of the profits had gone to the gold diggers.
"So your only option is to work harder. Sell more. The more you promote, the more you earn."
"..."
Shut. Up.
Jiraiya was speechless. But at least he'd gotten what he came for. He felt relieved, and in a firm tone added:
"Don't tell Tsunade."
"Oh~" Rasa smirked. "You drink, you smoke, you hit the red-light district… but you're still a good man."
Working his ass off just so Tsunade could blow all his money—and not even telling her?
Rasa laughed and said nothing more as he watched Jiraiya finally start wolfing down food.
"Eat up. The next race is about to begin. Oh, right—" Rasa's expression turned serious, as if remembering something important.
"You're aware of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, right?"
"???"
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed cautiously as he looked at Rasa.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Relax. I'm not planning anything." Rasa waved a hand, then turned his back and clasped his hands behind him like a wise sage, sighing softly.
"I'm just giving you a little advice… If you can train him, do it now. Because this world…"
He paused, then exhaled again, his voice tinged with melancholy.
"…has already changed."
Kaguya Otsutsuki… is not the same Kaguya she once was.