The next day, on the streets of Konoha Village.
"Tianyuan, this is good. Buy me some." Anko quickly said.
"Anko, don't you also have income from missions?" Tianyuan looked at Anko and asked.
"My money is too little, how can it compare to yours?" Anko quickly replied.
Alright, Tianyuan indeed had some money. Not much of it came from missions; most of it was obtained from the ninja Tianyuan had killed.
Some of it was from selling ninja tools, and some was naturally used by Tianyuan himself.
"My gosh, Anko, you're trying to fleece a rich guy, and I'm not even a rich guy," Tianyuan complained.
"It's fine. If you don't have money, just ask me," Anko generously stated.
"Uh." Tianyuan glanced at Anko, shook his head, and decided against it.
"Big Brother Tianyuan, I want to eat this." The cute little loli with blue hair, Uzuki Yugao, said cutely.
"Oh, okay, I'll buy it for you." Tianyuan said.
"Tianyuan, you're playing favorites," Anko, from the side, grumbled.
"Who told you you're already a ninja? Yugao is still studying at the Ninja Academy, isn't she?" Tianyuan glanced at Anko.
"Alright, then we'll go eat barbecue later." Anko thought for a moment. It did make some sense, so she nodded.
Hokage's office.
Jiraiya, with a cigarette in his mouth, took a puff. "Hiruzen-sensei, what do you need me for?"
This scene made Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips twitch. "Jiraiya, when did you get addicted to smoking?"
"This is very good to smoke, much better than our crude stuff," Jiraiya said.
"Uh." Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes twitched. "Jiraiya, give me one."
"Sure." Jiraiya directly tossed a pack of cigarettes to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hm." Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't act like Jiraiya and the others earlier. He lit the cigarette with a match and took a puff. "This tobacco indeed tastes very good."
The two of them started smoking amidst the curling smoke.
A moment later, Hiruzen Sarutobi came back to his senses. He still had something to say.
"Let's talk business, Jiraiya. How's the investigation into the Kazekage of the Land of Wind going?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.
"The specific reason is unclear. Hidden Sand Village doesn't seem to be deliberately setting up a genjutsu. Other ninja villages should have also conducted investigations," Jiraiya said.
"Is that so? The ninja world is in troubled times now. I heard that not long ago, Kumogakure's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was injured," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"There was such a thing? I haven't heard about this." Jiraiya was startled, then shook his head.
"How's Tsunade doing?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.
"Still the same. She might be better recently," Jiraiya thought for a moment and said.
"Better?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was surprised for a moment.
"Probably because of Tianyuan," Jiraiya said directly.
"Tianyuan." Hiruzen Sarutobi's cigarette paused. "How is he doing with Orochimaru right now?"
"Very well," Jiraiya chuckled.
"It seems Tianyuan will probably participate in the upcoming Chunin Exams," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of the Chunin Exams starting soon.
"Perhaps." Then Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed the ninja world situation for a bit, and then Jiraiya left the Hokage's office.
"That Jiraiya, where did you get that cigarette?" Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but ask just as Jiraiya was about to leave.
"Got it from Tianyuan. If you need some, you can ask him. See ya, Hiruzen-sensei." Jiraiya left the room.
"From Tianyuan." Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated for a moment. How did he get those cigarettes?
Jiraiya hadn't gone far from the Hokage's office when a flustered figure crashed into him.
The figure stumbled back a few steps and landed on his bottom.
Jiraiya looked closely and smiled, "Asuma, it's you."
This person was Hiruzen Sarutobi's son, Sarutobi Asuma. At this moment, Asuma was still a youth, only twelve years old.
However, Asuma in his youth was quite rebellious.
"Jiraiya-sensei," Sarutobi Asuma said to Jiraiya.
"Haha, looking for your father again?" Jiraiya chuckled, then suddenly pulled out a Zhonghua soft pack cigarette from his pocket. "Here, Asuma, this is good stuff."
"See ya," Jiraiya said with a smile, and left.
"This is a cigarette." Asuma pulled one out, looking at it carefully. "Should I try one?"
...
In the evening, at a barbecue restaurant in Konoha Village.
"I'm full, finally full." Anko patted her stomach, her face filled with satisfaction.
"I say, Anko, is your stomach a bottomless pit? You stuffed so much stuff in there," Tianyuan said, speechless.
"What bottomless pit? I just have a good appetite. I'm still growing, you know?" Anko quickly retorted.
"Alright, I know," Tianyuan said. "Now, we'll send you two back."
"Thank you, Big Brother Tianyuan," Uzuki Yugao quickly said.
"I don't need you to send me," Anko said.
"It's fine, just think of it as digesting," Tianyuan chuckled.
"That's what you said," Anko responded haughtily.
Immediately, Tianyuan sent Anko and Uzuki Yugao back to their respective homes.
"Hm." Tianyuan showed an unexpected expression. "Found a high-definition video signal, and the location of this signal seems a bit familiar from before."
In the past, good video signals would occasionally refresh in Konoha, but Tianyuan's strength wasn't enough, so Tianyuan couldn't enter those dangerous places.
But Konoha itself wasn't large, so Tianyuan could still remember the few slightly more difficult places.
"Let's go take a look and find out." Tianyuan moved.
A moment later, in a building on the outskirts of Konoha Village.
Tianyuan looked at it, his eyes slightly flickered. "Indeed, it's here. One of Root's headquarters, Konoha Village's hidden power."
Tianyuan had discovered signals here before, but his strength was too low, so he could only give up.
But now!
A light flashed in Tianyuan's eyes.
Just wait until night.
It wasn't time yet.
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