Chapter 270: Tsunade and Jiraiya
A few days after Sakura and Naruto were sent back for treatment.
Konoha.
In the evening, just as the lights were being lit.
The streets were bustling with people, and Konoha was at its liveliest.
In a slightly secluded corner, on the rooftop of a certain building.
A burly man with long white hair was holding a wine cup, drinking lightly, all by himself.
"Not going, Jiraiya? It's the Village Founding Festival today."
A blonde woman walked over, also holding a wine cup in her hand. She glanced at him and spoke.
The two gently clinked their cups.
"I'll skip it, Tsunade," Jiraiya said with a laugh. He gazed at the bright lights in the distance and took a small sip. "That's for the young people. I'm already old!"
"That doesn't sound like you, Jiraiya. There are a lot of young and beautiful girls at the festival," she said, leaning closer to the man, teasing him, and glancing at his cup.
"Drink up," Tsunade said, shaking her head and pointing at the half-full cup in his hand. As she spoke, she drained her own cup first.
Jiraiya gave a fawning smile. "You still like to drink like this!" He raised his head and similarly drained his cup.
Tsunade placed her cup on the edge of the rooftop. Jiraiya picked up a bottle of wine from his feet and refilled both their empty cups. He handed Tsunade's cup to her. At this moment, Tsunade was leaning against the edge of the rooftop, imitating his earlier pose. That full, almost overflowing, plump white flesh was pressed tightly against the corner of the wall, changing shape like a water ball.
Tsunade saw his hand pause, and her almond-shaped eyes swept over, meeting the man's staring gaze.
His old habits are acting up again.
She "tutted," snatched the wine cup, and, a little exasperated, turned her head to look into the distance, her posture unchanged.
Jiraiya gave a sheepish laugh, picked up his wine cup, took a sip of sake, and also followed her gaze. Over there was the place where the festival was being held. The lights had gradually lit up.
"Hey," the blonde woman spoke. Her eyes, as soft and charming as water, looked into the distance. The lights, with their ambiguous red glow, reflected on her still-fair face.
The white-haired man looked over. He didn't know if it was the color of the lanterns or the effect of the alcohol rising, but the woman's delicate cheeks were slightly flushed. Her crimson lips parted slightly, and he heard her say softly, "We're both getting old."
When the woman said this, she was looking into the distance, so he couldn't see her eyes.
Not far away, the sound of people was bustling, and the voices of tourists came in waves. Through the layers of leaves and branches, pairs of lovers in gorgeous costumes could be vaguely seen, walking hand in hand.
Jiraiya burst out laughing. "Haha, you also feel that you're old? But you still look pretty young, unlike me, who's already got a face full of worldly cares!"
"You idiot..." the woman said, her voice rarely soft. As she spoke, she turned her head again and clinked glasses with Jiraiya for the second time.
The sake was bitter and hard to swallow. Tsunade suddenly had this feeling.
She frowned and drained it in one gulp. A few drops of the clear liquid spilled, dripping onto the open collar of her chest, onto her jade-like skin, seeping into the fibers, leaving translucent spots on her clothes. It trickled past her chest, chilling her heart.
She was silent for a while. Tsunade closed her eyes.
The small rooftop was silent.
When she spoke again, her voice had regained the majesty of the Hokage.
"Let's talk business," Tsunade said, opening her eyes. The tenderness in them had been replaced by the strength and fortitude of the Hokage. "About Naruto's injuries."
Jiraiya put down his empty wine cup, and the unnecessary expression on his face disappeared.
He said seriously, "How is he?"
"Not very optimistic," Tsunade said, shaking her head with a sigh. "It was wise of you to restrict him from practicing this move. Otherwise, at this time, I'd be trying to figure out how to make him a prosthetic limb."
"Is it that serious?"
Jiraiya's brows furrowed tightly. An image flashed in his mind. It was the first time Naruto had completed the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken. The wound on his hand had taken a long time to heal.
"This ninjutsu, it should be using the wind nature transformation to form countless small blades to attack the enemy. But the problem is, if it's not controlled well, it will attack oneself..."
"It's a problem of chakra control. Naruto's technique is still a bit too crude," Tsunade said.
She handed her cup over, watching as the man quietly refilled it for her. The gaze in her eyes softened for an instant.
"Here," Jiraiya said, handing the cup over. When he looked at Tsunade, her eyes had already returned to their previous firmness.
"If he had Sakura's control, there would be absolutely no problem. More practice could also solve this problem, but the issue is, before he has completely mastered this jutsu, his hand will probably be crippled..." Tsunade said, taking the cup and continuing.
"Or perhaps later, when he's two or three years older and his body's endurance is stronger, there might be a turn for the better."
She glanced at the white-haired man, who looked a little down, and then smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry. There will always be a way. He will sooner or later grow into a man who surpasses the Fourth. At this age, Minato wasn't as strong as Naruto!"
"That's true."
Jiraiya smiled, somewhat relieved.
"Apart from speed, skill, and intelligence, Naruto has surpassed his father in all aspects. It's a pity he didn't inherit Minato's talent for space-time ninjutsu."
He poured himself another cup of wine.
Holding up his cup, he said, "But your disciple, her Body Flicker jutsu is especially formidable... Haha, she actually took out a member of the Akatsuki."
"A toast to Haruno Sakura," he said, and the two clinked glasses again.
After a few jokes, Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "What's the reaction from the Akatsuki's side?"
"Not much intelligence for now," Tsunade also put away her smile and said seriously. "It seems they have no intention of avenging their comrade. On the contrary, there are signs that they are lying dormant."
Jiraiya swirled the empty wine cup, his eyes staring into the empty space, lost in thought.
After a while, he finally said, "An organization formed by rogue-nin, there isn't much deep affection between the members. It's understandable that the Akatsuki has no intention of avenging Deidara. But at the very least, they should have counterattacked symbolically. The fact that they have a tendency to lie dormant... can only mean that what they're after is huge, that they have some other conspiracy!"
Tsunade's expression was also one of helplessness. "There's nothing we can do. Konoha's strength is currently insufficient. We don't dare to take the initiative to attack. We can only react as things come."
Jiraiya also had no solution to this problem.
The great Konoha was not something that just the two of them, as Kage-level ninja, could support.
But he quickly smiled. "Don't worry. The new generation of ninja will grow up soon. I see that Sakura is already the next 'Golden Flash'!"
"Don't be fooled by her," Tsunade said with a reserved laugh. "Sakura doesn't have much talent for the Body Flicker. She's relying on her other ninjutsu to prop up her tactical system."
"Tsunade, don't be so modest! For someone to reach this level of strength at the age of fourteen, they are few and far between in the entire history of the ninja world! Haruno Sakura is truly a genius. Hmph, hmph, I wonder how many people in the village have misjudged her."
Tsunade shook her head, swaying it. She had drunk these few cups a little too quickly and was feeling a little tipsy.
"Naruto is not bad either!" she said, patting Jiraiya's arm. She finished her fourth cup and said again, "His potential is even greater. As for Sakura... to tell you the truth! I was also the one who misjudged. When I took her in as my disciple, I never thought that she would grow to this extent in a year. She's not the kind of person who can be measured by common sense! Of course, of the three in Team 7, Naruto isn't either, and Sasuke... he has the Sharingan. It's hard to say where his ceiling is."
"Sasuke..." Speaking of which, Jiraiya pondered for a moment. "How is Sasuke now?"
Speaking of this topic, he was also a little hesitant.
The matter of the Uchiha was simply too complicated and too sensitive.
Tsunade watched him pour the wine. This was already the fifth cup. The two of them were a little silent. It was the kind of silence where they didn't know how to start.
The night had gradually enveloped the land. Konoha was brightly lit. The early summer evening breeze was slightly cool, blowing gently, invigorating the heart and lungs.
Tsunade shook her head. Her golden hair danced in the cool breeze, and her drunkenness instantly cleared a lot.
"He's developing in a good direction!" she said, taking a small sip. "But I really don't know how to tell him that the Uchiha massacre was not as simple as Itachi killing his entire clan."
"With that kid's personality, he might not be able to accept it right away, and then he might defect from the village, or have some other over-the-top reaction."
"It's tricky, especially tricky," Tsunade said, slowly finishing the remaining wine in her cup and sighing. She suddenly said with a laugh, "Jiraiya, what do you think? If I just cover up this matter and keep it a secret, and then hand it over to the next Hokage to deal with?"
After she had said the joke, she herself also laughed.
This style was quite similar to Haruno Sakura's. Tsunade hadn't realized that in many ways, she had also been imperceptibly influenced by her disciple—for example, in the past, she probably wouldn't have appeared here, drinking with Jiraiya.
"We can't hide it for a lifetime. We can only slowly find a way, slowly find an opportunity," Tsunade said. "Sasuke is now training with Kakashi and is developing in the direction of Lightning Style. He's growing very fast. I just don't know if he'll become the next Raikage, or the next White Fang!"
"As long as it's not the next Orochimaru, it's fine," Jiraiya was also helpless.
His style and Sasuke's were incompatible. He was at a loss.
"The future is too far away," Jiraiya said, shaking the wine bottle. After pouring this round, there seemed to be not much wine left. "At least for now, Team 7 can still be like the Sannin of the past. The new generation of Sannin is still as close as can be..."
"Hmph," Tsunade let out a meaningless nasal sound.
It was hard to say what she wanted to say.
"A toast to the new generation of Sannin!" She randomly thought of a toast and drained her cup with Jiraiya.
When she poured again, there was no more wine. Jiraiya fumbled in his pocket, and it was empty—he had forgotten to bring an extra bottle.
"You came out to drink but didn't bring any wine!" Tsunade said with a laugh. She patted Jiraiya's shoulder heroically. "Drink mine!"
The blonde beauty fumbled in her cleavage and took out a cylindrical object. Jiraiya was just wondering, when Tsunade, with a poof, made a dozen bottles of wine appear on the ground.
That cylinder was actually a micro-scroll disguised as a lipstick!
—The technical support for the practical application of the micro-scroll was provided by a certain pink-haired girl.
Jiraiya stared at Tsunade with a straight gaze.
"Ahem, Shizune can be very strict sometimes..." Tsunade explained, somewhat embarrassed. After becoming the Hokage, her life had become much fuller, and it had been a long time since she had had a good drink...
"Less nonsense, are you drinking or not!" the woman said, her almond eyes wide.
Jiraiya just held out his cup.
"Let's drink until we're drunk!"
The drinking party of the old man and the old woman continued late into the night.
As for whether anything the audience would love to see happened afterwards, sorry, probably not...
At the same time.
While the old generation of Sannin was drinking to their hearts' content, the new generation of Sannin they were talking about, after a year, was having their first reunion on the streets of Konoha.
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