Naruto didn't care what Chiyo thought. Right now, he was sitting on the edge of the Fourth Hokage's face on Hokage Rock, feeling the wind and listlessly gazing at Konoha. His expression was quite melancholic.
Why? Because he, Naruto Uzumaki, had nowhere to go!
Just moments ago, he had been eager to see Sasuke and Sakura, only to find them intensely absorbed in a math study session together. Seeing this, Naruto didn't want to disturb them, so he simply watched from a distance and left. He'd save the get-together for later that night.
With the hope of a Team 7 reunion dashed, Naruto then thought about grabbing a bite to eat with Choji and Shikamaru, but he had just run into them leaving for a mission. Naruto had initially considered joining them, since he had nothing to do in the village. He could just hang out and chat with them. He could even use the Flying Raijin Jutsu to return whenever he wanted, so what was there to be afraid of? But then he remembered Ino was also on Team 10, and Naruto immediately abandoned the idea.
What about Team 8? There wasn't a trace of their chakra in the village, so they were likely on a mission just like Team 10.
"What should I do?" Naruto muttered, looking at the uneven houses below.
"Maybe I'll go chat with Kakashi-sensei?"
"Where is Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto instantly sensed his location. Kakashi-sensei seemed to be by the river, and next to him was a familiar chakra signature. Was it Hana?
Oh? Kakashi is on a date with Hana? Naruto's eyes lit up. He felt like he was about to get some good gossip.
Suddenly, Naruto's expression changed slightly, and his attention was drawn to a spot behind him.
Swoosh!
A tall figure appeared in the area he was watching. He had silver hair and a bit of makeup on his face.
"Naruto! I've been looking for you for ages. Where have you been these past two days? I haven't seen you in the village!" Jiraiya's unique voice called out from behind him, filled with confusion.
"Oh, it's the Pervy—cough, cough—it's Jiraiya-sensei." Remembering the down payment Jiraiya had made for him, Naruto quickly changed his words.
He turned around with a smile, seeing Jiraiya's face turn into a confused mess at the word "pervy."
"I was out on a little vacation for the past couple of days, so I wasn't in the village," Naruto explained with a laugh.
"A vacation?"
Jiraiya was quite surprised. Thinking about the village's ugly side, he decided to avoid the topic altogether.
"Get ready. We're going on a trip."
"A trip?"
This piqued Naruto's interest. He was bored out of his mind. "Where are we going, Jiraiya-sensei?"
"To meet a beautiful woman!"
A beautiful woman? Naruto blinked. There was a perk like that? He glanced at Jiraiya up and down, muttering to himself. His clothes were the same as usual, but the scent... this old man was wearing cologne?
Tsk, tsk... And a beautiful woman? Could he be going to meet an old flame? But then Naruto thought about it again. Why would he bring him along to meet an old flame? To be a third wheel?
With that thought, Naruto tentatively asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, can I not go?"
"No!" Jiraiya flatly refused. Finding and bringing back Tsunade was Jiraiya's mission. He decided to bring Naruto along because Naruto reminded him so much of someone—Nawaki. Although Nawaki had passed away, he was a very important person to Tsunade. Jiraiya felt that bringing Naruto along would increase his chances of success.
As for whether Naruto, also a candidate for Hokage, would try to stop Tsunade from becoming Hokage? He probably wouldn't, right?
Thinking of this, a cold sweat ran down Jiraiya's forehead for some reason. He hoped his intuition was right.
"Alright then." Naruto had no choice but to agree.
That was what he showed on the surface, but inwardly, he was overjoyed. The timing, the mission, and a beautiful woman? Naruto had a pretty good idea of who they were going to look for. He had to go on this mission! If... hehehe, wouldn't that make him Hokage? Heh heh, Naruto schemed to himself. Since Jiraiya is so insistent, I guess I have no choice but to go.
He looked himself over. All of his belongings were on him, so he was ready to leave immediately.
Wait.
He suddenly remembered something. He touched a spot on his body, and a seal slowly unraveled. It was a sealing jutsu that Naruto had developed himself. With this seal, the Nine-Tails inside him was completely unable to sense anything happening outside. He had a similar seal on each of his clones, and he would use it on his real body when it was inconvenient. Although Kurama spent most of his time playing games in the training space, it was better to be safe than sorry. If he were to see something he shouldn't, would it be better to recycle him? Or to recycle him?
With a casual touch to his body, even Jiraiya, who was right in front of him, didn't notice a thing. Naruto then looked up at Jiraiya with a bright smile. "Sage-sensei, let's go!"
Sage-sensei?
Jiraiya's face beamed with a satisfied expression. He was completely ecstatic. If some random person said it, Jiraiya wouldn't care, but who was this kid in front of him? This was Naruto Uzumaki! His own disciple! He was a man—a boy—with extraordinary power, a man who was destined to save the world!
"Naruto, I like that name. You should always call me that!"
"Okay, Sage-sensei!" Naruto replied without hesitation.
Who was he? In his past life, he was the group leader of a praise group. When it came to compliments, he was in no way inferior to his younger brother, Konohamaru. He could give plenty of emotional support!
Since you've already paid the down payment for me, I'll let you be happy for a day or three!
Jiraiya was already prepared, while Naruto went home and pretended to pack a small, almost empty bag before heading out. A few moments later, the two met at the village gate and left the village together.
"Sage-sensei, who exactly are we looking for?" Naruto asked casually on the road, trying to get some information.
Jiraiya glanced at the "shorty" Naruto, saw his curious expression, and after a moment of thought, said, "There's no harm in telling you; you'd find out eventually." After a pause, he continued, "This beautiful woman is actually my teammate and one of the three Sannin, the flower of the Three Sannin—Tsunade!"
I knew it! Naruto thought to himself.
Thinking of his relationship with Tsunade, Naruto's acting skills went into overdrive. His face fell. "Pervy Sage, you're not bringing her back to be the Hokage, are you?"
"Cough, cough."
Jiraiya choked and coughed a few times, thinking that what he was doing was indeed a little underhanded. He continued walking, his confused eyes glancing at Naruto from the corner of his eye. Seeing no abnormality in Naruto's expression, he let out a sigh of relief.
"I have no choice, Naruto. The village gave me this mission, and I'm in a difficult position too," Jiraiya said, offering a rare flimsy excuse to his "adorable" student.
"Yeah, you really have no choice, which is why you even put on cologne!"
"Uh..."
Naruto, being the emotionally intelligent person he was, naturally didn't want to embarrass Jiraiya, especially since he had other motives.
"Whatever," Naruto sighed. "I'm already here anyway."
He changed the subject. "Speaking of which, Pervy Sage, do you know where Grandma Tsunade is?"
He's back to Pervy Sage again? Jiraiya muttered to himself, but he still replied, "I'm not sure, but I have a general idea."
Jiraiya knew finding Tsunade wasn't hard at all. Where was it bustling? Where were the most casinos? Tsunade was definitely there! He was never wrong!
Naruto glanced at him. That confident expression, he had no idea where he got the confidence from. However, while Jiraiya didn't know where Tsunade was, Naruto knew very well. Tsunade, that big sucker, had just lost 200,000 Ryo to his clone, Gambling God Zhang San. At this moment, she should be on the run from her creditors. The direction she was heading... she would likely appear in Tanzaku Town soon.
Even though he knew her location, Naruto couldn't just tell Jiraiya directly. He had to take the slow route.
Still, one thing struck Naruto as very odd. According to Zhang San's observations, Tsunade would often lose huge amounts of money, completely emptying her pockets. Yet, she would show up at the casino again the next day. Where did she get all that money?
Was this the true worth of the ninja world's number one medical ninja? Could it be that she had patients everywhere she went?