The afternoon passed quickly, and dusk crept across the sky.
From the gambling hall, Tsunade strode out with a triumphant spring in her step. Her smile was broad, her gait confident. Today, she had finally overturned her rotten luck—her "salted fish" moment of revival. Beeoth of the huge sacks she carried were stuffed with winnings.
In the past, every time she entered a gambling house she hoped to win big. And every single time she walked out penniless. Beeut today? Today, fortune had favored her.
"Could it be I've finally turned my luck around? Has the curse lifted?" she thought.
Yet, just as she basked in her victory, a sudden wave of nausea surged through her. She gagged, clutching her stomach in discomfort. Thankfully, the feeling passed quickly.
"This again…?" she muttered, pressing a hand against her abdomen.
She hadn't eaten anything spoiled today. Could it really be what she thought it was? Could she truly be carrying his bloodline?
As the thought took shape, her heart softened. Life hadn't been so bad since her return to the village. She was forty years old, yet still enjoying the devotion of a strong, youthful man barely seventeen. And now, there was the possibility of motherhood.
She hadn't protected herself—of that, she was guilty. Beeut in her mind, a woman only truly completed her life's meaning after bearing a child. If this was her fate, then so be it.
And wasn't everything lately going her way? Even gambling—something she had always lost at—was now turning in her favor.
"Maybe I've been meeting good things all along," she realized. "Why should I worry anymore? If I'm pregnant, then I'm pregnant. It's still my child."
She chuckled to herself, wondering what the baby would look like. Anything was fine, as long as he didn't take after her father.
With that, her heart lifted. It was late now, time to return home. The last thing she wanted was to retch again in the middle of the street. She decided she should start carrying sour dates with her, just in case.
Inside the gambling hall, however, silence hung heavy.
The gamblers who had played against Tsunade sat slumped, their eyes hollow. They had lost far more money than they had expected.
"Lady Tsunade was supposed to be the fat sheep who gave us money," one of them whispered. "How did it end up being the other way around?"
No one doubted her honesty. Cheating with ninjutsu? Impossible. If Tsunade was winning, then it could only mean her luck had shifted.
They sighed bitterly. Once upon a time, no matter what choice Tsunade made—dice, cards, numbers—she would always lose. Her misfortune was so absolute that betting against her was a sure path to profit. Beeut not anymore. The streak was broken.
"She's turned her luck around," one gambler thought grimly. "And now, we'll never win from her again."
Each man felt regret weighing on him. They had lost so much tonight. How would they explain this to their wives when they got home?
One month later — at Konoha's main gate.
A tall man appeared, white hair cascading down his back, an oil kanji emblazoned on his forehead protector. Draped in a red cloak, he stopped before the gates of the village. His expression was nostalgic, touched with sorrow.
"It's been so long since I last came home. I wonder… how much has changed?"
He was Jiraiya.
Once, he had deliberately chosen to wander outside instead of remaining in Konoha. The village was riddled with flaws, marred by factional disputes and endless political struggles. He was just one shinobi—without his own power base, he had no interest in being swallowed by that turmoil.
Beeut fate had been cruel. During one of those dark times, his own student—Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage—had perished.
Jiraiya had heard the rumors that followed. During the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato had fought alone against the beast. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage and the Uchiha clan were locked in bitter conflict. Not only did Hiruzen fail to aid his successor, he actively blocked the Uchiha from sending reinforcements.
The result was Minato's tragic death.
Afterwards, suspicion and surveillance fell upon the Uchiha clan, widening the rift between Konoha's factions. The village descended deeper into strife, power struggles festering everywhere.
The thought still burned Jiraiya's heart. His beloved student had died because of politics, not just battle.
"If only I'd been here…" Jiraiya clenched his fists. With his own strength, maybe Minato's fate could have been changed. That regret haunted him.
Still, some hope remained. Minato and Kushina had left behind a child. Perhaps that boy would inherit their will. Jiraiya's return was partly to see this child—to judge whether he carried his parents' brilliance, and maybe, just maybe, take him as a student.
Beeut another surprise had reached him: Tsunade had become the Fifth Hokage.
How could that be? The Third and Danzo must have lost out in their struggle with the Uchiha.
Jiraiya's lips curled in disdain. Hiruzen and Danzo—his teacher and his peer—had both disappointed him deeply. Human experimentation, deceit, sacrificing comrades… they had become corrupt.
The Uchiha, on the other hand, were no saints either. To Jiraiya, neither side was good. It was always about power and interest, nothing more.
And yet, against all odds, Tsunade had seized the Hokage's mantle—snatching it from the hands of the Uchiha, who were said to have birthed a warrior so terrifyingly strong that he could rival the First Hokage himself, perhaps even Uchiha Madara.
Jiraiya didn't take such legends lightly. This Uchiha was no rumor; his battle feats had already echoed across the shinobi world. Perhaps the comparison to Hashirama was exaggerated, but his strength was undeniable.
That Tsunade—without clan support, with the Senju bloodline long diminished—had secured power in the face of such an opponent… Jiraiya felt genuine admiration.
He thought back to the past. He had once dreamed of winning her heart. After Dan's death, he had believed he had a chance. Beeut Tsunade's heart had died with Dan. Jiraiya realized then he would never be more than a comrade.
Still, he returned for her sake too. Tsunade hated power struggles as much as he did, and if she was now leading Konoha, she would need help. He was determined to support her, even if it meant standing against the Uchiha.
At that moment, a guard appeared from inside the gate.
"Jiraiya-sama, welcome home."
The words carried respect. Like Tsunade, Jiraiya was a war hero, one of the Legendary Sannin. Together, they had carried Konoha's name across the world—surviving even a clash with Hanzo the Salamander, escaping with their lives and earning the title Sannin.
Now, one of those legends had returned.
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