Naruto turned and walked straight toward the bounty-hunting Ninja, completely oblivious to the change in Tsunade's expression upon hearing his name.
Perhaps he noticed but simply didn't care.
Come to think of it, Naruto was quite accustomed to having a bounty on his head.
In the One Piece World, he had carried a massive bounty for years, and in his early days, he was constantly harassed by bounty hunters.
No matter how many times he insisted he wasn't a pirate, it's useless. The string of zeros on his wanted poster was all the motivation those people needed.
This went on for years before eventually fading.
His bounty poster gradually became more of a formality, and the Marines even stopped increasing his reward altogether.
Now, hearing about a bounty from these Ninja actually gave Naruto a sense of nostalgia.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
It can be seen that these Ninjas, who accepted the bounty, did have some skills, at least the Ninjutsu they released were quite good.
Several fireballs arced through the air, aiming straight for Naruto.
The user of this Fire Release Ninjutsu had passable proficiency, but perhaps due to limited talent, his technique was nowhere near as refined as Sasuke's.
As for the Earth Flow Spears, it was downright crude.
The stone spikes jutting from the ground might have looked intimidating, but in reality, their hardness and speed were pitifully weak.
Naruto casually swatted them away with a single motion.
'With this level of ability, you still come out to hunt me?'
Naruto was genuinely puzzled.
In his opinion, even Kakuzu, who had once tried to take his bounty, was quite powerful.
…At least he is better than the average Jonin of Konoha Village. (Not throwing shade at any particular innocent Konoha's Jonin.)
With two swift chops to the neck, he knocked out the first two attackers. Then, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, he effortlessly grabbed the third Ninja, who had been trying to sneak up on him while his companions distracted him.
The unlucky man, now with Naruto's hand clamped around his forehead, felt as though his skull was caught in a metal vise, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free.
Tsunade, who was watching this one-sided fight unfold, couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly, studying Naruto with newfound interest.
'Uzumaki Naruto…' She hadn't heard that name before.
As far as Tsunade knows, most surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan scattered across the Ninja World avoided using their real surnames for safety.
Unfortunately, in her memory, there were two people who bore the name 'Uzumaki'.
The first was Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the First Hokage and former Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki… she was also Tsunade's grandmother, the woman who had raised her.
The second was Uzumaki Kushina, the next Jinchuriki after Mito, who had been brought to the village around Year 33 of Konoha's founding.
'Could this boy be related to Kushina? Could he be her son?'
But judging by Naruto's appearance, who is around eighteen years old, the timeline didn't quite add up.
For now, Naruto ignored Tsunade's unspoken questions.
He was more interested in why, just one day after leaving the village, his bounty had already reached these people.
He wondered who had issued it.
Danzo was dead, so he could be ruled out.
Orochimaru? He was a plausible suspect, but based on Naruto's rough understanding of the man, he'd more likely come after him personally.
Other high-rank people in Konoha?
Logically speaking, this was the most probable scenario.
They had both motive and access to the intelligence.
But with Hiruzen keeping them in check, did they really have the guts to go this far?
'Next time I go back, I'll have to interrogate them one by one.'
As he mulled it over, Naruto reached into the Ninja's pocket and pulled out the bounty poster.
Staring back at him was a clear image of his current, 'grown-up' self.
'Konoha's Genin' Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Below that was the bounty amount: 100 million Ryo.
'Come to think of it, that was about twice Kakashi-sensei's bounty...'
"Did your employer not explain how dangerous I am?"
This was what puzzled Naruto the most.
Generally, when placing a bounty on a target, some information about their strength or signature techniques would be included… at least to increase the success rate.
"N-No… This… This bounty is public… Anyone who kills you can claim the reward."
Under the pressure of the pain throbbing around his head, the Ninja spilled everything he knew without hesitation.
He also realized that they were nothing more than cannon fodder.
He originally thought they could take advantage of the situation and directly kill this so-called 'Konoha's Genin', but who would have thought that they would be nearly crushed like ants on the roadside.
Hearing this, Naruto frowned slightly.
'It sounded like the person who issued this bounty was intentionally drawing more attention to me, regardless of whether anyone could actually kill me.'
"Get lost."
With a casual flick, Naruto tossed the Ninja aside. He couldn't be bothered with someone who had already abandoned his comrades. Instead, he picked up the bounty poster and examined it closely.
"Looks like you guys are going to have your hands full from now on."
At that moment, Tsunade walked over, with Karin following closely behind.
She had clearly seen the contents of the poster.
"You're right. Karin, we might have to camp out tonight."
According to what that guy had said, anyone who saw this bounty would likely swarm toward him like flies. Even if they couldn't kill him, they'd at least try to annoy him to death.
Having said that, Naruto casually handed the bounty poster to Tsunade and then pinched Karin's cheek.
"You're not mad at me, are you?"
In response to him, Karin shook her head. At twelve years old, she had already matured beyond her age after everything she'd been through.
"Then, see you next time."
These words were spoken to Tsunade who was standing beside him, but Tsunade just raised her head and glanced at him indifferently.
"So… are you a Missing-nin from Konoha? Uzumaki Naruto?"
"How could that be... Tsunade-sama?"
The moment those words left his mouth, it was as good as laying his cards on the table.
Clearly, Naruto had recognized her from the start.
What Tsunade couldn't understand was why a Jinchuriki, who was obviously far from just a Genin, was allowed to leave the village alone.
And why had he brought along a little red-haired girl…
'Red hair?'
'…Ah.' That part suddenly made sense to her.
"Then, why aren't you wearing a forehead protector?"
This was her last question.
"Aren't you the same?"
"Don't answer a question with another question, you brat..."
Tsunade threw a punch at Naruto, seemingly just a playful jab.
But her fist was caught firmly in Naruto's grip.
This guy… is so strong.
Tsunade, who was just casually playing around, gradually increased her strength, yet Naruto's hand didn't budge an inch.
Even with her superhuman power, Tsunade couldn't shake him off.
Just as she debated whether to release her Yin Seal over something so trivial, Naruto suddenly let go.
"Come to think of it, my mission this time was to convince you to return and become Hokage."
"I refuse! Where's that old fool, my sensei?"
Naruto knew she was referring to Hiruzen.
"He already stepped down."
As he spoke, Naruto briefly summarized the [Konoha Crush] incident… though he conveniently left out some of his own contributions.
"Even so, I won't go back."
Tsunade's reply was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
Naruto wasn't surprised in the slightest. He simply smiled and said, "I figured as much... Then it seems that my mission won't be completed anytime soon."
After saying this, he took Karin and headed out of Tanzaku Quarter.
"Then, I'll see you next time, Tsunade-nee."
Watching Naruto's retreating figure, Tsunade stood there in silence, and it is unknown what she was thinking.
It wasn't until her student, Shizune, who had been searching for her all over the place, suddenly appeared at the street corner that she snapped out of it.
'Uzumaki Naruto... huh?'