"I say, you brats, how long are you going to keep me tied up?" Roshi, bound by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, shouted with vigor.
"You're one of Konoha's Sannin, Jiraiya, right? Are you just going to stand by and let these kids run wild?"
Seeing that no one paid him any attention, Roshi turned his head towards Jiraiya, who was immersed in his writing.
Hearing the call, Jiraiya looked up at him, offered a helpless smile, and then went back to his work.
"Hey!"
"You guys!"
"Don't ignore me!"
Roshi's words seemed to simply not reach the others' ears.
At the moment, everyone was busy setting up camp, hunting, or training.
No one paid him any mind.
Actually, this old fellow brought it upon himself.
Not long after the last battle ended, Roshi, being a Jinchuriki, was the first to wake up.
Originally, unlike Sasuke, who was covered in injuries, Roshi, having activated his Tailed Beast Transformation, was at most a bit low on Chakra, and he wasn't really injured.
Adopting the attitude that they could talk properly after a fight, Naruto had no intention of restricting the other's freedom.
Because of this, the moment this old fellow woke up, he entered his Tailed Beast Form again and decisively attacked everyone around him.
The next moment, an iron fist came at him.
This time, it wasn't like the back-and-forth he had with Sasuke.
Even in his Tailed Beast Form, Roshi's resistance was completely useless against Naruto's indestructible fists.
He had barely been in his ape form for a few seconds before he was sent back into a pleasant dreamland.
When he woke up again, it was as if he had learned no lesson at all, and he started attacking everyone again.
Therefore, Naruto simply used the Adamantine Sealing Chains to prevent the monkey from harming anyone.
Although his hands and feet were bound, Roshi's mouth wasn't idle.
He began harassing everyone around him indiscriminately.
No matter if others appealed to his emotions or reasoned with him, this old fellow remained as stubborn as a rock.
His attitude could be summed up in two sentences:
I don't believe a word you say.
That old fool Onoki would never say something like letting you take away the Four-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Regarding things like 'Akatsuki capturing Jinchuriki' or 'Onoki revealing Roshi's location after being defeated by Naruto', Roshi simply didn't believe any of it.
To some extent, this was normal.
After all, in terms of stubbornness, this guy was a match for Onoki.
It was precisely because neither would yield to the other's beliefs that they parted ways.
Ignoring Roshi's impotent rage over there, Naruto and the others finished preparing the camp and gathered around Sasuke, scrutinizing him as if he were some rare animal.
"Wow! He really isn't moving at all."
That was Karin, who even poked Sasuke's shoulder with her finger as she spoke.
Surprisingly, he didn't slap her hand away this time.
"Truly... incredible."
That was Yugito, who also seemed to be seeing this for the first time.
"Luck conservation! Unlucky fool, you idiot, you dumbass! Yo!"
You probably don't need to be told who this is… he currently wore a gleeful, schadenfreude-filled smile.
"So, Sasuke, how long are you going to stay like this?"
Naruto squatted in front of Sasuke, staring at him curiously.
Sasuke, being watched by everyone, had veins bulging on his forehead, but he didn't make any move.
Not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.
The reason was simple, just as B's lyrics sang, Sasuke was currently in a state of 'extreme bad luck'.
When he first woke up, he had accidentally twisted his back while trying to sit up.
A young Ninja in his teens, a genius who regularly trained in Taijutsu and physical conditioning, actually twisted his back.
One could only say it was as absurd as a healthy girl who trained in swordsmanship year-round unfortunately falling to her death on the stairs of her own warehouse.
This was the backlash of luck.
'Luck' is conserved.
The terrifying Dojutsu, [Magatsuhime], which could manipulate causal probability and infinitely amplify the possibility of disaster, also came with a certain cost.
That was, after the ability ended, the user would be 'plagued by bad luck' for an indefinite period, depending on the scale of the ability's use.
It was very fair.
In the previous battle, Sasuke used Magatsuhime to make Roshi cramp, sneeze, and fall.
That level of misfortune, when reversed onto himself, resulted in things like a sprained back, torn pants, or a sprained ankle.
And regardless of whether Sasuke's Observation Haki could predict it, that misfortune would inevitably arrive.
Even if he dodged it this time, it would appear in another form next time.
The only way was to 'wait'.
This state of luck repayment had a time limit, and once the time passed, the cost would automatically be lifted.
Or perhaps 'waiting' itself was part of the cost.
The higher the degree of misfortune inflicted, the heavier the causality reversed, the greater the side effects, and the longer the duration.
It was also fortunate that Sasuke hadn't rashly used this ability last time to summon some natural disaster like a meteorite… otherwise, he'd probably have to stay motionless as a wooden dummy for the next few days.
After enduring the endless scrutiny from these guys for a long time, Sasuke finally felt the bad luck shrouding him dissipate, and he immediately sprang up from the ground.
This time, there were no accidents.
No sprained ankle, no injured back.
"You guys were sure enjoying the show earlier!"
He glared at them, especially at Karin, who had taken advantage of his immobility to borrow a pen from Jiraiya and doodle on his face.
"Scatter, scatter, no more fun~"
After saying this, Naruto was the first to vanish from the spot.
The others weren't pushovers either.
Karin transformed into Garuda, her speed completely overwhelming Sasuke's current level.
"I'll go find more food-"
A puff of smoke appeared around B… it turned out only a clone had been here all along.
In the end, only Yugito and Sasuke were left staring at each other.
"Um... How about I go start cooking?"
Looking at Big Sis Yugito's awkward yet polite smile, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say anything.
She was probably the most polite among the spectators.
If he had to criticize, he couldn't really find anything wrong with her.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke stomped out of the camp angrily, presumably to chase after someone.
Over there, Roshi had finally quieted down and was looking at Jiraiya in silence.
With the noise in his ears finally gone, Jiraiya emerged from his creative state, looked at Roshi in front of him, then at the others who had scattered like birds and beasts, and chuckled softly.
"So, what do you think? These kids are quite lively, aren't they?"
Roshi glanced at him, didn't answer the question, and instead posed another one.
"Jiraiya, where are you taking me?"
"The next destination is Takigakure. Let me see... It should take about another day to get there."
Jiraiya didn't avoid the question and directly answered Roshi's doubt.
They were already within the borders of the Land of Waterfalls.
This small country wasn't very large, so one day was more than enough.
And that was without considering using Garuda for transportation.
"Takigakure? You're targeting the Seven-Tails?"
Clearly, Roshi was aware of the intelligence regarding Takigakure.
"Don't make it sound so bad-"
Jiraiya waved his hand.
"It's just to prevent you from being captured by Akatsuki and having your Tailed Beasts extracted. Look for yourself, we haven't done anything else to you, right?"
"Hmph... Sounds nice. I think you just want to use me as bait to lure out that so-called Akatsuki."
Roshi let out a disdainful sneer.
"...Well, that's not entirely wrong."
Jiraiya wasn't like some cunning old foxes who could hide their true intentions without changing their expression.
"And after you find that organization? What do you plan to do with us Jinchuriki?"
"What do you mean, what to do? Of course, everyone goes back to their own homes."
"You think I'd believe-"
"Look at Naruto. Do you think we'd need to use Tailed Beast's power to conquer the world?"
Jiraiya's interruption stuck Roshi's words in his throat, and he couldn't help but recall the scene where he was fully transformed and taken down by the other with a single punch.
'Sigh...'
"Tell that kid to come over and untie me. I won't attack again."
Roshi has decided to join the team.