Tsunade gazed silently at Jiraiya's Scroll for a long time before finally offering a faint smile. "Your student will be fine. Just needs rest. Since the Third War is over, I'm leaving."
Jiraiya frowned. "Leaving? Where to?"
"I don't know."
Thinking she was joking, Jiraiya laughed loudly. "You say you're leaving without even knowing where you're going."
Tsunade remained calm. "Isn't it the same for you every time a war ends? You always set off on your journey. Did you know where you'd go back then?"
As these words left her mouth, Jiraiya immediately understood that Tsunade was serious.
His laughter faltered. "Why choose to leave? If I'm not mistaken, the person in your heart is still in the village."
"There won't be anymore."
Tsunade removed her Konoha Forehead Protector with a confident smile. "Time to go."
Watching Tsunade walk away, Jiraiya raised his hand as if to stop her, but let it fall halfway, muttering with a bitter smile: "What qualification do I have to stop you? But... what exactly happened?"
At Konoha's main gate, Shizune looked at Tsunade in confusion. "You're really leaving? What about 'Uncle'?"
Tsunade's expression turned cold. "If you want to stay with him, then stay put."
"No, I'll follow you instead." Shizune realized something and silently prayed: 'Uncle,' please come back quickly.
Tsunade cast one final glance at Konoha. A flicker of daze and lingering affection flashed in her eyes before she sighed and silently departed.
Not long after Tsunade left, Anya arrived with Sasori at Konoha's gates. Dressed in Anbu uniforms, they entered easily under Anya's guidance.
Returning to Konoha, Anya relied on her memory to find the shop where she'd once made the cards. Sasori went elsewhere.
The shop owner had sharp eyes and immediately recognized Anya, smiling as he walked over. "Well, Ninja-sama, hello. I figured it out—you've come for your share of the profits, right? I've been saving it for you all along."
"You actually recognized me." Surprised, Anya removed her Anbu mask.
"Of course! As a businessman, my eyesight can't be bad." The owner grinned, pulling out a wooden box from beneath the counter. At a glance, the amount inside was considerable.
"Ah, it's just too bad the Ninja World went to war before the cards could become popular. Otherwise, I would've made even more."
Anya didn't accept the money, instead pulling out a Scroll. "Use my share to produce this new card game. All the profits from this will belong to you."
Such a good deal?
The owner's eyes lit up. He quickly snatched up the Scroll and started reading. Initially, he looked delighted, excitedly murmuring praises from time to time. But as he continued reading, his smile faded, and his brows began to furrow.
After finishing it in one go, the owner took a deep breath and slowly closed the Scroll. "I'm sorry, but I can't produce this."
"Why not?" Anya spoke calmly, without anger. "You should see that this new card game has high playability."
"Exactly because it's fun is why I can't make it."
"The card set you're talking about is too sensitive," the shop owner said earnestly. "Once it's created, it will cause serious conflicts between countries."
"For example, you designed Raikage from Kumogakure with the special skill [Unyielding Will]. If these cards spread into the Land of Lightning, it will certainly provoke outrage."
"Also, look here. There are only two god-tier cards in total, and both belong to Konoha. Other nations won't accept that."
"And look at Tsuchikage—you drew him looking so ugly, this is... gonna cause trouble."
The shop owner had barely taken a brief glance but already perceived the hidden implications, displaying impressive insight.
Anya had based her scroll on a very popular board game from her past—Three Kingdoms Kill—but with modifications. She incorporated elements from another card game, Yu-Gi-Oh, and renamed it Five Nations Kill. She replaced traditional cards like "Sha" and "Shan" with various Ninjutsu techniques, and assigned very frustrating effects to the Kage of different countries.
For instance, Raikage's [Unyielding Will] was inspired by Lu Meng, Tsuchikage's Dust Release became [Machisu's Tear]—a reference to Ma Su's tragic downfall—and Kazekage's Sand Shield turned into [Cutting Off Supplies], modeled after Xu Huang's strategy. Basically, every skill was designed to be as annoying as possible.
In contrast, Konoha's abilities were much more balanced—for example, Third Hokage's [Benevolence], Tsunade's [Healing Touch], and so on. Moreover, the artwork for Konoha cards was far superior to that of other villages, looking realistic and professional, clearly indicating that the card designer was definitely from Konoha.
To increase the game's entertainment factor, Anya also added a classic elemental rock-paper-scissors system and assigned levels from S to D to each jutsu, making these cards a culmination of the best card game elements. Once released, they would undoubtedly be a huge hit.
"Boss, you're a businessman. Isn't your nature to pursue profit? Some things just aren't your concern," Anya tried to persuade.
The shop owner grew serious. "I may be a businessman, but first and foremost, I'm a citizen of Konoha. I won't let profit endanger the village. I respect what you're doing, but for this, you'll have to find someone else."
His words surprised Anya.
She thought it would be a no-brainer, but things were getting complicated. Anya began to seriously examine the man before her and asked earnestly, "What's your name?"
"He's called Nian Nian," Sasori said as he walked in from outside, a bewitching smile on his face. "He recently got a daughter named Tenten, correct?"
Hearing this, the shop owner's face filled with anger as he pulled out several technique scrolls and pointed them at the two. "You two are working together! What do you want? Remember, this is Konoha. If I raise an alarm, you won't leave alive."
Anya hadn't even opened her mouth when Sasori coldly interrupted, "You're welcome to try. Let's see who dies first—you, or your daughter."
The man's fury turned to panic. He helplessly lowered his scrolls and said, "Don't harm her. I'll do whatever you want."
Anya put down the Five Nations Kill scroll she had created and placed an additional payment on the table. "Thank you for your cooperation, Nian Nian."
After saying this, Anya and Sasori walked out of the shop together.
"Sasori, today you went too far," Anya muttered. She had originally intended to just find another store, but since Sasori had already spoken, she could only go along with it.
"Big Brother Kurotsuchi didn't have a choice the moment he laid eyes on the Scroll. The card game you've developed will inevitably cause a sensation once it's released. It will draw attention from those with ulterior motives—and might even attract the notice of Konoha's Anbu. We might as well turn him into one of us."
After listening to Sasori's analysis, Anya had to admit he made sense. That was exactly why she had brought Sasori along—to spread the cards across various countries as soon as possible. Still, she added with one condition: "Leave this task to you, but do not harm the boss's child."
"Fine." Sasori outwardly agreed, silently adding to himself that as long as the boss obeyed without resistance, he'd be fine.
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