Chapter 110: Why Is the Body Wash Hot?
"..."
Listening to the other person recount the stories from 'Buff Man Paradise', Shikamaru's expression grew increasingly awkward.
He glanced around. The hot spring guests were listening with rapt attention, which only made things even more awkward.
If the stories were purely fictional, that would be one thing.
But his dad had personally said that the stories were adapted from real events.
That left Shikamaru with no excuse to refute anything.
So, while everyone was engrossed in the storytelling, he quietly slipped into the hot spring pool and started soaking.
As for the half-finished game of shōgi?
In a situation like this, did anyone still feel like playing shōgi?
Shikamaru soaked in the hot spring, eyes closed, trying to relax.
The only flaw was that, in the otherwise peaceful bath, the voice narrating 'Buff Man Paradise' kept echoing.
Splash.
Not far from Shikamaru, two people got into the water.
The two of them were clearly excited by the storytelling and whispered to each other for a while.
As they talked, the topic drifted into something that made Shikamaru's scalp tingle.
"The guy with the full beard in the sauna earlier was way too sexy. It really got me all worked up."
"Yeah, such a waste. Just standing there teasing people, but not giving anything."
"What a shame, what a shame."
Shikamaru: "..."
Shikamaru could only pray that they weren't talking about Asuma.
A little while later, Asuma walked in.
After sweating it out in the sauna, Asuma planned to rinse off at the nearby shower area before soaking in the hot spring.
While he was sitting on a stool washing up, the two people beside Shikamaru exchanged glances and picked up their tools as they walked over.
"Hello, sir. We're staff here. We're here to help scrub your back."
"Oh? Do you even offer that kind of service? That's great, thanks, I appreciate it."
Asuma, who was washing his hair, agreed cheerfully.
The two burly men began rubbing Asuma's solid body with towels.
As they scrubbed, the towel disappeared.
"Hm?"
Asuma suddenly frowned. "Why is the body wash here warm?"
The two people behind him stiffened instantly, their nerves jumping.
"You know, this place is really thoughtful. Do you soak the body wash in the hot spring ahead of time so it won't irritate guests when they use it?"
"Y-yes, yes!"
"That's right! You guessed it, sir, very perceptive of you!"
Hearing Asuma come up with a reason on his own, the two of them immediately relaxed and continued applying the body wash to him.
Shikamaru witnessed the entire scene from the hot spring, yet he didn't dare step forward at all.
"Don't blame me, Asuma-sensei."
Shikamaru was wracked with inner conflict.
He was afraid that if he went over like this, those two would mistake him for a loli and target him next.
Shikamaru thought that, with Asuma's strength, those two wouldn't be capable of forcing anything anyway. It wouldn't escalate into anything truly dangerous.
So Shikamaru climbed out of the hot spring, dried himself off, got dressed, and prepared to find the inn's owner to report what was going on.
At the same time.
Jiraiya and his group had already arrived within the borders of the Land of Hot Water.
While traveling, Jiraiya took out photos of their objective, Asuma's team, and introduced them to Boruto.
As he explained, Jiraiya deliberately paid attention to Boruto's eyes and emotional reactions.
The way Boruto looked at Asuma in the photos was similar to how he'd looked at Jiraiya the first time they met, there was a sense of unfamiliarity, like seeing a stranger for the first time.
Boruto was Naruto's son, yet he didn't recognize Jiraiya or Asuma. That almost certainly meant that, in the future, they had died not long after.
Jiraiya didn't dwell on fear or regret over death, but continued analyzing the situation.
For example, if Shiromo, someone who came from the future, had never appeared, would Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan have resulted in his sensei Sarutobi Hiruzen's death?
If that were the case, then that Ōtsutsuki might not be trying to eliminate Naruto's surrounding combat power at all, but rather to return those who should die to their original fate.
Thinking this, Jiraiya began to feel uneasy.
If Jiraiya and Asuma were targets, then aside from them, there were likely others in Konoha who were also targets.
If that was true, he had to have the messenger toad notify Konoha and prepare defensive measures.
With no other choice, Jiraiya found another excuse, introducing Boruto to more people, and took out a new set of photos.
As one photo after another appeared, Jiraiya finally relaxed a little.
Boruto was very familiar with all of these people.
The only troublesome part was that Boruto had already met some of them before.
That made it impossible to confirm anything.
"Hm?"
When Jiraiya picked up the last photo, he once again saw unfamiliarity in Boruto's eyes.
Jiraiya's expression tightened as he hurriedly looked at the person in the photo Boruto was focusing on.
'So Anko dies in the future as well.'
Jiraiya hadn't expected Orochimaru's former student to be gone too.
However, since Orochimaru currently harbored no hostility toward the village, and Anko had long since cut ties with him, Jiraiya felt it was still necessary to give a warning.
So he summoned a messenger toad and had Konoha keep an eye on Anko to prevent a surprise attack.
The group arrived at the hot spring inn and prepared to rest there for the night before beginning the search for Asuma's team.
But the moment they reached the entrance, they saw Shikamaru coming out, clearly about to ask the owner for help.
"This is great, Jiraiya-sama! Hurry and save Asuma-sensei!"
Seeing Jiraiya appear, Shikamaru immediately abandoned the idea of finding the owner and rushed over to ask for help.
"What?! You've already run into enemies?"
Jiraiya was shocked, rolling up his sleeves as he prepared to charge straight into the women's bath.
"Uh, not enemies, and Jiraiya-sama, you're going the wrong way."
Shikamaru hurriedly grabbed Jiraiya by the arm.
"Not enemies? Then what is it? Did he enjoy the hot spring too much and pass out?"
Jiraiya stopped helplessly and turned back to ask.
"There are two people pretending to be inn staff. They're helping Asuma-sensei wash with body soap, but they're actually… taking advantage of him."
"...Do you realize what you're saying, Shikamaru?"
Jiraiya was speechless for a moment.
Taking advantage of Asuma, what kind of nonsense was that?
"It's true, Jiraiya-sama! I overheard the two of them talking while I was soaking in the hot spring. They've been coveting Asuma-sensei for a long time!"
Shikamaru explained anxiously.
"Relax. I believe you."
Jiraiya patted Shikamaru on the shoulder. "Alright, Shikamaru. You wait here with the others. I'll go in and take care of the problem, then come out and inform you. Before I come out, none of you are allowed to go in."
"Yes, sir."
Shikamaru nodded.
"Heh heh."
Jiraiya paid the fee, lifted the curtain, rubbed his hands together, and went inside.
Two guys impersonating inn staff?
Could it be those legendary 'perverts'?
Entering the open-air hot spring area, Jiraiya shouted into the dense steam: "Everyone inside, stop right there! Let go of Asuma! If you want anything, come at me instead!!!"
(End of this chapter)