Naruto discovered something disturbing over the next three days.
Jiraiya was apparently an alcoholic.
Every town was the same. They arrived, found an inn, checked a few places for information, and then sometime around sunset his teacher disappeared into whatever bar or gambling hall looked most likely to contain alcohol and women.
The first night Naruto ignored it.
The second night annoyed him.
By the third—
Naruto had enough.
"We're supposed to be finding Tsunade!"
Jiraiya continued walking.
"We are."
"You're going to another bar!"
"Correct."
"You went to a bar yesterday!"
"Also correct."
"And the day before!"
"You're very observant."
Naruto hurried alongside him.
"What does getting drunk every night have to do with finding the next Hokage?"
Jiraiya stopped.
Then looked back.
"You want to learn?"
Naruto blinked.
"Obviously."
Jiraiya smiled.
"Then tonight you're coming with me."
The establishment Jiraiya chose was crowded.
Merchants occupied one table while several traveling shinobi sat near the rear. Laborers, gamblers, couriers and locals filled most of the remaining seats, the constant conversation blending together beneath smoke and alcohol.
Naruto followed Jiraiya inside.
"Sit."
Naruto sat.
Jiraiya ordered sake.
Naruto ordered food.
Then—
Nothing happened.
Jiraiya drank.
He laughed.
Talked to strangers.
Bought drinks for two merchants.
Lost several hundred ryō playing cards.
Flirted terribly with a waitress.
Naruto's irritation grew with every passing minute.
An hour later, he leaned across the table.
"This is stupid."
Jiraiya continued examining his cards.
"Is it?"
"Yes!"
"Interesting."
One of the merchants beside them looked over.
"You two heading east?"
Jiraiya placed a card down.
"Thinking about it."
"Wouldn't."
"Why?"
"Road's been crawling with bandits since the invasion."
Jiraiya frowned.
"Sand?"
"Mostly deserters. Couple missing-nin supposedly."
Jiraiya nodded.
Played another card.
The conversation moved on.
Ten minutes later, the waitress returned.
Jiraiya smiled.
"Say, beautiful, heard anything interesting lately?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Besides you asking every woman in town the same question?"
"Research requires persistence."
"There's a gambling house three streets over. Heard some woman cleaned them out last week."
Jiraiya's cup stopped halfway to his mouth.
Naruto noticed.
"Cleaned them out?"
"Won something like forty thousand ryō."
Jiraiya slowly lowered his sake.
"What'd she look like?"
"Blonde. Pretty. Maybe thirty?"
Jiraiya looked disappointed.
"Not her."
The waitress smacked him.
"Pig."
She walked away.
Naruto snorted.
Then Jiraiya leaned closer.
"She's fifty."
Naruto blinked.
"What?"
"Tsunade."
Naruto looked toward the waitress.
Then back.
"She said thirty."
"True beauty knows no age kid."
Jiraiya took another drink.
"More importantly, Tsunade winning forty thousand ryō is the least believable part of that story."
"Why?"
"She's terrible at gambling."
"How terrible?"
Jiraiya smiled.
"Legendary."
Naruto slowly looked around the room.
The merchants.
Travelers.
Waitresses.
Drunks.
Gamblers.
Shinobi.
Nobody knew they were being questioned.
Jiraiya wasn't walking around asking whether anyone had seen Tsunade Senju.
He was talking.
Drinking.
Losing.
Listening.
Letting people tell him things.
Naruto became quiet.
The bar suddenly looked different.
Merchants knew the roads.
Waitresses heard travelers talk all day.
Shinobi knew mission traffic.
Gamblers knew other gamblers.
Jiraiya noticed Naruto's expression.
PING
+1 Intelligence
"There it is."
Naruto looked at him.
"What?"
"Your brain finally started working."
"Fuck you."
Jiraiya laughed.
"Information gathering isn't interrogation, brat. Most people become careful the moment they realize you want something."
He gestured around the room.
"So don't make them realize."
Naruto watched one merchant drunkenly complain about toll prices.
"Buy someone a drink. Lose a few hands. Complain about the weather. Ask about the roads. Let the conversation wander."
"Until they tell you what you actually wanted."
"Exactly."
Naruto frowned.
"Why didn't you just teach me that three days ago?"
"Would you have remembered?"
Naruto opened his mouth.
Stopped.
Jiraiya smiled.
"Experience sticks."
Naruto hated when the pervert said something intelligent.
Two hours later, Naruto had gotten into it.
He talked to merchants, a traveling weapons dealer, two civilian couriers and even an off-duty shinobi. He asked nothing directly, instead letting small questions build upon each other until pieces of seemingly useless information began forming something larger.
Where are you headed?
Where'd you come from?
Anything interesting there?
Roads safe?
Know somewhere cheap to stay?
Tiny questions.
Tiny answers.
Together—
A picture.
Then Naruto noticed something else.
The same man had entered three establishments tonight.
Different seats.
Different drinks.
Never close.
Always alone.
Naruto's eyes remained on his cards.
His mind didn't.
He'd seen that face yesterday.
Maybe the day before too.
Outside an inn.
Near a noodle stand.
Always somewhere that wouldn't normally be worth remembering.
Naruto played another card.
He didn't look again.
By midnight, Jiraiya slapped his cards down.
"Full house."
Naruto stared.
"You cheated."
"Pay up."
"You've got a toad under the table feeding you cards."
"Prove it."
Naruto looked at his hand.
Then Jiraiya's.
Then his rapidly shrinking pile of money.
"This was supposed to be training!"
"It is."
"YOU TOOK TWELVE THOUSAND RYŌ!"
Jiraiya collected the bills.
"Thirteen thousand."
"Give it back!"
"No."
Naruto lunged.
Jiraiya planted one hand against his forehead.
Naruto's arms windmilled uselessly.
"YOU'RE MY TEACHER!"
"Which is why this lesson is discounted."
"DISCOUNTED?!"
Jiraiya pocketed the money.
Then his expression became strangely serious.
"Lesson number two."
Naruto stopped struggling.
"Never trust a Sannin."
Naruto stared at him.
Jiraiya grinned.
"Especially with money."
"You son of a bitch."
Jiraiya laughed.
They left shortly afterward.
Naruto complained loudly.
Very loudly.
Mostly because he was genuinely furious.
Partly because it gave him an excuse to keep checking reflections in windows without appearing suspicious.
The man followed.
Naruto caught him in the reflection of a closed shop.
Thirty meters.
He continued walking.
"Pervy Sage."
"Hm?"
"You owe me thirteen thousand ryō."
"Twelve."
"You literally corrected me earlier!"
"Don't remember."
Naruto wanted to hit him.
Instead, his mind kept working.
The man was good.
He didn't follow directly. He crossed streets, changed pace, entered shops and occasionally disappeared completely before reappearing farther ahead.
Naruto didn't know who he was.
He didn't know what he wanted.
That bothered him more.
The following evening, Jiraiya found another bar.
Naturally.
Naruto followed willingly this time.
Three hours produced scattered rumors until a traveling gambler finally gave them something useful.
"Blonde woman?"
The man scratched his chin.
"Big chest?"
Naruto sighed.
"Why is that always the identifying feature?"
The gambler snapped his fingers.
"Yeah! She was traveling with a dark-haired girl."
Jiraiya straightened.
"Where?"
"Tanzaku."
"When?"
"Couple days ago."
"You're sure?"
"Hard woman to forget."
Jiraiya smiled.
"That's her."
Naruto sat straighter.
Finally.
A real lead.
Jiraiya paid for the man's next drink.
They left fifteen minutes later.
The stranger followed.
Naruto expected him now.
Good.
Naruto waited until they reached the edge of town.
Then stopped.
Jiraiya looked back.
"What?"
"Gotta piss."
Jiraiya waved dismissively.
"Try not to fall in."
"Fuck you."
Naruto disappeared into the trees.
The stranger didn't immediately follow.
Naruto continued deeper.
Twenty meters.
Thirty.
Then—
POOF!
A Shadow Clone continued walking.
The real Naruto slipped behind a ridge.
His fingers touched the soil.
Chakra spread outward.
Earth Release: Earthen Dominion.
Naruto didn't need to reshape much.
Just enough.
A shallow depression formed beneath the leaves farther ahead while Naruto moved around the opposite side, using the terrain and trees to conceal himself.
The stranger eventually appeared.
Quiet.
Patient.
Professional.
He followed the clone.
Naruto watched.
The man's attention remained fixed ahead.
Naruto moved.
His clone turned simultaneously.
"Looking for somebody?"
The operative froze.
Naruto came from behind.
Kunai met kunai.
CLANG!
The stranger spun faster than Naruto expected, elbow driving toward Naruto's jaw while his free hand reached for a second weapon. Naruto leaned beneath the strike and drove his shoulder into the man's chest.
The operative gave ground.
The clone attacked.
He ducked.
His foot landed exactly where Naruto wanted.
The earth dropped.
Only several inches.
Enough.
The man's ankle rolled as his balance shifted.
Naruto hit him.
A hard right hand caught his jaw and sent him crashing into a tree.
Before he recovered—
Naruto was there.
Kunai against his throat.
The clone ripped his weapon away.
Another clone appeared behind him.
"Don't."
The stranger stopped.
Naruto studied him.
No forehead protector.
No recognizable uniform.
Nothing Naruto could identify.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
"You've been following us."
Nothing.
Naruto pressed the kunai slightly closer.
"Why?"
The man stared at him.
No fear.
No anger.
Almost nothing.
Naruto frowned.
"You from Konoha?"
That produced something.
Barely.
A shift in the eyes.
Naruto caught it.
"You are."
Silence.
Naruto's confusion deepened.
"Then why are you spying on us?"
Nothing.
"Who sent you?"
The operative remained silent.
Naruto's patience thinned.
"Look, I know you're not some random traveler. You've followed us through multiple towns, you move like a shinobi, and you're way too calm with a knife against your throat."
Still nothing.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"So either start talking or I'm dragging you back to Pervy Sage."
A branch shifted behind them.
Naruto glanced over.
Jiraiya stepped through the trees.
"There you are."
Naruto relaxed slightly.
"Took you long enough."
Jiraiya's eyes moved toward the captive.
Everything about him changed.
The lazy irritation disappeared.
His gaze hardened.
"Naruto."
The operative moved.
Not toward Naruto.
Not toward Jiraiya.
His jaw clenched.
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"STOP HIM!"
Naruto grabbed him.
Too late.
The man's body convulsed.
His eyes rolled upward.
Naruto felt something break beneath his grip.
The operative collapsed.
"What the—"
Naruto caught him before he hit the ground.
"Hey!"
Nothing.
"HEY!"
Jiraiya was beside him instantly.
Two fingers pressed against the man's neck.
Then his expression hardened.
Naruto stared.
"What happened?"
Jiraiya said nothing.
"Pervy Sage."
"He's dead."
Naruto looked down.
"What?"
"He killed himself."
Naruto's grip loosened.
PING
For defeating a spy gain extra experience to all used techniques in past 10 minutes
Earthen Dominion LVL 2 (12/20)
+20 System Points
"For getting caught?"
Jiraiya examined the body.
Naruto stared at the dead man's face.
There had been no hesitation.
No panic.
The instant Jiraiya appeared—
Death.
Naruto looked at his teacher.
"Who the hell was he?"
Jiraiya remained silent for several seconds.
Then sighed.
"Someone you weren't supposed to know existed."
They moved deeper into the forest before Jiraiya spoke.
Naruto sat across from him beside a small fire. The operative's body had been secured away from their camp, and Jiraiya had already searched him without finding anything that openly identified who he served.
Naruto waited.
Jiraiya eventually looked at him.
"Konoha has intelligence organizations you've never been told about."
"ANBU?"
"ANBU is one."
Naruto frowned.
"There's another?"
"There was supposed to be."
That wording caught Naruto's attention.
Jiraiya continued.
"Root. An organization created as a subdivision of ANBU. Covert intelligence, infiltration, assassination, sabotage. Missions where even acknowledging Konoha's involvement could create problems."
Naruto thought about the dead man.
"Why haven't I heard of them?"
"Because that was the point."
Jiraiya leaned against the tree behind him.
"The shinobi you caught was almost certainly Root."
"Almost?"
"No markings. No identification. No confession. That's how they're trained."
Naruto looked toward where they'd left the body.
"He killed himself instead of answering a question."
"That's also how they're trained."
Naruto became quiet.
"Who trains somebody to do that?"
Jiraiya's expression hardened.
"Danzo Shimura."
Naruto frowned.
The name meant nothing to him.
"Who?"
"An old teammate of the Third."
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
"The old man's teammate?"
"One of them."
Jiraiya stared into the fire.
"Danzo and your old man saw the village differently. Hiruzen believed Konoha survived because people formed bonds strong enough to protect it."
"And Danzo?"
"Danzo believes those bonds become weaknesses when protecting the village requires ugly decisions."
Naruto frowned.
Jiraiya continued.
"That's the part nobody likes teaching children. Shinobi villages survive because people do things that never make it into heroic stories."
Spying, assassination, blackmail, sabotage.
Sacrificing one person to protect hundreds.
Sometimes sacrificing hundreds to protect thousands.
Naruto's expression darkened.
"That doesn't mean you turn people into...that."
"No."
Jiraiya looked toward the dead operative.
"It doesn't."
The fire cracked between them.
Naruto thought about Hiruzen.
Then about the man who had killed himself without hesitation.
"Why was he following me?"
"I don't know."
"Because I'm the Nine-Tails jinchūriki?"
"Possible."
"My bloodline?"
"Possible."
"Because I'm a Chūnin now?"
"Don't push your luck kid. Acknowledge that you've got some things that would make others wanna keep an eye on you."
Naruto scowled.
"That's a lot of possible."
"Welcome to intelligence work."
Naruto hated that answer.
"Could Danzo be watching you?"
"Absolutely."
"Why?"
Jiraiya smiled faintly.
"Because I'm me."
Naruto rolled his eyes.
Then something clicked.
"You knew somebody was following us?"
"I suspected."
"Since when?"
"Yesterday."
Naruto stared.
"YOU COULD'VE TOLD ME!"
"And you caught him without my help."
"HE FUCKING DIED!"
Jiraiya's expression sobered.
"Yes."
Naruto stopped.
Jiraiya looked directly at him.
"And that's another lesson."
The humor was gone now.
"Being smart enough to catch someone doesn't mean you're prepared for what happens after you catch them."
Naruto looked away.
That one landed.
Jiraiya stood.
"Come on."
"Where?"
"Tanzaku."
Naruto frowned.
"We're leaving him?"
"I'll send a coded message back to Konoha. Someone will collect the body."
Naruto looked toward the trees one last time.
Then followed.
They reached Tanzaku Town the next afternoon.
Naruto knew immediately that something was different.
Not because he saw Tsunade.
Because the System appeared before they'd even reached the main street.
PING!
SPECIAL ZONE DETECTED
Location: Tanzaku Town
Naruto slowed.
Legendary Gambler's Domain
A unique probability distortion has been detected within the local area.
Source: UNKNOWN
Conditional Effect Available
When within the presence of Tsunade Senju:
Naruto Uzumaki: Luck +3
Naruto blinked.
Another line appeared.
Special Interaction Detected: The Legendary Sucker
Tsunade Senju suffers scaling Luck reduction during voluntary gambling activities.
Initial Gambling Penalty: -5 Luck
Consecutive gambling attempts increase penalty.
Penalty gradually resets after gambling activity ceases.
Naruto stared.
That was incredibly specific.
PING!
Konoha's Future
Hidden Objective Discovered!
Locate Tsunade Senju
Status: ACTIVE
Naruto dismissed the window.
Then looked down Tanzaku's main street.
Casinos.
Bars.
Hotels.
Restaurants.
Crowds packed the entertainment district.
Jiraiya smiled.
"Well, brat."
Naruto looked at him.
"Casinos?"
"Casinos."
They started walking.
Naruto made it approximately six steps.
Then stopped.
"My money."
Jiraiya kept walking.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"Pervy Sage."
Jiraiya walked faster.
"You still have my thirteen thousand ryō."
"Tuition."
"WE FINISHED THE LESSON!"
"Knowledge is priceless."
"THEN WHY DID IT COST THIRTEEN THOUSAND?!"
Jiraiya disappeared into the crowd.
Naruto chased him.
Neither noticed the blonde woman stepping out of a casino farther down the street.
Tsunade stared into an almost empty purse.
Beside her, Shizune looked horrified.
"Tsunade-sama..."
Tsunade clenched her fist.
"One more game."
"No!"
"I can feel it."
"You said that six games ago!"
"My luck is turning around."
Across the district—
Naruto stopped.
PING!
SPECIAL ZONE EFFECT ACTIVATED
Tsunade Senju detected within proximity.
Luck: 15 → 18
Naruto stared at the notification.
Then slowly looked toward the casino district.
Jiraiya noticed.
"What?"
Naruto dismissed the window.
"We're close."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know?"
Naruto started walking.
"Call it luck."
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Village: Konohagakure
Rank: Chunin
Stats
Strength: 136
Agility: 159
Endurance: 156 (+40%)
Intelligence: 148
Charisma: 102
Luck: 15 (18)
System Points: 545