"Then, Mushi-Hime, you take half, and the clan takes half. The clan will fund the businesses."
Old Man Shiyū made the decision on the spot, then happily left with the insect eggs.
There wasn't much to do in the afternoon. Miki, who was completely exhausted, planned to clear her mind before starting again.
This time, she wouldn't give them those unlucky names.
Miki lay on her bed and dozed off for a while, then got up to see what Hitomi and Chiri were doing.
Those two...
They went to the school.
It was a weekend holiday, so there was no one there, but the place was big enough.
Although the doors were locked, Shinobi never used the main entrance.
Chiri and Hyuga faced each other.
They slowly drew their swords.
Are they training? Miki watched with interest.
Although she had a visual, she was too far to hear anything. After watching for a while, they still hadn't started fighting, and the two were talking about something.
After watching a bit longer, Miki, not interested in who would win or lose, averted her gaze.
A temporary victory or defeat doesn't mean anything.
No one can always win, and no one will always lose.
Miki thought so, and she manipulated her insects to search through Konoha Forest.
As she watched, the image suddenly went dark.
Miki snorted in annoyance.
This happened often; her dispatched insects were eaten by birds.
Miki shifted her gaze back, a little disappointed that she had missed it.
They had already finished fighting.
Chiri looked relaxed, having sheathed her long and short swords, and gently extended her hand to Hitomi on the ground.
"You lost again, Hitomi."
Chiri was truly formidable.
Hitomi reached out and took Chiri's hand, getting up. Soon, the two left the school, chatting and laughing.
The little flying insect followed them from behind. Miki was quite curious about what those two could be up to.
She saw the two head straight to the dango shop, sitting outside, eating dango and drinking tea.
During their conversation, Chiri and Hyuga would occasionally get up, gesture with their swords for a bit, and the other person would show a thoughtful expression.
They weren't just playing around.
"That's good," Miki said, controlling her reconnaissance insect to leave.
She had just seen some people.
First Class seemed to have just finished a mission.
Tsunade was holding a stack of money, counting it repeatedly, with a disgruntled expression.
Because no matter how many times she counted, the money wouldn't increase by a few more bills.
With this little money, she'd be broke in the casino in less than three minutes, not satisfying at all.
Tsunade showed no appreciation or joy for this hard-earned money from labor.
Jiraiya, on her left, had a troubled expression, staring at the money in his hand, looking as if life wasn't worth living.
How much could this little money pay back?
If you don't know, ask.
"Sarutobi-sensei."
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was walking on the street, shifted his gaze from the young, beautiful girls' thighs to Jiraiya's annoying face.
He said with a look of disdain, "What is it now?"
"I owe someone money. How much can this little money pay back?" Jiraiya asked.
"Huh?" Not understanding at first, Third Hokage thought for a moment and asked, "How much do you owe?"
"600,000," Jiraiya said.
"That's a lot..." Third Hokage said, "You're not so bad at simple math that you can't figure it out, Jiraiya, are you? Just subtract the money you have in hand."
"But there's also interest, isn't there? It's been over a month already," Jiraiya said.
"How much is the interest?" Hiruzen picked at his nostril, feeling a bit itchy.
"Six points?" Jiraiya said uncertainly.
"..." Third Hokage glanced at the money in Jiraiya's hand and said, "Your money is just enough to pay the interest."
"What!?" Jiraiya clutched the money tightly, his hands trembling. He said, "Sensei, what does that mean!?"
"It means that as long as the money isn't fully paid back, you have to keep paying interest every month," Third Hokage said. "Is it compound interest? That's even scarier."
"Compound interest!?" Jiraiya's hands trembled even more violently. He didn't understand, but his intuition told him it was terrifying.
"Sigh..." Third Hokage sighed and said, "I don't think you understand anything at all~"
"So brave, you even dared to borrow from loan sharks?" Third Hokage said mockingly.
Orochimaru on the side sneered, "Idiot Jiraiya."
This time, Jiraiya was in no mood to retort. He looked at Third Hokage pitifully and expectantly.
"Sensei..."
Third Hokage raised an eyebrow.
"Save, save, save me!!!" With despair in his eyes, Jiraiya's voice trembled.
"You fellow!" Third Hokage slapped his own face, then sighed after a long moment, "Tell me, who is that person?"
Hmph, let's see who dares to bully my disciple, the Third Hokage!
"It's the Mushi-Hime," Jiraiya said with a tearful face. "I didn't want to, but she kept giving me money, and Tsunade wouldn't let me run, saying that at the gambling table, only the biggest loser can propose to end it. No one can leave until she loses everything!"
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya dangerously and said, "That's because you're stupid! Orochimaru didn't lose much!"
Orochimaru offered no opinion. He didn't lose much, which meant three meals were instant noodles.
It made him want to stew snake soup.
"Sensei! Save me!" Jiraiya looked at Third Hokage eagerly.
"Perhaps this is life, Jiraiya." Saying this, Third Hokage patted Jiraiya's shoulder and turned to leave.
"Sensei!?"
Third Hokage quickened his pace.
"Sensei!?"
Jiraiya cried out mournfully.
"Go!" Third Hokage waved his hand heavily and said, "Cheer up! Important training awaits us!"
"Sarutobi-sensei!!!" Jiraiya screamed tragically.
"Go! Let's go! Today we're learning a new Ninjutsu! It's a super awesome Ninjutsu!!!" Third Hokage shouted loudly, trying to drown out Jiraiya's cries.
Watching Third Hokage and his companions' receding backs, young Jiraiya understood the profound meaning of a word at this moment.
Reliable!
Orochimaru looked back at Jiraiya with concern and said to Third Hokage, "Sensei, 600,000 isn't difficult for an adult, is it?"
"It's not difficult," Third Hokage sighed and said, "Orochimaru, after you get married, you'll find everything difficult."
Orochimaru looked deeply at Third Hokage, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Isn't there such a thing as secret stash money?"
Finally, he still asked.
"Biwako is a Kunoichi, you know," Third Hokage sighed.
Glancing at Tsunade, Orochimaru felt like he understood.
"I don't want to get married anymore, Sensei."
"That's still early for you, Orochimaru, don't overthink it," Third Hokage said, patting Orochimaru's shoulder and smiling mysteriously, "You'll understand later."
No, I don't want to understand.
Orochimaru said, "Jiraiya will catch up, won't he?"
"Let him figure it out. No matter what, life must go on," Third Hokage said with a profound sigh, "Besides, if he doesn't come, where else can he go?"
"He's always so unserious. A small loss is good to prevent him from being greatly deceived later."
Orochimaru looked at Third Hokage, wanting to speak but hesitating.
At this moment, he somewhat understood what a reliable adult meant.
Forget it, I won't bother with that idiot Jiraiya.
I'm already eating instant noodles, why should I worry about him?
At most, I'll treat him to ramen later.
Orochimaru made up his mind.
Just one bowl!
The money must be saved for biology!
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