The Land of Hot Water is a small island nation. Precisely because of its water-bound geography, it is a land rarely touched by the ravages of war, even during the intense conflict of the Third Great Ninja War.
The scenery here is beautiful, resources are abundant, the average life expectancy is an impressive 50 years, and the standard of living is quite comfortable. Furthermore, the country is particularly famous for its numerous hot springs, making it a rare paradise amidst the constant turmoil of the ninja world.
There is a hidden ninja village here called the Hidden Hot Water Village. Naturally, it's just a small, weak village. However, there's a saying that gold will always shine, and this little village actually happens to be the hometown of the infamous future missionary, Hidan.
Choosing to stop here after leaving Konoha was a wise move on Tsunade's part. And with Katsuyu's guidance, Kamishiro Hagoromo had precisely tracked her down.
"This way."
Tsunade said, taking the lead. She was still maintaining her eight-year-old appearance, but she walked with the imposing aura of an eighty-year-old matriarch.
It was an aura that screamed Don't mess with me with every step.
"Tsunade-sama, where are we going?"
Kamishiro Hagoromo asked, following behind with a rather depressed expression.
Right now, the White Yaksha desperately needed a dozen medics. He wasn't bleeding out from being overwhelmed by loli cuteness; he had literally been crippled by sheer violence.
A moment ago, caught off guard and deceived by Tsunade's loli appearance, he had forgotten she was actually a violence-prone powerhouse and had rested his hand on the head of the greatest kunoichi of the new era.
Tsunade then very naturally removed his hand, faithfully playing the role of a terrified little girl bullied by a thug—by tightly squeezing two of his fingers.
Please note, it was a tight squeeze.
Bringing his hand up to his face, he examined it again. Still red, purple, and black. The swelling and pain were severe.
How was he supposed to play the weave hand signs like this?
Fortunately, Tsunade-sama still had some sense of restraint. She only inflicted external tissue damage and didn't actually crush his fingers into fractures.
But it still hurt like hell.
So while it looked horrific, a little medical ninjutsu would clear it right up.
But it still hurt like hell.
"First, do not casually call out my name in this town..."
"Second, we're going to find Shizune. We got separated earlier."
Separated? Or scattered while running for your lives?
"So those guys earlier were...?"
He asked. That group of normal thugs really had been looking for Tsunade. They had surrounded the little girl solely to ask if she had seen the person in their photo.
After all, Tsunade had vanished around a corner, so they were indiscriminately questioning any potential witnesses.
The debt collectors were suffering too. They had never seen someone so blatantly run away from their gambling debts.
After he and Tsunade looked at the photo of Tsunade and denied seeing her, the group left them alone. This was a massive relief for him. At the very least, he didn't have to unleash a hundred thousand volts on a bunch of regular civilians.
"Casino enforcers..." Tsunade replied, then added, "As for exactly which casino they belong to, I have no idea."
The Legendary Sucker was busy creating new legends every day.
Things were exactly as he had expected... But seriously, how many casinos do you owe money to, old lady?
The answer: every single casino on this island.
"Here it is."
Just as he was calculating Tsunade's debt index, she stopped in front of a tavern.
This was her designated rendezvous point with Shizune in case they got separated. It was clear she had been in this country for quite a while; she was very familiar with the town's layout.
"Tsunade-sama!"
Shizune was indeed already waiting there.
"Shh, didn't I tell you not to use my name for now?"
Tsunade-sama still felt a bit guilty like a thief caught in the act. Going by that logic, she would have to maintain her current appearance for a while longer. Hide while she still could.
"I'm sorry, Tsun... sama. Oh..."
Shizune's gaze fell on Kamishiro Hagoromo trailing behind her.
Although it had been a long time since they last met, his recognizability index was still incredibly high.
"Hagoromo... is that you? Why are you here?"
"Well... it's a long story. Anyway, please save me first."
He sat down across from Shizune before speaking, waving his mangled hand at her.
He definitely didn't dare ask the perpetrator for treatment.
Tsunade-sama paid absolutely no attention to his injury. Having been chased by debt collectors all morning, she was starving. She immediately called a waiter over to order food. Filling her stomach took priority.
Unfortunately for her, with her current transformation, ordering booze was completely out of the question.
Seeing that his injury looked quite severe, Shizune immediately began examining it.
"Your injury... how exactly did this happen? It was done with incredible precision. Although it looks terrifying, there's actually no serious underlying damage." Shizune quickly gave her diagnosis. This was a very bizarre type of injury.
Age-wise, Shizune and Hagoromo were the same. While her medical ninjutsu couldn't compare to Tsunade's yet, she was already highly proficient.
After all, with someone like Tsunade personally mentoring her, it would be harder not to improve.
Therefore, her assessment was incredibly accurate.
His eye twitched, seemingly recalling the pain from earlier. To avoid experiencing it a second time, he stated an absolute, unshakeable truth: "I fell and hurt myself."
"..."
Shizune was speechless. You can fall and create this kind of effect? This was obviously caused by sheer crushing force. Wait... crushing force?
She shot a glance at Tsunade-sama beside her, vaguely realizing what had happened.
But when she looked at Tsunade, she almost jumped out of her seat in panic.
She leaned in close and whispered frantically into Tsunade's ear: "Tsunade-sama, we're over budget!"
As one of the dignified Sannin of Konoha, being chased around by casinos was bad enough, but were they going to dine and dash now too?
Due to Tsunade's terrible gambling habits, the duo was exceptionally poor. They had to be frugal with every meal.
Tsunade, however, was unbothered. "Don't worry. We have a guy here who just collected a massive mission bounty. He's treating us."
She then turned to Hagoromo. "Hagoromo, medical treatment requires payment, right?"
"...Understood."
He was genuinely shocked. Tsunade-sama possessed incredible business acumen. She breaks his fingers, has her disciple treat him, and then charges him for the service.
A complete, all-in-one package deal?
But that was a minor detail. What mattered was that Tsunade's words seemed to imply something deeper. Like, the part about collecting a massive mission bounty.
"Shizune, after you're done with his hand, do a full check-up on the rest of his injuries."
Tsunade's instruction caught Shizune off guard. He had other injuries?
The answer was yes, quite a few.
"That huge rumor spreading outside... that was you, wasn't it?" Tsunade asked directly. In truth, she was already ninety-nine percent certain.
"Kushina's disciple"? Tsunade could obviously guess who that was immediately. And doing something as insanely flashy as shouting his identity to an entire army? That sounded exactly like something Kamishiro Hagoromo would do.
Now that he had shown up in the Land of Hot Water, which wasn't far from the Land of Lightning, the timeline matched up perfectly, confirming her suspicions.
He nodded without speaking. It wasn't surprising that Tsunade could figure it out.
Shizune had already begun applying medical ninjutsu, and the swelling and pain in his hand faded at a visible rate.
This wasn't just because Shizune's technique was good; it was more because Tsunade's technique in inflicting the injury was so precise.
"Jiraiya really has fallen low, sending a brat like you to execute a mission like that."
Upon receiving his confirmation, Tsunade spoke with a hint of disdain.
Was there resentment there?
It was probably just an extension of her general dissatisfaction with Konoha.
But how did she know Jiraiya was the one who assigned the mission?
He felt he should probably defend Jiraiya a little:
"It's probably because I can fly. At crucial moments, I can rapidly evacuate the battlefield, so the danger level wasn't..."
However, Tsunade cut him off. "No, it's just because your jutsu happens to be incredibly effective against certain specific ninjas."
Well, her logic was flawless.
---------------------------------------------
Stones are appreciated if you can spare any.
Read 50 advanced chapters
P(a)treon.com/GoatMama