In the tavern's private booth:
Glistening beef fat with a hint of charred aroma, ubiquitous yet never boring grilled chicken skewers, the ultimate drinking snack of salted edamame, salmon grilled to perfection with a crispy exterior and tender interior...
And a pot of warm sake.
The table for Tsunade's group of four was loaded with all kinds of delicious food. Just from the colors alone, you could tell it would taste amazing.
Jiraiya watched Tsunade familiarly patting the head chef's shoulder across from him, finally believing the fact that Tsunade had truly struck it rich.
Tavern head chefs rarely left their work stations. For a chef to personally serve dishes showed that Tsunade not only had money but also influence.
Beside Jiraiya, Naruto had long forgotten about any mission. Right now, his mind was completely focused on when they could start eating.
Across from them, Shizune watched Naruto's drool increasing and smiled as she picked up a fragrant beef fat skewer to hand to him.
"Go ahead and eat!"
Seeing this, Naruto's eyes immediately lit up as he looked at the beautiful big sister across from him with delight.
"Really? Can I? Don't we need to wait for all the dishes?"
"Go ahead~" Shizune extended the skewer a bit further.
Hearing this, Naruto nodded vigorously and accepted the grilled skewer with a moved expression.
As the saying goes, growing boys eat their fathers into poverty. Kids his age had Schrödinger's appetites—most of the time they were either hungry or very hungry.
Nearby, Tsunade took a light sip from her sake cup and looked up at Jiraiya:
"Why aren't you taking the position?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya smiled bitterly and shook his head, then downed his sake in one gulp.
"My mission isn't finished yet. Besides, I'm used to being free—I don't have the mind to manage these things anymore."
"Doesn't the village have any other suitable candidates?"
"The higher-ups say there aren't any."
After hearing this, Tsunade sighed deeply.
Had Konoha's talent pool really withered to this extent?
Though she held resentment toward Sarutobi Hiruzen over Nawaki's death, she still maintained her grandfather Senju Hashirama's beliefs about Konoha.
Thinking of this, Tsunade picked up the sake bottle and filled her cup.
She could indeed take on the Fifth Hokage position, but the balance between Konoha and the Hidden Rain Village would become very delicate.
The Hidden Rain wasn't like Konoha with its current talent shortage.
Though Mei Terumi stayed long-term in the Hidden Mist Village, Tsunade believed that if Rinjin—that cheap old man—needed her, the girl would very likely return to the Rain to take over as the second leader.
But Rinjin didn't need that.
The Hidden Rain was overflowing with talent.
The older generation had Uchiha Kagami, Hatake Sakumo...
The middle generation had Sakuho Rie, Uchiha Fugaku...
The younger generation had the Uzumaki brothers Akira and Tengen, while Uchiha Shisui and Nohara Rin had remarkably impressive strength.
This unbroken talent reserve was actually richer than Konoha's, despite the latter's emphasis on inheritance and the Will of Fire.
Most crucial was Rinjin's attitude.
The Hidden Rain Village had no clans, which led to one consequence: as long as you were a village ninja, regardless of background, you could rise to the top if you had the ability!
The Hidden Rain library was full of secret techniques—even the Flying Thunder God Technique was open to villagers.
Though absolute fairness was impossible, there was enormous room for hard work!
And what about Konoha?
The clan mentality was too heavy!
The Hokage position had always been born from the Hokage lineage.
Thinking of this, Tsunade felt conflicted.
Having lived in the Hidden Rain Village for years, she looked down on this generation-to-generation inheritance model from the bottom of her heart.
But she couldn't just watch her grandfather's village wither away like this.
Time passed until Naruto, who had been feasting beside them, was slumped in his chair clutching his bulging stomach. Only then did Tsunade put down the sake cup she'd been holding for ages and slowly nod.
"I... accept!"
Hearing this, Jiraiya immediately breathed a long sigh of relief, his gaze casually glancing at Naruto beside him.
The prophecy of the Child of Destiny had entangled him his whole life, becoming his obsession.
Now, a child named after the protagonist from his own book sat right beside him. Jiraiya had to train this kid properly!
"Good, shall we set out tomorrow to return?"
"No!" Tsunade shook her head. Having made up her mind, she was planning to scam her husband one last time before leaving.
She'd take Shizune back to Konoha as an assistant, and maybe try to convince that Rin girl to come back too.
Either way, she was definitely taking all the money in her warehouse for protection.
What Tsunade didn't know was that Rinjin actually didn't care about any of this.
Even if Tsunade packed up all of the Hidden Rain Village's cash and took it away, he wouldn't mind.
Preserve the land and lose the people, lose both land and people; preserve the people and lose the land, gain both people and land.
Using the title of the Hokage's wife, who knew how many talented people he could lure back home from Konoha~
Who would have thought that Rinjin, who had once been dirt poor with a burden of a little sister, had actually reached this level now.
It was truly moving~
Another week later, at the Hidden Rain Village gates.
Tsunade sat dominantly in the cab of a tall construction truck wearing toad sunglasses, hands on the steering wheel.
Beside her, Jiraiya and Naruto squeezed speechlessly into the passenger seat, enjoying the attention of the crowd at the village entrance.
Next to the truck, Rinjin held a handkerchief, fake-wiping tears as he instructed:
"Little Tsuna~ You must take good care of yourself when you get to Konoha. I've prepared a house for you at 1 Mingcha Street. After work, just go straight home from the Hokage building.
"Also, don't compromise on food and drink. You're used to our village's taste, and I'm worried you won't be able to eat well in Konoha. If it doesn't work out, take a couple of the cafeteria aunties with you~
"Don't worry, the village will cover their deployment wages.
"Oh right, driving all the way back to Konoha will be too tiring. How about we find some drivers~
"And massage therapists..."
"Enough, you're so annoying~" Tsunade rolled her eyes charmingly.
"If you're really worried, just come with me!"
Hearing this, Rinjin instantly acted deaf, looking around stupidly before raising his voice:
"What did you say? Damn! The engine's too loud!"
With that, he turned and grabbed Sakumo's collar nearby, pretending to be angry:
"Doggy, explain to me why the bus uses Lightning Release chakra for power, but when it comes to trucks it's changed to Fire Release chakra?"
Hearing this, Sakumo, whose collar was being grabbed by Rinjin, turned his head away with a dark expression, cursing internally.
Who the hell was it that said Lightning Release was too quiet and didn't feel like driving, insisting on changing to Fire Release!
Nearby, Shisui was about to step forward to explain when his grandfather yanked hard on his sleeve.
This kid has no sense at all~
Was this about the engine?!
Princess Tsunade was leaving, and you still wanted to show off in front of Lord Rinjin???
Regret!
He should have taught this kid less about the Will of Rain when he was little—he was way too damn honest!
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