Chapter 55: A Lively Barbecue
The four people left the Konoha Memorial Stone.
Along the way, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were bickering, as if nothing had changed between them.
Hoshikawa noticed that their interaction was similar to that of Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha.
"You guys go to the barbecue place first," Tsunade said, interrupting their argument. "Hoshikawa and I will be there later."
"What are you two going to do? Don't tell me you're going to gamble with my money," Jiraiya said, still looking at Orochimaru, then turned to Tsunade, asking suspiciously.
He was out all day looking for the Child of Prophecy.
Orochimaru was holed up in the Anbu Root doing his experiments.
It had been more than a year since they had seen each other, and the bickering made him feel nostalgic.
"Do you really think I'm that kind of person?" Tsunade asked in annoyance.
Jiraiya wanted to say something, but held back.
"It won't take long," Tsunade said, turning around. "Ten minutes."
"It doesn't seem like gambling," Jiraiya said, stroking his chin in confusion. "Has Tsunade stopped gambling?"
"It's for Hoshikawa," Orochimaru said, looking at their departing figures.
Jiraiya was slightly taken aback, deep in thought.
If she wasn't gambling but was taking Hoshikawa with her, Orochimaru's guess was highly likely.
"What? Are you jealous of Hoshikawa?" Orochimaru asked with a chuckle.
"Me, jealous of a kid?" Jiraiya glared at him.
"Tsunade treats Hoshikawa better than she treats you," Orochimaru said with his signature venomous tongue.
"You bastard!" Jiraiya was furious. "Let's see if you've made any progress in the past year!"
"You resort to fighting when you can't win with words? That's so childish," Orochimaru said, shaking his head and walking into the barbecue restaurant.
"You!" Jiraiya was furious and followed him inside.
Hoshikawa and Tsunade walked for a few minutes before a pharmacy came into view.
The plaque had the words "Nara clan" and other details written on it.
The Ino-Shika-Chō clans all had their specialties, and the Nara clan was famous for its medicinal herbs, especially deer antler velvet.
"Are we here to buy medicine?" Hoshikawa asked with a look of confusion. "Did someone get hurt?"
"It's for you," Tsunade said casually. "To strengthen your body."
Hoshikawa was stunned.
So the ninja world had a pill-popping culture too?
Tsunade picked out a bunch of medicinal herbs and paid for them with the money Jiraiya had given her.
Hoshikawa had a subtle expression on his face.
This was also a form of... ahem.
Tsunade put away the medicinal herbs, and the two of them returned to the barbecue restaurant.
"Lady Tsunade," the barbecue restaurant owner greeted them. "Lord Hokage and the others are in the first private room."
Tsunade frowned slightly.
What was that old man doing here, crashing their party?
She opened the private room door and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting at the head of the table, with Orochimaru and Jiraiya sitting on either side of him.
"You're here. Have a seat," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, waving them over.
Tsunade sat across from him and pulled Hoshikawa over, squeezing him in.
"Lord Hokage," Hoshikawa, being the youngest in terms of generation and age, had no choice but to greet him first.
"You've been doing well lately," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a sigh. "Asuma has changed a lot."
Orochimaru looked at the slices of meat on the grill, stuck out his long tongue, and swept them all into his mouth.
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya said with a look of annoyance. "Use your chopsticks!"
Interrupted by their bickering, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a little helpless. He had wanted to talk to Hoshikawa about the Will of Fire some more.
None of his three students were respectful or polite. He didn't know what he had taught them.
If only they were all like Minato.
"Order whatever you want to eat. Don't be shy. Jiraiya is paying today," Tsunade said, patting Hoshikawa's head.
"Then... I want beef!" Hoshikawa was not shy at all and ordered five plates of the most expensive beef.
"You really are Tsunade's student," Jiraiya said, his mouth twitching.
"You can learn anything else, but don't learn how to gamble," Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but say.
"He's a child. I won't let him gamble," Tsunade said, pouting.
"Then why did you take him to the casino?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened.
"I took him to the casino, but not to gamble," Tsunade said, casually putting a piece of meat on Hoshikawa's plate.
"..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's vision went black.
What kind of ridiculous reason was that?
This child was probably a lost cause.
"Old man, why are you so concerned about everything?" Jiraiya asked, flipping the meat on the grill.
"What about you? When are you leaving?" Hiruzen Sarutobi changed his target.
"..." Jiraiya was speechless for a moment.
Orochimaru once again stuck out his tongue and took the meat off the grill.
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya asked, annoyed. "Use your chopsticks! And can't you grill your own food?!"
"You'll just burn it. I'm helping you by taking care of it," Orochimaru said with a straight face.
"When have I ever burned it? It's been like this for years. I've never burned anything." A vein popped on Jiraiya's forehead.
"Alright, what's there to argue about over barbecue?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, slapping the table.
"You grill it!" Jiraiya shoved the tongs into his hand.
"..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's mustache bristled, and he said angrily, "I'm your teacher!"
Hoshikawa ate his barbecue in silence.
The current Orochimaru was still somewhat human.
The personalities of the others were similar to their original counterparts, and they all had a sense of being old but not respectable.
It was a shame that this peaceful gathering would eventually turn into a confrontation.
After a lively barbecue, Hoshikawa and Tsunade returned home.
"You train on your own. I'm going to decoct the medicine," Tsunade said, taking off her shoes and walking toward the kitchen.
Hoshikawa stood under the tree and casually tore off a leaf.
He recalled the techniques Asuma Sarutobi had told him about and infused chakra into it.
But the leaf wasn't cut in half. It exploded instead.
Hoshikawa wasn't surprised by this.
His Wind Release talent had a 30% boost from the D-rank entry 'Shippuden', but it was still far from a genius level.
Succeeding on the first try was impossible.
Time passed, and it was soon dusk.
Hoshikawa looked at the leaf that had been cut into four pieces and let out a breath.
According to Asuma Sarutobi, if he could skillfully cut a leaf in half, he could learn some simple Wind Release ninjutsu.
He figured it would take another week of training.
"Hoshikawa, drink your medicine." Just then, Tsunade came to him with a bowl of medicine.
Hoshikawa looked at the dark liquid, pinched his nose, and drank it all in one gulp.
He couldn't help but make a pained face.
The taste was indescribable.
"Come with me," Tsunade said, turning and walking into the house, stopping at the bathroom door.
Hoshikawa instinctively looked inside. The bathtub wasn't filled with hot water; it was filled with medicinal water.
"Take off your clothes," Tsunade said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Huh?" Hoshikawa looked at her. "Aren't you leaving?"
"What are you shy about?" Tsunade asked with a smile. "You're a kid. What's there to look at?"
"Leave," Hoshikawa said, his face turning dark.
"Remember to soak for at least half an hour." Tsunade didn't tease him anymore. She closed the door and turned to leave.
....
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