Chapter 03: The Protagonist Who Threw Away His Integrity (3rd Update, seeking fresh flowers and collections)
On the streets of Konoha.
"Alright, Anko, Iruka, go back now. I'm not a patient anymore." Tengen looked at the two little tails behind him and said, "I'm almost home too."
"Okay then, be safe." Anko said reluctantly. "By the way, are you coming to school tomorrow?"
"Yeah, it's not like there's anything scary there," Tengen said.
"Okay, see you then." After Anko finished speaking, she bid farewell to Tengen.
"Tengen, I'm leaving too," Umino Iruka said.
"Okay." Tengen nodded. After watching Anko and Umino Iruka leave his line of sight, he immediately changed direction. He didn't go home but headed towards a place where people in Konoha gathered.
It wasn't for any other reason than discovering a Player signal. Although it was only a Normal signal, it was the first signal Tengen had discovered in Konoha, so he naturally had to receive it.
The signal duration wouldn't last too long, at most a day, so at times like this, every second counted.
Currently, on Tengen's signal map, there were signals in other places outside Konoha, even Full HD ones, but Tengen wasn't confident.
Those were not places he could go to right now. Even within Konoha, there were many places Tengen couldn't go, or he wouldn't even know how he died.
Right now, Tengen was just a student; he didn't even have the strength of a Genin, which was only natural.
Upon graduating from the Ninja Academy, the average student's strength was merely that of a newly minted Genin. One couldn't judge by the standards of the future rookie nine.
Didn't you see that many ninjas only reach the Chūnin level at most in their old age?
Because in the Naruto World, Jōnin is a watershed. Jōnin are the high-end power of the village and are valued by the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Soon, Tengen arrived at the location of the signal.
"The place emitting the signal seems to be the women's bathhouse." Tengen was dumbfounded. If it were the men's bathhouse, it would be convenient, but it just had to be the women's bathhouse.
"Let me confirm." Tengen walked around on his short legs and was now one hundred percent certain: the signal was emitting from the women's bathhouse.
"I can't go in." Tengen lay on a small slope, muttering.
"Little guy, I didn't expect to find a fellow enthusiast." A voice rang out beside Tengen, startling him slightly as he hadn't noticed anyone nearby.
Although Tengen wasn't strong, if someone could get this close without him noticing, it meant they were formidable.
Turning his head to look, he saw a white-haired man wearing a forehead protector with the character for 'Oil'. This person made Tengen freeze. If he wasn't mistaken, this was Jiraiya.
"Do you know me?" The white-haired man said proudly. "It seems my fame is quite significant; even such a small child knows me."
"Of course, Pervy Sage Jiraiya." Tengen immediately blurted out Jiraiya's title.
"Uh." Jiraiya's smile froze for a moment. "Kid, where did you hear that?"
Jiraiya didn't believe that Tengen came up with that nickname himself.
"I don't know, I just heard it occasionally," Tengen said, pretending to be innocent.
"Damn it, it must be Tsunade." Jiraiya gritted his teeth, then narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Hey kid, want to go together?"
"Go together?" Tengen shook his head. "Lord Jiraiya, we are not fellow enthusiasts. I'm slipping away first."
Saying that, Tengen trotted away from there.
Are you kidding? The danger level of being with Jiraiya right now was extremely high. There was a huge probability that Tsunade was also in this bathhouse.
Generally, there was only one outcome for this: Jiraiya getting blasted away by Tsunade's Monstrous Strength.
Tengen's small body couldn't withstand Tsunade's Monstrous Strength. Staying with Jiraiya would truly be seeking death.
"Sigh, it's really hard to find a fellow enthusiast," Jiraiya said with a tone of disappointment. "I'll go myself."
On the other side, Tengen was thinking of other methods.
"Hmm, Transformation Technique." Tengen thought. "It probably won't work. If Tsunade is inside, she might be able to sense it with her perception."
"In that case..." Tengen passed by a pool and looked at his reflection in the water. "I feel like my face is a bit handsome right now."
"Whatever, for the signal reception, I'll risk it." A flash of determination appeared in Tengen's eyes. He ran off to somewhere unknown, and ten minutes later, a cute little girl who looked like a loli appeared on the spot.
"Is it easy for me?" This loli was Tengen. For the sake of receiving the signal, Tengen had thrown away his dignity, acting as a little loli just to get in.
Before walking into the bathhouse, Tengen heard a familiar scream, and then seemed to see a figure flying directly into the distance.
"Jiraiya." Tengen thought of that person, the corner of his eye twitching. He felt that not staying with Jiraiya was indeed a wise move.
"However, Tsunade is really inside. It looks like I have to be careful." Tengen walked into the women's bathhouse. The receptionist naturally didn't stop him, likely assuming Tengen's relatives were inside.
Wrapped in a bath towel, he walked into the misty bathhouse. Looking at the signal received by the Player System, Tengen felt a pain in the ass.
That signal was actually in the bathwater. Tengen had to get in; if he stayed outside, the distance for receiving the signal was just a bit off.
"A quick battle, a quick decision." Tengen gritted his teeth secretly and stepped directly into the water. Soon, he was within the signal reception range. Tengen watched the system receiving the signal as a video fragment was slowly generated.
"Reception complete." A faint voice sounded. Tengen breathed a sigh of relief. "I can retreat. I'll watch it after I get out; it's too nerve-wracking right now."
"Hey, little sister, are you alone? Where are your parents?" A voice rang out from behind. Tengen turned his head mechanically and saw a familiar face—Tsunade. It made Tengen's little heart go thump-thump.
"I'm going to find my parents now." Tengen wanted to leave and gave a slight smile.
"Wow, what a cute little sister." Tsunade pounced directly, grabbing Tengen. "Tell big sister, how old are you?"
As she spoke, Tsunade didn't care whether Tengen was willing or not and used brute force to drag him to the washing area.
"Can you please not do this?" Tengen was crying tears of blood in his heart. The longer he stayed here, the easier it would be to get discovered.
However, Tsunade was really something, calling herself 'big sister' at her age.
"Shizune, look quickly, this girl is cuter than you," Tsunade said to the girl beside her.
"Mm, she's smaller than me." Shizune looked at Tengen and nodded.
"Um, I have to go," Tengen said weakly.
"Won't you stay with big sister a little longer?" Tsunade pinched Tengen's little cheek. It was truly terrifying.
"I'll endure." Tengen was helpless.
"Eh, you don't need the bath towel, just take it off." This voice made Tengen scream internally, 'Not good,' but a huge force directly stripped the bath towel from his body.
"I'm done for."