"What?!"
Kushina was so shocked that she nearly dropped the ladle in her hand.
She had originally thought that even if Shiken kept his promise, it would still take a very, very long time before he fulfilled it.
She never expected that so soon, she would actually be able to leave the village again.
Shiken, you really are the best friend Minato and I could ask for.
"No!!"
This time, however, it was Namikaze Minato who objected.
Both Kushina and Aburame Shiken immediately looked at Minato with strange expressions.
Kushina's look clearly said:
Why are you yelling so loudly? You're hurting my ears.
Meanwhile, Shiken's look meant:
You don't even have the final say here, so what are you making noise for?
"It's too dangerous. None of us know how powerful the Nine-Tails truly is. Releasing it means undoing the seal, and once the seal is undone, nobody knows what kind of damage it could do to Kushina."
Minato's face was grim.
Anything concerning Kushina's safety was something he absolutely would not compromise on.
"Minato, actually I—"
"There's nothing to discuss."
At last, Minato finally displayed the authority of the head of the household.
In response, Kushina could only give Shiken an apologetic smile.
Who would've thought the biggest obstacle would actually come from her side?
Yet Shiken suddenly felt an incredibly strange sense of familiarity.
Why did this scene feel so familiar?
Way too familiar.
"Minato, you're coming too."
"Huh? Then why didn't you say that earlier? In that case, I have no objections."
Minato no longer had objections.
But someone else clearly couldn't suppress hers anymore.
"Na! Mi! Ka! Ze! Mi! Na! To!"
The Hot-Blooded Habanero of the ninja world had returned for a limited time.
Seeing this, Shiken wisely shut the door and left.
A wife beating her husband was just too cruel.
So cruel that even Shiken didn't dare watch.
Afterward, Shiken headed to the Hatake residence.
Hatake Sakumo was still leisurely sipping tea.
"Shiken, it's been a long time since you came by. What brings you here this time?"
"We're heading out for a while, so I'll need Sakumo-san to watch over the village's defenses."
Hearing that, Sakumo instead looked at Shiken with confusion.
Konoha was currently thriving with military strength.
No matter how you looked at it, it shouldn't be his turn—a half-retired old man just waiting to hold grandchildren—to take action.
Unless...
"Who's going?"
"Minato, Kushina, me, Kamito, Hiyasu, Ryoha, and Hideki."
Pfft—
Sakumo sprayed out a mouthful of tea.
"You said who?!"
"Minato, Kushina—"
"No need to repeat it."
Sakumo quickly leaned closer to Shiken and whispered quietly:
"Did someone commit some world-ending atrocity or something? Why do all of you need to move together?"
The moment that lineup moved, it practically meant all of Konoha's top combat power was going out together—and all of them were in their prime.
"A world-ending atrocity? Does bullying Jiraiya-sama count?"
(Hidden Cloud Village: Oh no… they're coming for us.)
"Jiraiya? He actually got bullied?"
"Yep. He got beaten terribly. If I hadn't happened to be nearby, his soul would already be in the Pure Land."
"Ah… that serious?"
Sakumo immediately fell into thought.
Even someone with Jiraiya's strength could run into danger?
In that case...
"Shiken, I agree. But I have one small request."
"What request?"
"Take Kakashi with you this time."
"Kakashi? This mission is really dangerous."
Hearing that, Sakumo couldn't help rolling his eyes.
With your lineup, the dangerous side should be the enemy.
And how are you not getting it? I'm obviously trying to let Kakashi earn some achievements.
For the sake of this dumb son of mine, I'm truly exhausting myself.
"It's fine. Young people need experience. Just bring him along. Leave the rest to fate."
"Alright, no problem. We'll gather at Konoha's main gate tomorrow morning."
Shiken stood up and prepared to leave.
Sakumo froze for a moment.
Shiken… didn't actually take that "leave it to fate" line seriously, did he?
That was just polite phrasing. Anyone should understand that, right?
But then again…
This was Aburame Shiken.
"Shiken, if you can take care of the younger generation, you really should. Fate isn't always reliable."
But Shiken had already walked out.
"He probably heard me… right?"
Sakumo muttered to himself.
...
Orochimaru's underground laboratory.
"A defensive assignment? That sounds incredibly troublesome."
"One billion."
"Shiken, I think you may have misunderstood your teacher. I'm not the sort of person blinded by money."
"Two billion."
"Shiken, are you insulting me?"
"Three billion."
"Shiken… money is nice, but bonds are priceless. Is the relationship between teacher and student really only about money?"
"Four billion."
"Shiken, honestly, all you needed was a reason. Your teacher isn't some unreasonable person. How could I possibly refuse to help my own student?"
"Five billion."
"That is an excellent reason. Your teacher accepts."
Shiken immediately set down a scroll containing five billion ryo before leaving.
Orochimaru picked up the scroll and stared at Shiken's departing figure.
Even though he had obtained the money, why did it feel like something important would never return again?
...
Things were even simpler on Tsunade's side.
When Shiken failed to find her at the casino, he instantly knew she had gambled away all her money and was probably drinking herself unconscious at an izakaya somewhere.
Though honestly...
If she'd already lost all her money at the casino, how did she still have money to drink at an izakaya?
Something about that felt oddly wrong.
"Tsunade-sama, wake up. Wake up."
Tsunade remained motionless like a dead pig.
Seeing this, Shiken had no choice but to unleash his ultimate move.
Drawing in a deep breath, he roared at full volume:
"Big or small?!"
"Big! I'm betting everything on big!"
Tsunade instantly snapped awake.
Shiken smacked his forehead in frustration.
This woman was beyond saving. Terminal illness!!!
"Shiken? Why're you here? Come drink with me."
"Here's one billion. For the next period of time, follow all arrangements from Orochimaru-sensei."
The moment Tsunade saw that mountain of money, she instantly sobered up.
With a slightly drunken gaze, she looked at Shiken affectionately.
"Shiken, are you really not going to consider ьу here? You know, older women are great. Older women are wonderful. Older women—"
"Stop. I'm not interested in older women."
"Tch. No taste at all. Youth truly fails to appreciate the beauty of older women."
Tsunade immediately snatched the billion ryo in front of her.
With this money, she would definitely win back everything she'd lost before—with interest.
Watching Tsunade stagger out of the izakaya and head straight back toward the casino, Shiken wore a helpless expression.
My billion ryo...
But thankfully, after last time, all of Konoha's casinos had already been bought out by him.
When there's a fat sheep around, not opening casinos would honestly be foolish.
And today, he had also discovered an entirely new treasure trove for making money.
"Boss, how much for your izakaya? Name a price. I'm buying it."