Tsunade shook her head firmly."No, no, no. One isn't enough. I want five."
"Cough cough—"Ryo almost choked on his own saliva."Tsunade, aren't you going a bit too far? You want five?!"
"It's not much,"Tsunade replied smoothly, her tone unshaken."Just five. You give them to me, and Naruto will fully cooperate with you. We'll also lend you our full support."
Her determined gaze made it clear:If she didn't get five, she wasn't letting this negotiation end.
"Uh…"At that moment, Jiraiya spoke up, interrupting their back-and-forth."Wait, what are these items you're talking about?I still don't get what you two are discussing."
He'd heard about these 'attribute-boosting items' several times now, but no one had properly explained what they actually did, and the curiosity was killing him.
"And anyway,"Jiraiya continued,"Tsunade, why ask for items?Wouldn't it be better to just get money?I mean, we could have Ryo pay up and release an S-rank mission reward for Naruto instead."
He grinned slyly, as if he had just thought of a genius plan to milk Ryo dry.
"I agree!"Ryo's eyes lit up immediately.He nodded vigorously."Excellent idea, Jiraiya. Tsunade, let's do that.Forget the items. I'll pay for an S-rank mission."
Tsunade froze for a second.She hadn't expected her own teammate to stab her in the back so thoroughly.
If looks could kill, Jiraiya would have been vaporized on the spot.
After all, attribute-boosting items sold for ten million ryo each!Five of them would be fifty million.
Meanwhile, an S-rank mission payment at best was five hundred thousand ryo.Even at the maximum reward, Jiraiya had just cut Ryo's payout to a tenth!
And this fool even looked proud about it.
"Tsunade, you see?"Jiraiya beamed proudly."Ryo's agreed. Let's finalize—uh... Tsunade, why are you staring at me like that?"
"Jiraiya!"Tsunade roared, grabbing Jiraiya by the collar and slamming him headfirst into the ground behind her.
Everyone watching instinctively shuddered.They couldn't help but pity Jiraiya at that moment.
But Tsunade paid no mind to the onlookers.She turned back to Ryo and said decisively,"Fine. If five is too much, four!"
Ryo, regaining his composure, quickly shook his head."No deal.I really like Jiraiya's idea.I'm sticking to releasing an S-rank mission."
"I'm the Hokage.I decide!"Tsunade snapped.
"And besides," she added fiercely, glaring at the still-dazed Jiraiya,"we're up against an enemy force with over ten shinobi of Kage-level strength.You think an S-rank mission is enough payment for that?"
Ryo paused.That was fair.Given that the enemy included the likes of Obito and others, labeling it merely an S-rank mission did seem... insulting.
Still, he frowned."But four is still too much.How about a compromise—three?"
Tsunade hesitated.Three meant losing ten million ryo compared to her original demand.And that was assuming Ryo wanted to sell.If he didn't, she could easily see a single item fetching over a hundred million among the rich elite.
Nowadays, Pokémon had spread across the ninja world, and the truly wealthy were obsessed with them.For them, a million or two was nothing if it meant powering up their partners.
But still, pushing Ryo too hard might backfire.
Tsunade sighed and finally nodded."Fine. Three it is.But I get to pick the attributes."
Ryo's mouth twitched.She really had the nerve to act like she was being generous after wringing him dry.
With anyone else, these three items could easily have bought an entire Tailed Beast's life.
Still, he nodded."Alright. I agree.But when the time comes to lure them out, you have to follow my plan."
Tsunade didn't even hesitate."Deal.We'll follow your lead."
She extended her hand toward him.Ryo blinked."You seriously think I'll back out?"
"It's not that,"Tsunade said breezily."It's just that if we're in the middle of an operation, there might not be time to find you."
Ryo chuckled and shook his head."Fine, fine.What attributes do you want?"
"Two Dragon-types, one Grass-type,"Tsunade answered immediately.
Ryo gave her a sideways glance."You already had it planned out, didn't you?"
Tsunade said nothing—just smiled and urged him to hurry.
Ryo rolled his eyes but didn't argue further.He opened the system shop, quickly redeemed the necessary items, and handed them over.
"Here. Two Dragon Fangs, one Miracle Seed."
Tsunade eagerly took them, her face lighting up with excitement."Thanks!Next time something like this comes up, remember to call us again!"
Ryo felt a fresh wave of helplessness wash over him.
At that moment, Jiraiya, who had finally recovered, wandered over curiously."Hey, Tsunade, you really traded for these?What's so special about them?Wouldn't it have been better to just get the mission payout?"
Tsunade shot him a death glare that made Jiraiya instinctively take a step back.
"You have no idea,"she said."Take this Dragon Fang, for example.If you give it to your Salamence, it'll boost its Dragon-type moves by twenty percent!"
"What?!"Jiraiya's jaw dropped.
"You're not seriously telling me you believe that nonsense,"he said, stunned."How could something like that even exist?"
Tsunade didn't bother replying.She simply summoned her Salamence right then and there.
"Come out, Salamence!"
"Rooooar—"With a loud roar, Salamence appeared in a flash of light, landing heavily beside them.
Upon seeing Ryo, Salamence's eyes lit up, and it eagerly trotted over to greet him.
"Long time no see, Salamence,"Ryo said with a smile, patting its armored head.
Tsunade, however, wasn't pleased.She crossed her arms and scowled."Salamence, who's your real trainer, huh?"
"Roar—"Salamence glanced at her, gave a reluctant little nod, and then promptly ignored her.
Tsunade's face darkened.She clenched her fists, visibly itching to storm over and teach Salamence a lesson.
"Alright, alright, calm down,"came a familiar voice.It was Eliza, walking up with a chuckle.
"You can't really blame Salamence,"Eliza said."After all, you're the one always complaining that it's 'ugly' now.Saying it was much cuter as a Bagon and that you should've never evolved it."
Tsunade's face turned red, but she stayed silent.
Eliza shook her head with a sigh."Honestly, it's a miracle Salamence hasn't run away yet, considering you said all that right in front of it."
It was true.Despite everything, Salamence still followed Tsunade loyally.
But hearing those hurtful words day after day had definitely left some emotional scars.
If Salamence hadn't genuinely liked being with her, it probably would've ditched her long ago.
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