Shizune followed Tsunade, busy running her own little calculations in her head.
Before long, the two returned to their rented inn.
The room was pretty spacious, with two large beds and some nice potted plants set up on the small balcony by the window—everything you'd need was right there.
Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune both valued their living environment highly.
This was one of the best inns on Tanoko Street. Although the rent wasn't cheap, the environment and service were truly excellent.
After shutting the door, Shizune tossed the small box onto the nearby table without a second thought. The exact amount inside wasn't important to her.
The reason she felt happy about winning money wasn't because of the money itself, but the fact that she had won.
Tsunade had already settled onto the small sofa near the window, maintaining that unfathomable calmness from earlier.
First, Shizune fetched two glasses of water from the water dispenser, handed one to Tsunade, then sat down on another sofa beside her.
"What happened, Tsunade-sama?" At this point, Shizune finally calmed herself enough to ask. She noticed Tsunade's unease, yet personally, she didn't feel anything wrong at all.
"I don't know," Tsunade replied. "But it's just how things go—whenever I win, trouble's sure to follow."
Sitting there, Tsunade seemed uneasy, gripping the cushion beneath her hands.
"Hmm…" Shizune shifted her gaze, and noticed a pigeon outside the window wearing a Konoha forehead protector.
A sudden tension gripped her heart as she watched the bird land outside, bobbing its head and pressing its eyes against the glass, trying hard to peer inside.
Since it was an inn, the windows had a frosted look—nothing fancy like one-way glass, but enough to keep prying eyes out.
Looking at the pigeon outside the window, Shizune slowly stood up, opened the window, stretched her hand out, and reached for the bird. It cooperated, bobbing its head a few times without dodging.
"Shizune… what are you doing?"
Seeing Shizune's actions, Tsunade also stood up, looking somewhat puzzled at the pigeon.
She recognized this kind of pigeon—it was a Ninja Pigeon, specially bred by Konoha for delivering intelligence.
Even though Boss Summons existed, only a handful of ninja had access to them. That's why Ninja Pigeons were bred specifically for intelligence delivery—they were the most reliable option.
As Tsunade looked into the pigeon's red eyes, a chill ran down her spine—this must be why she'd been feeling uneasy all along.
As for how this pigeon found her… maybe it had something to do with what she left behind for Minato Namikaze when she left the village.
"What could possibly be so urgent that Konoha sent me a message!"
Tsunade took the pigeon from Shizune, feeling rather apprehensive. She feared receiving some bad news again.
"Tsunade-sama, check it out! We need to find out what's going on!" Shizune widened her eyes while watching Tsunade. From the very first moment she saw this message pigeon from Konoha, she shared Tsunade's same ominous premonition, hence desperately wanting to know what the situation was.
"Hmm!" Tsunade muttered as she carefully removed the sealed scroll from the pigeon's leg.
These specially-bred pigeons were much larger than ordinary ones, which meant they could carry heavier loads. A mere scroll posed no problem at all.
Tsunade infused chakra into the scroll and used a specific jutsu to slowly unroll it.
Shizune leaned in right away—being slightly taller gave her the edge to peek over Tsunade's shoulder at the contents of the scroll.
Tsunade trusted her apprentice completely—she had even shown her more top-secret materials before, so delivering intelligence brought by pigeon meant nothing in comparison.
[Hisss!] Her eyes swept across the writing with a hiss. Without hesitation, Tsunade moved to pull the scroll away, unwilling to let Shizune see.
But it was already too late. Shizune had read it together with Tsunade and seen everything clearly.
"How could this even be real...?"
Tsunade turned to see the dazed look on Shizune's face, her own heart stirring with mixed emotions.
This intelligence came from Minato Namikaze, stating bluntly, "Saitama is alive and has become a rogue ninja."
[Clap!] The sound echoed as Shizune dropped back onto the sofa, disbelief written all over her face as she kept whispering incoherently to herself.
"Tsunade-sama, is this true?"
After a long pause, Shizune raised her head, eyes slightly red, staring at Tsunade.
"Hmph!" Tsunade knew Minato would never joke about such matters, so she reluctantly nodded.
"But…this is just too much to believe…"
It wasn't that Shizune couldn't accept the fact Saitama hadn't died—it was simply difficult for her to believe the boy who had once perished in her heart had now turned into a rogue ninja and committed such serious crimes outside.
"Shizune, I'll return tomorrow. We need time to fully understand what's going on. Don't be too upset!"
Tsunade wasn't good at comforting others, yet she still bent forward and gave Shizune's back a few reassuring pats.
"At least he's alive, right? Mistakes can be fixed—we can help him turn things around. As long as he's alive, anything is possible!"
Tsunade pressed her hands on Shizune's shoulders, gently stroking her face.
"Yeah...I understand now," Shizune said, eyes gradually brightening as she nodded firmly.
She realized there was still something joyous about this news—at the very least, Saitama hadn't died. Why he resurfaced years later as a rogue ninja didn't matter much compared to her concern for his life itself. Just like Tsunade said, errors could always be corrected.
"Then let's pack up and head back tomorrow!"
Looking straight into Tsunade's eyes, Shizune silently resolved in her heart: no matter what Saitama had done, she'd bring him back. It really wasn't that big of a deal.
They gazed at each other in silence, then both burst out laughing at the same time, banishing the earlier gloom like morning mist in the sun.
Being optimistic by nature, they quickly regained their composure.
"Tsunade-sama, since we won so much money today, how about a hot spring bath followed by dinner? We'll need our strength for heading back to the village tomorrow!"
Shizune glanced toward the box placed aside and spoke to Tsunade.
"Great idea! Let's go. It's been ages since I last took a hot spring bath—I really miss it!"
"I heard there's a famous women's hot spring nearby. We could totally go check it out!"
Tsunade pulled Shizune close and gently wiped away the tear streaks around Shizune's eyes, caused earlier by emotional excitement.
...
It was a hot spring veiled in mist, greatly obscuring the view but adding a dreamy charm.
The pool wasn't big, but it was bustling with people—probably a group of four sisters having fun together.
Sounds of laughter and cheerful chatter continuously echoed.
Since this wasn't a co-ed bathhouse, men and women were separated. However, just a wall divided the two sides, sharing the same spring source.
Beside the pool where several women played, sat a green frog perched on a rock.
The frog looked ordinary enough. Yet something unusual did stand out—it had its eyes fixed on the females in the water while holding its nose, which was bleeding.
That's right—a frog with a nosebleed! Biologists would lose their minds over this, but it was true!
The frog remained motionless, except its eyes showed unnervingly human-like awareness, constantly scanning about as if possessed by a human soul.
"Wakaka! Today's material is gold! I already have the title: [The Frog Sage and the Four Ninja Sisters]!"
The frog opened its long mouth with an ordinary croak, yet its thoughts were anything but normal.
No one knew that this frog was actually one of the Legendary Sannin—the gallant Jiraiya!
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