Konoha: Tsunade, I Am the Hokage! [13]

“Thank you, Lord Jiraiya—and you three as well.”

Matsuyama Kōji still kept his respectful tone.

Then, unable to resist, he started complaining, recounting Fukagawa Ken’s history.

That guy was a notorious gambling addict.

But—

The Fukagawa family was influential in the Land of Rivers and certainly not lacking in money. Still, thanks to Fukagawa Ken’s incompetence and gambling habits, his father, Fukagawa Hiro, was already considering grooming a new heir.

So—

In recent years, Fukagawa Ken had less and less money at his disposal, racking up more and more debt.

He’d even siphoned off payment from previous business deals with the Fukagawa family.

In short, the feud was no small matter.

As Matsuyama Kōji spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up. “By the way, Lord Jiraiya, now that you’re leading a genin team, does that mean you’ll have time to take more missions in the near future?”

“In theory, yes.”

Jiraiya could already guess what he was getting at—

A targeted commission.

Matsuyama quickly leaned in.

“It’s like this. Our family will be heading to the Land of Waves soon, to do business with a contact of Gato’s. But that man seems to have built up quite a force of samurai in the Land of Waves, and we’re worried he might play dirty.”

“I’ll take the commission, but you’ll need to go through Konoha’s mission office first.”

Jiraiya agreed on the spot—

The Land of Waves.

A place that probably had more than just samurai; there could be rogue ninja involved too.

“Understood. Thank you, Lord Jiraiya.”

Matsuyama’s eyes sparkled.

Jiraiya smiled. “Oh, Mr. Matsuyama, there’s something I wanted to ask. In your casino—or perhaps in a friend’s establishment—have you seen a young woman wearing a jacket with the kanji for ‘gamble’ on it?”

“Gamble?”

Matsuyama frowned.

He thought for a moment, then his expression turned serious. “Yes! Someone like that was here just yesterday.”

“I see. Thank you.”

A faint smile tugged at Jiraiya’s lips.

As I thought. There’s no way she’d leave Konoha without stopping by Tanzaku Town.

He chuckled silently to himself.

“Thank you, Mr. Matsuyama. That wraps up our commission, right?”

“Yes, thank you again for your help.”

Matsuyama bowed.

Then, after a brief pause, he added, “However, if you’re planning to track down that woman with the ‘gamble’ jacket, could you do me a small favor?”

“What is it?”

Jiraiya already had a bad feeling about the next part.

“She lost quite a lot of money at our casino. If you see her, could you help chase down the debt? At the very least, I’d appreciate an IOU...”

Matsuyama asked cautiously.

He had his suspicions about her true identity.
A real high roller in the industry.

But also, a walking disaster.

“About that—hahaha, I’ll do my best. I’ll get you that IOU for sure. How much does she owe?”

Jiraiya coughed.

Who knows how much she’s lost by now?

Actually getting the money back? Not a chance in the short term.

He looked a bit awkward.

Matsuyama relaxed. “That’s fine—as long as I have an IOU, I can answer to the family.”

“You know how it is. This sort of business isn’t mine alone.”

He hurried to explain.

Jiraiya nodded repeatedly, showing he understood.

Kurenai, trailing behind, glanced at Kagenori and Kakashi, hoping for an explanation.

But—

They both shook their heads.

Of course,

Kagenori had a pretty good guess that Jiraiya was searching for Tsunade, who’d left the village.

As one of the Sannin, Tsunade was currently suffering from hemophobia, making it impossible for her to function as a normal ninja. Given her psychological trauma, leaving Konoha was a reasonable choice.

He didn’t expect Jiraiya to convince her to come back—he was more interested in whether he could get any benefits from meeting Tsunade.

She’s Tsunade, after all!

Even a little something from her would be an enormous reward for me right now.

Kagenori’s eyes gleamed as he began thinking in earnest.

Medical ninjutsu...

Konoha’s medical system is already well-established; there’s no need for me to meddle there.

Other knowledge or techniques? Tsunade probably wouldn’t be eager to teach those, either.

As for [Creation Rebirth]...

Tsunade probably hasn’t even finished developing it yet, has she?

Kagenori mulled it over.

After weighing his options, he decided it was best to stay flexible and see what opportunities arose.

...

On a street near the ancient castle district of Tanzaku Town, Jiraiya was scanning the area, looking serious and alert.

“Sensei, who was that woman you asked Matsuyama about?” Kurenai finally asked.

Jiraiya glanced at his team, then grinned. “Why don’t you guess?”

Kakashi thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No idea.”

“One of the Sannin, maybe? I heard there’s a lady among them who’s big on gambling...”
Kagenori said quietly.

Jiraiya looked at him and laughed. “You little brat!”

Then, with a nod, he admitted it.

“I mentioned before, besides the mission, there was something else I wanted to do—see if I could pick up any news about Tsunade.”

He continued walking as he spoke. “Kagenori, have you started experimenting with other Water Release transformations?”

“I’ve just been trying to compress the water stream—I’m not sure if that counts as a transformation.”

Kagenori replied.

Jiraiya nodded. “That’s exactly it.”

He couldn’t help but sigh.

“Sometimes, I wonder if the Second Hokage was just like you when he was young... He started out compressing [Wild Water Wave], and eventually refined it into [Water Severing Wave].”

He launched into a tale about the terrifying power of that jutsu.

Nothing it can’t cut!

A devastating Water Release technique.

Then he recounted some of the Second Hokage’s legendary exploits.

Kakashi and Kurenai listened, completely absorbed.

Kagenori too.

But what caught his interest most was the technique itself.

“So, I’m on the right track?”

“Compression and concentration are advanced jutsu techniques—not just for Suiton, but for Katon and Raiton as well. For example, the Third Raikage’s signature [Four-Fingered Piercing Hand]...”

Jiraiya explained as they walked.

Kakashi’s expression shifted, as if the idea had given him inspiration.

Just then, Jiraiya suddenly stopped and glanced at a building by the street.

It was an izakaya.

A girl’s voice drifted down from the upper floor.

“We really don’t have much money left!”

“Ahh, come on...”

Shizune’s voice.

Kagenori instantly recognized it.

He’d once briefly been classmates with Shizune; after she left the village with Tsunade, he hadn’t seen her since. But her voice hadn’t changed much.

“Found her!”

Jiraiya chuckled, glancing around in anticipation—

“Sensei, I think we’d better go through the front door. I heard that lady once nearly sent you to the hospital.”

Kagenori said quietly.

What?

There’s a story like that?

Kakashi and Kurenai immediately perked up, eyes wide with curiosity—even their face masks couldn’t hide it.

Jiraiya fumed.

“You little brat, where do you hear all this gossip?”

“My grandma told me.”

“Unbelievable!”

Embarrassed, Jiraiya rapped him on the head. “You always know too much!”

But, in the end, he took Kagenori’s advice, entering through the front and searching for Tsunade’s private room—best not to risk barging in and getting punched through the wall.

When Tsunade saw Jiraiya, she didn’t even look surprised—

They were old acquaintances, after all, and the commotion downstairs was enough for her to guess who’d come.

“Well, well, Jiraiya.”

Tsunade lounged against the wall, a bottle in hand, exuding a lazy, careless air.

But there was no mistaking her commanding presence. The sheer force she radiated was staggering.

Even Kurenai, herself a woman—

She couldn’t help but stare, eyes wide, then glance down again and again...

Her face full of shock.

---

T/N: TSUNADE I AM THE HOKAGE!

This is a fan translation of 木叶：纲手，我才是火影！by 卖身葬节操 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!