All Expenses Covered by the Uchiha

Uchiha Ishijima, Fugaku Uchiha, and two jonin from the Uchiha Clan waited at Konoha's gates for their escort.

Of the four Uchiha, the weakest was fifteen-year-old jonin Fugaku Uchiha.

The gate guard squad watched the village curiously, wondering what kind of escort team such an Uchiha lineup required.

When the gate guards spotted Jiraiya, understanding dawned on their faces.

So it was Lord Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninja. He was indeed qualified to escort the Uchiha Clan Head and young clan head.

But... was the village planning to assassinate the Kazekage?

The Uchiha Clan Head and young clan head, along with two Uchiha jonin and one of the Three Ninja, Jiraiya—such a group would have been enough to serve as the core of a command headquarters on one front during a ninja war.

Fugaku Uchiha looked at Minato Namikaze and silently marveled at his talent.

Everyone in the village had seen what happened a few days ago. That red giant toad had been enormous, and incredibly tall.

More detailed intelligence later spread: the red giant toad, which stood a head taller than the walls and was at least forty meters high, had not been summoned by Jiraiya. It had been summoned by Jiraiya's genius disciple, Minato Namikaze.

Before true talent, ordinary geniuses were worth nothing.

Fugaku Uchiha was widely acknowledged as a genius of the Uchiha Clan, yet at eleven, he had been nowhere near Minato Namikaze's level.

With the Summoning Technique alone, Minato Namikaze could influence the outcome of a battlefield. He was already a strategic asset to the village.

Jiraiya showed no embarrassment at arriving exactly on time. "Senior Ishijima, you got here early. Looks like the journey really is far, or you wouldn't have been in such a hurry."

Uchiha Ishijima said, "The chance to travel with Jiraiya may not come even once in over a decade."

"Yeah. I got quite a scolding from the old man for escorting you."

The gate guards hurriedly turned their heads aside, unwilling to let the village higher-ups' secrets reach their ears.

As the strongest ninja clan after the Senju Clan's decline, the Uchiha Clan was unwelcome in the village and faced suppression everywhere.

It was said that even Uchiha clansmen who had awakened their eyes had vanished within the village, yet despite the Konoha Military Police Force's strength, they could uncover nothing.

Jiraiya, the Hokage's disciple, was openly traveling with the Uchiha Clan Head. How could that not invite speculation?

Uchiha Ishijima gave an awkward laugh and did not respond.

Jiraiya's carefree, dissolute demeanor was the perfect camouflage. He went to peep outside the Women's Bathhouse every day—did his attitude even matter to the village's serious higher-ups anymore?

Jiraiya could casually tease the Hokage over this matter. Uchiha Ishijima could not.

"Let's go, Jiraiya. We'll make this quick."

"We'll get there quickly, sure. As for coming back quickly, that depends. If something happens on the road and we can't return quickly, then there's nothing to be done, right, Senior Ishijima?"

"Haha, you're right."

Watching the eight of them leave, the gate guards could not help complaining about Jiraiya's bluntness.

Even if he wanted to leave the village to sightsee and have fun, did he have to be so blatant about it? How were they supposed to write their report? 'One of the Three Ninja, Jiraiya, expressed an extremely obvious unwillingness to return early'?

After leaving the village, all expenses along the way were covered by the wealthy Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Ishijima was around ten years older than Jiraiya, a worldly old hand who knew Jiraiya's tastes precisely.

Whenever they reached a town, Uchiha Ishijima would take Jiraiya to its biggest entertainment venue. Depending on the town's specialties, it might be a tavern or a casino, but naturally, there was always a bathhouse.

Fugaku Uchiha, meanwhile, took the others to stay at respectable inns.

Fugaku Uchiha was not yet married, and Jiraiya would never set foot in such respectable inns.

After traveling for four or five days, they arrived at Tanzaku Street, a famous place in the southwest of the Land of Fire. It was a money-burning paradise of casinos, inns, amusement halls, and bathhouses.

The climate here was warm, like spring all year round, making it an ideal place to spend the winter. Even the families of Land of Fire nobles came here for winter vacations.

As for the present, in late spring and early summer, Jiraiya's first words upon entering Tanzaku Street were, "Perfect weather for swimsuits."

Upon arriving at Tanzaku Street, even the most innocent Akimichi Jirokuma could see that something was off.

He quietly said to Minato:

"Minato, do you think the Uchiha are trying to bribe Teacher Jiraiya?

I don't know where the Empty District the Uchiha mentioned is, but it can't be such a coincidence that there are so many famous bathhouses and entertainment venues along the way, can it?"

"I think you're right, but it doesn't matter. Even we figured it out, so Teacher must have known long ago. He's just pretending not to know anything. He'll enjoy each night while he can."

The two whispered to each other. Though Haneina could not hear them, she knew what they were talking about.

They had only entered Tanzaku Street a few dozen meters ago, yet more than ten beautiful women in swimsuits had already brushed past them. Haneina saw that Teacher Jiraiya's ears had turned red and had no idea why he was so excited.

Minato Namikaze, however, carefully observed everything on Tanzaku Street. Tanzaku Street had appeared in the anime; it was where Jiraiya took Naruto to find Tsunade.

He had not expected to come to Tanzaku Street himself.

He glanced at Uchiha Ishijima and Fugaku Uchiha. With both the clan head and young clan head here in person, he wondered whether they had come to find Tsunade.

Amid the neon lights and colorful swimsuits, a black crow descended onto the street, looking utterly out of place, and finally landed on Fugaku's shoulder.

Fugaku and the crow appeared to exchange nothing. The crow carried no note, and after resting on Fugaku's shoulder for several seconds, it took flight and departed.

Both Uchiha Ishijima and Jiraiya looked toward the crow, their expressions entirely different.

Ishijima spoke first. "Jiraiya, how about we skip the bathhouse for tonight's first stop and go to the casino first?"

"The casino? Of course. As long as the second stop tonight is the bathhouse, the first can be anything."

For once, Fugaku Uchiha did not lead the others to a respectable inn, but followed them instead.

The others followed as well.

After entering the casino, Minato Namikaze merely swept his gaze around once before spotting Tsunade, wearing a tea-green sleeveless shirt, with a voluptuous figure and pale blond hair.

As expected, the Uchiha had found Tsunade.

The system had said that the Uchiha were willing to reconcile with the Senju once more. Given the Uchiha Clan's current strength, finding Tsunade within the Land of Fire would not be difficult.

The group tacitly moved toward Tsunade. Passing through the excited gamblers, they found that the situation at Tsunade's table seemed highly tense.

"Little fat sheep! You've lost all the money from selling your ancestral estate. What else do you have left to lose?"

Faced with her opponent's aggressive taunts, veins throbbed on Tsunade's forehead. She was clearly at the end of her patience.

But the Senju Clan's fine upbringing kept her from venting with ninjutsu here.

At some point, Jiraiya appeared behind Tsunade.

"All of Tsunade-hime's expenses today will be covered by my friends, the Uchiha!"