Ninja Pouch

In a sprawling courtyard right beside the center of the village.

This had once been the Senju Clan's territory. Now it was Mito Uzumaki's home, and Tsunade's home as well.

At that moment, Tsunade, her hair tied in a high ponytail, angrily pushed open the wooden door and walked inside.

In the vast courtyard, a mature woman with red hair gathered into twin buns and a purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead slowly set down her watering can and smilingly opened her arms toward Tsunade.

The moment she saw her grandmother, Tsunade immediately put away her anger and threw herself into Mito Uzumaki's embrace like a fledgling bird.

"Grandma, why did you suddenly feel like watering flowers?" Tsunade asked sweetly.

"Last week, I went to Senso-ji Temple, and the head priest gave me a Five-Treasure Azalea. I thought I'd plant it."

Though nearly fifty, Mito Uzumaki showed no sign of age as she gently stroked Tsunade's smooth hair, her large eyes narrowing into crescents.

"Enough about me. What happened to my Little Tsunade today? Why do I get the feeling you're very angry?"

Tsunade pouted.

If it had been anyone else, even Second Grandfather Tobirama, Tsunade would not have told them about what had happened today.

But Mito Uzumaki was different. In Tsunade's heart, her grandmother was the gentlest and most considerate person in the world.

"Grandma, I met two super annoying guys at school today."

As she spoke, Tsunade told Mito Uzumaki everything that had happened at the Ninja School that afternoon.

In her telling, Rinto and Jiraiya became incomparably, cosmically, utterly obnoxious bastards.

Mito Uzumaki quietly listened to Tsunade's story, then laughed teasingly.

"So my Little Tsunade has grown up too. Boys are already pursuing you. Was that boy named Jiraiya handsome?"

Seeing the teasing look on her grandmother's face, Tsunade immediately protested, burrowing around in her arms like a spoiled child.

"Grandma~ You're bullying me! Jiraiya isn't handsome at all! He's at the bottom of the class, and his personality is even more annoying!"

Hearing that, Mito Uzumaki affectionately pinched Tsunade's little cheek.

"You can't say that. Your grandfather was mischievous when he was young too~ He turned out fine once he grew up!"

"Hmph! I don't believe that!" Tsunade pouted.

Elsewhere, in the Hokage's Office, Tobirama Senju stared expressionlessly at the scroll on his desk.

Before him, a man wearing a dog mask knelt on one knee.

The scroll recorded every aspect of Rinto's life during this period.

It included not only his daily routines, but even exactly when Rinto used the toilet and how long he spent there.

When he saw Nakaryu Taiku make Uchiha Ryota switch seats with Tsunade, Tobirama Senju's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.

All this time, he had been very satisfied with Rinto's behavior.

As a discovered spy, Rinto had consistently acted harmless, especially over the past week or so at the Ninja School.

Aside from getting acquainted with a civilian orphan named Jiraiya who sat beside him, he had barely interacted with any other children.

That was exactly what Tobirama Senju wanted to see.

After all, in all of Konoha, only he understood how dangerous Rinto truly was.

Setting Hanzo of the Salamander aside, Rinto's skill at laying plans and manipulating people's hearts alone made Tobirama Senju deeply wary.

To put it bluntly, even if Rinto's taijutsu alone was already comparable to a Jonin's, Tobirama Senju could still subdue him in an instant.

But leaving one-on-one combat aside, this fellow's schemes could play a far greater role on the battlefield.

If he had not left a Flying Thunder God Technique mark on the fellow, Tobirama Senju truly would not have dared let him stroll around Konoha so openly.

And yet Nakaryu Taiku, that idiot, had arranged for Tsunade, his elder brother's granddaughter, to sit beside such a dangerous fellow.

This is infuriating!

"Earth Dog, bring Monkey here."

"Yes!" Earth Dog lowered his head, then vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

After quite some time, there came a knock on the Hokage's Office door, and the young Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in.

"Teacher, you called for me?"

Tobirama Senju nodded and set down the scroll that had been giving him such a headache.

"Monkey, do you think we should tell Sakuta Rinto about Sakuta Mizuguma's death?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was initially delighted. His teacher asking for his opinion meant his teacher thought more highly of him than before. But the moment he considered Sakuta Mizuguma's death, he immediately became troubled.

He had actually considered this question for a long time, but even now, he had not found a good answer.

First of all, once Rinto learned of Sakuta Mizuguma's death, judging by his personality, he would definitely leave Konoha to seek revenge.

But Sakuta Rinto could not be allowed to leave. Whether it was his identity or his abilities, he was a source of support Konoha could not afford to lose.

As long as Sakuta Rinto had not fully stood on Konoha's side, this dangerous fellow could not be allowed his freedom.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had also thought of keeping Sakuta Rie behind to restrain Rinto, but that thought had remained only a thought.

First, whether keeping Sakuta Rie would create a rift between Rinto and Konoha was uncertain.

Second, if Rinto left the village to investigate Sakuta Mizuguma's death, there were simply too many unknowns.

In the ninja world, death was the main theme. This fellow might be clever, but in a life-or-death moment, even the greatest wisdom was nowhere near as useful as the Kunai in one's hand.

At the end of the day, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought very highly of Rinto.

He had always believed that through the Will of Fire, Rinto would become a tremendous asset to Konoha in the future.

With that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered his courage.

"Teacher, my opinion is that we should not tell him. Let him find out himself."

"Mm." Tobirama Senju pondered for a moment, then deliberately asked, "What if he blames Konoha for concealing the news after he finds out?!"

Clearly, Tobirama Senju already knew the answer. He was testing Hiruzen Sarutobi now.

"He won't!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said firmly.

If Rinto had been an immature and unreasonable child, he might have taken his anger out on the Konoha High Council over something like this.

But Rinto was not. Hiruzen Sarutobi was certain that this fellow's mind was far more mature than that of ordinary people, even more mature than many adults in the village.

And truly mature people understood that help was a favor, while not helping was one's right.

Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi's resolute expression, Tobirama Senju slowly sighed.

Monkey really was so much like his elder brother!

Konoha Commercial Street was Konoha's busiest and most prosperous business district.

After school, Rinto and Jiraiya stood shoulder to shoulder in front of a grill, drooling as they stared at the dumplings sizzling atop it.

Takoyaki—three to a skewer, topped with bonito flakes—was so tempting even the kids next door would cry from envy.

"Here you go. Enjoy!"

The middle-aged woman making the Takoyaki threaded two skewers of dumplings and handed one each to Rinto and Jiraiya.

The two quickly took them and, in perfect synchronization, stuffed them into their mouths.

"Mmph, this stuff really is delicious!"

With his mouth stuffed full, Rinto gave his opinion with a satisfied expression.

Beside him, Jiraiya's cheeks bulged high as he nodded repeatedly.

Very quickly, Rinto and Jiraiya finished both skewers. Yet they were still staring at the sizzling dumplings on the grill, drooling with lingering desire.

Damn, this stuff is good.

As a salty-food lover, Rinto had no love at all for Taiyaki, Apple Candy, and the like. Instead, the savory Takoyaki suited his taste perfectly.

And Jiraiya seemed to be the same kind of salty-food rebel as him.

After finishing, no matter how badly he craved more, Rinto did not say anything.

Jiraiya only had two hundred Ryo in his pocket altogether, and treating him to dumplings had already cost twenty Ryo. That was a serious expense for him.

"Here, this is my return gift!"

Outside the Dumpling Shop, Rinto pulled a small green pouch from his clothes.

The instant Jiraiya saw it, his eyes went wide.

"Th-This is a Ninja Pouch? You bastard, Rinto! Where did you steal it from?!"

Jiraiya's first reaction was that Rinto had stolen something. After all, Rinto was an orphan too, and orphans generally lived difficult, impoverished lives.

Hearing Jiraiya's words, Rinto immediately became displeased.

"What do you mean, steal? I took it openly and honestly from Uncle Ippongi's shelf. Can a ninja's business be called stealing?!"

He then launched into a long string of things Jiraiya could not understand.

"Do you want it or not? If you don't, I'm throwing it away."

"I do, I do!" Jiraiya hurriedly took the Ninja Pouch. It felt quite heavy in his hand. When he opened it, he found Shuriken and Kunai neatly arranged inside.

Of course, there were no Senbon.

Rinto believed that this fellow's head of white hair was far more powerful than Senbon.

Holding the Ninja Pouch in his hands, Jiraiya looked at Rinto's indifferent face, and tears began streaming down his cheeks.

"You bastard, Rinto... You..."

Rinto speechlessly picked his nose, then turned and waved to Jiraiya.

"I saw you didn't have one during the last ninja tool throwing class, so I got one for you. Consider it repayment for the Takoyaki!

Save your thanks for later. Or if you want to be my lackey, I'll reluctantly agree!

Bye. I'm going to work."

Watching Rinto slowly walk away, Jiraiya felt an intense warmth in his heart.

Since his parents had passed away, no one had ever cared for him like this.

"Y-You bastard, you want me to be your lackey? Once I, the great Jiraiya, become stronger than everyone else, I'll be the one looking after you!"

After saying goodbye to Jiraiya, Rinto first went to work for a while at Kato Ninja Tool Shop. After putting on his Weighted Gear, he could clearly feel his physical condition steadily improving whether he was walking, sleeping, or forging iron.

To Rinto, that was even more exciting than learning a forbidden technique.

After all, Teacher Mizuguma always said that ninjutsu could only decide life and death on the battlefield, while taijutsu could determine one's dignity in bed!

Rinto felt that whether he lived or died did not matter. His dignity absolutely could not be lost.

After finishing his work for the day, Rinto returned to Ippongi's home.

After hastily eating some dinner, Rinto returned to his room.

On the tatami inside, Rie sat cross-legged in her turtle pajamas, her little face looking adorably innocent.

Ever since receiving the Chakra Extraction Technique scroll, the little girl had trained very diligently.

Rinto discovered that she had considerable talent as a ninja. In just one week, she could already sense Chakra.

Back at the Cultists' base, it had taken him more than half a month of training before he could feel Chakra flowing through his body!

By comparison, Rie's talent was actually greater than Rinto's.

However, that was good news for Rinto. The more talented Rie was, the more attention she would receive from the Konoha High Council, and the lower her chances of dying would become.

Of course, that did not include getting herself killed.

Rinto believed that with such a steady and cautious brother as himself, once Rie grew up, she would definitely become a steady, experienced ninja.

Seeing how hard Rie was training, he could not slack off as her brother either!

With that thought, Rinto instantly became as fired up as if he had been injected with chicken blood and plunged headfirst into his warm blankets.

Sure enough, training just doesn't suit a salted fish like me at all!

I should wait until I can steal the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and let my clones train instead!