A Man in Konoha: Starting Off by Slapping White Fang

"L-Lady Tsunade, Lord Genetsu, I-I bought the things."

An hour later.

Little Nohara Rin handed Genetsu and Tsunade the things they had each requested.

Steam billowed from above her head.

Genetsu almost thought Hinata Hyuga had possessed her.

"You actually made her buy it for him?"

When Tsunade saw the box of little balloons Rin handed Genetsu, her eyes went wide.

Now that she knew what the thing was for, Nohara Rin said nothing. She lowered her little head and stared at her toes, practically wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

"You're seriously twisted, making a little girl like her buy something like this. How is she supposed to face people afterward!?"

Tsunade viciously jabbed Genetsu in the side with her elbow.

"N-No, th-this wasn't bought by me."

Nohara Rin raised her head at that moment and waved her hands.

"Th-This was bought for me by Kakashi and Obito."

"Huh!?"

Tsunade's eyes became even wider than before.

Even Genetsu could not help glancing over.

They had just been running an errand to buy condoms. How had those two idiots gotten dragged into this?

Blushing, Nohara Rin quickly recounted what had happened in Konoha an hour earlier.

At the time, Obito had happened to run into Yūhi Kurenai passing by, as well as Asuma, another Simp who was always haunting him and was evenly matched with him.

So he had directly asked Yūhi Kurenai what "condoms" meant.

The moment Yūhi Kurenai realized what it meant, she slapped Obito.

To keep things from escalating any further, Kakashi had no choice but to reveal the truth.

After learning that Nohara Rin was running an errand for her uncle, he dragged away Obito, who was seeing stars from the slap, hurriedly bought the item, and handed it to Nohara Rin.

"Hahahaha! You people really are something else."

After hearing Nohara Rin's retelling, even Genetsu could not hold back his laughter.

Still, it seemed Kakashi and Obito would not get a chance to use that thing even by the time they were in their thirties—or perhaps ever in their lives?

How pitiful.

Tsunade nearly burst out laughing too, but after suddenly thinking of something, her pretty face instantly darkened. She said coldly:

"Hey! Wait, so... those brats all know you're using that thing, right?"

"Hm? Of course they do."

Genetsu replied as though it were only natural.

"After all, Rin was running an errand for you and me."

"Then doesn't that mean they all know you used it with me? You bastard!!!"

Tsunade flew into a rage and charged at Genetsu.

How was she supposed to face anyone afterward!?

Genetsu looked speechless.

She was already this old, yet she still cared about something like that.

Even if they did not say anything, those brats would understand once they got a few years older, wouldn't they?

The blush on Nohara Rin's cheeks still had not faded.

Because when the shopkeeper had handed over the item, he had also said, "Oh? Lord Genetsu wants these? Here, take the biggest size."

Time passed in an orderly fashion.

The future teachers of the 12 Little Strong continued studying at the Ninja Academy, and none of them showed any desire to graduate early.

Jiraiya took Minato Namikaze away to train.

Orochimaru was almost never seen in public. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought he had vanished from the face of the earth.

Because of Genetsu's guidance in Haki.

Tsunade simply moved into Genetsu's little house.

The luxurious estate at the Senju Clan Grounds held less appeal for her than a casino.

Between Genetsu and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

There seemed to be an eerie tacit understanding.

Neither side made any particular moves.

Ever since Gekko Getsuei had been turned into lunch by Genetsu's Ninja Hound and Minato Namikaze had been taken out of the village by Jiraiya.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had made no special moves against Genetsu.

Genetsu's attitude was much the same: Don't come bother me, and I won't care what you do.

But in truth, Genetsu knew full well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had never removed Genetsu from his list of suspects in Sarutobi Shinnosuke's death.

The reason he had not taken further action was that he had no evidence, and that as he grew older, his strength was gradually entering a period of decline.

Genetsu himself was the same.

For the moment, he was not making any moves.

But knowing that Tsunade still felt attached to the position of Lord Hokage, which both her grandfathers had once held.

He decided that when the opportunity arose, he would help Tsunade seize that position.

Genetsu simply hated wars of attrition and drawn-out struggles.

If he fought, he would fight wars of annihilation and lightning wars.

He would decide victory and defeat in one stroke.

When he found the chance, he would wipe them all out.

Before he knew it, the time had arrived at Konoha Year 42.

It was the season of swirling snow, yet every household was decorated with lanterns and colored banners.

Just from feeling the atmosphere, everyone knew.

It was time for the New Year.

For Genetsu, celebrating the New Year was nothing special at all.

Tsunade, that spendthrift woman, had instead racked up quite a few gambling debts at the casinos lately.

A group of creditors who knew about his relationship with her had nearly come knocking on his door with their IOUs.

But around this time, something else rather interesting happened.

Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze, the master and disciple pair who had been away training for three years, finally returned.

In the outskirts beyond Konoha, atop an ice sheet blanketed and frozen beneath heavy snow.

A dazzling golden flash darted around Genetsu's body.

When Genetsu drew his blade and slashed.

That flash instantly flickered to the other side at a speed the naked eye could not possibly track.

"I-It's my first time seeing someone evade Uncle's slash!"

Kakashi said from the shore, stunned beyond belief.

Jiraiya smiled faintly beneath a tree.

Whoosh—

A sharp sound tore through the air.

Genetsu casually raised a hand and knocked down the incoming object.

It was a specially made Three-Pronged Kunai.

The deflected kunai spun once through the air.

A golden blur abruptly appeared before Genetsu.

A rapidly spinning sphere of Chakra in his palm came crashing toward Genetsu from the side.

"Rasengan!"

Minato Namikaze shouted.

The Chakra sphere in Minato Namikaze's hand stopped abruptly when it was less than five centimeters from striking Genetsu's nose bridge.

"...As expected of Lord Genetsu."

Compared to three years ago, Minato Namikaze had grown considerably in both height and bearing. He smiled in admiration.

He lowered his eyes and looked down—

Genetsu's Tachi had somehow already been pressed against his abdomen, ready to pierce through his body at any moment.

"His rate of growth is truly outrageous."

Even Tsunade had to admit how quickly Minato Namikaze had grown.

"Hahaha! Compared to Minato, anyone would seem lacking!"

Jiraiya laughed with his hands on his hips, as though the person who had achieved such growth was not Minato Namikaze, but himself.

"Looks like it won't be long before he surpasses you, Genetsu."

Jiraiya grinned smugly.

He had finally gotten one over on this guy who was always fooling around with Tsunade.

It was not him, but if it was his disciple, that was close enough!

Genetsu merely smiled at those words and did not respond.

"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Hokage requests your presence."

At that moment, an Anbu member abruptly appeared with the Body Flicker Technique and spoke to Jiraiya.

"...Understood. We'll go immediately."

The smug smile on Jiraiya's face instantly faded by more than half. His expression even turned somewhat ugly as he replied:

"We'll go ourselves. We don't need you to lead the way."

"...Yes."

Sensing the dislike in Jiraiya's tone, the Anbu operative vanished again with the Body Flicker Technique.

Although the Anbu were Lord Hokage's direct subordinates, even elite jonin avoided clashing with them whenever possible.