Two and a half days later.
At the border of the Land of Bears.
Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, and Shizune arrived at the agreed-upon location.
They had already been waiting there for quite some time.
"So, when exactly is this so-called companion of yours going to show up?" Lady Tsunade crossed her arms and glared at Jiraiya, her voice full of impatience. "Don't tell me you, you old pervert, got the location wrong?"
Jiraiya scratched his white hair and retorted, "How could that be? When has Jiraiya ever made that kind of mistake? You, on the other hand, are already getting on in years and still so impatient. No wonder your wrinkles—"
"What did you say?!" Veins bulged on Lady Tsunade's forehead as she clenched her fists and stepped forward, leaving faint cracks in the ground beneath her foot. "Want to try dying once, Jiraiya?"
"Ah, um... Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, please both calm down." Shizune hurried forward, holding Tonton as she tried to mediate. "Maybe they were delayed by something. We just need to wait patiently a little longer."
"Wait? We've already been waiting for nearly half a day!" Lady Tsunade snorted, but ultimately lowered her fist and turned her face aside. "If it weren't for verifying what's on that scroll, I wouldn't be wasting time here. I'd rather be drinking or gambling."
Jiraiya sighed, his tone finally turning serious. "I know you're worried, but so far, nothing Naruto has arranged has gone wrong. If he said someone would come and go to Hoshigakure with us, then someone definitely will."
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased a little, Shizune was just about to say a few more words urging them to wait when she suddenly froze.
Because she keenly noticed that the two people who had been at each other's