Don't Be So Conceited

Under the cover of night, the thugs wailed and begged for mercy.

Though Tsunade was across the street, separated from him by a shop wall and the din of the crowd, her voice calling his name was faint.

Yet Jiraiya heard it with perfect clarity, as if it had sounded right beside his ear. Her voice was warm, mature, and full of confusion.

Naruto's gaze remained fixed and intense. Jiraiya had the feeling that a good show was about to begin, and that there was plenty of room to make something happen.

"Naruto."

"Go!"

Jiraiya entered the arcade, passed row after row of machines, and headed straight for Tsunade.

An imposing aura gathered around him, making people instinctively move aside.

Confusion deepened in Tsunade's eyes.

When the two faced each other, Jiraiya was like an iron wall, so imposing that he was intimidating to look at.

Though Tsunade had known Jiraiya since childhood and had always been the one in control, the atmosphere now made her feel a trace of pressure and unease.

Jiraiya clasped his hands behind his back. Without moving his head, he looked down at her. "Long time no see, woman."

"Huh?" Tsunade frowned. Her fists, resting on the slot machine, instinctively clenched.

The spinning symbols stopped on three sevens. The jackpot lights flashed, and coins clattered into the tray like a waterfall.

Naruto grabbed the metal tray to catch them, moving in sync with the black-haired woman standing beside Tsunade, whose features were quiet and sweet.

"Hello, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Jiraiya's student."

"Hello, I'm Shizune, Lord Tsunade's student."

Tsunade pushed herself up from the machine. Her breasts were full and high. She always lost when she gambled, so whenever she won, it meant something unlucky was about to happen.

"Is something the matter, Jiraiya?"

"Yeah." Jiraiya's whole body was taut. "It's both business and personal."

Tsunade's fine brows drew together. She rejected him outright. "Didn't I tell you? No matter how long you wait, I'll never give you a chance. I don't want to hear about business either. Leave me alone."

Just like the honorific the world used for her, "Princess Tsunade," everything she said and did was tinged with a princess's pride and arrogance.

Jiraiya had never taken the initiative in their relationship. The courage he'd worked so hard to summon was about to give way, and he was on the verge of falling back on his usual jokes to retreat.

"Hey!" Naruto shook the tray in his hands and stood to Jiraiya's right, facing Tsunade with him.

Naruto knew that sometimes people needed an outside force to break them out of their usual way of thinking. And that force was him.

Jiraiya took a deep breath. Like a man on the brink of a cliff with nowhere left to turn, he stepped forward. "I suggest you show me some respect. Don't be so conceited. I haven't owed you anything all these years."

"Huh?!" Tsunade's already large, bright eyes widened further. She swung a punch upward at Jiraiya's left side.

Thud!

Jiraiya met Tsunade's right fist with his palm, taking the blow without dodging.

Tsunade immediately flew into a rage and swung with her left, but Jiraiya blocked her before her fist even passed her chest.

Jiraiya said, "If anyone owes anyone, you're the one who owes me money. And I've never even thought about asking you to pay it back. I'm sorry for your misfortune, but I didn't cause it. I put up with your temper because I love you."

Shizune was the niece of Tsunade's late boyfriend, Dan Katō. She had accompanied Tsunade for years, seeing people and places alongside her, but this was the first time she'd seen Jiraiya stand up to Tsunade like this.

Even Tsunade herself was so shocked that it showed plainly on her face. For a moment, she couldn't say a word.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto. "I did my best. Let's find a bar and talk business."

With that, he turned and left the arcade, his back looking forlorn.

Because he'd known from the start that no matter what he said, Tsunade wouldn't accept him.

Naruto's thinking was simple and direct.

As far as he was concerned, they were both avoiders.

Tsunade was lost in a past she couldn't return to, wasting her days gambling to cope with her psychological problems.

Jiraiya clearly wanted to be with Tsunade, but he let her stay lost in the past, doing nothing but waiting.

Things had to change for there to be any hope. If both of them kept avoiding the problem, wasn't tragedy inevitable?

Tsunade came out of her daze and forced a laugh, as if she couldn't understand what had just happened. "What was that? How strange! You're Naruto, right? You're his student, aren't you? Go tell him I'm leaving now. I don't have time to talk to him."

Naruto smiled politely. "Sorry for the trouble, but please tell him yourself."

Tsunade's chest heaved in anger, and she was about to leave through the back door.

But when she looked back and saw the two younger ones, Shizune and Naruto, staring at her, she turned around, clenched her fists, bent her arms, and strode outside with her hands swinging.

Jiraiya stood in the street. There were no passersby, only the dark mass of thugs still kneeling under Gantetsu's watch.

Tsunade shouted, "Jiraiya!"

"Hm?"

"Let's go!"

A hearty, bold smile spread across Jiraiya's face. "Let's go! Let's drink!"

Naruto and Shizune walked behind the two of them.

Shizune was tall, a full 168 centimeters, two centimeters taller than Naruto, but they were just about level when they spoke face-to-face.

The four of them went to a bar. Each table had wooden dividers and seats with backs.

Naruto gently took Shizune by the wrist. "Shizune, I want to sit with you."

"Uh... okay."

Naruto led Shizune to sit down first, on one side of a row.

Jiraiya understood. "Tsunade, sit inside."

Tsunade frowned, but seeing Naruto chatting enthusiastically with Shizune, she didn't make a fuss and sat down.

Jiraiya smiled and sat beside her, thinking, So this is what it feels like to give orders?

The shopkeeper brought over the food and drinks. Jiraiya picked up the bottle and poured a drink for Tsunade, who was sitting beside him, not across the table.

"Master's passed away."

Tsunade's pupils widened, and her whole body stiffened as memories flooded back of Hiruzen Sarutobi teaching them when they were children.

"How did he die?"

"Orochimaru invaded Konoha and used the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to summon the First and the Second. They attacked Master together."

"What about the others?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Naruto was the only one there to help. You can ask him about the details."

Tsunade looked at Naruto in disbelief. "This child?"

"That's right. He was the one who carried Master's body back, too."

The astonishment in Tsunade's eyes deepened. Then she slowly asked about everything, from beginning to end.

Naruto answered each question, describing every one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's jutsu and even the First's and Second's reactions, all in precise detail, exactly as she remembered them.

No one could fabricate a lie like that.

She said sincerely, "Jiraiya, you're lucky. You've taken on another good student."

Jiraiya laughed loudly, then his smile vanished at once. He said calmly, "His name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

Only after he emphasized it did Tsunade think it through and realize.

Minato's child? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

"He already knows about his identity," Jiraiya said seriously. "I came to find you because I want to invite you back to Konoha to become Hokage."

"I refuse." Tsunade tipped her head back and drained her glass. Her cheeks flushed, and she narrowed her eyes in disdain. "Hokage? It's worth nothing. Only a fool would want to be one."

Jiraiya fell silent. Shizune fell silent, too.

Only Naruto spoke. "I'm not a fool."

Naruto had once wanted to become Hokage, and he still wanted to become Hokage.

Power came with responsibility. If he wanted to enjoy the thrill of power piling up layer upon layer, he had to shoulder that responsibility.

You had to have desires. You had to be able to enjoy them. Without desire, you'd become apathetic, and you wouldn't be able to grow stronger.

"You want to become Hokage?" Tsunade was surprised. She teased him, "Haha, then go ahead and become one."

But Naruto's gaze was especially sharp. It pierced her smiling face, making her uncomfortable. "Kid! What do you know? Do you even know what a Hokage has to do?"

Naruto just smiled. "How arrogant."

Jiraiya cut in, speaking earnestly. "Naruto knows perfectly well. He knows everything. I told him."

Seeing the master and student united in their words, Tsunade suddenly didn't know what to do.