Yojia Hot Spring Inn

"Yeah, we're heading to the Land of Hot Water on a mission. You still need to see our travel permits, right? I brought mine." As he spoke, Tianqi prepared to take out his permit.

"No need, no need. I know who you are, sir. You can keep your permit." The older ninja waved his hand quickly, stopping Tianqi from taking it out.

"If you don't check them, we'll be on our way," Tianqi said, without taking out his permit.

"Please, go ahead," the older ninja said respectfully, eager for Tianqi to leave.

"Let's go. We're moving on." Tianqi led the three others onward.

"Hey, why are you so afraid of him? Even if he really is a Konoha Ninja, it wouldn't hurt to check," the younger ninja asked, puzzled.

"Are young people these days really so ignorant? Have you ever heard of the 'Konoha Shura' the Cloud Ninja have been talking about?" the older ninja asked with a look of disdain.

"The Konoha Shura! You mean he's Uchiha Tianqi, the one who killed a hundred ninjas on the battlefield between Konoha and the Cloud Ninja? That Shura?" The younger ninja looked horrified.

"Of course. To our enemies, he's a bloodthirsty Shura. To us, he's a heroic guardian. Why would I check his papers? I'd have to be out of my mind." The older ninja's face filled with admiration. "I wish I could be like him."

After their last battle, the Cloud Ninja had dubbed Tianqi the Shura. The newly appointed Third Raikage A had endorsed the name. That's right: A and Sarutobi Hiruzen had become Kage almost simultaneously.

After four days on the road.

"We've left the Land of Fire. Let's find somewhere up ahead to rest. We've been traveling for days, and everyone's tired. I know there's a hot spring inn up ahead. We can grab something to eat and stock up," Tianqi said, pointing ahead.

"A hot spring! Come on, let's go!" Hearing there was a hot spring, Jiraiya—who had been traveling for days—perked up at once and rushed ahead.

"Idiot," Tsunade and Orochimaru muttered, before hurrying after him. They were tired too after traveling for days. Tianqi had kept them entertained with conversation at first, but once he fell silent, they'd been bored out of their minds.

"Tang He, now that we've left the Land of Fire, we should be close to the Land of Hot Water, right?" Tianqi didn't rush ahead with the others. Instead, he struck up a conversation with Tang He.

"Yeah. We've been pushing ourselves these past few days, so we've made good time. We'll reach the Land of Hot Water tomorrow." Seeing how close they were getting, Tang He was delighted.

"You'd better be careful. Those ninjas haven't shown up in a long time. From here on, stay alert at all times," Tianqi told Tang He.

"I'll stay alert, but what about you?"

"Me? Those ninjas probably aren't stupid enough to come after me. And even if they do, I'm not worried. Worst case, I'll just kill a few more people. But you're different." Tianqi began teasing Tang He.

"N-no, that won't do! I'm no match for those ninjas!" Tang He panicked at Tianqi's words.

"Hahaha, relax. I'm here, so you'll be safe. I was only joking. You really are no fun." Seeing how flustered Tang He was, Tianqi stopped teasing him and headed toward the inn.

"Heh." Tang He wiped away his sweat and gave an awkward laugh, cursing inwardly, A joke? You're joking about my life! That's not funny at all!

Soon, the others arrived at the hot spring inn one by one.

"Look, there's a hot spring inn," Jiraiya said.

"Yeah! There really is a hot spring inn," Orochimaru echoed.

"So what if there is? Tianqi already told us. Wait, it really is called 'Yojia Hot Spring Inn.' The owner must be illiterate to pick a name like that," Tsunade said, commenting on the sign.

"I think it's a great name. 'Yojia Hot Spring Inn'—it's got character. It suits my style. I like it." With that, Tianqi walked straight inside. He'd been there once before, after getting lost on his way back to Konoha from a mission. (The Shinobi World was huge; getting lost once was normal.)

"Welcome!" The owner greeted them with a smile.

"Four rooms, please. And bring us some good food. We're all starving." Tianqi slapped down a large stack of money.

"Of course, sir. Would you like your meal here or in your room?" The owner's smile grew even brighter at the sight of the thick stack of money.

"Here," Tianqi said. He wasn't in the habit of eating in his room.

"Certainly. Have a seat. The food will be ready soon. Please wait a moment." The owner went off to prepare it.

The group sat down at a table in the lobby and drank tea.

"Tianqi, there are five of us. Why did you only book four rooms?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.

"One room each for us, except you and Orochimaru can share." Tianqi pointed at Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

"I don't mind," Orochimaru said coldly. He didn't care about such trivial things, but Jiraiya certainly did.

"No, I won't accept that! Why does everyone else get their own room while I have to share with Orochimaru? That's not fair!" Jiraiya immediately protested.

Thud!

The teacup in Tianqi's hand shattered in his grip. "If you don't like it, you can sleep outside," he said, glaring at Jiraiya threateningly.

"Fine, fine, I'll do it," Jiraiya said, instantly backing down when Tianqi threatened him.

After dinner, they went to their rooms. All four were next to one another.

"Tang He gets the first room, I'll take the second, Tsunade gets the third, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru get the fourth." Tianqi looked down the row of rooms and assigned them.

"All right, everyone's free to do as they like now." Tianqi handed out the room keys, then pulled Tang He along toward the hot spring.

"Ah! This feels amazing! A soak in the hot spring has washed away days of fatigue." Tianqi lay naked in the spring, looking blissful.

"I don't even want to bathe. Why did you drag me along?" Tang He asked Tianqi. He'd much rather lie down in bed and rest.

"I didn't want to bring you either, but I was afraid you'd die in your room," Tianqi said, looking perfectly content.

"W-what... You mean there are enemies here?" Tang He warily scanned their surroundings.

"I don't know if there are enemies, but it never hurts to be careful."

After hearing Tianqi, Tang He said nothing. He copied Tianqi and lay back in the water. They had been soaking for a little over ten minutes when a white-haired youth came in.

He carefully stepped into the water, then edged slowly toward the side of the hot spring. He stopped near the women's bath, stuck out his backside, and pressed his face to a gap in the wooden fence to peer through.

Tianqi opened one eye and saw Jiraiya with his bare backside sticking out as he secretly spied on the women's bath. Like master, like disciple. He looks exactly like Sarutobi.

Tianqi submerged himself and slowly swam toward Jiraiya. He decided to play a trick on him. Once he was close, Tianqi reached out and slapped Jiraiya's bare backside.

Smack!

"Ah! That hurt! Who was that? Who hit Lord Jiraiya?" Jiraiya yelped in pain and turned to look at the people in the hot spring. There weren't many—aside from Tang He, there were three old men. Jiraiya looked around for a long time but couldn't figure out who had hit him.

Under the water, Tianqi grinned. What an idiot. I'm right in front of him, and he still can't see me.

"Strange. Maybe I imagined it." The steam made it impossible to see beneath the water. When nobody answered, Jiraiya turned back and resumed peeking into the women's bath.