Three Little Ones

Tsunade carried a school bag on her back, accompanied by a pale-faced boy and a disheveled, scruffy little brat.

"Tsunade, are you secretly training in your spare time or something?!" the messy-haired brat asked directly. "I heard your grandfather is the First Hokage. Is he really that strong?"

The pale-faced boy beside them looked at his two companions with a calm expression: "Let's part ways here. I'm heading home."

"Eh? Orochimaru, you're going back already? But aren't your mom and dad away?" the scruffy brat called out to the pale boy.

"I can go home by myself." Orochimaru—ah, let's call him Little Orochimaru—spoke faintly, then turned to leave...

Then, with a "thud," he collided head-on with someone.

"Ugh... that hurts. Eh, well, it doesn't hurt that much..." Yuya rubbed his head, looked at the child who had been knocked to the ground, and quickly reached out a hand: "Sorry, are you alright, kid?"

Little Orochimaru was just about to take Yuya's hand, but upon hearing his words, he pulled back, climbed up on his own, and said to Yuya: "You don't look more than a few years older than me. You shouldn't call me that."

Yuya blinked, looking at the child in front of him, then at the little girl beside him, and immediately broke into a smile: "Yo, Tsunade."

Little Tsunade's face darkened when she saw Yuya; she turned her head away and snorted coldly.

The rowdy, white-haired brat's eyes darted around, and pointing at Yuya, he shouted loudly: "Hey! What did you do to Tsunade?! Don't you know she's the granddaughter of the First Hokage of Konoha! She's the princess of Konoha!"

Yuya's greeting smile instantly faded.

Tsunade, meanwhile, stomped directly onto the white-haired brat's foot: "Jiraiya! How many times do I have to tell you! Don't call me that!"

Jiraiya immediately let out a howl of pain.

Yuya raised an eyebrow and looked at the three little ones.

Well, the trio of gambling, perversion, and poison had finally gathered together.

Wow, so it's already reached the age where these three are starting school.

Hmm, it feels strangely like time is flying by. In my memory, this little brat Tsunade was just learning how to gamble from Senju Hashirama a few days ago...

Yuya sighed, put away his smile, and looked at Tsunade to lecture her: "Tsunade, it's better not to be so rough with your classmates."

Tsunade looked at Yuya, puffed out her cheeks in anger, and dropped a "None of your business!" before preparing to run off.

She was immediately caught by Yuya's hand.

"What an unruly child."

Yuya sighed, then looked at Little Jiraiya and Little Orochimaru: "Two classmates, my Tsunade seems to have caused you some trouble. I'm sorry. To show my apology, how about I treat you two to a big feast?"

Little Jiraiya: "A big feast? What kind of feast?"

Little Orochimaru: "No need, thank you. I was just about to go home."

Yuya chuckled and whispered: "That barbecue place that just opened in Konoha gets a shipment of premium Snow Mountain Wagyu every day. It's imported all the way from the Land of Frost."

Little Jiraiya froze in his tracks.

Little Orochimaru also stopped walking.

Besides controlling public opinion to keep the villagers of Konoha entertained, the Ninja News founded by Yuya had another important function: advertising.

At the very least, that newly opened barbecue restaurant was already reaping the benefits of the first wave of ads.

"B-Big Brother, do you really have the money? I heard that place is super expensive!" Little Jiraiya's attitude changed in an instant.

As the saying goes, being arrogant at first and then submissive later—it really makes one laugh to think about it.

Tsunade, whose head was being pressed down by Yuya, spoke up irritably: "He definitely has money. He's way too rich."

As she spoke, she gave Yuya a deadpan stare: "He just never gives any to me."

Yuya grinned and ruffled Tsunade's hair roughly: "You little brat! Do you think I don't know what you want to use the money for?!"

Tsunade was furious: "You're only six years older than me! What right do you have to call me a little brat!"

Yuya ignored Tsunade's anger entirely, continued to mess up her hair, and looked at Little Orochimaru: "What about you, kid? Are you going? My treat."

Little Orochimaru hesitated, thought for a moment, and shook his head: "No, I'd better go back..."

Before he could finish, Little Jiraiya covered his mouth and shouted: "Let's go, let's go! Let's go eat barbecue together!"

And so, half an hour later, in a barbecue restaurant with an all-wood interior that stood out from the traditional concrete buildings, Yuya and the three little ones ordered a massive platter of beef slices.

However, compared to the three little ones who were eating happily, Yuya didn't touch his chopsticks; instead, he was writing names down in his personal notebook.

"Big Brother! Aren't you eating?" When it came to climbing the social ladder, Little Jiraiya was the most adept.

He knew that as long as he acknowledged this "Big Brother," there would definitely be no shortage of barbecue in the future.

So, he knelt down without hesitation.

Yuya shook his head with a laugh and looked at Jiraiya: "You call me Big Brother because you want me to treat you to barbecue every day?"

Little Jiraiya smiled sheepishly: "Oh, once a day would be too wasteful! Once a week is fine, hahaha~"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, too lazy to deal with this idiot, and simply focused on grabbing and cooking more meat.

She didn't care about the wallet of a jerk like Yuya; if she could empty it, all the better.

Little Orochimaru ate the most refined way, slow and steady. It felt like if Yuya hadn't ordered such a large portion, his share would have been eaten by Little Jiraiya and Tsunade long ago.

Yuya smiled as he tucked the notebook into his pocket: "Once a week might be a bit difficult; I'm going to be busy lately."

Tsunade looked at Yuya and suddenly let out a cold laugh: "What kind of business? Is it asking us to donate money and supplies again, while the people in those big mansions in the village donate absolutely nothing?"

Only then did Yuya realize why this little girl was so dissatisfied with him.

Yuya said to Tsunade with a smile: "Why would you think that, Tsunade? Why should those people living in big mansions donate?"

Tsunade slammed the table in anger: "Don't they have a responsibility! Should it only be us who have to donate?! My mother donated all her savings, bedding, and new clothes! The auntie next door! The uncle across the street! They all donated money and goods! But those people living in big houses didn't!"

Yuya raised an eyebrow; it was a good thing Tsunade was still a little girl, otherwise, the table would have been pulverized.

Well, she should be more mature once she grows up, anyway.

Little Jiraiya was just about to pick up some meat when he was so startled by Tsunade's outburst that he froze in place.

Yuya wasn't angry; instead, he apologized to the guests at the other tables: "I'm sorry, my little sister is ignorant and startled you all."

Since Yuya himself wasn't very old and had taken the initiative to apologize, naturally, no one continued to pay attention to their table.

Yuya looked at Tsunade with gratification: "I am very happy that you can see this."

"But there are some things..."

"Tsunade, you shouldn't get involved in these matters."

"If you have the time..."

"You should just eat more meat; it's almost burnt."

As he spoke, Yuya picked up a piece of meat and placed it on little Tsunade's plate.

Little Tsunade puffed out her cheeks, but in the end, she could only sit down indignantly and eat the meat in a huff.

Seeing that Tsunade and Jiraiya were just about finished, Yuya smiled: "You two are about done, right?"

Little Tsunade snorted: "What, are you not planning to pay?"

Yuya gave a wicked grin: "That's not it, but... now that you're done, it's my turn."

With that, Yuya stood up and went to the counter, grabbing a small bowl and mixing in chili, soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame oil, and other seasonings before returning to his seat.

He picked up a slice of grilled meat, dipped it into the sauce, and popped it into his mouth. Mmm.

Absolutely perfect.

Beside him, little Jiraiya and little Tsunade rubbed their round, stuffed bellies as they watched Yuya eating with grease glistening on his lips, the fragrant dipping sauce wafting through the air. A sudden sense of grievance welled up in their hearts...

That was just too much...