A New Beginning

"What the hell, what is this?"

Feeling the gusts of cool air blowing against his crotch, Chiba couldn't help but curse inwardly.

If he hadn't been wearing underwear, he would have been completely exposed—and in front of so many people, no less.

Staring at Tsunade in terror, Chiba kept screaming in his mind.

Big sister, what exactly are you trying to do? I'm still just a child!

However, Tsunade couldn't hear Chiba's internal cries at all. She effortlessly hoisted him up with one hand and stared intently at his lower body, lost in thought.

A moment later, Tsunade grabbed a spot on Chiba and pressed down gently, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Tsunade, what are you doing?"

Jiraiya couldn't sit still anymore, looking at Tsunade with a puzzled expression.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, was completely bewildered.

"Could it be, Tsunade, that you are actually this kind of person?"

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively at the two of them: "Get lost, get lost, get lost! Can't you see this child has an injury on his leg?"

As she spoke, Tsunade pressed down on Chiba's leg again, causing him to cry out even louder in pain.

Just as Konan and the others were about to rush over in a panic, Jiraiya stopped them.

"Don't worry, Tsunade is an expert in medical ninjutsu. She is treating your friend's injury; I don't think she has any reason to deceive you."

Through these few probes, Tsunade finally determined the nature of Chiba's condition.

"It's not a serious injury. It seems like it was just slightly dislocated and didn't heal properly back then."

With a sudden flick of her hand, Tsunade forced Chiba's leg into an unnatural angle.

Before Chiba could even scream, Tsunade instantly snapped his leg back into place.

Immediately after, Tsunade channeled chakra into her hands, forming two balls of white light to repair Chiba's wound.

A moment later, Tsunade nodded with satisfaction: "It's fine now. The area I just treated with ninjutsu has some newly grown tissue that is still a bit fragile. Don't move around too much for the next few days; it will be completely healed in three days at most."

Hearing that he couldn't move around, Chiba's body instantly stiffened.

Seeing Chiba wanting to move but not daring to, Tsunade laughed out loud.

"Don't worry, as long as it's not too strenuous, it will be fine."

Hearing this, Chiba moved carefully and discovered that the awkwardness and stiffness he used to feel in his leg when moving had indeed vanished.

Chiba couldn't help but feel overjoyed, and he sincerely said to Tsunade: "Thank you, thank you so much."

Konan and the others were also full of joy, offering their thanks repeatedly.

Tsunade waved her hand casually: "Nothing to thank me for, it was just a small effort. I can't do what Jiraiya does, but this kind of trivial matter is no problem."

As she spoke, a brilliant smile hung on the corners of Tsunade's mouth: "Besides, no matter what, aside from being a ninja, I am also a doctor. The original intention of learning medical ninjutsu was to heal the sick and save lives."

For a moment, Yahiko, Konan, and the others were deeply moved.

Even Chiba couldn't help but feel that Tsunade's current demeanor was truly cool as hell.

Just then, Jiraiya, standing behind Tsunade, rubbed his chin and made an discordant sound.

"Eh? Tsunade, isn't it because you heard that medical ninjutsu could enhance your bust that you..."

"BOOM!"

Without any chance to resist, Jiraiya was sent flying dozens of meters by a fierce punch from Tsunade, slamming into a wall.

Looking at the stunned group, Tsunade revealed that gentle smile again: "It's fine, that guy will at most suffer a few injuries; he won't die."

"W-won't die?"

Chiba and the others looked speechlessly at Jiraiya, who was lying on the ground unable to get up for a long time, feeling a bit stunned.

It seemed this beauty named Tsunade wasn't as gentle as she appeared.

A moment later, Tsunade and Orochimaru headed off into the distance again.

Suddenly, Tsunade looked back and smiled in Jiraiya's direction: "Jiraiya, remember to come back early."

With that, Tsunade and Orochimaru turned into dark shadows and vanished from the spot.

Only then did Jiraiya climb up from the ground, staring at the direction Tsunade had gone while grinning foolishly.

Looking at the still-grinning Jiraiya and recalling the expression Tsunade had when she left, Chiba suddenly felt that there might be something between the two of them after all. Thinking back to how Jiraiya had risked his life multiple times to save Tsunade during the battle against Hanzo, Chiba didn't believe Tsunade wasn't moved at all.

Growing up together and going through life-and-death situations while shielding each other from harm—could there really be no feelings?

Chiba personally found that unlikely.

So why did Tsunade become someone else's girlfriend later, while Jiraiya remained a bachelor his whole life?

Vaguely, Chiba guessed a possibility: someone had taken advantage of the situation while Jiraiya was away.

Don't be fooled by the current spark between them; Jiraiya stayed in the Land of Rain for three whole years.

Three years without returning home is enough to extinguish any spark, no matter how bright it once was.

Consider how Tsunade's later proposal received no support, and only Dan agreed, which was the only reason they began to interact and eventually got together. It clearly doesn't make sense; with Jiraiya around, would there even have been a chance for Dan to step in?

Chiba fell silent for a moment.

Looking at it this way, the sacrifice Jiraiya made for them was truly immense. He spent three years teaching them, effectively throwing away half a lifetime of his own happiness.

Jiraiya had no inkling of his own future fate, his face still beaming with a radiant smile.

A moment later, Jiraiya dusted off his backside and climbed to his feet, calling out to the group in high spirits.

"We'll likely be staying here for a while, so before anything else, we need to build a new home."

Soon, Jiraiya set the four children to work.

It must be said that ninjas are incredibly efficient when it comes to manual labor.

Using his hands like axes with ease, Jiraiya gathered enough timber to build a house in less than half a day. Following that, he utilized Earth Style and his own raw strength to construct a surprisingly beautiful cabin in another half-day's time.

"Mission accomplished! We're moving in today!"

"Whoa! It's so pretty!"

Yahiko and the others were exceptionally satisfied with their new home. Compared to the crude cave they had lived in before, the two were like heaven and earth.

And so, Chiba and the others began living together with Jiraiya, and their new life finally officially began.