Tsunade's Invitation to Stay the Night

Chapter 21: Tsunade's Invitation to Stay the Night

Jars had many kinds of appeal, but at their core, there was really only one thing—the desire to possess what you wanted.

Strength, waifus from fictional worlds, items...

The more one wanted to possess something, the easier it was to become obsessed with it.

And Sasuke's desire might even surpass Tsunade's. After all, one was a mature adult, while the other was a child who had grown up crooked.

So.

Shen Mo was very much looking forward to seeing how much profit Sasuke could bring him.

Even if he set the future aside, just considering the present...

As the last remaining heir of the Uchiha, he should have quite a few assets, right?

"Mr. Shen Mo!" Teuchi's voice suddenly rang out. Breathing slightly heavily, he handed over another stack of money, his tone firm. "I want to buy another set!"

After putting away those precious ingredients, Teuchi still felt an indescribable excitement.

There had to be even rarer ingredients inside those jars.

He really wanted to see them.

And that recipe—what exactly was in the remaining part?

"Thank you for your patronage." Shen Mo smiled as he accepted the money, and another set of jars appeared.

He wasn't surprised by Teuchi's decision at all.

After all, this was a chef who truly loved ramen. (￣y▽￣)~*

By then, the sky had completely darkened.

In an era with little nightlife, the crowds on the streets gradually thinned out.

Yet inside the small Ichiraku Ramen shop, a lively atmosphere still filled the air.

"Wow, what a huge corn cob!"

"What is this? It's disgusting."

"Mr. Shen Mo, why is this incomplete recipe for a different seasoning?"

"Teuchi, give me another bowl of ramen."

While making ramen for Tsunade, Teuchi continued opening jars. He had originally planned to open just one more set and call it a day, but he suddenly found another part of the incomplete recipe from earlier. Only the final third remained.

Naturally, he had to keep going.

Then...

He still hadn't found it even after opening the eighth set of jars.

Instead, he had obtained several more incomplete recipes of different kinds.

In the end...

Teuchi ran out of money.

"Mr. Shen Mo." With bloodshot eyes, Teuchi stared at the three recipes in his hands, each missing only its final piece. His palm trembled. "Could you wait for me? I'll go home and get more money. I only need to open twelve more sets to obtain your Member Badge, right?"

"Of course." Shen Mo stroked Hikari's round belly in his arms and nodded with a smile. "Once you have the Badge, you'll be a member of our Omniscient and Omnipotent Merchant Guild. You'll be able to contact me at any time."

"Then it's settled."

Teuchi didn't even change his clothes or take care of the shop. He merely put away the ingredients he regarded as priceless and hurried home.

"Tsk, tsk." Tsunade smacked her lips.

She could naturally tell what state Teuchi was in. It was exactly the same as when she had become obsessed with gambling.

The only difference was that she had truly lost everything.

Teuchi, on the other hand, had exchanged his money for a batch of rare ingredients worth a fortune, along with recipes.

So he wasn't going crazy from losing. He was going crazy from winning.

"Shizune." Tsunade swayed as she stood up, then burped without the slightest hint of dignity. "Let's go. We're heading back."

"Tsunade-sama." Shizune hurriedly stood up as well and draped the green coat over her.

"Tsunade." After taking two steps, Tsunade suddenly turned around. A smile appeared on her slightly tipsy face. "If you don't have anywhere to stay tonight, why don't you come to my place?"

"—!?" Shizune's eyes widened.

Sakura, who was beside her, instantly flushed bright red.

One of the mighty Sannin had actually invited a man to stay at her home so directly!

W-Was this what the adult world was like?

However.

Shen Mo remained unfazed. He merely smiled at Tsunade. "If you're not going to extort rent from me, I'd be happy to."

"Tch."

The smile vanished from Tsunade's face at once.

As if her plan had been exposed, she turned around with a mutter and strode away without even saying goodbye.

Yet when she passed a certain alley, she still hesitated slightly.

In the end, however, she didn't stop.

"E-Extort rent?"

Sakura blinked, seemingly still unable to process it.

It had clearly been a heart-pounding invitation.

How had it turned into extortion?

"When we first met, Tsunade-sama extorted two jars from me under the pretext of treatment." Shen Mo explained with an exasperated expression.

"Huh? So big sis is that kind of person?" Naruto cried out in surprise.

"What do you mean, big sis? That's Tsunade-sama!" Sakura finally couldn't hold herself back and slammed a fist into Naruto's head. "Did you even pay attention in history class? Tsunade-sama is the granddaughter of the First Hokage. She's already over fifty!"

She hadn't dared say that while Tsunade was there.

Now, she had no reason to hold back.

Naruto, however, was completely stunned.

Over fifty?

She clearly looked like an incredibly beautiful big sister! She even seemed a little more elegant than Sakura.

Shen Mo gave Naruto a meaningful look.

He had seen a post online before analyzing how, beneath Naruto's hot-blooded protagonist exterior, there was actually a hidden lecherous heart.

After all, this was a guy who had developed the Sexy Jutsu at the age of twelve.

He had also started pursuing Sakura when he was barely a teenager.

Later, when he met the cross-dressing enthusiast Haku, he had practically fallen in love at first sight.

Now that he was seeing Naruto in person...

Shen Mo felt that the post had some truth to it.

"All right, we should head back too." Sakura seemed to suddenly remember the time. She hurriedly jumped down. "It's already so late! I have to go now. See you tomorrow, Naruto, Sasuke."

"I'm coming too." Naruto naturally followed Sakura, then turned back to glance at Sasuke.

"You two go ahead." Sasuke waved a hand. "I want to look around a little longer."

Look at those food jars?

Naruto hesitated slightly, but when he saw Sakura getting farther and farther away, he hurried after her.

"Then I'll go home with Sakura."

"Why are you coming home with me? Go to your own home!"

"We're going the same way, Sakura-chan."

""

The two voices gradually faded into the distance. In the end, only Shen Mo and Sasuke remained at Ichiraku Ramen.

Sasuke kept looking at Shen Mo.

But Shen Mo merely watched Hikari in his arms, gently teasing her pink paw pads with a finger.

Silence settled over the scene for a while.

"Mr. Shen Mo!" Sasuke finally couldn't hold back and called out.

"Shh—"

Shen Mo pressed a finger to his lips to stop Sasuke. Then he turned his head toward the shadows beneath the streetlights and chuckled. "As a merchant, I also believe in first come, first served. So, my customers who've been following me from over there—what kind of jars would you like to buy?"

What!?

Sasuke suddenly turned around.

From within the shadows, a figure that seemed to blend completely into its surroundings slowly stepped out.

Then came a second, and a third...

A full seven or eight figures appeared on the street, which had somehow become deserted.

Punishing: Gray Raven is so much fun. Ember is insanely strong.