A Conversation

Konoha, Fei Shi's home.

It was fair to say that the house Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had arranged for Fei Shi was absolutely enormous.

The courtyard and house together covered 200 by 200 meters, or 40,000 square meters. Fei Shi had built the house himself with Wood Release, while the hot spring, small grove, pavilion in the woods, and even the training ground had all been arranged by the Third Hokage. It was luxurious to the extreme.

The other elders had wanted to object, but Fei Shi's donation of five hundred million was enough to build five houses like this. In the end, they couldn't bring themselves to protest.

"Good grief, you really are loaded."

Jiraiya couldn't help exclaiming.

The money he'd earned through years of hard work wouldn't have been enough to build a courtyard like this. At this age, he was still struggling and fighting to make his way. And this guy? He'd retired and was enjoying life! Damn rich people!

"Haha, actually, getting rich isn't all that hard."

"Hey, let's put money aside for now. Where's the liquor? Tsunade told me you've got plenty of good stuff, and that you can really hold your drink."

"Come on, I'll fry up a few dishes first, then we can drink together! However much you want, I've got it!"

"Hahahaha! Good, good! It may be our first time officially meeting, but we've been friends through letters for years. You're definitely my kind of guy."

"I'm not into men."

"Shut up and go cook."

"Hahahaha!"

Fei Shi laughed heartily, then went off to cook.

He'd met Jiraiya once before coming to Konoha. Jiraiya had been visiting Tsunade at the time.

But Fei Shi had been busy trying to promote rice cultivation and establish a trade association.

When he'd stepped outside, he'd seen Jiraiya about to knock on the door. Although he'd used a genjutsu to control someone and hadn't gone over to greet him properly, someone had caused trouble just then, so he'd greeted Jiraiya before leaving.

Later, he mailed Jiraiya the Manifesto of the Worker-Peasant Party and Red Ideology. Jiraiya then set off on a new journey, hoping to travel across the Ninja World and see how the people at the bottom lived.

Peace didn't mean everyone had enough to eat and drink. Even in peacetime, people would still die. So he wanted to travel, see things for himself, and think of ways to solve the problems. Liwuxiaoshuowang

Jiraiya's journey wasn't over yet when he received a letter from Tsunade saying that Fei Shi needed to talk to him, so he hurried back.

After all, Jiraiya thought Fei Shi's theories were astonishingly brilliant.

He also knew that these ideas were far too advanced for the Ninja World as it was. Still, that didn't stop him from admiring Fei Shi. He'd even written to say he wanted to take him on as a student.

Tsunade's reply had been: He can use Wood Release and has awakened the Mangekyo. What can you teach him—how to peep?

Jiraiya had reluctantly given up on the idea of taking Fei Shi as his student.

They'd kept exchanging letters and gradually become friends, even though they hadn't met face-to-face.

Half an hour later, Fei Shi walked into the hot spring carrying fifty skewers of lamb, a plate of roast chicken, two plates of peanuts, ten bottles of Moutai, and one bottle of Flying Moutai.

Jiraiya was already soaking in the hot spring and waiting for him. Seeing Fei Shi arrive with all the food and drink, he said:

"Good grief, that smells amazing. No wonder Tsunade said you were a good cook. Come on over and let's start drinking! Hahahaha!"

Jiraiya: "Ah, this liquor. Mmm~ Hss~ Hah~ Ah, it's so good!"

"Especially this Flying Moutai! Say, how about giving me a dozen bottles?"

"Don't even think about it! Not a chance! Keep dreaming!" A dozen bottles of Flying Moutai? He really had some nerve.

Each bottle cost a hundred thousand points. With a hundred thousand points in the System Store, he could buy a Three-Tomoe. That was enough to raise several elite shinobi. Maybe they wouldn't be as good as Kakashi would be in the future, but they'd still be elites.

The system was ridiculous. Just because the liquor had been precious in his previous life, it was expensive in the System Store too. And then it had the nerve to say, "You've got plenty of points, so what are you complaining about?" Damn it!

How was it his fault that he'd gotten lucky?

"By the way, Jiraiya, when are you planning to confess to my sister? I'll tell you, I may be young, but I'm a pretty good judge of character. You're a fine man. If my sister didn't come from a good family, she might not even be good enough for you."

"Hey, hey, cut it out! If Tsunade hears you say that, we'll both be done for. If you want to die, don't drag me into it. I haven't had my fill of life yet! And don't butter me up. You must want something from me, right? Well, I'm not falling for it!"

Fei Shi sighed. Tsunade was a wonderful big sister. Ever since she'd taken him in, she'd bullied him and raided his wallet, but he could still feel how much she cared about him. Tsunade truly treated him well. He could tell from the fact that she'd given him the necklace, a keepsake of the First, Hashirama Senju. She'd given it to him because she was afraid he'd be bullied in Konoha, and wanted everyone to know how much she valued him.

In his previous life, he'd had an older sister too. She'd been spoiled from childhood. Well, she was a girl, and the elders in the family had all doted on her.

He and his younger brother, who'd been born later, had been raised strictly. It was hard for them to get along normally with their older sister, who acted like she ruled the world both at home and outside it. And spoiled people were prone to offending others and getting deceived.

She'd been swindled out of money by scumbag boyfriends several times. Once, she'd nearly been tricked into sleeping with one.

Luckily, he'd caught on early. Otherwise, his sister could have been in serious trouble. He'd beaten the scumbag badly enough to land him in the emergency room.

After that, his sister had hated him. No matter how he explained, she wouldn't listen. She only believed what she'd seen with her own eyes. A rift had opened between them, and their relationship hadn't improved for years.

He hated that!

He preferred the way he and Tsunade got along: teasing each other and play-fighting, while still caring deeply about one another. His sister in his previous life, on the other hand, hadn't treated him like a younger brother since that incident. Even when he found evidence, she'd stayed the same.

He'd only wanted to protect someone close to him from harm, but she'd valued an outsider more than her own little brother.

After crossing over, he'd sought out Tsunade to keep himself safe. When they first met, he'd only wanted to use her. But after spending days and then years together, Tsunade had become the perfect big sister he'd always dreamed of. She'd made up for the regrets of his previous life.

He was living very well now. So he wanted his big sister Tsunade to live well too—not just materially, but emotionally.

Whether it was from watching Naruto in his previous life or seeing him in person now, Fei Shi couldn't imagine anyone more suited to Tsunade than Jiraiya. Whenever he saw Jiraiya and Tsunade part ways as he went off to investigate the Akatsuki, and when Jiraiya died, Fei Shi's eyes had filled with tears.

The two of them were arguably Naruto's greatest regret.

The system's previous host had gone wild without the strength to back it up and gotten himself killed. But Fei Shi was practically invincible in the Ninja World. With the Tenseigan, he was a Six Paths-level powerhouse. Even if he was at the bottom of that level, he was still Six Paths-level.

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, that cunning old bastard, hadn't recovered yet. Fei Shi had the Tenseigan, Eternal Mangekyo, Sage Body, Yin Nine-Tails, and sixteen-digit points. If that didn't make him invincible, he might as well go smash his head against a block of tofu and die.

"Jiraiya!" Fei Shi shouted.

"Huh? What is it?" Jiraiya was bewildered. He had no idea why Fei Shi had suddenly called out to him.

"I know you like Tsunade. I hope you'll pursue her and not give up halfway like you did before. It's not that she doesn't like you. It's just... she still hasn't fully escaped the shadow of those two tragedies. I hope... I hope you can help her. You're the only one who can. Do you understand?"

.Provided by the author, Uchiha's Legend, Naruto: Rise of the New God