"Oi, Jiraiya, you training?"
"Whoa! What? It's just you, little Qi Luna! What are you doing here? Giving up on pretending?"
Startled by Qi Luna's sudden appearance, Jiraiya looked the young girl up and down, then seemed to think of something.
"Tell me, is there any chance..."
"No. Don't even dream about it. Forget it!"
Qi Luna didn't need to guess what this unreliable guy was about to say. She shut him down three times over, not even giving him a chance to finish.
"How could you? I'm handsome and elegant, with perfect manners. Why doesn't Tsunade like me...?"
Hearing Qi Luna reject him before he'd even finished speaking, Jiraiya turned gloomy and crouched in a corner, drawing circles on the floor.
"Heh... heh..."
In response to Jiraiya's vanity, Qi Luna merely gave him a fake Hyuga Kekkei Genkai, then flopped down on his bed without another word.
"Nothing beats a big bed~"
"This war's been going on for six months. I've spent almost all of it sleeping on that damned single bed. I had to stay alert in case Amegakure attacked our camp, and on top of that, the rain never stopped. I couldn't eat or sleep properly. I've had enough!"
After a day's work, she was finally back on the big bed she'd been longing for. Qi Luna let her true feelings show at last, unable to keep from complaining about life these past few months.
"Then why did you go to such lengths to get to the battlefield in the first place?"
Jiraiya had been trying to sense Natural Energy on his own for a long time without success. After hearing Qi Luna complain, he decided his training could wait. He started chatting with her instead, a few words at a time.
"I must be crazy. I went looking for trouble and dragged myself onto the battlefield! Apart from a vastly increased chakra supply, lots of combat experience, inspiration for developing new techniques, and the Uchiha Clan's friendship, I got nothing... Hahahaha... Wait, I got that much out of it?"
As she spoke, Qi Luna sat up in bed and started laughing before she could help herself.
Is this a try-not-to-laugh challenge? Sounds interesting!
"Annoying little brat. You really are hard to like!"
"But you didn't move in just for my big bed, did you? What is it? Interested in my Sage Mode?"
As he spoke, Jiraiya sat down on the edge of the bed and put an arm around Qi Luna's shoulders, asking softly.
"Want to make a Summoning Contract with Mount Myoboku? This is a secret technique I haven't even taught Minato yet~ All you have to do is..."
Jiraiya spoke with a sleazy grin, giving Qi Luna a look that said, "You know what I mean."
"Forget it. I'm not very fond of toads. Save it for Minato."
Pushing Jiraiya's big face away, Qi Luna politely declined his "generous offer."
"You really don't know a good thing when you see one! Mount Myoboku is one of the Three Great Sage Lands. So many people want to sign a Summoning Contract with it, and they don't even get the chance. And you just turn it down?!"
Jiraiya was surprised by Qi Luna's refusal, though he could accept it. He was just a little disappointed.
Nobody would be there to share a feast of bugs with him, to feel them squirming around in their mouths before bursting with a painful splat. The thought filled Jiraiya with regret!
"You don't like toads? Then what do you like?"
"Compared to toads, I prefer Ninja Dogs or Ninja Cats."
Qi Luna thought it over briefly before answering.
"You like fluffy little animals? You really are such a kid~ Hahaha~"
Jiraiya gave Qi Luna a teasing look over her preferences. His expression changed so quickly, you'd think he didn't care about a thing.
Qi Luna wasn't offended. She simply explained herself.
"Large Summoning Beasts don't suit my fighting style, while small ones would have a hard time helping me in battle. Ninja Dogs' tracking ability and Ninja Cats' information-gathering skills are about the only ones that would be useful to me."
"Tracking and gathering information? Yeah, those aren't exactly a toad's specialties. I could ask Inuzuka Gaku about a Ninja Dog for you. As for Ninja Cats, aren't you on good terms with the Uchiha? Their clan has had a good relationship with the Ninja Cat Clan for generations. You could ask them sometime."
Seeing how seriously Qi Luna was thinking it through, Jiraiya grew serious, too. For once, he genuinely tried to help her figure out how to get a Ninja Dog or Ninja Cat.
"Why bother asking them? It's not like I need one. It sounds like a hassle, so I'll pass."
Qi Luna waved a hand. They'd only made a good impression on one another; they weren't close enough to share information yet. Besides, she planned to raise a big pet someday. There was no need to sign a Summoning Contract with a Ninja Cat or Ninja Dog now!
"Fine, suit yourself! I did my best to help, and you're the one who said you didn't need it! So, about my thing... How about we discuss it again?"
Jiraiya turned to the side and folded his arms across his chest, sounding a little indignant. But then he turned back and asked in a quiet, earnest voice, his cheeks faintly flushed.
"..."
"You win. Just this once. Don't ask again!"
The next day.
In the morning, they fought another war of attrition against Amegakure.
In the afternoon, thanks to Tsunade's arrival, the medical work wrapped up earlier than usual.
After a short rest and a chance to regain her strength, Qi Luna took Tsunade to the temporary training ground where she usually practiced.
Activating Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Qi Luna surveyed the surroundings and her "enemies," then began warming up as usual.
Tsunade had long since gotten used to Qi Luna's warm-up routine. She simply loosened up in her usual way, then began practicing the New Vortex Style Taijutsu that Qi Luna had given her the night before.
With her physical strength, Tsunade quickly completed the first two forms, four Taijutsu moves in total. Then she began studying the eighth form.
Along the way, Tsunade used Super Strength repeatedly, and her practice of the eighth form gradually improved.
Meanwhile, Qi Luna started learning Super Strength from scratch. After watching Tsunade demonstrate it again and again, she gradually grasped some of the tricks behind its force-generating technique.
They trained until evening. After "slightly" restoring the training ground, Qi Luna and Tsunade were about to head back to camp when a ninja wearing an ugly mask suddenly appeared and blocked their way.
"An enemy? Qi Luna, be careful!"
With that, she vanished from the spot.
"Vortex Style: First Form: Violent Step!"
A dull thud rang out, and Tsunade was already in front of the masked ninja!
"Vortex Style: Second Form: Modified—Super Strength Strike!"
"So fast! Much faster than an ordinary Body Flicker Technique! I can't take that head-on. I'll die!"
The masked ninja seemed to see a huge, blood-red "DANGER" appear above him. He felt as if he'd been plunged into an ice cellar. Fortunately, his body's reflexes and battle instincts made him arch his upper body backward on their own. He barely managed to dodge Tsunade's attack.
But the ugly mask on his face wasn't so lucky. It was only grazed by the chakra spilling from Tsunade's fist, yet it still cracked in two.
"Tsunade, look out! I'll save..."
Jiraiya had just arrived, planning to play the hero and rescue the beauty. But when he saw Orochimaru driven back by Tsunade's punch, he froze in stunned disbelief...
"Oh, Orochimaru. What are you doing here?"
"And Jiraiya, too. What are you two up to?"
Tsunade's gaze shifted between Orochimaru and Jiraiya. At last, Orochimaru couldn't take it anymore. He smacked the cracked, ugly mask into Jiraiya's arms and muttered a curse.
"Idiot! Don't ask me to do this kind of thing again!"
Before you continue