Nadeshiko Village was a ninja village. According to Awen's memories, it was much like the Women's Kingdom from Journey to the West, except Nadeshiko Village did not have the Mother-Child River that could make people pregnant. Its usual custom was marriage through combat.
So-called marriage through combat meant that if a female ninja from Nadeshiko Village encountered a strong man she fancied outside the village, she would challenge him to a duel. Only by defeating a female ninja of Nadeshiko Village could he earn the right to marry into the village.
Unlike ninja, however, ordinary female villagers could marry people they liked from outside the village. But outsiders could never enter Nadeshiko Village for the rest of their lives. If their child was a boy, he would be taken away by the man from outside; if it was a girl, she had to remain in Nadeshiko Village.
Female ninja could only marry men who defeated them. Those men likewise could not enter the village, and their children were handled the same way as those of ordinary villagers.
However, the village chief of Nadeshiko Village had the authority to allow the man who defeated her to remain in the village. This was the chief's privilege. A man who stayed in Nadeshiko Village could practically treat the entire village as his harem, becoming the village's only male chief.
Back then, Jiraiya had infiltrated Nadeshiko Village to gather material for his works. After being discovered, Jiraiya fled the village, but the village chief at the time took a liking to him. She challenged Jiraiya to a duel, declaring that if he defeated her, he would have to marry into Nadeshiko Village.
Jiraiya had deliberately held back and intentionally fought the village chief to a draw. Though he was usually unreliable, frequented pleasure houses,