Jiraiya Almost Got Beaten to Death

At the edge of the training ground.

Jiraiya lay on a wooden board, covered in blood.

His face was so pale it matched his hair.

Several medical ninja crowded around him, working frantically.

The glow of their healing techniques brightened and dimmed, then brightened again.

But his wounds were closing painfully slowly.

"Six broken ribs, a fractured left arm, a shattered right arm, multiple ruptures and internal bleeding..."

"The bleeding won't stop! We need a stronger medical ninja!"

"Get Lady Tsunade! Hurry!!"

The moment he said it, hurried footsteps sounded nearby.

He looked up, saw Tsunade rushing over, and his eyes lit up.

"Lady Tsunade! You're finally here! Lord Jiraiya, he—"

"I know."

Tsunade cut him off.

She crouched down and looked at Jiraiya on the board.

Jiraiya's eyes had been closed as he groaned in pain.

At the sound of Tsunade's voice, they flew open.

He found her staring down at him, her face expressionless.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood, mixed with what remained of the clots in his throat,

sprayed straight out.

"Tsu... Tsunade... You... You have to let me explain..."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, a clear warning in her eyes.

"Explain what?"

Her look said it plainly.

Say one more word, and I'll beat you to death.

Jiraiya's Adam's apple bobbed violently.

He wanted to say, "You nearly killed me with that punch." He wanted to say, "Did you have to hit me so hard?"

His lips trembled twice.

Then he forced the words back down.

"...I... I'm fine."

A medical ninja beside him stamped his foot in frustration.

"You call this fine?! You're almost dead!!"

"I said... I'm fine!"

Jiraiya suddenly raised his voice, tugged at his wounds, and grimaced in pain.

Tsunade nearly lost her composure at the sight of him acting tough while looking so scared.

"All right, all right. Move your hand."

She crouched and pressed her palm against the wound on Jiraiya's abdomen.

Green Chakra flowed from her palm.

Gentle and precise, it carried warmth deep into the wound.

The Mystical Palm Technique.

An A-rank healing technique.

Ever since Tsunade had fully absorbed the original owner's memories, using it had been as easy as breathing.

No wonder the original Tsunade neglected everything else to focus on Medical Ninjutsu.

Tsunade marveled inwardly as she healed him.

With this kind of aptitude, she could master it without even trying. Why would she bother learning anything else?

Her hand never stopped, steadily channeling Chakra.

Jiraiya's body went rigid, then slowly relaxed.

His wounds began closing before their eyes.

Torn blood vessels reconnected.

Broken bones gradually aligned.

Damaged organs mended bit by bit.

The medical ninja beside them stared, transfixed.

"This... this is Lady Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu?"

"It's so fast! I couldn't even see what she did."

"The internal bleeding has stopped! His ribs are setting too!"

"So this is what a genius can do?"

"..."

Tsunade wasn't about to be modest.

Her talent for Medical Ninjutsu really was extraordinary!

Less than three minutes later.

Tsunade withdrew her hand and patted Jiraiya's stomach.

"There. You'll live."

The pat wasn't particularly gentle, and Jiraiya yelped.

"Easy! Easy! I'm still injured!"

"Injured?"

Tsunade glanced at him.

"You looked pretty lively to me earlier."

Jiraiya: "..."

He opened his mouth, ready to argue.

Maybe ask whether she'd been peeping too.

But when he saw the faint, knowing smile in Tsunade's eyes,

he lost his nerve again.

In the end, he didn't dare say a thing.

Tsunade stood and turned to the medical ninja.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

"His bones have only just been set, so they need to be immobilized. His organs are repaired, but he still needs rest."

"He needs to stay in bed for at least three days. Don't let him move around."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

The medical ninja answered in unison, their eyes full of admiration.

Tsunade nodded and turned to leave.

After two steps, she remembered something.

She stopped and glanced back at Jiraiya, still lying on the board.

The corner of her mouth curled up.

She walked back, crouched, and leaned close to his ear.

Then she spoke slowly, each word meant for him alone:

"Next time."

"If I catch you peeping into the women's bath again,"

"six broken ribs will be the least of your worries."

"I'll make sure your family jewels get smashed."

Jiraiya shuddered, his face turning white.

He instinctively squeezed his legs together, shut his eyes, and played dead.

Tsunade chuckled, stood, dusted off her hands, and strode away.

She knew what Jiraiya was like.

A dog couldn't stop eating shit, and a pervert couldn't stop peeping.

He would definitely go back to lurking outside the women's bath.

Still, the warning needed to be said.

After another couple of steps, Tsunade paused again and looked back.

"By the way, where's Orochimaru? Why haven't I seen him?"

With Jiraiya injured this badly, Orochimaru should have come to check on him.

"Ahem..."

Jiraiya muttered weakly:

"Orochimaru said... he found an interesting forbidden technique and went home to study it..."

"He told me not to bother him..."

Tsunade nodded.

That sounded like him.

"Fair enough."

She asked nothing more and headed home.

As she walked, she rolled her shoulders.

She had already trained all day and worked up a sweat.

Then she'd peeped through a wall, beaten someone up, and healed him.

After all that exertion, she felt sticky all over.

Especially down there...

Tsunade wrinkled her nose.

I need a good bath when I get home.

She quickened her pace.

As she walked,

the view through the crack in the women's bath wall suddenly came back to her.

Steam hung in the air.

Pale skin everywhere.

"Heh heh..."

Tsunade couldn't help laughing aloud.

She walked home even faster.

Better savor the memory while it's fresh.