Early one morning, a few days later.
Two graceful figures appeared on the road not far from the Konoha Gate.
"It's been so long since I last came back to Konoha..."
The woman walking in front was stunningly beautiful, with an exceptionally voluptuous figure.
She raised her light brown eyes. Through Konoha's gates, she could see the iconic Kage Rock carved into the village's sprawling mountain cliffs.
"It doesn't seem any different from before."
Her expression was complicated as she murmured softly.
The woman looked no older than her twenties or thirties, but her clothes were rather old-fashioned. Over a loose outfit, she wore a green jacket with the character for "gamble" printed on the back, and she dragged a bulky-looking suitcase behind her.
It undercut the peerless elegance of her appearance, lending her a touch of everyday mundanity.
Yet that did nothing to change the fact that she was a beauty no one could easily forget.
She was Princess Tsunade of Konoha, the sole woman among the Konoha Sannin.
"Lady Tsunade, will Lord Jiraiya be all right if we just leave him behind? That medicine was pretty strong..."
Shizune, Tsunade's student and subordinate, hurried to catch up and asked rather timidly.
She held their pet pig, Tonton, in one arm and carried a smaller suitcase in her other hand. She looked sleep-deprived and drained.
"...Shizune, don't mention his name in front of me right now. Can't you see you're ruining my moment of homecoming nostalgia?"
Tsunade looked at her Disciple expressionlessly.
"Come to think of it, did you get up so early because you wanted to take him the antidote?"
"Ahaha, no, of course not."
Seeing that Tsunade was still angry, Shizune could only apologize to Jiraiya silently.
*Sorry, Lord Jiraiya. It looks like I won't be able to