Chapter 90 (Patreon)

The Land of Fire, Konohagakure—the Hokage Building.

Minato stared at Yujiro’s returning team, completely bewildered.

This had already gone beyond unbelievable. It was downright alarming.

“Terumi Mei of Kirigakure, Pakura of Sunagakure... and Haku.”

Minato drew a deep breath before looking directly at Yujiro.

“Yujiro, are you sure this is all right?”

“Aren’t you worried that Kirigakure might start a war with Konoha over this?”

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

Yujiro smiled as Shisui stepped forward and handed Minato the mission report.

Minato opened it and carefully read through its contents.

A few minutes later, disbelief once again appeared across his face.

At the same time, he couldn’t help feeling impressed by both Yujiro’s methods and his strength.

“What about the ANBU?” Minato asked.

“They’ve already assembled near the border of the Land of Lightning,” Yujiro answered.

His next destination was Kumogakure.

It was time to demand proper compensation from the Hidden Cloud.

Minato nodded.

Yujiro was free to proceed however he wished. Minato had no intention of restricting him.

Rather than stopping him, Minato would support him completely.

After all, Minato knew better than anyone that he owed his current position to Yujiro. Without Yujiro’s help, he might not have been able to secure his authority as Hokage so firmly.

“What are you planning to do with Terumi Mei, Pakura, and Haku?” Minato asked, glancing behind him.

The three of them stood quietly in a line, though each had very different thoughts running through their mind.

Terumi Mei had already accepted that she was in Konoha and had no immediate way of leaving.

Since that was the case, she might as well remain in the village.

It would also give her a chance to gather more information about Konoha.

Pakura had already made up her mind. Since Yujiro intended to remain in Konoha, she would stay here as well.

Haku, meanwhile, intended to follow Yujiro’s arrangements without question.

Yujiro turned around and studied the three of them. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Under his prolonged stare, Terumi Mei and the others gradually became uneasy.

They felt as though they were standing before a judge, waiting for him to decide their fate.

“This is a little troublesome.”

Yujiro clicked his tongue.

He couldn’t simply allow them to live in his home while eating and drinking for free.

“Terumi Mei, what can you do?” Yujiro asked.

“I can—”

“Anything other than shooting water out of your mouth,” Yujiro interrupted.

“I’m a shinobi. I can do all kinds of things.”

Terumi Mei rolled her eyes and turned her head away.

“That won’t work.”

Yujiro looked her up and down.

“I’m definitely not letting you anywhere near shinobi-related work.”

He thought for a moment before continuing.

“You can work as a housekeeper.”

“A housekeeper?!”

Terumi Mei trembled with anger.

“A maid would work too,” Yujiro added after another moment of consideration.

“What’s the difference?!”

“The clothes are different.”

Yujiro gave the matter some serious thought.

“A maid uniform looks better.”

“Do I have any other choice?”

Terumi Mei gritted her teeth as she glared at him.

“No.”

“Then... fine. I’ll be the maid.”

After struggling internally for a while, Terumi Mei finally gave in.

At least this was better than what she had initially imagined.

She had expected to be thrown into a Konoha prison and placed under constant interrogation.

Instead, she was only being made to work as a servant in Yujiro’s home.

A maid was still a maid. Once she became close to the people living in his house, she might be able to take advantage of the situation.

Terumi Mei secretly laughed to herself.

“In that case, sign this contract.”

Yujiro reached into his clothes and pulled out a scroll.

“What contract?”

Terumi Mei looked at it suspiciously.

“A maid contract.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“Let me... read it first.”

Terumi Mei’s expression became slightly unnatural as she spoke in a quiet voice.

What if the maid contract contained some kind of perverted condition?

Her heart began beating faster.

Yujiro handed the scroll to her, and Terumi Mei carefully read through its contents.

However, everything written inside was perfectly normal. It was merely a standard employment agreement, with nothing especially strange or inappropriate included.

“Place a drop of your blood on it,” Yujiro instructed.

“All right.”

Terumi Mei bit the tip of her finger and allowed a drop of blood to fall onto the scroll.

The moment the blood touched it, the entire contract vanished without a trace.

Terumi Mei’s eyes widened.

“That’s incredible...”

“The contract is now active.”

Yujiro smiled.

“I should explain something first. If you ever develop any intention of harming me or the people around me, the chakra inside your body will automatically be sealed.”

“You’ll also lose the ability to move. The restriction will only disappear after you abandon that harmful intent.”

“Hmph.”

Terumi Mei gave a quiet snort, clearly unconcerned by the warning.

After settling Terumi Mei’s situation, Yujiro turned his attention toward Pakura.

“Pakura, you’ll have the same job as Terumi Mei for now. I’ll have another use for you later.”

“All right.”

Pakura nodded without objection.

Finally, Yujiro looked at Haku.

“Haku, tell me. What kind of shinobi do you want to become in the future?”

Yujiro’s tone became much gentler.

Haku possessed the Ice Release kekkei genkai. There was no chance Yujiro would allow such talent to go to waste.

“I want to become... a medical-nin.”

Haku finally voiced the wish he had been carrying in his heart.

“A medical-nin?”

Yujiro nodded.

It suited Haku’s naturally kind and gentle personality.

“Minato-sensei, is there anyone in Konoha who would be suitable for teaching medical ninjutsu?” Yujiro asked as he turned around.

“Not anyone who would be the ideal choice.”

Minato thought carefully before answering.

“Unless we’re talking about Tsunade-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin.”

“Her medical ninjutsu is regarded as the best in the entire shinobi world.”

“Tsunade...”

Yujiro narrowed his eyes slightly.

Tsunade was undeniably powerful, and she was also the most accomplished medical-nin alive.

Konoha currently lacked someone capable of properly overseeing and developing the village’s medical system.

“Where is Jiraiya right now?” Yujiro asked.

“Jiraiya-sensei said he needed to immerse himself in writing his novel to recover his inspiration.”

Minato scratched his head awkwardly.

“He also said something about needing to gather material.”

“As long as he’s still in Konoha.”

Yujiro smiled.

“Since everything here is settled, I’ll be leaving.”

“All right.”

Minato rose from his chair.

Yujiro left the Hokage’s office with Terumi Mei, Pakura, and Haku following behind him.

Twenty minutes later, the group arrived at Kurenai’s small house.

“Whoa! Why did you bring so many people back?”

Kurenai Yuhi stared at Terumi Mei and the others in surprise.

“Yujiro, are they all your friends?”

“Kurenai-nee-san, let me introduce them.”

Yujiro pointed toward Terumi Mei.

“This is our new maid. You can leave any difficult housework to her.”

“Your new maid?!”

Terumi Mei’s eyebrow twitched, but she restrained herself.

Yujiro then pointed toward Pakura.

“She’s also going to work as a maid. She can help you with your daily work around the house.”

Finally, he looked at Haku and paused for a moment.

“As for Haku, he’s a shinobi who will most likely be settling in Konoha.”

Once the introductions were finished, everyone gradually became acquainted.

Yujiro was pleased to finally have some free time.

For the next few days, he rested at home and occasionally supervised his two newly appointed maids as they adjusted to their work.

However, Terumi Mei frequently felt two hostile gazes directed toward her.

Those gazes belonged to Uzuki Yugao and Uchiha Izumi.

Time passed quickly.

Three days later, Yujiro, Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi rapidly approached a hot-spring inn.

“Kakashi, are you sure the information is accurate?” Yujiro asked.

“Absolutely.”

Kakashi nodded with a serious expression.

“I personally saw Jiraiya-sama enter this hot-spring inn.”

“Good. Let’s move.”

Yujiro grinned.

At that same moment, Jiraiya was standing beside a third-floor window with a telescope pressed against his eye.

Directly below the window was the women’s bathing area.

“Magnificent...”

Jiraiya muttered as he stared through the telescope.

“Absolutely magnificent!”

A voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Enjoying the view?”

“Of course! It’s incredible!”

Jiraiya slapped his thigh and answered without hesitation.

A second later, his entire body stiffened.

Someone had discovered him.

Jiraiya slowly turned around and saw Yujiro standing behind him.

He immediately coughed and straightened his posture.

“This isn’t what it looks like.”

“I’m writing a novel. I’m merely gathering material from the local environment.”

Jiraiya let out a long sigh.

“Yujiro, you’re still young. You have no idea how difficult the creative process can be.”

“I’ve been forced to try every possible method just to find the smallest trace of inspiration.”

“Yujiro, I found it.”

The door to the adjoining room opened, and Kakashi walked inside.

He approached Yujiro and handed him the book he had discovered.

Yujiro glanced at the cover.

Four large characters were written across it.

Icha Icha Paradise.

Judging from its condition, it appeared to be a brand-new first-edition copy.

Yujiro clicked his tongue several times.

“So this is what you’ve been working on.”

“Ahem.”

Jiraiya cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Children shouldn’t be reading that kind of book.”

After hearing that, Kakashi quietly muttered from the side.

“I’m not a child anymore...”

“Ahaha...”

Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed.

“Well, Kakashi, since you seem interested, I’ll give you that first-edition copy.”

Yujiro looked at Kakashi beside him.

So this was how Kakashi’s obsession with the series had begun.

“Ero-sennin, I came here because I need information about Tsunade,” Yujiro said, getting straight to the point.

Jiraiya’s expression changed.

“What do you need Tsunade for?”

“I want her to return to Konoha and help develop the village’s medical ninjutsu.”

“You want her to return?”

Jiraiya drew a deep breath.

“That won’t be easy. She won’t willingly come back to Konoha.”

“And...”

Jiraiya suddenly stopped speaking.

In truth, he already knew almost everything his former teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had done.

He did not blame Yujiro for what had happened.

Hiruzen had committed far too many unforgivable acts.

Even if Jiraiya had been the one forced to make the decision, he believed he would have chosen the same path as Yujiro.

“Ero-sennin, you only need to lead me to Tsunade.”

Yujiro smiled confidently.

“Leave the task of convincing her to me.”

Jiraiya studied Yujiro’s confident expression for a moment before finally understanding that his mind was already made up.

“All right. I’ll take you to her.”

“When are we leaving?”

“Now.”

“How many people are coming?”

“Just the two of us.”

“Fine.”

Jiraiya stood up.

“Then let’s go.”