Chapter 104 (Patreon)

“Seriously?!”

After hearing Jiraiya’s explanation, Tsunade stared at him in disbelief.

Even Shizune, standing behind her, was stunned.

Yujiro had mastered it that easily without anyone teaching him?

“Why would I lie about something like this?” Jiraiya replied with a bitter smile. “Now I finally understand. Comparing yourself to someone like him will only drive you insane.”

He released a long sigh and turned away.

“I’m already an old man. I should stop involving myself in the affairs of monsters from the younger generation. Their world is beyond me. Completely beyond me.”

With his shoulders slumped, Jiraiya wandered off in a daze.

He decided it would be far better for his peace of mind to focus on writing the next volume of the Icha Icha Paradise series.

Whenever he had free time, he could visit Konoha’s hot springs, enjoy a relaxing bath, and gather some valuable research material while he was there.

Wasn’t that a much better life?

Why would he remain beside Yujiro just to have his confidence crushed again and again?

After Jiraiya left, Tsunade turned her attention toward Yujiro.

She moved closer and examined him from one side to the other, then looked him over from head to toe. Beneath her intense scrutiny, even Yujiro began to feel uncomfortable.

“Tsunade, just say whatever you came here to say.”

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed.

“What did you just call me?”

“Tsunade.”

“No, no. You’re forgetting something,” she said, planting both hands on her hips. “Add nee-san.”

Yujiro considered it for a moment.

“Tsunade-baa-san.”

The smile vanished from Tsunade’s face.

“You little brat! How dare you call me an old hag? Do I look that old to you?!”

She stormed toward him with a murderous expression.

Yujiro calmly took two steps back.

“I don’t know whether you look old, but you’re certainly big.”

Tsunade froze.

Just as her fist began to tighten, Yujiro continued without changing his expression.

“I was talking about your voice. It’s very loud.”

For a moment, Tsunade stared at him.

Then she burst out laughing, her body trembling as she tried to contain herself. Even Shizune had rarely seen her laugh so openly.

“My, my. I always thought you were just a stubborn, stone-faced brat,” Tsunade said, covering her mouth as she chuckled. “It turns out you’ve got quite a mouth on you. Were you pretending to be so serious all this time?”

Yujiro gave her an indifferent glance.

“Tsunade, did you actually come to my house for something?”

“Of course I did. Why else would I come here? To freeload off your food?”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Then, with an innocent smile, she grabbed Shizune and strode straight into Yujiro’s house.

In truth, she really had come to eat.

She also wanted to see whether there had been any progress between Yujiro and the young women living in the courtyard.

As far as Tsunade was concerned, ensuring that the Senju Clan’s bloodline continued was currently one of the most important matters in Konoha.

She still did not understand how Yujiro had obtained Wood Release, but in her eyes, that was more than enough to consider him a descendant of the Senju Clan.

Yujiro had long since given up trying to explain the matter to her.

“Tsunade-nee-san!”

The moment she entered the courtyard, Izumi Uchiha and Yūgao Uzuki came forward to greet her.

Now that the Uchiha Clan had reconciled with Konoha, Tsunade naturally had no reason to treat Izumi any differently.

As for Izumi and Yūgao themselves, Tsunade had grown rather fond of them and treated them like younger sisters.

Of course, Tsunade understood perfectly well why the two of them were spending so much time at Yujiro’s home.

“Tsunade-sama? What brings you here?”

Kurenai Yūhi stepped out of the house and looked at Tsunade in surprise.

“Kurenai, just call me Tsunade-nee-san. Tsunade-sama sounds far too formal.”

Tsunade smiled warmly and quickly moved to Kurenai’s side.

She then leaned closer and whispered into her ear.

“Kurenai, have you thought about what I mentioned last time?”

Kurenai’s ears instantly turned red.

What Tsunade had proposed before was more than enough to make her lose her composure.

Ever since Tsunade returned to Konoha, she had frequently visited Yujiro’s home. After spending so much time together, she had naturally become familiar with everyone living there.

It had not taken long for Tsunade to reveal her true intentions.

She wanted Kurenai to marry Yujiro.

When Kurenai first heard the suggestion, she had been completely dumbfounded.

Tsunade, however, had presented her argument with absolute confidence.

“Kurenai, Yujiro might be your otōto, but the two of you aren’t related by blood, are you?”

“And you’ve known each other since childhood.”

“You’re also at the age when you should start thinking about marriage.”

“So listen to your Tsunade-nee-san and choose Yujiro. You won’t regret it!”

“Wait, wait, wait…”

Tsunade’s words from that day once again echoed through Kurenai’s mind.

It was not as though Kurenai had never thought about Yujiro that way.

However, he had always been her otōto.

They had even bathed together when they were children.

“All right, Tsunade-nee-san. Let’s not discuss that right now,” Kurenai said hurriedly, trying to change the subject. “It’s already lunchtime. We should eat.”

The moment Tsunade heard the word lunch, all thoughts of leaving disappeared from her mind.

Without the slightest hesitation, she invited herself to eat at Yujiro’s house.

The food, naturally, was delicious.

However, throughout the meal, every woman at the table kept glancing toward Yujiro.

Some looked shy.

Some appeared nervous.

Others were openly excited, while a few repeatedly stole glances at him whenever they thought he was not looking.

Their behavior left Yujiro thoroughly exasperated.

Still, romantic matters would have to wait.

Yujiro did not believe that he had reached a point where he could simply relax and enjoy a peaceful life.

Although he had forced several of the other great nations into submission, they undoubtedly still harbored resentment toward Konoha.

The only reason they remained obedient was because of Yujiro’s overwhelming strength.

Without him, Yujiro was certain that the combined forces of the four other great nations could capture Konoha within a single month.

That was why growing stronger remained his greatest priority.

However, Yujiro had now encountered a problem.

After lunch, Tsunade prepared to leave. Before she could go, Yujiro approached her and revealed what he wanted.

“Tsunade, I want you to take me to Shikkotsu Forest.”

“Why do you want to go to Shikkotsu Forest?” Tsunade asked curiously.

“To learn Shikkotsu Forest’s senjutsu.”

“Huh?”

Tsunade stared at him in surprise.

“Haven’t you already learned the senjutsu of Mount Myōboku?”

“I learned Mount Myōboku’s senjutsu. Does that mean I’m forbidden from learning the senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest as well?”

Yujiro was genuinely puzzled.

Could a person only learn the senjutsu of one of the three great sage regions?

Besides, Yujiro was not planning to slowly train in Shikkotsu Forest’s senjutsu.

He intended to acquire it directly through his Level Three Skill.

It would save him time, effort, and unnecessary trouble.

All he needed was an opportunity to see Katsuyu’s true body within Shikkotsu Forest.

“Well…”

Tsunade fell silent after hearing Yujiro’s question.

He had a point.

Just because someone had learned the senjutsu of Mount Myōboku, did that mean they could not learn Shikkotsu Forest’s senjutsu?

No one had ever attempted such a thing before, so there was no definite answer.

At the very least, there did not appear to be any direct conflict between the two.

“You can go to Shikkotsu Forest if you want,” Tsunade said as a sly smile appeared on her face. “But first, you’ll have to agree to three conditions.”

The moment Yujiro saw that smile, he sensed a conspiracy.