Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
"Wow! Konoha! I, Uzumaki Naruto, am finally back!"
Naruto let out an excited cheer.
As he patted his nearly empty frog wallet, his eyes brimmed with tears.
"You brat! What are you yelling for? You're going to make me go deaf!" Tsunade smacked Naruto on the head, warning him with a displeased expression.
Looking up at the familiar gates of Konoha, Tsunade felt a mix of emotions.
This was the place she was born, the place she missed, and the place she resented.
[Huh, so Jiraiya finally brought Tsunade back to take the fall—oops, I mean, to become the Fifth Hokage!]
Who was talking?
Tsunade glanced around in confusion.
The voice was male, so she ruled out Shizune immediately.
And the person mentioned Jiraiya—could it be Uzumaki Naruto? No, it couldn't be him.
"Hikari, you're on gate duty today, huh? Where's your brother?" Jiraiya casually strolled up to the guard post at Konoha's gate, opened the door, and called inside.
Kamizuki Hikari looked at Jiraiya helplessly. He just wanted to quietly do his job guarding the village and collect his sign-in rewards.
But during his downtime, he had written a few rather 'risqué' novels, which led to Jiraiya discovering his identity. Now, every time Jiraiya returned, he would always pester Hikari about writing.
"Since the Third Hokage died, those who are capable have been stationed in the village to guard against enemy spies. A weakling like me can only be on gate duty."
[That old geezer, the Third, finally kicked the bucket. Back then, if he had been willing to sacrifice himself, the Fourth Hokage wouldn't have been forced into using the Reaper Death Seal to seal the Nine-Tails. I wouldn't have had to live so cautiously either.]
[Speaking of which, it was the Fourth Hokage who arranged for me to guard the gate. If not for him, I wouldn't have been able to get my cheat ability, and my strength wouldn't have skyrocketed.]
[I should look after Naruto when I get the chance. That damn Third Hokage not only got the Fourth killed but also confiscated all his assets and spread the rumor that Naruto was the Nine-Tails. If I were the Fourth, I'd make sure to teach the Third a lesson inside the Shinigami's belly.]
[Now that Tsunade, the big cash cow, is back, Konoha is finally getting back on track. That's great!]
[It's just those elders—they're so annoying. They're definitely going to cause trouble for her in the future.]
[But what does that have to do with me? All I need to do is guard the gate!]
"Oh, I see! Well, keep up the good work. Tsunade, let's go meet Homura and Koharu to settle the Hokage matter." Jiraiya urged Tsunade enthusiastically.
As long as Tsunade became Hokage, those two old geezers would stop bothering him. Then he, Jiraiya, would have time to gather material and make greater contributions to the culture of the shinobi world.
Tsunade observed Jiraiya. From her analysis, the voice wasn't Naruto's, which meant it had to be that young man named Hikari in the guard post.
But... how did he know all that?
The Reaper Death Seal was a forbidden technique known only to high-ranking elders and above. This guy was just a gate guard—how could he possibly know about it?
Who exactly was he?
With that thought, Tsunade smiled. "Jiraiya, is this your friend? I haven't seen you for a while, and you've already made new friends in Konoha?"
As someone who had grown up with Jiraiya, Tsunade knew him well.
He might act carefree, but he was actually extremely observant, noticing things most people wouldn't. If this Hikari was suspicious, Jiraiya would have noticed.
Jiraiya's face stiffened for a moment before he chuckled awkwardly. "Hikari's just a kid from the Kamizuki clan, Kamizuki Izumo's younger brother. He's not that strong. After the Third Great Ninja War ended, Minato arranged for him to guard the gate."
Kamizuki Izumo's younger brother?
If that was his background, then the chances of him being a spy were low.
[Not that strong? Heh, my current strength is enough to easily defeat ten Jiraiyas.]
[But I won't say anything. I'll just stay here, playing dumb, doing my job as a gate guard.]
[Guarding the gate is my lifelong passion. I aspire to become Konoha's ultimate existence—the Gatekeeper!]
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.
Easily defeat ten Jiraiyas? What kind of nonsense was this?
Jiraiya's strength was about the same as hers. If this guy could beat ten Jiraiyas, then wouldn't that mean he could beat ten of her too?
'I, Tsunade, need to see for myself who this arrogant brat is, daring to think like this!'
Having made up her mind, Tsunade gestured for Jiraiya to step aside.
"Tsunade, let's just head back. Hikari might be a bit lazy, but he takes his gatekeeping duty seriously. If you want to punish him, at least wait until you become Hokage!" Jiraiya spread his arms out to block her path.
Tsunade's brow twitched, her forehead forming large '#' marks.
Who didn't know that she, Tsunade, was gentle and kind, with an open heart, never punishing others lightly?
How could Jiraiya slander her like this?
"Relax, I just want to take a look at this Kamizuki kid."
[Tsunade wants to see me? Oh no!]
[I'm so handsome. What if she takes a liking to me and forces me to submit?]
[Should I agree? Agree? Or agree?]
[But women are troublesome. Tsunade, you're beautiful, but I'd rather be a lone wolf. I'm not ready to settle down yet, sorry!]
A cracking sound echoed as Tsunade clenched her fist, startling Jiraiya.
"Don't hit me! I didn't mean anything by it! Hikari isn't that impressive. If you want to admire someone's handsomeness, look at me, the great Toad Sage Jiraiya! Why look at that little punk?"
Tsunade forced a smile. "Move aside. I just want to see what this kid looks like."
Why was this brat insulting her in his mind?
She was a renowned beauty admired by countless young men. And yet, according to Kamizuki Hikari, she wasn't even worth his time?
Tch!
She needed to see for herself what kind of self-important, delusional fool had the audacity to think like this.
[Should I tell her I'm slacking off?]
[Should I tell her I'm planning to use her figure as inspiration for the heroine of my next novel?]
[Of course, the male lead is me. The heroine would be madly in love with the hero, willingly submitting, and even offering her maids to help expand his harem.]
[This idea is great! Just thinking about it excites me.]
[Why is she still here?]
[Leave already! Once she's gone, I can start writing!]
[This time, my novel will finally outsell Jiraiya's!]
Novel?
Outsell Jiraiya?
Connecting the dots, Tsunade's face turned green.
As his friend, she knew exactly what kind of novels Jiraiya wrote.
And now, realizing she was about to become the heroine of a similar story—Tsunade felt an overwhelming urge to activate her Yin Seal and beat these two idiots senseless.
Kamizuki Hikari deserved a beating. And Jiraiya? He was guilty by association.
Jiraiya, sensing Tsunade's worsening expression, quickly moved toward Naruto.
Tsunade marched forward, pushed open the door, and—
"Brat, you'd better—"
"Granduncle!"
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TL Note:
As an initial release, I'll be uploading 4 chapters per day until Chapter 16.
After that, the regular schedule will be 1 chapter per day.