"Give it up, Jiraiya. No matter how hard you try, a dunce is still a dunce."
Watching the panting Jiraiya, Tsunade spoke up to advise him.
Over the past month, both Tsunade and Orochimaru had witnessed Jiraiya's efforts firsthand. Calling it a grueling routine was no exaggeration—he trained from dawn till dusk, pushing himself to the brink of collapse every day. Often, he would pass out the moment training ended and couldn't be woken no matter what. More than once, Orochimaru had to carry him home.
In the fading light of the sunset, Orochimaru would carry the drooling Jiraiya on his back—that scene was honestly too much for Tsunade to bear.
All in all, Tsunade felt Jiraiya's determination alone could fill a book titled The Ninja Who Wouldn't Quit. The only issue was, it might have a tragic ending. If it did, she'd bet his real father's surname was Urobuchi.
"No way! I will master the Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Jiraiya muttered in frustration, clearly unwilling to give up. In truth, he had long yearned to learn high-level jutsu. Tsunade and Orochimaru had already mastered Jonin-level techniques ages ago. Jiraiya, who had always chased after them, wasn't about to let himself fall behind.
With that thought, he pressed his index and middle fingers together, crossing his hands into the cross-shaped seal.
What little chakra remained in his body surged again.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
That same draining sensation swept through him as his chakra was pulled away. Jiraiya heard a familiar poof beside him, a cloud of white smoke billowed, and out of it… tumbled a malformed clone. It crashed to the ground and vanished back into smoke.
"Aaaaaarrrrggghhhhhhhh!!"
Another failure. Jiraiya collapsed in frustration, closing his eyes as if he'd given up on moving altogether.
Watching him, Tsunade was a bit speechless. Though Jiraiya was only ten years old, in that moment, he gave off the weary vibe of a middle-aged man worn down by life.
Then again, Jiraiya was an orphan, bullied by other kids because the plot demanded it. And even after finally becoming a Genin, things weren't exactly looking up. His sensei? The current Third Hokage. His peer, Orochimaru? A once-in-a-generation genius. Tsunade herself? Basically hacking her way to the top like a protagonist with cheats.
Tsunade thought, if Jiraiya had been born in another world, he'd have definitely earned a Badge of Courage by now. Otherwise, how the hell would he have survived this long?
She stepped over to where Jiraiya lay, looking down at him.
Sensing her presence, Jiraiya opened his eyes, though the sun behind her made it hard to see her expression.
"Hmph, if you're here to mock me, save it. I'm not giving up!"
Flat on the ground, Jiraiya didn't even bother getting up—just stubbornly turned his head away. Not only would he master the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he'd get the Sexy Jutsu down too!
"Jiraiya, if someone works as hard as they can and still gets nowhere, there's usually only one reason: they're going about it the wrong way."
There was no gloating in Tsunade's voice—just calm, compelling reasoning. It caught Jiraiya off guard. He never expected this violent tomboy, who usually solved problems with her fists, to show a softer, concerned side. It was… surprisingly nice.
Then Tsunade continued.
"Let me tell you a story from my past," she said slowly, as if carefully unraveling old memories. "When I was younger—much younger—no matter how hard I studied, I could never match the geniuses around me. No matter how much effort I put in, it always felt like it was for nothing…"
Jiraiya was even more shocked. Tsunade, the girl who basically steamrolled her way through ninja school with sheer talent, once struggled to keep up?
Was it... ikebana? Flower arrangement?
But Tsunade didn't notice his reaction. She was lost in her recollection, speaking to no one in particular. "It hurt. A lot. And eventually, I fell into a dark, hopeless place. I wanted to fight it, but I couldn't pull myself out…"
Jiraiya listened silently. He never imagined someone like Tsunade—born with a silver spoon, blessed with talent—had gone through anything like that. Maybe every family has their own story, even the rich and powerful ones. In that, Jiraiya could relate. He, too, had lived in darkness—until he met Tsunade.
He would never forget the day they met. Tsunade had been like a ray of light, scattering the shadows around him. She smiled, reached out her hand, and her youthful voice broke the silence of his world.
"You seem talented. Why not learn to be Hokage with me?"
That moment had painted his dull, monochrome world in full color.
Maybe… that was what people meant by salvation.
"Until I met…"
Tsunade's voice cut off.
"Met who?" Jiraiya asked curiously.
"Uh… anyway, I became the strongest." She clearly didn't want to dwell on the topic and smoothly pivoted to her usual no-nonsense lecture. "So, Jiraiya, let me tell you—if you just keep smashing your head into the same wall, that's not effort. That's stupidity."
"I'm going to be Hokage!"
Tsunade's words stirred up old memories, but instead of discouraging him, they only strengthened his resolve. He shot back, "Have you ever seen a Hokage who can't even learn a B-rank jutsu?"
Tsunade was momentarily speechless. Looking at Jiraiya's infuriating face, she felt a powerful urge to stomp on it and end his miserable existence then and there—to spare him the suffering of this world.
But in the end, she didn't.
Instead, she pulled out a scroll and tossed it onto Jiraiya's chest.
"I think this jutsu might suit you better."
With that, she walked off and lazily plopped down under a nearby tree. She wasn't like Jiraiya—if she knew a mission was doomed from the start, she wouldn't waste her energy. Instead, she decided to rest and wait for next month's assignment.
"This is… the Summoning Jutsu?!"
Jiraiya's shocked voice rang out moments later.
Tsunade didn't respond. She simply closed her eyes to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Things had been hectic lately—practicing the Summoning Jutsu, founding Fairy Tail... or something like that. In short, she was exhausted.
Jiraiya turned to look at her, only to see her leaning against the tree, head tilted, eyes closed.
Truth be told, even someone as dense as Jiraiya had noticed that Tsunade had been training harder than usual. And yet, despite her monstrous talent—able to ace C-rank jutsu while flirting in class and knocking out her classmates afterward—the Summoning Jutsu had been stonewalling her completely. It must be insanely hard to learn.
Thinking that, Jiraiya turned back to the scroll.
He didn't have much hope, honestly. If Tsunade couldn't do it in a month, what chance did he have?
In fact, the scroll Tsunade gave him wasn't just any Summoning Jutsu. It was a modified version—infused with extra details from the "second phase" of a mission she'd vaguely recalled from the system in her head. A supercharged version, courtesy of Tsunade's "System".
And the reason she gave it to Jiraiya? Because if memory served, Jiraiya's growth in the original story was closely tied to the Summoning Jutsu.
Tsunade opened one eye slightly, watching Jiraiya study the scroll intently.
"So cruel… He really reminds me of myself…"
Yes, the reason she decided to help Jiraiya was because she saw her younger self in him. The self who, despite realizing too late and striving with all her might, still failed in the end. She hoped Jiraiya might achieve what she couldn't—a continuation of her own dream.
Otherwise, why bother writing something as boring as a jutsu scroll?
With that thought, Tsunade let a soft smile play on her lips and slowly drifted off to sleep.
A gentle breeze stirred the leaves above, casting dappled shadows on the grass. A few rays of sunlight pierced through the thick canopy overhead. And there, Tsunade—like an ordinary girl—fell peacefully asleep…
Perhaps… she was already seeing the continuation of that dream.
Yes, Tsunade dreamed.
She dreamed she had followed Orochimaru in pursuit of immortality and betrayed Konoha. After many twists and turns, the two of them ended up living happily ever after.
They even had a child. A son named Mitsuki.
Oh, and by the way—Orochimaru was the mom.
(End of Chapter)
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