Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

Chapter 223 Reunion with Tsunade

As Kushina's due date approaches, the entire Konoha leadership is shrouded in a tense atmosphere that appears relaxed on the surface but is actually quite tense underneath.

A large number of Jonin were secretly recalled, the patrol frequency of the Anbu doubled, and the security around Kushina reached an unprecedented level.

Of course, this tension only exists among the upper echelons.

For ordinary villagers, life goes on as usual, with everyone eating and drinking as usual.

After all, they didn't even know that the Fourth Hokage's wife was pregnant.

Beneath this surface calm, Aoba was secretly making her own preparations.

That evening, at the Konoha Memorial Monument.

Kakashi wiped Rin's tombstone with a rag, replaced the flowers with fresh ones, and said a bunch of things he should and shouldn't have said.

After finishing, he ran to Otoshima's tombstone and told him the "good news" again.

Shortly after Kakashi left, a strange spiral-shaped ripple suddenly appeared in the space in front of Rin's tombstone.

A figure wearing a swirling mask and a long black robe appeared out of thin air.

Obito Uchiha.

He glanced coldly at the flowers on the tombstone, a hint of disgust and pain flashing in his eyes, then grabbed the bouquet and tossed it aside like trash.

"Lin, I will definitely create a world with you..."

Obito muttered something under his breath, then his body transformed into a spiral of ripples and vanished without a trace.

All of this was observed by Qingye, who was hiding in the shadows.

At this moment, Aoba was in a spirit form state due to the Spirit Transformation Technique.

Looking at the spot where Obito had disappeared, Aoba's expression became extremely solemn.

My understanding of Kamui has become more intuitive.

The space-time ninjutsu of the Mangekyou Sharingan is indeed a bug-level ability.

Even from the perspective of a spirit, it is still impossible to perceive when Obito appeared.

In other words, as long as Obito is hidden in the Kamui dimension, even from the perspective of a spirit, his existence cannot be perceived at all.

Not to mention perception under normal conditions.

This powerful concealment and spatial penetration made Qingye feel a little troubled.

This means that it would be almost impossible to discover Obito before Kushina gave birth; they could only wait for him to show himself.

Aoba's spirit slowly returned to her physical body.

He opened his eyes, sat on the roof, and looked up at the sunset on the horizon.

Although he had prepared many backup plans for the upcoming night, after witnessing Shenwei firsthand, he still felt it wasn't safe enough.

"It seems we need to add another layer of insurance."

Aoba split into clones.

The clone left Konoha without a sound.

He was going to find someone.

……

Southern part of the Land of Fire, Tanbata Street.

This is a famous "gambling city" in the ninja world. The streets are lined with gambling dens, izakayas and brothels of all sizes, and the air is filled with the aroma of sake and the smell of money.

For gamblers who dream of getting rich overnight, this is paradise.

Aoba, dressed in casual clothes, strolled along the bustling street.

Finding someone isn't difficult for him.

When Shizune graduated from the Ninja Academy, he gave her a ninja crow.

Although Shizune has rarely summoned it in recent years, as long as the contract remains, Aoba can roughly pinpoint her location.

"It should be around here..."

Following his senses, Aoba quickly located the target area.

Suddenly, a cacophony of shouting and cursing erupted from a small alley ahead.

"Stop! Don't run!"

"Grab her! That woman owes our casino three million taels!"

Qingye raised an eyebrow and walked in the direction of the sound.

In a secluded alleyway of Tanabata Street, a group of fierce-looking, burly men were chasing something, wielding wooden sticks and machetes, panting heavily.

boom!

A puff of white smoke flashed by.

The voluptuous blonde woman who was being chased instantly transformed into a little girl with pigtails, disappearing into the crowd in a flash.

Only a short-haired girl dressed in a black and gray long-sleeved shirt and trousers was left standing alone in the middle of the alley, holding a pink miniature pig in her arms.

"Tsunade-sama..."

Shizune looked at the piglet that was being shoved into her hands, feeling like crying but having no tears left.

It's happening again!

Every time he ran away after owing money, he left her alone to take the fall!

"Damn it! That big-breasted woman got away!"

The burly man with the scarred face who was leading the group spat angrily, then glared fiercely at Jingyin.

"Hmph, she can't escape. Since this little girl is with that woman, if we catch her, we won't have to worry about that woman not showing up!"

Scarface looked Jingyin up and down. Although the girl was wearing a dowdy black and gray outfit, her face was still quite pretty.

A dozen or so menacing debt collectors surrounded Jingyin, some of them with a lewd glint in their eyes.

"Hehehe, boss, this little girl is quite pretty. She could probably fetch a good price if sold to the red-light district!"

Several burly men immediately surrounded her with sinister smiles, reaching out to grab Jingyin.

Faced with the outstretched salted pork hand, Shizune sighed helplessly.

The next second, her eyes instantly turned sharp.

boom!

With a swift and clean roundhouse kick, the bald, burly man at the front was sent flying, crashing heavily into the wall, where he couldn't be pried off.

Immediately afterwards, she darted through the crowd.

boom! boom! boom!

In just a few breaths, more than a dozen burly men lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.

It was only at this moment that the debt collectors suddenly came to their senses.

The person they're trying to collect debts from is Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. Could anyone who works alongside someone like that be an ordinary person?!

"Pfft... Hahaha!"

Just then, a burst of undisguised laughter suddenly came from the alley entrance.

Shizune turned her head sharply, her eyes warily fixed on the direction from which the sound came.

On the wall of the alley, a young man dressed in casual clothes and wearing sunglasses leaned against the wall, holding a string of three-colored dumplings in his hand, and slapping his thigh with a smile.

"Aoba?!"

Shizune, holding Ton-Ton, quickly ran to Aoba, looked him up and down with disbelief in her eyes, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Although they hadn't seen each other for several years and both had grown up quite a bit, Shizune recognized Aoba at a glance.

"Of course I came to see you."

Aoba took a bite of the dumpling, looked Shizune up and down, and couldn't help but tease her.

"It's been years! You're living a really exciting life!"

Upon hearing this, Shizune's face flushed red to her ears, and she lowered her head awkwardly, whispering, "Qingye, please don't make fun of me..."

Then Shizune began to pour out her grievances.

"Lady Tsunade is so unreliable! She borrows money only to go drinking or gambling, and then runs away after losing it all, leaving me to clean up the mess..."

Seeing Shizune's pitiful appearance, Aoba subconsciously reached out and ruffled her short hair.

"You've worked hard; taking care of Lady Tsunade is truly not easy."

Shizune blushed even more at Aoba's affectionate gesture, but a long-lost warmth welled up in her heart.

However, Aoba also noticed that Shizune had indeed grown up and was now up to his chin, taller than Kurenai.

If Hong sees this, she'll probably be angry for days.

But this outfit...

Wearing a dark gray long-sleeved shirt and trousers, Qingye, with her keen eye, could see that they were already covered with quite a few stains.

No wonder he always wears black and gray clothes; he's always running around with Tsunade.

This color is dirt-resistant.

"Hey, why are you wearing that?"

Aoba asked somewhat helplessly, "Didn't we give you a little stash of money back then? Even if Tsunade didn't have any, you shouldn't be so poor that you can't even afford a new outfit, right?"

It would have been better if this hadn't been mentioned, but as soon as it was, Silent's head drooped even lower, and her voice became barely audible.

"That money... it's long gone..."

"That's it?"

Aoba raised an eyebrow.

"Um……"

Shizune blushed and explained softly, "At first I hid it well, but then one time, Lady Tsunade got so engrossed in losing that she... stole the money while I was asleep..."

Aoba: "..."

Good heavens, no wonder she's Tsunade, the legendary big fat sheep! She doesn't even spare her apprentice's private stash of money!

After the money was stolen, the girl was too embarrassed to ask for it back.

He later got busy with fighting and research, and indeed forgot about it.

"Let's go, I'll take you to get something good to eat first." Aoba didn't ask any more questions and turned to walk towards a decent-looking restaurant on the side of the street.

Silent hesitated for a moment, but her stomach honestly growled.

She lowered her head and silently followed.

Ten minutes later.

The table was covered with all sorts of food dishes; basically, everything on the menu was served.

Silently, she used both hands to strike with her mouth stuffed full, completely disregarding her image.

She hasn't had a proper meal in over half a month.

The last time I ate meat was when I was treating a high-ranking official from the Land of Fire, and he treated me to a day of lavish hospitality.

As a result, within three days, Tsunade had gambled away the generous consultation fee, and then she could only eat dry rations for more than ten days.

Halfway through the meal, Jingyin suddenly realized that her eating manners were really terrible. She froze abruptly and put down her chopsticks, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Eat up, why did you stop?"

As Aoba helped her grill the meat, she said with a smile, "Eat up, it's on me today, all you can eat."

Upon hearing the words "enough," Shizune swallowed hard and picked up her chopsticks again.

Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.

A voluptuous figure suddenly darted in from outside and plopped down next to Qingye without any hesitation.

"Boss! Another bottle of sake, please!"

The newcomer snatched the chopsticks from Qingye's hand, picked up a piece of roasted meat, and stuffed it into his mouth, complaining indistinctly as he ate.

"Mmm! Delicious! I'm starving! They didn't even call me for dinner!"

The person who arrived was Tsunade, who had already dispelled the transformation jutsu.

She wore her signature tea-green long gown, over which she wore a loose sleeveless top. Her stunning figure swayed slightly with each chew, exuding the charm of a mature woman.

Aoba looked at the woman in front of him who had absolutely no image to speak of, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

……