People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

Naruto passed through the bustling downtown area of ​​Tanabata Street and suddenly realized who it was when he saw a figure not far away.

"I see."

In the distance, amidst the crowd, a woman with a hot figure, long light yellow hair that she always wore in a large ponytail, and a bluish-purple mark on her forehead, was gambling with one of her large feet on the table.

"Jiraiya's target wasn't me, it turns out it was Tsunade, who is also one of the Legendary Sannin."

Naruto stood there, stunned, and began to ponder.

If Jiraiya and Tsunade both return to Konoha, it will be a huge obstacle to Naruto's plans.

Then Naruto will have to redeploy his plans.

Seeing Naruto's serious expression, Kimimaro asked in confusion, "Naruto, what's wrong? Isn't it good news that Jiraiya isn't here to see you?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "It's not a good thing, it's the worst thing ever. Let's not leave Tanabata Street for now. Let's stay and observe Jiraiya and Tsunade's choices. If they both return to Konoha, then we'll have to think things through."

...

Neji and Lee, having accepted their mission, search for Tsunade's whereabouts.

Seeing that many gamblers had abandoned their original gambling dens and were all heading towards one place, Neji stopped one of them and asked him a question.

Do you know someone called Big Fat Sheep?

The gambler who was stopped gave Neji a strange look: "Are you also looking for a fat sheep?"

Neji nodded.

The gambler hurriedly ran away, as if someone was chasing him.

Neji and Lee were completely confused.

What's going on here?

When the two followed the gambler to the bustling area of ​​Tanabata Street, they found the gambler desperately trying to squeeze in.

"Me! I want to gamble with the big fat sheep too!"

Neji and Lee exchanged a speechless glance.

It turns out he was afraid they would take it from him, which is why he left immediately without saying a word.

Neji activated his Byakugan and spotted Tsunade gambling in the center of the crowd.

"Lee, go find Jiraiya-sama. I'll watch over Tsunade-sama."

Lee used the Body Flicker Technique to rush towards Jiraiya's direction.

Upon entering the brothel, they found Jiraiya with two women on either side of him.

Li, blushing, reported to Jiraiya, "Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade has been found!"

Jiraiya reflexively broke free from her embrace.

"Where is it? Where is it?"

"Over there in the central area of ​​Tanbata Street."

Jiraiya followed Lee to the downtown area and met up with Neji.

Seeing Neji activate his Byakugan, Jiraiya asked, "Is Tsunade inside?"

Neji nodded and said, "That's right, Lady Tsunade is still gambling inside."

Neji, who had been observing for a while, was also puzzled. Tsunade was clearly losing, so why did she continue to gamble? If she couldn't win, what was the fun in gambling?

Jiraiya used a Body Flicker Technique to enter the center of the crowd and sit down opposite Tsunade.

Tsunade, without looking up, continued shuffling the cards intently: "Jiraiya, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm Tsunade, here to talk to you alone."

Tsunade didn't answer Jiraiya, but instead dealt him a deck of cards.

Jiraiya picked up the cards and looked at them, but instead of spreading them out, he placed them face down on the table.

"Tsunade, I think the result doesn't need to be stated, right?"

Tsunade snorted coldly, threw the cards in her hand onto the table, and got up to leave.

Jiraiya hurriedly followed Tsunade's footsteps.

Everyone around, including Xiao Li, was completely baffled.

"Who really won?"

With his Byakugan's ability to see through things, Neji was the only one who knew the outcome.

"In this hand, Jiraiya-sama's card has the lowest point value; there is no card lower than Jiraiya-sama's."

Xiao Li scratched his head in confusion: "Does that mean that Jiraiya-sama lost?"

Neji nodded: "That's right, Lady Tsunade is only a little older than Lady Jiraiya."

Jiraiya, who was following behind Tsunade, had sweat beading on his forehead.

When Jiraiya saw this deck of cards, there was no suspense left; no matter what cards Tsunade had, he had already lost.

So Jiraiya chose to bluff, betting that Tsunade's hand was weak and that Tsunade, who was used to losing, wouldn't even look at his hand.

Fortunately, Jiraiya won his gamble.

Jiraiya and Tsunade arrived at the tavern, while Neji and Lee returned to the inn to wait.

Tsunade drank a lot of wine by herself, her cheeks slightly flushed.

With a dazed look in her eyes, Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and asked, "Jiraiya, what brings you here to see me this time?"

"Regarding the Fifth Hokage..."

Jiraiya was about to explain when Tsunade interrupted him: "Hokage? Only a fool would want to be Hokage. When you were on the front lines, the old man wanted you to be the Fifth Hokage, but you refused, didn't you?"

"That's right, I still haven't let go of everything."

Tsunade, still tipsy, ordered another bottle of wine and started drinking: "Then why did you come to talk to me about the Fifth Hokage? Isn't your life good enough now?"

Jiraiya sincerely said, "I love Konoha, this land. Konoha is my home, so I want to make my home better."

"Homeland... but this homeland is no longer the homeland I once loved. It's dark, rotten, dilapidated, and ignorant. Call me an escapist, call me a coward, but I don't want to go back to Konoha anymore."

Tsunade's tone was very firm.

Jiraiya's expression was complicated. Compared to Tsunade, Tsunade actually loved Konoha more than he did.

Konoha was founded by Tsunade's grandfather, Hashirama Senju, so it can be said that Konoha is like Tsunade's child.

How could you not love your own child?

However, Tsunade's current attitude is so resolute, which shows how disappointed she is with Konoha now.

Chapter 304 Requirements

Jiraiya understood that Tsunade was so resolute because she saw no hope for Konoha's future.

Jiraiya himself was extremely disappointed that Hiruzen Sarutobi was so protective of Danzo.

Danzo can be considered the main culprit in Konoha's current predicament.

They thought they could control everything, but they didn't consider whether they were capable of handling it.

Instead, Konoha would bear all the consequences.

"Tsunade, I know how you feel, but I hope you can listen to me. This time is different."

Tsunade put down her wine glass: "Alright then, go ahead and say it, but don't bother me again after you're done."

Jiraiya explained Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan to Tsunade in detail.

Tsunade's expression changed from perfunctory at the beginning to serious and solemn now.

"You mean the old man wants to punish Danzo and the Konoha advisors and concentrate power in the hands of the Hokage? How is that possible? To put it bluntly, Danzo and the two advisors combined have far more power than he, the Hokage, does."

"So the old man needs our help. He wants Konoha to return to its former prosperity and hopes that the next Hokage of Konoha will not be hindered by others. So come and help us, Tsunade. We grew up on the land of Konoha. Now that it is sick, we have a responsibility to heal it."

The more resolute Tsunade's attitude was before, the more conflicted she is now.

Jiraiya was right; Tsunade still loved Konoha, and her love was deep.

As the princess of Konoha, Tsunade also hopes that Konoha will get better and better.

"If the old man really wants to do this, I'm willing to go back to Konoha to help, but I won't become Hokage. You should become Hokage instead."

Jiraiya was extremely resistant to becoming Hokage. Becoming Hokage meant losing his freedom and not being bound by busy affairs, which was completely unacceptable to this prodigal son.

"Let's talk about that later. Let's help the old man with the reforms first."

Having made things clear, the two had no lingering resentment and continued drinking and reminiscing.

Outside the tavern, Naruto, who was eavesdropping, had a gloomy expression.

He heard Tsunade and Jiraiya's conversation clearly.

If the two of them return to Konoha, Naruto will face far too many enemies.

Naruto and Kimimaro returned to their inn.

Kimimaro asked, "Naruto, why don't we assassinate them both here first?"

"We're too close to Konoha. If we can't deal with them quickly, Konoha's reinforcements will arrive soon, and then our plan will be completely impossible to implement."

Kimimaro didn't have any good solutions. He had never fought against Jiraiya or Tsunade, but he was just basing his analysis on Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, and extrapolating their strength.

Naruto had actually fought Jiraiya before and knew that defeating Jiraiya was not something that could be done in a short time.

Naruto pondered a solution.

It's practically impossible for him and Kimimaro to execute the plan on their own now, so someone needs to restrain Jiraiya and Tsunade when the plan is implemented.

A glint flashed in Naruto's eyes; he already had a plan.

After Naruto and Kimimaro arrived in the mountains outside Tanabata Street, Naruto created a shadow clone.

Lightning, wind, water, fire, and earth appeared at the fingertips of the shadow clone.

"Five Elements Unsealing!"