Tsunade's heart tightened. What kind of excessive demand was this little brat going to make? She had imagined countless possibilities—some extreme scenarios included Haruto Saito demanding that she become his servant, forcing her to earn a hundred million ryō for him, or even making her crawl like a dog. These were exactly the kinds of things she had feared, and why she had been avoiding Haruto. Although she could refuse and go back on her word, doing so would undoubtedly make her the laughingstock of the entire Hidden Leaf Village.
"I want to continue my mission in the Land of Rain!" Haruto suddenly declared. "Given how dangerous it is for me to be traveling alone, Lady Tsunade, I need you to accompany me to the Land of Rain!"
Tsunade was taken aback.
That request... was way too simple!
Tsunade only took on missions in the Land of Rain when they were extremely difficult or highly dangerous. An A-rank mission, like assassinating a wealthy merchant, was nothing to her. If a mission like that ever arose in the Hidden Leaf Village, it wouldn't even reach her level—it could easily be handled by a much lower-ranked ninja.
And yet, that was all he wanted?
Relief flooded through Tsunade, and she suddenly found Haruto much more agreeable than before.
"Alright, it's settled! You can't take it back—I'll go with you to the Land of Rain, and we'll be quick about it!" she said at lightning speed, afraid he might change his mind. The request was simply too easy—it was basically giving her an A-rank mission to complete. The commission for an A-rank mission was only a few hundred thousand ryō, so it was as if she was spending a tiny amount of money to buy her way out of an obligation. It was an absolute bargain.
"Wait a minute, Tsunade," Jiraiya interjected. "We still need to return to the village and report the mission results to our teacher. If you just—"
"You two can go back," Tsunade said, hands on her hips.
"But…" Jiraiya hesitated.
The issue wasn't just about reporting the mission. As top-level ninjas directly under the Hokage, they were required to stay in the village after completing a mission in order to be on standby for emergency assignments.
If Tsunade went to the Land of Rain now, it could delay other urgent missions.
"Relax, it's just an A-rank mission!" Tsunade saw Jiraiya's concern and reassured him. "If we move quickly, we'll be back in the Hidden Leaf Village within seven days."
"But the Land of Rain is dangerous," Jiraiya frowned. While the mission itself wasn't difficult, the Land of Rain was one of the most chaotic and dangerous regions in the ninja world. It was inherently risky. Tsunade never took missions there alone—she was always accompanied by Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
"I can return to the village alone and report the mission status. I'll explain things to the teacher," Orochimaru said coldly.
The three of them discussed the matter for a while.
Tsunade was determined to go to the Land of Rain. If Haruto's request had been this simple all along, she wouldn't have needed to avoid him in the first place. If only she had known, she wouldn't have worried so much. She could have easily handled not just two, but ten requests like this.
"Fine, I'll accompany you and Haruto to the Land of Rain. Orochimaru will return to report the mission," Jiraiya finally conceded, seeing that Tsunade wouldn't be swayed.
"You only have seven days. If you don't return to the village by then, I will come looking for you," Orochimaru warned. When no one objected, he turned and left.
That was just the kind of person Orochimaru was—no unnecessary words, no sentimentality.
"Let's go!" Haruto urged.
Night fell, and under the dim moonlight, a small campfire burned beside a creek, filling the air with the aroma of roasting meat.
Since Haruto hadn't insisted on traveling too fast, they had only covered about 120 kilometers that day. They were already close to the border of the Land of Rain.
Haruto seemed distracted as he ate his grilled meat slowly, frequently glancing northwest.
He was thinking about the treasure. Ever since using the Treasure Card, a strong sensation had appeared in his mind, like a guiding force. It wasn't a tangible thing but more of an instinct. The treasure was just a few dozen kilometers away—likely located right on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
He had originally planned to keep moving through the night and dig up the treasure immediately, but Tsunade had objected. She insisted that camping near the border was too dangerous. If they continued, they would have to cross the border, which meant no rest at all for the entire night.
So they had no choice but to stop here, eat, and rest before entering the Land of Rain the next morning.
"Hey, brat, after dinner, teach me your hypnosis technique," Tsunade said, chewing on her meat.
"My name is Haruto Saito. Call me Haruto, alright?" Haruto shot her a sideways glance.
"Oh? Is that a request?" Tsunade batted her eyelashes at him.
"Forget I said anything," Haruto replied immediately. He still had one request left, and he wasn't going to waste it on something so trivial.
"Hypnosis technique? What hypnosis technique? Is it genjutsu?" Jiraiya, sitting across from Tsunade, asked curiously.
"Not telling you!" Tsunade said smugly. She hadn't even learned it yet, but she was already enjoying the secrecy. "And Jiraiya, don't you dare peek while I'm learning! Otherwise, hmmph!"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes, pretending he wasn't that interested anyway.
After dinner, Jiraiya was sent a few dozen meters away to stand guard. By the fire, Haruto once again started teaching Tsunade hypnosis. They had an agreement—she would teach him the Healing Jutsu, and he would teach her hypnosis. Haruto wasn't one to break a deal.
As the night deepened, Tsunade became visibly frustrated. She couldn't grasp the technique, no matter how many times Haruto explained it. It wasn't a matter of ninja talent—she was simply too impatient.
"What if I use chakra? Would that make it easier?" Tsunade suddenly suggested.
"If you add chakra, it basically turns into ninjutsu," Haruto frowned. "That would be like developing an entirely new jutsu—it's way harder than just learning my hypnosis technique."
"Not necessarily. With my talent in ninjutsu, I might just succeed," Tsunade said confidently.
"Alright, go ahead and try," Haruto shrugged. It wasn't his problem if she struggled.
Tsunade really did try. She let the pendant swing from her fingers, injecting chakra into it to subtly distort the space in front of her eyes. It was a visual illusion rather than true hypnosis. She kept experimenting and discussing it with Haruto.
By the time the night was halfway through—
"Jiraiya, it's my turn for watch duty," Tsunade called.
"You... Are you sure?" a drowsy Haruto asked absentmindedly. She hadn't rested at all earlier.
"I'm a medical ninja! A short nap before dawn is enough," Tsunade said confidently before making a hand sign and vanishing. She clearly had some unique ability to drastically reduce her need for sleep.
...
A new day dawned. The forest was heavy with morning dew.
After a quick breakfast, the three of them set off again, heading northwest. Haruto's speed couldn't compare to Tsunade and Jiraiya's, so to save time, Tsunade grabbed Haruto's arm and dashed forward at incredible speed.
"The border is extremely dangerous. If we're spotted, it will be a huge problem. We can't stop—we have to move fast!" Tsunade's voice rang clearly despite the rushing wind.
"You two are worried? With your strength, what's there to fear?" Haruto retorted.
"It's not battle we fear—it's being discovered..."