Tsunade tilted her head slightly, rolling her dead-fish eyes with an expression that screamed disbelief as she looked at Haruto Saito. That expression? She had learned it from him.
Haruto was clearly looking for trouble!
"Now's not the time for jokes, you damn brat!" Tsunade said in an impatient yet serious tone.
"Let me calculate..." Haruto pinched his fingers together as if counting, took a few steps, circled behind a tree, and then reappeared from the other side, looking completely absorbed in his mysterious act.
Tsunade's eyes already carried a dangerous glint, but she forcibly held back her temper and continued staring at him. Meanwhile, Jiraiya, who was perched on a tree branch, had an amused look on his face. Truly, one thing subdues another—ever since meeting Haruto, Tsunade's temper had gotten much better.
Haruto wandered around the area, weaving past a few trees and stepping through patches of grass. Eventually, he arrived at a small clearing. The ground here was covered with low shrubs and fallen leaves. On the northern side of the clearing stood a towering tree, over ten meters high. Unlike the other trees around it, this one was covered in scars from blades and axes. The wounds were old, suggesting that a battle had taken place here long ago, and the tree had merely been caught in the crossfire.
In front of this battle-worn tree sat a massive boulder, over two meters in diameter.
The rock was blanketed in moss, with vines coiling around it—some dried and yellow, others lush and green. It bore the marks of time, having rested there for who knows how many years.
Haruto stopped in front of the boulder, pinched his fingers again, and nodded seriously as if confirming something.
"You damn brat! Are you asking for a beating?!" Tsunade couldn't hold back her anger anymore and shouted.
This kid was absolutely insane!
"Something valuable is buried beneath this—it's even fair to call it a treasure!" Haruto pointed at the boulder. The signal in his mind was incredibly strong, and the source was directly beneath this rock.
Tsunade clenched her fists, her teeth grinding audibly. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. If it weren't for the fact that she still owed Haruto a favor, and feared that he might take revenge by making an unreasonable request, she would have already punched him!
"Brat, do you think this is funny? Stop fooling around! I don't have time for your nonsense!" Tsunade's voice was controlled, but devoid of any warmth.
"I'm serious. It's right below us, just not sure how deep." Haruto pointed again and looked back at Tsunade.
"And if there's nothing there?" Tsunade gritted her teeth.
"Impossible!" Haruto declared with absolute certainty, resuming his mysterious act by pinching his fingers again. "I never miscalculate! If I say it's there, then it's there!"
"You little—!" Tsunade lunged forward, shouting into Haruto's ear, "You brat! Are you deliberately causing trouble? Do you even understand how dangerous this place is?! We can't waste time here!"
"Ignorant woman!" Haruto dodged aside and used his pinky finger to clean out his ear as if she had deafened him. Then he said, "Tsunade-sama, if I recall correctly, I requested you to accompany me on this mission, didn't I? I didn't beg you, I didn't hire you, and you're not leading me on this task. Whether we stop or go is my decision."
"You—!" Tsunade was about to lose her mind.
Jiraiya, still watching from the tree, twitched uncomfortably. He was worried—Haruto was pushing Tsunade's buttons too much. If she lost control, she might just punch him to death!
"It's probably not too deep, maybe five or six meters at most," Haruto remarked, examining the boulder again.
Tsunade's whole body trembled with fury. When they first set out, she had made it very clear: they couldn't stop here! Haruto might not care about being seen since he was a nobody in the ninja world, but both she and Jiraiya were well-known figures. Every major faction had their intel. If their whereabouts were exposed and they couldn't kill every witness, things could get troublesome!
"Five or six meters?! Do you have any idea how long that would take to dig?! Brat! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?! You want us to be exposed!" Tsunade's gaze turned suspicious as if she had realized something.
"Idiot woman!" Haruto tilted his head and looked at her. "If I wanted to harm you, there wouldn't be treasure here—it would be an ambush. Have you forgotten? I've hypnotized you before. To be honest, I've had plenty of chances to harm you!"
Tsunade was momentarily stunned.
That's right!
She had been so angry that she'd forgotten. Unlike others who might suspect Haruto because of his unknown origins, she knew that if he truly wanted to do something to her, she would've been finished long ago.
"So, you're saying you're messing with us on purpose? Just causing trouble for fun?" Tsunade tried to twist the situation back against him.
Everything was Haruto's fault anyway!
She refused to believe in some magical ability to predict treasure.
"I'm serious!" Haruto confirmed again, shrugging. "How about this—why don't you two hide while I dig by myself? Just wait for me to finish."
Tsunade clenched her fists. She really, really wanted to beat him up.
"Calm down! Stay calm!" she chanted to herself, taking deep breaths. After several repetitions, her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. "Haruto, you're really sure there's something down there?"
"Of course!" Haruto nodded.
"I don't believe you!"
"I never asked you to. Now move aside and let me get rich."
"No, let's make a bet!"
"A bet?" Haruto paused, then looked Tsunade up and down with a smirk. "Tsunade-sama, are you sure you still want to bet with me? You lose every time."
"Are you in or not?! Stop talking!" Tsunade put her hands on her hips, completely committed.
"What's the bet?"
"We bet on whether there's really something valuable down there. I say there isn't."
"And if there is?"
"If there is, I'll grant you one request, with no restrictions—just like before. But if there isn't, then I don't owe you anything, and the favor I lost to you before is nullified!"
"Heh heh, heh heh heh!" Haruto suddenly let out a strange laugh, his eyes filled with pity as he looked at Tsunade.
"What are you laughing at?! Are you betting or not?!"
"Heh heh, heh heh heh, I'm in!"
Tsunade grinned wickedly. She had a simple goal: win back her freedom, clear her debt, and then... beat Haruto to a pulp! She needed to vent her frustration—this brat was infuriating!
"But," Haruto added, "let's put it in writing. We have no witnesses here, but Jiraiya-sama can be our notary."
"You don't trust me?" Tsunade glared.
"Are you trustworthy?" Haruto smirked. Tsunade's reputation in this regard was in the negatives!
"Fine! We'll put it in writing!" Tsunade gestured to Jiraiya behind her. "Jiraiya, write the contract and make it official."
Jiraiya quickly pulled out a scroll, wrote up the agreement, stamped it with his handprint, and brought it over.
Both Haruto and Tsunade pressed their handprints onto it. Haruto then tucked the scroll safely away.
"Alright, you guys can hide now. I'm starting the dig." Haruto announced.
"No need, I'll handle it. Let's not waste time." Tsunade waved Haruto aside and began preparing for her technique.
Then, with a deep breath, her chakra surged.
"Hyaaah!!" Tsunade let out a sharp cry and punched the ground!
BOOM!