In the small forest, wooden targets hung from every tree. The targets, the size of a soccer ball, had black circles drawn on them.
Tōshirō stood motionless in the quiet forest and closed his eyes. His trained hands swiftly formed several impressively complex hand signs in less than half a second, finishing with his palms pressed together in the "Shin" seal.
"Ice Release: Ice Shuriken."
Announcing techniques during use, though it may seem childish, also alerts enemies. However, most ninja understand this weakness but continue to declare their techniques.
This is not only to boost morale but also to synchronize chakra within the body and the technique, increasing the power of the ninjutsu.
After announcing the technique, eight ice shurikens appeared between Tōshirō's fingers. These shurikens weren't made of iron, but of ice, formed by ninjutsu. Despite being made of ice, their hardness rivaled regular iron shurikens.
Tōshirō took a deep breath, filling his bent knees with chakra, and the moment he opened his eyes, he powerfully launched himself into the air.
His body moved like a fish leaping, and while airborne, he released the ice shurikens towards eight different targets simultaneously.
"Ding, ding..."
A series of continuous thuds filled the air as Tōshirō landed lightly on his toes, as if floating on water.
"Impressive..."
A voice of admiration echoed from a boy with soft black hair and purple shadows around his eyes.
Tōshirō calmly looked at the eight targets around him, where the ice shurikens had all struck the bullseye without exception.
Tōshirō approached Jiraiya, who looked dissatisfied, and extended his hand with a victorious smile: "Hand over the money."
Jiraiya sighed and reluctantly pulled some money from his pouch, muttering: "I didn't expect your shuriken skills to still be this sharp."
"The Uchiha Clan has always been naturally gifted in the art of shuriken."
Even without using the Sharingan, thanks to being from the Uchiha Clan, Tōshirō's visual nerves were far more developed than the average person. Mastering the shuriken at this level wasn't difficult for him.
Tōshirō had made a bet with Jiraiya, and the loser had to pay up. Tōshirō was completely broke, owing Elder Itachi two million and another three million for that dead penguin, leaving him buried in debt.
As he grew older and his food consumption increased, so did his expenses, without any clear sources of income. His grandmother's inheritance was depleting quickly. In a few years, Keiji might have to find a way to earn money to support himself.
He hoped to invest some money in opening a small restaurant, hoping fortune would favor him, but time and effort were his main challenges.
As for the hospital, he didn't want to work there for much longer after mastering medical techniques, to avoid drawing attention. This meant his income from the hospital would soon dry up.
So, Tōshirō was trying to find ways to earn some money from his friends to cover his daily expenses.
Tōshirō happily accepted the money, feeling that today's meal was guaranteed.
"Jiraiya, shall we bet on something else?"
When Jiraiya heard that, he realized Tōshirō saw him as nothing more than an ATM, so he immediately refused. Throwing shuriken wasn't his strong suit.
"That's a real pity."
Tōshirō demonstrated another technique, "Ice Release: Ice Kunai."
In an instant, an ice kunai appeared in his hand, and he threw it at the target, hitting the black center with precision.
It had to be acknowledged, even though Elder Itachi's techniques were expensive, they were truly effective.
In addition to consuming little chakra, they saved a lot of money.
Normally, ninja spend a significant amount of money each year on stocking shuriken and kunai.
But with these techniques, Tōshirō had an unlimited supply of disposable shuriken and kunai, saving him a considerable amount of money.
Thanks to this advantage, he could use these tools freely in battle without worrying about the cost.
"By the way, I heard someone is chasing after Tsunade, isn't that right?"
Tōshirō said nonchalantly.
At the mention of this topic, Jiraiya looked uncomfortable: "Yeah, says he fell in love with her at first sight... nonsense."
It seemed Jiraiya hadn't let out all his frustration, as he coughed loudly: "Pff~~"
Tōshirō: ...
Orochimaru, who had been observing, added: "Who knows, maybe he truly does love Tsunade?"
"Do you think that's love? He's definitely just after her body," Jiraiya said confidently, "What a scumbag."
Currently, Tsunade wasn't interested in the stranger who had suddenly appeared, but the future couldn't be predicted. The man was very rich, after all.
Just thinking about it caused Jiraiya to lose confidence suddenly, and he asked his friends: "Do you think Tsunade might be swayed by the money and end up looking at that guy?"
"What are you afraid of?"
Tōshirō was nonchalantly throwing shuriken.
"In the original story, this guy didn't exist, so he clearly doesn't succeed in the end. Tsunade must have firmly rejected him. And if you think about it from a darker perspective, maybe he even died in some accident."
With that thought, Tōshirō was completely at ease, continuing to throw shuriken without hesitation, confidently stating: "Let the shuriken fly for a while…"
Jiraiya didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from panicking: "I can't let this happen. I must warn Tsunade to stay away from that guy. I could tell from the first look that he's no good."
Jiraiya lost interest in practicing shuriken and hurriedly rushed off to find Tsunade.
Tōshirō and Orochimaru exchanged glances, then shook their heads.
Tōshirō curiously said: "Let's go, Orochimaru. Let's see how a jealous Jiraiya behaves. This might be entertaining."
Orochimaru smiled. Watching Jiraiya get beaten by Tsunade or compete with others was one of life's few pleasures.
Konoha Village was both big and small at the same time.
Big in terms of space, small in that most daily activities revolved around a small part of it.
It didn't take long before Tōshirō and Orochimaru saw Jiraiya angrily confronting a handsome young man, both of them openly exchanging words.
And there, standing between them with an irritated expression, was none other than Tsunade.
Without a doubt, two men competing over a woman was a testament to her allure, but Tsunade showed no interest and looked slightly annoyed.
The reason was simple: she wasn't interested in either of them.
There was no need to talk about Jiraiya.
As for the noble young man in front of her, despite his good looks, he wasn't much better. In some ways, he was worse than Jiraiya.
It wasn't normal for someone to confess his desire to marry a person at their first meeting.
And his manner of speaking carried a subtle arrogance, as if his approval was a great honor.
Tsunade felt uncomfortable about it. Had Hiruzen not intervened earlier, she would have struck him.
After Sarutobi Makihiro's death, Tsunade reflected on her relationship with him and pondered a question:
"What if he hadn't died? If he had returned and confessed his love to me, as Jiraiya says, would I have accepted?"
Tsunade didn't know the answer.
So, she went to her grandmother, Mito, and asked her about relationships between men and women.
Mito said that when someone truly loves another, they feel something special sweep over their mind, like light, pleasant tingles.
It's a deeper feeling than mere admiration, called "love."
Though Tsunade had grown older, she had never felt that sensation before.
Certainly, admiration wasn't as deep as love.
Throughout her youth, she had felt admiration towards some men, like Orochimaru at first, or Sarutobi Makihiro, who always treated her kindly. But she had never felt the feeling Mito described.
From there, Tsunade realized that her feelings toward relationships might have been superficial in the past.
They weren't true love, just fleeting admiration.
Because of that, she became more cautious about romantic relationships. She no longer accepted confessions just because someone was handsome or kind.
(End of Chapter)
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