“Because this is my first time taking out a loan.”
Kiyohara spoke up.
He looked at Tsunade.
Tsunade wore a sleeveless top with a green coat over it, concealing her voluptuous and graceful figure beneath.
On her lower half, she wore light blue capris that hugged her long legs snugly.
“First time?”
Tsunade frowned slightly.
Uh oh.
It seemed she had already borrowed many times before.
The moment Kiyohara saw Tsunade’s subtle expression, he knew her “personal credit” was definitely ruined.
“Ahem, I’m Tsunade.
Lend me some money now, and once I turn things around, I’ll definitely pay you back.”
Tsunade looked at Kiyohara.
“Is Lady Tsunade going gambling?”
Kiyohara asked.
In truth, Tsunade’s fondness for gambling wasn’t much of a secret—so much so that the title “The Walking Moneybag” had spread around.
Give it up, Tsunade.
Out there, everyone’s winning money; only you’re losing it.
Kiyohara figured that even if he lent money to Tsunade, she wouldn’t have a chance to win.
Still, a thought crossed his mind, and he pulled out fifty thousand ryō to lend to Tsunade.
“Lady Tsunade, I’m very interested in the knowledge of medical-nin.
Could you teach me a little?”
Kiyohara asked.
In the Konoha of this era, medical-nin weren’t yet as systematized as they would be in the future.
When Sakura and Naruto went on their first mission, Naruto could only cut the back of his hand with a kunai to detoxify that way.
The reason was that Sakura, back then, didn’t know basic medical ninjutsu like “Poison Extraction Jutsu” or “Hemostasis Jutsu” either.
It wasn’t until Boruto that every Genin began receiving basic training in medical-nin knowledge, with those who had talent being filtered out.
“Hm…”
Tsunade frowned.
“Lady Tsunade, everyone else is urging you on.”
Shizune came running over in a hurry, carrying Tonton in her arms.
She really wanted to make Tsunade stop gambling, but Tsunade had assigned her a task: to watch what was happening inside.
Naturally, Shizune didn’t dare defy Tsunade’s orders.
“Kid, you’re in luck.”
Tsunade nodded, agreeing to Kiyohara’s request.
“I’ll give you two jutsu; you give me a hundred thousand ryō.”
Tsunade held out her hand.
Even though these were some of the most basic medical ninjutsu, they weren’t so easy to come by.
It was only because she was in a hurry for money, combined with the fact that Kiyohara was a shinobi of the village, that she was “selling cheap.”
“No problem, Lady Tsunade.”
Kiyohara smiled slightly.
He was inwardly surprised that Tsunade had actually accepted the transaction.
So he swiftly took out a hundred thousand ryō and also produced blank paper and a brush for Tsunade.
This was what he had planned to buy and use to record Rogue Ninja Kiyohara’s jutsu later; now it just so happened to serve for Tsunade to write down the medical ninjutsu.
Generally, undertaking a C-rank mission paid anywhere from thirty thousand to a hundred thousand ryō.
But according to the records in the official sourcebook Sha no Sho, when the same mission is completed by multiple people together, the reward is split equally among them.
That is to say, a hundred thousand ryō would require undertaking several C-rank missions to earn.
“You even carry this stuff around…”
Tsunade figured Kiyohara was just a shinobi who liked studying ninjutsu.
She didn’t think much of it, quickly picked up the brush, and scribbled down the training methods on the blank pages.
The two medical ninjutsu she gave were exactly the “Hemostasis Jutsu” and “Poison Extraction Jutsu.”
“Payment on delivery.”
Tsunade handed the scroll and brush back to Kiyohara, then clutching the thick stack of bills, hurried off toward the gambling den.
“Shizune, let’s go.”
Tsunade couldn’t wait to turn her luck around.
Shizune had witnessed the entire exchange of Tsunade selling two basic medical ninjutsu.
Although these techniques were known to every medical-nin, Shizune still let out a sigh.
Lady Tsunade really was hopelessly addicted to gambling.
“Lady Tsunade, nine out of ten gambles end in loss.”
Shizune urged once more.
She felt that Kiyohara lending money to Lady Tsunade was practically doing her harm!
“Shizune, you don’t understand.
Losing is just temporarily depositing the money; quitting for good means it’s truly gone.”
Tsunade shared a pearl of wisdom with Shizune.
Then she fell silent, and once inside the gambling den, prepared to dominate and reclaim what was rightfully hers.
…
Kiyohara stood in place watching Tsunade and Shizune leave, and couldn’t help but shake his head.
If the Sannin represented the three great sins—Orochimaru being poison, Jiraiya being lust—then Tsunade was gambling.
Tsunade even had the character for “gamble” embroidered on the back of her coat.
“Lucky you, you’ve gained these two techniques as well.”
Rogue Ninja Kiyohara spoke up.
Every shinobi has a limited number of techniques they can master.
The requirement to become a Jonin is also mastering two chakra nature transformations.
Most shinobi only have a handful of techniques they can use.
He had been constantly traveling, acting as Orochimaru’s black glove, learning only combat-oriented ninjutsu—he truly had nothing related to medical ninjutsu.
“I wonder if I can learn these within a few days.”
Kiyohara looked at the sloppy handwriting, though with careful examination it was still discernible.
“That’s enough—I can guide your chakra.”
Rogue Ninja Kiyohara said he could help Kiyohara train in these two most basic medical ninjutsu.
These two techniques didn’t require the Yang nature, so Kiyohara, who only possessed “Wind” and “Lightning” natures, could learn them too.
“Alright.”
Kiyohara nodded, then continued down the street.
His communication with Rogue Ninja Kiyohara could happen entirely within his mind, much like Naruto conversing with the Nine-Tails.
No one outside could hear their exchange.
“I hope the remaining money is enough to buy a good piece of armor.”
Kiyohara thought to himself.
A shinobi’s chakra is limited, and every resource needs to be carefully budgeted.
That’s why tools like shuriken and kunai are essential gear for shinobi in this world.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique might not always burn someone to death, but getting stabbed by a kunai will basically kill you.
So Kiyohara wasn’t going to buy shuriken, nor was he going to buy kunai.
What he wanted to buy was armor!
Although only Chunin were qualified to wear the green flak jacket, Kiyohara could purchase a decent chainmail shirt and wear it under his clothes.
In critical moments, it just needed to block some damage.
After purchasing everything he needed, Kiyohara also bought some common shinobi tools, and even an extra bag of lime powder.
But because of this, Kiyohara’s money was nearly spent.
“How do I make the medicine?”
Kiyohara returned home carrying bags upon bags of supplies, then asked.
The part about crafting the forbidden drug could only be handled by Rogue Ninja Kiyohara—he himself was completely clueless about that.
Kiyohara didn’t worry that Rogue Ninja Kiyohara might harm him either.
If he followed his original path to reinforce Team Minato, he’d probably barely survive.
Rin Nohara captured, Kakashi losing an eye, Obito crushed beneath half a boulder.
Even if Kiyohara survived, odds were he’d come out missing an arm or a leg.
Better to trust his future self.
“I’ll possess you to complete this step—the heat control is very difficult to master.”
Rogue Ninja Kiyohara said.
“But every time I possess you, it accelerates my dissipation, so there’s only so much I can do.”
With that, Rogue Ninja Kiyohara’s spiritual body slipped into Kiyohara’s own.
Kiyohara’s sensation now was strange.
He watched his own hands and feet move on their own.
Yet he could also sense that if he willed it, he could take back control of his body at any moment.