“This… this…”
Ruofeng swallowed nervously, unsure of what to say.
The person standing before him was Tsunade, one of the future Legendary Sannin.
Although Tsunade had yet to earn that title, she was already a Jonin of Konoha Village.
And she had achieved that rank at only fifteen or sixteen years old.
Ruofeng remained submerged in the medicinal bath while Tsunade chuckled.
“What a little brat.”
Tsunade was no longer as furious as before.
She relaxed in the hot spring and took a gentle sniff.
“A medicinal bath? And you’re taking it in this hot spring. The effects must be pretty good. But why do I sense a trace of a toad’s aura? Could you have some connection to Jiraiya?”
The moment Jiraiya was mentioned, Tsunade’s previously calm expression instantly became furious again.
She reached out and grabbed Ruofeng’s cheek.
“Tell me… What are you to Jiraiya, brat?”
Ruofeng stared at the furious Tsunade, feeling rather speechless.
What kind of grudge was this?
Why had simply coming here for a medicinal bath turned into such a troublesome situation?
Jiraiya had been caught peeping and subsequently beaten senseless by Tsunade.
His family’s hot spring had also suffered considerable damage because of Tsunade’s violence.
And now Tsunade had sensed the toad aura from his medicinal bath and redirected her anger toward him.
How unlucky could he be?
Ruofeng forced a bitter smile.
“I don’t have much of a relationship with Jiraiya. The medicinal-bath formula was something he gave to my grandfather.”
Hearing this, a strange look appeared in Tsunade’s eyes.
This was Jiraiya’s inheritance—the inheritance of Mount Myoboku.
When she had first begun studying medical ninjutsu, she had obtained a similar formula from Jiraiya and knew how precious it was.
Why would Jiraiya casually give such a formula to someone else?
Suddenly, footsteps approached.
A maid walked in.
“Young Master… Because of the fight between Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya, more than half of the hot springs have been damaged. The manager is currently…”
Before she could finish, the maid noticed Tsunade.
She immediately covered her mouth and stammered,
“Lady Tsunade… Why is Lady Tsunade here?”
The corner of Tsunade’s mouth twitched.
She ignored the maid and instead looked toward Ruofeng.
“So you’re the young master of this hot-spring business. Then that means the famous hot-spring tycoon is your grandfather?”
“Your family controls two-thirds of Konoha Village’s hot-spring business?”
Tsunade understood immediately.
She hadn’t expected Ruofeng to have such an identity.
Tsunade and Jiraiya had been teammates since childhood, carrying out missions together for many years.
Naturally, she knew quite a bit about Jiraiya’s past.
At this moment, Tsunade pinched Ruofeng’s cheek.
“I didn’t know the hot-spring tycoon had a grandson. So that’s why Jiraiya was willing to give this medicinal-bath formula to someone else. It turns out he gave it to the hot-spring tycoon.”
“Their relationship really is quite close.”
“And you, little brother, are pretty lucky. If you soak in this medicinal bath every day, your physical constitution will definitely become incredibly strong in the future.”
Tsunade was a medical shinobi herself, so she naturally understood the effects of this medicinal-bath formula.
Ruofeng pulled Tsunade’s hand away from his cheek and turned toward the maid.
“Go. Tell the manager to repair the hot springs as quickly as possible. As for these broken walls, cover them with wooden boards for now.”
“I don’t want today’s medicinal bath to be interrupted.”
“As for the guests who were frightened today, let them use the hot springs for free. Consider it compensation.”
The maid immediately nodded.
“Yes, Young Master!”
She quickly left.
Soon, only Ruofeng and Tsunade remained in the hot-spring pool.
Tsunade reached over and pinched Ruofeng’s cheek again.
“Well, aren’t you quite the authoritative little fellow?”
Ruofeng once again freed his face from Tsunade’s hands.
“Today has really been unlucky. I only came here to take a medicinal bath, and I ended up dealing with the two of you causing trouble.”
“Jiraiya may have a good relationship with my grandfather, but the damage still needs to be compensated.”
As he spoke, Ruofeng’s gaze shifted toward Tsunade.
The meaning behind his gaze was obvious.
He wanted Tsunade to pay for the damage.
Normally, when a merchant encountered a situation like this, there was little choice but to accept the loss.
After all, this was Tsunade—the princess of Konoha Village.
But Ruofeng didn’t care about that.
Tsunade was right in front of him.
If he could get compensation, why would he refuse?
He cautiously looked at Tsunade.
And there was no denying it—Tsunade really lived up to her reputation.
Even at fifteen or sixteen, she already had an impressive physical presence that hardly resembled that of an ordinary teenage girl.
Tsunade’s mouth twitched awkwardly.
“Hehe… You don’t really expect me to pay for all this, do you?”
Only now, after her anger had subsided, did Tsunade remember what had happened.
She had certainly taught Jiraiya a lesson, but in the process, she had also destroyed most of the hot spring.
Some of the guests might have been furious because of it, but since she was a member of the Senju clan, they didn’t dare provoke her.
But now this little boy actually wanted her to pay.
This was quite the predicament.
Tsunade gave an awkward smile and walked over.
She looked at Ruofeng’s reddened cheek.
A green glow appeared in her palm and enveloped his face.
Ruofeng felt a surge of vitality spread through his skin.
The pain in his cheek disappeared almost instantly, replaced by a cool, soothing sensation.
“Is this a medical ninjutsu?”
Tsunade nodded.
“That’s right. This is medical ninjutsu.”
“I’ve healed you, so let’s consider this compensation.”
“What…? A single treatment is supposed to be worth that much?”
Ruofeng looked at Tsunade in disbelief.
“And you were the one who pinched my cheek until it turned red.”
“Besides, you’re Tsunade—the Tsunade of the Senju clan. Surely you don’t care about this little bit of money?”
Tsunade shook her head.
“Where would I get the money? I’ve already lost it all.”
Hearing this, Ruofeng finally remembered exactly what kind of person Tsunade was.
From a young age, Tsunade had been introduced to gambling by the First Hokage and had developed a serious gambling habit.
And Tsunade had one particularly infamous trait:
She almost always loses.
If she ever actually won a bet, it meant that something unfortunate was about to happen.
Ruofeng now understood why Tsunade had looked so awkward.
She clearly didn’t have any money to compensate him.
If she had money, Tsunade would have already gambled it away.
Tsunade smiled lightly, the awkwardness disappearing from her expression.
Instead, she became serious.
“A little kid like you is supposed to be at the age where you act cute. Why are you pretending to be so mature?”
“Listen, I’ve already lost all my money, so I can’t compensate you.”
“But I’m genuinely sorry about the damage to your family’s property.”
“I don’t have any money, but I can make up for it in another way.”
“I can see that you take a medicinal bath every day. Your cells are already filled with energy, but you haven’t started refining chakra yet.”
“So I’ll teach you how to extract chakra.”
“That should count as compensation.”
Ruofeng’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What…? You’re going to teach me how to extract chakra?”
“Could it be the special chakra-extraction method of the Senju clan?”
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? You know quite a lot.”
“Looks like you really want to become a shinobi.”
“You’re actually quite similar to my little brother in that regard.”
“But my little brother isn’t nearly as serious and reserved as you are.”