Konoha Ninja Shop System

Outside the gates of Konoha Village.

Jiraiya stood before the unchanging, familiar gates of Konoha. His lips twitched in a wry smile as a sigh escaped him. "After all these years, the village looks exactly the same. I wonder what the old man did with all the money…"

At the entrance, two gatekeepers stood motionless—silent guardians who had watched over Konoha for as long as anyone could remember. They were the village's gate gods: Shenyue Izumo and Gangzi Tie. If Peter were here, he would certainly recognize these two stalwart figures.

In tales of the Hokage, these gatekeepers were always there, standing firm at the front gates. Even when Pain himself invaded, no one dared storm the main gate so easily, thanks to their vigilance. And even after Konoha was razed, the gate stood stubbornly, refusing to fall.

Konoha may be gone, but the gate remains! That alone speaks volumes about their strength.

When they spotted Jiraiya approaching, both men were stunned into silence for a moment. Then, Izumo Kanzuki's eyes widened in disbelief as he called out, "Si... Lord Jiraiya, is that really you?"

Jiraiya grinned, clapping Izumo on the shoulder with a nostalgic chuckle. "Haha! I didn't expect you two to still be guarding the gate after all these years!" Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away with his usual carefree swagger.

The two gatekeepers watched him go, their faces darkening.

"If I'd known he was coming, I would have pretended I didn't know him…"

"Yeah… Who would've guessed his mouth smells so bad?"

Once extroverted, now forever introverted. Shen Yue Chu Yun swore to himself never to get close to anyone again—he'd rather be a cold, aloof gatekeeper from now on.

Jiraiya wandered down the street, his gaze lingering on the familiar buildings, memories of his childhood flooding back—times spent with Tsunade and Orochimaru.

But Orochimaru had betrayed the village and fled long ago, and Tsunade had vanished without a trace.

He had been away from home for so many years, returning only rarely.

The legendary name of the Konoha Sannin, once echoing across the ninja world, had become little more than a shadow of the past.

Without realizing it, Jiraiya found himself near the Sarutobi clan's territory. Instead of entering through the main gate, he quietly scaled the wall, sneaking inside with the ease of an old friend. He headed directly toward Sarutobi Hiruzen's residence.

The moment Jiraiya stepped into the Sarutobi estate, he was taken aback by what he saw. The place was decorated with such extravagance and grandeur that it felt like a palace.

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he muttered to himself, "How much money did they spend on this? I wonder where the Sarutobi clan got all this cash…"

He quickened his pace, heading straight for Hiruzen's home.

Soon, Jiraiya stood before Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was lounging lazily by the front porch, basking in the warm sunlight.

A faint sound of footsteps reached Hiruzen's ears, and he looked up just in time to see Jiraiya approaching.

Surprise flickered across Hiruzen's tired eyes, but he quickly masked it with a warm smile. "Jiraiya, when did you get back?"

Jiraiya took in the sight of the man who had once been bursting with vitality, now worn and aged by time. An indescribable sadness crept into his heart. The last time he visited, everything had seemed fine—how had it come to this?

Yet he kept his feelings hidden and teased lightly, "Hey, old man, I heard you got kicked out of the stage for peeping into the women's bathhouse?"

Hiruzen's face darkened instantly, and he cursed under his breath, "You bastard! Where did you hear such nonsense?"

Jiraiya shrugged nonchalantly, a cynical smile playing on his lips. "If that's not true, then how exactly did you get kicked out, old man?"

Hiruzen sighed deeply, turning away to retreat into his yard. "Come inside. We'll talk."

Jiraiya hurried after him and shut the door behind them.

"Now, can you tell me what really happened?" Jiraiya asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Hiruzen sighed and recounted the events from the previous day.

As the story unfolded, Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief. "So this is why the Sarutobi clan has such lavish decorations… It turns out you, old man, have been embezzling funds…"

He chuckled darkly. "Or maybe it's more like robbery! No wonder the major clans want you gone. You really had it coming."

Hiruzen silently picked up his pipe, placed it between his lips, and exhaled a plume of smoke. After a long pause, he explained quietly, "There's more to this than you know."

Then he revealed the truth: he had been threatened by Black Zetsu.

Jiraiya blinked in disbelief. "That dark fellow said the photo stone he holds can record everything that happened in the last three days?!"

Excitement lit up Jiraiya's face. That photo stone sounded incredible. If he got his hands on one, he could put them in bathhouses all over the ninja world—and never worry about getting caught while gathering information again!

"Old man, are you still in contact with that guy? That photo stone sounds like a priceless treasure!" Jiraiya asked eagerly.

Hiruzen looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. Weren't they just talking about how he'd been blackmailed and forced to extort money from the major clans? Why was Jiraiya suddenly excited about the photo stone?

"Get lost!" Hiruzen snapped.

Jiraiya smiled indifferently. "Honestly, old man, you care too much about your reputation. That's why you're stuck in this mess. You're suffering because of your own pride."

"Well, now that I know what's going on, I'm going to find Tsunade and ask her to inherit the Hokage position."

He shook his head with a sigh. "Alas, Orochimaru's still missing. These two really are a headache."

With that, Jiraiya waved goodbye and left the Sarutobi estate.

Hiruzen watched him go, his expression heavy with emotion. After a moment, he muttered softly, "Maybe Jiraiya is more fit to be Hokage than Tsunade…"

Meanwhile, news of Tsunade's possible return to take up the mantle of Hokage spread throughout the Fire Country. Jiraiya eagerly joined the search for her.

Unfortunately, while Jiraiya traveled east, two figures approached the Fire Country from the west.

---

The Fire Nation Border

"Tsunade-sama, please stop gambling! Tun Tun and I are starving!" Shizune begged desperately.

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "It's just a streak of bad luck today. When I get back to the village, I'll mortgage the Senju clan land and definitely win back all the money I lost!"

Shizune's eyes widened in horror. "What? You're going to mortgage the Senju clan land? That's absolutely forbidden!"

"The clan land is huge. I can't possibly live on all of it. Might as well sell it and get some money to use."

"Master Tsunade, please don't be reckless!"

Suddenly, Tsunade stopped in her tracks so abruptly that Shizune bumped right into her.

Shizune rubbed her head, confused. "Tsunade-sama? Why did you stop so suddenly?"

Tsunade remained silent, staring intently at a nearby shop. It was as if the store held some deep significance for her.

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