Chapter 75: Jiraiya Gets Drunk and Is Picked Up by an Auntie!
Inside the red-light district establishment, noisy chatter mixed with the coquettish laughter of young women.
The moment Jiraiya stepped through the door, the madam's eyes lit up.
He was a regular here and always very generous!
"Lord Jiraiya! What would you like to drink?"
"Five jugs of the strongest sake, and… bring me two interesting beauties."
The madam was secretly delighted and quickly nodded: "Right away, Lord Jiraiya. Please wait a moment, I'll arrange it immediately."
Before long, two graceful and charming women walked over.
One wore a light blue kimono and carried a sake jug — her name was Fuyutsuki Kaede. The other wore a pink kimono and carried sake cups — her name was Koi Sayo.
As soon as Fuyutsuki Kaede placed the cup on the table, Jiraiya snatched the jug and poured, spilling more than half the sake.
"Lord Jiraiya, please pour more slowly. It's such a waste to spill it."
Fuyutsuki Kaede reached out to steady the jug for him, but Jiraiya yanked it away.
In a rough voice, Jiraiya said: "I'm in a bad mood. You two drink with me."
Then he raised the cup and gulped it down.
The spicy liquid burned his throat, but it couldn't suppress the stifling feeling in his chest.
Seeing this, Koi Sayo picked up a piece of watermelon from the plate and fed it to his mouth: "Lord Jiraiya, eat something first. Drinking on an empty stomach is even more harmful to your body."
He turned his head away, his eyes unfocused: "The woman I like… was taken by another man… Tell me, am I really that useless?"
Fuyutsuki Kaede smiled charmingly and flattered him: "Lord Jiraiya, you are the world-famous Konoha Sannin and the author of Make-Out Paradise. So many people admire you!"
Jiraiya gave a bitter smile and grabbed the jug again, pouring it straight into his mouth.
Koi Sayo hurriedly pressed down on his wrist: "Don't drink so fast, my lord! If you're feeling down, you can talk to us about it."
Jiraiya pulled both women into his arms and gave each of them a kiss!
"Come on… let's drink…"
Fuyutsuki Kaede sighed and poured him a cup of warm sake: "My lord, matters of the heart can't be forced. Don't be so hard on yourself."
But Jiraiya wasn't listening. Cup after cup went down his throat.
He began muttering to himself, his eyes growing hazy. Finally, with a "thud," he collapsed onto the table and stopped moving completely.
The next day, when Jiraiya woke up, the sunlight was so bright he couldn't open his eyes.
His head felt like it was about to explode. He instinctively tried to sit up, but when he reached out, his hand touched nothing. He was completely naked, covered only by a thin blanket!
"Fuck! Old hag!"
Jiraiya instantly sobered up. He sprang to the corner of the bed, his back slamming hard against the wall with a loud thud.
He desperately clutched the blanket to cover his body, eyes wide: "My… my clothes?!"
The bedding beside him shifted. Ishihara Maki rubbed her eyes and sat up.
Seeing his panicked expression, she couldn't help but laugh: "Little Jiraiya, why are you shouting so loudly? Are you afraid others won't know you're awake?"
"Clothes! Where are my clothes?!"
Jiraiya's voice was trembling. He pointed at his bare upper body: "Where did you put my clothes? Last night… we…"
He didn't dare continue. His face turned beet red. Ishihara Maki slowly got up and pointed at the bamboo basket at the foot of the bed: "You're so silly, little Jiraiya. Last night you were calling me 'baby'… 'sweetie'… just like you wanted…"
"You… how could you…!"
He protested stammering, his cheeks burning red.
Ishihara Maki raised an eyebrow and teased: "Little Jiraiya, more than twenty years ago you used to peek at me while I was bathing. Now you're suddenly acting all proper?"
Jiraiya's face burned with embarrassment. He grabbed the clothes from the bamboo basket and hurriedly put them on.
In his panic, he put them on backwards. Without looking back, he rushed toward the door.
Ishihara Maki called after him: "Little Jiraiya, if you miss big sister next time, come find me again. Big sister loves you!"
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya instantly lost focus. He tripped over the threshold and nearly fell out…
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage meeting room!
Seven high-ranking officials sat around the conference table. Their expressions were all somewhat grave.
Uchiha Fugaku's fingers lightly tapped the tabletop: "According to the latest data from the Finance Department, after the war ended, the village's economy is in a very pessimistic state. Recently, housing prices have dropped by 52%… and the volume of mission commissions is only 42% of what it was before the war…"
Uchiha Sanpō said in a low voice: "Before the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha had 24,163 ninjas. Now that number has dropped to only 6,652. This means the high-consuming ninja population has shrunk to just 27.5% of its pre-war level. Therefore, the economic decline of the village is an inevitable fact."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the meeting room became heavy.
Hyūga Hiashi lowered his head, pondering the deeper meaning: "Sanpō, do you have any solutions?"
Uchiha Sanpō replied confidently: "Everyone, I want to hold a competition with Jiraiya to attract nobles and wealthy merchants from various countries and reactivate Konoha's economic chain."
Upon hearing this, a wave of whispers immediately broke out.
Nara Shikaku narrowed his eyes slightly and reminded: "Chief Sanpō, Jiraiya's whereabouts are uncertain. It might be difficult to find him!"
Uchiha Sanpō gave a mysterious smile. He had actually seen Jiraiya that afternoon, though their interaction had not been pleasant.
"Jiraiya has returned to the village, and I've already discussed this with him. He has agreed."
Nara Shikaku nodded: "Since Jiraiya has agreed, we can give it a try."
Uchiha Fugaku tapped the table: "As for the location, we can choose the area below the Valley of the End…"
Uchiha Sanpō's lips curled into a mysterious smile: "Not long ago, the Sarutobi, Shimura, Koharu, and Mitokado clans were completely robbed. That's why the daimyō of the Land of Fire is currently recruiting strong experts everywhere! Now that there's a chance to witness a real battle between powerhouses, he definitely won't miss it!"
Uchiha Yadai looked over, his brows furrowed: "Sanpō, are you confident you can defeat Jiraiya?"
"Sixty percent chance of winning. At worst, it'll be a draw."
...
After the meeting ended, Uchiha Sanpō wanted to increase his strength.
After all, a sixty percent win rate wasn't very safe!
"System, I want to fuse skills!"
"Ding! Detected: B-rank Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique + B-rank Shadow Clone Technique + B-rank God-Demon Transformation. All have reached perfect proficiency and can undergo fusion deduction!"
"Ding! Preliminary deduction complete. Please choose the direction of deduction!"
"Flame God-Demon: A-rank ninjutsu. In the three-headed, six-armed state, this technique summons a 60-meter-tall, three-headed, six-armed flame god-demon shadow clone. The clone can absorb flames to replenish itself and possesses a trace of indestructibility — it will not disappear from ordinary attacks. Weakness: Vulnerable to Water Release and Ice Release ninjutsu."
"Blazing Angel: A-rank ninjutsu. Transforms the user into Blazing Angel form, wielding a flame spear. Using this spear, the user can cast B-rank and below Fire Release ninjutsu without seals. Possesses three pairs of flame wings with extremely fast flight speed."
"Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix: A-rank ninjutsu. Summons one flame phoenix and over a hundred fire birds to automatically attack surrounding enemies. The flame phoenix is a special shadow clone with some consciousness and can continuously summon fire birds."
Which technique should I choose…
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