Naruto: The New Beginning

82. Debt

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Three days have passed, and it seems as though Jiraiya hasn't woken up during that time.

Every morning, he finds himself tightly wrapped in his blanket, but he's getting better at escaping it with each passing day.

On the morning of the fourth day, Jiraiya stops the three kids—Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura—as they are about to head out.

"We should move on to the next location."

Naruto looks at him blankly and asks, "Did you find any new leads, or are you just tired of hanging around here?"

"Stop spouting nonsense. I've been investigating!" Jiraiya clears his throat before continuing. "Someone did spot her in this town, but she didn't stick around for long. Probably because this place doesn't have any casinos."

Naruto sighs, "So where are we going next?"

"To a place called Short Book Street. There's an old temple there, pretty historic. The town is a lot livelier than here, and more importantly—there's a whole street full of casinos."

Seeing Jiraiya's gleeful smile, Naruto can't help but wonder if it isn't the casinos, or rather, *other* services that Jiraiya is truly excited about.

With Jiraiya calling the shots, the three of them have no choice but to pack their things and follow him.

Not long after leaving town, Naruto suddenly says, "Pervy Sage, we've got two people tailing us. Their chakra is about... teacup-sized. Pretty weak."

"Oh?" Jiraiya turns around, eyes narrowing as he scans the area. Sasuke and Sakura notice it too—these two aren't skilled at hiding themselves.

A couple of minutes later, Jiraiya returns with two men, both sporting bruises and swollen faces. They are dressed like samurai, with hats, bags, and swords at their waists.

Jiraiya asks sternly, "Why are you following us? Speak."

One of the men stammers, "W-We don't know who you are, but—"

"Then why are you tailing us? Are you trying to rob us? Or did someone hire you?"

"No, no! We're looking for Lady Tsunade."

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya frowns, a bad feeling rising. "You wouldn't happen to be chasing her for debts, would you?"

"That's... exactly it. I'm senta from the Akagi gang, and this is bunzo. We've been looking for Lady Tsunade for three years, but her whereabouts are always unpredictable."

This guy is trying to put it nicely, but everyone knows Tsunade's gambling habits keep her constantly on the move.

Senta continues, "We heard you were asking around about her recently, so we thought you might have a lead. We followed you in hopes of finding her. We're sorry for being discovered so quickly."

Jiraiya believes them almost immediately—this is totally Tsunade's style.

"For three years, we haven't returned home, all because of her debts. Please allow us to travel with you. We just want to find her," they both plead, bowing deeply.

Jiraiya thinks for a moment before agreeing. "Fine. When we find Tsunade, I'll ask her about it myself."

"Thank you so much!" the two samurai say in unison.

Now their group has two additional members—debt collectors.

Sakura groans internally, already feeling disappointed in Tsunade. Owing debts for three years and running away from them? 'What a shameless old woman.'

As the group moves forward, Jiraiya suddenly remembers something. "Naruto, what did you mean by 'teacup-sized' chakra?"

Sasuke and Sakura are also curious.

"Oh, that," Naruto replies. "You know my sensory ability, right?"

The three of them nod.

"I can sense the location of others, but I can also gauge their chakra levels. If chakra were water, then the amount those two have is about the size of a teacup."

"Interesting," Jiraiya says, though he can't help but smile at Naruto's odd way of measuring chakra. "Why use that term?"

"Well..." Naruto scratches his head. "I used to use Kakashi-sensei as the standard, but his chakra has been increasing a lot recently, so he's no longer a good reference. Plus, using him as a benchmark wasn't fair to people with less chakra."

Jiraiya can't help but laugh. 'It's not that you're unfair to people with less chakra—it's Kakashi who's been getting a raw deal.'

Out of curiosity, Jiraiya asks, "So, how do we compare?"

Naruto thinks for a moment. "Sakura-chan is at bathtub level."

Sakura's face twitches. 'Bathtub?' She is fuming on the inside.

"Sasuke is at the small-pond level. Kakashi-sensei was a small pond too, but now he's a large pond."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. 'So before you changed units, I was just a little puddle?'

"As for you, Pervy Sage, you're at lake level. I'm around the same, and my mom's chakra is at an even larger lake level. If I count Kurama's chakra, then I'm probably at sea level, like the First Hokage."

The two samurai look on in awe. 'Are all ninjas this powerful?'

Jiraiya sighs. Naruto has come up with his system of measurement, and while chakra levels don't always equal strength, a "teacup" going up against a "bathtub" definitely isn't going to end well. He has to admit, the kid's system isn't entirely useless.

"Your little sensory technique is pretty handy," Jiraiya remarks.

"Nah, it's still got a long way to go," Naruto says humbly. "A real minimap should show people's faces or names. I can sense different chakra signatures, but I can't always remember who's who. And I still need to work on sensing intent—whether someone's a friend or foe."

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After walking for a while longer, the group finally arrives at Short Book Street.

"Let's find a place to stay," Jiraiya says. "Then we'll split up to gather information."

At that very moment, at the entrance of a nearby casino, a blonde woman dressed in green proudly opens a suitcase full of money.

"Exchange all of this for chips! Today, I'll win back everything I lost!"

Behind her, a dark-haired woman holding a piglet sighs, while the piglet quivers with dread.

The casino guests exchange glances, whispering to each other as they stare at the blonde woman.

"If I'm not mistaken..."

"Isn't that...?"

"Yeah... the legendary Big Loser!"

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