Chapter 151

Watching Kakashi suffer was undeniably more entertaining for Takeshi than watching Obito. Obito, accustomed to setbacks and accustomed to the sting of failure, simply bounced back.

Kakashi, however, with his innate talent and history of effortlessly overcoming obstacles, generated a far more satisfying surge of points when confronted with adversity. His frustration was simply delicious to watch.

Obito, hardened by repeated failures and the subsequent need to adapt, was already showing improvement. In the second round with the Daruma, his dodging ability had already surpassed Kakashi's.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was enduring a barrage of powerful counterattacks. This disparity could also be attributed to Obito's Sharingan, which accelerated his reaction speed beyond Kakashi's current capabilities.

But the points receiving from Kakashi were decreasing, as he getting more focused on training, despite taking beating he considered that, this training would be quite useful in increasing his reaction speed and helping him move better at higher speed.

After observing them for a while, Takeshi decided to check on Asuma. He trusted Kakashi and Obito to look out for each other. Despite their fierce rivalry, they were still teammates, and, at their core, friends. Even if both of them would deny it openly.

Once separated, they might be lazy, but while training in front of each other, neither would dare slack off for fear of being mocked by the other.

The other four Genin were scattered throughout the surrounding forest, continuing their rat-catching training. Thanks to their efforts over the past few days, the local rat population had dwindled, making the task exponentially more difficult. Rin had managed to capture two, while the others remained empty-handed.

Asuma, initially the most arrogant of the group, was now lagging far behind, his movements sluggish and his expression weary. The cockiness had been thoroughly beaten out of him.

"Meow, don't laze around! Run properly!" Takeshi scolded from a nearby branch.

Asuma, on the verge of collapsing, looked up at Takeshi with anger, but when his eyes met the cat's, he was recalled that this cat was a Special Jonin, and, more importantly, his supervisor for this training...

"I know!" Asuma shouted angrily, squeezing out the last bit of physical strength and sprinting ahead. After this final burst of effort, he collapsed on the ground, utterly spent.

Naoki Gekko covered his face, thinking, 'This is incredibly disrespectful.'

"Let him rest for a couple of minutes, meow… then make him continue training," Takeshi instructed.

Although Naoki questioned the intensity of the training regimen imposed on the Hokage's son, he dutifully followed Takeshi's orders.

Asuma wanted to protest, but seeing everyone else training hard made him pause, as wave of determination washed over him. 'Rin has been enduring this for a week, and Kakashi and Obito have likely surpassed this level. Am I weaker than them?' Gritting his teeth, he swallowed a soldier pill and, after a ten-minute respite, resumed his training.

While Asuma hated this training, he also realized that this would help him in long term, so he persisted as he wanted to become stronger.

After Kakashi and Obito finished their rounds with the Daruma, they joined the rat-catching exercise, further motivating Asuma to push himself and avoid appearing weak in front of his teammates.

Takeshi rested on a branch and watched them, his mind beginning to wander. Thinking of Jiraiya, who had finished writing the manuscript, and decided to proceed to the next step, he asked a ninja to help deliver the manuscript to the Capital City of Land of Fire (The city near Diamyo's palace) that day and asked his friend within the Publishing company to get it printed.

The Land of Fire was relatively prosperous, even in the midst of turmoil; business had not been put on hold. Despite the looming war, the world keeps moving.

The manuscript was now in the hands of the publisher. Given its quality and Jiraiya's reputation, Takeshi anticipated a swift printing process and subsequent distribution to bookstores throughout the land.

While an unknown author might face delays due to reviews and bureaucratic processes, Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, enjoyed a level of prestige that guaranteed immediate attention. The mere association of his name with the book was enough to pique public interest, ensuring strong sales.

Moreover, the quality of this manuscript was actually good, while not up to Takeshi's standards, it was quite high for the current ninja world.

The printing process began that same day, and within a few days, the finished books were en route to various vendors.

During this time, Takeshi, immersed in training Kakashi and the others, and opting to stay in the forest at night, was unaware of the book's rapid publication.

---

Five days later, in a bustling town within the Land of Fire…

"Tsunade-sama, please don't go in anymore! We have no money left, we're in heavy debt!" A young, black-haired girl named Shizune pleaded with a blonde woman outside a gambling den. Her efforts, however, proved futile.

Tsunade, effortlessly lifting Shizune with one hand, was about to enter the Gambling den when a book displayed in a neighboring bookstore window caught her eye. 'Jiraiya? He wrote another book?'

"Tsunade-sama? I knew you'd come to your senses! You agree we should focus on earning money, right?" Shizune asked hopefully, noticing Tsunade's hesitation.

"Shizune-chan? You're being too noisy." Tsunade grumbled, preparing to resume her course.

'It must be another one of his naive and positivity novels, full of unrealistic fantasies about achieving so called peace, like that is ever possible in the world we live in.'

She scoffed, thinking, 'Can anyone surpass genius through hard work? The chances of that happening are so low it is laughable.'

While Jiraiya used to be in the last place during the academy, he wasn't stupid. On the contrary, that guy had a good talent, but he was more inclined to the practical side of training rather than theory.

"Persistence will be rewarded," Tsunade muttered sarcastically. "What naive idiotic bullshit!"

"Huh?" Shizune tilted her head in confusion, though she refrained from openly disagreeing with her mentor.

A young boy stood outside the bookstore, enthusiastically promoting the new release. "Come one, come all! A new novel by Jiraiya-sama, one of the legendary Sannin! Based on a true story, inspired by Jiraiya-sama's own life experiences! The plot is exciting and erotic! Don't miss out!"

'Based from Jiraiya's life experience? Exciting? Erotic?', Tsunade raised her eyebrows, walked over, and approached the bookstore.

She lowered her head and looked at the cover carefully. Then she saw a black-haired woman bathing in the river, and a boy was peeping at the riverside. There was also a black cat in the picture.

'What the hell did you write, Jiraiya!?' She frowned slightly, thinking of Jiraiya's character, and couldn't help but say with disgust: "Has this idiot started writing this kind of rubbish novel?"

"Hey, kid, tell me about this novel written by Jiraiya," she demanded.

"Yes, ma'am! It's written by the great Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin! It's based on his personal experiences, he poured his heart and soul into it! It's a book for everyone, regardless of age or gender! It's definitely not that kind of book, miss!"

The kid started speaking rapidly, carefully avoiding mentioning "erotic" again in front of the two ladies. His years of experience in advertising had likely saved him from a danger he was unaware of.

"Really? Can I take a look?" Shizune's eyes sparkled with interest, and she eagerly peered at the bookstore owner.

"Hey…this might be the 'wrong' kind of book for a child. You can't read this, Shizune," Tsunade warned, though her own curiosity was piqued.

"Madam, don't worry. This book really doesn't have that kind of content. The cover is just to attract customers," the owner assured her, his voice slightly trembling.

Tsunade, yielding to her curiosity, decided to give her teammate's work a cursory glance. "Let me see," she said, picking up a copy and flipping through the pages.

The first page contained an introduction, confirming Jiraiya's authorship and mentioning valuable contributions from a Special Jonin named Takeshi.

'Takeshi? Who's that? I haven't been gone that long. I know all the Special Jonin in the village. Even a recently promoted one would have been a Chunin for at least a couple of years, and I'd have heard of him if he was talented enough for such a rapid rise. Oh well, it doesn't matter,' Tsunade shook her head slightly and continued to flip through the pages to read the opening.

The opening of the story was about a poor orphan boy who was practicing tree climbing exercises in a forest by the river.

As a result, he caught sight of a beautiful woman bathing in it.

While Tsunade didn't like where the plot might be heading, she had to admit that the story was quite captivating, drawing her in despite her initial reservations.

After reading a couple of pages, she realized the story wasn't as erotic as she had initially assumed.

Contrary to the suggestive cover art, the narrative exuded a surprisingly wholesome energy. The boy hadn't intended to peek; a black cat had stolen the woman's clothes, and he was merely chasing after the feline to retrieve them.

Had the story continued in this vein, Tsunade might have been impressed by Jiraiya's improved writing and pleasantly surprised by the positive message. However, her amusement quickly turned to outrage as she read the following lines:

"The Wood Clan?"

…

"The granddaughter of the world's strongest ninja, who also happens to be the head of the ninja village?"

…

"Size 106, Breasts bigger than a child's head…"

"Jiraiya, you damn BASTARD!?" she roared.

*Bang!*

With a single, explosive punch, the bookstore's front display shattered, sending debris flying. Shizune and the bookstore owner stood frozen in terror, while the young book hawker had wisely fled at the first sign of trouble.

Tsunade, radiating waves of killing intent, sent shivers down the spines of everyone within a ten-meter radius.

"My books! Kami have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve this?!" the bookstore owner wailed, trembling on his knees, his livelihood shattered before his eyes.

Tsunade was furious, but after seeing what she had done, she realized that she might've gone abit overboard. She shouldn't have taken out her anger on this bookstore.

But she felt too angry to think clearly, so she decided to release it through gambling, "Let's just go gambling and forget about this..."

"Tsunade-sama, please don't gamble anymore. You haven't won anything in the past few years. If you gamble again, we won't have enough money for food." Shizune hugged her legs, getting teary-eyed, hoping to beg some sense into her teacher.

"Tsunade- you are- you are Tsunade-sama?" the bookstore owner stammered, his eyes wide with recognition and fear.

"Huh? Shizune, I told you- forget it. Store owner, you go to the publishing house and demand compensation for the damages. Tell them it will be deducted from Jiraiya's royalties. If they refuse, tell them Tsunade said so," she snarled, then turned to her student with a menacing glint in her eyes. "Shizune, aren't you worried about not having money? Let's go make some now!"

Shizune, a mere ten years old, trembled and fell silent, realizing that arguing was futile.

Tsunade spun on her heel and marched away, no longer thinking about gambling. Compared to gambling, she had more important things to do now – Beat some respect into Jiraiya!

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