CHAPTER 37

"Lady Tsunade, why don't we just pay them back already?"

Shizune clutched the little pig Tonton, glancing nervously over her shoulder at the furious debt collectors chasing after them. She looked helplessly at Tsunade as they sprinted down the street.

But Tsunade had no intention of surrendering her last bit of wealth. She clutched the box in her arms tightly and shouted back:

"No way! This is all I have left. We'll win the money back in the next town!"

Shizune covered her forehead, sighing in exasperation. She knew very well there was no convincing Tsunade once she had her mind made up.

"Lady Tsunade, over there! That street's packed with people—we can shake them in the crowd!"

Although both were elite ninjas, they avoided exposing their identities to prevent the debt collectors from learning the truth and chasing them all the way to Konoha. So in situations like this, they preferred to slip into a crowd and use transformation jutsu to quietly escape.

But just as they were about to dart into the street filled with people, a figure stepped in their path—a monk in a bamboo hat, raising a Zen staff to block them.

"Hey! In broad daylight, you men are really going to bully two girls? How could a poor monk just stand by and watch?"

Because they couldn't expose their strength, Tsunade and Shizune had no choice but to stop.

The group of debt collectors came to a halt too, staring at the monk.

"Where'd this monk come from? Mind your own business! They're the ones who racked up the debt and now they won't pay. Even if the authorities came, we're in the right!" one of them said, lifting his club.

Carl lowered his Zen staff and offered a polite Buddhist salute.

"Indeed, paying debts is right. But using violence to collect them isn't. How about this—whatever they owe, I'll cover it."

"Wait, are you serious?!"

The debt collectors' moods changed instantly, going from hostility to delight. It didn't matter to them who paid the money—so long as they got paid.

Tsunade and Shizune, who had been quietly preparing to slip away during the conversation, froze mid-step when they heard Carl's offer.

"There really are still such... naïve good people in the world," Tsunade whispered.

"Lady Tsunade, you owe so much, he might not be able to afford it..."

"Relax. Let's just see how it goes. Worst case, we run."

They didn't speak aloud, but exchanged a meaningful glance—ready to improvise as needed.

"This humble monk comes from a well-off family," Carl said, bowing again. "I have some savings I can spare."

"She owes me one million!"

"I want five hundred thousand!"

"Mine is three million!"

One after another, the collectors brought out IOUs and shouted their demands. After a rough count, Tsunade's total debt had ballooned to thirty million ryo.

Even though Carl had mentally prepared himself, the corner of his mouth still twitched.

He knew that A-rank missions usually paid only between 150,000 and 1,000,000 ryo—and that was split among the team. Thirty million would take dozens of such missions to earn.

Just then, Tsunade quickly handed her cash box to Shizune, zipped over to Carl, and gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.

"Kind sir, I was young and reckless… That's how I ended up owing so much. You're so kind to help me. I'll write you an IOU right now and pay you back as soon as I can!"

From her perspective, consolidating her debt to one soft-hearted monk was far better than owing dozens of aggressive loan sharks. And once she won again, she'd pay him back—eventually.

' You're already fifty and still calling yourself young and reckless… unbelievable.'

Carl held back his thoughts, sighed, and nodded solemnly.

"Very well. I'm traveling anyway, and don't really need money right now. I'll help you pay it back. But miss… remember—nine out of ten gamblers lose. Don't gamble again."

"Got it! I swear!"

Tsunade swiftly scribbled out an IOU for thirty million ryo, shoved it into Carl's robes, and then disappeared into the crowd with Shizune before he could say another word.

Carl stood there blinking for a moment, then turned and smiled politely at the debt collectors.

"Alright, gentlemen. Let's go to the bank and withdraw the funds."

From this moment on, Carl became Tsunade's biggest creditor.

The Fifth Hokage of the future now owed the Prince of the Land of Fire thirty million ryo. As long as he didn't push his luck with unreasonable demands, she'd likely repay him—eventually.

After all, money only has meaning when used for the right things. Otherwise, it's just paper.

Once the debts were settled at the bank, Carl didn't linger in town. He resumed his journey toward the Land of Waves, just as planned.

In the evening, Carl stood silently at the shore, gazing out at the sea shrouded in thick fog. In the distance, he could faintly make out a small island and the silhouette of a half-built bridge stretching across the waves. He murmured to himself:

"Just wait here. Based on the distance from Konoha Village to this place, they shouldn't arrive until tomorrow."

After thinking it over, he stepped closer to the water's edge and quickly formed hand seals:

"Lightning Style: Earth Walk!"

A strong surge of lightning chakra crackled across the surface of the sea, spreading outward from Carl's palm. Moments later, four or five fish floated to the surface, bellies up, stunned by the jutsu.

Carl reached into his mission space, pulled out a long spear, and skewered several of the fish. He then began to prep his dinner for the night.

Although most of the items in the mission space weren't particularly valuable in modern society, their biggest advantage was that they weren't bound by the limitations of dimensional travel.

Even after arriving in the world of Naruto, Carl could still freely use everything he had earned from his side missions back in Sokovia—items that remained accessible through the mission space at all times.

That meant even while roughing it in the wild, Carl could effortlessly pull out tents, pillows, lighters, cooking pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and more whenever needed.

In truth, these weren't exactly "worthless" items—they just didn't hold much value in a world as technologically advanced as Marvel. But if he ever traveled to a world with severely underdeveloped tech, even something as simple as a battery-powered lantern could be sold as a priceless treasure.

More importantly, the mission space wasn't just a convenient inventory. If used strategically, it could play a crucial role in combat as well.