Naruto : Konoha Light

"Before, she went all out chasing me down—not because I wrote about the leading lady, but because I didn't write enough about her? My next book, ei hehe hehe..."

As Jiraiya indulged in his fantasy, Shimizu asked with a towering presence, "Jiraiya-sama, do you like Tsunade-sensei?"

"Pū!" Jiraiya nearly choked on his own spit, waving his hands in panic. "W-what?! Me, liking that violent woman? Ha, haha, ha, that's not funny at all."

Watching Jiraiya's flustered reaction, Shimizu sighed internally. It seemed he would have to take on the role of a neighborhood auntie as well.

Shimizu understood the instincts of men, especially perverted ones like this senior old sage. Trying to persuade him with words wouldn't work, and beating him up wouldn't make him change his ways.

If he truly wanted to stop Jiraiya from writing these indecent books at their core, there were only two solutions:

Castrate him or Put shackles on this free-spirited man.

Shimizu sighed to himself. "For the sake of future generations and to prevent them from being corrupted by these books, I have no choice but to work hard."

Seeing Shimizu fall silent, Jiraiya grew uneasy. "Actually, it's not that Tsunade isn't great. It's just... I can't stop. A drifting, untamed prodigal son like me... I'll only stop when I die."

Shimizu blinked. "And what if Tsunade-sensei gets hurt before then?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened, and he instinctively shouted, "Who dares?!"

Shimizu smiled meaningfully.

Seeing Shimizu's strange expression, Jiraiya's shameless demeanor faltered. He coughed twice and tried to act serious. "W-who would dare bully her?!"

Shimizu sighed. "If it were the old Tsunade-sensei, there wouldn't be an issue. But Jiraiya-sama, you should know her current situation, right?"

Jiraiya rubbed his hands together and joked, "She still has Hiruzen-sensei and Orochimaru with her!"

Shimizu stared at him until Jiraiya's forced grin faded. Finally, Jiraiya sighed bitterly. "Yeah… I can feel it. She wants to leave the village."

"If the village finds out about her hemophobia, they won't miss this opportunity."

After a long silence, Jiraiya finally smiled bitterly. "Are you trying to push Tsunade onto me?"

Shimizu chuckled gently. "I just feel that if anyone can wake her from this nightmare, it's you, Jiraiya-sama."

Hearing the word "nightmare," Jiraiya frowned slightly but then sat down on the nearby lawn in a relaxed manner.

"Sit."

Shimizu, feeling like a well-behaved child, sat across from him.

"Actually, before, Tsunade had a lover. His name was Dan Katō, he was…"

"I know."

Jiraiya stared at him. "Tsunade told you?"

Shimizu shook his head. "I heard from Shizune."

"Oh, that little girl on Tsunade's side…" Jiraiya trailed off before suddenly realizing something. His face twisted as he asked, "Wait, you've been saying all this—don't tell me you want me to be your little girlfriend's bodyguard?!"

Shimizu looked exasperated. "Jiraiya-sama, what are you talking about? I'm only six years old!"

Jiraiya squinted at him. "Oh? You do realize you're only six? The way you talk makes you sound like some kind of relationship guru!"

Shimizu spread his hands. "Well, to be fair, Jiraiya-sama, you've probably never even talked to as many female students as I have."

…!

Jiraiya clutched his chest, feeling as if something had cracked inside him.

Shimizu pressed the attack. "Think back carefully. How many female students have you actually talked to? More than ten?"

Jiraiya's mouth opened, but he already had his answer.

"Forget ten—have I even talked to more than three women? Aside from Tsunade…?"

At that moment, Jiraiya realized something. "Wait… did I have no other options my whole life?"

Seeing Jiraiya drowning in his own realization, Shimizu muttered to himself, "Honestly, if you'd actually had over ten conversations, I would've raised the bar to thirty…"

Jiraiya hesitated, then, for once, shyly asked, "So, in Tsunade's heart, where do I rank compared to Dan?"

"Pretty high, I'd imagine. Memories tend to idealize people."

Jiraiya's face fell apart. "Then I…"

Shimizu sighed in disappointment. "Why are you competing with a dead man? Do you want Tsunade-sensei to be the kind of person who forgets her past so easily?"

Jiraiya's expression suddenly cleared. Yes, if Tsunade really forgot everything, would she still be the Tsunade he knew?

Seeing that the moment was right, Shimizu went for the final push. "Also, Jiraiya-sama, while you may not have spoken to many women, the number of men trying to get close to Tsunade-sensei is… quite high."

Jiraiya's face darkened, but he had to admit—it was true. As long as one wasn't afraid of domestic abuse, Tsunade was far more popular than he was.

Thinking of this, he couldn't suppress his emotions. "No good! It looks like this toad sage needs to take action!"

"But what should I give her? I don't think I have anything good… A frog? A signed copy of my book?"

Seeing Jiraiya trying to dig his own grave, Shimizu quickly intervened. "Jiraiya-sama, I actually have something I need your help with first. While you're thinking about it, maybe this will help you calm down."

Jiraiya hesitated, then nodded. "You're right, I need to think carefully. So, what do you need?"

Shimizu took a deep breath. "I'd like to ask for a few drops of Mount Myōboku's special frog oil."

"Oh, that's easy." Jiraiya agreed without hesitation—until he suddenly realized something. „Wait… you want to learn Sage Mode?"

"That doesn't seem reasonable. With your current level…"

"Jiraiya-sama, you misunderstand," Shimizu quickly clarified. "It's not for me."

"Not for you?" Jiraiya raised a brow, then smirked in a way only an old pervert could. "Ohhh, so Tsunade wants to practice the Slug Sage Mode? Hehe… I wonder what she'll look like in Sage Mode…"

Seeing where Jiraiya's thoughts were going, Shimizu hurriedly cut him off. "It's for my friend. His meridians are almost completely destroyed, and healing them is nearly impossible. Only the purest, most stable energy has any chance of rejoining the severed pathways."

Jiraiya became serious. "'Pure energy,' huh… but you do know that the pinnacle of stability is actually wildness, right?"

"If the natural energy is too pure, there's a real chance of fusing with nature completely."