area51novel Chapter 99 Paying Back Debts
Chapter 99 Paying Back Debts
Chapter 99 Paying Back Debts
Not long after leaving the dungeon and returning to the city, Shiba Kiyokawa met the unexpected guest.
He was an unpleasant guest!
Wearing a green vest, Tsunade, accompanied by Shizune, stood menacingly outside Shiba Kiyokawa's compound.
Shizune's head was still wrapped in gauze, and her face was somewhat pale, indicating that she had just been injured.
And this seems to be the reason for Tsunade's anger.
Upon meeting, before Shiba Kiyokawa could even speak, Tsunade leaped high into the air, raising one leg high.
Then the long, raised leg came crashing down like a battle axe.
Body Technique: Painful Heavenly Kick!
At that moment, Shiba Kiyokawa was completely dumbfounded.
What's even more awkward is that right behind him is the courtyard where he lives, which is his current home.
If we hide like this, our family will collapse.
Helpless, he had no choice but to clap his hands together and instantly unleash a new move!
"Diamond Lockdown!"
As an innate skill inherent to the body, this move does not require hand seals.
Now he finally understands the joy of clapping his hands and having whatever he shouts come to him.
Several chains shot out from behind, crossing in front of him and forcefully blocking Tsunade's kick.
"boom!"
A powerful, deep explosion rang out!
Shiba Kiyokawa, who was forcibly defending himself, had both feet sink deep into the ground, up to his knees.
The immense force traveled through the chains, causing his entire body to tremble, and his cheeks to quiver like waves.
Although his teeth were chattering from the shock and he could barely speak, Shiba Kiyokawa reacted quickly and immediately activated his genjutsu!
While diverting Tsunade's attention, guide her emotions and use a fake illusion to ask her a question.
"What exactly happened? What are you here for?"
Tsunade's sudden attack caught him off guard, and he also felt extremely innocent.
He couldn't remember when he had provoked this tiger-woman.
Tsunade's subsequent answer left him even more confused.
"Damn Rain Ninja brat! Why do you have to drag other people into your war against Konoha?"
"If you're so eager to kill me, then here I am! Kill me head-on! Don't drag others into this!"
Implicated? Involved?
Considering Shizune's current state, Shiba Kiyokawa roughly understood the reason for Tsunade's outburst of anger.
But how did this blame end up on me? Who's trying to pin this on me?
Just as he was wondering about this, the "werewolf" of this round revealed himself the next moment.
The culprit was right beside him!
Kakuzu took two steps forward, snorted, and met Tsunade's gaze with unwavering confidence and even disdain, and said.
"Hmph, you think you're in the right to refuse to pay back your debts?"
For a moment, Tsunade's expression froze.
The original aggressive stance was broken open, and an emotion called embarrassment took advantage of the situation.
"And who are you?" Tsunade asked preemptively.
"I'm the one whose employee attacked you. If you have any complaints, you should talk to me!"
"Do you also have a grudge against Konoha? Why do you have to drag me and my disciple into this?!"
"No! Who cares about Konoha's mess! I'm looking for you! You owe me your money, Tsunade!"
At that moment, Shiba Kiyokawa clearly saw a brief moment of vulnerability on Tsunade's face.
Tsunade, who had originally come with a belly full of anger to confront him head-on, now seemed quite guilty.
"Just to collect debts?" she asked again, suspiciously.
To everyone's surprise, Jiao Du answered resolutely, "Of course! Money is the only thing that will never betray you! Paying back debts is a matter of course!"
"..."
"..."
The situation became somewhat awkward.
Tsunade's arrogance vanished completely, and she even seemed to want to run away.
Meanwhile, the pitiful Shizune couldn't help but look at her teacher with some resentment.
They initially thought it was Konoha's enemies who had taken their anger out on them, but it turned out that it was all Tsunade's own fault for not paying back her debts.
"I feel so wronged by this injury," Jingyin thought helplessly.
Only then did Shiba Kiyokawa, who had finally managed to clear his name, find an opportunity to speak.
"Gentlemen, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, why don't you all calm down and come in for a cup of tea?"
Now that it has been confirmed that the matter has nothing to do with the boy in front of her, Tsunade, who had just kicked him, felt a little guilty. So, she tried to hide her embarrassment and half-heartedly led Shizune into the house.
After everyone was seated and had a cup of hot tea, the matter was explained clearly.
It turns out that the whole thing started just a few days ago.
At that time, Shiba Kiyokawa rushed back to the base to rescue Yahiko and handed over the task of attacking the castle to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu did a very good job of confiscating the property, extremely good, even too good.
As a result, the nobles and wealthy merchants in the city dared not keep anything to themselves and handed over everything.
Some people, unable to pay the money, even dug out IOUs that had been stored at home for who knows how many years and handed them over.
Kakuzu glanced at the signature and recognized Tsunade! The debt was quite substantial!
Kakuzu, who is always loyal to money, could not tolerate someone owing him money and not paying it back.
Previously, those wealthy businessmen kept the IOUs but were too lazy to collect the debts.
On the one hand, everyone knows that Tsunade is quite strong and has a lot of experience in avoiding debts, so pressing her for repayment is mostly useless.
On the other hand, Tsunade has another well-known identity: the best medical ninja in the ninja world!
You can't afford to offend a doctor, because they can save your life in a critical moment!
Therefore, many wealthy businessmen keep IOUs not because they want to get their money back, but because they keep them as a lifeline, hoping that these IOUs can buy them a second in a critical moment.
But Kakuzu doesn't care about any of that.
Extending his life? He doesn't need that! He only cares about money!
So, taking the IOUs handed over by these wealthy businessmen, he actually organized a team to collect the debts!
This was tough on Tsunade, or more accurately, tough on Shizune.
At this moment, Tsunade slammed her hand on the table in anger, seemingly trying to cover up her guilty conscience.
"Is that how you collect debts? You've hired thugs! Shizune was almost killed by them!"
The debt collectors were so ruthless that Tsunade certainly didn't immediately suspect they were there to collect a debt.
She even mistakenly believed that the Akatsuki organization, which had just declared war on Konoha, was looking for someone to assassinate her.
Kakuzu snorted, looking down at Tsunade with an arrogant and disdainful expression.
"If I don't use some drastic measures, will you pay me back? So pay me back now! I have a total of your IOUs here—"
Before Kakuzu could finish speaking, Tsunade tried to slip away.
Today's blunder was quite a big one, and all she wants to do now is run away as quickly as possible.
She was secretly vowing to herself that she would never come to this wretched place, the Land of Rain, in her entire life!
It wasn't until Shiba Kiyokawa suddenly spoke up, interrupting Kakuzu and preventing him from revealing that astonishing number.
Shiba Kiyokawa was also afraid that he might waver if he actually heard the numbers...
"Wait a minute, I think there's still room for negotiation in this matter."
Lady Tsunade, your debt is currently held by our Akatsuki organization. If you really can't come up with that much cash, we can actually accept other ways to settle the debt.
For example, what do you think about hiring someone to teach here?
Tsunade instinctively wanted to refuse halfway through the conversation.
She thought the other party was going to use her to fight again, and she was already tired of the things between ninjas.
What's more, the guy in front of me is a dangerous individual who just declared war on Konoha.
But when she heard the end, she was somewhat stunned.
"You mean you're going to give a lecture? Me?"
"Of course, you are the greatest medical ninja of this era. We will definitely offer you a reward commensurate with your knowledge, so please rest assured."
Tsunade, who had previously faced resistance even when implementing medical ninja configuration reforms in her own village, unexpectedly felt unprecedented respect in a foreign land.
This feeling is quite peculiar.
"Kid, you're really not lying to me?"
"How could that be? I've always been a sincere person."
Kakuzu glanced at him silently, without saying a word.
Then Shiba Kiyokawa stood up and said, "However, I have some urgent matters to attend to right now. We can discuss the details when we get back, okay?"
With the misunderstanding cleared up, Tsunade regained her composure.
If they don't leave soon, Shiba Kiyokawa is afraid that Terai beside him will go berserk.
Tsunade was still hesitating and considering her words of refusal, but when she suddenly heard Shiba Kiyokawa say that he was leaving, she became a little anxious.
"I still need to think about the lecture. Do you need any help with your next tasks? I might be able to help, for a fee, which can be deducted from the outstanding amount."
She didn't want to get too involved with the Land of Rain, but she was in the wrong today.
She wanted to cut things off quickly and wipe the slate clean!
In the original story, even after becoming Hokage, she never thought of defaulting on her gambling debts; Tsunade has always been known for her good credit.
Of course, this stemmed from the fact that she did not know what Shiba Kiyokawa was about to face.
Shiba Kiyokawa thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, Lady Tsunade."
(End of this chapter)