In the izakaya, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru sat side by side.
"I miss this so much, when was the last time the three of us drank like this?" Jiraiya said with a laugh after taking a sip of his drink.
"It was probably when the Second Shinobi War ended." Tsunade downed her glass and reminisced briefly.
After the Second Shinobi War ended, they all went on to do their own things.
"Jiraiya, after so long, have you found that student who can change the Ninja World?" Orochimaru asked, taking a bite of his snack.
"Haha, good question, I don't know either." Jiraiya replied with a smile.
The prophecy of the Great Toad Sage was too vague; he wasn't sure if any of the students he taught were truly the child of destiny.
"You sound so confident even when you don't know, just as foolish as always." Tsunade teased.
"He just likes to stir up trouble for himself." Orochimaru wasn't surprised by Jiraiya's response.
He believed that no single person's power could change the entire Ninja World. Even the God of Ninjas, Senju Hashirama, couldn't do so; after his death, the Ninja World remained unchanged.
"I'm just stirring up trouble for fun, and what about you? Learning all the world's Ninjutsu and obtaining immortality, that's impossible. No matter how much you study human life, it will never be eternal." Jiraiya retorted unceremoniously.
"Instead of researching immortality, you should find a pleasing successor to pass on your Ninja Path, that way you'll live on in another form even if you die."
"No matter how nice it sounds, dead is dead, and living on in the memories is just a comforting story for children." Orochimaru retorted calmly.
From birth, he had witnessed many deaths. His parents died shortly after he came of age.
During the Second Shinobi War, Orochimaru was already an outstanding Jonin, leading many Konoha Ninja on important war missions, during which he watched many subordinates die right in front of him.
But what affected Orochimaru most was the death of his disciple, Nawaki.
Nawaki was both his disciple and Tsunade's younger brother. Although he was Orochimaru's disciple, Nawaki's personality was almost the opposite of Orochimaru's. Orochimaru always seemed stern, while Nawaki always had an excited and enthusiastic smile.
Despite their vastly different personalities, Orochimaru quite liked this disciple. Just because he didn't smile didn't mean he disapproved of others smiling. In fact, Orochimaru felt exceptional satisfaction when teaching Nawaki.
But the Shinobi War was too brutal. During a night mission, Nawaki rashly pursued the enemy and accidentally fell into an Explosive Tag trap, dying right in front of Orochimaru.
Since then, Orochimaru learned one thing: humans are fragile beings, so he must research Ninjutsu to the extreme to make himself less fragile.
Listening to Orochimaru's words, Tsunade recalled some unpleasant memories and drank several more cups of wine.
"You've really become more ruthless." Jiraiya sighed after hearing Orochimaru's words.
"It's your thoughts that are too naive." Orochimaru said after taking a sip of his drink.
"One's a naive fool, and the other is a tactless fool." Tsunade decided to scold them both.
The three drank, ate, and talked for a long time. Though much of the time was spent bickering, the overall atmosphere wasn't bad.
"Haha, today was quite fun. Should we drink again tomorrow?" Jiraiya's cheeks were already red when he asked.
"No time, I need to study Ninjutsu tomorrow night." Orochimaru declined Jiraiya's invitation.
"No drinking, if it weren't for your invitation today, I'd have eaten the chicken dish Mokgetsu made." Tsunade also decisively refused.
Joking aside, she had even changed her previous plans just to taste Mokgetsu's chicken. No way would she ditch that for Jiraiya's drinking.
"That's indeed a significant loss; after all, it's Mokgetsu's cooking." Jiraiya touched his chin and nodded in agreement.
"Mokgetsu?" Hearing both Jiraiya and Tsunade discuss this name, Orochimaru showed a thoughtful expression.
However, he wasn't thinking about some legendary chef but rather about the content in the Konoha Newspaper and his conversations with Danzo.
On the day the Konoha Newspaper was published, he happened to be working in the Root Organization. Danzo couldn't hold back upon seeing the newspaper's content.
Initially, he thought they had lost an insignificant member, but it turned out to be an exceptional Jonin who made a name in battles against Tailed Beasts.
Danzo couldn't resist using his authority to obtain a detailed report on that battle, learning how Mokgetsu had performed meritoriously during the war.
If Orochimaru remembered correctly, this Habu Mokgetsu excelled in using Combined Ninjutsu with great power.
After a simple recall, Orochimaru lost interest. He now focused on researching not the ordinary five nature transformations but rather those Ninjutsu with more special effects.
...
When Tsunade awoke again, it was already noon.
Feeling a bit hungry, Tsunade walked out of her room and called, "Shizune, I'm starving, is there anything to eat?"
"I'm cooking, please wait a moment, Tsunade-sama." Shizune replied.
Tsunade did a simple wash-up and as she passed the table, she caught a faint floral scent, then she pinpointed it to two packages on the table.
Because she was a little hungry, Tsunade curiously opened one of the packages and stuffed the pastry inside into her mouth.
"It actually tastes pretty good. Is this a new dessert you've come up with?" Tsunade nodded as she stuffed another piece of pastry from the second packaging into her mouth.
"Lady Tsunade, the food is ready." Shizune came running in and placed the cooked meal on the table.
Then she noticed the two opened packages.
Shizune was dumbfounded. She had decided to wait a full twenty-four hours before having another because it was so delicious. To avoid temptation, she deliberately didn't bring it with her when she cooked. Unexpectedly...
"Maybe it's just a bag that looks exactly like it. Maybe Lady Tsunade ate another type of dessert," Shizune comforted herself in her mind.
Immediately, Shizune picked up the two now-empty packages and checked them carefully. There were still a few crumbs inside.
At this moment, Shizune could no longer comfort herself. Without a doubt, these were the pastries she had left on the table.
Shizune's face went blank, her eyes blankly staring at Tsunade.
"Shizune, what's wrong?" Tsunade noticed Shizune's gaze and asked.
"Gone."
"What's gone?" Tsunade asked, somewhat puzzled.
"The desserts are gone. Eaten by Lady Tsunade, who doesn't even like sweets," Shizune said with a tinge of playful resentment in her voice.
"Oh, those two on the table. They tasted surprisingly good. Where did you buy them? I'll give you money, and you can buy some more," Tsunade said with a look of sudden realization and prepared to hand Shizune some money.
"You can't buy them. They were made by Teacher Mokgetsu," Shizune said, looking very disappointed.
Seeing Shizune's low spirits, Tsunade felt a bit awkward. Although she generally didn't care about such matters, unintentionally snatching something that a child was looking forward to really did give her an indescribable sense of guilt.
"It's not a big deal. Shizune, you should eat too. When he comes, I'll just ask him for some more," Tsunade quickly came up with a solution.
"It would be bothering Teacher Mokgetsu too much, wouldn't it?" Shizune shook her head and said.
Even though she really wanted to eat it, she thought it wasn't right to trouble Mokgetsu for no reason.
"What's the problem? His issues are so complex and difficult. A hundred thousand ryo an hour isn't enough. It makes sense for him to give us some more desserts," Tsunade gestured grandly to indicate there was no issue.
At twelve thirty, Mokgetsu came to Tsunade's house again, but this time he didn't need Jiraiya to show him the way; he arrived by himself.
"Lady Tsunade, today is five hours," Mokgetsu said, handing Tsunade a stack of bills worth five hundred thousand ryo.
Tsunade took the money, tossed it to Shizune, and started addressing Mokgetsu's questions.
Whether it was Mokgetsu's imagination or not, he felt that Tsunade was a bit more enthusiastic today than yesterday. Yesterday, she seized every chance to slack off.
After five hours, Mokgetsu felt about the same as he had the day before, still gaining a lot.
Following the teaching session, Mokgetsu kept his promise and prepared a chicken dish for Tsunade.
Curious and with nothing else to do, Tsunade, along with Shizune, watched Mokgetsu cook the entire time, wanting to see if Mokgetsu's new dish was just bluffing.
"Why are you smearing mud all over it?" Tsunade asked Mokgetsu, looking puzzled as he went into the courtyard.
"What if we make it dirty? Will it taste good this way?"
"It won't get dirty; the lotus leaves are wrapped very tightly. You'll know about the taste when you eat it," Mokgetsu replied with a smile.
The chicken dish Mokgetsu was making for Tsunade was the famous Beggar's Chicken from his previous life, known for its very unique flavor.
After placing the Beggar's Chicken into a simple baking tool made using Earth Release, Mokgetsu began making other dishes.
He fried some tempura, made sushi, and then prepared a stir-fried dish, which was a must. When all the dishes were on the table, it looked very sumptuous.
Even though many dishes emitted extremely enticing aromas, Tsunade's eyes were drawn to the largest dish, the Beggar's Chicken.
Tsunade poured herself a cup of sake, which she had bought specifically for eating the chicken.
"Will roasting it wrapped in mud make it tasty?" Tsunade, curious, grabbed a chicken leg and took a bite.
Upon entry, the crisp, tender, and varied flavors exploded in her mouth, causing Tsunade's eyes to light up. She had never tasted chicken that delicious before.
Suddenly, she felt dazed, as if she had turned into a free, carefree wild chicken living in the forest, physically and mentally relaxed.
Next, Tsunade did not say another word until she finished all the dishes on the table.
"Mokgetsu, your dessert was pretty good. Can you send some to Shizune? She really likes it," Tsunade remembered the matter with Shizune after the meal.
"No problem. I'll bring some when I come to study tomorrow," Mokgetsu replied with a smile.
Tsunade fell silent, thinking that today would end her brief teaching career.
"Oh well, one more day of teaching, for Shizune's sake—definitely not because the food was too good," Tsunade decided to let Mokgetsu come again tomorrow.