Chapter 2 — When Pigs Fly
"Tsunade-sama."
Shizune rose to her feet. "His body is recovering well."
Shunsuke Ryouta parted his lips as he looked at the two women, yet no words came out.
He was still in shock.
Seeing anime characters in real, three-dimensional flesh and blood for the first time was… surreal. And yet, if he were being honest, the two of them looked almost exactly like they did in the manga.
Tsunade's gaze swept over Shunsuke's face. She stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, a thread of chakra slipping into his body to examine him.
The instant her chakra entered, a strange suction force erupted from within Shunsuke's body. Tsunade's chakra vanished as if swallowed by a bottomless sea—gone without a trace.
"Hm?" Tsunade's lips curled upward. "Just like I thought. Same damn problem…"
Divinity, what's going on?
Shunsuke asked silently in his heart.
"Inferior energy system," the Divinity replied concisely. "Absorbed and assimilated by divine power to replenish itself."
Bang!
Tsunade's palm slammed down onto the tatami mat in front of Shunsuke. Her sharp eyes locked onto him.
"Brat. The chakra I used to examine you… did you absorb it?"
"Uh… probably?" Shunsuke answered awkwardly.
"So you're a ninja?" Tsunade raised a brow. "No—that's not it. There's no chakra fluctuation in you at all. What exactly are you?"
Shunsuke tilted his head, thinking for a moment.
How am I even supposed to explain this?
…Actually, never mind. Sounds like a hassle.
"I'm not telling you."
He said it just like that.
The moment the words left his mouth, a prominent vein throbbed on Tsunade's forehead.
"Oh? Feeling bold, are we?" Tsunade smiled without warmth. "Is that how you treat the person who saved your life? If you don't answer properly, I might just sell you off to one of those perverted noble lords. With that pretty little face of yours… hm?"
Shunsuke fell silent.
You're the one who shoved that weird energy into my body without asking…
But in the end, he didn't say that out loud.
"Um…" He thought for a moment, then reached into his clothes and gently placed a gold bar on the tatami in front of her. "I have no way to properly repay a life-saving favor. Please accept this small token of gratitude."
The gold bar was naturally a product of the Divine Treasury.
He had to admit, the Treasury had its perks. Low-energy materials like gold cost almost nothing in divine power—even summoning an entire cartload wouldn't dent his reserves.
"Gold?" Tsunade's eyes lit up instantly.
She was… deeply in debt.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune looked conflicted. "He's just a child. We can't take his money…"
"What's wrong with it? It's a life-saving favor," Tsunade said cheerfully. Then her expression suddenly sharpened. "Wait. Where did you get this gold?"
Shunsuke: "???"
I'm giving you gold and you're interrogating me?
"Don't play dumb, kid," Tsunade snorted. "When we found you, your clothes were filthy and way too big. Shizune had to buy you new ones. So where did you hide gold?"
"Well…" Shunsuke hesitated. "You could maybe count it as… summoning?"
"Summoning can produce gold?" Tsunade's face darkened again. "Who are you trying to fool? Even the Kazekage who controls gold dust can't just conjure gold out of thin air. Tell me the truth, or I won't be so polite! If what you're saying were possible, pigs would fly!"
As she spoke, Tsunade picked up the gold bar and squeezed.
The solid bar deformed like clay in her grip.
The texture was unmistakable.
Real gold.
Shunsuke said nothing. Instead, he suddenly grabbed the small pink pig behind Tsunade and pulled it into his arms. From his clothes, he produced a small bamboo-copter and stuck it onto the pig's back.
"What is Shunsuke doing?" Shizune asked curiously.
Shunsuke gave it a push.
The bamboo-copter began spinning rapidly, lifting the pink pig straight into the air. It buzzed beneath the ceiling, circling in midair.
"Pu-yo!" the pig squealed in shock.
Shunsuke pointed upward calmly.
"See? The pig's flying."
Tsunade: "!!!"
Shizune: "!!!"
Both women stared, utterly dumbfounded, at the pink pig hovering overhead.
The pig… was flying.
Flying.
…Flying.
Tsunade leapt up, grabbed the pig midair, and with a pop pulled off the bamboo-copter. She examined it intently, eyes filled with scrutiny.
Such a tiny object… could make a pig fly?
"Kid," she said seriously, looking at Shunsuke. "What exactly are you?"
"My name is Shunsuke Ryouta. I'm… a traveler." He paused. "And I have some strange abilities."
Strange?
That was putting it mildly.
This was extremely strange.
Whether it was the bamboo-copter or the gold bar he casually produced, everything about him was shattering Tsunade's worldview.
This wasn't ninjutsu.
And it sure as hell wasn't normal.
She stared at him without blinking. Suddenly, she lunged forward, grabbing for his collar.
Her hand passed straight through his body.
A faint shimmer of mottled golden light flickered where her hand should have struck.
Tsunade whipped her head around.
Shunsuke still wore that blank, slightly dense expression, as though he hadn't even processed what just happened.
Her face turned grave.
"Kid. Are you a ninja?"
He shook his head. "No."
"Then what was that technique just now?"
"Umm…" He tilted his head. "That's the power of a Devil Fruit."
"A Devil Fruit?" Tsunade frowned.
"It's a kind of fruit," Shunsuke explained dryly. "If you eat it, you gain special abilities. The trade-off is that you can't swim anymore. Though… I don't know if your world's ocean has that strange substance that makes ability users completely powerless."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
That single sentence revealed far too much.
Your world?
Her thoughts raced.
This kid… isn't from this world?
It wasn't impossible. After all, the legendary Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was said to be an outsider as well. If that were true, then his bizarre "summoning" abilities made a twisted kind of sense.
"Then why did you come to our world?" Tsunade asked.
"Why…" Shunsuke let out a sigh. "It all started with a mudslide."
Tsunade studied him carefully.
Devil Fruits. Strange summoning. Even that bamboo-copter alone—such a simple device—had immense strategic value. In some ways, it surpassed many A-rank ninjutsu.
This kid absolutely cannot fall into the hands of another village.
If the Hidden Stone or Hidden Cloud—those war-hungry maniacs—got hold of him, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But she couldn't exactly detain him without cause. That went against her principles. And judging by his abilities, she wasn't even confident she could hold him if she tried.
That intangibility alone perfectly countered her monstrous strength.
Even if she won in a fight, she doubted she could keep him.
And if he escaped… and another village obtained those bizarre fruits…
It would be a disaster for Konoha.
Among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire was the most prosperous. If another nation could carve a chunk of that rich land for themselves, the losses of starting another ninja war might not seem so unbearable to them.
In an instant, Tsunade's mind raced through countless possibilities.
She already knew what to do.
"Hmph… interesting kid." A smile tugged at her lips as she looked at Shunsuke. "So, what are your plans now?"
Shunsuke sighed softly. "Honestly… I'd rather go home as soon as possible."
Summer vacation was already half over.
School would start in a few days.
Skipping school sounded nice—but his parents must be worried sick by now.
Tsunade's eyes gleamed.
Good. As long as he wants to go home.
She smiled. "Since you can't return for now, how about staying in Konoha temporarily? You can live at the Senju compound. I'll cover food and lodging."
Shunsuke scratched the back of his head, not overthinking it at all.
"Then… thank you."
He had no grasp of the deeper schemes at play.
Tsunade, for her part, was thinking of Konoha's future.
But at the thought of this boy living in her home—and no longer having to fear debt collectors knocking at her door—she felt an undeniable surge of excitement.
A boy who could casually produce treasure after treasure…
A true treasure boy.