Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 69 Konoha Jonin Meeting

In a tavern on Tanabata Street, Tsunade sat at the middle table, downed the last sip of sake, and slammed the cup down on the table.

"We lost again."

This time, she not only lost all her family's wealth, but also incurred an additional debt of over one million taels of high-interest loans from the gamblers.

The gambling den owner stood to the side, holding the IOU and rubbing his hands together. He could sense that Lady Tsunade wasn't at ease; it wasn't just a matter of luck, but more like she was distracted.

"Lady Tsunade, would you like to continue?"

"If you wish to continue, our gambling den has reached its lending limit, so..."

"I know, I know." Tsunade waved her hand impatiently, propped herself up on the table, and stood up, her body swaying slightly.

It wasn't because she was drunk; it was more like she was mentally exhausted. The shadow of war and her brother's death constantly haunted her, like a shadow that she couldn't shake off no matter where she went.

Those mutilated bodies, those unfocused eyes, and the long lines of stretchers outside the medical tents—even after leaving the battlefield, you can still see them with your eyes closed.

The casino clearly didn't want to add more chips for her, and there wasn't much point in continuing to play.

She stood up, shook her head to clear her mind of the images, threw away the empty bottle, and walked out of the gambling den.

When she runs out of alcohol, she goes to drink more; when she runs out of money, she goes to earn more.

By chance, her gaze swept over a newly opened ninja tool shop across from the pub.

The shop was inconspicuous, with a sign that read "Rare Goods from the Ninja World." The window was sparsely filled with kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and several rows of pills packaged in plain paper bags.

"A rare find? Looks like just another boring scam."

As the princess of the Land of Fire, she had seen far too many treasures.

As for those so-called magical ninja tools, they were just ordinary toys to her. The only ones she used regularly were kunai, shuriken, military rations, and explosive tags.

She intended to leave, but she went closer anyway.

What caught her eye was the small handwritten label next to the pill: [Body-Restoring Rations Pill - A Secret Recipe from the Land of Waterfalls, Quickly Restores Stamina and Chakra.]

The country of Taki?

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She knew a little about the formulas for military rations from various countries: Konoha's were mainly high in calories and nutrients, Kumogakure's were more focused on stimulating the body's potential, and Sunagakure's would contain a small amount of stimulating herbs.

But the secret recipe of the Land of Waterfalls? That small country known for its waterfalls and its isolation?

She walked forward as if possessed and picked up the bottle of military rations.

The shop owner was an ordinary-looking businessman, but when he saw Tsunade, his eyes lit up. He clearly recognized this important figure, one of the Legendary Sannin, and his attitude immediately became attentive.

"Sir! We have the freshest goods here, the quality is absolutely..."

Tsunade held the ration pills in her hand; the paper bag was very light. Inside were five dark-colored pills, slightly smaller than ordinary military ration pills, emitting a peculiar herbal fragrance.

She scraped off a bit of powder with her fingernail, rubbed it between her fingertips, brought it close to her nose and sniffed it carefully. Her brows furrowed and then slowly relaxed, and an incredulous look of surprise flashed in her eyes.

The ingredients here are not just the basic materials commonly found in military rations.

She could identify that it contained several mushroom extracts with extremely strong cell activity and energy-guiding effects, as well as several common types of herbs that can protect the body.

But there were one or two other types that she couldn't identify.

Without thinking, she prepared to buy the military rations, but when she reached into her pocket, it was empty.

"I'll owe you for now. If you ever get sick in the future, I can help you out once."

Before the shopkeeper could react, she swallowed the military ration pill in one gulp.

To be honest, it tastes much better than regular military rations and is very filling.

Of course, these are not the most important factors. No matter how good the quality of military rations is, their essence is to further exploit the body's physical strength to extract chakra.

But this one was slowly replenishing the body's cells. Although the effect was slow, as a top-tier medical ninja, she still had that much perception.

This recipe is extraordinary, far exceeding the level traditionally achieved in Takigakure. The pharmacological knowledge and refining techniques behind it are nearly on par with those of Konoha. But the most precious part is still those few raw materials.

If... if the Konoha ninja had been equipped with these military ration pills during missions, wouldn't that have reduced casualties significantly? Wouldn't that have...

The moment this thought arose, Tsunade was suddenly overcome with self-loathing.

How could she have such a thought?

To explore other people's research findings, and even to think about how to benefit Konoha?

Finally, she put down the pill, scoffing inwardly. She wasn't the Hokage; why should she overthink things?

There is no right or wrong in war, only different perspectives, which is why she also hates war. It's time to go back. If she could establish a medical system for the ninja world, perhaps it could play a role in future wars and save lives.

At that moment, a figure quietly appeared beside Tsunade, kneeling on one knee; it was a Konoha messenger ninja.

"Lady Tsunade, the Hokage has urgently summoned you back to the village to attend the Jonin meeting."

"Okay. This is so annoying, I just lost all my money and now I have to go back to a meeting."

Konoha Village, Hokage Building Conference Room.

The long conference table was filled with Konoha's Jonin, a mix of old and new faces, many of whom still bore the marks of war.

Upon seeing Tsunade arrive, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the crowd and asked, "Orochimaru, why hasn't Jiraiya arrived yet?"

Orochimaru smiled faintly: "I'm not quite sure either. Maybe he's teaching the so-called chosen one of destiny."

Upon hearing Orochimaru's explanation, the other Jonin began to murmur amongst themselves, but no one dared to speak out loud.

Only Elder Koharu, sitting on the left, angrily said, "Hmph! Abandoning the village for that so-called bullshit prophecy. Hiruzen, is this the good disciple you've taught?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "He is indeed being a bit reckless. Oh well, even if he doesn't come back, let's just begin."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's single sentence, "Nonsense," definitively defined Jiraiya's character. Following this, the Jonin meeting proceeded as planned.

The first half of the meeting was not very informative, mainly consisting of post-war summaries, raising issues from the battlefield, pointing out the faults of others, and highlighting some routine errors, but these were just points raised and were basically difficult to correct.

After that, it was time to commend those who had made outstanding contributions and to provide compensation to the families of the fallen. When those familiar names were read, a low sigh would always be heard in the conference room.

The second half is the most important part, because what follows is the rewarding of those who have contributed and the determination of Konoha's future development direction.

When some people die, their vacant positions always need to be filled; when some departments perform poorly, they are either reduced or eliminated.

Or they may have noticed a deficiency in a certain area and are preparing to add a new department.

To put it bluntly, the pie of Konoha is going to be redistributed again.