Naruto Card King

"Hey! Do we even know each other?" Haruto Saito shot a sidelong glance at Jiraiya and said, "Do me a favor and let go of me. We're not close."

"The name's Jiraiya. You must have heard of me!" Jiraiya had an arm wrapped around Haruto's neck as they walked, acting like they were old friends. "Come on, come on, let's head over to that tavern and have a chat. Haruto—oh wait, I should call you Haruto-san, huh? Hahahaha! Haruto-san, I have a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine! Hahahaha…"

Another shameless one!

Tsunade had already vanished without a trace, and now Jiraiya was clinging onto him like an old acquaintance.

"Police force! Police force! There's a dead body here!" A ninja stuck his head out of the large hole in the wall on the fifth floor of the inn twenty meters away, shouting loudly.

The street was already packed with dozens of Uchiha clan ninjas. Upon hearing the call, those closest immediately darted up.

Uchiha Mikoto reacted swiftly as well, sprinting toward the inn. Though her official rank in the police force wasn't high, her position within the Uchiha clan was. And since the police force was primarily made up of Uchiha members, she had the authority to issue commands regardless of her rank.

Haruto glanced in the direction of the inn.

Jiraiya immediately turned his head back and patted Haruto on the shoulder, laughing, "Hahahaha! So, Haruto-san, how about it? 200,000 ryo! Transfer your bet winnings to me. Trust me, you're not going to lose out. Tsunade is infamous for dodging bets. She'll keep avoiding you, so you might as well… hehehe…"

Haruto was practically being dragged forward.

He wanted to resist, but it was pointless. Jiraiya's strength was nothing to scoff at—his combat power was undoubtedly superior to Tsunade's. However, his reputation score wasn't as high as hers, mostly because Tsunade's ranking included her medical ninja prowess.

"We're not close!" Haruto refused outright.

The name "Pervy Sage" was infamous. While Jiraiya was younger now—only twenty-two, compared to his older, more renowned self in the original timeline—Haruto knew well of his inappropriate thoughts about Tsunade.

If he really transferred his bet winnings to Jiraiya, who knew what he'd try to do?

"We're not close yet, but we could be!" Jiraiya laughed, dragging Haruto westward. "Let's hit up a tavern and have a proper chat. Hahaha, we definitely need to talk!"

A pale-skinned, ink-black-haired, eerily cold Orochimaru followed silently behind them. This had nothing to do with him, yet he seemed interested. His gaze remained fixed on Haruto's back.

Haruto felt a chill down his spine.

Being watched by Orochimaru was an extremely unsettling experience.

"Stop right there!" A commanding voice rang out as a figure dropped from above, her sharp eyes locked onto Haruto. "Brat, you can't leave! Come with me to the police force!"

It was Uchiha Mikoto!

Behind her, six or seven Uchiha ninjas also landed, two of them carrying a bloodied, mangled corpse. They had just come down from the fifth floor of the inn.

"Great! Arrest me, hurry up!" Haruto immediately held out his hands. Between being dragged off by Jiraiya and visiting the police force, the latter seemed much more appealing.

Jiraiya yanked Haruto back forcefully, preventing him from moving forward. He tossed his hair back, looked at Mikoto, and grinned, "Little miss, I'll take care of all the damages today."

"Jiraiya-sama." Mikoto immediately bowed respectfully and said quickly, "I'm afraid this isn't just about covering damages anymore. We've discovered a deceased victim, so we must take him back."

"It's just one dead person. What's the big deal?" A cold voice rang out as a figure flashed into existence between Jiraiya and Haruto.

Such blatant disregard for life.

"You—!" Mikoto snapped her head up, ready to argue, but her face instantly paled as she stumbled back a step.

"O-Orochimaru-sama!" she stammered, quickly bowing her head in respect.

The atmosphere instantly turned icy.

Among the three disciples of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade was cold on the outside but warm inside. As long as you didn't provoke her, she was reasonable. Jiraiya was well-known for being easygoing and friendly. But Orochimaru… he was simply cold. Extremely cold. He was ruthless and heartless, feared by many.

Whoosh!

A Uchiha elite jonin sensed the shift in the air and quickly stepped in front of Mikoto, knowing she was still young and inexperienced in handling situations like this.

"Orochimaru-sama," the jonin spoke quickly, "Haruto Saito used a large-scale offensive jutsu in the middle of a crowded street while stopping a fugitive. Not only did he cause significant property damage, but dozens of civilians were also injured, and one person died on the spot. We need to bring him back for questioning. This will be reported to the Hokage himself. We ask that you do not interfere."

"Yes, yes, don't interfere. Let me go!" Haruto immediately echoed. He shrugged off Jiraiya's arm, leaped away, and landed beside Mikoto, holding out his hands. "Arrest me, quickly!"

All the surrounding Uchiha ninjas stared at him like he was insane.

They had never seen someone who had just killed someone voluntarily demand to be arrested.

Orochimaru shot Haruto a glance, then turned and walked away without another word.

"Tsunade was right—this brat is out of his mind," Jiraiya muttered before following Orochimaru. After taking a few steps, he turned and waved at Haruto. "Haruto-san, I'll be seeing you again!"

With that, he disappeared down the street.

Only after Jiraiya and Orochimaru had left did the Uchiha elite jonin let out a sigh of relief.

"Hmph! Brat, at least you know how to admit guilt. But you're still doomed! A life for a life!" Mikoto snapped, pulling out shackles to restrain him.

"Are you blind, you stupid girl?!" Haruto taunted recklessly.

"You! Who are you calling blind?!" Mikoto's temper flared instantly, her hair practically standing on end.

"Obviously you! Which of your eyes saw me kill anyone?" Haruto retorted smugly.

Mikoto was on the verge of losing it. She had never met someone so brazenly shameless. Her hands trembled as she pointed at the corpse just brought down. "The body is right there! You dare deny it?! You're finished, no matter what excuse you come up with!"

"Oh? You mean that guy?" Haruto put on a look of sudden realization, glancing at the mangled corpse before exclaiming in surprise, "Oh, isn't that the fugitive? I took down a wanted criminal, and that's a crime?"

"Huh?" Mikoto froze.

The fugitive? This was the fugitive?

Mikoto had no idea, and neither did the other Uchiha ninjas. Only a few had initially pursued the criminal, and none of them had made it back to report. On top of that, the body was too damaged to recognize.