Alcohol is a peculiar beverage. It grants people extraordinary courage, allowing them to do things that don’t align with their usual image. A usually silent person might become a chatterbox, and a humble person might become arrogant. Is the alcohol releasing its true nature? Or could it be the effect of the alcohol inadvertently bringing out the person’s authentic self?

The answer likely lies only within the individuals themselves.

Fortunately, the four of them had decent drinking habits. Even if Jiraiya tended to spout nonsense when drunk, most of it was humorous self-aggrandisement at the expense of others, nothing serious.

Nobody’s memory is distorted to their disadvantage. It’s normal to cast oneself as the protagonist in one’s memories, taking credit for the main achievements.

Like Nagasawa, when reminiscing with friends about childhood mischief, the stories often vary slightly, with the other party always hinting that the most outstanding credit belonged to them. Most people are like this, with a few needing to remember entirely, thus unable to embellish their contributions.

"Nagasawa, you might not know this, but Tsunade used to be flat-chested. Then, suddenly, she developed well," Jiraiya, his cheeks flushed, swayed as he let slip something scandalous.

"Hmm?" Tsunade, who had been dozing with her head down due to the alcohol, looked up sharply, her eyes turning steely.

Jiraiya straightened up, his joking demeanour gone. "I think she should share her secret to benefit women everywhere."

Nagasawa put down his cup, his expression calm despite the hours of drinking. Watching Jiraiya make such a bold statement, Nagasawa gave him a thumbs up.

If Tsunade had a secret for development, sharing it would be a boon for both women and men.

"Jiraiya, you *@#%, it’s a natural gift, right?" Not one to tolerate nonsense, Tsunade began cursing, rolling up her sleeves, ready to show Jiraiya a lesson.

Seeing Tsunade’s aggressive stance, Jiraiya quickly bolted.

Tsunade didn’t hold back; her hits were deadly serious. A person could end up in the hospital for a week.

"Coward," Tsunade muttered, letting her sleeves down. Whether from anger or otherwise, her breath was heavy, making her impressive chest heave.

"It’s about time I head home," Orochimaru’s raspy voice reached Nagasawa as he clinked glasses with Tsunade.

"Okay," Nagasawa nodded, feeling it was also time to leave.

"Someone has to get drunk today!" Tsunade glared at Nagasawa, ordering more bottles.

Nagasawa rubbed his head, wondering if Tsunade had forgotten his drinking capacity.

Even with Jiraiya’s help, she couldn’t outdrink him. He could drink for three days straight without feeling anything. He’d need a barrel to start feeling tipsy.

"You sure?" Nagasawa asked.

Gulp, gulp...

Tsunade demonstrated her resolve by downing a drink.

Nagasawa had no choice but to show Tsunade the harsh reality once again.

Comparing drinking prowess could be dull, so they started playing dice.

After playing for a while, Nagasawa remembered Tsunade’s unique constitution. She kept losing.

Nagasawa couldn’t just sit back and watch her drink alone; he joined in.

Soon, Tsunade, after another cup, collapsed onto the table. Nagasawa, quick on his feet, caught her.

"Tsunade? Are you awake?" Nagasawa shook her gently, but she only mumbled incoherently.

Nagasawa had to carry Tsunade on his back and quickly head to her home.

Once at Tsunade’s house, Nagasawa entered the yard and called for Shizune.

Hearing Nagasawa, Shizune hurried out, seeing the unconscious Tsunade and feeling a headache coming.

"Tsunade-sama, really, if you were going to drink this much, you should have told me," Shizune grumbled, supporting Tsunade while thanking Nagasawa.

"Thank you, Nagasawa-sama." Shizune remembered to express her gratitude to Nagasawa for bringing Tsunade home.

Nagasawa nodded and leapt away.

Inside, Shizune managed to get Tsunade settled before Tsunade shook her off.

"Tsunade-sama, are you sober?" Shizune asked, puzzled at how quickly Tsunade seemed to recover. Though Tsunade’s steps were wobbly, she was mostly clear-headed.

"What an idiot," Tsunade muttered, unclear if she was referring to herself or someone else.

Perhaps she meant herself for pretending to be drunk? Or Nagasawa for not making any moves on a drunken beauty?

Even though, if he had, she might have instinctively punched him.

Women can be complicated. If you look at them, they think you’re lecherous. If you don’t, they believe you have no taste.

"I’m sorry for being so dumb," Shizune said, feeling wronged, unsure why she was being scolded.

"Ha," Tsunade laughed, grabbing Shizune’s face and giving it a playful squeeze, lifting her mood.

"Mm... Tsunade-sama, please... not there..." Shizune felt very uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Nagasawa was strolling through Konoha’s streets.

It was already past nine in the evening, but the commercial district was even livelier than during the day.

"Ah," Nagasawa sighed deeply, enjoying the fantastic night breeze on his face, feeling refreshed.

Carrying Tsunade earlier, the soft feeling wasn’t a joke. Indeed, she lived up to being Konoha’s most formidable woman.

But Nagasawa wasn’t single; he had a girlfriend.

If he were single, he wouldn’t have taken Tsunade home but back to his place.

Nagasawa needed to walk around a bit to dissipate any lingering smells before returning home to avoid Nozomi getting suspicious.

Nozomi, after all, had been an elite in the Root.

If she got jealous, it wouldn’t be like ordinary people. She might even poison his red bean dango.

Nagasawa shook off these thoughts and continued his walk.

Konoha had changed a lot. It always had shops and a commercial district, but as a ninja village and military institution, most shops catered to residents’ basic needs.

Luxurious items were rare. High-end ninja tools were considered luxury goods, and shops related to the ninja profession, like ninja tool stores, were more common, even izakayas.

Ninjas lived dangerous lives and often liked to drink with teammates after missions.

Now, Konoha has many different kinds of low-end and high-end shops, encouraging residents to start their own businesses with subsidies. However, the scale was small.

Konoha had a large area but a small population, so too many businesses needed to be more practical.

Population was a crucial factor. Konoha needed more people and more funds.

Nagasawa planned to sell various talismans, medical talismans likely to be popular, temporarily solving the money issue.

There wasn’t much he could do for the population except encourage immigration.

As he pondered Konoha’s development while strolling, Nagasawa spotted a familiar figure.

A woman with long, curly brown hair wearing a strapless dress stood by a food stall, seemingly debating whether to buy something.

Nagasawa approached; it was a tempura stall.

"Am I eating too much today? Will I gain weight if I eat more..."

Nagasawa heard the woman’s dilemma.

"As a ninja, if you maintain proper training, you generally won’t gain weight," Nagasawa said.

"Give me two, please," Terumi Mei said, finding Nagasawa’s reasoning sound. A few ninjas were overweight, so she ordered two portions.

Accepting the fried tempura, Terumi Mei finally looked at the man who had tempted her.

He was a handsome man with a rugged, determined look, wearing a Konoha headband.

’Did my guard down because of shopping?’ Terumi Mei thought.

"Give me one," Nagasawa said.

The vendor quickly prepared another portion for Nagasawa.

"You’re a Mist ninja, right?" Nagasawa asked, stating the obvious.

Terumi Mei hadn’t expected the Konoha ninja to start a conversation but nodded silently.

"It seems you’re quite interested in snacks?"

"Not really, I’m just curious since it’s my first time in Konoha," Terumi Mei denied being interested in snacks.

A proper, beautiful woman couldn’t admit to being a foodie, even if true.

"That’s too bad. I was going to recommend the best dango in Konoha," Nagasawa said regretfully.

"The best dango?" Terumi Mei’s interest was piqued.

"Yes, the best in Konoha. Unfortunately, it doesn’t open this late, or I would have taken you," Nagasawa explained.

"What’s the shop’s name and location?" Terumi Mei wanted to know how good this dango was.

"It’s at... Oh, there’s a hidden menu item there. Normally, I don’t tell others, but if you ask for ’Nagasawa’s special’, the owner will know," Nagasawa said with a smile.

"I see, thank you," Terumi Mei noted the name.

Maybe because Nagasawa’s looks fit her taste, Terumi Mei didn’t expect to chat about food with a stranger in a foreign village.

Nagasawa also recommended Konoha’s best ice cream, red bean soup, and cake.

Feeling he’d done enough, Nagasawa bid Terumi Mei farewell and headed home.

"Seems like all his recommendations were sweets..." Terumi Mei thought as she watched him leave.

She liked sweets, but not obsessively. She generally enjoyed a piece of cake after hard training to alleviate fatigue.

Successfully promoting Konoha’s sweets to the future Mizukage, Nagasawa was in a good mood.

Terumi Mei didn’t seem to recognise him, which was understandable given Mist’s situation.

With their troubles, they had little time to worry about other villages.

Terumi Mei would likely attend as Yagura’s guard in three days at the Five Kage Summit.

Nagasawa looked forward to seeing her surprise or confusion reaction when she saw him as her "food buddy."

At his level, teasing ordinary people was unsatisfying. But teasing Terumi Mei, the future Fifth Mizukage, was perfect.

Even though Yagura’s genjutsu ended earlier than in the original story, Nagasawa believed Terumi Mei would still become the Fifth Mizukage.

Mist had no other choice. Not just anyone could be Kage; it required responsibility.

Being a Kage was prestigious, holding the most power in the village, but it was also dangerous, with many threats during the war.

No village wanted a weak Kage; it would be a disgrace.

Back home, Nagasawa found Kabuto asleep and Nozomi in his room. Nozomi didn’t stay over every night, but now she had more time to help at the orphanage.

Nagasawa used his best silent steps to enter his room, undress, and get into bed.

Since Nozomi was asleep, Nagasawa didn’t wake her; he just closed his eyes to sleep.

But as soon as he lay down, he felt a head move to his chest.

Sniff... sniff...

Nozomi smelled him.

Nagasawa watched her, his face calm.

Before she could say anything, Nagasawa grabbed Nozomi, lifting her.

"If you’re not asleep, let’s do some exercise before bed."