Chapter 245

After receiving approval from the Pokémon Alliance, Hiruzen began selecting members for the Konoha exchange team to travel to Pokémon Island.

Due to restrictions, the total number of participants could not exceed 50.

Each of Konoha's major clans was required to send a representative to avoid favoritism or offending any clans, which already took up nearly 20 spots.

Although some clans could barely be called clans anymore, such as the Hatake, Kakashi's strength and status easily earned him a place on the team.

Naturally, Kakashi was included in the Konoha exchange team.

Aside from the major clans like the Sarutobi, Shimura, Aburame, and Ino-Shika-Cho, representatives from each clan were guaranteed spots.

Asuma and his girlfriend, Kurenai, were also included, as Hiruzen wouldn't leave them out.

After allocating slots for the clans, Hiruzen handpicked several close ANBU members and individual shinobi.

As for Danzo's faction, Hiruzen gave them about five or six slots, which he considered sufficient.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open.

"Hiruzen! What is the meaning of this exchange team selection?!"

Bang!

Danzo stormed in angrily, slamming a list on Hiruzen's desk.

"What's wrong? Is there an issue?" Hiruzen asked calmly.

"Are Root members not people?! We bled for Konoha! Why can't we send more members?!" Danzo roared (though it was more of an act).

In truth, Danzo didn't care much about watching the Pokémon Battle Tournament. He didn't even watch Konoha's own Chunin Exams, let alone something like this.

He was merely using this as an opportunity to ask Hiruzen for favors.

"You don't even have any trainers in Root, so what would you do with more slots? I gave you five spots, and that's plenty," Hiruzen replied, sipping his tea as he watched Danzo's performance.

Hiruzen wasn't entirely sure why, but the Breeding House had refused to provide Pokémon to Root.

While this puzzled Hiruzen, he had no intention of interfering. In fact, he was secretly pleased.

This decision weakened Danzo and Root's power.

Furthermore, it created a clear divide for future shinobi.

Joining Root meant giving up the chance to become a Pokémon trainer and to possess a summoning beast. How many would still want to join Root under those conditions?

Initially, Danzo had been dissatisfied and had even tried to confront the manager of the Breeding House.

However, Hiruzen intercepted him each time, persuading him with excuses to "consider the bigger picture."

In truth, Hiruzen was afraid that if Danzo made a fuss, the Breeding House might reconsider and start giving Pokémon eggs to Root.

"This is for Konoha's sake! Only Root's elite can gather the most valuable intelligence about the Pokémon Alliance!" Danzo insisted.

"You'd be better off sending more people to keep an eye on the other four great ninja villages. In less than three months, we might be at war," Hiruzen sighed.

"I don't need you to tell me that! My Root members risk their lives gathering intelligence, and yet they're denied even the smallest privileges upon returning to the village. It's truly pitiful!" Danzo raged.

"That's enough. Fine, I'll allocate 10 million ryo from the budget to your research funds."

"20 million ryo!" Danzo bargained as usual.

"15 million ryo, and you'll have to give up all five of your spots."

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!" Danzo yelled, angrily pointing at Hiruzen.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage," Hiruzen replied calmly, as though reciting a line from a play.

"Hmph!"

Danzo turned and stormed out, but not before shouting over his shoulder, "Have the 15 million delivered to me by tonight!"

Slam.

Danzo slammed the door behind him.

"..."

Hiruzen stared at the now-empty doorway.

...

In a small town near Konoha, within the Land of Fire.

"Lady Tsunade, the Pokémon egg is hatching!" Shizune exclaimed, cradling an egg that was glowing with a rapid, pulsating light. She rushed over to wake the sleeping Tsunade.

"Huh? Let it hatch. Don't bother me," Tsunade muttered, wiping drool from the corner of her mouth as she rolled over, clearly not planning to get up.

"Honestly..."

Shizune sighed, casting a frustrated glance at Tsunade.

At first, Tsunade had been the one who had asked her to buy a Pokémon egg from the village, but ever since they got it, Shizune had been the one taking care of it.

Her attention quickly shifted back to the warm, glowing egg in her arms, her eyes full of curiosity.

What kind of Pokémon would hatch?

The egg, glowing with a rainbow light, began to change shape.

Shizune quickly placed it on the ground and watched as it grew larger and larger within the light.

"Eh?"

Shizune was a bit dumbfounded.

She didn't understand how such a small egg could suddenly grow so big.

"Pokémon really are mysterious creatures," came a sleepy voice from beside her.

The light from the hatching egg had woken Tsunade, who was now sitting up.

Both women silently watched as the light continued to shift and change. After about ten seconds, a pink, humanoid Pokémon appeared before them.

Shizune quickly pulled out the Pokémon encyclopedia she had bought from the village and found the name of the creature in front of them.

Audino.

"Tabune~" Audino waved, its soft, melodic voice filling the room.

"Wow~ So cute!"

Shizune squealed, jumping up to hug the fluffy pink Pokémon.

"Hmm, it seems like a healthy one," Tsunade noted, rubbing Audino's head and nodding in satisfaction.

Despite her rough appearance, Tsunade had been studying Pokémon knowledge during the month they spent waiting for Audino to hatch.

Whenever she encountered Konoha's trainers, she would stop them to examine their Pokémon, expanding her own knowledge.

By now, she was essentially a novice Pokémon doctor.

"Tabune," Audino shyly wriggled, clearly a bit embarrassed.

"Hehe, what an adorable little one! My name is Shizune. Please take care of me from now on!" Shizune laughed, clearly smitten with Audino, and hugged it tightly.

Audino was a gentle, nurturing type of Pokémon, and Shizune, who was often by Tsunade's side, felt a deep affinity for it.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the small town.

In the backyard of a hot spring inn's women's section, a sudden burst of light erupted from within the robe of a certain ninja.

"Who's there?!"

"Ahh! A pervert!"

"Help!"

Chaos ensued.

Soon after, Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, found himself panting heavily in a narrow alley.

"That was close. Almost got caught," Jiraiya sighed, glancing behind him with a mix of annoyance and curiosity.

Behind him was a Pokémon that had suddenly appeared in his robe.

Based on the information he'd gathered from the Pokédex, his Pokémon seemed to be a Croagunk, a Poison/Fighting-type Pokémon.

"Croa-gunk."

Croagunk puffed up the sacs on its face, staring at Jiraiya with its cold, unblinking eyes.

"Well, frogs seem to suit me," Jiraiya mused.

As a summoner of Mount Myoboku's toads, Jiraiya naturally had a fondness for frog-like creatures.

Though, of course, the toads of Mount Myoboku were technically different from frogs.

Despite Croagunk's odd appearance, it was actually quite a popular Pokémon in the Pokémon world.

Its strange croaking and comical appearance made it a fan favorite among trainers. Plus, the toxins it secreted were not only useful in battle but also for medicinal purposes. Many pharmaceutical companies used it as a mascot.

"I am Jiraiya, one of Konoha's legendary Sannin. From now on, we're partners," Jiraiya declared, folding his arms and introducing himself to Croagunk.

Croagunk gave him a silent glance before averting its gaze.

"..."

This one didn't seem easy to get along with.

Jiraiya sighed internally. It looked like forming a bond with this Pokémon might be a bit of a challenge.

"Come on, let's go experience the joys of being a man together!" Jiraiya exclaimed, leading the way.

He could tell that Croagunk was male.

The Pokédex had explained the difference: male Croagunk had their "bandage" markings lower on their body, near the abdomen, while females had them closer to their chest.

"..."

The newly-hatched Croagunk didn't understand but followed Jiraiya nonetheless.

As they walked down the street, Jiraiya spotted two beautiful women leaving a tavern, both with rosy cheeks and wearing yukatas. He couldn't resist approaching them.

"Excuse me, lovely ladies. Would you care to join me for dinner?" Jiraiya asked, grabbing their hands flirtatiously.

But something felt off. He sensed a cold, sinister gaze coming from behind him.

A feeling of unease began to creep over him.

Bang!

"Ugh!"

Jiraiya felt a sharp blow to his abdomen, his vision spinning as he nearly lost consciousness.

Poison Jab.

Though it had a low chance of hitting, when it did, it almost always left the target dazed.

It wasn't a move that Croagunk could normally learn on its own. The only way for it to have this move was through inheritance.

"Eh?!" the two women exclaimed in unison.

Before they knew it, the perverted ninja had been knocked out and was being dragged away by what appeared to be a frog-like creature.

As he was dragged along in his dazed state, Jiraiya couldn't shake the feeling that his future was going to be difficult.

A feeling that only one other person in the Pokémon world, a certain man named Brock, could truly understand.

(End of Chapter)

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