The tavern was loud with laughter, the scent of grilled meat and sake thick in the air, but Jiraiya barely noticed it anymore. His cheeks were flushed, just slightly—he wasn't drunk, not yet—but the warm buzz in his chest told him he was well on his way. He leaned back in his seat, eyes half-lidded, lazily scanning the crowd... until he saw her.

She sat a few seats away, a vision in the dim candlelight. Her presence was calm, commanding—strikingly beautiful in a way that made his heart lurch. She hadn’t looked his way yet, but that only added to the thrill. With a grin tugging at the corner of his lips, Jiraiya stood, adjusting his robe with a theatrical flair.

“Well, well,” he murmured to himself, smoothing back his wild mane of white hair. “Looks like Lady Luck’s finally smiling on me tonight.”

And with that, the Toad Sage swaggered toward her—confidence in every step, charm practically radiating from him—as he prepared to deliver a line that would surely make her swoon... or at least raise an eyebrow.