Jiraiya didn't waste any time. Less than a month after moving in, he got married.
Though not as grand as the weddings of Lord Kawaki and Tsunade, it was still a rare cause for celebration in Konoha.
All the clan leaders and top Jonin from across the village attended.
It wasn't just his strength—he was also popular.
Without any powerful clan background, he had no conflicts of interest with most people.
Everyone was happy to befriend him.
Even someone with half a brain could tell Jiraiya was about to fall into Tsunade's good graces.
After all, they were childhood friends.
When it came to trust, theirs was beyond comparison.
Kawaki and Tsunade presented a large red envelope together.
It was their gesture of goodwill—Kawaki joked it was aid for struggling comrades.
Jiraiya accepted it happily without hesitation, immediately passing the money over to Makoto.
Why turn down free money from two rich patrons?
After the wedding, the cash gifts gave him a major financial boost.
His once-empty wallet quickly filled up again.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru got married one after the other,
their weddings only a week apart.
But comparatively speaking, Orochimaru's wedding was far more low-key.
Due to Pakura's sensitive position, the guest list was far shorter than Jiraiya's—only close friends were invited.
The wedding didn't match his status at all.
But none of that mattered to them; Pakura had no complaints either.
Just having an official wedding with Orochimaru was enough to make her heart swell with happiness.
With everyone's blessings, Orochimaru and Pakura took an important step in life.
Now, all three members of Hiruzen Sarutobi's team had left their bachelor days behind.
A new chapter awaited them.
...
"Hokage-sama, recently our spies in other villages suffered heavy losses."
"Here's the list—please review it."
After Tsunade assumed power, Hayato Yamanaka successfully assumed control over Konoha's entire intelligence network.
The former intelligence chief, a loyal man under Hiruzen, had now been sidelined.
That was the inevitable result of the power struggle.
"It must be because everyone feels threatened by Lord Kawaki,"
Shouta mused, offering a logical explanation.
There was no reason why Konoha's spies stationed in various villages would suddenly start getting captured one after another.
With Takigakure as a warning example, other ninja villages wouldn't dare send assassins against Kawaki directly, so they naturally prioritized internal security.
So many?
Tsunade set the roster down and rubbed her temples.
To her, this was more than a mere list—it symbolized countless lives who bled and sacrificed everything for Konoha.
"We couldn't do anything either..."
Hayato opened his mouth, barely managing to get those words out.
No need to elaborate further—the fate of these spies was unimaginably grim. Even saying "nine out of ten wouldn't survive" might be optimistic.
"Issue pensions according to the names listed. I should've been more careful."
Tsunade set the roster down and rubbed her temples.
She felt completely responsible.
If she had considered things more carefully, maybe she could've prevented this tragedy.
"It's not your fault. It's mine."
Hayato wasn't just sucking up—as the intelligence chief, he bore the responsibility without deflecting blame.
"Stop dodging the issue, you guys. First, figure out how to solve this problem."
"Without spies, we're like blind men. No matter how many more people we lose, we still have to see this mission through."
Shouta wasn't heartless—he felt the pain too—but there was no choice.
Now they had to act rationally. If this wasn't handled properly, it would greatly impact Konoha.
Spies are inherently high-risk, but this time the losses were just too heavy.
"First, withdraw the regular intelligence agents—they're getting exposed too easily."
"We need to strengthen spy training from now on."
"Increase standards and training intensity. Those who don't meet requirements absolutely cannot be deployed."
"That's a life-or-death responsibility we owe them."
Tsunade pondered briefly before issuing an order.
She'd rather stay blind for now than let so many die again.
"That'll take way too long—we can't afford to wait."
Hayato didn't nod—he had his own standards.
"You don't have a say. That's final."
"It's an order."
Tsunade suddenly stood up and slammed the table, giving Hayato and Shouta quite a start.
They'd never seen Tsunade this angry before.
"Truth is, training intel agents already takes way too long."
It always took years to train an intelligence agent, and with Tsunade's new standard, who knew when the next batch could finally deploy.
Hayato didn't back down despite Tsunade's anger.
"Don't even think about saying no to me."
"If you really can't handle it, then quit your damn job."
Tsunade jabbed a finger at Hayato, eyes blazing with rage.
In her eyes, human lives mattered above all else.
Even if Konoha remained blind for a while, it wasn't that big of a deal.
Even if the sky fell, there were plenty of Kage-level ninja who could catch it.
In the end, people simply thought differently.
There was no right or wrong—both sides only wanted what was best for Konoha.
Hayato remained silent but kept his chin up—clearly still defiant.
Shouta scratched his head, wondering how to convince Tsunade—he was backing Hayato on this one.
Knock knock!!
"Sounds like things are getting heated in here—I could hear you yelling from outside."
Jiraiya knocked before entering—it was surprisingly polite, considering his relationship with Tsunade.
"Master Jiraiya, you've come at just the right time."
"You've got to convince Hokage-sama to rethink this."
Hayato saw salvation walking in—he and Jiraiya were both intel men, after all.
Ohhh!
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"What happened?"
Jiraiya glanced at Hayato before shifting his gaze to Tsunade.
"She'll let you know herself."
Tsunade calmed herself slightly and sat back down.
"Look," she said, taking a deep breath. "Here's what happened..."
...
"Don't you think Hokage-sama is being overly idealistic?"
Hayato laid out the entire situation clearly, subtly criticizing Tsunade along the way.
"Who are you calling naive?"
Tsunade's temper, barely cooled, flared up again.
If she hadn't known Hayato meant well, she might've rushed over just to punch him for some relief.
"Calm down. Why don't you hear me out?"
Jiraiya stepped in to mediate. Having disagreements wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Go ahead."
Tsunade gave him a brief nod to continue.
"I'm here today looking for work."
"It's just that this matter came up."
"When it comes to intelligence work, I know my stuff."
"If you trust me, let me handle this."
"What do you think?"
Jiraiya didn't elaborate—he just took over the case.
After all, he needed something to do, and this was a perfect fit.
"Fine, it's yours."
Without much thought, Tsunade agreed.
When Jiraiya said he was fairly skilled, that was just modesty.
He must be the one who had traveled the Ninja World most extensively among Konoha's ninja, bringing back countless important intelligence reports.
"If the Hokage agrees, I naturally have no objections."
Hayato didn't see it as Jiraiya taking control away from him.
As long as it benefited Konoha, he could accept it.
An enraged Tsunade was impossible to reason with—Jiraiya was much easier to talk to by comparison.
"Since you both trust this Great Sage so much,"
"I definitely won't disappoint you."
Jiraiya smiled, already having a solid plan in mind.
"Jiraiya will lead a team personally to establish Konoha's secret agents unit."
"And starting now, we'll call it the Intelligence Department—it'll report directly to the Hokage."
As she spoke, Tsunade drafted the documents, stamped them, and made them official.
"Do you have any requests? Just say it."
After finishing, she filed the documents. There was no need to make this public—just keep the records.
"I want to handpick people from every department."
Jiraiya went big—he wanted people from every department.
"Sure, I agree—but don't make me regret it."
Tsunade handwritten a confidential letter as proof for Jiraiya to request personnel.
"Don't worry, I've got this."
With that much authority from Tsunade, if Jiraiya failed to deliver, she'd inevitably face criticism for poor judgment.
"I'll fully cooperate."
Hayato took the initiative to express his support for Jiraiya's work.
Truth be told, integrating all the intelligence sources alone would keep him busy enough. Taking over the staffing freed up a lot of Hayato's time.
"Thanks," Jiraiya said with a smile, patting Hayato's shoulder.
"Alright, go do your jobs."
Once she handed it off, Tsunade stopped worrying—she trusted them.
"Let's go."
Jiraiya turned around, waved his hand, confidently strode out of the office with Tsunade's letter in hand.
"I should go too."
Hayato greeted Tsunade and turned to leave.
"Miss, what do you think Lord Jiraiya will do to solve this?" Kawaki hadn't interacted much with Jiraiya—the last time during the Second Shinobi World War, Kawaki was at the front lines while Jiraiya wasn't.
"I don't know either, but he's a reliable guy."
"We shall see."
Tsunade looked at Kawaki earnestly as she spoke.
Along with Kawaki, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were the ones she trusted most.
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