"Like I said, I wasn't peeping—I was on a secret mission!"
Inside the Police Force detention cell, Jiraiya was still shouting nonstop.
Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, Jiraiya could only sit on the ground sulking.
What the hell? He had just gotten close to the bathhouse, hadn't even gotten the telescope fully out yet, when the Police Force guys pinned him down.
When did Konoha get this strict?
"Hey, let me out! I'm the captain of the Medical Corps, I was carrying out a secret mission!"
As the door to the detention room opened, a blonde woman was shoved inside and brought into another cell.
"That voice… could it be…"
Hearing the familiar sound, Jiraiya strained to stick his head toward the crack in the iron door.
"Strange… why do I feel like I just heard Jiraiya's voice?"
Resisting the urge to smash through the cell wall, Tsunade turned her head. The two of them locked eyes instantly.
"It really is you?!"
Both exclaimed at the same time.
After a quick exchange, and with Tsunade's help, Jiraiya—who hadn't returned to the village in ages—finally understood the current situation.
Konoha had begun cracking down severely on prostitution, gambling, and other illicit activities.
What had originally only been restricted to minors had, under Minato's suggestion, been expanded to cover all age groups.
"Minato betrayed me!"
Jiraiya never would have expected his own student to propose such a rule, and immediately wanted to storm out and confront him.
"Heh, just look at you. Let me guess—you got locked up again for peeping, right? Jiraiya, Jiraiya… when will you ever learn?"
With her arms crossed, Tsunade gave him a mocking look, scanning him up and down.
"I was just gathering material…"
Jiraiya still tried to defend himself, but Tsunade clearly wasn't buying it. She went on speaking as if he hadn't said a word:
"Looks like from today onward, the title of Sannin is going to be gone for good."
Her words made Jiraiya shudder. All he did was peep, but from the way she said it, it was as if his life was already forfeit.
"Tsunade, what do you mean by that?"
Jiraiya asked sheepishly.
"Oh right, I forgot—you don't know yet. According to Konoha's new regulations, gambling in unauthorized areas will be fined. But if you're caught peeping? The maximum punishment is the death penalty."
"Nani?! Which bastard came up with that rule?!"
At this point, Jiraiya didn't care about denying anything. He grabbed the iron bars, trying to squeeze through to strangle whoever had set the policy.
"Heh. That would be our newly appointed Fifth Hokage. And by the way—if you insult the Hokage in Konoha these days…"
Tsunade gave Jiraiya a meaningful look.
"Gulp."
Jiraiya swallowed hard, trying to look calm under her gaze.
"A-And then what happens?"
"The Internal Affairs Division will come 'have a chat' with you. Oh, and if someone reports you, they can have their own punishment reduced. Police Force, I'd like to file a report!"
Without giving Jiraiya a chance to react, Tsunade immediately shouted excitedly toward the door.
"Tsunade?!"
Jiraiya was completely dumbfounded.
What the hell was all this? And since when was there an Internal Affairs Division?
"Sorry, Jiraiya. I'll ask Sarutobi-sensei to come collect your corpse."
After cheerfully reporting how Jiraiya had insulted the Hokage, Tsunade was taken out of the detention cell exactly as she wanted.
Before leaving, she even made sure to give Jiraiya a little wave.
...
In the end, Danzō withdrew his forces.
Konoha explained to the daimyō's court that Sunagakure was causing trouble, and that they feared the desperate Suna forces might lash out at the Land of Fire.
Hearing about his own relatives' tragic fate, the daimyō immediately agreed to Takeshi's request and ordered a halt to the joint army's actions.
Of course, Danzō had already achieved his real goal: Konoha now secretly controlled several bases within the Lands of the Moon and Lightning.
Ōnoki, upon hearing Konoha's excuse for retreat, followed suit. He persuaded his own daimyō by stressing the threat Sunagakure posed.
Within the Land of Lightning, only Kirigakure's forces were still holding on.
It wasn't that Kisame was being particularly honest—if the Mist pulled out too, then the Land of Lightning really would be taken by Kumogakure.
Helpless, the Lightning Daimyō had no choice but to pour out more wealth to secure Kirigakure's continued support.
Meanwhile, he publicly cursed out Iwagakure and Konoha for being so unreliable.
Especially Danzō—that bastard had only gone to the battlefield once before demanding huge amounts of medicine and supplies, claiming his troops had been badly battered by Kumogakure.
Still, no matter how much the Lightning Daimyō ranted, the fact remained: everyone else had already pulled back.
Ōnoki, taking advantage of Sunagakure's chaos, used Iwa's superior numbers to snatch away several of Suna's important clients.
He even dispatched men to occupy the borders of the Land of Rōran, which Sunagakure had long treated as a forbidden zone.
The only thing holding him back was the joint defense treaty signed between Konoha and Suna.
When Chiyo learned of this, she was both shocked and enraged. She sent envoys to condemn Iwagakure while also dispatching emissaries to Konoha, hoping to start negotiations.
And amid this extreme turmoil, Pakura finally returned to her loyal Sunagakure—escorted by the daimyō's army.
Ninja and civilians alike poured into the streets, staring in curiosity at the hero whom the authorities had long declared slain by Iwa's hands.
Many high-ranking officials had already resigned themselves to death. They were the ones who once supported trading Pakura away for peace. Now that she had returned as the Kazekage personally appointed by the daimyō, it was time for them to join Rasa in the grave.
Chiyo, however, had no energy to deal with such trivial matters. What she desperately needed was someone to stand with her and share the burden.
The daimyō's envoy had only just announced Pakura's appointment—and denounced Rasa's betrayal of trading a hero for profit—when Chiyo hurried forward to explain Sunagakure's current plight.
After earnestly speaking at length, Chiyo pointed out the only clear path:
"The top priority is to secure Konoha's support. We must make sure they don't tear up our alliance treaty, or else Ōnoki will definitely strike us."
"Advisor Chiyo."
Before she could continue, Pakura cut her off right in front of the envoy:
"Since when did Sunagakure need to survive by watching Konoha's expression?"
Her face was stern, her voice proud:
"Sunagakure is the Land of Wind's greatest spear and shield. If we depend on Konoha for everything, we might as well let them take charge of the Land of Wind's defense altogether. Don't you agree?"
"But what about Ōnoki—"
Chiyo was stunned.
Had she really never noticed before just how arrogant and hawkish Pakura was?
"Ōnoki is no concern. So what if it's Rōran? As far as I know, the true Dragon Vein was sealed years ago by Konoha's shinobi. It now slumbers beneath the ruins of Old Rōran. Even if we give it up, it doesn't matter."
Chiyo was left even more speechless.
Great. She had thought Pakura was simply hawkish—but in the end, she had just given up Rōran's benefits entirely, hadn't she?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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