"Jiraiya, where the hell did you go? How did you end up this badly injured?"
Tsunade treated Jiraiya's wounds while speaking, her tone full of irritation, as if she were standing up for him.
But who was Jiraiya? You could even say he understood Tsunade better than she understood herself.
"Oh, spare me. You're just annoyed I came here for treatment and ruined your plans to go gambling."
Smack!
Tsunade slammed her palm hard onto Jiraiya's head.
"What nonsense."
As she spoke, she frantically signaled him with her eyes.
There were still a bunch of young medical ninja standing behind them.
No matter what, he absolutely could not ruin her image in their eyes.
Under the pressure of her threat, Jiraiya could only smack his lips helplessly while complaining inwardly.
What image do you even have left? As long as those young medical ninja aren't complete shut-ins, anyone who walks around the Hidden Leaf Village long enough knows the story of the Legendary Sucker.
"Alright, your injuries are treated. Stay in the hospital for a month or two and you'll recover naturally. Of course, if you leave the village and start fighting people again during that time… I'm sure you understand the consequences."
When Tsunade said that, the smile on her face was terrifying.
Literally terrifying.
Jiraiya felt like he had only seen that smile once before—back when Tsunade punched him so hard she shattered several of his ribs.
"Well, uh, Tsunade… honestly, I don't think my injuries are that serious. I probably don't need to stay in the hospital, right?"
Jiraiya was actually a very responsible person.
If he stayed stuck in the hospital the whole time…
Those bathhouses—
Ahem.
What about his readers?
As the best-selling author of the ninja world, Jiraiya absolutely could not allow such a tragedy to happen.
Just as Jiraiya understood Tsunade, Tsunade also understood him perfectly.
The moment he shifted his ass, she already knew what he was thinking.
"You don't have to stay in the hospital if you don't want to. But let me give you a friendly reminder—the Police Force already knows you're back. Every bathhouse, hot spring, and spa in the Hidden Leaf Village is now under tight guard by female officers. And trust me, prison treatment is a lot worse than hospital treatment."
"What?! How dare the Police Force do this?! How can Uchiha Kamito waste manpower like this?! What, are enemies suddenly going to attack bathhouses and hot springs now?! No, I'm definitely reporting this to Minato! Abuse of authority! Suspicious motives—"
An enraged Jiraiya immediately started listing a massive pile of completely unrelated accusations against the Police Force.
At this moment, he wholeheartedly agreed with Sarutobi-sensei's words.
As expected of those naturally evil Uchiha.
(Sarutobi Hiruzen: Jiraiya, our Anti-Uchiha Organization does not welcome you. You've lowered our standards.)
Tsunade calmly watched Jiraiya lose his mind while silently giving the Police Force a thumbs-up in her heart.
Well done.
"Alright, recover slowly. I still have work to do, so I'm leaving."
Tsunade turned and walked away after speaking.
It was only ten in the morning.
There were still two hours before lunch.
Enough time for a few more rounds of gambling.
Wonderful!!!
"Tsunade-sama, please save Shikuro!"
Just as Tsunade was about to step out of the hospital, she saw Kakashi approaching alongside Aburame Shikuro, whose arms were completely gone.
Not wonderful!!!
...
Inside the Squad Thirty meeting room—
"Hiyasu, you go first. Tell us what information you gathered."
"Alright."
Hyūga Hiyasu picked up the conversation.
"First thing first—the mission was a success. I successfully brought back the Box of Bliss."
That part was very important.
He could complete missions perfectly too, alright?
The other four stared at him speechlessly.
You completed it, fine. Did you really need to emphasize it separately?
"Mm, continue."
"Right. On my way back to the village, I unexpectedly rescued Shinku, Shishō, and the others."
"Shinku? Shishō? Did they run into some kind of trouble?"
Senju Hideki asked in confusion.
He had seen Shinku and Shishō just yesterday.
How come they never mentioned this?
"I'm not entirely sure either. But according to them, before I arrived, they were being surrounded by over a hundred Cloud ninja. The strange thing is, the Cloud ninja seemed to know I was coming and immediately retreated. And throughout the whole thing, my Byakugan never detected them."
"You're saying the Cloud ninja might possess a sensory technique with a range greater than the Byakugan?"
Aburame Shiken asked.
"Or maybe some kind of ninja tool," Inuzuka Ryoha added.
Uchiha Kamito frowned deeply, clearly thinking about something.
"Do you guys remember? There's a certain kind of eye that seems to counter the Byakugan."
"Ketsuryūgan!!"
The moment Kamito brought it up, Shiken immediately reacted.
"That little girl, right? I remember she was traveling with Raiga Kurosuki. And at this point in time, she should only be three or four years old."
"That part isn't important. What matters is that Hidden Cloud Village definitely possesses a method to counter the Byakugan now."
"Yeah…"
An eerie silence fell over the meeting room.
All this time, they had been the ones countering and suppressing others.
Now that they themselves had been countered once…
Honestly, it felt awful.
"Hey, hey, hey. Don't tell me you guys suddenly think I'm useless without the Byakugan? It's not like I have the Tenseigan or anything. The Byakugan only gives me some support abilities. Even if it gets countered, it's not a huge deal. Besides, do you seriously think I rely on the Byakugan to survive?"
Hyūga Hiyasu quickly spoke up.
Part of it was to lighten the atmosphere.
But more importantly—
What was with those miserable expressions?
The thing being countered was the Byakugan, not Hyūga Hiyasu himself.
Did they really think he was nothing without it?
That was way too insulting.
"Fair point. Even Hiyasu himself isn't worried, so why are we stressing over it? We're just sticking our noses where they don't belong."
Inuzuka Ryoha said.
"Exactly. Besides, being countered isn't that big a deal. Worst case scenario, just do what I did and ruin both your eyes. Once you stop using the Byakugan entirely, let's see how they counter you then. Makes perfect sense, right?"
"Get lost, you damn blind man."
"Damn it, you're biting the hand that's helping you! Didn't you hear me trying to come up with solutions for you?"
"Get lost."
The two bickered back and forth, successfully steering the conversation away from the topic.
But Shiken had already made up his mind.
If they fought Hidden Cloud Village in the future, it would probably be better not to send Hiyasu.
After all, not everyone was Hideki—someone capable of repeatedly dancing on the edge of death.
"Oh right, there's one more thing. Shinku and Shishō also said that while they were in the Land of Grass, Hidden Stone Village was hunting them too."
Hiyasu added another piece of information.
"Hidden Stone Village? Hidden Cloud Village?"
"What kind of scheme are those two villages plotting now?"
"Not just them. Kakashi was also chased by Hidden Sand Village. At first, I thought he just had terrible luck and happened to run into Chiyo's revenge squad. But looking at the situation now… this definitely isn't that simple."
Shiken said.