Yan turned his head to look at the collar very close to his face.
It seemed that he couldn't be blamed—after all, the collar was already brushing against his cheek. If you kept staring, others would assume you were staring at their face.
A misunderstanding, but Tsunade was quick to pick up on it, already lining up a few jokes to tease Shizune.
Even before the meal was finished, Shizune had already blushed several times.
After the meal, Yan decisively got up to go for a walk, and Itachi followed without a word.
Ignoring Shizune, who had now fully adopted her ostrich mode, Jiraiya looked at Tsunade with complicated eyes.
"Tsunade, come back with me. The village needs you."
"Cut."
With Jiraiya's words, Tsunade was successfully amused.
Laughing self-deprecatingly, Tsunade still held on to the wine bottle, her grip firm but shaky.
"I'm just someone suffering from severe hemophobia. The affairs of the village have nothing to do with me. Come, drink. Don't mention those troublesome things."
Tsunade had already heard the rumors surrounding the Daimyō's mansion. After all, the story was spreading like wildfire. When she heard about it, Tsunade couldn't help but laugh.
It was genuinely amusing—though whether it was true or not, who could say?
Funny as it was, Tsunade had no intention of intervening.
Go back to Konoha?
Forget it. That village was just a place of pain and memories for her.
Hearing this, Jiraiya, who had prepared a whole speech full of persuasion and hope, suddenly went silent. Instead, he drank with Tsunade, bottle after bottle.
More and more empty wine bottles crowded the table.
Tsunade, who hadn't had a proper drink in a long time, let out a burp of satisfaction and squinted, unsure whether she was drunk or just feigning it.
"You brought the Uchiha boys along. I suppose the reason isn't just to find me, is it?"
"Of course, I can't hide it from you."
Jiraiya made a bitter face.
Shizune, who was sitting nearby and pretending not to hear anything, quietly pricked up her ears.
"Uchiha Hiko, Uchiha Itachi—one's a genius renowned not just in Uchiha but all of Konoha. The other's a symbol of rising popularity, someone who no one expected to consolidate influence so quickly within the clan. He's built his own faction and won over many supporters."
"The brighter he shines, the more unsettled the old man becomes. That's why I brought him—to test him and also discuss matters concerning the village and the Uchiha."
"And the result…"
Jiraiya let out a dry laugh. "I got schooled in the end."
"Oh?"
Tsunade's eyes, half-closed a moment ago, widened slightly. Her brown irises shimmered with amusement.
"So even you can be lectured? Tell me, I'm actually interested in this Uchiha Hiko kid now."
"..."
I knew it—she loves gossip. And I knew she'd laugh at me.
Rolling his eyes helplessly, Jiraiya gave in, not bothering to refuse. He told Tsunade what happened on the road.
"Pfft—!"
"Ahem! Hahaha...!"
Tsunade, in the middle of drinking, burst out laughing and sprayed wine all over Jiraiya's face. She coughed twice, then collapsed onto the table, laughing uproariously.
"You're still such an idiot. You were smarter when you were younger. This is reverse-education! You don't even think about who the old man and Danzo are. That's not something you should meddle with."
"But the kid really hit the mark. Danzo and the old man have gone too far."
"Well, we can't completely blame them either. They've got hearts as dark as ink. After the Nine-Tails incident, it's only natural they'd keep an eye on Uchiha."
Tsunade was rather restrained in her comments—she didn't even bring up her granduncle Tobirama for once.
After all, the anti-Uchiha sentiment didn't start yesterday. It dated all the way back to Tobirama Senju, whose personal bias evolved into institutional prejudice once passed on to Hiruzen and Danzo.
"But that kid is really handsome. Shizune, maybe you should consider him? You're not getting any younger."
Jiraiya and Shizune both froze in shock.
Who would have expected Tsunade to abruptly change topics and dive straight into matchmaking?
"Lady Tsunade! I told you that's not what I meant—aaahh!!"
Shizune panicked completely.
Jiraiya simply smiled awkwardly, wisely keeping his mouth shut. This was not a battle he could win.
"Tsunade, back to business—please stop changing the subject. I want you to return with me."
"Drop it."
"Without me, Konoha will be fine. Even if the Daimyō Mansion incident is serious, the old man will find a way to deal with it. At worst, the masks come off and everyone shows their true face. As long as the Daimyō isn't stupid, he won't go to war with the village."
Budget cuts?
That's just political posturing.
The Land of Fire is a big fat meat pie in the eyes of other nations. If Konoha didn't have a strong enough military to deter them, it would have been carved up long ago.
As long as the Daimyō has half a brain, he won't do something truly foolish.
At most, he'll apply pressure, make noise, and try to make Konoha bow first.
If he pushes too hard and Konoha lashes out, the Daimyō loses more than he gains.
"Shhhh..."
With the sound of slurping wine, Tsunade leaned onto the table. In less than twenty seconds, the sound of soft snoring began.
Jiraiya: "..."
If he didn't know her well, he would've thought she was pretending.
But no—Tsunade had truly passed out. Too much wine and too many buried emotions. She had slipped away into unconsciousness.
"Forget it. I'll take my time."
Sighing, Jiraiya gestured to Shizune to help carry Tsunade to a nearby room.
There was no rushing this.
But despite saying he could be patient, the next morning, Jiraiya sat beside the table with a helpless expression, rubbing his forehead while Tsunade groaned in her hangover.
Not because she was physically unwell—though she was—but because yesterday's conversation had unearthed old memories. Bad ones.
Yesterday, Tsunade was drunk enough to let him talk.
But today? She was silent, sullen, a black cloud hanging around her like a cloak of despair. The air pressure was so thick that even Shizune didn't dare approach.
"Forget it. If today doesn't work, I'll wait a few more days."
Jiraiya kept trying to convince himself that Tsunade would calm down eventually.
He had no idea that this emotional rut of Tsunade's would last for days—and trap him with it.
With the deadline from the Third Hokage creeping up, he'd made no progress. Worse, he was becoming a mobile wallet!
"You see, people trapped by emotions end up like this. Love, family, whatever it is—cherish it while you have it."
Itachi didn't understand Hiko's words.
At this point in his life, he didn't yet grasp Tsunade's pain.
Because the people he loved were still alive.
His only concerns were the Uchiha clan and the village.
Unable to suppress it any longer, Jiraiya finally burst.
"Tsunade, we can't keep doing this. The village needs you. Time is running out."
For once, Jiraiya showed real firmness.
He slammed both hands on the table, leaning forward to look Tsunade straight in the eye, hoping to shake her out of this state.
Getting drunk day after day, wallowing in the past, replaying pain—this couldn't go on.
"What's wrong with me?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she lifted her head, still holding her wine bottle.
The oppressive air that had only hovered around her now crashed down over Jiraiya like a wave.
Shit.
That look was terrifying.
Facing Tsunade's fierce stare, Jiraiya instinctively shrunk back, and all the boldness he had mustered evaporated.
Shizune, Hiko, and Itachi were stunned.
After a few days of familiarity, Hiko and Shizune had grown more comfortable around each other. But Itachi still kept their relationship strictly formal—senpai and kōhai.
Though he was trying to change, Itachi's smile remained stiff and rehearsed.
"Ahhhh... Looks like Jiraiya-sama is going to fail again."
Shizune covered her face in shame. How embarrassing. She had held out hope that he might actually win this time... but nope.
"I'd sooner believe the sun rises in the west."
Hiko calmly ate his food. Although Tsunade's fierce reaction was a bit unexpected, he wasn't surprised. As long as Jiraiya still held her dearest in his heart, there was no way he could stand firm before her.
Eat. Eat. It's not my mission, after all. Doesn't matter if it succeeds or not.
More important to fill my stomach.
And best of all—this was all on the public budget. Every expense fell on the most handsome Toad Sage, Jiraiya-sama.
At least, that's how Jiraiya saw himself.
Feeling good about it, Hiko continued eating.
Itachi nodded in agreement.