Tsunade's eyes turned distant, then she fell completely silent.
She had to admit… Uchiha Jin's methods were the trifecta of steady, ruthless, and precise!
It looked like nothing more than a lightweight inquiry letter, yet it had every member of the Konoha High Command pinned to the wall—official correspondence can't be blocked.
Before, everyone knew full well the little tricks the High Command pulled, but no one dared drag them into the open.
Now, everything was different.
Since formal documents had been submitted, the matter had to be addressed; otherwise their very legitimacy would collapse.
Such an aboveboard tactic made even Tsunade sigh—Uchiha Jin really was formidable!
Good thing she'd let herself be talked into anything; if she'd actually taken the Hokage seat, she'd be the one forced to face Uchiha Jin head-on!
As if.
Judging by the moves Uchiha Jin had shown so far, Tsunade didn't consider herself his equal.
Of course!
Even if she could handle it, she had no desire to become Hokage.
Please—she wasn't stupid.
Stepping into the Hokage chair right now would clearly be taking the bullet for these old geezers.
At the moment, though, she wasn't in any hurry to leave.
She was intensely curious how the three codgers in front of her planned to deal with the situation.
Exactly!
She was ready to sit back and enjoy the show!
"Old Man, what do we do?"
"This can't be put off—we have to find a solution."
"And—fast!"
"I suspect Uchiha Jin has a follow-up move; we can't give him time to set it off!"
Jiraiya's face was grave, his tone heavy with worry.
Indeed.
He was fully aware of the filth festering inside the Village.
He despised some of the High Command's actions—why else would he keep sneaking off?
Still—
he absolutely disagreed with Uchiha Jin's approach; it would throw the Village into turmoil.
Even if the High Command was dirty, gentler means existed—this path would only spark chaos.
Not to mention… he knew perfectly well the so-called investigation was nonsense; Uchiha Jin's real goal was to target the Konoha High Command.
And this time, the man was aiming straight at the Hokage's power base!
With the Village coffers in trouble, plus the war-death pensions and unpaid mission fees piling up for two or three years… once this blew, the Village would erupt.
Just picturing it made Jiraiya shudder.
"That's right, Hiruzen!"
"We have to settle this quickly—we need a plan at once."
"Damn that Uchiha Jin, they're going too far!"
"…"
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado were instantly thrown into a panic.
They had no choice!
The matter was lethal; full exposure would finish them all.
As for that—
Hiruzen Sarutobi was puffing his pipe more often, mind racing.
He knew too well how nasty this was; he didn't need reminding.
Problem was, he couldn't think of a fix!
The Uchiha side was using an open conspiracy, and their own backsides weren't clean—how could he produce a solution out of thin air?
Meanwhile—
watching everyone's gloomy faces, Tsunade almost burst out laughing.
Holy crap!
Back when she lived in Konoha, she'd rarely seen these expressions.
The thought made her even less inclined to leave; she grabbed a stool, sat down, folded her arms, and settled in to watch the drama.
"Tsunade!"
"The roof is on fire and you're still lounging around?"
"Think of something—now!"
Koharu couldn't stand seeing Tsunade idle and snapped at her immediately.
To that—
Tsunade rolled her eyes and ignored the woman.
The Senju name alone kept her untouchable; that old hag thought she could threaten her?
Dream on.
Homura was equally annoyed but held his tongue; he knew Tsunade wasn't under their control.
Hiruzen didn't even glance her way—having Tsunade not make trouble was blessing enough.
Expect more? Impossible.
Jiraiya, however, couldn't hold back: "Tsunade, help us think of something."
"If this goes wrong, the Village could slide into real chaos!"
To which—
Tsunade gave a disdainful snort: "Let them investigate, then."
"It's formal paperwork; the contents differ—follow procedure and check it out."
"Whoever's dirty, deal with them—simple."
Her words choked everyone silent.
The hell!
As if they needed her to spell that out?
Trouble was, every one of them had skeletons in the closet!
They wanted to scold her but couldn't find a reason—doing so would only prove they were guilty, wouldn't it?
Jiraiya's face darkened.
Tsunade's attitude disgusted him; the Village was on the brink and she still acted like this—did she even care?
Of course…
he said nothing.
He knew that if he opened his mouth, Tsunade would answer with two words.
Nope.
So, with a sigh, he resigned himself to racking his brain for ideas.
Everyone else did the same.
A crisis this big left no mood to bicker with Tsunade; finding a solution came first.
But, alas—
faced with Uchiha Jin's open conspiracy, they could think of no counter.
Refuse?
Impossible.
That would only prove they had something to hide and plunge the Village into deeper disorder.
Agree? Even worse.
The shinobi Village system had only existed a few decades; no sophisticated way to cook the books had evolved. Once the books were opened, every sordid detail would spill out.
So—sigh.
Left with no choice, the only thing they could do was sigh.
In the end—
they settled on the one option left: stall!
Hope that dragging it out would somehow shift the situation.
Jiraiya had a bad feeling; judging by Uchiha Jin's personality, the man had surely foreseen this and prepared a follow-up.
Delaying wouldn't solve a thing.
But—
he couldn't think of anything better, so he, too, stayed silent and sighed.
On the other side—
seeing the show was over, Tsunade simply left the Hokage Building.
And—
no one tried to stop her; after that inquiry letter, they had no energy to force her onto the Hokage seat.
Even if they wanted to push her candidacy, it would have to wait until this mess was settled.
With so many unpaid pensions and mission fees at stake, if the High Command ignored the issue and went ahead with a Hokage inauguration ceremony, countless villagers and ordinary Ninja would riot.
Because what those common folk lacked most was money.