"Heh~ heh heh heh..."
Jiraiya, his rear sticking out, clung to the wooden fence, peering through the gaps, trying to catch a glimpse of the scene beyond, occasionally letting out a lecherous snicker.
"Pathetic..."
Seeing Jiraiya's sleazy demeanor, Nawaki pursed his lips.
"Hmm?"
Hearing a voice behind him, Jiraiya turned around with a smug expression. The moment he saw Tsunade's face, he froze in terror.
"Ah... ah? Tsunade? Why are you here?"
"Of course, to catch a peeping Tom!" Tsunade sneered, her knuckles cracking audibly, her smile radiating a cruel intent.
Before Jiraiya could react, she lunged forward, her fist aimed squarely at his face.
"Kya! Wait, wait a minute!"
Jiraiya barely dodged the punch, the fierce gust of wind from the missed strike sending cold sweat down his back.
If that punch had landed, even if I somehow survived, I'd end up with a melon face...
"I'm not spying! I'm just... gathering material! That's right, I'm only gathering material!"
Before Tsunade could respond, Minato tilted his head innocently, his eyes wide and guileless. "If gathering material requires watching women bathe, why didn't Senior Jiraiya ask the women in his household for help?"
"Ah, well..."
Jiraiya's expression stiffened, and he stammered, unable to reply.
"Hmph..."
Seeing Jiraiya flustered, Tsunade scoffed coldly, temporarily withdrawing her fist. She watched him calmly, her gaze daring him to explain himself.
"If someone were to spy on Senior Jiraiya's family while they bathed, how would you feel, Senior?"
When Jiraiya remained silent, Minato pressed further. He truly despised voyeurism.
Among the Three Great Sannin, Tsunade's gambling never involved others beyond the occasional casino owner. Even with loan sharks, she never used "justice" as an excuse to dodge debts.
Orochimaru, a villain through and through, was openly wicked and never bothered defending his actions.
But Jiraiya's voyeuristic behavior, claiming it was "romantic" to spy on women bathing, was simply outrageous!
Is that refined?
That's vulgar!
Minato never intended to be a moral paragon, but as a normal man, he knew he'd eventually need a girlfriend.
If this kind of behavior went unchecked, his own woman might end up being the victim someday. Who could tolerate that?
Hearing Minato's words, Jiraiya's thick face twitched again.
He was at a loss for words.
Being questioned like this by a five-year-old, even with his thick skin, left him flustered and unable to defend himself.
Minato pressed on, "Senior Jiraiya, as the Hokage's disciple, doesn't this bring shame to the Hokage's name?"
At the mention of the Hokage, Nawaki's eyes lit up. He pointed at Jiraiya, indignantly, "That's right! Don't you have any sense of honor as the Hokage's disciple?"
Jiraiya wanted to say that even the Hokage secretly enjoyed peeping...
But of course, he couldn't say that.
So, facing Nawaki's accusation, he could only grimace and raise his hands. "Alright, alright, I was wrong! I swear I'll never peep again! Can you just let me off this one time?"
"Hmph, coming from you, those words carry absolutely no weight," Tsunade said with a cold laugh. "You've spouted similar lines before, only to revert to your old ways within days. Maybe I should cripple you for good to stop you from harming others in the future!"
"Hey... isn't that a bit... extreme?" Nawaki blinked, surprised that his older sister would propose such a radical solution.
Tsunade shook her head without replying.
Many people dismiss voyeurism as harmless, believing that mere glimpses cause no real harm. But voyeurism is fundamentally an act of violation. Some don't escalate further, not because they don't want to, but because they don't dare.
This thought made Tsunade's expression grow even colder. She turned to Minato. "What's your take, Minato?"
"Hmm—" Minato pondered for a moment, then sighed regretfully. "I support severe punishment! But... even though that's what I believe, Jiraiya-senpai is Teacher Tsunade's teammate and someone who once guided me. To kill him over a single act of voyeurism seems rather heartless."
Hearing this, Jiraiya paled with shock. "Hey! Minato, don't just say things like that! Tsunade never said she was going to kill me!"
Seeing Minato's thoughtful expression, cold sweat dripped from Jiraiya's forehead.
Only now did he realize that this seemingly gentle, sunny, and slightly naive boy... was actually a schemer!
Tsunade snorted dismissively, ignoring Jiraiya and focusing solely on what Minato would propose.
"Ah, I've got it!"
Minato slapped his palm, his face innocent and sincere. "Why don't we have Senior Jiraiya write a guarantee..."
"Phew..."
Jiraiya's heart instantly relaxed upon hearing Minato's words.
That scared me! This kid is still quite naive after all...
Tsunade shook her head slightly, feeling a vague disappointment she couldn't explain.
As their thoughts diverged, Minato clapped his hands gently and continued in a gentle tone:
"We can submit the guarantee to the Konoha Police Department. If any more peeping incidents occur in Konoha, they'll all be blamed on Senior Jiraiya! And we'll publish it on the village bulletin board!"
"Wait—?! Noooo!!!"
"Haha! A public execution? Now that's interesting!"
Jiraiya's face turned deathly pale. Tsunade froze for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
Jiraiya tried to protest, but Minato added another jab: "And we'll make sure to include that the peeping tom is Jiraiya, the Hokage's disciple!"
"Damn you, brat! You're slandering me! Framing an innocent man!"
Jiraiya lost all composure, shouting hysterically. If this went public, he'd never be able to show his face in Konoha again.
Just as he was about to argue his case, Minato's lips curved into a warm, sunny smile. But the words that came out sent Jiraiya plummeting into an icy abyss:
"Who cares?"
"When you were peeping, Jiraiya-senpai, did you ever care about the victims' feelings?"
"!!!"
Jiraiya's pupils trembled violently.
Minato's words struck him like a hammer, leaving his head ringing as if he'd been struck a blow. His face drained of color.
True, who cared? Those who falsely accused him knew better than anyone that he was innocent.
And when he was peeping, had he ever cared about the girls' feelings?
In that moment, all the excuses he had concocted for his voyeurism—those grandiose justifications—seemed so bitterly ironic and laughable now that he had become the victim himself.
He finally realized that his so-called "rebellious charm" had always been nothing more than vulgar perversion.
This "perversion" wasn't about romantic flirtation between men and women, but the twisted, horrifying kind of perversion, as the word itself implies.
As the self-deceptive facade was torn away, and he examined himself from the perspective of the one being watched, he suddenly saw how despicable his actions had been.
Now, facing the girl he had loved for years, Jiraiya felt a sudden, overwhelming shame.
This shame gnawed at his heart, corroding his pride until it was riddled with holes, forcing him to flee miserably under her gaze.
Watching Jiraiya stagger away, Minato turned to Tsunade.
"Was I too harsh?"
"No, it couldn't have been more perfect!"
Tsunade patted Minato's head with one hand, gave him a thumbs-up with the other, and laughed heartily.
Nawaki nodded vigorously, silently vowing to himself:
From now on, I absolutely, positively...
Never argue with Minato again!
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