Chapter 131: Why Am I the Only One Left Holding the Bag?

At that moment, Nawaki felt like the world was coming to an end. He had called the Third Hokage a "monkey" right to his face in the Hokage's office, and if that wasn't bad enough, he had also implied that the Third Hokage was a peeping tom who wanted to spy on Tsunade while she bathed.

This is it, Nawaki thought, I'm done for. The Hokage's definitely going to blow his top.

As for the accusation of peeping… well, that wasn't entirely out of nowhere. After all, it wasn't unheard of for such things to happen, though it had mostly been Jiraiya causing trouble. That time, Jiraiya had actually gone and tattled to Tsunade when he caught wind of it, thinking, I can get away with it, but you, old man? No way.

The result? Jiraiya got a double beating from both Tsunade and the Third Hokage.

"I'm so dead," Nawaki groaned, burying his face in his pillow. He felt like the whole world was against him.

"Lord Hokage requests your presence."

Before Nawaki could wallow in self-pity for too long, an ANBU operative knocked on his door and escorted him to the Hokage's office, where his fate awaited him.

"Are you sober now?" The Third Hokage asked, his face darkened with irritation as he stared down at Nawaki, who was trying his best to look anywhere but at the Hokage.

"Yes, sir," Nawaki muttered, not daring to make eye contact.

"What were you thinking, drinking yourself into a stupor and getting strung up like some delinquent?" Hiruzen scolded. "Do you have any idea how irresponsible that was?"

Nawaki hung his head even lower, feeling about two inches tall. "I… I got drunk and started saying stupid things, so they tied me up," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure whether to be more upset that Nawaki had been so reckless, or at the thought that the ANBU had brought this whole mess to his attention in the first place. If they'd just left him alone to sober up, none of this would have happened, Hiruzen mused.

But instead, here they were. The idea that rumors might spread about him being some sort of pervert was enough to make his blood boil. Whether it's true or not, once something like that gets out, it sticks.

"From now on, you're not allowed to drink until you're of age," Hiruzen commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And for the record, I have never done anything so disgraceful."

Nawaki's head jerked up. "But Jiraiya said—"

"That bastard!" Hiruzen thought, practically seeing red. If Jiraiya had been in the room, Hiruzen might have throttled him on the spot. It was him all along!

"I won't say anything like that again!" Nawaki promised, raising a hand as if taking an oath. "I'll be good from now on, I swear!"

"Get out of here before I change my mind," Hiruzen growled, giving Nawaki a swift kick that sent him stumbling out the door. Once Nawaki was gone, the Third Hokage sat back down, muttering to himself, "Jiraiya… you're in for it when you get back."

Meanwhile, back in the Rain Country, Jiraiya had just returned to camp when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His hand instinctively went to the back of his neck, rubbing it as he looked around suspiciously. "Orochimaru, did you do something to me?"

Orochimaru glanced at him, unimpressed. "What are you blathering about?"

"If it wasn't you, then why do I feel like something terrible's about to happen?" Jiraiya pressed, refusing to let it go.

"Because you've done a lot of shady things, that's why," a voice cut in as Tsunade entered the tent, fixing Jiraiya with a glare that could freeze water.

Jiraiya chuckled nervously and quickly sat down, deciding it was best not to push his luck.

Stretching her arms over her head, Tsunade sighed. "Danzo's in pretty bad shape, so it looks like we're going to be the ones handling the negotiations. Any volunteers?"

Danzo's injuries were worse than she had expected. The poison had spread from his ruined eye to his brain, causing complications even Tsunade found difficult to treat. Extracting the poison would be a slow, painstaking process, requiring multiple treatments.

With Danzo out of commission, the Third Hokage had decided that Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru would represent Konoha in the negotiations with Hanzo.

"I'm not going," Jiraiya declared the moment Tsunade finished speaking, jumping to his feet. "I'm exhausted. All I want is to rest up and head back to the village for some R&R. You two can handle this."

Tsunade knew exactly what Jiraiya was thinking. "You can forget about peeping," she said flatly. "Thanks to your little stunt with the telescope jutsu, all the girls in the village are too paranoid to bathe outdoors. The bathhouses and hot springs have all been remodeled to have indoor pools."

Jiraiya froze, his eyes widening in horror. "What?!"

His entire body went slack, and his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "Why? Why would they do that?"

"Because of certain perverts who can't keep their eyes to themselves!" Tsunade snapped, delivering a swift kick to Jiraiya's side that sent him crashing into a heap. The sight of him, utterly crestfallen, only made her want to hit him again.

"Fine," she said, turning to Orochimaru. "What about you? Are you up for it?"

Orochimaru shrugged, crossing his arms. "I'm not interested. I just want to go back to the village and rest."

Tsunade's patience snapped. "You've got to be kidding me! It's supposed to be a three-person mission, but now you're both bailing?"

Orochimaru closed his eyes, clearly done with the conversation. His disdain for the "Legendary Three Ninja" title that Hanzo had given them still lingered, making him unwilling to face the man again anytime soon. Besides, he was truly exhausted. The combination of distrust from the Third Hokage and Danzo's reckless behavior had taken a toll on him.

He also wanted to return to the village to focus on training Nawaki, whom he had grown quite fond of. He felt guilty for neglecting Nawaki's training and wanted to make up for lost time.

Seeing that Orochimaru wasn't going to budge, Tsunade sighed in frustration. Great, now it's just me.

"Fine, I'll go alone!" Tsunade huffed, storming out of the tent. She was so angry that she stomped her foot down, causing the ground to crack and form a spiderweb of deep fissures beneath her.

As the ground shook and the tent collapsed, Orochimaru calmly stepped outside, while Jiraiya was left buried under the wreckage, groaning in pain.

Going to meet Hanzo alone… Tsunade thought as she cooled down, treating some wounded in the newly constructed medical tent. She hated the idea of facing Hanzo alone, but it seemed like she had no other choice.

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