Autumn sunlight filled the sky as withered yellow leaves drifted from the trees along the street, dancing in the breeze.
A beautiful figure raced across the rooftops, her pale yellow ponytail bouncing behind her.
Before long, Tsunade, who had received the message, arrived from Konoha Hospital at the entrance to the Police Department. Her bright eyes immediately found Qingguang waiting for her there.
"Big Sis, sorry for the trouble."
Tsunade patted Qingguang on the shoulder. She appeared calm, but in her heart she was already cursing those bastards who sold fake medicine to high heaven.
"It's no trouble. If you hadn't stepped in, there might've been even more patients at Konoha Hospital with upset stomachs from taking fake medicine."
"Lead the way."
She'd already decided that once she finished inspecting this batch of medicine, she'd go find that old geezer Hiruzen Sarutobi and give him a thorough grilling—she needed someone to take her anger out on!
Konoha's Medical Department couldn't be left in the hands of parasites!
Qingguang led Tsunade toward the place where the medicine was stored. As they passed the training grounds, she spotted Akiya of the Inuzuka Family and Yashiro acting rather lovey-dovey beneath a tree.
"Qingguang, what's going on with those two?"
"Big Sis, they're getting married soon. I'll invite you to the wedding feast."
Qingguang even sidled up to Tsunade and whispered conspiratorially, "Elder Shifang's got some vintage liquor stashed away. I'll figure out a way to get him to bring it."
At that, Tsunade's mood immediately improved. She draped one pale arm around Qingguang's neck and ruffled his hair with the other. "All these years of looking after you haven't been wasted. You really are my good little brother."
"Come on. Let's take care of business first. With me on the case, not a single fake medicine will escape my eagle eyes!"
When they reached the warehouse, Tsunade rolled up her sleeves, put on a pair of rubber gloves, and immediately shifted into a focused state, inspecting the medicines one by one.
Qingguang, meanwhile, went to the Police Department cafeteria, got a boxed lunch, and left it on the table outside the warehouse.
At this hour, Tsunade probably hadn't even had lunch yet. By the time the inspection was done, it would likely be evening.
After that, he headed to the interrogation unit. Following some preliminary screening and questioning, they quickly let go of the completely uninformed shop assistants and the innocent shop owners.
Though they had sold fake medicine unwittingly, under the Police Department's laws, it still counted as business negligence. They had to pay a fine and cover all the patients' medical expenses during their hospital stays.
Some people still had their objections, but after Qingguang talked it through with them, they came to realize that they had neglected their responsibilities.
As for the few stubborn holdouts, Qingguang had no intention of wasting any more time. He simply sent someone to the Yamanaka Clan to ask a few of their ninja to come help.
They got results quickly.
All the leads pointed to the Medical Department as the source of the conspiracy.
The result surprised him. At first, he'd thought it was a scheme by some shinobi village in one of the Great Nations, trying to sabotage Konoha during the war.
But in the end, the case had been caused by his own people embezzling funds.
It left him at a loss. He'd thought it was the work of one of the Great Nations, but it had turned out to be the work of people right there in Konoha...
Just as Qingguang was feeling helpless, the warehouse door opened. Sweat had dampened Tsunade's temples, and strands of hair clung to the side of her face.
As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted the boxed lunch on the table and Qingguang standing nearby with a troubled look.
Without a word, she picked up the chopsticks and started wolfing down the food, not caring whether it was hot or cold.
After a few mouthfuls, she looked over at Qingguang, cheeks bulging as she asked, "Why the long face? Give Big Sis a smile."
Tsunade used the end of her chopsticks to tilt Qingguang's chin upward.
Qingguang forced a somewhat strained smile.
"How did the interrogation go?"
Qingguang sighed, his expression serious. "We got it out of them. The problem came from the Medical Department."
As he spoke, Qingguang placed a list on the table. It bore the names of three Medical Department directors, all Medical Ninja from the Utatane Clan.
Crack.
Tsunade snapped the chopsticks in her hand. She tossed the boxed lunch onto the table, her appetite vanishing in an instant.
At first, Tsunade had thought the medicine peddlers had simply gone astray in pursuit of profit. She hadn't expected the problem to be in the Medical Department!
She immediately stood and headed for the door.
"Big Sis, you haven't finished your—"
"You eat it. Don't let it go to waste. I'm in a bad mood, so I'm going to find someone to take it out on!"
Qingguang was left alone, staring at the half-eaten boxed lunch as he rubbed his forehead.
Just then, the cafeteria lady came toward him with a cart, bringing food to the interrogation unit. She scooped two big spoonfuls of dishes into the lunchbox.
"Kid, this has gone cold. Let me add some hot food for you. You've had a tiring day, huh?"
"Eat up. If you're still hungry, I'll get you more. There's plenty."
"Here, your chopsticks."
Under the cafeteria lady's watchful gaze, Qingguang had no choice but to take the food and eat, though he wasn't too keen on it.
Huh? Well, he had to admit, the cafeteria lady's cooking was pretty good today. No wonder Big Sis had been eating so enthusiastically.
At the Hokage Building, the two ninja on duty at the entrance saw someone approaching and were about to stop her.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had personally ordered that no visitors be admitted today. He had important business to take care of.
But once they saw it was Tsunade, they silently turned their heads away.
She was the Princess of Konoha, the First Hokage's granddaughter. Who would dare stop her...
Thump, thump, thump. Her red-painted toenails flashed as she climbed the stairs in low heels.
When she reached the door on the top floor, Tsunade immediately gave it a mighty kick!
BOOM!!!
If anyone else had caused such a commotion, the ninja on duty would surely have been punished, and the Anbu Ninja lurking nearby would already have swarmed in to capture the intruder.
But just as Hatake Sakumo, hidden in the shadows, was about to reveal himself, he saw that it was Tsunade and quietly returned to his perch against a tree outside the building.
"So it's just Tsunade. I thought someone was trying to assassinate Lord Hokage."
Inside the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was reading an erotic magazine. The shock nearly scared the soul out of him, and he hurriedly stuffed it into his desk drawer.
There was only one person in all of Konoha with the nerve to do something like this.
His student, Tsunade.
"Tsunade, what brings you here? Did you finish inspecting the medicine for the Police Department already?"
Smack!
Tsunade slapped the list in her hand down on the desk and planted one hand on her hip. She made no effort to hide her anger, directing all of it at the Hokage.
"Tell me, how are you planning to deal with this?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Tsunade had come to vent her anger on him. No matter how he answered, she'd probably give him an earful.
But there was nothing he could do about it. Tsunade's standing in Konoha was no lower than that of the Third himself—if anything, it was even greater.
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