Tsunade closed the thin procurement file without a sound.
She rose and walked straight out of the Special Care Unit. The two ANBU outside remained as still as statues when she emerged, making no unnecessary movements.
Rather than return to her own office, she went straight to the Logistics Department.
The Logistics Department building still retained the style of an earlier era, its corridors dimly lit. Minister Morita's office was at the far end of the third floor.
Tsunade did not ask the secretary to announce her. She pushed the door open and walked in.
Morita was reviewing documents. At the sight of Tsunade, he put on a practiced smile and rose to greet her. "Lady Tsunade, what brings you here? Is the Medical Department short on supplies?"
Tsunade placed the file on his desk.
"The monitoring equipment installed in the Special Care Unit last month is all substandard." Her voice was level, as though she were discussing something inconsequential.
Morita's smile froze for a moment. Then he picked up the file and made a show of studying it carefully. "Substandard? Surely that can't be right. These are the Fire Phoenix Trading Company's latest models. They passed the rigorous bidding process conducted by the police-defense Joint Procurement Office. Every procedure was compliant."
He placed particular emphasis on "Joint Procurement Office" and "rigorous bidding process."
"I don't care what kind of phoenix it is, or what procedures it went through," Tsunade interrupted. "I'm giving you the technical specifications. Its chakra fluctuation filtering threshold is sixteen times the upper limit stipulated by the S-Rank Sealed Subject Life Monitoring Regulations. That means if a patient develops a subtle cursed seal abnormality, this machine will filter it out as 'noise' without sounding a single alarm."
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Morita's forehead. He