At dusk, Hayato returned to his little courtyard alone.
Tsunade had wanted him to give a mission report.
But—Hayato politely declined.
As the Hokage, anything Tsunade said was an order. A polite refusal was still a refusal. How dare he refuse the Hokage's command?
Tsunade's brows shot up, and she was about to slam the table.
Hayato had no choice but to take out a sheet of paper and lightly place it on the desk. Yet the two words "IOU" on the paper weighed heavily on Tsunade's heart.
"Why are you carrying that around with you? Put it away, put it away. Such an important thing... how about I keep it for you?"
Tsunade's tone immediately became gentle, even a little... cautious.
"I won't trouble you with that."
Hayato slowly and meticulously folded up the IOU and put it away.
"Let's talk about the report tomorrow. Today... I'm a little tired." Hayato waved his hand, walked out of the office, and left the Hokage Building. His back beneath the setting sun looked somewhat lonely.
Tsunade watched Hayato leave through the window.
"Hayato... he'll be all right, won't he?"
"Maybe."
"Did he get hurt in the battle?"
"Probably not."
Tsunade glared. "Maybe, probably... can't you give a useful answer? You useless bastard, did you put all your usefulness into hot spring inns?"
Jiraiya gave an awkward laugh. He knew Tsunade was worried about Hayato. The last time Hayato had looked so burdened was after Itachi Uchiha's death, though that had not actually been long ago.
"Although I don't know what he said to Nagato, no matter what hurdle it is, Hayato will overcome it," Jiraiya said. "There's exhaustion in his eyes, regret, and anger, but no confusion. Hayato has always been steadfast about what he wants to do."
"All right. I