However.
This domineering, high-handed parchment invitation
had not been sent to Konoha's Hokage Office alone.
Konoha, Hokage Building.
The office was as stifling as a giant steamer, without even the faintest breeze.
The air carried the sour smell of old stacks of paper, mixed with the stale reek of cheap shochu left unfinished the night before.
It made one's throat dry and scratchy.
Tsunade was slumped across the office chair that had only been replaced a few days ago.
Her blonde hair was a mess, and fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, trickling down her cheeks and into her collar, leaving everything sticky.
Irritably, she used her fingernail to pick at a hangnail on the edge of the desk.
"Lady Tsunade... Lady Tsunade! Something happened!"
Shizune rushed in through the door in a panic, clutching the little pink pig in her arms.
She was running so fast that her left foot caught her right, and she nearly pitched face-first onto the floor.
The pig snorted and, frightened, dribbled a few drops of urine onto Shizune's sleeve.
"What are you yelling for? Did the sky fall?"
Tsunade shot her an annoyed glare and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Then she grabbed the chipped teacup on the desk and gulped down a mouthful of tea that had long gone cold.
A tea stem floated in the cup and caught in her throat, making her cough repeatedly.
"Cough, cough... What is it? Speak."
Tsunade slammed the teacup down on the desk, splashing two drops of tea onto the financial reports marked in red.
"It's... it's Iwagakure..."
Shizune panted hard, her chest heaving violently and even her lips turning pale.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeve stained with pig urine.
"Iwagakure issued a notice. They're... they're holding a