Don't Cover Down There! Cover Your Face!!

Outside the women's bathhouse.

Two figures stood there, one tall and one short, one white-haired and one blonde.

In almost perfectly synchronized, lecherous poses, they stuck out their backsides and pressed themselves against the wall.

They craned their necks to peer through a crack.

Both pairs of eyes were wide, gleaming with the same rapt fascination.

Jiraiya was so engrossed that he kept letting out foolish little "heh-heh-heh" laughs.

He never noticed someone had appeared beside him.

Tsunade had forgotten why she had come, too.

Only one thought remained in her head.

So this is what the inside of the women's bathhouse looks like...

Nice waist...

Whoa! Hers are about as big as mine...

Without realizing it, she leaned in even closer.

A good while passed.

Jiraiya decided this angle wasn't giving him a good enough view.

Without thinking, he shifted slightly, looking for another gap.

His elbow bumped into someone.

"Sorry..."

He said it offhandedly.

Then he froze mid-sentence.

Wait.

Someone beside me?

I came alone, didn't I?

Jiraiya turned his head, inch by stiff inch.

There, right beside him, was a familiar profile pressed against the crack, watching just as intently as he had been.

Blonde hair. Familiar features.

Who else could it be but Tsunade?!

"Tsu—!!!!"

"Tsunade?!"

Jiraiya's voice cracked.

Cold sweat broke out across his back and ran down his spine.

I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!

He had planned to use the "Make-Out Tactics" he'd just written to confess to Tsunade today.

He had even washed his hair and changed his clothes.

He'd rehearsed his opening line three times!

And now she'd caught him peeping into the women's bathhouse?!

Did his confession stand a chance now?!

"Tsunade, l-let me make excuses... No! Let me explain!!"

Jiraiya instinctively covered his head, curled into a ball, and shut his eyes to wait for the beating.

Sure, he had learned Senjutsu and grown much stronger.

But the fear of Tsunade's monstrous punches, drilled into him over the past decade and more,

was etched into his DNA!

And yet.

He waited one second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

The punch he expected never came.

Jiraiya cautiously opened one eye.

Tsunade hadn't even lifted her head.

She was still clinging to the crack, staring inside with a rapt, lecherous look.

Jiraiya: "???"

What was going on?!

Was Tsunade... peeping?

Why the hell would she peep?!

She was a woman herself!

If she wanted to look, couldn't she just go in?!

If she was going to peep, it should be at the men's bathhouse... Ahem!

"Hey... Tsunade?"

Jiraiya called to her softly, testing the waters.

Tsunade didn't react.

Jiraiya blinked. Then blinked again.

She really hadn't noticed him.

Was she... that absorbed?

Could a woman really get that absorbed in watching a women's bathhouse?

Was this really Tsunade??

Jiraiya's entire worldview took a serious blow.

But he didn't dwell on it.

He had only one thought now.

If I don't run now, when will I?!

Holding his breath and hunching over, he began to tiptoe backward.

One step.

Two steps.

He moved quietly.

But his earlier cry had caught the attention of someone inside the bathhouse.

A shapely young woman was rinsing off near the outer wall.

She seemed to hear a faint noise outside.

Curious, she stopped and turned toward the crack.

She even took two steps closer without thinking.

Through the rising steam and the narrow gap,

a pale, beautifully curved profile

suddenly filled their entire view!

Holy shit... She's coming closer... closer...

"Gulp!"

Tsunade clearly heard herself swallow.

The sight hit her hard!

She was trembling with excitement.

For a moment, she completely forgot to hide.

Instead, she instinctively pressed her face against the crack as hard as she could.

She wished she could shove her eyeballs through for a better look.

Closer... a little closer... almost...

"Crack!"

A faint snapping sound rang out.

The wooden outer wall beneath Tsunade had been built to let air through and wasn't particularly sturdy.

It gave a groan.

Then, under her relentless, overpowering pressure,

at last...

Boom—!!!

The entire outer wall, along with a small section of roof, collapsed inward!

Dust billowed!

Splinters flew!

A thick cloud rose!

Tsunade pitched forward and nearly tumbled in after the wall.

Luckily, she reacted quickly, digging in her heels to steady herself.

But the wall in front of her

was gone.

Just like that, completely gone.

The steaming interior of the women's bathhouse lay exposed to the open air.

It had become an "open-air bath with a panoramic view"!

The hot pool, the washing area, the edge of the changing area...

Everything, including the dozen or so women soaking or rinsing off inside,

was laid bare!

For one second, time seemed to stop.

Every woman froze.

In unison, they looked toward the sudden gaping hole.

The dust thinned a little.

Then they saw—

Tsunade, standing closest, still clutching her change of clothes and toiletries.

And farther away,

a blurry figure in the dust whose shape they couldn't quite make out, but who looked... like a man.

"Aaah—!!!!!!!!"

"A-a pervert—!!!!"

"Run!!!--"

Screams in every pitch exploded at once!

Water splashed! People scattered! Towels flew!

The bathhouse descended into chaos.

Pale, pink, and tan figures ran wildly through the steam.

Everything that ought to have been covered was on full display.

Jiraiya happened to turn his head.

"Pffft—!!!!"

Two jets of blood shot straight from his nose.

They traced two bright-red arcs through the sunlight.

But Jiraiya was still Jiraiya.

Even as his nose bled, his survival instinct suddenly returned.

He wiped at the blood and spun to run.

No one's seen my face clearly yet.

Get out of here!

But the instant he turned,

another figure moved even faster!

"You bastard, peeping into the women's bathhouse!!"

"Die!!!"

With a furious, righteous shout,

a heavy punch packed with monstrous strength tore through the air.

It slammed into Jiraiya's stomach with flawless precision!

"Pff—!!!!"

Jiraiya felt as if a rhinoceros charging at full speed had hit him head-on.

His organs seemed to shift all at once.

A mouthful of blood, mixed with the nosebleed he hadn't quite wiped away, sprayed out!

He didn't even have time to finish screaming.

His whole body flew like a baseball struck with all the batter's strength.

With a sharp whoosh, he streaked across the sky.

He became a tiny black speck in the sky.

Then he vanished into the distant glow of the setting sun.

Tsunade lowered her fist.

The whole thing had been swift and clean, without a wasted motion.

By then, the women in the bathhouse had come scrambling out.

Some were wrapped in towels, some had only managed to throw on a coat, and some still clutched bars of soap.

Bare skin flashed everywhere. The scene was utter chaos.

Worse... quite a few people outside had heard the commotion and come running.

Seven or eight heads poked out from the men's baths, craning to see what was happening.

Villagers passing by stopped in their tracks too.

Everyone froze.

The air went still for half a second.

Then the women came to their senses and screamed as they tried to cover themselves—

One hand over the top left the bottom exposed.

Covering the bottom exposed the top.

Their faces flushed red with panic, tears welling in their eyes.

They simply didn't have enough hands!

The scene grew even more chaotic and mortifying.

Just then, Tsunade, who had sent the "peeping tom" flying with one punch,

darted straight to the front of the panicked women.

She brought her foot down hard on the shattered wall tiles!

Bang!!

A cloud of dust billowed up again, blocking the men outside from view.

Seizing the moment, Tsunade turned around.

She roared at the distraught women behind her:

"Stop covering down there!! Cover your faces!! Get to the changing room!!!"

Her shout cracked through the air like thunder.

It instantly drowned out the chaos and crying.

The women froze, then seemed to find something to rally around.

Right! Cover our faces!

The important thing is that no one recognizes us!

As for our bodies... we're all women here anyway, and there's no time to worry about that!

Every woman moved her hands from below to her face.

Faces covered and heads lowered,

they rushed toward the changing room like a pack of startled rabbits.

Tsunade stayed where she was, sweeping her gaze over the villagers who had gathered to watch.

Then she punched the ground.

Bang!

Her fist blasted a deep crater into the earth.

"Get the hell out of here, all of you!"

At the sight of such ferocity, everyone swallowed hard.

They forgot all about watching the spectacle.

Each ran as fast as they could.

Only after everyone had scattered did Tsunade finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Phew..."

"With a performance like that, no one will suspect me, right?"

She glanced around, feeling a little guilty.

With a reaction that flawless, I should be fine!

Tsunade looked back and hesitated for a moment.

Then she strode toward the women's changing room.

She couldn't help it.

After all, those girls had just had a fright.

I should go soothe their shaken spirits!

It's what I should do as a woman!