Tsunade's mouth twisted into a cold smile. She straightened in her chair and placed both hands back on the desk, her fingertips pressing two shallow creases into the urgent report.
"They haven't lost their minds. They're afraid of Uchiha Yongye."
"The fact that they haven't sent Yugito here to apologize is already brazen enough!"
Jiraiya froze, then understanding dawned. His expression grew deeply conflicted.
Pain had flattened Konoha single-handedly, only for Uchiha Yongye to bring him down single-handedly.
That battle had caused too much commotion for Kumogakure's spies to miss. Those Barbarians were certainly warlike, but they were brutal and stubborn, not brainless.
Tsunade tapped the edge of the scroll twice. Her knuckles struck the paper with two short clicks and one long one. She looked away from Jiraiya and turned to Shizune.
"Reply to Kumogakure. Demand fifty times the compensation! Make the wording harsh, harsher, and harsher still!"
"Tell them that if they refuse, we'll send Uchiha Yongye to collect it!"
"And we won't be responsible for whatever happens after that!"
Shizune's back snapped straight. Her heels clicked together.
A smile spread across her face, lifting the corners of her mouth and smoothing the fine lines around her eyes. Her voice rose slightly.
"Yes!"
She turned toward the door, walking faster than she had on the way in. Her heels made a quick series of clicks on the wooden floor.
"Wait!"
Jiraiya's voice came from the side. It wasn't loud, but it stopped Shizune in her tracks. Already halfway through her turn, she halted at the threshold and looked back at him.
Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest again. Slightly hunched, he shifted his weight from his heels to the balls of his feet, his face full of misgivings.
He fixed his eyes on Tsunade. His mouth pulled