The Hokage Building.
At that moment, the Hokage Office on the top floor was rather busy, with plenty of matters to deal with.
"Old Man, I really don't know what got into your head. It was a perfectly normal selection, and you just had to turn it into a vote."
Jiraiya held a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, grumbling in exasperation.
He hadn't even started recording anything yet, and the endless little tasks already had his head spinning.
Now that he thought about it, one day wouldn't be nearly enough.
They had five days, but they couldn't leave everything until the last day. Getting an early start would speed things along.
Just thinking about it irritated Jiraiya. He still had other missions to take on, too. If he'd known, he wouldn't have come back.
"Hehe, isn't this a good way to see which of you is more popular?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed.
He had made the decision on fairly short notice, without preparing anything. Still, that was fine. He could enjoy the show and use one of his last privileges to see which of his students was more popular.
Though it was quite obvious.
"What a waste of time. Do you know how hard this job is? Things are already tense enough right now!"
Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, too drained to complain any further. They were already busy, and now he had to tally votes?
"Sigh."
Jiraiya understood perfectly well that he ought to respect his teacher. With his teacher insisting on it, what else could he do?
"Kakashi, you're coming with me."
So he put the pressure on Kakashi from across the room!
Kakashi Hatake's mouth twitched. He had only come to report on his work before going to teach his students.
"Lord Jiraiya, I..."