Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura spoke at the same time.
"What? Monkey is dead?"
"What on earth happened?"
They had finished organizing everything that morning and tallied it all that afternoon. Tomorrow should have been the Hokage's abdication and the ceremony to pass on the Hokage's robe, and now, that evening, they were being told that Hiruzen Sarutobi was dead?
They were utterly dumbfounded!
Tsunade's expression did not change. She simply watched their exaggerated display in silence, their mouths hanging open or their brows creasing into wrinkles deep enough to crush a mosquito.
Inwardly, she grumbled that these two old fossils hid away here every day without lifting a finger, came up with nothing but rotten ideas, and had probably pocketed plenty of benefits.
Remembering what Luo Mang had written in the Diary about his withheld compensation made Tsunade's blood boil.
"Enough of your prattling."
Her stern voice made Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura shudder before they stiffly turned to look at her, apparently not expecting her to snap at them so harshly.
Utatane Koharu had intended to stay silent for a moment before speaking, but on second thought, something felt wrong. She immediately frowned and spoke with a dark expression.
"Tsunade, we are your teacher's peers, which makes us your elders. How dare you shout at us like that!"
"Heh..."
Tsunade was inwardly railing at them, but she said none of it aloud. There was still some authority she needed to reclaim herself, and she could not afford to let their relationship become too strained.
Besides, Hiruzen Sarutobi had died too suddenly. She had had no time to make inquiries or discuss matters with him, so she could only learn what she needed from Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, these two lackeys, to prevent any unexpected trouble.
"I didn't