"Fine! Since you're so confident," Tsunade said, her lips curling into a sly smile, "it's time you did some actual work. You're still a Genin, you know. It embarrasses me as Hokage every time anyone mentions it."
She tapped her fingers on the desk and gave her order. "Here's your assignment. You must become a Jonin by the end of next year! If you don't..."
She drew out the words, smiling like a fox. "...I'll have the ANBU take a good, hard look at those expensive properties belonging to a certain 'ordinary Genin,' along with those enormous sums of money of dubious origin at the underground bounty exchange."
The corner of Toru Kujyo's eye twitched.
He stood, walked to the door, pulled it open, and looked back at Tsunade with a grin.
"No problem, Lord Hokage. But if I ever see another enormous payment in the daimyo's financial reports labeled 'village confidential intelligence expenses,' and the recipient just happens to be a certain sucker who loses every bet she makes... I can't promise I won't have a nice chat with the Land of Fire's oversight department about Konoha's 'anti-corruption efforts.'"
Without waiting for Tsunade to explode, he slammed the door with a bang and strode away.
Inside the office, Tsunade trembled with rage, pointing at the doorway and unable to speak for a long moment.
"He... how dare he threaten me!"
"Lady Tsunade, your blood pressure..." Shizune said, trembling as she held Tonton.
Konoha, Hokage Office.
Tsunade rubbed her temples irritably. The lingering echo of Toru Kujyo's infuriating remarks seemed to hang in the air. She was trying to sort the scattered documents when an urgent knock came at the door.
"Lady Tsunade, an urgent report!"
A Konoha ninja pushed the door open, his face still marked by alarm and