"Tell Tsunade not to come back?"
Jiraiya snatched the wooden plaque away, ran his fingertips over the sword marks, and suppressed the anger on his face.
Sasuke looked at the wooden plaque in his hand.
"It seems your old acquaintance isn't just threatening Konoha. They're also choosing its Hokage candidates for it."
Jiraiya looked up.
"This isn't a threat. It's a warning."
Sasuke raised his hand, and Yamada Naoto placed the wooden plaque in the Evidence Box, bringing the Image Recording Array Disc close to the carved marks.
"A warning to whom?"
Jiraiya did not answer.
Shikaku took over.
"Telling Tsunade not to return to Konoha means taking it for granted that Konoha will seek her out."
Hiashi looked at Jiraiya.
"You never said Tsunade was coming back."
Kakashi stared at Jiraiya's face.
"So when you tried to take Naruto out of the village just now, were you planning to look for Tsunade?"
Jiraiya set the wooden plaque on the table.
"I did want to bring her back. Konoha needs a Hokage who can stabilize the situation."
The light that had just appeared in the Third Hokage's eyes was snuffed out again by a single sentence from Sasuke.
"Hokage candidates are not for the suspended former Hokage's disciple to decide in private."
Jiraiya held back his anger.
"Then you decide?"
Sasuke unrolled the New Law scroll.
"They undergo a joint review by the Council of Elders, the Joint Law Enforcement Department, and the Daimyo's Residence."
Koharu could not help speaking up.
"Tsunade is Lord First's granddaughter, and her Medical Ninjutsu is unrivaled in the shinobi world. Do her qualifications even need reviewing?"
Sasuke looked at her.
"Her qualifications need reviewing, and so do her accounts."
Jiraiya frowned.
"What are you trying to investigate now?"
Sasuke tossed a stack of funding