Konoha, at a secluded hot spring inn near Tanzaku Town.
This had once been Jiraiya's usual hideout for "research" and avoiding trouble, but now the atmosphere was heavier and more oppressive than the sulfurous steam.
Inside the room, on the traditional tatami mats, the water in the teacups had long since gone cold. Three figures sat in a triangle, without even the superficial harmony they had once shared.
Jiraiya slammed his sake cup onto the low table, splashing sake everywhere.
His face was flushed, veins bulged on his forehead, and even his long white hair seemed to bristle slightly with anger.
"One village! Three Hokage?! What the fuck is this supposed to be?! Huh?!" Jiraiya's roar echoed through the room, making the paper doors rattle.
"Division! Blatant division! This is an utter betrayal of the First, of the Second, of... of the 'Will of Fire'!"
He panted, staring hard at Tsunade across from him before turning toward the silent Orochimaru beside him.
"Look! Both of you, look! What has Konoha become?! Teacher Sarutobi was forced to lead his troops north, that bastard Danzo actually got to put on the Hokage's robes, and Minato... Minato, he..."
Jiraiya's voice caught, as though his student's "rise to power" had left him with an indescribable sense of frustration and disappointment.
"This is a complete farce! An absolute disgrace to Konoha!"
Faced with Jiraiya's fury, Tsunade merely lounged against a pillar by the window, taking occasional sips from a small sake flask.
Her long golden hair hung loose, and her cheeks were flushed as though she had yet to shake off a hangover, but deep within her amber eyes lay cold numbness and a trace of mockery.
"Betrayal? Heh..." Tsunade scoffed, her voice slightly hoarse. "Jiraiya, can your Will of Fire bring my little brother