"See you later, seniors."
"Hey there, junior, heading out for dinner?"
Inside the Hokage Building, a young Konoha ninja gently closed the office door. Turning around, he saw the ninja from the neighboring household registration office stretching and greeting him.
Except for some key departments that required night staff, most Konoha ninjas working in the Hokage Building adhered to a strict six-to-six schedule, clocking out on time to head home for dinner.
"The seniors in our office are just too dedicated. I estimate they won't finish until around six-thirty or seven." Shaking his aching shoulders, the junior expressed his admiration for his seniors' work ethic.
"I'd say that aside from the night shift folks, our dispatch department leaves latest in the entire Hokage Building."
"That's not quite right, junior." The senior wagged his finger in front of the younger ninja, then pointed upward: "The absolute last person to leave the Hokage Building is our Third Hokage. According to the night shift colleagues, Lord Third often doesn't leave his office until midnight, and sometimes he even stays here all night."
"Truly worthy of being the Hokage. I see—for the village's stability, Lord Hokage really sacrifices so much. Compared to that, leaving work on time makes me feel..."
Such conversations could be heard almost everywhere in the Hokage Building.
Hearing the voices outside gradually diminish, Hiruzen knew that most of his subordinates had already left the Hokage Building, which meant...
"Hehe, it's time to check on how everyone in the village is living."
Unable to wait any longer, he eagerly retrieved the crystal ball from a nearby drawer and placed it on his desk. Confident that no one would disturb him at this hour, Hiruzen cast the Telescope Technique, heading straight for the bathhouse.
"As Hokage, I must naturally observe everyone's physical condition to determine whether the villagers' diet is adequate and nutrition balanced..."
Hiruzen even provided a thoughtful explanation for his actions, though in this office with only himself present, it was unclear who his explanation was meant for...
"What?! What's going on here?!"
The moment the bathhouse scene appeared in the crystal ball, Hiruzen couldn't help but exclaim at first sight.
The usual beautiful ladies had all disappeared, replaced by crowds of onlookers and collapsed walls.
Had the village been attacked? Why would anyone attack the bathhouse?
As Hokage, Hiruzen immediately summoned ANBU: "Who's on duty today?"
An ANBU member wearing a monkey mask appeared before Hiruzen: "Lord Third."
"Saru?"
Seeing the mask, Hiruzen was clearly stunned.
This was none other than his eldest son, who had always served in ANBU, silently protecting the village and rarely appearing in public view.
Instinctively moving the crystal ball aside, Hiruzen issued his command:
"Go to the bathhouse immediately and investigate what happened."
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, Saru bowed his head, acknowledged, and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
...
"Your medical skills have improved considerably, Kame."
Leaning against the doorway to rest, Tsunade spoke up after seeing the doctor finish surgery and prepare to rest.
"You flatter me. Without your guidance, this surgery couldn't have been completed so smoothly. Speaking of which, Jiraiya-sama is one of the Legendary Sannin like yourself—how could he sustain such severe injuries in the village..."
Bowing respectfully toward Tsunade, the medical ninja named Kame spoke with great deference while being quite curious about who could possibly injure a ninja of Jiraiya's caliber to near death.
"Don't be overly modest. Even without me, you could have saved Jiraiya. Alright, let's not dwell on this. Since Jiraiya is fine, I'll be going. Oh, I left his wallet at the payment counter—just take whatever you need for the fees."
As the culprit, Tsunade naturally didn't want to continue this topic. After brushing it off, she turned to leave, only to find a familiar figure blocking her path.
Having learned the details from Saru, Hiruzen arrived immediately.
"T-T-Third Hokage!"
Still in his medical attire, Kame rushed behind Tsunade and bowed respectfully to Hiruzen.
"Hehe, it's Kame. I remember you once fought as a ninja on the battlefield and participated in the operation to hunt down Hanzō of the Salamander. What made you decide to become a doctor here?"
Casting a complex look at his female student, Hiruzen shook his head slightly, then smiled kindly at Kame, accurately recounting his background.
"Lord Third, I came to the hospital to study in response to Lady Tsunade's call to establish a medical ninja corps, so that more comrades could receive timely treatment on the battlefield!"
Moved that Hiruzen still remembered him, Kame was brought to tears.
After encouraging him with a few words, Hiruzen dismissed him. Once he confirmed only he and Tsunade remained in the room, Hiruzen took out his pipe and lit it under Tsunade's disapproving gaze, placing it between his lips: "I heard about what happened. Even though Jiraiya was peeping, you didn't need to hit him so hard, Tsunade."
"Hmph..."
Faced with Hiruzen's almost reproachful tone, Tsunade, knowing she was in the wrong, snorted coldly and turned away. After organizing her thoughts, she said with a red face: "Who told that guy to go peeping when I was in a bad mood..."
"Sigh, I was originally planning to send him with Minato on a mission. Now..." Hiruzen felt a headache coming on. He considered having Tsunade fill in, but remembering her hemophobia, she clearly couldn't be sent on missions. Plus, her hemophobia was somewhat related to him...
After all, at Nawaki's age back then, he never would have been sent to the battlefield without Hiruzen's approval.
Sigh...
"Let's leave it at that. Hopefully that brat Jiraiya will learn his lesson from this. In your opinion, how long will he need to fully recover?"
Not knowing what else to say about Tsunade, Hiruzen changed the subject, focusing on Jiraiya's injuries.
"A month should be no problem. I'll follow up on his subsequent treatment."
Seeing that Hiruzen wasn't blaming her for this incident, Tsunade proactively took on Jiraiya's treatment.
"So be it."
Taking a long look at Tsunade, who wasn't very willing to communicate with him, Hiruzen waved his hand and turned to leave.
Orochimaru would rather take on small commissions than actively seek him out, Tsunade kept her distance from him, and then there was Jiraiya, who was never in the village...
Had he failed so completely as a teacher?
Thinking of his own family, Hiruzen felt a tightness in his chest, wanting to find someone to confide in properly.
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