But Hiruzen Sarutobi only looked away, lips twitching, and in the end stayed silent.
The last ember of respect Senju Tsunade still felt for her teacher snuffed out; she let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"As expected… nothing compares to the so-called 'bonds' you people share. No matter how many atrocities Danzo Shimura commits, he's still the 'comrade who acts for Konoha' in your eyes, isn't he?"
Hiruzen's face twisted in bitterness. "Tsunade, Danzo has his faults, but his contributions are undeniable. If you execute him in secret I won't object, however—"
Tsunade cut him off with a cold chuckle. "The whole Ninja World is about to know; there's no changing that."
Seeing that neither sentiment nor reason would sway her, Homura Mitokado's gaze hardened as he resolved to play his final card.
He stepped forward, voice lowered to a menacing whisper. "Tsunade, don't change the subject. Nothing is irreparable—it depends on whether you're willing. You wouldn't want the entire Ninja World to learn that you suffer from—"
He left the word unsaid, yet everyone present understood exactly what he meant.
He intended to expose Tsunade's deadliest weakness and use it as political leverage to force her submission.
The air inside the Hokage Office froze.
Tsunade's pupils contracted; a wave of icy rage surged from the pit of her stomach.
At that critical instant—
a broad, powerful hand clamped onto Homura's shoulder with silent, crushing force.
The pressure drove Homura's body downward, the words dying in his throat.
He spun around in alarm and met a pair of eyes that were usually amiable but now resembled a frozen abyss.
It was Jiraiya.
He had appeared behind Homura without a sound, his face expressionless.
Yet the tangible murderous aura pouring off him sent the room's temperature plummeting.
"Homura Mitokado…" Jiraiya's voice was terrifyingly calm, like the hush before a storm. "Some words… once spoken, can never be taken back."
"Y-you… what do you think you're doing?" Homura felt the bone-crushing grip on his shoulder and saw the open warning in Jiraiya's eyes; cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.
He had no doubt that if he dared finish that sentence, Jiraiya would make him pay a terrible price on the spot.
Jiraiya's gaze swept slowly across the pale Homura, the furious Utatane Koharu, and the silent, ashen-faced Hiruzen.
"What do I intend to do?" Jiraiya's expression was glacial, his low voice carrying unquestionable authority.
"I've said it before: anyone who threatens the Village, I will remove… without hesitation."
The word "remove" dripped with blood-soaked killing intent, sending Homura and Koharu into an icy hell.
"Enough, Jiraiya!"
Hiruzen finally broke his silence with a sharp rebuke.
He could not stand by while his former comrade was threatened, even if he knew the fault lay on his own side.
Jiraiya slowly released Homura's shoulder, the terrifying pressure vanishing as though it had been an illusion.
He even produced a thin, humorless smile.
"Relax, Old Man. I wouldn't possibly… strike in the Hokage Office, would I?"
Homura and Koharu exhaled in unison, their backs soaked with cold sweat.
For a moment they had truly felt Jiraiya's undisguised killing intent—no idle threat.
Yet Jiraiya's next words sent their hearts leaping back into their throats.
"But, Old Man," he continued, eyes sharpening again as he locked gazes with Hiruzen, "every word I just said was true."
He glanced meaningfully at Homura and Koharu.
"I believe you feel the same. So I trust you'll keep certain people on a tight leash…"
His tone turned cold, delivering a final warning.
"Don't make trouble. Otherwise…"
He left the rest unsaid, but the implicit threat was more chilling than any explicit statement.
Hiruzen looked haggard. Facing these two iron-willed disciples who had already transformed themselves, he knew words were useless.
He nodded weakly and said nothing more.
Nothing he could say would matter now.
Hiruzen turned and walked toward the door of the office, his steps heavy.
Homura and Koharu, despite their resentment and fear, could only shoot venomous glances at Tsunade and Jiraiya before hurrying after him.
Then Tsunade's cool voice rang out behind them: "Wait."
The three froze and instinctively looked back.
Tsunade calmly extended her right hand and lightly sliced her left wrist with a fingernail.
A crimson line appeared at once, red beads welling up.
What made Hiruzen and the others' pupils contract in shock was that Tsunade looked at her own blood without the slightest change in expression, her eyes utterly steady.
The hemophobia that had once paralyzed her and driven her into decades of avoidance seemed never to have existed.
She casually stanched the bleeding with medical Ninjutsu and met Hiruzen's gaze with quiet, forceful composure.
"My fear of blood was only ever a barrier in my heart."
"But when I decided to return, to take up this hat and carry on their dream of protecting Konoha…"
"I knew I had nothing left to fear."
Hiruzen stared at her, emotions roiling, and finally sighed. "…So be it."
Tsunade nodded, then turned sharp and candid eyes on him.
"Old Man, I'd planned to keep this secret a little longer and see what rats it might lure out—"
"Rogue Ninja!"
The word struck like thunder; Homura and Koharu's faces paled, cold sweat drenching their clothes.
They had indeed considered exploiting this "weakness" to check Tsunade's power.
Ignoring their panic, Tsunade spoke with a trace of entreaty and final respect.
"Old Man, you're getting on—stop stirring up trouble."
"I don't want to see you cornered again, forced against your conscience to come and plead with me."
"Don't let the last shreds of affection between us be exhausted like this."