The mountains surrounding Konoha are home to several natural hot springs. For someone like Takuya, the closing of the bathhouses and hot spring inns had little impact.
But certain people were likely feeling the sting—like Jiraiya, who was busy teaching his disciple on the front lines, and the Third Hokage, who was currently scrambling to shift blame and organize the village's response.
"Let's go. There's nothing left to see here. Pack up, we're heading back to the camp in the Land of Rain tomorrow," Tsunade said, her tone laced with frustration.
She had had enough of the murky atmosphere in Konoha. Being on the battlefield was better than staying in the village. At least there, she didn't have to deal with such nonsense.
"Got it," Takuya replied.
With Tsunade saying that, Takuya lost interest in watching the drama unfold. There wasn't much left to see anyway.
The Hokage's office had put out an official statement, and the crowd outside dispersed quickly. No one wanted to be associated with spies—getting involved could spell disaster not just for themselves but for their families as well.
As for the owners of the hot springs and bathhouses, they left after receiving the Third Hokage's promise of compensation. With the funds, they could always cover the baths and hot springs, turning them into indoor facilities.
This way, while business might still take a hit, they could at least gradually recover.
A large-scale sweep for spies was launched across Konoha, and sure enough, they uncovered quite a few spies from other villages.
Tsunade's suspicion was correct. Interrogations confirmed that the Telescope Technique had indeed been leaked.
"Sigh..."
The Third Hokage stared at the crystal ball he had once treasured, letting out a heavy sigh. He couldn't just casually use this thing anymore.
Otherwise, people would start associating him with peeping and spying again, and if that happened, it would be like getting mud on his pants—no one would believe it wasn't what it looked like.
He'd have to start using the crystal ball at home... but what if his wife caught him?
The Third Hokage found himself deeply conflicted.
Thankfully, time has a way of making people forget. Once enough time had passed and everyone had moved on, maybe then he could use the crystal ball in public again.
While the village was busy rounding up spies, Takuya and Tsunade left Konoha and headed back to the camp in the Land of Rain.
Not long after they left, the situation in the Land of Rain shifted again.
With supplies from the Sand Village, even if they weren't abundant, it was enough to keep the Hidden Rain Village going for a while. Under Hanzo's leadership, the Rain Village launched a new wave of attacks against Konoha.
But it seemed that Hanzo was intentionally dragging things out. He had no intention of fully committing his forces, clearly sending a message to Chiyo.
If you want me to launch a full-scale attack, you better keep the supplies coming. Otherwise, you can forget about making any progress against Konoha's camp.
Hanzo's actions left Chiyo seething with anger.
She was now hesitating, unsure whether to continue sending supplies to the Rain Village.
After all, Sand Village's own resources were running low. But if she stopped, the war would drag on, which would be a problem for both Konoha and the Sand Village.
As Konoha launched counterattacks, Sand Village wasn't having much luck on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers either.
The Sand Village's attempt to raid the Land of Fire had cost them dearly, even though they managed to seize a considerable amount of goods.
Grain, gold, silver—anything of value was taken by the Sand Village. If it weren't so troublesome, the Sand shinobi would have likely captured people too, to bolster their village's population.
Upon returning to the camp, after reporting in, Takuya learned that Minato and Nawaki were in the camp and hadn't been sent to the front lines.
Leaving Tsunade to deliver supplies from the village to Danzo, Takuya went off to find them.
"I thought you guys were only going to be gone for a few days, but you ended up staying much longer!" Minato greeted Takuya with a playful punch on the shoulder. Takuya grabbed for Minato's hand, but Minato quickly pulled back, prompting Takuya to laugh.
"Not bad. Looks like Jiraiya-sensei has been seriously training you. Your reaction time is getting freakishly fast."
"Tch, what do you mean freakish? It's called improvement!" Minato scoffed.
"So I'm getting stronger, and that makes me freakish? What does that make you? Perpetually freakish?"
"How are things in the village?" Nawaki asked, voicing the question that had been on his mind.
Takuya's expression turned odd, which caught Minato and Nawaki's attention. They both leaned in, urging him to spill the details.
"Something interesting happen? Come on, tell us!"
"Where's your irresponsible teacher?" Takuya glanced outside the tent.
Minato blinked in confusion. What does this have to do with Jiraiya-sensei?
"Jiraiya-sensei went to the front lines a couple of days ago to provide support. The Hidden Rain's attacks have become more aggressive, so the front lines are under a lot of pressure."
"Good, that's a relief."
With Jiraiya out of the picture, there was no issue.
Takuya sat down on the ground, clutching his stomach as he burst into laughter.
"Something hilarious happened in Konoha. The Third Hokage's Telescope Technique—the one he uses to spy on people and peep on them while they're bathing—got leaked. Now, quite a few shinobi have learned it, and the village is in a frenzy, hunting down spies."
"Uh..."
Minato was dumbfounded.
A jutsu for spying on people and peeping while they bathe got leaked? What kind of bizarre jutsu is that?
Nawaki was stunned for a few seconds before quickly reacting, eagerly asking, "Is that the one where you can see everything with a crystal ball?"
"Did you learn it? Tell me the jutsu's mechanics and the hand seals."
Nawaki nudged Takuya with his shoulder, clearly impatient.
Stop laughing and spill! Did you learn it or not?
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't."
Takuya lied without missing a beat, and Nawaki looked visibly disappointed. "That's a shame."
"You guys..." Minato was both amused and exasperated. What really threw him off was that Nawaki actually wanted to learn this jutsu.
No wonder Takuya asked if Jiraiya-sensei was around. This is exactly the kind of jutsu Jiraiya-sensei would be dying to learn, and now it's out there, but he hasn't had the chance to pick it up.
If Jiraiya-sensei found out, he'd be absolutely crushed.
The image of Jiraiya, with his white hair, jumping up and down in frustration, flashed through Minato's mind, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"I didn't learn it, but someone else did. You could ask them."
"Who?"
Nawaki's eyes lit up as he leaned in closer, and Takuya struggled to keep a straight face.
"Your sister."
"..."
Dammit!
Just kill me now! If my sister finds out I want to learn that jutsu, she'll skin me alive!
Nawaki raised a middle finger at Takuya.
I despise you. You went back to the village and didn't even learn something that important. What a waste of a trip.
"The weather's nice today," Minato said, suddenly changing the subject, pretending to admire the view outside the tent.
Takuya nodded in agreement, a smile on his face.
"Yeah, it's usually pouring rain, but today it's just a drizzle. The weather is pretty good."
Since when was the weather in the Land of Rain ever nice?
Rain, rain, and more rain—it's the norm. A whole year goes by, and you don't see the sun once.
And now they're saying the weather's nice?
Nawaki was about to say something when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
His heart sank as he nearly jumped out of his skin.
Killing intent!
Wait...
Don't tell me...
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Nawaki's face twisted into a grimace, more pained than if he were crying.
As he slowly turned around, his gaze met Tsunade's amused but menacing eyes.
Tsunade had just returned from the command post when she overheard Nawaki pestering Takuya about whether he had learned the Telescope Technique.
"Takuya's right—I know it. Come with me, and I'll teach you," Tsunade said with a sly smile, shaking the water droplets from her golden hair. She grabbed Nawaki by the collar and dragged him outside.
"Aaah!!"
Seconds later, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from outside the tent.
Takuya and Minato exchanged a glance, sighed in unison, and said together:
"Poor guy."
***********
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