After browsing for a while, Takuya settled on a two-story villa. The price seemed reasonable—12 million ryō, which wasn't over-the-top for him.
Seeing Takuya make his purchase, Tsunade immediately turned to the sales staff, who had been following her around, sweet-talking and trying to win her over.
"I'll take this villa, and that one, and that one too. Package them all together."
Takuya: "...."
If the Third Hokage knew how freely Tsunade was spending money like this, especially if he was footing the bill, he might faint in the bathroom.
It doesn't matter which era or world it is, you should never underestimate what happens when women start shopping.
The villas were already fully furnished, so after the paperwork was done, they'd be ready to move in.
Tsunade's reasoning was simple—since the Third Hokage was going to cover the bill anyway, why not just go ahead and buy three? One for herself, one for Nawaki, and one for Kushina. After all, it wasn't coming out of her own pocket.
"You're spending big. Does the Hokage know?" Takuya asked.
"Of course he doesn't, but even if he didn't know, he'd still have to pay up," Tsunade said, arms crossed, her voice filled with smug satisfaction.
She couldn't help but chuckle when she thought of the stunned expression on the sales staff's face when she said the bill would be sent to the Hokage's office.
"Hurry up! We still need to buy furniture and appliances. Once we've done that, we can grab a bite to eat and move in tomorrow."
"..."
Takuya could only hope the Third Hokage wouldn't pass out from the stress of all the bills she was piling onto his desk.
The Third Hokage had thought about Tsunade's issues after she stormed out. He needed to come up with a way to appease her while also keeping Koharu and Homura in check.
Knock, knock!
"Come in," he called, setting his pipe down.
"Hokage-sama," the head of the finance department, Sarutobi Ichirō, entered and bowed.
"What brings you here, Ichirō?" The Third Hokage inquired.
Technically, there was no finance minister, as the Third Hokage handled that department himself. He didn't trust anyone else with the responsibility, so Ichirō, a member of the Sarutobi clan, helped manage it in his stead.
"Hokage-sama, this is a bill from the real estate office, 'Good Living.' They asked for your signature and seal."
Ichirō handed over the paperwork, looking anything but amused.
"A bill? From a real estate office?"
The Third Hokage was perplexed. Why would I be buying property? He didn't need to buy a house in Konoha, so what was this about?
Taking the bill and scanning it, his eyes widened, and soon after, a fit of coughing overtook him.
"This is outrageous!!!"
It turns out Tsunade had bought a new house. Well, actually, three villas. It wouldn't have been an issue if she had the money herself, but she didn't. And now she had sent the bill to the Hokage's office.
What's worse, she didn't just buy one villa for herself and Nawaki—no, she also decided to buy one for Kushina. And now the Hokage's office had to cover it all.
"Where's Tsunade? Tell her to come see me immediately," the Third Hokage demanded, his face dark with frustration.
He realized Tsunade was retaliating. If the logistics department refused to give her supplies and the finance department refused to hand over money, she'd just spend until the Hokage had to cover it. After all, with her war contributions and merits, she had every right to be compensated in cash.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ichirō exited the office, nodding to the Anbu waiting by the door. The Anbu agent quickly left to summon Tsunade.
Meanwhile, Tsunade and Takuya were busy picking out furniture. After Takuya paid his share, he stood back and watched Tsunade put on a show.
"I'll take this, that, and these over here. I want three of each, and one set should be in pink. Deliver them to this address and make sure they're set up properly," Tsunade ordered, not holding back.
Since she didn't have to pay, Tsunade was as extravagant as possible.
"Everything, I want everything! Three of each!"
"Once it's all installed, send the bill to the Hokage's office. Someone there will handle it," she added casually.
"Uh..."
It wasn't unusual for customers to ask for a bill later, but this was Tsunade, the famous Sannin. Did she really need to do that? And sending it to the Hokage's office? Was that really appropriate?
Still, the customer is always right. As long as they got paid, what did they care? If the Hokage's office was footing the bill, so be it. Even the Hokage had to pay for things.
Watching this unfold, the Anbu agent nearly stumbled as he rushed over. It seemed like Tsunade had bought quite a lot, all in threes and top-tier items, no less. The Third Hokage was going to have a headache over this for sure.
Once everything was settled, Tsunade seemed pleased with herself. "So, where to next? Food? Or do you think the restaurant will have trouble sending the bill to the Hokage's office?"
"..."
"You're going to have them send the restaurant bill too?" Takuya couldn't help but laugh.
Pointing toward a corner, he added, "You might want to deal with that first. He's been watching us for a while."
"Hm?" Tsunade turned around, finally noticing the Anbu agent lurking nearby. Her good mood made her overlook him until now.
"Tsunade-sama, the Hokage requests your presence at the office," the Anbu agent said, stepping forward now that he'd been spotted.
"Go back and tell him I'm busy right now. I've got more shopping to do. He should just focus on paying for everything, and if there's no money, I'll go tear down the finance department."
"Let's go eat," she added, calling to Takuya.
Takuya stifled his laughter, patting the nearly teary-eyed Anbu agent on the shoulder before following Tsunade out of the mall.
The two of them decided to grab some barbecue.
Meanwhile, back at the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage was at his wit's end.
Not only had Tsunade refused to come see him, but she had sent another bill to his office instead.
Looking at the string of numbers on the bill, the Third Hokage's eye twitched. He had a feeling this was just the beginning, not the end. Tsunade was going to keep buying, and every bill would end up on his desk.
"Hokage-sama!!"
Before the Third Hokage could even catch his breath, another bill arrived.
This time it was a member of the Akimichi clan, holding a bill and looking rather distressed.
"This is Tsunade-sama's tab from the restaurant. She asked me to bring it to you."
What did I do to deserve this... the Third Hokage sighed, forcing a smile as he said, "Give it here."
The Akimichi member looked relieved, as long as someone acknowledged the bill. They didn't care who paid it—just as long as someone did.