Hearing Inoichi's "cry for help," Nana and Kana prepared to leave—many things discussed between the clan head and Princess Ino were not for their ears. However, this matter regarding Jiraiya clearly wasn't one of them... and Inoichi intended for the two girls to listen. As his daughter's secretaries, they would inevitably have to handle many similar "troublesome matters" in the future.
Nana and Kana needed to be trained up.
Inoichi kept the two of them, saying, "No need to leave, you should listen as well. It's about Lord Jiraiya..."
One of the Sannin, the "Toad Sage" Jiraiya, had returned to the Village—and then, this Toad Sage was caught for peeping outside the women's bathhouse.
"It was originally the responsibility of the Public Security Squad, but Lord Jiraiya tried to run after being discovered and used Ninjutsu, so the problem escalated. According to regulations, once he fled, he fell into Yugito's hands. Yugito used Konoha's surveillance system to corner him, and only then did we realize it was Lord Jiraiya... but at that point, our hands were tied."
..."Is he intentionally trying to make things difficult for our Yamanaka family?" Ino ground her teeth, her azure eyes full of killing intent. "He causes us trouble the moment he returns; is he an Uchiha?"
"Our three clans just took over, and he comes to undermine us? Oh, the Uchiha's Public Security Division went to the Ino–Shika–Chō, and now even peeping Toms are showing up, right? Next, are the villagers going to start feeling nostalgic for the Uchiha?"
She really wanted to grab Jiraiya by the neck and ask: Whose side are you actually on?
Inoichi said, "That's exactly why it's a headache... Lord Jiraiya is, after all, the Sandaime's disciple, and he has distinguished military service. As one of the Sannin, the Toad Sage is very prestigious in the Village... No matter what we do, it's... sigh..."
This was a hot potato:
Release him or not, the villagers would have opinions!
Releasing him would be the Public Security Division perverting the law, especially since the one being released was a guy caught peeping in a bathhouse. How would the women of Konoha see it? Would the bathhouses in Konoha even stay open? How would the Ino-Shika-Cho carry out their work in the future?
Not releasing him would be targeting a hero—Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, was a Konoha hero with a brilliant military record.
Now, a hero of Konoha was sitting in a cell.
Could this be considered persecution of a hero?
..."Then forget about releasing him—" Ino blurted out a curse—luckily it was in Chinese, so the listeners could only feel it was impressive without understanding. As long as they "didn't understand," Princess Ino wouldn't be seen as foul-mouthed. "First, according to relevant regulations, for his behavior of peeping and indecency, he should be sentenced to 7 days of criminal detention or pay a fine of 500,000 Ryo, with limited freedom of movement under the supervision of Public Security Division personnel instead of detention. Second, he needs to apologize to the victims in person and write a Letter of Repentance; if he offends again, he will be treated as a repeat offender. Third, due to the negative impact he caused, he should perform community service, right?"
"Yes!"
"Then follow the rules. If anyone comes to plead for him or says anything snide, have them bring the female members of their own families to the Public Security Division entrance to dance naked... Since they're so magnanimous, let this old pervert have a look at the girls in their own homes..."
If she hadn't been reborn as Ino, but as some other random person, she wouldn't care if Jiraiya was peeping or not.
But now she was a girl—how could she tolerate a pervert like Jiraiya? He should be given a profound lesson so that in the future, his legs would shake and his whole body would tremble at the sight of a women's bathhouse or hot spring. Ideally, he should just become impotent and never 'rise' again—otherwise, if one day on a whim she went to soak in a hot spring or get a back scrub and was peeped at by this old pervert from outside... Princess Tsunade's fist was a bit too light!
He should have been beaten to death directly!
Inoichi sucked in a breath of cold air; this daughter of his was truly ruthless. It's easy for anyone to say sarcastic words, but to have their own female family members sacrifice themselves like that, tsk tsk.
Inoichi frowned and said, "But Lord Jiraiya was summoned back by the Sandaime, supposedly for the matter regarding Orochimaru."
Ino said, "Then let the Hokage come and get him—let the Hokage issue an official letter to take him. As long as Hokage-sama can set aside his pride, we can release him."
"This will offend Hokage-sama. Our three clans and the Sarutobi Clan originally had a good relationship; to have it turn sour because of one Jiraiya..."
"Dad, you have to stand tall. The Hokage won't fall out with us over such a small matter. We are the Yamanaka Clan, after all, not the Sarutobi Clan. Even if we were the Sarutobi Clan, the Hokage can't just have everything his way! If the Hokage is in a hurry for the man, let him come get him. If he's not in a hurry, let him sit in there, write his self-criticism, and recognize his mistakes..."
"Sigh..."
The answer obtained from Ino was not quite satisfactory, but after dispersing his Shadow Clone, Inoichi still explained this plan.
Nara Shikaku frowned in thought and said after a long time, "If there's really no other way, then this method is the most appropriate. If we just let him go like this, our Public Security Division really won't be able to get anything done in the future."
Akimichi Choza, who had been silent, also spoke up, "Let's do it that way."
Thus, the pressure was passed to the Hokage's side... The Hokage puffed on his pipe, staring at the blank paper on his desk in a fit of hesitation, his mind almost twisting into a tangled mess.
"Jiraiya, oh Jiraiya, you really know how to find trouble for your teacher... The three clans just took over the Public Security Division, and you pull a stunt like this. What am I supposed to do with my old face?"
Just now, the Ino-Shika-Cho had formed a battle squad to come here and voice their grievances—saying the work couldn't be done anymore, and maybe his lordship should find someone more capable? The authority of the Public Security Division they had just gotten their hands on wasn't even warm yet... and they were ready to throw in the towel because of Jiraiya's stunt? But to make him write a Bail Letter and use the Hokage's authority as a guarantee... At the thought of Jiraiya's perverted nature, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his vision go dark and he could barely stand steady:
You're a Ninja, a dignified Sannin, and you actually got caught peeping!
...In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi still wrote the Bail Letter and applied his seal. After all, he had called Jiraiya back to have him bring Orochimaru back—he had to make him change his mind somehow.
Konoha could not afford to lose Orochimaru; he possessed too much core technology, too many Ninjutsu, too many things... "Perhaps, what we can rely on now is only the bonds between former teammates..."
When such things have to resort to friendship—it means there really is no other way.
Now!
Konoha's Anbu didn't even know where Orochimaru had run off to.
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