The presence of Iwa ninjas here was entirely due to their search for Uzumaki bloodlines.
Ōnoki was hoping to bring any surviving Uzumaki back to Iwagakure for training. Whether it was their advanced sealing techniques or their unique bloodline, the Hidden Stone Village valued these immensely. Like the other villages, Iwagakure had its share of challenges when it came to finding suitable jinchūriki.
Upon hearing that Uzumaki bloodlines were discovered in the Hidden Grass Village, Ōnoki dispatched teams to find them. However, the Hidden Grass Village wasn't foolish—they had hidden these individuals away.
The Iwa ninja were becoming increasingly aggressive in their search.
Nawaki was starting to worry that Uzumaki Nami might be discovered by them.
"Takuya, Minato, should we leave or stay here?" he asked.
"Those Iwa ninjas aren't here to attack the Grass Village," Minato replied, glancing over at Takuya. "Even if they were, we're not strong enough to take them on."
"…"
Why are you both looking at me? If you want to leave, just say it.
"Let's go!" Takuya finally decided. If they were already thinking about leaving, there was no reason to stay any longer.
At most, the Iwa ninjas would turn the Hidden Grass Village upside down. They weren't going to attack the village—doing so would only provoke Konoha without gaining anything in return.
Ōnoki isn't the type to take unnecessary risks.
The team, taking Uzumaki Nami with them, embarked on an impromptu journey, crossing the Land of Grass and heading into the Land of Rain.
Within the Land of Rain, things had calmed down since the Hidden Rain temporarily halted their offensive.
Konoha's reinforcements had already arrived at the front lines. Orochimaru stayed behind to command, while Tsunade returned to the camp with the injured Jiraiya and other wounded ninjas.
"Minato, go to the command center and report that there were too many Iwa ninjas, and we weren't strong enough to face them, so we had to retreat. Also, mention that it seems the Hidden Stone is searching for something in the Hidden Grass Village, and they don't seem to have any intention of attacking the village."
This was the perfect time to sow a little distrust between Danzo and the Hidden Grass Village, making them suspicious of each other.
"Leave it to me," Minato replied, giving a thumbs-up before heading off to the command center.
Meanwhile, Takuya and Nawaki took Uzumaki Nami to the medical unit.
"Ow, ow, ow, easy! It hurts, it hurts!"
Even before they reached the door, they could hear Jiraiya's loud voice echoing through the hall.
Is it always this lively in here?
Takuya motioned for Nawaki to keep the nervous Nami close, then pulled back the curtain to take a look.
Jiraiya was lying on a hospital bed, with Tsunade overseeing a group of medical ninjas tending to his injuries.
Jiraiya was in pretty bad shape—a kunai had pierced his ribs, and it was poisoned. If Tsunade hadn't been treating him constantly, he might not have made it.
Now, some of the necrotic flesh had to be removed, and the process was so painful that Jiraiya was screaming his head off. What made it worse was that Tsunade wasn't doing the procedure herself; she was letting the other medical ninjas handle it.
Watching Tsunade smirking with a hint of schadenfreude, Takuya knew Jiraiya must have ticked her off, and this was her way of getting back at him.
If she wanted, Tsunade could have easily handled such a minor surgery, but instead, she stood back and let others do it while she supervised. The medical ninjas were so nervous that their hands were shaking, causing Jiraiya to scream in pain every time they slipped.
"This is…"
Poor Jiraiya!
Takuya wiped away the non-existent sweat from his forehead.
Tsunade, arms crossed, casually explained, "He said he was dying and needed a farewell kiss from me. I figured the poison must have messed with his nerves, so I arranged for this special, anesthesia-free surgery to stimulate his nervous system and help with detoxification."
Takuya: "…"
He's really asking for it!
"No, I was wrong, I was really wrong!"
Jiraiya sobbed, whether from fear or genuine regret.
Ignoring him, Tsunade nodded to the two conflicted medical ninjas, signaling them to proceed with the surgery. They both breathed a sigh of relief.
Tsunade might play around, but they couldn't afford to. If something happened to Jiraiya, they'd be in big trouble.
"Is this her?"
As they stepped outside, Tsunade glanced at the timid Uzumaki Nami.
"She's definitely an Uzumaki. Let her rest for a couple of days. Once Jiraiya's condition improves, I'll take both of you back to the village. I have some matters to discuss with the old man anyway."
The recent behavior of the Hidden Rain was getting stranger, and after discussing it with Orochimaru, Tsunade concluded that the Hidden Rain might be close to collapsing.
It might be time to negotiate peace, even if it meant making some concessions.
However, when Tsunade tried to discuss this with Danzo, they ran into problems.
Danzo didn't agree that it was time to negotiate.
He believed that until the war was over, any peace talks would be irrational.
Tsunade realized that Danzo was simply trying to rack up more accomplishments.
Seeing that reasoning with him was pointless, she decided to return to the Leaf Village herself to handle the situation.
"What about Nawaki and Minato?" Takuya asked.
"Let them stay here. Jiraiya can train them for a while," Tsunade replied.
Jiraiya needed time to recover before he could return to the battlefield. In the meantime, he could train his students, including Nawaki.
Despite his pervy tendencies, Jiraiya was reliable in most other areas. Tsunade felt confident leaving Nawaki in his care.
Besides, Minato was already Jiraiya's student. As his teacher, Jiraiya hadn't had much time to properly train him, which was a bit unfair. Now was the perfect opportunity to rectify that.
"Alright," Takuya agreed. It would be good for Nawaki and Minato to learn from Jiraiya for a while. Jiraiya was much better at teaching students than Tsunade or Orochimaru.
"Come with me," Tsunade said to Nami. "My grandmother was also an Uzumaki. I mean you no harm. You don't have an official status right now, so it might cause you some trouble if you don't stick with me."
Tsunade then led Uzumaki Nami away.
Nawaki looked like he was about to cry.
"I want to go back to the Leaf Village too."
"Then go talk to your sister," Takuya laughed, patting Nawaki on the shoulder.
Poor guy, your sister always has you under her thumb.
Meanwhile, Minato arrived at the command center. After getting permission, he entered and reported the mission's details just as Takuya had instructed.
"The Iwa ninjas are searching for something?"
Danzo frowned as soon as he heard this.
He began to wonder what could be in the Hidden Grass Village that was valuable enough for Iwa to make such a show of force.
The Hidden Grass Village's envoy hadn't mentioned anything like this before. They had only said that Iwa ninjas were spotted nearby and were concerned about a possible attack. It seemed this so-called ally was hiding something.
The more skilled someone is at manipulating and scheming, the more suspicious they become.
Danzo didn't think Minato was making things up. Some things could be easily confirmed with a little investigation.
His suspicion was directed at the Hidden Grass Village for withholding information from the Leaf.
"Your mission isn't considered a failure. I'll record your contributions for this time. Go and rest; the future of the village depends on young people like you," Danzo said.
"Yes, Lord Danzo."
Minato bowed respectfully before leaving the command center.
On the surface, he wore a smile, but inwardly, he was already rolling his eyes.
***********
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