With that, Chiyo fell silent.
Who to send to Kirigakure and how to contact Yagura would ultimately depend on Konoha's decision.
Her suggestions had already gone as far as she could take them, purely out of goodwill. If the war could end sooner, Sunagakure's elite troops could avoid more casualties.
Unlike Konoha, Sunagakure didn't have the same deep reserves. Preserving whatever strength they could was crucial.
"We'll consider your advice, elder. In the meantime, please arrange for your people to leave soon to avoid unnecessary complications."
The Sunagakure troops couldn't linger in the camp for too long. Sending them off quickly was the best course of action.
As for contacting Yagura, the matter needed to be reported back to the village for approval.
After some thought, both Orochimaru and Jiraiya silently agreed to shift the responsibility. Instead of handling this troublesome matter themselves, they decided to pass it on to the Third Hokage and Tsunade. Let them deal with the headache.
There were already enough messes on the battlefield to clean up. They simply didn't have the energy for this.
Jiraiya, not wanting to take the blame, was all too happy to hand it off. Orochimaru, buried in work, thought the same. Kicking the problem upstairs was the most convenient solution.
Summoning a white snake, Orochimaru handed it the scroll. The snake swallowed the scroll in one gulp and slithered away, disappearing from the command center.
In Konoha, Takuya was busy scheming up ways to mess with Danzo when a white snake crawled into his courtyard. It slithered to his feet, opened its mouth, and spat out a scroll soaked in slimy saliva.
"Unbelievable!"
Takuya couldn't help but mutter.
"Is Orochimaru using me as a delivery service now? This is some next-level freeloading."
Staring at the damp, sticky scroll, Takuya grimaced and complained loudly, "Can't Orochimaru use a hawk or something? This slimy mess is disgusting."
Danzo, looking worse than ever, perked up immediately at the mention of a scroll from Orochimaru.
But Takuya ignored him completely. Picking up the scroll with visible reluctance, he threw it to Pakura.
"Clean this up and take it to Tsunade."
"..."
Pakura caught the scroll, her face twitching in annoyance. She wanted to protest—I don't want to touch this slimy thing either!—but she didn't have a choice. Grumbling inwardly, she cleaned the scroll, then headed off to the Hokage's office.
Although the Third Hokage had returned, he had chosen to station Tsunade in the Hokage office as part of her training, ensuring she had full exposure to the role.
It was widely known in the Hokage office that Pakura was one of Takuya's people. Although she was still technically under surveillance, no one dared to cause trouble for her.
Arriving at the Hokage office, Pakura knocked on the door and waited for a response.
"Come in."
The Third Hokage's voice echoed from inside.
Pakura entered, making her way toward Tsunade, who was sprawled over the desk, deep in paperwork.
The Third Hokage froze for a moment, recognizing Pakura as someone from Sunagakure.
"Tsunade-sama, this is from Lord Takuya," Pakura said as she handed over the scroll.
"Thank you. You can go now."
Tsunade accepted the scroll with a nod. Pakura bowed politely to both Tsunade and the Third Hokage before leaving.
"It's a sealed scroll from the battlefield. Looks like Orochimaru's using Takuya as a relay station," Tsunade remarked dryly.
Why send the scroll through Takuya instead of the intelligence department? Orochimaru certainly knew how to take shortcuts.
Unsealing the scroll using a unique cipher, Tsunade opened it and began reading. The Third Hokage, puffing on his pipe, didn't pay it much mind.
"Can you cut back on the smoking, old man?"
"Cough! Cough!"
Tsunade's sudden scolding startled him, making him choke on the smoke.
What's wrong with me smoking?
I'm an old man—this is one of my few remaining pleasures...
He considered protesting but stopped himself under Tsunade's sharp glare. Arguing with her would only lead to disaster. If she lost her temper, the furniture in the office would pay the price, and the village's finances were already tight. Replacing expensive office supplies wasn't something he was eager to do.
"What does Orochimaru say?" the Third Hokage asked, quickly changing the subject to distract her.
"See for yourself."
Tsunade tossed the scroll to him before walking over to the window to get some fresh air.
"..."
Fine, I'll read it myself.
The Third Hokage unrolled the scroll and began reading its contents carefully.
"What in the..."
After a few seconds, he shot to his feet, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief. "Tsunade, do you think this is possible?"
"What do you think?"
Crossing her arms, Tsunade frowned. "The Third Mizukage served as the First Mizukage's bodyguard and even attended the First Five Kage Summit. Based on his age, he shouldn't even be alive, let alone fighting on the frontlines."
Despite the seemingly exaggerated feats of strength seen in ninja battles, the truth was that ninjas were notoriously fragile. A single kunai to the heart or throat could still end even the strongest of them.
What's more, their lives were shortened by years of brutal training, constant battles, and accumulated injuries.
In the Warring States period, making it to the age of thirty was considered long-lived.
Even in the Five Great Nations era, where survival conditions had improved, truly long-lived ninjas remained a rarity.
The Third Mizukage was practically a living relic.
"This confirms it—something is wrong with the Third Mizukage."
The Third Hokage sighed heavily. He was feeling his own age catching up to him, and no amount of strength could prevent the decline of the human body.
For the Third Mizukage to not only be alive but seemingly growing younger was beyond unnatural.
"We need to investigate further and make contact with Kirigakure. Tsunade, you're right—reaching out to Yagura is the best move. If possible, we should also meet with the village elder."
"Why are you looking at me?"
Tsunade noticed the Third Hokage staring at her with intent and immediately grew wary.
"Cough... Well, I was thinking we could send Minato and..."
"I doubt he'd agree," Tsunade interrupted firmly.
Knowing Takuya well, she was certain he'd refuse the mission outright. First, he hated trouble. Second, he needed rest.
Ever since the war started, Takuya had been tirelessly shuttling between battlefields. It was only fair that he got a long break.
And on top of that, if the Third Hokage requested it personally, Takuya's willingness would probably turn into outright refusal.
"..."
The Third Hokage felt a pang of frustration.
This was the bitter fruit of his earlier actions. Now that he needed reliable people, those same people were turning away from him. Takuya was like that. Sakumo Hatake was the same.
Unfortunately, they were still the most suitable candidates for this mission.
Tsunade, however, wasn't going to let it slide. "Takuya and the others are resting right now. I suggest sending Orochimaru and Jiraiya instead. After all, this was their idea."
"Let me think about it," the Third Hokage grumbled through gritted teeth.
"Suit yourself."
Satisfied, Tsunade left him to stew in his thoughts. She had her own business to handle—checking in on Takuya and ensuring Danzo was behaving himself.
_______________________
Next Bonus: 600
___________________________
(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 500+ at Patreon com/ Emik01.
And Visit Me On Scribble_Hub for the other chapters
___________________________