Chương 137: Page 137

On the day Konan disappeared, no suspicious person entered the Land of Rain, let alone approached her.

Upon hearing this, Obito frowned slightly.

"Didn't even you notice? Could this technique be some kind of unknown space-time ninjutsu?"

"Very likely," Jue replied with a serious nod.

"Madara, what do we do now? If we don't find Konan, Nagato probably won't cooperate with our operation."

Obito thought about it carefully, then said after a moment's thought:

"The war between the countries has only just begun. The five major powers still have considerable strength, so let them fight a little longer."

During this time, Jue, you should still try your best to find Xiao Nan's whereabouts.

You can send your clones to other ninja villages to search, and while they're at it, investigate the situation of Jinchuriki in each country.

Black Zetsu nodded upon hearing this, agreeing that it was indeed a very prudent approach.

However, he still asked, "What if the Master of the Seventh Division of the Heavenly Kings still hasn't been found?"

Obito turned his head slightly, and the Sharingan exposed under his mask spun rapidly, transforming into three connected scythes.

"Don't ask such idiotic questions, absolutely not."

As the four major ninja villages of Kumo, Iwa, Suna, and Kirigakure successively began to take action.

In just a few days, Konoha's situation took a sharp turn for the worse, falling into a predicament of being driven deep into enemy territory and facing a shortage of troops.

As a result, Konoha was unable to properly hold a funeral for the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and could only hastily bury him.

During this period, Jiraiya, who was the strongest fighter in Konoha, had to stay in Konoha and temporarily assume the position of Hokage, which he least wanted.

Sitting in the seat his teacher used to sit in, Jiraiya, who hadn't slept for two days, sighed wearily.

"Still no news of Tsunade? When will the Daimyo's reinforcements arrive? How far have things progressed in the Cloud Village?"

In the office, the Hokage's assistant, Danzo, closed his eyes to rest and refused to speak.

The two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, each held a stack of intelligence reports and quickly read and analyzed them.

Only Nara Shikaku, the Jonin squad leader appointed by Jiraiya as the Hokage's assistant, stood up from the sofa with a solemn expression and reported:

"According to the information from the Anbu, they have searched all the famous casinos in the Land of Fire, but have not found any trace of Lady Tsunade and her disciple Shizune."

There were only eyewitness accounts of the other party lingering in Tanabata Town, but like the missing female ninja from the village, they all vanished without a trace.

"I never expected that even Tsunade, that peculiar drinker..."

Jiraiya was deeply worried about the current situation of his old teammate and the goddess he had secretly loved for many years.

But the situation was tense, and he couldn't afford to think too much. He could only put Tsunade's matter aside and signal Shikaku to continue reporting.

Seeing this, Shikaku looked down at the scroll in his hand again.

"A letter recently arrived from the Daimyo Prefecture, in which His Highness expressed his deepest condolences for the death of the Third Lord."

At the same time, he was well aware of the predicament Konoha was facing and understood the principle that everyone prospers or suffers together.

A batch of supplies has already been urgently allocated to Konoha, and another 10 billion taels of silver has been approved, which are currently en route to Konoha.

"Phew~ That's good news. At least this daimyo is a reasonable person."

Jiraiya had just breathed a sigh of relief and hadn't even had time to feel happy when he saw Shikaku's serious expression.

Immediately, he had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Shikaku gritted his teeth and immediately delivered some bad news.

"Although the Cloud Village only dispatched 2000 people, they were all elites, at least at the level of Special Jonin."

Despite the efforts of Konoha's Jonin Kakashi Hatake and Jonin Might Guy, who led 3000 ninja in a full-scale defense.

However, they were easily breached and are now being forced back to the vicinity of Tanba City by the Hidden Cloud Village.

As soon as he finished speaking, not only Jiraiya, but also Mitomon Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were looking down at their documents, and Shimura Danzo, who was pretending to be asleep, all opened their eyes in surprise and looked up at Shikaku.

Meeting the incredulous gazes of the four, Lu Jiu shook his head with a grim expression, picked up the scroll in his hand, gestured to it, and said bitterly:

"It's true, this is the latest battle report just sent by the intelligence department."

As soon as he finished speaking, Danzo was the first to jump out in disbelief.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! 2000 special Jonin and above ninjas."

It's a shame that that brat from the Hatake clan dares to say that even Konoha in its prime might not have been able to produce so many elite ninjas!

I think he's just making excuses for his incompetence. Replace him! We must get rid of this little brat who gave false intelligence!

Hearing Danzo's angry curses, Jiraiya, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu all remained silent.

Even though Kakashi was Minato's student and Jiraiya's grand-disciple, he still found this too outrageous and couldn't believe it for a moment.

"Shikaku, have you carefully verified the intelligence? Could it be a fake battle report sent by a Cloud Village spy using some kind of method?"

Shikaku sighed helplessly and shook his head, saying:

"Lord Jiraiya, this information has been confirmed by the intelligence department after repeated checks and consultations with several Jonin on the front lines of Kumogakure."

After he finished speaking, all four of them fell silent.

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Chapter 159 of Private Cage: Danzo's Coercion, Demanding Naruto!

Despite Shikaku's repeated confirmations, Danzo remained unconvinced, believing there was something wrong with the scroll. He took the scroll from Shikaku and sat on the sofa to examine it closely.

The remaining four people all kept their heads down and remained silent.

Tanba City is not some remote small city; it is a commercial city connecting various countries in the Land of Fire, with a prosperous economy and dense population.

Of all the cities in the Land of Fire, Tanba City ranks among the top five in terms of importance.

But that's not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is that Tamba City is only 100 kilometers away from Konoha!

If ninjas march at breakneck speed, the Hidden Cloud Village could invade the Hidden Leaf Village in a single day.

Thinking about this, Mitokado Yanagi began to get restless.

"No, we can't let them go any deeper."

"Jiraiya, send me another 500 ninjas, and I will personally go to the front lines to fight."

His words drew the attention of everyone present, even Danzo couldn't help but look up at him before continuing to examine the scroll.

Xiaochun, who was switching dorms, was worried about her old friend whom she had known for many years, and tried to persuade him:

"Yan, have you thought this through? The last time you made a move was more than ten years ago during the Nine-Tails' rampage, wasn't it?"

Mitokado Yan nodded silently, but his heart was firm and he showed no sign of backing down.

"Hiruzen has already died for Konoha, and we old folks who are left cannot be without our fighting spirit."

"Konoha is currently in grave danger. As a disciple of the Second Hokage and an advisor appointed by the Third Hokage, how can I stand idly by?"

As he spoke, Yan looked earnestly at Jiraiya and instructed him:

"Jiraiya, you are now the Hokage, you must stay in Konoha and cannot leave easily."

"Let these old bones of mine do their part and contribute to Konoha once more."

Seeing Mitokado Homura's resolute gaze, Jiraiya almost opened his mouth.

He used to think that his teacher's old buddies were all old men who hadn't been on the battlefield for years and only knew how to give orders.

Unexpectedly, Mitokado Homura was the first among them to step forward, determined to go to the front lines again for Konoha despite his advanced age.

Jiraiya was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, both happy that the Will of Fire of Konoha had not been extinguished and saddened by the loss of Konoha's talents.

In the past, Konoha had a ninjutsu professor named Hiruzen Sarutobi and his three old friends.

Below them are the three legendary Sannin and the renowned Sakumo Hatake.

The younger generation even boasts a brilliant genius like Minato.

Although the Uchiha clan is arrogant among the ninja clans, their strength is top-notch.

If all of the aforementioned people were present, they wouldn't need to take the mere Cloud Hidden Sect seriously.

Thinking of this, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh.

Teacher, in some ways, you really failed as Hokage.

After some reflection, Jiraiya solemnly prepared to grant Mitokado Homura's request.

But at that moment, Danzo spoke up.

"There's no need for that. Just give me one person, and I'm confident I can defeat the Cloud Ninja."

"Just one person?"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both looked at him in surprise, while at the same time they began to think: besides Jiraiya, are there any other strong people in Konoha who can change the situation on their own?

But after a brief moment of thought, Jiraiya suddenly realized something, his eyes widened, and he stood up from his chair in a fit of rage.

"No, Naruto just went berserk and his emotions are still unstable. He's not fit to go to the battlefield!"

"Who do you think caused this?!"

Danzo also stood up from the sofa and loudly questioned:

"I mentioned to your teacher a long time ago that the Jinchūriki should be handed over to me for root cultivation."

But what did Hiruzen say at the time? He wanted to use love to influence the Jinchuriki, to create a bond between the Jinchuriki and the village, and he even used his position as Hokage to forbid me from getting close to that brat Uzumaki.

But what is the truth? The first Nine-Tailed Fox attack killed your most prized disciple and caused heavy losses to the village.

The second Nine-Tails attack gave the major ninja villages an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, causing Konoha to be besieged by the four nations of Lightning, Earth, Wind, and Water. A slight misstep could have resulted in the destruction of the village and the country.

The fact that he went berserk twice doesn't prove that Hiruzen's theory is wrong and that I am right?

Or are you and your master determined to watch Konoha be destroyed before you finally realize the truth?!

Danzo's words struck Jiraiya's heart like a heavy hammer, causing him to stumble back two steps and slump back into his chair.

Thinking of the deceased Minato and his teacher, as well as the many Konoha ninjas and residents, Jiraiya was filled with grief.

Is it really as Danzo said, that Jinchuriki are born only destined to be brainwashed and used as tools of war?

Seeing that Jiraiya was beginning to waver, Danzo immediately gave a wink to Koharu Utatane beside him.

As his longtime partner, Koharu Tsurugi immediately understood what he meant.

After only a slight hesitation, she decided to join Danzo in persuading Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, Danzo is right. The two Nine-Tails attacks have already shown that it is impossible for a Jinchūriki to exist."

Even with Minato by her side to take care of her, Kushina was unable to completely suppress the Nine-Tails, allowing it to break free of its seal.

Let alone a kid who has just become a genin and hasn't even inherited half of Kushina's skills.

Moreover, even if we concede that you disagree with Danzo's training of Jinchūriki, However, it is already a fact that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure has gone to the battlefield.

If you don't want the front lines to collapse and Konoha to be breached, you must send Uzumaki Kid, who is also a Jinchūriki, to fight.

Otherwise, the day when Konoha is destroyed may not be far off.

Mitokado looked at his two old friends, hesitated, opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything.

"Jiraiya, you decide for yourself, but my mind will not change. I still intend to go to the front lines in person."

Jiraiya nodded dejectedly, his mind in turmoil, unable to make a decision for the moment.

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Finally, he looked up at Shikaku, who had been silent since the beginning, and asked for his opinion:

"Shikaku, what do you think? Should we send a Jinchuriki to join the battle?"

Sigh~ Don't ask me about things like that.

Lu Jiu sighed inwardly, knowing full well what the others were thinking, but that was precisely why he had always remained hidden and invisible.