Chapter 95
He felt sick to think he had fallen for such a trap. His honor had been tarnished, and he would remember this day for the rest of his life. As the General of the Land of Iron, he should never have fallen so low.
And yet here he was, and if not for the Third Hokage's mercy, he would have no choice after today but to commit seppuku. Even now, he didn't know how he would be able to live with this shame. But his anger burned far more fiercely than his shame could drag him down.
Mifune will not allow his humiliation and shame to drag him down far. As tarnished as his honor was, he now had a more pressing duty to oversee. He will only die once he has redeemed himself, and not a day earlier.
"Is it wise to let them go in such a way?" Mifune asked, as he wanted nothing more than to behead every single one of them who had come to harm him and the people he promised to protect.
"Mercy sometimes is more brutal than any death could ever be," the Third Hokage answered, as enigmatic as Mifune had always known him to be. "Let them return home and face the consequences of their actions at the hands of their own people."
"Very well, it is not my place to say anything else about it," Mifune could only agree. "I once again must thank you. And I must once again apologize. Thank you for saving me and my subordinates, and I am deeply sorry for failing in my duty to protect you, as I had promised."
"And once again, I have to say it was mostly my fault; nothing of the sort would have happened without us being here," the Third Hokage answered, to Mifune's frustration. "But I will accept your thanks and apology either way."
Finally, the words he wanted to hear, though he would have willingly done anything to repay the kindness the Third Hokage had shown him. If he had demanded Mifune's life, he would have gladly accepted it, as his honor would have demanded it.
But not now. He didn't wish to die today, or any day, not until he uncovered who was behind the genjutsu he had been subjected to. He wished it could have been as simple as the Fourth Mizukage being behind it all, but he alone couldn't have done this.
Someone close to him had betrayed him. How else would the Fourth Mizukage have known of this meeting? How else would Mifune have been caught in a genjutsu? The Third Hokage must have known that too, and that must be one of the reasons he let them go.
Face the consequences at the hands of their own people. Could that mean that those two forces within the Land of Iron and Kirigakure would have no choice but to face each other? Getting rid of them without anyone else needing to lift a finger, Mifune expected nothing less from the Third Hokage.
"Now, we should leave," the Third Hokage said. "I leave this cleanup to you."
"Yes, we will clean up this mess, and once again…"
"Enough, I am sick of hearing it," the Third Hokage interrupted Mifune's apology. "Take care of yourself."
Looking at all the dead Kirigakure shinobi, Mifune was glad that the Hokage had spared his men. The mangled corpses would be put into coffins and sent back to Kirigakure. And he and his subordinates could have been among those corpses too.
Mifune was nothing but grateful for the Third Hokage's thoughtfulness. He would do as the Third Hokage asked, and deliver them home. But not before Mifune investigated every single one of them and saw if there was any connection to the Land of Iron.
He wouldn't allow something like this to happen again. And if there was a need, he would purge all those damn traitors. As the Third Hokage said, he would clean up this mess, leaving not a rock unturned, not a corner overlooked.
Every single person connected to this mess will be dealt with the certainty of his cold steel. No one shall escape his justice, no matter who they were. Although they didn't belong to the World of Shinobi, they won't be used by them either.
It was time to remind the world why the Land of Iron was neutral and didn't interfere with the other countries. It was time for the world to remember the consequences they will have to face if they want to involve their country and their people in their petty wars.
…
If Hiruzen got a penny for every time someone tried to kill him when he left his village, he would now have two pennies to his name. Not much, but it was weird and concerning that it had already happened twice.
Yeah, Hiruzen wasn't going to leave the village ever again. It was far too dangerous. And he learned now that he might know a thousand jutsu, but he would still be useless in a fight. Stumbling his way around somehow worked this time.
The question was, could he count on his luck to do it once again? He didn't think so. If not for Mifune's last-minute interference, the outcome of this situation would have been completely different, and not in his favor.
Climbing down the mountain was easier than he thought. He half-expected someone to pop out and finish the job the Mizukage had started. Especially Obito; Hiruzen knew he was somehow part of this, but why he hadn't shown up or sent at least one of the Akatsuki was beyond his ability to comprehend.
Now all he wanted was to get home. He missed his table, where he could hide from the rest of the world and do his work peacefully. Well, that would be until the next time someone tried to kill him or endanger the peace he wanted to preserve.
Though he doubted he would ever leave the village personally. At least not until he fixed the weakness he discovered in this ordeal. He knew nothing about tactics or anything like that. He knew that already, but this time it was too close a call.
His luck carried him; he couldn't allow it to do so a second time. Still, what he didn't expect was how effective he was while intoxicated. Letting his instincts carry him seemed to be an answer, but he wasn't that kind of person.
He overthought everything and anything. Once he could think clearly, he couldn't replicate that state. This time, the poison helped him, but how many poisons could put him into that state without sabotaging his chakra? It wasn't like he could drink for hours before every battle.
He would have to study it, but he gathered that not many venoms or poisons would be able to replicate what he just experienced. But that was just his life, a series of unlucky predicaments that helped him get out of bad situations in the end. Though he wished he could have gotten a better reward from all of this mess.
Name: Hiruzen Sarutobi
Age: 56/86
HP: 79%
Chakra: 95%
Strength: 9
Speed: 8
Stamina: 8
Intelligence: 9
Charisma: 7
Ninjutsu: 8
Taijutsu: 8
Genjutsu: 8
Fuinjutsu: 8
Ninjutsu skills: Shadow Clone, Fireball, Body Flicker, Body Substitution, Transformation, Mud Slide, Fireball, Kirin, Ash Pile Burning, Telescope Technique.
Taijutsu skills: Shurikenjutsu (Advanced level), Drunken Fist (Advanced level), Bo-staff Mastery (Advanced level), Basic Taijutsu (Master level), Chakra Enhanced Strength (Novice level), Parry.
Genjutsu skills: Bringer of Darkness, Temple of Nirvana, Playing Possum.
Fuinjutsu skills: Negative Emotion-sensing, Explosive Tag, Sealing Tag, Three Directions Seal, Self-Cursing Seal.
What kind of jutsu even was Playing Possum? A useless jutsu that he could use on himself to fall asleep. Sure, in the regular world and normal life, it would be very useful, but in his situation, at best, he could use it to make sure he kept a healthy sleep schedule.
Then he looked at the years he had. Thirty. That number was good enough, he supposed, but now he wished he couldn't see it. As years would pass by, and the closer he got to that number, the more he feared seeing it. It was quite depressing knowing how many years of life he had left.
He guessed it would increase, but still, how much more could it go up? Though, to begin with, now he didn't expect he would live that long anyway. With so many people going after his life, and these being peaceful times, he really was fucked.
"Are you alright, Hokage-sama?" Hiashi asked as they finally descended this damn mountain.
"Just concerned about various things," Hiruzen replied. "There are many things I will need to think about once we return."
The first thing he was going to do was learn some damn tactics. Even basic ones. He thought that strength alone would carry him through most dangers, but now he knew better. Against weak shinobi, sure, his jutsu arsenal and physical strength would overwhelm most of them.
But what about the strong ones? Anyone from Akatsuki could pose a danger to him, not to mention the elites of the other villages. He needed to learn, though, once again, that there was nobody he could ask for help.
He would have to do this on his own. And he didn't think he would have much time to do so either, not with what he expected to happen in Kirigakure. It was already a pit of vipers trying to bite each other's heads off.
Where the strong ruled, losing wasn't an option. And now Yagura would return defeated, meaning the rest of the village would go for his head. There would be a lot of fighting, and Hiruzen feared that it might involve him and Konoha.
He would have to keep a watch on that place. And although he hoped Onoki would be less inclined to stir up trouble, Hiruzen could never trust him. So, he would keep an eye on him and Iwagakure, too. At least they had reached some understanding between them, or at least Hiruzen hoped they had.
And then there was General Mifune. At least one good thing he got out of this mess. General Mifune was quite a goofball, but he was a sincere and dependable man. Hiruzen had never thought about it before, but now he should seriously consider a deeper friendship with the Land of Iron.
And there were plenty of other reasons to forge this friendship. Hiruzen had to admit, he kind of fucked up any semblance of the original timeline. The peaceful decade or so that should have been wasn't going to last long.
Every single village had now tested him in one way or another. He managed to maintain the situation somehow, but the peace he wished for no longer seemed so possible to preserve. He still would do everything he could to sustain it, but he had to prepare.
"Jiraiya." So, before he could even return home, he needed to take action. "Stay in the Land of Iron incognito. Investigate how this situation could ever have happened. See if you can find any suspicious shinobi who recently entered the Land of Iron, and get an idea of what kind of man the Daimyo and his circle are."
"So, you think the same way." Jiraiya seemed relieved to get such a mission. "The one who put Mifune under the genjutsu can't be a simple shinobi. And somehow they would have had to get close to him, not only to get information about this meeting but also to catch the General off guard."
"The genjutsu itself isn't simple either," Hiashi added. "A jutsu that could be activated when needed while remaining hidden even from my own eyes must have been created by someone powerful. The Land of Iron must have been compromised."
Hiruzen suspected who was behind the genjutsu, but he didn't care about that now. He was just going to use this situation to spur Jiraiya into investigating those in power, to see if any friendship between them was possible.
He didn't know enough about the Land of Iron, but he was pleasantly surprised by the samurai. Having endured Jiraiya's beating, they couldn't have been so simple. But what caught his eye the most were their armor and weapons.
Hiruzen wanted them. Though they were a bit too bulky, that armor managed to survive Jiraiya's strength. If Hiruzen could equip his shinobi with it, it might save many lives. Though changes would have to be made to suit shinobi.
And the swords they used were made of far better steel than most weapons he had seen. His limited knowledge couldn't tell what it was, but he wanted it. So, he would get it. Though gathering armor and weapons would definitely be noticed by the other villages.
He didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea, though it wouldn't be entirely wrong, since he was going to prepare for a war. Hope for peace, but prepare for war. That saying now rang true to him. He couldn't just hope anymore; he had to prepare.
His first step would be within the Land of Iron, and then he would have to see what else he could do. With something of a plan emerging in his mind, Hiruzen said his goodbyes to Jiraiya as he left after making a shadow clone to follow Hiruzen back home.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven chapters in advance, you can support me on Pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.