Chapter 187
2-in-1-chapter
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"Suzaku, calm down and speak properly. Everyone makes mistakes at work."
"It was rude of me, Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya nodded lightly, then turned his gaze toward Aipuwei, speaking in a mild tone. "Aipuwei, Suzaku is young and hot-blooded. Don't hold it against him. Once you return, make sure to send the personnel over as soon as possible. Fortunately, we haven't formally entered war with Iwagakure yet, and your earlier mistake hasn't caused any irreparable losses. So… just send the people quickly, and we'll let the past go."
Sitting to Jiraiya's left, Hōzuki Mangetsu watched with evident interest this simple yet timeless performance unfold before him.
Even a young man like Mangetsu could see through the red-and-white act between Jiraiya and Nara Suzaku; how could an old fox like Aipuwei not notice? Yet even if he saw through it, what could he do? Once he realized that the kind-hearted Jiraiya he remembered would not be moved by his displays of humility or appeal to sentiment, he understood his hopes were entirely crushed.
The Grass ninja could not remain neutral.
"I understand. Once I return, I'll quickly gather every capable hand and send them to assist," Aipuwei replied, bowing slightly as he accepted Konoha's heavy-handed order in his aged, raspy voice.
When Aipuwei departed, his footsteps were as heavy as when he had arrived.
"Mangetsu, I must apologize for that little scene," Jiraiya said, turning his head.
"It's fine. I actually found it quite amusing. I've only ever read about this kind of thing in novels. Unfortunately, our Land of Water doesn't have any small vassal nations nearby," Mangetsu said with a tone of mild regret.
The small countries such as the Land of Grass, the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Rivers existed precisely because they served as buffers between the great nations. The Land of Water, isolated far across the sea, had no need of such buffer states—the vast ocean itself was a natural barrier.
There had once been the Land of Whirlpools, a defensive stronghold placed in the sea by the Second Hokage to guard against Kirigakure. Sadly, Sarutobi Hiruzen had failed to hold it, and the Mist had removed that crucial outpost.
If the Land of Whirlpools had still existed, the Third Great Ninja War would never have allowed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to infiltrate the vicinity of Konoha, only to be annihilated by Might Duy's astonishing Eight Gates. Konoha would not have needed to guard its long coastline so tightly—defending the great island of the Whirlpools alone would have kept Kirigakure's forces from ever bringing the flames of war onto the Land of Fire.
"It seems the Grass ninja are a bit slippery, aren't they?" Mangetsu asked curiously.
"They're just a bunch of fence-sitters," Nara Suzaku said bluntly, not bothering to hide his disdain. "Those fools don't even know their own strength or position. All they can do is play petty tricks, without realizing that if we from Konoha didn't intervene, the first ones Iwagakure would destroy in their southern campaign would be them."
If Iwagakure advanced south, the Grass shinobi had only two options: side with Konoha or side with Iwagakure. There was no third path. Neutrality was not something just anyone could maintain. If Grass dared claim neutrality, Iwagakure would sweep them aside simply to clear their route toward the Land of Fire—Konoha wouldn't even need to act.
And to side with Iwagakure would mean standing against Konoha. Aipuwei did not have the courage for that.
Since the death of the First Hokage, Konoha had emerged victorious in all three great ninja wars. No matter the cost, victory had always been theirs. So no matter how weakened Konoha appeared now, Aipuwei never dared to side with Iwagakure.
If Iwagakure lost, the Grass village would face Konoha's retribution.
As for whether Konoha could lose—truthfully, Aipuwei had more faith in Konoha's survival than many of its own ninja did. Winning might not be certain, but losing was highly unlikely. Having once witnessed the terrifying power of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara, he firmly believed that as long as the Uchiha clan stood within Konoha, the village would never truly be defeated.
The little schemes he played were only attempts to minimize Grass's own casualties.
"Self-preservation is only human," Jiraiya said quietly. "Suzaku, don't be too hard on them. We never expected them to be much help anyway."
"Jiraiya-sama, it's not that I'm being harsh. The Grass shinobi are simply fools who never learn their lesson. The Third Hokage's methods were too lenient before, and they've grown insolent, forgetting their place…"
Suzaku caught himself too late, realizing what he had just said in front of Jiraiya—the Third's own disciple.
Fortunately, Jiraiya showed no sign of offense. He only sighed. "War… it truly is unpleasant."
At that moment, someone rushed into the tent to report, "Jiraiya-sama, Hatake Kakashi requests an audience."
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Like Kusagakure's leader, Aipuwei, when Yakushi Nonō walked into the encampment of Konoha's army and saw the gathered shinobi from Kirigakure, even though she had already learned from Kakashi about the alliance between Konoha and the Hidden Mist, she could not help but feel deep surprise at the sight.
After Kakashi's team defeated Bun'ya's tracking squad, they immediately began escorting Nonō away. As they evaded Iwagakure's border defense units that continued to search and pursue them, they sought a safe route out of the Land of Earth.
During these two days, the side effects of too many soldier pills had temporarily deprived Nonō of her mobility, and Kakashi, burdened with a weakened companion, had no intention of forcing a confrontation with the Iwa-nin as he had on their way in. Instead, he aimed to find a safer passage for their retreat.
Before they could locate a gap in Iwagakure's defenses, however, the Iwa-nin abruptly withdrew and consolidated their forces. The troops that had guarded the long frontier line were suddenly drawn back, leaving the once tightly sealed defense unexpectedly empty. Without much effort, Kakashi's team slipped out of the Land of Earth safely, though the route they took was considerably longer.
Between the borders of the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, Iwagakure had built a new defensive line—several times more fortified than before. Forced to detour, Kakashi's group traveled through the Land of Rain, and from there crossed into the Land of Grass. Upon reaching it, they met with their contact and learned that Jiraiya's army had already arrived in the country. For certain reasons, they chose not to return to Konoha but instead to seek out Jiraiya directly.
Inside the command tent, only Jiraiya and Nara Suzaku remained to welcome Kakashi and his team.
The politically adept Hōzuki Mangetsu, anticipating the need for privacy, led Ringo Ameyuri out of the tent before Jiraiya had to say anything, leaving the space open for the Konoha shinobi to speak freely.
"Kakashi."
Sitting in the main seat, Jiraiya smiled when he saw Kakashi appear before him unscathed. His gaze shifted past him to Yakushi Nonō. Though he did not personally know her, he recognized her from photographs he had seen before. "Well done."
"You flatter me," Kakashi replied, scratching his head.
He felt no pride, only a complicated discomfort that was difficult to express.
"Um… Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi began carefully, "since Senior Yakushi doesn't plan to return to the village for now and wants to stay on the front lines to contribute, I didn't make the decision myself. I thought it best to report it to you first."
He felt genuinely helpless saying this. Knowing the full circumstances, Kakashi understood Nonō's reasoning emotionally, but from a mission standpoint, she should have returned to Konoha immediately after completing her assignment as a spy in Iwagakure.
"Stay on the front lines?"
Jiraiya blinked in surprise. "Why not return to Konoha?"
"It's because of that boy—Yakushi Kabuto."
"I see…"
Jiraiya fell silent for a moment. Looking at the quiet, composed Nonō, who stood without speaking, he felt a headache coming on. He knew the story's background all too well. Danzō had caused endless trouble, and when he finally died, he left behind nothing but chaos for others to clean up.
"Yakushi Nonō, you want to stay on the front lines to save that boy, don't you?"
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