Chapter 34: The Captive
Although he didn't understand why Dana was so interested in the prisoner, A still accompanied him to where she was being held.
Three days ago, while A was fighting Choza Akimichi, Mamoru and Kyohei hadn't been idle. After seeing their Raikage arrive and decimate the enemy's forces, they had relentlessly pursued the fleeing Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya. They had chased them all the way to the border of the Land of Fire, but in the end, they had only managed to capture one of them.
When Dana saw the blonde hair from a distance, he thought, Of course.
He was told that one of them had stayed behind to cover the others' retreat, allowing them to cross the border and get help. The one who stayed, Tsunade, had been a tough opponent. Facing the weakened Mamoru and Kyohei, she had managed to hold them off for a long time. But her luck ran out when A, having finished his battle with Choza, arrived on the scene and captured her with ease.
The group was still staying at old man Yoshitoki's house. The small courtyard, meant for one person, was now crowded with over a dozen people, so there was no proper place to hold a prisoner. When Dana saw her, Tsunade was tied to a tree.
Capturing a ninja was a tricky business. Simple restraints were easily broken. So, for the past three days, Kyohei and Mamoru had been taking turns watching her.
Being tied to a tree for three days was clearly not a pleasant experience. Tsunade's face was gaunt, and she seemed to be resting with her eyes closed. She didn't even open them when she heard them approaching.
"We did a simple interrogation," A said. "She claims her name is Sayuri Yamada. It's almost certainly a fake."
Dana, still weak, held his father's hand as he looked up at Tsunade with a strange expression.
Sayuri Yamada? What kind of lame name is that?
"Dad, are you sure she's not using a Transformation Jutsu?"
"Of course. I'd be able to see it if she were."
Hearing a child's voice, Tsunade finally opened her eyes. Though she was much thinner now, a mere shadow of her former self, she would have recognized that kid even if he were reduced to ashes. It was this brat who had somehow concealed his chakra signature and launched a surprise attack, which had led to them being pursued and this disastrous outcome.
Tsunade bared her teeth in a snarl.
Dana met her gaze without flinching. They stared at each other for a long moment until she finally looked away.
"Did she say why they attacked us?"
"She said they were investigating the reason our village is recruiting bloodline clans and mistook you for a migrating family."
A, of course, didn't believe her for a second. But for the past few days, his focus had been on Dana. Once they brought this Konoha ninja back to the village, the interrogation unit would have plenty of ways to make her talk. Come to think of it, he had used the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu to get here in a hurry, but Dodai was also on his way with a larger force. They should be arriving soon.
Tsunade's strategy was to frame the incident as a misunderstanding (which, to be fair, it largely was). That would give them some room to negotiate. Most importantly, she had to stick to a story that was nine parts truth and one part lie, and under no circumstances could she reveal her true identity. She was the princess of the Senju clan, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and the direct disciple of the Third. If her identity was revealed, no matter what her intentions had been, the village would have to pay a heavy price. Even if her teacher was willing to go to war with the Cloud, she would become their most valuable bargaining chip.
When she had stayed behind to protect Jiraiya and Orochimaru, she had been prepared to die rather than be captured. But the Third Raikage had arrived too quickly, knocking her out and carrying her back before she even had a chance to fight to the death.
Back in the present, Dana looked at Tsunade with a smirk but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to his father. "Dad, let's go."
Tsunade saw the mockery in his eyes but was in no position to question him.
Later, the Third Raikage took Dana to see old man Yoshitoki. It was then that Dana learned that while he had been unconscious, his father had successfully persuaded Yoshitoki to leave with them and join the Hidden Cloud.
"Dad, how did you do it?" Dana was genuinely surprised. He couldn't imagine how someone like Yoshitoki, who seemed to have no worldly desires and was on the verge of death, could have been convinced.
The Third Raikage replied with a single word: "Sincerity."
Dana pictured his father holding Yoshitoki's head in one hand, lifting him off the ground.
"Are you thinking of something disrespectful?" the Third Raikage asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, no!"
Well, whatever, Dana thought. As the Raikage, his personal involvement is the greatest show of sincerity. And he has more authority than anyone else. This is a good thing.
He could already see the Hidden Cloud's medical ninjutsu program improving by leaps and bounds. And the value of the "Life Peep Jutsu" and the "Life Return Jutsu" went far beyond just medicine. And that was just what Yoshitoki had shown them so far. Who knows what other secrets the old man held? The village had truly found a treasure.
In addition, Mamoru Anzai, who had always been passionate about medical ninjutsu, had, with the Raikage's blessing, officially begun to study under Yoshitoki, becoming his semi-apprentice.
While Dana was unconscious, Yoshitoki had performed a thorough examination. His diagnosis was largely the same, but the two instances of extreme overexertion had left his body in a very poor state.
"So, from now on, you have only one priority," his father said.
"What's that?"
"Training!"
"Mamoru and Kyohei told me what happened in the fight with the Konoha ninja. Our previous method of suppressing your chakra molding was clearly wrong. From now on, in addition to recovering, you need to mold as much chakra as possible to get out of this state. When we get back to the village, you will be provided with a plentiful diet and medicinal herbs. Eat a lot, and train a lot!" The Third Raikage smiled and ruffled Dana's hair.
The confirmation that Dana possessed a powerful Kekkei Genkai was exhilarating. The clan elders would probably be too excited to sleep for days. But Dana knew his days of lazy, half-hearted training were over. A period of intense "hard work" was likely in his future.
"Dana, you did very well this time," his father said proudly. "'The Will of Thunder is to charge with me.' Hahaha! That's my son."
"Oh, it was nothing. Haha, hahaha," Dana said with false modesty.
Land of Fire, Hidden Leaf Village
A ninja in a green flak jacket appeared at the gates of Konoha.
"Urgent intelligence!" he shouted, not breaking his stride. He threw a kunai that pinned his entry permit to the gate and then vanished.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a meeting, trying to convince the clan heads to send more of their members to the ANBU, when he received the urgent report from the border. Jiraiya and Orochimaru had returned, seriously injured. Tsunade had been captured. And his old teammate, Choza Akimichi, was presumed dead.
At first, Hiruzen thought the pipe smoke was making him hallucinate.
He hastily dismissed the clan heads and quickly unrolled the scroll written by Jiraiya.
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