Chapter 58: Land of Hot Water? This is a Trap
"Is that so? Just as I thought. This mission had no real meaning. If you had intended to return to the Village, you would have done so long ago instead of wandering outside for over two years."
Tsukasa Kaede threw out a Summoning Scroll, summoning a zombie to stand outside the Yellow Springs Marsh. Immediately after, he formed hand signs with one hand, activating Spatial Rift Jutsu to exit the Yellow Springs Marsh's perimeter.
Only the nameless zombie was left floundering in the Yellow Springs Marsh, quickly becoming submerged.
"Such a peculiar Space-Time Ninjutsu, using a corpse as spatial coordinates to swap places... Who were you fighting with earlier?" Jiraiya asked.
"There's no need to tell you that. Reporting my work to you isn't part of my mission. And you don't need to look at me like that; these consumables are all ninja from hostile Villages. I wouldn't go so far as to use my comrades' remains in battle." Tsukasa Kaede patted the dirt off himself, speaking without raising his head.
"That's true. If I found the face of a comrade among those corpses, you would already be a rogue ninja, and I would kill you," Jiraiya said in a deep voice.
"Rogue ninja? That word carries too much weight. Compared to someone like me who uses corpses in battle, Lord Jiraiya, your actions are far more like those of a rogue ninja, aren't they? You ran off for over two years after a disagreement, completely out of touch, unable to even witness countless comrades die in battle. Do you, a person like that, have the right to accuse me?"
Tsukasa Kaede said indifferently, "No matter how poor the jutsu I use, I am still contributing to the Village, earning military merit, and preventing the deaths of some comrades. What exactly are you, the Hokage's disciple, doing?"
Jiraiya fell silent. He couldn't refute it, nor could he tell Tsukasa Kaede that he was training the Child of Prophecy.
"Your mission is complete. Leave. I don't wish to see you in this country."
"Correction, my mission was actually a failure. Because you refused to return, another record of defeat has been added to my info card. It's truly awful."
Tsukasa Kaede shook his head. In truth, he never expected the mission to succeed. In Jiraiya's heart, Nagato's priority was above all else; saying this was purely to make his own words and actions seem more logical.
"Finally, Lord Jiraiya, I must remind you that your words make it sound as if you've become the master of this country... Those are words only Hanzo the Salamander could say."
Tsukasa Kaede closed his eyes, sensing the coordinates of his other zombies, and said, "After I return this time, I will likely head to the front line. Victory will ultimately belong to Konoha, though it will have nothing to do with you."
He opened his hand and caught the mission document Jiraiya threw back, then left without looking back.
Although he was very close to Nagato, he had no opportunity to act, nor was there any need to rush this matter.
Tsukasa Kaede knew very well that his strength still had room for improvement; he also needed time.
After obtaining White Zetsu cells, he could now begin the next step of his plan. Of course, it would be even better if he could get his hands on the Hashirama clone that Madara spoke of.
Jiraiya watched Tsukasa Kaede's departing figure, waited another day, and only after confirming that nothing was amiss, did he let out a long breath, forming hand signs to release his Shadow Clone.
When all the memories and fatigue instantly returned to his main body, Jiraiya, who had been eating, saw his fingers tremble for a moment. Only Nagato noticed.
"Jiraiya-sensei, it seems you've made up your mind?"
"Yes. Starting tomorrow, we'll need to find a new place to live, because I'm going to increase the training difficulty. You'll have to work hard to keep up."
Yahiko vaguely sensed something, while Konan let out an enthusiastic cheer, completely unaware of what had happened over the past three days.
...
"Why the rush? There are many Hidden Leaf Village patrols within the Land of Fire, and many ninja skilled in sensory jutsu might detect your presence."
Tsukasa Kaede looked at the Zetsu Body growing out of the ground beside him.
White Zetsu said, "One of my clones sent back some interesting intel about Iwagakure's movements. Aren't you going back to fight? You might die, you know. Surely you're interested in this intel?"
"Black Zetsu, you should change the way you interact with White Zetsu. Next time you have intel like this, just have him report the key points directly to me instead of speaking in such a passive-aggressive way and spouting nonsense—so you can be a bit harsher on him when you deal with him."
"Understood. After we return this time, I'll make him change the way he talks to you, but don't get your hopes up too much; not even Madara could change him," Black Zetsu responded.
White Zetsu mumbled twice, then said, "Iwagakure seems to be planning a move on the Land of Hot Water. Kato Dan has already led a unit there urgently, but it looks like it's a trap."
"The Land of Hot Water... that must be a trap. Even if they were to open a second front, they wouldn't invade an affiliated country north of the Land of Fire. The supply lines would be too stretched."
As mentioned before, Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud Village are sworn enemies. Their territories don't directly border each other; most of their lands face each other across the sea, with some parts adjacent to several small countries.
And the Land of Hot Water is located north of the Land of Fire, very close to the Land of Lightning. Iwagakure sending troops to such a place to open a second front?
"How many troops did Iwagakure send to the Land of Hot Water?"
"Only about a thousand, but these thousand stopped moving after reaching the border of the Land of Hot Water. And the one leading these thousand is the Four-Tails Jinchuriki."
"Roshi..."
Tsukasa Kaede pondered for a moment, then quickly dismissed the matter from his mind and returned directly to Hidden Leaf Village.
There was no need to rush the return journey, so it took him nearly five days.
As expected, when Tsukasa Kaede reported the mission document and stated that Jiraiya refused to return, it immediately drew the Village's attention.
The mission document contained a secret message written by Jiraiya, confirming its authenticity.
This did not cause any ripples; the higher-ups were already aware of this outcome. It merely meant that a few individuals were even more dissatisfied.
"This is outrageous! Does he have any respect for the Village anymore? Such despicable behavior, if it were anyone else, they would have been labeled a rogue ninja long ago! Hiruzen, you're too lenient with your disciple," Koharu Utatane fumed.
With the decisive battle against Iwagakure looming, their own high-end combat power refusing to participate was simply outrageous and inconceivable! The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, watching the smoke rise, and slowly shifted his gaze to Tsukasa Kaede, who was kneeling on one knee.
"Tsukasa Kaede, your mission is complete. Your efficiency is very high. You've worked hard; I didn't expect you to be so fast," the Third Hokage said with a smile, not continuing to discuss Jiraiya.
Homura Mitokado, standing nearby, frowned and was about to burst into anger, but Danzo's single eye opened slightly, causing Homura Mitokado to suppress his fury.
Before Danzo, he simply couldn't exert that kind of authority. Who didn't know that Danzo was the Third Hokage's embodiment and proxy?
Danzo took all the dirty work into his own hands, carrying out tasks ruthlessly.
Tsukasa Kaede replied, "It's what I should do. Perhaps my jutsu is better suited for complex terrains like the Land of Rain, and I was lucky enough to find Lord Jiraiya."
"I want to ask you, when you found Jiraiya, what was he doing, and why wouldn't he come back?" Danzo said coldly.
"He appeared voluntarily and blocked me. Other than that, I didn't discover anything," Tsukasa Kaede answered.
(end of chapter)