At dusk. Sunagakure Prison.
Inside a solitary cell, Teizawa sat on the floor, his expression calm.
He'd seen this coming the moment ANBU began investigating him.
Back then, an ANBU colleague had sent him a message, urging him to defect before the investigation produced results.
But Teizawa hadn't done it.
Because he understood one thing clearly:
The moment he fled Sunagakure, he'd become a missing-nin.
And in a little over a year, the Shippūden storyline would kick off.
Akatsuki would begin gathering tailed beasts, and chaos would sweep the shinobi world.
At a time like that, becoming a missing-nin and wandering everywhere just wasn't safe.
More importantly… he'd spent so many years building his position in Sunagakure.
Teizawa believed that even if they uncovered his embezzlement and bribery, with the network he'd cultivated all these years, the worst that would happen was losing his jōnin rank and doing time for a year or two.
Perfect—he could even use the opportunity to avoid the Fourth Great Ninja War.
He'd just lie low until world peace.
Absolutely flawless.
And even if he got locked up, they'd definitely treat him well—good food, good drink.
Maybe there'd even be a few naïve kunoichi keeping him company.
Thinking about it like that… it wasn't so bad.
So Teizawa accepted the outcome with complete composure.
But what he hadn't expected—
Was that the daimyo's concubine, that woman, would be so stubborn.
Hellbent on eloping with him?
Since when was he that charming?
Of course the daimyo couldn't tolerate it.
So—an envoy had been sent to deal with him.
Beauty really was a disaster.
Still, Teizawa understood.
The real reason was probably that while he'd been spreading favors all these years…
He'd also been cutting into the pie of Sunagakure's truly corrupt ninja.
Otherwise, how would that old daimyo have learned about his supposedly airtight plan?
And that meant…
This wouldn't be a simple "strip his ninja status and lock him up for a year or two."
Someone might take this chance to actually get him killed.
"Man… plans never survive reality. Why is it so hard to just lie low?" Teizawa muttered with a sigh.
Clang…
Suddenly, the iron door of the cellblock opened.
A moment later, seven or eight Sunagakure jōnin and chūnin filed in.
"Teizawa-sama!"
"Captain Teizawa!"
As soon as they reached his cell, the seven or eight ninja all turned toward him and dropped to one knee in respectful salute.
Then the leading jōnin stepped forward, emotions surging, and grabbed the bars.
"Teizawa-sama, I just got word. The reason the daimyo's estate sent that envoy is because someone in the village reported you to the daimyo. Their goal is to make sure you die."
"Reported me?"
Teizawa's brow lifted slightly.
So it really was that.
With a bit of thought, names were already surfacing in his mind.
"Which clans?"
"Yes!"
Teizawa understood immediately.
So it wasn't one person—it was a whole group.
People liked to think only Konoha was packed with clans.
Sunagakure had plenty too.
And clans all had the same flaw…
They controlled huge chunks of training resources, and enjoyed the greatest share of the village's profits…
None of that mattered.
What mattered was this:
Teizawa had taken the money.
What were they supposed to live on?
In the end, it was all—profit.
Faced with that, those clans wouldn't sit and wait to die.
They'd use every means to remove him.
And it might not be just one clan involved.
"Teizawa-sama!"
While Teizawa fell silent, the officer gripping the bars suddenly looked up, eyes blazing with fanatic devotion.
"They'll do whatever it takes to pin every crime they can on you, then send you to the daimyo's estate to be executed."
"Instead of waiting to die, we should strike first!"
"Yeah! As long as Teizawa-sama gives the word, we'll go through fire and water!"
"That's right! Gaara—the butcher who's killed countless comrades, that jinchūriki—why does he get to be Kazekage?"
Teizawa raised his head slowly.
His gaze, like a burning spear, pinned the ninja standing outside the bars.
If lying low until the ending was impossible…
Then maybe it was time to live differently.
Ding…
A chime rang sharply in his mind, followed by a rapid stream of notifications.
[Detected: Host has finally abandoned the idea of being a salted fish. System activating.]
[Main Quest: Make Sunagakure Great Again. Shine Sunagakure's light into every household across the shinobi world.]
Hold on—when was Sunagakure ever great?
Teizawa's face went flat.
Sunagakure had always been the bottom of the Five Great Villages, and now it was "again"? What a joke.
[Detected: All ninja who have received the host's favor are sharpening their blades and preparing to rescue the host from prison.]
[You now have two choices!]
[1) Wait for your subordinates to break you out. Upon successful escape, reward: A-rank ninjutsu — Rasengan.]
[2) Launch a coup and seize the Kazekage position. Upon success, all ninjutsu, taijutsu, etc. you have already mastered will be upgraded to max level.]
Teizawa wasn't going to sit and wait to die.
Even without a system—even if the daimyo and those clans were in bed together—
He wouldn't let himself die here.
And more importantly…
After years of building his foundation, he wasn't the green recruit who'd only wanted to survive anymore.
He was a jōnin who'd already begun arranging the entire village from the shadows.
He was a transmigrator.
How could he stay beneath someone else forever?
Now that the system had appeared at exactly the right moment…
There was no need to hesitate.
He made his decision instantly.
Then something occurred to him, and he asked in his head:
"System, where's my newbie gift pack? Don't other systems have those?"
After a brief silence, the system replied:
[Newbie Gift Pack: "Jiton" has already been delivered!]
"…Huh? But didn't I awaken Magnet Release on my own?"
System: […]
You've got a normal body with zero shinobi bloodline. You think you awakened a kekkei genkai like Magnet Release by "luck"? Do you have any idea—
So Magnet Release was the system's gift? He'd thought he'd just hit the jackpot.
After that brief pause, Teizawa rose and walked up to the bars.
He looked at the seven or eight ninja waiting with bated breath outside.
Unhurried, he said, "I have a plan. I need you to go carry it out. Immediately."
The moment he said it, all seven or eight lit up with joy.
They stepped closer to the bars, one after another.
"Those old clan families, the envoy the daimyo sent—none of them are my real target."
He swept his eyes over them.
And in his gaze, a spark called ambition began to burn.
"If we're doing this, we're doing it big. My goal is… the Kazekage's seat."
For a moment, the seven or eight ninja froze.
Then, one by one, they dropped to their knees with feverish devotion and shouted in unison:
"We will die for you, Kazekage-sama!"
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