At that moment, Teizawa did not look at Samui.
He turned and walked straight toward the carriage.
Kitsuchi stood where he was.
Motionless.
His chakra had already been exhausted. With the last of his strength spent, he could only watch helplessly as Teizawa walked past him.
He did not even have the strength to raise a hand.
When Teizawa passed by his side, his steps paused slightly.
"Your people are still alive," he said quietly. "Take them and go."
Kitsuchi's pupils contracted sharply.
He abruptly turned around.
He wanted to say something, but his throat felt as if it had been blocked.
Teizawa did not look at him again.
He walked straight to the carriage.
Around the carriage, the Iwa ninja lay scattered across the ground.
Some were unconscious. Some were groaning.
Some were still struggling to climb back up.
No one could stop him.
Teizawa lifted the carriage curtain.
Inside, more than a dozen boxes were stacked neatly.
He opened the one on top.
Gold bars gleamed temptingly in the dim carriage compartment.
Oh...
Suddenly, a cold flash stabbed toward him.
Teizawa did not even look. He struck back with one hand.
The sneak-attacking Kurotsuchi was knocked unconscious on the spot.
Then he brushed a hand over her slightly rounded belly and laughed despite himself.
"Little brat. You should be taking care of your pregnancy, not running around causing trouble."
He scolded her verbally, but still kissed her on the forehead.
Only then did he toss her down from the carriage.
Of course, he controlled her descent with magnetism.
She would not fall hard enough to harm the child.
After doing all this, Teizawa slowly lowered the curtain.
Then he jumped onto the driver's seat and picked up the reins.
The carriage slowly turned around and drove back in the direction it had come from.
Kitsuchi stood at the edge of the collapsed ground.
He watched the carriage grow farther and farther away.
He watched the figure in the Kumogakure uniform disappear into the forest.
His hand clenched, loosened, then clenched again.
His subordinates were still lying in pools of blood.
His own chakra was already drained.
He could not chase.
Even if he did, he would not catch up.
"Ah...!"
He suddenly punched the ground.
Broken stone flew everywhere. Blood seeped out between his fingers.
It dyed the shattered rocks red.
Samui stood in the distance, watching this scene.
An indescribable emotion welled up inside her.
Kitsuchi's voice echoed through the forest, like the howl of a wounded beast.
Karui lowered her head, no longer daring to look.
Omoi turned his face away.
He spat out the lollipop that had already shattered in his mouth.
Samui looked in the direction Teizawa had disappeared, her lips moving slightly as she murmured, "He... really took the money?"
"Stop standing there. We need to go!"
Samui snapped her companions back to themselves.
Kitsuchi and the others could do nothing to Teizawa.
But once they recovered their senses, the three of them would be in serious trouble.
They did not dare linger. The three of them used the Body Flicker Technique and hurriedly left.
Meanwhile, Teizawa was driving the carriage along a small forest road.
His pace was neither fast nor slow.
He had not killed Kitsuchi, nor had he wiped everyone out.
It was not because he had gone soft. There was simply no need.
Kitsuchi was more useful alive than dead.
He was an elite jonin of Iwagakure, the son of the Third Tsuchikage, and Kurotsuchi's father.
If he lived, Iwagakure's anger would burn toward Kumogakure.
Not Sunagakure.
If he lived, Kurotsuchi would not hate Teizawa to the bone.
If he lived, the debt would be easier to calculate.
As for the money...
Teizawa patted the boxes beside him, and the smile on his face deepened.
Seven billion, added to the previous twenty-three billion.
Sunagakure had enough development funds for the next ten years.
Seawater desalination, road construction, steel puppets, an aerial force. All of his plans could now move forward smoothly.
This deal was not a loss.
What Sunagakure needed most for its current development was money.
On his side, he was tying up the attention of the major ninja villages.
While Sunagakure quietly developed in secret.
Keep farming safely and don't overextend?
Teizawa shook his head and laughed, driving the carriage toward Konoha.
The sun was already slanting westward, and a dark-red sunset burned across the horizon.
Tonight, there was still another grand show to perform.
...
The lights in the Hokage's office had been on all night.
Kitsuchi stood before the desk.
His face was livid, and both hands were braced against the tabletop as he glared at Tsunade.
"Hokage, you must give me an explanation for this."
His voice was hoarse, carrying anger he could no longer suppress.
"Seven billion. Three years of Iwagakure's military funding. All of it was stolen."
Tsunade leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping against the desk.
She had already listened to him complain for half an hour.
From the moment Kitsuchi came in until now, his mouth had not stopped.
The money had been robbed. His people had been beaten.
The carriage had been driven away.
He had returned in disgrace with only a group of wounded survivors.
Every detail had been repeated again and again.
Every sentence carried an accusation against Konoha.
It had happened on Konoha's territory.
Iwagakure's money had been robbed. Shouldn't Konoha take responsibility?
Tsunade opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Kitsuchi, you say the money was stolen by Kumogakure?"
Her voice was calm.
But anyone familiar with her knew this was the calm before the storm.
"Yes."
Kitsuchi gritted his teeth. "I saw it with my own eyes. Lightning Release Armor..."
"That is the Fourth Raikage's technique. Other than Kumogakure, who else could use it?"
Tsunade frowned slightly.
The only ones Kumogakure had sent were a jonin squad.
Samui, Karui, and Omoi. All three were jonin, and none of them were weak.
But to say they could defeat Kitsuchi...
Impossible.
Kitsuchi was Iwagakure's strongest shield.
His defensive power ranked high even across the ninja world.
For three jonin to snatch seven billion from his hands, they would need a stronger expert assisting them.
Lightning Release Armor?
Tsunade silently repeated those words in her mind.
That was the Fourth Raikage's signature ability.
There were only a handful of people in Kumogakure who could use it.
Had the Fourth Raikage come in person?
She glanced at Shizune standing nearby.
Shizune shook her head. The Anbu had not discovered any suspicious person entering the village.
Tsunade's fingers lightly tapped against the armrest.
Kitsuchi was not someone who would lie.
What he said was probably true.
But Kumogakure's people truly did not have that level of strength.
There had to be something here she did not know.
Mei stood in the corner.
Her arms were crossed over her chest.
There was a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.
Kirigakure had come to watch the show.
The messier things became, the better.
Her gaze moved back and forth between Kitsuchi and Tsunade.
As though she were enjoying a fine performance.
"Hokage, I request..."
Kitsuchi took a deep breath. "Please summon the Kazekage and have him explain this matter clearly."
"The Four-Tails is still in his hands. The money was robbed in Konoha. He must give us an explanation."
Tsunade glanced at him.
This old boy's mouth was still hard, but he was clearly afraid.
The money had been robbed within Konoha's borders.
But the ones who had acted were Kumogakure. What did that have to do with Konoha?
Even so, Kitsuchi's words left no cracks.
The Four-Tails belonged to Sunagakure. The money belonged to Iwagakure. The ones who stole it were Kumogakure. The Four-Tails was in Konoha.
All four sides had been dragged into this.
No one could stay out of it.
She could refuse.
But the consequence of refusal would be Iwagakure and Kumogakure fighting inside Konoha.
They would turn her village into a battlefield.
She could not take that risk.
"Go invite the Kazekage," Tsunade said to Shizune. "And Kumogakure's people too. Bring them here together."
Shizune nodded and turned to leave the office.
Kitsuchi straightened.
His fists were still clenched.
The veins on the backs of his hands bulged one by one.
Mei remained leaning in the corner, the smile on her lips deepening.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
Her temples had begun to throb again.
These bastards. Not a single one of them was easy to deal with.
(End of Chapter)
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