A month passed quickly, and Chad had to return to the Land of Lightning—not only because his vacation had ended, but also because he needed to carry out Kumo's next hunt, check on the laboratory projects, meet with Black Zetsu to ensure everything had gone smoothly, among other things.
Sometimes he hated being so busy.
At least he was able to leave with peace of mind. During that month, he had barely left Koyuki's side, monitoring her health and pregnancy, confirming that everything was progressing well.
"You took your time!" the Raikage was leaning over his desk in his office, gripping his hair with one hand while reading a document with the other.
He didn't look good. It was as if someone had denied him his protein powder for an entire week.
"I had to do a lot of work to fix the mess our "esteemed" Daimyo caused" Chad shrugged as he handed over a scroll containing a report of what had happened, at least the parts worth mentioning.
The Raikage grunted as he took the scroll and opened it to read.
"Is the chakra armor developing well?" he asked.
Although it made him uncomfortable to leave something so valuable in another village's hands, he consoled himself by remembering that Yukigakure was consuming its own resources for the research and development, while Kumo would receive the complete version without investing a single ryo.
"They've shortened the timeline, so everything is progressing better than expected."
This was a delicate topic of conversation—the kind that wasn't recorded anywhere in writing to prevent leaks to other villages or… meddling advisors.
"Isn't my sister with you today?" Chad asked curiously, glancing around the office. He didn't see Mabui or any of her clones.
The tower of documents on the desk had grown to a precarious height, swaying slightly from side to side.
"She had to leave on a mission with Yugito and Samui to the Land of Hot Water" even the Raikage seemed irritated by her absence, likely because he had no choice but to handle the paperwork himself.
Chad raised an eyebrow.
A mission that required mobilizing both a perfect jinchuriki and the Raikage's secretary, as well as one of the village's best jonin?
"Should I ask about it?" if the mission was classified, it was unlikely he'd be told anything.
The Raikage looked up from the report and studied him thoughtfully.
"Actually, the mission is related to you."
"Hmm?" Chad looked back at him, completely confused "I don't recall causing any trouble in the Land of Hot Water."
"Not there, but something did happen" the Raikage set the scroll down "During your visit to the capital?"
Chad needed a moment to understand what he meant.
"You mean… Jiraiya?" he narrowed his eyes.
"Correct" the Raikage nodded "Informants notified us that he was spotted there."
Jiraiya… allowed his whereabouts to be reported?
That didn't sound logical. Infiltration was one of his specialties.
"Wait" Chad raised a hand, a suspicion forming "The mission… was it assigned by my sister?" he asked.
If Mabui had been present during the report, it wouldn't be strange for her to propose hunting Jiraiya and leading the mission, since she detested the Sannin as much as Chad did. Nor would it be surprising if Yugito joined for added firepower, considering she was practically family to the siblings. As for Samui… perhaps she wanted to repay him for saving her brother Atsui in the past.
It had been the most delicate twenty-hour surgery Chad had ever performed at the hospital. Even now, he was amazed Atsui had managed to reach the operating table alive in the state he had been in.
As for authorizing the mission, the Raikage had no reason to refuse. The fall of a Konoha Sannin would benefit them and be a major achievement. Not to mention, with that group, even if they couldn't kill Jiraiya—they could run!
"Guren and Isaribi wanted to join the mission, but I refused" the Raikage explained as he leaned back in his chair "Although they've made excellent progress, their strength still falls short."
Both Kiyui and Hibui were in the Land of Iron on a covert mission to gather intelligence and negotiate a weapons supply. Darui had his hands full investigating facilities in the Land of Water, on a small island west of Kiri.
In short, the Raikage was short on capable personnel to support the mission.
He certainly wouldn't do something foolish like send several squads of chunin with them. That wouldn't be help—it would be dead weight against someone like Jiraiya.
"I want you to go as reinforcement" the Raikage said seriously as he rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a rectangular wooden box, about the size of a palm "Your sister took some, but take these as well just to be safe. I understand that last time he escaped because you didn't have any on you."
Chad nodded and took the box.
"How long ago did they leave?" he asked.
"Two days" the Raikage raised two fingers as thick as leeks "It'll take them four days to reach the area where he was spotted. Prepare and leave, or wait until tomorrow so I can send you there and scout the surroundings in advance" he said, referring to the Celestial Transfer Technique.
"Understood" Chad nodded as he turned to leave the office.
"Chad, the priority is that everyone comes back. Understood?" the Raikage called out, returning to the report on his desk "No matter how good the opportunity seems, Jiraiya belongs to the previous era. There will be other chances."
Whether it was Samui, Mabui, or Yugito, each kunoichi was worth more to the village alive than dead. Even trading one of their lives for Jiraiya's was not an option.