Chapter 174 – The Aftermath, Shock
Inside the central command tent, Jiraiya was just as confused as Shikaku. In fact, the question Shikaku asked was exactly what he himself wanted answered.
His gaze shifted toward the ANBU operative who had come with the order, his eyes filled with inquiry. He was certain—these people would have the explanation.
Not just him—Shikaku and the two advisors also turned their attention toward the ANBU. Though they had been assigned to monitor Jiraiya, that didn't mean they didn't care about Konoha. Such an absurd order… they wanted answers just as much.
The ANBU squad leader didn't disappoint.
"Actually," he began, "if this had been a day later, Jiraiya-sama would have received the village's report anyway." He paused briefly before continuing, "Iwagakure has reinforced the front line with another 500 shinobi."
"We already know that," one of the advisors cut in impatiently. "Not just them—Kumogakure has increased their forces too. But wait…" His expression shifted as realization dawned. "You're saying… after those initial 500, Iwa sent another 500?"
"That's correct," the ANBU leader nodded. "In fact, it's more than just that. Both Sunagakure and Kumogakure have also been quietly increasing their forces during this time. It's just that Iwagakure's reinforcements were the most obvious."
He continued calmly, "The Hokage and the elders believe Konoha urgently needs a stable southern front. Only then can we free up forces to deal with the other villages. Combined with Chiyo's proposal for a mutual defense alliance… that's why the decision was made to release the prisoners."
"A mutual defense alliance…" Jiraiya let out a soft, helpless laugh. But behind it was unmistakable disappointment.
Shikaku and the two advisors fell silent as well.
Were they angry? Of course. But were the village elders wrong? Not entirely. They were acting for the sake of Konoha as a whole.
It was just… hard to accept.
They had won on the battlefield—only to lose at the negotiation table.
"Jiraiya-sama… what should we do?" Shikaku asked, looking at him for direction. After all, this was the front line. And throughout history, there had always been moments when generals acted beyond their orders.
The tent grew heavy with tension. All eyes were on Jiraiya—especially the two advisors, who knew their true mission here.
Jiraiya looked around at everyone… then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! What are you all thinking?" he said with a wide grin. "If the village has given the order, then we release them. What, you want to keep feeding over a hundred prisoners? That's a waste of food!"
The atmosphere instantly lightened.
"Shikaku," Jiraiya continued, "take Chiyo to collect the prisoners. Keep it low-profile—don't draw too much attention. After that, have someone escort them out of the Land of Rivers. I'm not going to see her. Just looking at her annoys me."
"Understood!"
An hour later, under Shikaku's guidance, Chiyo and her group finally met the more than one hundred captured Sunagakure shinobi.
Overall, their condition wasn't bad. Konoha had always maintained a strong reputation when it came to outward appearances—and that extended to how they treated prisoners. Unless interrogation was necessary, Konoha's treatment of captives was arguably the best among the Five Great Nations.
But when Chiyo saw Shamon—lying on a bed, unable to even stand—her earlier satisfaction vanished completely.
At this point… it would have been better if he had died on the battlefield. Even suicide would have been preferable. At least then, the village could have honored him as a hero.
Now… in this state…
All the valuable information in his head had likely already been extracted. Those were all Sunagakure's secrets.
"Chiyo-dono," Shikaku said calmly, "you understand how it is. Prisoners are… persuaded by certain methods. And at the time, we were enemies. I hope you won't take it to heart."
Shikaku noticed Chiyo staring absentmindedly at Shamon and stepped forward, offering an explanation with apparent seriousness.
Unfortunately, that only made things worse. The more he explained, the more irritated Chiyo became—so much so that it felt like her liver was about to burst from anger.
"Advisor Nara, let's proceed with the handover," Chiyo said coolly, cutting him off. "The village is waiting for my report. We should finish quickly so we can coordinate with Konoha against Iwagakure."
One sentence was enough to completely shut Shikaku down.
The handover proceeded in an orderly fashion, moving swiftly. Before long, both sides had completed all formalities.
But such a large-scale transfer couldn't remain hidden forever. As word spread among the other ninja, outrage quickly erupted.
These prisoners had been captured at the cost of their comrades' lives. Some of them might even have had their hands stained with the blood of Konoha shinobi. How could anyone expect these ninja to stay calm?
The crowd surged, nearly losing control. For a moment, it seemed they might execute the prisoners on the spot.
In the end, it was Jiraiya who stepped forward and suppressed the situation.
"Brothers! Calm down!"
His voice rang out, firm and commanding.
"No one understands better than I do what we paid to capture these prisoners. Watching them walk away like this… it tears at my heart as well.
But Iwagakure and Kumogakure have already mobilized at our borders—and they're still increasing their forces. The village desperately needs stability on the southern front. Otherwise, we'll be caught between enemies on two sides.
Releasing them isn't surrender. It's to ensure that more of our comrades don't die in a battle where we're outnumbered.
By trading these hundred prisoners, we force Sunagakure to turn its blade toward Iwagakure. That means more of our brothers will survive this war…"
The once-chaotic crowd gradually fell silent. In the end, only the sound of wind rustling through the tents remained.
They all looked at the man standing before them—their commander, Jiraiya.
Then, one ninja quietly turned and left.
Then another.
And another.
No one spoke. But in their silence, they chose to trust him.
After all the turmoil, Chiyo and her group finally departed Konoha's camp without further incident. Without pause, they hurried toward the Land of Wind, escorted by Konoha ninja.
On the surface, the prisoner exchange seemed to have concluded smoothly. Everyone appeared to accept Jiraiya's explanation.
But deep down… no one could say whether something had changed.
Was it doubt toward the Third Hokage?
Or disappointment toward the leadership as a whole?
No one knew.
One day later, after making a wide detour through the Land of Wind, Taichi finally reentered the Land of Rivers. Even so, he didn't dare relax for a moment. Maintaining maximum speed, he rushed toward the front-line camp.
It wasn't that he didn't want to rest—he simply couldn't afford to.
The intelligence he carried was too important. The sooner Konoha learned the truth, the sooner they could prepare—and seize the initiative.
By noon, after more than a full day without rest, Taichi finally reached the camp.
At the gate, the guard captain spotted a disheveled ninja charging toward them at high speed and immediately assumed it was an enemy attack. Just as he was about to call for reinforcements, a shout rang out:
"I'm Matsushita Taichi! I need to see Lord Jiraiya immediately!"
The captain looked closely—then his expression changed.
"It's Taichi-sama! Stand down. Tobi, you take over the gate. I'll escort Taichi-sama to the command tent!"
The guards quickly stepped aside. Taichi dashed past them, tossing out a quick "Thanks!" before disappearing into the camp. The captain followed closely behind.
Such reckless movement naturally drew attention. When people realized it was Taichi, murmurs spread among the crowd.
By the time Taichi reached the command tent, he turned and thanked the captain again. Without his escort, he would have been stopped and questioned multiple times.
Inside the tent, several ninja were gathered, seemingly discussing the reassignment of forces back to the village. Judging by their relaxed expressions and occasional laughter, things were going smoothly.
But Taichi couldn't help wondering—what expressions would they wear once they heard his news?
As he entered, the others looked at him in surprise, then greeted him warmly.
"Hey, Taichi! Where've you been?"
"Man, you look like hell!"
At the head of the room, Jiraiya grinned.
"Taichi, back already? Your mission was supposed to last a month, wasn't it? We're not exactly busy here—you could've taken your time and relaxed a bit!"
He winked exaggeratedly, prompting laughter from several ninja.
Taichi could only sigh. Having a superior like this—was it a blessing or a curse?
If Tsunade were here, she'd probably break a few of Jiraiya's ribs again.
"Lord Jiraiya," Taichi said seriously, "I have urgent intelligence regarding Sunagakure. It's extremely critical. Please dismiss everyone."
Jiraiya paused. Now that Konoha had already formed an alliance with Sunagakure, what urgent intelligence could there be?
Then he realized—Taichi didn't know about the alliance yet.
Still, procedures were procedures.
"Everyone, you heard him. Wrap things up and prepare based on what we discussed earlier."
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, the tent was empty, leaving only Jiraiya, Shikaku, and Taichi.
"Alright," Jiraiya said casually, "what's so urgent?"
Taichi's expression turned grave.
"The Third Kazekage… has been killed."
"…Hah? You did it?" Jiraiya joked instinctively, still not fully processing.
But Shikaku's face immediately grew serious.
"It was done by a Sunagakure rogue ninja—Sasori of the Red Sand."
Silence fell.
Jiraiya's smile slowly faded.
"…You're serious?"
"Absolutely. I saw it with my own eyes. I even brought back the body."
It was as if jaws hit the floor.
Jiraiya stared at him, speechless. Shikaku was no better—this sounded utterly absurd.
The Kazekage… dead?
Seen firsthand?
And the body… brought back?
Are you sure you didn't kill him?
As if that wasn't shocking enough, Taichi took out a sealing scroll and released its contents.
Poof—
A body appeared on the ground.
Jiraiya and Shikaku rushed forward, examining it carefully.
The distinctive Kazekage robes. The unmistakable face.
There was no doubt.
This was the Third Kazekage.
They exchanged a glance, both realizing the magnitude of the situation.
The leader of a major village… dead.
And Konoha had just signed an alliance with Sunagakure.
How was this supposed to be handled?
"Wait," Jiraiya said, rubbing his forehead, "you said Sasori killed him. Where is Sasori now? Did he escape?"
"…No," Taichi scratched his head awkwardly. "They both took heavy damage. I was hiding nearby… so I took the opportunity and killed him."
He pulled out another scroll and released Sasori's body.
At this point, Jiraiya and Shikaku were numb.
One Kazekage was already shocking enough.
Now Sasori too?
They didn't even know how to react anymore.
"Taichi," Jiraiya sighed, "start from the beginning. Slowly. My heart can't take any more surprises."
Taichi nodded and recounted everything in detail—his infiltration of the oasis, discovering the Kazekage's presence, witnessing the battle, overhearing their conversation, and finally seizing the opportunity to strike.
By the end, Jiraiya and Shikaku could only conclude one thing:
It was pure coincidence.
If even one step had gone differently, Taichi would never have pulled it off.
"So what now?" Shikaku asked. "Do we still send reinforcements back to the village?"
"Send reinforcements? Forget that!" Jiraiya snapped. "The Kazekage is dead—Sunagakure is going to go mad. Inform all units: maximum alert. We have no idea what they'll do next!"
Then he sighed, full of regret.
"…Damn it. We agreed to Chiyo's terms too quickly. If we'd waited just one more day, she'd be the one begging us."
Shikaku shook his head. He wasn't thinking about regret—he was worried whether Sunagakure would still honor the alliance.
"Taichi," Jiraiya continued, "this is a major contribution. I need to report this to the village immediately."
He paused, then added:
"And these two bodies—they're invaluable, both for intelligence and research. I'll send them back as well. Don't worry, your reward won't be lacking. You'll definitely be allowed to choose a jutsu from the Scroll of Seals."
Taichi's eyes lit up.
He had already expected to lose the bodies—but he had taken everything he could beforehand, including samples.
Now, getting access to the Scroll of Seals?
That was pure profit.
Flying Thunder God, Spirit Transformation, Darkness Technique…
All of them were within reach.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei!"
Jiraiya chuckled. "Now you remember to call me 'sensei,' huh?"
Still smiling, he sealed the bodies again.
"Go get some rest. You look like you're about to collapse."
Only then did Taichi feel the exhaustion hit him. Nodding, he took his leave.
After he left, Shikaku smiled faintly.
"Jiraiya-sama, you've got quite the disciple. I'm almost jealous."
"Haha, don't give me too much credit," Jiraiya waved it off, though he couldn't hide his grin. "I'm only his second teacher."
Shikaku immediately understood.
The first… must be Tsunade.
What a terrifying combination—talent and backing.
Meanwhile, at the border of the Land of Wind, Chiyo and the released prisoners finally stepped onto their homeland.
Many were overwhelmed with emotion. Some even broke into tears.
Life in Konoha hadn't been easy. While they weren't tortured, beatings and humiliation were common—especially in the early days. Many had believed they would be killed at any moment.
"Alright, keep moving," Chiyo urged. "Another hour and we'll reach the border camp."
She had exceeded expectations on this mission—leveraging international pressure to force Konoha's hand. As for the alliance treaty?
In her eyes, it was meaningless.
When the time came, it would be nothing more than a scrap of paper.
Just as she was about to hurry them along again, she suddenly looked up.
In the distance, a squad of ninja was approaching rapidly.
Had the front-line camp sent them to greet her?
No… that didn't seem right.
She hadn't disclosed her route.
By the time she finished thinking, the squad had already arrived.
"Lady Chiyo! She brought back the captured comrades!"
The leading ninja recognized her instantly and shouted to his teammates.
Realizing her mistake, Chiyo understood—it was just a coincidence.
But as she prepared to move on, she noticed the squad leader hesitating, as if he had something to say.
"You have something to report?" she asked directly.
The man stepped forward after giving quick instructions to his team.
"Elder… this isn't something I should be the one to say. But you once showed me kindness, so I must tell you in advance."
Chiyo studied him carefully—he did seem familiar.
"Speak."
The man took a breath.
"…The Kazekage has gone missing."