Chapter 427: The Higher One Stands, the More One Thinks, and the More One Worries
"Has it been checked? Did you find the person who left this letter?"
Tsunade frowned as she looked at the letter in her hand, then asked the Anbu standing before her.
The Anbu shook his head.
The letter had appeared out of nowhere that morning in the director's office of the orphanage. Written on the outside were the words, "For the Eyes of the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, Only." Because of that, the letter had quickly been delivered to the Hokage's office.
The Anbu had checked it according to protocol, searching for poison, jutsu seals, or any other traps. There was nothing on it. It was only an ordinary letter.
As for the contents?
Naturally, the Anbu did not dare read them.
After all, there was a signature in the lower right corner.
Amamiya Kenichi.
A former rogue ninja of Konoha, Orochimaru's student, and currently Konoha's highest-ranked missing-nin. A madman.
Moreover, the Anbu's superior had specifically instructed him to deliver the letter to Lady Tsunade immediately after confirming it was safe. Under no circumstances was he to open it himself.
The Anbu knew very well that the more one knew, the greater the danger. So after completing the inspection, he delivered it directly to Tsunade.
Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, anger flickering in her eyes.
What exactly did that bastard Amamiya Kenichi want?
He had only just caused her teacher's death, yet now he dared send a letter to her?
Could it be that he still wanted to...
Tsunade froze for a moment.
It was not impossible.
She quickly tore open the letter in her hand and read it carefully.
The contents were very simple. There were only a few short sentences. Yet after reading them, Tsunade's heart could not calm down for a long time.
Tsunade closed her eyes.
Her breathing grew heavy, and her chest rose and fell violently.
Immediately afterward, she slammed her hand down on the table in rage, shattering it in an instant.
However, the letter that Tsunade had also slammed onto the table remained completely unharmed.
"This madman!" Tsunade gritted her teeth, staring furiously at the letter in her hand.
She wished Amamiya Kenichi were standing in front of her right now.
She swore she would give him a brutal punch.
One that would make him regret ever being born into this world.
"Call Jiraiya over," Tsunade said, painfully pinching her brow.
Her emotions told her that nothing Amamiya Kenichi said could be trusted. She had to avenge her teacher and the Konoha ninja who had sacrificed themselves.
But reason told her that this matter had to be considered carefully.
Because if it was true, it would be incredibly good news for Konoha.
The Anbu hurriedly left.
Only Tsunade remained, sitting silently in her chair and staring at the letter in her hand.
The contents were not long, yet she had already read them countless times.
Even so, her heart remained deeply conflicted and pained.
Teacher, is this why you slowly stopped being yourself after sitting in this position for so long?
Tsunade stared blankly at the ceiling.
For the first time, she felt as if she suddenly understood her teacher's pain.
"Tsunade, what happened?"
Jiraiya rushed over.
He had originally planned to leave Konoha and continue gathering information on the Akatsuki while looking for clues about Amamiya Kenichi and Orochimaru. To his surprise, before he could even depart, Tsunade had summoned him.
"Look at this." Tsunade's tone carried a trace of reluctance.
She was struggling against herself.
Struggling against her own rationality.
That struggle caused her immense pain.
Jiraiya was confused, but he still took the letter.
After only a few glances, he crumpled it in his hand. His arm trembled. It was obvious that if this had not merely been a letter, but a sheet of metal, Jiraiya might have already torn it apart.
"How dare that bastard say something like this?" Jiraiya glared furiously at the letter in his hand, his anger surging.
But he had no choice but to hand the letter back to Tsunade.
If he kept reading, he really might not be able to hold himself back.
Tsunade rubbed her temples.
What that little bastard Amamiya Kenichi had written was not complicated.
Simply put, he confessed that he was Amamiya Kenichi, that he had occupied the Land of Water and Kirigakure, and that he had unexpectedly learned he caused Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, which filled him with great pain.
Therefore, in order to repay Konoha, he claimed that he had not forgotten the saying, "Where Konoha's leaves dance, fire will burn."
He said he was a resolute inheritor of the Will of Fire.
To atone for his mistakes, he wanted to co-govern the Land of Water with Konoha. The mission shares from the Land of Water could also be allocated to Konoha.
A very simple proposal.
And precisely because it was so simple, it enraged Tsunade even more.
Emotionally, Tsunade did not believe a single word from Amamiya Kenichi.
That little bastard was cunning and unpredictable.
Could he be an inheritor of the Will of Fire?
How was that possible?
If that were truly the case, would he have still tried to wipe out the Allied Shinobi Forces when he attacked their outpost?
But if he had truly held back, that would make things even harder for Konoha to defend against.
At that time, people from every ninja village would ask Konoha why only Konoha's forces had survived unharmed.
Had Konoha planned all of this?
The thought alone made Tsunade want to send troops directly to the Land of Water, capture Amamiya Kenichi, and torture him with the cruelest punishment she could think of.
She wanted to make that little bastard regret being born.
But the words that came afterward caused Tsunade deep pain.
She was no longer only Tsunade.
Nor was she merely the old man's student.
She was also Konoha's Fifth Hokage.
She carried far too many burdens.
Only after standing in this position could one truly understand what it meant to walk on thin ice.
For Konoha, Amamiya Kenichi's proposal was clearly of incredible value.
That was the Land of Water.
A great nation.
A great village.
If that country fell under the Land of Fire and Konoha's influence, then Konoha would no longer need to worry about potential attacks from the Land of Water. Its economy would also develop rapidly.
What had all the wars in the ninja world been fought for?
Was it not to secure their village's position and gain more mission shares?
With the Land of Water, Konoha's sphere of influence would expand dramatically.
That would be a great achievement recorded in the village's history.
"Tsunade, what... what are you thinking?" Jiraiya seemed to understand why his old friend was so conflicted. He looked at her tentatively and asked.
Tsunade did not speak.
She was also in pain.
On one side were her teacher and the ninja who had sacrificed themselves at Amamiya Kenichi's hands.
On the other side were the enormous benefits Konoha could gain.
A village.
A country.
If they could be brought into Konoha's sphere, the village would gain immeasurable advantages.
Even if the Land of Water could not be fully incorporated, Amamiya Kenichi could still lead it while allowing Konoha to share in its profits. On the surface, the Land of Water would remain independent, but in reality, it would fall within Konoha's sphere of influence.
That could also avoid provoking hostility from the other villages.
Moreover, that bastard Amamiya Kenichi's strength was truly formidable.
If Amamiya Kenichi and Orochimaru returned, then even if the other three villages attacked, Konoha would not be without the strength to resist.
Complex emotions swirled inside Tsunade's mind.
"Jiraiya, I..." Tsunade lifted her head painfully.
She did not know whether her friend could understand her.
She was no longer just Tsunade.
"I know what you mean, Fifth Hokage," Jiraiya said with a sigh.
He naturally understood what his friend faced after standing in that position.
Even so, he still felt uncomfortable.
If it had been the old Tsunade, she would probably have acted without hesitation.
In that instant, Jiraiya seemed to see the figure of the Third Hokage.
If it were the Third Hokage, he would surely agree without hesitation and then work to draw Amamiya Kenichi in, wouldn't he?
After all, compared to a village and a country, an individual's life and death truly seemed insignificant.
Just a number.
Jiraiya's figure looked somewhat dejected.
Tsunade's gaze was complicated, but she still issued an order for the head of the Nara clan to come see her.
This matter was far too important.
Tsunade could not make a careless decision alone.
Jiraiya slumped down beneath the Hokage Rock and looked up at the majestic face of the Third Hokage carved into the cliff.
His gaze was somewhat unfocused.
Perhaps he really had misjudged the old man back then.
Standing in that position truly came with too many restraints.
Jiraiya knew Tsunade's plans.
Tsunade had not intended to hide anything from him, so Jiraiya was well aware that Tsunade had previously been determined to avenge the old man and the ninja who had died unjustly.
But now...
The thought that if everything Amamiya Kenichi said became reality, that man might live peacefully in this world, and Konoha might even praise his achievements, calling him someone who had sacrificed everything for Konoha and inherited the Will of Fire, made Jiraiya feel uncomfortable all over.
"...Tsunade has her concerns, but I don't."
Jiraiya stood up.
"In this world, there always need to be people willing to do seemingly foolish things."
Tsunade had her concerns. She needed to consider the village.
But what about him, Jiraiya?
He could do what he wanted.
That was what made him the true Toad Sage.
As he hurried along, Jiraiya saw a crowd gathered around the general store, discussing something animatedly.
Several curious girls went over to take a look, only to immediately spit in disgust and run away.
Jiraiya became a little curious, so he walked over to see what was happening.
Then he noticed that the general store had received a new item. It was said to be a strange little novelty meant for single men who felt lonely at night.
Jiraiya glanced over and saw a lifelike girl standing there.
But after taking a closer look, he realized she did not move at all.
"Tsk, tsk. These people's ideas are really..."
Jiraiya was not interested.
A doll was fake, after all.
He was a man who only dealt with the real thing.
So he quickly left.
After Jiraiya left, two middle-aged couples also hurried over.
Meanwhile, Yakushi Kabuto, who had already sold his goods, packed his belongings and continued toward other villages with the merchandise Uchiha Shiori had previously delivered.
This time, he was playing the role of a merchant traveling between different ninja villages, solely to complete the mission Amamiya Kenichi had assigned him.
"But I didn't expect Lord Amamiya to sell these kinds of things. That really is strange," Kabuto said with a yawn as he left Konoha.
This mission was relatively much simpler.
Perhaps it could be considered a kind of rest.
—-
"I have a bit of a headache."
Amamiya Kenichi rubbed his temples, feeling a slight ache building behind his eyes.
Ever since he obtained the remains of a Nano Disease patient, Kenichi had begun his research.
However, his current research was divided into three directions.
One Shadow Clone was dedicated to researching Nano Disease.
Another Shadow Clone was focused on studying nuclear physics books.
As for Kenichi himself, he was attempting to outline the basic structure of a hydrogen bomb and see whether it could be built by hand.
"However, if I want to make a hydrogen bomb, the essential problem is obtaining the right fusion materials. But right now, I don't have the necessary instruments," Kenichi sighed.
The reason producing an atomic bomb had been comparatively simple was entirely because the system had rewarded him with devices for detecting and extracting uranium.
The problem was that making a hydrogen bomb now meant starting from nothing.
Fortunately, the system had previously rewarded him with a set of nuclear physics books. Otherwise, Kenichi would probably be completely clueless right now and would not even know where to begin.
But even with knowledge, trying to build a hydrogen bomb by hand was no ordinary feat.
Kenichi drew on a piece of paper.
First, the issue of raw materials had to be solved.
Although the relevant hydrogen isotopes seemed similar on the surface, there were actually significant differences between them. Obtaining them required extremely demanding nuclear processes and specialized separation methods.
Even the relatively easier material was still very complex to produce.
For Kenichi, extracting those key substances would already be extremely troublesome, let alone preparing all the other necessary components.
The thought alone made his headache grow worse.
The difficulty of producing these things was immense.
For now, he could only take it one step at a time.
It was at that moment that Kenichi felt an extra segment of memory appear in his mind.
He thought about it briefly, then understood.
The Shadow Clone researching Nano Disease had made a novel discovery, which was why it had informed him.
Soon, Kenichi received the experiment log.
Although the memories transmitted by the Shadow Clone had already given him the full picture, reviewing the experiment log was still a quick way to sort through the details.
[Experiment Log: A new pathogen structure has been identified.]
"What an interesting discovery. Nano Disease itself is actually a fungus, a fungus primarily found in the spinal cord."
Looking at the experiment log in his hand, Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
A fungus?
This thing was actually a fungus?
Could diseases caused by fungi really be this terrifying?
And how had it become so contagious?
.....
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