Inside the main command tent, Jiraiya looked just as confused as Shikaku when the question came up. He turned to the ANBU captain who had delivered the order, eyes demanding an explanation. He knew these guys always had the full picture.
Shikaku and the two new advisors leaned in as well. They might have been sent to watch Jiraiya, but they still loved the village. This ridiculous order had them just as stunned.
The ANBU captain didn't disappoint.
"Actually, if you'd waited one more day, Lord Jiraiya, the village's official report would have reached you," he said, laying the groundwork. "Iwagakure has reinforced their front line with another five hundred shinobi—"
"We already knew about the five hundred," one advisor cut in impatiently. "Both Rock and Cloud have been sending extra troops—" He stopped mid-sentence as the implication hit him. "You're saying this is on top of the first batch? Another five hundred?"
"Correct," the ANBU captain replied. "In truth, it's far more than just those five hundred. Sand and Cloud have both been quietly increasing their numbers in smaller groups, but Rock's latest move is by far the largest single reinforcement. The Hokage and the elders believe Konoha urgently needs a stable southern front so we can free up forces to deal with the other villages. Combined with the mutual defense pact Chiyo proposed, they agreed to release the prisoners."
"A mutual defense pact?" Jiraiya let out a bitter laugh full of disappointment.
Shikaku and the two advisors fell silent. They were angry, yes—but they also understood the village leadership was thinking of the bigger picture. Still, the result was hard to swallow. They had won on the battlefield only to lose at the negotiating table.
"Lord Jiraiya… what are our orders?" Shikaku asked, waiting for direction. Everyone in the tent looked to Jiraiya—especially the two advisors, who knew their secret mission.
Jiraiya glanced around at them all, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Haha! What are you all so worried about? The village gave the order, so of course we release them. What, are we supposed to keep feeding a hundred-plus prisoners forever? What a waste of rations!"
The heavy atmosphere in the tent instantly lightened.
"Shikaku, take Chiyo and her people to collect the prisoners. Keep it quiet—don't let too many people notice. Then escort them out of the Land of Rivers. I won't meet her myself. Just looking at that old hag gives me a headache!"
"Understood!"
One hour later.
Under Shikaku's guidance, Chiyo and her group finally saw the hundred-plus Sand prisoners. Overall, they looked decent. Konoha had always been excellent at keeping up appearances when it came to prisoner treatment.
But the moment Chiyo saw Shamon lying helpless on a cot, her good mood vanished completely.
You would have been better off dying honorably on the battlefield. Even suicide would have been preferable—at least the village could have called you a hero.
Now? His mind had almost certainly been wrung dry of every valuable secret. All of Sunagakure's classified information…
"Elder Chiyo, you understand that with prisoners, certain methods are sometimes necessary," Shikaku said, stepping forward with a straight face. "After all, we were enemies at the time. I hope you won't take it personally."
His explanation only made Chiyo angrier. Her liver felt like it was on fire.
"Nara advisor, let's finish the handover quickly," she said coldly. "The village is waiting for my report, and we still need to coordinate with Konoha against Iwagakure."
Chiyo wasn't someone you could push around. Her single sentence left Shikaku speechless.
The handover proceeded smoothly and quickly. Both sides finished the paperwork in short order.
But such a large movement couldn't stay hidden forever. Word spread fast. Once the other Leaf shinobi learned what was happening, the camp erupted in fury.
These prisoners had been captured at the cost of their comrades' blood. Some of them had Leaf blood on their hands. How could anyone expect the soldiers to stay calm?
The angry crowd nearly lynched the prisoners on the spot. In the end, only Jiraiya stepping forward managed to calm everyone down.
"Brothers, calm yourselves!
I know better than anyone what price we paid to capture these men. Seeing them walk free makes my own heart bleed.
But Iwagakure and Kumogakure have massed troops on our borders and continue to reinforce them. The village desperately needs a stable southern front to avoid being attacked from two sides at once.
Releasing them is not surrender. It is to ensure more of our Leaf comrades survive this war—"
The roaring crowd gradually fell silent. In the end, only the sound of wind whipping through the tents remained.
Everyone stared at the man standing before them—their commander, Jiraiya.
Then the first shinobi turned and walked away without a word. A second followed. Then a third.
No one spoke. They chose to believe Jiraiya's words.
After all the chaos, Chiyo's group finally left the Leaf camp. They didn't stop for rest, rushing toward the Land of Wind at top speed under Leaf escort.
The prisoner handover seemed to pass without further incident. Everyone appeared to accept Jiraiya's explanation.
But no one could say for sure whether this event had planted seeds of doubt in their hearts—distrust toward the Third Hokage, or disappointment in the village's high command.
No one knew.
One day later.
After taking a long detour through the Land of Wind, Taiichi finally re-entered the Land of Rivers. He didn't dare relax for even a second, maintaining maximum speed the entire way back to the forward camp.
It wasn't that he didn't want to rest. The intelligence he carried was simply 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 sleep, Taiichi finally reached the camp.
The gate captain saw a battered shinobi racing toward them at full speed and assumed it was an enemy attack. He was about to signal his men when a shout rang out.
"I'm Matsushita Taiichi! I must see Lord Jiraiya immediately!"
The captain took a closer look. "It's Lord Taiichi! Clear the way! Hayabusa, you guard the gate. I'll escort Lord Taiichi to the command tent!"
The defenders immediately stepped aside. Taiichi flashed past them with a quick "Thank you!" and charged into the camp. The captain followed right behind.
Such a commotion naturally drew attention. When people realized it was Taiichi, the whole camp buzzed with speculation.
By the time Taiichi reached the command tent, he had already drawn a crowd. He thanked the captain again—without the man's presence, he would have been stopped and questioned multiple times.
Inside the tent, several officers were discussing pulling troops back to the village. They all wore relaxed smiles, clearly pleased with how the meeting was going.
But Taiichi knew their expressions would change the moment they heard what he had to say.
Everyone noticed him enter. They gave him friendly looks, and a few familiar faces even greeted him warmly.
"Hey, Taiichi! Where've you been?"
"Taiichi, you look like hell!"
Jiraiya, seated at the head, spotted him too and joked, "Taiichi, why are you back so soon? Your mission was supposed to last a month. We're not exactly busy here—you could've relaxed out there for a while!"
He winked playfully, making several officers burst out laughing.
Taiichi felt a headache coming on. Having a teacher and superior like this was both a blessing and a curse. Good thing Tsunade wasn't here, or she'd break a few more of Jiraiya's ribs.
"Lord Jiraiya, I have urgent intelligence concerning Sunagakure. It's critical. Please clear the tent!"
Jiraiya paused, surprised. They had just signed an alliance with Sand—what urgent intelligence could there be? Then he remembered Taiichi hadn't been told yet and understood.
Still, since Taiichi had used those words, protocol had to be followed.
"Everyone, you heard him. Let's wrap this up for now. Go prepare for the troop withdrawal we discussed."
"Yes, sir!"
Once the tent was empty except for Jiraiya, Shikaku, and Taiichi, Jiraiya spoke casually.
"Alright, Taiichi. What's this important intelligence?"
"The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure… has been killed!" Taiichi said, dead serious, each word heavy.
"Haha—what, you kill him?" Jiraiya was still in a playful mood.
Shikaku's face turned grave instantly.
"He was killed by the Sunagakure missing-nin—Sasori of the Red Sand."
The tent fell silent for several long seconds.
Jiraiya's smile slowly faded as he stared at Taiichi. "You're serious?"
"Dead serious. I saw it with my own eyes. I even brought the Kazekage's body back."
A soft thud could almost be heard as Jiraiya's jaw dropped.
He sat there with his mouth open, speechless.
Shikaku was the same. The news was simply too absurd.
The Kazekage was dead—you saw it yourself—you brought the body back!
You sure you didn't kill him?
As if the shock wasn't enough, Taiichi pulled out the storage scroll and released the seal.
Poof!
White smoke cleared, revealing the intact corpse lying on the ground.
Jiraiya and Shikaku stood up at once and walked over, carefully examining the body.
The signature Kazekage robes, the face—there was no mistake. This was the Third Kazekage.
Jiraiya and Shikaku exchanged a long look. This was big. They had just signed a defense pact with Sand. How the hell were they supposed to handle this?
"Oh right—you said the Kazekage was killed by Sasori. What about him? Did he escape?" Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.
"No. They fought each other to a mutual destruction. Sasori was badly wounded too. I was hiding nearby, so I snuck up and killed him."
Taiichi scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. He had basically just cleaned up the leftovers.
He pulled out the second scroll and unsealed Sasori's body as well.
Jiraiya and Shikaku had nothing left to say. One Kazekage corpse was already enough to stun them. Adding Sasori on top left them completely numb.
"Taiichi… you'd better tell us the full story," Jiraiya said, sighing. "And do it slowly. My heart can't take any more of these bombshells."
Taiichi knew he couldn't tease them anymore, so he calmly recounted everything in detail—how he had scouted the oasis, learned of the Kazekage's presence, been drawn by the battle, overheard their conversation, watched the fight, and finally struck the finishing blow.
Jiraiya and Shikaku listened in stunned silence. In the end, they could only say it was a perfect storm of coincidences. If any single piece had been different, Taiichi would never have become the one who profited the most.
"So what do we do now?" Shikaku asked. "Do we still pull troops back to the village?"
"Pull troops my ass," Jiraiya snapped. "The Kazekage just died. Sand is going to lose their minds. Notify the entire army—heighten all defenses. We have no idea what Sand will do next!"
He made the decision instantly, then added with deep regret, "Too bad we agreed to Chiyo's terms so quickly. If we'd waited one more day, that old hag would have been the one begging us."
Shikaku gave a helpless smile. He didn't feel the same regret. He was more worried whether Sand would still honor the alliance after this.
"Taiichi, this intelligence is incredibly important. You've done a great service. I'll report it to the village immediately." Jiraiya was decisive. He sealed both bodies away, then continued, "The bodies have immense intelligence and research value, so I'll send them to the village as well. But don't worry—the credit you deserve won't be shortchanged. I'm sure you'll be allowed to pick a technique from the Sealed Book as a reward."
Taiichi's eyes lit up with joy. He had known he couldn't keep the bodies, but he had already taken plenty of samples. Being able to choose a technique from the Sealed Book was an unexpected bonus.
Flying Thunder God, the Soul Transformation Technique, the Dark Walking Technique—any one of them was a dream jutsu for him.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei!" Taiichi said gratefully.
"You little rascal—now you call me sensei?" Jiraiya laughed, unable to hide his smile. "Go get some rest. You look exhausted."
Once Taiichi left the tent, Shikaku smiled and said, "Lord Jiraiya, you really have an outstanding disciple. I'm honestly envious."
"Ahahaha, it's nothing, nothing at all," Jiraiya replied, though the grin on his face said otherwise. "Besides, Taiichi has more than one teacher. I'd probably only rank second."
Second? Then first must be Lady Tsunade. Everyone said Taiichi's medical ninjutsu was the true inheritance of Tsunade. What a terrifying combination of talent and connections… though he really is still so young.
Shikaku thought to himself.
Meanwhile, at the border of the Land of Wind.
Chiyo and her group had just bid farewell to the Leaf escort. They officially stepped onto Wind Country soil with the hundred-plus released prisoners.
For a moment, everyone's emotions were a complicated mess. Several of the more sentimental prisoners were already in tears.
Life as a prisoner in Konoha had not been easy. While Leaf didn't torture them, the constant verbal abuse and beatings had been relentless—especially in the early days when they feared they would be killed for revenge. Every day had been pure torment.
"Alright, let's pick up the pace," Chiyo called out. "Another hour and we'll reach the border camp!"
She had completed her mission beyond all expectations. Thanks to the international situation, she had forced Konoha to release the prisoners. As for that defense pact, in her eyes it was worthless—a piece of paper to be torn up the moment it became inconvenient.
Seeing the prisoners crying now, even though she understood, still ruined her good mood.
She was about to urge them forward when she suddenly looked into the distance. A squad of shinobi was rapidly approaching.
Could the border camp have known she would return today and sent people to meet them?
Chiyo wondered, but quickly dismissed the idea. She hadn't told anyone her exact itinerary.
Before she could think further, the squad drew close.
Seeing such a large group, they naturally came to investigate. Only when they realized everyone was wearing Sand uniforms did they relax.
"It's Elder Chiyo! She brought back all the comrades captured by Konoha!"
The lead Sand shinobi recognized Chiyo at once, then saw the hundred-plus people behind her and immediately connected it to her mission. He shouted the news to his three teammates.
Chiyo now realized this meeting was pure coincidence—the squad had been on another assignment.
Just as she was about to bid them farewell, she noticed the squad captain looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back. Curiosity got the better of her.
"Do you have something to tell me?" Chiyo asked directly. She was never one to beat around the bush.
The captain, seeing he had been noticed, breathed a sigh of relief. He gave his men a few quick instructions and stepped forward alone.
"Elder, may I speak with you privately?"
Chiyo was puzzled but followed him aside.
"I shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but you once showed me great kindness. I feel I must warn you in advance."
Only now did Chiyo take a closer look at the young captain. He did seem somewhat familiar. She motioned for him to continue.
"Lord Kazekage… has gone missing!"
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