Naruto: The Tavern Speech Begins to Make the Land of Rain Great

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided not to be so radical.

For the safety of Jiraiya and Tsunade, and also to preserve some of Konoha's strength.

More importantly, the Second Shinobi World War was nearing its end.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want any mistakes to occur at this final moment.

He shared a very similar idea with Danzo: to limit the rise of the Rain Country's power and ideally keep the Rain Country in a state of continuous chaos.

But not at this critical juncture.

We must wait until Tsunade and Jiraiya are released, and until the war is completely over, and until no other external forces are eyeing Konoha.

But Danzo was very dissatisfied with this decision.

Unfortunately, the Hokage is Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He could only watch helplessly as Hiruzen Sarutobi gradually "compromised" and slid into the abyss, powerless to stop it.

Like incompetence...

Orochimaru, what do you think?

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the table, a long pipe still dangling from his mouth.

"Teacher, you should smoke less."

"Ahem, what do you think about Jiraiya and Tsunade being kidnapped?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for half a second before continuing to ask.

"Or rather, how much do you really know about this so-called Xiaoguang?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi skipped the topic of smoking and went straight to the point.

Orochimaru pondered for a moment before speaking.

"The Aurora Society is a newly emerging organization in the Land of Rain. This organization has recruited many Rain Ninjas under the slogan of making the Land of Rain greater."

"The strength of the Rain Ninja varies, but based on our experience, they are generally at the Genin or Chunin level."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, but a question lingered in his mind.

"How did such an organization manage to capture Tsunade and Jiraiya?"

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's understanding, Tsunade and Jiraiya's strength was certainly not something that could be defeated by a trash organization full of genin and chunin.

So, what caused their defeat?

"Their leader, Watanabe Toru, is very strong."

Orochimaru recalled the scene of his battle with Watanabe Toru.

That enormous chakra was comparable to his.

And that mastery of water escape techniques...

"He was probably above the elite Jonin level but below the Kage level. Given our condition at the time, we were not able to test his true strength."

Movie-level?

Another Kage-level powerhouse has emerged in the Land of Rain?

This is troublesome...

Kage-level ninjas are extremely rare in the entire ninja world.

Even in Konoha, there are no more than ten Kage-level shikigami.

Yet, another Kage-level powerhouse has appeared in the Land of Rain.

This could have some impact on the power structure of the ninja world.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, feeling slightly troubled.

However, if it's just at the Kage level...

Judging from the abilities of Jiraiya and his companions, they shouldn't have been captured alive even when fighting a Kage-level expert.

So...

Was it consumed?

"Before we encountered Watanabe Tetsu's forces, the three of us had clashed with Hanzo and his elite squad."

"Hanzo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly knew Hanzo; Hanzo possessed strength comparable to his own and was a true Kage-level fighter.

Even from the perspective of battlefield reaping, Hanzo's strength is superior.

That makes sense.

Hiruzen Sarutobi recreated the scene in his mind.

Orochimaru and his two companions first encountered Hanzo's elite squad, which depleted a significant amount of their chakra.

They then encountered Hanzo himself and were severely injured, but still managed to escape.

In the end, Watanabe Tetsu stole the prize, and with little chakra left, he narrowly lost to Watanabe Tetsu.

Therefore, it is reasonable that even Jiraiya's team could not defeat a Kage-level powerhouse in a battle of attrition.

"Did we happen to encounter three waves of battles?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, but Orochimaru immediately denied it.

"No, it might not be a coincidence."

Orochimaru pieced together all the clues he encountered, and a terrifying answer appeared in his mind.

"All of this is being manipulated by someone, and the manipulator is Watanabe Toru."

"Watanabe Toru?"

A hint of disbelief flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

Does he have that much ability?

Can we be certain that Hanzo will fight Jiraiya's team, and also certain that Jiraiya and his team will rest in the same spot?

If there were even the slightest mistake, this script probably wouldn't be able to be performed.

Since the other party doesn't have the ability to predict the future, how could they possibly have calculated everything so accurately?

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't believe the answer, but he still gestured for Orochimaru to continue.

"At first, I didn't believe it was all such a coincidence."

"But countless pieces of evidence point to this possibility."

Orochimaru raised his index finger, representing one.

"First, I found many signs of tents being set up around the battlefield, which means that the other side came some time in advance, and it is very likely that they scouted the area beforehand."

"Secondly, the other party knew Tsunade's identity and used this as leverage to demand ransom, which means they investigated us beforehand."

"Third, both Hanzo and Watanabe Tetsu gave us the name Sannin, which shows that he had some connection with Hanzo."

"These points are enough to prove that his target is us."

Furthermore, from the perspective of the party ultimately benefiting the most...

It was undoubtedly his doing.

"Can the Land of Rain really produce such a genius?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his forehead; he still leaned towards the idea that it was all a coincidence.

It's very simple; most people couldn't connect all of this so precisely.

Precise and ingenious.

Take advantage of the Sannin's weakest moment to easily capture them.

Was this a trap set up in advance for Konoha?

this...

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's understanding, only one ninja clan could perform this familiar fighting style.

Nara clan.

Could it be...

Impossible! All the men of the Nara clan are henpecked!

That kind of thing is impossible!

However, he really should ask the head of the Nara clan another day.

The bloodline of Konoha must not be allowed to flow out!

Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed the unreliable idea and subconsciously began to assess the level of danger posed by Toru Watanabe.

If such an ambitious and intelligent individual is allowed to grow unchecked...

This could be a significant threat to Konoha.

Should we eliminate the problem completely, or maintain the relationship?

The Land of Rain is currently facing internal strife, and the forces of Hanzo and Watanabe Tetsu are destined to clash.

If Watanabe Tetsu's strength and cunning far surpass Hanzo's, Konoha would probably need to provide special support to Hanzo in order to plunge the Land of Rain into complete internal strife.

Konoha doesn't want a stable and unified Land of Rain.

Coming to his senses, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to ask Orochimaru for his opinion and see what he thought.

Is it like him, who, along with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, first engaged in cautious conversation to ascertain the other party's intentions before taking any action...?

Or should we, like Danzo, take advantage of the enemy's lack of reaction and aggressively wipe out the Akatsuki faction?

Thinking of this, he asked directly.

"Orochimaru, what do you think we should do to rescue Jiraiya and Tsunade? And how should we handle our relationship with the Akatsuki?"

"Teacher, didn't you already have the answer?"

"Ah, I'd like to hear yours."

"It's very simple. As long as we meet their demands, Tsunade and Jiraiya will naturally come back alive, and their relationship will naturally become clear."

nonsense!

Did Hiruzen Sarutobi not know that if he met the other party's conditions, his two disciples would return?

He asked for a specific solution!

"However, what they want is something Konoha probably can't afford."

Orochimaru chuckled softly.

Konoha is currently in a period of war, and its economy is in dire straits.

It would obviously be very difficult to spare a large sum of money and food under such circumstances.

Even if Konoha still has two or three years' worth of savings and food reserves.

"You're right, but how will we know if we don't talk about it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply, clearly realizing that Konoha was about to suffer another major financial loss.

Orochimaru.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly unrolled a scroll and began writing on it.

Orochimaru was very familiar with this process; he was writing a mission scroll.

Half a minute later, he handed the scroll to Orochimaru.

"S-rank mission: Rescue Tsunade and Jiraiya."

"After thinking it over, I don't trust anyone else, so I can only choose you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled; he clearly trusted Orochimaru completely.

"As for personnel, you can choose any team members you like, as long as they agree and have the time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued.

"Remember, this time the goal is to find out what the other party's demands and bottom line, and to facilitate the release of Jiraiya and Tsunade within our capabilities."

Finally, please be careful.