Konoha: This Uchiha is extremely sneaky

Chapter 507 Return

Without looking at Tsunade again, Toshiro turned his gaze toward the office door.

"Wow, so many people have come together, this is going to be lively today!"

He had barely arrived at the office when these people came rushing over. Toshiro knew they were all there to plead for Jiraiya.

"Hokage-sama..."

Sweeping over Tsunade's sharp gaze, those following behind her lowered their heads guiltily, not daring to meet Tsunade's eyes.

After exchanging greetings, they all stood obediently behind Tsunade and the others who were leading the group.

"What, are you here to put pressure on me?"

Kushina, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Yoru Mimura, Hiashi Hyuga, and many other prominent figures from Konoha were all present in Toshiro's office.

A huge crowd packed the usually sparsely populated office to the point of being completely full.

"What are you trying to do? Are you trying to plead for Jiraiya, or are you trying to intimidate me, the Hokage?"

"I see you're not here to plead for Jiraiya, but to force me to kill him."

As he spoke, a chilling glint flashed in Toshiro's eyes as he swept his gaze over everyone present.

I haven't even done anything to Jiraiya yet, and these people are already jumping out in such a hurry. Do they even respect me as the Hokage?

"not good…"

When Toshiro swept his cold gaze over them, none of the people present were fools, and they immediately realized what was going on.

We have committed a grave mistake.

This could not only fail to rescue Jiraiya, but could also potentially lead to his death.

"Lord Hokage, you've misunderstood. We've only come to discuss something with you..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, as a former Hokage, knew all too well what the consequences of this situation would be, and quickly interjected, intending to evade the question.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly, realizing that he had lost his composure recently because of Orochimaru's situation; otherwise, he would have noticed such a major mistake.

"Let's discuss this..."

After racking his brains, Hiruzen Sarutobi still couldn't come up with an excuse to explain why so many of them had come to find the Hokage.

Because he was in such a hurry, sweat was already beading on his forehead.

He understands a leader's thinking very well.

Just like the Hokage said, so many of them coming together to plead for Jiraiya would not only fail to help him, but would also cause his death.

"You may all leave. I will carefully consider Jiraiya's matter."

With a single sentence, he dismissed everyone, including Tsunade, and began to ponder how he should handle Jiraiya's situation.

"This guy really got himself into trouble!"

Jiraiya was very popular, he knew that, but he didn't expect that so many people would come to plead for him so soon after he was put in prison.

Look at these people: the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the previous Hokage, the Hokage's assistants, and clan leaders from various families. These people include members of clans, commoners, and wealthy families.

If he hadn't acted decisively and sent all these people away, he would have been in considerable trouble.

"Tsunade, what do we do now?"

Outside the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage looked at his disciple in front of him, feeling somewhat lost.

The Orochimaru incident was already a headache for him, but he didn't expect that something like this would happen to Jiraiya as well, with so many people putting pressure on the Hokage this time.

If things go wrong, it could really kill Jiraiya.

"…have no idea!"

Rolling her eyes, Tsunade hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

She simply asked Shizune to inform the teacher, and then came to find the Hokage.

Who knew the news would spread so quickly?

And surprisingly, these people all came to plead with the Hokage on behalf of the Hokage. This backfired, and she was at a loss.

"Things... can't really be like what the Hokage said, can they?"

Seeing that there was no sound around her, Kushina asked a question rather weakly, completely unlike her usual energetic self.

"It shouldn't be a big problem." After frowning and thinking for a while, Tsunade replied, "Since the Hokage can openly raise the issue, it means he has no intention of killing Jiraiya."

If Toshiro were to reluctantly agree to their demands under pressure, things might really get complicated.

They haven't even had a chance to plead for leniency, so there shouldn't be a big problem.

Moreover, after spending so much time with him, she has gained a general understanding of the Hokage's personality.

It's not the kind of personality that can't tolerate others.

"Everyone, please disperse!"

With a wave of her hand, Tsunade snatched Tonton from Shizune's hands and led the way toward the gambling den. She wanted to verify her suspicions.

The people present looked at each other, then scattered like birds and beasts, and no one mentioned Jiraiya again.

Two weeks later, at the main gate of Konoha.

A group of Konoha villagers craned their necks, looking expectantly toward the gate, whispering among themselves.

"Yuki, I heard your husband is on the prisoner exchange list this time, is that true?"

A middle-aged woman looked at the young woman next to her and asked, a look of envy on her face.

"Um!"

Without saying much, the young woman simply tightened her grip on the three-year-old child in her arms, her gaze fixed intently on the direction of the front door.

Seeing this, the woman who had asked the question didn't say much, but instead pricked up her ears and began to listen to the gossip around her.

"Have you heard? This prisoner exchange will be conducted in three batches, bringing back a total of nearly 500 prisoners."

"500 people? Is there really that many?"

"What do you know? This is an understatement. After several Shinobi World Wars, many of the missing people were captured by other villages."

This time it wasn't just one village releasing prisoners, but all the villages releasing prisoners together, so the number was naturally much larger.

"Then why not release everyone at once? Wouldn't that allow these people to reunite with their families sooner?"

"Perhaps... going slower is safer!"

"I heard that the village spent a lot of money to ransom them. Many of them betrayed village information in order to survive. I don't know why the Hokage still wanted to save them."

With the consent of both the Sand and Iwa ninja, the prisoner exchange proceeded smoothly. However, due to certain reasons, Konoha did not have enough prisoners, resulting in a significant bloodshed.

After the village notified the families of the prisoners who would be released, the village has been discussing the matter ever since.

Some agreed, believing it was a good thing that would allow these people to go home and reunite with their families, while others opposed it, seeing it as a sign of weakness.

There were all sorts of opinions and endless debates, such as those who were released must have betrayed information about the village and were not worth saving.

"They're here! They're here!"

In the distance, one could see a group of ragged, thin people staggering into the gates of Konoha.

As these people approached, they saw faint wounds on their bodies, and some of their former companions who could no longer walk alone and needed the support of their companions to walk.

All the villagers present stopped talking and just watched them quietly.

"husband!"

Holding her child, Yuki saw a familiar figure and could no longer control her emotions, bursting into tears.

He charged toward a young man in the crowd.

Not only her, but also the Konoha villagers who had long received the news and were waiting for their loved ones to return rushed out of the crowd and ran towards their long-awaited relatives.

Welcome home!

After venting her emotions, Yuki carefully examined her husband and, seeing his swaying body, her eyes filled with tears.

"Is this... honesty?"

Looking at the child in his wife's arms, the young man's body, which was already somewhat overwhelmed, straightened up again.

He was just an ordinary Chunin from Konoha. After being captured, he endured severe torture. The only reason he was able to survive was because he had a pregnant wife at home in Konoha who was waiting for news of him.

Otherwise, he would have either confessed early on, like most of the prisoners, and been mercilessly killed by the enemy.

Yes, the sooner someone confesses, the more likely they are to be killed by the enemy.

Their only value in life is the information in their heads; if they lose even this value, they are not far from death.

These people knew this themselves, but faced with endless torment, all they wanted was to end this suffering.

He persisted until now for a hope that never existed, and unexpectedly, he actually had the chance to return to Konoha.

He saw his wife and children.

Of course, while everyone was still immersed in the atmosphere of family reunion, there were also some dissenting voices.

"What did you say?"

"Chito Sei, you remarried with your child?"

One of the prisoners, who was also physically weak, was stunned when he heard his elderly mother's words, his face filled with disbelief.

"That's absolutely impossible. I love her so much, how could she possibly remarry?"

He finally managed to regain his freedom, thinking it would be a day to reunite with his family, but instead he received the news that his wife had remarried.

This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for him.

Moreover, this is not an isolated case.

Not only do some women remarry, but others become fathers unexpectedly.

It's not uncommon for someone to be captured for three or four years, only to find themselves with a child under two years old.

There are even cases of elderly people who, after being captured, had their hard-earned wealth divided up by their two good-for-nothing sons and squandered it all.

Among the hundred or so prisoners, there were occasional individuals who, unable to withstand the blows and weakened by physical exhaustion, would collapse.

Fortunately, there were doctors on standby nearby who quickly lifted the people onto stretchers and began emergency treatment.

"Thank you, Yuki!"

He huddled closer to his wife and the son he didn't recognize, feeling incredibly grateful that his wife hadn't abandoned him.

And then there's his own son, who looks just like him.

(End of this chapter)