Konoha's Mission Master

"What do you mean by 'I didn't expect'?" Tsunade pressed.

"I guess... I was afraid you'd refuse, so I forgot to ask."

Yakumo smiled sincerely and scratched his head.

This was a little gesture he used to make often, but lately he rarely does this somewhat shy... or boyish gesture anymore.

"How could I refuse..."

Tsunade suddenly stopped speaking. She asked herself... those days when Orochimaru was impersonating Nawaki really made her incredibly happy, and even now, when she recalls those memories... that's still the answer.

It has to be said... Orochimaru's acting was perfect, to the point that he would be worthy of an Oscar in any other world, a textbook example of acting skill.

"That bright smile and sunny disposition certainly don't fit Orochimaru's original character, but he portrayed the image of a sunny boy very vividly," Yakumo said.

What is a persona?

“It’s probably just the tag on his body,” Yakumo replied.

"Then tell me about the labels attached to Jiraiya?"

Tsunade, intrigued, asked Yakumo.

[Ronin], [Master], [Lover]

"That analysis makes some sense. The old man once said that Jiraiya was like the unrestrained wind... He never followed the rules and longed for freedom."

The old man Tsunade was referring to was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Then what about the tag on me?" Tsunade asked again.

[Amazing milk production], [Superhuman strength], [Gambling addiction]

"Amazing milk production?"

Yakumo was startled and quickly tried to figure out how to get out of this, since praising his teacher's impressive breasts to his face might very well earn him a Tensho Kick as a reward.

"Milk production can be understood as healing ability; an amazing milk production... that's probably used to describe a teacher who's an exceptionally skilled doctor!"

"I understand, this is a compliment."

A smile appeared on Tsunade's face.

"Oh no, there's a murderous aura."

Yakumo instantly adjusted his position, dodging Tsunade's sneak attack.

"You little brat, do you really think I didn't notice you peeking at something?"

Tsunade's fist landed in the air with a loud bang.

With a loud bang, a deafening explosion erupted in the office.

The two seemed to have become much closer, and the awkwardness between them gradually disappeared.

"An illusion, an illusion, it must be an illusion."

Yakumo answered with a somewhat guilty smile.

Just as Tsunade was about to speak, an ANBU member suddenly emerged from the shadows.

"The Hokage... sent me to release Lord Minato, but there was no one inside that cell."

The regulator said... he had seen Minato Namikaze just three days earlier.

In the past few days, only the Hokage has entered the cell.

"Understood, you can go now." Tsunade waved her hand. This ANBU member was actually a Senju clan member who had recently returned, so his loyalty was beyond doubt.

"Minato Namikaze has disappeared inside the prison."

Tsunade's face became somewhat serious.

"It's my fault for being impulsive. I should have interrogated Orochimaru instead."

........

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Chapter 407 Analysis and Search

After reporting, the ANBU immediately disappeared in an instant.

Both Yakumo and Tsunade in the Hokage's office showed varying degrees of change in their expressions, especially Tsunade, whose face was gradually losing color.

Although she agreed to imprison Minato Namikaze, she never intended to harm this junior, but now he has mysteriously disappeared.

"Minato...how could he have disappeared?"

Tsunade sat on the sofa, muttering to herself in confusion.

"It should be said that they are missing."

Disappearance can be a voluntary choice, while disappearance is a result caused by someone else.

"We might need to ask Orochimaru about this."

The disappearance of Minato Namikaze was undoubtedly a major event that shocked the ninja world, as he was one of Konoha's few top-tier ninjas.

He single-handedly changed the course of the Third Shinobi World War and is a high-ranking member of Konoha who has the potential to become Hokage.

At the same time, he enjoyed great prestige among the common people.

"That's right... Minato's disappearance is very likely related to Orochimaru."

Tsunade lowered her head and analyzed... Analyzing, she felt her head was so, so heavy, making it difficult for her to hold her head high. For her... those two years of trusting Orochimaru were a huge mistake.

But the mistake has already been made, and she cannot turn back time.

"But why was it only discovered today that you're missing?" Yakumo asked rhetorically.

"It must be that someone used illusion magic to influence the prison warden."

Tsunade couldn't help but think of the supervisor in charge of imprisoning Minato Namikaze, who was once a member of the Senju clan. He had retired after being injured on the battlefield, but was reinstated after Orochimaru reunited the Senju clan.

His damaged organs are also regenerating with life cells. If calculated from the perspective of strength, his combat power is even slightly stronger than that of a Jonin. Just what kind of strong person can use genjutsu to rewrite his cognition and memories for a long time?

"Could... members of the Uchiha clan be involved?"

The Uchiha clan is the strongest in genjutsu (illusionary techniques).

"No matter what... Orochimaru was definitely in charge of this matter."

After all, the only person within Konoha who could have secretly taken Minato Namikaze away from Konoha was the former Hokage... Orochimaru.

"So what do you plan to do?" Tsunade asked.

"what to do..."

Yakumo pondered Orochimaru's reasons for taking Minato Namikaze away, and his possible whereabouts. He had just completely erased Orochimaru's soul that was parasitizing Nawaki.

Even using the Impure World Reincarnation technique probably wouldn't have made a difference. If he had known it would still be useful, he would have held back slightly...

There's no way to hold back now; if Orochimaru isn't defeated, Nawaki will never wake up.

This makes finding Minato Namikaze a problem.

"We need to figure out Orochimaru's target first... Is there anything special about him?" Yakumo continued to ask.

"Orochimaru disguises himself as Nawaki every day...isn't that unusual?"

Tsunade asked in a low voice, the two years she was deceived by Orochimaru were memories she could not face, an incredibly complicated experience.

There was joy, there was pain, there was relief, there was excitement...

Looking back now, it's become even more complicated.

In the end, it could only turn into a long sigh.

Yakumo sat on the sofa and began to think.

He had already given up all hope for Tsunade. Even the most shrewd hero cannot resist the deception of his loved ones. It was a carefully crafted trap, disguised as kinship, using love to lower one's guard.

Especially after losing family ties, and then regaining them.

At the same time, Yakumo continuously expanded his own soul energy, allowing it to envelop the Hidden Leaf Village.

In this way, the entire Hidden Leaf Village would be completely transparent to him. From his soul's perspective, he saw many figures, some strong and some weak, but he didn't see Minato Namikaze's presence at all.

Yakumo adjusted the direction of his soul energy diffusion, gradually going deeper underground, trying to find Orochimaru's secret base deep in the earth. Orochimaru really liked building research bases underground.

These soul energies, like a tsunami, perfectly reflected the surrounding situation in Yakumo's mind, from one meter to a thousand meters underground, without finding any trace of the secret base.

Orochimaru has become much smarter...

Even now, Yakumo isn't sure if Orochimaru is truly dead. For Orochimaru, death is a state that can be reversed; he could very well reappear before Yakumo, alive and kicking, in a few days...

However, Yakumo was certain that if things continued this way, Orochimaru would one day completely lose himself due to the incompleteness of his soul.

Each time he splits his soul, on the surface he is still Orochimaru, but inside he is already broken and devastated. Although physical reincarnation is miraculous, the soul is the essence.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru didn't understand that death is actually related to the soul.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Yakumo was finally able to confirm that there were no traces of Minato Namikaze within a 30-mile radius, which meant that Minato Namikaze had been secretly taken away from Konoha.

"Has Minato Namikaze's chakra been sealed?" Yakumo asked.

Prisoners of war or spies from enemy villages who are discovered will have their chakra sealed and be placed in prisons managed by the Anbu.

If a strong member of Konoha makes a mistake, it is actually not necessary to seal their chakra.

"It's sealed," Tsunade replied.

"Hey, he's a war hero. You and Jiraiya watched him grow up. Even if you're going to imprison him, there's no need to seal his chakra!"

Yakumo sighed. Even though Minato Namikaze was Jiraiya's successor and the two had a father-son relationship, Jiraiya still had to watch helplessly as his chakra was sealed.

At that moment, he once again felt the complexity of human nature.

If Minato Namikaze is in a state of voluntarily sealing his chakra, then his ability to resist will be very weak, and even if he is moved to a different location, the chances of him being able to break free on his own will be even smaller.

"At that time, Orochimaru said that only by sealing the chakra could Minato Namikaze be guaranteed to leave without using the Flying Thunder God Technique. I thought what he said made sense, so I didn't stop him, but I never intended to hurt Minato."

Tsunade's face paled, and she explained somewhat hesitantly that when this incident occurred, Jiraiya had tried his best to stop it, even at the cost of breaking ties with Nawaki, but unfortunately, she trusted Orochimaru too much at the time.