This Water Shadow is very strong, but overly cautious.

"What do you think of Kato?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly turned his eyes and said to Tsunade with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade frowned.

As early as several months ago, both the Senju clan and Sarutobi Hiruzen began to urge Tsunade's marriage for different reasons.

The target that the Senju clan and Konoha jointly arranged was Kato Dan.

Tsunade was naturally very annoyed by this.

In addition, at this moment, Tsunade's body and mind have already been given to Mizunoe Ryosuke, so she naturally hates this even more.

What's more, during this trip to the Land of Iron, Kato Dan completely destroyed the little goodwill he had in Tsunade's heart.

However, Tsunade could not directly refuse the double pressure from Senju and Sarutobi Hiruzen, and could only use the tactic of "dragging".

"Let's wait until this war is over before discussing this matter."

Tsunade shook her head slightly and refused calmly.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen remained kind on the surface, but there was a subtle change in his eyes. With his keen eyesight, he could easily see that Tsunade seemed to be very disgusted with this.

"Ok."

"By the way, wasn't Kato quite supportive of the idea of ​​a medical ninja team that you proposed at the Jonin Conference?"

"You two should have something in common."

Sarutobi Hiruzen still spoke with a smile, looking like a head of a family who always urged his children to get married during festivals.

After hearing what Sarutobi Hiruzen said, Tsunade didn't know how to refute it for a moment. In fact, this was also the reason why Tsunade agreed to let Kato Dan accompany her to the Land of Iron.

As the saying goes, if you wear the crown, you must bear its weight. As the princess of the Senju clan, Tsunade cannot refuse so capriciously.

What's more, other high-level Konoha officials are present now, and Tsunade cannot easily give others an opportunity to talk.

"oops!"

"Old man, you are so biased!"

"When will the village assign a partner? You can't forget me for such a good thing!"

"When are you going to introduce me to a beautiful lady from a wealthy family? You have to treat me equally!"

At this moment, Jiraiya suddenly interrupted, his rough face full of lustful expression.

Seeing this, the word "(chcc)" appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's forehead.

"boom!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen mercilessly raised his cane and hit Jiraiya on the head.

In an instant, Jiraiya squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, and a big bump of at least three centimeters appeared on his head.

"If you don't want to introduce me, then don't introduce me."

"Why are you so fierce?"

Jiraiya squatted on the ground, looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen with resentful eyes.

"idiot!"

On the other side, Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with contempt and cursed him without any concealment.

But his gaze inadvertently shifted between Jiraiya and Tsunade, as if he saw something.

After cursing, Orochimaru no longer looked at Jiraiya on the ground, but closed his snake eyes.

In these cold vertical pupils, a trace of imperceptible pity flashed across their eyes at the last moment.

"Ha ha ha ha!!!!"

Seeing this harmonious scene of a kind master and filial disciple, Mitomon En and Utane Koharu on the other side burst into laughter.

What the two of them didn't realize was that in the eyes of the four masters and apprentices, there was a completely different scene.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen had a kind and gentle face, there was a deep and cold look in his eyes.

Jiraiya's face was funny and cheerful, but his eyes were full of sadness and melancholy.

Although Tsunade's expression remained noble and cold, she felt relieved in her heart.

In the end, although Orochimaru closed his eyes, he seemed to know everything.

After a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen's three apprentices left the Hokage's office together.

The three ninjas stood in front of the Hokage Building and looked at each other. This was the first time they met after they separated, and they had not seen each other for a long time.

For some reason, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between the three old teammates this time.

"I still have things to do."

Orochimaru didn't say anything more, he just turned around and left without any pause.

After Orochimaru left, Tsunade turned around and looked at Jiraiya, who had returned from studying abroad at Myoboku Mountain and had undergone tremendous changes, and gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks just now, you guy."

Tsunade thanked him directly, and she could certainly see that Jiraiya's timely mischief was to help her out.

"Haha, nothing."

Jiraiya blushed, touched the back of his head and shook his head nonchalantly.

"Things have been going well lately, Jiraiya."

"It looks like he's practicing very hard."

Tsunade smiled as she praised her old teammate, her emerald eyes filled with sincerity.

"Um, I"

Hearing this, looking at Tsunade who was so close to him, Jiraiya felt a flash of emotion in his heart, and a long-suppressed emotion surged up his throat, as if he could no longer bear it.

Now, Jiraiya wants to tell Tsunade loudly that the reason why he is training so hard in Myoboku Mountain is for you.

It is just to make the worthless last-place person worthy of the dazzling golden princess.

"Of course, you are my most trusted teammate."

But before Jiraiya could say the words that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time, Tsunade suddenly chuckled and said to Jiraiya.

Those emerald eyes were filled with trust and encouragement, but without a single emotion beyond friendship.

When Jiraiya heard Tsunade's words, all the strength in his body relaxed immediately. The courage he had finally mustered was like a punctured balloon, disappearing in an instant.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“We are the best teammates.”

Jiraiya forced a smile.

"uh-huh!"

"Well then, I'll go back and get ready, Jiraiya."

Tsunade smiled and waved to Jiraiya, then turned her back to Jiraiya and walked in a completely different direction.

What Jiraiya didn't know was that when Tsunade turned around, a hint of deep understanding and apology flashed in her eyes.

Tsunade moved forward, reaching her hand to her neck and gently stroking the hexagonal snowflake pendant on her chest.

"Ryosuke"

She whispered the name of her beloved, and suddenly she felt her heart was filled to the brim and could no longer hold anyone else.

In front of the window of the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the three ninjas leaving in three directions, his eyes filled with calm coldness and depth.

He knew very well that Jiraiya's action just now was to rescue Tsunade.

With his keen eyesight, how could he not see through Jiraiya's feelings for Tsunade?

But again, so what?

On the road to rights, anything that hinders rights must be discarded.

Not to mention the feelings between Jiraiya and Tsunade, for the sake of the power in his hands, there is nothing he cannot abandon, even if it is Sarutobi Hiruzen's own son.

The matter between Kato Dan and Tsunade was the result of layers of negotiation between the Konoha high-level officials and the Senju clan.

The Senju clan needs to absorb fresh blood to expand its population.

The Kato clan's special Yin-Dun bloodline and the Senju clan's Yang-Dun bloodline form a perfect combination.

The Senju clan is currently dwindling in numbers, so this is a necessary move that must be made.

It is also a necessary condition for Senju to continue to support Sarutobi Hiruzen to succeed the position of Hokage.

Chapter 230: The Land of Thunder, "Rest Easy"

The country of thunder, Yunyin Village.

Today is the tenth day since Zabuza Momochi arrived in the Hidden Cloud Village after receiving the diplomatic mission arranged by Mizunoe Ryosuke.

Looking out the window at the unique mountain and cloud scenery of the Hidden Cloud Village, a hint of deep understanding flashed in Zabuza Momochi's eyes.

Unlike the other four ninja villages built on plains, the Land of Lightning is mostly mountainous, which makes the entire village of Kumogakure built on the mountain.

The highest point of the village is the most core institution of Kumogakure - the Raikage Building.

Most people in the Hidden Cloud Village have dark skin, which is caused by being exposed to strong ultraviolet rays in the high-altitude mountainous areas all year round.

The high altitude of Kumogakure also made Zabuza Momochi, who was born in an island country, very uncomfortable.

"call"

Zabuza Momochi took a deep breath, and his eyes looked a little deep.

After arriving in Kumogakure, he immediately paid his respects to Ai, the third generation Raikage of Kumogakure.

There is a long-standing custom in Kumogakure, that is, every Raikage of Kumogakure is called "Ai", and whenever the previous Raikage dies, the next Raikage will automatically inherit the name "-Ai".

Like Iwagakure and Sunagakure, this third generation Raikage is also the strongest Raikage in the history of Kumogakure.

When the Third Raikage read the letter handed over by Zabuza Momochi, he chose to reject Mizunoe Ryosuke's proposal in the letter without any hesitation.

Although Zabuza Momochi was shocked at the time, he soon calmed down.

Because before coming here, Mizunoe Ryosuke had told him that things would turn around later.

After being rejected by the Third Raikage, Zabuza Momochi did not leave, but stayed in Kumogakure as an envoy of Kirigakure.

This morning, the news that the Rain Ninja launched an attack on the Iwagakure reached the Kumogakure and soon caused a sensation. Even Zabuza Momochi, who was the envoy of the Kirigakure, learned the news.

His intuition told him that the opportunity he had been waiting for was about to come.

Thinking of this, Zabuza Momochi took another deep breath and quietly comforted himself in his heart not to be anxious.

In the Raikage Building, the Third Raikage looked at the information on the table with some hesitation.

At this moment, the condition of the strongest Raikage seemed to be a little bad. White gauze was wrapped around his chest, and a trace of bright red blood could be seen faintly on the white gauze.

It is hard to imagine that the Third Raikage, who has the "strongest defense" lightning armor as support and a body as hard as steel, would suffer such an injury.

The Third Raikage Ai did not look at the information at hand, but seemed to be thinking of something else, with a very ugly expression.

In his opinion, the Rain Ninja can fight whoever they want, and it has nothing to do with the Cloud Village.

At this time, the Third Raikage had no intention of taking the initiative to lead the Hidden Cloud Sect to get involved in the war.

This is obviously extremely inconsistent with the fighting philosophy of the Hidden Cloud Village, which respects the strong and always prioritizes expansion.

But in fact, there is a reason why the Hidden Cloud Village behaves out of character.

The main reason was that Tokugakure had consumed a large amount of its combat power, causing the entire village's combat power to fall into an unprecedented weakening. Even the Third Raikage himself had not recovered from his injuries to this day.

Such losses are no less than the losses of launching a war against other countries.

However, if you insist, it is true that Kumogakure did fight a war, but the target of this war was not humans, but the tailed beasts.

——Eight-tailed Gyu-ki! The most powerful of the tailed beasts, second only to the Nine-tailed!

That's right, not long ago, Kumogakure conducted an unprecedented tailed beast experiment in order to develop the perfect jinchūriki.

But who would have thought that the experiment would fail in the end, causing the tailed beast to go berserk.

In order to subdue the Eight-Tails, a large number of Cloud Ninjas died tragically on the spot, and even the Third Raikage himself was seriously injured.