The arrival of the Sunagakure envoy in Konoha drew significant attention. When Hiruzen Sarutobi read the stern letter of inquiry personally written by Pakura, he was momentarily taken aback.
Jiraiya had always been reliable in his actions, so why had he acted so recklessly this time? Kidnapping and interrogating people so close to another village, then carelessly discarding them on the roadside instead of hiding or eliminating them—had he uncovered some crucial intelligence that forced him to take such drastic measures?
Hiruzen sighed.
"The accusations from your village seem completely baseless. While Jiraiya is a Konoha shinobi, he has rarely returned to the village in recent years. I hope Sunagakure will not use an absent shinobi to stir up conflict, as it would be detrimental to both sides."
His tone was righteous and unwavering. Regardless of the truth, Konoha could not afford to admit to this incident—especially since Sunagakure had no concrete evidence.
"You—"
The Sunagakure envoy was furious. Did Konoha truly believe their village would fabricate an accusation of intelligence leaks just to slander Jiraiya?
"So this is Konoha's stance?"
Hiruzen calmly exhaled a puff of smoke. "I am merely reminding your village that another party may be manipulating events to sow discord between allies."
Beside him, Nara Shikaku added, "That's right. It is entirely possible that another hidden village is behind this. Right now, Konoha and Sunagakure are the only two villages with a formal alliance, making us prime targets for external sabotage."
Alliance?
The envoy seethed with anger. If this was how Konoha treated its allies, what was the point of their agreement? They might be able to disguise appearances with the Transformation Jutsu, but could they replicate techniques as well? Who else but Jiraiya could use a jutsu that turned people into frogs?
And Konoha still had the audacity to accuse others? They hadn't even confronted Konoha about its ANBU's failed infiltration attempt into Sunagakure's territory yet!
It was clear that Konoha had no intention of addressing the issue and was simply shifting the blame.
"Very well. I will relay the Third Hokage's exact words to Lady Kazekage!"
With that, the Sunagakure envoy left the Hokage's office, preparing to return to his village. Hiruzen's response made it clear—Konoha would deny everything, no matter what.
Once the envoy was gone, Hiruzen sighed heavily. "What was Jiraiya thinking?"
Shikaku speculated, "Perhaps he found intelligence so crucial that he had no choice but to act."
Now that the Sunagakure envoy had left, there was no need to hide the fact that Jiraiya had been sent to gather intelligence. Sunagakure's internal changes needed to be investigated as soon as possible.
If possible, Shikaku even considered using Konoha's ANBU to drive a wedge between Sunagakure and the Keikou Trade Association, preventing the Keikou family from fully integrating into Sunagakure.
However, such an operation was too difficult to execute. If anything went wrong, Konoha could end up alienating a powerful trade group and its only allied village.
"Has Jiraiya sent any messages back?" Shikaku asked.
"No. He hasn't been in Sunagakure for long," Hiruzen replied, his concern evident.
It was troubling enough that Jiraiya had been exposed so quickly, but something else nagged at him—last night, the teacup Jiraiya had gifted him suddenly cracked. It was his favorite teacup, and he had spent half the night lamenting its breakage.
And now, he was hearing reports that Jiraiya had been discovered by Sunagakure.
Two unrelated events happening back-to-back gave him a bad feeling.
"I just hope that fool is okay."
Shikaku reassured him, "Given Jiraiya-sama's strength, Sunagakure should have a hard time dealing with him."
Right now, Sunagakure's forces were spread thin, with many stationed in smaller nations. All the major villages were aware of this.
With their current lack of manpower, Sunagakure would struggle to assemble a strong pursuit force.
Just then, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura entered the Hokage's office. Seeing them, Shikaku took his leave.
Whatever was about to be discussed next, it had nothing to do with him.
Shikaku preferred to avoid politics as much as possible. Though he held the title of Jonin Commander, his role only became relevant during wartime.
As he stepped out of the Hokage building, he tilted his head toward the sky. The sunlight was warm and comfortable.
"Maybe I'll go have tea with Choza."
---
Tea Country.
This experimental base had been one of Hyuga Mirai's most significant projects. Its secluded location made it ideal for focused research. If not for the presence of the Dragon Vein in Roran, this could have become Mirai's primary headquarters.
The research facilities here were the most advanced in the shinobi world. Many of the machines used didn't even exist elsewhere—Mirai had personally designed and built them after acquiring the land through Unit 18.
Since Roran's Dragon Vein made it difficult to set up large-scale research labs, Mirai still visited the Tea Country base from time to time.
For example, his clone.
This was the first clone Mirai had created after mastering cloning technology. In the past, Unit 18 had been more than sufficient as an assistant, handling every task with near-perfect efficiency—essentially functioning as an extension of himself.
But while Unit 18 excelled at refinement and error correction, it was not as adept at innovating entirely new technologies. Since Mirai also had to train in Senjutsu and Yin-Yang Release to enhance his combat strength, he decided to create a clone to focus exclusively on technological advancements.
The clone was nearly complete. After numerous calculations by Unit 18, the growth process had been significantly accelerated. However, the clone's physical capabilities would only match that of a well-trained civilian—it was not designed for combat like Orochimaru's clones.
Upon arriving at the Tea Country base, Mirai checked the clone's progress. Only three more days remained until completion.
This clone had no independent consciousness—it was intended to function as an extension of Mirai himself.
By using the Spirit Clone Technique to separate a portion of his soul, Mirai could fully integrate with the clone. Since the clone's genetic and physical structure was identical to his own, he would be able to control it as naturally as his real body.
A fully functional, flesh-and-blood duplicate.
After confirming the progress, Mirai decided to stay at the base for a few days until he could transfer his spirit into the clone.
Then, he had another thought.
He grabbed a case of premium shochu from the supplies Kado had sent him.
This particular shochu was made from a rare fruit found only in the Land of Rainbows. The fruit was so scarce that only the country's daimyo had access to it. Even Kado had only managed to obtain fifteen bottles—keeping three for himself and giving the rest to Mirai.
Since Mirai wasn't much of a drinker, he had forgotten about them. But now that he was planning to check on Tsunade, he figured they might come in handy.
If the shochu was as good as rumored, he might even arrange for some of the fruit trees to be transplanted to Tea Country.
As he reached the door, Mirai paused.
He took out half of the bottles and put them back.
Six would be enough.
Six bottles would get Tsunade pleasantly buzzed but not completely drunk—just enough to keep her spirits high. If he brought all twelve, she'd drink herself into oblivion and waste an entire day of research.
(End of Chapter)