Chapter 137 - Shizune: Lady Tsunade, don't think I don't know about your secret with the Hokage! "Lady Tsunade, the battle on the northern f
Chapter 137 - Shizune: Lady Tsunade, don't think I don't know about your secret with the Hokage!
"Lady Tsunade, the battle on the northern front has ended."
On the Sunagakure battlefield, upon hearing that the northern front had been handled by Renji, Tsunade suddenly looked up at Shizune.
Although Tsunade had never believed Renji would lose—a man possessing both the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release couldn't possibly be defeated by any of the hidden villages. If he failed, it would disgrace both Wood Release and the Mangekyō, a blasphemy against the Uchiha and Senju clans.
But what she hadn't expected was that Renji would end the war so quickly.
"Mm, from what they said, Lord Renji drew the enemy into full deployment, then took care of them all by himself. They say he even used your Senju clan's Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!"
He can even use Sage Techniques?
Tsunade listened to Shizune's report, a trace of doubt in her heart. She couldn't recall Renji ever signing a contract with any sage beast.
Could there be other places in the shinobi world, besides the Three Great Sage Regions, where Sage Techniques could be learned?
It seemed this kid still had many secrets she didn't know.
Realizing she had underestimated him, Tsunade looked at Shizune. Seeing the faint admiration on her face, she sighed and muttered, "Want me to introduce you two?"
"Oh no, that'd be too awkward…"
Shizune scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, smiling awkwardly.
She only admired him—after all, their Hokage was just too powerful. Admiring him was perfectly natural. She had never thought of anything beyond that, especially since she was clearly older than Renji.
He probably wouldn't like older women, right?
Besides…
Shizune had heard some rumors before—something about Tsunade and Renji staying up all night discussing matters in the Hokage's office. But what exactly they discussed, no one knew. Even those claiming insider knowledge hadn't revealed anything.
"Well, I figured if you liked him, I could introduce you. Who knows, maybe he's into your type. But now that the war up north is over, we should also finish things here with Suna. Are Pakura and Terumi Mei ready?"
After a series of skirmishes, Suna appeared to be preparing to break through Konoha's defensive lines and launch a full invasion into the Land of Fire.
They clearly understood their forces here were limited, and most reinforcements had come from Kirigakure. Even Kiri had deployed many ninja to handle smaller nations. This war wasn't just about Suna—it was a battle against the entire shinobi world.
Naturally, Suna wanted to take advantage of the situation. With Kumo and Iwa tying up Konoha, early action might win them great rewards. Moreover, with internal strife plaguing Suna, only war could temporarily stabilize things.
They didn't want to wait.
If Kiri freed its forces and Yagura entered the battlefield, Suna—already at a disadvantage in high-end combat power—would certainly lose.
"We're here. So this is the counteroffensive?"
Terumi Mei lifted the curtain and entered the command tent. Compared to the other fronts, the Suna battlefield was relatively straightforward. She wanted to resolve this quickly and go assist Renji.
Not because of love.
But because if Renji lost, Kiri would lose too. She had already boarded the pirate ship—there was no getting off now. All she could do was follow him to the end.
"I can't wait any longer."
Pakura had long since grown impatient. She wanted to step onto the battlefield and settle the score with Rasa and those who had betrayed her.
Once, she had loved Sunagakure. But in pursuit of an alliance with Kirigakure, her own people had chosen to sell her out.
The irony now was that she was standing with Kirigakure to fight against her former homeland.
"We'll definitely launch the counterattack. But now, the advantage is already obvious. Renji has completely crushed Iwa and Kumo. They've surrendered and accepted his terms. Negotiations are already underway. I had planned to inform Suna and urge them to surrender, but let's handle your situation first."
Tsunade shared the news that Renji had already dealt with both Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
She had originally intended to inform Suna so that, knowing they were isolated, they would surrender and avoid unnecessary losses.
But considering Pakura's betrayal by her own village, this wasn't something that surrender alone could resolve.
"You're saying Renji won? You've got to be kidding."
This had to be a joke.
Terumi Mei's eyes widened in disbelief. This wasn't what she had imagined at all.
In her version, she would finish things here with Suna, then rush to the northern battlefield. Konoha, barely holding on, would be saved by her appearance. The Hokage, grateful, would express heartfelt thanks…
But she hadn't even made her entrance, and it was already over?
"He really won. They've already surrendered. So we don't need to be under so much pressure. Once we finish off the rest here, the war will be over."
Tsunade had no reason to lie, and she confirmed it a second time.
Even Pakura was shocked by Renji's strength. He had handled Iwa and Kumo on his own. Was he some kind of monster?
"Great, great! If that's over, then our victory is guaranteed!"
Genshii showed a burst of excitement. The end of the war meant their victory was secure.
At the same time, he grew even more determined to pair up Renji and Terumi Mei.
Renji's strength had already proven that as long as he lived, the world would remain in check. As Kiri's first ally, they stood to gain—but it wasn't enough.
He wanted even more benefits for Kirigakure. But people don't hand out favors for nothing.
The best way forward was to bring Terumi Mei and Renji together—then the alliance would become kinship.
The ninja of Konoha and Kiri were summoned to battle.
Over on the Suna side, Rasa frowned as he looked toward the Konoha camp. "They're making the first move?"
"Yes. Their forces are all on the move. Looks like they're preparing for a decisive battle."
The Suna scouts had been monitoring the front. As soon as Konoha moved, they immediately reported it.
"Looks like they want to finish us off quickly and then go reinforce the Iwa and Kumo fronts?"
Chiyo offered a calm analysis. They hadn't received any reports of Iwa's defeat and assumed Konoha was simply collapsing in the north—thus pushing for a final battle here.
And it wasn't just the north. In the east of Konoha, another battlefield had already opened.
"We should fight Konoha directly now. If we wait until others beat them and show up late, we won't gain much from it!"
Rasa urgently needed to defeat Konoha—to validate himself and stabilize internal disorder.
Suna already lacked resources. Konoha's earlier actions had even strained ties with the Land of Wind's daimyo. The daimyo now didn't trust Suna easily, making their resources even scarcer.
They not only had to win this war—they needed to seize most of Konoha's resources. Otherwise, Suna would fall apart on its own.
"Yes. We must settle this quickly. If Kiri frees up and intervenes, they'll be much harder to handle."
Chiyo and Ebizō also agreed with the assessment. At present, they had three Kage-level fighters, while the Konoha side only had Tsunade and the reinforcement from Kirigakure—Terumi Mei.
Once Yagura, the Three-Tails' jinchūriki, arrived, their Kage-level strength would even out. And if Kirigakure and Konoha combined forces, Sunagakure would have no chance.
Suna's pride—its puppet techniques and poisons—were all powerless in the face of someone like Tsunade. And a jinchūriki had the power to shift the entire tide of war. No matter how they looked at it, the odds were against them.
As the two sides faced off, Rasa looked at the shinobi from Konoha and felt assured. But just as he was preparing to issue the order to attack, a figure emerged that made Rasa's eyes widen. A heavy sense of foreboding crept over him.
"Why is Lady Pakura on the other side?"
"That has to be a fake, right?"
On the Suna side, shinobi were stunned to see Pakura emerge from the enemy ranks.
That was one of Suna's heroes—how could she be standing with Konoha?
"Surprised, Rasa?"
Pakura let out a cold smile when she saw Rasa's face.
That shocked expression gave her a brief sense of satisfaction—but it wasn't enough. In her mind, only when Rasa personally experienced the pain of her Scorch Release would she truly feel avenged.
"Pakura, you defected?"
Rasa's face darkened. Though initially stunned, he wasn't foolish. Once he came back to his senses, he immediately branded her a traitor.
After all, the mission scroll he'd given her was completely blank. There was no evidence left behind. As long as he insisted she had defected, it had nothing to do with him.
"What's this about?"
Ebizō looked at Rasa suspiciously. That counts as defection?
You haven't even asked her anything.
"There's definitely something between the two of them."
Chiyo's eyes flickered. She could sense the hidden conflict.
There were two main factions in Suna: one was Rasa's conservative, militarist faction; the other, a reformist faction led by Pakura.
The conservatives believed in maintaining the status quo and held most of the political power in Suna. The reformists, mostly younger shinobi, believed that without change, the village would only continue to decline—but they lacked influence.
One wanted preservation. The other called for reform. Ultimately, it was a conflict of interests. Reforms would weaken the conservatives' power. The factions had long been engaged in both open and covert struggle, though both claimed to serve the village.
Chiyo and Ebizō had remained neutral.
Originally, with Rasa's rise to Kazekage, it seemed the political conflict had come to an end.
But clearly, that wasn't the case.
"Defection? What a joke, Rasa. You took one of Suna's heroes and branded her with a false crime. You sent her to Kirigakure to die—just to appease them and forge an alliance between Suna and Kiri. Truly pitiful. An alliance that requires sacrificing your own people."
"What are you doing here?"
Tsunade's eyes widened as she looked ahead at Renji, clearly surprised. Hadn't his battle just ended not long ago? How was he already here?
"That front ended a while ago. So I came early. Besides—someone important to me is here."
Renji gestured toward a Flying Thunder God kunai—the one he had entrusted to Terumi Mei.
The negotiations were already done. Iwa and Kumo had accepted all terms. Once Suna was dealt with, the war would be over.
"Rasa, I believe Kirigakure still has the document you sent them. Care to take a look?"
Terumi Mei pulled a folded scroll from her pocket—the same one Rasa had handed to Yagura.
After Yagura stepped down, it had ended up in her hands.
Upon seeing it, Rasa's expression turned ashen. He had thought he left no evidence. But it seemed he had forgotten Kirigakure was still here.
"Rasa?"
Chiyo looked toward him with suspicion in her voice. This used to be just factional rivalry, but now it had escalated. Rasa had actually betrayed one of Suna's own heroes for peace?
How was this any different from Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Chiyo had never respected Sarutobi after learning of how he betrayed his comrades for temporary peace.
And now her own village had produced a Sarutobi of its own?
"I'm counting on you then."
Pakura turned to Renji and said softly. She was going to battle Rasa herself—so she'd need Renji and the others to hold off the remaining Suna forces.
"Mm."
Renji nodded. Pakura felt reassured, then turned back to Rasa and asked, "Why did you betray me?"
What Pakura wanted most was an answer.
The Suna shinobi around them didn't move. They simply looked on. It seemed this accusation might be true.
But…
Why betray Pakura?
They too wanted to know.
"Suna couldn't sustain the war. We needed rest. So we sought peace with Kirigakure. Their condition was that we hand over the one who killed so many of their shinobi—namely you. Sacrificing one to save the many... I had no other choice!"
Rasa knew there was no way to deny it now. Kirigakure had presented proof.
Rather than deny it, he chose to admit it—boldly, even nobly. After all, he had done it for Suna. What a fine excuse that was.
This made some of the Suna shinobi, who had been confused and angry, begin to calm down.
So he had betrayed Pakura for peace—for the sake of the village.
That made them feel less justified in their anger toward Rasa.
But it made Pakura even angrier.
She couldn't speak as eloquently as Rasa. Otherwise, when they had chosen the Kazekage, she might not have lost.
"Impressive, truly impressive. You really are Kazekage. You've got speeches for everything. She led you to victory over Kiri in the Third Great Ninja War, and now you pay her back by selling her out. If Kiri had demanded you to appease their anger, would you hand yourself over?
Anyone can talk big. But let's be honest—Pakura wasn't from your faction. She was useful in war, but a burden in peace. Sending her away—what a neat solution for you."
Renji clapped slowly, eyes cold. Rasa's actions reminded him of Sarutobi and Sakumo Hatake.
Hearing his words, Pakura turned to him. Her eyes held a flash of gratitude.
(End of chapter)
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