Chapter 359: The Killer Reappears
"No!!!!"
Jiraiya roared furiously at the sky, then threw a punch at Li Yao.
Unfortunately, trapped in the interstitial space, he had no effect on the real world. Like an intangible spirit, he passed right through Li Yao and Tsunade's bodies.
When Jiraiya turned around to strike again, he saw Li Yao carrying Tsunade—clinging to him like an octopus—into the kitchen.
"No!!"
"Take your filthy hands off her!!"
Jiraiya roared again in despair.
"Why is this happening?!"
"This can't be Tsunade!"
"Tsunade would never fall for a stranger this easily!"
"Genjutsu!"
"This has to be genjutsu!"
Though filled with fury, Jiraiya's mind was still functioning. He quickly realized that Tsunade's strange behavior must be the result of some kind of powerful genjutsu.
Otherwise, she would never act like this!
"Damn it!!"
"Who are you really?!"
"Let her go!!"
"You bastard!!"
Seeing Li Yao completely ignoring him, Jiraiya finally lost all reason. His eyes reddened as he began charging back and forth between them, trying to force Li Yao to stop by sheer presence.
An hour later, Li Yao returned to the sofa after satisfying himself. Tsunade stayed in the kitchen, continuing to prepare dinner.
Having watched the woman he loved be controlled by genjutsu for an entire hour, Jiraiya now stood emotionless—his face completely numb, unable to show any more reactions.
He came before Li Yao and said nothing, just stared at him intently. He was certain this man could see him.
And Jiraiya was right—Li Yao could indeed see him.
He just didn't look.
So no matter how hard Jiraiya stared, it made no difference. It wouldn't scare or bother Li Yao in the slightest.
Knock knock knock!
Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the door. Jiraiya's face lit up with hope. Someone had come—this guy couldn't hide any longer!
He rushed to the doorway and saw an ANBU member knocking.
Seeing it was ANBU made him even more excited.
ANBU had superior sensory abilities. No matter how this man tried to hide, any lingering scent or abnormality in the air would surely alert them to the presence of this damned monster.
But!
Tsunade opened the door. Facing directly toward the sofa, where Li Yao was sitting, the ANBU looked right past him—as if no one were there.
Jiraiya watched in disbelief as he jumped and waved in front of the ANBU, but nothing changed.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked, frowning. In front of outsiders, she was still the commanding Hokage.
The ANBU replied gravely, "Lady Hokage, the suspected killer of Danzō has struck again. Kakashi-senpai's Sharingan has been taken."
"What?!"
Tsunade gasped. She immediately grabbed a coat from the cabinet beside her and asked urgently, "Where is Kakashi now?"
The ANBU answered, "Kakashi-senpai is alive but unconscious. He's already been taken to the hospital."
"Good." Tsunade let out a breath of relief. As long as he wasn't dead.
Still, thinking of the killer who took Kakashi's Sharingan left her uneasy.
"Let's go."
She closed the door and hurried toward the Konoha hospital to check on Kakashi's condition. She couldn't afford to let anything happen to him now.
She didn't know why the killer had spared Kakashi.
But Kakashi was likely the only person who might have seen the culprit.
Jiraiya stood in the middle of the doorway, glancing from Li Yao on the sofa to Tsunade walking away.
What had just happened chilled him to the bone. He was sure—absolutely sure—that the bastard on the sofa hadn't moved at all.
But the ANBU, like Tsunade, was clearly under a genjutsu!
"How the hell is this bastard doing it?!"
Jiraiya didn't understand. After looking once more at the calm man on the sofa, he gritted his teeth and decided to follow Tsunade.
Kakashi being attacked—and that old bastard Danzō actually dead?
Two shocking revelations at once made Jiraiya deeply uneasy.
From the conversation between Tsunade and the ANBU, it was clear that the killer had murdered Danzō inside Konoha.
Jiraiya understood the implications.
That meant someone dangerous was hiding within the village—or it was that man in Tsunade's house.
Jiraiya didn't know what to think anymore. Why was it that as soon as he died, all sorts of demons and monsters started showing up? How had he never heard of some guy who could use genjutsu to control Tsunade while he was alive?
Grumbling to himself, Jiraiya quickly followed Tsunade to Konoha's hospital.
There, Kakashi lay in a hospital bed, his left eye bandaged. The Sharingan that Obito had given him was gone.
When Tsunade arrived, she began healing Kakashi with her Mystical Palm Technique.
Soon, Kakashi opened his eyes and regained consciousness.
"Kakashi!" Tsunade called.
"Lady Tsunade!" Kakashi sat up, confused. "This is… the hospital?"
Tsunade's expression tightened. She asked urgently, "You don't remember what happened?"
"I…" Kakashi suddenly noticed the emptiness in his left eye socket. He reached up instinctively, feeling the bandages.
"My eye…" he muttered, trembling.
"Yeah… someone took it," Tsunade said with a sigh.
From Kakashi's reaction, it was clear—just like Danzō, he hadn't seen the attacker or sensed anything.
"Who was it?!" Kakashi's eye burned with fury. That Sharingan was a gift from his dearest friend, Obito. And now, he'd lost it.
"Probably the same person who killed Danzō," Tsunade explained what they knew.
Upon hearing that a mysterious figure had taken Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi fell silent. He also understood why Tsunade had come.
The killer hadn't slain him like Danzō.
Why?
Kakashi didn't know either. He described what little he remembered.
He had been at home eating when he suddenly felt very sleepy and dozed off. The next thing he knew, he woke up here.
He had no idea when his eye had been taken, who the culprit was, or what method they used.
"Get some rest."
After hearing Kakashi's brief account, Tsunade gave up any hope of finding clues. The killer had spared Kakashi with full confidence that no evidence had been left behind.
All she could do now was assign a team of ANBU to guard Kakashi in secret.
She could only hope the attacker's goal was limited to the Sharingan—and nothing else.
If it was more than that… then they'd just have to face it head-on.
So Tsunade thought to herself.
(END CHAPTER)
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