Chapter 221: This Country Has Gone Mad
"With the help of the gods, in less than three months, our Land of Rain will become the strongest nation in the world." The Daimyo's son clenched his teeth and sneered. "By then, no other country will dare invade us ever again!"
"…"
Tsunade was completely stunned. In disbelief, she murmured, "Have you not considered that the Land of Rain will lose the vast majority of its population—nearly a million people?"
"Hmph!!!"
The Daimyo's son let out a cold laugh. "If sacrificing those million people can bring hundreds of years of strength and peace to the Land of Rain, then why not?"
"Precisely because of this, we ask that the ninja from Konoha not interfere in the internal affairs of the Land of Rain!" The Daimyo's son knelt down. "There is no conspiracy here, no monsters. We simply long for peace!"
In an instant, thousands of civilians waiting for the "divine blessing" all knelt down together, voicing their resolve. There was nothing left to say, no way to refute them…
Tsunade stood there with her mouth slightly open. After hesitating for a long time, she still couldn't say a single word. At that moment, she almost wished these people had been deceived—then she could simply defeat the mastermind behind it all.
But there was no way…
She could defeat a mastermind, but she couldn't defeat an entire nation. Just then, a white figure suddenly fell from a tree.
"Ahahaha, Lord Jiraiya makes his grand entrance!" Jiraiya's white, messy hair was filled with dry branches and leaves—it was clear he hadn't had an easy time getting here. Same mission, very different fates…
"Hmph, you make it sound nice." Jiraiya sneered at the Daimyo's son. "If this is really for peace, then why are you surrounding the ninja alliance from our three great nations?"
Along the way, Tsunade had been so focused on what was in front of her that she had forgotten their true purpose: they hadn't come to preserve the peace of the Land of Rain, but to rescue the ninja alliance thousands of miles away…
Three days had already passed. The number of ninja in the alliance was dwindling with each battle, while the snake-cursed soldiers kept increasing thanks to the continuous operation of the Sanctuary!
The situation was critical…
Hearing Jiraiya's words, the Daimyo's son instinctively glanced at Tsunade, then quickly withdrew his gaze in fear and nodded in agreement. "The Land of Rain is willing to withdraw its forces. We only hope that you will not set foot on our territory again in the future!"
Although Tsunade wanted to say more, Jiraiya grabbed her and pulled her away. "Let's go!"
Very quickly, Jiraiya dragged Tsunade out of the Land of Rain. At the same time, the snake-cursed army opened a gap, allowing the ninja alliance to retreat.
"Why did you stop me?"
Tsunade was somewhat angry. She couldn't bear to watch an entire country destroy itself like this. More importantly, she felt these people could still be saved—otherwise, they wouldn't have treated her so politely.
"Rationality?" Jiraiya suddenly pulled open his clothes, revealing two clearly imprinted fist marks on his chest, caving in half of it.
"At first, I didn't take these civilians seriously either…" Jiraiya gritted his teeth bitterly. "But when I tried to extract information from a hostess, I was suddenly struck—my chest was crushed with a single punch."
"After that, I didn't get a single moment of rest." Jiraiya swallowed nervously. "From eighty-year-old elders to six- or seven-year-old children, they all charged at me like they'd gone mad—using fists, feet, even their teeth!"
"You can't imagine how terrifying it was!" Jiraiya said in a low voice through clenched teeth. "This entire country… has gone mad!"