IW: Chapter 137 - Shizune: Lady Tsunade, don't think I don't know your secret with Hokage-sama!
"Lady Tsunade, the battle on the northern front has ended."
On the Sunagakure battlefield, after Lady Tsunade learned that the northern front had been resolved by Bai Ye, she suddenly looked up at Shizune.
Although Lady Tsunade didn't think Bai Ye would fail, a man with Mangekyo and Wood Release would definitely not be defeated by those Ninja Villages. If he failed, it would be a blasphemy against Wood Release and Mangekyo, against the Uchiha and Senju.
But that Bai Ye resolved the war there so quickly was what Lady Tsunade hadn't expected.
"Yes, according to what they said, Lord Bai Ye directly made the enemy all come out, and then they were all dealt with by Lord Bai Ye. I heard he even used your Senju Clan's Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"
Does he even know Sage Art?
As Lady Tsunade listened to Shizune's report, a hint of doubt arose in her heart. She didn't remember him having signed a summoning contract.
Is there any other place in the Ninja World besides the Three Great Sage Regions where one can cultivate Sage Art?
It seems this kid also has many secrets that she doesn't know about.
Lady Tsunade also understood that she had underestimated him. She looked up at Shizune, whose expression was slightly tinged with admiration, and felt a moment of speechlessness: "Do you want me to introduce you to him?"
"How could I be so presumptuous?"
Shizune awkwardly scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly.
She was just admiring him. After all, her own Hokage was too strong, so it was normal for her to admire him. She hadn't thought of having any other relationship with Bai Ye. After all, she was much older than Bai Ye.
He probably wouldn't like women older than him, right?
Furthermore...
Shizune had heard some rumors back then, something about Lady Tsunade and Bai Ye talking through the night in the Hokage's office, but what exactly they discussed, according to insiders, is currently unknown.
"Is that so? I was going to introduce you if you liked him. Maybe he'd like your type. Since the war there is over, we should also end the war here in Sunagakure sooner. Are Pakura and Mei Terumī ready?"
After a series of small-scale skirmishes, Sunagakure seemed to be preparing to directly break through Konoha's defense line and then attack deep into the Land of Fire.
Because Sunagakure also knew very well that they had very few people here, most of them were Kirigakure Ninja, but Kirigakure also sent many Ninja to deal with Ninja from other small countries. This was a war against the entire Ninja World, not just against Sunagakure.
Sunagakure naturally used Kumogakure and Iwagakure to tie down Konoha. If they attacked earlier, they might gain many benefits. Naturally, they were more proactive. In addition, there were constant internal conflicts within Sunagakure, and they needed to stabilize their internal situation through war first, so they didn't want to wait.
If they waited for Kirigakure to free up their hands and Yagura to join the battle, they would naturally lose, given that they were already at a disadvantage in terms of high-end combat power.
"We're here, so are we preparing for a major counterattack?"
Mei Terumī lifted the curtain and entered the tent. The Sunagakure battlefield was much simpler. She actually wanted to resolve it quickly and then go support Bai Ye.
Not because of love.
It was because if Bai Ye lost, their Kirigakure would also lose. Having been pulled onto the pirate ship by Bai Ye, it was clearly impossible to get off, so they could only follow Bai Ye all the way to the end.
"I can't wait any longer."
Pakura had long been impatient. She just wanted to go to the battlefield now and deal with Rasa and those high-ranking officials who had betrayed her.
Once, her beloved Sunagakure, was actually going to betray her just to seek an alliance with Kirigakure.
Even more ironically, she was now cooperating with Hidden Mist to fight against Sunagakure.
"A counterattack will definitely happen, but the advantage is already very clear. Bai Ye has completely dealt with Iwagakure and Kumogakure. The other side has surrendered and accepted his proposal, and negotiations are currently underway. I originally thought of telling Sunagakure this news to make them give up resistance, but your problem can be discussed after you resolve this matter."
Lady Tsunade told the two of them the news that Bai Ye had already dealt with Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
Originally, she was going to tell Sunagakure the news, letting them know that they were isolated and helpless and should surrender quickly, so that her side wouldn't need to expend too much combat power.
But considering Pakura's past experience of betrayal, this matter definitely couldn't end as simply as a surrender.
"You mean Bai Ye won? Are you kidding?"
This is really a joke.
Mei Terumī widened her eyes, looking at Lady Tsunade in disbelief. How did this feel different from what she had imagined?
According to her imagination, shouldn't she resolve Sunagakure, then return to support the northern battlefield, where they would be struggling, and finally, the Hokage would win the war under her salvation, and then express his gratitude to her with tears of gratitude?
I haven't even made my appearance yet, how have you already resolved it?
"He did win. They've already surrendered, so we don't need to have such great pressure. After dealing with those people, this war can be ended."
Lady Tsunade didn't need to lie, and she even emphasized this matter twice.
Even Pakura was surprised by Bai Ye's strength. He actually dealt with Iwagakure and Kumogakure by himself. Is this guy a monster?
"Good, good, good! Since that side is resolved, we're sure to win!"
A hint of excitement flashed across Gensui's face. Since this war was over, they were sure to win.
At the same time, his heart became even more determined about his upcoming idea of bringing Bai Ye and Mei Terumī together.
Bai Ye's strength had already shown that as long as Bai Ye was alive, this world would forever be suppressed, and at this time, as their first ally, they could naturally gain many benefits, but this was far from enough.
He wanted to gain greater benefits for Kirigakure, but people wouldn't give it to you for no reason, and the best way was to get Mei Terumī and Bai Ye together, so that everyone would be closer.
Konoha Ninja and Hidden Mist were summoned to battle.
On the Sunagakure side, Rasa looked in Konoha's direction and frowned: "Have they taken the initiative to attack?"
"Yes, they've all come over. It looks like they're preparing for a decisive battle with us!"
The Sunagakure Ninja reported. They were responsible for frontline surveillance, and as soon as Konoha made a move, they noticed it and immediately came to inform them.
"The other side seems to want to deal with us quickly and then go reinforce the Iwagakure and Kumogakure battlefields, right?"
Chiyo analyzed calmly. They hadn't yet received any news about Iwagakure's defeat, so they naturally thought this was because Konoha was struggling on the northern front, which was why they decided to have a decisive battle with them.
And not just the northern front, a battlefield had also opened up to the east of Konoha.
"Let's directly have a decisive battle with Konoha, otherwise, if those guys defeat Konoha first, we won't get many benefits!"
Now Rasa urgently needed to defeat Konoha to prove himself, and also to stabilize the internal situation.
Because Sunagakure currently lacked resources, and due to Konoha's actions, a rift also appeared between Sunagakure and the Land of Wind. Now the Daimyo didn't dare to easily trust Sunagakure, so their resources were even scarcer.
They not only had to win this war, but also had to at least obtain most of Konoha's resources, otherwise Sunagakure would collapse on its own.
"Yes, let's have a decisive battle sooner. Hidden Mist won't be able to react in time. If we wait for Hidden Mist to free up their hands, it will be difficult for us to deal with them!"
Chiyo and Ebizo also agreed to this. Currently, they had three Kage-level Ninja, while Konoha only had Lady Tsunade and the supporting Mei Terumī.
Once the Three-Tails Jinchuriki Yagura arrived, their Kage-level combat power would be balanced, and with the alliance of Kirigakure and Konoha, Sunagakure would definitely not be able to defeat them.
Sunagakure's proud puppet techniques and poisons were very powerless against Lady Tsunade, and Jinchuriki also had the ability to change the tide of battle, so no matter how you looked at it, they were in a difficult situation.
As the two sides faced each other, Rasa looked at the Konoha personnel, and his heart was also greatly settled. Just as he was about to initiate the war, the appearance of one person instantly made Rasa's eyes widen, and at the same time, a bad premonition spread in Rasa's heart.
"Why is Lady Pakura on the other side?"
"It must be fake, right?"
The Sunagakure Ninja who saw Pakura emerge from the enemy ranks were all dumbfounded.
That was their hero of Sunagakure, how could she be involved with those Konoha people?
"Rasa, are you surprised?"
Pakura sneered when she saw Rasa's face.
After seeing Rasa's stunned expression, she suddenly felt a sense of relief, but this was not the most satisfying. In her opinion, only after Rasa tasted the power of Scorch Release could she feel more satisfied.
"Pakura, you betrayed the Village?"
Rasa's face darkened. Although he was somewhat surprised the moment he saw Pakura, he was not a fool. After reacting, he naturally labeled Pakura as a traitor.
Anyway, he had given Pakura a blank scroll for her secret mission, leaving no evidence, so as long as he insisted that Pakura had betrayed the Village, then this matter would have nothing to do with him.
"What's going on?"
Ebizo looked at Rasa strangely. Does that count as her betraying the Village?
You haven't even asked anything, have you?
"There's something wrong with those two."
Chiyo's eyes flickered. She felt that there was a conflict between these two.
Sunagakure had two factions: one was Rasa's Kazekage military conservative faction, and the other was the emerging faction led by Pakura.
One believed that Sunagakure should still follow its current path, holding conservative ideas and controlling most of Sunagakure's discourse power.
The other believed that Sunagakure must reform, otherwise it would get worse and worse. This faction consisted mostly of young Ninja, but had little discourse power.
One wanted to be conservative, the other wanted to reform, but essentially, it was a conflict of interests between the two sides. Once reforms were made, the interests of the conservative faction would be harmed, so these two factions had always had open and covert struggles, but everyone was for the Village.
Chiyo and Ebizo themselves were independent of these two factions.
Originally, with Rasa as the leader of the conservative faction, this war without gunpowder seemed to have ended.
But now it seemed it hadn't ended.
"Betraying the Village? That's truly laughable, Rasa. The hero of Sunagakure was framed by you with a fabricated charge, and you even sent the hero of Sunagakure to Kirigakure to die, to appease Kirigakure's anger and achieve an alliance between Sunagakure and Kirigakure. How pitiful, an alliance that requires sacrificing one's own people to achieve!"
"How did you get here?"
Lady Tsunade's eyes widened as she looked at Bai Ye in front of her, feeling somewhat surprised. His battlefield had just ended not long ago, so how did he get here?
"That side ended a long time ago, so I came early, and I have someone here."
Saying that, Bai Ye gestured to the Flying Thunder God kunai. He had given this to Mei Terumī to carry.
The negotiations there had ended. Iwagakure and Kumogakure had accepted all the conditions. As long as Sunagakure was dealt with, this war would be completely over.
"Rasa, Hidden Mist still has the documents you sent over. Do you want to see them?"
After Mei Terumī finished speaking, she took out the secret document Rasa had given her from her pocket.
This was originally given by Rasa to Yagura, but after Yagura's abdication, Mei Terumī obtained it.
Upon seeing that thing in Mei Terumī's hand, Rasa's face had already turned very bad. He had just thought he hadn't left any evidence, but now it seemed he had thought too much. He had forgotten that Hidden Mist was still here.
"Rasa?"
Chiyo looked at Rasa, her tone carrying a hint of doubt. Before, it was a factional struggle, but it hadn't gone this far, and Rasa actually betrayed his own hero in exchange for peace.
What's the difference between this and Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Chiyo had felt a bit disdainful when she learned of Hiruzen Sarutobi's various actions.
As Hokage, he didn't consider the safety of his own Village, but actually thought of relying on betraying the interests of his own people to gain peace, but his own Village also had a replica of Hiruzen Sarutobi?
"Then, I'll rely on you later."
Pakura turned to Bai Ye and said something inexplicable. She was going to fight Rasa later, so she needed Bai Ye and the others to block the other Sunagakure Ninja for her.
"Okay."
Bai Ye nodded in agreement. Pakura also felt relieved and turned to Rasa, asking: "Rasa, why did you choose to betray me?"
What Pakura wanted to know most now was why Rasa betrayed her.
And this also made all the Sunagakure Ninja present remain still, looking at the two of them. They knew that this matter was most likely true.
But...
Why betray Pakura?!
All the Sunagakure Ninja, like Pakura, also wanted to know.
"Sunagakure can no longer sustain the war, we need to recuperate, so we chose to make peace with Hidden Mist. Hidden Mist's condition was to send you, who killed so many Kirigakure Ninja, to die to appease their anger. Sacrificing one of you can preserve the other Sunagakure Ninja, so I could only do this!"
Rasa knew very well that since Hidden Mist had produced evidence, he definitely couldn't quibble anymore.
And since he couldn't quibble, he might as well admit it openly, and what he did was actually for Sunagakure. What a high-sounding reason!
This also made the Sunagakure Ninja, who were originally somewhat confused and indignant, calm down.
It turned out that betraying Pakura was for peace, for their Sunagakure. It seemed that they had no right to question Rasa, but this also made Pakura even more furious.
But she couldn't say anything. She wasn't as eloquent as Rasa, otherwise, when choosing the Kazekage, she might not have lost to Rasa.
"Amazing, amazing, truly worthy of being the Kazekage. Your words are so convincing. She led you to defeat Hidden Mist in the Third Shinobi World War, and then you turned around and sold her out. If Hidden Mist wanted to send you to appease their anger, would you send yourself?"
Anyone can talk. At the end of the day, isn't it just that Pakura isn't from your faction, and her existence is only useful during wartime? Once the war ends, she will only cause trouble for your faction, so in your opinion, sending her over is simply killing two birds with one stone!"
Bai Ye clapped his hands, truly admiring Rasa's actions. Isn't this just like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Sakumo Hatake?
Listening to his words, a hint of gratitude flashed in Pakura's eyes as she looked at Bai Ye.