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Chapter 353: Shisui Captured
🕑 Added 2025-02-05 17:40:39 +0000 UTCChapter 353: Shisui Captured
“Miss Mabui, welcome.”
Shikaku stood up and gave a polite bow.
Mabui nodded in response and walked into the reception room. “I appreciate you coming to this meeting. This concerns the survival of the Land of Lightning—I had no choice but to turn to the Land of Fire.”
Shikaku, who had been prepared to discuss matters related to war prisoners, tensed up with confusion. “What do you mean? Weren’t you sent here to retrieve your country’s captured ninjas?”
Mabui let out a bitter laugh. “Lord Shikaku, do you think a task like that requires me personally? Lord Raikage has been distancing himself from me lately and is actively preparing for war. I’m afraid he’s about to act recklessly.”
Shikaku’s expression grew serious.
“Please, explain in detail.”
“Alright, it all started with a meeting one month ago…”
…
“The situation is as follows, Lady Tsunade—Mabui’s presence in Konoha seems to be tied to Raikage deliberately distancing himself from her.”
The next day, inside the Hokage Building, Shikaku reported to Tsunade about Mabui’s visit after hosting the foreign delegates the day before. He spoke in a low tone:
“Ever since the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki’s death, Raikage has been in a poor mental state. However, after meeting with that White Zetsu variant, he seems to have changed and is now aggressively preparing for war.”
“The Market Research Department’s report on the rising price of explosive tags is likely connected to this. Raikage might be planning an attack on Akatsuki.”
Tsunade, who had just returned to her office, fell silent at the unexpected news. After a moment, she frowned. “Has the Land of Lightning found Akatsuki’s base?”
“According to Mabui, no. It’s more likely that the information came from that White Zetsu variant.”
Shikaku hesitated before continuing, “If the Land of Lightning recklessly attacks the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, we’ll be put in a very difficult position.”
The last battle had already proven that they couldn’t match the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki in sheer power.
“Is that reckless fool acting this way because I refused to give him Edo Tensei?” Tsunade let out a helpless sigh and waved her hand. “We only have a defensive alliance. We have no right to interfere in each other’s politics.”
“But—”
Tsunade shot Shikaku a look, and he quickly understood, nodding. “I see. I’ll immediately start gathering personnel and contact Raikage to discuss his plans against Akatsuki.”
They would do what they could and leave the rest to fate. If they could work out a solid strategy with the Land of Lightning, they could act together. But if Raikage was blinded by hatred, then they would have to take decisive action.
They couldn’t just sit back and watch Raikage fall into a trap.
Tsunade gave a slight nod. “Focus on that White Zetsu variant. I believe the Otsutsuki on the moon may have ways to counter the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, but how much of that knowledge this artificial being inherited from Ci Xian remains unclear.”
“I understand!”
While they didn’t fully trust Mabui’s account, they still based their plan on the worst-case scenario before moving on to other matters.
“Have all the foreign envoys settled in?”
“Yes, including the Snow Country’s delegation. As per your orders, I assigned Shisui and Kakashi to keep an eye on Orochimaru.”
“Good. Continue monitoring the Snow Country’s delegation. If anything happens to them here, it’ll be another headache.”
…
There were indeed problems, but not the kind Tsunade had anticipated.
Most countries retrieved their captured ninjas and left Konoha, but the delegations from the Snow Country and the Land of Lightning remained.
The Snow Country was staying because Konoha was negotiating for the release of more captured ninjas. However, Shikaku couldn’t quite figure out why the Land of Lightning’s delegation was still here.
He had visited Mabui multiple times to ask why they hadn’t left, but she repeatedly stated that Raikage had assigned her as the new ambassador and that she had no authority to take the delegation back on her own. This left Shikaku with a headache.
It seemed Raikage really didn’t want Mabui returning.
Meanwhile, the Cloud Village delegation members were behaving just like ordinary tourists.
They had roamed every corner of Konoha—from the bustling commercial district to the quiet residential areas, from the crowded markets to the scenic parks. Apart from restricted military zones and classified facilities, they had practically explored the entire village.
Because of their alliance, Tsunade didn’t intervene. As long as they didn’t cross any lines, she turned a blind eye.
And then—something unexpected happened.
One day, Shisui, who was rotating shifts with Kakashi to monitor Orochimaru, suddenly vanished. The only trace left at the scene was a warning signal flare.
“…”
Tsunade’s breathing grew heavy as she read the report. “Was this Orochimaru’s doing?”
“You already know that’s impossible. If the Snow Country wanted to take Shisui, they wouldn’t need to go through this trouble. They could have done it during the last war.”
Shikaku shook his head. “Right now, all the evidence points to… the Land of Lightning. Preliminary investigations show that on the afternoon of Shisui’s disappearance, a member of the Land of Lightning’s delegation was seen loitering near the Uchiha district.”
“That person may have been involved, but he has already committed suicide. The rest of the delegation denies any involvement and even turned the accusation back on us, forcibly taking the body away. Without the corpse, the Yamanaka Clan can’t investigate further.”
The Land of Lightning wasn’t even trying to hide its suspicious behavior. Combined with Mabui’s intel, Shikaku was increasingly convinced that Raikage had gone to extremes.
“Heh.”
Tsunade crushed the intelligence report in her hand and sneered. “Does Raikage think he can force a meeting with me like this? Does he really want to drag the Land of Fire into his war for revenge?”
Shikaku was silent for a moment before saying, “It might not be Raikage’s doing. Shisui is strong—none of the Land of Lightning’s known elite could have captured him so quietly. Except for that White Zetsu variant, who has some form of space-time jutsu.”
“No matter who did it, abducting a Konoha ninja inside our own village is a blatant provocation against the Land of Fire. We must respond.”
Tsunade’s expression turned ice-cold. “Send people to interrogate the Land of Lightning’s delegation. I don’t care what it takes—get that corpse back! They think they can play the victim after pulling this stunt? Do they think I have endless patience?”
She stood up decisively.
“I’ll deal with Raikage personally.”
…
Twenty kilometers outside Konoha, the White Zetsu variant wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead as he looked at Shisui’s unconscious body and the artificial corpses strewn around.
With intel from the Land of Lightning’s delegation, they had lured Shisui to a secluded area and managed to extract him from Konoha—at the cost of one Cloud ninja’s life.
But even after a day of careful monitoring, they had nearly failed.
Shisui had managed to kill several of their artificial fighters and had almost used Kotoamatsukami on him.
If not for Nagato’s intervention, he might have fallen to Shisui.
With that thought, the White Zetsu variant cast a grateful glance at Nagato. “Thank you, Lord Nagato.”
“No need to thank me. If it weren’t for your ability to get him out of Konoha, I wouldn’t have had a chance to act.”
Nagato glanced at Shisui’s body and stated flatly, “As per our agreement, I’ll be taking one of his eyes.”
(End of Chapter)
