Iron country.
Heavy snow fell from the sky, blocking the view.
The biting north wind comes like a knife blade, blowing on people's faces, as if their skin and flesh are being torn apart.
In the forest covered by cold ice and snow, the road is rough.
Naruto shrank and shivered, and the nose water that came back from inhaling was also cold. He rubbed his nose until the tip of his nose was red, but he still couldn't feel the slightest warmth.
Although the weather in the Fire Country has begun to get cooler, it is still autumn after all.
However, entering the Kingdom of Iron, the climate directly changed from autumn to extremely cold winter. This hugely different environment made it difficult for Naruto to adapt.
He never imagined that the place where Jiraiya brought him would have such bad weather.
It's only November, and the weather is as cold as winter. By December, the cold wave is coming, and it's probably going to be even colder here.
"Hey, lustful fairy, haven't you arrived at your destination yet? Isn't it too cold here?"
Naruto rubbed his arms back and forth in an attempt to bring some warmth to himself.
Because when he came, he was only wearing a coat outside and a thin shirt underneath. In such a bad environment, he would indeed feel uncomfortable with the air-conditioning here.
"Naruto, your body is too delicate. As a ninja, you can't continue like this."
Jiraiya looked at Naruto's slightly pale face, stopped and said helplessly.
Compared to Naruto, his clothes were thinner, but his whole body was warm, and the cold wind here had almost no negative impact on him.
"I don't want to either, but it's really cold here, so let's find a place to rest."
Naruto suggested.
As he spoke, the sound of his nose sounded again.
"Control your chakra well, it will be enough to keep out the cold."
Jiraiya said.
"It's too much. You know I'm not good at controlling chakra..."
"So, this kind of exercise is meaningful."
Jiraiya ignored Naruto's resentful look and smiled.
Just when Jiraiya was about to continue walking forward with Naruto, four figures came over from one side.
It was Tiegen and others who followed Jiraiya and Naruto.
Because of their roots, they were met with Jiraiya's hostility and vigilance along the way. However, fortunately, there was no conflict between the two parties during the journey, but a subtle atmosphere was maintained.
Along the way, they kept a distance of about fifteen to twenty meters from Jiraiya and Naruto, and now they suddenly stepped forward, obviously coming to discuss something.
"Jiraiya-sama, the temperature in the Iron Kingdom at night is much lower than during the day, and the wind and snow have seriously hindered the view. It is better to find a place to rest for the night as soon as possible."
Take root suggested.
"There's no time to hang around here now. What if something happens to Tsunade?"
"Even so, I recommend stopping for a while to repair." Torine glanced at Naruto, then swept deep into the snow-covered forest, then turned his head back, focused on Jiraiya, and said: " And, there are people following us all the way.”
"Um?"
"She is a wandering witch from the Kingdom of Ghosts. Our whereabouts have been exposed."
Takegen said.
Jiraiya glanced at the depths of the forest, which was shrouded in darkness, like a black hole, blowing out cold wind.
"It's really haunting. The eyes of these wandering witches are too sharp."
Jiraiya clenched his fist and tapped his forehead lightly, feeling quite distressed.
"There is nothing we can do about it. Even if we travel all night now, we won't be able to reach the north of the Iron Country for a while. Tsunade-sama is protected by our people, and there will be no danger for the time being... and the Iron Country The northern part of the country will be even colder, so it’s better to prepare more warm clothes on the way.”
"Okay, then let's go to the nearest town to rest for the night and start again tomorrow morning."
Hearing that Jiraiya agreed to come down, Torine breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at the three companions behind him.
The three root ninjas understood and used the teleportation technique to leave this place and find the nearest town to stay for one night.
◎
Between the lost lakes, Tsunade felt someone shaking her body.
As a result, he let out a dissatisfied hum and ignored the visitor.
Yesterday, she had been gambling until late at night. When she returned to the hotel to rest, she was exhausted and fell asleep directly. To this day, she still has the image of the dice rolling in her mind.
"Tsunade-sama, Tsunade-sama, please wake up, it's already dawn!"
The rocking motion became even greater.
Tsunade opened her eyes, impatiently raised her upper body lying on the table and looked at the person.
Just as he was about to scold the other party, he was suddenly surprised when he saw the appearance of the person coming.
"It's Shizune. What, did Gen's guy release you?"
Tsunade yawned and rubbed her groggy eyes.
It was just getting dark outside and it was still early morning.
"Yeah, those guys let me out."
Shizune said to Tsunade helplessly, holding her beloved Dolphin in her arms.
"Not only that, you seem to have gained a little weight... Those guys seem to have raised you well."
Tsunade took a closer look at Shizune's face, then suddenly pinched her chin and started teasing.
"Please stop making fun of me, Tsunade-sama. Not to mention that I'm not fat at all, but the fact that someone from the roots imprisoned me is not a good thing no matter how you look at it. Those guys are so annoying!"
Shizune gritted her teeth bitterly, with strong resentment flashing in her eyes.
Thinking about the fact that she has been confined to a small space by her parents for the past month, and even though she has not been abused in terms of food and accommodation, the behavior of imprisoning her can still be described as excessive.
When I think back to this day, I still feel extremely angry.
"Well, Danzo's leadership has always been this way. Just get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to this kind of thing! By the way, if they suddenly let me back now, could it be that Tsunade-sama you promised them some conditions?"
Shizune stared at Tsunade's face, suddenly worried.
Although Tsunade did this, she was indeed a little touched, but the ninja at heart has always eaten people without spitting out bones, and she didn't want Tsunade to get involved with her for her own sake.
In the world of ninjas, it is not uncommon to use hostages to threaten others into compromise. Shizune was actually a jounin of Konoha. After being a ninja for so many years, she was already prepared to sacrifice at any time.
"That's not true." Tsunade waved her hands and stretched, but still said with a troubled expression: "After all, I'm not stupid. If I compromise on this kind of thing for the first time, there will definitely be a second time. Before you came back, I have been dealing with them... The reason why they let you back now is not because I promised them any conditions, but because a major change happened in the village, which caused the people at the root to do this. What, that Didn’t the kid from the Yamanaka family explain it to you?”
"No."
"That's it. Let me tell you in detail after I wake up."
After saying that, Tsunade's upper body lay directly on the table in front of her, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
"Wait, Tsunade-sama—"
She wanted to call Tsunade, but she stopped talking when she saw Tsunade fell asleep so quickly and had a tired look on her face.
Finally sighing and letting Tsunade fall asleep again.
"Forget it, Tsunade-sama is very tired from worrying about my safety these days. Let her rest."
Shizune tried to convince herself.
Time soon came to noon, and Tsunade woke up hungry.
He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth that had accidentally dripped while sleeping, and started shouting: "Shizune, Shizune!"
As if on call, there were rapid footsteps outside the house, and then the door was opened, and Shizune appeared at the door.
"What is it, Tsunade-sama?"
"what time is it now?"
"Well...it's almost twelve o'clock noon."
"Uh, did I sleep for so long? I happen to be hungry. Let's go out and eat something. Have you eaten?"
"not yet."
"Then let's go together."
Tsunade stood up from the floor and scratched the back of her head, making her already messy hair even more messy. Many of her hair began to curl up, looking extremely sloppy.
There are even serious dark circles around the eyes. I guess I must have stayed up very late these days.
"You are too decadent."
Shizune couldn't help but said.
"It's not because I'm worried about you that I haven't had a good night's sleep these days."
"Yes Yes."
Knowing that a large part of the reason why Tsunade became so depressed and decadent came from herself, Shizune had no choice but to give in to Tsunade and stopped blaming Tsunade for her image problem.
The two walked out of the hotel and came to an izakaya not far from the hotel. The weather outside has improved a lot, with light white snow falling from the gray sky.
Before the waiter served the meal, Tsunade also briefly explained the current situation to Shizune, so that Shizune could have a general understanding of the current situation.
After hearing the whole thing, Shizune sat in her seat in astonishment, dumbfounded, and it took a long time to recover from her daze.
However, because the whole process was so complicated and shocking, a look of shock still flashed through Shizune's eyes from time to time.
She would never have imagined that such a big thing would happen in Konoha while she was being imprisoned by the Roots. However, whether it was the fall of Danzo or the death of the third Hokage...everything was enough to make people worry about it. A moving event. Now that they are all breaking out inside Konoha, one can imagine the situation Konoha is in now.
"I see. I didn't expect so many things to happen when I was imprisoned. That Danzo, I didn't expect..."
"This is entirely his own fault. His superior methods were dirty, and there were too many clues and evidence left behind. His downfall can be said to have been brewed by himself."
"Then what are you going to do next, Tsunade-sama? Are you going to follow the village's arrangements and go back to take over the position of the Fifth Hokage, or are you going to go to the Kingdom of Demons and accept the invitation from the other side?"
Shizune asked pretending to be calm, as if she was simply taking the lead.
"You're really not good at lying, Shizune. Are you worried that I will surrender to the Kingdom of Ghosts?"
Tsunade saw through Shizune's little thoughts at a glance.
"No, I'm just thinking about Tsunade-sama."
"Your facial expression muscles are too stiff."
Shizune lowered her head as if she had made a mistake.
"Forget it, it's dinner time now, it's better not to discuss these unhappy topics."
It seemed that because Shizune was not in a good mood, Tsunade was no longer in the mood to discuss it with her.
Soon, the service staff delivered the meals to the table. The two people at the table ended their communication, and only the sound of eating came from the table.
Compared to Tsunade who was feasting over there, Shizune looked worried.
As a Konoha ninja, she had never considered betraying the village.
But from Tsunade's words just now, she heard a different flavor.
If Tsunade-sama betrays the village, what should I do then? Shizune was panicking inside.
Even as a Jonin, she didn't know how to deal with this kind of thing.
And at this moment, a rapid voice came here:
"Tsunade!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Tsunade subconsciously raised her head and glanced in one direction.
"Jiraiya?"
There was surprise in his tone.
Then Tsunade's expression returned to calm.
This is a matter of course. In order for her to return to Konoha safely and become the fifth Hokage, it is much more reliable to have Jiraiya come over to run errands than the root.
Although from Tsunade's point of view, Jiraiya is also a person who is out of tune a lot of the time.
"finally found you."
Jiraiya said as he walked towards Tsunade and Shizune's dining table with Naruto, who was looking at Tsunade suspiciously.
When the two arrived at the dining table, Shizune took the initiative to move to one side, allowing Jiraiya and Naruto to sit opposite Tsunade, making it easier to communicate with Tsunade.
"What do you mean finally? You came here after me. Besides, when did you start colluding with Gen's people?"
Tsunade scoffed.
His eyes casually glanced towards the corner of the izakaya, where two people were dining.
One of them wore a mask on his face, with only his mouth and nostrils exposed. Tsunade didn't recognize this person, but Tsunade knew the other one, it was Yamafaze.
Obviously, the Konoha ninja who can communicate so harmoniously with Yamafaze is naturally a ninja belonging to the root.
"This is a myth. These guys came here shamelessly. I didn't ask them to come with me."
Jiraiya refuted Tsunade's words.
"So, are you also trying to get me to go back?"
Tsunade tapped the tachyon on the table a few times, and her eyes fell on Jiraiya's face.
Jiraiya didn't feel embarrassed and nodded: "Yes, the village has decided that you will be the Fifth Hokage. If there is nothing else, let's leave here quickly. Now the village is leaderless, which is perfect for her to show off her talents. .”
"You talk about doing chores so confidently, you really are not ashamed at all."
Tsunade was slightly speechless.
"Well, I think you also learned from Gen's mouth about the current situation of the village. The situation is indeed a bit troublesome."
"Is it really just a little trouble?"
"How should I put it? I admit that it is a little more serious than a little bit. However, if you are the Hokage, you can easily get rid of these things. Besides, this time there is no root obstruction that you have always hated."
Jiraiya coughed, not daring to meet Tsunade's eyes, and pretended to be calm and poured himself a glass of wine to warm up.
"Even if Danzo falls, that old guy is not that easy to deal with. Rather, he is the most unstable bomb in the village now. Even if he stays in prison, he is still extremely dangerous."
Tsunade smiled coldly.
Let the people from the root come to win over him, even revealing the intention of surrendering to her. He didn't know what Danzo was calculating in his heart, but it was definitely not a good thing.
Jiraiya was silent.
Some things don't need to be explained, and people at their level know it clearly.
Danzo seemed to be defeated, but he was only deprived of the right to stand in front of the stage.
But he is still the most powerful leader of the martial arts faction in the village and the only leader of the root.
His secret power was not lost much.
Even if he loses power, no one in Konoha dares to force Danzo to disband the Roots, and similarly, Danzo will not do that.
This principle is the same even if Tsunade is in charge.
In order to appease the martial arts faction, Danzo could not move.
This is also the most important reason why the public trial of Danzo has not been announced for a long time. The public trial was postponed by the top management for various reasons. At the same time, a complete chain of evidence began to be created to point the finger at Orochimaru, diverting attention and minimizing Danzo's negative impact.
"That's why the village needs your power. Now only you can suppress Danzo."
Just as the other senior officials were worried, Jiraiya was also very worried.
Danzo dared to attack Naruto this time, and even controlled Naruto with the illusion of Sharingan, so there was no guarantee that the same thing would not happen in the future.
Although the senior management also asked Danzo to hand over the Sharingan because of the danger of the Sharingan... Danzo did hand over the Sharingan as ordered, but it was just a three-magatama Sharingan, and Not the Mangekyō Sharingan that Danzo possesses.
Danzo's abilities and power have seriously hindered the rule of Konoha's leaders.
Tsunade didn't respond to Jiraiya, as if she was thinking about something.
Jiraiya did not interrupt Tsunade's thinking, allowing her to have enough to think about.
Naruto sat aside and secretly looked at Tsunade, especially the white snow on his chest. Naruto felt that his breathing was starting to become unsatisfactory.
Jiraiya was exactly as he revealed, she was indeed a famous... beauty.
There is no trace of her being a fifty-year-old woman of the same age as Jiraiya. She is twenty-five years old... no, she may even look younger.
The fair and tender skin is like that of a girl, without any wrinkles.
"Speaking of which, who is this kid who is staring at my chest lustfully? Is he your illegitimate child?"
Naruto thought he was doing it very covertly, but in Tsunade's eyes, his behavior could be said to be completely defenseless.
Naruto's face turned red, as if he had been discovered because of his embarrassment, so he had to turn his eyes aside and blow the whistle with an innocent expression on his face.
"Doesn't this show that you still have charm? Even young people can't stop your charm as a woman."
Jiraiya laughed.
His eyes inadvertently lingered on Tsunade's chest, and then moved his gaze naturally, showing a very skillful technique.
"I am already a fifty-year-old woman, but I am still a little girl."
Even though she said this, Tsunade couldn't help but smile on her face and she was in a good mood.
Jiraiya saw all this in his eyes. The woman really said one thing and had another thing in her heart. She obviously liked her very much.
"But Naruto is not my illegitimate son. You also know that I have always been devoted to feelings, and I don't want to give up my virginity casually."
Jiraiya said openly.
"You're fifty years old and you're still a virgin. You must have failed as a human being."
Tsunade scoffed loudly and began to taunt Jiraiya.
"Yeah, I wonder if the fairy in front of me is willing to give me some charity?"
"I reject!"
Faced with Jiraiya's shameless expression of love, Tsunade chose to refuse without hesitation, and her attitude was quite firm.
Jiraiya hesitated. Although he knew this would be the result, Tsunade's firm refusal still made him feel disappointed.
Then, Tsunade focused on Naruto and said as if she remembered something, "Is your name Naruto? Speaking of which, I remember this name is..."
Jiraiya replied, "Well, as you can imagine, Naruto is Minato and Kushina's child and the jinchūriki of the village."
"You are quite honest now, but is it too late to say it at this time?"
Tsunade said extremely unhappy.
"The disputes in the village are really difficult to describe. However, you should understand that the problem now is not Naruto. Let me put it bluntly, Tsunade, you must return to serve as the Fifth Hokage."
Jiraiya's expression became extremely serious, no longer the playful smile just now.
"I have been away from the village for so long, and I have rarely gone back over the years. At the same time, I have rarely had contact with Konoha ninjas. I think the new generation of ninjas don't even know me... Do you really think I can manage such a big place? A village?”
Tsunade was not intimidated by Jiraiya's serious tone and asked calmly.
"It's okay if it's you. You are quite popular among the Jonin. Moreover, Teacher Sarutobi has been secretly building momentum for you in the village over the years. Many villagers in the village also believe in your character and abilities."
"...But, yesterday, that guy from Chiba Shiraishi also came to invite me. You all treat me like a steamed bun."
Tsunade stared at Jiraiya's face and said helplessly.
"Did you promise him?"
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.
"I'm thinking about it."
In other words, there is the possibility of seeking refuge in the Kingdom of Ghosts.
This is what Tsunade revealed.
Jiraiya's face was solemn.
"Ask it beforehand, that guy is no longer the same person you knew in the past. He has abandoned the village and his companions. Over the years, he has been abusing the power in his hands and causing trouble in various parts of the ninja world. I'm afraid, he has now Dissatisfied with the invasion of small countries, he began to target big countries. If this continues, the Fourth Ninja War will break out sooner or later because of him."
"But according to my investigation, the living environment of the people in the Kingdom of Ghosts is very good. This is definitely not a lie."
"But that's just the Kingdom of Demons. He never thought about using his power to benefit the ninja world. Instead, he was like a cold-blooded machine to promote the military power of the Kingdom of Demons. He was more domineering than Kumogakure's approach. And cold.”
In order to further convince Tsunade, Jiraiya continued to talk about his ideas.
"His behavior will only bring endless pain and death in the end. Having experienced the Great Ninja War, you should understand how cruel war is. Compared to Danzo, he is the greatest evil."
"Don't you agree?"
Tsunade read something from Jiraiya's serious eyes.
"I absolutely disagree. The Great Toad Immortal said that he is the source of trouble in the world, and he has spared no effort to promote the military development of the Kingdom of Ghosts over the years, which has led to countries having to step up the production of armaments, seriously increasing the burden on other countries and people, and many People are displaced and their wives and children are separated because of this kind of thing, which just proves this point."
"It really sounds like something you would say."
Tsunade shook the bottle of wine in her hand in boredom.
"I'm looking at the problem based on reality. I haven't stayed where I am these years. But the more I investigate, the more I feel that war is approaching."
"Yeah?"
Tsunade said not surprised.
Jiraiya believed that Tsunade was too naive and failed to realize the seriousness of the matter and how cold-blooded and dangerous the enemies Konoha faced were.
"Yes, chaos has begun to appear in many small countries. There are rumors that the Kingdom of Ghosts is behind the scenes. They secretly provide weapons and food to the rebel organizations in the small countries, disrupting the stable order of the country, in order to control War market, profiteering from the war.”
Seeing that Tsunade didn't say a word, Jiraiya took advantage of the victory and said, "I don't want you to be deceived by his sweet words. You'd better think about it carefully. Naruto, you stay here, I'll go out to do something soon." return."
Jiraiya left the izakaya with a gloomy face and under Naruto's puzzled gaze.
"Lovable Immortal, where is he going?"
Naruto blinked, wondering why Jiraiya left suddenly.
"Tsunade-sama, could it be that Jiraiya-sama is planning to..."
Shizune looked at the direction Jiraiya left, as if she thought of something, her face changed.
"That idiot, even though he is such an old man, still likes to act on his own initiative. Forget it, let him go, Shizune, let's continue drinking."
As if not worried about Jiraiya's safety, Tsunade poured herself a glass of wine and savored it.
