Chapter 232 : Naraku: What are you trying to do! # (There is a main line)
The prolonged battle finally drew to a close, and the animation pace suddenly quickened.
Kazekage Rasa was severely wounded, Chiyo lost most of her puppets, and the Jinchuriki Bufuku was sealed… Sunagakure's momentum was gone, and they had no choice but to retreat from the Mount Kikyo area.
But victory was within reach; how could Sunagakure's forces, from top to bottom, be willing to give up just like that?
Chiyo, old and cunning, noticed that the Konoha reinforcements did not pursue, thus confirming their limited numbers.
After a brief consideration, Rasa decided to regroup and launch another attack on Mount Kikyo under the cover of night.
However, shortly after the two sides re-engaged, Sunagakure was cornered halfway up the mountain by the returning forces led by Tsunade, with no hope of breaking through and caught between a rock and a hard place.
The plan to conquer Konoha had completely failed, and Sunagakure, without logistical support and isolated, was like a lamb to the slaughter.
To preserve as much of Sunagakure's fighting strength as possible, no matter how unwilling or angry Rasa was, he could only choose to concede after weighing the pros and cons, agreeing to sign the surrender documents. This saved the lives of most of the Sunagakure Ninja.
The price was a number of treaties, including massive war reparations to Konoha and the cession of mission quotas.
As for Bufuku, the Ichibi Jinchuriki, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not make things difficult for Sunagakure, demanding a large sum of money and then returning him.
With this mountain of debt, Sunagakure would be unable to launch any war for at least the next fifteen years.
After contacting the Daimyo of both sides with summoning beasts, Rasa signed the treaty as quickly as possible, leading a group of defeated and demoralized troops out of Mount Kikyo and leaving the Land of Fire.
Their entire withdrawal was overseen and monitored by Minato and an elite Konoha squad until they crossed the border.
Minato and Kushina only had time for a few hurried words before he embarked on his long mission, while she would return to Konoha immediately under special escort.
The animator finished broadcasting this content in just one and a half episodes.
As for the remaining half of this episode… when the audience saw Tsunade disregard the Hokage's order for her to go to the Kumogakure front line to replace Orochimaru, instead insisting on prioritizing the establishment of a field Hospital at Mount Kikyo, they knew what this half-episode would be about.
[Sunagakure tried to steal a chicken but lost its rice; it won't be able to recover for some years.]
[Rasa was just that close to succeeding! It's impressive that he could still maintain his composure and sign that long list of documents; he's a character!]
[It's come to this; a loss is a loss, no need to save face for the loser.]
[Teacher Tsunade can finally see Naraku, wuwuwuwu!]
[If even Tsunade can't save him, then it's truly beyond help. naraku fans can prepare for mourning.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi is so eager to send Tsunade away; is it because he doesn't want Tsunade to see Naraku?]
[Possibly… Naraku's refusal to reveal his information source back then was enough to make Hiruzen Sarutobi highly wary of him.]
—
Naraku: Is it coming…? Imagining how angry Tsunade was when she saw his miserable state back then, Naraku couldn't help but shiver with a guilty conscience.
Fortunately, he had been unconscious these past few days, avoiding Tsunade's most volatile period, and Kakashi was also far away now, so he wouldn't have his legs hammered off.
—
The animation continued.
It was already morning, and many logistical Ninja outside were busily setting up a temporary Hospital. Tsunade sat in the tent, flipping through the newly signed armistice agreement.
She mumbled, complaining that the old man had asked for too little in reparations and that as the victor, he was too considerate of the opponent. Anyone who didn't know better would think Konoha Village was running a charity.
However, overall, the result was quite good. With the Land of Wind to the west settling down, Konoha would be able to catch its breath and free up its hands to deal with Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
"Lady Tsunade!"
A fiery figure and a voice burst into the tent together.
"Kana, why are you back? Didn't I tell you to go back to Konoha with Kushina…?"
Mid-sentence, Tsunade saw that Kana's eyes were filled with tears, and her lips trembled, unable to speak.
Realizing something was wrong, she shot up and asked urgently, "What happened?!"
The scene shifted, and Tsunade was already standing before a sickbed, staring blankly for a long time before daring to touch her little apprentice's face with trembling hands.
Confirming that he was still alive and not in immediate danger, Tsunade's stiff back slowly relaxed. Most of her face was hidden by her bangs, and only her low, questioning voice could be heard: "Who allowed him to come…?"
The entire room was silent; no one spoke.
Boom—!
The bedside table was smashed to pieces by a monstrous punch. Tsunade looked up, her eyes red, at Mikoto and Kana.
"Who allowed him to come?!!!"
[This is the second time, isn't it? Kana, you're really miserable… Of course, as a Naraku fan, I'm also very miserable, wuwuwuwu…]
[The last time Tsunade showed such an expression was when Dan and Nawaki died.]
[Tsunade: The sky is falling! Why is my apprentice at Mount Kikyo?!]
[It was the Hokage! It was the Hokage who let him come! Master Tsunade, you must get justice for our Naraku!]
[Go quickly and smash Hiruzen Sarutobi, ah ah ah ah (Fuck dish fuck)]
[Tsunade doesn't even know that her own teacher wants Naraku to die on the battlefield…]
Mikoto sat on the other side of the bed, gently tucking in Naraku's blanket, and said in a hoarse voice.
"Lady Tsunade, it has come to this; there's no point in saying these things now."
"Madam…?" Kana couldn't accept that Mikoto, as Naraku's "mother," would say such a thing. "How can you just give up like that?!"
"I won't give up."
Mikoto shook her head, calmly stating her decision: "Orochimaru once said he had a method. I want to try it for Naraku."
Hearing this, Tsunade forced herself to calm down, suppressing the boiling rage in her chest.
"He said that? You need to think carefully. Although I don't know exactly what that guy Orochimaru plans to do, I'm very familiar with his experimental style."
As an old partner, she had a deep understanding of Orochimaru's past conduct and knew that this certainly wouldn't be some conventional, harmless method, otherwise Mikoto and Fugaku wouldn't have waited until now.
"Don't worry, it's not as serious as you think."
Mikoto looked with loving eyes at the unconscious boy on the sickbed, stating unequivocally: "Even if there is guilt, it is my guilt."
Tsunade looked deeply at Mikoto, who met her gaze without flinching, clearly having already made up her mind.
--What else could be done?
--Naraku's bloodline limit sickness couldn't be delayed any longer.
The two "mothers" simultaneously thought of the same thing.
"Alright."
The strongest Medical Ninja in the Ninja World closed her eyes with a hint of despair, let out a heavy sigh, her tone carrying a sense of resignation.
"In a couple of days, I'll go to the Kumogakure front line to replace Orochimaru. You all figure it out."
[What method did Orochimaru come up with?]
[Could it be that he's going to perform Human Experimentation on Naraku???]
[Mama Mikoto… wuwuwuwu o(╥﹏╥)o]
[Tsunade, how could you agree?!]
[The war is difficult; Tsunade simply doesn't have time to delve into bloodline limit sickness. She can only gamble that Orochimaru's method will work.]
—
Naraku gasped: …What are you trying to do?!
He frantically controlled his clone, "Jin," to quickly finish his current task so he could return to Konoha Village and see what kind of mischief Orochimaru was up to.