Hearing this last sentence, Shikaku's suspended heart finally settled down. His Hokage was still rational, knowing what should be done and what shouldn't. In Shikaku's view, this response was the most appropriate—strong yet restrained. It seemed like giving up the initiative, but in reality, they were still holding it in their own hands.
We, the Hidden Leaf, aren't firing the first shot. Isn't that enough to show our sincerity?
"What about the reply to the Hidden Cloud?" Shikaku asked with an inquiring look.
"You handle it, Shikaku. The core message is just one sentence: what we didn't do, we resolutely will not admit to. Also, pass the news to those three old... cough, the Honorable Advisors. It's necessary for them to know about this kind of thing," Tsunade said with a light cough.
Although Tsunade had always disliked those three old fossils, they were still high-ranking officials in the village. Even if she didn't say anything, they would know about it within a short time anyway. After all, they had been serving as elders in the village for decades. Even though Tsunade had reclaimed a lot of power in the past half-year and didn't indulge these three elders like her teacher did, their status and prestige were still there.
Moreover, Tsunade still needed these three old guys in some areas. For some necessary procedural issues, it was better to just follow the established rules.
"Yes, Lady Fifth." After bowing his head sharply in response, Shikaku turned around and strode away directly.
"Shizune, go notify the Reconnaissance Squad and the Intelligence Division immediately. Pay extra attention to the movements of various countries during this period, not just the Hidden Cloud side. Also, go to the Medical Corps personally and arrange for necessary medical personnel to be dispatched to the northern border in advance. Whether it happens or not, we still need to make some preparations ahead of time," Tsunade turned her head and said to Shizune standing beside her.
"Yes, I understand, Lady Tsunade. Please rest assured!" Shizune nodded with a solemn expression, then stepped out and left quickly.
After the two left separately, Tsunade pressed her hands on the table, a look of slight irritability appearing on her face.
Since she took on the role of Hokage, there hadn't been a moment of true peace in the entire ninja world. Inside the village, outside the village—problems were either exploding or on the way to exploding.
Tsunade really felt mentally exhausted.
The situation of the Hidden Leaf Village in this life was even more troublesome than in the original story, although it seemed the only difference was Menma's defection.
But just this one difference was enough to give Tsunade a massive headache and make things difficult.
"Since you're here, why stay outside? Come in and talk. Do you think it was done by Menma and that guy Orochimaru? Did the Six-Tails Jinchuriki really fall into their hands?"
After a long silence, Tsunade suddenly raised her head, looked at the floor-to-ceiling window on the left, and said in a faint tone.
"Heh, your senses are still as sharp as ever, Tsunade."
Following the slightly rough voice, a white figure flashed and appeared directly in the office.
None of the Anbu responsible for security around the perimeter had detected him in advance. The moment this figure appeared, these Anbu all felt their hearts tighten, but only for a second.
Upon seeing the familiar face of the visitor, their tense heartstrings relaxed.
Because this was the pride of their Hidden Leaf, the renowned Lord Jiraiya.
"Whether it was Menma and Orochimaru, we can't be 100% sure yet. Based on the intelligence gathered earlier, the Cloud ninja should have fought a big battle with that Six-Tails Jinchuriki first. It's hard to say what the result was, but judging from the Hidden Cloud's reaction, the dispatched Cloud ninja likely all met with an accident. Menma arrived at such a delicate time point... it doesn't necessarily mean the Jinchuriki fell into their hands, but there's a high probability of some connection," Jiraiya frowned and said with a light sigh.
It had been less than two days since he returned to the village. Previously, there was information isolation and deviation, leading to easy errors in intelligence judgment. But after returning to the village and combining what he scouted with some information vaguely revealed by Danzo, it was enough to clarify part of the situation. Now, adding the pressure from the Hidden Cloud, some things were obvious even without evidence.
However, regarding the Six-Tails Jinchuriki issue, a question mark still needed to be added. After all, this wasn't something that could be determined so easily.
Of course, at this time, neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade knew that they were not only taking the blame for the death of the Cloud ninja but that the Mist ninja were also firmly pinning the blame for the loss of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki on the Hidden Leaf Village.
Who asked the Leaf to still maintain the title of the Number One Great Nation in the Ninja World!?
"Bastard Orochimaru!" A look of indignation instantly appeared on Tsunade's face. Why should the Leaf take the blame for something most likely done by Orochimaru!?
"And that bastard brat Menma, is he really that strong now!? Is there no possibility of turning back at all? Jiraiya?" Tsunade took a deep breath, forcibly calmed her mood, and looked at Jiraiya with burning eyes.
If other problems were troublesome but still controllable, Menma's problem was a major issue that could never be bypassed.
Since Menma's identity as the son of the Fourth Hokage was exposed, the Leaf had fallen into a state of partial instability for a long time. Some things could be kept hidden if not exposed, but once exposed, there were too many points that could be connected.
And unlike Naruto, who actually resembled Kushina more, if Menma had inherited Minato's blond hair, he would be a proper mini-Minato. It was just that compared to Minato, Menma's facial features were sharper, and his eyes appeared colder—of course, this had a lot to do with their different personalities.
In short, Menma was now the number one problem for the Leaf.
They couldn't really kill Menma, could they? But repeatedly indulging him seemed completely unfeasible. The number of Leaf ninja who had died at Menma's hands was no longer small!
To put it bluntly, if Menma had been willing to turn back immediately after the Chunin Exams, Tsunade could still have suppressed the issue, given his identity as the Fourth's son. But as time passed, especially with Menma's ruthless attacks on Leaf ninja, this possibility became lower and lower, until it was zero.
Tsunade herself actually had no special feelings for Menma. If she were acting purely from her own perspective as Hokage, she would decisively order to bring the Nine-Tails back at all costs.
As for Menma? Perhaps she would feel a bit sorry for Minato and Kushina, but she had to consider the village first. This was the ninja village built by her grandfather. Tsunade was 100% committed to protecting the future of this village!
But while she could be indifferent, Jiraiya and Naruto could not. And because Tsunade cared very much about their attitudes, she also appeared somewhat constrained regarding Menma's issue.
"I suspect Menma might have completely mastered the Nine-Tails' power," Jiraiya said slowly after a moment of silence, seemingly with a bit of bitterness.
"Impossible! With the Eight Trigrams Seal, how could that kid completely master the Nine-Tails' chakra? Leaving aside that the Nine-Tails isn't so easily subdued, didn't Minato give you the key to the seal? What did Menma use to break the seal?" Tsunade's beautiful eyes narrowed, and she shook her head subconsciously in response.
Although Tsunade wasn't proficient in sealing jutsu herself, as a medical ninja, she had some understanding of it—or rather, some medical jutsu were related to sealing jutsu.
The Eight Trigrams Seal used by Minato was one of the highest masterpieces of the Hidden Leaf Village after absorbing the essence of the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu. It was a technique that could perfectly suppress even the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Let alone Menma, even Orochimaru wouldn't easily find a way to break it, in Tsunade's opinion.
And without lifting the seal, the Tailed Beast's power definitely couldn't be used perfectly. Not to mention the Nine-Tails had always been a representative of violent non-cooperation. The previous two Jinchuriki of her village never reached an agreement with the Nine-Tails.
Tsunade didn't believe that Menma, at only 13, could easily do this.
"I also thought it was impossible before, but in that battle, Menma's use of the Nine-Tails' chakra became more fluid and natural. Even with six tails showing, he could maintain his reason and didn't enter the semi-Tailed Beast transformation state. If not for the Nine-Tails' cooperation, I can't think of any other reason," Jiraiya said with a light sigh.
This was Jiraiya's biggest discovery in that battle.
Normally, without the Tailed Beast's cooperation, it was impossible to maintain reason with more than half of the Tailed Beast's power. And naturally, one would enter the semi-Tailed Beast mode.
On the battlefields of the past, as a top combat power of the Leaf, Jiraiya had witnessed Tailed Beast Jinchuriki from other villages showing their power several times. Even if the Nine-Tails was special, it still belonged to the sequence of Tailed Beasts, right? It couldn't be that special, right?
"Since that's the case, Jiraiya, I must say, we have to make a decision. If we let the situation continue to deteriorate, it will definitely be a heavy blow to the Leaf. You should understand this!" Tsunade took a deep breath, looking at Jiraiya with a very determined look.
Unlike the shamelessness of the Leaf's F4 (Danzo and the elders), Jiraiya and Tsunade still had some conscience. Both were clear that purely on the issue of right and wrong, Menma was the correct party. It was the Leaf that wronged Menma, wronged the couple Minato and Kushina, not Menma wronging the Leaf.
But again, this wasn't a simple question of right and wrong, but a question of choosing sides.
If Menma had stayed in the Hidden Leaf Village and was willing to fight for the Leaf, the remaining problems could be solved. Even settling the accounts of the past a bit wouldn't be impossible.
The prerequisite was that the stance couldn't be crooked.
But now it was different. Menma had defected and killed a double-digit number of Leaf ninja. This was a well-known fact. Thus, the nature of the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
As the Kage of the village, determined to protect it, Tsunade absolutely could not accept the village being destroyed by Menma one day in the future.
Since Menma had shown such a resolute posture, Tsunade absolutely couldn't continue to delay.
"This..." Hearing Tsunade's words, Jiraiya's face changed involuntarily. He certainly knew what the most correct course of action was. He had held onto a shred of hope before because he hadn't seen Menma's resoluteness.
But after experiencing this confrontation, seeing Menma not hesitating to kill him, and recalling what happened at the Valley of the End, Jiraiya had to admit that Menma already posed a fatal threat to the Leaf.
If they couldn't make up their minds, disaster would descend on the Hidden Leaf Village sooner or later. This was definitely not a joke, but something that could realistically happen.
"Jiraiya..." Seeing Jiraiya still hesitating, Tsunade couldn't help but continue.
But before she could finish...
"I understand what you mean, Tsunade. Leave it to me. Don't worry, if everything really reaches an irreversible point, I will personally end this mistake!" Jiraiya took a deep breath, nodded heavily, and said with an unprecedentedly determined tone.
"If it's too hard for you, let me handle it, Jiraiya. After all, that is Minato's son."
"No, precisely because he is Minato's child, this is the responsibility I need to bear. Don't worry, Tsunade. I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku!" Seeming to see the worry hidden under Tsunade's beautiful eyes, Jiraiya laughed, pretending to be carefree and speaking heroically.
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya steadily, wanting to say something, but finally swallowed it back. Just as Jiraiya knew her well, Tsunade also knew Jiraiya well.
"Then I leave it to you, Jiraiya!" Tsunade looked directly at Jiraiya, saying word by word.
"Mhm, don't worry. I will investigate Orochimaru's side and the Mist ninja. If there is any situation, I will tell you immediately. As for the Cloud ninja, exercise some restraint; that Fourth Raikage might not really dare to start a war," Jiraiya nodded and said to Tsunade in a very serious tone.
"Mhm, I understand." Tsunade nodded lightly in response.