Captive

Though he did not understand why Dada cared so much about the captive, A still accompanied him to where the prisoner was being held.

Three days earlier, while A had been battling Torifu Akimichi, Yotsuki Ki had protected Dada and withdrawn to a distance, while Anzai Mamoru and Kawanishi Kyohei had not been idle either.

After being beaten so badly before, with their Raikage now backing them up and instantly wiping out most of the enemy's fighting force, they naturally would not let Tsunade and the other two escape in such a sorry state with Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

The two of them chased them all the way to the edge of the Land of Fire, but in the end, only one person was left behind.

When Dada spotted that golden hair from afar, he thought, Just as expected.

It was said that the other side had intended to leave one person behind to cover the retreat while the other two quickly crossed the border back into the Land of Fire for reinforcements.

Tsunade, who had stayed behind, was indeed troublesome. Facing the weakened Anzai Mamoru and Kawanishi Kyohei, she had delayed them for a long time. Unfortunately, her luck was poor. After dealing with Torifu Akimichi, A arrived and captured her alive with ease.

Since the group was still staying in Old Man Jishi's courtyard, and more than ten people had been squeezed into a place originally meant for one, there was naturally no spare room for a prisoner. Thus, when Dada saw her, Tsunade was tied to a tree.

Holding a ninja prisoner was more troublesome. Simple restraints could easily be broken, so Kawanishi Kyohei and Anzai Mamoru had taken turns watching Tsunade over the past few days.

Being hung from a tree for three days was clearly no pleasant experience. Tsunade's face was haggard, and she seemed to be resting with her eyes closed. Even when she heard someone arrive, she did not open them.

"We questioned her briefly. This woman calls herself Yamada Sayuri. There's a ninety percent chance it's a false name," A said.

Still somewhat weak, Dada held the Third Raikage's hand as he walked over, eyeing Tsunade hanging in midair with a strange expression.

What kind of awful name was Yamada Sayuri?

"Father, are you sure she isn't using the Transformation Jutsu?"

"Of course. How could I fail to notice if she were?"

Hearing a child's voice, Tsunade finally opened her eyes. Though she had lost a great deal of weight and looked like skin and bones, she would recognize this little brat even if he turned to ashes.

It was this brat who had somehow hidden his Chakra fluctuations and launched a sudden attack, allowing them to catch up and leading to this terrible outcome.

Tsunade gritted her teeth.

Dada fearlessly held her gaze for a long while, only stopping after she looked away first.

"Did she say why they attacked us?"

"She said they were investigating why the village was searching outside for Kekkei Genkai Families, and mistakenly believed you were members of a small clan in the midst of migration."

A naturally did not believe that so easily. However, his attention these past few days had been focused on Dada. Once this Konohagakure ninja was brought back to Kumogakure, the interrogation unit would take care of her.

Speaking of which, he had rushed here using the Heavenly Transfer Technique, while Dodai had led others here by conventional means. Counting the days, they should be arriving soon.

Tsunade's strategy, meanwhile, was to define the incident as a misunderstanding—there truly had been plenty of coincidence involved—so there would still be room to maneuver. Most importantly, nine parts truth and one part lie; she absolutely could not expose her identity.

She was the princess of the Senju Clan, the First Hokage's granddaughter, and the Third Hokage's direct disciple. Once her identity was exposed, no matter what she personally wanted, the village would have to pay an enormous price...

Even if her teacher were prepared to go to war with Kumogakure, she would become the bargaining chip that would put Konohagakure in the most difficult position.

In truth, when she had stayed behind to protect Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Tsunade had prepared herself to die rather than be captured. Unfortunately, the Third Raikage had arrived too quickly. Before she even had a chance to fight desperately, she had been knocked unconscious and carried back.

Back in the present, Dada looked at Tsunade with an ambiguous smile. Rather than expose her on the spot, he said, "Father, let's go back."

Tsunade sensed the mockery in Dada's eyes, but she had no standing to ask him about it.

Afterward, the Third Raikage A took Dada to see Old Man Jishi. Only then did Dada learn that while he had been unconscious, his father had successfully persuaded Old Man Jishi. The old man had agreed to leave with them and join Kumogakure.

"Father, how did you do it?" Dada was genuinely surprised this time. He could not imagine how someone like Old Man Jishi, who desired nothing and seemed ready to be buried at any moment, had been persuaded.

The Third Raikage replied with only two words: "Sincerity!"

Dada imagined his father gripping Jishi's head in one hand and lifting Old Man Jishi into the air.

"I feel like you're thinking about something very disrespectful." The Third Raikage raised an eyebrow.

"No, no!"

Well, whatever. As the Raikage, Father personally making a move was certainly sincere enough, and he had greater authority than anyone else. This was a good thing.

It was foreseeable that Kumogakure's Medical Ninjutsu would be greatly strengthened in the future.

And not just Medical Ninjutsu. The Art of Life Peering and the Art of Life Restoration were far more valuable than that. Those were merely what had been revealed so far. Who knew how much more Old Man Jishi had yet to uncover? The village had found a treasure this time.

Additionally, Anzai Mamoru, who had always been deeply enthusiastic about Medical Ninjutsu, had formally begun studying under Old Man Jishi with the Raikage as witness. He could be considered half a disciple now.

During Dada's unconsciousness, Old Man Jishi had also conducted a thorough examination. The diagnosis was largely the same as before, but after two exhausting bursts of power, his physical condition had worsened considerably.

"So the most important thing for you next is only one thing."

"What?"

"Training!"

"Anzai Mamoru and Kawanishi Kyohei have already described your clash with the Konohagakure ninjas. We were clearly wrong to deliberately suppress the methods you used to refine Chakra. From now on, aside from nursing your body back to health, you must refine as much Chakra as possible, shake off your current condition as soon as you can, and return to the clan. Once we're back, you'll be provided with ample food and medicinal ingredients. Eat more, train more!" The Third Raikage said with a smile, rubbing Dada's head.

Confirming that Dada possessed a powerful Kekkei Genkai was naturally exciting. The elders of the clan would probably be too thrilled to sleep again.

Still, the relaxed training schedule of fishing for three days and drying nets for five was probably history now. He was likely about to be put through some brutal training.

"Dada, you did very well this time. The Will of Lightning means charging forward with me. Hahaha! As expected of my son."

"Oh, not at all. Ahaha, ahahaha," Dada said, pretending to be modest.

In the Land of Fire, at Leaf Ninja Village, a ninja wearing a green vest appeared at the village gates.

"Urgent intelligence!" Without stopping, the newcomer nailed his identification papers to the gate with a Kunai and vanished again in an instant.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a meeting at the time, struggling with how to persuade the various ninja clans to send more ninjas into the Anbu, when he received an urgent report from a border ninja: Jiraiya and Orochimaru had returned wounded, Tsunade was suspected of being captured, and his old comrade Torifu Akimichi was even suspected of having died in battle!

At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought he had smoked too much and was hallucinating.

After forcibly dismissing the clan heads attending the meeting, Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly opened the scroll Jiraiya had written.