Life Is a Stage, and Acting Is Everything

Konoha Camp in the Land of Rivers.

Minato looked at Obito and the others with a solemn expression. Others might not know, but he certainly did. The current Konoha Camp had no need to go out on missions that lasted for such a long time.

Moreover, this involves drawing different teams to carry out the mission together; if such a mission existed, he couldn't possibly be unaware of it.

"Minato-sensei, is there a problem?" Kakashi realized something was wrong and quickly asked.

"It's too early to say!" Minato looked at the children before him and made a decision. "Come with me. Let's go check on the mission."

He waved to the group and led the way toward the Central Army Tent.

Upon arriving at the Central Army Tent, Jiraiya immediately noticed the group that had entered. He couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Minato, weren't you on a mission? Why are you bringing these brats here with you!"

"Jiraiya- sensei!" Minato said sternly, "Have you sent Yohei on any mission?"

"Yohei?" Jiraiya, ever the lazybones he is, had his idle nature reawakened by the recent leisure. "What mission is there for that brat right now? Wouldn't that be a waste of his talent?"

But as he spoke, he sensed something was wrong, and his expression gradually turned serious. "You mean Yohei went out on a mission? How long has he been gone?"

Minato nodded. "They've been gone for two days."

97

Jiraiya's vision went black. Yohei possessed the strength of a Jonin. Every mission he carried out, whether assigned or self-selected, was reported to him immediately. This was a rule to ensure that the Commander was always aware of the status of the Camp's high-level combat forces.

Yohei has been gone for two days now, and he hasn't received a single message from him. Something must be wrong.

For a moment, Jiraiya dared not think any further.

A question from the Uchiha?

A word of advice from Taiichi?

The conflict between the village and the Uchiha?

Various consequences flashed through Jiraiya's mind, causing even this Kage Level ninja to feel a headache.

"Kakashi, recount everything that happened when Yohei accepted the mission, and the others can add to it."

This is also why Minato brought Kakashi and the others here, hoping to glean some clues from their accounts.

Kakashi also knew the seriousness of the problem. Someone had faked a mission to lure Yohei out of the Camp, and two days had passed. He didn't know if Yohei was safe.

He quickly gathered his thoughts and recalled what had happened, recounting the events bit by bit. During this time, Saori and Rin added to the story, gradually reconstructing the entire incident.

"Teacher, Yohei checked the Secret Rune and confirmed the scroll was correct before accepting the mission. The Camp has been smuggled in by someone," Minato said coldly. He was being tactful; if we were to be serious, the matter was quite grave.

Jiraiya's face turned truly dark. Someone had impersonated him and given false missions to the ninjas on the front lines. In that case, even he couldn't escape the blame for negligence in supervision.

Moreover, from Kakashi's description, he immediately realized that it was most likely the work of Root. Danzo of Danzo's fear of the Uchiha, Jiraiya gritted his teeth in hatred.

If Danzo in front of him right now, he would want to tear the guy to pieces. Doesn't he consider the consequences at all? How many people did Yohei involve? He even personally vouched for him, and yet this still happened. He doesn't believe the Hokage didn't tell Danzo about the stakes involved.

That means he did this entirely out of selfish desire, and he truly deserves to die.

"Say something! Is there any way to fix this? Is my cousin in grave danger?" Obito was extremely anxious. Despite often getting beaten up by Yohei, the two had a very close relationship.

Minato shook his head helplessly. "The other side is very cautious. There are no mission records at the Central Army Tent. They've used the excuse of secrecy to prevent Yohei from revealing any information to you. We don't even know where he is now, so we can't do anything."

"What are we going to do then? Just wait here like this?!" Obito's words were already tinged with anger.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Saori spoke up, "The situation might not be so urgent."

All eyes turned to Saori, who gently brushed a stray hair behind her ear and said, "Yohei has Sealing Talisman made by Taiichi and a specially crafted Flying Thunder God Kunai. If they really encounter danger, he can call Taiichi immediately. So the danger shouldn't be too great."

Everyone's eyes lit up. Not only would there be no danger, but as long as they called for help in time, Taiichi would definitely be able to escape back.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that no one was hurt. As long as everyone was safe, everything could be salvaged.

"Alright, now that Yohei's safety is assured, you kids should go do what you were doing and stop obstructing our work."

Jiraiya started driving people away, he showed none of the spirit of sharing joys and sorrows that the others had shown when they were going through the same troubles together.

"What? Lord Jiraiya is kicking me while I'm down! I want to know more about Yohei."

Obito kept shouting, but he couldn't resist being dragged away by Kakashi and Rin. When only Jiraiya and Minato remained in the tent, the atmosphere became heavy again.

"Teacher, what are your plans to do about this?" Minato asked cautiously, glancing at Jiraiya's expression.

Jiraiya silent, his eyes filled with worry and resentment. The impact of this incident was far too severe. Even before the news had spread, he dared not imagine the terrible impact it would have on the ninjas on the front lines if it were to get out.

Everyone would be worried, afraid that they had received a fake mission. If that were the case, then there would be no need to fight in Konoha anymore; everyone could just go home, wash up, and go to sleep.

Danzo Danzo's brain been eaten by a pig? How could he do something so idiotic?

"When Yohei returns, he'll have the evidence we need. This time, we must be fully prepared and teach Danzo a lesson he won't forget."

"What the teacher means is—if even this can't completely disintegrate Danzo, shouldn't he be severely punished at this crucial moment to set an example?"

Minato found it hard to believe that such a serious crime—faking a mission and even killing a fellow villager—could be let off the hook.

Jiraiya said helplessly, "That's precisely why we can't severely punish Danzo. The Western Front is currently being held up Root by Danzo. If we take down Danzo now, the entire Western Front will collapse instantly. I absolutely will not take that risk."

"This matter can't just be left unresolved, can it? If it does, won't everyone on the front lines live in fear?" Minato's eyes widened, his gaze clear like that of a newbie.

"How could that be? Don't forget, I'm still here. And don't forget, the real victim in this matter is Yohei Uchiha. Behind him is the Uchiha Clan. If the old man can't give the Uchiha a satisfactory answer, the consequences will be no less severe than the collapse of a Western Front."

Jiraiya explained to Minato with a self-deprecating tone, but his eyes were filled with worry.

There's one more thing he didn't mention: Taiichi's attitude. The fact that Taiichi had specifically come to him to ask about Yohei's situation shows how much Taiichi cares about his two teammates. Most importantly, Taiichi is no longer a nobody; his strength and reputation are now formidable and cannot be easily manipulated.

Jiraiya gazed towards Konoha, as if trying to leap across endless space to see his teacher in the Hokage's Office, wondering what outcome he would ultimately take.

While Jiraiya and the others were deeply troubled by Yohei's situation, Yohei himself was in considerable pain. Taiichi had not fully healed his injuries, leaving a significant portion intact.

After all, it would be unreasonable to be ambushed without getting injured, and being injured would also earn him some sympathy.

So Yangping could only drag his ailing body and stagger from the Land of Rain all the way to the camp in the Land of Rivers.

That's right, Yohei headed to the Camp alone. In order to create a tragic sense of being tricked, Taiichi and Yohei decided after discussion that they should return in a rather miserable state.

At least on the surface, in order to quell everyone's suspicions, the village needs to give everyone a satisfactory solution. Otherwise, if they just quietly go back, the higher-ups might suppress the news.

After three days of tireless trekking and exhausting his Chakra, Yohei finally returned to the Konoha Camp.

He had barely reached the Camp entrance when he staggered and collapsed to the ground, then lost consciousness.

He saved himself some trouble by lying down, but it caused quite a stir at the Camp entrance.

Yohei is no longer an unknown figure. He attracted a lot of attention from the moment he appeared in the Camp's sight, and everyone was already surprised to see that he was injured.

Unexpectedly, he collapsed on the ground as soon as he arrived at the Camp. How serious must his injuries have been to render such a powerful ninja like this?

The news spread like wildfire, and a large number of idle ninjas rushed over to see what was going on.

Jiraiya quickly received the news, and his first reaction was that it was impossible. According to Saori, Yohei shouldn't be like this.

But then he realized that Yohei had returned alone, still covered in wounds. This was Yohei and Taiichi's counterattack. He just didn't know what their plan was, and he hoped they wouldn't go too far.

He immediately got up and walked outside, determined to go and see for himself no matter what.

When Jiraiya saw Yohei again, they were already at the Medical Camp, Director Fujita was giving him a thorough examination and treatment.

About half an hour later, Director Fujita finished the treatment and stood up. She saw Jiraiya standing behind her. Knowing that this was an emergency, she did not hesitate and immediately began to report.

"He sustained multiple injuries, mostly from Wind Style and Fire Style. Although the injuries weren't serious, the lack of timely treatment caused some minor wounds to escalate into major ones. As for the reason he fell unconscious, it was likely due to exhaustion; he probably hadn't rested for two or three days."

Although Director Fujita was unaware of the inside story, his analysis was indeed very objective and accurate. However, it sounded particularly grating to Jiraiya's ears. He slightly twitched his lips, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Those two troublesome little brats were always causing him trouble.

But he still had to cooperate, which made him quite frustrated.

When will Yohei wake up?

Director Fujita glanced back at Yohei on the bed, a relieved smile on his face. "Two or three hours, I guess. He's only unconscious now because he's recovering his strength. He should wake up in three hours at most."

Jiraiya gave Yohei a deep look. These two guys are really going all out. "Alright, I'll come back in three hours."

He knew that these three hours were the time Taiichi and Yohei had given him to make a decision: whether to work together to hold the higher-ups accountable and put pressure on them, or to downplay the matter. It all depended on his next decision. After Jiraiya left, the other friends finally had a chance to gather around.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Logically, with Taiichi present, this situation shouldn't have occurred, but it actually happened.

No one was stupid; even Obito didn't speak rashly. The situation was too complicated. All they could do was silently protect the unconscious Yohei.

Three hours passed in a flash, and with a soft groan, Yohei, who had been lying down for half a day, finally opened his eyes.

Jiraiya, Minato, Shikaku, and two other advisors were all at his bedside, Kakashi and the others were kept on the periphery. This gathering clearly indicated that they hadn't come specifically to visit him.

Yohei Ping instantly recalled Taiichi's instructions. It seemed that Jiraiya didn't want to let this matter pass so easily and wanted to use this opportunity to put pressure on the higher-ups, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people here.

With this thought in mind, Yohei immediately came up with a response. His face instantly darkened, and he uttered a shocking statement.

"Lord Jiraiya, a spy within the Camp!"

The three staff officers looked at each other in dismay. None of them knew the inside story. They were all shocked to hear that there was a spy in the Camp. This was no small matter; it was a matter that could endanger the life and death of the entire Camp.

"A spy? How do you know there's a spy? Is it related to your mission?"

Jiraiya is a true actor; those unfamiliar with him would never guess that he was cooperating with Yohei in a charade.

Yohei was agitated and struggled to get up, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to fall heavily back onto the bed.

Saori, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward and helped Yohei sit up. Jiraiya's eyebrows twitched Jiraiya he watched, secretly marveling at how dedicated these kids were to acting these days, but he still played along, saying, "You don't need to get up, just sit and talk!"

"Yes, thank you Lord Jiraiya."

After Yohei composed himself, he continued, "The mission I received this time was fake. Someone in the Camp was colluding with the enemy and fabricated a mission to lure me out."

As he spoke, he took out a scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch and handed it to Jiraiya; it was the same Mission Scroll from before.

Jiraiya took the scroll, carefully checked its authenticity, and then looked at the mission details inside. He then handed the scroll to Minato so they could take a look as well.

When the scroll returned to Jiraiya's hand after making its way around, he said with certainty, "The scroll is genuine. This is not something an outsider could forge. It seems there is indeed a problem within our ranks."

This defines the nature of the problem and acknowledges what Yohei said: that there were problems within their organization.