Because of a series of unexpected events, Orochimaru had no choice but to call off the mission and return to the temporary camp's command center to report what had happened to Shimura Danzō, the commander-in-chief of the Land of Grass front.
Tsunade had been fighting on the Land of Rain front alongside Hatake Sakumo against the siblings Chiyo and Ebizo of Sunagakure. After hearing the devastating news that Nawaki had stepped on an Explosive Tag trap, she rushed to the temporary camp in the Land of Grass.
A torrential downpour began beneath the gloomy sky. Flashes of lightning tore across the heavens, illuminating Tsunade's stricken face. Thunder roared, as if mourning—or venting its grief...
Perhaps from fear, Tsunade's body trembled with each breath. Just as she was about to go inside to take a look...
"You'd better not go in."
Jiraiya grabbed her by the shoulder and did his best to stop her.
"What does it matter? Let her look. Even if she does, she won't recognize that it's her own little brother."
Leaning against the wall, Orochimaru spoke in a flat tone.
"Stop it, Orochimaru!"
"This is wartime. If you're a ninja, then sooner or later, this will happen to you."
"After all, things can change in an instant on the battlefield. No one can say they'll handle every emergency with ease."
"But children do get carried away easily, especially the day after they receive a birthday present."
As he spoke, Orochimaru took out the necklace Tsunade had given Nawaki the day before...
"Big sis, you're here?"
While Tsunade was still reeling from the double blow of losing her little brother and Orochimaru's words, an ill-timed voice broke the silence between the three of them.
Jiraiya, who was standing off to the side, finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
Seeing Nawaki emerge from the temporary morgue, his body wrapped in bandages with only his eyes showing, Tsunade immediately understood what had happened.
"You three! How dare you gang up on me and pull a prank!"
Tsunade clenched her fist and punched Jiraiya on the crown of his head, then grabbed Orochimaru by the clothes and lifted him right off the ground.
"Especially you, Orochimaru! I never expected you, who always seemed so serious and unsmiling, to be such a convincing actor!"
After giving Jiraiya and Orochimaru a "red envelope" apiece, Tsunade looked at her little brother, dressed in a limited-edition "mysterious bandaged man" outfit. He was equal parts infuriating and hilarious. She sighed, then slowly asked:
"Explain yourselves. What exactly happened?"
"We just came to mourn our fallen comrades. It just so happened that we chose this place to meet. As for the rest, I'm not really sure either. You'd better ask Orochimaru and Nawaki."
Rubbing the "red envelope" on his head, Jiraiya grimaced as he spoke.
"Tsunade, you're too violent."
After making that remark under Tsunade's ferocious glare, Orochimaru began recounting what had happened on the mission.
"By the time I went over to check, I found several different kinds of chakra wrapped around Nawaki. Each had a different role: they'd blocked the fatal damage and begun nourishing and healing his injuries, stabilizing his vital signs and keeping him alive by a thread."
"After feeding him that thing he called a 'dark, round, super-nutritious, healing and restorative multi-purpose pill,' I brought him back to camp for treatment."
Once Orochimaru had finished explaining what happened, Tsunade immediately realized that the gifts Qi Luna and the others had given Nawaki had saved his life.
Then she thought about what could have happened if Nawaki hadn't had Qi Luna's chakra to keep him alive, the Life-Saving Talisman, and Minato's specially made Military Ration Pill. Realizing that Nawaki might truly have died, she broke out in a cold sweat.
Before she could even thank Qi Luna and the others in her heart, Orochimaru's next words made her feel uneasy all over again.
"But there's one thing I still can't figure out. On this classified mission, we not only ran into an ambush by the Stone Ninja, but someone had also planted a large number of traps along our route, right where we had to pass! It was as if they'd known our every move in advance..."
"Are you saying there's a spy in the squad? No, that can't be right. Except for Nawaki, the other members of the reconnaissance squad were all assigned at the last minute. There's no way they could have known about the mission beforehand, let alone sent word right under your nose, Orochimaru... So..."
Jiraiya calmly analyzed the possible ways the information might have leaked. But the more he thought it through, the colder he felt. His eyes were full of disbelief. He shook his head, trying to drive the wild thought from his mind, and muttered to reassure himself:
"Maybe it was just a coincidence..."
"One incident might be a coincidence, but what about two? And it wasn't just that the Stone Ninja's first target was Nawaki. Even after he fell into a trap like that, Rain Ninja still showed up to attack the 'corpse' instead of the medical ninja lying helplessly on the ground..."
"How long are you going to keep being so naive, Jiraiya? Stop fooling yourself!"
Orochimaru's cold words stabbed into Jiraiya and Tsunade's hearts, every syllable like a blade.
After the two of them analyzed the situation, all the evidence ultimately pointed to one man!
"Danzō..."
Tsunade gritted her teeth as she whispered the name. The fury in her eyes and voice made it seem as though she wanted to grind the old rogue's bones to dust!
Seeing Tsunade head for the temporary command center to demand an explanation from Shimura Danzō, Jiraiya reached out and stopped her again.
"You're going to stop me, Jiraiya?"
"Tsunade, don't act on impulse. The war has only just begun. Even if you confront him, he won't admit to a suspicion without any hard evidence. All we'll get is a huge commotion that hurts our army's morale—and nothing else!"
"So we're just supposed to let him do whatever he wants?! Damn it!"
After thinking it over again and again, Tsunade ultimately couldn't get past Jiraiya's light touch. Looking down at her halted steps, she unclenched her fist, seeming to have lost all her strength and options...
Seeing this, Nawaki stepped forward and gently comforted her:
"It's all right, Big Sis. Look, I'm still alive and well, aren't I? I'm a little injured, so I can't fight for a while. But in a few days, I'll go back to the village with the team escorting the bodies of Konoha's fallen ninjas. Then I won't be in any more danger."
Nawaki himself was quite optimistic. Even though the mission had failed, and despite having killed quite a few Stone Ninja—including two Special Jōnin—he still hadn't earned enough merit to be promoted to Jōnin. But he wasn't discouraged. He figured he could just recover back home, then return to the front lines.
As for whether Shimura Danzō had tried to kill him, true or not, he could simply request a transfer to another battlefield and stay far away from him.
Besides, the battlefield between the Land of Rain and Sunagakure was rainy all year round. It would actually be a better place for him to show off his Earth Release and Water Release!
Several days later, Nawaki returned safely to the village with the team escorting the bodies and wounded. They encountered no danger along the way.
After receiving a brief and concise report from the Anbu, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to send more ninjas to the battlefield.
Utatane Koharu would lead the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan, the Mitokado Clan, and the Utatane Clan to reinforce Mitokado Homura and the others, who were defending against the Stone Ninja in the Land of Grass;
Torifu Akimichi and the Hyuga Clan Head would lead the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans and the Hyuga Clan into the fight against Sunagakure;
The smaller clans, such as the Kurama Clan, the Yuhi Clan, the Mitarashi Clan, and the Gekko Clan, would go to the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain under Uchiha Tarken's leadership, ready to follow Shimura Danzō's orders at any time...
However, beyond Sarutobi Hiruzen's plan, there was an extra, short figure behind Uchiha Fugaku...
Before you continue