The Kazekage's Disappearance

"He left in the end."

Muzan let out a long sigh after hearing the news as he looked at the empty laboratory. Tsunade had been both a teacher and a friend to him.

Although he had taken a punch from her, there was no denying that Tsunade had helped Muzan tremendously.

Not only had he inherited her ninjutsu, but when she finally left, she publicly declared Muzan to be her unofficial disciple.

Anko and Mari had told Muzan this news. He had remained in the laboratory during this time, and on top of being confined to Konoha by the Hokage for a month, no one had come to visit him.

"After Lady Tsunade left the village, the impact on Konoha was huge. So many Medical Ninja wanted to follow after her, but she scolded them all and sent them back."

Anko ate dango as though the events of that morning were still playing before her eyes. She described the situation to Muzan, then suddenly remembered his relationship with Tsunade and asked curiously:

"Lady Tsunade didn't come say goodbye to you before she left?"

Sensing Muzan's dejection, Mari immediately cut off their conversation and leaned close to Anko's ear, whispering:

"Anko... you probably shouldn't ask that. Maybe Lady Tsunade had something urgent to do. She only took one person with her."

The two of them went back and forth, telling Muzan about Tsunade's departure. When he heard that she had taken someone with her, Muzan recalled having met that girl before.

"Shizune? Looks like this will be a long journey. Still, she didn't even tell me before leaving. Did she think I'd try to persuade her to stay in the village too?"

Tsunade had feelings for Konoha. After all, this was the place her grandfather and granduncle had protected, the place where she had been born and raised. Otherwise, she would not have rushed back during its most critical hour.

"I'll treat you to red bean dango, so don't be sad anymore..."

"Your dango are too small. I don't want them."

Even Anko, carefree as she was, could sense the melancholy hanging around Muzan at that moment.

But it was not what they thought. Muzan was not saddened by Tsunade's departure.

His sense of loss came from being unable to leave the village—more precisely, from being unable to live freely.

"Hahaha! I really am an idiot. Once I develop the Twelve Kizuki and overcome my own weaknesses, I'll tear down this rotten system!"

Hearing Muzan laugh wildly, the two were completely baffled. They thought he had gone mad from overwhelming grief...

"Mari, our teammate has turned into an idiot. Should we ask Teacher Orochimaru to let us switch teammates?"

"Probably not. Muzan is a Medical Ninja, after all. He can treat mental illnesses."

Muzan's laughter abruptly stopped halfway through. He glared at them with a dark expression, then sent each of them flying into the ceiling with a punch.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"A lesson for the two of you!"

He drove them both out of the laboratory. If they damaged it while fooling around, Director Harano would kill him!

They did not plan to take any missions this month. The only missions available in the village were D-rank missions, so they might as well rest up and prepare for the coming war.

Muzan accompanied Anko and Mari to the bustling district, but compared with its usual lively traffic, the area had entered a rare period of decline.

Many merchants had caught the scent of war, especially along the trade routes near Konoha.

Quite a few rogue ninja had appeared, causing needless trouble for merchant caravans. Aside from Konoha's local merchants or those guarded by ninja, few dared risk transporting goods.

After finishing the last skewer of dango, Anko pulled a long face, stuck out her lips, and held out her hand.

"Prices have gone up so much lately. Dango have nearly doubled in price. Can you lend me some money?"

"But I don't have much money left either..."

Looking at her empty purse, Mari took out a few coins. She was truly down to nothing now.

"Are you two immortals or something?"

"You've got some nerve saying that, Muzan! You have to give me a bigger share of the money!"

Half of the reward money from their missions had to be handed over to Orochimaru. The remaining half was split evenly among the three of them.

But Muzan deliberately withheld a portion of it.

His reasoning was that whenever they encountered powerful ninja, he was the one who dealt with them, so he deserved the lion's share of the mission rewards.

As a result, the amount of money that reached the two girls' hands was pitifully small.

"Stop buying food. The remaining funds need to be used to purchase Explosive Tags and Kunai."

What was the most profitable business during wartime? Naturally, arms dealing.

For ninja, they could survive in the wilderness or prepare a small amount of Military Rations Pills, but no ninja could do without weapons.

When the three arrived at the weapon shop, they heard a crowd ahead of them complaining.

"What the hell is this? Life is already hard enough for us, and now those bastards from Sunagakure are coming here looking for their missing Kazekage!"

"It wasn't us who did it. Who the hell knows where their Kazekage ran off to?"

"Sunagakure has been making quite a few moves lately, sending most of their ninja out to search for the Kazekage. Is their village a joke or something?"

A group of Sunagakure ninja had gone out some time ago, causing quite a stir. Everyone had thought Sunagakure, which had always liked taking advantage of others, would take the initiative and start a war. Instead, their own Kazekage had vanished!

It was simply ridiculous!

"The spark has appeared."

Sunagakure would probably have a rough time in the coming days.

"Do you two want to make a fortune?"

Looking at the two blankly munching on food, Muzan gave up. Two little brats were unworthy of joining his grand plan to get rich!

Although Explosive Tag prices were rising, they had not yet reached an outrageous level. Muzan's research required not only skill, but also huge amounts of funding!

Orochimaru's cooperation with Danzo proved it. Even a Kage Level powerhouse did not have enough money to sustain continuous research.

"Ahem, Anko, I remember you have a lot of secret savings. Could you lend me some?"

"No money!"

After borrowing from everyone he could, Muzan finally scraped together a huge amount of money. Today would be the day he fought a bloody battle at the weapon shop.

Of course, if Konoha imposed controls on these weapons, Muzan would lose everything, even have to sell the clothes off his back.

All in!

He already had nothing left. What difference would a little more debt make?

While Muzan took the two girls all in, the atmosphere in Konoha's Hokage Office was exceptionally grim. Everyone was looking at the Hokage.

"Sunagakure has gone too far this time! What does the disappearance of their Kazekage have to do with us?"

The moment Danzo finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others all looked at him. If the Kazekage's disappearance really was Konoha's doing, then Danzo must have been behind it.

"You needn't suspect me. This old man would not bother targeting a mere Sunagakure."

Whether or not Konoha had anything to do with it, Sunagakure would not let this opportunity slip by. Their so-called alliance was built upon interests and strength.

Although Sunagakure was counted among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, its strength had always been the weakest.

That was why they chose to cooperate with Konoha most of the time. But the moment Konoha showed even the slightest sign of weakness, they would be the first to swoop in and take advantage.