In Konoha: Three Choices at the Start

Holding Mikoto close and breathing in her sweet scent, Liuyun drifted off to sleep.

When he woke again, it was to Tsunade shouting.

Liuyun opened his sleepy eyes and looked irritably at the buxom woman before him.

"Time to eat!" Tsunade said flatly.

Meals at the border camp worked like a factory cafeteria: line up for food, then find a corner to squat in and eat.

Senior figures like Tsunade had their own tents and meals prepared separately.

Liuyun and the other two ate in Tsunade's tent.

After dinner, Tsunade sent Nawaki and Mikoto back, keeping Liuyun behind.

Tsunade took an iron rod and stirred the burning firewood beside her, her beautiful eyes fixed on Liuyun. "If you've got something to say, say it! You're making me uncomfortable!"

Her stare was getting unsettling. Liuyun spoke helplessly.

She considered it for a moment. "Nawaki already told me what happened. I want to hear what you think."

"The whole story?" Liuyun raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Nawaki's Transformation Technique shouldn't have fooled the jonin leading the team, but he still got out. I can't make sense of it."

"Didn't he know how important Nawaki is?" Tsunade asked, her face tight with anger.

(Rem? Asuna? Madou? Airi? Want any of them? Send me some flowers!)

Conspiracy Theories for Tsunade About This Mission! (Fifth Update!)

Ding! Your first wife has noticed something is wrong. Please choose!

1. Laugh it off and reassure Tsunade that she's overthinking things! Reward: physical constitution increased by 10%.

2. Tell Tsunade everything you know! Reward: Chakra increased by 20%!

3. Tell Tsunade everything you know and help the Senju Clan avert its destruction! Reward: Intermediate Sage Body.

Well, there's no real choice here. System, I pick the third option.

Feigning a moment of thought, Liuyun said gravely,

"Do you really want the answer? I'm afraid even you might not be able to bear it."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, urgency creeping into her voice. "What do you know? Tell me!"

"You won't regret it?"

"No. I want to know everything!" Tsunade said firmly.

"All right. Let's start with Nawaki."

Liuyun told Tsunade how Nawaki had overheard ninjas from the Sarutobi Family discussing the supply convoy.

He went on to explain how Nawaki had come to him, how he had exposed the scheme, how they had left Konoha, and everything else.

"Don't you find it strange that two Sarutobi Family ninjas knew the list of people being sent to the front?"

"After learning it, they didn't keep it secret. They happened to discuss it at the training ground, where Nawaki happened to overhear them."

"And when I pointed out that Nawaki wasn't supposed to be on the supply team,"

"why did Aoto Iseki have the authority to send him to the battlefield?"

"And I hardly need to say anything about Nawaki's Transformation Technique, do I?"

"You're saying... it was all a planned conspiracy?"

Tsunade's eyes flickered. She clenched her teeth, her face blazing with anger.

Killing intent rolled off her, and her voice turned icy. "Who wants Nawaki dead? Who?"

"Harming Nawaki was secondary. Their main target this time was me." Liuyun gave a careless smile.

"You?" Tsunade looked puzzled.

"With Nawaki, all they could do was lure him in. If he'd refused to come, who on the supply team would have been the most valuable target? Or rather, who absolutely had to go?"

"You, of course," Tsunade answered without hesitation.

"Exactly. This supply run was a trap from the start, aimed at me."

"They only thought to use Nawaki afterward. And the fool was so pleased with himself, thinking his Transformation Technique had fooled a jonin!"

"He had no idea it was all a plot." Liuyun shook his head slightly.

Tsunade's face darkened. She felt worse by the moment. "You knew it was a trap all along."

"I knew when Nawaki came to ask for my help. Aoto Iseki's willingness to send him to the battlefield confirmed it." Liuyun gave a cold laugh.

"Then the Sand Ninja Beheading Squad that ambushed you...?"

"Someone tipped off the Sand Ninja! Ebizo said it himself. Someone secretly leaked our transport route to them!"

"Damn it! Who was it? Which bastard?"

Tsunade clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, wishing she could tear the mastermind apart.

"You've already worked out the answer. Hiruzen Sarutobi may not have done it himself, but he definitely knew about it!"

Tsunade fell silent.

She had sensed something odd about the affair, but she had never imagined it was this dark—or that her own teacher was involved.

Senju Nawaki had secretly left Konoha and joined the supply team. Then Sand Ninja ambushed the entire convoy at the border and wiped it out.

"If you questioned him, Hiruzen Sarutobi could deny any responsibility. Nawaki ran away on his own, after all. It had nothing to do with him."

"And if the Sand Ninja attacked the convoy, you couldn't blame him for that either. How could he have known they'd find out about the supply team?"

"If nothing unexpected had happened, Nawaki, everyone else, and I would have died. All you could have done was cry and turn your anger on the Sand Ninja."

"Three gains in one stroke. Too bad they didn't know how strong I really am."

Liuyun spoke quietly, laying out every hidden piece of the conspiracy for Tsunade.

Tsunade went pale. Disbelief filled her beautiful eyes as she pictured her teacher's kindly face, and she shook her head.

"Impossible. My teacher would never do anything that harmed Konoha. He wouldn't!"

Then let's try another angle. Liuyun scoffed inwardly. This time, he would shatter Tsunade's image of Hiruzen Sarutobi for good.

"At the end of the First Shinobi World War, the Second Hokage had spent half the Senju Clan's strength. Before he died, he passed the Hokage Position to Hiruzen Sarutobi."

"So tell me: more than twenty years later, has the Senju Clan recovered its former vitality?"

Before Tsunade could answer, Liuyun continued.

"No, has it? All I see is a Senju Clan sinking further into decline."

"The Senju Clan helped found Konoha. Of course we should lead from the front," Tsunade argued softly.

She still could not believe her teacher was such a dark-hearted man.

"Heh. Lead from the front? Konoha has plenty of clans. Why must it always be the Senju Clan?"

"You lost so many people in the First Shinobi World War. The other clans barely suffered at all!"

"Even the losses they did take were a drop in the bucket!"

Tsunade said nothing. Her clan had suffered the worst losses in that war. Compared to the Senju, the other clans' losses really were insignificant.

"Whenever a talented member of your clan shows promise, don't they somehow end up assigned a dangerous mission?"

"And then all that comes back is news of their death."

Tsunade frowned and thought carefully about his words.

Her cousin and her father's cousin had both met that fate.

Every young Senju who reached Elite Jonin had been sent on a dangerous mission by her teacher, and then...

"But ninjas have to take missions, don't they?"

Tsunade argued again, though her pale face betrayed her uncertainty.

"Whether you see it or not, I can only tell you this: if you keep charging ahead without thinking,"

"and don't start using your head, the Senju Clan will be on the brink of extinction after the Second Shinobi World War!"

Liuyun stood and headed outside. He had said enough for one night.

Tsunade needed time to think it through. They were at the front now, and there was plenty of time. He could take it slowly.

(Can we hit 10,000 flowers before the release, folks? This little author is trembling! Please send flowers!)

Liuyun: Thanks for the Treat, Mikoto! (First Update!)

"You're leaving? That's all you're going to say? What did you mean about the Senju Clan going extinct?"

Seeing Liuyun about to leave, Tsunade grew anxious.

"There's still some time. The Senju Clan won't be wiped out just yet, because they're still wary of that old-timer in your family."

"My grandmother?"

"That's enough for today. Once you've had time to fully absorb what I've told you, we can talk about the rest."

By the time he said the last words, Liuyun had vanished from Tsunade's sight.

Tsunade fell silent. What Liuyun had told her had hit her hard.

Above all, it had overturned everything she thought she knew about her teacher.

"No... no. My teacher wouldn't be that kind of person."

Tsunade shook her head and murmured to herself, still unable to believe it.

When Liuyun returned to their tent, Mikoto was sitting with her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, her bright eyes fixed unblinkingly on the entrance.

As soon as she saw him, she hurried over, a radiant smile lighting her face.

"You're back!"

"I am. Still awake?" Liuyun scooped Mikoto into his arms, looking at her tenderly.

"I'm a little scared," Mikoto whispered, lowering her head against his chest.

She had come close to death today and watched so many companions die.

It had been the kind-hearted girl's first time on a battlefield. Of course she was frightened.

He gently kissed Mikoto's forehead, his voice warm but resolute.

"It's all right. You've got me, your husband. As long as I'm here, anyone who wants to hurt you will have to get through me first!"

No sooner had he said it than something soft touched his lips.

Mikoto pressed her small, fair hand over his mouth, her expression serious. "Don't talk about dying. Please, never say that again."

Liuyun nodded.

Suddenly, Mikoto shivered. Her face flushed red, and she snatched her hand away from his mouth.

"You... you're awful," she murmured.

"Heh, thanks for the compliment, honey!"

Liuyun set Mikoto down on the tatami. Just as they were about to sleep, another system choice appeared in his mind.

Ding! The host has been through his first battle and should unwind!

1. Have Mikoto put on any outfit from the seven-day set and share a potassium iodide kiss even longer than the one with Kushina! Reward: physical constitution increased by 10%!

2. Have Mikoto put on any outfit from the seven-day set, then hold her and go straight to sleep! Reward: Mental Energy increased by 10%!

3. Have Mikoto put on black stockings, nibble her little feet in front of her for five minutes, then say, "Thanks for the treat!" Reward: Aokiji's lifetime of insights into the Ice-Ice Fruit!

Liuyun picked the third option without a second thought!

As the Ice-Ice Fruit's wielder in One Piece, Aokiji had developed its powers to the point of Awakening, perhaps even beyond.