Chapter 39

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

The next time he woke, Tsunade's shout had roused him.

Liuyun opened his sleepy eyes and glared at the busty woman before him.

"Dinner's ready!" Tsunade said flatly.

At the border camp, mealtimes were like eating in a factory cafeteria: line up for food, then find a corner to squat in and eat.

High-ranking people like Tsunade had their own tents and meals cooked separately.

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

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

Tsunade picked up an iron rod and stirred the burning firewood beside her. Her beautiful eyes stayed fixed on Liuyun. "If you have something to say, just say it! You're making me uncomfortable!"

Her stare was a little unnerving. Liuyun spoke helplessly.

After a moment's thought, she said, "Nawaki already told me what happened. I want to hear your opinion."

"Everything that happened?" Liuyun raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. With Nawaki's Transformation Technique, there's no way he should have fooled the Jonin leading the team. But he still got out. I can't understand it."

"Didn't that man know how important Nawaki is?" Tsunade asked furiously.

(Rem? Asuna? Mado? Airi? Anyone want them? Send some flowers!)

Feeding Tsunade a Conspiracy Theory About This Mission! (Fifth Update!)

"Ding! The host's future wife has realized something is wrong. Please choose!"

1. Laugh it off and reassure Tsunade that she's overthinking it! Reward: physique increases by ten percent.

2. Tell Tsunade everything you know! Reward: Chakra increases by twenty percent!

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 choose the third option.

Pretending to consider it, Liuyun's expression turned grave.

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

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, anxiety 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 two Sarutobi Family ninja talking about the grain convoy.

He told her how Nawaki had come to him, how he had exposed the disguise, and how they had left Konoha—everything.

"Isn't it strange how those two Sarutobi Family ninja knew the roster for the front lines?"

"And after finding out, instead of keeping it secret, they happened to discuss it at the Training Ground, where Nawaki happened to overhear them."

"And why, when I pointed out that Nawaki wasn't supposed to be part of this convoy..."

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

"And I hardly need to explain Nawaki's Transformation Technique, do I?"

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

Tsunade's eyes flickered. She clenched her jaw, her face burning with anger.

Killing intent surged from her, and her voice turned icy. "Who wanted to hurt Nawaki? Who was it?"

"Harming Nawaki was secondary. Their main target this time was me."

Liuyun gave an unconcerned smile.

"You?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.

"With Nawaki, they could only lure him in. If he'd refused, who would have been the most valuable person for this convoy? Or rather, who would have had to go?"

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

"Exactly. This grain delivery was a conspiracy from the start, aimed at me!"

"Nawaki was just an opportunity they seized on the spur of the moment. And the fool was so pleased with himself, thinking his Transformation Technique could fool a Jonin!"

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

Tsunade's face darkened, and her heart sank further. "You knew it was a trap all along."

"I knew when Nawaki came to ask for my help—and when Aoto Iseki dared to send him to the battlefield." Liuyun sneered.

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

"Someone tipped off the Sand Ninja! Ebizo said so himself at the time. Someone secretly leaked our convoy's route to them!"

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

Tsunade clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, wishing she could tear whoever was behind it to pieces.

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

Tsunade fell silent.

She had thought something about the incident was suspicious, but she had never imagined it could be this dark—or that it could involve her own teacher.

"Senju Nawaki sneaked out of Konoha and joined the grain convoy. Then Sand Ninja attacked the convoy at the border and wiped it out."

"If you questioned Hiruzen Sarutobi, he could easily distance himself. Nawaki ran away on his own, after all. It had nothing to do with him."

"And you couldn't blame him for the Sand Ninja attack either. How could he have known they would find our convoy?"

"If things had gone as planned, Nawaki, everyone else, and I would have died. You could have done nothing but cry and direct your anger at the Sand Ninja."

"Three gains in one stroke. Too bad they didn't know my true strength."

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

Tsunade went pale. Disbelief filled her beautiful eyes. Remembering her teacher's kindly face, she hurriedly 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. Tonight, he would shatter Tsunade's image of Hiruzen Sarutobi for good.

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

"So tell me: in the twenty-odd years since that war, has the Senju Clan regained its former strength?"

Before Tsunade could answer, Liuyun continued.

"No, has it? All I've seen is the Senju Clan declining further and further."

"As one of Konoha's founding clans, the Senju Clan naturally had to lead by example," Tsunade countered quietly.

She still could not believe her teacher was such a sinister man.

"Heh. Lead by example? Of all Konoha's clans, why did it have to be the Senju Clan?"

"You lost so many people in that war. The other clans barely suffered any losses!"

"And whatever they did lose was a drop in the bucket!"

Tsunade fell silent. Her clan had suffered the worst losses in that war. Compared with the Senju, the other clans' losses really were negligible.

"Whenever a promising young talent emerged in your clan, didn't they somehow end up assigned to a dangerous mission?"

"And then the next news you heard was that they were dead."

Tsunade frowned, thinking carefully over Liuyun's words.

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

Whenever a young member of the clan reached Elite Jonin level, her teacher sent them on a dangerous mission, and then...

"Ninja have to carry out missions, don't they?"

Tsunade tried to argue again, but her pale face betrayed her.

"Whether you understand or not, I'll tell you this: if you keep acting so recklessly..."

"...and don't start using your head, the Senju Clan will be all but wiped out after the Second Shinobi World War!"

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

Tsunade needed time to think it over. They were at the front lines, after all. There was plenty of time. He could take it slowly.

(Everyone, can we reach ten thousand flowers before release? 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 being wiped out?"

Seeing Liuyun about to leave, Tsunade grew anxious.

"There's still some time. The Senju Clan won't be wiped out just yet. They're still wary of your family's old matriarch."

"My grandmother?"

"That's enough for tonight. Once you've fully digested what I've told you, we can talk about the rest."

By the time Liuyun finished speaking, he had already disappeared from Tsunade's sight.

Tsunade fell silent. What Liuyun had said tonight had shaken her badly.

Above all, it had turned her impression of her teacher upside down.

"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 chin in her hands and her elbows on the table, her bright eyes fixed unblinkingly on the entrance.

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

"You're back!"

"I am! You're still awake?" Liuyun scooped Mikoto up in his arms, looking at her tenderly.

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

Today she had come close to death and seen so many companions killed.

For a kindhearted girl like Mikoto, fear was only natural after her first time on a battlefield.

He kissed her forehead gently, his voice warm but resolute.

"It's all right. Your husband is here. As long as I'm around, anyone who wants to hurt you will have to go through me first!"

The moment he finished, something soft pressed against his lips.

Mikoto had covered his mouth with her small, fair hand. Her expression was solemn. "Don't talk about dying. Please don't say things like that again."

Liuyun nodded!

Suddenly, Mikoto shivered and her face flushed. She pulled her hand from his mouth as quick as lightning.

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

"Heh! Thanks for the compliment, my wife!"

He set Mikoto down on the Tatami. Just as they were about to sleep, the system's choices appeared in his mind again.

"Ding! The host has survived his first battle. It's time to unwind!"

"1. Have Mikoto put on any one of the seven-day outfits and give her a potassium iodide session even longer than Kushina's! Reward: physique increases by ten percent!"

"2. Have Mikoto put on any one of the seven-day outfits, then hold her as you fall asleep. Reward: Mental Energy increases by ten percent!

"3. Have Mikoto put on black stockings, nibble on her little feet in front of her for five minutes, then say, 'Thanks for the treat!'

"Reward: all the insight Aokiji gained from a lifetime with the Ice-Ice Fruit!"

Liuyun instantly chose the third option without a second thought!

As the owner of the Ice-Ice Fruit in the pirate world, Aokiji had developed its powers to the point of Awakening—perhaps even beyond.