only...
Silence remained.
The five ninjas from Kumogakure didn't want to say another word; it seemed that saying anything now would be pointless.
That's so fake!
That was too much acting!
They don't treat them like human beings at all!
The legendary Konoha Sannin actually used their own names to vouch for an opponent...
Is it possible for this to happen?
You're all on the same side, aren't you?
The five Kumogakure ninjas now felt even more serious. They didn't know what awaited them next, but they all understood that this was all an act for them. The interrogation they had just heard was a ruse, and the drugs they were given were simply to prevent them from hearing what was being said.
Not long after.
Led by Jiraiya, the six ninja from Kumogakure arrived at the gates of Konoha.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Almost instantly, three figures appeared in front of Jiraiya, each wearing a mask; they were all Anbu Ninja from Konoha.
" Lord Jiraiya!"
When the three Anbu Ninja saw Jiraiya, they all bowed and knelt down in greeting, but their gazes kept drifting towards the group of people.
"Come here, I have something to tell you all, one at a time." Jiraiya pointed directly at the Anbu Ninja on the far left and said, "You go first."
"Yes." The Anbu Ninja walked directly to Jiraiya's side.
"Now go and inform the Third Lord Hokage that while we were on a mission, we discovered ambush by Kumogakure ninjas at the gates of Konoha. There were twelve of them in total. Six were killed, and the remaining six have been brought back and are ready to be handed over to the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force," Jiraiya added, keeping his voice down so the Kumogakure ninjas wouldn't hear.
"Yes." The Anbu Ninja vanished in a flash.
"You come here." Jiraiya beckoned to the second Anbu Ninja, then whispered in his ear as he approached, "Go to Anbu Ninja Anbu and inform the people who are handling the bodies. There are six corpses of Kumogakure outside the village. Go and dispose of them as soon as possible."
"Yes." The second Anbu Ninja vanished in a flash.
These consecutive actions left the six Kumogakure ninjas completely bewildered, having no idea what Jiraiya to say Jiraiya what he had to say.
but...
The five ninjas tormented by poison in the story, after witnessing this scene, began to imagine a series of scenarios.
The way Jiraiya was so careful not to let anyone hear made them even more convinced that he was talking about information about Kumogakure, and they became even more certain that the person who was left behind must have said something.
It doesn't need any retouching; it's already getting darker and darker.
As Araki said, once the seed of doubt has been planted, all that awaits is for it to take root and sprout. As for watering it, there is no need to do anything deliberate. Any little thing can cause misunderstandings, which in turn nourish the seed.
"You come here."
Jiraiya beckoned to the last Anbu Ninja, and when the latter came to him, he lowered his voice and said, "On the way here, we used a divisive tactic on these six people. Do you see the one standing at the very back of the group?"
As they spoke, Jiraiya looked toward the person everyone suspected. As his gaze settled on that person, the Anbu Ninja next to him also looked in that direction, and their eyes met.
Almost instantly, all six Kumogakure ninjas felt their gazes.
"???"
The remaining Kumogakure ninja was filled with questions; he had no idea why Jiraiya and the Anbu Ninja were suddenly looking at him together.
However, he had a bad feeling.
After all, he is now the object of suspicion by his companions, and any slight action he takes could be magnified and misinterpreted.
However...
Just then...
The Anbu Ninja nodded and whispered something to Jiraiya.
When this scene unfolded before the five Kumogakure ninjas, they all believed that Jiraiya and the Anbu Ninja were identifying the traitor among them, which caused the seed of doubt in their hearts to grow even faster.
"I saw it," the Anbu Ninja replied.
"That person was our target for sowing discord. We pretended to interrogate them, but we didn't actually interrogate them; instead..."
Jiraiya repeated what had just happened in the most concise language possible, without any rush or impatience.
He needed to make this Anbu Ninja understand what was going on before he could have a clearer understanding of the problem and continue according to their plan.
"I see! As expected of Lord Jiraiya, I could never have come up with such a method!" The Anbu Ninja immediately showered him with compliments.
"Ahem..." Jiraiya coughed awkwardly, not dwelling on the topic any further, and continued, "When you hand them over to the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force later, do as I did, secretly tell them about this, making them mistakenly believe that person is our mole. During the interrogation, treat them differently, making those five suffer more. As for the remaining person, occasionally show them some consideration in some new details, making sure the other five notice, but not too obviously. If you don't do it well, just treat him as a mole."
"Understood, understood!" The Anbu Ninja's thoughts became clear, and he understood why Jiraiya use this method to explain. Then he looked at the suspected person again, his eyes brightening slightly, revealing a hint of concern.
This emotion arose at just the right moment, only to vanish abruptly as soon as it appeared, and was immediately caught by the five Kumogakure ninjas who were watching them.
To them, the disappearance of concern in his eyes seemed very deliberate, like a deliberate attempt to conceal it. However, they did not realize that the Anbu Ninja was merely feigning concern.
"I've said everything I needed to say. I'll leave this place to you. My disciple is still waiting for me. I'm leaving." Jiraiya patted the Anbu Ninja on the shoulder and turned to walk towards the gate.
"Yes!"
The Anbu Ninja immediately responded, then looked at the six Kumogakure ninjas, his gaze sweeping across each of their faces. He showed no particular reaction when looking at the first five, but when he landed on the last one, his eyes became incredibly sharp, as if he were extremely angry.
"I didn't realize you had such backbone!" the Anbu Ninja said. " Lord Jiraiya told me that you wouldn't utter a single word during such severe interrogation. Let's see if you can keep your mouth shut when we get to the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force!"
"..."
Upon hearing these words, the five ninjas from Kumogakure were immediately speechless, each feeling that their intelligence had been insulted.
play!
Keep going!
I'd like to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve!
Do you really think we're fools?
Chapter 26 Actually, I don't have the antidote!
When the remaining Kumogakure ninja heard this, he felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He really didn't say anything!
That's right!
But something seems off.
"I'll leave this place to you."
Jiraiya casually uttered those words, then his figure flashed and he disappeared, leaving the place immediately. After all, his three disciples were still waiting for him, and he couldn't keep them waiting for too long.
Meanwhile, outside Konoha.
" Araki, why did you do this? I don't really understand. Is it really going to work?" Minato asked doubtfully. He had witnessed the whole thing, so he still had many questions in his mind, questions he hadn't thought through before.
"Actually, I don't know if it will work or not," Araki said casually.
"???"
A whole bunch of question marks popped into Minato's head; this wasn't the answer he wanted to hear.
and...
This was completely different from the answer he had expected.
"Didn't you think it through before making this decision?" Minato asked again.
"Actually, no, it was just a sudden thought. I just didn't want to let those Kumogakure ninjas go easily. As for whether doing this would ultimately help with the Anbu's interrogation, I'm not really sure," Araki said.
"Oh, this..."
Minato was completely stumped by Araki's answer, never expecting it to be so hasty.
Thinking about it now.
It seems that during this process...
He had no idea what Araki was doing or what the latter was thinking.
At the time, he thought Araki was hiding something very well, keeping everything to himself and quietly making plans, only to have the mystery revealed at the very end.
Does this mean that everything was done on a whim, as ideas came to mind?
Minato found it strange; he was somewhat skeptical. However, after what had just happened, everyone's opinion of Araki had changed. They found his words incredibly mysterious, as if believing them was wrong, and disbelieving them was also wrong.
I always feel that lies sound like the truth, and the truth sounds like a joke.
"Why are you targeting the ninjas of Kumogakure?" Minato keenly seized on another point, shifting the topic elsewhere, "Have you had any dealings with them before?"
"No."
Araki knew, of course, that continuing to explain in this way might reveal something about what he had done in the past. After all, many people knew that the Hidden Sage's ninja had died in Konoha, and Minato was also very likely to know about it. So he knew what he should and shouldn't say, since there was still no answer to those things back then.
"I simply don't like their Kumogakure's symbol," Araki offered a rather weak explanation.
"???"
Upon hearing this, Minato's mind was filled with even more questions, which then grew into huge ones. The explanation sounded utterly absurd.
It's as if it were made up.
Can the symbols of a ninja village be used as a reason?
Minato suddenly felt that Araki's words were becoming unreliable, but he also had a difficult-to-explain feeling about these things and didn't know how to continue discussing such matters with Araki.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just then, several figures suddenly appeared in front of them, each wearing a mask.
They were Anbu Ninja.
These people came here to collect the corpses of the six dead Kumogakure ninjas lying on the ground.
These Anbu Ninja arrived without greeting Zhong An, simply and brutally taking away the corpses before disappearing from their sight.
The appearance of these people interrupted Minato's questioning, and he realized that there was no way to get any more information on this topic, and that they were not on the same wavelength.