After a moment of silence, Kushina mustered her courage, nodded, and said, "That's right, Jiraiya-sensei, I am the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
"I already knew that," Jiraiya said with a smile, "But I've always been considerate of your feelings and haven't let you know what I knew."
"I see." Kushina nodded, feeling more relaxed.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Jiraiya asked immediately. He had a guess about the whole process and was going to tell Kushina about it, but before that, he wanted to hear what Kushina had to say.
"Hmm." Kushina nodded, a thoughtful look in her eyes, and recalled, "I was unconscious at the time, but I heard Nine-Tails's voice in my mind. It said it could lend me its power, so I gave it control of my body. After that, it returned to its seal, and I woke up, which is now. But I have absolutely no memory of what happened during that process."
"Just as I thought!"
Jiraiya immediately understood; he knew what was going on. He then stated confidently, "If I'm not mistaken, it was the Nine-Tails within you that sensed the danger and brought you into Tailed Beast Transformation form, successfully resolving the crisis here. During this process, you exhausted a great deal of energy and stamina, which caused you to fall into a coma."
Jiraiya paused for a moment, then continued his analysis.
"I was the first to wake up. When I went outside, I saw you lying in the desert. I guessed it was the Nine-Tails right then and there, and now it matches your description."
" Jiraiya-sensei, I have a question."
However, at that moment, Araki, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention, "Why is Sunagakure capturing Kushina?"
Chapter 41 Jiraiya's Jiraiya
Araki posed his question to Jiraiya. Of course, this wasn't just his doubt; there was also a certain element of manipulation involved, prompting Jiraiya to give him an answer.
This was a special psychological phenomenon he had grasped before coming to the ninja world.
If you present your views in an explanatory manner, others will often be skeptical, which will have the opposite effect.
However, if you deliberately say the opposite to provoke a negative reaction from the other person, then the risk is too great.
Gradually.
Araki figured out a way of speaking that suited him perfectly.
That is to let others say what he wants to say!
This method sounds difficult, but it's actually not that hard to do, especially when dealing with subjective people. When you ask them, even if they don't know the answer, they can make up one for you.
Furthermore, Araki's deliberate manipulation of words could have allowed the fabricated answer to be continuously reinforced by the speaker, thus achieving the desired outcome.
Araki's inquiry is precisely for this purpose.
There are some things he shouldn't say, but since he's thought of them, he'll present them as questions, using other people's words to express them.
In an instant.
As soon as Araki said this, Kushina and Minato both looked at Jiraiya, their eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
In truth, they all had some vague suspicions, but none of them had any evidence and no way to confirm it. Besides, Jiraiya their Jonin teacher, so listening to what their teacher had to say was the best option at this time.
Jiraiya felt the gazes focusing on him from all around, and a serious look flashed in his eyes. He raised his right hand, pinched his chin, and began to think quickly.
"This matter..."
Jiraiya's voice trailed off. He had indeed only considered the process of what happened, but hadn't delved into the reasons behind it. As a result, when Araki asked him about it, he hadn't thought it through immediately.
"Actually, we can start from the beginning. The Sunagakure ninjas didn't come to the camp tents in person, but instead used Puppet Technique and sleeping pills. This allows us to determine a few things."
"Firstly, they don't want to get close, fearing we'll notice them and to avoid alerting us; their aim is probably a sneak attack."
"Secondly, they clearly had the means to use poison, but they used a sedative that would cause us the least harm. This shows that they didn't want to provoke a war between the two countries; they only wanted to achieve their own goals, which, in conclusion, were to capture Kushina."
"Thirdly, after capturing Kushina, they immediately and quickly withdrew without harming Kushina life, indicating their intention to capture her alive."
"Based on the above three points, I think it's related to Kushina being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Rather than saying that Sunagakure's target was Kushina, it's more accurate to say that their target was the Nine-Tails."
"But..."
"There are still some contradictions here!"
"That's the kind of thing where Sunagakure kidnapped Kushina. Leaving us alive will inevitably attract the attention of Konoha, and war will break out at any moment. All our previous efforts will have been in vain!"
"Unless..."
Jiraiya analyzed as if talking to himself. When he finished speaking, his pupils suddenly contracted sharply, and an expression of disbelief appeared in his eyes. Even he himself could not believe his own guess.
"Unless what?" Araki asked immediately, giving Jiraiya no time to calm down.
"Unless Sunagakure is certain that Konoha will not start a war even if the Nine-Tails is lost, after all, both Sunagakure and Konoha have just experienced the Second Shinobi World War and are in a period of recuperation. If they rashly start a war, they may have to pay an unbearable price," Jiraiya, taking a deep breath.
"Can we bear the price of losing the Nine-Tails?" Araki asked again, but his tone was not accusatory, but rather like a questioning soliloquy.
" Araki, I understand how you feel." Jiraiya's smile faded slightly. Even he himself didn't realize that he had become much more rational than before when speaking to Araki. If this were discussed with anyone else, it would have been him speaking, while he had become the person he disliked, using his own unpleasant but rational way of thinking to comfort Araki, saying, "At this point in time, if we start a Araki, all the other countries in the ninja world will be watching, waiting for us to weaken each other before finding a reason to attack us. This could lead to a life-or-death crisis for the village!"
"Then why Kushina?" Araki paused for a moment, a look of regret on his face. However, this was all an act for Jiraiya's benefit. What Jiraiya was saying was exactly what Araki wanted the people present to hear. Now that he had achieved his goal, he could move on to the next topic.
" Kushina is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Sunagakure's target is the Nine-Tails, so they are determined to capture Kushina," Jiraiya explained.
" Jiraiya-sensei, what I mean is..." Araki narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing to say the most crucial question he had been building up for so long, and asked, "How did Sunagakure know that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Kushina?"
"Hmm?" Jiraiya's brows furrowed suddenly. He had been prejudiced and overlooked a crucial point: as Araki had said, the other party had no reason to possess such information.
"That's right!" Minato suddenly realized, saying, "I didn't even know Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. How did the enemy know something that even I, as her comrade, didn't know?"
In an instant.
The pressure is now on Jiraiya's side.
Even though Jiraiya didn't say anything and remained relatively silent, a possibility that he couldn't let go of still surfaced in his mind, and it was a very strong possibility.
There's a traitor within Konoha!
Moreover, he was a mole within the upper echelons!
Jiraiya knew that Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He understood that this was not an open secret, something that even many high-ranking officials in the villages did not know. It was simply impossible for the ninjas stationed on the border of Sunagakure to know.
Who exactly is it?
A huge question mark popped into Jiraiya's head. He tried to think of those who knew the inside story—who could possibly have leaked such important information?
What, then, is the motivation?
What are the benefits of doing this?
Why?!
The worst thing is to overthink things. Jiraiya had never thought about anything from the perspective of the village's higher-ups. After all, the ninja training he received taught him that orders were above all else, the higher-ups were always right, and no mission was beyond question.
but...
Now he's starting to waver.
Araki kept a close eye on Jiraiya's facial expressions. Unlike Minato and Kushina, whose eyes were filled with doubt Jiraiya, Araki had a general idea in mind, but lacked evidence.
" Jiraiya-sensei, I have another question." Araki spoke again, breaking the oppressive silence and drawing everyone's attention once more.
"What question?" Jiraiya's heart tightened, and he had a feeling that the question Araki was about to ask would be another difficult one to answer.
"We just arrived at the front lines and were ambushed by Sunagakure. Wasn't the timing a bit too precise?" Araki asked doubtfully.
"This..."
Jiraiya's lips twitched violently. Indeed, these were all things he had just overlooked, and now he was directly pointing the finger at the higher-ups of Konoha.
The leaked information went far beyond just Kushina's identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; it also included the mission Kushina was on and the specific time of the mission.
Or rather...
This mission to deliver supplies was specifically designed to get Kushina to Sunagakure!
Thinking of this, Jiraiya more silent. His thoughts began to question a possibility he had never considered before: his teacher, the Third Hokage.
"Call..."
Jiraiya took a deep breath. He had the words on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say a word. This made him realize the responsibility he needed to shoulder as a Jonin instructor.
Everything right now is speculation. Not only is there no evidence, but even the exact target is still a guess. This kind of thing cannot be easily revealed, otherwise it will mislead one's disciples.
Based on this principle, he actually started to speak more cautiously. When he was with other ninjas, he was often the one who could make the most sarcastic remarks.
"Let's talk about this later," Jiraiya said, declining the offer.
"Hmm." Araki nodded and didn't press further. Having lived two lives, he was no child at all and understood that the conversation should end here. Jiraiya a smart man; once the question was clarified, he would know what was going on. The rest was unimportant. His goal had been achieved.
But...
Araki's ability to control and manipulate the situation with such ease and skill does not mean that others can do the same.
" Jiraiya-sensei, did someone in the village betray us?" Minato asked with a dark face. His dream was to become Hokage, a very sacred dream. The position of Hokage held an extremely high place in his heart and could not be defiled. However, what had happened now made him realize that the seat of his dreams might not be as wonderful as he had imagined.
"I don't know." Jiraiya shook his head. Although he had his own guesses, it wasn't the right time to say them.
" Jiraiya-sensei, I think we should talk about this as soon as we get back and get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, we're just playing with our lives. We ninjas can accept dying on missions, we can accept dying on the battlefield, but to die in this kind of ridiculous way, I believe no ninja can accept that!" Minato said firmly. He was a standard top student at the Ninja Academy, deeply influenced by the Will of Fire, but even after experiencing this, he still felt a strong resentment in his heart, something even Araki hadn't expected.
"Listen to me about this..." Jiraiya said Jiraiya a helpless expression, "No one else can know about this except the four of us. This not only involves the village's higher-ups, but also Kushina's identity. Kushina's identity needs to be kept secret right now, otherwise there will be danger."
"Is it dangerous like today?" Minato sneered, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. "The identities we need to keep secret are still a secret within the village, but they're no longer a secret outside."
"I will definitely get to the bottom of this, Minato. You can't get agitated or impulsive. That's not the way to solve the problem. I know you're both feeling uncomfortable, but right now you must prioritize the overall situation of the village!" Jiraiya hadn't expected him to say such a thing, but that's what he thought now. A rash confrontation would not benefit Minato and Kushina at all, and it would only make things worse.
" Kushina has already been captured. If Nine-Tails hadn't awakened and entered her Tailed Beast Transformation form, she would probably be in Sunagakure by now. How can we stay calm about something like this? She's our comrade!" Minato added "comrade" at the end, giving himself a good and appropriate reason to vent his emotions. But in reality, if it were someone else, he definitely wouldn't have lost his composure like this.
" Minato, let's listen to Jiraiya-sensei. This whole thing is bad for us all, and I'm sure Jiraiya-sensei is too. Now's not the time to argue about this. I think the most important thing is to set off immediately to return to Konoha. Any danger can happen outside the village; we're not in a safe environment yet." Araki quickly smoothed things over. Even he himself realized that this way of speaking was a bit like a manipulative woman, expressing his concern for Jiraiya-sensei. And it was true; he could see that Jiraiya was already on the verge of a breakdown in his beliefs. If Minato continued to press him, it would only affect internal harmony.
" Araki is right. Let's not argue about this now. We're not enemies, we're allies. This problem won't just pass like this; we need to solve it together. But now we should head back. We can't stay here any longer; it's too dangerous!"
Jiraiya immediately stepped down from that step. He completely agreed with what Araki said about the danger. He had no idea how many people knew about Kushina, or whether Sunagakure had left any backup plans for this operation.
Chapter 42 The Curtain Falls on the Conspiracy
Jiraiya didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer; there was no point in continuing the discussion. The facts were relatively clear, and he understood that there was definitely a problem here.
However, this is a problem they cannot explain through guesswork; they can only investigate it thoroughly when they return.
Let's head back!
Jiraiya slowly began to speak, understanding that their mission was now complete. In terms of the actual significance of the mission, their team had successfully delivered the supplies to the front lines of the base.
In addition, the ninjas at the base have all woken up and are no longer needed to guard the area.
"Yes!"
Minato was the first to respond, his face still showing obvious resentment. However, he understood that venting his emotions here was pointless. Moreover, after answering Araki's subsequent questions, he suddenly realized that someone in the village had informed them, but he didn't know who that person was, nor did he know if there were other moles within the camp monitoring their situation.
"Yes!"
Araki and Kushina responded in unison, but the three of them did not answer at the same time. They immediately stood up and prepared to embark on their return journey.