While a fierce battle raged outside the Hokage Building, there was little defense inside. All of Konoha's current resources were being used to stop the Kirigakure Ninja, and even the Anbu, responsible for protecting the Hokage, had joined the war.
However, given Tsunade's strength, it's uncertain who will protect whom in a dangerous situation.
Without Ao's Byakugan assistance, Chōjūrō cautiously explored the Hokage Building, searching for the Lord Mizukage's location. His thoughts were the same as Ao's: anyone could die, but the only hope of Kirigakure, the Fourth Mizukage Mei Terumi, could not be allowed to suffer any mishap!
Top floor of the Hokage Building.
" Naoki, what do you want to do with her by bringing her back?"
Tsunade around Naoki Senju's neck, her soft breasts pressed against Naoki back, a provocative gesture that made Naoki Senju's body stiffen.
But Naoki Senju felt wasn't eroticism, but a chilling sense of danger.
Naoki Senju gently placed Mei Terumi on the ground, making sure to avoid Mei Terumi sensitive areas during the process, otherwise Tsunade would have made him experience the terrifying power of her Superhuman Strength once again.
"This is the Mizukage of Kirigakure; wouldn't it be a waste to kill him like this?"
Naoki Senju's explanation did not satisfy Tsunade, so Tsunade tightened her arm slightly, making Naoki Senju feel a little suffocated.
"Oh? So, what does Naoki think would be the best course of action to avoid wasting time?"
"That would be... to completely incorporate Kirigakure into Konoha."
Tsunade was surprised and released her grip. Completely annexing a ninja village was something she had never considered, because the difficulty involved was simply too great.
"But Kirigakure is separated from Konoha by the sea, and Konoha doesn't have the extra power to control Kirigakure and the Land of Water. Kumogakure certainly won't stand by and watch us annex Kirigakure..."
As they were talking, Tsunade suddenly realized something, and covered her mouth in surprise, saying:
"Could it be that you intend to...?"
"Just as you thought." Naoki Senju nodded, acknowledging Tsunade's guess. It seemed that the Hokage Position could indeed change a person. Tsunade, who had previously shown no interest in politics, was now able to follow his train of thought.
"We control Mei Terumi, and through Mei Terumi, we control Kirigakure. The Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure has already died at Orochimaru's hands, and I have sealed the One-Tail Beast. Sunagakure is now the weakest ninja village. Controlling them will not be difficult; we will only have a piece of flesh bitten off by the neighboring Iwagakure."
Tsunade considered this approach and found that the probability of success was actually quite high, but there was still one crucial problem that had not been solved.
"So how can we control Mei Terumi? Neither coercion nor bribery seems enough to make her betray Kirigakure. She's not someone who's afraid of death, having led Konoha in a surprise attack on Kirigakure..."
Naoki Senju uttered two words calmly. " Cursed Seal."
There are many ways to control a person. The lowest level of method is undoubtedly coercion and enticement, using both harsh measures and sweet promises. While this method of controlling a person is unlikely to be very effective, it is easy to implement and can easily control some weak-willed individuals.
The next level of means involves honor, interests, kinship, and bonds.
These are all methods currently in use in Konoha. They are costly and take a long time to show results, but their strength lies in their reliability. Once someone truly trusts Konoha, they will never betray Konoha under any circumstances.
However, it has no effect on ninjas with strong willpower or those who have been brainwashed by other ninja villages, such as Mei Terumi at this moment.
In such cases, the only option left is a third method – external force.
Using a power that the target cannot resist, it forcibly alters her perception and stance, transforming her into the desired form.
Kotoamatsukami and Root Cursed Seal are among the best of these, with Kotoamatsukami being so powerful that the target cannot detect it at all, making it a truly silent transformation.
Unfortunately, Shisui's Sharingan is not yet usable, and a suitable candidate cannot be found in the short term to bear this powerful force.
Therefore, the Root Cursed Seal is the only option!
Chōjūrō had been eavesdropping outside the door for a while, could no longer control himself. They actually wanted to place Cursed Seal on the Lord Mizukage in order to completely control Kirigakure.
This was unacceptable to Chōjūrō, and unacceptable to every Kirigakure Ninja, so Chōjūrō smashed the wall with a single blow and swung his weapon at Naoki Senju.
" Hiramekarei - All Liberated!"
The pores on the Hiramekarei swords spewed out a large amount of Chakra, which condensed into a huge Chakra with unstoppable force, crashing down on Naoki Senju and Tsunade.
To prevent accidentally injuring the Lord Mizukage, Chōjūrō deliberately shifted his feet, so that even if Naoki Senju and Tsunade chose to avoid him, the Lord Mizukage would not be hurt, and he could take the opportunity to rescue Lord Mizukage!
But the plan was beautiful; reality was cruel.
They had already discovered that Chōjūrō was eavesdropping behind the rooftop door, but they didn't point it out because they didn't care about Chōjūrō's eavesdropping at all; in fact, they thought it was more interesting.
This might be the twisted sense of humor that Tsunade caught from Naoki Senju.
It would be ideal to get some secrets about Mei Terumi from the angry Chōjūrō, as this would increase the success rate of the Cursed Seal. However, as it stands, Chōjūrō is just a young boy who idolizes the Lord Mizukage.
The massively descending Hiramekarei was caught by Naoki Senju with a single hand. The weight of its enormous size did not add any extra power; it was caught by Naoki Senju with such ease.
But when Naoki Senju started to exert force, it was beyond Chōjūrō's ability to withstand.
Naoki Senju pushed upwards with all his might, and the immense force coming from the other end of the Hiramekarei caused Chōjūrō to uncontrollably retreat. At the same time, he raised the Hiramekarei high with both hands, as if to smash it down again, but Chōjūrō had no control over the Hiramekarei at this moment and could only passively smash it backwards.
Tsunade frowned, raised her hand and tapped Naoki Senju. If Chōjūrō had really hit him, half of the Hokage Building would have been destroyed.
The repair costs aren't a big deal, since there are already too many places that need repair, but the destruction of the Hokage Building would damage the Hokage's reputation.
Like the Hokage Rock Hokage, the Hokage Building is a symbol of the Hokage in the hearts of the Konoha. Therefore, these two symbols of spiritual sustenance are even more important than Konoha itself.
Naoki Senju understood Tsunade's meaning. His figure disappeared from the spot, and he struck Chōjūrō's vulnerable nape with one hand while snatching the Hiramekarei from Chōjūrō's grip with the other.
Chōjūrō held the Hiramekarei tightly, unwilling to let go, but before he lost consciousness, Chōjūrō blood pressure spiked again.
"But forcibly applying the Cursed Seal might fail..."
"It's alright, leave this to me. With a little training, Mei Terumi will definitely accept the Cursed Seal willingly."