Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 297 Betrayal

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked surprised. After a brief moment of shock, he frowned deeply and asked, puzzled, "I don't quite understand your intention in doing this."

The Third Mizukage chuckled, "You should know that the corpses of powerful ninjas are very valuable for research, especially rare material like him who possesses three bloodline limits."

Admittedly, what the other party said made a lot of sense, but Hiruzen Sarutobi still found it hard to understand. He could understand exchanging other things for it, but after all, those were precious tailed beasts, any one of which possessed the power to destroy the world.

Seemingly sensing Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts, the Third Mizukage continued, "To you, that might be a precious corpse, but to us in Kirigakure, it holds great significance."

After speaking, he paused and said in a deep voice, "The power of the tailed beasts is too difficult for ordinary people to control. Instead of investing valuable talents in this every year, and even risking them going berserk, it would be better to invest in something more valuable and reliable."

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, having probably already guessed what was going on.

"When it comes to ice-style bloodline limits, our Hidden Mist Village should be the birthplace. It's just that I don't know why there's such a big difference between ice-style limits."

The Third Mizukage wore a self-deprecating smile: "Compared to Aokiji's Ice Release, I sometimes wonder if our village's Ice Release bloodline limit is even real..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.

Aokiji's Ice Release is indeed a bit different from ordinary Ice Release.

The Third Mizukage's goal was probably to study Aokiji's corpse to understand why his Ice Release techniques were so powerful, thereby raising the bar for Ice Release ninjas in the village.

The Third Mizukage patiently persuaded, "How about it? My suggestion is pretty good, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry, I can't do that."

With guards watching over him, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no way of agreeing directly.

Are you afraid I'll change my mind halfway through?

The Third Mizukage stroked his chin: "How about this, if you agree, I can give you the Six-Tails in advance."

"W-what?"

The Third Mizukage's answer far exceeded Hiruzen Sarutobi's expectations.

"I think I'm being very sincere."

The Third Mizukage remained calm and added, "Oh, by the way, I think a Hokage like myself, if he accepts the Six-Tails, shouldn't back out halfway through, right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze alternated between the shadows of earth and water.

He now understood why the Tsuchikage hadn't immediately demanded the Five-Tails from Konoha when Aokiji's Sharingan abilities were revealed—it turned out he'd secretly allied with the Mizukage.

"If I don't accept, what are you two planning to do?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi tentatively asked a question.

The Third Mizukage's smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression: "Then our village will join forces with Iwagakure to attack your Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, feeling that this was a very troublesome situation.

"You need to understand, once Kirigakure and Iwagakure are involved, guess what will happen to Kumogakure?" The Third Mizukage spoke with a forced smile, delivering his intimidation:

"At that time, I think even a strong country like Konoha will have a hard time facing so many opponents all at once."

Hearing this threat laid bare on the table, Hiruzen Sarutobi broke out in a cold sweat.

Facing four powerful enemies and a bunch of small countries all at once, even a strong country like Konoha couldn't withstand it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath; the immense pressure almost made him suffocate.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, the Third Mizukage added, "Well, you don't have to be in such a hurry to answer."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked on with a solemn expression and vigilance.

The Third Mizukage, with his wisdom in hand, said: "After all, this is a very important decision. Putting myself in your shoes, I can understand your difficulties to some extent. To show my sincerity, I can give you time to go back to the village and discuss it thoroughly with the other high-ranking officials."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, said nothing, and turned to leave. At this point, there was no need to continue the discussion. The most urgent thing was to return to the village as soon as possible and find Danzo and the others to discuss this matter.

"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to tell you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't taken more than a few steps when the voice of the Third Mizukage suddenly came from behind him.

He turned around, his eyes seeming to say that there was something else going on.

The Third Mizukage smiled and said, "There's something about Aokiji that I'd like to hear."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm getting old, I forgot..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi: ...

"Haha, just kidding. Just consider this my trump card for our next meeting..."

This determined look made Hiruzen Sarutobi increasingly uneasy.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi left, the Third Mizukage opened his eyes, ostensibly looking at Onoki, but his gaze was actually fixed on Madara Uchiha, who was disguised as a bodyguard behind him: "Do you think he'll agree?"

The manipulated Onoki gave a meaningful smile: "He'll definitely agree..."

In order to take revenge on the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Aokiji disguised himself as a kidnapper and audaciously kidnapped his son, beat him severely, and then extorted money from him.

If the Daimyo of the Land of Fire knew that the person who kidnapped his son was Aokiji, he certainly wouldn't let him go.

At this point, neither the pressure from external forces nor the pressure from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire could be withstood by Konoha.

Under double pressure, Hiruzen Sarutobi will definitely compromise, and then in order to squeeze out the last bit of value from Aokiji, he will inevitably sell him for a good price.

In this world, nothing is more despairing than being betrayed by one's own companion.

Of course, killing Aokiji was just Madara Uchiha's goal; he wanted to use this incident to kill Tsunade.

A person who has nothing at the beginning will not feel pain.

Losing something you've had is more painful than never having had it at all.

Aokiji, who is currently active on the battlefield, has everything, but if he suddenly loses it all one day, he will turn evil and go berserk.

Madara Uchiha thought darkly.

However, before officially implementing that plan, Madara Uchiha needed to lay some final groundwork.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is sometimes too indecisive as a decision-maker. To ensure everything goes smoothly, he needs to be replaced by someone more ruthless.

—Danzo.

Thinking this, Madara Uchiha murmured to himself, "Next, I'll have to ask that guy for help, and while I'm at it, I'll test how much his strength has improved..."

—Kakuzu.

……

……

"Lord Hokage, are we really going to...?"

After leaving the Iron Country castle, one of the guards who followed Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but speak up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, walking ahead, looked grave and said in a deep voice without turning his head, "This matter is of great importance. I must return to the village immediately to discuss the best course of action with Danzo, Koharu, and Kazuma."

"If you can't come up with a solution, are you really going to hand over Aokiji?"

"If it really comes to that, then there's really nothing we can do about it."

To be honest, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already given up hope of not selling Aokiji.

He's saying this mainly to appease his subordinates, since no one likes someone who betrays their men without hesitation.

"..."

"Remember what's going on here, and never reveal a single word about it."

Those chosen as guards must be the most trusted subordinates, many of whom are members of the Sarutobi clan, so naturally they wouldn't say a word.

But given the gravity of the matter, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but emphasize it.

"drink."

The guards responded immediately.

After that, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group traveled a long way, passing through a canyon, a route that was essential to returning to the Land of Fire.

Some people with premeditated intentions often lay in ambush here, so Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group naturally have to be on their guard to avoid any mishaps.

Even so, everyone still fell victim to the illness, becoming drowsy and collapsing to the ground with weak legs.

As if realizing something, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils suddenly dilated:

"Oh no, there's poison in the snow."

(End of this chapter)