NOVEL NEXT Chapter 72: Jiraiya Meets Tsunade!
Inside Takinin Village.
"So Jiraiya actually teamed up with those useless Cloud shinobi?"
Kaede let out a mocking chuckle and tossed the intelligence report onto the table.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others must be thinking they can finally wipe out us so-called 'traitors,' right?"
The corners of Kaede's mouth curled upward. He had just the perfect big surprise in mind for Konoha.
And as for Cloud Village—since they were delivering themselves to his doorstep, he had no reason to be polite.
He would use this chance to take back the Eight-Tails.
"Recall Naoto and the others!"
"Understood," the Great Elder nodded, immediately sending someone to contact Naoto's group.
Kaede then glanced over toward Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"About to face off with your old teammate Jiraiya—aren't you two excited?"
Tsunade's expression was indifferent. Right now, all she wanted was to destroy Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others.
If Jiraiya stood in her way, she wouldn't hold back.
Orochimaru gave a sinister smile. "That fool Jiraiya… I didn't think he'd still be clinging to the idea of changing Konoha."
"Just as well—it's been a long time since we last fought."
Kaede didn't respond, only smiling faintly.
He trusted Tsunade—after all, he had trained her himself. But Orochimaru was a different story.
That man and Jiraiya had deep bonds.
He wouldn't betray them, but he might very well hold back.
Though, truth be told, given his current strength, he wasn't really in a position to go easy against Jiraiya's Sage Mode anyway…
Kaede smirked. "Alright, Tsunade and Naruto will be in your care."
At this point, there was no need for him to personally handle everything.
Otherwise, what was the point of building this force?
A mere Cloud Village and Jiraiya weren't even worth his attention.
Before long, Kaede had everything arranged.
…
In the Land of Sound, Konoha and Cloud worked together to swiftly occupy every town.
Upon receiving Kaede's orders, his forces simply withdrew, waiting for him to arrive.
Under such momentum, Konoha and Cloud's morale soared.
To them, this was certain victory—Kaede would surely die this time.
That was… until Kaede himself arrived.
At the far edge of the Land of Sound, close to the border, the two armies finally met.
On the Konoha–Cloud side, even after the attrition of war, they still had close to seven thousand combined.
Kaede, in contrast, had only seven hundred from Takinin and the Uchiha, plus the samurai from the Land of Iron.
At his command, Mifune had gathered all elite-level warriors in the country—three thousand strong.
Though outnumbered, every face on Kaede's side was filled with confidence.
Because Kaede alone was enough.
Upon seeing him, the Fourth Raikage couldn't restrain his fury.
"Kaede! Was it you who killed my village's men?"
"And where is Yugito? What have you done with her?!"
Jiraiya looked over at the Raikage in surprise.
Only now did he realize this was why Kaede had enraged the man so badly.
Kaede smiled warmly at the Raikage. "Oh, you mean those two hundred or so trash?"
"When the nine deep pits along the Sound's border are dug up, you'll find them there. If you want, I can arrange for you to join them anytime."
The Raikage's rage exploded. "Damn you, Uchiha!!"
Kaede then lifted the small kitten in his arms.
"As for Yugito—why, she's right here."
Even shrunken down several times over, the Two-Tails' form was unmistakable to the Raikage.
His fury deepened—Yugito was being kept as a pet?!
This was trampling all over Cloud's pride.
Before he could order an attack, Jiraiya suddenly stepped forward.
He fixed Kaede with a calm but heavy gaze. "What about Tsunade? How is she?"
"Tsunade?" Kaede's smile widened.
He turned to the crowd and called out, "Tsunade, your old friend wants to see you."
The crowd parted, and Tsunade walked toward Kaede step by step.
Both Jiraiya and the Raikage froze in shock.
Tsunade wasn't bound in any way—yet she showed no sign of resistance.
But this wasn't the time for questions. Jiraiya quickly called out:
"Tsunade, are you alright? Kaede hasn't done anything to you, has he?"
"So it's you, Jiraiya." Tsunade lifted her head, meeting his gaze.
"I'm fine. In fact, I've never felt better—more at ease than ever before."
A tremor ran through Jiraiya's heart. Tsunade's demeanor was far from normal.
Cloud kunoichi Mabui's eyes also went wide.
"Could it be…?"
Sharp as ever, she had already guessed part of the truth.
The next moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart sank.
Tsunade spoke calmly to Jiraiya. "Go back. I don't want to fight an old friend like you."
Jiraiya stared at her in disbelief.
"You… What do you mean by that?"
"Don't tell me you're going to help Kaede fight us? You're the Hokage!"
"Hokage?" Tsunade gave a derisive snort, her eyes full of disdain.
At that moment, the Raikage burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Looks like your Hokage has defected!"
His mood soared.
He had thought Cloud had already been humiliated enough—yet here was Konoha doing worse.
The current Hokage, not only captured alive, but willingly defected.
Once this spread, Konoha would become the greatest laughingstock in shinobi history.
Jiraiya's face darkened.
Even he was boiling with rage now.
He glared at Kaede. "Damn you—did you use genjutsu on Tsunade?!"
Kaede spread his hands innocently.
"You can't just slander me. All I did was help Tsunade see the truth."
Tsunade's voice turned cold. "After what they did to my clan, I've longed for revenge.
"In the past, I was too weak—thinking of Konoha's stability, I swallowed my anger.
"But you know as well as I do what those old fools have done over the years!
"Konoha is no longer the village it once was. Only by tearing it down can we rebuild the Konoha we dreamed of."
Jiraiya clenched his fists. "Damn it!"
For the first time, he hated his own helplessness.
If Kaede hadn't taken Tsunade, she would never have been driven to such extremes.
"Kaede! Today I'll rid the shinobi world of you, you demon!"
With a roar, Jiraiya charged.
His attack was the signal—Konoha's shinobi surged forward, faces twisted with hatred.
The Raikage snorted coldly. "Let's go! Kaede must die by my hand!"
Lightning Release Chakra Mode flared around him as he shot toward Kaede.
Cloud shinobi followed in force.
Watching Jiraiya and the Raikage coming for him, Kaede's lips curled upward.
"Heh… fine, I'll play with you."
But his playmate would only be the Raikage.
As for Jiraiya…
"Your opponent is me!"
Tsunade blocked Jiraiya's path.
A heartbeat later, Orochimaru emerged from the crowd.
He bared his teeth in a grin. "Jiraiya… long time no see."
(End of Chapter)
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