A special thank you to my patrons:
—Cain, Shahzaam, kevin Williams, Jose Carrillo, Jose Sierra, Salim, Silver, Archer, ManyEB, Acedia, Zhandos Kauzhanov, Mursuland, Vora, kurtis newman, 66835, Alex Rushing, Fredrik Dahlman.
ad 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Tayuya shot a challenging look at Tsunade—clearly, she was from the Hidden Leaf Village.
Midorima rolled his eyes at Tayuya and shook his head helplessly.
It was difficult for those directly involved to view the entire situation from a relatively objective standpoint.
This wasn't to say that Midorima himself was particularly objective or wise, but rather that the matter had nothing to do with him. That distance allowed him to see more. Furthermore, he had some unsubstantiated guesses of his own, which provided him with additional perspectives when considering the issue.
"I understand the difficulties you're facing," Midorima sighed. "After all, even as the Hokage, your influence over the Hidden Leaf Village was quite limited before, wasn't it?"
"What do you know?" Tsunade shot Midorima a glare.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi."
Upon hearing that name, Tsunade's expression changed instantly. Shizune, kneeling behind her, also looked at Midorima with shock.
"Don't talk nonsense," Tsunade said, her hands gripping the teacup tightly.
"Even though you are the Hokage, you lack your own power base. Even with Jiraiya supporting you, your position is still weak. Hiruzen is different. He was the Hokage, his colleagues are the village's senior advisors, and his relationship with the Land of Fire's daimyo is not something you can compare to. Therefore, your reforms in the Hidden Leaf were bound to provoke discontent among some, and those people look to the Third Hokage as their leader. You must have felt severely constrained in your actions."
Tsunade's face darkened considerably. Midorima could only shake his head in resignation.
He had been too naive about the situation before.
In the original timeline, part of the reason Tsunade succeeded was that the Third Hokage had died, making her the most senior suitable candidate.
Even so, when Pain attacked, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were still prepared to place the blame for the village's destruction on the unconscious Tsunade.
Now, with the Third Hokage alive and well, his prestige was something Tsunade simply couldn't match.
"I don't mean anything else by it, just that you... must have found dealing with this matter particularly difficult. Let's continue. Since Kimimaro disappeared that night, you must have discovered traces of him afterward, right?" Midorima asked.
Tsunade took a deep breath and said something Midorima had never expected. "I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"By the time we found him, he was already dead," Tsunade said, her mood somber.
"How did he die?" Midorima asked curiously.
"In battle. About ten kilometers west of the Hidden Leaf Village, in a forest of bones... and he was amidst them." Tsunade bit her lip.
"See! You still say you didn't kill him!" Tayuya pointed accusingly at Tsunade.
"Enough!" Midorima cut Tayuya off. "This isn't that simple. You know how strong Kimimaro was. To force him to exert his full strength, to fight to the point of exhaustion and death—that means his opponent was extremely powerful, at least at the Jōnin level. If it was a Jōnin from the Hidden Leaf who acted, Tsunade couldn't possibly not know about it. Right?"
Midorima had only said it casually, but Tsunade's face tightened.
This piqued Midorima's curiosity. "Hey, don't tell me it really was a Jōnin from the Leaf who killed him?"
"It was..." Tsunade took another deep breath, struggling to utter the name. "It was Itachi."
"What?!" Midorima's mind was thrown into complete disarray. "You're saying... Itachi killed Kimimaro?!"
"Yes. After Kimimaro disappeared, Itachi never returned to the Hidden Leaf Village."
"How do you know it was him?" Midorima asked, perplexed.
"His headband, engraved with the Hidden Leaf symbol, was found beside Kimimaro's body. The Leaf insignia on it had been defaced when he left last time, so it wasn't hard to identify."
"How could this be?" Midorima interlocked his fingers, his brow deeply furrowed.
Itachi's betrayal once again disrupted all of Midorima's previous plans concerning the Hidden Leaf Village.
If Kimimaro had only represented himself, his death wouldn't have caused major waves. But this time, he was here representing the Hidden Sound Village.
He died within the Leaf's borders. No matter what, the Hidden Leaf Village had to provide an explanation.
This wasn't a matter between individuals; it was a matter between nations.
Before, when a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village tried to kidnapped Hinata and was killed by the Hyūga clan, it ended with Hiashi Hyūga's twin brother, Hizashi, committing suicide to take responsibility.
Even though the Hidden Sound Village was a newly established, small village, someone still had to be held accountable for this incident.
However, Fugaku likely wouldn't let Sasuke or Itachi take responsibility for this. If that happened, the conflict between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Uchiha clan would once again become acute.
All of Tsunade's previous efforts were completely undone because of this.
Midorima rubbed his temples, feeling the strain.
No matter who was playing this game, Midorima had to admit, they were playing it well.
Tayuya stood up and turned to leave. Midorima asked, "Where are you going?"
"To get revenge!" Tayuya said through gritted teeth. "I could tolerate it before because I didn't know who killed Kimimaro. Now that I know who the murderer is, there's no need for me to hold back anymore."
"Revenge? He managed to kill even Kimimaro. What could you possibly do? And besides, do you even know where he is?" Midorima retorted.
"What do you expect me to do then?" Tayuya cried.
"Solutions are thought up by people," Midorima said, gesturing for Tayuya to sit back down.
Tayuya bit her lip but ultimately sat down, tears streaming continuously down her face.
"What did you do afterward?" Midorima asked Tsunade again.
"The Uchiha clan would certainly not accept this outcome, and the Leaf Village advisors wouldn't let the matter drop. So, I resigned from the position of Hokage, hoping the Leaf wouldn't make things difficult for the Uchiha clan. Of course, perhaps they "wanted" someone to take responsibility for this, and I was undoubtedly the best candidate." Tsunade rested her chin on her hand, but her spirits didn't seem high.
If not for the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she probably would have gained twice as many white hairs from this ordeal.
"I see," Midorima said, massaging his temples. "So, the whole sequence of events in the Leaf is finally clear. But what about Kakashi?"
"His injuries are stable; they weren't fatal," Tsunade explained.
"I meant, was his missing Sharingan eye found?"
"No," Tsunade shook her head.
"Who wanted to kill him?" Midorima asked further.
Tsunade shook her head again. "He didn't describe the person's appearance. He... forgot."
Midorima fell into deep thought once more, pondering the likelihood of Obito's involvement in this incident.
However, no matter how he thought about it, Obito's participation in this event seemed highly probable.
"By the way, what about Jiraiya? Didn't he speak up for you?" Midorima thought of Jiraiya.
"He's not in the Leaf Village," Tsunade said, shaking her head.
"Why?"
"Because a conflict broke out between the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village," Tsunade explained.
"Eh?" Midorima couldn't figure out the reason.
"A jinchūriki from the Hidden Cloud Village died within the Hidden Stone's territory while on a mission," Tsunade elaborated.
"What? Who died?" Midorima asked urgently.
"Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails jinchūriki."
Midorima blinked. "It couldn't be... the Akatsuki making a move, could it?"
"Unclear. That's why Jiraiya went to investigate the cause," Tsunade said.