Chapter 194 : Chapter 194 Konoha is a sieve? Letting people swagger in! [4/4]
Chapter 194: Is Konoha a Sieve? Letting People Walk Right In! [4/4]
"performance pay" was certainly important—
But this time, the greatest harvest was this pair of Byakugan belonging to the Hyuga Main House.
For him, who possessed the Shikotsumyaku, the Byakugan's compatibility was even better; moreover, in terms of developing Chakra pathways and pressure points, the Byakugan was stronger than the Sharingan.
He was dying to try it out immediately, but unfortunately, he had a meeting to attend right now, and it wasn't convenient to head over directly.
Masahiko focused his attention and returned to the present.
Given the current situation with the Hidden Mist Village, a fight definitely wouldn't break out; it all depended on how both sides discussed and vied for interests.
Of course.
The most important thing was the attitude of the Hyuga Clan—they had suffered the most this time, and with the previous grudge, it certainly wouldn't be easily smoothed over.
The meeting lasted until evening without much result, but Masahiko was asked to stay behind.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, his tired face appearing a few years older; after Masahiko entered the office and closed the door—
He finally let out a soft sigh.
"I suspect your guess was correct. Those people might not be just one person, but a group, an organization."
Confirmed by the Hyuga family, the person today was indeed using the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and it was very orthodox; in some Taijutsu, there were even traces of Nintaijutsu like Lariat.
Hearing this, Masahiko couldn't help but fall silent for a few seconds.
Afterward, he asked, "What did Lord Jiraiya say?"
"The Raikage is at the border."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone carried a hint of helplessness. "Jiraiya is keeping a personal eye on him, there's no mistake. So—how exactly did these guys pull it off?"
Masahiko shook his head solemnly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples and said, "From the current situation, they used the group from the Hidden Cloud Village to stir up trouble and then snatched the Byakugan—"
"You are wise, Lord Hokage!"
"How is Iruka?"
He looked up and asked.
Masahiko replied, "A few broken bones. Fortunately, he defended in time and didn't injure his internal organs; it was a close call."
He paused slightly before adding, "According to Iruka, the opponents were a man and a woman, but our people only saw one person when they gave chase."
"Hmm—"
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Changing one's voice isn't difficult. Perhaps the opponent deliberately misled us, hoping we would fight with the Hidden Cloud Village."
"I think so too," Masahiko nodded.
He paused for a moment and said, "Could it be the Hidden Mist Village's doing? Among all the Great Ninja Villages, they are the most suspicious."
"Perhaps."
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment and said, "That's a narrative that benefits the current situation, but the Hyuga side—that's a difficult problem."
Masahiko thought for a bit and said, "The Hidden Mist Village also has a Byakugan."
"Oh?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up.
Afterward, he began to seriously consider this proposal.
This fit the interests of both sides without truly affecting the current overall situation, but there was one point—could Hiashi accept it?
He weighed it for a long time and said, "This plan—I will discuss it with others. For now, don't go talking about it to anyone else."
"Of course, keeping secrets is a basic principle for a Ninja."
Masahiko nodded.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and sighed softly, "Go and rest. You'll have plenty to do later."
"Yes!"
Returning home, Masahiko let out a long breath, sat at his desk, opened the light screen, and began to think about his subsequent plans.
He needed the Byakugan to clear the Chakra pathways in his body and open up his physical pressure points.
He also needed time to practice the Sage Transformation of the Panda Clan.
Time—
Masahiko rubbed his brow.
In the current Konoha, without a suitable reason, it would likely be very difficult to leave for a long period.
He had to find a suitable reason and timing.
"The Hidden Mist Village—"
Masahiko was lost in thought.
While he was deep in thought, the image before him changed—
First was the street outside the inn, with various shops bearing the character for "Hot Spring."
Moving from far to near, the scene switched to the inside of a Room.
That night staying in the Land of Hot Springs?
Masahiko roughly understood the timing; at the same time, the screen was playing the communication process of the four people from the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Hahaha, Old Thief Masahiko has also become a 'man behind the scenes'!"
"With these looks, this name—he can't be ordinary."
"The Hidden Cloud Village plans to take advantage of Danzo's betrayal to make a move on Konoha? Aren't they afraid of Konoha plotting against them?"
"How strong are the Five Great Villages exactly? Can we get a setting guide?"
A bunch of bullet chat floated by.
Masahiko only gave it a quick glance.
He wasn't surprised by the Hidden Cloud Village's attitude.
Since the inn, those four had been observing and inquiring about his situation; clearly, they had heard his name before.
This edited segment was very fast and didn't reveal too many details about the "plan."
In the next scene, the plot moved to Konoha.
Inside the Ninja Academy.
This was a theory class.
Naruto was fast asleep, and Sasuke also seemed to be spacing out.
In the back, Ino and Yakumo were whispering: "I heard—some time ago, Teacher even traded blows with Lord Jiraiya!"
"Lord Jiraiya?"
Hearing this, Yakumo's gaze was very calm as she tilted her head and thought carefully—
"Who is he?"
"One of the Sannin, do you know the Sannin?"
Ino gestured excitedly.
Next was a flashback of the great battle between Masahiko and Jiraiya.
However—
In the scene described by Ino, Masahiko had already become a powerful existence on par with Jiraiya.
The great battle left all the Jonin who participated in the observation shocked and impressed.
"LMAO, the Old Thief can fight a Sannin? Isn't that just Ino's filter?"
There was a sharp comment in the bullet chat.
But soon—
As the plot progressed, the scene returned to the main gate of Konoha.
As Kakashi made his appearance—
"Wait, brother, did you really challenge Jiraiya?"
"Is Old Yan this strong now? So, Ino's part might have some filter, but it's actually grounded in reality?"
"From the description, the beautified parts aren't actually that many—hiss! Isn't this too strong?"
"It was a lake environment at the time, suitable for the Old Thief to perform, so Jiraiya probably held back, but he's definitely impressive for his age."
Everyone wasn't quite sure how strong the other two of the Sannin were yet, but Orochimaru had made frequent moves in the "prequel," with his combat power and pressure fully displayed.
Using Orochimaru to gauge the other two, Jiraiya was definitely not weak!
In the bullet chat, people immediately started tallying and calculating, and upon summing it up, they realized it was true—
Today's Masahiko, even with just his surface strength, was quite strong among Jonin, belonging to a level that would definitely win against Asuma.
After Tutai entered Konoha—
Masahiko had already basically understood the series of scenes through the Anbu.
If not for that, he couldn't have accurately judged Tutai's next move; in order to observe and intercept their information channels, he had basically gotten no rest.
Otherwise, today's operation couldn't have gone so smoothly.
It's just that—
Tutai handing over the scroll was still somewhat beyond his expectations.
The episode was halfway through.
Naruto finished class and walked home accompanied by Iruka.
At the moment the door opened, the perspective of the scene was very special—Naruto had a smile on his face, Iruka's smile turned to panic and horror, while at the same time, behind the door of the Room, a Ninja wearing the attire of the Hidden Cloud Anbu shifted from shadow to reality.
He grabbed Naruto in one go.
"Holy crap?!"
"Seems to be an Anbu from the Hidden Cloud Village? This style should be the outfit of a Hidden Cloud Ninja."
"Is Konoha a sieve? Just letting him walk right in?"
"Could it be Old Thief Masahiko in disguise?"