Kusuo looked up at the ceiling, pretending not to see the resentful expressions of the three girls in the room.
"Ahem." He coughed once, then lifted the three captives, who were tied together, off his back as if they were weightless and placed them on the ground. "Don't overthink it. These few are captives I caught in the Land of Earth. I'm preparing to hold them as hostages in the village to deter the other countries from acting rashly."
Then, Kusuo briefly recounted the process. Hinata and Shion nodded their pretty heads, more or less understanding what had happened, their faces no longer so resentful.
But... Hanabi's small, cute nose wrinkled. "Hmph!" She turned over and buried her face in her sister Hinata's embrace, muttering under her breath. "Who couldn't brother have captured as a hostage? He just had to capture three women. What's with that? What kind of women are these to capture? One has long legs, and the other two... their 'theres' are..."
Hinata was rendered speechless by Hanabi's childishly blunt words. She hurriedly covered her mouth and gave Kusuo an apologetic smile. Who knew the little loli would struggle and pull down the hand covering her mouth, roll her pretty white eyes, and then, as if talking to herself, say, "And it's a black and white pair, tsk tsk."
With that, she did a carp flip, stood up, clapped her small hands, and went back to her room on her own. It seemed she was sulking.
Kusuo rubbed his nose. Well now! It seems my little sister-in-law has a big opinion about my actions this time...
But this matter was not easy to explain. He had captured Kurotsuchi because of her talent and her background, being the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage after all. As for Mabui and Samui, that was purely an accident. The Fourth Raikage had run away, and they were just taken along for the ride.
Kusuo thought for a moment and decided it was best to quickly find someone to hand these three captives over to Tsunade to deal with.
...
The next morning.
A team of ANBU members came to Kusuo's door and knocked. When he went out to check, he was surprised to see the three female captives he had handed over to the village yesterday.
"Lord Guard! Lord Hokage said that the village's main prison is currently holding too many captives from other villages and temporarily cannot accommodate any more people," the ANBU member said. "Lord Hokage also said that since Lord Guard personally captured these prisoners, he should please be the one to guard them."
After saying these words, this ANBU squad knelt on one knee to report, then quickly left.
Seeing this, a black line appeared on Kusuo's forehead. (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴
Leaving me alone at my doorstep... I have to guard the people I caught myself? What the hell...? So the village's prison is full and can't hold any more people? So you just put them here with me? What kind of medicine is this Tsunade selling in her gourd? Isn't my house chaotic enough? Is she sure she's not just messing with me?
Kusuo knew exactly what little tricks Tsunade was up to, and he grumbled internally.
On the other side, Kurotsuchi and Samui were on the verge of tears. When had people of their status ever been treated like a rubber ball, kicked back and forth, after becoming captives? Were they not human? And everyone was looking at them with such disgusted expressions.
Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, thought, When have I ever received this kind of treatment? I'd rather just die.
Samui, the Raikage's advisor and an elite jonin, thought, It would have been better if that guy had just stabbed me to death with one slash back then. At least I wouldn't have to suffer this humiliation.
Only Mabui, not seeing the situation clearly, was leaning her head against Samui in a daze, fast asleep.
Helpless, Kusuo had no choice but to find a spare room and settle the three of them inside. Why one room and not three? It wasn't because his house wasn't big enough. It was purely because he felt that for captives to be able to sleep in a clean room was already very good. What, did they want other requests? He was already giving them face. A private cell? Don't even think about it.
He then asked the former priestess, Shion, whose sealing jutsu was on par with the Uzumaki clan's, to completely seal their chakra. Only then was the matter settled.
Today was Kusuo's first day back in Konoha to fulfill his duties as the Hokage's Guard, and he was already late. When he arrived at the Hokage's office, the scene he had expected, of Tsunade throwing a small temper tantrum, did not appear. Instead, he saw her leaning heavily on her desk, her brow tightly furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Kusuo could see that she clearly had something on her mind. Or... another accident had occurred on the front line.
Hearing his voice, Tsunade looked up, a happy expression on her face, but her autumn-like pupils were already tinged with a layer of mist. Her eyes were red and swollen, her voice trembling slightly.
"Jiraiya... he... he's in trouble."
Has the ending not changed? Did Jiraiya encounter Pain?
A thought stirred in Kusuo's heart. He asked Tsunade, "Did something happen to Jiraiya-sensei in the Hidden Rain Village? What's the situation now?"
He had already reminded her before, hinting that she should tell Jiraiya to be careful when gathering information. If there was still no change even with that, then there was nothing he could do.
Tsunade sniffled slightly and wiped away a tear. "His life isn't in danger for now. That guy Jiraiya escaped and sent us a message using a summoning toad."
Good, he's not dead.
"In Jiraiya-sensei's intelligence, did he say anything about the Akatsuki's leader, Pain?" Kusuo asked. There were some things he needed to confirm in advance.
Tsunade was stunned to hear this. She was just about to tell him about the intelligence on Pain, but she hadn't expected the stinking brat to ask himself.
"Yes!" Tsunade's expression was grave. She said seriously, "That guy Jiraiya said in his report that there are a total of four of them with Rinnegan. In cooperation with his former disciple, Konan, their methods are bizarre, unpredictable, and endless. The intelligence Jiraiya has gathered so far is..."
Kusuo listened to Tsunade's introduction of Pain and the others, but his mind was on other things.
"I understand," Kusuo said in a low voice after she had finished. "I'll go to the Rain Village alone."
"The battlefield in the Land of Demons has been completely liberated. I imagine you already know about the treaty I signed with the Tsuchikage. Under normal circumstances, the Land of Earth's ninja can be used, at our Konoha's disposal. You can decide the specific situation based on the circumstances. Don't waste the remaining forces; send them to the other battlefields."
Hearing this, Tsunade immediately became nervous and shot up from her stool. "No! I don't agree!"
"Stinking brat, you have no idea how terrifying the Akatsuki's leader, Pain, is! They possess the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths. We don't know what specific abilities the Rinnegan has, but to be hailed as the eyes of a sage, the terror of its dojutsu is even above that of the Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan. The danger of the operation would absolutely surpass that of facing the Kage of the five great hidden villages! I will absolutely not agree to you going alone!"
Tsunade's words were as firm as nails, leaving no room for mitigation.
Kusuo's expression was impassive. He knew Tsunade was doing this for his own good. But some things couldn't be explained clearly in just a few words. For now, he could only placate her.
"Alright, I promise you."
With that, Kusuo picked up his sword and went back. With such a major event happening, and Jiraiya's life or death unknown, it would be a bit of a waste for him to continue acting as Tsunade's personal guard.
Kusuo still planned to act alone. For no other reason than for that pair of Rinnegan. That pair of eyes... could they create a brand-new Six Paths-level combat power?
As long as he wanted, he could get his hands on Hashirama's cell technology at any time. In conjunction with the Rinnegan, the combination of Yin and Yang Release would give birth to the power of the森罗万象 (sēnluó wànxiàng) - All of Creation. Even if it wasn't as good as the final Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, in terms of strength, it would definitely be beyond the super-Kage level.
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