Malphegor
patreon
IUTT: Ch. 61
🕑 Added 2025-05-15 16:33:32 +0000 UTC"Even if you fall into a new trap and end up with the same result, utter ruin and disgrace. As long as you don't seek death or act recklessly, in less than two years, the ones who will be hunted by everyone, will be Hiruzen and his group. Your reputation, on the other hand, will make a shocking comeback. If you're killed by someone, I will avenge you and take care of your affairs. But if you take your own life, I absolutely won't handle anything for you afterward. Because someone like that doesn't deserve it."
"At that point, you really will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history, spat on for generations to come. Your wife and son, if you have a son, will never be able to hold their heads high. Wherever they go, they'll carry your stain and be criticized by others."
"...Wait, why are you suddenly saying all this to me?" Sakumo said, aggrieved. "I'm not even thinking about dying right now."
"Because you're exactly that kind of person. So I'm warning you in advance, giving you a mental vaccine."
"Relax, now that there's hope, why would I still think about giving up?" Sakumo promised. "Even if I know it's a trap, I won't let certain people get what they want."
Hearing that, Shin let out a breath of relief, but also felt mentally exhausted. It really wasn't easy. Who would've thought that two people, one monitoring and one being monitored, could actually form such a deep bond? Of course, his true goal was to find Tsunade a strong and reliable ally. And no one was more suitable than the powerful, naive, yet incredibly capable Sakumo.
Even though he wanted her to become Hokage, he didn't want her to be burdened by it all. Otherwise, what would happen to his own happiness?
"Alright, I've said all I needed to say. It's time for me to leave," he said as he stood and adjusted his clothes.
"At any time, you can treat me as your most reliable friend. If you run into any difficulty, come find me. If you can't, have Nao go find Tsunade."
With that, he instantly vanished, leaving Sakumo alone in deep thought.
---
While Sakumo was lost in thought, the atmosphere in the Hokage's office was just as heavy.
Sitting behind the desk, Hiruzen silently puffed on his pipe. In front of him, Danzō, Koharu, and Homura were all quiet.
After a long while, the ever-impatient Koharu finally couldn't take it anymore and snapped, "Hiruzen, you need to make a decision on this immediately. We absolutely cannot let the situation keep deteriorating like this."
Homura also sighed and said, "Exactly. Over the past three months, more than 50 ninjas who went out on missions have mysteriously disappeared. Yet we still have no leads. How can this go on?"
Hiruzen didn't speak. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he turned to Danzō. "How's your investigation going?"
Danzō shook his head. "So far, there's no clue at all."
"But!" Just as the others were starting to lose hope, he continued, "It's not just us in Konoha experiencing these disappearances. Other villages have had similar incidents too."
Cough cough…
"What?" Hiruzen nearly choked on his smoke. He hurriedly asked, "Elaborate."
"According to the latest intel I've gathered, all five great ninja villages, including the smaller ones, have experienced cases over the past six months where ninjas went out on missions and then completely vanished, as if they evaporated from the face of the earth. At first, no one paid much attention, since unexpected incidents during missions are common. But soon, everyone realized something was off, because it wasn't entire teams disappearing, just specific individuals from a squad who would suddenly go missing. The other four villages have also formed investigation teams specifically to look into the disappearances. But they don't seem to have found anything either.
"To orchestrate something of this scale across all the ninja villages, just who is behind it?" Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, frowning in deep thought.
Koharu said coldly at this moment, "Whoever it is, they must have some connection to Konoha, and they're deliberately targeting us. Otherwise, how do you explain that all the missing ninjas are from our clans?"
The others just sighed in response.
As if they weren't already aware of this? But with no clues or evidence, how could they possibly uncover the mastermind?
They had suspected Shin before. Not because he had the motive, but because he had the capability. However, that suspicion was quickly dismissed, because Orochimaru had been keeping a close watch on Shin and confirmed that he never had the opportunity.
Especially after Shin went blind, and yet the disappearances continued, that made it even more obvious it wasn't him.
"I do have an idea," Danzō said coldly. "Since that person is targeting us, why don't we set a trap, draw him out of his hole?"
Hiruzen nodded darkly, already forming a plan in his mind.
---
After finishing his conversation with Sakumo, Shin didn't immediately return to the lab. Instead, he decided to give himself a few days off.
Over the past six months, he had poured all his energy into his research. Now that he was finally out and about, it wouldn't feel right not to spend time with Tsunade and Minato.
After giving some training pointers to Minato and the others, he went on a date with Tsunade.
That afternoon, taking advantage of the nice weather, the two of them headed to Konoha's most famous hot spring.
It was her idea, she said he needed to completely relax and unwind after all the intense research.
But in truth, she had something else in mind: Today, I'm going to show off my figure and completely seduce him, it's time to level up our relationship.
Since he was the passive type in romance, she decided she'd take the initiative.
Back when Orochimaru suggested the drunken-seduction plan, it fell through due to unexpected circumstances. But it had opened her mind to other possibilities.
The problem was, Shin had been working so hard these past months, she hadn't had a proper chance to act.
Don't believe I can't win you over.
In the changing room, as she was about to get dressed, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. Back on the day they tried the drunken plan, it had a good result, they officially became a couple. But the plan itself was a failure, and it led to some rather messy complications.
Thinking of that, she decided to go check on things again. But just as she stepped out, she saw Shin stood unmoving, looking at a certain direction. He had sensed someone outside the indoor hot spring wall, crouching and leering with perverted intent, clearly waiting to make a move.
"What's wrong?" Tsunade rushed over, concerned.
"Jiraiya..."
Sensing a chakra presence that was lewd even in its very nature, he moved instantly.
Jiraiya, who had just gotten up to act, was met with a foot smashing through the wall, heading straight for his face.
He dodged in panic, but still took a kick to the chest and was sent flying backward.
Cough cough...
He struggled to get up. But before he could do anything, a massive fist smashed into his face.
The punch hit so hard that he immediately felt the world spinning.
Fortunately, he had been training in Sage Mode with the toads of Mount Myōboku and had already made progress, which greatly enhanced his physical strength.
Otherwise, that one punch might have killed him.
Comments
Malphegor
You're right, I fixed it
Shahzaam
I think a chapter got uploaded in the wrong order I believe we’re missing a chapter before this one
