Sunagakure’s Accountability

"Dead, huh."

Orochimaru walked over and looked at Jiraiya’s corpse. There was little expression on his face; he merely gave Jiraiya a few extra glances.

This teammate of his had been both clever and foolish. He had been a dependable companion during missions, yet because of an elusive prophecy, he had wasted most of his life and missed out on many things as a result.

Jiraiya had spoken to them several times about the Child of Prophecy, but Orochimaru had never placed his hopes in such an intangible prediction. He too was a contractor of a sacred land, and he held little reverence for beings such as the Great Toad Sage.

Orochimaru preferred to place his faith in mastering all truths himself. In his eyes, entrusting one’s hopes to another was a foolish thing to do—just as one could not hope that the enemy in a war desired peace as much as you did.

Because of this, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had argued several times. In the end, Orochimaru could no longer stand Jiraiya’s foolish yet stubborn attempts at persuasion and chose to ignore him. Still, the two had never been on the same path, and Orochimaru had seen that clearly from the beginning.

Seeing Orochimaru fall silent, Sasori asked, "Orochimaru, are you sad?"

"Not really. Life is simply fragile. That idiot Jiraiya might have foreseen that this day would come. His death has no effect on me."

Orochimaru answered casually, then looked toward Hyuga Mirai and asked, "Mirai-kun, was that… your Eye Technique just now?"

Hyuga Mirai had yet to leave Tenseigan Chakra Mode. Both Orochimaru and Sasori could see his azure-blue eyes.

"That’s right. It’s the power of the Tenseigan. The Byakugan also has paths of evolution, and the Tenseigan is one of its evolutionary options," Hyuga Mirai replied. He did not hide it from them. The Tenseigan possessed many abilities, and neither of them posed a risk of leaking information.

If they became interested in the Tenseigan, it would probably take them more than ten years to cultivate a pair—unless Hyuga Mirai was willing to lend them the ocular power within the Giant Tenseigan. But that was the foundation of his own strength.

"The Byakugan has many evolutionary paths, but they need to be tested slowly through genetics."

Orochimaru understood what he meant, while Sasori found it somewhat difficult to follow. Even so, he carefully memorized it, intending to study it after returning.

The Reconnaissance Puppet Sasori had sent out flew back. Looking astonished, Sasori said, "That Eye Technique is truly incredible. My Mecha Puppets couldn’t withstand it at all."

It had shattered the Four Violet Flames Formation in a single strike, passed through a mountain, and penetrated more than a hundred meters underground.

With such penetrating power, even if Sasori lined up all his puppets in formation, they probably would not be able to stop it.

"Then improve the strength of the materials. Sasori, your puppets are already functional enough. What remains is the strength and adaptability of the puppets themselves. The materials in the Ninja World are somewhat lacking in durability. But we can discuss this after we return."

When three research fanatics got together, it was easy for them to forget the important matter at hand. Jiraiya’s body was still lying beside Hyuga Mirai, yet he had already begun discussing materials with Sasori.

And Sasori had taken it to heart. He would consider any suggestion that could improve his puppets. Originally, he had been quite satisfied with them, but Hyuga Mirai’s Eye Technique had revealed a fatal weakness of the Mecha Puppets: they were not strong enough.

They were still within Sunagakure’s sphere of influence. If they wanted to discuss this, they should leave first.

Using the Tenseigan’s spatial manipulation ability, Hyuga Mirai sensed Jiraiya’s Rock Lodging Toad Barrier. After opening it, he released the people trapped inside.

"Sir."

Yasunori Sakai nodded when he saw Hyuga Mirai. The signal had reconnected, and Android 18 had regained control over Yasunori Sakai.

"I’ll leave things here to you. We’re leaving first."

"No problem, sir. After we lost consciousness, we found ourselves thrown in here. Jiraiya must have knocked us out after obtaining the information."

Yasunori Sakai instantly came up with an explanation, then controlled himself into collapsing unconscious onto the ground, waiting for passing Sunagakure ninja to discover them.

"Mirai-kun, how do you intend to deal with Jiraiya’s body?"

On the way back, Orochimaru suddenly asked, "Should we tell Tsunade about this?"

"Tsunade…"

Hyuga Mirai’s mouth twitched before he shook his head. "Not yet. As for Jiraiya’s body, there’s no need to use Impure World Reincarnation. Handle it normally."

If Tsunade learned this news now, she would certainly have reservations. Once enough time had passed, the organization’s expansion continued to accelerate, and the dawn of ending the war drew near, it would not be too late to let Tsunade know.

Before then, it was better to hide it for as long as possible. At the very least, he could not tell her before she developed the Electronic Field.

"The Nano Space Capsules are almost ready for testing. When the time comes, I’ll give a few to each of you. Orochimaru, I’ll leave Jiraiya’s body to you. I have something else to do, so I’ll be leaving first."

More than half a day later, a passing Sunagakure squad discovered Yasunori Sakai and the others unconscious on the ground. They quickly awakened the unconscious Sunagakure ninja, but Yasunori Sakai and the other two civilians required treatment.

After learning what had happened from the four Sunagakure ninja, the Sunagakure ninja were instantly enraged. The passing squad immediately escorted Yasunori Sakai and the others back to the village, then reported the matter to Pakura.

Bang!

When Pakura learned that Yasunori Sakai had been attacked by Konoha’s Jiraiya, she furiously smashed the surface of her desk with one slap.

"How is Sakai now?"

"He suffered compression injuries and has already been treated with the Medical Machine. He is currently still unconscious, but he should awaken after some time," the Sunagakure Anbu reported. Android 18 had control backdoors in every Medical Machine terminal, so Yasunori Sakai’s condition could be altered at will.

"Lord Kazekage, although the four Guards did their best to protect Yasunori-kun, they still leaked some Sunagakure intelligence under Jiraiya’s interrogation. Please punish them!"

"Punishment? Sunagakure needs manpower everywhere right now. Send them to haul bricks at the construction site first. Until the expansion is finished, they are not to leave that place. We’ll discuss punishment afterward."

Pakura issued her order. This punishment was already quite lenient. Strictly speaking, based on the actions of those four Sunagakure ninja, their abilities as ninja should have been stripped and they should have been thrown into prison. Pakura’s decision was essentially giving them a chance to atone for their crimes.

"How is Yasunori-kun?"

"According to the testimonies of the others, Yasunori-kun did not reveal a single piece of information under Jiraiya’s interrogation."

Pakura first revealed a relieved smile at those words, then spoke with some frustration at Sunagakure’s lack of spirit. "Have those people learn from Sakai. Ninja have less willpower than an ordinary civilian—how embarrassing. Tell the construction supervisor to give them the hardest and most exhausting work!"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"

After receiving the orders, the Anbu withdrew to carry them out.

Afterward, Pakura summoned the Sunagakure higher-ups and Elder Yasunori. After informing them of the attack on Yasunori Sakai, they discussed drawing manpower from elsewhere to form search squads.

No one objected. Allowing Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, to roam freely on their territory was simply impossible. Someone like him was just like the Konoha White Fang of old—once he infiltrated, he could cause enormous destruction.

Although it was not wartime, Jiraiya had openly attacked people from the Saudi Federal Republic State and tried to pry information out of them. If they did not find this person, who knew how much intelligence would be leaked to Konoha.

Moreover, Pakura intended to formally send Konoha a letter demanding accountability. The two villages were still bound by an alliance, yet Jiraiya had acted so recklessly. If Konoha did not provide an explanation, Pakura would not mind tearing up the alliance with Konoha.

Although some conservative Sunagakure higher-ups felt that Pakura’s reaction was a little too extreme, even more people supported her decision.

They were not without tempers. The Yasunori Family and Yasunori Sakai had contributed so much to Sunagakure, yet they had been attacked and injured by Jiraiya not far from the village. If Sunagakure did not show its intention to hold him accountable, how would that be any different from being a turtle hiding in its shell?

Thus, with the support of the majority, the letter of accountability was quickly drafted and handed to the envoy, who was sent to Konoha to demand an explanation from the Third Hokage.

Third update!