Chapter 89: The Temptation of Returning to the Village
Murakumo supported Mibu Shinobu, his eyes flickering with an unreadable light. He was debating whether to kill him right here so that Lord Danzo could monopolize the intelligence.
Swish!
"Eh, you guys ran into a fight too?" Tonbo Tobitake suddenly appeared. He looked at the wreckage of the battlefield and his clearly weakened disciple.
He scanned the surroundings and frowned upon seeing Enkui's corpse. It seemed there really had been an enemy, and judging by the scale of the destruction, a powerful one. His eyes landed on the wooden stakes driven into the ground, and his heart skipped a beat.
Wood Style. It seems it was my old classmate, Obito.
Seeing Tonbo arrive, Murakumo suppressed his previous murderous thought.
Suddenly, a dozen ninjas wearing Konoha forehead protectors and masks emerged from the surrounding woods. Seeing the newcomers, Murakumo gave a secret signal and said, "Yeah, an incredibly powerful enemy. If Shinobu hadn't stepped up, we might all be dead. By the way, did you lose your pursuer?"
"Yeah. Let's move fast, or it'll be trouble if they catch up." Tonbo looked at the newly arrived squads and gave Murakumo a deep, knowing look.
Danzo, that old fox—he really wanted to have his cake and eat it too, keeping everything under his thumb.
Murakumo looked at Tonbo, then at the weakened Shinobu in his arms, his eyes shifting. Tonbo was powerful, but they had many people on their side. If...
Whoosh!
Before he could finish his thought, another four-man team appeared, causing everyone to go on high alert.
Tonbo saw the team and smiled. "Hayama, thanks for coming."
Whether it was reinforcements for Pain or ill-intent from Danzo's side, Tonbo had naturally made preparations. Before he had set out on his mission, he had contacted the Third Hokage and arranged for a backup team. Hayama Shirakumo just happened to be stationed nearby at the border.
"Hard work," Hayama Shirakumo said with a smile.
Seeing this new team, Murakumo abandoned his plan. The disparity in strength was no longer in his favor.
"Who are these people?" Tonbo asked, looking at the masked group.
"Reinforcements from Lord Danzo. The mission is complete, so we'll be heading back first. I'll leave him to you." Murakumo let go of Mibu Shinobu and led his team away without looking back.
Shinobu stumbled. "Sensei."
Tonbo caught him. "Good job. Let's get home."
Heaven only knew if Nagato would send more people to hunt them down. Better to run now and be respectful later.
Inside the hollow tree.
Hmph!
Nagato let out a muffled groan. Blood vessels burst in his Rinnegan as he fell into a state of total chaos. As his five senses failed and his perceptions warped, the chakra inside his body began to fluctuate violently.
"Nagato, what's wrong?" Konan saw his condition and assumed he had been hit by another Genjutsu. She hurriedly tried her usual method, injecting her chakra to disrupt his and break the illusion.
But her heart sank. She realized the method was useless. The chakra inside Nagato was in complete disarray; this was no ordinary Genjutsu.
Zzzzt!
Just as Nagato's internal chakra reached its breaking point, the black rods on his back—connected to the Gedo Mazo—suddenly surged with a strange force, allowing Nagato a momentary flash of clarity.
Regaining his senses, Nagato immediately severed his connection to the Six Paths of Pain.
Heave... heave... heave...
He gasped for air, his gaunt frame emphasizing his frailty.
"What a terrifying ninjutsu!" Nagato said, still shaken. If not for the Gedo Mazo, the sheer volume of violent information would have fried his body's processing system.
"What happened?" Konan asked, relieved to see him recover. She had never seen Nagato like this—not even during the battle with Hanzo had he lost his composure so completely.
"That man is strong. Notify Zetsu. I want every scrap of information on him."
Konoha.
The Hokage's Office.
"Lord Hokage, this is the intelligence gathered during this period. It contains several critical pieces of information; the rest I leave to you." Tonbo Tobitake presented a thick scroll of intel.
On it was the data he had recorded bit by bit, along with the freshly organized reports on the Six Paths of Pain and the enemy Shinobu had encountered.
The enemy Shinobu met was indeed Obito. Fortunately, Tonbo had anticipated his disciple's needs and given him the newly developed ninja tool. Whether it was Obito, the Six Paths, or Konan, the data consisted of things he had seen or heard, with each entry marked with his own notes. He didn't record a single thing he hadn't personally witnessed during the mission.
With this intel, if Jiraiya ever encountered the Six Paths in the future, he shouldn't have to die, right?
The butterfly effect of this mission was significant. A lot of Hidden Rain secrets were now exposed, as were parts of Pain's and Obito's abilities. The future plot would likely drift out of his control, but he now had basic self-preservation. No matter what, the stronger he became, the less he had to worry.
"You've worked hard."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the intel and began reading seriously.
"Then I'll be heading home," Tonbo said with a grin. His heart had already flown back to his house the moment he stepped into the village.
"Yes, go on. Wait for my—" Hiruzen knew the feeling of being away for a long time. Tonbo's longing was clearly uncontrollable.
Zip!
Before the Hokage could finish his sentence, Tonbo had already vanished.
Eh... Well, Hiruzen shook his head with a smile and returned to the report.
"Sharingan, Rinnegan, Wood Style..."
Every piece of information on that paper was far more important than any general intel on the Land of Rain.
Konoha Main Street.
Tonbo Tobitake first went to get a haircut to freshen up, then bought a set of stylish, sunny casual clothes and new shoes. He used ninjutsu to cleanse every speck of grime from his body and adjusted his mindset, scrubbing away the murderous aura accumulated from the mission.
In an instant, a bright, handsome guy emerged. Walking down the street, he frequently turned heads, and a few girls even came up to confess. Unfortunately, after learning he was already married, they all lamented not meeting him sooner.
On the way home, he looked at his empty hands. It felt like something was missing. After a moment's thought, he headed toward a flower shop.
[Yamanaka Flowers]
He looked at the sign, pushed open the door, and walked in.
"Welcome!" a sweet, cute young girl's voice rang out.
Tonbo looked down. Isn't this Ino? The current Ino looked even more refined, with her blonde hair in a chin-length bob and a small butterfly clip on one side. Upon seeing Tonbo, her eyes lit up. "What a handsome big brother!"
Beside her was her mother, who was also smiling at him.
"Yo, little Ino. Long time no see, you're getting more and more beautiful," Tonbo said with a wave and a smile. "And hello to Ino's mom as well."
"Huh?"
The two looked at the overly familiar Tonbo with question marks over their heads. Do we know him?
"And you are?"
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