“So…
she really left.” Looking at the now-empty laboratory, Muzan let out a long sigh after hearing the news.
Tsunade had been both a mentor and a friend to him.
Even though she’d punched him half to death, there was no denying how much she’d helped him.
Not only had she passed down her techniques, but before leaving the village, she’d publicly declared Muzan to be her honorary disciple.
It was Anko and Mari who told him.
During the past month, Muzan had spent nearly all of his time inside the laboratory.
Combined with the Hokage’s order confining him to Konoha for a month, almost no one had come to visit him.
“Tsunade-sama leaving the village has had a huge impact on Konoha.
A lot of medical shinobi wanted to follow her, but she scolded every one of them and sent them back.” Anko popped another dango into her mouth as she recalled the scene from that morning.
Then, remembering Muzan’s relationship with Tsunade, she tilted her head.
“Tsunade-sama didn’t even come to say goodbye to you?” Feeling the loneliness around Muzan, Mari quickly interrupted and whispered into Anko’s ear.
“Anko…
maybe don’t ask that.” “Tsunade-sama probably had something urgent.
She only brought one person with her.” The two of them pieced together what had happened when Tsunade left.
When Muzan heard she’d only taken one companion, he immediately knew who it was.
“Shizune…” “So this is going to be a long journey.” “…Still, she didn’t even tell me before leaving.” “Did she think I’d try to convince her to stay?” Tsunade still loved Konoha.
After all, it was the village her grandfather and granduncle had protected.
It was also the place where she’d been born and raised.
Otherwise, she never would’ve returned during Konoha’s darkest hour.
“I’ll buy you red bean dango.” “Don’t be sad anymore…” “Your dango are too small.” “I don’t want them.” Even someone as carefree as Anko could sense the disappointment surrounding him.
But she had misunderstood.
Muzan wasn’t upset because Tsunade had left.
He was frustrated because he couldn’t leave the village.
To be more precise…
He couldn’t live freely.
“Hahaha!” “What an idiot I’ve been!” “Once I create the Twelve Kizuki and overcome my own weakness…” “I’ll tear this rotten system apart!” Hearing Muzan suddenly burst into laughter, Anko and Mari stared at him in complete confusion.
They honestly thought the shock had finally broken his mind.
“Mari…” “Our teammate’s gone crazy.” “Should we ask Orochimaru-sensei to transfer us to another squad?” “…I don’t think so.” “After all, Muzan’s a medical shinobi.” “He should be able to treat mental illness.” Muzan’s laughter stopped instantly.
His face darkened as he looked at the two of them.
Boom!
Boom!
One punch each sent them straight into the ceiling.
“That’s your lesson.” He promptly threw both of them out of the laboratory.
If they accidentally wrecked the place while fooling around…
Director Harano would absolutely kill him.
For the remainder of the month, none of them intended to take missions.
The only assignments available inside Konoha were D-rank missions.
They’d rather rest and prepare for the war that was inevitably coming.
Accompanying Anko and Mari, Muzan wandered into the shopping district.
Compared to its usual bustling crowds, however, the streets were unusually deserted.
Many merchants had already smelled the coming war.
Especially along the trade routes surrounding Konoha.
An increasing number of missing-nin had begun attacking caravans, making commerce far more dangerous.
Now, only merchants native to Konoha or those wealthy enough to hire shinobi escorts, still dared transport goods.
After finishing her final skewer of dango, Anko pouted and stretched out her hand.
“Everything’s gotten so expensive lately.” “Dango practically costs twice as much now.” “Can you lend me some money?” “…I don’t have much left either.” Looking into his nearly empty coin pouch, Mari produced only a few lonely coins.
That was literally all he had left.
“Are you two immortals or something?” “And whose fault is that, Muzan?” “You should be giving me a bigger share!” Half of every mission reward had to be handed over to Orochimaru.
The remaining half was split between the three of them.
Well…
Supposedly.
Muzan had quietly skimmed off an extra portion.
His reasoning was simple.
“I’m always the one fighting the strongest enemies.” “So naturally, I deserve the biggest cut.” As a result…
The money reaching Anko and Mari was pitiful.
“Stop wasting money on snacks.” “We still need to buy explosive tags and kunai.” What was the most profitable business during wartime?
Weapons, of course.
A shinobi could survive in the wilderness.
A few soldier pills were enough to deal with food shortages.
But no shinobi could fight without weapons.
As the three arrived at a weapon shop, they overheard a crowd complaining nearby.
“What the hell is this?” “Our lives are already hard enough, and now those idiots from Sunagakure are running around looking for their missing Kazekage!” “Like it’s our fault!” “How are we supposed to know where their Kazekage disappeared to?” “Lately Sunagakure been acting crazy.” “They’ve sent out most of their shinobi searching for the Kazekage.” “Has their whole village lost its mind?” Not long ago, a massive number of Sunagakure shinobi had mobilized, causing quite a stir.
Everyone had assumed the ever-opportunistic Sunagakure was preparing to start a war.
Instead…
Their own Kazekage had vanished.
It was utterly absurd.
“So…” “The fuse has finally been lit.” The next few months weren’t going to be easy for Sunagakure.
“You two…” “Want to make a fortune?” Muzan looked at the two children, who were happily stuffing their faces with food.
…Forget it.
These little brats weren’t qualified to participate in his grand money-making scheme.
The price of explosive tags had risen, but not yet to an outrageous level.
His research didn’t just require knowledge.
It required an enormous amount of money.
Just looking at Orochimaru’s partnership with Danzo proved the point.
Even a Kage-level shinobi couldn’t afford long-term research on his own.
“Ahem…” “Anko…” “I remember you’ve got a pretty decent secret savings stash.” “Mind lending me some?” “Nope!” After borrowing money from practically everyone he could, Muzan finally scraped together a considerable sum.
Today…
He was going all in at the weapon shop.
Of course, if Konoha suddenly imposed weapon restrictions…
He’d lose everything, even the shirt off his back.
All in.
He already had nothing left.
What difference would a little more debt make?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ While Muzan was betting everything on his investment, the atmosphere inside the Hokage’s office had become exceptionally tense.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the Hokage.
“Sunagakure has gone too far this time!” “Their Kazekage disappeared.
What does that have to do with Konoha?” The moment Danzo finished speaking, Hiruzen and the others all turned to look at him.
If anyone in Konoha were actually responsible for the Kazekage’s disappearance…
Their first suspect would unquestionably be Danzo.
“You don’t need to look at me like that.” “I wouldn’t waste my time targeting a mere Sunagakure.” Whether Konoha had done it or not hardly mattered.
Sunagakure would never let this opportunity pass.
Their so-called alliance with Konoha had always been built upon mutual interests and relative strength.
Although counted among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure had consistently been the weakest.
That was why they usually chose cooperation with Konoha.
But the moment Konoha showed even the slightest sign of weakness…
Sunagakure would be the first to swoop in and take advantage.