69novels Chapter 384 "A Single Strike and a Two-Way Breakup"
Chapter 384 "A Single Strike and a Two-Way Breakup"
Chapter 384 "A Half-hearted Breakup"
"Bang!"
A loud slam on the table echoed throughout the room. A fair, delicate hand pressed firmly on the table, and upon closer inspection, one could see that the hand was trembling slightly.
I don't know if it's because of the pain from exerting too much force, or some other reason.
"Matsushita Taichi, why did that bastard go out again? Doesn't Konoha have any other Jonin? Why does he have to send out a 13-year-old brat on a mission!"
Tsunade's furious roar echoed down the corridor, and some medical ninjas who were originally heading towards her immediately turned back and left with unusual decisiveness.
Compared to being scolded by an enraged Tsunade, these tasks that needed reporting could wait.
They can leave, but Shizune, who is currently facing Tsunade's anger in the office, is having a tough time.
Fortunately, my years of experience wandering with Tsunade have taught me that Tsunade is only outwardly strong but inwardly weak.
Listen to what she has to say.
"Send a 13-year-old brat out on a mission."
It's like how the village chief can let Taiyi rest if she doesn't send him on a mission.
Staying in the village would only lead to Taiichi being summoned by Tsunade to take the blame, so it's better to go out and carry out a mission.
Of course, Shizune only dared to keep thinking about Tsunade in her mind; she definitely wouldn't say it out loud.
Not only can you not say it, you also have to find ways to comfort them.
"Lady Tsunade, Taichi told me before he left that the mission in the Land of Hot Springs was urgent, and the village couldn't find a suitable person for the time being, so he arranged for Taichi to carry out the mission."
It would have been better if he hadn't explained; the explanation only made Tsunade angrier.
"What? He actually had time to come to you instead of just talking to me? Does he look down on me?"
Shizune promptly shut up. Menopausal women are completely unreasonable. Judging by the time, Tsunade is almost 40 years old.
After being angry for a long time, Tsunade finally calmed herself down. She looked at the stack of documents piled up on the table, sighed helplessly, reached out and pulled out a document, and began to review it attentively.
Despite being angry and yelling, I still have to do my job. But as long as Taiyi comes back, I will definitely make him pay back double the amount of work.
Tsunade signed her name heavily, as if the strokes were Taiichi's skin, and even made a deep dot.
Poor Taiichi, he didn't even know that someone was thinking about him so much just one day after he left Konoha.
He was currently in the Land of Hot Springs, tirelessly investigating the traces of missing persons.
Unfortunately, the mastermind behind the scenes also learned of his arrival, and the next four days were a stalemate for Taiyi.
His main body and shadow clones searched almost every suspicious area of the Land of Hot Water, especially the northeastern mountainous region, conducting a thorough search.
However, the result was disappointing.
The evil cult seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
All activities have ceased completely, with no new missing persons reports or any unusual circumstances discovered.
Those remaining traces, like a kite with a broken string, cannot be traced back to their source.
Taiyi had tried to trace the clues found at the trade route site, but after entering the mountains, the clues completely disappeared into the complex terrain and numerous natural hot spring caves, as if they had been deliberately erased or interfered with by some force.
What annoyed Taiichi even more was that the "assistance" personnel he encountered from the Land of Hot Water, whether they were providing intelligence or responsible for local security, were respectful in attitude, but the information they provided was either irrelevant old news or pointed to some bandits or wild beasts that had long been proven to be unrelated.
In short, they'll give you some incorrect information, and you can't really say anything about it because they themselves have said they can't confirm it.
Even when Taiyi makes investigation requests in certain specific directions, he encounters overt or covert excuses and resistance.
This kind of misleading information from a small group of officials is more troublesome for Taiyi than the secrecy of the mastermind behind the scenes.
On the evening of the fourth day, Taiichi stood on a cliff overlooking the capital city of Yudo, the setting sun casting a long shadow over him. He gazed at the distant capital shrouded in the mist of the hot springs, his eyes cold and sharp.
"The official cover-up, even misleading information—plus the complete retreat of the mastermind behind the scenes—" Taiyi muttered to himself, the mountain wind ruffling his clothes. "Continuing this investigation will yield absolutely no progress."
Scenes from his arrival in the Land of Hot Water flashed through Taiichi's mind, all the clues, like scattered beads, were strung together by an invisible thread.
Taiyi's gaze became incredibly resolute, like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath, pointing directly at the core of power in the Land of Hot Springs.
"There's definitely someone in the Land of Hot Water's upper echelons colluding with the mastermind! And this person's position is—extremely high! But who exactly is it?"
The night was as dark as ink, and the capital of hot springs was shrouded in silence, with only the steam rising from the hot springs shimmering with a pale white light under the moonlight.
Matsushita Taichi's figure moved like a ghost, silently landing on a secluded rooftop in the Daimyo residence. He concealed all his presence and swiftly locked onto the direction of the eldest son's sleeping quarters.
Four consecutive days of fruitless investigation caused him to lose patience.
The mastermind behind it all seemed to have vanished into thin air, and all the clues became fragmented with the "assistance" of the authorities, and were even deliberately led astray.
Continuing this investigation is a waste of time; we might as well prepare a bigger one.
The flickering candlelight illuminated the eldest son's slightly haggard face. He was clearly still awake, frowning and deep in thought as he stared at a dossier.
Taiyi's sudden appearance startled him, and he instantly reached for the short sword under the table. Only when he saw who it was did his tense nerves relax slightly, but the surprise and doubt in his eyes did not disappear.
"Lord Taiyi?" The eldest son lowered his voice, his tone incredulous. "You—how did you get in? The guards outside are so tight—"
"Those tactics are only effective against ordinary ninjas; they're useless against me." Taiichi's voice was calm and unwavering, cutting to the chase. "This late-night visit was truly out of necessity. Young Master, our investigation has reached a dead end."
The eldest son's expression hardened, and he waved for Taiyi to sit down, then sat up straight himself: "Please speak."
"In four days, I traversed almost every suspicious area of the Land of Hot Springs, especially the northeastern mountains." Taiichi's eyes burned with intensity. "However, the enemy seemed to have foreseen this, completely retreating into hiding, all activity abruptly ceasing. More importantly—"
He emphasized his words and explained to the eldest son everything that had happened to him in the past few days.
The eldest son's face instantly turned extremely ugly, his fingers unconsciously clenching his robes: "You mean—within the manor, or even higher levels—"
"That's right." Taiyi said decisively, "There is someone, or rather a force, that is tipping off the mastermind behind the scenes and using their authority to create obstacles for their cover-up and our investigation."
This person holds an extremely high position and can easily access and influence every aspect of the investigation. Otherwise, it's impossible to explain how the enemy could so precisely evade all searches, or how official channels could be so "inefficient" or even "erroneous."
He paused, then looked directly at the eldest son: "I wonder if the eldest son has anyone he suspects? If things continue like this, we won't get any results. Or perhaps the eldest son would allow me to use some extreme measures—"
"No!"
Before Taiyi could finish speaking, the eldest son decisively interrupted him.
As nobles, there are still some basic rules to follow.
Without evidence, allowing ninjas to use special methods based solely on suspicion is a sure way that, if seized upon by political enemies, would be a fatal blow to the eldest son's reputation.
However, Taiyi's reminder was not without effect. Based on the principle that whoever benefits is the most suspicious, the eldest son also had some guesses.
However, as I said before, there is no evidence.
He is not yet a big name; his elderly father is still alive, and he cannot yet establish absolute authority.
Seeing the change in the eldest son's expression, Taiyi knew that he already had an idea, so the rest of the conversation would be much easier.
"With an inside informant on the other side, conventional investigative methods have become ineffective. No matter how covert our operations are, we will only come up empty-handed."
The eldest son took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down: "Lord Taiyi, you've come here so late at night, you must already have a plan? Please speak. As long as we can find the mastermind and save the Kingdom of Tang, I will fully cooperate!"
Taiichi nodded slightly, showing a hint of approval for the future daimyo's sense of responsibility and trust. He lowered his voice and laid out his plan in its entirety: "We need a play, a play that will be enough to mislead the mole and make the mastermind behind the scenes lower their guard."
"Tomorrow, I will openly and legitimately visit the Daimyo Prefecture again and submit an 'investigation report' at that time—"
Taiyi explained the plan in detail. The eldest son's eyes first showed doubt, then understanding, and finally excitement.
"Alright, Lord Taiyi, I will definitely cooperate fully tomorrow."
The following morning, bathed in the slightly chilly morning light, Taiichi appeared once again in front of the magnificent main gate of the Daimyo Mansion with steady steps.
He remained calm, holding a scroll in his hand—the very "meticulously prepared" investigation report.
After the announcement, Taiyi was led to the reception room.
Unexpectedly, apart from the elderly Emperor being helped by his attendants to sit in the main seat, the eldest son, the second son, and several important ministers were all present in the hall.
Clearly, news of Taiyi's "submission of the report" had spread. The Second Young Master had a faint smile on his lips, and his eyes held a scrutinizing gaze and a hint of relaxation that was not easily detected.
The eldest son's face was gloomy, and his sharp eyes swept over the scroll in Taiyi's hand.
"Lord Taiichi, you've worked hard." The daimyo's voice was weak, tinged with a hint of expectation. "The investigation—has yielded any results?"
Taiichi bowed slightly and presented the scroll with both hands: "Your Excellency, esteemed lords. After several days of detailed investigation, visiting all known locations of the disappearance and surrounding areas, and employing ninjutsu for a wide-ranging sensory search—"
He paused, his gaze calmly sweeping over the crowd, before continuing, "Unfortunately, we have not been able to find any new clues or effective tracking traces. There have also been no new reports of missing persons recently."
Based on all the information, I deduce that the mastermind behind this mass disappearance has most likely already left the Land of Hot Springs, either because of the heightened tensions or for other unknown reasons.
Therefore, this investigation mission can be declared complete. I will immediately return to Konoha to report to the Hokage.
Before he could finish speaking, the eldest son slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. The loud noise echoed throughout the hall, startling even the drowsy Da Ming.
"Mission over? Return to Konoha?" The eldest son's face was ashen, his voice rising with "anger," filled with disbelief and vehement accusation. "Matsushita Taichi! Is this how Konoha ninjas operate? My Land of Hot Springs spent a fortune to bring your most elite ninjas from afar, and this is the result?"
"Five days! Just five days! And you're telling me you can't find any clues, the enemy has escaped, and you're leaving? Hundreds of civilians have gone missing in the Land of Hot Springs, and two villages are now deserted, with no sign of anyone alive or dead!"
You think you can absolve yourself of all responsibility with just a "may evacuate"? This is what you Konoha call the "White Reaper"? I'd say "incompetent Reaper" is more like it!
The eldest son's rebuke was like a machine gun, each sentence piercing the heart, filled with extreme dissatisfaction with Taiyi's "perfunctory and irresponsible" attitude.
He pointed at Taiichi, his fingers trembling slightly with "excitement": "Tell me, what about those who have gone missing? What about their families? What about the panic in the Land of Hot Springs? You're just going to leave like this, is that fair to the huge sum of money we paid you?"
The atmosphere in the hall instantly plummeted to freezing. Daiming opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only managed a violent cough.
The high-ranking officials looked at each other, speechless with fear.
The second young master lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the fleeting smugness and ease in them. He sneered inwardly: Sure enough, this so-called "White Death" is nothing more than that. His elder brother's anger was nothing but impotent rage.
Faced with the eldest son's rapid and forceful rebuke, Taiyi's face also showed a cold hardness of "anger" and "being misunderstood".
He straightened his back, and his voice turned cold: "Young Master, please watch your words! I, Matsushita Taichi, always give my all when carrying out a mission. In five days, I traversed the Land of Hot Springs, searching every inch of suspicious land. How can you say I was perfunctory?"
The enemy is cunning and elusive, beyond my control! The reputation of Konoha is none of your business to question! The mission report has been submitted; the conclusion is as stated. Believe it or not! Farewell!
Having said that, Taiichi stopped looking at anyone, gave a perfunctory bow to the daimyo in the main seat, turned around and left, striding away, his anger palpable. He perfectly portrayed the image of a top ninja who had been unreasonably criticized by his patron and left in anger.
"You—you stop right there!" the eldest son roared from behind, his voice filled with resentment and humiliation.
But Taiyi didn't turn back, his figure quickly disappearing outside the reception room door, leaving behind a deathly silence and suppressed breathing. The eldest son slumped back into his seat, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders trembling slightly, as if enduring immense pain and disappointment.
The second young master then slowly rose and walked to the eldest young master's side, feigning comfort, but his tone carried a barely perceptible hint of lightness: "Brother, calm down. Why get angry over a mere ninja? The Konoha ninjas are nothing special; it seems we can't count on them. We still need to think of another way—"
"Get out!" The eldest son suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at the second son. The anger and pain in his eyes were so real that the second son's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously took half a step back.
The eldest son ignored him, bowed to the elderly man, and said in a hoarse voice, "Father, your son is incompetent—I take my leave." After saying that, he also staggered out of the reception room.
The drama of "ending in discord" came to a perfect end. The Second Young Master witnessed firsthand the fierce conflict between Konoha's top ninja and the First Young Master, as well as Taiyi's "angry departure."
The tension in his heart could finally be released.