Chapter 162: Kabuto Walks into the Net

As Tsunade spoke, the faces of Danzo, Homura, and Koharu immediately darkened.

Back then, Tobirama’s prestige as Hokage had been far too great—no one would have dared refuse any order he gave.

And now Tsunade was using that precedent as her argument, instantly cutting off Danzo and the others’ retreat.

For a moment, the entire Hokage office fell into silence.

Crack.

Right then, a faint sound rang out. Jiraiya rubbed his stomach and hopped down from the wall.

Feeling Tsunade’s gaze sweep over him, Jiraiya shrank his neck, then cleared his throat lightly, taking the lead in breaking the heavy air.

“Everyone, aside from choosing the Hokage, there are still many things we need to do right now.”

“Instead of arguing about something that won’t have a result in the short term, we should first solve the problems we actually can solve at the moment.”

Jiraiya’s words reached Danzo and the others, loosening the stiff atmosphere a little.

A deep light flashed through Jiraiya’s eyes. He could see this scene more clearly than anyone.

With Tsunade’s personality, she would never compromise. But Danzo and the others’ influence in Konoha was deeply rooted.

Even if the Hokage faction joined forces with Tsunade, at best it would only create a balance between the two sides.

No matter how tough Tsunade acted, this argument had been meaningless from the start.

That old man really had handed him a difficult problem!

If Tsunade were chosen as Hokage, there would be far less resistance—her status alone ensured that, even after being away from Konoha for so long, her influence would never truly disappear.

But he himself… in the end, he came from a civilian background. Maybe he still had some prestige.

Yet after being gone from Konoha for so many years, whatever influence he once had was probably almost completely gone.

At this point, fighting Danzo and the others for the Hokage seat put him at a total disadvantage.

Tsunade shot Jiraiya a subtle glance. Even though her face still looked angry, her heart was perfectly calm.

Some things were inconvenient for Jiraiya to do—but with her identity, she didn’t need to worry about that.

And now that the one steering the argument had spoken, there was no need to continue the debate any further.

Just as everyone was about to follow Jiraiya’s lead and discuss Konoha’s other issues—

A sudden whistling sound cut through the air beside their ears.

Immediately after, an ANBU figure appeared inside the Hokage office.

“Honored sirs, we just captured a spy on the outskirts of Konoha.”

The ANBU member bowed respectfully to everyone present, but there was an inexplicable hesitation in his voice.

A spy?

Everyone frowned at the same time. Something this small didn’t warrant reporting directly to them.

But for ANBU to appear in person, the spy’s identity clearly wasn’t ordinary.

“Is there something special about this spy?” Jiraiya asked, puzzled, looking at the ANBU member.

“Jiraiya-sama, this spy is Kabuto—who was wanted by Konoha some time ago. He has ties to the rogue ninja Orochimaru. And… it seems he deliberately let us catch him.”

At that point, the ANBU member stopped.

Jiraiya lifted his head and exchanged a look with Tsunade.

Then Jiraiya’s gaze shifted to Danzo and the others. Seeing their faces remain expressionless, he fell silent for a moment before saying,

“Bring Kabuto in.”

“Yes, Jiraiya-sama!”

The ANBU member nodded, and with a flash, vanished from the spot.

Not long after, Kabuto was escorted into the Hokage office by two ANBU members.

“You two, leave.” Tsunade glanced at them and spoke casually.

The two ANBU exchanged looks, hesitating—clearly uneasy about it.

“With this many people here, do you think he can escape?” Tsunade’s voice already carried a hint of displeasure.

Hearing her tone, the two ANBU members shuddered and quickly disappeared.

“Orochimaru may be dead, but if you could work under that guy, you shouldn’t be stupid enough to walk into a trap on your own.”

Tsunade stared coldly at Kabuto.

At the same time, everyone else in the office fixed their eyes on Kabuto as well, their faces flashing with chill.

After all, Orochimaru leading other villages to attack Konoha was an undeniable fact. Everyone was only able to remain calm now because Orochimaru was already dead.

And in their eyes, Kabuto was nothing more than a minor pawn.

Under the gaze of everyone present, a bead of cold sweat appeared on Kabuto’s forehead. Still, he kept his expression steady, gently pushed up his glasses, and smiled as he spoke.

“Orochimaru-sama didn’t die. And I came here to make a deal with all of you in Konoha.”

Hearing that Orochimaru hadn’t died, everyone’s expressions shifted in different ways.

Surprise flashed through Jiraiya’s eyes—yet it also felt only natural.

Orochimaru had far too many methods. Even as a former companion, Jiraiya couldn’t fully see through him.

“A deal? You don’t have the right.” Danzo’s eyes flashed sharply as he spoke in an icy voice.

“What I’m offering is intelligence—intelligence that is extremely important to Konoha. If you mishandle it, Konoha might even be destroyed.”

Kabuto still wore that faint smile as he looked at them.

Then, as if he’d suddenly remembered something, Kabuto gave Danzo a light smile.

“Before coming to Konoha, I performed a small surgery on my brain. If anyone tries to probe the memories in my mind… they won’t get anything.”

As Kabuto spoke, Danzo’s face turned a shade of iron.

As a spy who had once been under Danzo’s command, Danzo understood Kabuto better than anyone there.

And precisely because of that, Danzo knew Kabuto’s words were aimed directly at him.

Jiraiya frowned. Kabuto didn’t seem to be lying—which meant the intelligence Kabuto spoke of really was important to Konoha.

Kabuto kept that vague, faint smile, quietly watching everyone. He was confident he wouldn’t have to wait long.

“Fine. But I want to hear your intelligence first, and then I’ll decide whether to make this deal.” After a long pause, Jiraiya spoke first.

It was an extremely unfair condition, but Kabuto seemed to have expected it. His face showed no surprise at all.

“The content of this intelligence is—First Mizukage Yuto has been resurrected.”

Kabuto nodded and slowly revealed the information.

The moment they heard it, everyone froze. Danzo, Homura, and Koharu—who had been sitting off to the side—stood up on the spot.

“You’ve all been curious about this sudden war, right? This information can resolve more than half of your doubts.”

“This so-called war was planned by the former First Mizukage with his own hands.”

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, speaking to the stunned group.

“That’s not right. With the way the First Mizukage operated back then, if this were true, he should’ve wiped out Konoha in one go.”

Homura stared at Kabuto, his tone filled with suspicion.

“Instead of doubting it, why not think about why First Mizukage Yuto would do this?” Kabuto shrugged, speaking helplessly.

Homura’s face sank—clearly unhappy with Kabuto’s attitude. But Homura also knew that with intelligence this important, Kabuto shouldn’t be lying to them.

If that was the case, then this war became… extremely intriguing.

No one here was foolish. With only a little thought, they had already grasped the general idea.

“He’s testing Konoha!”

A look of shock flashed through Jiraiya’s eyes, and his voice even trembled slightly.