Once Shikamaru and Temari left, Tsunade waved her hand.

Immediately, a dark shadow flashed past the doorway—clearly an Anbu member had sealed off the office, ensuring no one could approach casually.

"How is it?" Tsunade's expression turned serious. Even Shizune and Tonton quieted their breathing.

"The Land of Rain."

Natsuki handed over a scroll. "I tracked those two for more than two months. They've been hunting bounty targets in black markets, almost completely replacing Kakuzu. But a few days ago, they headed to the Land of Rivers, passing directly south through the Land of Rain. I had a bad feeling, so I left a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) to follow them. Not long after entering, the clone was destroyed."

Tsunade's hand froze as she received the scroll. "The clone dispelled… without warning?"

Natsuki nodded firmly. "Yes. I think someone sensed my infiltration through the rain and struck from a distance. The clone didn't even have time to react."

This made Tsunade and Shizune grow extremely cautious.

They understood Natsuki's strength—very well, in fact.

Even his Kage Bunshin, in normal conditions, could handle a jōnin. But under stealth conditions, for it to be instantly wiped out with zero detection?

That meant the enemy was terrifyingly powerful.

Natsuki continued, "I immediately escaped with Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique), not daring to linger. The enemy's strength made me uneasy. After that, I circled around the Land of Rain and continued investigating south. Sure enough, I found Deidara and Sasori acting like nothing had happened, still taking bounty missions."

Tsunade and Shizune immediately understood Natsuki's conclusion.

He sent a stealth clone and it was easily detected and obliterated.

But those two casually passed through the Land of Rain unharmed?

That could only mean one thing—the person who made a move was likely one of the Akatsuki themselves.

That was Natsuki's basis for judgment.

Before this, he had known that Akatsuki's base was in the Land of Rain, but explaining that would've been hard. When he saw Deidara and Sasori enter Rain territory, he knew this was his chance—and sure enough, he successfully wrapped up the mission with it.

Tsunade was silent for a while before nodding. "You've done very well. Thank you."

But Natsuki uncharacteristically spoke with a grave expression. "Tsunade-sama, the Land of Rain is incredibly dangerous. Don't send anyone else to investigate. Not even Jiraiya-sama—he could die. Honestly, even I might not get a chance to activate Hiraishin no Jutsu in time. We have to take this seriously!"

The warning was severe—but not alarmist.

He needed to exaggerate the danger to make Tsunade cautious and prevent Jiraiya from rushing in again.

In the original story, Jiraiya had spent most of his life fumbling around, only realizing his feelings for Tsunade late—only to never return from the Rain Village. Tsunade lost that gamble in the end, and it was tragic.

With Natsuki's warning this time, perhaps things would be different?

Naturally, Tsunade didn't take his words lightly. She solemnly nodded and told him to go rest.

Natsuki turned and left. He was eager to find TenTen.

Once the office door closed, silence filled the room.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune hesitated to speak.

"No need. I understand."

Tsunade rubbed her temples, clearly troubled. "Seems the Akatsuki are even scarier than we thought. That leader is stronger than me, Jiraiya, or even Natsuki. His warning is justified. Even if we're curious, we can't just send people to poke around the Land of Rain. But then… what should we do?"

Shizune didn't have an answer either. After some thought, she offered, "Should we hold a council meeting?"

Tsunade didn't respond.

Frankly, she thought the council would be useless.

Homura and Koharu, those two old fossils, always had something to say. They were self-righteous and annoying. If they learned the Akatsuki base was in the Land of Rain, they might insist on attacking it.

They'd likely ignore Natsuki's warning and accuse him of cowardice.

To them, the Land of Rain was just a small nation—how dangerous could it be?

Tsunade really didn't want to deal with their faces right now. Rather than calling a full council, she'd prefer to speak with a few trusted jōnin.

After a moment of thought, she finally said, "Shizune, go call Kakashi and Shikaku. I need to discuss something."

Meanwhile, after leaving the Hokage's building, Natsuki headed straight for the ninja tools shop.

To his surprise, business was booming. Plenty of foreign shinobi were shopping, and the owner was clearly overwhelmed. Natsuki, seeing this, jumped in to help immediately.

"Huh? Natsuki, you're back?" The shop owner looked delighted.

"Yeah, just got back today. Reported to Tsunade-sama, and came to find TenTen. But I figured I'd help out my father-in-law first."

Moving quickly, Natsuki helped customers check out. Once things calmed down, he let out a breath.

He smiled. "Father-in-law, business is good, huh?"

"Of course!" The shop owner laughed. "The Chūnin Exams are coming again. Lots of outsiders visiting. At first, they came because they heard my daughter's husband is the 'Demon Blade of Konoha.' But later, they just kept coming because our quality is great."

So… his fame actually helped sales?

Natsuki was amused. He didn't expect his nickname to drive traffic to the shop.

He glanced at the sales ledger and was surprised. "Looks like those ninja battle cards are the bestsellers? That's unexpected."

The shop owner scratched his head sheepishly. "Ah, I commissioned some new cards featuring the 'Demon Blade of Konoha.' A lot of folks seem to be buying them just for that."

Natsuki was speechless. "You're really something—using your son-in-law as a marketing tool."

The owner frowned. "Come on, I'm not selling my son-in-law—just the cards! Besides, this store will be part yours someday. Eventually, the whole business will belong to my grandkids. Isn't it good if I make more money now?"

Fair enough—whatever made him happy.

Natsuki didn't argue. It was family money, after all.

And the cards didn't contain any real intel, so he didn't care.

Just then, the owner leaned closer and asked quietly, "Hey… this year's Chūnin Exams won't be like the last one, right?"

Natsuki froze and looked at his father-in-law curiously, noticing the man's worried face. It seemed the last Chūnin Exams had left a deep scar on many, who now feared another incident.

"They won't."

Natsuki answered firmly. "Tsunade-sama is in charge this time, and we'll have extra precautions."

That alone was enough reason.

Because Tsunade was there—and her presence alone was more reassuring than the Third Hokage ever was.

(End of Chapter)

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