Chapter 340

It could be seen that Mizunuki Ryosuke indeed held awe for the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.

That everything the senior had done could be recognized by the Kage of a hostile ninja village also caused a hint of pride to emerge in Tsunade's heart, and her gaze toward Ryosuke became much softer.

But some things could not be avoided after all, and there had to be a reasonable explanation.

Regarding this, Ryosuke had no intention of hiding anything and spoke slowly.

"You may not be aware that two years ago, Kirigakure experienced a violent internal upheaval, and it was at that time that I succeeded as Mizukage."

"During that upheaval, the Mist Anbu Commander rebelled, the Third Mizukage died in battle, and Kirigakure's high-level combat power was more than half depleted; Kirigakure was almost unable to recover."

Mizunuki Ryosuke said slowly, his expression very calm, as if he did not realize at all that what he was saying was absolutely a secret in the ninja world.

In fact, due to the desperate concealment by Kirigakure's leadership, other ninja villages in the ninja world only generally knew that an upheaval had occurred and did not know what price Kirigakure had paid in the process.

Perhaps only the leadership of the five great ninja villages could learn of this through unique intelligence channels.

And at this moment, Ryosuke revealed the inside story of Kirigakure's upheaval without any concealment, which made Tsunade's expression slightly startled.

Tsunade was somewhat surprised, not knowing why Mizunuki Ryosuke wanted to talk about this, and at the same time, she was somewhat at a loss that Ryosuke had suddenly leaked the secrets of Kirigakure's leadership.

But little did she know, what Mizunuki Ryosuke was about to say next was the real "secret."

"About a month ago, an exceptionally dangerous existence was dug out from within Kirigakure."

"This person had been hiding within Kirigakure for years, carrying out destruction against Kirigakure from the shadows."

"After investigation, I discovered that whether it was the death of the Third Mizukage or the rebellion of the Mist Anbu Commander, they were all the result of this person manipulating things from the shadows."

"And I suspect that the rebellion of the previous Mist Anbu Commander was also the work of this person behind the scenes."

Once Ryosuke said this, Tsunade's face was full of confusion.

Such top-secret intelligence was absolutely the deepest secret within a village; how could Mizunuki Ryosuke just reveal it to her like this?

Was Ryosuke not afraid that she would leak this intelligence?

The value of this intelligence was enough for Konoha to launch an S-rank mission alone to obtain it.

"But this person was much more cunning than I imagined; when I set out to capture him,"

"he had already escaped a step ahead."

"According to my intelligence, this person is now hiding within the Land of Rain."

Mizunuki Ryosuke said again, his expression very serious.

At this point, Tsunade already understood that the reason Mizunuki Ryosuke told her these things was to explain why he appeared in the Rain Ninja Village.

In this way, Tsunade suddenly saw the light.

"No wonder he, as the Mizukage, would appear in an underground intelligence agency; so that's it..."

"I suppose it must be to obtain intelligence on that 'missing-nin'."

Tsunade said to herself in her heart, recalling everything that happened between the two at the casino; through Mizunuki Ryosuke's description, she had automatically cast the character Ryosuke was pursuing as a "missing-nin" of Kirigakure.

Little did she know, the "missing-nin" Ryosuke spoke of had a background too big to imagine.

In fact, Ryosuke was not lying, just "embellishing" some key parts, and he had never admitted that he was pursuing a missing-nin of Kirigakure; everything was Tsunade's own preconceived notion.

The direct cause of Mizunuki Taki's death was the rebellion of Hozuki Mangetsu, while the indirect cause was that Hozuki Mangetsu was secretly controlled by Uchiha Madara using genjutsu.

And Black Zetsu itself had the identity of Uchiha Madara's "incarnation of consciousness," which corresponded exactly to Ryosuke's words, didn't it?

One of the reasons he personally rushed to the Land of Water was indeed to track down the whereabouts of Black Zetsu.

"You tell me these, aren't you afraid..."

Tsunade was somewhat hesitant, because the price paid for Mizunuki Ryosuke's explanation was somewhat too heavy.

These intelligence reports involved the absolute secrets of Kirigakure, which could not be considered unimportant.

"Not afraid."

"Because you won't."

Mizunuki Ryosuke looked at Tsunade on the opposite side with burning eyes; at this moment, in Ryosuke's eyes, she only saw trust and gentleness.

"I also believe in you."

Although this was just a lighthearted sentence, Tsunade could never bring herself to say it.

"I..."

At this moment, Tsunade's heart was almost overwhelmed by guilt; she opened her mouth, but in the end, she still could not say the words in her throat.

Regarding this, Ryosuke did not care too much, just smiled freely.

"I think you have guessed the rest; in order to obtain intelligence on this person, I went to the underground intelligence agency of the Rain Ninja Village."

"After failing to obtain intelligence at the underground intelligence agency, I used my technique, 'Demonic Mirror Illusion'."

"I infiltrated Salamander Hanzo's mansion again, intending to obtain the intelligence I wanted at Hanzo's mansion."

"As a result, I encountered the battle between you and the Rain Ninjas."

Mizunuki Ryosuke finished telling the whole story in one breath; the content inside was all real and existed, without the slightest lie.

It was just that on some matters, Ryosuke hid a little, glossing over them with spring-and-autumn brushwork.

For example, the cooperation he reached with Hanzo, and for example, the existence of Nagato and the Rinnegan...

Of course, everything Mizunuki Ryosuke said on the surface was true facts, without the slightest fabrication.

"Then why..."

"would you save me?"

Going around in circles, everything returned to the starting point; Tsunade asked again with a complex and uneasy mood.

"Because you are the princess of the Senju clan and the disciple of the Third Hokage."

"Once you die in the Rain Ninja Village, it will inevitably set off a new round of war in the ninja world."

"As the Fourth Mizukage, I cannot sit idly by and watch such a result occur."

"Most importantly, because you are..."

"Senju Tsunade! Princess Tsunade with brilliant charm!"

"Even if I strip away your identity, I will never sit idly by and watch you die before my eyes."

Mizunuki Ryosuke said righteously; the information contained in his words made Tsunade completely at a loss.

"I, I, I..."

Mizunuki Ryosuke's words made Tsunade suddenly turn into a little stutterer, unable to say a word for a long time.

This man's words were equivalent to telling Tsunade directly: I saved you because of you.

At the same time, the deep meaning hidden in these words made the pure-hearted Tsunade of her youth unable to cope.

Her originally tense face became soft again, and an imperceptible shyness had climbed onto her brows, and her fair cheeks once again faintly radiated blood color.

"If you want to ask me why."

"I can only answer, perhaps it was just because I took one extra look at you in the casino back then."

Finally, Ryosuke added a "fatal blow."

The gentle tone, combined with Mizunuki Ryosuke's handsome face and charming smile, made the power of this "fatal blow" reach the "MAX" level.

"Ugh..."

Tsunade's cheeks turned bright red instantly; she followed the choice human beings instinctively make when facing such events—avoidance.

"I'm going to pick mushrooms outside!"

Leaving behind an inexplicable sentence, Tsunade suddenly stood up and ran toward the outside of the tree fortress; her somewhat disheveled figure looked like a frightened little white rabbit.

Watching Tsunade, who had turned into a "mushroom-picking girl," Ryosuke did not choose to "press the advantage," but chose to sit in place and watch Tsunade leave... ===== CHAPTER 342 =====