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[NTU] [ARC-23] Chapter : 315
🕑 Added 2025-05-16 15:46:58 +0000 UTCBack in the Hokage's Office.
Without sparing Tsunade another glance, Toshiro turned his eyes to the door as a wave of footsteps echoed outside.
“Well, well… quite the crowd today. It’s practically a party,” he said dryly, his voice laced with disdain.
He hadn’t even settled into the office before they arrived—clearly here to plead for Jiraiya. Toshiro could see right through their intentions.
“Hokage-sama…”
At the sight of Toshiro’s piercing gaze, the group behind Tsunade faltered. Heads dipped, eyes averted. Their earlier boldness melted into uneasy guilt.
They muttered respectful greetings before silently forming a line behind Tsunade and the other lead figures.
“So, what’s this?” Toshiro asked coolly. “Here to sway my decision? Pressure the Hokage?”
Among the visitors were Konoha’s most prominent figures: Kushina Uzumaki, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mimura, Hyūga Hiashi—clan leaders, advisors, the backbone of the village.
His office, usually quiet and sparse, was now uncomfortably packed.
“Are you here to defend Jiraiya… or to protest against me?”
Toshiro's tone dropped, sharp as a blade.
“From where I’m standing, it looks less like a plea and more like a threat. You’re practically asking me to kill him.”
A dangerous chill settled in his voice as he scanned each face in the room, his gaze cold and calculating.
He hadn’t even passed judgment on Jiraiya yet, and here they were—rushing in, challenging his authority.
Do they think I’m a figurehead? he thought grimly.
“Damn...” someone murmured under their breath as realization dawned.
Toshiro’s glare had cut through the room like ice water. These weren’t fools—they understood instantly.
They’d made a critical mistake.
Whether intentional or not, they had overstepped.
Even rescuing Jiraiya was off the table now. At this rate, they might just push Toshiro into executing him.
“Hokage-sama, please, there’s a misunderstanding,” Sarutobi Hiruzen interjected hastily. “We only came to discuss the situation—nothing more.”
As the former Hokage, Hiruzen knew all too well how delicate power dynamics could be. Internally, he cursed himself for the lapse in judgment. The tension surrounding Orochimaru had already shaken his composure, and now this misstep could cost them dearly.
“Discuss it…”
He trailed off, struggling to come up with a valid excuse for why so many high-ranking individuals had descended upon the Hokage at once.
The sweat beginning to form on his brow betrayed his anxiety.
He understood Toshiro’s point. When too many voices beg for clemency at once, it stops sounding like mercy—and starts feeling like coercion.
“Leave,” Toshiro finally said flatly. “I’ll consider Jiraiya’s case carefully.”
That single line cut off the conversation. With no room for argument, everyone—including Tsunade—was forced to retreat.
As the office emptied, Toshiro exhaled slowly, now alone with his thoughts.
“That idiot really stirred up a mess.”
Jiraiya had always been beloved, but Toshiro hadn’t expected this kind of turnout—the Jinchūriki, the former Hokage, village elders, clan leaders, and trusted advisors. From nobility to civilians, the entire political landscape had shown up.
If he hadn’t defused the situation and sent them all away, it could’ve escalated into a real crisis.
Outside the Hokage Building
Walking beside Tsunade, the Third Hokage looked uneasy.
“Tsunade… what now?” he asked, clearly at a loss.
The chaos surrounding Orochimaru was already weighing on him. Now, Jiraiya’s predicament added to the storm—and they had just made it worse by confronting the Hokage en masse.
Tsunade sighed in frustration, her eyes rolling.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “All I did was tell Shizune to inform you. I had no idea the whole village would show up like this.”
The moment she had turned around, word had spread like wildfire—and now their uncoordinated attempt to plead mercy had backfired.
“We… we didn’t actually push things too far, did we?” Kushina asked softly. Her usual fire was gone, replaced by concern and unease.
Tsunade thought for a moment, her brow furrowed.
“I don’t think it’s as bad as it seems. If the Hokage were truly planning to kill Jiraiya, he wouldn’t have spoken so openly about it.”
If Toshiro had truly been enraged, he would have stayed silent—and struck.
The very fact that he had dismissed them with a promise to consider the matter meant he was leaving the door open.
Besides, she had spent enough time around Toshiro to understand his nature—he wasn’t a tyrant.
“Alright, everyone—let’s go.”
Tsunade snatched her pig from Shizune’s arms and turned toward the gambling hall. She had a hunch and wanted to test it.
The rest exchanged glances, then dispersed quietly. No one mentioned Jiraiya again.
Two Weeks Later – At Konoha’s Gate
A crowd of villagers had gathered, eyes fixed on the village gates, murmuring in anticipation.
“Yuki, I heard your husband’s on the exchange list this time. Is it true?” a middle-aged woman asked the young woman beside her, curiosity and envy in her voice.
The young woman simply nodded, clutching her three-year-old child tightly, her eyes distant as they stared toward the gates.
The older woman took the hint and fell silent, shifting her attention to the whispers around her.
“Did you hear? They’re doing the prisoner exchange in three phases—almost 500 prisoners coming back in total!”
The news spread like wildfire. Hope and tension mixed in the air as families awaited the return of their loved ones.
“Five hundred prisoners? That many?”
“Shows what you know. That’s actually an underestimate. After several ninja wars, many captured shinobi ended up in enemy hands.”
“This time, it’s not just one village involved. All the Great Nations agreed to release their prisoners at the same time—so of course the numbers are huge.”
“Then why not release them all at once? Wouldn’t it be better for them to reunite with their families sooner?”
“Probably… but doing it in phases is safer. Too much at once could create chaos.”
“I heard the village paid a hefty ransom to get them back. Some of them even sold out Konoha’s secrets just to stay alive. I honestly don’t know why the Hokage is bothering to rescue them.”
With the agreement of both Iwa and Suna, the prisoner exchange finally began in an organized fashion. However, Konoha hadn’t captured enough enemies to make an even trade, so heavy concessions were made—and more than a little blood was spilled to make up the difference.
Once the village released the names of those returning, discussions erupted all over Konoha.
Some people welcomed the news, seeing it as a long-overdue reunion for families who had suffered enough. Others disagreed, arguing that this was a show of weakness. To them, these prisoners had already betrayed Konoha the moment they gave up information to survive. The debate grew heated, and opinions remained divided.
“They’re here! Look!”
A hush fell over the crowd as a group of ragged, emaciated figures appeared at the village gate, staggering forward under the afternoon sun.
Their clothes were torn, their bodies covered in scars. Some couldn’t even walk unassisted and leaned heavily on fellow captives for support.
The villagers watching grew silent. Conversations stopped. Eyes widened.
“Husband!”
Yuki, who had been clutching her child tightly, spotted a familiar silhouette among the returned and instantly burst into tears.
She rushed through the crowd toward a weary young man.
And she wasn’t alone. All around, villagers who had come hoping for a miracle found their loved ones among the returned. They broke from the sidelines, running toward their family members with cries of joy and disbelief.
“Welcome home.”
Yuki’s voice trembled as she reached him. She clung to her husband, searching his face, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of his frail body.
“…Makoto?”
The young man’s hollow eyes landed on the child in her arms. Something stirred deep within him. He straightened instinctively, strength returning to his legs despite everything.
Once, he had been just a modest Chūnin. Captured during a mission, he had endured brutal interrogation. The only thing that kept him alive—kept him from breaking—was the thought of his pregnant wife waiting back in Konoha.
That hope was his anchor. Without it, he might have broken… or worse, been killed like so many others who confessed too early and became useless to their captors.
Because once you gave up your secrets, your life had no value.
He had survived when survival seemed impossible. And now, against all odds, he had returned home—to a wife who had waited, and a son he had never met.
Yet not every story ended in joy.
“What did you just say?”
A gaunt man turned to his elderly mother, disbelief flashing across his face. “Chika… remarried? And with a child?”
He staggered in shock, unable to accept the words.
“No… That’s impossible. She loved me. I loved her. How could she—”
He had dreamed of this moment, clinging to it during years of captivity. But now, he had survived only to discover he no longer had a home to return to.
His heart shattered.
And sadly, he wasn’t the only one.
Some returned to find new fathers in their homes—children too young to have been theirs. Others found their family homes sold, their possessions seized by careless relatives. One elderly man learned that his sons had divided his estate while he was missing… and then squandered it all.
Among the hundred or so returnees, not all could bear the emotional toll. Weakened by captivity, some collapsed on the spot, overcome by grief and exhaustion.
Fortunately, medical teams were standing by. They rushed forward with stretchers, working quickly to stabilize the fallen.
But amidst the heartbreak, there were still moments of light.
“Thank you… Yuki.”
Makoto clutched his wife close, his voice choked with emotion. He looked down at the son he had never known—his son, who looked just like him—and felt overwhelming gratitude.
She had waited.
She hadn’t given up.
And because of her… he had a home to come back to.
