Chapter 196: Where Silence Speaks
The atmosphere in the Hokage's office was suffocatingly awkward. A drunk and irritable Tsunade was a dangerous combination. Shizune wisely stayed silent, not wanting to become an unfortunate target of her mentor's outburst.
Tsunade casually tossed Mizuki's report onto the desk with visible disinterest. Though technically accurate, the whole thing was full of "correct nonsense"—empty statements meant to fulfill procedure, devoid of real value. It left an unpleasant aftertaste.
"Your schemes are sharper than your jutsu," Tsunade muttered. But then her gaze sharpened, a particular question flashing through her mind. "Let's skip the trivial stuff. Tell me the truth—was it you who clashed with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death?"
Mizuki had expected the question. The aftermath of that incident had caused a stir. The visual spectacle of the battle, though perhaps not on par with truly legendary jutsu, had left a deep impression. Yet, despite exhaustive investigation, Konoha had failed to identify the mystery assailant. It was as if they had appeared and vanished like a ghost. Mizuki's unexplained presence in the forest had clearly made Tsunade suspicious.
After a moment of hesitation, Mizuki nodded. "Yes. That was me."
"You're serious?" Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief. "I thought I was just overthinking it… and it turns out I was right?"
"Well… I wouldn't call it planned. We just crossed paths, and, well, it escalated," Mizuki said with an awkward chuckle.
"Crossed paths I can believe. But accidentally injuring Orochimaru? That's a stretch. If you're that powerful, I may as well name you the Sixth Hokage right now," Tsunade scoffed. She opened a drawer and retrieved a record from a few months prior. Flipping through it, she handed the file to Mizuki.
"Here. This was compiled after the incident. See if anything in here matches your experience."
Mizuki accepted the file and skimmed it. After a few pages, he frowned.
"Something off?" Tsunade asked.
Mizuki looked up. "I don't know what happened in the middle of this, but a lot of this doesn't match reality. Either the ANBU intelligence was flawed, or… something else was going on."
Shizune was surprised. "That's unlikely. These records were sealed by the Third Hokage himself. Who could tamper with them?"
Tsunade's expression darkened. "Unless the mistake was baked in from the beginning."
Silence fell. The earlier humor evaporated completely.
After a pause, Tsunade said, "Explain. Which parts are wrong?"
"For starters," Mizuki began, "Orochimaru wasn't acting alone. There was definitely an inside collaborator. The file suggests his purpose was to abduct Sasuke, but if that were true, there were far better opportunities to act. The real objective was something else. And most importantly…"
He hesitated, then said bluntly, "Orochimaru wasn't seriously injured. In fact, I don't think he was injured at all."
"What?" Tsunade's voice dropped into a dangerous tone.
Mizuki continued. "If you trust my assessment, then I can say for certain: that attack wouldn't have crippled Orochimaru's abilities for a whole month. Maybe if it were a soul-based technique like Reaper Death Seal or Tsukuyomi, sure. But I only hit him with physical force. It might've rattled him, but not enough to matter."
The air in the office seemed to freeze.
"You understand what you're implying, right?" Tsunade said, all pretense of playfulness gone.
"I do," Mizuki replied solemnly. "And I stand by it. I know what kind of hit I landed."
That attack would have killed most shinobi instantly. But Orochimaru was not most shinobi. His Living Corpse Reincarnation and escape techniques made him uniquely difficult to harm with brute force alone.
What infuriated Tsunade the most was not that Mizuki had fought Orochimaru, but that this flawed intel—upon which major decisions had been based—might've been intentionally manipulated. The document Mizuki held wasn't just any file; it had been a key briefing for the Third Hokage in deciding Konoha's response strategy.
"You think the Third would've made the same decision without this report?" Tsunade asked.
"Honestly? Probably. But this definitely pushed him further," Mizuki answered carefully. "It emboldened him."
"Pushed the momentum and let him go with the flow, huh?" Tsunade muttered, not hiding her irritation.
"It's hard to say whether it was a mistake or not," Mizuki added. "Maybe the ANBU misread things. Maybe not."
Tsunade turned to Shizune. "Who authored this report?"
Shizune hesitated. "He's… already dead."
"Dead? How convenient." Tsunade scoffed. "No witnesses, no responsibility."
Mizuki felt a chill. Danzo's fingerprints were all over this. Subtle manipulation, playing to the Hokage's beliefs, just enough nudge to shape outcomes—without ever leaving evidence. It was terrifyingly efficient.
"Compared to this, my tricks are child's play. I'll have to be a lot more careful…"
"This ends here for now," Tsunade said coldly. "Tomorrow is your wedding. Go rest. You've done enough today."
"Tomorrow already?" Shizune echoed. "Wow, time really flew. It's going to be lively—and exhausting."
"I'll take my leave then," Mizuki said, ready to escape. "You two sound like you have a lot of experience."
The moment the words left his mouth, Mizuki realized his mistake.
Tsunade and Shizune both turned to him with dark expressions.
"Damn. Open mouth, insert foot…"
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