Chapter 72: If You Play Tricks, Don't Blame Me for Playing Back

"Do you want everyone to think I'm crazy?" Takuya rolled his eyes at Tsunade, which only made her angrier.

She raised her hand, ready to strike, but hesitated and reluctantly lowered it when she noticed Takuya's eyes starting to turn red.

The message was clear: if you dare to hit me, I'll make sure you suffer public humiliation.

Wanna test me?

Orochimaru and Jiraiya both watched with expressions of amusement. Minato wore his usual troubled smile, while Nawaki curiously looked back and forth. He was eager to see whether his violent sister could withstand Takuya's genjutsu.

If she couldn't, there would definitely be some entertaining scenes to watch.

You're all just waiting for a show, huh? Tsunade thought helplessly, waving her hand dismissively. "Forget it. Let's not talk about this anymore. But why do you think no one would believe you if you told them?"

Pointing at his eyes, then at his temple, Takuya couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Come on, I'm not stupid or blind. The village's bias against the Uchiha is obvious to everyone. Even though I'm only half Uchiha, my situation isn't much better than theirs. Besides, if a kid like me says something like this, no one would believe it. They'd just think I'm either crazy or desperate for credit. Why bother?"

"As long as the Third Kazekage doesn't say anything, who would know?"

"But who would've guessed," Takuya sighed, shaking his head in frustration. "Who could've imagined the Third Kazekage would be so spineless, spreading such an embarrassing story? You have no idea—his dance that night was a sight you wouldn't forget."

"Tell us more!"

Everyone perked up immediately, Tsunade included.

The idea of the usually stern Third Kazekage dancing was both shocking and intriguing.

So, you want to spread rumors, huh? Make me famous, huh? Fine, I'll make it happen. Just you wait, let's see who ends up worse off.

If the Third Kazekage threw the first punch, Takuya was definitely going to hit back. You pull a stunt on me, I'll return the favor tenfold. It's only fair.

Takuya then went on to describe the essence of the pole dance.

"Hiss~~~"

The group collectively sucked in their breath, staring at him in disbelief.

The Third Kazekage, a man known for his seriousness, did such a shameful dance? This was big news—huge, even!

Jiraiya quickly pulled out his notebook, ready to jot down every detail.

"Something this entertaining can't be missed. The old man will be in for a big surprise, hahaha..."

You, Third Kazekage, said I'm a genius on par with the likes of Hashirama Senju, constantly stirring up trouble for me? Fine, I'll say you danced on a pole.

The esteemed Third Kazekage of the Sand Village, twisting and turning like a dancer in a red-light district—let's see how you like that.

After a while, the group finally digested the shocking news.

Minato and Nawaki were left questioning their own morals, while Jiraiya's eyes gleamed with inspiration as he scribbled furiously. Orochimaru, on the other hand, had a peculiar look in his eyes as he gazed at Takuya.

Orochimaru had figured it out—Takuya was doing this on purpose, determined to ruin the Third Kazekage's reputation.

Even if Takuya was making it all up, Orochimaru had no choice but to believe it.

And when he spread the story, he'd tell it exactly like Takuya had.

In normal circumstances, tarnishing the reputation of a village's Kage would be frowned upon. But now, they were enemies. The Sand had even attacked the Land of Fire—why should they hold back?

There was no need to be polite. The more they could smear the Third Kazekage, the better.

Once the story spread, how would the Sand Village's ninjas and civilians view their leader?

Forget being the "strongest Kazekage"—he'd be known as the "Pole-Dancing Kazekage" instead.

Given his expertise with iron sand, crafting a pole should be a breeze for him.

"..."

No one here was a fool. Aside from Minato and Nawaki, who were left with their minds blown and feeling morally compromised, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru all understood that Takuya was fabricating the story.

However, Tsunade, once she realized what was going on, didn't want to expose Takuya's lie. She couldn't anyway, but holding it in made her uncomfortable.

The most perplexing thing was—how did this kid know about such unsavory things? Had he been to those places?

The thought stunned Tsunade.

Orochimaru, with a sly smile, asked, "Takuya, how did you come to know about such things?"

"Hmm?" Takuya frowned in confusion, and upon seeing Tsunade's shocked expression, he realized she had misunderstood.

There's no way I, Yagami Takuya, would ever go to such places! At least not in this lifetime.

"Oh, that? I learned about it from one of Orochimaru-senpai's books."

"Pfft~~~"

Orochimaru was immediately caught off guard.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock.

Jiraiya looked up at Orochimaru, astonished, with an expression that screamed, "So that's the kind of person you are."

"..."

What's with that reaction!?

"Does Orochimaru-sensei like going to those kinds of places?" Nawaki asked curiously.

Orochimaru's eyes filled with a cold, murderous intent as he glared at Nawaki, causing him to cower behind Tsunade.

Taking a deep breath, Orochimaru calmly stated, "I don't own such books."

"And I've never lent any books to Takuya, so it has nothing to do with me."

"How could that be," Takuya said, pointing at Nawaki. "Back when we were stationed at the morgue, Nawaki brought out some books, saying they were from you. One of them was a travelogue, which contained content even more explicit than what I just described."

Now Orochimaru was truly speechless.

Because the books Nawaki had were indeed taken from him.

But he never read such books, let alone kept any.

"There's no need to explain. I understand."

Jiraiya sighed, patting Orochimaru on the shoulder. "We can discuss this another time... Ow!"

With a pained cry, Jiraiya was sent flying.

Orochimaru, his face darkened, decided he didn't want to say anything more.

Your teacher is really pitiful; it seems like everyone can hit him.

Takuya exchanged a glance with Minato, who awkwardly smiled, not knowing what to say.

Jiraiya's antics, while often amusing, could also be pretty embarrassing, especially for those close to him.

Like Minato.

In moments like these, Minato always ended up feeling the most uncomfortable.

"Do you think the Third Kazekage is crazy? Just to turn people against me, he spread this story far and wide. Was that really necessary?"

After confirming the truth of the matter, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru left shortly after.

Sitting by the campfire, Takuya still couldn't figure out what the Third Kazekage hoped to achieve by doing this. Did ruining a genius really matter more than the embarrassment of a Kage?

"He must've been left with such a lasting impression that the Third Kazekage, even at the risk of losing face, wanted to make sure your name got on other villages' hit lists," Nawaki speculated.

When it came to this kind of situation, Nawaki was the most qualified to speak. After all, he had grown up hearing stories about Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.

During the Warring States period, it wasn't uncommon for rival clans to try to eliminate their opponents' geniuses. Both Hashirama and Madara Uchiha had experienced the pain of losing brothers to assassination.

Since the establishment of the Five Great Ninja Villages, such occurrences had become much less common.

Villages now tended to nurture and protect their talented ninjas, ensuring they didn't meet an untimely end.

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