A person more troublesome than someone stubborn is someone obsessed—and Jiraiya was a powerful yet obsessive shinobi.
He longed for peace but had no idea how to achieve it. So, when he grasped onto a single strand of hope, he clung to it as if it were the key to realizing his dream, refusing to let go no matter what. He was convinced that following this path would lead him to the future he longed for.
Jiraiya had witnessed the brutality of war firsthand. He, Tsunade, and Orochimaru had earned the title of the Sannin during the war. Unlike Orochimaru, however, Jiraiya had a degree of compassion for the weak. Yet, when it came to stubbornness, he surpassed both Tsunade and Orochimaru combined.
As a young shinobi, Jiraiya had been surrounded by genius teammates. Then, by chance, he stumbled upon Mount Myoboku, gaining the power of the toads and the opportunity to learn Sage Mode. To Jiraiya, Mount Myoboku held a place in his heart even higher than Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It had given him the power to reach for his dreams and had shown him a supposed path to peace. Because of that, Jiraiya believed in the Great Toad Sage's words without question, almost treating them as absolute truth.
Konoha had treated Jiraiya well, yet because of an ambiguous prophecy, he had willingly abandoned the village for years, even before the war had ended. Under the guise of gathering intelligence, he roamed the world, writing books and searching for the so-called Child of Destiny.
If any other shinobi had been gone for more than three days, Konoha would have labeled them a rogue ninja.
Hyuga Mirai paused his experiment, preparing to leave, when 18's voice interrupted.
"Sir, Orochimaru is looking for you."
A moment later, Orochimaru's voice came through.
"Mirai-kun, how much of the bio-nanoparticles do you have left? Sasori has asked me to help him create a new type of combination puppet, but I've used up my supply."
Mirai raised an eyebrow. "You two met without trying to kill each other? That's surprising. I still have some extra, but you should use them sparingly, Orochimaru. Bio-nanoparticles are difficult to manufacture, and you exceed your monthly quota every time."
And now, involving Sasori… He was probably eyeing the additional supply Sasori had access to. Orochimaru's interest in human modification had long since gone beyond kekkei genkai—he wanted to test anything that could be implanted into his body.
Orochimaru's hoarse laughter came through. "Hehe, it was worth it just to see Sasori lower his head and ask for help."
"Begging for help? Did you record it?"
"Of course…"
"You two… do you have a death wish?!" Sasori's gritted voice cut in.
Mirai had more pressing matters, so he simply said, "I have things to take care of. I'll have 18 deliver them later."
Sasori asked, "An issue in Sunagakure?"
"Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, has infiltrated. With Sunagakure's current strength, they have no way to deal with him. If he keeps investigating, he'll soon uncover Keikou Trade Association's secrets."
Mirai explained, "Jiraiya is strong and troublesome. It's best to eliminate him quickly."
Orochimaru suddenly spoke up, his tone carrying a hint of amusement. "Mirai-kun, let me handle this."
Mirai shook his head. "Orochimaru, you act cold-blooded, but when it comes to people you know, you hesitate. If Jiraiya is determined to cause trouble, it will be a problem for both of us. This time, I'm making sure he's dealt with."
"If you want to come, fine, but I won't let him go."
With Mirai's approval, Orochimaru only needed to ask 18 for Jiraiya's last known location.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Hearing you say that, I'm actually a little surprised. But fine, I just want to have a match with that dropout. After that, you can decide what to do with him."
"In that case, I'll come too," Sasori interjected. "If you're both going, I want to see this for myself. With my puppets, Jiraiya won't escape."
Sasori was purely interested in assessing Mirai's strength. A Sannin like Jiraiya would make for a good benchmark.
But this wasn't just a question of escape—if all three of them went, Jiraiya would be lucky to leave behind an intact corpse.
For a moment, Mirai considered leaving the job to Orochimaru and Sasori. The two of them should be more than enough to handle Jiraiya.
But after thinking it over, he decided it was best to go himself. If the two made a mistake, Jiraiya could escape. Anyone who had signed a contract with one of the Three Great Summoning Lands couldn't be underestimated.
Orochimaru suddenly asked, "Mirai-kun, should we inform Tsunade?"
Both of them were well aware of Tsunade's recent addition to the group. When the platform's terminal suddenly had a new member—one of the Sannin, no less—it naturally drew their attention.
Ayaka Uzumaki felt a bit sour upon hearing the news. While on a mission, she suddenly contacted Hyuga Mirai, grumbling about trivial matters, only for Mirai to cut the conversation short.
Meanwhile, after joining the organization, Tsunade had barely interacted with anyone aside from asking Orochimaru a few questions. Instead, she became deeply engrossed in the research materials Mirai had given her, burying herself in the Tea Country's research facility and hardly stepping outside.
Mirai's clone was stationed there, so he had some understanding of Tsunade's situation. She had taken his words to heart. After dabbling in electronics, she had shifted her focus to refining her technique, Body Activation Shock.
Electromagnetic conductivity, signal interference, transmission, reception, electric fields, bioelectricity—there were countless potential applications. In fact, the possibilities were so vast that a single developed ability in this field could rival all known kekkei genkai.
More importantly, it was an ability anyone could learn. As long as someone had excellent chakra control, they could master it.
Mirai had high expectations for Tsunade. With her talent, she was bound to develop numerous abilities in the field of electronics.
"No need to notify Tsunade. She's fully immersed in her research," Mirai said, shaking his head.
"Oh? Hehehe…" Orochimaru's eerie laughter echoed.
Ignoring him, Mirai ended the call and left the Roran base.
Meanwhile, inside the stomach of the Iwasuku Toad, Jiraiya's expression was grim as he interrogated the captives.
"What exactly is Sunagakure planning? Why did the Keikou family join them? Be honest!"
The toad's stomach walls had completely restrained the captives, leaving only their heads exposed.
Keikou Sanmoku, unfazed by the situation, responded calmly. "None of this concerns Konoha. The Keikou family is not a shinobi clan. Only the Daimyo of the Land of Fire has the right to question our actions. Jiraiya of the Sannin, on what authority do you detain us and demand answers?"
Despite being tightly restrained by the toad's flesh, Keikou Sanmoku's expression remained unchanged. Even when Jiraiya attempted to intimidate him, his demeanor never wavered.
This unnatural composure unsettled Jiraiya. It was almost as if Sanmoku was under a genjutsu. But there was no chakra signature on him at all.
"What you're doing could easily disrupt the fragile peace. And as a citizen of the Land of Fire, aligning with Sunagakure is an act of betrayal," Jiraiya said, preparing to use genjutsu to extract information. His skill in genjutsu was mediocre, but against an ordinary person, it would be more than effective.
"Migration among nobles is rare, but it's not unheard of," Sanmoku replied, unfazed. "Small nations merging into larger ones, even daimyos relocating—these things happen. Even the Daimyo does not have absolute authority over us. As for disrupting peace, isn't that precisely what you're doing?"
Speaking to this man was exhausting. Jiraiya clicked his tongue. "Enough talking. It's time to take action—Genjutsu: False Surroundings Technique!"
It was one of the few genjutsu Jiraiya knew, though he was not proficient in it. Against a high-level shinobi, it was ineffective, which was why he rarely used it.
But when the genjutsu invaded Keikou Sanmoku's mind, it had no effect. He remained as calm as ever, even speaking through the illusion. "Using genjutsu on an ordinary person? This must be the great shinobi way of Konoha…"
"How are you resisting my genjutsu?" Jiraiya was shocked. His genjutsu skills weren't great, but failing against a non-shinobi was absurd.
What he didn't realize was that Sanmoku's nervous system was under the control of an 18-series chip. Jiraiya's genjutsu-chakra had no effect on the chip's controlled functions, rendering the technique useless.
"This is getting difficult," Jiraiya muttered. He couldn't get any information out of Sanmoku, the toad's stomach compression didn't faze him, and now even genjutsu was ineffective.
Left with no choice, Jiraiya turned to interrogate the four captured Sunagakure chunin.
A short while later, under Jiraiya's pressure, the four chunin cracked and answered most of his questions—except for the truly classified ones.
Details about Sunagakure's deeper reforms, the assassination of Rasa, and the circumstances of the Land of Wind's Daimyo's death were all unknown to them. Only the upper echelon of the village had access to such information, and even most jonin were unaware.
Still, Jiraiya managed to fill up half a notebook with what he had learned.
"I didn't expect Sunagakure to be making so many moves… I need to report this to the old man immediately. But what should I do with these captives? Just leaving them in the desert would be problematic."
He still had more investigating to do, but releasing them would alert Sunagakure.
After some thought, Jiraiya decided to bind them and hide them for a while. If Sunagakure realized they were missing, it was still better than revealing his presence outright.
"Time to head back."
With that, Jiraiya dispelled the summoning, returning to the real world.
The moment he landed, however, another barrier instantly activated.
"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation."
A purple barrier shot up around him, forming an enclosed square-like prison. The moment he reappeared, a thousand-meter radius was sealed off.
"Damn it."
Jiraiya took a deep breath, scanning his surroundings. The sight of the three figures before him made his heart sink.
This time, escape wasn't an option.
Orochimaru.
A red-haired puppeteer—was that Sasori of the Red Sand? The underground bounty network had been circulating his information lately, with reports saying he had been seen in Sunagakure.
And the last person…
The one Jiraiya feared most.
Hyuga Mirai.
(End of Chapter)