"They're here?"
"The powerful ninja from Konohagakure, Jiraiya."
"They say he's one of the strongest in the ninja world."
"Heh, if he's really that strong, then why did he fail such a simple escort mission?"
Inside the mansion, the Daimyos of other nations sneered at the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, not bothering to show him any respect.
Among nobles, there was no real need for politeness—especially after the humiliations they had all suffered recently.
"That's enough. If you want to assign blame, then do as you please."
At that moment, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire finally spoke, just as Jiraiya entered through the doors.
"Lord Daimyo!" Jiraiya's calm voice echoed in the vast, dimly lit chamber.
The room was enormous, like a towering hall.
The five Daimyos of the great nations sat in their respective seats in the middle of the chamber, while Jiraiya stood below them, surrounded from all sides.
Sunlight streamed down from the top of the tower, casting its glow entirely on Jiraiya.
But when the five Daimyos saw Jiraiya's appearance, their expressions subtly changed.
"Sage Mode?"
"No… this isn't just normal Sage Mode."
"Damn… what do we do now?"
Even these high-ranking nobles were caught off guard.
They were ordinary people, but that didn't mean they were ignorant.
Compared to the noble clans that had ruled for generations, ninja families were nothing.
In terms of legacy and history, the ancient noble families of the ninja world held true power.
They feared no one when it came to deep-rooted influence.
But Jiraiya's current state? To be honest, they weren't sure how to handle this situation.
Feeling the weight of everyone's gazes, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had no choice but to speak up.
"Jiraiya managed to protect the ninja and soldiers from all nations on his own. In my opinion, he has already done an excellent job."
Hearing this, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was the first to react with frustration.
Their nation had suffered the most recently, after all.
And then there was the whole "Konohagakure incident"—the Third Kazekage of the Land of Wind had died, and now they barely had any capable ninjas left.
Was the Daimyo of the Land of Fire just trying to shift the blame?
This wasn't just about ninja villages—there were also political battles between the great nations that had to be settled.
No matter what, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind wasn't about to let himself be taken advantage of.
"Even so, as the one responsible for this mission, failure means taking responsibility.
Is the Daimyo of the Land of Fire trying to defend Konohagakure's ninjas? If all of their ninjas are this unreliable, then maybe this village doesn't even need to exist."
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind's voice was sharp and unwavering.
Ninja villages weren't always a thing—they had only formed after the First Great Ninja War.
Before that, ninjas had just been scattered clans or wandering mercenaries.
Of course, while it seemed loosely organized, there were still some rules in place—it just wasn't as united as the current ninja villages.
"Is the Daimyo of the Land of Wind suggesting that Konohagakure, as a ninja village, should be responsible for the Land of Wind?
This incident happened within the Land of Wind. A nation this large didn't even send out military forces to protect foreign envoys. Shouldn't the country itself take responsibility?"
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire didn't hold back at all. But as soon as he pointed it out, the other Daimyo quickly caught on.
Even though his words put the Daimyo of the Land of Wind in an awkward position and didn't blame Konohagakure or Jiraiya directly, they still emphasized that the Land of Wind had a bigger duty as a nation.
A whole country expecting a village from the Land of Fire to take responsibility for it—how shameless was that?
"The Daimyo of the Land of Fire has a point. While Jiraiya did make mistakes, this happened within the Land of Wind. Shouldn't the Land of Wind reflect on whether its military power is sufficient?"
The Daimyo of the Land of Thunder spoke up. The Land of Thunder, both as a nation and through its ninja village, placed great importance on military strength.
"Jiraiya, what do you think?"
The Daimyo of the Land of Water spoke in a calm voice, almost as if he was trying to excuse Jiraiya.
Standing in the center of the group, Jiraiya looked completely indifferent. He was just here to go through the motions.
"I'll take full responsibility."
Jiraiya spoke bluntly. Disband the ninja village? Whatever. If they wanted to disband it, so be it—he didn't care.
It didn't matter whether it was the Daimyo of the Land of Wind or even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire ordering the disbandment of Konohagakure—Jiraiya wouldn't even flinch.
Despite his straightforward nature and lack of political scheming, Jiraiya actually had a sharp political mind.
Even if Konohagakure were truly disbanded, it would just mean cutting its political ties with the Land of Fire. If the ninjas still wanted to gather there, what could the Daimyo do about it? Nothing.
And even if one village disbanded, the other nations wouldn't follow suit.
If someone more responsible, like Tsunade, were here, she would've taken the pressure seriously and might have even been threatened by it.
But the current Tsunade wasn't the type to take responsibility for this.
And Jiraiya? He wasn't clueless either.
So when Jiraiya casually agreed to take responsibility, the five Daimyo were momentarily stunned.
Damn. They had run into an expert.
"As expected of one of the Legendary Sannin. That level of composure… Hmph."
"But since you're willing to take responsibility, Jiraiya, the Land of Wind won't be petty about it.
Our nation also bears some responsibility in this matter.
Once I return, I'll immediately strengthen our military defenses."
The Daimyo of the five great nations all gave Jiraiya a way out. But instead of taking it, Jiraiya turned it back on them and walked right up.
At this point, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had no choice but to give himself a way out too.
This whole meeting had been about shifting blame in the first place. But now, seeing Jiraiya in Sage Mode, they didn't want to make an enemy of him.
So, they had to swallow their pride.
Face? Was face worth anything? No, it wasn't.
Seeing how awkward the Daimyo of the Land of Wind looked, the others simply went along with it.
"The Land of Water will do the same. Strengthening military forces does seem necessary.
I'll bring it up with the Mizukage when I return."
"The Land of Earth as well."
"..."
Hearing the Daimyo talk, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a little speechless.
Was this really just an excuse to expand their own power? Was it that serious?
"If that's what you all want to do, go ahead."
"The power of pirates has grown stronger and stronger. The old rules no longer apply to this era."
"I'm sure all of you Daimyo have felt the changes Shanks has brought to this world over the past year."
Jiraiya sat down on the ground without any formality, showing no respect for the five Daimyo.
Because, to him, these five weren't worth it. Daimyo were just representatives chosen by their nation's nobility.
Anyone could sit in that position—even an idiot. Though, to be fair, the current five Daimyo weren't fools.
The previous Daimyo had all "stepped down due to illness."
Yeah, right. In the end, they were all from the same family. So, passing down the Daimyo title as an inheritance was only natural, wasn't it?
This kind of thing was common in ninja world history. For example, the Daimyo during the Fourth Great Ninja War weren't the same ones as before the war.
That was just how things worked in the ninja world.
In this era, if the nobles still let idiots hold such an important position, they might as well give up playing the game entirely.
The five Daimyo looked at Jiraiya's attitude and immediately understood—he wasn't here for them.
"Jiraiya, we are nobles of our nations. While we understand the situation in the ninja world, we don't have direct involvement.
We've all witnessed the changes Shanks has brought, but his identity is something we cannot ignore."
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire spoke.
Hearing this, Jiraiya finally felt a shift in his emotions. As expected, the nobles had information he wasn't aware of—even about Shanks.
"Is Shanks' identity really something you need to be concerned about?"
Jiraiya asked.
The five Daimyo remained silent for a moment.
Finally, the Daimyo of the Land of Thunder was the first to speak.
"Jiraiya, how much do you actually know about the ninja world?"
"Not much. Until now, I thought the ninja world was just ninjas and ordinary people."
Jiraiya lifted his head to look at the Daimyo, calm and composed, without arrogance or impatience.
Sitting there, he had the presence of a sage—and he truly was one.
"The ancient nobles of the ninja world have always remained hidden, staying in the shadows of history.
Perhaps Shanks has already noticed your presence, but I do not know for sure. The only information I have comes from the stone tablets of Rikudou Sennin, passed down by the Three Great Sacred Lands."
Jiraiya didn't hide what he knew.
"Long before Rikudou Sennin founded the ninja order, the structure of the ninja world was already set. Nations had their political systems, and the class hierarchy was firmly in place.
The founding of the ninja order disrupted the original rules of the ninja world. But such a disruption could never last beyond Rikudou Sennin's death."
As Jiraiya spoke, his gaze grew colder.
"If I were to attack you five right now, would any of you survive?"
"The power of ninjas, huh?"
"We are just ordinary people. How could we possibly survive against one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya?"
The five Daimyo understood Jiraiya's point.
"That's exactly the issue. How has the balance between the ninja clans and the world's nobles been maintained? Only power has kept this system in place."
"Rules can only exist under the protection of even greater rules."
The unspoken agreement and rules between the world's nobles and the ninja clans haven't changed for thousands of years. That means you also hold a kind of power that this era has overlooked."
"Jiraiya, are you talking about Sage Mode?"
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire spoke directly. Since Jiraiya had already brought it up, there was no need to beat around the bush.
"That's right, Sage Mode.
And the real rules of the ninja world."
Jiraiya looked at the five Daimyo.
At the same time, on the other side, a small figure stood in front of him, blocking his path.
There was a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
"You're a Sage, at least try to act like one."
The small Sage sighed.
"There's nothing serious happening over there. My clone is enough to handle it. I finally have the chance to see the truth of this world—I can't just let it slip away."
Jiraiya didn't care in the slightest.
The small Sage had no choice—he wasn't a match for Jiraiya anyway.
"Come with me if you really want to know."
With that, he led Jiraiya toward the courtyard.
Meanwhile, back with Jiraiya's clone, the five Daimyo had no choice but to reveal everything they knew.
"The real rules of the ninja world and Sage Mode? Sage Mode is similar to the Kekkei Genkai of ninja clans, but it's very unstable."
"As for us, as ordinary people, we don't know much about it."
"As for the so-called rules…"
The five Daimyo paused for a moment, then slowly continued.
"This goes back to the agreement between the Sage of Six Paths' Ninshu and the world's nobles."
"Ninshu and the world's nobles are not supposed to interfere with each other—at least under normal circumstances."
"The world's nobles are responsible for maintaining national stability and ensuring the survival of common people, while Ninshu must protect the lives of the nobles to a certain extent."
"That was the original agreement, and over time, it evolved into what we have now—ninja villages became the military forces of each country, while we nobles remained as symbols of political power."
At this point, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire interrupted.
"That's what makes Shanks' identity so unique."
"Shanks is both a ninja and a member of the ancient nobility, which makes his status extremely special to us."
"The Uzumaki clan may be a ninja clan, but the Land of Whirlpools was once part of the ancient noble system. The Uzumaki bloodline also carries the heritage of the ancient nobles."
As he spoke, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire even pulled out a genealogy record and tossed it forward.
To the nobles of the Five Great Nations, Shanks' identity was of great importance.
At the same time, Jiraiya couldn't help but find this revelation absurd.
Shanks is part of the ancient nobility?
"Because Shanks is both part of Ninshu and the ancient noble lineage, and because his actions have caused such massive changes in the ninja world…
With all these factors combined, we now have the opportunity to break the original rules."
Hearing this, Jiraiya understood.
"In other words, Shanks is, to some extent, taking the blame for you breaking the rules."
"That's right. Shanks, like us, is the key to breaking this cycle."
"In my eyes, you're just a bunch of cowards—afraid to sacrifice anything. Shanks is nothing like you spineless fools."
Jiraiya's eyes were full of contempt. He had more or less figured out what was going on and understood the rules that governed these so-called 'ancient nobles' and the 'Ninja Sect.'
But the more he understood, the more he found it pathetic—the sad reality of this world.
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