The Land of Fire.
On the farmland behind a mountain Village.
A white-haired man was tilling the land with a hoe.
As he tilled, he muttered, "What in the world is going on? Why is my Chakra disappearing?"
"Could it be... Orochimaru poisoned me?"
"Hmph! The only one who could do this to me is probably Orochimaru!"
"Damn it... When I get back to Konoha, I'll definitely settle the score with him!"
Just then, a small boy in a hemp robe ran over, "Jiraiya-sama, dinner's ready!"
Jiraiya nodded upon hearing this, then shouldered his hoe and returned to his temporary residence, which was the Village Chief's house.
Previously,
Jiraiya had received a mission to investigate the border of the Land of Fire and left Konoha, but... after only half a day's journey, he found that his Chakra was gradually becoming uncontrollable.
Eventually, the Chakra in his body completely disappeared. Not only that, his physical strength also gradually weakened, becoming almost like an ordinary person!
Feeling the abnormality in his body, Jiraiya decisively turned back. After all, he was too dangerous in his current state; any group of mountain bandits or robbers could kill him.
But what he feared came true. Not long after turning back, he encountered a group of mountain bandits. Not only were his belongings stolen, but Jiraiya was also beaten, stripped naked, and thrown by the roadside.
Fortunately, the passing Village Chief rescued him and took him home, otherwise, he might have become a meal for wild beasts.
Upon arriving at the Village Chief's house, Jiraiya kept saying that he was Konoha's Sannin, Jiraiya.
But this Village was very far from Konoha, and it was in a remote area of the Land of Fire. Who would know who Konoha's Sannin were? It was good enough if they even knew of Konoha's existence.
Because these villagers rarely interacted with Ninja. Even if mountain bandits or robbers came to steal, they would just hand over some grain to resolve the matter.
Jiraiya returned to the Village Chief's house.
"Village Chief, how are your injuries?"
The Village Chief, lying on a wooden bed, shook his head and said, "I still can't get up for now. If Jiraiya-sama wants to leave, then leave! I'll have the other villagers help me farm!"
Jiraiya waved his hand upon hearing this, saying, "Leave it to me!"
In fact, Jiraiya was also worried that if he encountered enemies in his current physical condition, he might be defeated.
Even if he didn't encounter enemies, if his information leaked out, he would suffer assassination attempts from his former enemies.
Instead of taking risks, it was better to stay in this Village for now and figure out his physical problem first.
After all, who would think that the esteemed Sannin Jiraiya would be staying in such a poor Village!
This Village Chief was also unlucky; just after he rescued Jiraiya, he sprained his ankle.
Besides the Village Chief himself, there was only a small grandson in the Village Chief's house. The grandson was only three or four years old, so it was naturally impossible to ask him to hoe the land, which meant Jiraiya had to do it.
What Jiraiya and the Village Chief didn't know was that the Village Chief's sprained ankle was actually caused by Minato Namikaze's Wood Clone.
The purpose of Minato Namikaze's clone was to let Jiraiya experience the hard life of ordinary people more.
And it was exactly as Minato Namikaze had thought; seeing the old Village Chief unable to work, he readily helped with the farming.
Just as Jiraiya was talking to the Village Chief,
The Village Chief's grandson, Hongshu, brought food over.
The daily food in this Village was very simple: some wild vegetables and Hongshu.
Hongshu was the grain grown in this Village, and wild vegetables were picked randomly from the surroundings!
"Jiraiya-sama, please eat!"
The child named Hongshu politely handed the largest Hongshu to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya smiled and ruffled his head, then took the Hongshu from Hongshu's hand and began to eat.
Eating the Hongshu in his hand, Jiraiya greatly missed the days of drinking, eating meat, and flirting with girls in the entertainment district.
After coming to this Village, Jiraiya only then realized how difficult the lives of ordinary people were.
And according to Hongshu, their Village was considered good; if one went further outside the Land of Fire, many villagers couldn't get enough to eat, but at least in their Village, they had Hongshu to eat.
Jiraiya initially thought that it was due to war that these villagers lived such harsh lives.
But the Village Chief told him that whether there was war or not, their Village was always in this state.
Sometimes, during wartime, they actually lived a bit better, because during wartime, the Daimyo's grain collection teams would delay collecting grain, or simply not collect it at all.
Upon hearing this news, Jiraiya was even more shocked.
At this point, Jiraiya's definition of peace had begun to waver.
Just as Jiraiya was eating Hongshu and contemplating life, a man and a woman carrying large and small bags entered the old Village Chief's house.
The man and woman who entered were both dressed very decently, not in hemp robes, but in real fabric.
Seeing the man and woman, Hongshu, who was gnawing on a Hongshu, immediately jumped up happily.
"Mama, Papa... you're finally back!"
"Little Hongshu! Have you been listening to Grandpa?"
Hongshu's Papa put down his bags and then picked up Hongshu.
Just then, Hongshu's Grandpa also stood up, leaning on his cane.
"Why are you back? Is the work over there not going well?"
Hongshu's Papa smiled upon hearing this and said, "Old man, do we, husband and wife, look like things aren't going well?"
"It's just... there's a school at the base, and we want to send little Hongshu there to study!"
Hongshu's Grandpa's face also lit up with excitement upon hearing this.
"School... school is good! It's better than farming in this poor Village for a lifetime!"
Hongshu's Papa nodded and said, "Not just Hongshu, other children in the Village who want to go to school can also come with us!"
Hongshu's Grandpa, being the Village Chief, was even happier to hear that other children in the Village could also go to school.
As for Jiraiya, who was on the side, he frowned as he listened to the father and son's conversation.
"Base? Isn't that the place name of the Land of Fire border force that Minato asked me to investigate?"
"I didn't expect the forces on the Land of Fire border to have expanded this far! It seems I really need to resolve this quickly..."
Thinking this, Jiraiya looked at Hongshu's Papa and asked, "What is this 'base' you're talking about?"
Hongshu's Papa's face showed a look of pride when someone asked about the base.
"The base is a gathering place for those who advocate red ideology!"
"Sir, if you're interested, you can also come with us!"
"Currently, the base is expanding its recruitment; anyone who passes the assessment can join!"
Jiraiya's eyes also lit up upon hearing this!
"Good! When you return to the base, I'll go with you too!"