Chapter 211: Encountering a Wild Jiraiya at the Entrance of a Special Shop!
Here was a not so cold fact. Among metals, gold, a noble metal, could also be used to store radioactive materials. Its shielding effect was similar to a lead box. There were subtle differences, but it was still a solid choice.
In Kenichi's previous life, radioactive materials were rarely stored in gold for one simple reason. Gold was too expensive. To make a gold container large enough to hold that meteorite, you would need a ridiculous amount of it.
Kenichi did have some gold on hand, but forging it into a proper container that could safely hold the meteorite was not easy. So he sent a shadow clone back into Hidden Star Village to search again.
But after the combined ninjutsu strike and Deidara's cluster bombs, Hoshigakure had been almost completely wiped out. The village itself was largely destroyed. The clone searched through the ruins and found very little of value, though it did discover a few survivors who had miraculously escaped the bombardment and were hiding.
After the shadow clone brought back what it found, Kenichi immediately dispelled it.
"These aren't enough." Kenichi rubbed his temples. He already had the clone's memories, so he didn't bother saying more.
In any case, the clone had handled the survivors cleanly.
Still, the meteorite was not something Kenichi could leave behind.
With that in mind, he tried sealing it into a sealing scroll. As for the scroll itself, he had enough materials to craft a decent gold container to hold the scroll.
The result was exactly what he wanted. The meteorite sealed successfully.
Kenichi finally let out a breath.
Being near a radioactive substance was stressful, even if he believed his body should not be afraid of that level of radiation. Better safe than sorry. Caution was always the correct choice when dealing with something this dangerous.
Anyone with even a basic background in physical chemistry would understand.
"Senpai, what is that thing?" Deidara asked, eyes bright with curiosity.
Kenichi glanced at him. This kid really was curious about everything, but this meteorite was not something you could casually pull out for show. In a proper lab, you would need radiation protection gear or at least strict shielding procedures.
"Did you see that woman's bones earlier?" Kenichi pointed to Natsuhi, still unconscious nearby. "Her bones glow because of that thing."
Kenichi honestly admired her a little.
After all, training ninjutsu while staying close to radioactive material, close enough that your bones literally glowed, was a special kind of madness. If she kept going, she might as well try ascending.
"So cool!" Deidara became even more excited.
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Cool? Sure, glowing bones looked cool. The price was your lifespan.
"If you get that Supreme VIP Member skin, your life is going to be very short," Kenichi said, unable to resist warning him. Deidara, as annoying as he could be, was actually a good kid. He just had a few minor issues. Explosions being the biggest one.
"But it's really cool," Deidara muttered, still unwilling to let go of the idea.
Kenichi rubbed his face.
No wonder, back when radium was first discovered, some people even made radium water and sold it. And there was even a sucker who spent tens of thousands of dollars on it.
Back then, those dollars did not have the same value they did now.
Flames burned in Kenichi's palm. He was performing alchemy, melting gold and shaping it into a gold box that could store the scroll.
"But if you do that, you won't be able to play with explosions," Kenichi added, "and it might even affect your chakra."
He chose the one argument guaranteed to work.
Sure enough, the moment Deidara heard it might mess with his chakra and ruin his explosions, he gave up instantly.
Kenichi finished the gold box. After it cooled, he placed the sealing scroll inside and sealed it away properly.
Then he took Deidara back to inspect Hoshigakure one last time.
After confirming there were truly no survivors left, Kenichi collected Natsuhi and left the ruins behind.
He planned to return to the daimyo of the Land of Bears to collect his payment, then report back to the Akatsuki to complete the mission.
Once the mission was registered as complete, his contribution points would be enough. He could exchange them with Nagato for permission to research the Gedo Mazo. Alternatively, studying the black rods on Pain would also be a good option.
But all of that could wait.
Kenichi still intended to deconstruct the secret of the Sharingan first.
"What's wrong?" Kenichi asked as they ran, glancing sideways at Deidara. "You've been distracted."
Ever since leaving Hoshigakure, Deidara looked like he wanted to say something but could not decide how.
"Senpai…" Deidara chuckled awkwardly. "I just feel like destroying a ninja village doesn't seem that hard?"
"You're wrong," Kenichi replied flatly. "It's not hard to destroy a village that has no strong defenders. But if it were one of the Five Great Nations' major villages, like Konoha or the Hidden Mist, it would not be that easy."
Kenichi clicked his tongue.
"If wiping out a great village were that simple, Obito would have rushed in already."
"And the Hidden Sand is weak, right?" Kenichi continued, pausing as he spoke. "But besides the Five Great Nations, do you think any small country's village dares to cause trouble there?"
If that were the standard, then the future Akatsuki really would be the exception.
"But I always feel like our Hidden Stone is constantly being threatened," Deidara said hesitantly.
Kenichi looked at him.
It seemed Deidara had complaints about Iwagakure, but there was still something left in him that cared. That kind of lingering attachment was normal.
The future Deidara's feelings toward Iwagakure and the Third Tsuchikage were always complicated. Teacher and student for so many years, you could not erase that bond like wiping dust off a sleeve.
Even Jiraiya had paper flowers on his grave after being killed by his own student. Those had to be from Konan.
"You heard that from the Third Tsuchikage, didn't you?" Kenichi asked.
It sounded like a question, but his tone was certain.
Deidara nodded.
"Hidden Stone is very safe," Kenichi said, speaking casually. "Mountains all around. Easy to defend, hard to attack. It has weakened a bit, sure, but not nearly as much as people like to claim."
That was true under normal circumstances.
But Kenichi had arrived, and that changed the meaning of "safe."
The day Kenichi left Konoha with the Uchiha clan, he used an airship. Konoha had seen it. Once they saw it, it was hard to believe they would not try to replicate it.
If Konoha copied the concept and used it even a few times, the other villages would find out sooner or later. Konoha had too many spies. You could never catch them all.
And once high altitude strikes became common knowledge, Iwagakure's best natural advantage would not matter as much.
That was the same reason city walls stopped being the answer once modern warfare began.
Deidara's mood improved a little after hearing Kenichi's reassurance.
Only a little.
Kenichi felt a mild headache coming on. Explaining all of this to Deidara properly would take a long time, maybe an entire day.
So he did not continue.
Deidara would understand eventually. Just looking at the map made it obvious. The Land of Bears and the Land of Earth were not even comparable in scale.
Soon, Kenichi brought Deidara to the outskirts of the capital of the Land of Bears.
He entrusted Natsuhi to a shadow clone first.
Then Kenichi put on his mask and entered the capital with Deidara.
Even though it was late at night, many places were still open. And the ambiguous lights painted across the street made it clear what kind of businesses those were.
To reach the daimyo's residence, they had to pass through that area.
Kenichi was not surprised. The daimyo had already shown plenty of talent for indulgence earlier in the day.
"Oh, two little ninja brothers, come up and play," a voice called out warmly as they passed.
Deidara lowered his head, clearly embarrassed.
Kenichi did not care. He looked around with mild curiosity. He had visited plenty of hot spring towns before, but it was usually for business. When did he ever stop to watch places like this?
After observing for a moment, he realized the capital of the Land of Bears truly knew how to have fun.
One woman was dressed in an ethereal, almost fairy like way. When she noticed Kenichi looking, she spread her legs and threw him a seductive glance without the slightest shame.
Kenichi curled his lips.
"Tsk. This city really knows how to play."
He turned and left. He had no interest in lingering.
"Little brother, come back next time," the madams called from behind, still enthusiastic.
Kenichi kept walking, already thinking about the most efficient way to carry the money later.
Then he heard a voice that felt oddly familiar.
"Hehehe, I'll be back. This wine, tsk, it's really something. The aftertaste lingers, makes you want to spill every secret you've got!"
Kenichi froze for half a breath.
Then he grabbed Deidara by the collar and pulled him away, vanishing into the night without hesitation.
What rotten luck.
To run into Jiraiya in the Land of Bears, of all places.
What was Jiraiya doing here?
Kenichi could not understand it.
Then again, it was also completely reasonable that Jiraiya would appear in a place like this.
"Hmm?" Jiraiya turned his head, frowning slightly. He felt something off.
But when he looked, he only caught two vague figures slipping away into the darkness.
"That's strange…" Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
Before he could think further, something soft wrapped around his arm.
"Customer, Pearl says she missed you."
.....
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