Do You Know the Will of Fire?

"All right, there's no point saying more now. Let's see if any of these people can still be saved!"

Jiraiya spoke. He had just raised his hands to form a seal when he saw Nagato move.

"Almighty Pull!"

The powerful gravitational force instantly pulled those Rogue Ninjas over.

Jiraiya was startled. Feeling the powerful suction beside him, he instinctively moved away.

Just now, Nagato... didn't form any hand seals! A ninjutsu cast instantly!

This is... the power of the Rinnegan!

I didn't expect this Nagato from the Other World to have already mastered the Rinnegan to such an extent.

What shocked Jiraiya most was not that Nagato had used the Rinnegan, but that he had used it against these few Rogue Ninjas.

Wasn't he afraid of the negative effects the ocular power would have on his body?

Nagato looked coldly at the Rogue Ninjas floating beside him, their eyes filled with terror.

When the Rogue Ninjas discovered the two of them, their faces turned horrified. Their leader hurriedly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know they were your prey. I'm willing to give you everything we just looted!"

Nagato's expression grew even darker.

This world... this world is too awful!

Were those seniors all lying to me?

In an era when people can't even control their own lives, an era when ordinary civilians don't even have dignity, is this really a good era?

Naive Nagato still believed what those people who sought to revive the Shinobi Village System had told him—people who spread lies to preserve their ruling interests.

Of course, to those people, the era under the system of villages and Daimyos ruling together truly was a beautiful one.

Seeing that Nagato remained silent, the Rogue Ninjas assumed the terms they had offered were not enough. They continued, "If you think that isn't enough, I can serve you for a while. We know this area very well. Give me seven days... no! Three days! In three days, I can plunder enough wealth for you!"

Jiraiya had already created a group of Shadow Clones to check whether the people from earlier could still be saved.

As for his main body, he stayed by Nagato's side at all times to prevent him from suddenly losing control and going berserk.

"Jiraiya, what exactly are these people?"

The moment Nagato asked, the pupils of the Rogue Ninjas widened in shock.

"One of the... one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya?"

We're done for! We're done for!

Jiraiya also examined the group with a solemn expression.

"Most of them are Rogue Ninjas who learned a little ninjutsu from missing-nin who casually passed on some knowledge. Once they gained a bit of power, they wanted to transcend the order."

Such people were very common. They had existed since ancient times. Not everyone was willing to accept the complicated and harsh missions assigned to ninjas.

It was relatively simpler to burn, kill, loot, and pillage. As long as they stayed away from the Shinobi Villages and didn't provoke nobles protected by ninjas, they would be fine.

Seeing how accustomed Jiraiya looked, Nagato's dissatisfaction surged.

"Can't your Konoha Village—or the Land of Fire—control these Rogue Ninjas? You just let them burn, kill, loot, and commit every evil?"

Jiraiya felt somewhat guilty.

"Well, if someone issues a mission, we'll have the corresponding ninjas accept missions to eliminate Rogue Ninjas..."

Nagato was dumbfounded.

You only suppress bandits when someone pays you? Then what's your purpose? You simply don't work if there's no money?

As the greatest armed force, regulatory body, and training institution within a country, couldn't they even handle something like this?

"Of course, if the impact is relatively serious, the Daimyos will arrange financial expenditures to plan a bandit suppression operation. I can guarantee this with my hand on my heart: our Land of Fire does this best!"

Nagato's heart sank.

Even the Land of Fire, this rotten, is the best? Just how chaotic is this world?

Nagato couldn't help thinking of the Empire. Although the people there lived exhausting lives, contributing to the Empire's development day and night, working tirelessly and daring not to stop for even a moment—

at least they had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. They never had to worry about losing their lives at any moment.

But the civilians here...

"Yitian! Please, wake up! Without you at home, how are Mother and the children supposed to survive?"

"Tian Ichiro, you're the only worker in our family. You absolutely can't let anything happen to you!"

Looking at the civilians rescued by Jiraiya's Shadow Clones, who were still terrified, clutching their heads, and weeping bitterly, Nagato suddenly felt a wave of shame.

It seems I misunderstood Emperor too deeply.

Earlier, when Emperor had said that 996 was a blessing, he hadn't thought much of it.

But now, looking at these civilians with sallow, emaciated faces, embracing the bodies of their dead relatives and shedding tears, he became confused.

At the beginning, didn't I say I was going to overthrow Emperor's dictatorship?

Why am I... wavering now?

Even in the most remote mountain villages of the Empire, there were no people this gaunt and skeletal!

Moreover, the elderly in the Empire had pensions, women had suitable handicraft work, and there was compulsory education.

It was impossible for a family to fall into utter despair simply because it had lost its man.

"By the way, why are there so many children in the village? Don't they attend classes?"

Looking at the children who would surely have avoided such a disaster if they had been in school, yet now lay on the ground without a breath, Nagato felt a pang in his heart.

"Attend classes?"

Jiraiya also began to grow confused about the world Nagato came from.

"How could the children of ordinary civilians afford to attend classes?"

"Our private-school teachers require a rather high price. Generally, only nobles and landlords have the financial means to hire tutors."

"What?"

Nagato's eyes widened.

Seeing his reaction, Jiraiya felt his scalp go numb.

"However, if the children of civilians here are willing, they can also go to Konoha. They only need to pay a small tuition fee to attend the Ninja Academy."

"Of course, most parents won't choose that. Being a ninja is dangerous, it requires a certain amount of talent, and training a ninja takes a long time. They aren't willing to lose a worker in the family."

Nagato frowned.

"Why would being a ninja be dangerous? You don't have to participate in dangerous tasks. After becoming a ninja, they could return afterward. Wouldn't that be more efficient?"

Seeing that Nagato had asked about his area of expertise, Jiraiya began speaking at length.

"You know about the Will of Fire, right? It's one of the conditions required to become a ninja!"

"Wherever the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire also burns eternally. The light of the fire will continue to illuminate the village and cause new leaves to sprout."

"This is an ideology promoted and established by Lord Hashirama, the founder of the Hidden Leaf Village, and jointly created and passed down through the long history of struggle by the villagers of Konoha."

"When they become ninjas, they will inherit the Will of Fire as well. At that time, they will transform from new leaves into flames, illuminating new branches and making them sprout!"

Listening to Jiraiya, Nagato summarized it simply and bluntly: "You mean sacrifice and dedication. Once they become ninjas, they must serve in the village and can't even take care of their own parents and families?"

Jiraiya scratched his head and smiled.

"That's not exactly what I mean. They can bring their families to the village. After all, the village raised them, so how could they easily leave it?"