A Curious Encounter

"Teacher, are you sure you're right?"

Konan's white Paper Wings fluttered gently as she stared suspiciously at Jiraiya standing on the treetop.

"Haha! Konan, what are you worried about? How could I possibly get lost? It's just... the map is too old. That's right, my map version is too outdated. I've been abroad for the past two years and forgot to update the map..."

Jiraiya stubbornly refused to admit that he was lost.

Not long after the master and apprentice entered the Land of Fire, Jiraiya began to take shortcuts with Konan, that is, instead of taking the main roads, they traversed mountains and valleys, wandering aimlessly through the desolate forests.

As a result, they had no idea where they had ended up.

"Teacher, please don't wander off. I'll go check the surroundings. Shadow Clone Technique."

Konan sighed helplessly, Hand Seals, and summoned three Shadow Clones. The four of them, with eight wings, flapped their wings violently, creating a mighty gale. With the help of the wind, they flew in all directions like elegant swans.

He watched his apprentice's departing figure.

Jiraiya bounced up and down on the tender leaves, looking at the map in his hand with a worried expression, muttering to himself.

"Damn it, has some kind of big battle taken place nearby? There's clearly a small hill marked here."

The hills are gone, only a vast forest remains.

"That's not right... Even if a great war flattened the hills, there's no reason for these trees to grow so fast."

Jiraiya's expression turned serious. He slowly closed his eyes and focused on sensing the Chakra around him.

His Senjutsu Sage Mode not perfect; he even needs the help of two great sages to successfully cast it. However, this does not prevent him from having this superficial perception of natural Chakra.

"As expected... something's not quite right, it hasn't been completely assimilated... Is this the forest created by Wood Style Jutsu?"

The forest before me has a subtle difference in atmosphere from this land. Although this small flaw is being smoothed out by the power of nature, it will still take some time to be completely completed.

"Wood Release... Wood Release? Have I been in the desert for too long? When did Wood Release ninja appear...?"

While Jiraiya and troubled, Konan, who had flown two kilometers away, discovered something... or more precisely, some people.

"Chief, there are people flying in the sky!"

"What the hell? Are you still half asleep... Holy crap, there really is a trapeze artist."

Nawaki tilted its head back, gazing at the shadow swirling in the sky, its eyes slightly narrowed, and muttered a curse.

"Damn, this sun is blindingly bright... Everyone's on guard, but don't rush to attack. A black robe with red clouds... Wow! I feel like I've seen it somewhere before..."

Although the bright sun was blinding, I could at least make out the outline of the person who came. Leaving aside their face, the most striking thing was that the uniquely styled robe triggered a memory in my mind, but it was fleeting and I couldn't remember where I had seen anything similar before.

Therefore, he suppressed those clansmen who were already planning to attack, and did not launch an attack rashly.

Nawaki is no longer the so-called young clan leader. Before the New Year, under the eager gaze of his elders, he carried the honor of the clan and inherited the name of the Senju. The position of clan leader, which had been vacant for many years, once again had a legitimate successor.

The glory of the Senju of the Forest is both a dazzling halo and a heavy burden, and Nawaki now understands this deeply. Being the head of a clan is indeed not an easy job.

The once somewhat impetuous young man has become much more composed and is able to calmly handle unexpected situations.

"Konoha ninjas?"

The Nawaki was blinded by the sunlight, Konan could see it clearly from the sky. The vegetation in the vicinity wasn't very dense, so a group of ninjas wearing green vests were easy to spot.

"Fellow villagers of Konoha, I meant no harm."

Konan slowly descended, her clear and melodious voice echoing in the ears of Nawaki and the others.

"I'm just asking for directions. Could you tell me how to get to Konoha? My teacher and I are lost. The geography around here is quite varied, and it doesn't match the map at all..."

Lost?

The Senju Clan members exchanged bewildered glances. Many of the younger, less thick-skinned members immediately broke into awkward smiles. It seemed like this was their fault, but... what a beauty!

Those present were all young disciples of the Senju Clan, and all of them were men. At this moment, most of them stood there dumbfounded, gazing up at the angelic beauty in the sky!

"Hey, you bastards, what are you doing? I just told you not to act rashly, not to put down your weapons!!"

Nawaki is furious!

Damn it, a bunch of lust-driven bastards! They can't even walk properly when they see a pretty girl. This kind of reaction greatly displeases the clan leader.

"Chieftain, shall we fight?"

Of course, not everyone was interested in women. Quite a few simple-minded fools who were obsessed with fighting remained unmoved and instead came up to ask the clan leader if a fight was about to break out.

"You... you all shut up and sit still on guard. Don't act without my orders."

Nawaki poked the idiot who had come closer with one finger and knocked him over, feeling incredibly angry.

What kind of people are these? They're either idiots who can't resist women, or idiots who only know how to fight and kill. Not many of them are even remotely intelligent.

"Who are you? What are you doing in Konoha?" Nawaki asked loudly.

"Wow, Nawaki, it's grown so big... Huh--? It's actually a clone, it's improved quite a bit!"

A white shadow darted out, swept past the Senju Clan members, grabbed Nawaki's shoulder, and greeted him with a laugh, only to find that he had his arm around a wooden figure.

The Senju Clan members were immediately jolted awake and dared not stand still any longer. If their clan leader were to fall here, every one of them would be ready to slit their own throats and lie there. They all drew their weapons, Hand Seals, and prepared to gang up on the man who had suddenly appeared in the arena.

"Don't make a move."

The sound of the Nawaki rang out, stopping the tribesmen in their tracks.

"Brother Jiraiya, can't you just come out and say hello normally?" Nawaki looked helplessly at Jiraiya was standing in the middle of the room with his hands raised and a sheepish grin.

"Haha, it's been a long time... I didn't expect you to have become so powerful now. Is this Wood Clone? When did you awaken your Wood Release?" Jiraiya's mouth flew up and down, bombarding Nawaki with a series of questions, leaving Nawaki completely bewildered.

"Stop, stop, Jiraiya -san, wait a minute. We can talk about the problem later. Someone else is asking for directions!"

"Oh! You mean Konan? She's with me. Konan, you can come down now, we're all on the same side."

Jiraiya laughed heartily and waved to Konan.