Tayuya's Heart Was as Cold as the Blade in Her Hand After Three Years of Odd Jobs

"The Six Paths of Pain have different abilities but share vision; in essence, they are all puppets," Naruto said casually, quite satisfied with Jiraiya's attitude.

"One of them has a special ability called the Preta Path, which allows him to absorb Ninjutsu Chakra. In other words, simple Ninjutsu cannot harm him."

"The Preta Path?" Jiraiya looked Naruto up and down again. "Where did you get this specific information?"

"Of course I got it by risking my life to investigate. Did you think I'd wait for you, the Pervy Sage, to do it?" Naruto lied without batting an eye, speaking calmly and confidently.

"You fought Pain?" Jiraiya clicked his tongue slightly, his eyes narrowing instantly, clearly not someone to be fooled. "When did you fight him?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Naruto, somewhat annoyed. "Interrogating me? The Land of Rain mission has been dragging on for so long, if I don't go, who will?"

"I didn't mean that, I was just curious." Jiraiya smiled and immediately changed the subject. "If what you said is true, then things are in trouble."

"If they're immune to Ninjutsu, what will we use to deal with them?"

"I'm powerless to help; it'll have to be you, Pervy Sage, who has to step in." Naruto walked towards the bathroom to brush his teeth, looking towards the door through the bathroom mirror.

"Only you can harness Natural Energy. Eating too much of that stuff will turn you into a stone frog, won't it? Just fill your stomach."

"Is it reliable?" Jiraiya being overly particular. He had brushed his teeth early in the morning and was making tea, with white steam rising and obscuring half of his face.

"Don't question Naruto, give me some time. I am the First Hokage reincarnated." He mumbled, foaming at the mouth. "It's 100% true, believe me."

"Speaking of Natural Energy, after this mission is completed, do you want to go back to Mount Myōboku and try again?" Jiraiya asked worriedly.

"Try what?"

"How about continuing to cultivate Sage Mode?"

"Forget it, you can't force things. I've tried so many times and failed each time," Naruto said dismissively, rinsing his mouth.

"Besides, I don't want to eat insects anymore."

The thought of the insect feast at Mount Myōboku Jiraiya's face turn green. Although insects are essentially just a mass of protein, you can eat them even if you twist off their heads.

But that stuff was greenish-blue, plump and mushy, and just looking at it made me nauseous. Not to mention melting it in the pot; looking at that thick soup, greener than Wu Dalang's hat, made me want to vomit bile.

To put it simply, it 'Bear Grylls' paradise, a hunting ground for real men.

Naruto and Jiraiya finished packing and checked out of their hotel. With the sun high in the sky, Jiraiya took Naruto to a random restaurant on the street for lunch.

Hiding in the shade of a shed, they had a hearty meal over two days.

"You just mentioned the Preta Path, where are the other five?" Jiraiya wiped his shoes.

"We'll talk on the way." Naruto wolfed down his food, insisting on ordering the most expensive dish instead of paying! (Street stall)

Jiraiya waited patiently, wiping his shoes three times, until Naruto finally finished eating. He put down the tissue, got up, and quickly walked to the shopkeeper to pay.

On the road.

Naruto, clutching his swollen belly, slowly walked forward, feeling like he was about to vomit at any moment. Jiraiya, his face darkening, glanced repeatedly at his nearly empty wallet.

"How much did you eat?!"

"Burp! Barely full, the taste was so-so," Naruto said. "I'll introduce you to someone next time, the Pervy Sage, you might be interested."

"Who?" Jiraiya asked. "That girl from last time?"

"No, the other one, from the Hyuga Clan."

Jiraiya: "You brat, you've already fallen for someone else so quickly, tsk."

"What are you talking about? I mean we should introduce her to you eventually, but other food is too expensive. How about you treat us to ramen next time? Just enough to fill our stomachs."

"Ramen?" Jiraiya pondered for a moment. "How much is a bowl of ramen?"

"The highest tier will not exceed one hundred taels," he replied.

"If it's only a hundred taels, then it's still a good deal," Jiraiya murmured. "Let's talk about it next time we meet. It would be good to see each other."

"Oh, by the way, does Tsunade know about those things you did? She hates philanderers the most, so you'd better keep it a secret, or you might get beaten up for no reason without even knowing it."

"Probably... doesn't know." He stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then said, "Konohagakure, sooner or later I'll be the one calling the shots."

"You're talking nonsense again." Jiraiya ignored him.

"Speaking of which, the most troublesome of the Six Paths of Pain are the Preta Path and the Deva Path, one for offense and one for defense. The Deva Path's ability is to use Chakra to create gravity."

Naruto picked up where they left off at noon, starting with Deva Path and recounting the story in detail, without revealing that Deva Path was actually Yahiko.

"It's roughly a combination of suction and pushing forces, constantly repeating, which can both deflect Ninjutsu attacks like Rotation and attract people in heavily."

"Another technique that can deflect Ninjutsu?" Jiraiya was taken aback.

"Yes."

"Is it feasible to use Natural Energy?" Jiraiya asked again.

"How would I know? I don't know any of those Senjutsu. You can try it out when the time comes," Naruto said. "Pervy Sage, I can't beat them, but you definitely can."

"If the information is detailed, even six people might be enough." Jiraiya frowned and said seriously, "I have a general understanding of the information on the Preta Path and the Deva Path."

"What about the rest?"

"There are four left, I'll tell you slowly." Naruto explained step by step, emphasizing, "In the battle, the Asura Path and Animal Path pose a greater threat."

"In the end, we still have to fight against six people, or more, with just two of us."

"So troublesome?" Jiraiya's expression grew Jiraiya my own; if I can't beat them, I can just run away."

"But if we take you with us, it's uncertain whether we can escape."

"You're worried about me? You'd be better off worrying about yourself. You're getting on in years, Pervy Sage, can't you handle this, grandpa?"

Naruto paused, having been using too much Zuan language lately, and almost couldn't hold back. He almost blurted out "old man."

"I've been navigating the Shinobi World for years. If I didn't have some tricks up my sleeve to save my life, would I still be alive today?" Jiraiya said smugly. "To be honest, I can't guarantee a 100% win rate."

"But when it comes to the ability to save my life, among all the people I've met, only Orochimaru is better than me."

"Is it possible that Orochimaru isn't dead?" Naruto suddenly added, turning to look at Jiraiya, who was clearly stunned and Jiraiya expression was growing increasingly serious.

Outside Amegakure.

Heavy rain fell, accompanied by rumbling thunder.

A few dozen people were scattered densely in the bushes a dozen kilometers away from Amegakure. Their Forehead Protector were a motley collection, and they were wearing raincoats. They were all from some small, insignificant ninja villages.

"That's Amegakure. Are we really going to go in?" a fully armed young man asked, his face filled with fear.

"Even if the commission for the task is high, isn't the risk a bit too great?" Another young man with fair skin also hesitated. "An investigation task."

"Never mind all that, we're already here! How can we back down!" the burly male ninja hissed, reprimanding them sternly.

"We've already accepted the task, what will the employer think of us if we back out halfway through?"

With a loud rumble, the rain intensified, and a thin mist began to rise from the surroundings.

The burly male ninja in front was still giving his impassioned speech when, below, a girl raised her head, revealing a freckled face beneath her raincoat. She squinted at the rain, then at the ninja still rallying the crowd, a hint of disdain on her face.

"Boring."

After saying that, she looked around again and found a figure beside her. Relieved, she reached out and patted the person on the shoulder.

My fingertips were startled by the cold rain, and I immediately pulled my hand back.

"Sound," she whispered.

The person under the raincoat beside her looked up, revealing a beautifully grown-up young woman's face, though her eyes held a somewhat indifferent expression. Turning to look at the freckled girl, Tayuya asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Oto" is Tayuya's code name. In this small-to-medium-sized mercenary organization, she's considered a fairly capable newcomer. The freckled girl who called her earlier is someone she knows well.

However, the mere six months they spent together were not enough for her to develop any trust in the freckled girl. Taking on this task was not her own choice at all.

"I'll tell you a secret, Oto." Red Sparrow quietly pulled Tayuya and whispered in the rain, "Someone wants us to die on this mission."

"Where did you hear that from?" Tayuya's face showed no panic, nor any emotional fluctuation. When on a mission, one cannot believe everything one hears.

"Don't worry about that. I have my own intelligence channels, and that's a secret," Red Sparrow said with a mischievous smile, sticking a finger out from his lips.

"Oh." Tayuya an unusually cold tone.

"Yin, why didn't you ask a few more questions?" Red Sparrow said somewhat discontentedly. "You made it impossible for me to continue the conversation; it's so embarrassing!"

"Aren't you quite the talker now?" Tayuya said dismissively.

She was originally an orphan who was found by Orochimaru while wandering the battlefield. After that, even though Orochimaru used them as test subjects, she had no objections.

In her heart, Orochimaru was always kind to her. The lives of war orphans are as worthless as weeds; anyone can trample on them, and if they're in a bad mood, they can even be trampled to death.

In any case, in the end, no one will care, and he will just end up lying dead.

Orochimaru gave her the power to protect herself and a sense of belonging, and until he abandoned Orochimaru, she remained loyal to Orochimaru. However, because of someone else, she made one wrong step after another.

She was never afraid of death, but at that time, she didn't know what came over her; she was bewitched and wanted that money. She had never been so eager for money before.

But later she realized that money wasn't so important after all, although that guy had vanished without a trace. Completely bored, she started working at Exchange Place.

Later, for some unknown reason, the Exchange Place closed down for a while.

During that period, Tayuya gradually joined various gray organizations, both large and small. Most of the members were rogue ninjas who addressed each other by codenames.

For example, Tayuya's code name is Oto, and the freckled girl's code name is Red Sparrow.

This is the third organization she has been to. The first two organizations both scattered like birds and beasts after their missions failed.

If the failure rate of their missions is too high, these shady organizations won't get any missions. No missions mean no commissions, and they can't pay their employees. The boss runs off with the money, and the organization naturally falls apart.

The wandering ninja organization can't get labor arbitration, otherwise Tayuya would have slaughtered those two bastards who owed wages! Debts must be repaid in blood, it's only right and proper.

For Tayuya now, doing odd jobs in the wandering ninja organization has become the norm. She doesn't lack money, but she subconsciously wants to make money.

After three years of odd jobs, her heart had grown as cold as the knife in her hand.

"You speak so coldly, sob sob sob!!!" Red Sparrow covered her face, peeking at her through the gaps between her fingers.

"Speak quickly if you have something to say." Tayuya glanced at her and said in a cold tone.

"Oh, the inside of Amegakure is extremely dangerous. Once you go in, you might not be able to come out." Red Sparrow held up a finger and whispered, "Let's slip away now."

"I'm not leaving." Tayuya said rationally, "I don't trust you."

"Uh," Red Sparrow was truly embarrassed, so she simply turned her head away and stopped talking altogether.

Tayuya think it was excessive; she simply looked calmly at the torrential rain ahead, silently pondering the purpose of this mission.

Unlike previous missions, this one was primarily recruited, not voluntary. Tayuya was selected because her skills were quite impressive among the newcomers.

Even without using the power of the Cursed Seal in public, she is still much stronger than an average Chunin. With the Cursed Seal Stage Two, her strength is roughly at the Jonin level.

"Amegakure is sending itself to its death." She glanced at Red Sparrow out of the corner of her eye, her brows furrowing slightly.

The heavy rain continued to fall, turning the world into a vast expanse of white.

On the outskirts of Amegakure, two tall figures draped in raincoats lay in wait. With a splash, Jiraiya shoved the hostage he had captured into a puddle.

"Are you a ninja from Amegakure?"

"Let me go!! Damn it!" The girl gritted her teeth, half her face was pressed into the puddle, and her body was still struggling.

No matter how much she struggled, she desperately discovered that she could not break free from the old man's control. It felt as if an iron clamp was slowly tightening around her neck, suffocating her bit by bit.

"Me! Waaah!" The girl had barely opened her mouth when a mouthful of muddy water was poured in.

Raindrops the size of soybeans kept hitting her head and face. The cold sensation and the pain in her body gradually broke down her mental defenses.

I failed to complete the S-rank mission assigned by the angel, and now I'm going to lose my life. I'm truly ashamed of the angel's expectations.

Seeing Jiraiya holding the tongue, Naruto squatted down to take a closer look at the girl ninja, and suddenly laughed.

"Oh, it's someone I know."

"What acquaintance?" Jiraiya relaxed his grip slightly, looking up at Naruto in surprise. "You know him?"

"I know her, but she doesn't know me. I remember her name should be Hydrangea)."

I rushed home to sweep the tombs and spent the whole day on the road, only managing to update 4,000 words. I feel guilty. I'll try to update 10,000 words a day tomorrow.