Some Things You Won't Regret, Jiraiya Still Chose the Same Path

Under the moonlit treetops, all was quiet.

Kazahana Koyuki lay contentedly on the bed, her eyes half-closed, her expression languid. After hesitating for a moment, she reached for the mirror beside the bed, her jade-like arms as straight as slender lines.

The color is like steaming hot milk, and every movement seems like it's about to spill.

"Woke up?"

"Um."

The voice seemed to be squeezed out of her throat, with a heavy nasal tone. The room was dimly lit, and her mind was foggy. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the other person seemed to be leaving.

It's the middle of the night now, and it's still dark.

"Are you leaving?" Her voice was somewhat slurred, and she sounded very tired.

"Okay, you get some rest." Naruto replied, then turned to look at her, his gaze lingering for a moment on her Kazahana Koyuki, budding body.

It was only for a moment; with the door creaking shut, the palace fell silent once more.

The dim light from the bedside lamp illuminated a corner. Kazahana Koyuki's back was tense as she silently stared at the closed door, her lips pursed. After a long while, she suddenly relaxed and let out a soft sigh.

Kazahana Koyuki, wearing a wine-red pleated nightgown, fell onto the messy, snow-white bed, her shoulder straps slipping down, like a plum blossom blooming in the snow.

The next day.

"Turn the steering wheel to the left! Turn it all the way!! Holy crap, Rock Lee, you turned it all the way again!"

"Who are you going to kill?" Rock Lee scratched his head.

"Are you going to kill me? Turn the steering wheel all the way!" Naruto cried out in despair, clutching his head. "Big brother, I'm driving! Don't look at me, watch the road!"

Jiraiya squatted in the snow, squinting as he watched Rock Lee and Naruto slowly reverse their two snowmobiles in the open space in front of him, and couldn't help but smile.

A biting wind howled Neji, bundled up in a thick white cotton coat, sat to the side watching Naruto and Rock Lee playfully bicker. His gaze slowly shifted, settling on another empty car parked on the snow.

He suddenly turned his head and noticed that Jiraiya seemed to have also set his sights on the car, so he immediately closed his eyes. The moment he closed his eyes, he heard a rustling sound beside him, as if Jiraiya had gotten up.

"I'll give it a try too." Jiraiya laughed and walked towards the snowmobile lying there.

Neji naturally had no objections. Although he also wanted to play, he couldn't very well compete with a senior like Jiraiya. However, just as Jiraiya was walking towards the snowmobile, a head popped out from another snowmobile that was circling around.

"You Pervy Sage! Do you know how to drive? Let me teach you."

"What do you mean I can drive?" Jiraiya was immediately displeased, so he simply got into the car and slammed the door shut with a thud.

"Is this thing difficult? I only need to figure it out a little."

"Hehe." Naruto stood by with his arms crossed, watching the show, looking like he thought, "If you can do it, then you do it."

"This..." Jiraiya had spent half his life in intelligence work, traveling all over the country and seeing a lot, but he really didn't know anything about this new thing.

Looking at the messy dashboard, he was a little confused, but he didn't want to lose face in front of Naruto. So he pretended to be calm and randomly operated the controls.

The snowmobile's engine roared like a wild beast, and Jiraiya had haphazardly turned on the headlights at some point. The entire vehicle, like a ferocious beast awakening, shot off with a thunderous roar.

"Hiss~~!!" Naruto gasped upon seeing this.

I never expected that Jiraiya, at his age, would still have the heart to race. I was planning to see him make a fool of himself, but unexpectedly, he started with a launch control start.

"Someone save me!" Jiraiya out in panic.

Unfortunately, his voice was drowned out by the roar of the engine. He shot away from the open space and flew out with the snowmobile like a whirlwind.

While breaking out in a cold sweat, Jiraiya found it incredibly exciting.

The surrounding snowscape rushed past, a biting wind swept in, and in the distance lay the distant view of snow-capped mountains and glaciers. A bright path cut along the mountainside, a breathtakingly vast expanse of beauty.

The speed was increasing, Jiraiya hurriedly released the accelerator, then slammed on the brakes in a panic.

Bang! My head almost hit the steering wheel.

He was stunned. Looking up, he saw the snow-capped mountains in the distance, their sharp peaks covered in white snow like thorns. It must have been snow after a clear day, for a ray of red light fell from the horizon, quietly draping the snow-capped peaks.

Jiraiya's heart pounded. He stared blankly at the snow-capped peak, a sense of something slowly creeping out of his heart. He felt uncomfortable all over, but the stimulation brought him a sense of relief.

It was a feeling I had never experienced before, like my heart had come back to life after I had lived half my life and was on the verge of death.

"Having fun, Pervy Sage?" Naruto caught up from behind, leaned close to the driver's side window, and chuckled. "You seem to be quite skilled at it."

"Not bad." Jiraiya maintained his composure, naturally unwilling to admit that he couldn't do it.

The group played with their cars in the open space for a while, and even ate a quick bite at noon before continuing. They learned to drive in no time.

Naruto looked at the scene before him and couldn't help but grin. Sure enough, no man dislikes driving, whether it's a physical car or a shared bike.

This reminded him of the grueling driving lessons he had before his transmigration, and he couldn't help but grimace. This thing was all about practice makes perfect; it felt so good to be able to practice without going to a driving school.

Night falls.

The four of them gathered for a meal, their faces slightly tired from having played so much during the day. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Neji and Rock Lee both left to go to sleep.

Only the master and apprentice remained at the table. Jiraiya raised his eyelids slightly, smiled as if drunk, tapped the table with his wine cup, and asked.

"Is this Land of Snow your private domain?"

"Yes." Neji wasn't around, so Naruto didn't intend to hide anything. "I helped Kazahana Koyuki restore her country, and she gave me a certain degree of control over it, which can be considered my own private territory."

"The Queen of the Land of Snow?" Jiraiya took a sip of his drink, pointed at Naruto, and said with a smile, "You've got some nerve, kid. You'll do anything."

"Forget it, I won't ask about your relationship." He put down his wine glass. "Naruto, you're an adult now. You can make your own decisions about your own life."

"If an older man like me talks too much, it's bound to annoy young people. But I still have to remind you that you can't divide your heart into several parts."

Upon hearing this, Naruto remained silent for a moment, without refuting it.

Jiraiya was somewhat surprised by this, as he knew his disciple's character very well. He could make the dead seem alive and the living seem dead with his words.

But now he's not speaking, which is quite strange.

"Pervy Sage, I know what you mean." Naruto also took a sip of sake. "But I have no choice now. I want to finish things as soon as possible."

"Well, just do what you think is best." Jiraiya smiled. "Although I don't know what you're planning to do, I just hope you don't do anything you'll regret."

After saying that, Jiraiya drank a lot more wine and finally collapsed drunkenly on the table.

The next day.

Jiraiya and his group were preparing to leave the Land of Snow, Kazahana Koyuki naturally sent someone to see them off. Naruto also went with them, and before leaving, he talked with Kazahana Koyuki in her room.

"I can come back anytime, uh... I mean, I can come back whenever I want." Naruto didn't keep anyone in suspense. "I recently acquired a Ninjutsu that allows me to teleport long distances."

"Do you understand what I mean? If I wanted to, I could appear in the Land of Snow in less than three minutes."

"Really?" Kazahana Koyuki was pleasantly surprised.

"What good would it do me to lie to you?" He sat down and frowned. "There's just one more problem: the Land of Snow is located in a remote area, and no matter how advanced its technology becomes, it can't connect with the outside world."

"Why do we need to stay away from the outside world?" Kazahana Koyuki asked, puzzled. "It's precisely because of the Land of Snow's geographical location that it has avoided being affected by the Shinobi World War."

"The Land of Snow is just a small, self-sufficient country that rarely contacts the outside world except for necessary trade and technological exchanges."

"Isn't this fine? Why take the risk?" she asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Times have changed, there will be no more wars in the future," Naruto said firmly. "And I need to strengthen the Land of Snow and make it prosperous."

"Alright." When Kazahana Koyuki heard that it was Naruto's idea, she immediately deflated. "Then what exactly should we do? The snow mountain is insurmountable, and the river freezes every year, making frequent trade impossible."

"Then let's build flying machines and figure out how to travel from the sky. We can do trade with the Land of Lightning, but that's not urgent. I'll coordinate the subsequent technical assistance," he said.

"Secondly, there's communication. We can share technology with the Land of Fire. I'll let you know when that happens."

"What?" Kazahana Koyuki stared in disbelief, her mind reeling from Naruto's words. "The Land of Lightning? The Land of Fire?"

"Those are superpowers."

Even though she started as an actress, after ascending the throne, Kazahana Koyuki diligently studied every day to learn how to become an excellent Queen, so her vision was far from limited.

Not only was the Land of Snow aware of its own technological advantages, but it also understood that if the Land of Snow wanted to prosper, it must not attract the attention of superpowers like the Five Great Nations.

Fortunately, the Five Great Nations almost never send Anbu to gather information here. Even if they do, they can barely get away with it by spending some money to bribe their way out.

Therefore, when she heard Naruto advocate that the Land of Snow should expose itself to the Five Great Nations, Kazahana Koyuki was in a dilemma and did not know how to refuse.

But when she heard him say that the Land of Lightning and the Land of Snow should go to war and trade, and that the Land of Fire and the Land of Snow should share technology, she even wondered if she had misheard.

These are all superpowers, how could they possibly listen to Naruto?

Even if Naruto has some influence in the Land of Fire and can affect Konohagakure and even the Land of Fire, surely he wouldn't need the Land of Lightning to cooperate?

If Kazahana Koyuki remembers correctly, Konohagakure and Kumogakure are not on good terms. In terms of strength, one is the strongest and the other is the second strongest, so it's impossible for them to coexist peacefully.

"Yes, it's the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire." Naruto nodded. "You don't need to be so surprised. Since I said that, I naturally have some confidence in it."

"I have a path in Kumogakure that's safe. I'll let you know when things start to look promising, um... it won't be long."

"Kumogakure?"

Kazahana Koyuki's eyes widened as she wondered how a Konoha Ninja could be connected to Kumogakure. She could almost imagine the hardships Naruto had endured.

Naruto was unaware that Kazahana Koyuki had such a rich inner world. In fact, it didn't take him much time to disrupt Kumogakure; it was all thanks to the mission of the Evil God follower.

"Well, that's about it. I have to go because I'm short on time." Naruto stood up.

"Wait!" she suddenly called out to Naruto.

"What's wrong?"

"When is the next time?" Kazahana Koyuki pursed her red lips and said shyly, "Next time... if possible, I want to have a child."

"Okay."

Naruto left, standing on the ship's deck watching the slowly receding glacier, and frowned. He glanced back at the cabin, his brow furrowing slightly.

After a long while, he sighed and muttered to himself.

"Want to have a child?"

If a child were to be born, it would truly catch him off guard. Naruto had never thought about children before, but thinking of Kazahana Koyuki, he couldn't help but purse his lips.

We'll see. Let nature take its course.

The next day.

After a day at sea, the group had gotten used to life at sea.

At dusk, Jiraiya and Naruto stood on the deck chatting, enjoying the sea breeze. He looked at the glacier and couldn't help but sigh.

"My life has been a blur, and looking back, it seems like nothing but failures. I could never grasp anything and accomplished nothing."

"Pervy Sage, stop clinging to this 'Child of Prophecy' nonsense," Naruto admonished, the sea breeze ruffling his robes. "If one person could change the world, how terrifying would that be!"

"How so?" Jiraiya asked, leaning against the railing, enjoying the sea breeze, his eyes almost squinting.

"If one person can save the world, then there must also be one person who can easily destroy it. Isn't that terrifying? How many times would the world have to be destroyed?"

Naruto leaned against the railing and said, half-jokingly.

"Pervy Sage, the Child of Prophecy might also be the child of evil. What if you have a single wrong thought and want to end the world? Wouldn't that mean you've started a disaster?"

Jiraiya was smiling at first, but then the smile gradually disappeared.

He stared at the sea in the distance, which almost blended into the sky, and couldn't help but purse his lips, his expression becoming serious.

"That may be true, but finding the Child of Prophecy is my life's mission," Jiraiya said. "It's a mission I've always believed in, but half my life has already passed."

"Even so, giving up is definitely not an easy thing."

After reaching the shore, the group parted ways.

Neji and Rock Lee prepared to return to Konohagakure, while Jiraiya continued his journey, ultimately choosing to continue searching for the Child of Prophecy. Perhaps life is like that—hesitating for a long time, yet ultimately choosing to try again.

As for Naruto, he originally planned to return to Konohagakure to rest for a while after the Kumogakure plan was shelved. However, due to Jiraiya's constant meddling, he had no choice but to leave first in order to avoid exposing the Gate of Hades incident.

As for returning to Konohagakure, it will probably take another half month.

So he naturally turned his attention to the Land of Water, where the Ninja Blade was hidden, and it seemed that he could prepare to wrap up the second mission.