Jiraiya had never expected to hear the old man say something like that one day. "Old man, you've finally come around. If you'd come around sooner, Konoha might not have taken so long to develop."
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand. "All right, enough about me. How have you been this past year?"
Jiraiya thought for a moment. "Not bad. I traveled through the Rain Country for a while, but... something very strange happened in that country too. The whole place felt extremely strange."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as well. "I think I heard about it. The Rain Country may decline because of this."
"But none of that matters anymore. The Shinobi World probably won't see another war in the future. Everyone will begin developing peacefully on their own."
Jiraiya did not know why the old man would say that. Wars between nations could break out at any time; no one could predict them.
But how could the old man be so certain? Was there something he did not know?
Before Jiraiya could ask, Hiruzen Sarutobi told him about what had happened some time ago.
"Minato must have told you about the Rain Country's development already, right?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, he did. What does that have to do with this?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "Of course it has something to do with it."
"The Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning coveted the Rain Country's land and launched an invasion. Yet before they even reached the Rain Country's borders, their combined army of seventy to eighty thousand men was driven back!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's words left Jiraiya utterly stunned. "How is that possible?! An army of seventy to eighty thousand was driven back!"
"Yes, and ever since then, those countries have made no further moves. They no longer dare