Land of Grass.
A country that had been rebuilt after its destruction.
Jiraiya looked at the Land of Grass before him with a curious expression.
At this time,
spring had already arrived.
As a result, the weather had warmed considerably.
Yet the Land of Grass before him was completely different from what was said throughout the ninja world.
As everyone knew, the Land of Grass in the ninja world...
was famous for stealing other nations' ninjutsu and using diplomatic tactics to maneuver between the great powers. It kept itself safe by quickly grasping the changing tides, and thus was known throughout the ninja world as the fence-sitter!
After all, whenever it saw the tide turning... the moment things looked bad for one side, it would immediately turn around and side with the other.
Although Konoha had a good relationship with Kusagakure, everyone in the village knew... it would not be surprising if those people defected to Iwagakure by the next morning.
Why had the Land of Grass suddenly been destroyed near the end of the First Great Ninja War?
It was because those people had absolutely no integrity!
They sold huge amounts of false intelligence. Today, they sold it to Konoha; tomorrow, they sold it to Iwagakure; the day after that, they sold it to Sunagakure. They had even sold it to the faraway Kumogakure.
A mere small ninja village had, by itself, provided more than half the intelligence used in the First Great Ninja War!
The problem was...
it was fucking almost all fake!
The First Great Ninja War had been fought so viciously that people were nearly beaten bloody-headed... Jiraiya guessed that pile of fake intelligence had probably caused it.
One could imagine it.
In the end...
the Land of Grass had been destroyed.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya could not help sighing inwardly.
Those Grass ninja had really been bold!
And probably no one had expected that the already-destroyed Land of Grass would secretly reestablish itself during the Second Great Ninja War, while every nation was busy fighting one another.
As for why he had come to Kusagakure this time...
he had happened to be passing through and planned to visit Teacher Ooki, only to find himself caught up in this mess.
Thinking of that like-minded friend he had only recently made... now thrown into prison just like that, he could not help sighing again.
If he had not truly been innocent of buying Land of Grass secrets and had merely wanted to buy a book, he might have already been wanted by Kusagakure.
Then,
he would have had no choice but to flee the Land of Grass in a hurry, missing his chance to meet Teacher Ooki forever.
What cruel tricks fate played!
He had even specifically gone to visit him again that morning. After all, Teacher Ooki's personally signed edition... that was something unavailable in the Land of Fire!
And what had he seen?
It had only been a few days... yet his once like-minded friend now sat upright at a desk, holding a pen and muttering obscure phrases no one could understand.
He had even sternly criticized Jiraiya. "I am not that kind of person. I do not have anything you want. Please do not come disturb my studies again."
But Jiraiya had clearly already worked out a trading plan.
Once the man got out, they would conduct the transaction outside the Land of Grass.
Before then, they would not meet at all, lest Kusagakure discover them. Once the agreed time arrived...
on a dark and windy night.
That day,
the skies would be clear, spring would be in full bloom, and the evening breeze would drift gently by.
After everyone had gone to sleep...
he would wear black clothes, a black hat, and glasses, blending into the darkness as he carried a tightly wrapped book and quietly placed it in a small forest east of the Land of Grass's border.
After that,
at the appropriate time, he himself would also wear black clothes, a black hat, and glasses. Carrying a case full of cash, he would appear at the appropriate place, take out the tightly wrapped book, and leave behind the case full of cash.
The two of them would never meet even once, yet the transaction would be completed without a sound!
Surely the Land of Grass would not arrest anyone over that again!
The plan had been perfect, but... the other man refused to trade. He even claimed his spirit had been elevated and that he was not that kind of person.
Bullshit!
How long had it even been?
Even genjutsu brainwashing did not work that fast. They were both Teacher Ooki fans—who was he trying to fool?
That guy was probably scared?!
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, intending to ask again in a few days.
Then he continued wandering through the streets of the Land of Grass, looking at this place so unlike the rumors.
The calm smiles, the warm gazes filled with hope.
Those were things one could not see during war.
A faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his lips as well.
At that moment...
Jiraiya once again felt the arrival of peace in his heart.
This was the first year of peace after the war's end. The villages and nations were likely recuperating and rebuilding their lives as well!
Perhaps Konoha was doing the same right now!
But...
were those Grass ninja?
Why were ninja in a civilian residential area?
Just as Jiraiya froze in surprise, filled with doubt,
he saw a Grass ninja in the distance suddenly form hand seals, his expression turning solemn...
That was the stance for using ninjutsu!
Using ninjutsu on ordinary people?
Could they be some ninja with no ninja ethics?
Jiraiya's expression abruptly changed as he remembered Kusagakure's reputation throughout the ninja world... they really did seem to be a group of ninja with no ninja ethics!
Just look at the man he had met upon arriving in the Land of Grass. Had he not been thrown into prison for openly defying village orders and trading illegal goods?!
Grass ninja having no ninja ethics... actually seemed pretty normal!
But since Toad Sage Jiraiya had seen it... he could not pretend not to notice!
Just as the Grass ninja's face hardened and he shouted in a low voice, "Earth Release: Tilling Soil..."
Jiraiya leaped out with anger on his face and shouted, "Stop! How can you face your leader like this? How can you face the civilians of the Land of Grass who trust you..."
Before he could finish,
the ninjutsu before him was directly interrupted by him.
Except... this seemed somewhat different from what he had imagined?!
Everyone glared at him, even the old man he was supposed to have saved!
"...their... trust...?"
His voice grew quieter on the last four words, and he finally finished speaking one word at a time.
But...
with so many people staring at him, Jiraiya truly did not know what to say. After hesitating, he said, "Well, I am the Toad Sage..."
However,
before he could finish introducing himself,
"You little brat! Why are you interrupting the ninja lord while he's helping us till the fields?"
The furious old man swung a hammer directly at him.
And that was not all.
"Someone's interrupting the spring plowing! Come quickly! Everyone, come quickly!"
Someone shouted that...
Then...
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"
In an instant,
Jiraiya found himself surrounded by a group of ninja... with scarlet eyes.
Just like that night...
they tightly surrounded him!
"Well..." Jiraiya hesitated, forcing out an awkward smile. "Would you believe me if I said this was a misunderstanding?"
"Who would believe that?" Kusana rolled his eyes, looked at the document in his hand, and sneered. "It has only been a few days, not even half a month, and this guy says he has changed? He says he deeply understands the Spirit of Grass? Keep him locked up for a full month. He cannot be released before then!"
Then he directly wrote two large words on it: Request Denied!
Those people really were something else. Did they not know there was a mountain of work to do in the Land of Grass right now?
Winter had passed and spring had arrived. It was precisely the time to begin a new wave of infrastructure construction.
The Land of Grass warmed up very quickly in spring. In order to restore spring plowing as soon as possible and reclaim land early, he had even sent out ninja and taught them some ninjutsu that could assist with farming!
There was no helping it.
After the Land of Grass had been destroyed, years of war had continued, leaving far too much land abandoned.
Kusana sighed emotionally and muttered to himself, "It looks like preparations for spring plowing have been going smoothly these past few days. We should hold another meeting later and see what gaps still need to be filled!"
The moment he finished speaking,
"Knock, knock~"
there came a knock at the door.
"Come in!"
When Kusana saw Oyakamon enter, he was slightly stunned.
Why had the head of the Military Police Force come here at a time like this...
"Even you are here. It seems something major has happened~" Kusana sighed helplessly, shook his head, and said, "Go on! What happened now? Is Mujie causing trouble again, or has neighboring Konoha come to condemn us again?"
Once he finished speaking,
Oyakamon froze for a moment. "Eh~"
Finally, after hesitating, he said, "Neither, Chief!"
"Oh? Neither? Then what happened?" Kusana looked at Oyakamon in confusion and pondered for a moment. "Could it be that someone from Iwagakure has come?"
No one from Iwagakure had come either! It was just..."
At this point, Oyakamon fell silent again. He opened his mouth, seemingly unsure how to explain it.
That only made Kusana even more curious. He sat upright and said directly, "Go on! Say whatever it is!"
"Well..." Hearing his leader's words, Oyakamon could only say with a strange expression, "We just received a report from the civilians! Someone is obstructing preparations for spring plowing!"
"Who is it? Who would dare obstruct preparations for spring plowing?" Kusana's brows rose, anger appearing on his face. "Do they not know this is the Land of Grass's most important task right now?" He slammed the desk. "Why have you not arrested the bastard already? You are the head of the Military Police Force, yet you are standing there hesitating! Do you still want this job? Could it be someone who scares you? Tell me! Who exactly is it? Remnants of evil forces within the country? Bandits and mountain thieves? Or some reactionary force?"
"Eh~, one of Konoha's Sannin—Jiraiya!"
Once he heard that,
"???" Kusana froze. Then he dug at his ear and hesitated. "Who?"
Jiraiya what?
Before you continue