No Self-Deception Among Our Own

"Mr. Jiraiya, you're putting us in a difficult position!"

"Ha… haha!"

Hearing the words of the Land of Grass leader before him, Jiraiya, whose clothes were somewhat tattered and face smeared with dirt, gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head.

He then crossed his arms, placed his hands on his knees, brought them to his chin, and said with a serious expression, "If I said this was an accident, would you believe me?"

"What do you think?"

"…"

That's true!

What have I even done since arriving in the Land of Grass?

Bought [information], obstructed the spring plowing, and now I've ruined the spring plowing… Thinking about it, it does seem a bit strange.

But it really was just an accident!

Jiraiya sighed, recalling that morning… Since he found it too troublesome, he'd directly summoned the toad Bunta to help, thinking that with Bunta's size, it would be dealt with quickly.

Although Bunta was initially a bit disdainful, thinking, I'm a toad from one of the three great Sage Regions; is this kind of land clearing something I, the boss of Mount Myōboku, should be doing?

But after his pleading and appealing to their brotherhood, Bunta sighed and then helped him out of loyalty.

However.

He'd guessed the beginning, but not the end.

Bunta was huge.

But toads…

They hop!

Combined with his desire to finish the job quickly, and the small hoes provided by the Land of Grass being unsuitable for him, he ended up… just carrying his giant cleaver and hopping with all his might!

He chopped from one end of the village to the other.

By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late!

Bunta was on a chopping spree!

He couldn't hear Jiraiya's words at all. His massive size, coupled with the giant cleaver… immediately terrified the surrounding Land of Grass civilians, who scattered in panic.

Then.

The Grass Ninja appeared again.

After that.

He was subdued again.

So, it really was an accident!

"Jiraiya! One of Konoha's Sannin! Arrived in the Land of Grass a month ago." As the leader of the Land of Grass, Kusana flipped through the document in his hands and said sternly, "Purpose un…"

Before he could finish.

Jiraiya seemed to have guessed what the Land of Grass leader was about to say and quickly interjected, "My purpose for coming to the Land of Grass was solely to visit Teacher Ooki! Teacher Ooki! I really didn't intend to do anything else."

However.

"Purpose unclear." Kusana raised an eyebrow, as if he hadn't heard Jiraiya, and continued, "Shortly after arriving in the Land of Grass, you privately contacted high-ranking officials of Kusagakure and secretly purchased information!"

"Hold on! Hold on! Mujie contacted me himself! And I was just buying a book!"

But.

Kusana continued with a solemn expression, as if he hadn't heard, "Next, you obstructed the Land of Grass's important spring plowing plan!"

"That was also a misunderstanding!"

"And today, you caused immense panic within the Land of Grass, severely damaged the Land of Grass's land, houses, and various buildings, fainted numerous Land of Grass civilians, and brought significant losses to the Land of Grass!"

"This… this was also a misunderstanding!" As Kusana spoke more, Jiraiya's voice grew weaker, and he chuckled awkwardly, "I've been quite unlucky lately."

"After investigation… the head of the Land of Grass Guard Department—Minister Oyakamon—suspects you have ulterior motives! Under the guise of visiting Teacher Ooki, you are actually here to cause destruction in the Land of Grass!"

"…"

That's a bit of an exaggeration!

Jiraiya's mouth twitched, but before he could speak.

"Of course~" Kusana put down the document and looked at Jiraiya with a smile, "As an individual… I personally have great faith in Mr. Jiraiya. Who in the Ninja World doesn't know that one of Konoha's Sannin, the Sage of Mount Myōboku—Mr. Jiraiya—is a ninja who loves peace?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

Jiraiya blinked, looking somewhat moved. He looked at the Land of Grass leader before him, sighing inwardly with a complex mix of emotions.

To be honest.

He truly hadn't expected that the ninja he saw in the Land of Rain, wearing the Amegakure forehead protector, was actually the leader who rebuilt the Land of Grass and Kusagakure!

During his time in the Land of Grass, he had noticed some strange things.

For instance, there were suddenly many red-haired individuals.

He thought about "Gambling Shadow," which the Land of Grass had filmed recently... Maybe it wasn't entirely fake?

The Uzumaki Clan...

Might be in the Land of Grass.

Of course, he didn't want to say too much about it. The Uzumaki Clan was too significant. If it were just one or two people, Konoha might accept them, but an entire clan... Konoha couldn't possibly accept them now.

After all, even the Five Great Ninja Villages couldn't accept a large clan into their own villages!

Furthermore, Tsunade seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Konoha's handling of the Uzumaki Clan, so it was better to play dumb~

Besides... red hair didn't necessarily mean they were from the Uzumaki Clan~

And it was likely that no one would believe it even if he said Kusagakure had accepted the Uzumaki Clan!

Jiraiya looked at Kusana opposite him, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

This leader of the Land of Grass had an astonishing breadth of mind!

Considering what he was doing now, if it were in Konoha, he would have already been taken in by the ANBU!

He's a good person~

"Thank you for the letter from the Leader of Kusagakure..."

However.

Before he could finish.

Suddenly.

"But!!!"

A voice rang out.

Resounding and powerful!

Clear and forceful!

The leader of the Land of Grass before him placed his hands on his chin again, saying with a solemn expression, "As the leader of the Land of Grass, I must give an explanation to everyone in the Land of Grass and Kusagakure!"

"Of course! Of course!"

"There must be punishment!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely! After all, I also brought so much trouble and loss to the Land of Grass!"

"..."

He's this easy to talk to?

Kusana's eyelids twitched, but after a moment, he sighed with emotion.

"Since their creation, Kusagakure and Konoha have been close allies, relations as close as neighboring lips. The Land of Grass is located to the west of Konoha, and as an ally of Konoha, it has always defended against invasions from Iwagakure. Konoha and Kusagakure are like two brothers, supporting and helping each other, dear relatives! Brotherly bonds!"

"..."

Jiraiya's face twitched slightly. As these words fell, he felt a sense of unease. After a moment of hesitation, he asked cautiously, "Um... how much will it be?"

"Talking about money would hurt our feelings! You have to trust us! Kusagakure and Konoha are brothers! They are family! Family doesn't lie to family!" Kusana smiled at Jiraiya and waved to Kana behind him, "After calculation! A village in your responsible area suffered severe damage, along with damage to the land, the newly built roads in the Land of Grass, as well as frightened villagers and accidentally injured villagers..."

"Um... Bunta didn't actually hurt anyone!"

"Those ordinary people, seeing such a large toad running around, would naturally be startled and unable to recover. If they can't recover, they might step on a roadside stone, fall, and then hit a tree, sustaining serious injuries!"

"Don't worry, we Grass Ninjas have always been honest ninjas, and Kusagakure and Konoha are brothers, so how could we lie to you?" Kusana sighed, "Of course, don't worry! You have to trust us! The compensation is just a formality! It's just to give an explanation to the outside world!"

He patted his chest, "What is the relationship between Kusagakure and Konoha? They are brothers! They are relatives! How can we ask for your compensation?"

"I, I, I..."

Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, looking at the leader of the Land of Grass with a kind smile.

He sighed with emotion, "I originally heard in the Ninja World that the ninjas of Kusagakure lacked Ninja Virtue and would do anything for money! Selling false information! I didn't expect... seeing you today, I was mistaken!"

"..."

"You are a good person!"

"..."

Kusana was silent for a moment, then sighed with emotion, "It's all for the peace of the Ninja World! Although I am just a mere Grass Ninja, I still care about the peace of the Ninja World!"

Saying this, before the moved Jiraiya could speak, he took the document handed to him by Kana, "Of course, as I said earlier, I need to give an explanation to the people below."

Then.

He handed it to Jiraiya.

"Here! Take a look at this... no money, but Mr. Jiraiya needs to do us a small favor."

"Of course! Of course! Is it farming again? Don't worry, I, Jiraiya, promise to do it myself this time."

"How could that be! You are one of Konoha's Sannin, the dream of countless girls in the Ninja World, how could you do such a thing?"

"I..."

"Do you have dreams? Do you want to become famous? Do you want the countless girls in the Ninja World to know you?" Kusana interrupted Jiraiya directly, spreading his arms, his face devout, as if embracing the future, looking at Jiraiya, "If you do, what are you waiting for? Come! Come to Grasswood! All you have to do is sign this!"

"???"