Jiraiya

In a town within the Land of Rain.

A tall, white-haired man, with two scantily clad, eye-catching beauties on his arms, walked out of a tavern with a lecherous expression.

If Qingshui were here, he would have recognized this person as a Konoha Ninja at first glance.

It was Jiraiya, one of the "Konoha's Sannin," as famous as Tsunade.

Logically speaking, if Jiraiya, a Konoha Ninja, were to appear in the Land of Rain, he should be here on a mission like Qingshui and the others.

But that wasn't the case. He had been staying in the Land of Rain since the end of the Second Shinobi World War.

This was because after the war in the Land of Rain ended, he encountered three war orphans and decided to teach them ninjutsu.

If Jiraiya weren't a student of the Third Hokage, his actions could have been considered treason by the village.

Although Konoha had "Village" in its name.

It wasn't truly just a village, but a military base.

The same applied to other ninja villages.

To put it plainly, ninja were a group of mercenaries with official positions.

They could undertake any mission, from small tasks like finding cats or transplanting rice seedlings, to assassinations and waging wars.

With the beauties' strong persuasion, Jiraiya didn't forget the purpose of his trip and finally left after promising to return again.

Afterward, Jiraiya went straight to a shop in town that sold grains and fruits.

After buying what he needed, he left the town alone.

However, behind him, several followers were secretly trailing him.

These people were not ninja, but a group of thugs who often robbed citizens of their food.

Clearly, they had targeted Jiraiya for robbery this time.

Such incidents were not uncommon in the Land of Rain, and they had become even more frequent since the end of the Second Shinobi World War, making people accustomed to them.

"Where did he go? How did such a big living person suddenly disappear?"

"I don't know, boss. I clearly saw him walking in this direction. It's really strange."

Just as they were searching for Jiraiya's whereabouts, Jiraiya himself suddenly appeared behind them.

"Are you looking for me?"

Jiraiya's words startled them, but their leader still said fiercely.

"Hand over the food, or don't blame us for being ruthless later."

After determining that these people were not ninjas, Jiraiya sighed, dealt with them casually, and then left directly.

However, before he could get too far, he discovered the traces of several Rain Ninjas.

They weren't here to deal with Jiraiya, but were rushing in a certain direction.

"Did something happen?"

Muttering, Jiraiya also headed in the direction the Rain Ninjas were going.

"Qingshui Big Brother is truly amazing!"

Mukai Yuki's words were affirmed by Minato and Sasaki Ayami.

After killing the enemies they were initially dealing with, Qingshui went to support Mikoto's Shadow Clone.

This allowed them to witness Qingshui's combat process firsthand.

Enemies that seemed very strong to them were no match for Qingshui at all, being cut down by his blade after only a few exchanges.

Except for the female ninja who was still fighting Qingshui.

After all, she was a Jonin from Kirigakure, and her strength was naturally much greater than the other enemies.

Unlike the Jonin from small ninja villages, the Jonin from the Five Great Ninja Villages were all well-developed in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, with no obvious weaknesses.

Therefore, it was obviously unrealistic to defeat her in a few exchanges like the other enemies.

"Damn it, this guy looks quite young, I didn't expect him to be so strong."

The Kirigakure Jonin looked at Qingshui with a solemn expression.

She was initially entangled by Mikoto's Shadow Clone. When she dealt with the Shadow Clone, she was shocked to discover that her subordinates had all been dealt with by the young man in front of her.

Now, even though she was personally intervening, she was still being held back by him.

As a rogue ninja, she had already thought of escaping at this moment.

However, after glancing at her two companions who were fighting Uchiha Mikoto, she suppressed this thought.

The reason the three of them chose to defect was their dissatisfaction with the village's policy of "bloody mist."

Even though the three of them, as Jonin, had repeatedly requested the Third Mizukage to change the policy.

But it was all useless.

She could only watch as the villagers gradually stopped seeing their comrades as companions and instead guarded against them like enemies.

This atmosphere was difficult for them to accept.

In the end, the disheartened trio chose to defect together, then rallied rogue ninja from small ninja villages, formed their current team, and came to the Land of Rain.

It was a pity that this time they were defeated by Konoha Ninja.

Thinking this, her attack did not slow down at all. She also wielded her ninja sword and sparred with Qingshui.

She was a Jonin skilled in swordsmanship, and had even participated in the competition held by Kirigakure to contend for the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist".

Although she ultimately failed to be selected, it was evident that her strength was not simple.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

In an instant, the two exchanged several rounds, neither of them yielding to the other in swordsmanship.

As for Mikoto, although she was fighting two opponents alone, she still held the upper hand.

After all, in order to avoid being controlled by Mikoto's Sharingan Genjutsu, the opponents had to constantly avoid direct eye contact with her.

Another attack failed, and Seiji, who was kicked away by Mikoto, knew that continuing like this would not work.

"Yuyue, please buy me some time, I need to use that move."

"Alright!"

As Seiji's companion, Yuyue naturally knew his intentions. He was about to use Water Dragon Bullet.

As a B-Rank Water Style Ninjutsu, the power of this move was not to be underestimated.

The only drawback was the excessive number of hand seals.

Even with Seiji's speed of four seals per second, it would still take eleven seconds to complete the hand seals.

In a normal battle, the enemy would definitely not give him that much time.

That was why he needed the help of his companion.

This scene naturally did not escape Mikoto's notice. Her first thought was definitely to interrupt him.

However, Yuyue did not give her the chance, once again using Earth Style: Earth Pillar Spear, forcing her to dodge.

She had been hit by this move before, sent flying into the air and becoming a target for the enemy.

If not for her timely defensive measures, she would be dead by now.

Seeing this, Yuyue was not surprised.

After all, his opponent was a Jonin of Konoha's Uchiha clan. If the same move could work a second time, he would have to suspect he was under Genjutsu.

However, his goal was to stall for time, so he didn't care that his ninjutsu was dodged.

He remained silent, continuously using Earth Release: Earthen Spears.

Absolutely not giving Mikoto a chance to counterattack.

As long as Seiji's Water Dragon Bullet was successfully released, Yuyue believed that even an Uchiha couldn't block it and would be dealt with in one blow.

Under this stalling tactic, the eleven seconds quickly passed.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"