Jiraiya's Probing

Jiraiya, who was currently tracking Orochimaru's whereabouts, had not expected to run into Lin Qing and Sasuke here.

The Blade of Ruin on Lin Qing's back was far too conspicuous, and with Sasuke and Xiaotao trailing behind him, anyone with a keen eye could deduce his identity with a little thought.

But guessing who he was and actually coming over to provoke him were two different things.

Through the dual fermentation of time and distance, the legend of Lin Qing slaying two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had evolved: it was now said that he had single-handedly thwarted the elite of Kirigakure, killed multiple members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in succession, and even repelled the Mizukage, Yagura, before departing with effortless grace.

Jiraiya had heard of the tragedy that befell the Uchiha clan, and he knew more than a little about the shady, underhanded dealings Danzo engaged in—which was precisely why he was reluctant to return to the village.

Given his temperament, if he saw such things, he wouldn't be able to stand it.

It was easier to stay out of sight and out of mind, so he left the village under the guise of searching for Orochimaru.

Jiraiya had heard of Lin Qing long ago, as one of the last remaining bloodlines of the Uchiha clan.

Some called him a cold-blooded god of death, while others viewed him as a savior. Jiraiya wanted to see for himself what kind of person Lin Qing truly was.

"Toad Sage?"

Before Lin Qing could speak, little Sasuke tilted his head, noticing that the daily special at the izakaya behind them was bullfrog sushi.

"Old man, are you here to solicit customers?"

The corner of Jiraiya's eye twitched slightly.

This Uchiha brat is truly not cute.

"I wanted to warn you that this bounty is extremely dangerous."

Lin Qing looked the man up and down. "Are you a broker?"

"You could say that."

Jiraiya gestured for them to follow. "How about we talk over a drink? I know a place where the proprietress is fair-skinned and beautiful, and the sake is quite good."

Lin Qing pondered for a moment and decided to chat with this self-proclaimed "Toad Sage" broker.

Although he was from Konoha, the memory fragments of his predecessor were too blurred; Lin Qing's knowledge of Konoha and the Land of Fire was perhaps even less than his knowledge of Kirigakure and the Land of Water.

He needed intelligence from a local.

The group arrived at the izakaya Jiraiya had mentioned.

Jiraiya was right.

The proprietress was indeed fair and beautiful, and as she leaned over to pour their drinks, the slightly open collar of her kimono revealed a small mole on her chest.

However, when the proprietress went to pour sake for Lin Qing, Mayuri stopped her, gently but firmly taking the bottle from her hands to pour for Lin Qing herself.

Lin Qing offered a word of thanks and asked Jiraiya, "Why did you say the bounty is dangerous?"

Jiraiya took a sip of sake, let out a satisfied sigh, and sat with his legs crossed, one hand resting on his knee while the other picked up a skewer of yakitori.

"You've heard of Orochimaru, haven't you?"

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

Ever since he met Hayato Kamihara, Lin Qing had entrusted him with a long-term intelligence mission: to scout for information regarding Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi Uchiha was a complete madman, and such people usually possessed an incredibly powerful obsession.

His intuition told Lin Qing that as long as he and Sasuke remained alive, they would eventually have to cross blades with Itachi Uchiha again.

It was during the investigation into Itachi Uchiha that he had incidentally obtained some information about Orochimaru:

A rogue ninja from Konoha, one of the legendary Sannin, a former teammate of Itachi Uchiha after he joined the Akatsuki, who later defected from the organization and whose whereabouts remained unknown.

"So, are you trying to say that this madman who has killed countless people is Orochimaru?" Lin Qing asked.

"No, the one doing the killing is a creation of Orochimaru."

"You mean... something like an artificial human?"

"An artificial human?"

Jiraiya's expression faltered; he vaguely understood what Lin Qing was trying to express and nodded.

"So that's how it is."

Lin Qing recalled the description of the culprit on the bounty notice:

Fierce, hulking, capable of transforming into a monster, and skilled at manipulating bones as weapons.

Based on Lin Qing's understanding of ninjutsu, he had never heard of any lineage possessing such abilities.

If it were an artificial human, everything made sense.

Jiraiya watched Lin Qing, who was lost in thought, in silence.

The village was currently suffering from a lack of successors; the middle generation—Minato and the Jinchuriki Kushina Uzumaki—were dead, the Uchiha clan had vanished, and Jiraiya and Tsunade were each wandering abroad... leaving only the heads of the various clans, along with Kakashi, Guy, and the others.

Jiraiya had been away for many years and had seen the world.

Aside from Kirigakure, which was barreling down a path of self-destruction, the other major villages were either aggressively expanding their military, like Kumogakure, or biding their time, like Iwagakure.

Every family was growing stronger, while Konoha, once the strongest, was only decaying further.

With Jiraiya's influence in Konoha, he had enough sway to protect Lin Qing and Sasuke, allowing them to return to the village.

However...

That was on the condition that Lin Qing was not a true villain.

Jiraiya intended to test him.

"Once you make a move against that 'artificial human,' you will likely invite Orochimaru's retaliation. The Land of Fire official bounty isn't much, so rather than taking such a huge risk, why not—"

Jiraiya pulled a gold bar and a photograph from his robes.

The gold bar was as thick as two fingers and weighed nearly half a catty.

The photograph showed a young girl with a radiant smile.

"This is the daughter of the Land of Iron's daimyo. Help me kidnap her, and furthermore."

He tapped the gold bar.

"This is just the deposit. Once the commission is complete, there will be five more."

Six gold bars—given the purchasing power in the ninja world, even if one lived extravagantly and indulged in nightly revelry, it would be enough to enjoy for an entire year.

Compared to this, the official bounty wasn't even as much as the deposit right in front of them.

The Land of Iron had no ninjas, only samurai, which suited Lin Qing's combat style perfectly. For him, this mission was simple, easy, and paid well.

Jiraiya observed Lin Qing and those around him.

As he watched, Jiraiya began to sense that something was wrong.

Lin Qing turned his head to gaze at the moonlight gradually rising outside the window, ignoring the gold on the table and paying no further mind to Jiraiya.

The others, Sasuke, Xiaotao, and the rest, likewise did not look at the gold, merely casting looks of disdain toward Jiraiya.

Not a single person, not even for a second, felt tempted by the gold on the table.

There was no hesitation, and no one cast an inquiring glance toward Lin Qing; it was as if, without a single word, this group knew clearly that Lin Qing would never accept such a filthy commission.

It was simply incredible!

What kind of personal charisma was this?!

Even though Lin Qing was still a young man compared to the middle-aged Jiraiya, his posture as he sat quietly sipping wine gave Jiraiya a sense of psychological pressure.

This pressure did not come from "power," but from something far more elusive.

Lin Qing finished the wine in his cup and placed two banknotes under it.

"The wine isn't that expensive," Jiraiya said.

"The rest is for your information."

Jiraiya realized that Lin Qing was referring to the intelligence regarding the connection between the wanted criminal and Orochimaru.

"You know you'll provoke Orochimaru, yet you're still going?"

Lin Qing picked up the Greatsword of Ruin resting nearby and slung it onto his back: "Of course. Besides, it isn't me provoking him."

"It is he who provoked me."

Jiraiya was stunned, then slammed his fist onto the table and burst into laughter.

"Lin Qing! You... you really are interesting! My apologies, I lied to you. Let's reintroduce ourselves."

Jiraiya stood up, walked over to Lin Qing, and solemnly extended his hand.

"I am called the Toad Sage, though you may also call me Jiraiya."

Lin Qing glanced at the hand extended toward him.

"How do you prove it?"

How to prove "I am who I am."

If it were anyone else, they might be stumped by this question, but Jiraiya simply smiled.

"Take my hand, and you will know naturally."

A faint, emerald-green energy appeared in his palm.

Sage Chakra.