"Sir, wake up, sir. We've arrived at Amegakure."
"Huh? Oh."
Still half asleep, Jiraiya got out of the vehicle.
By the time he fully woke up, he realized he had already reached his destination: Amegakure.
Calling it a village no longer seemed quite appropriate.
Before him stood a huge, open city.
"Wait, is this still Amegakure? Where's the rain? Where's the village?"
The last time he had come to the Land of Rain had been during the shinobi war. That was also when he, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had earned the title of Sannin.
Back then, the Land of Rain and Amegakure had been shrouded in rain all year round. Dark, damp, and dreary-that had been his first impression.
How many years had it been since his last visit? How had the place changed completely?
At first glance, it seemed even more prosperous than Konoha.
High-rises towered everywhere, and the streets bustled with traffic.
Shops with neon signs lined both sides of the broad streets. Merchants from various countries ran these shops; they weren't all businesses from the Land of Rain.
"Whatever. I'll head in and gather some intel first."
Jiraiya checked his disguise and, after confirming there were no problems, entered Amegakure.
Inside the operations conference room of Amegakure's Rain Shadow Building.
A group of people sat at computers.
"The target has entered the urban area."
"Good. Proceed according to plan. Notify all departments and prepare to start guiding him."
"Understood." × N
Jiraiya had no idea he had been noticed from the very beginning.
As far as he was concerned, he had been very careful. As a long-established ninja, his reconnaissance and counter-surveillance abilities were naturally beyond question.
Unfortunately for him, the Land of Rain was closely tied to the Land of Grass, and its capital, Amegakure, had long