Chapter 18

Fine. From childhood to adulthood, he had never beaten this white-haired guy in an argument.

He turned to look at the three children.

His gaze lingered on Nagato for two extra seconds-those Rinnegan eyes simply would not let him rest easy.

"Now that you can all stand on your own, I can leave without worrying."

Jiraiya's face was full of smiles.

Yahiko scrubbed hard at his eyes with his sleeve.

Konan's tears pattered down.

Nagato said nothing, biting his lips until they turned white.

"I'm off."

Xuan Zhe tossed out those two words, turned, and left.

"We'll meet again."

Jiraiya took one last look at his three students, then followed Xuan Zhe.

The two figures soon disappeared into the rain.

"You actually came out on a mission yourself?"

Jiraiya and Xuan Zhe ran side by side along the road from the Land of Rain to the Land of Wind.

"Isn't this the first time since you were six?"

It had been twenty years, and this white-haired guy had actually agreed to get moving.

There had to be a reason.

"My idiot brother got into some trouble. I came out to clean up his mess."

That left Jiraiya even more confused.

He wanted to ask more, but Xuan Zhe cut him off.

"I can't be bothered to explain the same thing over and over. Just ask any Konoha ninja when you get back to the village."

His expression was mocking.

"A Super S-Rank Mission, and they made it the talk of the town. What a joke."

Jiraiya frowned and made a mental note of it.

Two days later.

People said ninety percent of the Land of Wind was desert.

But once Xuan Zhe and Jiraiya arrived, they discovered that it was far more than that.

At least ninety-five percent was sand.

And it was barren sand that could not support so much as a blade of grass.

The Land of Wind looked like the largest of the Five Great Nations.

In reality, its land was the least valuable.

"No wonder nobody set their sights on this place during either Shinobi World War."

Xuan Zhe gave a derisive laugh.

"I wouldn't want this dump even if someone handed it to me for free."

Xuan Zhe could not help laughing.

"That's exactly why the Land of Wind always wants to invade other countries and seize territory through war."

Jiraiya, that lover of peace, had started lamenting again.

Xuan Zhe had no interest in discussing that with him and went straight to the point:

"Any farther and we'll run into Sunagakure's guards. Have you thought of a way to sneak in?"

"Nope. I'm not very good at that sort of thing."

Jiraiya answered without hesitation.

He did not think Xuan Zhe could come up with any good ideas anyway.

With an expression that said he had expected as much, Xuan Zhe propped up his chin and began thinking.

Every ninja village was like Konoha, with all sorts of barriers set up around it.

The moment any unusual chakra approached, it would be detected.

Even Sasori in the original story had only managed to slip in unnoticed because he had planted an insider beforehand.

"Well? Got an idea yet?"

After several minutes without a word from Xuan Zhe, Jiraiya could not help speaking first.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Xuan Zhe spoke as he fastened his sandproof hat back on.

Sunagakure.

Towering dunes stood behind it and on both sides. Across the front rose an enormous earthen wall nearly a hundred meters tall, with only a narrow cleft in the middle serving as the village's sole entrance.

Anyone entering or leaving the village was bound to be seen by the ninja guards stationed on either side of the earthen wall.

If they dared resist, the guards overhead would immediately bombard them with ninjutsu from their advantageous position.

Two figures stood on a high rock roughly half a kilometer from the village entrance.

Jiraiya raised a hand to shade his eyes and gazed at Sunagakure in the distance, remarking:

"Getting over a wall that high to sneak inside won't be easy."

Then he turned toward Xuan Zhe beside him. "So, what's your plan?"

Xuan Zhe suddenly grinned at Jiraiya, and that grin immediately made Jiraiya's heart skip a beat.

Nothing good ever came of that expression.

The next second, Xuan Zhe grabbed Jiraiya by the back of his collar and hurled him like a baseball toward Sunagakure's main entrance.

At the same time, he gathered chakra in his throat and bellowed at a volume that made people's eardrums ache:

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!! It's Jiraiya from Konoha!!!"

"What?!"

Flying toward Sunagakure, Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he roared:

"You set me up! Xuan Zhe!!!"

Sunagakure suddenly erupted into chaos.

"Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin, is attacking! Everyone, reinforce the entrance immediately!"

"Jiraiya?!"

The faces of all the nearby Sunagakure ninja changed.

During the Second Shinobi World War, the Konoha Sannin had earned their reputation through battle. Like the [Konoha White Fang], they were formidable figures whose names resounded throughout the Shinobi World.

Every one of them possessed Kage Level combat strength.

To be honest, the other ninja villages were green with envy.

Konoha practically specialized in producing geniuses.

"Is he alone? Or are there troops hiding nearby?"

A young Sunagakure ninja turned to ask his companion as he sprinted toward the village entrance. He had dark red hair, a deeper shade than the Uzumaki Clan's vivid red, and was about the same age as Senju Nawaki.

His name was Rasa, and he was one of the few ninja in Sunagakure who could use Magnet Release to control sand.

Though he could not match the other guy who manipulated black sand, his strength was still respectable.

"According to the Military Police Force, they haven't spotted any other Konoha ninja. If Konoha had sent a large force, there's no way the border would've been completely quiet. Chances are, he really did charge in alone."

Rasa gritted his teeth. "He dared come to Sunagakure and run wild all by himself? Even if he's one of the Sannin, he's taking us far too lightly."

Come to think of it, this fellow was quite a character himself.

Leaving aside how he had sealed a Tailed Beast inside his own son, he had later targeted the child again and again, eventually sending his own brother-in-law to do the job.

He had driven Gaara straight into a corner.

When Xuan Zhe read the manga in his previous life, Rasa's actions had left him baffled.

He had even wondered whether Rasa had been cuckolded and Gaara was not his biological son at all.

Outside Sunagakure's main gate.

A giant toad even larger than a Tailed Beast swung his Wakizashi, desperately holding back the tide of Sunagakure ninja surging toward him.

"Jiraiya, what the hell are you doing?! Every time there's trouble, you summon me!"

Gamabunta roared a string of curses.

"That brat Xuan Zhe set me up. Just help me hold them off for a while."

Jiraiya looked helpless.

He had never imagined Xuan Zhe's plan would be this direct.

So, basically, he was supposed to serve as bait and draw all their fire, letting Xuan Zhe sneak in and kill the Second Kazekage?

"Sand Shower!"

Countless streams of sand poured down from above like rain.

Jiraiya looked up. "So this is the Magnet Release I've heard about?!"

"Gamabunta!"

He lowered his head and shouted to Gamabunta beneath him, his hands already flying through hand seals.

"I know! What a pain!"

Gamabunta grumbled, but his warty cheeks were already swelling rapidly.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

"Toad Oil!"

Combination Ninjutsu: Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!

Raging flames swept outward, instantly engulfing the rain of sand and driving it back.

Rasa hastily raised a wall of sand in front of himself, only just avoiding serious injury. He tumbled awkwardly to the ground and spat through gritted teeth:

"One of the Sannin, all right. He's not easy to deal with!"

Inside the Kazekage Building, Shamon had just finished hearing the report, his brow furrowed tightly enough to crush a fly.

"Just Jiraiya?"

A dragon tattoo on his bald head gleamed blue beneath the light. The Second Kazekage of Sunagakure could not make sense of it.

Last time, White Fang had led a team inside and nearly taken his head.

Having Jiraiya come this time was not unexpected.

But the idea of him storming the village single-handedly was downright strange.