"Well then, this is goodbye for now."
By the small lake next to the waterfall at the entrance of the Waterfall Village, Sakura said to Shibuki.
"Yes. You're welcome to visit again," Shibuki said, then added in a low voice, "And please, put some thought into that other matter."
"Rest assured," Sakura nodded. She then looked at Fu. "Well then, see you next time, Fu."
"See you next time! You have to come back soon!" Fu said, looking quite dejected.
Sakura waved goodbye to them. Now, to return to the village. The mission to find Sasuke was a failure, but she had never intended for it to succeed from the beginning.
Now that she knew about the Third Hokage's contingency plan, she had to consider her next steps. She had to admit, the Third's move was brilliant.
If she did nothing, then nothing would happen. But if she made a move, she would face the pursuit of the entire Leaf Village—no, perhaps the entire ninja world. From this perspective, the best option was to stay obediently in the Leaf.
Heh, but that won't stop me. The Third Hokage's heart was broad, but the other ninja villages might not think the same way. So, there was still a chance. As long as she could stir the waters of the ninja world, her opportunity would come.
At the entrance to the Town of a Hundred Flowers, a white-haired old man was leering at the mature women all over the street, drooling from time to time.
This white-haired man was none other than Jiraiya. Following the tracks he found in the insect paradise, he had traced them all the way here, only to be captivated by the town full of women.
"This is really a nice place," Jiraiya muttered pervertedly, his eyes darting around the street, completely forgetting he was on a mission.
But he wasn't truly idle. Jiraiya composed himself and walked into the town. The traces of Sakura and her team were thickest here. In any case, he should start by gathering some information.
Along the way, besides some signs of battle in the insect paradise, there were no other traces of fighting. The battle marks there weren't very significant either; they probably hadn't encountered Mist ninja and had handled the situation easily.
Since they had stayed here for a while, they must have stayed at an inn. So, Jiraiya decided to start his investigation with the inns.
"Excuse me, have you seen the person in this photo staying here?" Jiraiya asked, going from inn to inn with a picture of Sakura.
In a world with such limited communication, this seemed to be the only way.
"Haven't seen her. Are you looking for a room, sir?" the bleary-eyed old innkeeper said without even glancing at the photo.
"Uh..." Jiraiya said awkwardly. "No, not right now. Please, take a good look. Have you seen her?"
"Go away, go away! What are you doing here if you're not staying? Don't look down on me. If I were fifty years younger, I'd beat you to a pulp," the innkeeper said, waving a broom at Jiraiya angrily when he realized he wasn't a customer.
"Sorry to bother you!" Seeing this, Jiraiya beat a hasty retreat.
"Alright, on to the next one." Jiraiya sighed and entered another inn.
The owner of this one was a large, heavyset woman. She was very polite when she saw a customer arrive, but when she heard Jiraiya wasn't staying and was just asking about someone, her expression changed instantly.
"Out, out! I'm busy with business, I don't have time for you," the fat woman said huffily.
"Um, fine, I'll take a room. Get me a room," Jiraiya said, reluctantly pulling out his wallet. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to conduct his investigation. Intelligence gathering was the most expensive business.
"Ah, you mean this little girl?" Seeing that Jiraiya was staying, the woman's expression changed faster than flipping a page in a book. Her face was wreathed in smiles as she looked at the photo Jiraiya had given her.
After looking at it for a while, the fat woman shook her head. "Haven't seen her."
"Oh, is that so? Then I won't be staying." Jiraiya put the money he had just taken out, but not yet handed over, back into his wallet.
"Are you messing with me?!" the fat woman roared, her face contorted with rage. "Everyone, get out here! Someone's making trouble!"
At her shout, four or five burly men rushed out from the inner room next door, each brandishing a weapon.
"Hehe, so you're the one causing trouble, kid!" the leader, a burly man, said, waving a spiked club and glaring viciously at Jiraiya.
"Ha... haha..." Jiraiya's face was stiff. "This... this is a misunderstanding," he said awkwardly.
"Misunderstanding?" The burly man slammed his club on the ground. "Either leave the money, or leave your legs."
"What's that?" Jiraiya asked, pointing behind the group with a look of utter astonishment.
His expression must have been too convincing, because the group actually turned to look. Jiraiya took the opportunity to break through the door and flee. Hearing the noise, the group realized Jiraiya was gone and knew they'd been had. The leader waved his hand. "After him!"
But how could ordinary people catch up to a fleeing ninja? By the time the group got out of the inn, Jiraiya was nowhere to be seen.
"Dammit! Don't let us see him here again!" the leader spat viciously. "Split up and keep looking!"
Jiraiya ran all the way to the outskirts of town before stopping. It seemed he couldn't continue his investigation for the time being. He had never seen such aggressive innkeepers. And when gathering intelligence, especially when suspecting that Mist ninja were on the hunt, he couldn't afford to make a big scene.
"You haven't changed a bit, Lord Jiraiya!"
Suddenly, a slightly childish voice sounded from behind him. Jiraiya's heart leaped in shock. He spun around instantly, already in a defensive stance.
Jiraiya's eyes focused. Before him was a girl in a kimono, wearing a fox mask. Although she looked like an ordinary person, the fact that she could approach him without a sound meant she was anything but.
"Who are you?" Jiraiya asked warily.
"..." The mask concealed the girl's face. She was silent for a moment before saying, "I am not an enemy, Lord Jiraiya."
"You know me?" Jiraiya's gaze sharpened. It wasn't strange for someone to know his name, but for them to recognize him on sight was very strange. At the very least, this girl had to be from some ninja village. That would mean she was a ninja herself.
"Who hasn't heard of the Legendary Sannin?" Under the mask, the girl seemed to be smiling.
"Don't change the subject. It's not strange to have heard of the Sannin, but it's very strange for a non-ninja to recognize me on sight," Jiraiya said in a low voice. "State your purpose."
"I am here to provide Lord Jiraiya with information," the girl said softly.
"Provide me with information?" Jiraiya was taken aback by this answer, but he remained vigilant. "What information do you want to give me?"
"Regarding Sakura Haruno's whereabouts..." the girl said slowly.
"Is that so?" Hearing the girl's words, Jiraiya's expression didn't change, but a slight smile touched the corner of his mouth. "It seems you'll have to come with me today. Don't worry, I'll let you go after I've confirmed your identity."
By the end, Jiraiya's tone had become somewhat sinister.
"As expected of Lord Jiraiya. So decisive. I'm truly impressed," the fox-masked girl said with admiration.
However, Jiraiya didn't take the bait. He would capture her first, and then everything would become clear. He formed hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
In the blink of an eye, Jiraiya's full head of white hair grew wildly, sweeping toward the girl.
The girl also quickly formed hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!" The girl's full head of black hair also began to grow wildly, eventually encasing her completely.
It was at this moment that Jiraiya was truly, utterly shocked. If she knew he was looking for Sakura, it could possibly be because of a spy in the village.
But this unique ninjutsu of his... he had never passed it on since developing it. He hadn't even taught it to any of his disciples. But now, he was seeing a girl he didn't know perform his own secret technique!
"Who are you?!" Jiraiya's voice seemed to be laced with ice as he questioned the girl, his hair tightly wrapping around her, immobilizing her.
This was a forest on the outskirts of the Town of a Hundred Flowers. Jiraiya had come here intending to rest for the night and wait for things to cool down before investigating again. Instead, he had run into a mysterious and unfathomable girl.