Chapter 239: The Land of Water Is Indeed Moribund
Jiraiya simply thought that he might not have explained clearly enough just now.
He patiently and meticulously explained the Great Toad Sage's prophecy to Hiruzen Sarutobi again.
After all, this was no longer a secret; at least many people around Ikeizumi Uchiha knew about it.
And this was also Jiraiya's excuse to politely refuse Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had no desire to be the Hokage, nor was he willing to compete with Tsunade.
Naturally, Jiraiya certainly hoped that his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would understand his actions, otherwise, he wouldn't have re-explained it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows were furrowed so tightly they could nearly squash a mosquito.
He hadn't expected that what Jiraiya had been busy with outside the village all these years was this matter.
He had thought Jiraiya was constantly tracking Orochimaru's whereabouts, but he hadn't expected the other party to also be searching for some Child of Prophecy. And in the course of his search, he discovered that the Child of Prophecy was none other than Naruto Uzumaki.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could see that Jiraiya was very eager to gain his understanding.
But just as he didn't understand the ideological principles of Izumi and Tsunade.
The current Hiruzen Sarutobi also didn't understand Jiraiya's ideological principles.
Was it a bit too childish to pin the future transformation of the Shinobi World on a so-called Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Toad Sage?
"Jiraiya, does the Shinobi World only have hope of becoming better by pinning it on the Child of Prophecy?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked ambiguously with some hesitation: "Are the efforts of others in the Shinobi World for peace completely useless?"
Jiraiya sighed and nodded: "Although it's cruel to say so, the fact is that it is useless. If it were useful, the Great Toad Sage wouldn't have said that only by finding the Child of Prophecy can the Shinobi World achieve a true transformation."
"Old man... the only thing people like us can do is to nurture the Child of Prophecy and allow him to become the true savior. At the moment the Shinobi World is on the brink of collapse, only the Child of Prophecy can save the world."
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat dazed. He wondered if his disciple had started believing in some strange, inappropriate cult?
Many people in the Shinobi World use the names of various gods to deceive people everywhere, brainwashing ordinary people into fervent believers.
Jiraiya's demeanor was overly similar to those who had been deceived.
Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say.
He had initially thought that if Jiraiya just nodded, he could fully support him in becoming the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. At that time, he, the old man, could indeed retire and relax.
But now it seemed...
Allowing Jiraiya to become the Fifth Hokage would be an irresponsible act towards the village!
Jiraiya, who was committed to pinning all his hopes on the Child of Prophecy, completely lacked any sense of duty or responsibility.
Such a person would not wholeheartedly work for the village.
If Jiraiya became the Fifth Hokage, he might use the entire village's resources to nurture the so-called Child of Prophecy.
Hmm...
Hiruzen Sarutobi did admit that the boy Naruto was a very talented child, and there was nothing wrong with nurturing him with a large amount of resources.
But the biggest problem was.
What about everyone else?
Did Jiraiya consider what should happen to the other people in the village?
He probably only had the Child of Prophecy in his mind.
Only the so-called savior who could bring a brand new transformation to the Shinobi World.
"..." After a silence of over ten seconds, looking at Jiraiya, who seemed to be filled with a slight expectation and seeking his understanding. Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed in his heart and said: "Forget it, pretend I didn't say anything."
With that, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned and walked away directly.
Leaving Jiraiya stunned in place.
It wasn't until Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure walked further and further away that Jiraiya muttered in surprise: "What's wrong with the old man? He was just talking to me so much about the Hokage, but when it was my turn to speak... the old man only listened for a moment and then turned and left?"
Fukasaku spoke: "Little Jiraiya... the Third Hokage does not approve of our approach. His thoughts are probably somewhat similar to Ikeizumi Uchiha and Tsunade, believing that the Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Elder cannot truly bring about a transformation to the Shinobi World."
Jiraiya was slightly bewildered.
On the other side, Shima consoled him: "It is precisely this lack of understanding from others that highlights your greatness, Little Jiraiya. They only care about the internal conflicts of the Shinobi World, so we, who are detached from these conflicts, can think about the future of the Shinobi World."
Jiraiya: "..."
Jiraiya was an adult, after all, and he could naturally tell that the two Sages of Mount Myōboku were forcefully consoling him.
He was bewildered again.
Ikeizumi Uchiha didn't understand him because the other party believed that Absolute Justice could bring about a transformation to the Shinobi World.
Tsunade didn't understand him; it could probably be assumed that Tsunade stood in the same camp as Ikeizumi Uchiha.
But the problem was...
The old man, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood in opposition to Ikeizumi Uchiha and Tsunade, didn't he? Didn't they say that the "enemy's" "enemy" is a friend?
Shouldn't the old man understand and approve of him?
How could this be?
Is the Great Toad Sage's prophecy no longer believed by anyone in the Shinobi World?
"Nagato has ordered most of the core members of the Akatsuki to rush to the Land of Water to hunt Ikeizumi Uchiha."
Obito Uchiha played with a kunai, and he asked expressionlessly: "Are we sure we're not going to get involved?"
"No."
Black Zetsu shook its head, its eyes filled with deep apprehension, and slowly said: "If we are discovered by Ikeizumi Uchiha, the other party might desperately try to kill us. Because he knows many of our secrets, in his heart, we must be on his kill list, possibly even at the very top."
"When dealing with the rest of the Shinobi World, or even the Tailed Beasts... we can be a little careless. But when dealing with Ikeizumi Uchiha, we must be cautious above all else, and not give the other party any opportunity. Especially not the opportunity to hunt us down."
"...Tch." Obito Uchiha was a little displeased, as this made him look like a rat hiding in a sewer.
It was almost as if he was being chased by Ikeizumi Uchiha, hiding everywhere and not daring to show his face, only able to resort to petty tricks from behind the scenes.
But the cruel truth was laid out before him, forcing Obito Uchiha to admit it.
If he truly confronted Ikeizumi Uchiha, he was indeed no match for the other party. Because all the information about his abilities was clearly grasped by the opponent, it was too easy for Ikeizumi Uchiha to target him.
He might not be able to escape the next time he encountered Ikeizumi Uchiha face-to-face.
At this moment, Black Zetsu continued: "The only thing we should be worried about now is... whether Nagato and the others can successfully complete the hunt?"
Obito Uchiha frowned: "His Six Paths of Pain puppets should be heading to the Land of Water together, and the worst among the Akatsuki members would still be at least Jōnin level in other ninja villages. Is this still not enough to hunt Ikeizumi Uchiha? Don't forget, Konoha's Root organization has also defected this time."
Black Zetsu slowly said: "If Ikeizumi Uchiha were so easy to kill, he wouldn't have survived until now. Obito, we still need to utilize the power of the Hidden Mist Village."
"Gathering the forces of the Hidden Mist Village, the Akatsuki, and Konoha's Root—only then is there a possibility of successfully hunting Ikeizumi Uchiha."
Obito Uchiha's brow furrowed.
Black Zetsu continued: "Don't you want to retaliate against the Hidden Mist Village? Isn't this exactly an opportunity to retaliate against it? First, let the Hidden Mist Village consume some of Ikeizumi Uchiha's strength and delay him until the arrival of the Akatsuki."
These words from Black Zetsu persuaded Obito.
"...Alright."
The next day.
Land of Water.
Jūzō Biwa, leading the way, brought Ikeizumi Uchiha and the others to a town in the Land of Water.
The scene before them was undeniably desolate.
The roads were littered with uncleaned trash, the number of vendors on both sides of the street was pitifully small, and many beggars were squatting in the dark corners of the street, each one emaciated to the point of being skin and bones.
Occasionally, people with relatively normal demeanor would walk by, but they were hurried and did not linger here.
In the crevices of the paving stones underfoot, faint traces of long-dried black blood could still be seen.
"It's vastly different from the Land of Fire... Logically speaking, shouldn't the economic situation of the Land of Water, a place with developed sea transportation, be quite good... I remember this town should also be near the sea, and should have a port dock... Why is it so dilapidated?"
Izumi looked around and couldn't help but ask the doubts in her heart.
Jūzō Biwa took a deep breath, and he replied with a complicated expression: "This town... was originally controlled by a bloodline limit ninja clan and an aristocratic family of the Land of Water."
"But after the Bloody Mist Policy intensified, the Hidden Mist Village purged the bloodline limit ninja clan here, killing dozens of people from the entire clan, annihilating them."
"The nobles here were also scared and moved away. Without ninja protection, the entire town has continuously suffered from the ravages and looting of bandits. Over time, it has become like this."
Izumi was shocked: "After the Hidden Mist Village eliminated the bloodline limit ninja clan here, did they not send ninja to take over?"
Jūzō Biwa shook his head: "No. There are many similar towns in the current Land of Water. Their suffering was brought by the Hidden Mist Village, but the Hidden Mist Village never followed up to manage them."
"But when some kind-hearted rogue ninja try to organize themselves to rescue the civilians, the Hidden Mist Village will use the pretext that these rogue ninja are trying to overthrow the Hidden Mist regime to eliminate them."
"The entire Land of Water has continued to suffer under the intense pressure of this extremely cruel Bloody Mist Policy until now."
He looked at some of the townspeople nearby: "Over time, many people in the Land of Water have become numb."
"Apart from those who are truly wealthy, powerful, and of high status, the ordinary civilians... are merely surviving in misery."
Jūzō Biwa smiled bitterly: "Of course... some towns in the Land of Water are not as exaggerated as this place. There are still some places that are relatively prosperous and normal. After all, if all towns were like this... the Land of Water would probably be destroyed."
"Generally, only places where bloodline limit ninja were active suffer such tragic circumstances. After all, the Hidden Mist Village has been constantly purging bloodline limit ninja, triggering one internal war after another. This has led many people to believe that... bloodline ninja represent war, disaster, and misfortune."
"This has exacerbated the conflicts in these areas and has made many ordinary civilians extremely wary of these places, unwilling to approach them, making the already dilapidated towns even more unbearable."
Jūzō Biwa, having recounted the situation of the Land of Water, felt even heavier in his heart.
At this moment, Ikeizumi Uchiha spoke: "This is a Zone of Justice Deficiency, ten times more severe than the Land of Fire, and then some."
Suddenly.
A series of clear, rattling sounds attracted Izumi's attention.
The girl, with a heavy heart, looked back behind her in confusion.
That one look caused the pupils in her beautiful eyes to suddenly contract.
"Izumi-senpai!"
Izumi hurriedly said: "There are human traffickers behind us!"
Just a short distance behind them.
Three burly adults were escorting five small children forward. One of the adults was holding one end of an iron chain, and the other end of the chain was tethering the five children.
"Hurry up and walk! We only gave you two steamed buns an hour ago, don't tell me you don't have the strength to walk!"
One of them even shouted openly and brazenly.
Izumi clearly saw the weak and numb expressions on the faces of each of the five children. Each of them was skin and bones, clearly malnourished and never having enough to eat normally.
The clothes they wore were also filthy, with many tears and holes.
The weather was already turning cold, and such clothing would surely lead to illness.
With the weak, malnourished physiques of these children.
Once they caught a cold...
It would probably be fatal.
"Ikeizumi-senpai..."
Just as Izumi was about to say something, she heard Ikeizumi Uchiha say: "Newcomer, go and handle it."
Izumi's face immediately became serious.
"Yes! Senpai!"
The girl did not hesitate. She placed her hand on her ninja sword and rushed over there. She immediately blocked the group's path. The ninja sword at her waist was drawn decisively, the long blade held diagonally, with the tip pointing straight to the ground.
"Stop right there!"
Izumi's face was frosty. She said coldly: "These children didn't willingly follow you, did they? Why are you chaining them up?"
"Hey!" The man holding the chain narrowed his eyes. On his rough face, there was an ominous, dangerous look: "Who are you, and where did you come from? Don't go around falsely accusing people!"
"Their parents sold them to us! We spent a large sum of money on each of these brats! We chain them up, naturally, to prevent them from running away!"
"If they run away, wouldn't we suffer a huge loss this trip?"
Izumi was startled: "...Their parents sold them to you?"
Another man even pulled out a few sheets of white paper from his clothes, covered with writing and several different palm prints.
He grinned and said without any reservation: "We have a bill of sale! You look like a rogue ninja from outside, right? In the Land of Water, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. The Land of Water has its own unique circumstances! If you know what's good for you, step aside!"
Izumi took a deep breath.
If this had been a few months ago, she might have honestly moved aside.
But now...
Her face was cold as she said: "The Land of Water is indeed moribund!"
.......
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