Chapter 278: Jiraiya's Choice
"You may take on missions. There is nothing wrong with wanting to survive."
Uchiha Ikeizumi nodded slowly after a moment of silence. He understood clearly that if a hidden village lost its missions, it lost its source of funding. The remaining Mist ninja, driven by desperation, might end up committing even greater sins.
"Yes!"
Hearing Ikeizumi's reply, Terumī Mei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although nearly ninety percent of the Mist's shinobi forces had been purged, Mei felt that given enough time, the village could recover its vitality. Furthermore, with the Land of Water isolated across the sea, they wouldn't necessarily fall from their position as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"Next... is the capital of the Land of Water!"
"The fastest way to promote justice is to sweep through the entire Land of Water, then establish a code of laws for justice to ensure it takes root in this soil."
Konoha Village
"Even Kakashi has chosen to support Tsunade?"
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked away from his crystal ball, his face etched with deep exhaustion. A hint of confusion even flickered in his eyes; after all, he believed he had been a benefactor to Kakashi.
But now, even Kakashi supported Tsunade...
The confusion on Hiruzen's face vanished in a flash, replaced once more by firm resolve.
"I am not wrong!"
"Absolute Justice is too extreme. They may find it appealing now, but the 'absoluteness' of justice completely disregards human emotion!"
"Furthermore, if a ninja village wants to grow and prosper, it's impossible for everyone's actions to be perfectly 'just'!"
Hiruzen smoked his pipe, quietly convincing himself. In truth, as more and more clans and elite Jōnin chose to support Tsunade, he knew that once the Hokage election began, he would most likely lose.
In the past, he could at least count on the support of the Daimyō. But now, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had long been terrified by Ikeizumi's methods and would never risk offending him to support Hiruzen.
"Old man!"
Just as Hiruzen was pondering which remaining forces he could rally, the office door was kicked open.
"Jiraiya, have you decided to support me?" Hiruzen covered the crystal ball and looked at the entering Jiraiya.
"Uh...well..."
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly. He had just come up with what he thought was a perfect plan and instinctively came to the office to get approval, forgetting that his teacher was also looking for him.
"I came to ask if I could take a position at the Ninja Academy... as a teacher."
Jiraiya spoke vaguely, trying to gloss over the issue. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with the conflict between his teacher and Tsunade. Regardless of whom he supported, he felt he would offend the other; it was better to remain neutral.
"You want to be a teacher at the Academy?"
Hiruzen frowned. However, Jiraiya's words gave him an idea. Beyond the clans, there were many ninja teachers at the Academy. Since Hiruzen was still the Principal, gaining their support shouldn't be difficult, right?
"Is it for Naruto again?" Hiruzen saw through Jiraiya's intent immediately. Jiraiya wanted to influence Naruto by becoming his teacher.
"I didn't take Naruto out of the village, nor did I take him to Mount Myōboku. Didn't the Katsuyu Sage say to let Naruto choose for himself?" Jiraiya said. "Me being his teacher counts as fair competition, doesn't it? If I can get Naruto to abandon 'Absolute Justice,' you'd be happy to see that, wouldn't you, old man?"
Jiraiya knew his intentions couldn't be hidden from Hiruzen, nor did he intend to hide them.
"Get Naruto to abandon Absolute Justice? Can you really do that?" Hiruzen went silent, then looked back at Jiraiya. He acknowledged Jiraiya's talent for teaching...after all, he had taught the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze...but he found it hard to believe Jiraiya could make Naruto renounce his current path.
"I have to try. How will I know if it's impossible if I don't try?" Jiraiya wasn't certain either, but this was his only option. He had spent years wandering the world for the Child of Prophecy; now that the child was right in front of him, he couldn't just do nothing.
Hiruzen eventually signed the papers, allowing Jiraiya to report to the Academy the following day.
The Land of Water Capital
Meanwhile, Uchiha Ikeizumi had arrived at the capital of the Land of Water. This time, Kojirō was not by his side, as the cat had stayed behind in the Mist to help maintain order.
"This country... is truly rotten to the core, inside and out."
"From here, the number of evil-doers is even higher than in the capital of the Land of Fire..."
In Ikeizumi's vision, almost everything turned red. Especially within the noble estates, there were very few individuals without a "Red Name." This meant the number of villains in the capital was unimaginably high.
Just as Ikeizumi arrived, the Daimyō of the Land of Water had learned of the upheaval in the Hidden Mist. The battle had been too loud to hide, and since Ikeizumi hadn't killed the "innocent," there were bound to be spies among them who spread the news.
"What is the Land of Fire thinking, letting a ninja from Konoha's Uchiha clan run rampant in our country?"
"Does the Land of Fire not fear the outbreak of a Great Ninja War?"
The Daimyō spoke threateningly to the gathered nobles, but anyone could see the terror in his eyes. The events in the Land of Fire's capital were no secret. He knew Konoha had produced a "mad dog" that had turned on its masters and killed the previous Daimyō.
Before, he had thought of it as an internal affair of the Land of Fire and had even gloated. He never expected that "mad dog" to come to the Land of Water...and with such violent methods, leveling the Hidden Mist village first!
How could he not be afraid? He had gathered the nobles to present a united front, hoping they might have some resistance if Ikeizumi actually showed up.
"Another war maniac!"
As the Daimyō's voice fell, he saw the nobles before him looking in horror at something behind him. Then, he heard a voice.