Chapter 499: The Female Ninja of the Nadeshiko Village
"Ow, that hurts… Who the hell hit me? Who dared hit this great me? Huh?"
Jiraiya rubbed his aching lower back as he stood up, looking around left and right. His gaze eventually locked onto a beautiful woman in front of him, and his eyes immediately went straight.
"The legendary Three Sannin of Konoha, huh? I didn't expect you to be a heartless man who abandons wife and child. Disgusting."
Nii Yugito brushed her claws lightly and snorted coldly before turning to leave.
The one who had stopped Jiraiya was Yugito, who had come from the Kumogakure Village.
Yugito's purpose in coming to Amegakure was, first, because of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy—to ensure that her closest friend, the Two-Tails Matatabi, would not be harmed by Uzumaki Naruto.
Second, she was also tasked with bringing that so-called "secret manual" from Konoha's group to Amegakure for research.
But the moment she arrived, she saw exactly what had just happened.
A woman came looking for Jiraiya, saying she had a promise with him, only for Jiraiya to turn around and run without any responsibility or accountability as a man.
"Abandon wife and child? No, wait—this is a misunderstanding! You've got it wrong! I've been falsely accused!"
Jiraiya froze for a moment at Yugito's contemptuous insult, then quickly came back to his senses and cried out in protest.
"Jiraiya, don't leave! Explain yourself properly!"
The middle-aged kunoichi grabbed Jiraiya's arm, stopping him from chasing after Yugito. He had no choice but to stay put.
Helpless, Jiraiya turned his attention back to the woman behind him.
"Tokiwa… I didn't expect that after all these years, you still remember what happened back then."
"Of course I remember. I originally came to Amegakure on behalf of my village to request assistance, and I never expected to run into you here. Come back with me and fulfill your promise."
The kunoichi tugged on Jiraiya's hand, trying to pull him away.
"Wait, hold on! What promise am I supposed to fulfill? Back then, wasn't the promise about my disciple?"
Jiraiya stomped his foot, forcing himself to stop.
"And also, what do you mean by 'our promise'? That was a promise between me and your village chief! You can't just go around saying things like that—it ruins my reputation! Look what just happened, I've already been misunderstood!"
"What's the difference? Besides, Jiraiya, you're finally admitting the promise, aren't you? Then hurry up and fulfill it!"
Tokiwa kept holding onto Jiraiya's arm tightly, afraid he would escape.
"Alright, fine… stop grabbing me. I won't run."
Jiraiya sighed.
"Come with me. I'll take you to fulfill that promise. On the way, tell me what kind of help you came to Amegakure for. I might be able to speak on your behalf and help you out."
Jiraiya sighed again.
The female ninja in front of him, Tokiwa, was from the Nadeshiko Village.
Nadeshiko Village was entirely made up of female ninjas, and they had a rule.
Female ninjas would go outside the village to challenge powerful male ninjas.
If the male ninja lost, he would be required to marry into Nadeshiko Village.
Of course, to ensure the village remained entirely female, after fulfilling the "childbearing duty", the male ninja would be sent back to his original village.
And if the child was a boy, after infancy, he would also be raised by the father.
A truly bizarre village.
It was unclear whether the founder of Nadeshiko Village—or the daimyo of its country—had originally intended to build a harem, only to realize he couldn't manage it, and ended up creating this system instead.
No one really understood the meaning of a village composed entirely of female ninjas.
And the rule about defeating men and making them marry into the village was also strange.
If you defeated someone, it meant they were weaker—so they were the weak ones.
If inheritance followed that logic, wouldn't Nadeshiko Village only get weaker over time?
And if they couldn't be defeated, then the men simply wouldn't accept the rules and wouldn't return with them anyway.
A dead-end system either way.
In any case, when Jiraiya was younger, he once had a duel with the Nadeshiko Village chief with marriage as the wager.
Whether the village chief was truly skilled, or Jiraiya deliberately held back, the match ended in a draw.
Jiraiya then declared that the outcome would be decided by their disciples.
Their disciples would settle it again—with marriage as the prize.
"What?!"
After hearing Tokiwa's original purpose, Jiraiya was completely shocked.
He immediately decided he would ask nothing further.
He should stay far away from this kind of thing.
It was best to quickly pass off this damned old promise.
Jiraiya brought Tokiwa to the top floor of the command tower, where Nagato was.
Inside the room were not only Nagato, but also Konan, Yugito from earlier, and Shiromo.
Yugito, having no idea where to deliver the "secret manual", simply met Nagato as an official envoy from the Kumogakure Village and handed it over.
She also asked about Shiromo's whereabouts.
After receiving the manual, Nagato had originally planned to have Shiromo come and take it, so he simply called him over.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what brings you here? And who is she?"
Nagato asked.
"Ah… Nagato… and Konan… well, it's a long story."
Jiraiya then explained the story from his youth about the wager with the Nadeshiko Village chief.
"So now she's come looking for me. As my disciples, you two need to fulfill that promise."
Jiraiya spread his hands helplessly.
"What?!"
Nagato was stunned.
He hadn't expected Jiraiya to come here to discuss an arranged marriage matter.
Or rather… a childhood marriage contract.
"There's even such a thing? Wait—what does that have to do with me?"
Konan's usually calm expression showed a faint smile as she glanced teasingly at Nagato, then suddenly realized something was wrong.
Why was Jiraiya including her just now?
"Actually, Tokiwa just happened to run into me. She originally came to Amegakure seeking help from you two. As for what kind of help, let her explain."
After finishing his explanation, Jiraiya quickly stepped aside.
"Well… I came to request Amegakure's assistance in providing genetic breeding technology support. That way, even without the duel system, our Nadeshiko Village can still have descendants."
Tokiwa hesitated for a moment before revealing her purpose.
"Genetic breeding technology" was a vague term.
But everyone present was familiar with Orochimaru's research, so they immediately understood what she meant.
No wonder Jiraiya had mentioned Konan when talking about the wager.
Because with this technology, even female ninjas could fulfill the agreement and have children.
"..."
Konan's expression became complicated. After a moment of hesitation, she glared at Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, the one who should be fulfilling a promise is supposed to be Namikage Minato!"
"You let Namikage Minato break his promise about marriage and having children, and now you're dragging us into it to take the blame."
"Why don't you go find Uzumaki Naruto? Isn't he also your disciple?"
"Are we really that disliked by you? All the bad things end up with us, while all the good things go to them?"
(End of this chapter)