Two days later.
It's still that same little tavern.
Jiraiya, with a lewd expression, said goodbye to a heavily made-up woman next to him.
He glanced at the extra little note in his hand and raised an eyebrow.
The woman's name was Tezuna, and she was one of his many intelligence agents over the years.
Jiraiya did not rush to examine the intelligence.
Instead, he finished the last sip of sake before quietly opening the small note.
There were only a few lines of small text.
It is a coordinate located at the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire.
The Land of Iron.
A country that remains neutral year-round, with only samurai and no ninjas.
The location is very remote, and even during wartime, it is estimated that not many people would pay attention to it.
Logically speaking...
This location information, which is very close to the coordinates of Orochimaru's hiding place, should be of some value.
But Jiraiya's furrowed brows showed no sign of happiness whatsoever...
"It's... the Land of Iron again."
With a slightly puzzled murmur, Jiraiya carefully put away the small note and then poured himself another glass of wine.
Two days.
In this small tavern, Jiraiya received dozens of intelligence reports about Orochimaru's location from various sources.
Some of them may be too general and not very precise.
But all the intelligence pointed to the same location.
The Land of Iron.
This made Jiraiya somewhat hesitant to confirm what was practically obvious information...
He knew perfectly well how cunning Orochimaru was.
Always have a backup plan, and never put yourself in the most dangerous position.
This time, such an obvious mistake... it's so unlike Orochimaru!
He shook his slightly drunken head.
Jiraiya paid for everything, including the drinks and the drinks for the hostess named Tesuna.
He staggered out of the tavern, walked to a corner, and suddenly his hands formed a hand seal!
puff--
After a puff of white smoke...
A small toad then appeared.
"Could you please ask Haruko to come over here..."
"I think... I've forgotten the way to the hotel, haha!"
Jiraiya, drunk, confessed.
Two days of hard work yielded this piece of information, the veracity of which is unknown.
Jiraiya was somewhat conflicted...
On one hand, he felt that Orochimaru was definitely toying with him.
How could he have found such obvious coordinates so easily?
on the other hand.
Jiraiya, however, did not believe that Orochimaru could monopolize all of his intelligence sources.
That would be so embarrassing...
Jiraiya was also annoyed, and with the help of alcohol, he gradually drifted off to sleep.
Fortunately, he still has Haruko.
Haruko is kind, cute, and a little pitiful, but also somewhat violent...
At the very least, Xiao Qingzi's presence could help him analyze the situation and also conveniently send him back to the hotel.
very nice...
The little toad gave Jiraiya a disdainful look, said nothing, and simply turned and hopped away.
Not long after.
The little toad hopped and skipped all the way to the location of the inn.
Qingchuan, who was taking a shower, suddenly frowned!
She got up and dressed in the blink of an eye. The dress that she used to wear clumsily was put on in a second. Without any hesitation, she grabbed the knife and aimed it at the drain!
The little toad just poked its head out.
Suddenly, a large knife, wider than his toad head, was held directly against him!
The little toad immediately became clever!
puff--
I don't know if it was a fart from fright or the sound of a psychic force being forcibly broken.
Anyway...
The little toad, being a summoning beast, almost reflexively canceled the summoning and immediately flashed back to Mount Myōboku!
Qingchuan frowned even more.
"These things from Mount Myōboku... why are they all just like Jiraiya?"
"Damn...could it be a female toad?!"
"This is outrageous!"
After being berated, Qingchuan's expression gradually turned ferocious.
Damn it.
From this day forward, on the day we take off our skirts, two of the three legendary ninjas are already among the things we're going to chop down.
truth.
If it weren't for the sudden appearance of a side quest... Aokawa would have headed straight for Konoha by now!
Using Jiraiya's constant peeping at him while he bathes as an excuse, let's see how Hiruzen Sarutobi has the nerve to stop him!
but....
Two minutes later, Qingchuan, who had gradually calmed down, also realized that something was wrong.
I only remember that he sheathed his sword. But thinking about it carefully... Jiraiya must have had something to ask him, right?
...
Achoo!
This morning.
Having slept through the cold wind by the roadside all night, Jiraiya, with a runny nose, finally made it back to the inn with great difficulty.
Qingchuan, who had already started his morning exercise, was speechless upon seeing this scene...
"In short... all the intelligence from the past two days is here."
Take out all the slips of paper or scrolls of various sizes from your pocket and place them on the table.
Jiraiya gave Aokawa a resentful look and said in a muffled voice.
As usual, Aokawa ignored Jiraiya.
He put the knife away and examined it carefully.
Not long after.
Aokawa, who discovered the same problem, also gradually frowned.
Are you sure this wasn't bought wholesale?
With a dark expression, Aokawa suppressed the urge to smash this pile of almost identical things in Jiraiya's face and asked.
And the soul-searching questions of a young girl.
This also made Jiraiya instantly feel utterly hopeless...
Two days.
Besides time, he also devoted a great deal of energy and even his lifeblood to it...
It was all bought wholesale, and it seems like everything has gone down the drain...
"That's the situation. I'm not sure if Orochimaru even bribed the gold exchange."
Jiraiya shrugged, looking resigned to his fate.
"Anyway, all the clues are pointing here now."
"Whether you go or not is up to you, Haruko..."
Qingchuan frowned even more.
He knew the name of the gold exchange.
The intelligence coming from there shouldn't be any falsehoods.
But... something unusual must be going on, and his intuition told him that there was definitely something wrong here.
and....
This is a big problem!
But now.
He doesn't seem to have much time to waste.
Staying in the Land of Fire only means continuing that seemingly endless wait...
Waiting for Shisui to come back and have his eyes gouged out, waiting for Itachi to evolve into a clan-annihilating Itachi, waiting for Tsuchiko to put a knife to his throat...
a long time.
Aokawa glanced at Jiraiya, who was still wiping his nose, and sighed helplessly.
"Then let's go."
End of Chapter
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