blogombal Chapter 331 An Unexpected Encounter
Chapter 331 An Unexpected Encounter
Chapter 331 An Unexpected Encounter
Eastern Front Camp.
The ninjas went about their own business, but kept a good distance from the central army camp.
However, judging from their occasional twitching ears and the occasional glances they made towards the camp, it was clear that each of them was doing their job seriously.
Inside the central army camp.
Jiraiya shrank back, his smile finally faltering as he was bombarded by Tsunade's barrage of sarcastic remarks.
He scratched his messy white hair, his eyes darting around nervously.
"Ahem—Um—Tsunade, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! How could I forget you? Even if I forget myself, I can't forget you."
He squeezed his eyes hard, trying to squeeze out a few drops of heartfelt tears.
"I was busy, yes, I was busy. Don't be fooled by my running all over the ninja world, I was just gathering intelligence."
As soon as I heard you needed help, I dropped everything and rushed over without even having a sip of water on the way.
.
"Oh? You haven't even had a sip of water?"
Tsunade interrupted him without any politeness, looking at his moist lips, a mocking smile curving her lips.
"Don't think I don't know about the war situation in the Land of Rivers. You were bored over there, and when you heard there was fighting here, you rushed over to join in the fun, weren't you?"
"I swear to God! Absolutely not!"
Jiraiya immediately raised his hand and swore, his face showing an expression that said, "I did all this for you. I'm just missing you—cough cough—I'm worried about the battle! I'm worried you're tired! Look how thin you've gotten—"
As he spoke, he even tried to reach out and pat Tsunade on the shoulder to show his comfort and affection.
"Bang!!!"
A loud bang was followed by a slight tremor in the ground.
Before Jiraiya's sinful hand could even touch a corner of Tsunade's clothes, Tsunade's fist had already slammed into the ground an inch away from his feet with lightning speed.
A deep pit with spiderweb-like cracks instantly appeared in the hard ground, and dirt and gravel splashed all over Jiraiya's body and face.
The massive tremor immediately drew the attention of everyone outside the tent, who were incredibly curious about what was happening inside.
Their faces were full of gossip.
I heard that when Jiraiya was a child, Tsunade broke several of his ribs with a single punch, and he had to stay in the hospital for a month before he survived.
I wonder if Jiraiya will have his ribs broken again this time?
Inside the camp.
Jiraiya remained frozen in place, his hand still outstretched in a comical pose, cold sweat pouring down his face.
His smirk turned into utter terror, like a toad being stepped on.
Tsunade slowly pulled her fist out of the crater, blew off non-existent dust, and gave the disheveled Jiraiya a cold sidelong glance.
"Don't touch me, Jiraiya. And stay away from me. I get annoyed just looking at your stupid face."
Now that you're here, report to Nara Kaoru and follow orders. If you dare to talk nonsense again or come within three meters of me—”
She clenched her fist, her knuckles making a sickening cracking sound, and gestured with her chin towards the deep crater in the ground. "This is your role model!"
Jiraiya stared at the still-smoking crater, subconsciously swallowing hard. All the sweet words he had prepared were swallowed back down by that punch.
He reluctantly withdrew his hand, wiped the dust off his face, and muttered, "I know, I know—why are you being so fierce—really, you have no classmate spirit at all—I'll just go register, okay?"
He looked back every few steps, his eyes filled with the sorrow of an abandoned Samoyed, but before Tsunade could clench her fists again, he quickly slipped out of the tent.
Tsunade snorted coldly, tidying her slightly messy hair, but the corners of her mouth seemed to curl upwards very slightly and uncontrollably.
"Everyone outside, come in!"
With a sharp shout, the crowd that had been listening outside all rushed back into the tent.
Everyone stared at the large crater in the ground, outwardly silent, but inwardly they were all pondering what had just happened in the tent.
After a long while, Jiraiya and Kaoru Nara finally entered, and the discussion that had ended earlier resumed.
However, things are different now. With the addition of Jiraiya as a powerful ally, the strength of the Eastern Front has increased by leaps and bounds.
The previously somewhat conservative tactics were no longer suitable, so the group discussed and decided to change to an offensive strategy centered around Jiraiya, forming a spearhead of the fighting force.
As the eastern coast began to shift from defense to offense, after a seven-day sea voyage, Taiyi finally set foot on the land of the Water Kingdom.
It is said that the Land of Water is an island nation, but more accurately, it is an archipelago nation, consisting of a main island and numerous smaller islands.
As a result, due to the separation of the ocean, the islands have long maintained different customs.
Taiichi's trip took him to the main island of the Land of Water, where Kirigakure and the Daimyo's residence are located.
As his feet touched solid ground again, Taiyi felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Humans are indeed land animals; even if they love water, they still have a need to be grounded.
Behind him, Swim bid him a grateful farewell, but Tai didn't turn around, only waving goodbye.
As an island nation, the Land of Water has many port cities, and Taiichi is currently in Ira Castle, the largest port city on the main island.
Taiyi was like a curious child; everything in front of him was so new and exciting.
Masts stood like a forest, obscuring the view, while cargo ships and fishing boats bobbed on the waves.
On land, people were busy loading and unloading goods, workers were shouting slogans, and cables and cantilever arms were swinging between the ship and the shore.
On the other side, fishermen loaded their catch, and truckloads of either chilled or live fish were transported into the city, the air constantly filled with a faint fishy smell.
After leaving the dock, Taiyi walked on foot along the main road leading to the city.
This place truly lives up to its reputation as the largest port city in the Land of Water. As Taiyi walked along, he was constantly surrounded by a constant stream of cars and pedestrians.
This is already comparable to the surrounding areas of some bustling cities in the Land of Fire.
However, there is one downside.
Taiyi rubbed his nose. The fishy smell that had been lingering in his nose ever since he disembarked had not dissipated. It seemed he would have to get used to it on his own.
Upon entering Ira Castle, Taiichi, unusually, began strolling through the streets.
Having come all this way to the Water Kingdom, he didn't want to focus all his energy on cultivation. He wanted to experience the local customs and culture firsthand.
Unlike the Fire Country, where most buildings are made of wood, the buildings here are mostly made of stone.
Looking at the tower-like and cylindrical high-rise buildings on both sides of the street, Taiyi couldn't help but sigh that, apart from Konoha, the architecture of the other four great nations in the Naruto world was so unique.
The rammed earth buildings in the Land of Wind are all uniformly yellowish-brown.
The cliffside platform buildings in the Land of Lightning also frequently use glass as curtain walls.
The rock-carved buildings of the Land of Earth are entirely embedded within the mountainside.
It's no wonder that the four great nations are always thinking of attacking the Land of Fire; you can tell just by looking at their living environment.
With spacious and comfortable houses to live in, who would want to go to such great lengths to build a house on a mountainside, sandy soil, or cliff?
Do you really think that building houses in these places is easy and that living there is comfortable?
This was all forced upon us.
After wandering around for half a day, Taiyi figured it was lunchtime, so he found a busy izakaya and ordered a table full of local specialties.
Tender sea bream, paired with locally made sea salt, is tied with dried seaweed and slow-grilled over charcoal on rocks. The flesh is firm and tender, with a pure, sweet taste of the sea.
Freshly caught scallops and abalone are all large and plump. They don't need much cooking; just a little scallion and ginger, steamed in water, will bring out their exquisite smoothness and make them the most delightful treat.
Add to that the locally made seaweed cheese jelly, and the rich, creamy flavor and unique ocean aroma blend together, creating a refreshing and non-greasy taste that's the perfect complement to any seafood meal.
Taiyi was enjoying a delicious meal at the table, unaware that he had already entered the sight of two people not far away.
After Madara Uchiha controlled the Third Mizukage and issued the order to attack Konoha, he continued to hide in Kirigakure for some time.
Firstly, it strengthens control over the Third Mizukage's genjutsu. After all, no matter how weak the Third Mizukage is, he is still the Kage of a village. If he were to break free from the genjutsu, things would not go well.
Secondly, it was also to observe the changes in Kirigakure and prevent any unexpected events from changing the established trajectory again.
After this period of consolidation, the illusion technique stabilized, and things progressed smoothly. Madara decided to leave Kirigakure to continue with his plans.
Today, Madara and Zetsu arrived at Ira Castle, preparing to take a ship back to the mainland from here.
Although Ban doesn't have much time left to live, he lives a very healthy life, eating and drinking as he pleases.
So the two of them went to this popular-looking izakaya and ordered a large table of food.
Of course, Ban was the only one actually eating; Jue simply watched quietly from the sidelines, occasionally answering Ban's questions.
Just as they were finishing their meal and Ban was about to pay the bill and leave, a leisurely figure came into Jue's sight.
He was very familiar with the person who came; apart from not wearing the Leaf Village protective shield, he made no attempt to conceal his identity.
Jue's pupils contracted, and he stopped his movement of getting up to pay the bill, then sat back down.
His actions naturally caught Madara's attention. Madara slowly put down his chopsticks, sat up straight, but did not turn around. Instead, his gaze was fixed on Zetsu across from him.
Not wanting to disturb the other party at this moment, he dipped his finger in water and wrote on the table—Matsushita Taichi.
Upon seeing the words written by Zetsu, Madara's brow twitched, but he wasn't as cautious as Zetsu.
He was confident in his strength and believed that few people in the ninja world would recognize him.
Moreover, he was quite curious about this junior named Matsushita Taichi.
Judging from the rewards given by Zetsu, Matsushita Taichi's current strength is definitely much greater than that of the Third Mizukage who was being controlled.
To have such strength at such a young age is something even Madara Uchiha didn't possess back then. He really wanted to have a chat with such a young prodigy.
Ban stood up calmly, but as soon as he turned around, he saw a boy with his back turned not far away.
Just by looking at his back, Ban knew that he was a very self-disciplined person.
Eating is often a time when people are very relaxed, and it is easy to see a person's lifestyle habits from their posture and some small movements at this time.
Just like Taiyi now, he sits upright, holding the bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, his movements are steady and light, and he does not speed up his eating because of the quality of the food.
Such people are mostly well-educated, self-disciplined, emotionally stable, and act with discretion and without impatience.
At least at this moment, Madara's first impression of Taichi was good. At his age, seeing such a junior, even though he was an enemy, was still very gratifying.
Such a blatant gaze naturally alerted Taiyi immediately, but since there was no hostility in it, Taiyi didn't pay much attention to it at first.
Even if you don't care, there's a limit. Feeling the endless stares scrutinizing him, he couldn't take it anymore.
Taiyi put down his bowl and chopsticks and was about to turn around when he heard the person who had been observing him walking towards him from behind.
Could I possibly run into an acquaintance in this water kingdom?
Taiyi, filled with curiosity, turned halfway around and, out of the corner of his eye, spotted the person who had just arrived.
The pupils contracted, contracted again, and contracted a third time, until they were all the size of a pinhead.
Fortunately, he only turned halfway around, and the other person did not notice anything unusual about him.
"Uchiha Madara, this guy is actually in the Land of Water. No wonder Kirigakure suddenly went crazy and attacked Konoha again. It's probably this guy who's behind it all."
Taiyi's mind raced, but his expression returned to normal in an instant.
He watched as Ban swaggered over to his table and sat down, acting as if he were no outsider at all.
At his original table, there was another person quietly watching this side.
At this point in time, it should be Black Zetsu, but it's unclear whether it's a transformation technique or possession of someone else.
"What brings you here, sir?"
Taiyi turned his gaze back, his brows furrowing slightly, and asked, feigning ignorance.
"I just came here to meet a ninja who is famous in the ninja world."
Madara acted quite boldly, picking up a pair of chopsticks again and actually starting to eat Tai's food.
"You're very bold. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to act like this in front of a ninja."
Taiichi was testing him, trying to see what identity Madara wanted to use when speaking to him.
"Haha." Madara didn't respond. "The White Reaper terrified Kirigakure on the battlefield. I bet even Kirigakure themselves didn't expect you to appear in the Land of Water like this."
Madara gave Taichi a thumbs up, "Just based on this courage, your title is well-deserved."
Taiichi remained silent, quietly watching Ban's performance, while continuing to eat his food at a leisurely pace, seemingly unaffected at all.
Madarami Taichi didn't want to talk to him and didn't care. He just said to himself, "Young man, I have also traveled around the ninja world for many years, but I have found that whether it is the Warring States period or now, war has never stopped for a moment."
"You hit me today, I hit you tomorrow, what's the point of a world like this?"
Taiichi looked up in surprise and sized up Madara sitting next to him.
What's the meaning of this old man coming over to discuss the war with him? Could he be trying to recruit him?
"Where there are people, there will be war; as long as human desires continue, war will never disappear."
But the world is not only about war; there are also many beautiful things such as family and friendship.
Society is developing. From the precarious existence and fear of danger during the Warring States period, to the current era of the five major states where wars are limited to a certain scope, isn't this a positive change?
Uncle, you're generalizing from a single instance. You only see the bad side and not the good side. That's not a good habit.
Madara's lips curled into a sneer, but he wasn't angry at Taiichi's words.
"Young man, you say that only because you haven't felt the malice of this world yet. When your loved ones are killed, your friends are brutally murdered, and even your dreams are shattered, you will understand that kind of pain."