Expectations for Tsunade

More troublesome than stubborn people were obsessive ones, and Jiraiya was a powerful yet obsessive Ninja.

He longed for peace in his heart, yet did not know how to achieve it. So after clutching at a straw, he treated it as the rope that would fulfill his dream, desperately holding onto it and hoping to use that rope to reach the place he yearned for most.

Jiraiya had experienced the cruelty of war. He, Tsunade, and Orochimaru had earned the title of Sannin during the war. Unlike Orochimaru, Jiraiya felt a degree of compassion for the weak. However, when it came to stubbornness, Jiraiya had more than Tsunade and Orochimaru combined.

As a youth, his teammates had all been geniuses. After accidentally entering Mount Myoboku, he gained the power to summon Toads and the opportunity to learn Sage Art. In Jiraiya’s heart, Mount Myoboku held an even higher position than Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Because Mount Myoboku had given Jiraiya the power to approach his dream and told him a way to achieve peace, Jiraiya did not doubt a single word spoken by the Great Toad Sage. He even believed in them as though they were truth itself.

Konoha had treated Jiraiya well enough, yet because of a vague prophecy, he had left Konoha for several years before the war had even ended. Under the pretext of gathering intelligence, he wandered the world writing books and searching for the so-called Child of Prophecy.

If it had been any other Ninja, Konoha would have issued a missing-nin notice after they had been gone for more than three days.

Hyuga Mirai paused his experimental tests. Just as he was about to head out, Android 18’s voice rang out again.

"Sir, Orochimaru is looking for you."

The next second, Orochimaru’s voice came through.

"Mirai-kun, how many Bio-Nanoparticles do you still have? Sasori-kun invited me to help him create a new type of combined puppet, but I’ve used up all the Bio-Nanoparticles I had."

Hyuga Mirai was somewhat surprised when he heard that. "You two actually met without fighting? That’s rare. I still have some extras here, but use them sparingly, Orochimaru. Bio-Nanoparticles are very difficult to manufacture. You exceed your monthly quota every time you use them!!"

And now he had even gotten involved with Sasori of the Red Sand. He was probably after Hyuga Mirai’s Bio-Nanoparticle quota as well. Orochimaru’s modifications toward creating a perfect human had become somewhat dissatisfied with merely Kekkei Genkai. He wanted to try any material that could be stuffed into a body.

Orochimaru’s hoarse laughter came through. "Hehe, it’s rare to see Sasori-kun asking someone for help. Spending some time on it is worth it."

"Asking for help? Did you record it?"

"Of course…"

"You two, are you looking to die?!" Sasori’s gritted voice came through as well.

Hyuga Mirai still had matters to attend to, so he said, "I have something to do outside right now. I’ll have Android 18 deliver them to you later."

Sasori asked, "Something happened? Is there trouble in Sunagakure again?"

"One of the Sannin, Jiraiya, has infiltrated the place. With Sunagakure’s current strength, there’s not much they can do about him. And if that guy keeps investigating, he’ll probably discover the Yasunori Trading Company’s secrets soon enough."

Hyuga Mirai explained, "Jiraiya is strong and knows how to cause trouble. It would be best to get rid of someone like him as soon as possible."

"Mirai-kun, leave this matter to me."

Orochimaru suddenly spoke. On the display, an intrigued expression appeared on his face.

Hyuga Mirai shook his head. "Orochimaru, you may act very cold-blooded, but you’re still softhearted toward people you know. If Jiraiya is determined to cause trouble, he’ll be a problem for me too. So this time, I have to deal with him."

"If you want to come, then come and watch. But when it comes to Jiraiya, I won’t let him off again."

With Hyuga Mirai’s permission, all he had to do was ask Android 18 for the last location from which the signal had been transmitted.

Orochimaru smiled. "I’m genuinely a little surprised to hear Mirai-kun say that. But I only need to exchange blows with that dead last. As for what comes after, Mirai-kun can decide."

"In that case, I’ll go take a look too."

Sasori suddenly cut in. "If you’re both going, I want to see it too. With my puppets there, Jiraiya definitely won’t escape." Sasori simply wanted to see Hyuga Mirai’s strength. Sannin Jiraiya should make an excellent measuring stick.

But this was not a matter of whether he could escape. If all three went, Jiraiya would already be fortunate to leave behind an intact corpse.

Hyuga Mirai suddenly considered leaving this matter to Orochimaru and Sasori. The two of them should be enough to deal with Jiraiya.

But after thinking it over, he decided it would be safer to go himself. Otherwise, a single lapse from either of them could very well allow Jiraiya to escape.

No one who had signed a contract with one of the Three Great Sage Locations could be underestimated.

Orochimaru suddenly asked, "Mirai-kun, should we tell Tsunade about this?"

Naturally, the two of them knew that Tsunade had joined. Someone had suddenly appeared on the terminal platform, and she was the famed Medical Saint among the Sannin. Naturally, she had drawn everyone else’s attention.

After Uzumaki Ayaka learned of this, she became a little jealous. While carrying out a mission outside, she suddenly contacted Hyuga Mirai and whined to him about all sorts of trivial nonsense, until Hyuga Mirai finally ended the call.

However, after joining them, Tsunade had barely contacted anyone besides asking Orochimaru a few questions. Instead, she was very interested in the materials Hyuga Mirai had given her and had buried herself in the Experiment Base in Tea Country, rarely coming out.

Hyuga Mirai’s Clones were there as well, so he knew something of Tsunade’s situation. She had taken Hyuga Mirai’s words to heart. After learning knowledge related to electronics, she began deeply researching the Ninjutsu known as the Disorderly Disturbance Technique.

Conductivity and magnetism conversion, signal interference, transmission, reception, electrical fields, bioelectricity… There were simply too many abilities related to electronics, and just as many possible directions for development. Basically, a single electronic ability could rival all Kekkei Genkai.

Furthermore, anyone could learn this. As long as they possessed extremely strong Chakra control, they could master this ability.

Hyuga Mirai held high expectations for Tsunade. With her talent, she would definitely develop many abilities related to the Electronic Field.

"There’s no need to notify Tsunade. She’s immersed in her research right now." Hyuga Mirai shook his head.

"Is that so? Hehehe…"

Hyuga Mirai ignored Orochimaru’s strange laugh. After ending the call, he left the Loulan Base.

"What is Sunagakure planning right now? Why did the Yasunori Family join Sunagakure? Tell me honestly!"

Jiraiya asked with a grave expression. The stomach walls of the Iwasuku Toad had bound all of them, leaving only their heads exposed.

"None of this has anything to do with Konoha. The Yasunori Family is not a Ninja Clan. Only the Land of Fire Daimyo has the right to question our actions. Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, from what position have you captured us and interrogated us about these matters?"

Yasunori Sakai asked in an even tone. Though he was wrapped in layer upon layer of flesh walls, his expression did not change. Even when Jiraiya threatened him, Yasunori Sakai behaved exactly as he had from the beginning.

This abnormality made Jiraiya feel deeply uneasy, as though he had fallen under an Illusion Technique. Yet there was no Chakra within Yasunori Sakai.

"Your actions may destroy the hard-won peace. And as people of the Land of Fire, joining Sunagakure is betrayal."

Jiraiya prepared to use an Illusion Technique to interrogate Yasunori Sakai. Although he was not skilled with Illusion Techniques, dealing with an ordinary person should have been no problem at all.

"Although Noble migration is rare, it has not never happened before. Small countries migrate to great countries, and great countries migrate to other great countries. Even the Daimyo cannot arbitrarily deal with us. As for destroying peace, isn’t that what you’re doing right now?" Yasunori Sakai said calmly, showing no fear at the impending Illusion Technique interrogation.

"It really is troublesome communicating with someone like you. I should just use force directly. Illusion Technique: False Surroundings Technique."

This was one of the few Illusion Techniques Jiraiya knew, though he was not proficient in it. It was difficult for it to affect a Jonin, so Jiraiya had rarely used it.

After the Illusion Technique invaded Yasunori Sakai’s brain, it had no effect. Yasunori Sakai’s expression remained unchanged, and he could even continue speaking. "Using an Illusion Technique on an ordinary person? This must be the method of Konoha Ninja…"

"How did you resist my Illusion Technique?"

Jiraiya was somewhat shocked by the failed Illusion Technique. The other party was merely an ordinary person. No matter how poor his Illusion Techniques were, he should not have been unable to control even an ordinary person.

What he did not know was that Yasunori Sakai’s nervous system was controlled by Android 18’s chip. After Jiraiya’s Illusion Technique Chakra entered Yasunori Sakai’s body, it was impossible for it to hypnotize Yasunori Sakai while he was under the chip’s control.

"This is quite troublesome."

He could not get any answers out of him. Even when compressed and wrapped by the Iwasu Toad’s stomach walls, he could ignore the pain, and Jiraiya’s Illusion Technique did not work either.

Left with no choice, Jiraiya could only interrogate the others for intelligence first.

After a while, the four Suna-nin Chunin could not hold out against Jiraiya’s methods. They answered nearly all of Jiraiya’s questions, though they could not possibly reveal secrets involving the village.

For example, Sunagakure’s other reform projects, Rasa’s assassination, and the death of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind were matters known only to Sunagakure’s higher-ups. Ordinary Suna-nin Jonin did not know about them.

Even so, the other intelligence was enough for Jiraiya to fill half a small notebook.

"I never expected Sunagakure to have made so many moves. It seems I need to report to the old man as soon as possible. But how should I deal with these people? Should I just leave them in the desert?"

Jiraiya still wanted to continue gathering intelligence. If he released them, it would definitely alert Sunagakure.

After some thought, Jiraiya decided to tie them up and hide them for a while. Even if Sunagakure discovered that their group had disappeared, it would still be better than exposing his own whereabouts.

"Let’s head back first."

Jiraiya dispelled the Summoning Barrier and instantly returned to the Ninja World.

But the moment he landed, another Barrier Technique rose around him.

"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation."

The purple curtain rising from all around was like an inverted cube. The instant Jiraiya appeared, it directly sealed off a thousand-meter area nearby.

"This is bad."

Jiraiya took a deep breath. After seeing the three people around him, his heart sank.

There was no way he could escape this time!

Orochimaru, a red-haired Puppet Master… was that Sasori of the Red Sand? Intelligence about him had recently been circulating in the Underground Money Exchange. It was said that he had appeared in Sunagakure.

The last person was the one Jiraiya feared most: Hyuga Mirai.

Today’s guaranteed ten thousand words. This is the first update. By the way, please vote. Monthly votes are great, but recommendation votes work too! Thank you, everyone!