Konohagakure planned to establish a small town at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
With Konoha launching an offensive against the Land of Rain and both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth poised to join the conflict, the battles in the Land of Rain were bound to turn into a prolonged war.
Constructing a fortress at the border was an absolute necessity. If Konoha could establish a stronghold there, they could retreat at any time to recover, store vast amounts of war supplies, and secure logistical support for their forces. This would allow them to advance when needed and retreat when necessary.
However, building a fortress on the border was no easy task. The ninjas of the Land of Rain, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth would undoubtedly try to sabotage the construction.
Not far from the designated construction site, a stream connected the Land of Rain to the Land of Fire. Hiruzen Sarutobi was concerned that enemy ninjas might use the waterway to infiltrate the area and attack the workers.
Konoha had already dispatched a large number of civilians to assist in the fortress's construction, working alongside the ninja forces. Jiraiya's mission was to ensure that no enemy forces could cross the river before the fortress was completed.
At the construction site, several skilled Earth Release users were already at work. At the current pace, the fortress was expected to be completed within half a month. That meant Jiraiya's mission would last about the same duration.
"The progress isn't bad."
Upon arriving at the construction site, Jiraiya saw that the fortress had already begun taking shape. Civilians and ninja alike were hard at work.
"Jiraiya-sama!"
As he approached, the workers and ninja stopped to greet him respectfully. By now, Jiraiya had already shed his Anbu attire.
"Keep up the great work, everyone! This fortress is of utmost importance to the village. I hope you can complete it as soon as possible. I'll be nearby, ensuring your safety from any enemy threats."
He spoke with a reassuring smile.
"Jiraiya-sama, with you here guarding us, we can rest easy."
Jiraiya's arrival brought significant relief to both the civilians and ninja present. Thanks to Hiruzen Sarutobi's frequent praise, Jiraiya was regarded as a rare genius of Konoha, possessing formidable strength. It was said that he could defeat a jōnin without much effort.
Even the stationed jōnin at the site breathed a sigh of relief upon his arrival. They knew that building a fortress on the border was a highly dangerous task, with enemy attacks being a constant threat. The more strong fighters they had, the safer they would be.
After briefly surveying the area, Jiraiya made his way to the nearby river and donned his Anbu uniform once more.
The river was wide and deep. If an enemy skilled in Water Release were to infiltrate from below, detecting them would be incredibly difficult. Jiraiya lay down by the riverbank, his finely tuned sensory abilities allowing him to detect any disturbances beneath the surface.
With nothing urgent at hand, he pulled out a scroll containing the Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chantand began studying its musical notations.
...
"Killing a Konoha jōnin? If the price is anything less than fifteen million, I'm not doing it. Taking out a Konoha ninja brings too much trouble."
In the dimly lit hall of a bounty exchange, Kakuzu stared at a member of Root and spoke bluntly.
Under Danzo's orders, the Root member had visited multiple underground bounty stations, issuing a hit on Jiraiya with a reward of twelve million.
The amount was already high enough to attract numerous bounty hunters, many of whom were already making their way to Jiraiya's location.
Root had deliberately leaked the details of Jiraiya's mission.
At one particular bounty station, they encountered Kakuzu, but the veteran bounty hunter was dissatisfied with the price they offered.
"Don't be stingy. I'm a man of my word. If you pay fifteen million, you'll see Jiraiya's head before long."
"You should know my reputation—I rarely fail. After all, I once fought against the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju himself."
"Relying on those nobodies to complete this hit? Who knows how long that would take?" Kakuzu boasted confidently, further hyping himself up.
"Fine."
The Root ninja agreed without hesitation. Danzo had allocated twenty million for the mission, so there was more than enough to cover the cost.
"You've made a wise decision. You won't have to wait long before you see Jiraiya's severed head."
Kakuzu chuckled as he left the bounty station, clearly satisfied with the deal.
Taking down a single jōnin and earning fifteen million for it? That was nearly three times the usual bounty rate.
As for Jiraiya being a Konoha ninja?
Kakuzu didn't care. Others might fear Konoha, but he did not.
He had once fought Hashirama Senju, the legendary God of Shinobi—what did he have to fear? If Konoha retaliated, he'd simply leave the Land of Fire and continue collecting bounties elsewhere.
"With so many bounty hunters heading for Jiraiya, we should have no problem completing Danzo-sama's orders."
After Kakuzu left, the Root ninja also departed quickly.
The bounty station was now buzzing with interest, as many bounty hunters were eager to claim the lucrative reward.
"Defying Danzo-sama is a death sentence."
The Root squad leader's expression was cold and emotionless. Their minds had already been twisted by Danzo's brainwashing—mere puppets executing his will.
To them, their only purpose in life was to fulfill Danzo's orders. If they failed, then their existence would be meaningless.
...
"This is impossible to master! I really hope tomorrow's sign-in reward will help me learn the Toad Confrontation Chant faster."
Back at the riverbank, Jiraiya let out a frustrated sigh as he rolled up the scroll.
He understood the theory well enough, but reproducing the technique's exact tonal frequencies was proving to be a nightmare.
Right now, he was banking on tomorrow's system reward to make some progress.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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