"I'm not sick!"
Jiraiya's face turned red with indignation as he vehemently defended himself.
Yet after noticing the way Sakumo Hatake was staring at him—like he was some sort of lunatic—he still reached out and took the bottle of antidote pills, twisting it open and dumping all the contents straight into his mouth.
"Drink some tea afterward. That way you won't choke on them."
Seeing his self-appointed patient obediently taking the medicine, Sakumo nodded in satisfaction before offering further medical advice.
Jiraiya obediently drank a cup of tea to wash down all the pills, then said, "Sakumo Captain, have you ever heard of Mount Myoboku?"
"Isn't that just your contracted summoned beasts' habitat?"
Sakumo replied casually, "Huh? I remember your summoned beasts are supposed to be ninja frogs, right? When did they turn into humans? Can ninja frogs actually evolve into humanoid forms?"
"They're Sages!"
Jiraiya bristled at Sakumo's dismissive attitude toward the ninja frogs.
"Although summoning contracts may technically be equal partnerships, ultimately their role is to assist ninjas in battle or missions. There's no need to complicate things with unnecessary notions."
Sakumo originally wanted to crack a few jokes to lighten the mood, but seeing Jiraiya's overly serious reaction, he sensed something was off. "Wait, you're not actually treating those frogs like real Sages, are you?"
"Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest,"
Jiraiya counted off on his fingers as he spoke. "These are the three great summoned beast holy places in the Ninja World, and their leaders are all Great Sages!"
"Erm..."
Sakumo found himself momentarily speechless.
He'd certainly heard similar rumors before, but had never given such bizarre tales any serious thought.
In Sakumo's eyes, humans were the rightful rulers of the Ninja World—and they were all equals by nature. If one insisted on hierarchy, then ninjas were naturally more equal than ordinary people. As for those so-called holy lands of summoned beasts? In his mind, they were nothing more than clusters of useful—or less useful—battle companions. He refused to grant them excessive mystical reverence, let alone regard their leaders as Sages.
"A Great Sage from Mount Myoboku once made a prophecy,"
Jiraiya continued solemnly. "Once in a millennium, a savior shall arise—his rise shall reshape the destiny of the Ninja World!"
"In other words," he went on seriously, "a Messiah will appear in the future of the Ninja World, and my duty is to find him and guide him onto the correct path!"
"A savior who still needs guidance?"
Sakumo felt somewhat uneasy, though he hesitated to ask exactly how long Jiraiya had been thinking like this.
To Sakumo, people were just people, and ninjas were nothing more than soldiers of war. Since when did the fate of the Ninja World fall to a bunch of frogs to decide?
As for prophecies from Sages? Total nonsense!
If those prophecies truly revealed the future, why would the so-called savior need someone else's help to walk the right path? At the end of the day, it was simply about finding a talented ninja, training them hard, and testing whether they could bear such a massive responsibility!
Besides, with a time span of a thousand years, no human could live long enough to see it through. Naturally, those immortal summoned beasts could say whatever they liked without consequence!
"You're not serious, are you?"
Jiraiya shot back.
He didn't react strongly to Sakumo Hatake's skepticism.
It was actually a common first reaction among ninja when hearing about prophecies of a savior destined to rescue the Ninja World. Even his teacher Hiruzen Sarutobi had reacted exactly the same way.
In Jiraiya's view, this kind of doubt came from short-sighted ninja who lacked understanding of extraordinary powers. It wasn't malicious at all.
"Jonin Jiraiya, it's not that I don't believe you, but your actions and words themselves make it hard for me to believe."
Sakumo Hatake coughed lightly, quickly composed himself, and said seriously, "Since when have ninja needed external forces to save ourselves? Isn't it ninja themselves who can save ninja?"
This was the biggest difference.
To those who believed in internal power, every cause and effect originated from one's own strength. The only reason problems couldn't be solved was because their strength just wasn't up to the task. As for other so-called external factors, they were nothing but trivial side issues.
"How about this—we can go to the training ground for a little sparring match if Squad Leader Sakumo is interested."
Jiraiya proposed what he thought was a reasonable suggestion.
"A sparring match?"
Sakumo Hatake smiled, then suddenly stomped his foot and launched himself forward!
Jiraiya immediately felt startled!
However, his body tensed up, then relaxed again right away.
A cold blade was pressed tightly against his neck, the chilling sensation on his skin making his hair bristle with fear.
Still, Jiraiya felt no killing intent at all.
"Do we still need to spar?"
Appearing behind Jiraiya with speed surpassing Body Flicker Technique, Sakumo Hatake asked with a smile.
Unparalleled speed was White Fang's proudest core combat strength. Under his attack, almost no one could react in time.
"Maybe."
Jiraiya said nonchalantly. "But Sage Art from Mount Myōboku has other unique advantages."
"I know!"
Sakumo Hatake elegantly sheathed his sword, then walked back to his seat, crossing his legs and saying, "During the Great Ninja World War, Princess Tsunade once used her Summoned Slug to perform large-scale Medical Ninjutsu. It was indeed very effective and left a strong impression."
Yet in Sakumo Hatake's eyes, that was it.
"In the end, you still don't believe."
Jiraiya helplessly shook his head.
However, he really didn't have better methods either. After all, he couldn't just randomly summon Elder Fukasaku and Elder Shima from Mount Myoboku here just to let Sakumo Hatake examine them thoroughly. Not to mention whether those two little elders would be convincing enough, doing so would show disrespect to these sages. Also, he couldn't recklessly bring Sakumo, an outsider, into Mount Myoboku—it would be considered desecrating a Holy Place.
"It's not often that you come back to the village. Since you came looking for me anyway, why don't we go to an izakaya tonight and have some drinks?"
Sakumo Hatake was polite, but made it clear it was time for Jiraiya to go.
"How long has Squad Leader Sakumo and Commander SOUSHU been out of contact?"
Jiraiya gritted his teeth and directly asked the key question.
"Ever since the ninja clans dispersed to govern local regions, we haven't had direct contact."
Sakumo Hatake said in a calm tone.
Of course he and Hyūga Soushu hadn't completely severed communication—they'd merely stopped private meetings. Instead, all exchanges had become official business between Ninja Clan Capital Corporation and Konoha's Jonin Unit.
After all, with both sides now in different positions, they naturally couldn't keep that same pure relationship that existed before personal interests came into play.
"Here are all the intelligence gathered during the recent events in Hakone Prefecture City and the joint board meetings," Jiraiya said solemnly, pulling out a scroll from inside his robe and gently placing it on the desk. "This information is extremely sensitive though—absolutely cannot be leaked."
"What exactly are you implying?" Sakumo immediately frowned.
Intelligence straight from Ninja Clan Capital Corporation headquarters?
That meant Jiraiya was secretly monitoring the company and even Hyūga Clan's activities?
As far as he knew, Jiraiya didn't have many loyal subordinates willing to die for him—so by what means had he collected this intelligence?
Suddenly, enlightenment struck Sakumo's mind as everything connected together.
"You're using Mount Myoboku's ninja frogs to spy on Hakone Castle?"
Jiraiya first slightly shook his head before nodding. Without explaining further, he simply stood up and left.
Regarding Sakumo's guess, he neither denied nor confirmed it.
"Oh right, since we're drinking tonight anyway, why not gather at the hot spring bathhouse? We can drink sake while soaking in the hot springs, and later I'll sneak a few bottles of premium sake from our teacher's office."
When reaching the door, Jiraiya suddenly turned back with this suggestion, then without waiting for Sakumo's response, instantly body-flickered away.
"Hmph," Sakumo muttered with a slight shake of his head.
Then he picked up the scroll on the desk, turning it over thoughtfully in his hands.
However, after hesitating for quite some time, he eventually placed it inside his personal top-secret file cabinet, sealing it with the Sealing Technique.
After all, certain matters shouldn't withstand too much scrutiny. Otherwise, if you investigated yet couldn't resolve them, it would only leave yourself in an embarrassing position.
As the sun began to set, Jiraiya once again appeared in Sakumo's office. This time, his hands carried several bottles of elaborately packaged premium sake, insistently dragging Sakumo toward the hot spring bathhouse.
Sakumo half-resisted but ultimately went along.
Upon stepping into the hot spring and easing into the warm water, Sakumo—who had been on edge lately—finally felt his muscles relax. Soon afterward, a wave of indescribable fatigue washed over him.
"Have a cup of sake!"
Jiraiya enthusiastically poured Sakumo a cup.
"Just a small sip will do. As ninjas, we shouldn't drink too much."
Though somewhat sleepy, Sakumo still maintained decorum, taking one polite sip.
Then the drinking began in earnest. Before long, they'd finished an entire pot of premium sake.
"Sakumo, Squad Leader..."
A tipsy Jiraiya asked, "May I ask if you've looked through the content of that scroll I gave you?"
"No."
"Because why?" Sakumo Hatake answered bluntly.
"Why not?" Jiraiya wasn't upset at all. He opened another bottle of sake and poured a cup for Sakumo Hatake.
"What difference does it make even if you see?"
Sakumo Hatake countered while downing his cup in one gulp, "Do you honestly believe allying with that so-called Summoned Beast Holy Place can resist the alliance of ninja clans?"
"But eventually, someone has to take action."
Jiraiya still held firm to his belief.
"You're right—there are indeed things needing doing," Sakumo Hatake nodded first, then shook his head, "But only if done by humans!"
Jiraiya's expression changed briefly but quickly recovered. Someone else probably wouldn't have noticed such subtle changes unless they had been observing his expressions carefully like Sakumo Hatake.
"The Ninja World belongs to ninjas. Regardless of who the secular rulers are, ultimately it is still a world ruled by human beings."
Sakumo continued, speaking smoothly as if stating a well-known fact: "Since the time when the Sage of Six Paths created the ninja sect and spread chakra, this world has no longer belonged to demons, monsters, or even talking animals."
"So Class Representative Sakumo Hatake still believes in the Sage of Six Paths?"
Jiraiya felt he had found an opening.
If Sakumo Hatake firmly believed in the authenticity of the Sage of Six Paths, he could elaborate using the profound connections between the Sage and Mount Myoboku's Sennin, guiding Sakumo Hatake gradually toward changing his view.
"Don't believe."
Surprisingly, Sakumo Hatake's reply was short and decisive: "I'm just borrowing a myth to explain a point."
"Is that so?"
Rebuffed, Jiraiya could only drown his embarrassment in drink.
His plan collapsed before even starting.
Sakumo Hatake's stubbornness exceeded his expectations slightly.
"I admit, the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation jointly established by Soushu and various other ninja clans has indeed committed many crimes, seriously threatening peace in the Ninja World."
Sakumo Hatake softened his tone: "But have you ever considered what consequences might follow should so-called holy places directly intervene in the Ninja World?"
"The Holy Places remain above worldly affairs—they absolutely won't interfere!" Jiraiya hurried to clarify.
Mount Myoboku wouldn't accept being accused of interfering yet.
"Whether directly or not, the immediate effect from outsiders meddling will be uniting all ninjas together. Even if those Holy Places remain far beyond reach, ninja armies will definitely find them and destroy them completely." Sakumo Hatake ignored Jiraiya's explanation, continuing his own words, "Jiraiya, give up already!"
"The Ninja World today isn't what it was during the Warring States period!"
"What's different besides having bigger wars?" Jiraiya muttered discontentedly.
"What you see is merely the surface."
Sakumo Hatake sighed helplessly, "Ninja today are no longer just weapons of war. It's not only the ninja clans anymore—even the common-born genin now have their own aspirations and needs."
"Even so, what of it?"
Jiraiya still refused to back down. "In the end, isn't this all caused by the Capital Corporation misleading and distorting the true nature of ninjas? That's precisely why we must restore things to the right path!"
"Well said! You should absolutely stick to your own beliefs and path!"
Sakumo Hatake had no desire to keep debating with Jiraiya any further, so he just nodded along like a bobblehead doll, muttering, "Yeah, yeah, you're right."
"Just remember one thing though—don't use that to pressure me!"
After another cup of sake, Sakumo emphasized again, "Don't drag other villagers—especially common-born ninja—into this dangerously idealistic swamp! This path leads down a one-way street with no turning back!"
"Still, there's always a sliver of hope!"
Jiraiya still disagreed but chose not to argue further. "Let's just keep drinking then!"
"This sake is excellent!"
Sakumo raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
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