Just when Yurito thought everything was going smoothly behind him.
"Report!"
A ninja quickly approached Yurito and spoke in a low voice.
"Reporting to the Captain, we have spotted a group of Leaf Village ninjas ahead. Leading them is Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin of the Leaf."
"Let's go. Take some men and let's check it out!"
Hearing this, Yurito handed the matters here over to Muzuki, and then strode out with a few ninjas.
The rain was relentless. The gray sky hung low, casting a heavy sense of oppression over everyone.
The dense rain formed threads, slicing through the world, then dropping onto the already muddy ground, raising bubbles of earth.
In the distance, Jiraiya was pursuing the Hidden Rain Village ninjas as ordered.
Suddenly.
A group of figures appearing in the distance caused him to halt his advance.
"Sand Ninjas?"
The figures in the distance were not perfectly clear.
But the metal forehead protectors they wore gleamed brightly through the rain curtain.
"I hear that the esteemed Jiraiya-dono, one of the famous Sannin, is ahead. Might we approach for a word?"
"Captain, what do you think?"
The squad members beside him heard the shout from the opposite side and looked at Jiraiya with inquiring eyes.
"Let's go and see."
After saying this, he stepped out first.
Soon, both sides met on a small hill.
"I have long heard of Jiraiya-sensei's great name. Seeing you today, you truly possess an imposing presence! You are certainly worthy of being the esteemed disciple of the Third Hokage!"
"And you would be...?" Jiraiya asked, looking at the leading Sand Ninja man in front of him.
"Ah, look at me, I forgot to introduce myself.
My name is Yurito, and my mother is Chiyo!"
It wasn't that only saying his own name was forbidden; it was just that mentioning his mother's name yielded a much better return!
When you are traveling abroad, your status is something you must establish yourself.
I admit that your strength, Jiraiya, is greater than mine, and your reputation is vast.
But my mother is certainly not weak either.
If you don't believe me, look at the Leaf ninjas opposite us; they initially scoffed at my name, but the moment my mother's title was announced, they all showed solemn expressions.
"So you are Lady Chiyo's son! I've heard much about you!"
"Oh, you flatter me~, not at all~"
"May I ask why you, Yurito-dono, are present here?"
Look at that, look at that!
The form of address changed; he immediately called me 'Dono.'
Ah, how satisfying!
"It's nothing much. Our Kazekage-sama previously had an agreement with Hanzo. Now that the Land of Rain is in chaos, our Kazekage is simply protecting some people according to that agreement."
"I see. In that case, might we go ahead and inspect the area? My master, the Hokage, has also given orders to completely eliminate the Rain ninjas."
"I advise you not to go inside, esteemed Sir."
"Why? Are the Hidden Sand and Hidden Rain..."
"Is it possible that you, Jiraiya-dono, are truly unaware!"
"Unaware of what?!"
Yurito looked at Jiraiya's expression, which did not seem feigned, and seeing that he appeared to be an honest and generous person, he began to explain.
"Are you unaware of the things the Leaf Village has done in the Land of Rain? Burning, killing, looting—committing every atrocity imaginable. Right now, your Leaf Village is the kind of existence here that can stop a child from crying at night."
"What! That's impossible! The Old Man never gave such orders; he only told us to eliminate ninjas!"
"I wouldn't know about that. If you don't believe me, you can go in and take a look, but you must put away your weapons and not make any excessive movements. Otherwise, if you disrupt our mission, I won't be able to explain it to the Kazekage-sama!"
Jiraiya paid no mind to Yurito's threatening words; he simply wanted to confirm whether the situation was as described.
As expected.
Due to the arrival of the Leaf ninjas, the village immediately erupted into chaos again.
Shouts rang out.
"The Leaf ninjas are here! Run for your lives, everyone!"
"Waaah, Mommy, where are you!"
"My child, my child!"
A child stumbled and fell right at Jiraiya's feet. Instinctively, he wanted to help the child up, but the woman's shouts and actions from a distance left him completely helpless.
The woman immediately hugged the child on the ground, looking at Hatake Sakumo with a tear-streaked face.
"Please, I beg you, don't kill my child! I'll give you everything I have, please!"
In the end, the mother and child were only able to walk away shakily with the support of the Sand Ninjas.
"You've seen what you needed to see. If there's nothing else, please leave quickly. If you stay any longer, things here will get out of hand!"
Yurito stepped forward and said this to Jiraiya, his face filled with anxiety.
Jiraiya's face was utterly grim at this point. Hearing Yurito's words,
he forced an unpleasant smile and replied to Yurito.
"Thank you for the warning!"
After saying this, he could no longer control his emotions and roared to his subordinates behind him.
"Go! We're heading back!"
"Captain, shouldn't we pursue the Rain nin..."
"I said! Go! Head back!"
Jiraiya glared at the man who spoke, his eyes bloodshot.
The man jumped in fright and replied, "Yes, sir!"
In truth, Jiraiya genuinely did not know about this.
After the battles concluded, Hiruzen Sarutobi had ordered him to pursue the fleeing Hidden Rain ninjas, and he had been constantly rushing ahead of the main forces.
Therefore, he was unaware of everything the Leaf forces were doing in the rear, as information was always a step behind him.
But seeing this situation now filled his heart, which always yearned for peace, with heavy repression.
He didn't know what could have caused the Leaf ninjas to commit such acts.
All he wanted now was to return to the villages behind them, check the situation there, and see with his own eyes if this was truly happening.
If it was, he would go and ask the Old Man.
Why!
...After the incident involving the arrival of the Leaf ninjas, although it caused considerable chaos, once all the Leaf ninjas had departed,
the panic completely transformed into gratitude and trust toward the Hidden Sand.
They wouldn't believe that the Leaf ninjas suddenly had a change of heart; they would only believe that the presence of the Sand ninjas allowed them to survive at the hands of the Leaf.
Similarly.
Thanks to the Leaf Village.
The Hidden Sand had originally estimated it would take three days to relocate all the villagers here.
But because of the Leaf Village's actions, the villagers' trust in the Hidden Sand reached an unprecedented level, making the registration process currently exceptionally smooth.
Long queues had formed in the square, and everyone was frantically busy.
"I never expected that letting the Leaf people walk around here once would cause such a huge change. Next time we go to other villages to recruit people, we can have someone transform into a Leaf ninja, and then the Hidden Sand can show up and chase them away. Yes, that's the plan, perfect!"
Looking at the dense crowd in the square, Yurito couldn't help but think this to himself.
---
The Land of Rain.
The Wind-Rain Border Factory Zone.
"Oh~ Ebizō-sama is back. How many people did you rescue this time? Let me count: 10, 11, 12... 18!"
After counting the number of people, the ninja responsible for opening the gate casually took a pen from his pocket and recorded the number on a whiteboard nearby.
"Congratulations, Ebizō-sama. Adding these 18 people, you have now assisted a total of 206 people, currently placing you third in Factory One."
"Tsk~, not bad. Who are the first and second place holders right now?"
"In first place is Elder Oyashirogomon, who brought back a total of 1,362 people. In second is Elder Rumei, who brought back 577 people."
"Tsk tsk, those two are truly fierce! I'm old! I'm old! I can't keep up with the efficiency of the younger generation anymore!"
Hearing such a huge disparity, Ebizō couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Look at you talking like that, Ebizō-sama, you are still in your prime. Besides, those top two are special cases.
Kazekage-sama said this time that for every person brought back, there's a reward of one thousand Ryo, plus extra rewards if the person has special talents.
Those top two both took out loans from the village! When they saw the money to be earned, they went at it like maniacs—those guys are something else.
I heard Elder Oyashirogomon rushed out directly with his clan members. He just glared at people he saw and immediately brought them back.
Elder Rumei also led his people straight out. Those who returned said that four chains grew directly out of his back, and he just tied up everyone he saw... Look, here he comes, you can see for yourself."
Ebizō, who had been listening with great interest, immediately looked behind him after hearing the gate guard's words.
Well, I'll be.
Before he even saw the man, he saw four iron chains floating in the distant sky, densely packed with people tied to them.
If they hadn't known beforehand, anyone seeing this would think it was some kind of alien invasion.
"Xiao Shi! Xiao Shi! Come quickly and tally this!"
"Ah, coming!"
The gate ninja beside Ebizō heard the distant call, gave Ebizō a helpless look, and hurried over to meet the incoming party.
"Haha, Xiao Shi, tally this up quickly! This time, I ran directly into a group of people fleeing toward the Land of Birds. I figured, since they're fleeing anyway, why not flee to the Land of Wind? Is the Land of Birds somehow better than the Land of Wind? So I brought them all back! I already counted them—97 people! Just record that number! I can't stay, I have to go find more people."
Saying this, he left the area again.
Unlike when he arrived, this time as he departed, the four chains were stabbed into the ground. Uzumaki Rumei was held high in the air, and the four chains crawled rapidly like spider legs.
He had truly mastered the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Watching Uzumaki Rumei's frantic figure, Ebizō was momentarily speechless.
Indeed, potential and innovation are like sponges—squeeze them, and something will always drip out.
"Sigh~, I can't compete! I can't compete!"
With that, he went off by himself to rest.
What did he need all that money for, being a single man with no attachments?
He was over forty, and his sister's grandson was already five years old!
Ebizō's departure was merely a brief interlude.
The factory zone's busy activity continued, frantic yet orderly.
"Hurry up, someone! Take these newcomers down, arrange for their briefing, then washing, changing clothes, and assigning accommodation!" Da Shi shouted loudly into the factory area after tallying the number of people Uzumaki Rumei had brought.
"Coming! Coming!" Several young ninjas heard the shout and scurried over eagerly.
They couldn't help it—there was money to be earned!
The entire process took at most three hours, yet it counted as a D-rank mission. Where else could you find such a good deal?
He truly lived up to his reputation as the Man of Golden Contracts (as the Hidden Sand villagers called him); he was genuinely willing to pay his subordinates when he had money.