Red sand dust

Already more than ten kilometers away from the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, the exhausted Jiraiya used various means to avoid overt or covert surveillance and pursuit.

The consumption of fighting is real. When one's life is in danger, both the spirit and the body are in a state of excitement, and the feeling of one's own state is relatively slow.

In a relatively safe environment, the previously suppressed fatigue and injuries had huge side effects.

Shima Sennin and Fukasaku Sennin had returned to Mt. Myoboku after being released from Sage Mode. The determined Jiraiya forced himself to go to a hidden cave behind a waterfall before stopping to rest.

This was once one of several secret hiding spots opened by Konoha ninjas during the many years of ninja war between Konoha Village and Sunagakure Village.

Jiraiya was not sure whether he had used it back then, but after so many years, almost everyone in the core members of Konoha Village had an emergency evacuation guide that could still help, which was really surprising.

Jiraiya, who was resting, didn't know that two kilometers away, Ibaraki, wearing a black and red cloud god robe, turned around and left after seeing Jiraiya get rid of his pursuers.

There are formal members here, and other auxiliary members and peripheral organizations will not focus their main energy nearby.

After actively or passively eliminating some hidden dangers for Jiraiya, there is no longer a need for Ibaraki, a "guide" with ulterior motives, to "arrange" Jiraiya's escape route.

Although there are only a few ninjas in the ninja world who can defeat Jiraiya, this does not mean that he is invincible.

Under normal circumstances, the numerical advantage has no effect on him, but the current situation is obviously "unusual".

After their physical strength and chakra were exhausted, there were not just one or two masters who were "stacked to death" alive.

Momochi Zabuza was afraid of the continuous sneak attacks by the Kirigakure Village assassination force. Orochimaru was also very annoyed by the assassination of the "root" ninjas. The unlucky Raikage Sandaime was besieged and killed by the Ten Thousand Rock Ninja. Almost everyone in the world knows it.

Jiraiya is not the special one, at least not to the point of ignoring ordinary rain ninjas yet.

After Ibaraki left calmly, Jiraiya, who was resting, was suddenly shocked to see a little guy holding a playful sun umbrella, swinging precariously like a large dandelion, appearing.

Seeing this familiar little thing, Jiraiya's heart dropped again.

"It's you. I remember your name is Kashiwagi. Did Daimaru ask you to come?"

"Grandpa, who stinks all over after drinking, you are right. Father asked me to help you..."

The innocent little Cypress, after getting his feet on the ground, put away his parasol, put it on his shoulders proudly, and replied with a smile,

"I've been waiting for a long time to find you here. It's really easy for me to find you..."

"Yeah, haha..."

Toad Immortal, who laughed awkwardly a few times, automatically ignored the strange "honorific title" that seemed to be an auditory hallucination, and asked instead,

"Don't think I don't look good now. Most people don't take it to heart. I appreciate your kindness. I don't need your help now..."

"Grandpa, don't be polite..."

Xiao Baimu said carelessly, and came over to see that he was in a mess, his wet hair was stained with dust, his eyebrows were covered with a layer of black and gray sludge, and there were several traces of blood flowing on his face. He was wearing a simple outfit, half of the sleeve on one arm was missing, and there were burnt marks on the hem of the clothes.

That is, the pair of wooden clogs on my feet. I don’t know what material they are made of. Although they look “beaten”, they are miraculously not broken.

"I don't really like fighting and killing. If Sister Yamabuki and Jin are here, they might like to join in the fun..."

"Then what are you..."

Jiraiya asked curiously.

To be honest, Jiraiya, who has met almost every "artificial elf" under Daimaru, talks to Kashiwagi the most because of her temperament, which is really like a naughty child.

"Come and show me the way, I'm afraid you will lose your way, grandpa..."

"get lost?"

Jiraiya, who didn't know what was going on, was about to ask in detail when he saw Kobayashi gently waving his parasol, and a narrow arch-like halo appeared.

I tapped the center of the door lightly with the tip of my umbrella, and I felt a sense of déjà vu, like looking up at the blue sky underwater, with the light swaying under the surging waves.

Jiraiya was shocked, but before he could recover, he was pulled into it by Kashiwagi's sleeves, and then he felt like a fish swimming in the water, with dazzling white light in all directions.

Jiraiya, who didn't know what to do next, suddenly felt that he was being pulled in a certain direction.

I don't know how long it took, but after passing through an invisible barrier, Jiraiya, who was down to earth, finally realized what had just happened.

"Is that... time and space ninjutsu?"

Xiaobaimu, who seemed to have done something extraordinary by raising his hand to bet, responded with his mouth smacking:

"I don't understand that. My father has arranged a spell to activate the illusion space on my little flower umbrella in advance..."

"Has your Sand Hidden Village mastered this stable time and space transmission technology?"

You must know that Konoha Village has been studying the Flying Thunder God Technique for many years. In addition to the founder-the second generation Hokage Senju Tobirama, the fourth generation Namami Feng Minato and the immature Flying Thunder God Formation, plus Uchiha Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, that's all.

Unexpectedly, the Sand Ninja mastered practical-level space-time technology so quickly.

"I don't quite understand what you're talking about. It would be great if Xiyan and Jin were here. Maybe they could answer your question, grandpa, but..."

When the conversation changed, Xiao Baimu held up a parasol, swaying in the wind, and was about to leave.

"The ready-made passage is there. I only know how to identify the direction inside and use the props to 'open' and 'close'! Well, my mission is over. There are still many friends waiting for my concert... "

Whether it is a bear foraging under the tree, a squirrel storing food for the winter, a cold and arrogant night owl, or all kinds of small animals, the little cypress gets along well with them. However, the cold winter is approaching, and many children have gone to hibernate. They have to wait until Only when spring comes, can we meet again.

Seeing that the naughty little Kashiwagi left in a hurry without speaking clearly, Jiraiya smiled bitterly and raised his head to look at the movement around him.

This is the top terrace of a small western-style building. Among the rows of reinforced concrete buildings, the words "Hamama Sanatorium" are hung on the plaque at the door.

It seems that this place must be closely related to the low-key genjutsu bloodline limited family.

This sanatorium is located halfway up a small hill, surrounded by mountains and rivers, which is a good place.

A few hundred meters away, there was a relatively popular small village. Jiraiya could see the flow of people, mules, horses and vehicles coming and going, and business travelers everywhere.

By the lake at the foot of the hill, there is an artificial training ground surrounded by water. A long-haired girl wearing long-sleeved clothes is running.

Judging from the quality of a normal person, this amount of training is extremely exaggerated, but for a ninja, it is still relatively easy.

"Kurama Yakumo, it is indeed her!"

She has a better physique than most genin, and can touch the edge of a chuunin a little. Such physical strength is really nothing compared to her outstanding genjutsu ability.

However, for the little girl who was once unable to even become a ninja and could only be bedridden, the changes that have taken place in the past three years or so are huge.

What's even more commendable is that Jiraiya felt a rare resonance of will overflowing from the girl who didn't use any extraordinary power and just exercised her body in the most basic way. This was when the strength reached a certain level and came from within. As long as the aura released outside is not deliberately hidden, a master with keen perception will be able to detect it more or less.

"As expected of a famous rising star in the village, but..."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin and shook his head slightly.

"Are you getting too close to Suna Ninja?"

Even Daimaru, who seemed to be harmless, seemed to have something wrong with him.

But after thinking about it, Jiraiya sighed helplessly.

Not afraid of being remembered, but afraid of comparison. Among ninjas of the same age, Suna Ninja has a huge advantage. Before Uzumaki Naruto has grown up and Uchiha Sasuke has defected, only Hyuga Neji and Kurama Yakumo can Make two gestures.

In comparison, the Kazekage Fifth Generation Gaara and Daimaru, the leader of the "Relief Team", put too much pressure on the Konoha ninjas who once competed on the same stage.

So strong that he has no friends, that's what he means.

On the one hand, Konoha Village did not arrange a team for Kurama Yakumo, but it was also true that they could not find suitable teachers and teammates to lead the team.

Knowing that he was safe, Jiraiya turned around and went to the washroom in the back room to wash up, clean up the mess all over his body, put on a plain white gown, and waited in the reception room for half an hour. Kurama Yakumo walked in as he wiped his sweat with a towel.

Kurama Yakumo seemed a little surprised to see Jiraiya present, but he didn't expect that one of the famous "Three Ninjas" was here.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Daimaru just said that a big shot is coming and asked me to entertain him. I didn't expect it to be Lord Jiraiya..."

Even Kashiwagi, the little guy who forgot everything he played, didn't say anything. Kurama Yakumo felt funny in his heart. It seemed that the little guy who knew how to play all day long had to set rules for her, otherwise he probably wouldn't want to come back. Home.

Jiraiya smiled and waved his hand:

"It's okay, it's just the right time! Is this the Kurama family's property? I hope it doesn't cause you any trouble..."

"Nope……"

Kurama Yakumo calmed his breathing, sat down on the sofa opposite Jiraiya, and explained politely,

"It is said to be a sanatorium, but it is actually a resort that serves me alone. Most of the time there is no one around, and I only use it when I need it..."

"Hahaha……"

Jiraiya was happy,

"Such a huge property is actually your own 'playground'. The rumors of the Kurama family's wealth are indeed not in vain..."

The proud Kurama Yakumo smiled slightly:

"A small family, this is all, it's not worth mentioning, it makes you laugh..."

The so-called being so poor that only money is left is probably what it means. Jiraiya, who slightly heard the implication, sighed inwardly. As expected, everyone is envious of the things that they don't have but that others have at their fingertips.

"Do you know the time and space technique that little guy used just now?"

"I can't tell you the specifics. I only know a little bit about it! It's not something as convenient as the Flying Thunder God's Technique, but the effect of a combination of illusion and force field..."

After Kurama Yakumo thought for a while, he replied thoughtfully,

"Compared to the time and space ninjutsu, it is more like an illusion. There is a big difference between the strict time and space ninjutsu..."

The Flying Thunder God Jutsu and Kamui, no matter how they change, are ninjutsu based on the migration of spatial coordinates. The constant genjutsu space of the reincarnation eye is more like conceptually establishing a three-dimensional transcendence between two places that are far away from each other. The passage of space and the effect of time and space movement are just appearances. In essence, they are a bit like Izanagi of the Uchiha family. They start directly from the results, so there are phenomena such as resurrection and position drift after death.

In the final analysis, the basic rules of the ninja world are just like this. They are not very stable and there are not so many things that are unchanging.

Even in daily ninjutsu exchanges, Daimaru even proposed that if there is enough chakra to promote it, the power of illusion can even reverse time and cause and effect. Unfortunately, this "proposition" is too big, and Daimaru cannot really "change". "Get out of the dragon vein and really try to go back to the past and verify whether you can tamper with the future results by affecting the past.

"Illusion?"

Jiraiya scratched his messy hair in embarrassment.

When it comes to the application of ninjutsu, Jiraiya thinks that his qualifications are not bad, but this kind of rigorous principle-oriented research is really not his area of ​​expertise. They are obviously ultra-long displacements across space, why is one a time and space ninjutsu? Technique, one is an illusion?

This kind of problem is not an area that Jiraiya is good at relying on his talent and instinct.

"Let's not talk about that. The connection between you and Daimaru is quite close..."

Speaking of this, Kurama Yakumo rolled his eyes and replied with a smile,

"After all, it's a relationship of mutual help and mutual achievement, and we also do business together. Although money is no longer important to me, no one thinks it is too much, right?"

"It's good to live in harmony..."

Jiraiya said with some annoyance,

"I also want that boy Naruto to have a good relationship with Daimaru. I don't know if it's because of incompatibility or some other reason. Naruto doesn't like Daimaru anyway. It's probably because of the previous Chunin Exam. The first impression is very bad. , it will be difficult to reverse it later..."

"People who see the world with instinct and people who see the world with wisdom may have differences on some fundamental issues..."

Kurama Yakumo said casually and shook the bell on the table. The servant who was always on call served hot tea for the two of them, and at the same time prepared hot spring water to relieve the eldest lady's fatigue after exercise.

"It's just that it's difficult to get along, and it's not really a conflict. Don't worry, Naruto is a nice guy..."

"I hope so!"

Jiraiya sighed.

Some things really can't be forced. For example, this time, it was really bad to feel that Nagato was right in front of him but he couldn't do anything about it.