章 63: Chapter 63
After a few reassuring words, Jiraiya positioned himself at just the right angle to leave Tetsuya with an impressive view of his broad back.
"Tetsuya, kid, trust me—I believe you didn't see wrong."
The memories of his past life… those were secrets he could never reveal. But the Three-Tails—Tetsuya couldn't be sure if Jiraiya, at his current level without Sage Mode, could take on a tailed beast.
"I might not have seen the Three-Tails with my own eyes before, but I've read about the Nine Beasts in various records. I know enough to recognize it," Tetsuya said, struggling to steady his voice. "That monstrous creature just now—it was the Three-Tails, I'm certain."
A look of faint disbelief crept into Jiraiya's expression, but Tetsuya pressed on. "You might laugh, Jiraiya-sama, but when I locked eyes with it… I couldn't even muster the will to fight back. Please, trust me on this."
Without waiting for a response, Tetsuya moved past him, stepping to block his path with a grim, resolute look that carried the weight of quiet shame. He hadn't expected to show fear—yet here he was, shaken to his core by the Three-Tails.
"Kid, get a grip!" Jiraiya said, giving his shoulder a firm pat. "I believe you. Fear isn't a shameful thing; it's something that'll push you forward until you become the strong shinobi you're meant to be."
"We'll keep this between us, alright? I'll discuss it with Jonin Shin, but don't mention it to the others for now."
With a steady clap on Tetsuya's shoulder, Jiraiya walked off. Yet, as he turned away, the confidence and ease in his expression faded, replaced by a hard, calculating edge. If that truly had been the Three-Tails, then it confirmed the intel he'd received.
Fog Island—it wasn't just some remote island but a staging ground for the Mist Village's schemes against the Land of Whirlpools. In the depths of this thick fog, something dark was brewing.
After a quiet discussion with Jonin Shin, Jiraiya made his decision—they would proceed to Fog Island. However, Shin subtly advised both Aburame Muto and Uchiha Mikoto to prepare for the possibility of combat.
Once the ordeal with the Three-Tails was behind them, their journey seemed to go more smoothly. Anchoring the ship at a concealed spot, Team Thirteen disembarked and made their way onto Fog Island under Jiraiya's lead.
---
"So it is the Konoha team. And that white-haired one—that's the Third Hokage's student, isn't it?" Kamikawa's voice was calm as he observed from the shadows of an ancient tree.
"I wonder… which of us is stronger? If Jiraiya were to die here, I'm sure his precious Hokage would be deeply pained."
While Jiraiya led his team deeper into the island, Kamikawa, along with a dozen Mist shinobi, observed them in silence through a secret jutsu. His gaze was calm, though an unmistakable glint of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
"Lord Kamikawa," one of his subordinates urged cautiously, "remember, our primary objective is the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki clan. If Jiraiya were to die here, Konoha would never let it slide. It would be hard to justify to the higher-ups."
Kamikawa's muttered words had sent a chill through the other Mist shinobi around him. It wasn't that they feared Jiraiya himself; they feared the consequences of a failed mission and the punishment that would follow.
"Of course, I'll consider the bigger picture," Kamikawa replied. "However, if the Konoha shinobi sense what's really happening here and they choose to interfere… we may have no choice but to take them out, if only to buy us time."
---
Fog Island was cloaked in mist, lending an eerie silence to their steps as Team Thirteen advanced. Whether it was sheer luck or something Kamikawa had planned, it didn't take long for Jiraiya and the others to stumble upon an abandoned Mist Village outpost.
Inside the small cave, a scattering of scrolls littered the floor, each bearing marks associated with the Uzumaki clan.
"Jiraiya-sama, there are fresh footprints here," Tetsuya observed, pointing to the impressions left in the dirt. "The Mist shinobi left not too long ago."
"Looks like the Mist Village is already onto us," Jiraiya muttered. "These scrolls—they were left here on purpose."
A quick glance between Jiraiya and Shin was all it took for them to decipher the Mist's tactics. As experienced shinobi, their instincts were honed to razor-sharp precision.
"Alright, everyone! Prepare for battle! If needed, split up and head back to the ship!" Jiraiya's command was firm, and just as his words left his lips, a deafening rumble erupted from above.
A torrent of rocks and debris began crashing down as the cave's ceiling collapsed around them. The Mist shinobi had rigged the place with explosive tags well in advance.
"Move! Get out of here!" Jiraiya shouted, taking the lead as he blasted his way through the falling rocks to create a path for his team.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" He summoned walls of stone to shield them just as the last fragments of the cave ceiling came crashing down. His technique held firm, offering shelter for the team as rocks rained down.
Though they survived the initial collapse, they now found themselves buried beneath tons of stone and earth. In such a confined space, running out of air was as much a death sentence as the rocks above.
"The Hokage's precious disciple—this is what he amounts to?" Kamikawa sneered, his voice echoing as he and his Mist shinobi gathered outside the rubble. "Caught in a trap this simple… seems like Konoha is already on a path of decline."
Despite his taunt, a subordinate nearby couldn't suppress his unease. "Lord Kamikawa… we shouldn't underestimate them. Konoha's shinobi wouldn't be taken down this easily."
"Oh, I don't need you to tell me that," Kamikawa replied coolly. "If they really were that easy to kill, I wouldn't have brought all of you along, now would I?"
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