Ninja Ice House

Chapter 556 Arrangement

The conversation with Hijiri Togakushi mainly revolved around external relations, primarily resource allocation, clarifying responsibilities, and streamlining processes. In contrast, the matters that needed to be explained to Kimimaro Kaguya were more complicated.

"Kimimaro, you don't need to be so respectful in everything. We've known each other since we were very young. Although we haven't spent much time together and aren't particularly close, we're still familiar with each other. There's no need to be so reserved."

"I understand, but we still need to distinguish between the primary and secondary roles. You are, after all, the young master, and I am just a servant who knows nothing but fighting."

"Fine!"

Karin was a bit troubled by Kaguya Kimimaro's insistence on key points and his rigid refusal to accept change. This slightly older brother was someone Karin had played with when they were young and were childhood friends, but they gradually drifted apart as they grew up.

Everyone has their own things to do and their own social circles, so it's normal to not keep in touch for a long time.

Karin still remembers that young boy who stepped onto the "King of Fighters" stage, invincible, with a youthful yet expressionless face, a stark contrast that left her with a pretty good impression of him.

I never imagined I'd grow up to look like this.

This world has no Mr. Zhou, no Brother Xun, no Runtu and the badger in the field. People are different, environments are different, and the world is different, but the feelings between people are the same.

Karin sensed a similar atmosphere from Shiro, but it wasn't as pronounced. The pure, innocent boy, like a blank sheet of paper, was no longer the timid boy he once was; his shining qualities remained.

If the man her father had chosen for her was such a boring guy, Karin wouldn't know what to do. Fortunately, he wasn't perfect, but he was still acceptable.

After all, it's really hard to find a suitable young man of marriageable age in the ninja world who is also someone you can look at.

"Kimimaro, do you understand what you're about to do?"

"Understood. If the conditions aren't entirely favorable, we'll engage Jiraiya head-on..."

"Regarding your strength, I have confidence in you. Father sent you here because he certainly has high hopes for you. I don't expect a complete victory, just enough to hold him off, force him and the dream space to reveal flaws, and make him logically doubt the reality of the world. Of course, if we can subdue him directly and wake him up, that would be even better. But..."

With their hands tied, there is no one in the ninja world who could defeat or even capture Jiraiya alive. Pain couldn't do it. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha in their prime might have had a chance, but the current Konoha Village is far from that level. Even with the support of Kimimaro and other powerful figures like Fukumi, it's almost impossible.

This is also why Tsunade was not very optimistic about such an action at first, and was somewhat impatient.

Fortunately, the newly appointed advisor, Nara Shikaku, offered excellent advice.

The means and the goal should not be confused. The goal is to wake up the seriously injured and unconscious Jiraiya, not to fight him to the death. The means and process should not be distorted into the ultimate goal. In fact, it is possible to achieve this without defeating Jiraiya.

Ultimately, the biggest problem now is that Jiraiya's own consciousness has been clouded, and he is unwilling to wake up.

Since that's the case, making him realize that false happiness is ultimately just a mirage, meaningless. Jiraiya isn't a fragile young man like Obito Uchiha. In his fifties, he's experienced countless trials and tribulations in the ninja world. He wouldn't run away from reality and wallow in a dream because of a little setback, much less do something as crazy as Obito Uchiha.

"The process is actually like you and your helpers fighting alongside Jiraiya in a man-made paper candy house. Whether it's making him realize that the sweetness of the 'candy' is meaningless, and that the 'house' he's in is as fragile as a sandcastle, capable of disappearing at any moment, he will naturally start to contemplate the truth of the world he inhabits and the meaning of his own existence..."

Once a smart person starts thinking, their IQ begins to dominate, and their brilliant mind comes online.

A fake is still a fake; how hard is it to tell the difference?

It's just that I was misled or deceived in the past, and I was unwilling to give up the hard-won happiness, even if it was illusory and short-lived, I wanted to experience it a little longer.

Jiraiya wasn't the only one with this kind of thinking; others weren't much better, so there's no need to laugh at him.

You have to understand that he was one of the famous "Three Ninjas". His companions betrayed him, his teacher was killed, and the person he secretly loved always treated him badly and never gave him a kind look. Yet he was still able to live optimistically for most of his life. This was not a year or two, but forty or fifty years. He devoted his entire life's energy to this.

Aside from his search for the "Child of Destiny," Jiraiya's decades-long experiences have almost entirely revolved around his entanglement with Orochimaru and his unrequited love for Tsunade. This unwavering devotion is truly admirable.

"I understand my mission. If the opponent is a hero like Jiraiya, I'm afraid there are few in the ninja world who are confident they can defeat him. Lord Commander should be fine, but as for the others..."

Regardless, Jiraiya's reputation is still very high in the ninja world. After traveling around for so many years, he has interacted with countless local forces. His generous and straightforward style of doing things is more popular than the capricious and dangerous Orochimaru and Tsunade, who is regarded as a "fat sheep".

After Orochimaru's defection, Jiraiya was almost considered the undisputed successor to the Hokage. If he were willing to agree, Tsunade or Minato Namikaze would have no say. With him in charge, things like the theft of the Byakugan from the Hyuga main family by Kumogakure leading to Hizashi Hyuga's suicide as punishment, or the "Konoha Crush Plan," would simply not happen. Only when the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died, Tsunade and Jiraiya left the village and never returned, and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was old and lacked the necessary deterrent power, did people feel there was an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and develop a plan to "steal a chicken."

"Then I won't say any more. I'll trouble you. Just get yourself together and wait for my notification. By the way, there will be people from the clan stationed at Butler Bai's place, just in case. After all, Konoha Village is full of people and all sorts of eyes and ears. We don't know how many forces have spies on it, or how many risks need to be eliminated."

"That's for the best. It's always more reassuring to work with our own people. But is it easy to sneak in?"

"Don't worry, 'Root' is cooperating and assisting..."

"As long as we have someone on the inside to cover for us!"

"As for manpower, there will probably be a group of main force members with Sharingan. This is the Sharingan, the bloodline limit that is most skilled in genjutsu in the ninja world, apart from the Kurama clan."

After the discussion was settled, Togakushi Hinode, Kaguya Kimimaro, and the others left, and the female Jonin, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time, finally arrived late.

"Are you done talking?"

"Teacher Hong, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I'll leave the village's illusion magic training class to you..."