It had been almost two weeks since my stream had become more popular. A lot of things happened during that week, but the main one was me getting more involved with Terraria and the Guild, completing more missions.
At this moment, I was finishing up a mission for the Guild. It wasn't anything difficult, just an extermination and reward mission. This time, the target wasn't slimes but wolves.
Interestingly, it didn't occur to me, but yes, there are "normal" animals in Terraria, or as normal as something can get while evolving in this world. The wolves I was hunting were the size of bears, with the alpha of the pack being the size of a freaking ELEPHANT!
"At least the mission reward for their deaths is good, and I get to keep their bodies."
The mission wasn't to deliver the bodies to the buyer or just the skins, but to kill these guys, as they were tormenting a farm on the outskirts of the kingdom, killing cattle, destroying crops, and eating the farmers.
Simple things for normal farm pests, you know.
Turning my attention to the last standing wolf, the alpha, he seemed apoplectic. It wasn't surprising, considering I had just massacred his pack of over twenty wolves in a matter of seconds.
Interestingly, they had tough skin, probably as thick as a rhinoceros, and fur rough and hard like tree bark. But you know what...
They weren't bulletproof.
I reloaded the shotgun in my hands calmly, not caring about the alpha since he was growling at the dozens of weapons that "blinked" above me.
Appearing and disappearing rapidly as they entered and exited the VoidBag, ready to restart the massacre.
"Aren't you coming? Little wolf~."
I taunted the beast in front of me. It might have seemed tasteless since I had just killed his whole family, and now I was provoking him too. But you know? These things don't deserve an ounce of respect or mercy.
The mission was literally to deliver to the Guild the last survivor of one of the farms, a thirteen-year-old girl covered in blood, who begged for someone to kill the "monsters" that killed her family.
A family that included her mother, father, two older brothers, a baby. So, no, I don't care if someone says it's tasteless for me to taunt this animal in front of me right after massacring his pack. My only complaint is that I won't be able to do it again.
Back to the wolf, my taunt seemed to be enough as he ignored the weapons that had just killed his pack, fueled by rage, and leaped at me, running much faster than something of his size had the right to run.
I smiled slightly and stored my weapons back in the inventory; this guy didn't deserve such a waste of bullets. I waited for him to get close, which didn't take long since he was pretty fast.
When he was about five meters away from me, he jumped, swinging his claws in my direction, and they were huge, probably forty centimeters or so, and I was sure they would do significant damage if they touched me.
That is, if they touched me.
Before the swords the wolf called claws could tear me to pieces, something familiar appeared in front of me. The door of the bank that I used as a shield.
The wolf didn't care about the structure that appeared in front of him and continued the strike, probably with enough force to tear an adult man in half. What did that do against the reinforced steel of the door?
"(Onomatopoeia of a whimpering wolf)."
With the door? Just scratched it. Against the wolf? Having his claws ripped off by the force of the impact didn't seem very pleasant, and from the whimpering of pain he was emitting, it seemed he agreed with me.
I didn't waste the chance and retrieved my "shield" back into the inventory and aimed the shotgun at the wolf, or as Kohta always corrected me in the (CHAT), I aimed and targeted the Ithaca M-37 at the wolf and fired.
I give credit to the animal's quick reaction since even with his claws destroyed, full of rage and in pain, he managed to react in time to try to dodge, and almost did. Almost.
Because even with his quick reflexes, the shot still hit him, practically tearing off his hind leg, and he fell to the ground with a miserable canine cry, starting to crawl away, realizing he wouldn't win.
[(MOD)RedHuntressLive]: It's kind of sad to see him like this... could you not kill him faster? (Sad Little Red Riding Hood emote).
[(MOD)WhiteHuntressLive]: Ruby, this thing killed people, ate a BABY! Personally, I hope Devas takes even longer to kill him, let him suffer a bit more! (Angry Snow White emote).
[ZombieSlayer]: Amazing as always, Aniki! Even these huge wolves couldn't stand a chance against you! (Zombie giving a thumbs up emote).
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Looks like your fan club is growing, DS! Should I ask for an autograph just to be sure? (Sarcastic Iron Man smiling emote).
[SereneNurse]: I wonder how these wolves came to exist. They're too intelligent for mere animals and too large as well! (Zombie nurse smiling with stars in her eyes emote).
I looked at one of my, now, four (CHATS) in the stream and shook my head with an ironic smile.
After the big "bam" of viewers the stream had, I spent some time organizing everything and getting everything in order. Fortunately, I had help.
The first thing I decided to do was split the (CHATS). I wanted to continue chatting and being able to read messages from my older viewers, as I had a stronger connection with them.
So, I divided the (CHAT) into four. One for all viewers, where most messages appeared.
The second was a (CHAT) for (MEMBERS) in general, people who bought the stream subscription, which had increased to ninety-six.
Much less than the total number of viewers I had at this moment, but it was acceptable, as the stream changed the SP price based on the "world" the person came from. So, for all I knew, SP there was something expensive, which survivors couldn't easily afford.
Or they just didn't want to, there was that point.
The third was a personalized (CHAT), with the options (MEMBERS), (MODS), and "Only Important Destinies" activated.
This was the (CHAT) I paid the most attention to since the "important" people, so to speak, for the worlds, stayed there.
In other words, the protagonists of the worlds, the people who were relevant for one reason or another in the plot of their respective stories.
I named these three (CHATS) (CHAT-GENERAL), (CHAT-MEMBERS), (CHAT-FATES).
Of course, I didn't let anyone see the name or how the (CHATS) were separated, not even the (MODS) could see that.
First, was it kind of a jerk move to separate the (CHATS)? No, not really, since without this separation, it would be impossible for me to read anything. Even with "only" five hundred people in the stream, the (CHAT-GENERAL) was already impossible to read. I could catch one or two messages before they disappeared into the sea of words.
But I would admit that it was kind of a jerk move on my part to separate the (MEMBERS-CHAT) and the (CHAT-FATES). Since theoretically, both were the same thing, with viewers paying the same amount of SP to become (MEMBERS) of the stream.
So, I was basically separating people there by the "importance" they had to the plot of their respective worlds. Was it a jerk move? Yes, did I care? Not so much.
I wish I didn't have to do this, maybe in the future, when my reaction time is absurdly fast, where I can read a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand messages per second and understand them all, I could change this.
For now, the (CHATS) would stay like this, who knows in the future.
Second, I would NEVER! EVER! let Stark read that he was categorized as "Only Important Destinies." It doesn't matter if it was obvious to those familiar with Marvel or information that wasn't hard to deduce.
But from my mouth? With my words? Stark wouldn't hear that ever. Do you know how insufferable the guy would become after reading that? I don't want to feed his ego enough to make him explode.
And finally, the last (CHAT) that wasn't really a (CHAT), it was more of a warning system I set up on the stream. I left the "Important Messages" option on in this (CHAT).
Important how? I had no idea; the stream decided what was and wasn't important, but I thought it was good to have a (CHAT) with just this option, so if the stream decided a message was genuinely important, it would appear there, alone.
In the end, I had placed the (CHAT-GENERAL) and the (CHAT-MEMBERS) in the lower-left corner of my vision, the (CHAT-FATES) in the lower-right corner, and the Minimap in the upper-right.
With the rest of the stream stuff in the upper-left, along with this (SPECIAL-CHAT), the important messages, minimized. I set it up so that when a message appeared there, it would open automatically.
Overall, my vision was kind of "polluted" with so many things, but it was easy to get used to, and when I entered battle, the stream automatically minimized everything, which was good.
I returned my attention to the wolf trying to crawl away from me and sighed as I responded to the (CHAT).
"I theoretically could have killed him faster, but it would be more risky, so I didn't go for that option." I sang lightly as I approached the beast.
I completely ignored Stark and his taunt, as since the stream had gained more viewers, this had become a recurring thing. Every ten minutes or so, he would come up with something involving me becoming famous and giving autographs.
As I got a few steps away from the dying alpha wolf, I aimed the Ithaca M-37 at the wolf and finished responding to what I later discovered to be Shizuka, if "Nurse" in the nickname didn't already give that away.
"If there's one thing that I and the older folks in the stream learned, it's that if there's no obvious explanation, it's probably magic."
I looked into the eyes of the beast staring back at me with hatred and smiled slightly.
"It's always magic's fault."
Then I pulled the trigger, making the wolf's head explode.
I wiped the blood that had splattered on my face with a cloth and put the wolf corpses in my inventory.
I looked at the sky for a few seconds, enjoying the morning breeze, and began to walk back to the kingdom.
"Let's deliver this mission; I should be able to do a few more today before heading to the forge." I sang out loud as I started a quick run back to Terraria.
As I ran back to the kingdom, the (CHAT) had started a discussion that caught my attention.
[BestToadSannin]: What's the criteria for being a (MOD)? Because I'm not one, you know how many people would like me, the great Jiraiya, to be a moderator for something of theirs? (Proud frog emote).
[(MOD)WhiteHuntressLive]: Not being you is one of those requirements, you weird pervert! (Disdainful Snow White emote).
[(MOD)StarkAssistant]: I might not use the same words, but I agree with Miss Weiss... I don't think it's a good idea for you to be a (MOD) Jiraiya. (Blue-armored pepper agreeing emote).
[(MOD)GryffinHouseMatron]: Giving power to a pervert like you would only bring disaster to the (CHAT) and the stream. Devas is smart not to do that... (Cat with glasses nodding in agreement).
[(MOD)RedHuntressLive]: I don't think it's a good idea either... (Little Red Riding Hood looking away emote).
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Stop! Stop! Right now, can't you see? He's already dead, he's been dead for a long time! (Iron Man emote begging for mercy).
Stark and I might not agree on many things, but in this, I would have to give in. I've never seen a verbal beating with no serious offense be so painful.
Jiraiya is probably crying on the floor or something at this moment.
"To answer the question before you destroy what's left of Jiraiya's dignity, which wasn't much. I have some requirements for choosing (MODS)."
I stopped for a few seconds to observe the plain I was running through before speaking again.
"First, being impartial, as I don't want my (MODS) muting or banning people unnecessarily."
A mute on the stream just prevented the person from typing in the (CHAT), but a ban literally deleted the stream app from the person's phone, with the only way for them to return being if I unbanned them myself.
Of course, the stream had a kind of automatic banning and muting; I just needed to configure keywords and other things. The stream was "smart" enough to know who to mute or ban, but the (MODS) helped.
[BestToadSannin]: Stark? Impartial? Are you messing with me, Devas? I didn't think your sense of humor was this bad. (Indignant frog emote).
[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: Jiraiya-chan has a point. Anthony isn't exactly the best example of impartiality on this stream... (Emote of an old frog shaking its head).
As if to prove a point, the next message was this:
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy] Muted [BestToadSannin] for 5 Minutes. Reason: Don't talk bad about me like that, inferior mortal!
I sighed as I shook my head.
"The impartial ones are the others, as McGonagall is the head of her house at Hogwarts, she already has experience in that regard." I said a bit louder as I entered the forest toward the kingdom.
"Pepper and Weiss have experience with publicity and people management, as Pepper is the one keeping Stark's press running, and Weiss is the heiress of a big company in Remnant." It was a surprise to find out this, Red had friends at the top, it seemed.
"Ruby is the most impartial of all there; if someone was banned by her, the person deserved it, that's for sure." I don't even want to know what kind of message made Ruby ban someone...
[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: Jiraiya is asking me to write, "And Stark? Where does he fit into all this impartiality?" He said this while yelling that it's unfair. (Emote of an old frog shaking its head with a slight smile).
[ToadMatriarch]: Jiraiya-chan seems sad and angry; what happened? Did I miss something while going to the bathroom? (Emote of an old toad with a "?" on its head).
[SniperHirano]: No, Shima-hime, just a verbal beating and an unfair ban. (Emote of a zombie with weapons smiling ironically).
[JackSon]: Can I be a (MOD) too, Devas? I'm impartial! I swear! (Emote of a seahorse innocently smiling).
[GryffinPotter]: Me too! Me too! I promise I won't ban Snape! (Emote of a child wizard with crossed fingers behind his back).
Funny how Kohta treated Fukasaku's wife, Shima, as someone important, using "Hime" to refer to her, which, as far as I remember, meant princess or something like that in Japanese.
I had asked why, and he told me he was a big fan of "Naruko" and that it was an honor to know such characters.
And yes, I didn't say it wrong; it was Naruko. Who would've thought that an ecchi universe would have a female version of Naruto... who would've thought.
"First, no. You two troublemakers, I'm sure you'd turn days of work to keep the whole (CHAT) in order into complete chaos in two seconds flat." I said in a playful voice to the two boys.
Harry was eleven, and Percy, from what Sally told me, had just turned ten. I'm not crazy enough to trust two brats with moderating my stream.
Especially these two, whom I knew well in terms of how they thought and acted.
"And to answer the question. Stark isn't impartial, but he fits the second point to be a (MOD), having free time. Stark is a slacker."
I ignored the future Iron Man's messages of indignation and continued.
"Stark is one of the few people who can actually be on the stream almost all the time, every day. Even if he's not impartial, he's the best person in that regard." Being rich had its privileges, who would've thought!
As much as I wanted Pepper and McGonagall, who were the best at this type of work, to stay all day just working as (MODS), they had a life and a separate job in the "real world."
And yes, I was paying my (MODS), even though most said they would do it for free. I didn't find it fair, so I was paying them.
The payment varied from person to person. Ruby and Weiss wanted metals from Terraria or books, both from HOTD and Terraria. Which frankly, was quite easy and cheap for me.
McGonagall wanted, as expected of a witch, magical things. She had said it didn't have to be something really potent, just a common plant from this world was "magical" enough for her.
So, for now, I was paying the Gryffindor head with tree saplings and animal corpses that I killed.
Pepper and Stark were the easiest, so to speak. Pepper had no interest in magic or anything more supernatural, so I was paying her with money. In this case, with the Yen that I had "borrowed" from the banks in Japan and with jewels. Which, in both cases, Stark arranged a way for them to be more "legitimate" when they went to Marvel.
After all, foreign currency and jewels that appeared out of nowhere, both literally from another world, weren't very well accepted in the economy.
So Stark took care of everything for Pepper, to not raise suspicions.
And Stark, in the end, just said, "You owe me, you can pay me later."
Of course, I found it suspicious, but as much as Stark and I "fought," I didn't think the guy would ask me for something outrageous, and if he did, I could very well refuse, so I let it go.
"And the third requirement." I continued speaking, now able to see the towering walls of Terraria in the distance. "Being able to use the cellphone easily." This was the main reason why, unfortunately, I couldn't let Fukasaku, Dumbledore, and Shima be moderators.
The three were the embodied stereotype of "Old people who suck with technology." Seriously, it would be funny if it weren't absurd. In reality, even though it was absurd, it was extremely funny.
That was the reason why Shima took so long to send messages in the (CHAT); she had difficulty using the cellphone touch screen. Fukasaku not as much, but he still had the same difficulty.
Dumbledore didn't have that difficulty, but he might as well be the worst of the three, since if Ruby and I didn't explain things to him, he wouldn't even know the basics of the cellphone.
I can't understand how the guy managed to partially modify the runes of Terraria to use them in another literal universe, even if in a weaker way.
But can't use a cellphone...
Speaking of runes, Dumbledore and I, well, McGonagall and Snape were there too, but overall, Dumbledore and I managed to understand how they worked.
First of all, it was "intent" and "image" that were the main things with runes.
You needed to have an image of what you wanted the rune to do and the intent of what you wanted it to do.
An example: the water runes I tested before. If I wanted them to "produce" water, I would need to think of an image of it producing water in some way in my mind. Whether it was pulling moisture from the air and condensing it into water or changing molecules with magic to "create" water. But I needed to have that image in my head clearly.
And the worst part was the intent. Damn, this part was a pain since I literally needed to infuse my intent into my mana while carving the runes into the material.
Every mere scratch, every damn curve needed to be done with the same intent, or the rune would fail in some way.
That's why when I tested the runes in HOTD, they exploded in some way. The intent in each carved rune was different; each line of each rune was different.
Ignore what I said about runes being like programming; it wasn't even close; it was a completely different mess. With programming, I just wrote the code, and that was it; if it didn't work, I looked for where I went wrong and fixed it. With runes? I needed to carve or write the runes myself, using only my magic, and all of this with the same intent for the rune to turn out perfect.
If I made a mistake somewhere? Well, if it didn't explode in my face, of course, I would need to find which rune I "missed." How? I have no idea, but I needed to find the rune that I had "mistaken" and erase it and put it back there.
The thing was, it wasn't like a paper I could erase with an eraser or a computer where I could just delete it with a button. No, it was something physical. I would need to find some way to remove the wooden or metal rune. Which frankly, without magic or something bullshit like that, was impossible for me. So if I tried to do something with the runes, it was better to make sure I did it right.
Another thing, the runes, I found myself wondering where they came from, as in Terraria, there were no runes, at least not that I remembered.
I spent some time thinking until I remembered something, or rather, an enemy. The Rune Wizard, an enemy from Terraria's "Hardmode," a magical skeleton that wore bright golden robes along with a wizard hat of the same color.
It was the only thing involving runes that I could remember from Terraria, but the doubt still lingered, where did this "Rune Wizard" get these runes? Terraria was no longer a game, so they had to come from somewhere; was he the creator? Did he learn them from someone? A secret school? A magical sect? Or worse, was it something coming from a god or the planet itself?
I didn't have these answers, which was bad since I wouldn't want to mess with the runes if they were something coming from a god or the world itself, but at this point, I think that if they really had an "owner," so to speak, he would have noticed me by now.
If he didn't come to ask me why I was using his runic system until then, there were three reasons.
First: He didn't care that I was using it, which was both good and bad. Bad because he had noticed me somehow, probably through the runes, and good because he wouldn't bother me anytime soon.
Second, and the most likely, if this "owner" really exists: He didn't notice me because of my title, so I had a free pass to use it without the rune "owner" finding out.
And finally, what I thought was most likely to be true. The runes had no owner; they weren't really something "created" by someone but existed in the world. How? I have no idea, but I intended to find out in the future.
The rest of the journey back to the kingdom was the same as usual, meaning the same as it had been for the past week.
With some slimes here and there, but nothing major. I had discovered that the walls of the kingdom had symbols carved into them, which kept most animals and mindless hostile beings at bay.
That's why I had only encountered slimes around the kingdom; you had to venture further if you wanted a real "challenge," so to speak. My only question was: what the hell were those orange eyes I had seen on the first day I came to Terraria? That thing had consciousness and was very hostile.
Shaking these thoughts out of my mind, I passed through the large gates of the kingdom and headed towards the Guild. I didn't bother finding a way to carry the corpses since I had discovered that having an "inventory," so to speak, was more common than I expected.
Of course, nothing like mine, which at this point was approximately the size of a country, but for the average adventurer to have a ring, necklace, or bag with an internal space of a few square meters was common.
The richer or more successful ones had a larger space, of course, but nothing as absurd as my VoidBag.
Markus, who had dropped this information in a conversation I had with the man when I went to get the ready sets of armor.
He said that this type of item was known as "Travel Space" or "Travel Bag." But since there were rings and necklaces as well as bags with these spaces, most people called it "Travel Space."
He just didn't know how they were made, but he knew that those who made this type of item were the mage craftsmen and the castle blacksmiths, meaning the best of the best since only royalty and the Guild could hire them to make items for them.
Mage craftsmen, another "class," if I can call it that, that didn't exist in Terraria, one of the countless things at this point that I need to research and study; at least, I already had more floors of the library for this.
While I was walking to the Guild, lost in thought, I briefly noticed that someone seemed to be approaching me.
I turned my head slightly to the person walking towards me with cautious steps.
He was a young man, probably my age, not much less or more than that.
He had very light and tousled brown hair, almost messy, I would say. His eyes were dark brown, and his skin was rosy but white, as if he had been away from the sun for a long time, locked up at home.
He wasn't very tall, but he wasn't short either; I would guess about one seventy-five, or one seventy-seven.
His clothes were simple, like most of the people's clothes in Terraria. Just a light gray linen shirt, probably, light blue pants, and, finally, a pair of leather sandals.
Overall, he looked like an ordinary person, with no apparent characteristics. The only more striking thing about him, so to speak, is that he seemed almost scared, fearful of something as he walked towards me.
But still, for some reason, he was familiar to me; I just didn't know from where.
I stood still as I waited for him to approach, which only made him seem more scared by my gaze.
I could see him swallow saliva and take a deep breath before approaching and introducing himself.
"N..n..nice to meet you... I came to ask if I could form a group with you; I'm a new contractor, so I would like to know if you could help me..." His voice dwindled at the end, almost to a whisper.
I raised an eyebrow in doubt. It wasn't strange for contractors to form groups or "parties," as they called them, to venture together, but usually, this only happened in silver rankings and above. New contractors usually did missions within the kingdom or killed slimes, which was easy.
And also, there was the fact that, why me? I wasn't famous, and I was also a new contractor, considering that if you ignored the three months I was away, I had only been contracted by the Guild for two weeks.
"Name?" I asked, to which he looked at me scared and looked away.
Damn, what was this guy? It looked like he was going to pee himself if I yelled at him.
"Your name, I asked your name. I'm Devas, after all." I said in a neutral tone, trying not to scare the guy.
Upon understanding my question, he nodded quickly and seemed to relax a bit.
"Right. Right. My name." He took a deep breath and extended his arm to me with an open hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, Devas, my name is Dylan, a new contractor of the Guild and a novice in the Guide Order." He smiled slightly, not realizing what his words did to me.
Damn it! Now I remembered why you looked familiar!
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YAY! This chapter is delayed compared to the others for two reasons: one, I needed to think about some things in the story, and two, my internet hasn't been the best these days, and I ended up losing a whole chapter I had written because it didn't save.
Sad, but oh well. On to the chapter.
These last chapters were more about setting things "right" or settled, so to speak. Devas sorting out the rewards, the stream, and everything else.
First of all, something I saw some people commenting on. About the number of viewers skyrocketing, well, here's my point and what I thought about it in the story.
Going back to the HOTD mission, I chose this world for the first mission for a few reasons. The first one: LOOT, pure and simple loot. It's a post-apocalyptic world set in the modern era, 2010+. The amount of stuff Devas could get with his inventory is absurd, so I used that for him to have items, to have things.
Second, introducing some characters, which in this case are the main cast to Devas, and seeing how he interacts with these people, how he connects with other humans, to show that in the story and to show his reaction to killing someone for the first time.
And finally, the Pylon. Interestingly, I chose this world for the Pylon, the explanation is this:
The Pylon has an area of effect, which in the case of HOTD, is the island. Everyone within the island automatically has the stream app downloaded on their phone, and the phone is "upgraded"—those without phones get one.
So why did I choose HOTD? For the simple reason of it being a post-apocalyptic world. Just think about it for a moment, imagine a giant structure like the Pylon appearing on an island in Japan. No matter how uninhabited that island is, I wouldn't give it a week, at most a month, for the whole planet to know about it.
When it leaks that approaching it would get you a phone literally connected to another world? To watch a stream from literally another universe?
His viewer count would skyrocket, not just to the few 1,300 and something he has now, but to over a million, 10 million, in just a few days. In a few months, it would reach the billions.
That's why I chose HOTD, because I could "Control" the number of viewers entering the stream with the Pylon.
Now, about the Pylon. Well, everything, absolutely EVERYTHING, in the stream revolves around Terraria. (Maybe not the missions in other worlds, but you get it).
So yes, the Pylon also revolves around Terraria, or in this case, the fame that Devas has in Terraria.
At this current moment, he only has 1 "slot" for a Pylon. If he wants more, he'll need to become much more famous in the world, very much so.
It's not like gaining fame to get a few viewers; no, the Pylons are something much more complicated, as they are "Connection Towers" that connect the stream to these worlds, and they have something extra if there are many Pylons connected to the "Pylon Network."
But that's a spoiler, so I'll stop here.
So for those worried about the viewers exploding and him not paying attention to our dear viewers that we already know, that's not going to happen.
I also made this (CHAT) division to keep control of the messages, of course, there will be messages from (CHAT-GENERAL), but most will be from the others.
And besides all that, getting a Pylon is quite complicated because going from 89% to 90% is difficult, Devas will find out later. Saya really was a kind of "Anomaly," so to speak.
That said, I'm going to bed, I'm sleepy, good night to those who stay and good reading until the next chapter.
PS: I should post an extra chapter tomorrow with some illustrations of the story items and will keep updating over time.
PSS: Quick vote here, next omake, who do you want it to be about? The options are:
RWBY - (POV: Ruby Rose).
Marvel - (POV: Stark).
Naruto - (Here it depends, actually, either Jiraiya or Fukasaku, you choose).