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Chapter 29 The Wind Rises
The Kingdom of Fire is on the border with the Kingdom of Rain. Even though it is noon, it is still covered in white mist.
This is the camp where Konoha ninjas are stationed. You can see large and small tents put together, boxes of emergency supplies being moved around, and stretchers and wounded people coming and going.
Ninjas gathered in twos and threes in the camp, listening to the wails and screams in the camp that were like evil ghosts that kept coming to their ears, and ate the emergency food in their hands dryly.
"Tsunade-sama will bring them back." One of the ninjas said to himself.
"It's hopeless with such serious injuries." Another ninja shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "Even Tsunade-sama's own brother..."
In the innermost tent, the light from the electric lights was a little dim.
Tsunade stood silently like a corpse, her long light yellow hair a little messy, and her brown eyes stared at the white cloth.
The aura of pain and sadness is so strong that it can be seen with the naked eye.
"Tsunade!"
A tall ninja with white hair walked in from outside the camp.
But after seeing Tsunade standing there and the body covered with white cloth at her feet, he couldn't help but fall into silence for a long time.
"I'm sorry about Nawaki, and I'm sorry..."
He took a gentle breath, his whitened lips pursed subconsciously, and said, "If I were here..."
He was still traveling around looking for the "son of the prophecy" according to the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage.
Because the situation in various countries became increasingly tense and large-scale military operations were brewing, he was urgently recalled by the old man.
As soon as he came back, he heard such bad news.
--During the mission, Nawaki accidentally fell into a trap and was killed by explosive tags.
"That's enough! Jiraiya, this has nothing to do with you, you don't need to take the responsibility on yourself!"
Tsunade suddenly looked up at him, her tone was very cold, and she showed a self-deprecating smile: "Perhaps, dying on the battlefield for ridiculous reasons is the fate of a ninja."
Looking at Tsunade's expression, Jiraiya's heart couldn't help but hurt.
Then there was a surge of anger, but he didn't know who to vent it to.
Should he blame the old man?
But Nawaki himself has reached the age of being able to go to the battlefield. This is Nawaki's own choice and the result of Tsunade's acquiescence. The old man even specially arranged for Orochimaru to protect him.
Should he blame Orochimaru?
But he had already reached the limit of what he could do. It was the Nawaki that entered the battlefield for the first time and refused to listen to dissuasion and rushed forward greedily, so he died in a simple explosive tags trap.
Is Nawaki the one to be blamed?
But he had just celebrated his twelfth birthday, and he was just a child dreaming of becoming a Hokage...
Clench!
Jiraiya stood aside silently, slowly clenching his fists.
He was obviously a very tall man, but one could see his inner weakness at a glance.
War, this is war, a non-stop war.
Nawaki was just a speck of dust crushed by the war. Besides him, there were thousands of dead people.
Now Jiraiya can no longer think of a way to end the war. He has no ability to stop it, or even a reason to stop it. He knows his own insignificance and he can only place his hope on the elusive "son of prophecy".
But Jiraiya didn't realize that he was losing more things in search of the unknown son of prophecy.
The more things he loses, the more powerless and desperate he feels. He can only firmly believe in the miraculous prophecy of the Great Toad Sage, and the more he desires to realize everything through the miracle called the "Son of Prophecy".
He didn't even dare to think about what would happen if "The Son of Prophecy" was a lie from the beginning.
Because this is all he has.
"Tsunade..." Jiraiya's mouth opened slightly.
"Who do you think I am?" Before he could finish his words, Tsunade interrupted him coldly, "I don't need your comfort, about Nawaki..."
At this point, she took a breath, closed her eyes and whispered: "I want to wait for that bastard who hid in Kumogakure Village to give me an explanation in person when he comes back."
She is the best medical ninja in Konoha. She now bears the trust of all Konoha ninjas and must not show weakness at this time.
"As for you..." Tsunade looked at Jiraiya at the door of the camp and said expressionlessly, "Now that you are back, go and do your job, and don't hinder my work here."
Tsunade's attitude softened, but her intention to drive him away was clear.
Obviously, even though she knew it had nothing to do with him, she still felt resentful.
"...Okay." A look of disappointment flashed in Jiraiya's eyes, but he still turned around and walked out without saying a word.
And while they were talking in the camp, they were on the tower closest to the border of the Kingdom of Rain.
The two ninjas on duty were concentrating on the direction of the Land of Rain.
In the blur, all I could see was the vast mist, the misty milky white color seemed like I was looking at the sea from a tower, and I could only vaguely see several tall towers hidden in the sea of mist.
It was also foggy at noon on the border of the Kingdom of Rain. He even felt that it was no less foggy than the Kingdom of Water, which was an island country.
At this time.
Click.
"One?"
The ninja wearing a hawk-faced mask frowned slightly and looked around.
Was there any strange sound just now?
However, the border was very quiet at this time.
There was only the sound of the wind, the blowing of branches and leaves, and the faint breathing of the companions beside me. It was so quiet that even the chirping of insects seemed to have disappeared.
Trees stood there quietly, the sun's rays penetrated the shadows of the foggy trees, and the surrounding branches and leaves swayed in the wind, as if there were countless figures hiding among them.
What's wrong?
Was that just... the sound of wind?
No, what's missing?
Vaguely, a gust of wind blew by, causing the hair on his neck to stand up.
It was a faint smell of blood, filling the air with the wind.
And, it's very close!
"...Xing, do you smell it?"
After coming back to his senses, he scanned the distance and reached out to push his companion beside him.
Although the tone is full of doubts, if you listen carefully, there is more fear in the words.
The smell of blood was so close, but as a Sensory ninja, he didn't see and sense anything.
However, the next moment he stretched out his hand, a clear voice sounded.
Snap!
When the eagle-faced ninja subconsciously turned his head to look, he saw only an extremely complete head, with a cautious expression on his face.
What...
Before the astonished eagle-faced ninja could react, a cold glow flashed across his peripheral vision.
Poof!!
A blade pierced his head, and the stab even dispersed a large amount of mist, slamming the two heads together like a gourd!
"Did you hear that too?"
Kumokawa held up the two heads that swayed in the wind, tilted his head and looked at the Konoha camp and laughed softly: "The wind is picking up."