From Danmachi to God of Ninja

Chapter 73: Chapter 73

"All right. No problem."

Kiriya accepted the scroll and agreed immediately.

His decisiveness left Jiraiya momentarily stunned.

"You... don’t have anything to say?"

Jiraiya found it hard to believe.

By all logic, Kiriya had once been used as Orochimaru’s experimental subject.

His impression of Orochimaru could not simply be called bad; it would be more accurate to say he had no goodwill toward him at all.

Jiraiya had expected Kiriya to resist fiercely after hearing about this transfer order, or at least try to come up with excuses to avoid it.

He had not expected the kid to agree so cleanly.

"What am I supposed to say? That I’m not going? Then I get branded for disobeying military orders and get chopped by the village?"

Kiriya rolled his eyes.

"Do I look like someone who ignores the bigger picture?"

Those words were so upright that, for one brief moment, the justice radiating from Kiriya almost made Jiraiya feel ashamed.

It seemed he had underestimated his new disciple.

"You’re not... afraid Orochimaru might do something to you?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, that guy does give off strong mad scientist vibes, but at least for now, he’s still willing to put the village’s overall situation first," Kiriya analyzed.

This was not because he wanted to speak well of Orochimaru.

In the original story, Orochimaru truly parted ways with the village only after it became clear that Minato Namikaze would become Hokage.

By then, Orochimaru had been completely disappointed in both the Sandaime and Konoha.

His defection at that point was, in a sense, simply going along with the flow.

Before his human experiments were exposed, Orochimaru still maintained certain limits in his actions toward the village.

During this period, he was still deeply attached to the position of Hokage and still valued his bonds with the Sandaime, Jiraiya, and the others.

Now Kiriya had already become Jiraiya’s student, and he was being watched closely by the Sandaime Hokage and the elder council.

Unless Orochimaru had completely lost his mind, he would not make a move against Kiriya right now.

Of course, Kiriya never placed his life in the hands of someone else’s mercy.

The reason he agreed to go was based on confidence in his own strength.

With Forest of All Things, the Eight Gates, and several other trump cards, even if Kiriya could not completely defeat Orochimaru, he was confident he could at least retreat in one piece.

That was the real reason he accepted this mission.

But to Jiraiya, it looked very different.

In his eyes, Kiriya was not only talented and strong, but also understood the bigger picture.

For the sake of the village, he could even temporarily set aside personal grudges.

What a broad-minded kid.

’As expected of my disciple.’

Jiraiya thought smugly, his grin nearly stretching to his ears.

Then he remembered Kiriya was still standing there and quickly straightened his expression.

"Don’t worry. I’ll send Orochimaru a letter explaining the situation. For my sake, he won’t make things difficult for you... probably."

"You would have sounded much more impressive if you hadn’t added that last word," Kiriya said with a sideways glance.

"So who’s going with me? Don’t tell me I’m supposed to ride alone for a thousand miles. I haven’t even traveled much."

"Of course not. I arranged a squad to guide you. Don’t worry, they’re people you know."

"Fine. Then I’ll head out now."

Kiriya turned and was about to leave.

"Wait."

Jiraiya suddenly called him back.

Kiriya turned around and saw Jiraiya’s expression had become serious.

"This trip to the Fire-Wind border—be careful on the road. I’ve received word that someone has placed an enormous bounty on you in the underground exchange. Right now, your head is worth seventy million ryō."

"Whoa."

Kiriya put on an exaggerated expression.

"Whoever did that is really willing to spend big."

That was worth two Asumas!

"It should be Kirigakure. You did take out so much of their high-end combat power."

There was no smile on Jiraiya’s face.

"But there are other possibilities too. News that you awakened Wood Release has already spread across the shinobi world. There are plenty of people who would covet that kekkei genkai."

Kiriya was not surprised.

Back when he fought the Six-Tails jinchūriki with Wood Release, he had already expected this.

"Doesn’t matter. They’re just scattered bounty hunters anyway," Kiriya said with a casual shrug.

"Don’t underestimate them."

Jiraiya’s expression turned extremely serious.

"There are hidden powerful shinobi’s in the underground world. Some of those bounty hunters are so strong that even I wouldn’t dare say I could definitely beat them."

Kiriya’s heart tightened.

A certain stitched-up monster suddenly flashed through his mind.

He nodded seriously.

"I understand. I’ll be careful."

Seeing that his disciple had finally become serious, Jiraiya relaxed a little and waved a hand.

"Your teammates are waiting outside. Go."

Kiriya nodded and was about to leave, but then he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "After I leave, will things be fine on the Kirigakure front?"

"Heh. It’s only Kirigakure... Who do you think I am?"

Jiraiya straightened his back, and a powerful presence burst from him.

"Standing before you is one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, the idol of the Slug Princess, the wild man of Konohagakure, the handsome devil whose name silences crying children, the unrivaled Toad Sage who stands above east, west, north, and south—Lord Jiraiya himself!"

Kiriya could not help commenting. "When you say things like that, aren’t you afraid Lady Tsunade will chase you down and beat you?"

"What does a kid like you understand? That’s called romance!"

Jiraiya’s expression did not change at all. Then he waved his hand and started driving him away.

"Hurry up and go complete your mission."

Kiriya turned and left.

Just as he reached the entrance of the tent, Jiraiya’s quiet voice came from behind him.

"Kid, be careful out there."

"..."

The corner of Kiriya’s mouth lifted slightly.

He raised a hand and waved without turning back, leaving Jiraiya with only a very self-satisfied silhouette.

"Cocky brat."

Jiraiya muttered under his breath.

Then he smiled too.

...

After leaving the tent, Kiriya saw three small figures waiting outside.

The moment they saw him come out, their eyes lit up, and they quickly gathered around him.

"Kiriya-sama!" x3

"Guy, Genma, Ebisu. So it’s you three."

Seeing the three kids, Kiriya could not help smiling.

"Yeah! I didn’t expect we’d get to team up with you again, Kiriya-sama," Genma Shiranui and Ebisu said.

"Haha! This is great!"

Guy threw his head back and laughed.

"Kiriya-kun, let’s have a youthful duel!"

"Idiot, there he goes again."

Genma and Ebisu looked up at the sky in speechless despair.

They truly had no way to deal with Guy’s brain.

What level were you even at, trying to duel Mister Kiriya?

"Another day, Guy."

Kiriya smiled and shook his head.

"We have a mission right now. Once we’re outside, we have to stay alert at all times."

"Oh, I was rejected. Good! Then next, I’ll crawl ten kilometers on my hands!" Guy shouted, his eyes burning with fiery passion.

"There it is again!"

Genma and Ebisu rolled their eyes so hard they nearly looked at the sky through the backs of their heads.

This hot-blooded idiot could always find a reason to raise his training intensity anytime, anywhere.

"Guy, we’re traveling right now. We can’t waste time," Kiriya said. "Why not save it for later? Once we reach the camp, you can add it to your training. We can even spar a little then."

"It’s a promise!"

Guy was overjoyed and agreed immediately.

Kiriya smiled and nodded, then handed each of the three a kunai.

Each kunai had the character "Kiriya" carved into it.

"Keep these with you. They might save your lives at a critical moment."

The three kids did not quite understand, but Kiriya’s tone was serious, so they accepted the kunai obediently.

And so, after gathering their things, the group set off at high speed.

But they had not been outside for long before Kiriya sensed a gaze.

Cold.

Ferocious.

Evil.

In an instant, Kiriya became fully alert.

’At a time like this... who could it be?’

While keeping his face calm, Kiriya silently observed the surrounding environment, trying to find whoever was watching them from the shadows.