Chapter 17: The Reason for the Grudge
"Haha... No one has scolded me like that... for a very long time..."
"But you owe me an explanation later!" Ryouma finished speaking and turned his attention to Gamabunta, who was staring intently at him.
"This... this kid..." A giant bead of sweat rolled down Toad Boss Gamabunta's forehead. The golden Rasengan in Ryouma's hand filled him with a trace of apprehension.
"Huh?" Ryouma's senses prickled. He glanced to the side and saw Jiraiya approaching, a bloodstained kunai in his hand. Spotting Ryouma, Jiraiya paused, then his eyes widened in shock at the sight of the Great Ball Rasengan. Finally, his expression hardened. "Kid, just who are you?!" he bellowed. "Why are you helping the Blood Gate?"
"Me? I'm a genin from Konoha," Ryouma retorted. "But I want to ask you something..." As he spoke, he vanished. In the next instant, he reappeared directly in front of Gamabunta. He thrust the Great Ball Rasengan toward the massive toad and shouted, "...why are you being so ruthless?!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! ! !
The impact sent violent tremors through Gamabunta's entire body. He wobbled unsteadily, then toppled backward with a ground-shaking crash before finally dissolving into a massive cloud of smoke, returning to Mount Myōboku.
Jiraiya's pupils contracted. He hadn't expected Ryouma's technique to be so powerful that it could force Boss Toad back to the summoning realm.
Huff... Huff... After unleashing the Great Ball Rasengan, Ryouma suddenly felt weak in the knees. He realized he had almost completely drained his Divine Power.
While the Instant Eye consumed very little energy, the Great Ball Rasengan was a different story. In his current state, he estimated he could only use it three times at most.
I knew I shouldn't have shown off in front of Hinata earlier... Ryouma smiled wryly to himself. He then looked at Fei'er, who was covered in blood, and shook his head. If she hadn't suddenly lost her will to fight for some reason, things wouldn't have come to this.
"From that girl," Jiraiya said, his voice cutting through Ryouma's thoughts, "all I can sense is hatred towards those merchants. I don't know the deep-seated grudge between them. But since she isn't some evil villain who kills indiscriminately, I've decided to let her go." He began walking toward Ryouma and Fei'er.
Fei'er's heart tightened. She clenched her small fists, ready to defend herself, but seeing Ryouma remain motionless, she slowly relaxed them.
"Right now... I'm far more interested in you," Jiraiya stated bluntly to Ryouma. He extended his right hand, a normal Rasengan forming in his palm. He looked intently at Ryouma. "The technique you just used... its principle seems identical to my Rasengan, but the chakra requirement is immense. How did you accomplish that?"
Jiraiya, still in Sage Mode, fixed his frog-like eyes on Ryouma.
"What if I said I'm just a genius? Would you believe me?" Ryouma knew any lie would be transparent to a legendary Sannin like Jiraiya, so he could only bite the bullet and say this.
"Huh? Huh?" Jiraiya staggered, nearly losing his balance. He stared hard at Ryouma, then finally let out a long sigh. "Fine, fine. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't want to talk about it." As he spoke, he released his Sage Mode. He hadn't sensed any malice or danger from the young man.
"I'm leaving. I'm sure we'll meet again." Jiraiya turned and began to walk away, waving a hand over his shoulder. "Once Gamabunta has recovered from his injuries, I'll have him release everyone he swallowed, including your sensei. Just wait for them at the designated spot."
"Where are you going in such a hurry? Why not come to the teahouse outside the Land of Tea with us to wait?" Ryouma was puzzled by his sudden departure.
"You don't know this, but I'm a novelist," Jiraiya explained without looking back. "Right now, I feel inspiration bubbling up inside me. I need to seize this opportunity to gather material and create at the same time!" With that, he leaped away and vanished from Ryouma's sight.
Ryouma watched the spot where Jiraiya had disappeared, feeling a profound sense of secondhand embarrassment. The "inspiration" Jiraiya was talking about was most likely for his "research" on women's baths...
Though Jiraiya had vanished, his expression had been serious.
(Just what is the deal with this kid? To possess such a powerful technique... It seems I'll have to find time to return to the village and look into his background.)
Having made up his mind, Jiraiya's face immediately shifted to a lecherous grin. Alright, my beauties, the Pervy Sage is on his way...! ! !
"Big brother... why did you save me?" Fei'er looked at Ryouma, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Because you call me 'big brother'," Ryouma replied simply. He sat down beside her, looking at her battered state. "Does it hurt? Are you going to be okay?"
"It's fine. My body heals automatically." Fei'er clasped her hands together, and a white mist emanated from her body, visibly mending her wounds.
"Why were you trying to kill those tea merchants? Were you hired?" Ryouma didn't understand her motives. Was it just for the sake of killing, or was there some twisted notion of "freeing" them from their suffering?
His intuition told him Fei'er wasn't a bloodthirsty person. She must have had her reasons.
"My village was destroyed by Kiri-nin," Fei'er began, her voice soft. "Only my parents and grandparents managed to escape with me to the Land of Tea. But when the tea merchants here learned of our origins, they grew fearful. They were afraid that associating with us would implicate them, that it would draw the wrath of Kirigakure... So... they decided to kill us and turn our bodies over to the Kiri-nin..." Fei'er lifted her head weakly, gazing at the sky. "My parents, my grandparents... they fought with everything they had to protect me, to let me escape... but they... were killed by those merchants."
"That day, I awakened my Kekkei Genkai. After I grew stronger, I met the members of the Blood Gate and subdued them... Later, we encountered the ninja world's demigod, Hanzo of the Salamander! In the end, we managed to escape him, but one of my comrades died. From that moment, I knew my own strength... I knew I could avenge my family..."
"After that, I gave them one final chance. I told them that on the day of the tea ceremony, I would come for their lives."
"I see..." Ryouma nodded slowly. Then, he smiled and gently tapped Fei'er on the forehead with his finger. "You're far too headstrong for your own good."
"Haha..." Fei'er let out an innocent-sounding laugh, but the deep-seated sorrow on her face remained.