Chapter 393: Land of Demons
The Land of Demons.
This was a small landlocked country located between the Land of Snow and the Land of Earth, also bordering the Land of Bears to the south.
Its land area was not particularly large, sandwiched between several great nations and peculiar small countries. However, due to its unique geographical location and mysterious culture, it occupied a special place on the map of the Ninja World.
There was no hidden Ninja village in the traditional sense, nor were there large-scale Ninja forces.
The security and stability of the nation seemed to rely more on the ancient Legacy of the Priestess and the faith of the local people.
At this moment, a tall figure with wild white hair and a massive scroll on his back stepped into the capital of the Land of Demons.
It was Jiraiya.
He wore a red haori and wooden clogs, his face bearing an expression of being travel-worn yet filled with an exploratory curiosity.
Although the Great Toad Sage had not given the exact location of Izanami Slope,
Jiraiya had, after all, traveled the Ninja World for decades. Relying on the connections he had accumulated over the years, his knowledge of various places, and a writer's intuition for a "story"...
He had still managed to sift through the vast sea of information, peeling back the layers until he finally locked onto the Land of Demons as his target.
"Izanami Slope..."
Jiraiya muttered the tongue-twisting name under his breath, his gaze scanning the scenery which was starkly different from the Land of Fire.
The architectural style here was more primitive and rugged, mostly built with giant stones and dark wood. Wind chimes and cloth banners painted with strange runes often hung beneath the eaves.
The air was filled with a faint scent, like a mix of sandalwood and herbs, which involuntarily calmed one's mind.
There were few pedestrians on the road, mostly dressed in dark clothing. When they saw Jiraiya—a tall Ninja who was clearly a foreigner—their eyes were mostly filled with surprise or fear.
The Land of Demons was a mysterious country that had possessed a "Priestess" for generations.
According to legend, every generation of Priestess possessed incredible power—they could prophesy death, foresee disasters, and also possessed the ability to Seal away powerful demons.
It was precisely because of the Priestess's existence that this small country could maintain its unique independence and peace amidst the surrounding wolves of the Ninja World, without being annexed by neighboring nations.
To a "story collector" and "mystery explorer" like Jiraiya, the Priestess of the Land of Demons was undoubtedly a highly attractive existence.
He really wanted to see what the legendary Priestess actually looked like.
Did she truly possess an otherworldly temperament, with the river of fate reflected in her eyes as recorded in ancient texts?
Or was she a veiled, mysterious, and peerless beauty as described in some folklore?
Jiraiya's imagination began to run wild uncontrollably, and a slightly lecherous smile even unconsciously curled at the corners of his mouth.
However, he soon heard a piece of news from the locals that instantly "cooled" him down.
The Priestess of this generation was only about ten years old.
Supposedly, she was a little girl who hadn't fully grown up yet, and her personality seemed to be... well, one couldn't say mischievous, but rather willful and pampered.
"Ten years old?!"
The smile on Jiraiya's face froze instantly. His mouth twitched, and he rubbed his nose somewhat dejectedly.
For Jiraiya, whose aesthetic preferences had always been very consistent—liking mature and curvaceous beauties...
A little girl barely ten years old?
This was completely outside his "strike zone," so his interest vanished in an instant.
His romantic fantasies and curiosity regarding the Priestess were immediately doused by a bucket of cold reality.
"Sigh..."
Jiraiya sighed and shook his head helplessly.
"It seems this trip to the Land of Demons is destined to have nothing to do with a 'romantic encounter' or anything of the sort."
However, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
He hadn't come here primarily to see beauties after all, but to find clues about "Izanami Slope."
As for the Priestess being a child, that actually made things easier.
Children were often simple-minded; perhaps he could find out some secrets about the ancient Legacy of the Land of Demons from her.
Moreover, a girl who could become a Priestess at the age of ten and shoulder the heavy responsibility of sealing demons was legendary and worth investigating in her own right.
Jiraiya perked up again and cast his gaze toward the center of the Land of Demons.
There stood a shrine-like building that was clearly taller and more grand than the surrounding structures, with a more ancient and mysterious style.
That should be "Shion Castle" or a similar palace where the Priestess resided.
"Well then..."
Jiraiya straightened his collar, a cynical yet somewhat serious smile returning to his face. "Let me, the former Fifth Hokage, go pay a visit to this young Priestess."
"I just hope she isn't as difficult to deal with as Tsunade..."
He grumbled in a low voice and strode toward the shrine.
On the outskirts of the Priestess's palace, known to the locals as "Shion Castle," Jiraiya was stopped by a group of solemn-looking Priestess guards.
These guards were not traditional Ninjas, but their presence was steady and their gazes sharp. They were clearly elites who had undergone rigorous training to protect the Priestess.
Facing an uninvited guest like Jiraiya—who appeared suddenly, possessed a powerful aura, and was clearly a foreigner—their faces were filled with undisguised wariness, and their hands rested tentatively on their sword hilts.
The atmosphere became tense for a moment.
Jiraiya, however, looked relaxed. He scratched his head, and when he casually announced his identity as "Jiraiya, the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village," something interesting happened.
The expressions on the faces of those wary Priestess guards instantly underwent a strange transformation.
Their wariness quickly faded, replaced by a look that was almost like "breathing a sigh of relief," and even carried a hint of helplessness.
The lead guard even muttered a sentence. Though the voice was small, it was keenly captured by Jiraiya:
"So it's the Fifth Hokage, Lord Jiraiya... If it's him, even if we had twice as many people, we wouldn't be able to stop him..."
The news of the Sixth Hokage of Hidden Leaf Village, Uzumaki Naruto, recently conquering two major Ninja villages with lightning-fast methods had already spread through the Ninja World like a whirlwind. Even a relatively backward small country like the Land of Demons had heard of it.
The weight and deterrent power represented by the title of "Hokage" had likely reached an unprecedented height in the current Ninja World.
The guards voluntarily cleared a path. Although there was still caution in their eyes, they no longer formed an obstacle.
After they moved aside, Jiraiya, on the contrary, hesitated to walk in.
However, there was one exception among these guards.
It was a youth who walked up from the back of the crowd. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a clean-cut face that bore a steadiness and fortitude beyond his years.
He wore different clothing from the other guards, and his temperament was more reserved and focused.
Even when the other guards relaxed, he maintained a high state of alertness. His bright eyes stared fixedly at Jiraiya like a hawk, and his hand never left the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Your Excellency, how can you prove you are the Hokage?"
This was somewhat difficult for Jiraiya, as he didn't even have his hokage robe, and these people likely wouldn't recognize anything else.
The lead guard came to Taruho's side and said respectfully,
"Lord Taruho, Lord Jiraiya has a head full of white hair and a tall stature. This gentleman has a dignified appearance and an aura of righteousness; he must be Lord Jiraiya."
"This is Lord Taruho, the attendant to our Priestess. To put Lord Taruho's mind at ease, please use a Dispel Powder to prove you are not using Transformation Jutsu, Lord Jiraiya."
As an old hand traveling the Ninja World, Jiraiya knew immediately upon hearing this that they were playing a double act.
Or rather, the older guard was unilaterally using this young lad to play the good-cop-bad-cop routine.
But that was fine. Given the way they were ready to let him pass just by hearing he was Jiraiya, he wouldn't have dared to go in otherwise!
He was quite happy to demonstrate that he was indeed Jiraiya himself.
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