Uchiha's personal opinion

Page 432

Even though the swampy areas of the Land of Swamps were filled with the smell of fallen leaves and fermenting corpses, Jiraiya still felt incredibly refreshed after spending so much time in Ryuchi Cave.

After all, compared to Ryuchi Cave, which is filled with the stench of snake venom, the ninja world is far too wonderful!

"What a wonderful world... It's such a shame that the Uchiha thieves have monopolized it!"

Jiraiya muttered to himself.

Jiraiya then stuck out his tongue and, using his sense of smell, ran towards a direction with a lot of people.

He originally did not have this ability.

However, during his time in Ryūchi-dō, he also passively acquired this ability.

Because now he is a practitioner on the ground at the two sacred sites of Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave.

In short, he was also bitten by the White Snake Immortal.

Furthermore, because the power of Ryuchi Cave was too domineering, it clashed considerably with the relatively peaceful Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku. Although the balance was maintained under the guidance of the White Snake Sage, Jiraiya's eyes turned into vertical pupils as a result.

"...Am I still me?"

Just as they were about to enter the town, Jiraiya suddenly stopped and stood on a hill outside the town, gazing absently at the distant scenes of human life.

"...I caught over two hundred venomous snakes this time!"

Suddenly, the sound of conversation coming from afar interrupted Jiraiya's self-reflection.

"The joint-venture caravan should be arriving soon, right? We should be able to get a good price this time!"

"No problem, after all, snake wine is in high demand and the ninja lords of the United Company are willing to pay!"

"Sigh~ It's just that the taxes levied by those noble lords are too heavy..."

"If only we could be like the Land of Grass..."

Jiraiya stared with his vertical pupils as he looked behind him.

The distance is still far, but my hearing has become more acute...

Jiraiya squinted, gazing at a snake-catching team several hundred meters away.

Although the side effects of the power from Ryuchi Cave gave him an urge to commit murder, he restrained himself.

The land of swamps was, after all, the territory of the shogunate, and he couldn't afford to alert them.

However, looking at the captured snakes, he suddenly felt a sense of sorrow, as if he were grieving for his own kind.

"Really..."

Jiraiya covered his eyes and let out a long sigh.

He knew this was the influence of the power of Ryūchi Cave, and he knew that this influence would be detrimental to him, but he just couldn't suppress his emotions and impulses.

"...I wonder what the great immortal was thinking!"

Jiraiya shook his head, then touched his wallet, counted the Shogunate Gold Yen notes with disgust, and then went to meet them.

"Hey!"

Jiraiya, who was striding forward, called out to the snake catchers.

"Hello... Respected Ninja Master."

The snake catcher quickly bowed.

What they saw was the image of a burly Konoha ninja.

This wasn't Jiraiya's first time venturing into the shogunate's territory, so he had already cast a transformation spell on himself as cover.

These mortals, who lack chakra, naturally couldn't see through his disguise.

"Sell me these snakes!"

Jiraiya's tone was very stiff.

Although he wanted to calm himself down, he couldn't spare the energy to change his attitude while struggling with the murderous urges in his mind.

Even if it's a disguise.

"Master Ninja, this area is a caravan's exclusive sales zone..."

An older snake catcher mustered his courage and said, "According to the rules of the ninja masters of the United Company, our prey can only be sold to the exclusive caravans in our respective regions..."

"Money! I have it!"

Jiraiya pulled out a wad of gold coins from his pocket and waved them at the snake catchers. "I'll pay you, you give me the snakes!"

At the same time, a kunai was intentionally or unintentionally pulled out of his bosom.

Looking at the kunai shimmering with an eerie light on the ground, the snake catchers' courage vanished instantly.

Although they didn't know why this "Konoha ninja" was so rude, so different from the kind and friendly Konoha adults in the caravan, as commoners at the very bottom of the ninja world, they still knew what to do in this situation.

Therefore, the snake catcher readily chose to pay money on delivery.

"Don't tell anyone that you're buying goods in other regions to boost sales!"

After the transaction was completed, Jiraiya, carrying the snake cage, spoke in a stiff tone.

The snake catchers nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"It seems that not all the Konoha lords are so kind..."

After Jiraiya had walked away, one of the snake catchers spoke in a low voice.

"Yes, yes, I felt like he was going to eat me alive!"

Another young man nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Speaking of this money..."

The old snake catcher counted the gold coins in his hand, looking somewhat troubled.

"That's a lot of money..."

"But it also broke the rules."

"Rules are nothing compared to money!"

The snake catchers argued endlessly, but their eyes were all fixed on the old man.

"We'll split the money."

The old snake catcher suddenly spoke.

"it is good!"

No one had any objections.

The decision to divide the money was made by the elder, so he naturally bears the responsibility.

"Then... we'll go to the caravan together to report this. No one can shirk their responsibility!"

Then, the old man added another sentence.

The snake catchers looked at each other in bewilderment.

……

Jiraiya once again returned to the swampy area deep within the Land of Swamps.

This is also the place where most venomous snakes are found, but due to the great danger, almost no snake catchers come to this place to catch them.

"Ugh……"

Standing on a withered tree branch in the middle of the swamp, Jiraiya sighed at his impulsiveness.

He lamented both his rashness and his failure to silence the snake catchers.

Regardless of whether snake catchers will inform on you, your interactions with them represent a potential danger.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiraiya opened the snake basket and roughly poured out the venomous snakes that had been drugged.

Although the swamp's muddy water quickly "woke" the venomous snakes from their stupor, they immediately began cannibalizing each other.

Jiraiya stared blankly at the horrific scene before him, somewhat at a loss...

This was completely different from what he had imagined!

Even if these rescued venomous snakes immediately flee, it's still better than them passively starting to kill each other!

Jiraiya felt numbness in his hands and feet, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"That's just human nature."

A small, colorful snake poked its triangular head out from his sleeve, watching with great interest the "kind" fighting on the ground.

"nature?!"

Although Jiraiya wasn't a naturalist, given his knowledge of snakes, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths!

"As long as the higher-level snakes of Ryuchi Cave exist, these mortals will be triggered by their instincts and enter a state of devouring and evolving..."

The little flower snake said nonchalantly.

"This……"

Jiraiya was somewhat speechless, unsure of what to say.

"By the way, your presence will also have an effect, since you can't completely suppress the power of Ryuchi Cave yet~"

The little snake flicked its tongue, watching the fighting snakes, seemingly a little impulsive.

Jiraiya suddenly felt a little dizzy.

"Is this what I'm doing, plunging the world into a world of mutual slaughter...?"

"Haven't I been upholding justice all along...?"

"Akatsuki..."

"betray……"

Jiraiya felt as if this wonderful world had suddenly turned into black and white.

"But... I can't turn back now!"