Night Talk

Chapter 124 Night Talk

The campfire burned until late into the night, and the temperature on the mountainside dropped.

Rope Tree, wrapped in a blanket, leaned against the rock, a blade of grass he had picked from who-knows-where dangling from his mouth. His eyes were half-open, half-closed, as if he were dozing off, or perhaps lost in thought.

"Nawaki." Jiraiya's voice came from the side.

"Um?"

"What exactly were those two sword techniques Yang Xiang used?"

Nawaki opened his eyes and glanced at Jiraiya. The firelight reflected on his face, burning away any drowsiness he might have felt.

"I don't know," he said, "but it's definitely not chakra."

Jiraiya fell silent.

If it's not chakra, then what is it?

He had lived for over twenty years, traveled all over the ninja world, and seen all kinds of ninjutsu, secret techniques, and bloodline limits, but he had never seen anything like that.

That cyan sword light—there were no hand seals, no chakra fluctuations, and not even a trajectory.

It's like appearing out of thin air and disappearing into thin air.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that such a power existed in the world.

"Brother Jiraiya," Nawaki suddenly said, "what kind of person do you think Yosho is?"

Jiraiya was taken aback for a moment.

"Who are you? From the Senju clan—"

"I'm not talking about his identity," Nawaki interrupted him. "I mean, do you think he's the kind of person—born to be better than others?"

Jiraiya thought about it.

"His talent is indeed very good."

"It's not a matter of talent." Rope Tree shook his head, spitting out the grass from his mouth. "It's something else."

He looked at the fire, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"You know, when I was little, I always thought Yangxiang was strange. He didn't play with us, didn't fight with anyone, and didn't run around in the streets. He just stayed in the old house every day, reading books, exercising, and occasionally going out to bask in the sun."

"I thought he was a coward."

"Later I found out that he wasn't cowardly. He was just—different from others."

Jiraiya listened without saying a word.

"He sees things differently from others," Nawaki continued. "What others consider important, he considers insignificant. And what others consider insignificant, he takes very seriously."

"For example?"

"Take the Hokage, for example." Nawaki grinned. "He never thought about becoming Hokage. I asked him, and he said being Hokage was boring."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"Boring?"

"Yeah. He said the Hokage is just a village chief, always bothered by a bunch of trivial matters, and has to guard against rebellions by his subordinates. What's so great about being a Hokage?"

Jiraiya's lips twitched.

If the old man heard this, he'd probably be so angry he'd break his pipe.

"So what does he want to be?"

"I don't know." Nawaki shook his head. "He never said. But I always felt that he thought about things much bigger than the Hokage."

The two remained silent for a while.

The campfire crackled, and sparks rose into the night sky.

"Napaki," Jiraiya suddenly said, "do you think Yosho trusts you?"

Rope Tree paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Of course I trust him," he said. "If he didn't trust me, why would he let me be his mount?"

Jiraiya:

.. "

That does seem to make a lot of sense.

On the other side of the mountainside, Yang Xiang leaned against a rock with his eyes closed.

The wounds on my body have been mostly treated, but my spiritual power has not recovered much.

The dantian was empty, with only a few wisps of weak true energy slowly circulating, like a stream that was about to dry up.

He needs rest.

But my mind just won't stop.

He was reviewing today's battle.

The Raikage is very strong. Stronger than he expected.

Hell Thrust - One-Hit Kill Hand, the lightning on that finger truly has the power to pierce through everything.

If you try to block his wooden puppet technique head-on, he might not be able to withstand it.

Fortunately, he didn't try to take the hit head-on.

The effect of the Azure Origin Sword's aura was better than he had expected.

Two sword strikes wounded Raikage and forced him to retreat.

However, it also exposed a problem: the consumption was too high.

With his current spiritual energy reserves, even if he were to unleash his full sword energy, he could only manage a maximum of three strikes.

After the three sword strikes, he would be at the mercy of others.

This doesn't work.

We must find a way to increase the speed of spiritual energy recovery or reduce the consumption of sword energy.

Or perhaps we can find a more efficient way to fight.

Yang Xiang opened his eyes and looked at the starry sky above him.

The stars twinkled, and the Milky Way stretched across the sky; it was a beauty that seemed out of place in the ninja world.

He suddenly remembered something.

During today's battle, he used Wood Release, Chakra Burst Mode, and Azure Sword Aura.

But there was one trick he couldn't use.

A variant of the Corpse Demon Seal.

It's not that I don't want to use it, it's that it's not finished yet.

That rune is still too crude and unstable; using it rashly might cause problems.

But if it can be improved—

Yang Xiang tapped his fingers lightly on his knee.

He needs more soul samples.

Ordinary ninja souls are too weak to be sufficient.

He needs to be stronger.

"Yang Xiang!"

Rope Tree's voice came from afar, interrupting his thoughts.

Yang Xiang turned around and saw Rope Tree running over with a quilt in his arms, followed by Jiraiya carrying two bowls of soup.

"It's windy at the foot of the mountain, let me get you a blanket." Rope Tree wrapped the blanket around him. "Don't catch a cold, you're injured now."

Yang Xiang looked down at his body, which was wrapped up like a dumpling, and then looked up at the rope tree.

"I'm a wounded soldier, not a dumpling."

"Pretty much." Rope Tree grinned and sat down on the rock next to him. "Here, have some soup. It's made by Koichi, with herbs added; it's good for wounds."

Yang Xiang took the soup bowl and took a sip.

hot.

But it does have some use.

"Yang Xiang," Jiraiya said, sitting down beside him, "what are our plans for tomorrow?"

Yang Xiang thought about it.

"First, tally the casualties and clear the battlefield. Then, reinforce the defenses to prevent the Cloud Ninja from attacking again."

Will the Cloud Ninja return?

"Not in the short term," Yang Xiang said. "Lei Ying is injured, the army has lost half its strength, and morale has collapsed. He needs time to rest."

Jiraiya nodded.

"What about the Land of Rain?"

"Orochimaru-senpai can handle it," Yang Xiang said. "Sunagakure has already tightened its defenses, and there won't be any major attacks in the short term."

He paused.

"Our most important task now is to hold onto Mount Katsuragi."

Jiraiya paused for a moment.

"Yang Xiang," he said, "thank you for today."

Yang Xiang glanced at him.

"You're welcome," he said. "You've come at the perfect time."

Jiraiya gave a wry smile.

"You don't need to comfort me. I know I'm late."

"This isn't meant to comfort you," Yang Xiang shook his head. "If you hadn't come, Raikage might have fought me to the bitter end. In that case, even more people would have died at Katsuragiyama."

He paused.

"You gave him a reason to retreat."

Jiraiya was taken aback for a moment.

Then he laughed.

"You still have such an unpleasant way of speaking."

"Just telling the truth."

The two looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

Rope Tree watched them from the side and laughed along. As he laughed, he suddenly yawned.

"Tired?" Jiraiya asked.

"A little." Rope Tree rubbed his eyes. "I flew too far today, I'm exhausted."

"Then go to sleep," Yang Xiang said. "We have things to do tomorrow."

Rope Tree nodded, wrapped himself in a blanket, leaned against the rock, closed his eyes, and soon began to snore.

Jiraiya looked at him and shook his head.

"That kid has a really big heart."

"He's always been like this," Yang Xiang said. "He's not afraid of anything, not even if the sky falls."

Jiraiya paused for a moment.

"Yang Xiang," he suddenly said, "how long do you think this war will last?"

Yang Xiang thought about it.

"I don't know," he said, "but I feel it's coming soon."

Jiraiya looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Sunagakure has retreated, and so has Kumogakure. Onoki hasn't shown up at Iwagakure, which means he's also observing," Yang Xiang said. "Fighting on three fronts, Konoha can't hold out for long. But if all three fronts stop—"

"The war is over," Jiraiya replied.

"Not necessarily." Yang Xiang shook his head. "The end of the war doesn't mean peace has arrived."

He gazed at the distant night sky, his eyes as calm as a stagnant pool.

"Jiraiya-senpai, what do you think peace is?"

Jiraiya was taken aback for a moment.

"Peace is—the absence of war."

"Does the absence of war equate to peace?" Yang Xiang countered. "Then what are we doing when there is no war? We are preparing for war."

Jiraiya fell silent.

"As long as there are interests and conflicts, war will never disappear," Yang Xiang said. "What we can do is not to eliminate war, but to make the cost of war high enough that no one will want to start one."

Jiraiya looked at him and suddenly remembered the Great Toad Sage's prophecy.

The prophecy said that his disciple would bring about change in the ninja world.

He had always believed that person would be the prophesied one.

But now, looking at the boy in front of him, he suddenly became uncertain.

"Yang Xiang," he asked, "do you want to change the ninja world?"

Yang Xiang glanced at him.

"I don't want to," he said. "It's too much trouble."

Jiraiya: "————"

He knew it would turn out this way.

"However," Yang Xiang changed the subject, "if someone is blocking my way, I don't mind moving them away."

Jiraiya remained silent for a long time.

Then he laughed.

"Alright," he stood up, "I'm going to sleep. I have things to do tomorrow."

He took a few steps, then stopped.

Yang Xiang.

"Um?"

"Try to speak less truthfully in the future. It hurts people."

Yang Xiang watched his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"it is good."