"Jiraiya-sensei, where's Xin?"
Minato asked curiously. Jiraiya had already entered, but Xin was nowhere to be seen inside the Gourd Toad's stomach.
"Xin isn't a fan of toads, so he didn't want to enter the toad's stomach. He chose to ride Manda instead.
We'll reach the first island soon enough. Just rest up for now, Minato-you are our ace in the hole. We're counting on you for message transmission and transportation," Jiraiya said.
What Xin was doing was obviously not according to plan, but Jiraiya couldn't do anything about it.
Plus, Xin could easily conceal both himself and Manda's presence.
So, if it didn't affect the mission, Jiraiya had no intention of interfering.
"Understood."
Minato and Nawaki were both calm about the arrangement, while the others exchanged puzzled glances.
What is Xin trying to pull here?
Everyone was inside the toad's stomach, following orders, but Xin was out there on his own.
Even more surprising was that Jiraiya didn't seem to have any control over him.
Seems like we've all underestimated him.
A little toad and a huge snake moved swiftly over the sea's surface.
Boom!!
Thunder roared overhead, followed by heavy rain. Xin calmly pulled out an umbrella, still sitting firmly atop Manda's head. The downpour might make things difficult for Kirigakure's patrols, but it didn't affect Manda or the Gourd Toad at all.
Unless they were really unlucky and got struck by lightning, the stormy weather actually worked to their advantage for a stealthy approach.
"Your progress has been pretty slow, Manda. If you keep slacking off, Ophis will continue to look down on you once it wakes up," Xin commented, feeling the natural energy within Manda-it was clear Manda had been slacking.
*Cough!
Manda seemed uneasy, stammering as it explained, "Master, I've been in a hibernation phase lately, so my training has decreased... It wasn't intentional, I swear."
It was lucky that Manda was a snake-if it were human, it'd probably be blushing right now from the lie.
"Save it," Xin said, smacking Manda's head. "You think you can lie to me? Lazy is lazy, don't give me that hibernation nonsense. You're not just any snake."
Ordinary snakes might hibernate, but the snakes of Ryuchi Cave didn't need to. They could rest occasionally, but it was never for long.
Manda had definitely been slacking.
"My apologies, Master," Manda said obediently.
*This... is this really the Manda I know?*
The Gourd Toad, leading the way, was starting to doubt reality.
In its memory, Manda was one of the most troublesome snakes in Ryūchi Cave, constantly causing issues for Mount Myōboku.
Even Gamabunta found Manda difficult to deal with. Yet here was Manda, behaving like a humble servant in front of Xin.
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