When Jiraiya stepped across the border into the Land of Rain, he had already mentally prepared himself. The country had been sealed off so thoroughly that he knew something major must have happened inside.
But even so, he still underestimated what the Land of Rain had become.
When he passed through the last gap between the great trees and saw the world before him, he froze on the spot.
This wasn't Amegakure.
Definitely not.
Amegakure had always been a desolate, gloomy, steel jungle of an industrial city.
Countless smokestacks pierced the sky from the ground, with dark smoke blotting out the sun all day long.
Like a twisted urban prison, it symbolized war, suffering, and Hanzo's dictatorship.
But now all of that was gone.
The smokestacks were gone, the sheet metal factories were gone.
The haze was gone, the black clouds were gone.
Even that rust-filled air no longer existed.
In its place was an indescribably vast... Pokémon-like ecological city.
Jiraiya's footsteps halted on the damp bluestone path as he reached out to brush against the grass blades beside him.
The grass carried the warmth of life—this wasn't a Genjutsu, but tangible vitality.
The buildings before him were completely different from Amegakure's original style.
Brightly colored wooden structures, towers covered in climbing plants, semi-transparent crystal walkways.
Street lamps emitting soft light, and circular platforms where flying Pokémon could rest.
Various bird Pokémon flew in flocks across the sky.
In the fountain pools along the streets, Psyducks wandered about, swaying their heads.
Caterpies curled up under leaves in the grass.
Children sat in the plaza, letting a Pichu jump onto their shoulders.
And nearly every building bore the unified symbol of the Red-White Ball.
Jiraiya's throat moved slightly: "This... what is this?"
What shocked Jiraiya most was the towering spire at the city's center.
The entire spire grew upward in a spiral shape, its outer walls curving naturally like tree bark, yet containing countless mirror-like precision structures inside.
He couldn't help but gasp:
"What... happened here?"
Just as he stood stunned, a group of Land of Rain citizens passed by him.
They wore lightweight, brightly colored Trainer outfits.
Each person had Red-White Balls hanging from their waists.
They looked nothing like the war-oppressed residents struggling to breathe from the past.
The electronic bulletin board at the street corner flashed:
[Land of Rain Pokémon League · Beginner Tutorial Open Today] [Pokemon Center Branch 9 Now Operational]
[Pocket Monster Daycare Now Open!] [Recruiting: Trainer Mentor]
[Warning: Do Not Approach Wild Spearow Flocks] [Please Protect the Green Belt Provided by the Tree of Life]
Jiraiya felt like he was looking at a completely unfamiliar country, something he simply couldn't imagine seeing. Everything seemed to have become unreal.
So unfamiliar it was frightening.
"Would Hanzo... really allow something like this to exist?"
The wind at the spire's peak suddenly stilled.
In the next moment, the light and shadows twisted as a figure slowly descended.
Wearing the Akatsuki Organization's black robe with red clouds, his glasses reflecting light that hid unfathomable expressions—this was Shiroishi.
He had sensed Jiraiya's arrival the moment the man set foot in this city.
Landing without a sound, Shiroishi smiled faintly. "Teacher Jiraiya, we meet again."
At this casual greeting, Jiraiya's expression darkened considerably.
"Everything that happened here... is it related to you?"
Shiroishi nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes."
"You?"
Shiroishi reached up and removed his glasses.
As the lenses fell away, his eyes ignited with a light deeper than the Ten-Tails and more dangerous than any Tailed Beast.
"Don't you find it magnificent, Teacher Jiraiya?"
His voice remained gentle, yet carried the weight of a final judgment: "From beginning to end, my goal has been singular—to establish a Pokémon world. And the Ninja System... should be completely eliminated."
The elimination of the Ninja System.
The words struck Jiraiya's ears like thunder.
He reacted instantly, forming hand signs: "Reverse Summoning Technique!!"
Space distorted, his feet beginning to fade away inch by inch.
Shiroishi merely raised his hand gently.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave."
Space seemed gripped by some invisible force, freezing instantly.
The summoning circle that should have appeared was swallowed by a dark rift.
Then, the world flipped before his eyes.
He was violently dragged beneath massive tree roots.
The heart of the World Tree. Jiraiya stood on soft moss, looking up to see countless ninja corpses strewn among the tangled giant roots.
Shattered Hidden Leaf headbands, cracked Sand Village masks, even fragments of Rock and Cloud ninja attire.
All the bodies were pale and desiccated, as if drained of all life. The air carried a faint scent of blood and decay.
Jiraiya's pupils trembled:
"They...!?"
Shiroishi emerged from the shadows, his gaze calm and indifferent.
"To establish a new era, the new world requires sufficient... nourishment."
He spoke as if explaining a natural law of growth.
"The hatred, war, and cycles of the Shinobi World... have become too diseased to save."
"The Ninja System must be uprooted completely."
"What I'm doing is simply guiding the Shinobi World toward a new era—the era of Pokémon."
As Shiroishi continued his approach.
Splash!
A blue blur suddenly appeared at Jiraiya's feet.
Marshtomp.
Forcibly summoned by Jiraiya from Mount Myōboku.
Shiroishi tilted his head slightly:
"You've... made your choice?"
Marshtomp stood straight.
Neither fleeing nor showing fear.
Only unwavering determination.
It nodded gently.
It had chosen to stand with Jiraiya.
A flicker of disappointment passed through Shiroishi's eyes, but no anger. "Pity."
He snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, a low growl descended from the sky.
Poipole.
Dark Poison Mist poured down from above, spreading like a nightmare.
Where the poison touched the ground, all life withered. Poipole's eyes were hollow as it spread its arms, numerous corrosive purple poison bubbles condensing from the air, gradually surrounding Jiraiya and Marshtomp.
Shiroishi's gaze turned cold: "Stop struggling, Teacher Jiraiya."
"I will make you... remain in the Land of Rain."
"In this new era, you will learn how to cease being a ninja and become a Trainer instead."
As his words faded, the poison mist boiled, the tree roots writhed, and the entire heart of the World Tree seemed ready to devour them both.
But then, Jiraiya's aura transformed dramatically!
The air cracked with a sharp sound.
Countless crystalline mirror surfaces emerged from the ground, roots, and trunk, resembling layers of transparent Mirror World membranes enveloping the entire World Tree's core territory.
Light refracted, space distorted, as if countless mirrors were breathing.
"I understand now..."
"Shiroishi... this tree is the core source of your power, isn't it!?"
Slowly raising his head, Jiraiya's expression turned serious. The spatial defense measures he generated around himself even slightly surprised Shiroishi.
From the very beginning, Jiraiya had been acting.
In truth, he had long prepared to face both Shiroishi and Orochimaru for a second time!
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