"Iwagakure? We can certainly go there, but forgive me for asking—why?" Kakashi was curious.
As far as he knew, Kumogakure and Iwagakure were hardly close allies who treated each other like brothers.
If nothing else, the current Fourth Raikage's father, the Third Raikage, had been exhausted to death fighting Iwagakure's forces.
Now that a treasure as valuable as a method for mastering Sage Mode had appeared, the Raikage's first thought was somehow the village responsible for his father's death?
As the ancient saying went, the murderer of one's father could never live beneath the same sky—
Oh, wait. Wrong genre!
The shinobi world had never cared much about that sort of thing.
"You're wondering why I would personally recommend Iwagakure when they're responsible for my father's death, aren't you?" The Raikage slapped one hand against his desk, rose from his chair, and turned toward the sky beyond the floor-to-ceiling window behind him.
"Uh..." Kakashi had not expected him to address it so bluntly.
Then again, that was perfectly in character for the Raikage.
"I haven't forgiven Iwagakure. What I acknowledge is Ōnoki."
"Hm?" Kakashi immediately grew wary.
Acknowledging Ōnoki made even less sense.
Wasn't Ōnoki the commander who orchestrated the Third Raikage's death?
Could it be that the Raikage really had developed an improper relationship with Ōnoki, just as the first volume of Vigorous Paradise claimed?
"Don't misunderstand me. I mean that stubborn old bastard has changed. Not only did he surrender the position of Tsuchikage to the younger generation, but he has also shown himself willing to sacrifice certain things for the safety of the shinobi world."
The moment the Raikage heard Kakashi's suspicious "Hm?" from behind him, he hurriedly explained.
Unfortunately, the explanation only made things worse.
If nothing else, it instantly exposed the fact that the Raikage had definitely read Vigorous Paradise.
Kakashi suddenly felt that his life might be in danger.
But after thinking about it, he relaxed.
The Raikage could even forgive Iwagakure and Ōnoki and Kakashi had merely published a few scandalous novels.
What did that amount to?
"Kumogakure's intelligence department received word that Ōnoki and Uchiha Madara have gone to court Chiyo. No matter how horny that old bastard might be, I refuse to believe he would actually do such a thing genuinely. He must be using it as a desperate excuse to approach Uchiha Madara," the Raikage continued.
He was completely right.
As one of the people who knew the truth, Kakashi silently confirmed the deduction.
Who would have expected Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage, once mortal enemies, to understand each other so well?
"Ōnoki's willingness to make such a sacrifice moved me. That's why I've decided to put aside my hatred. An Ōnoki willing to change for the sake of the shinobi world deserves the greatest respect!"
"??????!" Kakashi stared at the Raikage's broad back in astonishment.
He had never imagined the Raikage's convictions would be this noble.
He was practically on Naruto's level.
All that was missing was replacing "deserves the greatest respect" with "is the coolest guy."
"Lord Raikage, I understand. Iwagakure will be our second destination. You have my word." Kakashi bowed respectfully.
He had not expected this journey to let him personally witness the shinobi world moving toward peace—or allow him to play a direct part in it.
The burden on his shoulders suddenly felt even heavier.
He finally understood why Jiraiya enjoyed wandering the globe.
Only by leaving Konoha and visiting other villages could one truly understand how peace might be achieved.
"Thank you, Kakashi." The Raikage still did not turn around.
From Kakashi's perspective, the tough, iron-willed man was probably so overwhelmed with emotion that he was silently shedding tears, unwilling to expose his vulnerability before an outsider.
"Lord Raikage, I'll take my leave if there's nothing else."
"Mm."
With complicated emotions, Kakashi left the Raikage Building.
Only after Kakashi was gone did the Raikage breathe a long sigh of relief, turn around, and sit back down.
Crying from emotion?
Not a chance!
Why the hell would he cry?
He kept his back turned to Kakashi because he was a terrible actor.
If they stood face-to-face, Kakashi might have noticed the tiny, scheming changes in his expression and rejected the request.
As for his true intentions?
Naturally, they were good.
Allowing Iwagakure to begin learning Sage Mode immediately after Kumogakure was a positive thing, wasn't it? That was an objective fact.
Behind that objective fact, however, the Raikage harbored a few incredibly petty private motives!
Just as he told Kakashi, he had learned about the sacrifices Ōnoki made to approach Uchiha Madara and genuinely acknowledged the old man's change.
That part was completely true.
But at the same time, the Raikage wanted to see exactly how far Ōnoki was willing to go for the shinobi world and Iwagakure.
Kumogakure's chosen Sage Mode trainee was currently Motoi.
The fact that the Raikage hadn't stepped forward did not mean he would never train.
Quite the opposite.
For Kumogakure's sake, he absolutely intended to learn Sage Mode eventually.
And by the exact same reasoning, he was certain Ōnoki would train for Iwagakure's sake too.
Even without Sage Mode, the Raikage still possessed nintaijutsu.
By using lightning to stimulate his body, he could rely on pure taijutsu.
His raw power might not be high enough, but mechanically speaking, the Ōtsutsuki clan could not directly absorb or counter it.
Ōnoki was different.
Nearly everything Ōnoki used was ninjutsu.
As for taijutsu, the man was already over seventy and could throw out his back just by walking too fast.
There was no point even considering it.
And that was exactly what the Raikage wanted.
He desperately wanted to witness the sight of Ōnoki being forced to take matters into his own hands for the sake of Iwagakure.
Approaching Chiyo for information on Uchiha Madara only required opening his mouth and saying a few words.
This Sage Mode shortcut, however, demanded genuine, shameful, hands-on physical effort.
Of course, Ōnoki also had one distinct advantage.
At his advanced age, he would probably 'finish' the physical requirement almost immediately.
Unlike all these single men in their youth or middle age, the elderly Tsuchikage would not need to rack his brain for special techniques to speed up the process.
...
Amegakure.
After assigning Naruto the mission of promoting Sage Mode, Jiraiya had genuinely gone to Amegakure to avoid being beaten to death by Tsunade.
In Jiraiya's eyes, Amegakure had become extremely "modern."
Konoha could not compare at all. Its only flaw was the sheer lack of a proper entertainment district.
That day, Jiraiya was wandering through the streets with a memo pad, recording ideas for his novels as he looked around.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice called from behind him.
"Jiraiya? Is that you? Jiraiya?"
"You're... Oh, crap!"
Hearing a woman's voice, Jiraiya instinctively turned around.
When he discovered that the speaker was an older female ninja, disappointment immediately crossed his face.
But amid that disappointment, several terrifying old memories suddenly surfaced.
Jiraiya instantly realized something was wrong and turned to flee.
"Jiraiya, stop right there! We already made an agreement! Are you, one of the legendary Sannin, seriously planning to go back on your word?!" the female ninja shouted after him.
With her strength, however, she had no hope of catching Jiraiya and could only watch helplessly as he escaped.
Bang!
A streak of blinding blue light flashed past.
Jiraiya was sent flying backward through the air, crashing directly at the woman's feet.