Town of Hot Water.
In this city famous for its hot spring retreats, white mist blanketed the streets after nightfall. Warm yellow lights stretched along the cobblestone paths as pedestrians in yukata moved back and forth. The laughter from taverns and bathhouses blended with the sound of hot spring water—lively, yet not noisy.
"Caw—!"
Suddenly, the cry of a massive bird echoed over the Town of Hot Water. People looked up, instantly terrified out of their wits.
A strange bird over ten meters long appeared in the sky, leaving everyone stunned and at a loss for what to do.
"Lady Tsunade, one of the Sannin, Jiraiya is dying! Please, come help!"
Nao stood at the edge of Yatagarasu's back, screaming at the top of her lungs. She shouted it three times.
Pedestrians on the street and people in the rooms poked their heads out to watch. After realizing there was no danger, they began to murmur among themselves.
Yatagarasu slowly wandered around the Town of Hot Water. Wherever it went, everyone on the street looked up in curiosity, never having seen such a large bird before.
Nao shouted that sentence over and over, but there was no response. Her throat was already hoarse, yet she continued to call out in despair.
Tears streamed down her face. Brother Yoru was running out of time.
"Wuu—Brother Yoru, I'm useless. I can't find Tsunade."
Having flown almost the entire Town of Hot Water without finding Tsunade, Nao burst into desperate, inconsolable tears.
"Hey, little girl, girls become ugly when they cry." A voice came from behind her.
Nao hurriedly turned around and saw a man with long, silver-white hair, a forehead protector with the kanji for "Oil," two red markings under his eyes, a tall build, and a large scroll on his back, standing behind her and looking at her with a smile.
Yatagarasu whipped its head around in surprise to look at the man on its back. When did he get on?
If not for the sake of its master and the little girl, it would have spun 360 degrees on the spot and thrown him off. What kind of low-tier player dared to step on this lord's back?
"Who are you?" Nao looked at the man in front of her with vigilance. This person definitely wasn't Tsunade; Tsunade was a woman.
The man looked at her, his lips curling into a cynical smile. "I am that Jiraiya you said was dying. Thanks to you, the entire Town of Hot Water now knows I'm dying."
His expression suddenly turned serious, the flippancy in his eyes instantly fading, replaced by a touch of gravity as he looked at the person with weak life signs behind her. "Is that Yoru? How did he get such severe injuries?"
He looked at Nao and Yatagarasu, who were still on guard, and said helplessly, "Little girl, I am his companion. His condition is very bad right now; I'll go take a look."
Nao stared intently at Jiraiya, then nodded. She didn't sense any malice from him.
She had possessed the ability to sense good and evil since she was young, which was why she followed Aoki Yoru without hesitation; she could sense kindness in him.
Having received permission, Jiraiya walked over to Aoki Yoru's side, crouched down, and carefully examined his condition.
Before long, he furrowed his brows. At this moment, Aoki Yoru's flame of life was extremely weak, as if it would extinguish the next moment.
The most troublesome part was a surge of evil energy entwined around his soul, eroding it constantly.
"How could Yoru be entangled by such a thing?"
Without wasting words, Jiraiya splayed his five fingers, and blue Chakra flared from his fingertips. A surge of Chakra then emerged from his palm, enveloping his entire hand, and he slammed his hand onto Aoki Yoru's heart.
"Evil Sealing Method."
"Five Elements Seal."
Dense patterns instantly appeared on Aoki Yoru's body. The expression of pain on his face eased, and his breathing became much steadier.
Watching Aoki Yoru's reaction, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. "Alright, it should be sealed. The next step is to find a way to excise this energy…"
Before he could finish, Jiraiya froze, looking at Aoki Yoru as if he had seen a ghost. The seal on his body was constantly being stretched and expanded.
"Crack!" The Sealing Technique fractured directly, turning into shards of dark golden light that vanished into the night sky.
"Ha—ha—!" The backlash of the Jashin energy made Aoki Yoru gasp for air in agony. Before long, his life signs began to fade again.
Seeing this, Nao immediately rolled up her sleeve, revealing two distinct tooth marks on her fair arm, and extended it toward Aoki Yoru's mouth.
Jiraiya watched the little girl before him; she was clearly crying from the pain of being bitten, yet she held back and didn't make a sound. His heart trembled uncontrollably.
His gaze suddenly hardened. He bit his fingertip, and with the metallic-tasting blood, drew a line on each of his cheeks. Then, his hands flew through a series of seals: "Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram!"
Finally, he pressed his hands together, holding the posture. A moment later, two toads appeared on his shoulders.
"Sage Art: Sage Mode!"
"Hey, Jiraiya, why did you call us over again? You should really learn to use Sage Mode on your own." Elder Shima complained incessantly.
"Two Sages, this is not the time for complaints. Please, help me check the condition of a junior from the Village."
The two Sages followed Jiraiya's gaze to Aoki Yoru. Both toads immediately furrowed their brows; they sensed a deep chill coming from Aoki Yoru.
The two Sages jumped onto Aoki Yoru and closed their eyes to sense him. Before long, Fukasaku opened his eyes first, saying with an expression of disbelief, "It's the energy of the Jashin. How did this child provoke it?"
"What is the Jashin? Is it related to the Jashin Cult in the Land of Hot Springs?" Jiraiya asked.
Sage Fukasaku nodded solemnly. "That's right, it is the Jashin of the Land of Hot Springs. The origins of the Jashin are untraceable, but it is certain that it existed before the Age of Myth. I only heard the Great Toad Sage mention it once."
At this moment, Elder Shima also opened her eyes and said with a heavy expression, "This child is at the end of his rope. He is barely maintaining his life force right now. We must remove the Jashin energy as soon as possible."
"Do you two Sages have a way?" Jiraiya asked with anticipation. Even Nao, who was nearby, looked over with hopeful eyes.
"No way. Perhaps the Great Toad Sage does, but you know its condition. The last time it woke up was when it summoned you, little Jiraiya."
Hearing this, Jiraiya's expression darkened. That was over forty years ago. He then looked at them.
"Then let's seal this energy first, otherwise, the kid Yoru won't last long."
Then, the two toads jumped onto Jiraiya's shoulders, absorbing Natural Energy with all their might.
"Sage Art: Evil Sealing Method."
"Sage Art: Five Elements Seal."
"Sage Art: Eight Trigrams Seal."
Three Sealing Techniques locked his entire body, firmly trapping the Jashin energy in a corner of his being.
Aoki Yoru's breathing immediately steadied, and the expression of pain on his face gradually eased.
"Alright, we are heading back. If the Great Toad Sage wakes up, we will ask for a solution." With that, they vanished from the spot before Jiraiya could speak.
"Lord Jiraiya, is Brother Yoru better?"
Jiraiya looked down; the little girl was looking at him with expectation.
He smiled, ruffled the little girl's red hair, and said gently, "At the very least, it's been suppressed. He won't be in any immediate danger."
He then looked up at the dark night sky with a serious expression. "I will take you to find Tsunade. She is a master of medical ninjutsu; she will have a way to solve this."