Jiraiya stayed behind in the Land of Rain for Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, leaving his disciple Minato Namikaze alone in Konoha.
After Jiraiya finally returned, instead of shouldering responsibility, he ran around the world "searching for inspiration."
Not long after that, Orochimaru defected—so Jiraiya went chasing Orochimaru again.
As a teacher, he wasn't there when his disciple became Hokage.
He wasn't there when his disciple died.
He wasn't there when his disciple's orphan was humiliated and ostracized in the village.
And when he finally met Nagato—who had already become Pain—he actually told him to give up?
What a joke. That's the definition of standing on high ground and preaching morality without pain.
Think about it.
Someone breaks into your home.
Kills your father.
Kills your mother.
You survive alone, barely clinging to life.
You finally find two close friends.
Finally find a glimmer of hope.
You believe you can change this cannibalistic world—
And reality crushes that hope into dust.
Forced by your enemies, you personally kill your best friend.
Yet you don't lose yourself to blind rage.
Instead, you gather the tailed beasts, using overwhelming force to suppress the world and enforce peace.
That choice is not wrong. Not even a little.
But your teacher—
He wasn't there when you were in danger.
He didn't appear when you had no way out.
Yet when you finally choose your own way to protect peace, that's when he appears—just to tell you that you're wrong.
Forget Nagato impaling Jiraiya.
If it were Wen Lan, he'd skewer Jiraiya like lamb kebabs.
What's laughable is that Jiraiya died still clinging to his self-fabricated fantasy of peace.
Naruto only succeeded because of the protagonist's plot armor.
In reality, there are only two ways to bring peace to the ninja world:
First: Absolute military suppression—like Hashirama Senju.
Look at history.
While Hashirama was alive, who dared start a war?
The moment he died, the First Shinobi World War erupted.
Second: The emergence of an even greater enemy—one so powerful that the Five Great Nations are forced to unite just to survive.
That was the case in the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Only under these two extreme conditions can the ninja world gain temporary respite.
Imaginary peace is like a soap bubble—beautiful, fragile, and easily shattered.
So-called understanding and empathy mean nothing in front of a blade.
They are merely the cries of the powerless.
Nagato had witnessed too much life and death through the Rinnegan.
He understood better than anyone:
Peace without power is nothing but a castle in the air.
True peace is never achieved through preaching—it is built on absolute strength.
Nagato chose to use fear and pain to restrain war.
Cruel, yes—but it kept nations from acting rashly under deterrence.
Never persuade others to be kind when you haven't suffered their pain.
If you had lived my life—then you would understand my meals.
That night, everyone found a corner to rest.
The night was quiet.
Only insects chirped, and leaves rustled in the wind.
"Hmm…?"
Wen Lan, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes.
At the same time, Sanshiryoku, Kurenai, Anko, and Might Guy all sprang to their feet.
"Just ordinary bandits," Wen Lan said calmly, closing his eyes again.
The others relaxed slightly.
Sanshiryoku and the three immediately rushed into the forest.
Shouts and clashing sounds rang out briefly, startling the caravan—
—but it quickly ended.
Several days later, they finally arrived in the Land of Grass.
The wind carried the damp scent of soil.
Rolling hills stretched into the distance, faintly revealing the outline of a ninja village.
After bidding farewell, the caravan dispersed.
Wen Lan looked at the four of them.
"I should go too."
"We don't have anything urgent anyway. We'll come with you," Anko said, raising an eyebrow.
"No need," Wen Lan replied flatly. "You'd just be a liability. Goodbye."
With that, he turned and left.
"What the hell does he mean by that?!"
Anko kicked a roadside stone in irritation.
Kurenai and Guy, however, frowned.
They knew Wen Lan's strength all too well.
If he said it would be troublesome—then it was definitely a big problem.
Wen Lan soon arrived at a village surrounded by tall wooden walls.
Two Kusagakure ninja guards stood at the entrance, alert and wary.
One of them noticed the Konoha forehead protector on Wen Lan's left arm and frowned.
"Stop. What's your business?"
Wen Lan raised his head coldly.
"I am a Konoha ninja—Uchiha Wen Lan. I need to see your leader."
"Uchiha?!"
The Grass ninja's expression changed immediately. "Please wait."
He rushed into the village.
Moments later, hurried footsteps approached.
A middle-aged man wearing a brown cloak stepped out, his sharp gaze fixed on Wen Lan.
He wore a green hat marked with the character 'Grass'.
"I am the 'Kage' of Kusagakure. My name is—"
"Ha—"
Wen Lan sneered.
"A leader of a shabby little ninja village like yours thinks he's worthy of being called a Kage?"
The words were brutal—but accurate.
In this world, only the leaders of the Five Great Ninja Villages could be called Kage.
Others were merely village chiefs.
The Grass leader's face darkened instantly.
The air seemed to freeze.
The two guards unconsciously stepped back half a pace.
"What? Want to fight?"
Wen Lan narrowed his eyes. His black pupils turned red as the three tomoe appeared.
"…If your Kusagakure weren't so backward, you should know my name."
"Or do you think a bunch of grass-brained fools like you could kill me?"
The Grass leader's breathing hitched.
Grinding his teeth, he forced himself to speak.
"What business brings you to Kusagakure, Wen Lan sir?"
"I'm here to take my Konoha ally— a member of the Uzumaki clan—home."
"Uzumaki?"
The leader's pupils shrank. After a moment's silence, he said quietly,
"They did take refuge here during the war… but they left many years ago."
Wen Lan stared at him coldly.
"Trying to fool a three-year-old?"
"If I didn't have solid proof, would I be standing here?"
"You have two choices."
"First: bring her out obediently, and I leave with her."
"Second: I slaughter all of you—then take her anyway."
The Grass leader's forehead broke into cold sweat.
His fingers trembled, but he forced himself not to retreat.
"Wen Lan sir, aren't you being a little too arrogant—ugh!"
His pupils shrank violently.
Blood sprayed through his fingers as he clutched his neck—the sound of flesh being cut by a shuriken rang clear.
"I gave you a choice," Wen Lan said coldly, lowering his throwing hand.
"Don't think I won't touch you just because your village runs the abandoned-ninja prison for the Five Great Nations."
The leader's hands glowed with green chakra as he hastily used Palm Sage Technique, rapidly healing the wound.
Glaring at Wen Lan, he shouted,
"Wen Lan sir, don't go too far!"
"Kusagakure is jointly subordinate to the Five Great Nations.
If one attacks us, it's an attack on all four others!"
Kusagakure was known for researching foreign technology and diplomacy—knowing medical ninjutsu was nothing unusual.
"And if I kill all of you," Wen Lan replied calmly, raising his blade and pointing it at the leader,
"then there'll be no one left to say I did it."
"Or do you really think that so-called 'Box of Ultimate Bliss' can protect you?"
The leader's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
His entire body trembled.
Because he knew—
The Box of Ultimate Bliss was Kusagakure's highest secret.
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