The Land of Hot Water also bordered the Land of Fire. It had a beautiful environment, abundant resources, and was famous throughout the ninja world for its natural hot springs.
Jokichi was resting and eating in a hot spring tavern in a small town near the Land of Hot Water's border with the Land of Grass.
Unexpectedly, a burly, broad-shouldered man with long white hair, wearing red clothes and a forehead protector with the kanji for "Oil", walked in with a kid.
And that kid.
That blond hair, azure eyes, six whisker marks by his mouth, and that conspicuous poop-yellow tracksuit.
Who else could it be but Naruto?
When he saw these two come in, the sake Jokichi had just drunk spurted right out.
The world was so big, he hadn't expected to encounter Jiraiya so quickly, who was out gathering intel and bringing Naruto along to train.
Jokichi's action drew the attention of the others in the tavern.
Naturally, Jiraiya and Naruto were no exception.
He glanced over at Jokichi's direction, then pinched his chin, pondering slightly for a moment, and revealed a smile as he walked over.
"Let's go sit over there."
"Eh, aren't there still plenty of empty seats?" Naruto asked.
But Jiraiya ignored him.
Seeing this, Naruto grumbled a couple of times and followed him over.
"Bro, mind if we share a drink?" Jiraiya asked when he reached Jokichi's table.
However, despite phrasing it as a question, he sat down next to him, acting completely familiar.
"..."
Jokichi was speechless.
Could I really kick you up from there?
He wiped the spilled sake off his collar, then gestured to Jiraiya. "Please make yourself comfortable."
"Thanks!"
Jiraiya thanked him, still acting familiar, and then called the waiter over to order a couple of dishes and drinks.
Naruto only then carelessly sat down opposite him.
Jokichi originally wanted to ask how Naruto's training progress was going.
But because he was in his Yato disguise, the two parties didn't know each other, so it was awkward to strike up a conversation. He could only bury his head and eat.
"Say, bro..." Jiraiya suddenly asked. "When you saw us come in earlier, you seemed very surprised. Do you know me?"
"Of course I know you!"
Jokichi set down his bowl and chopsticks, reached his hand into his robe, pretending to fumble for something, but actually pulled "Innocent Boy" out from the system space.
"Aren't you the author of 'Make-Out Paradise'..." Jokichi handed "Innocent Boy" over. "Because I waited too long for your new work, I tried writing a book myself, and had a publisher print a copy. What do you think of it?"
"Oh oh, then I must definitely take a good look."
Jiraiya took the book and casually flipped through a few pages. The content inside was indeed of the same genre as "Make-Out Paradise", but the key point was.
This person casually tried writing a book and wrote it this well?
For a fleeting moment, Jiraiya felt jealous of Jokichi.
However.
Is this guy really just a fan of my books?
While reading the book's content, Jiraiya occasionally let out a smile that all men understand, chuckling as he critiqued it.
Meanwhile, he was inconspicuously sizing up Jokichi.
Handsome face, slender figure, wearing a black kimono. A birdcage covered with a black cloth sat on the edge of the table, and a long sword rested beside his chair.
His expression was somewhat casual, his not-too-long hair carelessly tied in the back. He looked somewhat lackadaisical and unkempt.
Yet, his entire person exuded an aura of calm and composure.
Generally speaking, knowing he was the author of "Make-Out Paradise", one should also know his other identity as one of the Sannin.
If it was someone from an ordinary profession, that would be one thing.
But this person's attire and aura didn't seem like those of an ordinary person. It was impossible for him not to know what the legendary Sannin meant.
But even knowing he was one of the legendary Sannin, he still remained calm and collected, his conversation neither servile nor overbearing.
This was fundamentally different from those ninjas and ronin who, upon recognizing his identity, became incredibly respectful, acting as if they had met some great VIP.
"This young man is very formidable!"
Jiraiya made a silent evaluation in his heart, but outwardly assumed the posture of a fellow enthusiast and senior, critiquing the book.
And Jokichi also engaged in conversation with him, feigning a carefree and casual personality.
This world lacked entertainment. Therefore, "Make-Out Paradise", which was merely a borderline melodramatic romance novel, he had also finished reading.
Naturally, "Innocent Boy" was no exception.
The two discussed some of the beauties and corresponding scenes in the book.
Jokichi even brought up some ideas from web novels in his past life.
After hearing them, Jiraiya was suddenly enlightened, treating him as a heavenly genius.
The "bro" from his mouth at the beginning turned into "Yato-sensei", leaving Naruto watching from the side with black lines dropping down his head in speechlessness.
The pleasant chat time passed quickly.
After finishing his meal, Jokichi bid farewell to Jiraiya and left.
The Land of Hot Water was not a large territory.
If he got into a battle with a Jinchuriki in Takigakure, it might attract these two over.
He didn't want to fight Jiraiya, so he wanted to resolve the matter while they still hadn't ventured deep into the Land of Hot Water.
Ideally, he could resolve it peacefully.
On the other side.
Jiraiya watched the direction Jokichi left in, letting out a sigh of admiration. "That's a truly interesting young man. It's been a long time since I've met such a formidable guy."
"Formidable?" Naruto rolled his eyes, saying grumpily, "Becoming a pervert like you at such a young age, how strong could he possibly be!"
"Haha..."
Jiraiya glanced at Naruto and laughed heartily. "It's precisely because he's so perverted at such a young age that he's formidable. You're still too young; you don't understand the power of perversion."
"Pfft, you're just making things up. I don't believe you. Hurry up and finish eating, then guide my training."
"Sigh, what a boring guy."
"Shut up!"
...
On the other side, Jokichi sped up his journey, arriving at a giant waterfall as the full moon rose.
Through the scouter's perception, deep inside this waterfall, there was a gorge with a massive amount of chakra reactions.
One of them was particularly vast, even stronger than Saiken.
"Looks like this is it."
Jokichi smiled slightly and plunged headfirst into the waterfall.
Takigakure was a small hidden village that advocated peace. The entire village didn't have many ninjas, yet it had rarely been invaded by other villages.
The reason was that the village's location was too secret, hidden behind a giant cliff waterfall.
Furthermore, there was a very large tree in their village, which produced a bottle of sap every 100 years.
The people of Takigakure called this water "Hero Water".
Drinking just one mouthful could increase a person's chakra by more than ten times.
However, the corresponding price was a shortened lifespan, or even direct death.
They would only drink the Hero Water during wars, when the village needed them, using their lives to protect the village.
Therefore, this water was called Hero Water.
Jokichi's goal this time wasn't just the Seven-Tails' chakra, but also the Hero Water and the giant tree that produced it.
Passing through the waterfall, Jokichi entered a pitch-black cave filled with many stalactites.
Following it inward.
He reached the end.
There were a few pools of water.
Jokichi didn't hesitate, jumping directly into the pool.
At the bottom of the pool was a passage leading to the unknown. Following the passage, he swam forward until he saw moonlight shining down from above, only then surfacing.
A massive tree, requiring about ten people to embrace, nearly a hundred meters tall, with a canopy almost covering the entire lake, grew in the center of the lake.
And on the shores surrounding the lake sat small wooden cabins.