Chapter 174: Orochimaru... Help Me
Dana had expected Kakuzu to return quickly, but he hadn't expected him to be this quick. It had only been two weeks since he had left in a hurry. Considering the travel time, the Fire Temple had probably only taken him three days.
As the saying goes, a horse that gets to eat grass is a horse that runs fast.
It was the same tavern on the outskirts of the village.
Dana, having received the message, met him there. But this time, the waiter seemed to recognize the two of them. He had remembered the guy who had just sat there and not ordered anything last time, so this time, he didn't even bring them any free tea. He just waited for them to order.
Compared to two weeks ago, Kakuzu looked much more travel-worn, but his eyes were brighter, with the glint of money.
Dana, as always, was generous and had brought the chest of money with him. It was sitting on the floor next to them.
Kakuzu tore his eyes away from it and handed him a scroll.
Dana unrolled it. It was a handwritten copy of the training method for the "Earth Release: Tectonic Shift." It was indeed a very complex jutsu. He didn't know much about Earth Release, so he handed it to one of his subordinates to verify its authenticity. But he didn't hesitate with the payment. He just threw the chest to Kakuzu.
This time, he was prepared. He caught the heavy chest without stumbling and then, peeking into a small crack, he looked at its contents as if it were a rare beauty, a smile spreading across his face.
It was not a ferocious smile, but one of pure, innocent joy.
"By the way," he said, "there's this too." He handed Dana a box. It was quite large and heavy.
Dana opened it, and after just a peek, he quickly closed it again, so that the other patrons wouldn't see.
"What is this?" he said with a sigh.
"Didn't you say you wanted the information to be as complete as possible?" he said. "This is the head of the Fire Temple's abbot. The Cloud should have a way to get some useful information from it."
Dana pinched the bridge of his nose and handed the box to his subordinate. He could have accepted a corpse, but just a head, in a box... it was a bit strange.
"You could have just sealed the whole body in a scroll. Why just the head, and in a box?"
"I traded the body for money," he said. "The abbot had a 7 million Ryō bounty on him. I had to fight the exchange for this head. And sealing scrolls are not cheap."
Dana was speechless.
A short while later, his subordinate nodded at him, signaling that the jutsu was real.
The transaction was complete.
And then, he just stared at Kakuzu, and Kakuzu just stared back.
"Is there anything else?" Dana finally said. "I've already paid you."
"Isn't this a tavern?" he said. "I thought you were going to buy me a meal."
Dana opened his mouth, then just said, "Find a place to eat yourself."
Kakuzu just shrugged. He had thought he could save a little money.
After he had left, Dana also left the tavern.
Just as I thought, the waiter thought to himself. Those two didn't order anything again. Good thing I didn't give them any free tea.
The next day, Dana gave the "Tectonic Shift" to the research department and had them gather the Earth Release specialists to figure out its principles and to modify it for infrastructure. He also recommended that Hiroto participate, to prevent him from slacking off in the village.
Since his return, the "Crimson Fortress of the Cloud" had gone back to his life of catching cats and dogs. He would only take the easy missions and spent the rest of his time in class. The specialized ninja school had already started, but it didn't have a fixed location. Most of the time, it just used the Ninja Academy's facilities. Dana had the title of "taijutsu instructor" but had never taught a single class.
Hiroto had recently become obsessed with reading. The "nerd-type" ninja had declared that "learning makes me happy, and it also makes me money."
The teachers at the specialized school were not fixed, but they were all the most elite ninja in their respective fields, and what they taught was invaluable. Not just the young ninja like Hiroto, but even some of the adult ninja would often sit in on the classes.
But Dana felt that Hiroto was slacking off a bit too much. He had to be pushed. So he had him participate in the "Tectonic Shift" research, hoping for some early results.
Also, a portion of the first batch of chakra metal from the Eastern Archipelago had already been made into weapons and was ready to be distributed to the village's elite at the opportune moment. The rest was being studied by a temporary research team formed by the research department and United Iron & Steel, to develop new applications.
He had heard that Grandpa Yoshitoki was very interested in this, though he wasn't sure why, since he had always specialized in medical ninjutsu and biotechnology.
As for the chakra metal weapons, they would be given to the ANBU first, as they had a high level of secrecy. It was still not a good time to be flaunting the fact that the Cloud had become a chakra metal nouveau riche.
Of course, he had also applied for a batch of them for his own "Special Strategy Division."
He had been a little less busy lately. He was thinking of arranging a day to go and teach a class at the specialized school.
A taijutsu class. The topic would be: "How to Deal with High-Speed Taijutsu Ninja." Everyone would love that.
Konoha, Heroes' Cemetery
Countless tombstones stood on the green grass. The Heroes' Cemetery had been proposed by the Second Hokage, to commemorate the ninja who had sacrificed themselves for the village. Some had died on missions, some in war. In the very center, on a new, massive tombstone, were many names, and at the very top, one was written much larger than the others.
The tall figure of Jiraiya stood before it, his expression complex.
"Sensei," he murmured, "I'm back."
He took out a flask of sake and two cups. He filled them both, placed one on the tomb, and held the other in his hand. He clinked them together, but he could not bring himself to drink.
Orochimaru stood in the distance, watching him, silent.
In the end, he poured the sake on the grave, put his hands together, and prayed. After a long moment, he said, his voice low, "Hey, Orochimaru, though I have no right to say anything, I still have to ask. That night... what were you doing?"
"In the lab," he said after a moment of silence. "I didn't realize it would be such a big deal. An attack on Konoha... I never even thought of it. I just thought it was a small commotion that would quickly die down. By the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late."
"I believe you," Jiraiya said after a moment.
"...Thank you."
He was telling the truth. But after the "Night of the Purple Moon," no one had believed him. Jiraiya was the first.
"Maybe I am, as Elder Homura said, a bastard," Jiraiya said, looking at him, his voice serious. "I have failed my teacher's training. But I can't make the same mistake twice. Orochimaru... help me."