Malphegor
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Ch. 57: The Stealth Spider's First Mission
🕑 Added 2024-08-28 23:24:49 +0000 UTCJiraiya's introduction, coupled with his exaggerated gestures, was somewhat impressive, but it was interrupted by an ill-timed burp.
"Urp!" his face reddened slightly. "Oops, excuse me."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, he scratched his head and extended a hand to help Kagami up from the ground.
"Sorry about that, kid. You okay?"
Kagami nodded, accepting the help. "Uh, no worries. I should be the one apologizing for being so careless."
"Haha, don't sweat it, kid. It takes more than a bump to bring down the great Jiraiya!" He struck another pose, grinning widely.
Kagami couldn't help but smile at the legendary ninja's antics.
Being treated with such respect by a child from the village made Jiraiya feel quite pleased with himself, and he burst into hearty laughter.
"Of course I am! Now, run along, kid. And remember, always keep your eyes open - you never know when you might run into greatness!"
But just as he was about to lower his head and compliment the polite child in front of him once more, he realized that there was no one around.
Jiraiya glanced around but couldn't find the kid anywhere. "Huh? Where'd he go?"
Reflecting on it, the child had instinctively recognized him as the Toad Sage upon seeing his face.
'How did that kid know I was the Toad Sage?' Jiraiya wondered. Although he was quite famous, it had been years since he last visited the village, and to be recognized by a child he'd never met right after returning was odd.
Could it be...
"Haha, I didn't expect that the name of Lord Jiraiya is still well-known in the village, even among the kids," Jiraiya said, pleased with himself as he walked away, pushing his doubts aside.
Meanwhile, around the corner of the bar, he was pressed tightly against the wall, his heart pounding.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
As Jiraiya's footsteps faded into the distance, he slowly peered around the corner. The street was empty now, save for a few early morning vendors setting up their stalls.
"That was close," Kagami muttered, sliding down the wall. "I can't believe Jiraiya's back. But why now?"
After falling earlier and suddenly seeing Jiraiya, he had been so shocked that he accidentally blurted out one of Jiraiya's sage titles.
This was a major mistake.
I'm just a kid, an ordinary resident. I shouldn't know things that other ordinary people don't know.
His head began to throb, a dull ache building behind his eyes. At the very least, I shouldn't let them know that I know things they think I don't know.
Suddenly, the pain intensified. "Ngh!" Kagami clutched his head, his vision blurring. He blinked hard, trying to focus.
The world around him seemed to shift, and he found himself surrounded by webs - countless, shimmering webs stretching as far as he could see.
"What's... happening?" he gasped, his eyes darting from web to web.
Each web seemed to show a different scene, like windows into other worlds or times. He reached out, his fingers passing through the nearest thread. As he touched it, a scene flickered to life before his eyes.
There was Orochimaru, his face twisted in pain and rage, blood seeping from a wound in his side. The Third Hokage stood before him. "Why, Orochimaru?" the old man demanded. "What have you done?"
But that wasn't right. Kagami had seen Orochimaru leave the village himself, and the Sannin hadn't been injured at all.
"Which is real?" he whispered as he pulled his hand off the web.
In another web, he saw Jiraiya, much younger, standing with Orochimaru and a blonde woman. They were laughing together, a team united.
The pain in his head grew stronger. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the visions to stop.
When he opened them again, he was back in the alley, the webs gone. His breathing was heavy, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
"These visions... they're getting more intense," Kagami murmured, slowly getting to his feet. "But why? And what do they mean?"
Shaking his head to clear it, Kagami focused on the present. Thankfully, Jiraiya had just had a drink and wasn't very alert.
Otherwise, he might have questioned how a small child in the village could recognize his face and even call him by that title.
In a normal situation, a ninja would likely suspect that such a child might be a spy infiltrating the village.
Thank goodness for Jiraiya's self-importance.
Normally, Jiraiya should be tracking Orochimaru and trying to bring him back.
But how did he know that? Another piece of knowledge that seemed to come from nowhere, like the scenes in the webs. Kagami frowned, trying to make sense of it all.
He rubbed his temples, feeling another headache coming on. He needed to focus on what he knew for certain.
In the current situation, Orochimaru had indeed defected from Konoha. This time his escape was deliberate and premeditated.
Unlike the scene he had seen in the web, where Orochimaru fled after being discovered and injured by the Third Hokage, this time Konoha was completely caught off guard by Orochimaru's escape.
Even Jiraiya wouldn't be able to track Orochimaru without sufficient information.
But knowing Jiraiya's loyalty to his old comrade, he would pursue Orochimaru to the ends of the earth, even if it meant chasing him until they met face to face.
Yet now, Jiraiya had unexpectedly returned to Konoha, unable to catch up with Orochimaru, which left Kagami puzzled.
To find out why Jiraiya had returned to the village, he had just taken a bold step by tossing one of his trained spiders onto Jiraiya.
This was a technique Kagami had developed to maximize the effectiveness of his Spider Vision ability, mainly for gathering intelligence on moving targets.
The weakness of Spider Vision was that it struggled to track moving targets effectively.
However, by placing a spider directly on the target, no matter how the target moved, as long as the spider didn't fall off, he could monitor the target's movements anytime, anywhere.
Kagami had researched extensively and finally selected a type of spider called the Stealth Spider.
It's the smallest spider in the world, measuring only 0.43 millimeters in length, with a strong vitality that allows it to survive up to two months without food or water.
Due to its lightweight and tiny body, the Stealth Spider is difficult to detect when attached to a target and hard to shake off.
To ensure the Stealth Spider could be quickly placed on a target, Kagami kept it on his wrist.
There's a tiny hollow in the wrist that is perfect for hiding the tiny spider, and it was small enough to hold just one.
Maintaining this spider on his wrist without it falling off or being accidentally crushed was challenging at first, and many Stealth Spiders died during the first month.
"Sorry, little guys," he whispered, remembering the fallen spiders.
However, Kagami had now mastered this technique, and the Stealth Spider could stay on his wrist without dying. With his ability to control spiders, he could easily place it on a target with a simple touch.
He had already tested this technique many times on his brother and his classmates.
But this was the first time he had targeted one of the Three Legendary Ninjas—Jiraiya. When the Sannin helped him up earlier, the Stealth Spider had already been placed on him.
Let's see where you're headed, Jiraiya.
---
After leaving the commercial street, Jiraiya headed straight to the Hokage's office.
Standing in front of the Hokage building, his expression suddenly became serious, and the signs of drunkenness disappeared instantly.
Even though he had gone to the commercial street for fun as soon as he returned to Konoha, he knew how to separate business from pleasure.
When it's time to drink, he drinks; when it's time to be serious, he's serious, Kagami observed through his spider's eyes. That's what makes him a true shinobi.
The gates to the Hokage's building were still closed, but Jiraiya had no intention of entering through the front door.
With a couple of quick leaps, he landed on the outer wall of the Hokage's office, then steadied himself on the ledge outside the window of the Hokage's room.
Tap, tap.
His feet landed softly on the ledge.
Inside, Hiruzen was engrossed in his work, the scratch of his pen on paper the only sound in the room.
Seeing that his teacher was still in good health and hadn't been too affected by Orochimaru's departure, Jiraiya smiled.
"Jiraiya." Even without turning around, Hiruzen had sensed the familiar presence outside the window.
Jiraiya hopped in through the window and waved at him. "Old man, you're still in pretty good shape, huh?"
Hiruzen, long accustomed to Jiraiya's antics, simply smiled and said, "So-so. What brings you back to the village?"
Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "I've gathered some intel in the Land of Water."
Hiruzen set down his pen, giving Jiraiya his full attention. "Go on."
"The spy you sent has been killed. The one who got him was a ninja from Kiri, Momochi Zabuza."
Hearing this, Hiruzen paused, a shadow crossing his face. The mission of a spy ninja is extremely dangerous, so dying at the hands of the enemy is to be expected.
'Rest in peace, Kumade,' Hiruzen thought silently.
"And there's one more thing... the Great Toad Sage's prophecy." Jiraiya continued, his voice low and grave.
