GSiN: Ch. 184

A short while later, Aoi strutted confidently toward the main entrance of the tower, with two subordinates following closely behind.

The two guards immediately bowed their heads respectfully upon seeing her. "You've arrived, Lady Aoi."

After hearing the two gatekeepers greet him, Jiraiya mimicked Aoi's aloof manner as he remembered it, giving a faint nod.

"Is the leader inside?"

"Yes."

One of the Taki ninja answered respectfully, and on closer look, his face even seemed slightly flushed.

After receiving the guard's confirmation, Jiraiya didn't say anything more. Instead, he gave a stylish flick of his long blue hair and, together with Yahiko and Konan, walked straight in.

Once safely inside the tall tower, he secretly let out a sigh. It looked like this Aoi had pretty high status here, though unfortunately, she was most likely a traitor.

Yahiko and Konan followed closely behind, warily observing their surroundings.

After climbing the spiral staircase all the way up, Jiraiya looked at the Taki symbol carved on the wooden door before him and knocked.

Knock knock knock!

"Cough... come in."

A somewhat weak-sounding middle-aged voice came from inside.

The three of them entered the office of Taki's leader. The interior was very modest, most of the furnishings being old.

Sōwa was sitting alone on a tatami mat, absorbed in reading a scroll. Looking up at them, he said, "So it's you. What brings you here?"

Jiraiya took a few steps forward without hesitation and plopped himself down. Given his current disguised appearance, his posture looked rather unrefined, almost crude.

"Forgive me, Sōwa-sama. Actually, I'm a ninja from Konoha. The reason I came to you like this... well, circumstances left me no choice."

As soon as he finished speaking, he released the Transformation Jutsu.

Before Sōwa's eyes, the blue-haired bespectacled beauty suddenly turned into a white-haired man who looked like he'd spent too much time in hot springs. His eyes widened in shock.

Jiraiya hurriedly pulled out a Konoha forehead protector from his robes and showed it to him. "Don't be alarmed. I told you, there was a reason I had to come like this. Besides, I'm one of the Sannin, Jiraiya. You've heard of me, right?"

Sōwa's gaze lingered on the forehead protector for a moment, then carefully examined Jiraiya's face.

"You're saying you're Jiraiya?"

"That's right. You've got to believe me. If not, I can summon a talking toad to prove it to you, how about that?"

"That... actually won't be necessary."

Sōwa waved a hand, though his eyes subconsciously drifted toward a bookshelf in the corner of the room. Then, very abruptly, he said, "Aki's grades at the Ninja Academy weren't very good, were they?"

Jiraiya froze for a moment, but unconsciously followed up with the next line: "But even so, he still managed to land a job interview at a well-known hot spring inn in the Land of Hot Water..."

Halfway through the sentence, he exclaimed in a low voice: "That line... could it be that you...?"

"You really are Jiraiya-sama! Cough, cough, this is just... cough... amazing!"

After exchanging these two lines from the book, Sōwa reacted with unexpected excitement. He immediately stood up, grabbed Jiraiya's hands tightly, and shook them vigorously.

His expression was exactly like a certain kid from Iwa meeting his favorite celebrity.

Behind them, Yahiko and Konan exchanged glances.

Poof! Poof!

Two bursts of smoke dissipated, and they also released their Transformation Jutsu, returning to their original appearances.

Sōwa merely gave them a casual glance and then paid them no more attention. He strode quickly to the bookshelf in the corner of the room, carefully pulled out a beautifully packaged book, and held it with both hands as he offered it to Jiraiya.

"Please, you must sign this for me!"

"Of course."

Jiraiya accepted the book with both hands, moving with great solemnity, as if what he was receiving wasn't just an ordinary book, but some vital intelligence document.

"So you are one of my readers, huh?" he said with a grin.

"That's right! I've read every one of your works, they're treasures of the shinobi world!"

Curious, Konan and Yahiko leaned in to take a look. On the cover of the book, several large characters were written:

"Icha Icha: First Volume - Land of Hot Water Arc."

Jiraiya hadn't expected to run into one of his fans here of all places. Judging from the man's thin frame, he probably spent way too much time with these books, rewarded a little too much by their contents.

Ah, curse his damned talent.

Taking the pen from Sōwa, he scrawled across the title page of this limited-edition collector's volume:

"For my dear friend Kazama Sōwa - Written by Jiraiya himself."

Clutching his treasured copy again, Sōwa gazed at the signature. His pale face, wan from illness, flushed with color.

With utmost care, he returned the book to its special spot on the bookshelf. He had already resolved that tonight he would reread the Land of Hot Water Arc from start to finish.

Konan nudged Yahiko lightly with her elbow and whispered, "What was that? Is it one of the books Jiraiya-sensei writes while traveling?"

Yahiko had heard some rumors, but before he could answer, Sōwa cut in enthusiastically, "Oh? You're Jiraiya-sama's companions, and yet you don't know about his great work, the Icha Icha series?"

"Icha Icha? What a strange title."

Konan tilted her head. She knew Jiraiya often wrote, but had never taken an interest in the contents, assuming it was just a personal hobby. She hadn't expected his books to be so popular, even the leader of a hidden village was a fan.

Suddenly, she felt like she'd been a rather unworthy student, knowing nothing about this side of her teacher. Thinking back, whenever Jiraiya went on missions, he always found excuses to slip away to "gather material." Now she realized, that must have been his way of seeking inspiration for writing.

And all the while, she had misunderstood him, assuming he was off carousing in shady establishments. How foolish she'd been.

Biting her lip slightly, she asked the Taki leader: "Excuse me... that book you mentioned just now, what's its main content? And where can one usually buy it?"

She decided that once this mission was over, she would definitely purchase a copy, to better understand her teacher's creative mind.

Hearing her words, Sōwa immediately launched into promotion mode: "The one I just showed you is actually the best-selling of his works. As for where to buy it, well, you can simply—"

"Wait! Wait!"

Sensing that things were heading in the wrong direction, Jiraiya hastily cut him off.

The sales pitch was interrupted. A trace of regret flashed across Sōwa's eyes. He composed himself and continued, "Then, Jiraiya-sama, why did you go to such lengths to infiltrate our village? And why disguise yourself as Aoi?"

Playtime was over. Jiraiya put away his smile and replied seriously, "We received word that Hanzō is colluding with your village's Sōto, with the intent of harming Taki. We feared that this conflict might spark a larger war, so I came personally, hoping to discuss countermeasures with you. However, as soon as I revealed my identity and intentions, I was intercepted by the kunoichi I had just transformed into. It seems she, too, must be one of his accomplices."

Sōwa furrowed his brows at these words. He fell silent for a moment before sighing, "So, he has truly chosen this path after all? Cough, cough..."

Yahiko spoke cautiously, "Perhaps... we could try reaching out to him. Maybe this war could be avoided."

Sōwa shook his head slightly, sat back down on the tatami, and after giving Yahiko a long look, said slowly, "You don't understand enough about who he really is."

Then he began telling Jiraiya and the others a story.

---

The beginning's forgotten, the end's forgotten, but roughly speaking, it all happened during the Second Great Ninja War.

At that time, the leader of Taki was the previous head of the Kazama clan, the father of Sōwa and Sōto.

Because Kumo had gained the upper hand against Iwa in their war, they were riding high on momentum and fell back on one of their favorite traditions, kidnapping children.

The Third Raikage dispatched an elite squad to infiltrate Taki, intending to seize the power of the Seven-Tails.

Such a brazen move naturally didn't go unnoticed. The one who discovered them was none other than the young, hot-blooded, and spirited Sōto. Enraged, he attacked on the spot, injuring the Kumo ninja who had taken the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki hostage, successfully rescuing the host. But Kumo's elite weren't the sort to give up easily. They immediately turned their infiltration into an open assault, determined to take the jinchūriki by force.

Against the elite of one of the Five Great Nations, a small village like Taki stood no chance. Worse still, Kumo ninjas specialized in Lightning Release, which directly countered Taki's Water Release techniques, making the situation all the more dire.

At this critical moment, the village leader showed the decisiveness of one who bore the fate of his people. He resolutely produced the Kazama clan's secret liquid, passed down through generations: the "Hero Water."

But the Taki leader was already advanced in years, and his body was not what it once had been. Even worse, in his younger days, he had already consumed the Hero Water once to save the village.

Back then, the liquid's power had indeed enabled him to resolve the crisis, but the price was steep. His life force was severely drained, and his health deteriorated year after year.

Now, to drink the Hero Water again, though not certain, it was at least ninety percent likely that it would consume the last of his life.

Everyone understood: in such a desperate hour, the best option was for one of his two sons to drink the Hero Water and fight off Kumo's ninjas.

After all, the Hero Water multiplied the drinker's chakra. A weakling would only become a stronger weakling, but in skilled hands it could tip the scales.

Yet when Sōto's gaze fell on the Hero Water in his father's hands, he hesitated.

In terms of talent and strength, he far surpassed Sōwa. But if he drank that potion, his path as a ninja would end there.

His father was a living example: once a man whose strength rivaled the jonin of the Great Nations, after drinking the Hero Water, his power was reduced to a mere fraction.

That was the meaning of the Hero Water, the cost of becoming a hero.

Unwilling to let his future be shackled, yet desperate to protect his father and the village, these two opposing desires tangled endlessly within Sōto's heart. His breathing grew heavy, and sweat dampened his palms.

Just as he wavered in indecision, a firm and steady voice broke the silence.

"Let me do it, Father. Sōto's talent as a ninja is far greater than mine. His future should not end here."

There was not the slightest trace of hesitation or fear on Sōwa's face. In his eyes, whether it was the natural duty of an elder brother to protect his younger sibling, or for the sake of Taki's future, drinking the Hero Water was a burden he was duty-bound to bear.

The Taki leader felt deeply gratified by his eldest son's resolve. Even if he were to fall in battle that day, Taki would not be left to decline.

"Hahaha! When did I ever say I would let you take my place? Don't underestimate me!"

To everyone's astonishment, the leader drank the small vial of Hero Water in a single gulp.

In an instant, his chakra erupted. Empowered by the Hero Water, he became a raging beast, leading the ninjas of Taki in a fierce counterattack against the Kumo elite.

With his fearless charge at the front, Taki's ninjas were inspired. They rallied, drove back the invaders, and safeguarded both their village and the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki.

But the side effects of the Hero Water soon took hold. The leader's life force was swiftly consumed, eroded by the potion's power.

That slim chance of survival did not smile upon this man.

In the ruins, Taki's ninjas and civilians gathered around, silently watching their leader. Their faces were full of grief. His breathing was labored and rapid, but with the last of his strength, he pressed a scroll into Sōwa's hands.

"After my death... Taki will be entrusted to you."

He wanted to lift his hands once more, to pat his sons on their shoulders and give them his final encouragement. But his body was spent. His arms fell helplessly in midair.

And so, Sōwa inherited the role of Taki's leader from his father's hands.

Yet Sōto remained haunted.

He could not accept that a moment's hesitation had cost him the position of leader. He refused to admit that it was his own weakness and fear that had made him lose his chance.

"Father and Brother must have planned this all along," resentment and bitterness filled his heart. "They wanted the leadership to go to him. Even though my talent and strength are far superior!"

With such thoughts festering, he launched a rebellion within Taki, seeking to reclaim the position he believed should have been his.

If it were only about the title itself, Sōwa would have gladly yielded, after all, Sōto was his brother.

But the real problem was that Sōto was an unrepentant expansionist. He believed that with the Seven-Tails, Taki could rise to sit among the Five Great Nations, becoming the "Sixth Great Village."

How dangerous such ambition was, one need only look at how Hanzō was beaten down in the Second Great Ninja War.

Thus, to prevent his brother from dragging Taki into ruin, Sōwa had no choice but to fight him.

The outcome was as expected: he was no match for Sōto.

But there was one thing he could rely on, the Hero Water.

When heartfelt persuasion failed, he followed in his father's footsteps and drank it, once more staking everything to save Taki's future.

With his chakra multiplied dozens of times over, his raw strength overwhelming, he finally defeated Sōto, driving him to his knees.

But when the moment came to strike the killing blow, Sōwa hesitated. He asked, "Can we not reconcile?"

"At a time like this... are you joking with me?"

And so, Sōto's life was ruined by the Hero Water. Everything he wanted, everything he believed he deserved, all turned to nothing.