LRAB Chapter 133 Farewell, Zhang Village
Chapter 133 Farewell, Zhang Village
Chapter 133 Farewell, Returning to the Village
The next morning, as dawn broke.
Yuan Tuoye stood silently on the high ground at the entrance of the village, watching the two familiar figures, one big and one small, walk further and further away along the road until they disappeared into the horizon shrouded in the morning mist.
Meanwhile, in another direction, in a room filled with the smell of alcohol, Jiraiya lay sprawled on a makeshift bed, snoring loudly, fast asleep.
He seemed to be dreaming about something, and subconsciously reached out to scratch his inner thigh, completely unaware that the person he was thinking about had already quietly left with the little girl Jingyin, resolutely embarking on a new journey of wandering the world that she had chosen herself.
The morning chill had not yet completely faded, and the heavy feeling of a hangover was still pulling at Jiraiya's consciousness.
However, when Yuan Tuoye's calm words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, he was instantly awakened, and the remaining sleepiness was completely washed away by shock.
"What?! You said Tsunade left with Shizune?!" Jiraiya sat up abruptly, his eyes wide, as if trying to find even the slightest trace of a joke on Minamoto no Takuya's face.
Sunlight streamed through the window, making the shock on his face stand out clearly.
Gen Takuno nodded, his expression calm: "Yes, Jiraiya-sama. After Tsunade-sama entrusted the well-preserved scroll to me, she prepared to depart."
He paused for a moment, his tone tinged with helplessness, "Before she left, she specifically told me not to tell you where she went."
As he spoke, Gen Takuno glanced at Jiraiya almost imperceptibly.
There was no blame in those eyes, but they seemed to silently state a fact: if you hadn't been drunk all day long, how could you have missed parting with such an important person?
"She told you not to tell her—and you really didn't say a word?" Jiraiya couldn't help but complain in a low voice, but the helplessness in his tone far outweighed his true anger.
In the end, he just let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumped slightly, and the sharp aura he had when he first woke up instantly dissipated.
He gazed at the rising sun outside the window, his eyes becoming distant and wistful.
He had a premonition in his heart that he would leave.
He had tried to persuade her to stay, but each attempt was like hitting a silent wall, and he could only turn back in vain.
Perhaps, for Tsunade, leaving Konoha, which carries countless painful memories, and getting rid of those heavy past burdens is the only way to truly find liberation.
Lost in thought, Jiraiya's gaze slowly shifted to Minamoto Takuya standing to the side.
His voice lowered, carrying a sense of farewell: "Takuno boy, it seems—we should say goodbye here as well."
"Hmm?" Genji Takuno raised an eyebrow, not showing much surprise at the news. "Jiraiya-sama, you're not planning to go back to the village either?"
He was already well aware of the legendary Sannin's carefree personality.
My return to Konoha this time is only because the village has suddenly suffered a great disaster.
Now that the storm has passed, Minato Namikaze, the habitually wandering master, naturally wants to return to his free and unrestrained life, traversing the ninja world in search of "inspiration" for his writing.
Thinking about it this way, the book that is said to be popular throughout the ninja world, "Icha Icha Paradise," is probably about to be published, right?
Yuan Tuoye secretly made a note of it, intending to find it and read it in the future to see what kind of magic it possessed that could make someone like Hatake Kakashi so deeply infatuated.
"Yeah, I'm not going back." Jiraiya waved his hand readily, his movements carrying his usual nonchalant air. "I already said goodbye to Minato before I left."
"Understood." Yuan Tuoye nodded knowingly.
Since the Fourth Hokage was already aware of the situation and had given his consent, he, as an observer, naturally wouldn't say anything more.
"Thank you for taking care of me these past few days, Jiraiya-sama." He nodded slightly, expressing his due gratitude.
"Ha! Don't be so polite!" Jiraiya burst into laughter, his hearty laughter sounding somewhat abrupt in the quiet room. "Don't try to fool me, kid! You've probably talked about me behind my back countless times, haven't you? Do you think I'm both annoying and unreliable?"
Far from feeling guilty, he puffed out his chest, beaming with pride, "That's right! This is who I am, and I have no intention of changing it in this lifetime!"
Yuan Tuoye stared blankly at his arrogant and proud demeanor, speechless for a moment, feeling a surge of powerlessness.
"Alright, alright!" Jiraiya stopped laughing and deftly slung the iconic giant scroll onto his broad back. "No need to go to the trouble of delivering it. As for you, you should hurry back to Konoha. There's a lot to do in rebuilding the village, and you can help Minato if you go back."
As he spoke, he strode away into the distance, bathed in the golden morning light streaming through the door. After a few steps, without turning back, he simply raised his arm forcefully behind him as a final farewell.
Yuan Tuoye watched the receding figure bathed in the morning sun and slowly raised his arm to wave.
As Jiraiya's figure finally disappeared from sight, he shook his head slightly, realizing he was alone again.
Without further thought, Yuan Tuoye composed himself, determined his direction, and with a flash, flew towards Konoha Village, leaving the morning streets silent once more.
In Konoha, the Hokage's office was shrouded in a slightly weary silence.
Gen Takuno had just finished a detailed report, presenting the search for Tsunade over the past few days and all the twists and turns to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, in great detail.
Behind the desk, Minato Namikaze listened quietly to the entire process. On his young and handsome face, the signature warm smile was replaced by a heavy worry.
He leaned back slightly in his chair, his gaze fixed on the outline of Konoha outside the window, finally settling into a long sigh, a sigh filled with complex and indescribable emotions: "Alas—Tsunade-senpai—even now, she still hasn't been able to get over that incident—"
The voice echoed softly in the quiet room, carrying a sense of powerlessness in the face of the fate of the older generation.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Yuan Tuoye remained silent as usual, offering no response.
Even without memories of his past life, as a high-ranking member of the Dark Division, he naturally had heard of those long-buried stories that could be considered village secrets.
Minato Namikaze shook his head, his movements somewhat weak, as if trying to shake off the thoughts swirling in his mind. He refocused his gaze on Takuno Minamoto before him, his golden hair shimmering in the glow of the setting sun.
At that moment, a clear sense of relief welled up in his heart, a relief that Gen Takuno was a member of Konoha and his comrade.
This sense of relief is by no means unfounded.
As someone who had experienced war, he understood better than anyone what a well-developed and efficient medical system meant on a battlefield where blood and flesh flew.
It can turn the tide of life and death, stabilize morale, and is a crucial weight on the scales of war.
Gen Takuno was the one who miraculously single-handedly supported the Konoha medical team after Tsunade's departure, becoming an indispensable pillar of the wartime medical system.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a pillar of strength on the medical battlefield.
If Genjiro knew the sense of relief the Fourth Generation felt at this moment, he probably wouldn't feel the slightest bit ashamed.
Although his actions were indeed the catalyst for this great war that swept through the ninja world, a deeper understanding told him that what he did was merely to ignite something that was destined to erupt, or even to trigger it prematurely.
Moreover, his enormous efforts greatly shortened the war's pace and brought the catastrophe to an end much earlier than planned.
More importantly, it was his series of actions that powerfully changed the course of the war, ultimately tipping the scales of victory in Konoha's favor.
Looking back, without him, even with the unparalleled bravery of Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, Konoha would have had to pay a far greater and unbearable price to win this victory, and the glory of the victory would have been much dimmer.
After considering all this, Yuan Tuoye felt that it was only natural for him to accept the gratitude and recognition from the village, and he had no guilt whatsoever.
Minato Namikaze inquired about the hardships of Takuno's journey, his words filled with genuine concern.
He actually wanted to have a longer chat with this hardworking and accomplished senior, to exchange ideas, whether it was to review the past or to look forward to the future.
However, reality is cold. The war has only been over for a short time. Although the smoke of battle has cleared, the trivial matters and heavy responsibilities left behind are piling up like mountains on the Hokage's desk, leaving him no chance to catch his breath.
Before there was the grand and necessary celebration ceremony, after the tense and delicate negotiations with Kumogakure, and then Minamoto no Takuno embarked on a long journey with Jiraiya to find Tsunade—all of these things prevented the busy Minato Namikaze from finding a suitable opportunity to talk to Minamoto no Takuno in detail.
He shook his head slightly again, pulled himself out of his thoughts, and calmly examined the current situation of Konoha.
Compared to the devastating period following the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage, when everything was in ruins and turmoil, the current situation suddenly seems clearer.
The key lies in the fact that Konoha defeated the main force of Kumogakure with a fair and square army!
This was an undisputed and uncompromising victory.
On the other hand, Iwagakure chose to retreat on its own, thus avoiding a direct confrontation. However, it was clear to everyone that the fear and retreat behind that "voluntary withdrawal" was undoubtedly a result of being intimidated by the strength and sharpness displayed by Konoha.
The powerful aftershocks of this battlefield victory are quietly influencing every aspect of Konoha.
The most direct manifestation of this is that the mission resources that represented the economic lifeline and were seized by Kumogakure and Iwagakure during the war are now flowing back to Konoha like fish sensing a safe haven.
The people who make the promises—the wealthy and influential businessmen—have extremely simple and pragmatic mindsets.
The most fundamental need when hiring ninjas to carry out missions is to ensure their safety and security.
The reason for choosing either Kumogakure or Iwagakure was purely because Konoha was considered to be in a precarious state and unfit for great responsibilities.
Now that Konoha has risen from the ashes and proven its resilience and strength with a resounding victory that echoes throughout the ninja world, people naturally turn their attention back to Konoha without hesitation.
There is no superfluous nostalgia or sentimentality here; what drives all of this is the clear and unambiguous word "interest."
After weighing these realities, Minato Namikaze briefly pondered before raising his head and looking at Takuno Gen with gentle eyes.
"Senior," Minato's tone was natural and friendly, carrying the sincerity one would show to a senior and a meritorious person, "Please be sure to come to my house for dinner after work today."
Yuan Tuoye was visibly taken aback upon hearing this sudden invitation.
The Hokage's invitation to a family dinner is of extraordinary significance.
But faced with the suggestion of this young but highly respected Hokage, he found it difficult to refuse and nodded in agreement: "————Okay."
Seeing that his senior had agreed, Minato Namikaze smiled gently and said considerately, "Well then, senior, you've just returned to the village after a long journey, so please go home and rest well today."
He did not immediately send the weary Gen Takuno back to the dauntless intelligence work of the Dark Division, or to the urgent matters of the sealing squad regarding magical techniques.
Yuan Tuoye stretched and said, "Well then, Hokage-sama, see you later. I look forward to your cooking."
After saying that, he disappeared from the Hokage's office.
Minato Namikaze smiled, thinking about how he should buy more groceries to treat the other person after get off work.
Upon entering his home, Gen Takuno did not go to rest as Minato Namikaze had suggested.
His mind was completely occupied by the scrolls given to him by Tsunade. With anticipation, he carefully selected the two scrolls that exuded a unique aura and solemnly unrolled them.
His gaze swept quickly across the words on the scroll, and the expression on his face was gradually replaced by a bright smile.
As he expected, the scroll contained the S-rank forbidden medical techniques passed down by Tsunade: Yin Seal, Hundred Healings Technique, and Creation Regeneration.
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The fact that he acquired these three secret techniques through legitimate means means that he can openly and honestly begin to study them diligently.
Yuan Tuoye calmed his mind and carefully studied the essence of these three forbidden techniques.
With his profound foundation in sealing techniques and extraordinary comprehension, he quickly grasped the core essence.
In particular, the Yin Seal was thoroughly analyzed. It was a sophisticated and unique sealing technique, and its principles and structure were almost entirely clear to him. Mastering it was by no means difficult.
As for the other two techniques, they form a more complex combination.
Although Creation and Regeneration and the Hundred Healings Technique are closely related, they can be regarded as two related yet independent forbidden techniques in essence.
The core secret of creation and regeneration lies in unlocking the Yin Seal, which contains a vast amount of chakra accumulated like a deep pool. This energy strongly stimulates and accelerates cell division in the body, thereby achieving regeneration at a speed far exceeding the norm.
However, this regeneration mechanism has a significant drawback: it is "uncontrollable" during operation, often accompanied by a huge waste of chakra, and more seriously, it indiscriminately squeezes the life potential of all cells.
The Hundred Healings Technique leans more towards a combat enhancement method.
It allows the user to instantly unleash the massive amount of chakra accumulated within the seal, thereby greatly enhancing the power, speed, and even scale of ninjutsu, resulting in an all-around boost to combat strength.