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In any village, the ninja world is clearly a society of inequality.
There are real differences in status. Ninjas of different statuses have completely different access to things. The pyramid-shaped organizational structure, from top to bottom, forms a completely inverted pyramid of information that can be accessed.
Given Haori's personality, it's hard to imagine him seeking something like "status." This has its pros and cons. The good thing is that he has gained the "freedom" of following his instincts. The bad thing is that he's often behind the curve.
The Land of Fire's Konoha Ninja Village. Strictly speaking, it's not a village. It's more like a medium-sized town. The number of ninjas alone is over 10,000. If you add in the civilians, the size would definitely be described as a village.
But since it's called a village, it's easy to put yourself in that mindset and really think of it as a village. In a village-level setting, the highest status you could strive for would be village head.
Although the village head in this world is truly a world-class boss, Haori isn't unaware that Konoha has a complex system. But in this setting, it might be an exaggeration to say that he's completely unambitious, but there's really nothing he could get through status.
So, he doesn't need status.
Even if he became Hokage, it wouldn't give him anything more. So, why bother putting himself in that mess?
Just punching in for work and working hard at his job is good enough… It's already much better than his initial passive laziness.
"Danzō's current activities are a predetermined event from several years ago. No matter what the outcome of the event, according to the agreement, this is Konoha fulfilling its obligations. So, even the Third Hokage doesn't have a reason to stop him."
Haori first explained his mission with Danzō several years ago. Then, he added this.
He was reminding everyone that no matter what the outcome of Danzō's actions at this time, it was all for "justice." Although this justice was a problem that Danzō himself caused, and his own explanation.
But no matter what, it was official business. And Jiraiya's current emotions seemed to be a bit personal.
So, Haori ruthlessly pointed this out… Of course, only Jiraiya himself noticed this.
Jiraiya is an extremely important character in the entire Naruto story. Many things are interwoven with his actions. And his three disciples, Nagato, Minato, and Naruto, are all considered to be "prophecy children." These are some of the few things Haori knows about the plot of Naruto.
Nagato, Minato, Naruto. These three names are not very distinctive in pronunciation. They are very similar. Naruto is Minato's son. This name is the name of the protagonist in Jiraiya's work, "The Tale of the Strong and Determined Ninja." Although he thought of it while eating ramen, the protagonist of the story is undoubtedly the image of the ideal ninja in Jiraiya's mind. And the prototype of this character was Nagato.
Because Haori is a One Piece fan, he specifically looked into the matter of Naruto's name.
So, he could understand the relationship between them.
For Haori now, there are many things he doesn't care about, but very few things he does care about. What happens in the Land of Rain, what happens to Danzō, whether Nagato lives or dies? Although it's a bit extreme to say they can live or die, it's truly a matter of strangers in a foreign country. What does it have to do with him, Haori?
This wasn't because Haori was narrow-minded or ignorant of the bigger picture. It was just that he really didn't think it had anything to do with him.
He couldn't even keep up with the things he did care about. The things he cared about already took up all his energy. As for everything else, he didn't care.
At this point in time, the war had entered its final stage of attrition. Considering the time, Haori had also decided to step back from the front lines.
He had more important things to do.
It might not be appropriate to say "step back from the front lines." In any case, he was going to return to his old nest in Konoha.
So, if Jiraiya gave Haori or Minato's squad a mission to the Land of Rain at this time, he wouldn't accept it.
Normally, something like the Shinobi World War would be taken very seriously. But sometimes, what's the Shinobi World War compared to other things?
"…"
Haori's words made Jiraiya fall silent. He wouldn't think that Haori was intentionally saying this, because there were some things that only he knew. Haori couldn't possibly know them.
So, these "unintentional words" were the most thought-provoking.
Yes, Haori was right. Jiraiya was a Konoha ninja. He also had his own tasks and missions. Compared to his disciples, who were far away, the disciple by his side was more important, much more important.
Compared to Nagato, who was gloomy and introverted, Minato Namikaze, who could completely represent all the positive aspects of ninjas, was more like the true prophecy child.
And he was about to become Hokage.
Thinking about this, Jiraiya put his personal feelings aside. It was true that Danzō's actions were unavoidable. He should have stopped him years ago, not now. It was too late.
Letting that go, Jiraiya said, "Speaking of which, Minato, your wedding is coming up soon, isn't it?"
This topic change was abrupt and awkward. But it also showed that Jiraiya had chosen to wait and see what Danzō would do.
Minato was clearly taken aback. Then, he scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed, and said, "Yes, it's probably in the next few months."
"This guy, he's so happy. It's truly enviable."
If, just if, if Jiraiya had spent the time he spent chasing after his buddy chasing after Tsunade, he would probably be a life winner that people would envy. His envy rating would definitely be much higher than Minato's.
Tsunade, the Slug Princess, was someone even enemies would respectfully call "Tsunade-sama." That kind of treatment was unique in the entire ninja world.
But hearing Jiraiya say this, Haori also laughed. When he said "envy," he actually meant "blessing" and "relief." There's nothing more heartwarming than seeing someone you care about happy.
But Jiraiya's feelings were more from Minato's perspective. Haori's were the opposite.
"No, it's just that Kushina has been through a lot these past few years." Minato's tone was full of apology.
Kushina was definitely a powerful ninja. She graduated from the ninja academy at twelve and became a Jinchūriki at seventeen. This was the main period of her ninja career. And in just four or five years, the frequency of her high-level missions was enough to show her strength. She had over 30 A-rank missions and over 20 S-rank missions. That's data that surpasses most ninjas' entire lives.
But even with that strength, because of Konoha's attitude and strategy towards Jinchūriki, she could only stay in the village alone.
In reality, from the Second Shinobi World War to the Third Shinobi World War, Minato and Kushina didn't actually spend much time together. That's why Minato felt apologetic.
Everyone naturally understood what Minato meant. So, Jiraiya continued, "Right now, the overall situation between us and Kumogakure is a stalemate, a standstill on a macro level. There are only small-scale battles that continue to break out. But no matter what, the end of the war is not far off."
Although this conclusion had been given several times before, this time, Jiraiya said it with confidence. Because it was true. Although the lower-level ninjas might not be able to see this.
That's why Minato's wedding was happening.
But… the war is almost over, meaning that the war isn't over yet. The war is still going on. So, the missions must continue.
On the battlefield in the Land of Rice Fields, there's a sense of inevitability in the randomness. The fact that they've crossed paths repeatedly doesn't mean they won't ever meet. The strongest encountering the other strongest on the battlefield is a kind of determinism. It's a necessity in the theory of balanced power.
The battle between Konoha's fastest, the Yellow Flash, the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Kumogakure's strongest and fastest, the designated Fourth Raikage, A, falls into this category of inevitability.
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