Ninja Ice House

Chapter 543 Favor

Today I visited Jiraiya and, besides personally checking on him, I also found some different circumstances.

Originally, in Jiraiya's special care ward, apart from Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, who could come and go at any time, even the Anbu protecting him were strictly screened and managed.

As for ordinary people, it goes without saying that they cannot get close at all, and they don't even know that Jiraiya is recuperating here.

He couldn't refuse Naruto Uzumaki's request, so he secretly let him meet him twice.

Even Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado had to report to Tsunade in advance if they wanted to come in.

Such stringent preventative measures reflect Jiraiya's unparalleled importance to Konoha Village at present.

After Gaara was kidnapped in full view of everyone in Sunagakure, there's never a need for more super-skilled fighters like Jiraiya who can stand alone.

While the Five Kage-level powerhouses were important in the past, they didn't seem to be all-powerful.

Many years ago, during the war between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, there was an incident where tens of thousands of Iwagakure ninja besieged the Third Raikage, exhausting him to death. Since then, the importance of the number of ninjas has risen sharply.

Even ants can kill an elephant if they are numerous; even someone as powerful as the Raikage can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

But now everyone suddenly realized that it wasn't that the top experts weren't powerful enough, but rather that the Third Raikage, with his weakness and the vital area behind him, was in an awkward situation where he couldn't retreat even a step, which made it possible for him to be surrounded and killed.

Someone like Deidara, with his superior mobility, flight ability, and mastery of the incredibly powerful Explosion Release ninjutsu, shamelessly employs hit-and-run tactics. No matter how many small fry there are, they can only be easy prey and contribute to the battle record; they can't inflict any real damage on Deidara.

Aside from a very few exceptional individuals like Kakashi Hatake, Mizuki, Naruto Uzumaki, and Chiyo who can directly confront them, there are very few effective means to contain them.

It was only at this point that everyone remembered why the Warring States period was a "two-man show" between the Uchiha and Senju clans, with other ninja clans and organizations playing supporting roles.

To put it bluntly, the battles between ninjas, and the "counter-terrorism" between individual masters and small teams, are what this night of battle, where offense is strong and defense is weak, excels at.

The Senju and Uchiha clans have the strongest average individual qualities and combat power, the fewest weaknesses, and the most obvious advantages, so it is understandable that Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju ended the Warring States period.

However, today, the usually quiet intensive care unit had three more people. Two people in medical uniforms were examining and treating Jiraiya, while a familiar face, Togakure Hijiri, was in charge. This young man was nominally a popular senior teacher at the Konoha Ninja Academy, but in reality, he was the spokesperson for Kosugi Bokusui.

After dismissing the hidden surveillance agents, Tsunade strode forward, glanced at the data on the monitoring equipment, and then asked:

"How is the situation? Will he wake up soon?"

"The Fifth Generation..."

Togakushi Hinode instructed his subordinates to continue their work, and after giving a slight bow, he replied:

"Lord Jiraiya's condition is better than we thought. He should be able to wake up at any time, but..."

"but what?"

"Judging from the brainwave and Yin Release chakra patterns, he already possesses all the basics to maintain normal human activity. However, Jiraiya-sama himself doesn't have a strong desire to wake up and remains in a deep sleep..."

"What do you mean?"

The number one medical ninja in the ninja world is not an outsider in the field of spirituality and soul, but he still lacks a bit of knowledge compared to experts who specialize in this area.

"To put it bluntly, the dream was so wonderful that Jiraiya-sama didn't want to wake up."

"What, are you dreaming?"

Upon hearing this, Tsunade flew into a rage.

"So many people are worried, yet he stays in his dream and doesn't want to wake up?"

Having spoken the truth, Togakushi Hinode awkwardly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, gesturing for Tsunade, whose fists were clenched and veins were bulging, to calm down.

After suppressing her anger and calming herself down, Tsunade said:

"You are more familiar with this situation, is there any way to wake him up as soon as possible?"

"How should I put it..."

Somewhat embarrassed, Togakushi Hinode replied.

“Mental problems at the physiological and pathological levels manifest in a variety of forms, but one thing is certain. The mind and soul are more honest than the body. One may lie with one’s mouth and may comfort and convince oneself with one’s surface thoughts, but deep thinking that involves the soul’s activities, like the knee-jerk reflex, is almost instinctive and extremely difficult to change as long as one is alive.”

Are you sure there's no other way?

"Yes, it is possible to use extremely sophisticated illusion techniques to enter a dream and directly guide the soul to help it wake up."

"How brilliant?"

"Tsukuyomi, Kotoamatsukami, or the Kurama family's bloodline limit, magical five senses, and terrifying illusions are all possible..."

"That's at least an A-rank illusion technique; it would most likely require an S-rank or even a forbidden-level illusion technique!"

Upon hearing the answer, Tsunade couldn't help but rub her forehead in exasperation.

Illusions of this level do exist, and there are more than a few, but even fewer people can learn and use them skillfully.

Let's not even mention Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami. These are unique eye techniques of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and they consume a huge amount of energy. Those who know how to use them are basically all dead.

The Kurama family does have a talented girl named Kurama Yakumo, who is quite strong, but it remains to be seen whether she can help awaken Jiraiya.

In addition, not all the ninjas in that group were Konoha ninjas; their actions mostly required the approval or tacit consent of Kosugi Bokusui.

These are all favors!

Tsunade, who comes from an extraordinary background, is not an ignorant fool.

After Jiraiya was seriously injured, the physical injuries were relatively easy to treat, but the problems on the spiritual level were more difficult to deal with.

The treatment plan, which was implemented after comprehensive consideration of factors such as the "snake molting technique" provided by the Gusugi family, is the least bad option.

As for the slight abnormalities after recovery, they are nothing. As long as you are alive, there will always be ways to treat them in the future.

However, some things are harder to discuss if you're not "family".

After rejecting Kosugi Bokusui's applications to graduate and become a ninja for so many years, he hasn't shown any interest in doing so. How can he expect the other party to cooperate wholeheartedly?

It's already quite an achievement that Togakushi Hijiri brought people to help.

If we want more help, we can't just stay silent.

When you ask someone for a favor, you should act like one.

Fortunately, the two sides have had a good relationship over the years and have maintained a lot of goodwill. Kosugi Bosui's attitude towards Konoha Village is acceptable.

He got too close to the "Root" organization and reaped a lot of benefits during the reconstruction of Konoha Village.

"Since you put it that way, there must be a way, right? When will a genjutsu ninja of this level be available?"

"We prefer to view these specialized ninjas as a type of medical ninja. You can think of them as ancient forbidden witch doctors and soul sorcerers, who essentially transformed combat and killing techniques into spiritual healing arts. Of course, what Lord Jiraiya will use will be far more sophisticated..."