Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 342 Kakashi: I feel like I've forgotten something?

Late at night, on the rooftop.

Hyuga Tokuma gazed resentfully at the streetlights and the cold wind blowing from the rooftop, muttering under his breath, "You've really lost your way in life again, Mr. Kakashi."

Clearly, Kakashi, who was supposed to take over, never showed up.

At that moment, Kakashi was standing in the Hokage's office with Jiraiya.

"You mean, just by sheer aura, that man whom Mount Myōboku calls 'Spirit Lord' was able to pin you and Kakashi to the ground, rendering them unable to move!?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, standing solemnly in front of his desk.

Jiraiya nodded solemnly and said, "It may be embarrassing and unbelievable to say, but that's the truth."

After a slight pause, Jiraiya asked, "Old man, do you think the First Hokage, known as the God of Shinobi, could have done this?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated for a moment, then said, "It should be fine, right? The First Hokage's power needs no further explanation."

However, it was clear that he was somewhat unsure of himself when he said this.

He understood the First Hokage, having witnessed his prowess when he was young. But at the same time, he understood his student even better. Despite Jiraiya's seemingly unreliable demeanor, his strength was actually among the best in the ninja world.

Otherwise, the name of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha would not have spread so widely.

But today Jiraiya told him personally that it was absurd that even when he and Kakashi joined forces, they couldn't stand up to that person's aura.

It was only because it was Jiraiya who told him that he would never have believed it.

"Did the toad sages of Mount Myōboku inform that spirit master?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked quickly, snapping out of his daze.

Jiraiya first shook his head, then nodded and said, "Neither of you immortals had ever seen that spirit lord before, so you didn't know much about him. It was only a few months ago that you heard about this matter. It was the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave who conveyed the news to the other two holy lands. At first, Mount Myōboku didn't take it seriously, until you confirmed it with your own eyes just now. According to the two immortals, the spirit lord's true form is a true dragon. It seems to have only recently returned from the Pure Land, and its history cannot be traced. Conservatively speaking, it is an existence at least a thousand years old, even more ancient than the White Snake Sage and the Great Toad Sage."

"That makes me feel a little relieved." Hiruzen Sarutobi wiped non-existent sweat from his brow and said, "That Spirit Lord probably won't interfere too much in the ninja world. After all, it's a tradition of the three great holy lands, and we haven't heard of his deeds for a thousand years, which can also be considered proof. Perhaps we don't need to worry too much. Speaking of which, what did he take from the Uzumaki clan's former residence?"

"A very ferocious mask, like a demon. I don't recognize what it is. Do you know it, old man?" Jiraiya asked.

"A mask that looks like a hideous demon?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, pondering for a moment, then said, "Perhaps it holds some clues."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked to a bookshelf, reached out and released the seal, taking out a thick scroll from inside. He spread it out on the table and said, "This contains some anecdotes about the Uzumaki clan and the Demon Mask. It's very likely related to the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique. Let me take a look."

After reviewing information for more than half an hour, with the help of Kakashi and Jiraiya, the three of them finally found a clue.

"The Grim Reaper mask... is this it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, pointing to the mask design on the drawing.

"That's right!" Jiraiya immediately nodded and said, "That Spirit Lord also said before that he came to retrieve an item from the Pure Land, and now it seems that's indeed the case."

"A mask that can connect to the Shinigami of the Pure Land? I've never heard of such a thing before. Do Shinigami really exist?" Kakashi asked, equally puzzled.

"It exists." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, responding with absolute certainty.

He himself possessed the technique of the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique, so he was well aware that the Grim Reaper truly existed. However, he was unaware that the Uzumaki clan's Namen Hall contained such a wondrous item that could communicate with the Grim Reaper.

After a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said, "Forget it. Mount Myōboku said that the Spirit Lord returned from the Pure Land, which might be related to the Grim Reaper. Let's leave it at that. And let's not even think about getting that mask back. It wasn't anything particularly important to us, was it?"

This thing has been sitting in the Uzumaki clan's Namen Hall for decades, and Konoha hasn't discovered it. It's definitely something that's dispensable. It's completely unnecessary to offend that mysterious Spirit Lord for this.

Jiraiya and Kakashi had no objections since the Hokage had already said so.

After all, they had both truly experienced each other's strength.

"But according to the aura of natural energy, that Spirit Lord hasn't left Konoha. He's currently staying at a hot spring inn in the commercial district," Jiraiya added.

Bane made no attempt to conceal his presence. Wherever he went, he drew in natural energy. It is said that the three holy sites are the most active places for natural energy. From this perspective, he was a mobile holy site. Wherever he was, the natural energy there was most active, and the surrounding natural energy would surge and gather around him.

Ordinary people might not notice any changes, but those with a keen sensitivity to natural energy and Sage Mode, like Jiraiya, would definitely be able to detect these changes.

"Didn't he leave and return to Ryuchi Cave?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, somewhat surprised.

"No," Jiraiya shook his head.

"Maybe they also want to see the Chunin Exams?" Kakashi suggested from the side.

This left Hiruzen Sarutobi somewhat uncertain. If the other party simply left, he could completely pretend nothing had happened. As the Hokage, he was in charge of ninja affairs. There was absolutely no need for him to study other people's Three Great Holy Lands, Pure Lands, or Spirit Lords, right?

But if the other party hasn't left, it's a bit awkward. If we didn't know, we could continue to ignore it, but now that we know, and there was a slight conflict that happened a while ago at night, we can't just pretend nothing happened, right?

After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Jiraiya, tomorrow go and bring some gifts to pay a proper visit to this Spirit Lord. You don't need to ask for any information, but try to minimize the impact of this conflict. It would be even better if you could maintain a friendly relationship."

"To be honest, I really don't want to go," Jiraiya said, scratching his head with a hint of helplessness.

But he also knew that he was the most suitable person to go, after all, he still had the aura of Mount Myōboku, and the rest of the villagers did not know any magic.

"If Orochimaru were here, it would be even more suitable, but unfortunately," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a hint of regret, but then, as if remembering something, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, "This is bad. If this Spirit Lord is the founder of Ryuchi Cave or something, then Orochimaru might be able to borrow his power?"

Jiraiya paused, his expression turning serious, but he couldn't help but say, "That's unlikely, isn't it? Let alone the Spirit Lord, even Orochimaru couldn't summon the White Snake Sage, just as I could never summon the Great Toad Sage."

"That's because neither of them has much interest in the mortal world, but this Spirit Lord truly walks among us. Have you ever seen the Great Toad Sage go to another ninja village to watch the Chunin Exams?" Hiruzen Sarutobi retorted.

Jiraiya had no way to refute these words, and his expression became even uglier.

If Orochimaru knew about the existence of Ryuchi Cave Spirit Lord, no, we shouldn't make that assumption. Think about it carefully. As the representative of Ryuchi Cave, if Mount Myōboku knew about it, Orochimaru couldn't possibly not know!

If Orochimaru really serves this Spirit Lord well, he might be able to borrow the Spirit Lord's power?

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Damn it, why don't we have any formidable characters like that on Mount Myōboku?" Jiraiya said with a hint of envy.

"Although I just said that we don't need to inquire about any information, if there is a suitable opportunity tomorrow, you should tentatively ask if this Spirit Lord has seen Orochimaru. If he has, then we need to raise our assessment of Orochimaru's threat level again," Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice.

Since it concerned his good friend Orochimaru, Jiraiya naturally wouldn't refuse and immediately nodded, saying, "I understand."

Soon, Jiraiya and Kakashi left the Hokage's office.

Stepping out of the Hokage Building, Jiraiya looked up at the sky, admired the moonlight for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Kakashi, you should know why I've been traveling around all these years, right?"

"To hunt down Orochimaru?" Kakashi replied softly.

"Part of it." Jiraiya sighed softly, then said, "But more importantly, I'm searching for the prophesied child who the Great Toad Sage once told me about, the one who can bring about change to the ninja world."

"The Child of Prophecy?" Kakashi had clearly never heard of this before and was somewhat confused.

"I was looking at the moon just now, and it suddenly occurred to me that you said the Spirit Lord might know who the prophesied child I've been searching for is," Jiraiya said, turning his gaze to Kakashi.

Kakashi's lips twitched slightly beneath his mask before he said, "How would I know if you ask me that? I've never even heard of any 'Child of Prophecy'."

"Hahaha, that's true." Jiraiya laughed twice, then said, "This matter is extremely important to me, so I plan to ask the Spirit Lord myself tomorrow. Perhaps I'll gain some unexpected insights?"

"The Third Hokage specifically told you not to do anything unnecessary," Kakashi reminded him.

"Now that I think about it, the Spirit Lord should actually be quite easy to get along with, right? Look, he has such great strength, but he didn't try to steal the Death Mask during the day. Moreover, he got along very well with that brat with thick eyebrows. After someone helped him find his way, he even kindly invited the other person to eat barbecue. Even when we had some conflicts at night, he didn't have any intention of killing us at all," Jiraiya couldn't help but say.

"Lord Jiraiya, perhaps I am being disrespectful, but I advise you not to take other people's kindness as a bargaining chip. People who have such thoughts usually don't end up well," Kakashi said calmly.

Jiraiya paused for a moment, then smiled, patted Kakashi on the shoulder, said nothing, and turned to leave the entrance of the Hokage Building.

Seeing this, Kakashi didn't say anything more and turned to walk towards his home.

After walking a few steps, Kakashi suddenly touched his chin, muttering to himself with some confusion, "Hmm, did I forget something?"

After thinking it over and over, Kakashi still couldn't come up with an answer. Finally, he scratched his ear and muttered, "Since I can't remember, it must not be anything important. Forget it, I'll go home and sleep."

Meanwhile, on a rooftop in a certain street, Hyuga Tokuma was drawing circles on the ground, muttering curses, "I curse you, Kakashi-san."

(End of this chapter)