Chapter 281: Jiraiya's Language of Words
"Huh? The Navy? But that's… a lot of money…"
Nami was about to refuse.
After all, even if the Navy were their enemies, they were still part of the pirate world's native forces.
But the blonde woman before her—Tsunade—clearly belonged to another world. And instinctively, players from different worlds remained guarded against one another, treating outsiders as subconscious threats.
Naruto and Luffy were rare exceptions to this rule.
Still—
Tsunade's offer of a generous reward—what the ninja world referred to as intel fees or Reward Points—had definitely caught Nami's attention.
Seeing her hesitation, Tsunade remained calm and said, "You're still inexperienced players, there's nothing to worry about. Ever since the Reincarnation Game and Clan System appeared, the concept of 'world' has already begun to blur. Whether or not there's a barrier between dimensions, only those with aligned convictions can truly become comrades."
It was something Tsunade had come to understand only after arriving in the Arad world.
Konoha, once so dear to her, had gone through destruction and rebuilding in the Hot Water Village.
Under Hiruzen's guidance, they'd carved new Hokage faces into the rock, rebuilt the Hokage Tower, and restored many familiar clans—as if little had changed.
But—
Tsunade no longer felt at home there.
After much internal struggle, she finally understood: it was the shift in the beliefs of ninjas and the Hokage.
No longer was it about upholding the Will of Fire and burning oneself as kindling to protect the village—it had become about using the village as a tool to fulfill personal ambitions.
That kind of new conviction wasn't what she wanted to protect. So her emotional ties to New Konoha had long faded.
She only stayed because she had nowhere better to go.
"If you want the reward, contact me anytime."
She condensed a contact card and handed it over.
Tsunade could already tell the orange-haired girl was greedy. She had clearly been tempted by the reward she'd mentioned earlier.
If Nami wasn't ready to decide now, she could always reach out later.
"Lady Tsunade."
Sanji stepped forward, holding a dewy, sweet-smelling rose in his hand—
A signature item he always kept in his inventory.
He arranged his facial muscles into their most handsome form, conjured his contact card, and said, "If you don't mind, you can contact me anytime. I'd give everything I have for you."
"You damned pervert chef! Tsunade's not someone you can fantasize about!"
Jiraiya's fury erupted at once.
Where the hell did this flirty brat come from? Didn't other worlds have law enforcement? People like this should be executed immediately!
"Don't waste any more time, Jiraiya."
Tsunade took the card without fuss, then turned to her companion. "Or do you want Naruto and Sasuke to face the Navy alone?"
Although her [Life Lock] was still on cooldown—
As long as they avoided desperate situations, Naruto and Sasuke were still top-tier combatants.
Before news of the [Dragonkin Tower] spread further, they needed to take down the Lord-class monster and secure its reward points and rule-based loot.
Otherwise, once heavyweights like Hidden Mist and Hidden Rock caught wind of the opportunity, claiming the prize would become a serious challenge.
"I understand."
When it was time to be serious, Jiraiya never fooled around. He followed Tsunade as they left the city.
Outside the town borders—
Jiraiya took a deep breath, extended his palm into the air, traced a few patterns, and finally said, "Wind Slime!"
A formless ripple spread out, and countless black characters appeared in the air, twisting together until they formed a massive, emerald-green slime.
Its jelly-like body shimmered with a green glow, swirling with rings of wind energy.
This was his ability—[Prophetic Script].
Similar to [Cursed Words] in the Jujutsu world, or [Word Magic] in some fantasy settings, it allowed him to cast miraculous effects through written sigils and recitations.
He could control elements, heal wounds, create items, curse enemies, open portals, grant wishes, or even alter reality itself.
It was the game power he'd chosen after becoming a Reincarnation Game player.
Before that—
He had spent his life chasing vague prophecies, wandering the world in search of a destined child, only to realize it had all been a dream.
The village he'd wanted to protect had been destroyed. His closest friend fell into darkness. The woman he loved had never accepted him.
It was as if fate was toying with him.
Only after the Reincarnation Game arrived did he finally wake up.
He said he was looking for a child of destiny, yet chose the most foolish path—traveling alone.
He claimed he didn't want his friend to fall, but did nothing while watching him drown in sin.
He said he loved the village, but ran away from responsibility for years.
He proclaimed his love for Tsunade, but left those words hanging in the air.
His first half of life—
Had been a blur of inaction and failure.
And so, he chose the [Prophetic Script] class.
Most prophecy-based powers leaned toward support and mysticism: intuition, sixth sense, future sight, divination, and so on.
But he went against the grain and chose a rare combat-prophecy class.
He had spent his youth obeying prophecies.
Now, he'd use prophecy to forge his redemption.
"Amazing!"
From atop the city wall, the Straw Hats watched as he rode the wind slime composed of black runes.
Luffy's eyes were sparkling.
"Let's go check it out too!"
He couldn't contain his excitement.
He'd come to this other world to explore—and how could he ignore a rare Lord-class monster?
"I'm in."
Sanji didn't even hesitate. His gaze hadn't once left Tsunade's—ahem—figure.
Smack!
Nami punched him hard on the head and said, "I'm in too."
A Lord-class monster? If they could defeat it...
Her eyes gleamed with visions of Reward Points and riches.
"Let's move."
Seeing everyone fired up, Zoro leapt down from the wall and ran off—in the wrong direction.
Robin giggled behind her hand. "I'd like to study the monster history of Arad too. By the way, Zoro, you're going the wrong way."
"Adventure! Adventure!"
Chopper suddenly transformed, his body covered in intricate markings.
Like the vice admiral once defeated by Shanks, Chopper had chosen to exchange for a Vastaya bloodline, which gave him incredible battle instincts.
However, Chopper's powers leaned toward support.
He could use his antlers to emit healing light and restore his comrades' health.
Buzz.
Nami waved her staff.
The temperature dropped sharply. A fine mist of frost filled the air, then gathered and condensed—until a massive magical machine appeared.
[Frost Drilling Machine].
A huge ice drill capped the front of the vehicle, spinning with a bone-chilling hum.
The Straw Hats climbed into the carriage.
The Frost Drilling Machine roared forward in the direction of the wind slime.
"Wait—there's someone up ahead!"
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