From beginning to end, Karin never understood why these two usually reliable people became so dejected after witnessing the Ink-Ink Fruit's abilities. In her opinion, this was quite a formidable power.
Anything written would become real.
Not just weapons like swords, spears, and blades, but also various natural elements like wind, fire, water, and thunder.
While others needed to form hand seals, Jiraiya-sensei could simply wave his hand, and the character "fire" would transform into pitch-black giant flames. It looked somewhat similar to someone's Amaterasu flames.
Beyond these items that actually existed in reality, Jiraiya could even write abstract concepts like "sensations," "emotions," and "states."
This was the most ridiculous aspect of this ability.
"Pain." When this character flew out and touched an enemy, they would passively endure agony throughout their entire body. Unless they completely removed those ink marks, the pain would persist.
But escaping wasn't that simple either.
In combat, once hit by Jiraiya even once, the opponent would fall into an endless spiral. Unable to react properly due to pain, they'd be hit again, potentially even dying from the overwhelming sensation.
Besides this, there were countless other characters for Jiraiya to choose from.
"Blind," "Sleep," "Poison," "Numb," even "Death."
Of course, the actual effectiveness of these characters also depended on the power gap between Jiraiya and his opponent.
If facing an enemy of similar strength, the "Death" character would at most give them a near-death sensation without actually taking their life.
But if it were some weak-willed opponents, they might truly believe they had died after being marked with "Death."
If the spirit died, the body would follow suit.
In any case, this fruit had quite a high upper limit. Even Karin could think of many clever applications.
Yet these two men looked like their wives had died, maintaining the same leg-hugging, knee-curled postures without saying a word.
This had been going on all morning!
Yes, they had already left the new Uzushio Village and were heading toward the Fire Country border.
Due to the Gale's size limitations, all three couldn't ride it simultaneously.
But no problem. Wasn't there a more suitable means of transportation?
So Karin transformed into her giant bird form, carrying two dejected men as they flew.
But these two grown men had been stuck in this depressed atmosphere since last night, making even Karin unable to stand it anymore.
After thinking about it, Karin suddenly had an idea.
I'll show you for not talking!
She suddenly flapped her wings, changing the direction and flow speed of the air currents supporting her.
The already fast speed immediately jumped up several levels.
She also deliberately removed the "wind barrier" that had been shielding the two passengers.
Instantly, howling air currents sent both men's hair flying wildly, their faces distorting under the hurricane force.
"Whooooooooo!"
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
Both immediately snapped out of their dejected states. They wanted to say something, but their words were immediately distorted by the wind.
They even had to use chakra to stick themselves down to barely avoid being blown off.
"Hahahaha!"
The girl's bell-like laughter cut through the sky, accompanied by two men's helpless cries.
Their torture finally ended when they saw the coastline.
Garuda in mythology was said to have "a flight of ninety thousand li (about 30,000 miles)." Even though it was just Karin who had eaten a Devil Fruit, her movement speed had gained terrifying enhancement.
In giant bird form, Karin could ride air currents to fly at high altitude without needing to flap her wings.
Additionally, she didn't need to worry about wind resistance. Air currents would "actively" avoid her.
In extreme conditions, Karin could even break the sound barrier.
Of course, in that case, the two guys on her back would be knocked off by air currents no matter how firmly they stuck with chakra.
Whew...
After landing, Jiraiya took a long breath.
His old bones had nearly been blown apart by the wind. He could no longer pretend to be some melancholy handsome man, hurriedly rubbing here and there trying to quickly restore his numbed sense of touch.
Naruto was in better condition.
Just his hairstyle was a bit messy. No big problem.
"This place is..." After tidying his appearance, Naruto finally looked at the surrounding environment, feeling it looked familiar.
"Do you remember? We set sail from here." Saying this, Karin pointed to the distant fishing village where they had bought their first boat.
What had originally been a two-to-three-day voyage had taken only one morning under the "Garuda Beast's" super-speed movement.
"Naruto-san, do we continue flying from here?" Karin turned to ask Naruto something, but Jiraiya couldn't take it anymore and held up his hand.
"Let's walk for a bit. We shouldn't be in such a hurry..." With consideration for the elderly, Naruto agreed.
Two to one. Karin didn't argue and simply followed obediently behind them.
Her steps were light and her expression natural, completely different from her careful, walking-on-thin-ice appearance from over a month ago.
It could only be said that improved strength and proper education could indeed change someone's personality in a short time.
If the current Karin encountered those Grass ninjas again, she definitely wouldn't let them bully her anymore.
Naruto had given her the ability to resist fate, while Jiraiya had cultivated her courage to resist fate.
In terms of education, Naruto was indeed inferior to Jiraiya-sensei.
After all, this was a man who had taught the Fourth Hokage. Truly unfathomable.
Of course, while they were walking, Jiraiya didn't forget to practice his abilities.
With a casual wave, ink splashed down, and a horse-drawn carriage appeared from thin air.
Of course, you had to ignore that both the horses pulling the cart and the driver were completely pitch black.
The three continued toward Konoha Village's direction.
The Land of Rain was located at the junction of the Earth, Wind, and Fire countries, which was why it constantly suffered from war.
To reach there, they had to cross the entire Fire Country.
Naruto also remembered his promise to Sasuke to let him personally take revenge on the brother who had killed his entire family. This time he'd bring him along.
As for strength, wasn't there still another Devil Fruit?
Previously, Naruto had underestimated these Celestial Dragon treasures.
Thinking about it, those guys had nothing if not money. How could ordinary Zoan fruits be displayed openly in Celestial Dragon treasure rooms?
So, looking at this black and red fruit shaped like burning flames, Naruto was ninety percent certain this was also a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Naruto's gaze turned upward as if seeing through the carriage roof.
"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked puzzledly, and Karin also turned to look at him.
"...Nothing." Naruto shook his head and smiled.
Just some small flies. Nothing to worry about.
High above, a controlled eagle stared intently at the ant-sized carriage below.
Meanwhile, a giant Venus flytrap slowly emerged from the ground.
"That was close. Good thing I didn't go personally."
Zetsu breathed a sigh of relief. Through his summoned creature's eyes, he clearly felt that substantial pressure.
He really wasn't sure if Naruto Uzumaki would discover him if he went to monitor personally.
This guy was a variable.