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Chapter 380 - Lua-What?

In the Leaf Village's central park square.

Jasper was seen reclining beneath a solitary tree. The area was open with a lot of villagers passing by. Yet here he was, relaxed, with eyes closed and a stern expression on his face.

His black sleeveless shirt clung to his frame, along with his forehead protector that rested loosely around his bicep.

Villagers passing by noticed the symbol, but they kept their distance. No one dared disturb him; his intimidating presence seemed to keep them away.

A young girl nearby pointed excitedly, "Mommy, that man's hair is white."

Her mother shushed her, but Jasper paid them no mind. He kept his eyes closed, blocking out the comments and stares. He was used to the attention—or rather, the lack of it.

The villagers' opinions didn't matter to him. Most considered him an outsider due to his straightforward attitude and his sometimes rude demeanour. And so what? He didn't care what they thought.

To him, they were just background noise, insignificant details in his world.

Jasper's mind drifted, not in thought but in a kind of numb detachment. He viewed the villagers as if they were toys—things to be ignored or manipulated when he saw fit. Had he been alone, unfettered by the constraints of the other players and their rules, he might have gone down a darker path.

Committing a crime here or two was always tempting. But Alice kept him tethered. She knew where he was at all times. No thanks to her special sensing ability and recently placed trackers on him.

Even with a babysitter watching his every movement, it hadn't bothered him at all.

The things that did annoy him were the players like William. That man enjoyed this world so much that he'd do whatever it took to ensure the prosperity of the main characters.

If he ever found out that Jasper tried to rape Sakura Haruno, he would do everything in his power to remove Jasper from the Leaf Village.

Still, Jasper himself didn't genuinely care for any of the players, not in a meaningful way. Alice was attractive, and he enjoyed their moments of intimacy, but even that was limited by her refusal to fully surrender to him.

'How the heck am I supposed to get in her pants?' he thought to himself.

Clearly Jasper was not a Christian. Far from it even; or rather, the polar opposite.

His darker thoughts often centered on Sakura, whom he fantasized about ravishing. If he couldn't get to her, then perhaps he could try another character.

The urge to indulge himself in sin was strong, driven by a part of him that didn't fully understand or accept its own nature. Needless to say, Jasper's mind was a tangled mess of pride, desire, and a sense of possession—traits that came from wealth and power, which fueled his high-minded attitude.

If anyone ever dared to empathize with him, he'd berate them. Why? Because beneath that veneer was a man who really understood himself. He craved destruction and didn't want anything that didn't involve power.

As these thoughts swirled, a presence suddenly made itself known. Jasper's eyes slowly opened, and he saw Alexander standing nearby with a lazy grin on his face.

Alex's arrival was as predictable as it was unwelcome.

"What do you want, dude?" Jasper asked.

"Didn't ya hear from Alice, mate?" Alex answered with a casual smile.

"No," Jasper frowned, looking away. "She wants some space from me right now."

Alex chuckled and teased, "Someone ticked off their girl, huh?"

"Bro, chill," Jasper grinned.

"Won't ask what happened," Alex said, raising his hands in mock innocence. "But you're sorta needed in the Hokage's office."

Jasper's brow furrowed. "What'd I do this time?"

"Jeez, Jasper, are you like getting into trouble a lot here or something?"

"Listen, they're just all out to get me and make me look like the bad guy. I'm innocent, for crying out loud."

"Calm down, bro. Haha. This has nothing to do with… whatever you did."

Jasper hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then what's up?"

"Just follow me," Alex replied, starting to walk.

They headed toward the Hokage's office, passing a few villagers who noticed their approach. Many whispered among themselves. Their voices were clear: why was Jasper, the troublemaker, walking with Alex, a more regal figure?

Jasper caught their whispers and shot them a glare, one that made them quickly step back. They hurried to turn away, hoping he wouldn't follow through with his look.

"Don't worry about them, mate," Alex softly said, sensing Jasper's mood.

"I'm not," Jasper replied. "But what the heck have you been up to that makes everyone like you more than me?"

Alex's expression was unreadable for a moment. He rarely interacted with Jasper, or any of the other players, for that matter.

When the world first introduced him to the story, it was full of plot twists, conflicts, and surprises. But lately, things had slowed down. That was mainly because the world's main story had settled into a filler segment.

Nothing of much importance happening and nothing driving the plot forward. While the other players were out handling those filler segments, that lull gave Jasper the chance to sit around and do nothing.

What could he do? He had already surpassed many of the ninjas in this village. Money didn't matter to him. At least, not in this world. The only thing he had his eyes set on was perhaps the moon.

But that had to wait.

"Like, what's your secret?" he asked Alex.

"Let's just say I've been workin' on my rep," Alex casually answered. "Ever thought about being nicer to them?"

"Like heck," Jasper sneered. He was not interested in diplomacy or kindness. Instead, he challenged, "Tell ya what, though. If you finally spar with me, I'll consider it."

Alex shook his head. "Sorry, mate. Can't. Got some duties to handle in Luanda."

"Lua-what?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you," Alex said as they neared the office. "Another time, maybe."

Jasper remained quiet since he wasn't the type to pry into other people's businesses. Unless he genuinely felt like it.

When the two pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, the sight that greeted them was familiar yet somehow unsettling.

Behind the desk sat Tsunade with a serious expression and her posture slightly hunched forward. Standing in the room were five individuals—Jada, William, Alice, Margaret, and a creature that made one of Jasper's brows rise.

That creature was a large toad. Its skin was a dull green, but its eyes were sharp. Its name was Gerotora.

Unlike ordinary toads, Gerotora was a rare species that closely guarded whatever secret has been written on its scroll-shaped belly. And since Naruto Uzumaki had partially befriended the Nine-Tails, Gerotora's duties weren't needed.

"Did Naruto finally die in a pothole?" Jasper joked.

William's face immediately became annoyed at the comment. He pointed sharply at Jasper and said, "Don't talk about my cousin like that."

Alice, standing with her arms crossed, didn't say a word but made her stance clear. Her expression was like an unspoken warning to Jasper. That silence was enough to get him to yield for now.

Then Tsunade grabbed everyone's attention, saying, "I'm glad you two could make it on short notice. "Now that you're all here, I'll get straight to the point: Jiraiya's missing."

The room fell silent.

Jasper's brow furrowed, Jada's eyes showed concern, William's jaw tightened, Alice's gaze sharpened, Alex remained neutral, and Margaret's eyes slightly widened.

"When the heck did this happen?!" Margaret asked.

"We're not sure," Tsunade replied. "That's why Gerotora's here to explain some things."

"Nice to meet you all," Gerotora said, bowing his head slightly. "I'm here because our elders, Fukasaku and Shima, vanished from Mt. Myōboku. They left suddenly without warning, so we thought they had gone out on a mission. But after several days passed, and they didn't return, we began to worry."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" William asked.

It was no surprise that William knew who Gerotora was, considering William had already ventured to Mt. Myōboku with both Jiraiya and Naruto early on.

Gerotora paused before answering, "That's 'cause the Great Honourable Geezer Our informant told us that they had been summoned by Jiraiya. When we tried to contact him, he was nowhere to be found. We feared that the Nine-Tails might be involved, so they sent me to check."

"That's when I informed Gerotora that Jiraiya went on a mission and hasn't been in contact with us since," Tsunade added.

Jada didn't like the sound of this one bit. The mention of Jiraiya disappearing, combined with the elder toads' absence, painted a troubling picture.

"I think he must have disappeared after being sent on that mission to find Orochimaru," she relayed.

"That was our first guess," Tsunade replied.

"There's something about it, though," Jada stressed. Everyone looked at her as if she had the answer. So he explained, "It's around that time that strange things started happening. Naruto fought Kaito, and Marge blacked out trying to go after them. There's a connection, I'm sure of it."

Margaret shifted uncomfortably at the mention of her blackout. She always prided herself on her strength, but there she was: unable to recall what she'd been involved in. It was embarrassing, and she looked away, trying to hide her uneasiness.

Alice began piecing things together in her head. She believed Arthur was likely behind this, somehow. But she doesn't want to jump to conclusions since it is still possible that Orochimaru was also involved.

"With Jiraiya missing," Tsunade announced, "we haven't been able to send out a search or a squad to deal with Orochimaru's plot to resurrect more fallen shinobi."

Truth be told, Tsunade felt trapped. She was the Hokage, responsible for the village and its citizens, but the situation was too complex.

Jiraiya's disappearance just added onto her troubles. Without him, the threat supposedly caused by Orochimaru loomed larger, and she was unsure what move to make next.

The main reason the players were in her office was because of their recent achievements and insights that had more than proven their worth. Her instincts told her they were capable of offering valuable advice.

In truth, she had only reached out to Alexander, who had insisted that Alice, Jada, Margaret, William, and Jasper be involved. Because of his recommendation, she had permitted their inclusion.

"Ya know," Margaret began, "I'm starting to get sick of hearing Orochimaru's name all the time."

Jasper snorted. "Your point?"

"Let's just find where he's at and take him out already," she replied.

"How're ya gonna do that?" William asked.

Margaret rolled her eyes, replying, "Did you all forget that I can track just about anyone in this world with my Crow Sage Mode?"

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, ya broke the Hokage's window."

The room chuckled briefly, but Tsunade raised her hand to quiet everyone.

"Marge," she began, "your ability is indeed impressive, but I'm not comfortable sending anyone after Orochimaru without more intel. And I called you all here because, right now, our priority is finding Jiraiya."

"We're here to help anyway we can, lord Fifth," saluted William.

"Good," she said, not noticing Jasper rolling his eyes. "The team originally assembled to track Orochimaru will now focus solely on locating Jiraiya."

Margaret's stomach clenched. Inside, she felt a little frustration and resentment. She had no real say in this matter, yet her mind was already brewing with annoyance.

Tsunade's choice felt like a slap.

After all Margaret's done to prove that she's a one-woman army? And yet the Hokage still doesn't want to recognize her. So what if she had failed in bringing back Naruto on her own? She was essentially a mixture of Tsunade and Hashirama. Just with foreknowledge.

"Excuse me, lord Fifth, I—"

"This mission is extremely important," Tsunade said, interrupting Margaret. "You're all already aware that Jiraiya and I used to be on the same team alongside Orochimaru. As my friend, my hope is that you find him quickly."

Now Margaret was visibly upset. Not just because Tsunade had once favoured others over her, like Sakura, but because she was blatantly dismissing her capabilities. The two were technically blood related, so it had truly hurt Margaret's pride.

She also knew she couldn't argue because of her poor performance on her last mission. So she bit her tongue, knowing that the Hokage's attitude grated on her nerves.

Tsunade, after a moment, informed Gerotora, "We'll keep you and the elders of Mt. Myōboku informed as soon as we find something.

"Sounds fine with me," the toad replied before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

As everyone began to gather their thoughts and prepare to leave, Margaret's hand shot out quickly, grabbing both Jasper and William by the collars.

"Follow me," she ordered, gesturing sharply for the rest to head out to the apartment.

Jasper, caught off guard, grimaced but then shrugged and freed himself. Rubbing his neck, he said, "You don't have to grab me like that, ya know."

William, also freed, coughed upon feeling as if she had just squeezed the air out of him.

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