Chapter 161: Tedium
"I was unconvinced when Minato first revealed there were worlds other than our own, but now that that's been established, I'm far from the only one curious to know how many there are," commented Jiraiya, leading the way through a network of samey, talisman-covered corridors carved from stone. Vahn and Azazel followed close behind him, while half the group of Shinobi tasked with greeting them trailed behind them in two lines.
"If we're referring to planets alone, the number is so large that it may not even have a name in your world," stated Vahn, cool as a cucumber despite the tension in the air.
Sparing Jiraiya the need to ask, Vahn appended, "As for habitable worlds, the number is significantly lower but still estimated to be in the billions in a given universe. On a multiversal scale, the number is essentially infinite, but as far as the Tower of Ascension is concerned, there are precisely one thousand candidate worlds that have been chosen to form its basis."
"Fascinating..." hummed Jiraiya, crossing his arms, caressing his chin with his right hand, and raising his gaze to the ceiling as he asked, "And do the people of these one thousand worlds look similar to us? If so, I'm going to have a lot of new material for the book series I'm starting..."
Nodding, even though Jiraiya wasn't looking his way, Vahn affirmed, "The vast majority of those invited to the Tower are a variety of humans to keep things simple. They may have different names and genetic sequences, but their baseline features are similar to foster a sense of familiarity and make it easier for Ascendees of various worlds to interact without the barrier of regarding the other party as alien."
"A wise decision," affirmed Jiraiya, closing his eyes and exhaling from his nose as he revealed, "I'm not sure how it is in other worlds, but here, even superficial differences like facial structure and skin tone can drive people to resent or outright hate one another. It shouldn't be an issue as long as you have an escort, but try not to take offense if you walk around and the villagers give you a wide berth due to your skin tone..."
"People fear the unknown and those different from them, no matter the world..." sighed Azazel, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He knew that many of the societal, cultural, and geopolitical issues of the formerly fictional worlds were ultimately a reflection of their own, but after dealing with such insensibility for more than six thousand years, he couldn't help feeling weary of it.
"Which is precisely why we're here, getting to know one another," stated Jiraiya, peering back at Vahn and Azazel with an ostensibly genuine smile. However, while he sincerely wanted to befriend and work alongside them toward mutual prosperity, a lifetime of being entangled in wars made him cautious and skeptical as a matter of course.
"I'd rather try your alcohol and get acquainted with the local delicacies if you catch my drift~" hummed Azazel, sporting a playfully wolfish grin that Jiraiya immediately recognized.