Chapter 56:
I have to say, Jiraiya's willpower is really something else.
Much like Naruto in the future, Jiraiya possesses a resilient and indomitable spirit. Even when he's down in the dumps, he always manages to bounce back, lifting himself up with his sheer determination. Maybe that's why so many people in the future end up admiring him. He's positive, optimistic, and full of a kind of energy that never fades.
After resting for a bit, the group resumed their journey towards The Land Of Rice Fields. The mission went off without any real trouble. Aside from encountering a few small-time bandits and a group of wandering ninjas, there were no significant threats.
When it came to the bandits, Orochimaru didn't even need to lift a finger. Jiraiya and Tsunade took care of everything swiftly.
The only real confrontation worth mentioning was with the wandering ninja group a team made up of one chuunin and three genin. However, they were no match for the strength of Orochimaru's team. The battle was over before it even began.
During that fight, Orochimaru noticed something strange about himself a growing sense of ruthlessness. He had no desire to let his enemies live. The moment the chuunin engaged him, he killed the man in an instant. If it weren't for Tsunade and Jiraiya stopping him, the three genin would have likely faced the same fate, without the chance to flee.
Orochimaru didn't reflect on this too deeply. To him, it was the natural course of things. In this world, you either survived or you didn't, and his growing instinct to eliminate threats seemed logical perhaps even necessary.
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The mission, a B-rank, had a payout of 150,000 ryo. Despite its difficulty being on the higher side of B-rank, the commission was the maximum amount for that rank. However, this mission had stretched out for a full eighteen days, and when Orochimaru thought about it, making money as a ninja was no easy task.