Attracted by the sudden exclamation, Jiraiya turned his head and asked gently, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Chizhao waved her hand, a relaxed smile on her face: "Ahaha, nothing, I just saw that it's getting late. Shouldn't we find a place to spend the night?"
Jiraiya looked in the direction Chizhao pointed, seeing the sun gradually setting. He pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"You're right, we're not in a hurry to travel. Let's rest here for the night; it won't be too late to depart tomorrow."
As night fell, by the campfire, Chizhao looked at Jiraiya, who had already fallen asleep opposite her. She carefully took out the little turtle, which she had been holding so tightly it could barely breathe, and quietly tapped its forehead.
"Are you the River God's assistant?"
The little turtle lifted its head, its tone firm.
"Indeed, I am!"
"What did the River God send you here to do?"
The little turtle scratched its shell, imitating the River God's tone, and slowly began: "Because of the self-consistency of the world's settings, you have gained a special ability..."
"And then?"
Chizhao frowned slightly, waiting for the little turtle to continue. However, the little turtle suddenly froze, saying somewhat awkwardly, "Please wait a moment. I forgot; I'll ask the boss right now."
Chizhao's mouth twitched in exasperation.
This unreliable River God and his unreliable assistant.
She suppressed the urge to get angry, trying to keep her voice low: "Then hurry up and ask, what exactly is my special ability?"
No sooner had she spoken than Chizhao witnessed a shocking scene.
The little turtle pulled out an old-fashioned mobile phone from its shell! And it dialed a number very skillfully!
Oh my god!
"Hello~ I'm the River God~"
Sure enough, the River God's somewhat cheeky voice came from the other end of the phone.
Chizhao snatched the phone, turned her back, and tried to keep her voice as low as possible: "Your assistant said I have some special ability?"
"Oh~ Please wait a moment, let me check~"
Rustling sounds came from the other end of the phone, and even the sound of a computer booting up.
"Oh, found it! It's the Tempered Glass Seal~"
"What the heck?" Chizhao looked bewildered.
While she was confused, the little turtle had already pulled out a transparent piece of tempered glass from its shell.
"This? So, I have to apply screen protectors in the Hokage world?!"
"No~ The medium comes from your previous life, but the setting is automatically completed. As for its use... Little Wang, show her."
Little Wang, holding the tempered glass in its mouth, gave a forceful flick. The tempered glass spun several times in the air, finally hovering above the sleeping Jiraiya.
Suddenly, a burst of smoke exploded, and the tempered glass gently fell to the ground, while Jiraiya's figure had vanished.
Seeing the tempered glass on the ground emitting a golden light, Shiratori Chichao let out a sharp cry.
Little Wang, witnessing all this, smiled in surprise: "Wow~ A Golden Legend, indeed~"
Chizhao tremblingly picked up the tempered glass from the ground. On it was clearly Jiraiya's character image.
His signature smile and his signature pose. Coupled with the golden border, it indicated that this card was extremely rare, equivalent to an SSR level in the real world.
But this was the Hokage world! What was the use of sealing someone in a card? What about the subsequent plot?
Chizhao, utterly distraught, squeezed Little Wang, completely broken: "Grandpa Turtle, quickly turn him back!"
Because Chizhao was too agitated, Little Wang was being shaken back and forth to the point of fainting. At this moment, the River God on the other end of the phone finally spoke.
"Don't get too excited~ He's not dead~ His time is just suspended inside the tempered glass~"
"Really?!" Chizhao finally put down the foaming-at-the-mouth Little Wang, grabbed the old-fashioned mobile phone, and asked eagerly, "Then how can I turn him back?!"
"Raise the formed Membrane Card, and then..."
Chizhao nodded, holding the Membrane Card in her hand with a serious expression. Her right hand also clutched a branch she had found from somewhere.
Concentrating, she forcefully threw the Membrane Card in front of her. It spun continuously in the air, while she recited the words the River God had given her.
"Oh, tempered glass created by the great River God, please shed your old form and change anew. Chizhao, who made a pact with you, commands you, Seal Release!"
Isn't that a line from Cardcaptor Sakura?!
Chizhao ranted wildly in her mind, but still followed the River God's instructions and tapped the branch on the Membrane Card.
After a flash of golden light, Jiraiya dropped to the ground with a 'thud'.
Chizhao nervously observed Jiraiya on the ground. After a few seconds, seeing him motionless, a sense of unease welled up in her heart.
Could he really be...?
Chizhao laboriously turned Jiraiya over. Hearing his snores from his nose, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew~ Thankfully, he's fine." She patted her chest in relief.
If Jiraiya was gone, where would she find another master for Naruto?
However, just then, the phone on the other end started making intermittent crackling noises again, and then it suddenly hung up.
"Hello? River God?!"
Little Wang took the old-fashioned mobile phone and shook it: "Looks like there's no signal." With that, it stuffed the phone back into its shell.
Chizhao had been noticing its turtle shell for a long time. An extra-dimensional turtle shell? How could it hold so much?
"Ahem, now he is your possession. You can freely put him into the tempered glass, and use him as you wish...."
Little Wang seemed to want to explain something, but Chizhao immediately interrupted him.
"Wait, wait, wait..... This was an accident! And you caused it! I don't want to turn him into a card person. Here, they are living people! You can't arbitrarily deprive others of their right to life! Do you understand?"
Little Wang nodded, half-understanding: "Understood!"
You'd better truly understand!
Chizhao muttered to herself, then continued with her next question.
"Then how can I turn him back to his original state...."
"As long as you don't recall him, he will remain in this state," Little Wang replied.
Hearing this, Chizhao breathed a sigh of relief.
However, just then, ten more transparent tempered glass pieces fell to the ground. She picked them up in confusion, looked at Little Wang, with an expression that clearly said 'please explain'.
"This is how you obtain tempered glass. As long as you do bad things, you will get blank tempered glass."
"And if it's a good deed?" Chizhao, with her keen sense, pressed on.
"Then one piece of tempered glass will disappear, including the content sealed within. Of course, both good and bad deeds have a certain accumulation level. Once each reaches ten points, the setting will be triggered."
Hearing this, Chizhao couldn't help but feel it was a bit absurd.
She frowned and asked, "So that means, if good deeds accumulate to the maximum and I have no tempered glass to disappear, Jiraiya will disappear, right?"
"According to the setting, yes."
Chizhao felt a wave of powerlessness wash over her.
"Who set this up?! It's so ridiculous! No, who told you to seal Jiraiya?!"
Why is it so hard to be a good person?!
Chizhao couldn't sleep all night. She looked at the tempered glass in her hand, so anxious that her hair was falling out in handfuls. So much so that the next day, when Jiraiya woke up and saw Shiratori Chichao, who looked as if her vital energy had been drained, he was startled.
Looking at the listless Chizhao packing her belongings, and the occasional apologetic glances she cast, Jiraiya scratched his head, puzzled.
Along the way, Jiraiya intermittently shared what he had seen and heard, trying to alleviate the negative atmosphere with a lighthearted tone.
But Chizhao still seemed listless, completely unresponsive to Jiraiya's words, which gave Jiraiya quite a headache.
Finally, he sighed helplessly and chose silence, and the atmosphere between them returned to calm.
However, this tranquility did not last long before it was broken by several sharp whistling sounds. They looked up, only to see several Shuriken rapidly flying towards them.