As Aizen in Naruto and Joined a Chat Group Chapter 580: A Truly Devilish Idea

The dim prison of Azkaban.

Sirius Black had by now opened the package Lupin had left behind. Inside lay a wand, a key, and two exquisite pastries. "Lupin..."

Looking at these things his friend had left him, warmth flooded Sirius’s heart, and he shed tears of gratitude.

Click.

That moment of unguarded, genuine emotion was promptly photographed by Gerard and saved, then sent into the group.

Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Pfft!

Doujin Artist: You’re a demon, aren’t you, Anzen-san? A demon, I say!

Lazy Kitten: One day, when Sirius finds out those pastries were handmade by Peter Pettigrew, he’ll probably rip his own stomach out!

Yes, that’s right.

Just as Qi Luoli said, those two exquisite pastries had indeed been made by Peter Pettigrew’s own hands. They weren’t poisoned, of course. But if Sirius ever learned the truth, it would probably hurt far worse than any poison.

To destroy the body is one thing; to destroy the heart is the true art.

Curly-haired Guy: When it comes to knowing how to play people, our president truly is in a class of his own.

Making a man gratefully eat food made by his own sworn enemy, what kind of divine-level gameplay is this?! Sakata Gintoki was, this time, genuinely impressed!

This is an Actor: Perfectly ordinary. Nothing worth praising. Basic operations, really.

Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Bravo, as expected of you! (emoji: thumbs up)

Machete Girl: Anzen-san, you’re the best! (emoji: thumbs up)

Amegakure Village’s Angel: (emoji: thumbs up)

Scarlet Lotus Fairy: So. All this elaborate scheming to get Sirius out of prison, was it all just to prank him?

This is an Actor: Don’t go spreading lies. I am a kind, good person.

Scarlet Lotus Fairy: ? Absurd.

Li Mochou truly felt like rolling her Byakugan. How could this guy say such a thing with a straight face? A good person? Would a good person do the things he’s doing right now?

Soul Society’s Villain: In a certain sense, you are indeed a good person, your standing with the masses proves that much. But the moment you claim to be kind, I’d advise you to go look in a mirror.

This is an Actor: I did. Very handsome.

Doujin Artist: Ugh.

Eriri looked on with contempt. It was true the man really was handsome, but this shameless self-flattery was going too far.

"It seems we’ve arrived, Mr. Shinigami." Feeling the carriage slow to a stop, Ashley smiled. "Welcome to Larnic, capital of the Vandesse Empire."

Through the carriage window, Eriri now caught sight of the enormous walled city before them, and her brows lifted slightly.

The city was ringed by walls nearly ten meters high, with a sentry post at every interval. A single road led into the city, and at its entrance stood an iron city gate lowered on chains.

In wartime, raising that gate would cut off the enemy’s only avenue of attack. To take the city by force, an army would have no choice but to scale the walls with ladders from the moat.

And that would multiply the cost of war astronomically. Without ten times more soldiers than the city’s garrison, it was virtually impossible to threaten this city at all.

The carriage bore the family crest of the lord of the Southeastern Province, so the gate guards gave it only a cursory check before waving Eriri’s party through.

The carriage pressed on, unhurried, toward the upper city district.

"Next we’ll be heading to the Kirgis Quarter," said Ashley, very competently playing the guide. "It’s the most prosperous section of the entire upper city. Practically every noble who comes to the imperial capital lodges there."

"Only nobles may stay there?" Eriri’s tone was odd.

"Yes, only nobles." Ashley understood perfectly what lay behind the question, and answered frankly, "Larnic is a place of strict social divisions. However rich you may be, without noble status you cannot lodge in the Kirgis Quarter."

"How disgusting."

"But that is the only place from which you can apply for an audience with a war bishop. Noble status in Vandesse is the door-knocker."

Eriri gave a slight nod and said nothing more. Turning her face away, she shifted her attention back to the group chat.

Machete Girl: The rainforest weather is truly miserable. When it rains like this, even satellite positioning goes haywire.

Katsura Kotonoha and Janet were currently huddled inside a mountain cave, watching the torrential rain come sheeting down outside. In these conditions, pressing forward was obviously impossible, and the exact location of the settlement had gone hazy on them now, too.

Foul-Mouthed Mask Guy: Hahahaha, your Uncle is still out here sunbathing. Feels great. Absolutely fantastic!

Machete Girl: Really, now. Then I wish you a lovely future as a grilled skewer.

Curly-haired Guy: Damn it, Deadpool, you bastard, showing off here every single day, huh? In case you’ve forgotten, you still have a world mission to complete, get your ass to work!

Foul-Mouthed Mask Guy: Bullshit! This IS my work! Are you telling me guarding convicts isn’t a real job for a warden?

Doujin Artist: You are truly shameless. Just now you said you were sunbathing, and now it’s suddenly "work"?

Foul-Mouthed Mask Guy: Hey, is the inside of your skull actually empty? Who says a man can’t sunbathe while he works? Ever heard of work-life balance, pal?

Skirt-Flipping Maniac: That’s not work-life balance. That’s just pure indulgence!

Amegakure Village’s Angel: Interesting. Jiraiya has left Konoha.

Lin Fengjiao: Left Konoha? Is he actually going to defect?

Curly-haired Guy: Hey, hey, no way! This bastard would never do something like that. I refuse to believe it!

Shark-Faced Guy: Calm down. People keep telling you he’s not the Jiraiya he once was. Even if he does defect, no need to act like the sky is falling.

Curly-haired Guy: How can I not be worked up?! I’ve got a thousand points riding on him!

Amegakure Village’s Angel: Don’t worry, it’s not a defection. His destination is the capital of the Land of Fire. It seems he plans to start from the Daimyo to realize his ideas.

Lazy Kitten: The Daimyo... will he actually go along with him?

This is an Actor: The idea is far too naive.

Doujin Artist: I think it’s hopelessly naive too. Marching up to the Daimyo and drily suggesting better treatment for craftsmen and farmers, if that got adopted, I’d be damned.

Soul Society’s Villain: At the end of the day, he’s still trying to take the path of peaceful mediation. He simply hasn’t accumulated enough real-world experience; he’s still holding on to illusions.

This is an Actor: That’s only natural. Jiraiya, at heart, is a man who genuinely hates war. Though hating war alone changes nothing.

Machete Girl: Right, hating it is useless! Class contradictions can never be reconciled away; this is a life-and-death struggle to the finish! Mr. Jiraiya still hasn’t grasped that.

Amegakure Village’s Angel: I’d say that for a man like him, coming this far is already impressive enough.

---

---