Chapter 191 What is the meaning of immortality?

The mountains behind Konoha were shrouded in rain, looking hazy, as if covered by a layer of gray gauze.

The puddles on the bluestone path are like a mirror, reflecting the gray sky and giving people a feeling of tranquility and slight sadness.

Yuxi was walking leisurely on the path, carrying a bamboo basket.

Her steps were light and graceful, as if she had merged into one with the rain.

The two silver fish in the bamboo basket fluttered occasionally, splashing water that wet her cuffs, but she didn't seem to care.

As she reached the stone steps in front of the mansion, a striking streak of white hair caught her attention.

That was Jiraiya. He was rolling up his sleeves, holding a broom, pushing the accumulated water into the gutters on both sides.

His movements were skillful and powerful, and he could sweep away the accumulated water cleanly with every stroke.

Beside Jiraiya, Kaguya Otsutsuki stood quietly.

She held a wooden spoon in her hand, her silver hair falling to her waist like a waterfall, like a fairy.

Her movements were gentle and delicate, as she scooped up the water from the depression on the steps one spoonful at a time, as if she was carving a piece of art.

Yuxi stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her paper umbrella tilted back slightly, revealing her half-smiling face.

Her eyes fell on Jiraiya, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and she teased: "Hey, isn't this Jiraiya? Why are you at my door?"

Jiraiya looked up suddenly and the broom fell into the water with a "plop".

"Lord Yu Xi!"

He jumped down the stairs in two steps at a time, but just as he was about to land.

His foot accidentally stepped on the moss on the steps, and he lost his balance and slid forward like an arrow.

At this critical moment, Kaguya Otsutsuki's figure flashed out like a phantom.

Her movements were as fast as lightning, and her slender fingers were like precise pliers, firmly grasping the back of Jiraiya's collar, successfully preventing him from sliding forward.

"Be careful." Kaguya's voice was as cold as an ice spring, yet with a hint of helplessness.

Jiraiya's body hovered in the air for a moment, then slowly fell back to the ground.

Yu Xi couldn't help but chuckle as she watched this scene.

She handed the bamboo basket in her hand to Kaguya and said with a smile, "Additional dishes tonight."

Kaguya took the bamboo basket, nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Her steps were light and graceful, as if not a speck of dust was on them.

Kaguya folded the paper umbrella in her hand, and the water droplets on the umbrella slid down the ribs.

It dripped onto the bluestone slabs, splashing tiny water droplets.

Then it quickly spread out, leaving dark marks on the bluestone slab.

Yuxi looked at Kaguya's receding figure, then turned to look at Jiraiya with a faint smile on her lips.

She asked, "So, Jiraiya brat, why are you rushing over here in such a hurry? Is there something important? Are you here just to help me clean up the water?"

When Jiraiya heard this, a rare look of embarrassment suddenly appeared on his face.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiraiya took a deep breath and finally mustered up the courage to say, "Actually... I'm here to ask you a question."

His voice was a little low, and he seemed a little difficult to speak.

Seeing this, Yu Xi felt a little curious. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Oh? What question can make you so embarrassed? Come inside and talk."

The incense in the tea room rises, and the sound of rain outside the window becomes heavier.

Jiraiya knelt on the futon, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the teacup.

Yuxi leaned on the soft couch by the window, her long golden hair splashed on the white cushion like ink.

Kaguya slowly walked out of the kitchen, then knelt in front of the tea table, holding the teapot in her bare hands, her movements flowing like flowing water.

Jiraiya's Adam's apple rolled: "Lord Kaguya, when we were chatting, we mentioned..."

His eyes moved between the two women. "She said you have lived... for over a thousand years?"

Yuxi took a sip of tea, and the tea soup had a slightly bitter aftertaste on the tip of her tongue. "To be exact, it was one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven years."

She put down the teacup, and the porcelain and wooden table made a crisp sound. "Why, are you surprised?"

Jiraiya's forehead was covered with beads of sweat: "But... How is this possible? How can a human live so long? Even the first Hokage..."

Yuxi looked at the rain curtain outside the window and said, "We have surpassed the scope of human beings."

The sound of rain suddenly became louder and the light in the tea room dimmed.

Jiraiya felt dizzy, as if the ground was giving way beneath his feet.

"I don't understand..." Jiraiya's voice trembled a little, "Orochimaru desperately pursues immortality and even conducts those taboo experiments. What is the point?"

"Orochimaru has taken the wrong path." Yuxi's voice was as calm as water.

"He used other people's lives to extend his own existence, and his soul has long been riddled with holes." A crystal drop of water condensed on her fingertips. "True immortality requires a complete soul, otherwise you are just a walking corpse."

An image emerged from the water droplets: a pale and thin man in a dark underground laboratory, tearing off his rotten face in front of a mirror, revealing another face underneath that was also beginning to fester.

Jiraiya's stomach twisted as he recognized his former companion.

"Has he... become like this?" Jiraiya's voice was hoarse.

Yu Xi sneered: "The weight of the soul will be reflected in the body. Constantly changing the container, but holding an increasingly decaying soul..."

She shook her head. "The sad thing is, he clearly has the talent to walk the right path."

The teahouse fell into silence, with only the sound of rain hitting the roof.

Jiraiya recalled his youth when Orochimaru was concentrating on studying forbidden techniques in the laboratory. Although his eyes were cold at that time, at least there was some life in them.

"What about you guys?" Jiraiya suddenly looked up, "A thousand years... won't you feel lonely?"

Kaguya and Yuxi looked at each other, and some kind of communication without words flowed between them.

Yuxi’s expression softened for the first time: “Because we have each other.

She reached out and brushed the loose hair on Kaguya's forehead, "When you are in a bad mood, there is always someone to accompany you to drink and watch the moon."

"Yes!" Kaguya responded

Jiraiya looked at them and suddenly had an illusion that time had lost its meaning in this tea room.

The sound of rain outside the window gradually stopped, and a ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds, casting a diamond-shaped spot of light on the tatami.

"So the point of immortality is..." Jiraiya muttered to himself.

"It's not that immortality itself has meaning." Yu Xi stood up and opened the window. The fresh air after the rain poured into the tea room.

"It's what you do with eternity." She turned to look at Jiraiya, the sunlight giving her a golden edge.

Huiye walked to Yuxi's side, and their shadows blended in the sunlight. "Whether you are lonely or not depends on who you have in your heart." She said softly, "We have witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations, but the most important thing is..."

"Will anyone remember you?" Yu Xi asked, and they smiled at each other.

Jiraiya felt his eyes getting hot.

He remembered how he had wandered for half his life and finally found his home in Myoboku Mountain; he remembered how Tsunade got drunk when she failed in the casino; he remembered the drizzle on the day Orochimaru left.

Perhaps the meaning of life does not lie in its length, but in the moments that make you willing to stay for it.

The aroma of cooking fish wafted from the kitchen. "Oh no, we have to hurry." Kaguya Otsutsuki quickly got up and went to the kitchen.

Yuxi stretched and said, "Stay for dinner!"

Jiraiya nodded.

He left after dinner.

The sunshine completely dispelled the dark clouds, and the sound of dripping water from the eaves gradually stopped.

Many cherry blossoms in the backyard of the mansion were knocked down by the rain, and the pink and white petals were wet on the moss, like an ink painting.

New flower buds are already growing on the branches, waiting for the next round of blooming.