Vol 9 Chapter 7: weird utopia
"The architectural style here is more imaginative than the Cassel Manor I went to."
At this time, it was almost dusk, and Jiraiya and Kai were walking on the streets of Utopia, looking around and saying casually.
"It's a pity, I have never been to M. Angers' hometown."
Kai said with some disappointment
At that time, when Konoha cooperated with the half-blood to go to the Cassel Manor, he was still on the moon by the first generation to try to save him, so Kai did not catch up with the battle with Constantine.
"It's not a pity either, don't you see the same thing now?"
Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief, glanced at it, and said, "Let's stay here for the first time today, and we'll investigate the specific situation in the Western Continent at night."
"Okay." Kai followed Jiraiya's gaze, and found a building that was about some years old, with the name of the hotel on it, Iris Hotel.
From the outside, it looks like a sense of vicissitudes of the times, but there is a mournful tune faintly coming from it, and the sobbing harmonica seems to render a sad color to the world.
"I don't know why, but I always feel that the door of this hotel is like the mouth of a monster. We are throwing ourselves in the net when we walk in."
Zilai also shrugged and suddenly said
"Uh..." Kai was stunned for a moment and replied, "Is there? I think it's okay, and the people in this utopia are also very nice. It can be said that the folk customs are simple, right?"
"It's because of the simple folk customs... that's why I feel something is wrong..."
Zilai also sighed
He hadn't seen any city for so many years, but it was the first time he'd seen a city-state like Utopia with a polite per capita person. This was definitely not something that could be explained by different cultures and things.
But you can't always judge that someone has a problem just because they are polite, so Jiraiya chose to stay here for one night.
As the saying goes, if you don't enter a tiger's den, you can't get a tiger's son. Only by going deep into a dangerous whirlpool can you get valuable rewards.
Jirai also wanted to see if anything would happen this evening...
Walking into the 'Iris Hotel', the interior decoration has a classical charm. Although it is not too delicate and luxurious, it gives people an elegant and comfortable feeling.
And the source of the tune that came out of it was also among them, the proprietress. She sat on the counter, stroking the harmonica with both hands, and blew out the mournful tune with a little resentment in the tranquility.
Jiraiya and Kai didn't bother her, but waited until she finished playing. Sometimes it's a pleasure to hear this kind of music that can cleanse the soul. Jiraiya and Kai are both rude, but you can hear it absolutely It is a master work, and a sad story can be heard from it.
"It's really rude to make the guests wait so long."
After a long time, the harmonica slowly dissipated, and the proprietress opened her eyes and saw the two of them. She stood up apologetically.
Only at this time did Jirai realize that she was a very beautiful woman, with long pale golden hair caressing her back, her blue eyes like delicate gems attracting people, especially the faint sadness in her expression that made people even more attractive. There was a feeling that she couldn't help but want to protect her.
"No, it's nothing..." Because what impressed him most about Utopia was politeness, so Jirai didn't show any urgency. He touched the back of his head and pretended to be relaxed and smiled.
"Being able to hear the master's tunes, I can be considered to have come to utopia for nothing."
"Oh?" The proprietress was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Are you two guests from the outside world?"
"Yeah, we come from the ninja world, and we were connected to this continent because of a change."
"I see... I have never seen people from another continent."
She smiled softly, "Can you two want something to eat?"
"That said, I'm really hungry." Kai touched his stomach and said a little embarrassedly.
"You two sit first, I'll come later."
Seeing her leave, Zilai couldn't help but sigh.
"It's so beautiful..."
"Really?" Kai scratched his nose and said casually, "I think people in this city are all about the same size..."
"That's true..."
Jirai also recalled and found that almost all the people in this city are below the passing line, almost all of them are handsome men and beautiful women.
And if you distinguish it carefully...
I don't know why, but Jiraiya suddenly felt that since he came to Utopia, the people he met from the beginning to now seem to be the same person!
Jiraiya didn't know why he thought so, he quickly put everyone's faces on the same plane in his mind, and then began to compare carefully...
"No... Although there are some similarities, it can't be said to be the same person."
Ji Lai also shook his head, thinking that maybe he was thinking too much. After all, who would be so bored and pretend to be a ghost by his side to scare him with this method?
It's raining outside...
At first, it was still light rain, but as time passed, the rain became louder and louder, as if playing a shocking symphony.
In the blink of an eye, it turned into a torrential rain, and the sky became darker and darker. The golden afterglow of the sunset turned into a dark and dark cloud.
In this environment, Jiraiya's mood was also affected and became a little irritable.
Fortunately, the food arrived soon after, the tender and juicy pork chops, and a small bottle of ice-cold drinks were placed in front of him and Kai.
"Are you the only one in this shop?"
Jiraiya also tasted the pork chop and found that the taste was quite good, he said with admiration
"This is what my parents left behind." She sat back in the chair and said, "Because few outsiders come to Utopia, it's enough for me to do things by myself."
"Speaking of which, doesn't Utopia rarely come to outsiders?" Jiraiya didn't ask her parents any questions. Judging from the tone of voice, this is definitely not a topic that can be easily brought up.
"Well, because it is too remote and there is no valuable area around it, except for the ships that had to dock due to heavy rain, almost no one would come to Utopia."
"However, this is fine... It can make people more quiet..."
"Yeah..." Zilai also sighed and said, "Sometimes it's not a good thing to be too noisy. In a world that's too complicated, it's difficult for you to simply be yourself..."
"That's an interesting statement." The proprietress smiled and said meaningfully the next moment, "But sometimes in a world that is too quiet, it's not an easy thing to be yourself..."
Jirai smiled noncommittally, then imitated Angers and said like a gentleman, "Thank you, beautiful girl, for giving me a delicious dinner."
"In the entire Utopia, 'Iris' has the best service. Also, just call me Tracy." Tracy received Jiraiya's praise and replied at the same time
"My name is Jiraiya, and this kid's name is Matekai. Akai, pay the bill!"
Although the currency is different, the gold is the same, and Jiraiya and Kai can't afford to pay for dinner and lodging.
……
The room that Tracy arranged for them was room 404. For some reason, Zilai always felt that this room number was particularly unlucky.
"Kay, do you feel anything?"
Walking into the room, after realizing that there was nothing unusual in the room, Jiraiya closed the door, then heaved a sigh of relief and asked
At this time, he wanted to see what problems Kay's wild intuition could find.
"If you have to say something..."
Kai was stunned for a while, then thought back and tried to say, "That's why Tracy has arranged for us on the fourth floor? According to what she said, there are few outsiders in Utopia, which means that there shouldn't be too many people living there. That's right. But she skipped the second and third floors and chose to let us live on the fourth floor..."
"Indeed... this is indeed a problem."
Zilai also went down and said, "When I went upstairs, I noticed that there were no footprints in the corridor on the second and third floors, and it didn't look like someone lived there."
Kai nodded and said, "And there's another point. You said before that this looks like a monster's huge mouth. I haven't felt it outside, but the longer I stay inside, the more depressed I feel."
Jilai also frowned upon hearing this, but he didn't feel that way, but after hearing Kai's words, he also had a vague feeling of unease in his heart.
"Never mind, we'll leave here tomorrow!"
Jiraiya also said softly, "Whether there is any abnormality here or not, it will come to an end for the time being... Now the most important thing is to investigate the specific situation of the Western Continent, and if possible, find out the situation of Hermes and Hungry Wolf. . As for Utopia..."
Zilai also hesitated for a while, then said slowly
"I have a feeling that if there is something abnormal here, then its level must be far beyond the limit we can handle!"
Speaking of this, Jiraiya even shed two drops of cold sweat.
This is a feeling he has never had before, even when facing the Holy Master, facing Aizen, and facing the White King, he has no such strange feeling.
At this moment, Tracy, on the road, the guard at the gate... Since he entered Utopia, everyone he saw appeared in front of him, along with the harmonica that Tracy heard at first. Yin, in the voice of the endlessly mournful wailing, they looked at themselves with the same eyes...
Obviously, there is nothing unusual about it, but in these normal scenes, there is a feeling of numbness that can't be explained by the connection of a normal person.
"Unfortunately, if it doesn't rain outside, I would like to go outside and take a look."
There are two beds in the room. Kai sat on the bed by the window and looked at the majestic rain outside and said with some pity.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing to have this rain."
Jilai shook his head, slipped onto the bed, put his hands on the pillow, and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling.
Then, he fell asleep...
In the deep darkness, Jiraiya heard something faintly...
Pulled by some force, Jiraiya sat up from the bed, then got out of bed, looking at Kai who was sleeping, he gently opened the door.
It was late at night, and it was still raining heavily outside. Amidst the crackling rain, what could be seen was the darkness that could not be seen.
In the thick darkness, Jiraiya was walking on tiptoe in the corridor, and he came to the stairs.
The third floor...
On the floor that Tracey crossed over, Jiraiya also came to this floor.
And on the third floor of the Iris Hotel, which Tracy called a bad business, there were more than a dozen people standing...
None of them spoke, and even when they saw Jirai, they didn't do anything unusual, and the latter was also the same.
Then, they started going downstairs, and Zilai also followed silently to the second floor.
The same is true on the second floor. There are more than a dozen people standing. After seeing the people above come down, they also started to act.
go downstairs...
The first floor...
Jiraiya stood in the place where he was eating not long ago, watching Tracy appear in front of everyone.
Looking at this scene, and being watched silently by nearly forty people, Tracy took out a monocle from her pocket without haste.
She exhaled, wiped it lightly, and put it on her right eye...
This action was like opening Pandora's Box, triggering a chain reaction, and everyone took out monocles from their pockets.
Including Jiraiya...
Mechanically, he put his hands into his pockets like everyone else, and when he came out, there was an extra piece of monocle in his hand.
He never had the habit of wearing glasses, let alone monocles, but this lens just appeared.
Jiraiya followed Tracy's example, took a breath, and wiped it before wearing it on his right eye.
However, at this moment, he suddenly heard someone calling his name...
own name...
That person is calling 'Jilaiye'...
Jiraiya...my name...
His movement of wearing the glasses slowed down, which made his movement completely behind the neat others.
At this moment, everyone who wore the monocle turned their heads to look at Jiraiya at an extremely exaggerated angle. The monocle on their right eye seemed to exude some kind of magic, which gave them a sense of unity.
There were no expressions, no words, no movements, everyone moved in the same way and looked at Jiraiya with the same faces.
This is an extremely heavy pressure. Dozens of people wear monocles and look at themselves from an exaggerated angle, making Jiraiya feel creepy at this moment!
He woke up at this moment and heard the outside voice, it was Kai's voice, he was shouting 'Jilaiye'! ! ! !
The next moment the world began to distort, and everyone's silhouette began to expand and distort, like an illusory light and shadow.
They twisted and changed, but what remained the same was the monocle that was worn on the right eye, like a spell.
Jiraiya was terrified and slammed the monocle in his hand to the ground, and the next moment the twisted world began to collapse in an illogical form.
"Master Jiraiya!"
With Kai's anxious voice, Jilai also woke up suddenly from the bed.
rumbling...
The sound of thunder came from the outside world, and Jiraiya threw the sheets to the ground in an instant. He gasped loudly, his back was completely soaked with cold sweat...
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt as if he was holding something in his right hand...
Jiraiya lowered his head little by little, and slowly, slowly, released his right hand little by little.
The tightly clenched right hand opened, and Zilai also widened his eyes, watching in disbelief...
In his right hand...
has a lens...
The lens of a monocle...