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Such a commotion naturally alerted Konan and Nagato. However, Nagato now had little desire to escape, so Konan could only silently set up an array of explosive tags nearby, preparing for the worst.
"Nagato, Konan…" Jiraiya looked at Nagato's miserable state and asked, "What happened to Nagato?"
To be honest, Naruto was also shocked. Had his eyes been gouged out? Was it Obito or Black Zetsu? If it was Black Zetsu, shouldn't he have just controlled Nagato to revive Madara directly?
"Jiraiya-sensei, in the end, I still got to see you again." Konan took a moment to recognize Jiraiya, mostly because he was still in Sage Mode. Not only did he have the red facial markings, but the toad-like warts on his nose made his transformation look quite severe.
"Jiraiya-sensei? Since you're here, that must mean the people of Konoha are here as well, right? If you've come to kill me, then go ahead. I have no reason to keep living anymore. This false world… perhaps death will be better than staying alive." Nagato spoke in a self-destructive tone, simultaneously stopping Konan from trying to persuade him otherwise.
"You're wrong, Nagato. Being the pillar that supports you and Yahiko is my dream. If the bridge is gone, then what meaning does the pillar have?" Even though Nagato couldn't see, Konan still gave him a gentle smile. Then, she turned to face Konoha's shinobi, adopting a battle stance.
"Wait a minute! Can someone explain to me what exactly happened?" Jiraiya was utterly confused. They had just been fighting moments ago, and now Nagato was suddenly acting like he had no will to live. And what had happened to his eyes? Jiraiya still couldn't figure it out.
"Wasn't he betrayed by his own people?" Naruto recalled a certain black parasite whose backstabbing skills were maxed out one that even the Six Paths Madara couldn't guard against.
"..." Nagato was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "At this point, there's no need to hide anything anymore."
Nagato revealed everything they had gone through after Jiraiya left the death of Yahiko, the man claiming to be Uchiha Madara, the Eye of the Moon Plan, the assassination of Hanzo, the cooperation with Orochimaru, and being betrayed by Zetsu…
Jiraiya listened with mixed emotions. The kind-hearted Nagato of the past had ultimately walked down the wrong path.
As a teacher, Jiraiya felt both heartbroken and guilty. Even the surprising news that Orochimaru was still alive couldn't lift his spirits.
"Nagato, Konan, you've suffered a lot over the years, haven't you?"
Konan opened her mouth slightly but said nothing. Jiraiya's words immediately brought back memories of the four of them living together, but those days could never return.
"You haven't changed at all, Jiraiya-sensei. Back then, you believed my eyes carried the will of the Sage. Do you still think so today?" Nagato opened his bloodstained eyes and asked, "My eyes, my plans, everything I've done over the years… It was all a deception! 'A time will come when people will truly understand each other' Even now, do you still want me to believe in those words?"
Everyone present could feel the fury and despair in Nagato's voice. Just as Jiraiya had said, he truly had endured so much suffering over the years.
Jiraiya did not answer him directly. Instead, he silently withdrew from Sage Mode and turned to ask, "Tsunade, can you check on Nagato's injuries?"
Everyone was stunned. Tsunade directly asked, "Jiraiya, what are you thinking?"
"Please," Jiraiya said with his signature goofy smile.
Tsunade looked toward Minato, who nodded. "Let's follow Jiraiya-sensei's decision, Lady Tsunade."
"You're all idiots, aren't you?" Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Jiraiya, you're paying the medical fees!"
"No problem!" Jiraiya agreed immediately. Tsunade demanding a fee meant she would treat Nagato as an ordinary patient, at least during the diagnosis and treatment; she would simply be a doctor.
"'Jiraiya-sensei'…? The Fourth Hokage?" Nagato noticed Minato's form of address.
"That's me. For now, let Lady Tsunade examine you. As fellow disciples of Jiraiya-sensei, I'd like to have a proper conversation with you, Nagato." Minato was about five years older than Nagato and had become Jiraiya's student earlier. In a way, he was Nagato's senior.
Tsunade walked toward Nagato without hesitation. Back in the Land of Rain, she had met the three of them before. At that time, Orochimaru had even suggested killing them, but who would have thought that they would grow up to cause such a huge stir?
Jiraiya, who fooled his students, always turned out to be an extraordinary figure.
Konan did not stop Tsunade. Given her understanding of Jiraiya, if he had any intention of harming Nagato, he wouldn't use such a method. Besides, Konan truly hoped that Tsunade could help Nagato.
As Tsunade's hand emitted a green healing glow over Nagato, he asked, "Why are you doing this? For someone like me, shouldn't Konoha just kill me outright or take other extreme measures?"
"You are my student. I once believed you had the power to change the world, but I failed to guide you properly. That was my mistake. Now that you've strayed down the wrong path, as your teacher, I must bring you back."
Jiraiya said, "Nagato, a time when people can truly understand one another will come. Even now, I firmly believe that. Just like how I can understand your pain, and Minato and Tsunade can understand my actions. Expanding that understanding to the entire ninja world… Honestly, I don't know how to do it. But I believe that one day, my students or my students' students will find a way to make it a reality."
Nagato calmly responded, "We once agreed with your beliefs, but looking back now, it seems that such thoughts were too naive."
Jiraiya laughed at himself. "Yeah, I'm a fool through and through. I couldn't stop Orochimaru from defecting, I couldn't save Yahiko, and I couldn't even win over the woman I loved…
But precisely because I'm a fool, I will keep walking down the path I believe in step by step, no matter what. One day, whether I die in obscurity as an ordinary person or go out in a blaze of glory as a true shinobi, as long as this world moves just a little closer to that future, I'll be satisfied!"
"In that case, I must be a fool too," Minato said, scratching his head with a smile. "Not only do I believe in that future, but I'm also working toward it."
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