Chapter 17: The Will of Fire Fading
The night air of Konoha was heavy with ash and despair. Smoke from the destruction still lingered, blotting out the stars and leaving only the pale glow of the moon to cast ghostly shadows across the scarred village. The Third Hokage had fallen, and with his death the Will of Fire that had held Konoha together for decades wavered like a candle in a storm.
Yet amid that chaos stood Jiraiya of the Sannin, his white mane stirring in the wind, his eyes fixed on the monstrous domain spreading before him. The realm was suffocating, an endless sea of silence and death. No birds sang, no insects chirped—every sound was swallowed, as if the world itself were being erased.
At its center loomed Uchiha Raizen.
Or rather, Raizen's Susanoo—a colossal warrior of spectral armor, its dark form cocooning him in protection. From afar, Jiraiya could feel it: a pressure that made even breathing a struggle. The air grew thinner with every step closer, chakra itself being devoured into nothingness.
"Master Jiraiya," a Konoha jonin at his side urged, his face pale and lips trembling. "We should return. The village is in turmoil… without the Third, without leadership, we need you more than ever. Please… don't throw yourself into this abyss."
Jiraiya's jaw tightened. His heart screamed for him to listen—for him to turn back and protect the people who still lived, instead of chasing a shadow who had already abandoned the village.
But pride and guilt were cruel masters.
"No," Jiraiya answered, his voice gravelly, but resolute. "We can't just walk away. You said it yourself—maybe it's not the realm expanding, but Raizen himself moving. If that's the case, then somewhere within this nightmare, he still exists. If I can reach him… if I can shake him awake…"
The jonin looked at him in horror. "You can't mean to go inside…"
Jiraiya didn't respond. He straightened, shoulders squared, his expression grim. He was one of the Legendary Sannin—he could not afford to turn tail now. To retreat without trying would mean admitting weakness, admitting that even he had no answer for this threat.
And who was he, if not someone who bore the weight of impossible battles?
"Let's move," Jiraiya ordered.
The small squad of Konoha shinobi reluctantly followed him, circling the perimeter of the strange, expanding void. Their sandals slapped against broken stone as they ran, dust rising with every step. Yet no matter how far they went, the result was the same: the realm had grown, swallowing what once had been solid ground.
Minutes stretched into an eternity before Jiraiya stopped, chest heaving, his face darkening with grim realization. They had returned to the exact spot where they had started.
The realm wasn't stationary. It was expanding.
His stomach sank.
"It's not him moving…" Jiraiya muttered under his breath. "…this whole realm is growing."
The silence pressed heavier on him, like invisible chains dragging his soul downward. Desperation flickered in his eyes as he cupped his hands to his mouth.
"Uchiha Raizen! Can you hear me? It's me—Jiraiya!"
His voice, loud and commanding, should have carried far. Instead, the sound fractured and faded almost instantly, devoured by the oppressive barrier. Even his chakra-infused words dissolved like raindrops into sand.
Still, Jiraiya tried again, shouting Raizen's name, pleading for him to wake up, to remember the Will of Fire that bound all of Konoha's shinobi together. But no answer came.
Inside the realm, Raizen slumbered within the ribcage of Susanoo, his eyes closed, his breathing calm. To him, the world outside might as well not exist. Whether he was unaware or simply indifferent, Jiraiya could not tell.
By the time Raizen awoke, the world could already be gone.
Jiraiya clenched his fists, his mind racing. How could he reach him? Could he shatter the realm with sheer force? Could he pierce it with a technique? Or… could he kill Raizen outright, ending the threat before it consumed everything?
The thought weighed heavy. He remembered the boy—brash, gifted, carrying the cursed blood of the Uchiha but still laughing among the other children of Konoha once upon a time. To end him now would mean snuffing out not just a life, but every possibility that had once burned within him.
Jiraiya ground his teeth.
"Damn it…"
He slammed his hands together. Smoke burst as two small figures appeared on his shoulders—Fukasaku and Shima, the Two Great Sage Toads.
"Jiraiya boy," croaked Fukasaku, his wide eyes narrowing as he surveyed the deadly realm. "Is this the calamity the Great Toad Sage spoke of? I told you not to draw near…!"
"Leave it," Shima added, worry etched into her froglike features. "This ain't something mortals should be meddling with. Find the Child of Destiny, wait for the prophecy to unfold—"
"No." Jiraiya cut them off, his voice firm. "We've come this far, and I won't run with my tail between my legs. This realm drains chakra, yes… but it doesn't strike. If I move quickly, I can get in, shake Raizen, and pull back before I'm emptied."
The toads exchanged a nervous glance, but Jiraiya's mind was set. He gathered chakra, sage energy flooding into him, his eyes sharpening as the orange pigmentation spread across his face. Sage Mode ignited his body like a furnace, golden light radiating from him.
"Let's go!" Jiraiya bellowed.
And he ran.
Each step echoed, then vanished, his feet pounding into silence. The golden glow that wrapped him was like a torch in the void, but even that fire began to dim as the realm hungrily devoured it.
"Kuah! Too fast, too much!" Fukasaku croaked.
"Little Jiraiya, I warned ya!" Shima cried.
Their voices were desperate, but Jiraiya ignored them, pumping chakra harder, squeezing every ounce of life from his body. He roared, his voice raw.
Yet the realm's hunger was infinite.
The golden light around him flickered once… twice… and then extinguished, as though the universe itself had blown out a candle.
With a heavy thud, Jiraiya collapsed, his body limp and trembling, sweat pouring down his face. His limbs felt like lead; every attempt to move was agony.
"No… not yet…" he rasped, his fingers clawing weakly at the ground. "I can't… stop… here…"
From outside the realm, Konoha shinobi screamed his name. "Jiraiya-sama! Hold on, we're coming!"
They surged into the barrier, but the moment they crossed the threshold their chakra too began to drain. Their faces paled, their steps faltered, yet still they pressed forward, grabbing Jiraiya's arms and dragging him with desperate strength.
But the realm showed no mercy. Their chakra evaporated like mist in the sun. Within moments, they collapsed, twitching weakly on the ground beside him.
Jiraiya's heart tore in two.
"No… damn it, no!!!" His voice cracked, raw with grief and guilt.
More shinobi rushed in—a desperate relay of comrades, each determined to carry their master back. One by one they dragged him forward, and one by one they too fell, drained dry until they writhed helplessly on the ground.
"Stop… STOP!" Jiraiya cried, his tears blurring his vision. "Don't throw your lives away for me… I was wrong… I was so wrong!"
His words were little more than whispers. His body was too weak, his throat too dry. His will screamed, but his flesh betrayed him.
Finally, the last two shinobi reached him. They seized his body with trembling hands, their faces twisted with agony as their own chakra was bled from them. Still, with every ounce of determination left, they dragged him toward the fading edge of the realm.
"Live, Jiraiya-sama!" one cried.
"For Konoha!" the other roared.
And with their final breaths, they shoved him outward, collapsing into the dust with empty eyes.
Jiraiya landed just beyond the barrier, his body barely alive. He tried to rise, but his limbs betrayed him. He tried to speak, but no words came. Tears streamed freely down his face, blurring the stars overhead.
The Will of Fire, once burning so fiercely in him, flickered and dimmed.
He had wanted to save Uchiha Raizen. Instead, he had nearly doomed his comrades. His pride, his stubbornness, had led good men to their deaths.
"I… was wrong…" Jiraiya whispered, his voice breaking. "Forgive me…"
And for the first time in decades, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku wept like a child, watching the light of the Will of Fire fade into darkness.