[Konoha, Year One. High platform outside Konoha]
After witnessing the scene of Jiraiya's death, Hashirama couldn't help but sigh, "This young one possessed the true Will of Fire. To gather intelligence, he infiltrated an enemy village alone and faced an enemy far stronger than himself. And even knowing he couldn't win, he still chose to fight. A shinobi like that is the true backbone of Konoha."
Madara, however, looked disdainful, "After all that, it still comes down to a lack of strength."
He then looked at young Hiruzen, "Look at you. It is precisely because the future you was too weak that the disciple you taught also fell short. If his strength had reached Super Kage-level, how could he have died so easily?"
Young Hiruzen stood to the side, not daring to even breathe loudly.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say that was a matter of the future and had nothing to do with him, but looking at Madara's red eyes, he swallowed his words back.
He could only nod, "Sensei is right. I will definitely work hard to become stronger."
Though Hashirama had a different opinion, "Madara, you cannot say that either. Jiraiya was already very strong; it was just that his opponent was even stronger."
Madara snorted coldly, "Strong? He hadn't even mastered Sage Mode perfectly before he was defeated by Pain. You call that strong? Hashirama, your definition of 'strong' is too lax."
Hearing that, Hashirama fell silent.
He knew Madara had a point. In the face of absolute strength, will and determination both seemed pale.
No matter how brave Jiraiya was, he couldn't defeat Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan.
Such was the cruelty of the Shinobi World.
---
[Konoha, Year 48. Hokage Office]
Minato stood by the window, watching the scene on the screen of Jiraiya slowly sinking into the sea, and remained silent for a long time.
Even though he already knew the outcome, seeing the scene of his teacher's death with his own eyes still stirred an uncontrollable wave of sadness in his heart.
The man who was always grinning and joking but was also incredibly reliable at critical moments, had sunk into the cold seawater just like that.
He took out the copy of 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi' he carried with him, staring intently at the cover, "Inspired by Nagato's story, and the protagonist is Naruto."
Jiraiya had placed his hope in the next generation, while he himself had fallen early on the road of pursuing that hope.
However, the Jiraiya of this world was still investigating intelligence in the Shinobi World based on the content of the screen, but he had already contacted Minato and would return before Kushina gave birth.
"Jiraiya-sensei, rest assured, none of those tragedies will happen in the future!"
Kushina walked to his side, comforting him gently, "Minato, Jiraiya-sensei will be fine... we will all be fine."
Minato nodded, put the book away, and held his wife's hand in return.
"Mhm."
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Location of Team 7]
Naruto's eyes were red. He hadn't expected that the Pervy Sage, who was always so good to him, would die just like that in the "future."
He clenched his hands into fists, vowing to grow stronger as quickly as possible, ideally being able to give Nagato a good beating, just like what was shown on the Sky Screen earlier.
At this moment, Naruto even found it somewhat hard to understand how the future him could have spared Nagato after Nagato killed Pervy Sage and so many Konoha villagers.
Sasuke's expression was tense, his face equally grim.
He naturally had a list in his heart for who treated him well and who didn't.
Although Jiraiya was a lecherous guy, he was genuinely sincere toward Naruto and him.
He glanced upwards at the Six Paths of Pain on the screen and resolved to teach them a good lesson in the future.
---
[Somewhere in an underground base in the Shinobi World]
Orochimaru leaned beside a cultivation tank, staring intently at the scene on the screen of Jiraiya sinking into the sea, silent for a long while.
No expression could be seen on his face as he spoke, "What a foolish guy." Yet his tone no longer carried its usual mockery.
Just then, the Sky Screen's voice once again rang out.
[Without a doubt, Jiraiya was an outstanding Shinobi.]
[Although he was the dead last among the three Sannin as a child, through Senjutsu training at Mount Myoboku and his own efforts, he finally became an excellent shinobi.]
[But looking at Jiraiya's life as a whole, it was also full of failures; he always fell just a little short of success in everything he did.]
[Like how he failed to bring back his close friend Orochimaru, who had gone astray.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Jiraiya couldn't help but scratch his head.
Even until death, he hadn't been able to bring Orochimaru back. That was indeed somewhat regrettable.
Fortunately, after the Fourth Ninja World War, Orochimaru seemed to have returned to Konoha on his own.
[Like how his beloved disciple, Minato, died sealing the Nine-Tails for the village and he wasn't there to help.]
[Like how he had admired Tsunade since childhood but could never win her heart. And in the end, just when things seemed they were about to work out, he voluntarily went to Amegakure.]
The scene on the screen shifted.
The setting sun cast slanting rays. Jiraiya and Tsunade sat side by side on a bench, the atmosphere between them somewhat subtle.
At this moment, Jiraiya stood up, seemingly preparing to leave.
Tsunade's cheeks were slightly flushed, her gaze hazy, as she said softly, "Come back alive... If I lost you too... I..."
Hearing that, Jiraiya laughed heartily, "Hahaha! Are you saying you would cry for me? I'm glad to hear it. But I doubt it would be like that time when Dan died, right?"
"You idiot."
"Then how about making a bet with me? You bet that I'll die!"
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
"What kind of joke is this!!"
Tsunade instantly flew into a rage!
"How could I possibly confess to that perverted bastard whose head is full of nothing but filth?! The screen is definitely making this up!"
[And like how after finally finding the true Child of Prophecy, and in order to gather intelligence, he was killed by the student he had personally trained.]
[All in all, Jiraiya's life was indeed full of regrets.]
[From a certain perspective, Jiraiya's life was both made and broken by Mount Myōboku.]
[On the positive side, thanks to Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu, his strength reached the peak of the Kage-level, and together with Orochimaru and Tsunade, they established the fame of the "Three Legendary Sannin." This was also the foundation of his confidence in searching for the Child of Prophecy.]
[On the negative side, because of the Toad Sage's prophecy, Jiraiya spent half his life trapped in the vicious cycle of searching for the Child of Prophecy, from Nagato to Minato, and from Minato to Naruto, wasting decades of time on it.]
[This also led to him being unable to help the Third Hokage share the burden, and unable to take care of his student's orphan. When the village needed him most, he was traveling the Shinobi World searching for the Child of Prophecy; when he should have stepped forward most, he was nowhere to be seen, dumping the heavy responsibility onto Tsunade, who still suffered from hemophobia before succeeding as Hokage.]
*****
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