Uzumaki Naruto stayed in place for a long time before he reacted, then wandered aimlessly down Loulan Avenue.
He wished Jiraiya was just joking with him, that Jiraiya hadn't really left, and was just hiding nearby using ninjutsu.
"Why does it have to be like this, wouldn't it be better to honestly know the future," Uzumaki Naruto muttered to himself, looking lost.
Uzumaki Naruto thought changing Jiraiya's future was simple because he knew the circumstances and timing of Jiraiya's death very well.
"Clearly, just not going to gather intelligence would suffice..."
"Do you want to eat ramen?" Mokgetsu suddenly appeared next to the heartbroken Naruto and asked.
"Eat." Uzumaki Naruto looked at Mokgetsu and instinctively answered.
Mokgetsu quickly took Uzumaki Naruto back to the rented apartment.
As soon as Uzumaki Naruto walked in, he smelled a rich aroma and looked at the dining table, where two large bowls of steaming hot ramen were already set.
Drawn by the aroma, Uzumaki Naruto walked to the dining table and discovered that the ramen was pork miso chashu, his favorite.
"I'm not sure if the ramen here in Loulan tastes the same as in Konoha, so I made it myself," Mokgetsu explained, sitting down next to Uzumaki Naruto.
Seeing the gentle smile on Mokgetsu's face, Uzumaki Naruto felt a warmth in his heart, as if he were basking in the sun despite being indoors.
Uzumaki Naruto thanked Mokgetsu, said "I'm starting," and then picked up his chopsticks to savor the incredibly enticing ramen.
As he tasted the delicious ramen, Uzumaki Naruto felt as though he were sunbathing on an incredibly fresh beach, with warmth enveloping his whole body.
After a few bites of ramen and a sip of soup, the warmth spread further throughout his body.
Normally, Uzumaki Naruto would immediately praise Mokgetsu's ramen excitedly, but the thought of Jiraiya possibly still dying dimmed the flavor of even this exquisite ramen.
"Brother Mokgetsu, the Pervy Sage is very strange, right?" Uzumaki Naruto said suddenly while eating.
"He always boasts about his reputation but can't change his perverted habits. When teaching me ninjutsu, he'd often leave me to train alone and run off to play himself. He'd insist on gathering intelligence alone even when it was dangerous. He'd buy ice cream with my money and then claim he's treating me..."
Uzumaki Naruto endlessly complained about Jiraiya's various bad habits, as if he held a grudge against Jiraiya.
But Uzumaki Naruto's gradually moistening eyes revealed his true feelings.
Mokgetsu sighed slightly, placed his hand on Uzumaki Naruto's head, and gently stroked it twice without speaking.
Reality is incredibly harsh; even if Uzumaki Naruto told Jiraiya everything, the Jiraiya of this world would survive, but the Jiraiya of Uzumaki Naruto's world would still not be revived.
Because they are not in different times but in two different worlds.
After pouring everything out, Uzumaki Naruto felt much better, and the ramen in his mouth regained its original deliciousness.
"This is the best ramen I've ever eaten, even better than Ichiraku's," Uzumaki Naruto reminisced about the taste of the ramen after finishing, feeling everything was just right.
While Uzumaki Naruto loved Ichiraku Ramen, he had to admit that Mokgetsu's ramen had reached the pinnacle of taste, and he felt he would never have better ramen.
"I'm glad you like it," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
Seeing Mokgetsu's smiling face and thinking of Yamato's previous speculation about Mokgetsu, Uzumaki Naruto felt another pang of sorrow.
He felt it was really unfair that people like Jiraiya and Mokgetsu couldn't live to the end.
"Brother Mokgetsu, if we go back, can we come back again?" Uzumaki Naruto asked.
He didn't understand the mechanism of their time travel, but Uzumaki Naruto really wanted to travel back again after returning.
He wanted to ask Kakashi-sensei clearly, take all the causes of everyone's deaths back to the past, and let Mokgetsu and the others survive.
"It's possible, but it should be very difficult," Mokgetsu thought for a moment and answered.
This question was difficult for Mokgetsu to answer because he hadn't figured out the mechanism of the Dragon Vein that allowed people to travel through time and worlds.
Perhaps if Uzumaki Naruto triggered the Dragon Vein Power again, he would just travel to another parallel world, or he might indeed cross back to the past of their world.
Uzumaki Naruto's eyes became determined; since it's possible, he must try.
"Brother Mokgetsu, let's continue the lesson," Uzumaki Naruto said.
Not only does the past need him to solve things, but his own time also has many issues like the Akatsuki, the renegade Sasuke, which requires him to be stronger.
Mokgetsu nodded with a smile, taking Uzumaki Naruto back to continue the lessons.
Although Uzumaki Naruto only needed to follow the steps to become the savior of the Ninja World, mastering the Breath of Yang could make his path a bit less bumpy.
Uzumaki Naruto didn't mention his meeting with Jiraiya, but Yamato noticed that Uzumaki Naruto had become a little different after returning.
Yamato did not inquire about Naruto's specifics but continued their cultivation as usual.
He knew Uzumaki Naruto's mood must not be good right now.
"A ninja like Jiraiya-sama would never accept such help," Yamato sighed inwardly.
From the start, when Uzumaki Naruto said he wanted to see Jiraiya, Yamato anticipated it would end like this.