Dusk.
The setting sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves of the Hidden Leaf Village, casting mottled shadows across Naruto's face. But today, even the sunlight could not dispel the haze in his heart.
Naruto walked through the streets of the village, the surrounding clamor feeling entirely detached from him. His thoughts drifted back to those days spent training with Jiraiya.
But now, it was all in the past. Naruto felt as if his heart had been sliced by a sharp blade; the pain made it difficult to breathe. He desperately wished this was just a cruel joke, that in the next second, he would hear Jiraiya's familiar voice telling him this was just training, a trial to test his resolve.
But reality was ruthless; no miracle occurred. Jiraiya's kind smile would never appear in this world again, and those warm memories had transformed into heart-wrenching agony.
Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha with hollow eyes, wandering aimlessly as a breeze picked up, carrying countless leaves toward the horizon. Scattered throughout the village were memories of him and Jiraiya. The man had always smiled at him; though he loved peeping at the women's bath and usually lacked any sense of propriety, Jiraiya remained a truly magnificent shinobi in Naruto's heart.
Yet, at this moment, that kind smile in his memories was frozen forever in the past. Naruto sat atop the utility pole where he used to stand, gazing at the Great Stone Faces. His heart felt empty.
His best friend, Kanon, had defected from Konoha, and there was no news of Sasuke, whom he was desperately pursuing. Now, he had learned of his master Jiraiya's death, and at the final moment, he discovered that Jiraiya had died right in front of Kanon.
This sense of powerless, tragic emptiness interwove around Naruto. He sat in silent reflection for a long time, his mind filled with the memories of the last few years. He looked down at his clothes, remembering when Jiraiya had personally taken him to buy them.
"These clothes are so cool!"
Jiraiya had patted Naruto's back. "Oh? Is this what they mean by 'clothes make the man'?"
Naruto jumped down from the pole and pulled his jacket up tight.
"Yo, Naruto!" Iruka's voice called out.
Naruto looked at Iruka's smile, but he couldn't bring himself to smile back.
"It sounds like you really distinguished yourself on your mission. Want to talk for a bit? It's been a while."
"Want to go grab some Ichiraku Ramen?" Iruka invited with a smile.
Naruto kept his head down and muttered a single word: "Pass..."
Iruka watched with a worried expression as Naruto brushed past him.
…
The Hokage's Office.
After handing the code-breaking task over to Shikamaru and Sakura, Tsunade also left the office. This strong woman walked down the long corridor, her mind flooded with every moment she had shared with Jiraiya.
Finally, this resilient woman, the Fifth Hokage, one of the Legendary Sannin, slumped against the wall, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.
She had won her bet with Jiraiya. She, who lost every bet she made, had actually won the one gamble she most desperately wanted to lose. Tsunade gritted her teeth, feeling the heat of her tears.
"You idiot..."
"How could you..."
Her body slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. Tsunade had never felt this powerless. As the Hokage, she could no longer wail with the same heart-rending abandon she had shown in her youth upon hearing of the deaths of Dan and Nawaki.
…
At Naruto's house, a cup of instant noodles sat soggy and untouched. He sat on his bed, head bowed, slumped with exhaustion. Listening to the ticking of the clock, he finally understood the true pain of losing someone precious.
Kanon was surely enduring this same soul-crushing pain right now. Jiraiya had died right before her eyes; she must be loathing her own powerlessness, just like he was.
Thinking this, Naruto opened his door and left the house. He went to a 24-hour convenience store and bought a popsicle, the kind he had once shared with Jiraiya and Kanon.
The park at night was gently illuminated by streetlights, with moths dancing under every shade. They swirled around the light source, throwing themselves recklessly toward the warmth as if pursuing some unreachable dream.
Naruto sat on a bench, holding a popsicle that had begun to melt. He watched the moths in silence, though a storm raged within him. Tears burst from Naruto's eyes; there was no one left to break the popsicle apart for him.
Naruto's face looked exceptionally pale in the night. His eyes reflected the glow of the streetlights and the shadows of the moths, but mostly, they held a profound sense of loneliness and helplessness. Tears traced slow paths down his cheeks, dripping onto the now-sticky popsicle.
He made no sound; there was no sobbing, no heaving of the chest. There was only the constant flow of tears, betraying the depths of his agony. Everything around him was serene, the night sounds echoing in his ears as if from another world. His heart was filled with an unspeakable loss and void, as if he had been forgotten in this night of fading lights.
Just then, a familiar voice called out.
"Naruto..." Iruka walked over and sat beside him. "I heard about Jiraiya-sama..."
Naruto, who hadn't spoken for nearly a day, finally opened his mouth. "I wish... he could have kept watching me..."
"I really wanted him to see the moment I become Hokage."
"I can't let the Pervy Sage only see the embarrassing sides of me."
"I..."
Iruka interrupted him, his voice heavy. "Jiraiya-sama was always praising you."
"He said you and Kanon were like his own grandson and granddaughter. He always spoke of the two of you with such pride, even after Kanon defected."
"He always believed you were the one to inherit his will."
"He never doubted for a moment that you would one day become a magnificent Hokage."
"Jiraiya-sama has been watching you all along."
"Even now, he's watching you from somewhere."
"If that man saw you looking so depressed, he wouldn't praise you."
"So, just be like you've always been."
With that, Iruka stood up and then crouched down beside Naruto. "Just be the person he can keep praising."
He took the popsicle and broke the melting treat in half, mimicking what Jiraiya used to do.
"Because you are a student acknowledged by Jiraiya of the Sannin... a magnificent disciple!"
Iruka handed the larger half to Naruto. Naruto finally managed a small smile as he took it.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
…
Inside the destroyed Otogakure.
Kanon was still in the midst of a breakdown. She was submerged in a nightmare, one that ruthlessly tore at her soul. She lay in the center of a flower field that had turned to scorched earth, clutching Kidomaru's severed hands, curled up and trembling amidst the ruins.
The sky was thick with dark clouds and rolling thunder, as if heralding the end of the world. In her dream, the warm smiles she once knew became distorted and strange, their eyes filled with cold indifference and detachment. She tried to move closer, only to find she was paralyzed, forced to watch as those she was once closest to drifted further and further away.
Kanon felt a surge of intense panic, struggling to break free from the dream, but the shackles of the nightmare bound her tight. Her heart was filled with fear and despair; every breath felt like swallowing fire.
Finally, the dream began to collapse, and she woke from that horrific world. Kanon opened her eyes. The rain was still falling, and the ruins and smoke still surrounded her.
But in Kanon's eyes, the final flicker of light had been extinguished. A sense of infinite despair welled up from her heart. Looking at the severed arms in her embrace, which had begun to rot, Kanon sat up.
She scanned her surroundings. Everything was both familiar and foreign. This was where she used to be, yet it had been reduced to rubble. As if she had lost her memory, Kanon felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her head.
Finally, she came to her senses. From her despairing, hollow eyes, tears of blood began to flow. Her expression turned twisted and feral as an unparalleled sense of hatred surged through her body.
"Kanon... are you awake?" Konin's voice drifted from her inner world.
"No... she's not awake yet. She's dead," Kanon said, brushing her rain-soaked hair behind her.
The fox mask still lay beside her, but Kanon no longer wore her hair in twin tails. She placed the mask back on her head, the Mangekyō Sharingan spinning relentlessly in her eyes.
"Your vision is already blurring, isn't it? Even though your ocular power has recovered, I suggest you go ahead and transplant the Eternal Mangekyō."
"That can wait until later!"
"I have something more important to do right now."
"What is it?" Konin asked, confused.
"Konin, don't you understand yet?!" Kanon nearly shrieked.
"I understand, of course, but..."
"No 'buts'!"
"What on earth was the old me doing?!" A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the night.
The current Kanon only wanted the world to feel her pain!
In this night of wind and rain, Kanon tilted her head back and let out a manic laugh toward the heavens.
"I'm going to kill every last one of those bastards!"
"I'm going to grind their bones to ash!"
As Kanon roared, her Susanoo began to manifest. A rose-colored Susanoo, hundreds of meters tall, surged upward. Under the interlacing lightning, it looked more like blood.
Indeed, in this moment of ultimate despair and agony, Kanon's Susanoo had reached its Perfect form.