After Nagato and Rei Kaguya raised their pursuit position high enough, the two quickly vanished from Hanabi Hyuga's sensory range.
However, Nagato and Rei Kaguya did not immediately chase after them because of that. Instead, they patiently hung back at the furthest distance from which they could sense Jiraiya, silently waiting for the others to completely lower their guard.
As expected, after changing speed and direction several times, and after confirming that there were no other trackers behind Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake and Hanabi Hyuga slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
They took the initiative to slow down and used a special code known only to Konoha shinobi to reveal their whereabouts to Jiraiya. Then they led him all the way to a small town abandoned because of the war.
"You two… really are Konoha shinobi…"
After catching up with Kakashi and Hanabi, Jiraiya did not immediately rush forward to speak to them. Instead, he cautiously kept a distance from the two of them.
While observing the surrounding environment and making sure there was no ambush nearby, he quietly positioned himself in the most suitable location for retreat.
"I originally thought you would properly accompany Lord Third to participate in the peace talks, so I didn't disguise myself too seriously… It seems I really have grown far too lax because of peace lasting too long."
Kakashi Hatake adjusted his attire and took the initiative to greet Jiraiya.
"It has been many, many years, Lord Jiraiya."
"Many, many years?"
Jiraiya looked at the upper half of Kakashi's face, which already carried the marks of time. After a moment of silence, he asked with some emotion,
"In your future, have I already been dead for a long time, Kakashi? Also, your eye. I remember your left eye should have been the Sharingan, right?"
"Yes. In order to protect the village, your student, and the future of the entire shinobi world, you infiltrated the enemy's headquarters alone. After sending out crucial intelligence, you unfortunately died in battle."
Kakashi Hatake also breathed out with complicated emotions.
"If not for your sacrifice, our future may have already fallen into an eternal dream."
"As for the Sharingan Obito gave me, I also staked it on the final battle that decided the future. After that, there was no longer any such thing as Kakashi of the Sharingan."
"Sounds like I had an ending very fitting for a shinobi…"
After hearing Kakashi's description of his life's ending and the final fate of that Sharingan, Jiraiya's face could not help revealing some relief and melancholy.
After slightly calming his emotions, he finally looked at the two of them with trust, his expression softening.
"The Great Toad Sage previously gave me a new prophecy. He told me I could search for a girl with the Byakugan and the hero beside her who knew the past and future, then ask them for the answers to the doubts in my heart…"
"At first, I was worried. If the people I finally found who could answer my doubts were targets I could not understand or trust, then how would I obtain answers from them?"
"But now that I see the two of you alive and well, I am starting to feel that whether I ask this question or not no longer matters much."
"Won't you introduce me to the woman traveling with you, Kakashi?"
"Um, hello, Lord Jiraiya. I am Hanabi Hyuga, Hiashi Hyuga's second daughter. I am currently the heir of the Hyuga main family and a jonin of Konoha…"
Hanabi Hyuga took the initiative to step forward. Displaying the etiquette of a noble lady from a prestigious clan, she very seriously introduced herself to Jiraiya.
"Oh? Hiashi's second daughter actually became the heir of the Hyuga main family?"
Jiraiya revealed a somewhat surprised expression.
As one of Konoha's higher-ups, he had heard some things about the Hyuga clan's main family and branch family rules. Normally, the heir of the main family was basically the legitimate eldest child, like Hiashi Hyuga, and would be decided very early.
It was rare for a second son or daughter to become the clan head.
"Mm. Because after Hanabi was born, a series of things happened, she eventually replaced her elder sister, who married out of the clan, and became the heir of the Hyuga main family."
Kakashi touched his mask and explained the matter very briefly.
"The future era has become open-minded enough that even a conservative clan like the Hyuga can marry off the heir of their main family!?"
Jiraiya's eyes suddenly widened.
With an excited expression, he stepped forward and grabbed Kakashi's hand. In disbelief, he asked,
"You're not lying to me, are you, Kakashi? What about the Uchiha clan? That Uchiha clan that always keeps an arrogant, stinking face and has never been able to get along properly with the people in the village—did they become like the Hyuga clan and become willing to marry other shinobi and integrate into Konoha? Did that boy Minato really do that well after becoming Hokage?"
"Uh…"
Kakashi revealed a somewhat troubled expression.
After thinking it over, he could only awkwardly nod and explain in a quiet voice.
"Probably, perhaps, you could say that? Although the only person willing to do that was the Uchiha clan's final surviving member…"
The smile on Jiraiya's face, which had naturally emerged because of what he thought was the outstanding performance of his disciple Minato Namikaze during his tenure, slowly disappeared.
"How could there be only one surviving member left? That is the Uchiha clan, a clan that fought the Senju clan for more than a thousand years before Konoha was born. Even in the chaotic Warring States Era, they were one of the strongest clans!"
"And even if the war Kirigakure started had destroyed Konoha's main village, judging by the undisguised interest Rei Kaguya showed toward the Uchiha bloodline during the negotiations, there is no way he would persecute the Uchiha clan to the point that only one member remained, right?"
As he spoke to this point, Jiraiya began realizing that something was wrong.
Leaving aside the younger-looking Hanabi Hyuga, Kakashi Hatake should have fully experienced the rise of that guy, Rei Kaguya, right?
Considering Rei Kaguya's abnormal ambition and ideology, after Kakashi Hatake matured, no matter how one thought about it, he should have become one of Konoha's most important main forces resisting Kirigakure's invasion.
But from the intelligence and information he had revealed, Jiraiya could not hear any news about Kirigakure's invasion at all.
Even the battle that created the later peace which made even Kakashi Hatake grow lax was only described with some vague phrase about sinking into an illusionary dream.
"It seems you have also noticed something, Lord Jiraiya."
Seeing Jiraiya's expression gradually become serious, Kakashi Hatake sighed and also put away the relaxed expression on his face.
Then he slowly said,
"The future Hanabi and I came from does not seem to be a continuation of the timeline you are in. It is another future that has already gone in a completely different direction…"
"And the divergence point between the two worlds is most likely that Kirigakure boy named Rei Kaguya, whom Hanabi encountered when she was first thrown into this era."
…
Above the abandoned town.
Nagato's Shadow Clone raised his brows and turned to look at Rei Kaguya beside him, who was using Wind Release: Bound Wind Listening Technique to eavesdrop on the conversation between the three people below.
In a meaningful tone, he said,
"Don't you think that, according to those two people from the future, you are the one who truly fits the Great Toad Sage's prophecy as the Child of Prophecy, Rei Kaguya?"
"So what if I am? So what if I am not?"
Rei Kaguya turned his face sideways and glanced at Nagato, asking back somewhat strangely.
"If one is not the Child of Prophecy, does that mean one cannot bring change to the shinobi world? How could the path I have chosen be shaken by such words?"
"Do not place too much importance on words like reincarnation, prophecy, or fate, Nagato. A person's destiny will certainly be influenced and restrained by the development of history, but the thing that truly determines the ending of our lives is still our own individual struggle."
"Suppose I swore to you that you are nothing more than a tool prepared by the Sage of Six Paths for his own resurrection, that this pair of Rinnegan does not belong to you, and that your fate has long since been arranged in secret by someone else. Would you then abandon Akatsuki's companions and ideals, and obediently follow their arrangements?"
"No."
Nagato shook his head firmly.
"Then I am the same."
Rei Kaguya shrugged and continued focusing on eavesdropping on the conversation of the three people below.
However, at the same time, he also entered his sage-transformed state and adjusted his body into the posture most suitable for launching a surprise attack downward.