After explaining the past few days' events to Jiraiya—who had been too preoccupied with his injury to participate—the Legendary Sannin collapsed onto the hospital bed, looking utterly dejected.
"Damn it! Those past few days were so exciting, and I missed the whole show because of this stupid injury!" Jiraiya let out a long, melodramatic sigh, his expression turning melancholic. "And the old man… I never imagined so many things were tied to him. Now I get why Tsunade never wanted to come back to the village."
He trailed off, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. "And Minato… I'm sorry. If I hadn't taken you as my disciple, maybe you wouldn't have…"
"Sensei," Minato interrupted softly, though his voice held a hint of steel.
Jiraiya waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it. Even if it wasn't you, I would've just taken on another disciple. Or maybe it would've been me. With my clumsy personality, my students would've just as easily been fooled – perfect puppets for the village to use."
Minato remained silent, his expression calm.
"Jiraiya-sensei," Minato finally spoke, his voice steady. "Kushina and I sensed Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions a long time ago. We thought taking our time was a viable option."
He looked down, his gaze distant. "My plan was to use resolving the Uchiha Clan issue as leverage to gradually eliminate the Third Hokage's influence. It was just… the masked man came too suddenly. That led to my death, and Fugaku couldn't save the declining Uchiha Clan."
At the time, Minato had been close to Kushina and the Fugaku-Mikoto couple, all to solve the Uchiha's troubles. He intended to use the prestige gained from that resolution, combined with Uchiha support, to reclaim the power the Third Hokage had usurped.
Unfortunately, his death rendered all efforts futile. With Hiruzen Sarutobi back in power, the oppressive policies of the Second Hokage continued. The Uchiha lost all hope and, in their desperation, were ultimately destroyed.
Hearing Minato mention the masked man, Jiraiya suddenly snapped his fingers. "I've been keeping tabs on Orochimaru for years. I followed him to a suspicious organization called Akatsuki."
Jiraiya's expression hardened. "The members are terrifying—all S-rank wanted criminals. Not long ago, they started traveling in pairs, wearing matching black robes with red clouds. They're hunting powerful techniques and gathering intel on the Tailed Beasts."
"I suspect they have a method of utilizing the Tailed Beasts similar to the masked man's. For all I know, Akatsuki was founded by him!"
"A black robe with red clouds?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise, memories of Itachi and Kisame flashing through his mind.
Jiraiya's sharp gaze snapped to him. "Naruto, have you seen someone wearing clothes like that?"
"Yeah! Just now, in the exam hall inside the Forest of Death!" Naruto nodded rapidly. "One of them had a shark-like face, wielding a weird weapon called Samehada. He said he wanted to capture the Nine-Tails alive and take it back to attack me."
"The other one, whom Shark Face called 'Mr. Itachi,' had the same Sharingan as Sasuke."
"The elder brother attacked Sasuke first, then started chasing me while running away. But it was useless—neither of them were a match for Menma. After Menma beat them to a pulp, they wrapped themselves in water and escaped."
Naruto grinned, recalling the scene. "By the way, that Itachi guy is amazing. Shark Face was beaten so badly by Menma that he could only beg for help, but Itachi actually managed to escape with him! And after his eyes bled, he unleashed black flames. He even pulled me into a weird place before releasing me."
Jiraiya listened intently, his expression growing serious. "So, they really are collecting Tailed Beasts. That shark-faced guy is probably Kisame Hoshigaki, a rogue ninja from Hidden Mist. And Itachi… he's the Uchiha Clan Massacre culprit, Itachi Uchiha."
"As for those strange abilities, they have to be related to the Sharingan."
"It's the Mangekyō Sharingan," Minato added with a frown. This was information Sasuke's father, Fugaku, had shared with him. "It's the ultimate power of the Uchiha Clan, and the root of the Second Hokage's fear and suppression of them."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan?" Jiraiya couldn't help but think of his student in Hidden Rain: Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths—the progenitor of ninjutsu. He was the Child of Prophecy Jiraiya initially believed in.
Of course, the exceptionally talented Minato was also considered a candidate. But he died young, sealing the Nine-Tails. Now, Jiraiya believed that Naruto—along with Menma, who could perfectly utilize the Nine-Tails' power—were the true Children of Prophecy.
The blue-eyed boy who playfully called out the names of the Nine-Tails… that was the prophecy given by the Great Toad Sage. Now Naruto had blue eyes, and the Nine-Tails was incredibly obedient, taking whatever he wanted. Even his name matched the prophecy in Jiraiya's novel.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya turned his gaze to Naruto. "Minato, I intend to take Naruto as my disciple and impart all my knowledge to him. I need to make up for my past oversights."
He sighed, his voice heavy with regret. "I used to think handing him over to the old monkey would ensure Naruto received proper care. But I never imagined he'd been training Naruto as a weapon all along! And I never even questioned it. I never even glanced at Naruto!"
"I…" Jiraiya trailed off, looking at Minato. The Fourth Hokage stared back calmly, offering no leeway in response to the apology.
He hesitated for a long time, unable to utter another word. Finally, just as he was about to repeat himself, Minato spoke.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I originally came to see you, and also to ask why you didn't take care of Naruto." Minato's expression softened. "But after thinking about it, I don't have the right to ask you. After all, I haven't been a good father myself."
Jiraiya's face flushed with embarrassment and shame. He avoided Minato's eyes. "Minato… what are your plans after this? Will you stay in the village to take care of Naruto?"
Minato shook his head. "I'm just a Shadow Clone; I can't exist for long. So I hope you, my teacher, will take good care of Naruto. Just as you said."
"I will!" Jiraiya nodded repeatedly, his voice thick with emotion. "This time, I'll take care of him myself!"
Naruto, however, had a bad feeling. He clutched Minato's clothes tightly. "Dad… are you leaving?"
Minato lowered his head and stroked Naruto's hair, smiling gently. Then, his body began to fade, specks of starlight drifting into the air.
"Naruto, we'll meet again someday. Then you'll see your gentle and beautiful mother again."
"And don't forget to eat well. When we meet again, I'll check if you've grown taller…"
"I will!" Watching Minato completely disappear, Naruto rubbed his eyes, fighting hard to hold back his tears.
Jiraiya sighed, looking at Naruto with pity. He opened his bandaged arms.
"Naruto, if you want to cry, just cry. I'll lend you my heart."
"You're the one who should cry!" Naruto retorted, taking a few steps away from the pervert.
"Uh… I guess I've really reached that age where I can't be honest anymore." Jiraiya sat up in bed with a knowing look, then proactively moved to hug Naruto. "Let me give you a hug even warmer than a father's~"
"No… Sexy Jutsu!" Naruto formed a hand seal, his face twisting in determination.
"This kind of ninjutsu… Ah!!"
"Hurry up and recover! My bandages are bursting!!!"
Inside the hospital room, Jiraiya's howls of mixed pleasure and pain echoed through the corridor.
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