"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
From Jiraiya's mouth burst forth a raging sea of fire, roaring straight toward Shiratori.
The spreading ice halted.
Under the extreme heat, the ice froze in place, unable to advance another inch.
His figure vanished, swallowed by the onrushing wall of fire.
When Shiratori appeared again, it was without warning, suddenly at Jiraiya's back. With a sweep of both hands, shimmering liquid silver surged forth, writhing around him as if alive.
The mercury twisted in midair into countless razor-sharp silver needles. From every direction, they shot at Jiraiya, laced with deadly poison and lethal sharpness.
Seeing this, Jiraiya formed hand seals.
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
His white hair grew wildly, like a swarm of living tendrils, sweeping with flawless precision to intercept the hail of mercury needles.
The needles scattered through the air, but inevitably flowed back to Shiratori's side, once again hovering like a massive silver eel coiling protectively around him.
At that moment, Shiratori's body flickered and vanished. Before Jiraiya could react, he had already appeared behind him.
Jiraiya's pupils shrank.
Shiratori's speed... exceeded expectations. His fist was wreathed in pitch-black lightning.
That strike, timing, angle, and force... was perfect.
Where the fist passed, space itself warped under the crushing power. His punch drove straight into Jiraiya's back.
"Summoning Technique!"
A cloud of smoke exploded between them.
Shiratori felt his fist slam into something hard and metallic.
As the smoke cleared, he saw what had blocked him. Beneath Jiraiya stood a great toad. His blow had struck the armor on the toad's arm.
Crack.
A fracture split across the armor.
Jiraiya raised his brows. Good thing he hadn't taken that blow head-on.
He leapt lightly down from Gamaken's back, a smile of relief spreading across his face.
That had been close, almost caught off guard.
Thankfully, his reflexes had saved him.
"Well done!"
"You've truly surprised me!"
He looked toward the panting but sharp-eyed trio of Yahiko and his companions.
Finally, his gaze rested on Shiratori.
"Especially you... I didn't expect you to have grown this much already."
Gamaken crouched beside Jiraiya, realizing the situation wasn't what he had imagined. He thought Jiraiya had been in danger, only to find this was a lesson for his students.
Uninterested, he released the summoning contract and disappeared.
Jiraiya turned to Yahiko. "Your Water Release techniques are already excellent."
"And Konan, your control over your paper jutsu is becoming ever more versatile."
He was gratified by their growth.
Now, their ability to protect themselves was no longer a concern.
Especially Shiratori, his strength had already surpassed the level of an ordinary ninja.
Jiraiya had seen many prodigies, but none could compare to him. He looked forward to the boy's future.
Finally, his eyes settled on Nagato, his tone grave:
"Don't be afraid to use the power of your eyes."
Nagato's body trembled. His red hair hid those inhuman eyes.
His talent was second only to Shiratori's, his gift for ninjutsu was extraordinary. But in battle, he always seemed hesitant, holding himself back.
Jiraiya knew that Nagato's eyes had always been an obstacle he could not overcome.
He let out a sigh.
He was about to leave, and there was no longer time to help Nagato overcome this burden. He could only entrust it to Shiratori. Jiraiya turned his gaze toward him.
Shiratori glanced at Nagato and understood the unspoken message in Jiraiya's eyes.
He nodded firmly to Jiraiya. He would help Nagato overcome his struggles. After all, he also had his own plans to replicate the Rinnegan's abilities.
Jiraiya felt relieved.
Although Shiratori was the youngest, he was the most mature of the four children. Entrusting Nagato to him gave Jiraiya peace of mind.
Especially since he possessed the same kind of uncontrollable power as Nagato, no one else could truly understand each other's suffering as they did.
Sometimes, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh at the way fate worked.
What a coincidence it was, bringing together two children, both burdened with tragic pasts, both born with terrifying talent, and both with hearts soft and gentle.
"It's time for me to go."
He glanced at the rolling waves of the sea. He could not linger any longer.
"We will meet again," he told the four children.
More than that, he was certain he would hear news of them.
With their talent, they were destined for greatness, they could never remain ordinary.
The shinobi world's future would surely have a place for them.
He slowly stepped back, raising his hand in farewell.
"Jiraiya-sensei!"
Konan could no longer hold back her tears. She ran forward and threw her arms around him tightly.
Jiraiya stopped, his eyes tinged with sorrow.
And of course, this was a perfect chance for Shiratori to gather emotional energy. How could he possibly let it slip by?
He too stepped forward and embraced Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sensei..."
"Thank you!"
"If it weren't for you, we might still be wandering aimlessly..."
"Perhaps... we'd even be dead already!"
"We will never forget your teachings!"
"We will definitely hold on to our dreams!"
"No..."
He lifted his head, looking straight at Jiraiya. "Not just ours, we will hold on to all of our dreams. And we will make them come true!"
Jiraiya's pupils widened slightly.
Their dreams?
How could he ever forget?
Their shared dream... was a world where ninjas would no longer suffer from endless wars.
[Reminiscence detected: Jiraiya +10,000 points]
[Energy transferred to Choso]
[Development progress: 61.4%]
Jiraiya stared deeply at Shiratori, his eyes shining with firm conviction.
"I believe in you!"
"I believe you can do it!"
With overwhelming talent and a powerful soul, Shiratori was destined to become the savior of this war-torn world.
The sea's surface returned to calm.
Shiratori stood on the shore, watching the ship carrying Jiraiya disappear into the distant horizon.
Konan stood beside Yahiko, unwilling to look away from the direction Jiraiya-sensei had left, even though he could no longer be seen.
The sky grew darker and darker. Huge clouds gathered above their heads.
Shiratori glanced at Yahiko and the others:
"Let's head inside. It's about to rain."
He really didn't want to stand there like an idiot getting drenched.
"Mm."
Yahiko nodded. He strode toward the wooden hut.
Shiratori looked at Konan, then at Yahiko's quickly retreating figure, and sighed wordlessly.
Yahiko was like a bull who only knew how to charge ahead. Couldn't he at least take care of the heartbroken Konan?
His lips twitched. He consoled Konan while gently pulling her along toward the hut.
After a couple of steps, something felt wrong. He turned his head, Nagato was still standing blankly in place.
It wasn't the first day he knew Nagato's brain didn't turn corners. With no choice, he stepped back, grabbed Nagato with his other hand, and led both of them toward the hut.
Just as they stepped inside, heavy raindrops began pounding down outside.
Shiratori let out a sigh of relief.
But then he realized, he had no reason to be afraid of the rain at all.
After all, he could easily solidify mercury above his head into an umbrella.
He walked over to the tatami.
For a long moment, he heard no footsteps behind him.
Turning back, he saw Konan still standing at the door, staring at the hut as though her very soul had been taken away with Jiraiya.
"..."
He was speechless. Then he looked at the other troublesome one.
Nagato stood frozen at the door as well, worse than Konan. He looked as if he had no soul at all.
Shiratori took a deep breath, resigned, and went back to pull the two fools down to sit with him on the tatami.
Only when Konan and Nagato finally sat did he truly relax. But just then, Yahiko suddenly leapt up from the tatami as if jolted by electricity.
His eye twitched. He looked at Yahiko again.
What on earth were these three trying to pull?
Yahiko stood there, staring seriously at Shiratori, Nagato, and Konan.
With Jiraiya gone, he was now the oldest among them. He had to shoulder his responsibility.
He patted his chest.
"Shiratori, Nagato, Konan!"
He loudly called out their names.
Shiratori raised his eyes and stared at him.
Konan, immersed in sorrow, was startled by Yahiko's booming voice. She quickly looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion.
Nagato, however, wasn't startled. He calmly raised his head, his gaze falling through his red hair onto Yahiko's figure.
"I've decided!"
"Starting today, I'll take good care of you all!"
Yahiko promised.
"I'll protect you!"
He declared it as if taking an oath.
"..."
Unconsciously, Konan's eyes drifted toward Shiratori for just a moment.
Their eyes met.
The two of them tacitly looked away.
"I will protect everyone as well," Shiratori said.
His serious gaze swept across Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan as he added:
"I'll protect you with my life, you all matter more than anything."
[Affection detected]
[Multiple sources: +10,000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 30,000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 27.5%]
Yahiko's face flushed bright red.
He stammered loudly:
"W-Who... who needs your protection? I'm... I'm the oldest one here! I should be the one protecting you!"
Then he slowly lowered his head, his lips trembling, his voice faint like a mosquito's buzz:
"You all... matter more than anything too..."
Tears welled in Konan's eyes. She wiped them away.
Even though Jiraiya had left, Shiratori, Yahiko, and Nagato were still here, weren't they?
They were still together.
As long as they were by her side, she wouldn't be afraid of anything.
Shiratori placed his hand on the table, extending it toward Nagato opposite him and Yahiko beside him.
"As long as we're together, there's nothing to fear!"
[Affection detected]
[Multiple sources: +10,000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 30,000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 30.5%]
Yahiko gripped his hand without hesitation.
Nagato tightly held his other hand. Konan grasped both Yahiko's and Nagato's hands in turn. Their hands linked together, and so did their hearts. In a daze, Yahiko and the others felt as if they had returned to that cave from so long ago, the first time they met Shiratori.
Eating together, facing enemies side by side, becoming students... Becoming each other's family.
[Reminiscence detected]
[Multiple sources: +3000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 9000 points]
[Energy transferred to Choso]
[Development progress: 62.3%]
So warm.
Konan's eyes lingered deeply on Shiratori, Yahiko, and Nagato, as if she wanted to burn their faces into her memory.
"Will you leave us again?"
The sound of rain outside broke the warm atmosphere, and it was Nagato who spoke.
Even though his red hair veiled his eyes, Shiratori could still feel the piercing sharpness of Nagato's gaze.
Nagato's question instantly drew both Konan's and Yahiko's eyes to him. Konan's gaze carried a silent plea, a plea that he would never leave them again. Yahiko stared hard at him, lips pressed tightly together.
Shiratori shook his head and smiled.
Yahiko's eyes lit up at once. So he was more important than Hanzō who had tried to take Shiratori away.
Konan let out a sigh of relief, her face blooming into a radiant smile.
"That's wonderful!"
They could live together again.
Nagato's gaze softened immediately.
"I won't leave you, but we can leave this place together." Shiratori said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Yahiko blinked in confusion.
"Yahiko, do you really want to stay in this hut forever?" he asked.
Yahiko opened his mouth, then shook his head.
Of course not. He didn't want to stay in the hut forever.
He just didn't know where to go. Other than this hut, where else did they have a place to belong?
"Didn't you say you wanted to change this world?" Shiratori looked at Yahiko.
Yahiko stared at him in a daze.
So he even remembered the words he had once said casually?