"Given the Sage of Six Paths's situation, he probably wouldn't care about his physical body, would he?" Tobirama asked with some uncertainty.
"For experts of their level, what mortals call life and death cannot define us." Kazuki raised an eyebrow.
"Just like the Ōtsutsuki, they have Karma for reincarnation. As for the Sage of Six Paths, don't forget, the Ninja World has the Pure Land. The Sage of Six Paths is even the creator and current manager of the Pure Land. Do you think he would be unable to exist in soul form?"
"Of course, other Ōtsutsuki, after discarding their physical bodies, can only reincarnate through Karma, unlike Hagoromo, who can exist eternally in soul form. I suspect the Sage of Six Paths and his brother have taken a completely different path from ordinary Ōtsutsuki clan members."
"As for whether the current Sage of Six Paths and his brother can fight in soul form, to be honest, I don't know. I imagine having a physical body is more suitable for combat."
"So you think the Sage of Six Paths preserved his physical body?" Tobirama asked thoughtfully.
Kazuki nodded slightly. "Yes. Although they can live as souls, when it comes to actual combat, it's better to use a physical body. The soul state is good, at least for accumulating strength during normal times, it's very good. But this is ultimately a drawback. When truly confronting the Ōtsutsuki, retrieving one's physical body is essential. At least, in my understanding, it's essential."
"When fighting true powerhouses, minimize your weaknesses as much as possible."
Tobirama nodded. "Indeed, in battle, you don't have to excel in all aspects, but you need to have as few flaws as possible."
"As for the Sage of Six Paths's physical body, perhaps it's in the Pure Land, or perhaps somewhere else. If it's somewhere else, then it's most likely on Mount Myōboku." Kazuki said this, glancing around the room.
Uh, Jiraiya wasn't here.
This made Kazuki start to ponder.
Why wasn't Jiraiya here?
He didn't know when, but Jiraiya seemed to have gradually detached himself from their small circle, their small group.
At least, Kazuki didn't consider Jiraiya one of his own. Jiraiya didn't even have a place in the Konoha High Council meetings.
Logically speaking, Jiraiya's strength was quite good. When Kazuki was young, his relationship with Jiraiya was pretty good. Jiraiya's carefree personality allowed him to get along well with children. But the problem was, Jiraiya deserted during the Second Great Ninja War.
Perhaps in Jiraiya's eyes, he wasn't a deserter. He was just making amends for what the village had done, wanting to help the people of the Land of Rain.
However, in the eyes of others, Jiraiya was a genuine traitor. When the village was fighting tooth and nail with other villages, Jiraiya simply ran away. A high-level combatant like Jiraiya was an important member during wartime.
Look at Tsunade and Orochimaru, their strength wasn't necessarily greater than Jiraiya's, yet during the Second Great Ninja War, they both grew to be capable of handling things on their own.
But it was only when the Second Great Ninja War was about to end that Jiraiya, having finished teaching his three disciples, arrived late.
Those familiar with Jiraiya knew that this was a genuine outburst of kindness, wanting to help those children, moved by compassion. But those who didn't know Jiraiya believed he had deserted.
After the Second Great Ninja War ended, Jiraiya had to undertake high-difficulty, high-risk missions as punishment and also as his atonement. Thus, Jiraiya was busy for a period, and then he went to experience various customs throughout the Ninja World.
Of course, the most crucial thing was that Jiraiya seemed quite displeased with the village's actions against the Daimyo, having some complaints.
Especially after the various villages started wars against the Daimyo, this clearly led to the Third Great Ninja War. It could be said that the Third Great Ninja War was initiated by Konoha.
In other words, in Jiraiya's view, the Third Great Ninja War was first instigated by Konoha. For Jiraiya, who yearned for peace, this was unacceptable.
Perhaps the lives of Konoha's citizens had improved, even the lives of civilians were better, but the war caused by Konoha was an undeniable fact.
Tsunade and Orochimaru, and even Hiruzen, had tried to reason with Jiraiya.
Although Tsunade and Orochimaru were somewhat dissatisfied with Jiraiya's initial decision to abandon them and choose to help those children, Jiraiya was, after all, their companion who had grown up with them since childhood, someone they could entrust their backs to. If Jiraiya was being foolish, they naturally had to try and persuade him.
As for Hiruzen, it was even more impossible for him to give up on Jiraiya. If Orochimaru was the disciple Hiruzen admired most, then Jiraiya was the disciple he liked most.
Hiruzen enjoyed spending time with Jiraiya. They could talk freely about interesting things, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were kindred spirits in some aspects.
However, Jiraiya was simply as stubborn as a mule. He didn't agree with Kazuki's philosophy and believed in a world where people trusted each other, wanting to find the so-called child of prophecy.
If one were to truly consider it, Jiraiya could actually be considered an inheritor of Hagoromo's will.
It's just that he placed his hopes on the so-called child of prophecy. He didn't believe he could change everything, but the child of prophecy could.
Although Kazuki was powerful, he was not the child of prophecy and could not change this Ninja World. He needed to find the child of prophecy.
Previously, Jiraiya had thought highly of Minato. After all, Minato's talent was undeniable, and he was an excellent ninja in every aspect.
Most importantly, Minato was his, Jiraiya's, disciple, fitting the criteria for the child of prophecy.
However, Minato had spent too much time with Kazuki, deeply influenced by Kazuki's ideology. He actually didn't agree with Jiraiya's ideas, which pursued mutual understanding between people, but instead believed that everything Konoha was currently doing was correct.
This greatly disappointed Jiraiya. It seemed Minato was not the child of prophecy either. He still needed to search for the child of prophecy.
Perhaps the child of prophecy was not from Konoha, but from another village.
Kazuki later became aware of Jiraiya's thoughts. Ultimately, different paths, no shared endeavors.
If Konoha were the Konoha of the future, after the Third Great Ninja War, a Konoha where all the strong had left, then Kazuki would have sought Jiraiya's support. But the current Konoha was full of talent. As a Kage-level powerhouse, and especially if he mastered Sage Mode, Jiraiya would become a top powerhouse in Konoha, no exaggeration.
Especially after the nutrient solution was developed, logically speaking, Jiraiya could also be injected with the nutrient solution. Once he adapted to the nutrient solution, his strength would significantly increase, and mastering a more excellent Sage Mode would not be a problem.
Jiraiya's strength when using Sage Mode was quite good, even subtly exceeding general Kage-level strength. However, his Sage Mode was not perfect. But with the nutrient solution, Jiraiya's Sage Mode could be perfected.
But since Jiraiya wasn't on their side, there was no need to give him the nutrient solution.