Land of Fire, deep in the forest.
After parting ways with Naruto and Sasuke at the border of the Land of Water, Shinju quickened his pace toward Amegakure.
The Land of Rain sat in the center of the Five Great Nations. If Shinju took a straight route from the border of the Land of Water, he would have to cut directly through the Land of Fire.
"Damn it, why can't I use the Flying Thunder God mark I left on Jiraiya-sensei?"
Shinju muttered.
At that moment—
His expression froze in shock!
This feeling… it was just like Jiraiya-sensei patting him on the head…
Shinju turned around.
For some reason, his eyes brimmed with tears.
In the dense forest…
He seemed to see Jiraiya-sensei's phantom standing behind him, eyes full of pride and expectation…
A single tear slid down the corner of Shinju's eye.
The breeze lifted his red hair, brushing softly against his cheek.
It was as if Jiraiya-sensei himself was wiping away his tears.
When Shinju closed his eyes and opened them again, his pupils had already transformed into blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan!
The pinwheel pattern spun and shifted within his eyes!
...
Land of Water.
On the road, Naruto suddenly felt his chest tighten in sharp pain.
Not far from him, Suigetsu froze with a stunned expression.
"Naruto, there's a guy standing right behind you."
"Really?"
Just as Naruto spoke, he suddenly dropped to his knees, wracked with pain.
Sasuke rushed over, worry written on his face. "You alright, Naruto?"
Clutching his chest, Naruto's voice cracked, hoarse and trembling with sobs:
"I don't know… but it felt like Pervy Sage just now… like he was here…"
...
Land of Fire.
Konohagakure.
The golden afterglow of sunset spread across the village, stretching Tsunade's shadow long over the park bench where she sat.
At this moment, Tsunade sat alone, looking desolate and forlorn.
Fortunately, a few children playing happily nearby added a trace of liveliness.
A sudden breeze swept through the clearing.
A toad hopped to Tsunade's feet…
Her lips pressed tightly together, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Jiraiya."
"I should've… gone on that date with you… sooner…"
...
By the time Shinju reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, an ANBU wearing a mask blocked his way.
"Yamato-sensei?"
Shinju asked in confusion.
Yamato removed his mask, forcing a stiff smile.
"Long time no see, Shinju."
"Was this just a coincidence, or did the village send you?" Shinju asked directly.
"Hokage-sama has something important. She wants you to return." Yamato said.
"Can you tell me exactly what it is?"
Shinju already had a guess in his heart, but stubbornly pressed the question.
Yamato looked troubled.
Finally, he could only force out: "The Fifth Hokage will tell you in person."
For Shinju, returning to the village wasn't difficult. After all, he had left a Flying Thunder God mark in the Hokage's office.
The moment Yamato finished speaking, Shinju's figure vanished on the spot.
Yamato's face froze: (||๐_๐)
That kid's Flying Thunder God technique should work for teleporting others too, right?
Why the hell didn't he bring me along…
Even if I didn't teach you much, I'm still technically your teacher, you know!
...
Inside the Hokage's office.
Shinju's figure suddenly appeared.
Glancing around, he noticed the office was unusually crowded.
Not only were many toads from Mount Myōboku present, but also Konoha's top brass.
"You're back, Shinju."
Tsunade propped her head on her hand, greeting him wearily.
"Yeah. What's the urgent matter, Tsunade-sensei?" Shinju asked.
Tsunade lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze. "Jiraiya…"
"…was killed in battle."
Though he had already braced himself for it, hearing Tsunade-sensei say it outright still struck Shinju's heart with searing pain.
Fragments of memories flashed rapidly in his mind.
Jiraiya-sensei's smile and voice.
The over-the-top entrance of the great toad sage of Mount Myōboku…
"…I'm sorry."
Shinju's eyes dimmed as he spoke.
If only he had reached Amegakure sooner, maybe Jiraiya-sensei wouldn't have…
"You don't need to apologize to anyone. Jiraiya never wanted you or Naruto dragged into this."
"In fact, before he left, he even burned the Flying Thunder God mark you placed on his robe."
Even so, Shinju couldn't shake the feeling that if he had arrived earlier, the outcome might have been different.
"I will kill Pain."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unshakable resolve!
He turned, ready to leave.
At that moment, Tsunade called out behind him. "Wait!"
"Your opponent is Pain, wielder of the Rinnegan. Even with your Wood Release, you may not be his match."
"Shinju, the real reason I called you back today was to help decipher the final message Jiraiya left behind."
As Tsunade finished, Fukasaku turned around at the desk…
On his back was a string of coded numbers.
Fukasaku said, "At that time, Shima and I were summoned by Jiraiya-chan to aid him. He entered Sage Mode and fought Pain for a long while."
"But Pain had many bodies and countless strange techniques."
"In the end, surrounded and relentlessly attacked by six bodies all bearing the Rinnegan, Jiraiya-chan's throat was slit. Unable to speak, he used his last chakra to carve this code on my back…"
Tsunade said, "Do you hear that? Six pairs of Rinnegan. This enemy is completely unknown to us."
"Even if you recklessly rush in, you may die there."
"Yet Jiraiya not only left us this critical code, he also had the toads bring back one of Pain's bodies…"
Shinju fell silent, staring intently at the numbers on Fukasaku-sensei's back, deep in thought.
Tsunade continued: "The Code Division has tried. None of Konoha's ciphers worked."
"That's why I believe this could be something passed between master and student—something Jiraiya left behind for you and Naruto."
"Alright. I'll work with the Code Division to crack it."
Shinju nodded, knowing now wasn't the time to drown in grief.
"There's one more thing. I want to dissect Pain's body."
Tsunade agreed without hesitation.
Shinju was Konoha's best medical ninja—greater even than her.
Having him dissect this rare body was the best choice.
In the days that followed, Shinju worked with the Code Division and successfully cracked Jiraiya's message.
At that moment, Shinju was dissecting Pain's corpse.
He discovered black rods embedded throughout the body.
Their purpose: to receive chakra.
And he also found that the body's cells had long since lost vitality.
In other words, he had been dead for a long time.
Piecing all the information together, the answer became clear.