Chapter 550: Reunion
"Six Paths City."
Jiraiya looked at the large stone monument by the roadside, intrigue written all over his face.
Now that Nagato was a member of the Shinobi Sect, Jiraiya had naturally gathered more information about both the Shinobi Sect and Sōsuke, and the more he learned, the more curious he became.
In this era of constant war, there was actually a top tier Ninja who had set aside prejudice to teach all Ninja, and who had even built a Ninja organization devoted to preserving peace. How could Jiraiya not be interested?
"It's a pretty good town. Full of promise."
After entering Six Paths City, Jiraiya instinctively began wandering around.
Once the Youth Martial Arts Tournament ended, the city was no longer as crowded as it had been before, but it had not become deserted either. It had simply returned to its normal rhythm.
Thanks to the strength the Shinobi Sect had displayed, along with the storm of public attention surrounding it, many people had already bought property in Six Paths City.
At the same time, the city had taken in a large number of civilians displaced by war and many refugees.
As a result, Six Paths City was still steadily expanding.
"There's no time to waste right now."
After strolling through roughly a third of the city, Jiraiya forced himself back on task and began asking around for Nagato.
It was not as if his time was so tight that he could not afford to explore the whole city, but Jiraiya wanted to spend more of it talking to Nagato and the other two, and learning more about the Shinobi Sect.
His method of inquiry was simple. He walked straight up to a Rain Ninja and asked directly.
He had come openly, after all. There was no need to hide anything.
The Rain Ninja did not answer immediately. There was no way he would casually reveal information related to someone from the Shinobi Sect just because a stranger asked.
Then he looked at Jiraiya more carefully and, for some reason, found him oddly familiar.
"One of Konoha's Legendary Sannin?" the Shinobi Sect Ninja blurted out as recognition struck him.
"Hmph hmph, that's right! I am none other than the great Lord Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, the handsome man who can make even crying children shut up!"
Jiraiya struck a pose and introduced himself without the slightest bit of modesty.
"So it's Lord Jiraiya. Please wait a moment. I'm not sure about that myself, so I'll have to ask first," the Shinobi Sect Ninja said respectfully.
In the Ninja World, strength was revered above all else. As one of the Sannin, Jiraiya was a famous and powerful Ninja, and even those from a different faction naturally treated him with respect.
Jiraiya nodded to show he had no problem with that.
He knew himself well enough.
As a famous Konoha Ninja, it was only natural that his sudden appearance in Shinobi Sect territory would need to be reported.
After some time, the Shinobi Sect Ninja returned and led Jiraiya to a training ground inside the Shinobi Sect base.
"Huh? Why is it Jiraiya-sensei? Am I dreaming right now?"
Yahiko, who had been training, noticed Jiraiya first and stared at him in disbelief.
He had not seen Jiraiya in a very long time. In fact, aside from the three years Jiraiya had spent taking care of them, Yahiko had never seen him again.
That time with Jiraiya was not only something Nagato missed. Yahiko missed it too.
After all, back then, they had just been pitiful war orphans. Compared to a life of wandering, stealing, and digging through scraps just to survive, those three years under Jiraiya's care had been incredibly happy.
"Hahahaha, looks like being too outstanding is troublesome too. You missed me that much, huh?"
Jiraiya laughed heartily as he walked over and patted Yahiko on the shoulder, then took a careful look at the three people before him.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato had all changed a great deal from how they looked in his memory. Even without any special technique, just by the passage of time alone, their height and appearance had already become very different.
"So it's not a dream."
Feeling the solid weight of Jiraiya's hand on his shoulder, Yahiko's expression immediately brightened with excitement.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I really did miss you."
"Actually, I missed you all too," Jiraiya said with a broad grin.
"Jiraiya-sensei, here."
Konan quickly folded a paper flower with her technique and handed it to him.
Looking at Konan smiling as she offered it, Jiraiya could not help but recall the day they first met.
At the time, he, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had just finished fighting Hanzō. During a brief pause, they had run into the Yahiko trio by chance.
Jiraiya remembered it very clearly. Back then, both Konan and Nagato had been so frightened of them that they hid in the shadows and did not even dare look at them properly. Only the braver Yahiko had stepped forward and asked them for food.
And as thanks, Konan had folded the paper from the biscuit wrapping into a flower and given it to them.
It was precisely that gesture that had stirred Jiraiya's compassion enough to make him stay behind in the Land of Rain to take care of the three of them rather than immediately returning to Konoha with his teammates.
At that time, Jiraiya had not yet known that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan. He had simply seen him as an ordinary war orphan.
"Konan, not only have you grown more beautiful, your origami's improved a lot too!" Jiraiya praised her without holding back.
"Jiraiya-sensei, you're just as handsome as ever," Konan replied with a smile.
Though they had not seen each other for a long time, Jiraiya had changed very little. He still looked almost exactly like the Jiraiya from her memory, only a bit more mature.
"Hahaha, of course!"
Jiraiya planted his hands on his hips and accepted the praise proudly.
"Jiraiya-sensei."
Nagato was neither as openly emotional as Yahiko nor as thoughtful as Konan. He simply walked quietly to Jiraiya's side, just as he used to, and called him that one familiar title.
Jiraiya looked into Nagato's eyes, eyes identical to those of the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
"Nagato, you've become truly outstanding. You're already walking a path that surpasses mine."
Jiraiya placed a hand on Nagato's shoulder, his face filled with relief.
Though Nagato was not as enthusiastic as Yahiko or as expressive as Konan, Jiraiya knew very well that it was not because Nagato felt nothing for him. It was simply Nagato's nature.
If Nagato had suddenly started acting like Yahiko, Jiraiya would have wondered whether he was looking at a fake.
"I'm not as outstanding as you say. I'm only walking the path you showed me," Nagato said modestly, shaking his head.
"You're being called the number one genius in the Ninja World now. Being too modest isn't a good thing," Jiraiya said encouragingly.
If Jiraiya himself had carried that kind of reputation back then, he would have argued with Hiruzen three times a day at minimum.
Nagato paused, then realized that Jiraiya was referring to the rumors currently spreading across the Ninja World.
He had thought Jiraiya meant the path toward peace.
And on that road, Nagato truly felt he had only just begun. He was still diligently absorbing everything Mugetsu had taught him.
"Just empty reputation. I still have a long way to go," Nagato said honestly.
"So that's what happens when you come in first. Everyone praises you," Yahiko sighed dramatically.
"Unlike me and Konan, Jiraiya-sensei probably doesn't even know we joined the tournament, right?"
Konan caught the meaning in Yahiko's glance, but because she was terrible at lying, she could only stiffly nod.
"Mm. Uh, yeah."
Jiraiya suddenly looked a little embarrassed. Although he had already gathered the relevant intelligence and knew what results Yahiko and Konan had gotten, his decision to come to the Land of Rain had indeed started because of Nagato.
"Ahem. Actually, I do know. Yahiko, you got eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage. Konan, you made it to the second round."
Jiraiya hurriedly explained.
"After all, it was the Youth Martial Arts Tournament. It gathered geniuses from all over. Getting knocked out early because of a bad draw is perfectly normal. But both of you made it into the elimination rounds, and that's already something worth celebrating. Today's on me. I'll treat you all to as much good food as you want!"
To make up for it a little, and to properly welcome his long unseen disciples back into his life, Jiraiya decided to treat them all to a feast.
"Hehe, Jiraiya-sensei, I was just joking. Of course I know you're not that kind of person. There's no need for you to treat us. We earn our own money now, so let us treat you instead," Yahiko said with a laugh.
Jiraiya had been the guide on their path as Ninja. Without him, Yahiko believed he might have already died somewhere in the chaos of the Land of Rain long ago.
And even if he had survived, he would most likely have just become an ordinary nobody, with no chance of ever pursuing his ideals.
So Yahiko was deeply grateful to Jiraiya, and naturally, there was no way he would let his teacher pay after finally reuniting.
"Let us treat Jiraiya-sensei this time," Konan agreed at once.
Jiraiya had taken care of them for three years. Now it was their turn to take care of him.
"How about we cook for ourselves?" Nagato thought for a moment before speaking up.
Treating Jiraiya to a meal was a good idea, but Nagato felt that cooking together would suit the moment even better.
It wasn't that he was being frugal. It was simply that the atmosphere would feel closer to how things used to be.
"Nagato, you're a genius! Let's go fishing, just like before!"
Yahiko immediately threw an arm around Nagato's neck and shouted excitedly.
Ever since joining the Shinobi Sect, Yahiko had been busy with studying, training, and all sorts of sect affairs.
Thinking about it carefully, he realized it had been ages since the three of them had gone out to catch fish together and then grilled them afterward.
Now that Jiraiya had come, and the sect happened to be less busy at the moment, Yahiko instantly felt that today was the perfect day for it.
Nagato had no objection and nodded.
"Then let me see whether you forgot all the fishing techniques I taught you," Jiraiya said, clearly pleased with the idea.
Konan looked at the laughing Jiraiya and at Yahiko, who was already scrambling to gather fishing gear, and for a moment felt as if time had turned back.
"Jiraiya-sensei, don't underestimate me. My fishing is amazing now," Yahiko said proudly.
And this time, he truly was not exaggerating. During the days of the Akatsuki, the fish Yahiko caught had saved them a huge amount on food. He genuinely had real experience.
"Then let's compete and see who catches more."
For some reason, Jiraiya suddenly felt his competitive spirit flare up.
So the four of them found a small river nearby and began fishing.
Perhaps it was because he had not fished in too long and had become rusty, or perhaps Yahiko's luck was simply too good today, but Jiraiya soon found himself watching Yahiko haul in one fish after another, to the point that his bucket was almost full.
"Only a teacher who raises disciples better than himself can be called an excellent teacher," Jiraiya thought bitterly as he looked at the pitiful few fish in his own bucket.
Then he glanced at Nagato and Konan's side and burst out laughing.
At the very least, he had caught fish. The two of them had reeled in random junk instead, and Konan had somehow even hooked a shoe.
"It's fine. Still better than catching nothing," Jiraiya said as he barely managed to suppress the upward tug at the corners of his mouth.
"Bansho Tenin."
Nagato's gaze locked onto a fish in the river, and he extended a hand.
The fish was instantly pulled toward him by an invisible force. At the same time, he cast his line with perfect timing and made the hook slide right into the fish's mouth.
Then he let the fish struggle and swim a short while before calmly reeling it in.
"I caught one too."
"Not bad," Jiraiya said with a thumbs up.
Of course, what he was praising was not Nagato's actual fishing skill, but his control.
"Then I'll catch one too."
Konan folded a paper fish in her hand, disguised it with chakra until it looked real, and prepared to make use of it.
"Sure, you can do it too, Konan," Jiraiya said in that same encouraging tone.
Though they were not monsters on Nagato's level, both Yahiko and Konan were still outstanding among their peers.
"Looks like Nagato and the others really have changed a lot."
Jiraiya took in the scene before him and sighed inwardly.
Nagato was still not particularly talkative, but he was clearly more relaxed now than before.
The Nagato from the past never would have used Bansho Tenin to jokingly "catch" a fish just to make a point.
As for Konan, while the change in her was not as obvious, Jiraiya could still sense that she had become far more open and optimistic than she used to be.
"I really want to know what they experienced after I left."
That thought brought a trace of regret to Jiraiya's heart.
His disciples had become so outstanding, and yet as their teacher, he knew almost nothing about what they had gone through, why they had changed, or what had led them to where they were now.
In the end, Yahiko won the fishing contest by an overwhelming margin.
"Not bad, not bad. It's just a pity the river didn't have any really big fish. I guess a river this size just can't grow them," Yahiko said with exaggerated regret, as though disappointed that he could not properly show off with an even larger catch.
Hearing that, Nagato quietly scanned the river and then raised a hand toward a certain spot.
"Bansho Tenin."
A huge, fat fish large enough to fill an entire bucket flew right out of the river and landed on the shore.
Yahiko's eyes widened instantly, and for a moment he actually looked a little depressed.
This shameless fish. Why did it have to be so fat?
"Fish caught like that have no soul!" Yahiko declared with a straight face.
But once the all fish feast began...
"Big fish really are the most satisfying! Jiraiya-sensei, your cooking is still just as good as ever!"
Yahiko devoured bite after bite without stopping, as if the earlier complaint had never happened.
Jiraiya laughed.
As someone who wandered the world most of the time and often had money with nowhere to spend it, his cooking had naturally become fairly decent.
Of course, it still could not compare to Mugetsu's.
Ever since tasting Mugetsu's food, Jiraiya had long since concluded that whenever Mugetsu was within range, it was better to shamelessly mooch a meal than to cook for himself.
"Can you tell me about what happened after I left? Maybe I can even write it into one of my best selling books," Jiraiya said with a grin.
He was genuinely curious.
He wanted to know what the three of them had done after he was gone, how they had lived, what their daily life was like, and why they had joined the Shinobi Sect in the first place.
"Of course, you don't have to tell me everything. Just whatever you're willing to share," Jiraiya added.
After all, everyone had things they could not easily say.
And some memories were never meant to be dragged out unless the person wanted to speak of them themselves.
.....
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