"Damn Uchiha Itachi…"
Jiraiya muttered under his breath as he watched the direction in which the Akatsuki members had disappeared.
After a moment of silence, he exhaled slowly and turned toward Hinata.
"I understand the situation now," he said. "Leave the rest of this matter to Naruto and me."
Hinata hesitated.
Her pale lavender eyes were filled with worry as she looked at Naruto. There was a mixture of reluctance and concern on her face.
"Na… Naruto-kun…"
She held Sasuke carefully in her arms while speaking softly.
"Those rogue ninjas from the Akatsuki Organization… they're targeting you…"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"You… you must be careful."
Naruto looked at her and nodded firmly.
"I know, Hinata."
Even though his tone sounded confident, Hinata could still sense the pressure he was under.
Still, she did not say anything further.
After giving Naruto one last worried look, she slowly turned away and walked into the distance while carrying the unconscious Sasuke.
Jiraiya silently watched her leaving figure.
After a long moment, he suddenly spoke.
"Naruto… you're quite a lucky guy."
Naruto stopped walking.
"Lucky?!"
He turned around angrily.
His blue eyes were filled with frustration.
"I grew up completely alone!"
"I don't have parents!"
"There's a monster sealed inside my body!"
"The whole village hates me because of it!"
"And now I'm being hunted by a terrifying organization like the Akatsuki!"
Naruto clenched his fists tightly.
"Perverted Sage… are you seriously saying I'm lucky?!"
Jiraiya burst out laughing.
"It seems you really don't understand anything, you idiot."
Naruto frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Jiraiya smiled knowingly.
"A girl's heart."
Naruto blinked.
"Huh?"
He scratched his head in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?"
Jiraiya sighed and shook his head.
"No matter how talented you are as a ninja… when it comes to this kind of thing, you're still a complete fool."
Naruto immediately shouted.
"Hey! Hey! Perverted Sage!"
"Explain yourself!"
But Jiraiya had already begun walking ahead.
"You'll understand someday," he said calmly.
"One day, it will finally make sense to you."
He then changed the subject.
"But right now, the most urgent thing is to find Tsunade."
Naruto's expression instantly became serious.
When he thought about Sasuke's injuries… and Kakashi's current condition…
His heart tightened painfully.
"You're right!"
Naruto immediately ran after Jiraiya.
"Let's go find Grandma Tsunade!"
The Retreat of the Akatsuki
Meanwhile, far away from them, two figures moved swiftly across the surface of a small river.
Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
Their feet barely touched the water as they dashed forward at incredible speed, leaving ripples spreading across the surface.
Kisame glanced sideways at his partner.
"Mr. Itachi…"
He seemed slightly puzzled.
"Why did we retreat?"
He scratched his cheek thoughtfully.
"Even if that man is one of the legendary Sannin… with your strength, you should still be able to fight him, right?"
Itachi remained silent for a moment.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Dealing with Jiraiya is not so simple."
His voice was quiet but serious.
"More importantly… my eyes are extremely exhausted right now."
Kisame looked surprised.
"You used Tsukuyomi…"
"And Amaterasu as well."
Itachi nodded slightly.
"The strain on my body is significant."
Kisame chuckled.
"Well, that makes sense."
"After all, he's a legendary Sannin."
He shrugged casually.
"You might be able to handle him, Mr. Itachi…"
"But someone like me is far too weak to face him."
He then turned his gaze toward the direction where Naruto had been.
"That Nine-Tails brat turned out to be a much bigger troublemaker than I expected."
Itachi nodded.
"Uzumaki Naruto…"
"Hyuga Hinata…"
"And Uchiha Sasuke."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"These children are not easy opponents."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"If we allow them to grow freely… they may eventually become serious threats."
Kisame grinned viciously.
"You're right, Mr. Itachi."
"The more talented someone is…"
"The sooner they should be eliminated."
Naruto's Doubts
On the road ahead, Naruto and Jiraiya continued traveling toward their destination.
However, Naruto was unusually quiet.
This strange silence immediately caught Jiraiya's attention.
"What's wrong, Naruto?"
He glanced sideways at his student.
"Being this quiet doesn't seem like you at all."
Naruto spoke softly.
"Perverted Sage…"
"Is the Akatsuki Organization really after me?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"More precisely…"
"They're after the monster inside you."
Naruto lowered his head.
A heavy sigh escaped his mouth.
"That monster again…"
His voice became bitter.
"I never wanted that thing."
"Who put it inside my body anyway?!"
Jiraiya didn't hide the truth.
"The Fourth Hokage."
Naruto froze.
Shock filled his eyes.
"What?!"
Anger quickly followed.
"Why would he do something like that?!"
Jiraiya sighed deeply.
He reached out and gently ruffled Naruto's hair.
"There are many reasons…"
"But whatever the case…"
"He definitely didn't do it with malicious intent."
Naruto clenched his teeth.
"Even if he didn't mean to hurt me…"
"What he did caused me nothing but pain!"
Jiraiya understood Naruto's feelings.
For a long moment, he remained silent.
Finally, he spoke again.
"Naruto…"
"Believe me."
"When the Fourth Hokage made that decision…"
"He was suffering greatly as well."
"But…"
"A ninja must do what is right."
"Even if it means enduring unbearable pain."
He looked toward the horizon.
"Just like the Fourth Hokage."
"He sacrificed his own life to protect the village."
Naruto suddenly asked another question.
"Is there any way to remove that monster from my body?"
Jiraiya slowly shook his head.
"No."
His voice was firm.
"If a Jinchuriki loses their tailed beast…"
"The only thing left is death."
Naruto froze again.
"That's… that's completely unfair!"
Jiraiya sighed.
"This ninja world was never fair from the beginning."
He suddenly changed the topic.
"Do you know what Sasuke experienced?"
Naruto's heart trembled when he heard Sasuke's name.
He lowered his head slightly.
"I have some guesses…"
"But I never dared to ask him directly."
Jiraiya began explaining slowly.
"Sasuke actually had a very happy childhood."
"He had loving parents."
"A respected older brother."
"Kind relatives and clan members."
"And he himself was incredibly talented."
"You could say his life was nearly perfect."
Naruto listened silently.
"But one night…"
Jiraiya continued quietly.
"Everything collapsed."
"Sasuke's older brother…"
"Uchiha Itachi…"
"Massacred the entire Uchiha Clan."
Naruto's face turned pale instantly.
"W-What?!"
Jiraiya nodded grimly.
"Yes."
"Even his own parents."
Naruto felt his heart tighten painfully.
"If you understand what Sasuke went through…"
"You'll understand why he became the person he is today."
"And you'll also understand…"
"That justice never truly existed in this world."
He looked directly at Naruto.
"Yes, your fate as the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki is painful."
"But Sasuke lost everything in a single night."
"From heaven to hell."
"From happiness to endless darkness."
"Is that fair?"
Naruto slowly lowered his head.
"So Sasuke has been carrying something so terrible all this time…"
He remembered how he had treated Sasuke before.
"I even fought with him…"
Jiraiya smiled faintly.
"To be honest…"
"The relationship between you two is quite interesting."
Naruto frowned.
"What are you talking about, Perverted Sage?!"
Jiraiya laughed.
"You don't understand yet."
"The rivalry between you and Sasuke…"
"It's actually just a way for the two of you to connect with each other."
Naruto stared at him in disbelief.
"Connect?"
"Me and Sasuke?!"
"Of course."
Jiraiya smiled.
"One day you'll understand."
"And one day…"
"Sasuke will understand too."
Naruto remained silent for a long time.
Even though he still didn't fully understand Jiraiya's words…
He finally realized something important.
Everyone is suffering.
Because of the Nine-Tails, Naruto had suffered since childhood.
Because of his brother, Sasuke lived with endless hatred.
Even Hinata carried the heavy burden of her clan's rigid system.
Naruto clenched his fists.
"Why…"
"Why is this ninja world filled with so much pain?"
Jiraiya's expression softened.
"Naruto…"
"When you start thinking about questions like that…"
"It means you're growing up."
"When people are young, they only feel pain and sadness."
"But they don't know how to deal with those feelings."
"They certainly don't know how to solve them."
He continued calmly.
"But when you start thinking about the root of those problems…"
"That's when true growth begins."
Naruto looked up at him.
"Perverted Sage…"
"Do you know the answer?"
Jiraiya laughed.
"Me?"
"I'm afraid even someone like the Great Toad Sage…"
"Or the Sage of Six Paths…"
"Might not have the answer to that question."
Naruto sighed.
"Then what should we do?"
Jiraiya gently ruffled his hair again.
"The answer is simple."
"We pass the hope of solving this problem to the next generation."
"Maybe they'll find the answer."
"Maybe they won't."
"But as long as hope exists…"
"There's always a chance."
He continued seriously.
"How people choose to live…"
"That's entirely their own decision."
"Everyone experiences suffering."
"What matters is what you choose to do after that suffering."
Jiraiya's eyes grew distant.
"If someone discovers that this world is dark and cruel…"
"It wouldn't be strange for them to fall into despair."
"Some people choose to embrace that darkness."
"And honestly…"
"I can't completely blame them."
He paused.
"But personally…"
"There's another path I prefer."
Naruto asked eagerly.
"What is it?"
Jiraiya smiled.
"It's simple."
"Find a way…"
"To change this world."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)