Tears of a Hero

As he spoke, Jiraiya erupted with an intense aura, becoming a completely different person from the lecherous, carefree man he had been before.

The immense pressure left Sasuke unable even to raise his head. Only one terrified thought lingered in his mind: If I lie, I'll die!

"It was a—"

"A what?" Jiraiya pressed him step by step.

No, he couldn't tell the truth.

The other man wouldn't believe him. Saying it outright would probably only make things worse.

Besides, exposing the system to a stranger so casually in this brutal ninja world could bring consequences he couldn't possibly predict.

The Will of Steel came through once more.

"It was... a sage from the West. I saw him in a dream."

I'm dead.

Sasuke groaned inwardly. The Will of Steel had kept him from telling the truth, but he was terrible at making up lies. All he could do was follow the advice of the people online and spout nonsense.

Little did he know that he had accidentally hit the mark. His words landed squarely on Jiraiya's eccentric heart.

"A dream?"

Hadn't the Toad Sage told him the prophecy of the Child of Prophecy through a dream?

And as for the West, it couldn't have been more accurate! Mount Myōboku, where the toads lived, was in the distant west!

The more Jiraiya thought about it, the more excited he became. "That sage you mentioned... did he look like a toad?"

"Huh? Uh... y-yes, I suppose?" Seeing Jiraiya alternate between deep thought and wild delight, Sasuke could not make sense of his Movements and could only answer vaguely.

"That's right, that's right. How did I not think of it? To achieve great things, one must bear great hatred!"

"Either unprecedented stability or destruction."

"Doesn't that mean he needs my guidance?!"

"Yes, yes, that must be it."

Jiraiya paced back and forth excitedly. If the Child of Prophecy were truly some upright, righteous type, then how could he possibly bring about destruction? And why would he need Jiraiya's guidance?

"Excellent! From today onward, you, Uchiha... uh, what was your name again?"

"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."

"Right! Uchiha Sasuke! From today onward, you are the official disciple of Lord Jiraiya—the white-haired Toad Messenger, one of the Three Legendary Ninja, invincible in all directions, and a handsome man who captivates all living beings!"

Jiraiya waved his arms around and broke into a song-and-dance rap routine.

Sasuke's face darkened.

How could there be someone in this world even more disgusting than Naruto?

"However, it's already getting late today. Your master still has some... heh heh, important business to attend to. Go back and rest first. We'll meet here again tomorrow morning."

"That doesn't look important at all, damn it!"

Before Sasuke could protest, Jiraiya turned and headed toward the tavern, muttering happily to himself as he walked.

"Oh my, oh my. Konoha truly is a lucky place. I have to celebrate properly tonight!"

If not for the aura Jiraiya had released earlier, Sasuke would truly have doubted whether a guy like this could really stand on equal footing with Orochimaru.

"Sigh, there are always people coming to bother me. That's the trouble with returning home."

At a roadside bar, a huge mug of beer sat before Jiraiya. He was drinking merrily when he suddenly sighed.

"It really is you! I did not know you had returned, Senior, and failed to pay my respects promptly. Please forgive my discourtesy."

"Save it, Kakashi."

"That child... is he the last Sharingan?"

"Yes. Uchiha Sasuke. He is currently my Subordinate."

"If he's your Subordinate, why were you sneaking around following him?" Jiraiya asked.

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat. "As expected of Lord Jiraiya. I meant no harm. These are the Hokage's orders."

Kakashi then told him about Orochimaru's recent Movements, Anko's suspicions regarding Sasuke, and the mission assigned by the Third Hokage.

"The Hokage has been trying to find you, but there has been no news at all. I never expected you to be in the village. The Hokage will surely be delighted to learn of this." Kakashi could barely conceal his joy.

With someone like Jiraiya here, protecting Konoha's peace would become much easier.

"The Third has already heard about what happened to me?"

"Not yet."

"Is that so? Good."

"Did you return because of Orochimaru?"

"Unfortunately, no. I came back to find material for my novels. I don't like getting involved in trouble."

"What are you saying? You should know as well that the only one who can stop Orochimaru—"

Jiraiya cut Kakashi off directly. "I heard Uzumaki Naruto is also your Subordinate?"

"Ah, yes."

Suddenly, Jiraiya leaned close to Kakashi's ear and whispered, "So you intend to raise Sasuke, who possesses the Sharingan, as a controller, while Naruto will serve as a weapon?"

Kakashi froze. Rather than answer directly, he merely said in a low voice, "Everything the Third does is to protect Konoha's peace."

"Yes... nothing is more important than protecting Konoha's peace."

Jiraiya took another huge gulp of beer. It seemed like an answer, yet also like he was speaking to himself.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed to see Minato Namikaze's face again.

The next morning, beside the hot springs.

The familiar place, the familiar middle-aged man, the familiar pose.

"Ahem!"

At a loss for what to do, Sasuke could only make as much noise as possible to remind his shameless old master that he was there.

"Ahem, ahem!"

Yet with Lord Jiraiya's devotion to art, even if Sasuke coughed up blood, it probably would not steal a shred of his attention.

Just as Sasuke's awkwardness reached its limit, Jiraiya finally noticed the person standing with his back to him when he casually turned around.

"Oh! You're here!" Jiraiya said softly, his eyes still fixed on the alluring scenery.

"Yes," Sasuke replied.

He truly had no idea what he could possibly say in a situation like this.

After some time, Jiraiya seemed to make some enormous decision. Looking back every few steps, he reluctantly stood up and walked toward the riverbank.

"Tell me more about that dream of yours."

Facing Jiraiya's expectant gaze, Sasuke had no choice but to repeat that lie once more.

"In short, there was a sage—"

"A sage who looked like a toad," Jiraiya added.

"Right, a sage who looked like a toad appeared in my dream and told me that I would bring tremendous change to the ninja world in the future. But to accomplish that, I would need Lord Jiraiya's guidance."

"And he told me that you would definitely appear in Konoha yesterday!"

Sasuke looked up to find Jiraiya already in tears.

After Nagato and Minato Namikaze had died one after another, Jiraiya had spent these years traveling across the world, continuing his pursuit of that vague and intangible dream.

As the years passed, the sorrow in his heart only grew deeper with each day.

(Note: Jiraiya had previously received word from the toads and mistakenly believed that Nagato and the other two had died during the Third Shinobi World War.)

Even after yesterday's conversation, Jiraiya had still been somewhat doubtful.

But after pondering it all night, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that Sasuke was that child.

Now that he had heard Sasuke speak with his own ears of a dream prophecy that almost perfectly matched what the Great Toad Sage had told him, Jiraiya finally lost all doubt and could not stop himself from weeping.

"This is really... too unfair. Sob..."

"I've searched for so many years. Why does he get such clear guidance? It was not only precise down to the time, but even included the location! Sob, sob..."

"M-Master."

How could Sasuke possibly understand that within those surging tears was the grievance accumulated by the man before him—a hero of a man who had spent over thirty years pursuing a prophecy amid wars of blood and hatred, repeatedly kindling hope only to suffer disappointment again and again.

Several submissions had failed, and even this book I loved most had yet to secure a contract. Writing this, I am filled with emotion. Thank you to every reader who has kept up with the story, commented, cast recommendation votes, or silently supported it in any other way. You are the only reason I can continue persevering. Thank you for everything, and I wish you all well.