They moved quickly and soon arrived at the place where they had once lived.
It was where Jiraiya had taught them ninjutsu.
It was also where their dream had begun.
The rundown house was covered in weathered marks.
When Jiraiya arrived, he was filled with emotion. "When I left back then, I should have taken you with me."
"Then you wouldn't have suffered so much."
Konan looked nostalgic. "It's all in the past, Sensei. Haven't we all returned now?"
Of the three of them, Yahiko had been revived for the shortest time—just over three years.
Looking at the place they had left behind, he felt especially close to it.
"Back then, we set out from here to fulfill our dream, and we agreed that once our dream came true—"
"Even if we were scattered apart, one day we would return here!"
"Then the three of us would celebrate together!"
For Nagato and Konan, another fifteen years had to be added. It had already been eighteen years since they had left this house.
Yet Nagato still remembered what he had said that day.
"Yeah. Back then, I said we should invite Jiraiya Sensei too."
"And Jiraiya Sensei happened to come with us."
Konan looked at Jiraiya. "Jiraiya Sensei, let's celebrate."
Jiraiya turned around. "All right. Let's grill some fish."
"Then Minato can come pick us up!"
The Land of Rain was poor, with vast land and few people, so no one had taken over this house.
A huge hole had been smashed through the roof.
With the abundant rainfall, vines had overgrown the inside of the house.
Some of the vines had even bloomed with small flowers.
Jiraiya walked over to the signboard and saw his own plaque.
He had never expected that, more than twenty years later, he would return