Morning.
The weather was clear, the sun bright, and the air fresh. Yet on such a fine day, the road was nearly empty of pedestrians.
Jiraiya had encountered only two groups of fleeing civilians along the way. After that, he had not seen another soul.
Though he understood that war had caused this, Jiraiya could not help sighing. He stopped and looked toward the battlefield. "Konan...?"
"Could Nagato and Yahiko still be alive too?"
The three students he had taken in during the Second Shinobi World War in the Rain Country surfaced in Jiraiya's mind, and his heart suddenly grew heavy.
In an era ravaged by war, it was difficult for orphans from a small country to survive without any Ninjutsu to protect themselves.
Later, he had chosen to teach those three Ninjutsu and guide Nagato, who possessed the "Sage's Eye." At the time, Jiraiya had believed Nagato was the "Child of Prophecy" spoken of by the Great Toad Sage. Yet one day, he had received intelligence that Nagato and the others had died.
The Child of Destiny would undoubtedly not die, because he still had to guide the transformation of the Ninja World.
And the dead could not have been the Child of Destiny. They had been Jiraiya's students.
"If Konan is still alive, then there's a strong chance Yahiko and the others are alive too!" Jiraiya held his chin with one hand, his gaze toward the battlefield becoming more complicated.
"What exactly happened for Konan to become one of the people who started the Fourth Shinobi World War?"
"We all knew the cruelty of war. We all desperately longed for peace."
"Why?"
Jiraiya adjusted the scroll on his back and headed toward the battlefield with heavy steps.
On the night of the Nine-Tails, he had failed to return