Jiraiya: Where did my basket go?

"What did you say?"

Jiraiya looked at the medical ninja with an expression of utter disbelief. His reaction was even more intense than if he had discovered that both of his legs had been amputated. He even stood straight up, grabbed the medical ninja by the collar, and stared at him with his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"Lord Jiraiya, because you were inside for too long, you have now completely lost your ability to function. I am sorry, Lord Jiraiya, we did our absolute best, but..."

The medical ninja took a step back, shook his head, and spoke with a regretful expression.

"Ho... how could this be? I... how could I be ruined again? This must be fake, this has to be a genjutsu..."

Jiraiya released his grip in a daze and sat back down, unable to believe it. He shook his head frantically. At some point, the medical ninja had quietly slipped away, leaving Jiraiya with plenty of personal space.

Afterward, Jiraiya tremblingly reached his hand into his pants and felt around a certain area.

"No... no... it's... gone? How could it be gone? My... my balls? Where... where did they go? Where are my balls?"

Jiraiya's complexion turned deathly pale. His voice was laced with a sobbing tone as he felt around frantically. However, no matter how he searched, he could not find the familiar objects. In reality, Jiraiya's luck was actually decent; at that time, the energy in his body had been extremely depleted. Although his blood was still slowly circulating, the fluid flowing through his pipes was like water, devoid of any energy.

When he was rescued, it wasn't just the cells in his lower legs that had completely died from starvation; the cells in his thighs and other parts of his body had also perished. This included his two testicles. There was no other way—to prevent infection, they had no choice but to remove them for Jiraiya.

At this moment, Jiraiya felt the world go black before his eyes. A sense of hopelessness washed over him. He tried to imagine the scenes he had once peeked at, tried to imagine the Icha Icha Paradise he had written, but he quickly fell into despair. There was no sensation at all. He no longer felt that familiar thrill of the past. He was completely ruined.

"No... this can't be. Genjutsu... is this a genjutsu? Damn it, Uchiha Yue, you truly are a powerhouse of the Uchiha Clan for your genjutsu to be this terrifying... Gwah! Mere genjutsu, watch as I break through it! Gaa!!!"

The next moment, Jiraiya's expression became incredibly ferocious. He refused to accept this reality. He, the legendary Sannin of Konoha, the teacher of the future Savior, how could he have been defeated by someone who appeared out of nowhere, had no reputation, and was nothing more than an ordinary person before this!

Gwah, genjutsu, this is genjutsu!!!

"Jiraiya, wake yourself up! Gwah!!!"

Boom!

Powerful chakra surged from within Jiraiya's body, churning wildly and roaring through his veins. The next moment, Jiraiya closed his eyes and began to sense his own body.

"That's right, my body, I can feel it. Hand, move for me!! Gwah! Uchiha Yue, I will shatter this damn genjutsu of yours!!!"

Carrying a powerful, incredibly fierce force, a strike slammed heavily into Jiraiya's own face.

Pfft!

Teeth mixed with blood sprayed from Jiraiya's mouth like bullets, embedding themselves into the wall of the hospital room. This single punch nearly shattered Jiraiya's skull, leaving him dizzy and nearly beating himself to death.

Thud!

Jiraiya collapsed weakly onto the bed, twitching as tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

"Ho... how could this be? No, this pain is so real. No, it's not a genjutsu? How could it not be a genjutsu? How could this be reality? Yi, no... it's impossible... how could I really be ruined?"

Jiraiya's face swelled up. He mumbled incoherently, his tone filled with confusion, disbelief, and an inability to process the situation. When people are suddenly struck by a major blow, they can go mad or start to doubt reality; clearly, the current blow was simply too much for Jiraiya to handle.

If it had only been a broken leg, it would have been fine, but as it happened, his basket had vanished into thin air just like that Indian guy's after waking up from a nap. For an old lecher like him, how could he possibly endure this? He couldn't take it!

After all, he wasn't like that guy from the Southern Liang Dynasty who voluntarily let his basket drift down the river to feed the fish.

Bang!

"Lord Jiraiya, what happened? Was there an ambush?"

The door not far away was kicked open. Nara Shikaku and the others, who had been waiting outside, rushed in immediately, only to find Jiraiya sprawled on the bed, spitting blood with a swollen face, having suffered a heavy blow.

"No, no, there was no ambush. Get, get out. Let me have some peace and quiet, don't come in! I'm fine!"

Jiraiya shook his head and waved his hands, his head hung low. His expression was one of sorrow and utter despondency. The group exchanged glances; they naturally knew what had happened to Jiraiya. Lord Jiraiya was no longer a man. If they were suddenly faced with such a situation, they probably wouldn't be doing any better.

"Right, call a medical ninja over to help me replant my teeth."

Jiraiya looked up at the teeth embedded in the wall, his heart filled with immense worry. Would his teeth be ruined? He hoped not; he was already crippled in the legs and his basket had ascended to the heavens—he didn't want to lose his teeth on top of that.

Not long after, a medical ninja carefully pried Jiraiya's teeth out of the wall, only to discover that one was missing.

A short while ago, outside the window.

A figure appeared beneath the window. It was a woman with a feminine, delicate appearance.

"Jiraiya is in here..."

Orochimaru fell into deep thought. After arriving, he had already inquired about what had happened to Konoha, which matched what Nagato and the others had told him. Originally, he had intended to head straight to the ruins of Konoha to see for himself, but upon hearing that Jiraiya had returned heavily injured, he changed his mind and decided to take a look here instead.

Plop!

Suddenly, a white tooth fell from the window, nearly landing on Orochimaru's head. However, as a ninja, would Orochimaru really be so easily ambushed by a single tooth?

Orochimaru suddenly raised his hand and, with lightning speed, pinched the tooth between his fingers.

"..."

Orochimaru looked at the tooth and frowned, shaking his head. It was so unprofessional; a patient's body parts were just being tossed around randomly. Under the governance of his Teacher and that old geezer Danzo, Konoha had actually turned into such a mess. It was truly...