Jiraiya decided to give up the rest of his "vacation" and request some extra leave so he could stay in the Land of Rain for a while and look after these orphans.
But...
"Wait, Nagato. There are a few things I want to ask you," Akaseki interrupted.
"Akaseki..." Jiraiya warned him.
Jiraiya knew Akaseki probably wanted to ask about what had happened that day.
But to Jiraiya, what had happened that day was already clear-the "Rinnegan ninja" had intervened!
Akaseki had also been nearby afterward and encountered that "Rinnegan ninja." As the unit commander at the time, Jiraiya also knew certain classified details, such as... Akaseki had seen a "Wood Release ninja" as well.
Given all that, Jiraiya saw no reason to ask a child to confirm anything, especially when his parents had been killed that day.
Even if there were some details worth learning, Jiraiya believed he could get them from Nagato over the course of their time together. There was no need to dredge up his painful memories right now.
But Akaseki clearly thought otherwise!
After all, what Jiraiya didn't know was that the "Rinnegan ninja" was Madara Uchiha...
That was why Akaseki was so cautious. He wasn't merely guarding against a "powerful, mysterious enemy." Tsunade, who also knew the truth, stopped Jiraiya and let Akaseki continue.
"Nagato, did you see anyone else that day?" Akaseki watched him closely.
"No... just... those two Konoha ninja." Nagato lowered his head as he spoke.
Akaseki frowned at that. He crouched in front of Nagato, met his eyes, and asked, "You saw those two Konoha ninja? Then... what happened afterward?"
If Nagato hadn't seen anything-if he had actually been outside the village when his parents were killed-then the story would have sounded a little more reasonable.
But since he had already