Jiraiya's Decision

Following the direction Jiraiya and the others had gone, Chiba Etsu and his companions chased after them for a long way. In the end, they came up empty-handed and stopped at the edge of a cliff.

"Damn it. We're still too slow."

Yahiko cried out in frustration.

Chiba Etsu and the others fell silent.

They had finally gotten a sliver of a chance, but who could have guessed they'd suffer another setback like this?

Chiba Etsu carefully thought back over the story. How had they originally met again? Oh, right. It seemed like...

Just as Chiba Etsu remembered something, Yahiko suddenly tripped over something at his feet.

"Look out, it's a trap!"

Before the others could react, the cliff behind them suddenly exploded.

Boom!

Amid a burst of dazzling flames, they all plunged into the raging river below.

They were spun around by the treacherous currents until, after a while, they finally surfaced again in a place resembling an underground cavern.

"Thank goodness, you're all safe."

Yahiko cried out with joy.

Konan and Nagato's faces were also filled with the joy of having survived a close call.

But Chiba Etsu had already sensed something.

If he wasn't mistaken, this had Zetsu's fingerprints all over it again.

In the original story, this was how they had ended up before the Sannin, and this time was no exception.

For a moment, Chiba Etsu couldn't help but marvel. Zetsu really had gone to a lot of trouble following them all this way.

He had to clear away dangerous traps and obstacles, secretly step in to save them at crucial moments, and then figure out how to lead them to the Sannin. Most of all, he had to make sure they never noticed his help.

On top of that, he had to be on call twenty-four hours a day without a single mistake.

Just thinking about it made Chiba Etsu feel certain Zetsu must be exhausted.

Still, it was thanks to Zetsu's care that they had survived. And it was also thanks to him that they had found Jiraiya and the others. If they'd had to rely on themselves, at their current speed they probably wouldn't even have seen a hair of the Sannin.

For a moment, Chiba Etsu felt even more fortunate that he had joined Yahiko's group from the start.

A little while later, they rounded several bends and, just as Chiba Etsu had expected, came upon Jiraiya and the others, who were resting after their recent battle.

Jiraiya and the others were eating to regain their strength while chatting about something.

"Hahaha! The war with the Land of Rain is finally over. Come to think of it, we've made quite a name for ourselves this time. I can already picture all the beautiful women back home crying and begging to tell me how much they admire me."

Jiraiya laughed heartily, paying no attention to the two pairs of disdainful eyes beside him.

Rather than being discouraged by their scorn, Jiraiya leaned in close to Tsunade's face.

"Seriously, Tsunade, why not consider being my girlfriend?"

"Jiraiya, are you looking to get yourself killed?"

"Hmph, fine, don't say yes. I don't care anyway."

As he spoke, Jiraiya glanced disdainfully at Tsunade's chest.

"Flat as a washboard."

"What did you say?"

Bam!

While they were arguing, Yahiko was the first to step forward.

"Hmm?"

Jiraiya and the others immediately went on alert.

But only a moment later, Jiraiya frowned again.

"They're not ninja. They're children. What are children doing here?"

Yahiko gathered his thoughts for a moment, then carefully explained why they had come and what they had been through.

"We saw your strength some time ago, so we followed you all the way here."

"You mean you want us to teach you ninjutsu?"

After hearing about what they'd experienced, Jiraiya couldn't help feeling surprised.

He truly couldn't imagine what kind of courage and determination it had taken these children to make their way to the heart of a battlefield like this.

And they had somehow survived and managed to find him and the others.

He had to admit, for a moment, their courage and resolve moved him.

But...

Jiraiya furrowed his brow slightly as he thought it over.

He wasn't someone with the time to look after children. Even in Konoha, he barely had time to take on students. Besides, these children weren't from Konoha. He couldn't just take them back with him.

And deep down, Jiraiya didn't want these children to take the dangerous path of becoming ninja.

He fell silent for a moment, looking at the hopeful expressions on Yahiko and the others' faces. Jiraiya hesitated, unsure how to turn them down.

Just then, Orochimaru spoke up.

"Kill them."

"What?!"

Yahiko and the others took a few frightened steps backward.

Orochimaru's lips curled slightly into a cruel smile.

"I've seen too many war orphans like them. Their lives usually end in misery. So we might as well kill them outright. It would be better for them."

"Uh..."

Yahiko and the others exchanged uneasy glances, already preparing to run.

"Enough, Orochimaru."

At last, Jiraiya made up his mind.

"You and Tsunade go back first. I'll stay and look after them."

"Huh?"

Tsunade stared at him in disbelief.

Orochimaru, beside her, looked a little surprised too.

"Consider it some small compensation. We had a lot to do with them ending up like this. I'll take care of them for a few months and teach them some basic survival skills, until they can look after themselves."

"Heh. Foolish compassion."

Orochimaru gave a disdainful laugh, his face full of scorn.

Tsunade also couldn't understand Jiraiya's decision. She hesitated, as if she wanted to say something.

"Jiraiya..."

Jiraiya waved a hand, cutting her off before she could finish.

"Don't. I've already made up my mind."

Seeing that she couldn't talk him out of it, Tsunade could only nod. "All right. I'll talk to our teacher."

A little while later, Tsunade and Orochimaru turned and walked away.

Suddenly, halfway down the path, Tsunade seemed to remember something and came back.

"Hmm?"

At Jiraiya's puzzled look, Tsunade offered no explanation. She simply walked over to Chiba Etsu and stopped in front of him.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, Tsunade grabbed Chiba Etsu and yanked down his pants.