The Truth

"Because of certain special circumstances, Naruto learned the truth about everything. He came to the Sealing Space and released this fragment of my consciousness. By the way, Jiraiya-sensei, take a look at these too." As Minato spoke, more glowing orbs appeared beside him.

After the orbs flew over to Jiraiya, he studied them carefully. They showed Naruto controlling several Anbu, wiping out that group of bandits a few days ago, the bandit leader Blue Bird, and the memories and reasons behind Konoha's decline that Naruto had learned after devouring that remnant soul.

They recorded what Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had done over the years: the truth behind the Senju Clan's destruction, the real reason White Fang of the Leaf died, what had happened to Minato and Kushina's bodies, and how Danzō had sent Root shinobi to pose as bandits and seize the supplies he needed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, and the two advisors had all been students of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. After spending so much time under his influence, they had all, to some extent, adopted Tobirama Senju's beliefs: anything that threatened the village had to be eliminated before it could take root.

Tobirama Senju's cool-headedness stood in stark contrast to Hashirama Senju's natural airheadedness. Hashirama had been an absolute idealist, while Tobirama had been an absolute realist.

To consolidate his leadership, Tobirama had established the Anbu. They did more than protect the Hokage; they also guarded against foreign attacks, gathered intelligence, carried out assassinations, and more. The organization reported directly to the Hokage, and the system had endured ever since, becoming an indispensable part of Konoha.

Tobirama Senju's deeds, conduct, and jutsu had a tremendous influence on later generations.

Shimura Danzō was a prime example. He had truly driven the Uchiha Clan into a corner, assigning them a residence in the most remote part of the village and keeping them out of combat. Later, he had even considered using force against the Uchiha Clan. In the end, Danzō had pushed Itachi into committing the shocking massacre of the Uchiha Clan, an act that would have a profound impact on future generations.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi became the Third Hokage, he adopted Tobirama Senju's methods to secure his position as Hokage, eliminating every potential source of instability.

Hiruzen Sarutobi often sent Senju Clan shinobi on extremely dangerous missions, causing their numbers to dwindle until only Tsunade remained.

After the Second Shinobi World War, White Fang of the Leaf—Hatake Sakumo—had amassed a great many battle achievements. With his extraordinary strength, he killed Chiyo's son, Akasuna no Imoku, and her daughter-in-law, Akasuna no Mutsu. The shinobi unit under his command had also driven back the army of the Land of Sand.

After the war ended, Hatake Sakumo's prestige reached its peak. Everyone thought he would become the Fourth Hokage. But during a mission, he had abandoned the objective to save his comrades. When word got out after he returned to the village, even the comrade he had saved condemned him. Under immense pressure, Hatake Sakumo chose to end his own life.

There was no need to explain how the news had leaked. The comrade he had saved was a member of the Sarutobi Clan.

Moreover, after Hiruzen Sarutobi became the Third Hokage, Konoha's strength had steadily declined. By the end of the Third Shinobi World War, only Yellow Flash—Namikaze Minato—remained of the Eight Colors of the Leaf.

In the end, Minato, whose strength and reputation had surpassed Hiruzen Sarutobi's, became the Fourth Hokage. But even as Hokage, he had been little more than a figurehead. The Anbu, who reported directly to the Hokage, were still under Hiruzen Sarutobi's control, and Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to make the major decisions concerning Konoha.

After Minato's death, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again took up the Hokage Position. By then, Konoha was at its weakest point in history. (Orochimaru had defected, Tsunade had left, Jiraiya was gone, and few of Konoha's top fighters remained.)

As for Shimura Danzō, he had always called himself the Darkness of Konoha. Even after Orochimaru defected, he had stayed in contact with him. After obtaining the bodies of Minato and Kushina, Danzō had been unable to get anything useful from his research, so he traded them to Orochimaru in exchange for an arm cultivated from Hashirama Cells.

Once he had obtained that arm, he began carrying out the Uchiha Clan Downfall Plan he had devised earlier.

There was much, much more. After watching all the orbs, Jiraiya sat on the ground in silence for a long time. Minato didn't disturb him, simply standing nearby and waiting.

After a long while, Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh. "Minato, I truly can't believe it. Has Konoha really become this dark?" Some hope still lingered in his heart. He wanted Minato to tell him that it was all a lie.

When Minato remained silent for a long time, Jiraiya's hopes were extinguished, and he accepted the truth.

After thinking for a moment, Jiraiya spoke again. "Minato, what do you think of Konoha?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, I can't trust anyone else in Konoha right now. That's why I asked Naruto to come find you. I'm begging you to help him." Minato bowed to Jiraiya.

Seeing how solemn Minato was, Jiraiya hurried forward and helped him up. "Minato, you didn't have to ask. I'd have done it anyway. But what do you need me to do now?"

Minato's face showed his gratitude. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei. I want Naruto to sign a contract with Mount Myoboku, and then I want you to give him the key you've been keeping."

At the mention of the key, Jiraiya asked at once, "Can Naruto fully control the Nine-Tails' power now?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, Naruto has earned Kurama's recognition, and they've become friends. So there's no problem with undoing the seal now. Kurama, say hello to my sensei," Minato replied.

The Nine-Tails, who had been lying on the ground, opened his eyes and grunted at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya nodded. "That's no problem at all. I'll have Naruto sign the contract in a moment. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"Besides that, I'd like you to go to the Land of Fields with Naruto," Minato said after a moment's thought.

Seeing Jiraiya's confusion, Minato continued, "As you can see, Kushina and I are only spirits now. Our bodies are in Orochimaru's hands, and if Naruto wants to bring us back to life, he has to get our bodies back first."

At the mention of bringing them back to life, Jiraiya asked, "Impure World Reincarnation?"

"Not Impure World Reincarnation. I mean a true resurrection," Minato replied.

Hearing Minato speak of a true resurrection, Jiraiya said nothing more. He simply nodded to show he agreed, then asked Minato another question. "What do you and Kushina think of the Third and Konoha?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, I don't want to lie to you. Once Kushina and I are revived, the first thing we'll do is return to Konoha. You've seen how Naruto has been living. As his parents, Kushina and I can't accept it."

"As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya-sensei, you've seen how rotten Konoha has become. So..." Minato trailed off.

Jiraiya understood what Minato had left unsaid.

Seeing Jiraiya fall silent, Minato spoke again. "Jiraiya-sensei, you don't have to keep traveling the world to gather intelligence. I don't need to search for the Child of Prophecy anymore."

Hearing him mention the Child of Prophecy, Jiraiya looked up at Minato and waited for him to explain.

"Most of the Shinobi World's intelligence is already known to Naruto. He'll tell you about it gradually. You went searching for the Child of Prophecy because you hoped the Shinobi World could achieve true peace, and Naruto has already found the answer," Minato continued.

At the mention of peace, Jiraiya hurriedly asked Minato what Naruto's answer was. Minato then told him all about Naruto's ideas and his thoughts on the current state of the Shinobi World.

Jiraiya was a very idealistic man. He had always dreamed that people could understand one another without war, breaking the cycle of hatred and bringing peace to the world. But he hadn't understood that for people to understand one another, they first had to accept his way of thinking.

After hearing Minato explain Naruto's answer, Jiraiya thought it over carefully. To bring peace to the Shinobi World, the first thing to do was unite it. Only then could people's thinking be changed. The Shinobi World wasn't very large, but it had too many factions, including the great shinobi villages, each of which passed down a different will.

Every shinobi village belonged to a different country. To develop their own lands and make them stronger, these countries all fought to seize various resources.

Only after the Shinobi World was unified would the wars over resources end. And only after unification, once the Shinobi World was developing in peace, could people's way of thinking begin to change. Of course, this was merely the prerequisite for true peace.

Once these two things had been accomplished, the next step would be to establish rules—or laws.

Human nature was evil. Greed showed itself from the moment a person was born. A baby nursing at its mother's breast didn't care whether she was in pain; all he cared about was whether he'd had enough to eat.

Without the restraints of law, evil ideas would gradually take root in some people's hearts again.

Without proper education from an early age, people would become rigid and stubborn, untamed, selfish, and unable to tell right from wrong.

The Shinobi World now was like an uncivilized child. Ordinary civilians had received no education, while shinobi, steeped in all kinds of ideologies, had become narrow-minded and stubborn, putting their own village's interests above everything else.

If the Shinobi World were unified by force alone, the result would be a false peace. If people tried to spread new ideas alone, given the Shinobi World's current state, those ideas would soon be branded as heresy and dealt with. Only by pursuing both at once, then allowing things to develop gradually...

After thinking it over, Jiraiya had to admit that this really was a way to bring true peace to the Shinobi World. He could almost see what the world would look like when peace had finally come.

"Minato, from now on, I'll help Naruto every step of the way. I believe I'll live to see true peace in the Shinobi World," Jiraiya said.