Jiraiya Returns to the Village, and Is Stunned by the Empty House!

"Wahahaha! That kid's golden-body state is absolutely insane! Sasuke's in for a real headache now."

Yoru's voice echoed above Stone Village's training ground, full of mischievous delight at watching the chaos unfold.

Just as Stone Village's little and big monsters were crazily competing against one another, their strength skyrocketing like a rocket—

Far away, thousands of miles from there.

At the gates of Leaf Village, a tall, upright figure arrived.

His signature long white hair hung loosely over his broad back.

A forehead protector engraved with the character for "oil" sat on his brow. Wearing wooden clogs, his footsteps went patter, patter, carrying an air of carefree defiance.

Jiraiya, the "Toad Sage," had finally ended his long journey and returned to the homeland he had left for years.

"Whew... Leaf Village's air still smells like home."

Jiraiya took a deep breath of the somewhat chilly air and scratched at his messy white hair.

He had spent four years traveling outside, gathering intelligence on the Akatsuki Organization while searching for the "Child of Prophecy" foretold by the Great Toad Sage.

Though he had found nothing, he had long since settled on the most satisfactory candidate in his heart.

That was his proudest disciple Minato's flesh and blood—Uzumaki Naruto.

"By my reckoning, that little Naruto should be four this year, right?"

Jiraiya stroked his chin, a wide grin spreading across his face until even the crow's-feet at the corners of his eyes creased.

"He must be just like his dad—a handsome little guy all the girls like!"

He looked down at the large bundles in his hands.

They were stuffed with little toys gathered from all over, the latest introductory picture books—

And even several treasured editions of his own "inspiration notes," which he planned to pass down as family heirlooms once Naruto was older.

"I'm not seeing the old man first. Reporting for duty isn't nearly as important as seeing my godson!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, Jiraiya did not even head to the Hokage Building, instead going straight for Minato's old home.

When news of Minato and Kushina's deaths in the Nine-Tails' Attack had reached him four years ago, he had been deep in the Land of Rain. By the time he rushed back, it had already been too late.

That belated guilt had weighed on his heart ever since.

Now, he only wanted to take a good look at the child who had inherited Minato's will, even if it was just to hold him.

Along the way, Jiraiya keenly sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the village.

It was far too oppressive.

The pedestrians on the streets hurried along, without the slightest hint of a smile on their faces.

The occasional ninja who passed by wore exhausted expressions as well, some even bearing injuries.

"Strange. Did they just fight a war?"

Jiraiya frowned and muttered to himself, but he did not think much of it.

His mind was entirely on the godson he was about to see.

A few minutes later.

Jiraiya stopped before a small building that had once been incredibly familiar to him.

Minato and Kushina's home.

"Naruto! Grandpa Jiraiya came back to see you!"

Jiraiya called out at the top of his lungs as he excitedly reached out to push the door open.

"Creeeak—"

The door was not locked. It opened with a gentle push.

A choking smell of dust, mixed with the stench of mildew, hit him in the face.

"Cough, cough!"

Jiraiya staggered back from the choking dust and waved a hand before his face.

When he finally saw the scene inside—

The smile on his face froze instantly.

Empty.

Deathly empty.

Thick cobwebs covered the once-warm living room.

Kushina's favorite vase lay shattered on the floor, its fragments coated in dust.

The photographs on the walls that had captured the smiles of the family of three were all gone, leaving behind only several faded rectangular marks.

Most glaring of all were the white seals of Leaf Village's Anbu plastered across the doorframe and windows.

"Th-this... what happened here?"

The smile vanished completely from Jiraiya's face.

The bundle of toys in his hands fell onto the dust-covered floor with a thud.

"Minato's house... why has it been sealed? Where's Naruto?!"

An incredibly ominous feeling coiled around his heart like a venomous snake.

He suddenly spun around and rushed out of the house, his eyes seeming to blaze with fire.

Just then, an Anbu wearing a tanuki mask happened to be patrolling nearby.

"Hey! You, stop right there!"

In a flash, Jiraiya appeared directly in front of the Anbu like an enraged lion.

"L-Lord Jiraiya?!"

The Anbu was startled by the sudden pressure and instinctively reached for his sword.

But after recognizing the man before him, he immediately froze in place, his voice trembling.

"I'm asking you! Where is the Fourth Hokage's orphaned child?!"

Jiraiya grabbed the Anbu by the collar and lifted his entire body into the air.

Those eyes that usually narrowed while he peeped were now wide open and bloodshot.

"Why is Minato's house covered in seals?! Who did it?!"

"M-My lord, please... please let go first..."

The Anbu was being choked so badly that he could not breathe. His legs kicked wildly in midair, and his eyes beneath the mask darted away, not daring to meet Jiraiya's gaze.

"Talk!"

Jiraiya roared. The terrifying chakra of one of the Three Ninja instantly erupted, pressing the leaves from the surrounding trees down in fluttering waves.

"If you don't tell me the truth today, I'll snap your neck!"

The Anbu was scared out of his wits.

He knew that the man before him was an ancestor-level menace who even dared to curse out the Third Hokage.

"I... I'll tell you!"

The Anbu stammered, his voice shaking like a sieve.

"Young Master Naruto... he... he isn't in the village anymore..."

"Not in the village? Where did he go?"

Jiraiya's brows twisted into a tight knot.

"He... he was abducted by the Uchiha Clan..."

The Anbu swallowed with difficulty before finally voicing the words that had nearly become taboo within the village.

"What?!"

Jiraiya's mind buzzed as if thunder had exploded inside it.

"Uchiha? Abducted? What kind of goddamn joke are you trying to pull on me?!"

"It's true, Lord Jiraiya!"

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, the Anbu gritted his teeth and poured everything out in one breath.

"Four years ago, on the night of the Nine-Tails' Attack..."

"The entire Uchiha Clan defected... they took Young Master Naruto with them..."

"And..." The Anbu's voice grew quieter and quieter. "A few days ago, Stone Village also issued an announcement..."

"The announcement said... Lord Fourth didn't die... he went to Stone Village with the Uchiha Clan..."

Boom!

Those words were like a massive nuclear bomb, detonating directly in Jiraiya's mind!

Minato was not dead?

The entire Uchiha Clan had defected?

Naruto had been taken to Stone Village?!

He recognized every single word.

But put together, they sounded as absurd as the ravings of a madman!

"Impossible... absolutely impossible..."

Jiraiya released his grip, letting the Anbu collapse onto the ground.

He staggered back two steps, and his tall body seemed almost unsteady.

He had watched Minato grow up. How could someone with that kind of love and loyalty toward the village possibly defect?

And take the Uchiha Clan with him to join their sworn enemy, Stone Village?!

There had to be something hidden behind this!

Something monstrous and filthy!

Jiraiya slowly closed his eyes.

He deeply, deeply inhaled the icy, bone-piercing air.

The oppressive feeling he had sensed throughout the village over the past few days flashed through his mind.

Minato's empty house, plastered with seals.

The Anbu's evasive, terrified hesitation just now.

All the clues ultimately pointed toward a source he least wanted to believe in, yet had no choice but to confront.

When Jiraiya opened his eyes again—

The lecherous, carefree "Pervy Sage" who wrote Make-Out Paradise had completely vanished.

In his place stood one of Leaf Village's Three Ninja, who had endured two great ninja wars and walked over mountains of corpses and seas of blood—

The Mad Lion, Jiraiya!

He abruptly turned his head, his sharp gaze piercing toward the Hokage Building like a sword.

"Old man..."

Jiraiya clenched his teeth and spoke each word slowly, as though squeezing them through the gaps between his teeth, every syllable carrying a chilling coldness.

"You'd better give me a perfect explanation..."

"Just what kind of disgusting things did you do to Minato's widow and child?!"