Forcing Him to Stay Alive! Gravely Wounded, Jiraiya Escaped Back to Konoha with Intelligence

Amid a thunderous crash, the thread in my mind snapped completely.

Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I jerked my eyes open and gasped for breath.

Cold sweat had seeped onto my temples without my noticing, sticky against my skin.

My chest burned. It was the backlash from the wooden origin talisman shattering.

"You old bastard, you really did use that trump card."

I pressed my chest, my brows knotted tight.

In my plant sense, somewhere far to the west,

a strand of my divine tree origin had exploded in an instant.

That vast surge of life energy was like fireworks bursting in the night.

But those fireworks lasted only a moment before rapidly fading.

I closed my eyes, carefully tracking that faint trail.

To my surprise, the energy was moving at a crazy speed.

Like a loach struggling across dry land toward water.

"You're pretty quick. Looks like you saved your old hide."

I breathed a sigh of relief, only to find the trail growing dimmer.

The vitality released by the shattered talisman was draining rapidly.

Even if his wounds had healed, blood loss and dehydration would still kill him.

He would die halfway back before he ever reached the village.

"What a pain. Old Man never lets me stop worrying."

I rolled out of bed and grabbed a black overcoat.

Without even bothering to wipe the mud off my feet, I pushed open the window and leaped out.

Konoha was quiet in the night. The rain had stopped.

The wet streets reflected the pale moonlight.

I became a dark green shadow, racing across the rooftops.

The two Uchiha Chunin guarding the gate saw nothing but a blur.

"Just now... did something drift past us?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Just leaves blowing in the wind. Keep patrolling."

Ignoring their muttering behind