Although he was delighted to open his eyes and see the grown-up Naruto, Jiraiya felt a little disheartened when he turned and saw Tsunade and Dan Katō locked in a tight embrace.
If Dan Katō had not been around, he might have had a one-percent chance of ending up with Tsunade.
But with Dan Katō here, that chance was zero.
He could only hide his disappointment. "Ah, Naruto, you've grown up."
Naruto had known long ago that Jiraiya would be resurrected. He had even fantasized countless times about how he should welcome the Pervy Sage back to life.
His emotional intelligence was naturally no longer what it had been more than a decade ago.
After thinking it over so many times, he had even bought popsicles in advance.
Natsuki had already prepared Naruto for this, so Naruto caught the emotion Jiraiya had hidden as he looked at Tsunade and Dan Katō embracing.
He hurriedly tore open the wrapper and snapped the popsicle in half.
"Sensei, welcome back."
Jiraiya took the popsicle and froze for a moment, then tapped it against the one in Naruto's hand.
"I'm back."
The Fourth Hokage was not with Jiraiya.
He was standing beside Nonō.
After being resurrected, the first person Nonō saw was Kabuto Yakushi, who had already become a teenager.
"You are... Kabuto..."
As Kabuto watched Nonō return to life, his mind flashed back to the Fourth Shinobi World War.
From the very beginning, I was nobody...
From the very beginning, I had nothing...
Kabuto had recognized himself within Izanami. What he wanted was a home.
And now, the most important missing piece of that home had finally been restored.
The emptiness he had hidden for so many years was filled in an instant.
Now in the form of a teenager, tears streamed uncontrollably