Jiraiya, Denied

Jiraiya lay on his back, looking thoroughly dejected. "Perhaps."

A mocking curve tugged at Natsuki's lips.

"Wouldn't it be better to surround her with transcendent, selfless love and wish for her to find true happiness?"

Jiraiya's entire body jolted. "How did you...?"

What Natsuki had said was something Jiraiya had told the former village head of Nadeshiko Village many years ago.

Back then, the former village head had demanded a battle with Jiraiya, with marriage as the wager.

After Jiraiya deliberately held back and fought her to a draw, those were the words he had spoken.

He had roughly said that his heart already belonged to someone else, though his love was unrequited.

Clearly, Jiraiya himself had lacked the nerve to pursue her, yet he insisted on dressing it up, making it sound as if she would have accepted him if he had only tried.

Natsuki leaned against a tree.

He said leisurely, "To be honest, I think your love is rather cheap."

"You keep saying you like Tsunade, yet you haven't done a single thing for her sake."

"After Dan Katō died, when she needed comfort the most, you ran off to look for the Child of Destiny."

"That means you placed Tsunade beneath your ideals."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade share a blood-deep feud, yet you actually stopped Tsunade from taking revenge."

"That means you placed Tsunade beneath your master-disciple relationship."

"For twenty-eight years after Dan Katō's death, Tsunade had always been alone."

"Other than peeping and whoring around, you did nothing. Those were clearly the things Tsunade hated most, yet you kept doing them."

"That means you placed Tsunade beneath your own hobbies and interests."

With every sentence Natsuki spoke, Jiraiya's expression grew uglier.

"Wake up. The love you talk about is nothing more than a boast