Jiraiya landed from the Kamui Vortex. After nodding to Yu in greeting, he handed Ananda over to him.
Because of the destructive laser, Ananda had lost his right arm, and it could no longer regenerate. That was not a difficult problem.
The Ninja Kingdom's medical technology was advanced now. With a prosthetic limb made through bionics, not only would it not affect his daily life, but it could also grant him formidable combat power.
The problem was... the Karma belonging to Isshiki on Ananda's left palm.
Jiraiya's appearance drew everyone's attention. Their gazes held surprise, shock, curiosity, or confusion.
Jiraiya walked toward a certain spot, and the crowd consciously made way for him.
"J-Jiraiya-sensei..." Kushina stepped forward excitedly. Minato placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook his head, then watched his teacher pass by with a complicated expression.
Before Hashirama and Mito, Jiraiya dropped heavily to his knees... leaving everyone stunned.
Hashirama hurried forward to help him up, asking in confusion, "Little Jiraiya, what are you doing?"
Jiraiya bowed his head to the ground. "I wish to beg forgiveness from you both! Six years ago, the one who took Ananda away that night was me!"
Whoosh!
The entire place fell silent.
There were many high-ranking figures from the Ninja Kingdom present. Many knew about Ananda's disappearance and even knew that he had fallen into the hands of Isshiki Otsutsuki, to be used as a vessel for reincarnation.
But they knew nothing of the deeper details!
"Minato..."
Including Kushina, many people turned their eyes toward Minato Namikaze. He had been the one watching over Ananda that night. After Ananda was taken away, Minato had remained despondent for a long time. Once he recovered, he and Yu had gone to Kara Organization's headquarters to rescue Ananda, but they had failed.