Jiraiya's Resolve

He had followed the Third Hokage for thirty years. But in the end, those thirty years of loyalty could not overcome his fear of the Six Paths of Pain.

Everyone in the Square watched.

The former subordinates in the front row had all claimed to be fiercely loyal, burning with righteous anger. But when it came time for them to risk their own lives in the Land of Rain...

Not one of them stepped forward.

Not a single one.

Low murmurs gradually spread through the crowd.

Then came the snickers.

They were laughing at those former subordinates.

"All talk..."

"So they want someone else's children to go die, but can't bear to send their own?"

"And here I thought they were loyal. Turns out they're only loyal with their mouths."

The laughter rippled through the crowd, growing louder.

The former subordinates flushed red and shifted uneasily, unable to offer a single word in their defense.

Because the truth was right there for all to see.

Not one of them had dared to step forward.

Sarutobi Ryota stood rooted to the spot, his face turning red, then pale.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt packed with sand.

Mitokado Homura closed his eyes.

Utatane Koharu buried her face in her hands.

The three of them had spent the entire night plotting this move, only for their own people to tear it apart before their eyes.

Uchiha En stood atop Hokage Rock, looking down at it all. He said nothing more.

Just then, a hoarse voice rang out behind the crowd.

"If none of you will go, then I will!"

In the deathly silence, the hoarse voice came through with startling clarity.

The crowd parted on its own.

A man in a Hokage Robe marked with the