It was Konoha an inconspicuous tavern, and there was nothing that left a deep impression on people in my memory.
If I had to say it, it would be the person opposite me who was drinking with me.
"That country...Land of Rain, it seems that there was a civil war a long time ago, and the village was divided into two. The leader of one of the parties is rumored to be the leader of the 'Akatsuki' organization."
The white-haired man put down the wine glass in his hand, and there was a slight knocking sound between the bottom of the glass and the wooden table.
He looked past the wine glass and looked at the woman opposite with a proud figure and a mature and beautiful face.
At this moment, there was no lust or frivolity in his eyes, only dignity, seriousness, and determination.
This old pervert, who is in his fifties and usually calls himself Toad Sage, a hero Lord Jiraiya, is extremely reliable when it comes to important matters, especially those concerning the safety of Shinobi World and the safety of his disciples.
The dark tavern, Tsunade sitting across from him, the unfinished wine on the table, and the information he had just told about Land of Rain and "Akatsuki" - he suddenly realized that this was the conversation he had with Tsunade before he came to Amegakure.
He remembers it clearly.
At that time, Tsunade drank too much and wanted to vomit, so he supported her. After she finished vomiting, the two of them sat on a public bench in a nearby park.
Is your revolving door not over yet?
Jiraiya smiled bitterly in his heart.
It seems that I am really unlucky!
After such a long revolving door, my body fell into the sea.
On the park bench, Tsunade leaned weakly on the cold backrest of the bench.
She was originally very beautiful, Golden's Long Hair was tied into two low ponytails, and she had a delicate face. At this moment, due to the effect of alcohol, her fair face was stained with a touching crimson. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, she was so breathtakingly beautiful that she couldn't move her eyes away from Jiraiya in her memories.
However, the "self" in the memory did not gaze with obsession or admiration for a long time at this beautiful woman whom he had been pursuing all his life, as usual.
He didn't even look at it but looked at the sunset gradually sinking in the distance.
Because, at this time, he was already ready to die.
Yeah...
Jiraiya sighed secretly.
I had obviously made up my mind before meeting Tsunade and was prepared that I might not be able to come back.
Sneak into Amegakure to collect intelligence and reveal the true face of the "Akatsuki" leader. This mission has a narrow escape.
Tsunade in memories, and I didn't watch Jiraiya in memories.
She lowered her head slightly, Golden's hair hanging down, covering part of her expression.
At this time, she could vaguely feel the determination to die hidden beneath her old friend's calm surface.
This filled her with a sense of uneasiness and powerlessness.
It is obvious that he has become Hokage, and he is obviously the leader of Konoha among Five Great Nations...
Why am I still so powerless!
"Akatsuki... it's impossible to guess how powerful the person who can command those guys is."
In the memory, Tsunade's voice was a little hoarse, with deep worry and trembling.
She paused. "Moreover, you specifically ran in front of the enemy... as if you were going to die."
Jiraiya in the memory seemed not to have heard Tsunade's slightly sarcastic words, or in other words, he had listened, but his mind was determined and would not be shaken by any words.
In fact, he didn't drink much. For a hero like him, when he makes up his mind, he only needs to drink briefly and let the alcohol relax his tense nerves.
Does drinking make you brave?
But he is a hero Lord Jiraiya!
He was determined not to rely on alcohol.
Alcohol may just add a less heavy atmosphere to this potentially farewell conversation.
In the memory, Jiraiya stood up with his hands on his knees, slowly but extremely firmly.
His figure stretched very long under the setting sun, blocking part of the light shining on Tsunade.
"Then... it's almost time to go."
His voice was calm, even a little relaxed, as if he was just going out to complete an ordinary task.
"You have to come back alive!"
Just when Jiraiya turned around and was about to leave, Tsunade's crying voice, which was suppressed with great effort and seemed to have been shouted with all his strength, suddenly sounded behind him!
Jiraiya was shocked and turned his head sharply.
He saw that the beautiful woman, who had always been strong, domineering, and even a little rough, had a grimace on her face and bit her lower lip tightly. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears, shining with broken light under the reflection of the setting sun.
Tsunade is also over fifty years old.
Even though her appearance looks like she is in her twenties because of Yin Seal, her eyes, her temperament, and everything she has experienced.
When she cried, she no longer felt like a little girl who was "on the verge of tears".
She is a woman who has experienced countless "losses", including her grandfather, grandmother, lover, brother, teacher...
Her loved ones left her one by one, leaving her with only endless pain and a psychological trauma called "Hemophobia".
Although Hemophobia has been cured, but...
Now, she may have to lose another important companion.
Even if that companion is an old pervert who has no appearance all day long and likes to peek into women's bathhouses and write pornographic books, making her angry and laughing.
But he is also a companion who has accompanied her through the long years and can understand and support each other at critical moments. He is one of the few old friends she can truly let down her guard and talk to.
When she thought that the person in front of her might, like others, never come back and turn into a cold corpse, or even the corpse could not be found, Tsunade felt her heart throbbing, and the pain was so painful that she could hardly breathe.
"If you die too... I..."
"Will you cry for me?"
Jiraiya interrupted Tsunade. He pretended to be heroic and even laughed frivolously, trying to dilute the sadness of parting in this way.
"Then I'm very happy!"
But then, he changed the topic and his tone became a little low and complicated. "But... it shouldn't be as sad as that time!"
His words seemed to be ridiculing, but in fact they contained too many complex emotions.
Tsunade knows what Jiraiya means.
She didn't raise her head, just lowered her head, and cursed in a gentle tone that seemed to have exhausted all her strength:
"Idiot..."
"Then use your favorite gamble and have a chance."
Jiraiya's voice sounded again, with a calmness that seemed to have seen through destiny.
Tsunade Hearing this, he suddenly raised his head and looked at the tall man with his back to the sunset, his back turned to the sunset, as if he wanted to blend into the Orange-Red Eyes light.
Jiraiya's figure is indeed tall, blocking part of the setting sun, but the warm, Golden afterglow of the setting sun casts a sacred and tragic Yellow Eyes halo over his entire silhouette.
He stood there like an ancient heroic statue.
"Just bet that I will die."
Jiraiya told the bet.
Then, he seemed to feel that the bet was too heavy, or in order to make the atmosphere less desperate, he turned his head slightly and added in a low voice:
"You will lose every bet anyway."
Recalling this, Jiraiya in reality showed a bitter and complicated smile involuntarily on his face.
This time...
Tsunade seems to have won.
He thought mockingly to himself, it seemed that he had never been very lucky.
He made Tsunade bet that he would die, and he was indeed dying now.
Tsunade, who is bound to lose every bet, will he finally win this time?
He remembered that in the scene he recalled, he also said, "If I can come back alive..."
The rest of the words were left unsaid.
What is it?
It's nothing more than some words about whether you can marry me or not.
But now that I think about it, it's nothing to regret.
Some words may be better left unsaid.
It is enough for each other to understand some ideas.
If you say it out loud, it may become a constraint or regret.
As he said at the time:
'A man wouldn't be a man if he didn't have the courage to laugh it off.'
Now, it's your turn to laugh at your impending death, right?
Consciousness, like sinking into the deep sea, gradually becomes blurred and scattered.
The real Sensing has regained its dominance.
Jiraiya, who had a broken arm, serious injuries, and almost exhausted Chakra, was in the boundless sea water, and his consciousness was sometimes clear and sometimes blurred.
Just when he felt that he was about to be completely swallowed by the darkness of Eternity.
A ray of light penetrated the deep and dark sea water and reflected his eyes that were gradually losing focus.
That's not sunlight, which cannot penetrate such deep water, nor is it the fluorescence emitted by underwater creatures.
That's One-Tail...
Golden's dragon!
It is like the most agile sea spirit, swimming gracefully in the dark water, dispelling the darkness wherever it passes, bringing light and a... faint warmth.
Wandering dragon angel returns to the sea...
Jiraiya This sentence appeared inexplicably in his vague consciousness.
The dragon returns to the sea, a destination and a new life.
Who is this Golden dragon...?
Was it the messenger from Pure Land who came to greet me?
Or...
He was unable to think anymore.
That Golden light became the last and warmest thing he saw in his sinking consciousness.
Maybe... this is the end, right?
This is the end of Lord Jiraiya's Hero's Tale, and it's time for the next volume of Naruto Uzumaki's story...
Jiraiya slowly closed his eyes, and the bitter yet relieved smile seemed to still remain on the corner of his mouth.
The body continues to sink into deeper and colder darkness.
And the Golden swimming dragon swam quickly in his direction...