All this is like a distant and vague dream.
When Jiraiya's consciousness struggled to emerge from the boundless darkness and coldness, and he felt the weight of his body and the softness of the bed again, he slowly and somewhat laboriously opened his eyes.
The dazzling white light made him squint his eyes subconsciously. After a moment of adaptation, he could clearly see the surrounding environment.
A clean and tidy room filled with the faint smell of disinfectant.
White walls, white ceiling, and... the white quilt covering myself.
He tried to move his body, and felt a sense of weakness, but what surprised him even more was--
His Left Hand, the Left Hand that was broken off during the fierce battle with Six Paths of Pain, is now intact and connected to his left arm. There is nothing strange except for a layer of bandages.
"This..."
Jiraiya suddenly used his right hand to prop up his upper body, lifted Left Hand in disbelief, repeatedly checked, clenched his fist, and released it.
The real touch told him that this was not an illusion, his Left Hand was really back!
Ecstasy, doubt, confusion... all kinds of emotions were intertwined, making Jiraiya feel a little overwhelmed for a while.
At this moment, he caught a glimpse of the bedside from the corner of his eye.
A figure with a brilliant Golden Long Hair was lying next to the bed asleep.
She turned her face sideways and rested it on her arm, her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyelids, and her breathing was even and long.
That face was so familiar, so familiar that it was unforgettable, and it made him fall in love with it.
"Is this... paradise?"
Jiraiya muttered to himself, his voice dry and hoarse.
He grabbed his hair with his right hand, trying to sort out all the chaos.
It was only when he was pulling his hair that he realized it belatedly.
After being hit hard by Naraka Path Pain, my throat and vocal cords, which were severely damaged and almost lost my voice, were now able to make sounds normally.
Although he is still a little hoarse, he can indeed speak.
Broken arms are reborn, serious injuries are healed, lost voices are restored...
All these incredible "miracles" made Jiraiya even more convinced of his guess:
This place must be paradise!
He had heard a saying before: after a writer dies, his soul will go to the world he created.
So, in other words, are you in the world of "Icha Icha Paradise" now?
That's really great!
Jiraiya's heart was instantly filled with great joy and some kind of obscene fantasy of "getting what he wanted".
The world of "Icha Icha Paradise"!
He could almost imagine the erotic scene!
Thinking of this, Jiraiya couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, with a lewd smile on his face.
He carefully moved his upper body closer to the woman who "looked exactly like Tsunade" beside the bed.
However, just when he got close enough to see the fine hairs on the other person's face, the smile on his face slowly faded.
He saw the faint blue-black color under the other person's eyelids, which was a sign of long-term lack of sleep.
He saw the other person's brows furrowed slightly even in his sleep, as if carrying endless fatigue and worry.
He smelled the faint smell of hospital disinfectant on the other person's body, and a hint of... familiar breath.
This feeling... is so real. So real that... it doesn't feel like a fantasy, perfect "creature from heaven".
Jiraiya was silent for a moment.
Gently, trying not to make a sound, he reached out and took out a green coat hanging on the railing at the end of the bed, and carefully put it on Tsunade.
"Although this is the world of "Icha Icha Paradise"..."
Jiraiya whispered to himself, the voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible, as if he was afraid of disturbing the sleeping woman.
"But I, Lord Jiraiya, am not the kind of guy who takes advantage of others."
He smiled self-deprecatingly, a complicated light flashing in his eyes.
Perhaps, even in heaven, he hopes to face a real Tsunade.
No one can replace Tsunade, no matter how similar he looks.
After doing all this, Jiraiya felt a strong wave of weakness and dizziness.
He lay back on the bed, gasping for air, feeling as if all his strength had been drained from him.
"Is it because you have just come to this world and you are still not used to it?"
Jiraiya thought to himself, closed his eyes, and tried to adjust his breathing.
At this moment, the door to the room was gently pushed open.
A slender figure wearing white clothes and with smooth black hair walked in quietly Earth Flow.
The man's Long Hair was simply tied up in the middle with a hair rope and hung down his back. His walking posture was light and elegant.
If you just look at the back, she is definitely a mature beauty full of charm and even a bit like a wife.
Jiraiya's heart had just calmed down a little, but it was beating a few beats faster unconsciously, and his eyes couldn't help but glance over. Countless possible classic scenes in "Icha Icha Paradise" flashed through his mind.
However, the moment the figure seemed to notice his gaze and slowly turned around.
Jiraiya The expression of expectation that was originally caused by being distracted instantly solidified, and then quickly faded away like an ebbing tide, replaced by a kind of shock as if seeing a ghost.
Because, that face that turned around.
Pale complexion, Golden's vertically long pupils, Purple Eyes's eye shadow extending to the wings of her nose, and a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, a familiar arc that sends chills down the spine...
Orochimaru!
"Are you awake?"
Orochimaru's hoarse and magnetic voice sounded, with a hint of teasing and understanding.
He was obviously aware of Jiraiya's "peeping" gaze just now, as well as the "misunderstanding" contained in his gaze.
"..."
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
The muscles on his face were twitching, and his eyes were filled with confusion and collapse of "Who am I? Where am I? Why is there Orochimaru in heaven?"
Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya's appearance and laughed angrily. He Golden Snake Eyes narrowed his eyes slightly and said with undisguised sarcasm in his tone, "What? Are you disappointed to see it's me?"
He obviously guessed that Jiraiya just thought he was a woman, and he might even have some unrealistic fantasies.
"Although it has been more than ten years since Tsunade and I have seen you."
Orochimaru walked to the bedside, picked up the medical record board hanging at the end of the bed and looked at it, "But for you guys, the last time I saw Tsunade was not long ago, right? Before going to Land of Rain?"
Jiraiya nodded with difficulty, still in huge shock and cognitive shock, unable to form words.
"Um... where is this?"
Jiraiya finally found his voice and asked dryly, but his eyes couldn't help but glance back and forth between Orochimaru and Tsunade who was sleeping next to him, trying to sort out this absurd reality.
"Konoha."
Orochimaru spoke concisely, put down the medical record board, and began to skillfully prepare Medical Ninjutsu equipment, "To be precise, it is Konoha that has passed more than ten years since your 'death'."
"After death...? More than ten years?"
Jiraiya murmured and repeated, feeling that the amount of information was too much and that his brain was a bit insufficient.
"The current Hokage is Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki."
Orochimaru added in a calm tone, as if to say that Tenten is doing well today.
"Uzumaki...Naruto..."
Hearing this name, Jiraiya was in a daze.
Has the yellow-haired Kid who used to be naughty and clamored to be Hokage, the disciple he identified as Child of Prophecy at the last moment... has... become Hokage?
An indescribable complex of emotions surged into my heart, including joy, pride, regret, and the feeling of time flying by.
"Really..."
Jiraiya's voice is a little deep.
"Then, his experience... must be very exciting."
It must be full of hardships, challenges, laughter and tears, and it must be a magnificent epic.
And he missed too much.
"It's really wonderful."
Orochimaru nodded, kept moving his hands, and began to disinfect Jiraiya's arms, looking for blood vessels.
"I will tell you later, but now, you need to recover your strength first."
He picked up a bottle of glucose for infusion and hung it on the infusion pole beside Jiraiya's bed. Then he tied Jiraiya's arm with a rubber tube, patted it, found the blood vessel, and inserted the needle skillfully.
"You can't eat yet."
Orochimaru said slowly while adjusting the infusion speed.
"You can only use glucose to maintain body functions first. After two days, after the gastrointestinal function has recovered to some extent, you can eat liquid food. Then after a while, you can eat normally."
"However, I am not a professional doctor."
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya, and then turned to Tsunade, who was still sleeping beside the bed, with a rare complex emotion in his tone.
"You will be handed over to Tsunade from now on."
He paused, looked at Tsunade's side face that was not stable even in his sleep, and continued:
"Since Naruto from another world brought you back, Tsunade has been by your side almost every step of the way."
Orochimaru's voice was lowered, as if she didn't want to wake up Tsunade, "She also used Hashirama's cells to re-cultivate you and attach an arm to you."
"Fortunately, you were brought here in time and your throat was cured by her."
Orochimaru finally added.
"Otherwise, you might still be mute now."
Jiraiya listened quietly, his eyes slowly moved from Orochimaru to the face of Tsunade who was sleeping soundly beside the bed.
Golden's Long Hair were disheveled, and the face that was usually full of energy or domineering was now only tired and fragile, and the fine lines at the corners of the eyes seemed to be deeper than in memory.
More than ten years...
Naruto from another world?
Bring yourself back?
Hashirama Cells-made arm?
Tsunade is waiting every step of the way?
Pieces of information, like a puzzle, were assembled in Jiraiya's gradually clear mind.
This is not paradise, nor is it the world of "Icha Icha Paradise".
This is reality, it is Konoha that he once fought for, and it is the future more than ten years later.
What brought him back from the brink of death was Naruto from another world.
The woman who rebuilt his arm, healed his throat, and waited day and night for him was the woman he had been chasing all his life.
The guy in front of me wearing a white coat and speaking in a cold tone is Orochimaru.
It's nice to be alive...
Jiraiya slowly closed his eyes, a drop of turbid tears slipped quietly from the corner of his eyes and disappeared into the white hair on his temples.
Outside the window, the sunshine of Konoha is just right.