"Hey, you just woke up. Going back to sleep already?"
Seeing Jiraiya lie back down and close his eyes again, Orochimaru pulled over a chair and sat casually beside his bed, his golden, slit-pupiled eyes studying his newly "resurrected" old friend with interest.
"No, just feeling a little sentimental."
Jiraiya kept his eyes closed, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. His voice was still weak, yet it carried the heartfelt relief and contentment of someone who had survived certain death.
"It's... good to be alive."
He could feel the sunlight again, hear familiar voices, and even crack jokes. His student had also fulfilled his dream of becoming Hokage...
Jiraiya was already more than content.
"I have two pieces of news for you."
Orochimaru's raspy voice sounded again.
"One good, one bad."
Jiraiya waved his newly restored left hand. The movement was still stiff and feeble, but his smile grew even brighter.
"Well, getting out of a hopeless situation like that alive was already a miracle among miracles."
Jiraiya spoke without a care. "What bad news could be worse than nearly dying? Let's hear it."
"The bad news is-"
Orochimaru deliberately drew out the words. Looking at Jiraiya's expression, which all but said he had weathered every storm imaginable, he continued leisurely, "Not long after you 'died,' Pain attacked Konoha and used Super Shinra Tensei to raze the entire village to the ground."
He paused, seemingly savoring the change in Jiraiya's expression, before adding the most important part. "So, everything you owned in Konoha, including those 'writing material' notebooks you secretly accumulated, is most likely gone."
"..."
The smile froze on Jiraiya's face.
For someone who considered "research" and "writing" his second life, this was a bolt from the blue.
It hurt even more than losing another arm would