"Look down there! The person coming out of the coffin is..."
"Toad Sage Lord Jiraiya!"
Dusk had not yet given way to full darkness. The helicopters circling above Uchiha Senmon and Jiraiya cast crisscrossing beams of light down on them.
Looking at Mr. Jiraiya, resurrected by the Ritual of the Lord of Mount Tai, Uchiha Senmon felt a tangle of emotions, both sorrow and joy, which finally became a quiet sigh.
"This is the first time we've met since the Asakusa Incident, isn't it, Mr. Jiraiya?"
During the three years of Severing the Connection Between Earth and Heaven, Uchiha Senmon had only been brought to Mount Myōboku by Reverse Summoning once, witnessing its splendor and wonders.
But Jiraiya had avoided meeting him, instead having a little toad pass the secret scroll of Sage Transformation on to Uchiha Senmon.
Uchiha Senmon knew the reason perfectly well.
It was because of these forbidden Sharingan, and the surname Uchiha!
"So your eyes really are Sharingan."
Jiraiya moved his limbs, seemingly adjusting to this Impure World Reincarnation body formed from dust and scraps of paper, and gave Uchiha Senmon a meaningful look.
"If I remember correctly, I died infiltrating the Akatsuki's base. Yet here I am in Japan. Only the Ritual of the Lord of Mount Tai could have done this."
Standing on the former execution grounds in Sendai, Jiraiya looked around. His gaze lingered on Rashomon for a long while before he spoke thoughtfully:
"What exactly happened after I died, Senmon?"
"Mr. Jiraiya, you were resurrected by an impostor who took over Abe no Seimei's body."
Keeping it brief, Uchiha Senmon summarized the series of shocking developments since the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, along with the mastermind's plot to enslave the Lord of Mount Tai.
"So that's how it is. Turn