In the distance, the Senju Brothers and the Uchiha brothers were talking, while Jiraiya and Nagato had already met.
"Teacher!"
The instant Nagato saw Jiraiya, his fighting spirit vanished without a trace, replaced by a faint apprehension.
Of course, this apprehension was not because of Jiraiya's strength, nor was it because of anything else.
It was an emotional apprehension.
Back in Konoha, Nagato had gravely wounded Jiraiya, even nearly killing him.
That had left Nagato with a fear of facing Jiraiya that was difficult to overcome.
"Nagato..."
Jiraiya's eyes were filled with indescribable emotions.
It was not just Nagato who dreaded seeing him. Jiraiya did not know how to face this former student, either.
By rights, he should have hated his student. After all, Nagato had inflicted immeasurable losses on Konoha.
Although Nagato had later sacrificed his own life to cast Rinne Rebirth, reviving all the Konoha ninja and civilians who had died in the war.
Their lives had been restored, but the other losses could not be made up for.
Yet Nagato had already died.
That left Jiraiya at a loss for what to say as he faced Nagato.
Still, although neither of them had any desire to fight, they could not remain silent like this forever.
So, after hesitating for a long while, Nagato finally spoke.
"What are they doing over there? Why hasn't Uchiha Itachi attacked?"
He glanced at the four people in the distance. Faint voices drifted over on the wind, but he could not make out what they were saying.
"They're... answering a confused ninja's questions!" Jiraiya thought for a moment, using the conversation to ease the atmosphere a little.
"Is that so? I suppose the confused one must be Uchiha Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha!"
"Am I right?"
Jiraiya nodded. "That's right. Because of