Above Konoha.
A streak of golden light shot in from the northeast, moving so fast it trailed a long tail behind it.
Goten held Jiraiya by the back of his collar with his right hand, his left tucked in his pocket, as he plunged from ten thousand meters up.
The wind roared absurdly loud. Jiraiya clung tightly to Goten's wrist with his only remaining hand. A mass of golden ki sealed his severed arm, and the bleeding had long since stopped, but it still hurt.
"Could you... hold me with both hands?!"
"Don't want to touch you."
"I'm about to die, and you're still disgusted by me?!"
"People about to die don't talk this much."
Goten glanced down. Konoha's outline was clearly visible, and he could recognize the Ichiraku Ramen Shop sign from several thousand meters away.
He raised his right hand slightly, and a transparent ki barrier wrapped around them both. The sonic boom cloud was forcibly flattened outside it, without even the slightest shock wave leaking downward.
The pedestrians on Konoha's streets saw only a flash of golden light in the sky.
Tap.
Two feet landed lightly on the stone steps outside the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. Even the pot of little daisies Ayame tended by the entrance didn't sway.
Jiraiya's arrival was nowhere near as dignified.
Goten let go, dumping him straight onto the bench by the entrance. The great Sannin, now missing an arm, bounced twice on the wooden seat and knocked over the teacup rack beside him.
"Sss-my ribs! My ribs! Are you some kind of animal, throwing me down like you're trying to kill me?!"
"We're home. Shut up already."
The door curtain lifted, and Ayame leaned halfway out, still holding a rolling pin.
She smiled when she saw Goten.
When she saw the blood-covered