At Konoha's reconstruction site, the rubble had yet to be fully cleared.
Jiraiya sat in a wheelchair, facing a mountain of personnel appointments and financial reports.
The old man's left hand was in a cast, and his right held a stamp. He didn't even have anyone to bring him tea.
"That troublemaker sure made a clean getaway."
He took a puff of his pipe, but none of the smoke reached his mouth. It all sprayed over the desk.
"And left me with nothing but a fucking mess."
He was now the Sixth Hokage, forced into the job. Though Tsunade had only shouted the appointment before leaving, he was the only one left in the village who could shoulder the responsibility.
Sage Fukasaku hopped a couple of times beside him.
"Little Jiraiya, accept your fate. Your student and the woman you fancy both ran off with that Super Saiyan for a long dungeon run. You're just the old man guarding the base."
The collapsed half of Hokage Rock still hadn't been repaired.
Naruto stood before that enormous slope, clutching a charred plank. The word "Ichiraku" was still faintly recognizable on it.
His gaze, once as restless as the Monkey King's, had now settled completely. He looked like a real man.
"Big brother."
His thumb rubbed the edge of the plank.
"I don't know which server you're exploring, but I'll guard the towers here for you. I won't let anyone take down our crystal."
A strong wind blew past. Naruto tucked the plank inside his clothes, then turned toward the construction site to help carry bricks.
The camera pulled back.
Thousands of kilometers away, on the perpetually rain-soaked border of the Land of Water.
Deep in a dense primeval forest, a life-and-death chase unfolded through the mud.
"Hah... hah..."
Karin's lungs wheezed