"You are...?"
Jiraiya looked at the man in front of him with some confusion, yet at the same time, he had this strange familiarity, which he couldn't shake off, especially when he saw that blonde hair and whiskers on both cheeks of this man.
Excitement, happiness, yet also guilt.
When he saw this man, those feelings hit him like a rollercoaster, making his heart go up and down, but the other man, who appeared a little gloomy, quickly slapped the back of the blonde-haired man.
"SHUT UP! DID YOU FORGET WHAT WE CAME HERE FOR!? WHAT IF YOUR ACTION CAUSES A CHANGE IN THE FUTURE?!"
"Eh? Future? What are you talking about?" Jiraiya was confused, but in the end, he came up with an answer. "...did you two come from the future?"
"..." Naruto and Sasuke.
Sasuke aside, Naruto had a cold sweat on his entire body, feeling nervous and awkward because of Sasuke's intense, gloomy face that told him that if he didn't clean up the mess, then...!
"...it's fine, isn't it? We need someone to guide us. More importantly, Pervy Sage is good at gathering information. As long as we erase his memory later..."
As Sasuke was tempted by Naruto's words, Jiraiya, who heard their conversation, had a cold sweat. "Wait! Wait! Who the hell are you guys?!"
Out of nowhere, two people whom he had never seen before felt like they were such a close existence to him, and more importantly, they seemed so powerful, which made him feel a bit nervous.
Also, how the hell could they discuss erasing his memory?!
Yet, when he listened to their origin, he understood that even if they didn't erase his memory, he felt like... he would seal his own memory.
"So... you two come from the future?"
Nevertheless, when Jiraiya heard their origin, it made him so dizzy.
"Yes."
"Why did you come here?!"
Why did they come to the past?
What was wrong that they, from the future, needed to come from the past?
Then, again, when Jiraiya thought of what had happened in this world, it made him so dizzy since so many things were happening that he could do nothing.
Whether it was the Tailed Beasts, the secret terrorists, or the civil war in the Konoha Village, the ascension of Orochimaru into the Hokage, and then there was also the death of many nobles and daimyos due to a mysterious man known as Ootsuki Urashiki!
Frankly, among all of them, what Jiraiya wanted to see the most was to go back to Konoha to see what had happened there, especially after the Civil War. Yes, it made him sad to know that his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had passed away due to Orochimaru, yet this also made him relieved, as Orochimaru was the one who took away Hiruzen's life and became Hokage.
How could he have such a thought?!
If someone else knew what Jiraiya was thinking, they would think of him as a traitor.
However, as someone who had been faithfully following the words of the toads instead of staying on the Konoha as a loyal ninja, even ignoring the Konoha when it was in crisis, such as when his disciple died due to the rampage of the Nine-Tailed Beast, it would be a miracle if he would return to the Konoha with all of this.
Instead of the Konoha, Jiraiya was more cornered with the toad's divination since he believed in its words as the only way to bring peace was by finding the promised child.
Yet, this was normal since, unlike Tsunade, who was the granddaughter of the first Hokage, and Orochimaru, who was a genius, compared to the two, Jiraiya had always felt inferior, and the reason why he could stand up with the two had always been due to the toad.
However, as he was chosen by Sarutobi, could he be untalented?
It was because he was talented that he was chosen by the toads!
Still, no matter what, the toad was the reason why Jiraiya could get what he had now, and because of that, he followed everything that the toad said, including finding the hero to bring peace to this world.
Then again, the promised child, the hero, the one who was told by the divination was the reincarnation of the child of Hagoromo, Ashura, so wasn't it natural for this child to be special?
Nevertheless, as the one who took the Konoha was Orochimaru, it was also why he was so relieved that he could focus on the divination of the toad.
Yet, what he didn't know was that the toad was panicking, and there was nothing that it could do except wait for the judgment.
Still, even so, while the toad's divination was important, Jiraiya couldn't just ignore the words of the two that came out from the future.
"...by the way, in the future, did... did I marry Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked shyly.
"..." Naruto and Sasuke.
Only, when Naruto was about to say something, Jiraiya quickly stopped him. "No, stop! Don't say it! I know it! I must have married her! I am so handsome, and we're a match made in heaven! Even if you don't answer, I know that we're going to be together!"
Orochimaru had become the Hokage, so Jiraiya knew that he must have married Tsunade, too, right?
Naruto wanted to say something, but his shoulder was grabbed by Sasuke, who shook his head.
Letting out a helpless sigh, Naruto wasn't cruel enough to crush Jiraiya's dream.
Yet, without a doubt, it was so painful to see Jiraiya like this, especially since, unlike Jiraiya, he had a good wife and two children, Naruto thought.
Also, as Sasuke had said before, Naruto knew that he couldn't talk too much, or else, he was afraid that many things would change, especially when he visited the past.
"Don't talk too much, Naruto. What if you changed the future so much that you wouldn't marry Hinata in the future..."
With that whisper from Sasuke, Naruto shut his mouth.
"So, why did you two come here?"
This time, Jiraiya no longer had his virgin expression and asked the two with a solemn expression.
"Well, the truth is..."
Still, why did the two come?
Naturally, it was because—
"Urashiki Ootsuki?!"
When Jiraiya heard about that name, he knew well that the two definitely came with a good intention, and he had to help them, or else the world would be in dire straits.
Meanwhile, Shinra, who had checked the Pure Land, went to visit a certain mountain where many creepy creatures, known as toads, resided.