"What did you say?"
Jiraiya stared at the medic with icy disbelief. The news of his legs being amputated wouldn't have caused even a hundredth of the storm that was now rising in his soul. He leaned forward abruptly, clutching the collar of his ninja robe in a death grip.
"Say that again," he hissed, looking at the doctor with wild, wide eyes.
"Lord Jiraiya, due to prolonged tissue necrosis... you have lost your virility. Irreversibly." The medic swallowed, but held his gaze. "Forgive me, we did all we could."
He carefully extricated himself from the medic's grip. Jiraiya didn't even seem to notice. His hand fell limply.
"How... could this have happened?" he whispered, shaking his head frantically. "Am I... crippled again? No... It's a genjutsu, isn't it?"
He sank back onto the pillows, completely dazed. The medic thought it best to quietly withdraw, leaving the Sannin alone with his grief.
A trembling hand slid under the blanket, under his hospital pants… and encountered emptiness. Smooth, scarred, monstrously irregular emptiness.
"N-no... No... Gone?" His voice took on a sobbing, hysterical tone. "Where did they go? Where are they?!"
Jiraiya's face turned deathly pale. He continued to feel himself, refusing to believe it. He was lucky, one might say. When they found him, the necrosis had spread not only to his shins, but also to his thighs and the area between them. To save his life and prevent blood poisoning, his "jewels" had to be amputated along with the rest of the dead tissue.
Jiraiya's vision darkened. Jiraiya was overcome by a wave of absolute despair. He tried to recall the images he'd once so rapturously pored over, to imagine the plots of his "Hot Paradise"... Nothing. Not the slightest response. Only icy indifference. He was broken.
"It can't be... Genjutsu!" he cried out in despair. "Uchiha Yue... Damn it, this is your genjutsu! How monstrous your illusion is! Quack! Pathetic technique, I'll dispel you now!"
His face contorted with rage. He couldn't, wouldn't accept this reality! He, the great Sannin, the mentor of the future savior of the world, couldn't lose so shamefully!
"It's an illusion! Absolutely an illusion! Quack!"
"Wake up, Jiraiya! Quack-a-ah!!!"
BOOM!
A powerful pulse of chakra exploded within him.
"I'll dispel you! I'LL DISPEL YOU!!!"
A blow of incredible, crushing force crashed down on his own face.
CRACK!
Blood spray and broken teeth fanned out across the room. Several of them pierced the wall like bullets. The impact nearly fractured his skull.
BAM!
Jiraiya collapsed limply back onto the bed. Tears streamed down his convulsing cheeks.
"How... how is this possible?" he muttered through broken lips. "The pain... is so real... Could it be... a genjutsu? Impossible..."
His face was rapidly swelling. A childish bewilderment was evident in his voice. People faced with a crushing blow from fate often lose touch with reality. For Jiraiya, this blow was unbearable. It's one thing to lose your legs. But when your greatest asset, your very essence, vanishes while you're unconscious—how do you cope?
BOOM!
The door to the room burst open with a kick.
"Lord Jiraiya, what happened? An attack?!"
Nara Shikaku and the others on duty outside rushed inside. A horrific sight met their eyes: Jiraiya lying on the bed, his face bloodied and swollen, obviously having just suffered a powerful blow.
"N-no... no one attacked," Jiraiya lisped, his head down. "G-go away... Leave me."
He waved his hand weakly, a mask of grief frozen on his face. Everyone exchanged glances. They, of course, knew what had happened. Lord Jiraiya was no longer a man. If they had been in his place, their reaction would hardly have been any better.
"By the way," he added barely audibly, "call a doctor. Let him fix my teeth..."
Jiraiya raised his head and looked anxiously at the wall. He hoped they wouldn't deteriorate. On top of everything else, being left a toothless old man would be too much.
The medic soon returned and began carefully extracting Jiraiya's teeth from the wall. One, however, was missing.
Meanwhile, a shadow hovered beneath the window of the hospital room. A snake-like figure with androgynous features and an unblinking gaze.
"Jiraiya is here..." Orochimaru thought.
He was already aware of the latest events in Konoha. Nagato's story had largely confirmed it. Orochimaru had originally planned to go to the ruins of the old village, but upon learning of the gravely wounded Jiraiya's return, he had changed his plans.
Suddenly, a small white object flew out of the window and aimed straight at his forehead. With a lightning-fast, barely perceptible movement, Orochimaru caught it. He opened his fingers.
A human tooth lay in his palm.
Orochimaru grimaced in disgust.
"What negligence. Squandering valuable biological material... What has Konoha come to under the rule of my decrepit teacher and that upstart Danzo? A pitiful sight."