Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 381 The Death of Jiraiya (Part 1)

As the sun set, its afterglow bathed the earth. Tsunade stood rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on Jiraiya's retreating, broad back. Her heart was filled with conflicting emotions and worry. She wanted to step forward and stop him from taking his next move, but ultimately she suppressed her impulse and did not take a step.

Tsunade knew Jiraiya's personality deeply; he often made mistakes because of his emotions. However, when it came to his love for Konoha, Jiraiya was second to none. He was willing to pay any price to protect the village, even sacrificing his own life. This unwavering belief impressed Tsunade, making it difficult for her to easily dissuade him.

She knew that even if she stopped Jiraiya now, she couldn't change his resolve. Moreover, she believed Jiraiya would act cautiously and wouldn't easily put himself in danger. Therefore, despite her deep concern, Tsunade chose to remain silent and support Jiraiya's decision.

Tsunade knew very well that Jiraiya's mission was fraught with danger. The Akatsuki members were all incredibly powerful, a fact Konoha had already deeply experienced in their previous encounters with them. And now, Jiraiya was heading to the Akatsuki's headquarters! How many Akatsuki members were there? And could there be even stronger enemies hidden there than they had encountered before? These were all unknowns for Konoha.

However, Konoha Village urgently needs to gather more intelligence on the Akatsuki to support its upcoming operations. After these two encounters, Tsunade has gained a very clear understanding of the Akatsuki's strength. Within Konoha, besides herself and Jiraiya, there are virtually no other ninjas capable of single-handedly defeating Akatsuki members. Even a Kage-level ninja like Kakashi Hatake would face immense risks when confronting the Akatsuki. Therefore, Tsunade understands the need for cautious and effective measures to protect the village from the Akatsuki's threat. At the same time, she realizes that to completely defeat the Akatsuki, she needs a deeper understanding of their internal structure, operational plans, and the relationships between their members. To this end, Tsunade decides to increase investment in intelligence gathering and analysis, and strengthen cooperation and communication with other ninja villages to jointly combat this powerful and mysterious organization.

Jiraiya is one of Konoha's top fighters, and he bears a heavy responsibility for the village's safety. He knows that the village cannot be left in a constant state of danger of attack, so he will do everything in his power to protect the village and its people.

At the same time, Jiraiya clearly realized that although he was extremely powerful in combat, within Konoha, he was merely a strong warrior. If he were to perish, while it would be a loss to the village, it wouldn't significantly impact the overall situation. In contrast, Konoha had other ninjas who could continue to protect the village.

However, this does not mean that Jiraiya would disregard his own life or easily give up the fight. On the contrary, he was filled with unparalleled confidence in his strength. Especially after mastering the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku, he believed that even when facing the most powerful enemy, he could remain calm and find a way to escape unscathed.

This confidence was not blind arrogance, but rather built upon years of training, combat experience, and a profound understanding of his own power. Jiraiya understood that only by maintaining unwavering faith and an indomitable spirit could he unleash his full potential at crucial moments and overcome any difficulties and challenges.

Jiraiya's heart sank upon receiving reports of Tsunade's recent clashes with Akatsuki, realizing the inherent danger of this operation. He understood that this mysterious and powerful organization was far beyond the capabilities of ordinary enemies. Through careful analysis of the intelligence provided by Tsunade, Jiraiya gained a deeper understanding and assessment of Akatsuki.

The Akatsuki organization is composed entirely of S-rank rogue ninja, meaning they have betrayed their villages or countries and are considered among the most dangerous. Each member possesses terrifying abilities and skills, making them truly formidable ninjas. Moreover, none of them are easy to deal with; they are all powerful, experienced, and extremely dangerous ninjas.

However, what puzzled Jiraiya the most was how the Akatsuki managed to gather these unruly rogue ninja together and make them obey orders and carry out unified operations. These rogue ninja should have been fighting individually, but they were able to cooperate under the leadership of the Akatsuki. There must be some special power or strategy behind this.

Jiraiya knew that facing such a highly organized and powerful enemy, he had to be fully prepared. He needed to understand more about the Akatsuki's internal structure, the relationships between its members, and their operational plans. Only in this way could he find a way to counter them and protect Konoha from threat. At the same time, he also had to be wary of any conspiracies or tricks the Akatsuki might employ, lest he find himself in a passive position.

In the days to come, Jiraiya will travel to the Akatsuki's headquarters to thoroughly investigate the organization, hoping to uncover their secrets and bring a glimmer of victory to Konoha. He understands that this battle will be exceptionally difficult and may even come at a great cost. However, as a brave ninja, he is prepared and willing to pay any price to protect the village and its people.

For years, Jiraiya had been traveling the ninja world with Naruto Uzumaki, without returning to Konoha. The reason for this wasn't simply to properly guide, nurture, and accompany Naruto's growth. After Tsunade became Hokage, she witnessed the changes in Konoha and couldn't help but exclaim, "Konoha can be so prosperous!" This made her realize that Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule over Konoha might have brought many unseen problems to the village.

Jiraiya knew that as a ninja, his mission was to protect the village and its inhabitants. However, faced with increasingly powerful enemies and a complex and ever-changing situation, relying solely on his own strength was no longer sufficient to meet the needs of Konoha. Therefore, he decided to pass on his experience and wisdom to the next generation, cultivating more outstanding ninjas to meet future challenges. Naruto Uzumaki was one of the most promising disciples in his eyes.

At the same time, Jiraiya realized that Konoha needed a completely new leadership model to adapt to the development of this era. Tsunade's appointment undoubtedly gave Konoha new hope. Her decisive decisions and swift and efficient style revitalized the village. Jiraiya believed that, given enough time and support, Konoha would usher in a new era.

Furthermore, Jiraiya understood that to truly understand the current state and future of Konoha, he needed to immerse himself in the community and communicate with ordinary people. Only in this way could he better grasp the will of the people and provide strong support for the development of Konoha. Therefore, he chose to take Naruto Uzumaki on a journey through the ninja world, not only to train their strength but also to let them experience the various aspects of life firsthand, broaden their horizons, and gain valuable knowledge.

In short, Jiraiya's travels through the ninja world with Naruto were both a way of nurturing them and a silent contribution to Konoha. He hoped that through this, he could lay a solid foundation for Konoha's future and allow it to radiate even greater vitality in the new era.

For the first time, Jiraiya realized how naive he had been. He thought he had seen through everything, but in reality, he was just an innocent child, full of fantasies and hopes about the world. He cherished his master-disciple relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he didn't truly understand the problems plaguing the village. He believed that as long as he tried hard enough, he could change everything. But now, he understood that some things were beyond his control.

When Orochimaru defected from Konoha, Jiraiya never understood why he would choose to betray the village where they had grown up together. He tried to comprehend Orochimaru's thoughts, but he could never accept his actions. However, after Orochimaru killed his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya finally realized that Orochimaru had completely fallen into darkness. He was no longer the partner who had trained and laughed with him, but a cold-blooded killer.

Jiraiya was filled with immense anger and anguish. He had tried to save Orochimaru, but it had been a futile endeavor. He began to doubt whether he had ever truly understood Orochimaru. Perhaps, from the very beginning, they were two completely different people. Jiraiya resolved to make Orochimaru pay the price and avenge his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. At the same time, he also vowed to protect Konoha and prevent similar tragedies from ever happening again.

However, after gaining a deeper understanding of the events Konoha had experienced over the years, Jiraiya began to comprehend Orochimaru's actions. He discovered that Orochimaru's deep affection for the village far surpassed his own. Despite bearing the infamy of being a rogue ninja and a master murderer, all of this was for the sake of restoring the village to its former glory and achieving true prosperity and revival.

Orochimaru silently endured all of this, his heart filled with love and a sense of responsibility for the village. He was willing to pay any price to make Konoha stronger. Jiraiya realized that Orochimaru was not simply a villain, but a person with a complex inner world.

His actions might have been somewhat extreme, but the underlying motivation stemmed from his concern and love for the village. This understanding gave Jiraiya a new perspective on Orochimaru, and also made him reflect on his past views. Perhaps, he himself had always been naive and immature, and Orochimaru was simply forced to choose a path.