CHAPTER 250: CHAPTER 250

At that moment, a tall figure sat down beside them, shamelessly grabbing a huge plate of meat and dumping it straight into his mouth.

He called out loudly, "Boss! A bottle of sake! Put it on Natsuki’s tab!"

Natsuki rolled his eyes. "You’re a legendary shinobi, equal in rank to the Hokage, and you’ve got the nerve to make a youngster like me pay? And I never agreed in the first place, you pervy Jiraiya!"

Jiraiya chuckled, feigning innocence. "Now, now, don’t be so cold. After all, didn’t I gift you a few sealing techniques?"

Natsuki couldn’t be bothered with him. When he had asked for sealing jutsu earlier, this old man had flat-out refused. Only after seeing him use Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) — and recalling his beloved student, Namikaze Minato — did he finally hand over a few scrolls.

In truth, Jiraiya had only given them for Minato’s sake. Natsuki didn’t owe him a thing.

Still... if Jiraiya had shown up like this, he surely had an ulterior motive. Fine, let him eat. Natsuki would pay now — and then when the old man asked for something, he could justifiably refuse.

I already treated you to dinner. You want me to do favors too? Dream on.

Fū, however, eyed the newcomer with curiosity.

"This white-haired uncle... is he really the legendary Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin along with Lady Tsunade?"

Jiraiya immediately puffed himself up with pride. "That’s right! I am none other than the Gallant Jiraiya, the Toad Sage himself!"

But Fū’s next words struck him like a kunai to the chest.

"But Natsuki said you’re Pervy Jiraiya. So... does that mean you like women too much? Hm... I wanted to be friends with one of the great Sannin, but now... I don’t think I want to anymore."

"Eh?! Don’t say that!" Jiraiya panicked. "It’s a misunderstanding! I only visit women’s baths for research purposes! I’m a famous novelist, you know!"

Fū tilted her head innocently. "Isn’t that just peeping? Natsuki was right. I don’t want to be friends with you anymore."

She went back to her food, ignoring him.

Jiraiya sighed helplessly. His reputation... always ruined like this.

After they’d eaten plenty of meat and Jiraiya had downed several cups of sake, a slight flush colored his cheeks. He leaned forward, drunkenness masking a sharp seriousness.

"Natsuki... I heard from you that the place is in the Land of Rain, right?"

Natsuki narrowed his eyes. "And what do you want to do?"

Through the haze of drink, Jiraiya’s gaze was sharp. "I want to investigate. But Tsunade would never let me go. In fact, I recall you warning her especially not to. Even I wasn’t permitted. So... why not go together? What do you say?"

"No way. Not now." Natsuki rejected him flatly. "Jiraiya, you’d be throwing your life away!"

But Jiraiya shook his head. "I don’t claim to be invincible. But just to investigate? I won’t die. I need to know more about their leader. I have a feeling — a premonition. If we don’t uncover his true identity soon, this world will face disaster."

He wasn’t wrong.

If not for Jiraiya’s eventual sacrifice, no one would have known Pain was truly Nagato. Naruto would not have confronted him, nor moved his heart. The Nine Bijū would have been captured, the Jūbi revived, and Infinite Tsukuyomi cast by Madara. The world would have been doomed.

But that was the future. Right now, there was no need for Jiraiya to gamble his life.

Natsuki was silent for a while, then said, "It’s not that I oppose the idea of investigation. But the time isn’t right. I already have leads. Give me a little time — I’ll get the intel myself."

Jiraiya blinked. "So... you’re planning to risk yourself? You won’t let me go, but you’ll go instead?"

Natsuki rolled his eyes. "Don’t flatter yourself. If someone really has to die, I’d let you go — you’re old, I’m young, and I’ve got a rich, beautiful girlfriend. I’d be a fool to risk myself first."

"Uh... haha, when you put it that way... fair enough."

Relief crossed Jiraiya’s face. He knew Natsuki was the future of Konoha. Better he take the risks himself. But hearing Natsuki’s blunt practicality somehow reassured him.

This kid... he really might have his own way of dealing with Akatsuki.

"Perhaps... I really am getting old. Maybe the future should be entrusted to you young ones," Jiraiya sighed.

"Then why don’t you retire already?" Natsuki shot back. "Settle down in Konoha instead of wandering around. You keep looking for some ’Child of Prophecy’... but what if you already found them? What if you left — and because you left, that savior died? What if the savior is me? Or Naruto? Or Sasuke? Or all of us? If the shinobi world really needs saving, it will be by us — the younger generation. Your job is to protect us until we grow."

Jiraiya froze. Mouth open, cup of sake halfway raised.

He hadn’t expected that.

And it... made sense.

All these years, guided by the Great Toad Sage’s words, he had searched endlessly for the savior. Yet maybe he had already met them. Perhaps Yahiko, who dreamed of peace. Perhaps Minato, who shone like the sun. He had found them, trained them — and failed to protect them.

Yes... maybe he wasn’t supposed to search anymore. Maybe his true duty was to guard the ones he already had.

The savior might not be one person. The savior could be the youth of this world. His mission was to protect them, nurture them, and let them grow.

Jiraiya inhaled deeply, then laughed loudly, draining his cup in one gulp. This time, his smile was genuine.

"Boss! More meat and another bottle of sake! Tonight’s on me!"

Natsuki glanced at the old man, bemused. What the hell got into him?

He hadn’t said anything special — just the obvious. The future belonged to the young. The world would be theirs to shape. Jiraiya was just an old man. Why carry the burden of saving the world alone?

Let the next generation take it on.

(End of Chapter)

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