Naruto: Reborn as Jiraiya, From the Start I Bid Tsunade a Tearful Farewell

Naruto, Jiraiya, hot-blooded, everyday life, slow burn, ensemble cast

A frog in a well will eventually vanish into the sea.

I once thought this was the final chapter of the story of Jiraiya, the gallant.

Sinking into the deep, my body cold, until the last spark of consciousness was about to fade.

Yet a remnant of my soul was bound by the heaviest chains in the world.

I watched the face beneath my student's golden hair, the disciple in whom I'd placed such high hopes, lose all its color for the first time.

I heard the woman who never won a bet clutching the battered book I'd left behind, crying like a child abandoned by the whole world in an empty Naruto office.

At that moment, it wasn't death that tore my soul apart.

It was regret.

Jiraiya's story shouldn't have ended this way!

When this obsession burned through everything, I opened my eyes again and returned to the past.

I was back at the prologue, before any of the tragedies had happened...

This time, with my innate Sage Body, I grow stronger with every passing moment.

My teacher is still young. Orochimaru is still the same aloof, gifted boy, not yet set on the solitary road into darkness.

And Tsunade... she's standing with her hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out, glaring at me in a huff over who won a sparring match.

How wonderful.

This time,

the will of the gallant will reshape this body and merge it with the Natural Energy that surrounds us.

This time, no training is needed, and there's no need to wait.

Every moment brings me closer to becoming stronger.

Tsunade's tears, my teacher's departing figure, Naruto's smile... everything I missed, everything I lost.

This time, I'll hold on to it all.