When Rasa saw Jiraiya's name appear on the Dream Card, he was slightly surprised.
After all, this Dream Card was limited to Konoha jonin.
But after thinking about it, Rasa felt it was reasonable.
Jiraiya's strength had indeed reached Kage level, and even among Kage-level shinobi, he could be considered outstanding.
But if he was not a Kage, then he still belonged to the jonin category.
Moreover, Jiraiya was now heavily injured, almost crippled, and his strength had fallen dramatically.
"In that case, I'll prepare a good dream for Jiraiya."
Rasa had used Dream Cards many times before and had already summarized his experience.
First, the dream had to include some things that had not yet happened, but were destined to happen in the future. That way, the dreamer would feel that they had not merely had an ordinary dream, but a prophetic one.
The likelihood of them believing the contents of the dream would greatly increase.
"It has to be something I know, but it can't be too closely related to me."
Rasa pondered for a while.
"I don't know whether Jiraiya already knows of Naruto's existence, but whether he does or not, I can include it."
"Other than that, I can reveal a little information about the Akatsuki in the dream."
"For example, that Nagato and Konan are still alive, but Yahiko is already dead."
"And Danzo was involved in Yahiko's death."
"If Jiraiya wants to verify it, he should have his own methods."
After that came the main content design of the dream.
…
Jiraiya had a dream.
But it did not feel like a dream. It was so real that it was as if he had witnessed everything with his own eyes.
Minato Namikaze's figure stood right before him.
Kushina Uzumaki lay on a bed, her belly swollen, cold sweat pouring down her face from the pain.
A figure stood beside Kushina Uzumaki.
It was Sarutobi Biwako.
Minato Namikaze held Kushina Uzumaki's hand, encouraging his wife.
Suddenly—
Two figures appeared not far away.
One figure was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The other wore a mask.
What kind of face lay beneath the mask could not be seen at all. But within that hollow opening of the mask was an eye Jiraiya knew all too well.
"Sharingan!"
A baby's cry rang out.
The next instant, the Mangekyo Sharingan spun.
An astonishing energy erupted from Kushina Uzumaki's body, swelling to a tremendous size in an instant.
"Roar!"
A beast-like howl tore through the air.
The Nine-Tails had broken free!
Jiraiya saw it.
He saw Sarutobi Biwako's face show an expression of shock before the Nine-Tails crushed her to death with one slap.
He saw Minato Namikaze pursue the wielder of the Sharingan.
He saw Kushina Uzumaki reach her limit, yet still force herself to use Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrict the Nine-Tails' movements.
But there was no Hiruzen Sarutobi.
One Konoha shinobi after another died.
One Konoha building after another collapsed.
Kushina Uzumaki could no longer hold on.
Minato Namikaze's eyes nearly split with rage, blood seeping from them. To save the village, he had no choice but to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, sacrificing his own life to seal the Nine-Tails into the body of his newborn child.
Jiraiya felt it.
"Hokage-sama… why?"
That low question made Jiraiya's pupils abruptly contract.
After that, Jiraiya saw something else.
An ANBU shinobi carried something to the Land of Wind and met with shinobi from Sunagakure.
A long time passed.
Then Jiraiya saw himself.
He saw himself lying on a bed, having lost both legs and one arm, reduced to something no different from a cripple.
Then a shadow covered him.
"Jiraiya, I'm sorry."
"I, your teacher… didn't actually want this."
"Go in peace."
Jiraiya jolted awake, opening his eyes and forcing his upper body upright as he breathed violently.
The surroundings were deathly quiet.
A sliver of light slanted in from the horizon outside the window.
Only after a long while did Jiraiya calm down.
"Was that a dream just now?"
"But it was far too clear."
"It felt like I truly saw it."
"And I dreamed of so many people, so many things."
"Minato's son, Naruto Uzumaki. Konan. Nagato. Yahiko. Who was that masked person with the Sharingan? I've never seen someone like that before."
"Did I imagine him in my dream? Why would I think that person and Teacher Sarutobi were together?"
"I even dreamed that Minato was killed by Teacher Sarutobi, and that Teacher Sarutobi wanted to kill me too."
"Could it be that I really don't trust Teacher Sarutobi? Have I developed suspicion toward him?"
Jiraiya thought he trusted Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted him.
That rumor was only a rumor, a scheme used by the enemy to divide him and Hiruzen.
But now, after having such a dream, Jiraiya could not help wondering whether, deep down, he had actually begun to suspect Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Summoning Technique!"
A small toad appeared.
Not long afterward, Jiraiya picked up the small toad and brought it close to his ear.
"Great Toad Sage…"
Jiraiya spoke of the dream he had just had.
"Is this because my heart is dark? Because I was injured and heard those rumors, so I subconsciously thought that way?"
Gamamaru sat in a high place, his eyes opening only a slit as he spoke in that mysterious, rambling manner.
"What one thinks by day, one dreams by night. This is your thought, your imagination… but it may also be some kind of omen…"
Jiraiya frowned.
"Great Toad Sage, you mean the contents of my dream may be real?"
Gamamaru remained mysterious.
"Truth and falsehood, falsehood and truth, destined by fate…"
When he noticed that Jiraiya was already listening to the point of growing sleepy, Gamamaru finally said, "Little Jiraiya, if you want to know whether the things in your dream are true or false, wouldn't you know by verifying them?"
"After all, as you said, some of the things you saw in your dream were things you never knew before, or even things that have not yet happened."
Jiraiya showed a look of sudden realization.
"That's true."
Jiraiya thought of a relatively suitable point to verify.
"Yahiko…"
"I didn't expect Nagato and Konan to still be alive. According to the information I received before, I thought all three of them were already dead."
"I didn't expect only Yahiko to have died."
"And I expected even less that Yahiko's death was actually related to Danzo."
"If I ask directly, Danzo definitely won't say."
"Orochimaru has a decent relationship with Danzo. Through Orochimaru, it may be easier."
Jiraiya's eyes flickered.
Not long after, a shinobi found Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama, Jiraiya-sama hopes to meet with you."
Orochimaru's brow moved.
"Understood. I will go see him later."
By the time Orochimaru came to the Medical Department, it was already noon.
He arrived, but did not immediately enter. Instead, he stood at the doorway for a while, watching as a caretaker helped Jiraiya—reduced to half a body and one arm—eat his food.
For a moment, Orochimaru could not help feeling a trace of melancholy.
The two of them had known each other for many years and had experienced many things together.
Orochimaru had seen everything.
But he had never imagined that Jiraiya would become like this.
"Jiraiya."
"Orochimaru, long time no see."
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