EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 275: Reflection

[February 6th TST/September 29th DBT]

"Man...it feels like a lifetime since I was last here..." remarked Jiraiya, his eyes tinged with nostalgia, regret, and many other emotions as he stood beside Minato, gazing thoughtfully at the near-perpetually overcast sky of the Land of Rain. In the distance was a sight that could only be seen in a handful of especially prosperous or industrial nations—a dreary skyline of towering, densely packed, pipe-laden spires designed to collect rainwater and feed it into the complex steam works that had turned Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain, into a reclusive industrial superpower.

"How many years has it been since Jiraiya-sensei was last here...?" asked Minato, intrigued. He had heard about the trio of Ame orphans that Jiraiya had spent nearly three years raising and training at the end of the Second Shinobi War, but he wasn't aware of the specifics.

"Not too long, all things considered," conceded Jiraiya, crossing his arms and cupping his chin with his right hand as he inferred, "It's currently July 13th, and it was September 19th when I left...so if my math is correct, it's been eight years, ten months, twenty-four days, six hours, and seventeen minutes—give or take."

"Did you never think to return earlier...?" asked Minato, his smile gaining a hint of wryness as Jiraiya's to-the-minute recollection insinuated Ame and the orphans he had left behind weighed heavily on his heart.

"Oh, plenty of times," admitted Jiraiya, exhaling from his nose and shaking his head as he revealed, "I even kept contact with the trio I left here until the commencement of the last war. Unfortunately, their vision for Ame's future conflicted with its leader, Hanzo of the Salamander's. Last I heard, he had utterly wiped out the organization they had established—seeing it as a threat to his grip on the nation. I haven't been able to make contact since."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." expressed Minato, his expression apologetic as he closed his eyes and offered a solemn nod before turning his attention to Ame's skyline and adding, "Our actions today may not be able to affect or rewrite the tragedies of our world until now, but as long as we continue pressing forward, I'm certain we'll be able to witness the dawn of a world without senseless war and bloodshed..."

"It won't be easy, that's for certain," said Jiraiya, adopting a broad smile as he playfully appended, "But if anyone can do it, it's you...Akatsuki-no-Seikei(Sovereign of the Dawn)-sama..."

"Such a grandiloquent title doesn't suit me..." sighed Minato, closing his eyes and visibly deflating with an exhale. However, as Venelana and the Dragon's Pavilion insisted that he take on a title emblematic of his status as his world's representative, it was between that and Taiyo(Sun)-sama. The latter flowed more smoothly, but calling himself the Sun felt beyond audacious...

"It will," asserted Jiraiya, clapping and clasping Minato's shoulder with a supportive smile that was belied by the seriousness in his gaze as he retracted his hand and asked, "So, what's the plan? I get why Ame was chosen as the location geographically, but surely the Pavilion isn't going to drop the Tower directly on top of the village, right? Heralding the dawn of a peaceful world with a genocide feels...contradictory."

"If Vahn and Dragon's Pavilion were the type to make such demands, I wouldn't trust them," asserted Minato, raising his gaze skyward as if he could sense where he was being watched from. Then, turning his gaze to Jiraiya, he revealed, "I will call Hanzo-sama and the Kage here to attempt to explain the situation and reason with them. The Tower will be dropped on Amegakure for dramatic effect, but I've been told everything from the buildings to the bacteria will be transplanted to a safe place. It's bound to create a stir, but after today, Ame no Kuni(Land of Rain) will cease to exist in its current form and location. In its place...how about the Land Where People Gather to be Free from War and Exceed their Limits(Hito ga Tsudoi Sensō kara Jiyū ni Genkai o Koeru Kuni)?"

"That's a bit of a mouthful..." noted Jiraiya, his smile becoming cramped as he suggested, "How about Nihon no Kuni(Land of the Sun's Origin)...?"

"Nihon no Kuni..." repeated Minato, caressing his chin thoughtfully. It was a borderline insolent name to assign a country with no people, but it made sense considering what they hoped to achieve.

"Alright, Nihon no Kuni, it is," affirmed Minato, nodding approvingly before staring back at Jiraiya and humming, "As usual, Jiraiya-sensei has a knack for naming things. But I bet you never imagined you would name the land all others will unite under in the future."

"Ugh...when you put it that way, Hito ga Tsudoi Sensō kara Jiyū ni Genkai o Koeru Kuni might be better..." groaned Jiraiya, ruffling his spiky hair with his right hand in a self-soothing gesture. He had promised Minato that he would help his protege see things through to the end, but he would prefer if he remained a footnote in history, not a central figure.

"Hahaha..." exhaled Minato, finding Jiraiya's reaction humorous. However, since they had an important job to do, he quickly transitioned to a serious demeanor, his faintly glowing blue eyes fixed on the horizon as he asked, "Are you ready, Sensei...?"

"Honestly? Not even a little..." confessed Jiraiya, crossing his arms and adopting a toothy grin as he added, "But history doesn't shape itself, and it's always been my destiny to watch over and mentor the one who would lead this world toward its salvation or ruin. I'm wagering everything on the former."

"And I will not let you down..." affirmed Minato, nodding solemnly before raising his hands and closing his eyes to communicate with the Proxy he had been assigned, stating, 'I'm ready to begin, Althaea. Please bring the Kages of the Five Great Shinobi Countries and Hanzo-sama here...'

(I can summon the Kage) confirmed Althaea, her voice synthetic but very pleasant-sounding as she added (But Hanzo-sama perished more than four years ago at the hands of one Uzumaki Nagato, currently living under the alias Pain. I could summon Hanzo-sama's body double, but I'm unsure how much he can contribute to the impending exchange.)

Opening his eyes and blinking several times in surprise, Minato looked over his shoulder, surprising Jiraiya in turn as he revealed, "According to the Administrative Proxy I've been assigned, Hanzo-sama perished at the hands of someone named Uzumaki Nagato. Is that not the same name as one of the orphans previously under Jiraiya-sensei's care?"

"Well, I'll be...those kids not only managed to depose Hanzo but keep it a secret from the entire Shinobi world..." hummed Jiraiya, his smile gaining a hint of pride. He knew better than most how powerful and cautious Hanzo was, so when he learned that the organization formed by his disciples had been wiped out, he hadn't questioned it. As for why they hadn't reached out to reassure him of their survival, he presumed they had deemed it too risky since the Third Shinobi World War had been ongoing, and they were utilizing the deceased Hanzo's notoriety across the elemental nations as a deterrent.

"Should I bring them here so you can speak with them before I summon the Kage?" asked Minato. "If they're...oh..."

With Althaea informing him that one of Jiraiya's former students, Yahiko, had perished, Minato's words trailed off.

"What's the matter?" asked Jiraiya, his expression going from a smile to a severe grimace as if someone had flipped a switch in his brain.

"I'm sorry to be the one to reveal this, Sensei. But, according to Althaea, the young man called Yahiko was killed when Hanzo ambushed them four years ago," sighed Minato. "Nagato-kun and Konan-san are still alive, but I'm being told the experience changed them..."

"Yahiko..." muttered Jiraiya, closing his eyes and exhaling protractedly from his nose. Yahiko was the de facto leader of the three children and their moral center. Konan and Nagato, in particular, were very sensitive. If the two had been present when Yahiko was killed, he could easily picture them becoming avengers—fueled by resentment.

Forming his resolve, Jiraiya, sporting a serious, solemn expression, stated, "Please call them here or send me to them. As their Sensei, I need to hear what happened from them..."

"I'm certain Jiraiya-sensei will be able to reach them..." affirmed Minato, offering a supportive smile and an understanding nod before approving when Althaea asked if he would like her to transport Nagato and Konan to him. To his surprise, what appeared before him was a six-legged machine with a T-shaped back, within which sat a young, almost skeletal man with gaunt features, faded red hair, and piercing, deep amethyst eyes set with concentric circles.

"Jiraiya-sensei and...Namikaze Minato?" muttered the second figure that had appeared, a notably beautiful woman with distinctive amber eyes and muted, bluish-purple hair affixed with an origami rose. The man in the six-legged contraption had his emaciated upper body exposed and his lower body bound in bandages, but the woman, who Minato correctly presumed to be Konan, was wearing a long black cloak with red trim beneath a dark grey abdomen protector, a headband denoting her status as a Kunoichi of Amegakure, and open-toed, dark purple Tabi that covered her calves and potentially ran up the entirety of her legs.

"Ha...I always knew you'd grow up to be a real beauty, Konan..." remarked Jiraiya, adopting an appreciative smile before shifting his gaze to the man in the six-legged contraption, specifically focusing on the numerous black rods protruding from his back as he added, "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for you, Nagato-kun...what the hell happened to you?"

"Jiraiya-sensei..." muttered the emaciated man, Nagato, his voice strained and his expression one of wide-eyed disbelief as he struggled to process the situation before him. The chamber he resided in was supposed to be impervious to Space-Time Jutsu, and he hadn't perceived any being used before he abruptly found himself outside—across from the Sensei he both hated and admired with all his heart...

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Watching the tense scene between Minato, Jiraiya, Nagato, and Konan play out from the comfort of Vahn's private command theater, Venelana, snuggled closely to him, couldn't help sensually remarking, "That Konan is quite the striking woman, isn't she? Should we try enticing her into joining the Maid Battalion?"

Shaking his head, Vahn, nestled between Venelana and Grayfia, casually revealed, "Though she regards it as her duty, Konan is in an intimate, co-dependent relationship with Nagato. The two of them need therapy—not someone driving a wedge between them."

"That can also be arranged..." hummed Venelana, resting her head on Vahn's shoulder and staring at the light-formed window into the world of Naruto with narrowed, calculating eyes. She was satisfied with the Maid Battalion's current structure and numbers, but she felt compelled to ask such questions when a beautiful woman appeared within the displays as Vahn's empathy tended to give him a sense of attachment toward those from anime and manga he was particularly fond of.

Catching Vahn a little off guard, Venelana asked, "So, which of the girls in Naruto did you have a crush on before you acquired your powers? If I had to guess, it was Kushina-sana or Hinata-chan...a spirited, motherly woman with red hair and a delicate but courageous princess with a heartwarming character arc. Both are unquestionably your type..."

"Mmn...it's a bit shameful, considering she's a happily married woman, but you're not wrong about Kushina-san..." affirmed Vahn, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as he quietly recalled, "Back when I was being exposed to Naruto and witnessed Kushina's sacrifice, the pain I felt in my chest was like my heart was being crushed. Now, I just hope she, Minato, Naruto, and any other children they have can live happily..."

"Then you didn't like Hinata-chan...?" asked Venelana, raising her brows as she remarked, "That's a surprise..." in a faint tone.

"I never said that..." responded Vahn, the faintest trace of a blush tinting his cheeks as he admitted, "Truth be told, Naruto was my favorite anime during a particularly harsh period in my life. Because of that, there aren't many characters I didn't empathize with or grow attached to...particularly among the female cast. If I had to rank them, Hinata would be my third or fourth favorite heroine in the series, but my first and second are Kushina-san and Uzumaki Karin...her personality was terrible, but I could look past it since we had a lot in common..."

"I see..." muttered Venelana, feeling apologetic as, while she was happy to hear Vahn talking about his past, she knew it wasn't a light subject. As such, she didn't press him further and instead caressed his abdomen with her left hand, admiring the smoothness of his skin and the contours of his muscles...

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