"Jiraiya-sensei… he's actually a really good person."
Nagato scratched his head, not understanding why Kyoichi spoke that way. During the three years Jiraiya spent with them, he had left only the best impression on him.
Before he ever "blackened," Jiraiya was—without exaggeration—the very definition of a true teacher and a father figure.
Not to mention…
Over the past few years, Jiraiya had never once cut ties with the three of them.
He would occasionally send letters, even mail them three new books.
"A lot of the things he wrote… we all agree with."
Nagato mentioned the book, hoping it would correct whatever misunderstanding Kyoichi seemed to have about their teacher.
Kyoichi sighed.
"It seems Jiraiya kept in touch with you three. Probably even sent you things. What was it, The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja? Makes sense—his only proper book."
He had no energy to complain.
So…
In front of Konan and the others, Jiraiya actually kept up a respectable façade—a stern-teacher, doting-father persona.
Unfortunately…
In Konoha, his reputation was utterly ruined.
Anyone who frequented hot springs had heard the rumors.
And the hot spring owners could list his deeds chapter and verse.
But Nagato didn't know any of this.
During his time in Konoha, Nagato rarely went out, partly because of security concerns, partly because he was naturally quiet and introverted.
He spent most of his days reading and training—just like in Amegakure.
Honestly…
Aside from Yahiko's influence, he had very little emotional attachment to Amegakure itself.
After spending some time interacting with him, Kyoichi realized something:
Although Nagato was older, he actually didn't have personal ambitions or strong desires.
If anything, the only thing he genuinely cared about was helping Yahiko.
Both of them drifted in thought for a moment.
Nagato was confused.
Kyoichi didn't know how to begin roasting Jiraiya—
especially considering the man once used Naruto's allowance to fund "research" (artistic research, of course…).
Truly a man with very few limits in daily life.
After a moment, Kyoichi decided to offer a warning:
"If you're interested, go travel with Jiraiya. Look around. Think more.
Just… don't ever give him money."
"…Ah. Thank you. I understand."
Nagato nodded.
In his heart, Jiraiya was a good man.
He couldn't imagine his teacher asking him for money… surely not.
Jiraiya always claimed his books sold well—enough savings to never be broke.
Kyoichi saw his expression…
And knew Nagato had completely failed to grasp the warning.
But that was fine.
After spending enough time with Jiraiya, Nagato would eventually understand the man's true nature.
Human nature doesn't change.
And Jiraiya was not the type to sit quietly and behave.
…
While they rested on the mountain, the allied forces up north were stuck in confusion.
That giant thing in the sky—
nobody could deal with it for now.
After some discussion, they decided it was fine to leave it there—
Except for the Land of Iron.
Having that thing floating over the northern sea was… stressful for them.
But nothing could be done—Black Zetsu had been sealed there, and the structure couldn't be moved.
Still—
Everyone felt safer with it there than anywhere else.
The Land of Iron was absolutely neutral.
Mifune had repeated this several times.
And now everyone understood why they agreed to host the Five Kage Summit in the first place.
A troublemaker like Madara needed to be dead-dead, not "might come back one day."
This was everyone's shared belief.
But now—
There was another question.
"Hokage. Madara's men are all dead or sealed. Madara himself should be dead too, right? Can we… see the body?"
This was the issue on everyone's mind.
Was Madara truly, absolutely dead?
Ōnoki voiced the question, and everyone stared at Tsunade.
Yahiko remained silent.
But he was curious too.
"He's really dead. Completely.
But don't relax yet—I know all of you have your own talents, and many of you have dabbled in forbidden resurrection techniques."
Tsunade swept her gaze around, stopping for a moment on Chiyo and Rasa.
Chiyo's expression didn't change.
But everyone understood her meaning.
"All right. Since everyone is so concerned, I'll let you see. I don't want any rumors saying Konoha hid anything."
Minato had already passed her the sealing scroll.
Tsunade opened it and released Madara's corpse.
It was shriveled, ancient—
the body so aged it bordered on decay.
The modifications done to it were apparent, and upon seeing the state of his body, everyone understood instantly.
Madara and Kyoichi's battle…
he had truly fought with everything he had.
Even with a body enhanced through countless procedures, he wasn't weak by any means.
Only the complete exhaustion of his life force could leave him in such a state.
After that—
There wasn't much more to say.
Tsunade resealed Madara's corpse.
The biggest concern had been addressed, and the remaining conversation shifted to future matters.
Like—
The future of the shinobi world, and potential cooperation.
Important matters.
But not something to discuss here.
Too many people, too many ears.
Negotiations would be conducted privately, not in the open.
So each village began cleaning up the battlefield and preparing to leave the Land of Iron.
White Zetsu clones and the original were not the same.
Without deliberate cultivation, their bodies retained vitality for only a short time before rapidly decaying.
As second-generation diluted products, they weren't worth much.
This was why Tsunade wasn't concerned.
Konoha had run every kind of experiment imaginable—they had detailed data on the decay cycle of these tissues.
And even if someone smuggled a living specimen home,
they couldn't mass-produce anything.
Cultivation alone was a massive hurdle.
Not everyone had somewhere like Ryūchi Cave to rely on.
Of course—
Even Orochimaru couldn't be too reckless now.
Ryūchi Cave had become much more vigilant lately, and he couldn't siphon from them anymore.
He could only try cultivating his own samples.
But Konoha had something no other village possessed—
Kyoichi's Sage Chakra training method.
This was priceless.
Sacred grounds were sacred because they trained Sage Mode.
Orochimaru still hadn't mastered it himself, but he had begun artificially cultivating ninja beasts capable of producing sage chakra.
Inspired by the Tenbin Clan.
Humans going berserk was a social hazard.
But if an experimental beast went berserk?
Just kill it.
And if one mutated into a powerful, controllable specimen?
All the better.
Thus, Orochimaru's proposal was now deep in multiple layers of review and meetings.
That was the situation before Tsunade left.
It might already be at the final approval stage.
Only one issue remained—
Orochimaru alone didn't have enough manpower.
The Iburi Clan needed him.
Other major research divisions also depended on him.
Which led Tsunade to one clear thought as she planned their return:
When we get back…
we must squeeze Kyoichi dry.