Having had his identity exposed by Jiraiya, Yosuke no longer saw any reason to continue pretending. He removed his mask openly and without hesitation.
Speaking frankly, Yosuke asked,
"So, Jiraiya—what exactly did you come to see me for?"
Jiraiya had no intention of testing him. He went straight to the point.
"Naruto is the Child of Prophecy—someone who should become the savior of the shinobi world. The Great Toad Sage said that a mysterious force interfered with the future, causing it to become unclear. If that mysterious power is you, then what exactly did you do?"
Yosuke shot back,
"What did we do? I merely saved Minato and Kushina. As for Naruto—shouldn't that be a question for you people of Konoha? What exactly did Konoha do to shape Naruto into someone so extreme?"
Jiraiya was left speechless.
Yosuke continued,
"Minato told me you're trying to redeem Naruto—to change his personality?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"That's right. The Great Toad Sage said that finding that mysterious force might allow everything to be salvaged. That's why I sought you out. I believe our goals are the same."
Silently, Yosuke reflected. It seemed that the Great Toad Sage, like the Sage of Six Paths, possessed the ability to foresee the future.
Yosuke replied coldly,
"I don't think there's anything wrong with Naruto's personality. Konoha inflicted countless irreversible wounds upon him—so Konoha must bear the consequences."
Jiraiya's heart tightened. Had he been wrong? Were their goals truly different?
Yosuke continued,
"If you came to ask me to help you change Naruto's personality, then you can leave. But if you want to discuss how to make Naruto shoulder the responsibility of being a savior, then I'm more than willing to talk."
Jiraiya frowned.
"Is there really a difference between the two?"
Yosuke smiled.
"Of course there is. You want to change Naruto's personality because you want to stop him from taking revenge on Konoha.
"But making Naruto shoulder the responsibility of being a savior doesn't require changing his personality at all. Whether Konoha exists or not is irrelevant to the shinobi world."
Jiraiya asked painfully,
"Isn't there a way to achieve both?"
"During the Nine-Tails incident, Danzō colluded with Orochimaru to attack Minato and Kushina. Hiruzen Sarutobi turned a blind eye and allowed Danzō to act freely. In my eyes, Konoha has rotted down to the bone. There's no longer any reason for it to exist."
Jiraiya pressed on,
"Then if Naruto destroys Konoha in revenge and still refuses to save the shinobi world—what then?"
As someone prepared to serve as a backup savior, Yosuke replied indifferently,
"When the time comes, there will always be a solution."
Hearing such an irresponsible answer, Jiraiya suddenly felt that Yosuke was far from reliable.
Yosuke warned him,
"If you meet Naruto, I advise you not to tell him to let go of his hatred. All you'll do is provoke his resentment. You aren't Naruto—you can never truly share his pain. You'll only push him further toward extremity."
Jiraiya muttered unwillingly,
"Is this chain of hatred truly impossible to sever…?"
Yosuke couldn't help correcting him.
"There's a contradiction in what you're saying. Who gave Naruto this hatred in the first place? Konoha, wasn't it? For all these years, Konoha had countless chances to make things right—yet it did nothing. In fact, it only made things worse.
"You were Minato's teacher. Why did you never look after Naruto? Minato's student was Kakashi, wasn't he? Where was he? And what about those who knew the truth of the Nine-Tails incident?
"Minato and Kushina endured the pain of being separated from their child for Konoha—for the sake of the shinobi world. And how did you repay them? With endless torment?!
"The chain of hatred was forged by Konoha. Naruto seeking revenge against you is itself a way of severing that chain. What right do you have to condemn him?"
Jiraiya was overwhelmed with regret. If only he had paid more attention to Naruto back then—perhaps none of this would have happened.
Yosuke added,
"As Minato's teacher, I'll give you one piece of advice. Before you meet Naruto, decide clearly what it is you want to save—Konoha, or the shinobi world."
Jiraiya sighed deeply.
"I understand."
At this point, Jiraiya had completely accepted that Ubuyashiki Yosuke was the mysterious force spoken of by the Great Toad Sage.
Because from Yosuke, Jiraiya had received an answer—or rather, a choice: Konoha, or the shinobi world.
Jiraiya's questions had been answered. Now it was Yosuke's turn.
"Jiraiya—where do you think Orochimaru is hiding?"
Jiraiya looked troubled.
"That's too broad. Orochimaru has bases scattered across the entire shinobi world. If he truly wants to hide, no one can find him. I've been searching for him for years, and I've found nothing."
Yosuke asked another question.
"Then under what circumstances would Orochimaru reveal himself?"
"As long as it's something detrimental to Konoha, Orochimaru will almost certainly get involved."
Yosuke asked in confusion,
"Then why hasn't there been any news of him during this war against Konoha?"
Jiraiya explained,
"Orochimaru has appeared. The underground vault storing ninjutsu scrolls in Sunagakure was robbed, though we don't know which techniques were taken. Additionally, some of Konoha's shinobi stationed along the borders of the Land of Fire have disappeared mysteriously. It may also be Orochimaru's doing."
Yosuke felt somewhat frustrated. Orochimaru had already surfaced—and he had missed it.
He had hoped to gain some leads from Jiraiya, but now it seemed he could only stick to the original plan and try his luck at Orochimaru's bases.
After answering Yosuke's questions, Jiraiya departed in a dazed state.
Having been nurtured under the Will of Fire, Jiraiya had always believed that Konoha came first—that any destabilizing factor threatening the village should be eliminated at its inception.
Thus, no matter how disappointed he was in Konoha, Jiraiya still wanted to protect it.
But Naruto's situation had thrown him into deep conflict.
The Konoha he sought to protect had pushed the savior of the shinobi world to the opposite side.
It made the ideals Jiraiya had upheld his entire life seem unbearably absurd.
Just as Yosuke had said—Konoha had already decayed beyond recognition.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi… the man who had once led Konoha to its golden age.
Now, merely hearing the title "teacher" in reference to him filled Jiraiya with bitter irony.
"Old man… your excessive tolerance has inflicted irreparable damage upon Konoha. The village has already begun its slow decline…"
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