Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Jiraiya glared grimly at the sky, which reflected perfectly the general mood of the village. Dark, restless, and threatening to storm.
He had tried so hard to keep the cycle from starting all over again. He hadn't wanted to see another war, hadn't wanted to see the violence break out again. What had Senju Nawaki, Hatake Sakumo, Uzumaki Manami and every other person who had ever died during war died for if this was the legacy of their sufferings.
Jiraiya had a feeling, a bad feeling, that this war would be worst than the last two. All the signs pointed towards it; a generation more skilled than any previous had arisen, and naturally they would be more equipped to wage war to devastating ends.
Thunder crashed so loud as to be utterly deafening; rain began to fall hard and fast. Jiraiya ran out of the street and took shelter under a store awning, staring silently at the storm on the outside.
This one's going to be worse…Worse than all the others combined. I just hope it doesn't end up being the end of us.
"Sensei." Jiraiya turned, and was confronted by all six of his students, Kakashi in tow, being led by the hand by Minato, who had more or less taken over Kakashi's care and training since he had made jonin along with the Ame trio a month ago.
Nagato was the one who spoke; the Ame trio was heading the crowd. The pale-faced boy was especially grim-faced, his arms crossing his chest.
"It's starting again, isn't it?"
Jiraiya stared at him for a moment, and then nodded, unable to say anything.
The reactions were diverse. The Uzumaki twins immediately began talking amongst themselves; Jiraiya couldn't tell if they were nervous, worried or just intensely interested by the state of affairs. Kakashi gave Minato a weary look, full of a knowledge a seven-year-old shouldn't have had; Minato returned the stare in full.
Konan covered her eyes with her hand, muttering something; Jiraiya couldn't tell what. Yahiko shook his head and growled. His reaction was closest to expressed anger out of any of them.
Nagato kept Jiraiya's gaze. He was grim, pulsating with an intense energy, his visible eye narrowed to a slit. And he alone seemed completely unsurprised.
The rain continued on with heightened intensity. It brought trash out of the gutters onto the flooded streets as the day wore on, and the vendors closed shop and moved to higher ground.
Coincidentally, it's pouring down rain where I am right now.