Tale of the Setting Sun

Chapter 40: "My Friend"

Though Jiraiya had battled countless opponents of all shapes and sizes over the years, he was finding it difficult to believe that the man before him was actually human.

Scuttling across the rooftops on all fours, an iron tail whipped out from the man's cloak towards Jiraiya, who leaped backwards. Without pause, the man's mouth opened, and a barrage of senbon needles rapidly shot out. They would have hit Jiraiya, if it weren't for his white mane technique protecting him. As it was, the needles deflected off and bounced harmlessly down to the ground.

Landing a distance away, Jiraiya waited for his opponent to pursue him. However, as he'd suspected, the man didn't move from his rooftop. It seemed that no matter how many times Jiraiya attempted to move the battle outside of the village walls, the man wouldn't follow him. It was clear that while his intended opponent was Jiraiya, his primary goal was to protect the perimeter of the barrier walling off the Hokage and Orochimaru.

That alone told Jiraiya his opponent was different from the others he'd faced in the organization so far. Rather than fighting for the love of battle or to quench his blood thirst, this man fought with purpose.

This was an issue, of course, because it meant that Jiraiya couldn't summon Gamabunta. And while Jiraiya thought he could eventually outmaneuver the puppeteer, with the village as a battleground, he wanted to minimize collateral damage as much as possible.

"Jiraiya-sama! Are you alright?" A dark-haired ninja appeared besides him, with a team of three young shinobi in tow.

"If it isn't Asuma!" exclaimed Jiraiya. "Don't write me off just because I've started to develop a bit of a gut!"

Lips rearing back in a grim smile, Asuma held up a pair of blades. "I wouldn't dream of it. We're here to help. What's your plan for this clown?"

"Funny you should ask…" Biting into his thumb, Jiraiya painted two red lines on his face and brought his hands together. "I can't take my hands apart for a while so I'm going to need you all to buy me some time."

While it would have been faster to travel in her transformed state, the blue flames were too conspicuous, and Yugito did not like her odds against a long-ranged opponent.

A distance away in the sky, she could make out the white speck that was the strange flying organism belonging to the Akatsuki intruders. Hiding her presence as best as she could while maintaining a pace that wouldn't falter behind, Yugito had been following their tail for the past few hours. They had since left Lightning country behind and were now skirting the border of Frost country.

Either that, or they were already in Hot Water Country. Yugito wasn't always the best at sensing direction.

Slowly but surely, Yugito could feel the drain of the past day beginning to weigh her down: The village had burned down to ashes. The Raikage was gone. Her friends were all dead or missing.

"I, for one, am finding this new situation very agreeable," purred the Two Tails.

Despite herself, Yugito didn't even have the energy to snap back as she usually did. It wasn't as though she had expected the cat demon to have any tact in the first place; she had far more pressing matters to consider.

Unexpectedly, her silence seemed to unsettle the Two-tails, and it fell blissfully silent, allowing Yugito to think as she raced through the tundra, eyes fixed on her target.

The moment to strike would be when the intruders landed. Whether her opponents were number one, or two, or the entire Akatsuki organization—it didn't matter. Yugito didn't know if Killer B was even alive, nor what the Akatsuki were trying to accomplish.

But she couldn't leave him behind. Not again.

"Watch out!"

Asuma, who had been weaving in and out of their opponent's offensive, let out a roar as another storm of senbon rained down on a rooftop. His lone female student threw herself out of the way in the nick of time—when suddenly, she froze, collapsing in a heap of limbs. A small gash on her arm gleamed bright red; it seemed a single needle had brushed against her.

Poison?

"Ino!" shouted her teammates, rushing to her side.

As Jiraiya had feared, their opponent seemed to be overpowering Asuma and his team. It was difficult to sit back and allow them to cover for him. Fortunately, his preparations were nearly complete.

In a burst of cloudy smoke, two toads appeared on his shoulders. Fukasaku and Shima—his longtime allies who gathered natural energy for him.

"And I thought you didn't like this form!" said Fukasaku.

Jiraiya grimaced, as he felt his nose growing bulbous. "Now is not the time to be particular about my appearance."

His senses rapidly scaling up, Jiraiya noticed something interesting about his opponent. Everything he could see of the man—whether it was the face, oddly stiff in its movements, or the tail—appeared to be connected to thin chakra threads.

A puppet.

That explained the unnaturalness of his enemy: It wasn't human after all, but a puppet. Jiraiya had heard of the rumors of the master puppeteer within the Akatsuki's ranks, and now he had a face for the name:

Sasori of the Red Sand.

Unlike a normal puppet, however, the chakra threads appeared to be leading inwards. Jiraiya had never seen the like, and yet the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Was the actual puppeteer inside the puppet?

"Fall back!" Jiraiya shouted to Asuma. "Take your team to safety!"

Asuma grimly regarded his student, before looking up at the rooftop beyond Sasori—at the violet barrier surrounding the Hokage and Orochimaru. Looking torn, he said, "Please...protect my father."

"You underestimate that old man," said Jiraiya. "He'll be fine." His tone must have been overly jovial; Asuma only responded with a grim nod, before picking up his student and disappearing.

"The sage, Jiraiya…" said Sasori, the puppet's tail arched inquisitively. "I've heard much about you. You will make a most excellent addition to my collection - "

It happened in the blink of an eye: Shima and Fukasaku's tongues burst out, and Jiraiya leaped forward. One muscular tongue wrapped around Sasori's tail, neutralizing it, while the other bound the puppet's mouth. Jiraiya pulled back his hand to Rasengan the puppet to oblivion, when Sasori raised his left arm, revealing what appeared to be a torpedo.

A good puppetmaster always had another trick up his sleeve. But, they had never had to face off against a toad sage. Jiraiya's white mane rose up to defend him from the impending shrapnel, and his fist connected solidly with the head of Sasori's puppet.

The puppet was surprisingly durable. While it was a blow that would have pulverized anyone else's head into pieces, in the case of the puppet, its face caved inwards, before the entire puppet blew back, spinning bodily through the air. It crashed into the roof of a nearby building, sending the entire infrastructure crumbling to the ground.

Jiraiya winced. "Oh dear."

"Jiraiya!" chided Shima.

"There's no time for that now—the barrier!" Fukasaku urged.

With one last look down at the rising smoke, Jiraiya leaped up the tiled rooftops to his target: Four violet walls rose up around several different figures who appeared to be locked in combat.

Several…?

Taking in the faces of the new combatants, Jiraiya realized with a jolt: They were the First and Second Hokage, apparently back from the dead to follow Orochimaru's every bidding. Just what had his old teammate been up to over the years?

Several ANBU—apparently helpless to do anything besides shout verbal encouragements—observed the battle from outside the barrier.

"Even if the shape and form are the same, they're neither the First nor Second Hokage!"

"...I know!" responded the Third.

Despite his words, Jiraiya knew his teacher. The internal turmoil he must have been feeling at fighting the previous Hokage would no doubt cause him to subconsciously hold himself back. Jiraiya had to step in, and fast.

Besides, this was his fight.

But before he could make a move, Jiraiya tensed—and leaped up, just as a wave of puppet arms crashed into the rooftop. As he flew back, he looked down to see a red-headed man in Akatsuki robes regarding him from the ground. A large, hulking puppet hovered in the air behind him.

"I'd been wondering when you'd clamber out of that wreckage," Jiraiya called out.

Ajisai's mission had seemed simple enough: Keep an eye on the jinchūriki, and if it seemed like he was going to get away, crush the wooden scarab they'd given her. Presumably, it would alert whoever was controlling the scarab.

However, it was easier said than done, as was usually the case. Once the jinchūriki transformed, Ajisai and Haku were forced to retreat, and Ajisai was forcibly reminded of the existence of powers she couldn't even fathom. It was another awe-inspiring display of Lord Pain's prowess, and she was honored to be even given the chance to observe from afar.

But for some reason, this time, Ajisai found it harder to swallow than usual.

Surprisingly, the Hidden Leaf didn't back down without a fight. After several others kept the beast at bay for some time, Ajisai watched in disbelief as a Leaf-nin eventually showed up and, with a single blow, forced the beast to transform back into the jinchūriki.

It was a world utterly unbeknownst to her, and Ajisai was prepared to crush the scarab when Haku stopped her with a shake of his head. She might have been preparing herself to turn him over to the Hidden Sound, but she trusted him.

That was, until Haku suddenly disappeared.

Ajisai froze, and looked around. Where had he gone? While he'd been quiet all day, she had attributed it to the mysterious seal. All of a sudden, she began to frantically wonder if he'd somehow overheard her conversation with the jōnin—

In a flash, Haku reappeared. Or at least, she thought it was him: He was wearing a mask she'd never seen before. Taking a lurching step, Haku stumbled towards her, and she rushed to support him.

"Haku, what did you do?!"

"Run…" he gritted out.

The trees rustled, and a young blond Leaf-nin appeared on the other side of the clearing. As soon as he caught sight of them, his face contorted in such fury, Ajisai felt herself take an inadvertent step back.

"Shinranshin no Jutsu (Mind Destruction Technique)!" cried the Leaf-nin.

While Haku dove to the side, Ajisai felt something very strange happen to her body. Against her will, each hand drew a kunai from her holster. As she watched on in horror, she lunged at her teammate.

Clang!

A blade that hadn't been there a moment before struck out to meet hers. Ajisai found herself face to face with an ANBU mask—another Leaf-nin.

Before she could cry out, the ANBU parried her other kunai, before snaking below her defenses and elbowing her in the face. Ajisai felt her nose crack. As she let out a cry of pain, her hands reached up to her face, and she realized she was back in control of her limbs.

The Leaf-nin yelled, "Hey, I was controll - " He broke off.

Eyes watering and her hands full of blood, Ajisai looked up to see the Leaf-nin collapse to the ground.

The ANBU turned towards her. "Are you alright? Sorry about that."

"Who are you?" Ajisai demanded thickly.

"Don't worry...I'm on your side." Reaching up with a hand, the ANBU removed his mask to reveal a young man with glasses. "You can call me Kabuto."

Following the Third Kazekage's mysterious and abrupt disappearance, the sudden power vacuum from his absence had left the Hidden Sand in a state of chaos. It would not be an understatement to say that the Third's disappearance had played a critical role in the beginning of the Hidden Sand's decline. Even now, years later, Jiraiya knew that the village was still searching for the man who'd once been hailed as the strongest Kazekage ever.

Now, Jiraiya knew exactly what had happened to the Third: He had become Sasori's human puppet.

A wave of black iron powder crashed onto the ground just as Jiraiya leaped away. He felt a particle just barely miss his skin, and a shiver ran down his spine. He knew that a single instant's contact could have very well ended him.

The depths to which man could fall would never cease to astound Jiraiya; Sasori had sacrificed a brilliant future with the Hidden Sand in order to obtain the Third's Iron Sand. While it seemed the peak of foolishness to Jiraiya, perhaps the exchange was worth it for some: Jiraiya didn't know too much about the legendary technique, but he knew that if he hadn't had the toads on his shoulders gathering natural energy for him, the battle may very well have already reached its conclusion.

Suddenly, Jiraiya's eyes widened. He turned back, his heart lurching violently.

Just barely visible through the walls of the purple barrier, a gaunt spectre with horns rose out from behind the Third Hokage.

"Sensei," he breathed. "No!"

As though listening to his pleas, the walls suddenly vanished, and Jiraiya realized the Sound-nin must have released the barricade. Without a second's thought, Jiraiya launched himself through the air.

When he landed, Jiraiya found himself in his worst nightmare—one that he couldn't wake up from.

With a single glance, he knew in an instant what had just taken place—what the Third had sacrificed. Orochimaru's arms hung like two slabs of meat from his shoulders. His stricken eyes were fixed on the Third as the latter fell lifelessly to the ground.

"Sensei!" cried Jiraiya, rushing to his teacher's side. He propped up the Third on his lap, shaking him, all the while knowing it was futile. The Reaper Death Seal was unbreakable, and no matter what, the user paid the price with their life.

The Third stirred, his mouth drawing back in a last smile. "Jiraiya…I leave it...to you..."

And then he was gone.

In the stark sunlight, without the shade of the Hokage's hat, Jiraiya saw how lined the Third's face had become over the years. Bowing his head, he carefully lowered the body to the ground, marveling at how someone once regarded as a god could have become something so fragile.

"Let's go," he heard Orochimaru grit through his teeth to his subordinates, who jumped to their leader's side.

"I leave it to you."

Standing up, Jiraiya took in a deep breath. He looked towards Orochimaru.

There, in his gaunt face, Jiraiya found no trace of sadness or regret. There was only anger and hatred, and he felt his heart lurch at the realization.

Jiraiya took a step towards Orochimaru. And then another. To the others watching, all they must have seen was a blur. But to Jiraiya, each step that brought him closer seemed to stretch into eternity.

"Eventually, there shall come a day when you will be forced to make a critical decision. That choice you make...will decide which way the change goes."

He had run from this decision for years, refusing to choose. He had hoped that by sticking to the path of a pacifist, it would all work out on its own. That he could become someone who could change the hearts of people with his stories; that his fragmented team would each find their way home.

However, after having hoped and and waited for so long, the Third was gone and the village was in flames, and all at once, Jiraiya understood—some people didn't change. Not because they couldn't, but because they chose not to.

While it was a bitter pill to swallow, Jiraiya knew that he couldn't run from it any longer.

Memories of the past flashed through Jiraiya's head as he drew close. Orochimaru's eyes widened. Fukasaku and Shima's tongues thrust out at Orochimaru's subordinates, batting them aside.

They had once fought on the same team, and Jiraiya had loved Orochimaru as a brother. He would have done anything for him.

He would have died for him.

Jiraiya pulled back his arm, a mass of chakra churning wildly in his hand. "Goodbye, my friend," he said soberly.

A lone man, dressed simply in mesh armor and pants, staggered from the forest clearing surrounding the Hidden Leaf. Momentarily hunching over on his knees to catch his breath, he glanced up at the sight of rising smoke from beyond the walls. A shadow of a grimace twisting his mouth, he ripped off his hitai-ate and threw it to the side: A slashed leaf briefly gleamed in the light before tumbling to the ground.

The man lurched forward, his mind racing.

He had never expected to return to the Hidden Leaf this way—a skeleton of his former self, muscle withered away to skin and bone. It hurt to even breathe, so walking was excruciating. And yet, he had to move, so he did, joints creaking in protest with every step he took, lungs burning with every cough.

It was after what felt like an eternity that the man reached the gates. While they should have been strictly manned, they had been abandoned and left ajar. Nonetheless, feeling some trepidation, he stepped inside, waiting for a challenge that never came.

All too easily, the village sprawled out before him. He felt his stomach plummet: Even way out here, the bodies on the streets were plainly visible. While most appeared to be ninja killed in action, he could make out the remains of some unlucky civilians as well, and the sight caused his heart to ache. It was a pain even more visceral than the one he felt every waking moment. He would have wept if he'd had the strength.

What had been the point of it all? Had so many innocent lives been sacrificed for the mere purpose of staving off the Leaf's destruction?

He had once left the village a traitor and a murderer, and he now returned to it a dying man. He had been foolish to think that all of his plans could have made a difference. Despite his efforts, everything had gone awry, leaving him with nothing but the sense that he was a lone cog in a machine that followed no one's bidding.

Still...this was his last chance. He didn't know how much longer he had left—days? Hours? It was time to put all of his plans to the side. What mattered now was that in whatever time he had left, this was his last chance to deliver all the information he had gathered over the years.

His last chance to see his brother.

A/N: This was an interim-ish chapter; basically, a "meanwhile…" for all the other people in the story. I know it's not the chapter you were waiting for, but it needed to be done.

So I always get reviews that say "this is wrong because this and this happened in canon" and y'all need to realize by now that some things are clearly different from canon. For instance, the bijuu sealing order—I'm still getting reviews complaining about this, and lemme tell you, this shit is what's keeping me alive.

As always, thanks for your reviews, and to blueandgold for beta-ing.