Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 396 Jiraiya: The Love of a Middle-Aged Man Has Arrived?

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Bane asked casually.

Before Madara Uchiha could answer, he waved his hand lightly, and a tea table and two chairs appeared between the two of them.

Seeing this, Madara Uchiha smiled and said, "Then I'll accept it without further ado. I never expected to be able to drink tea in the Pure Land."

After sitting down, Madara Uchiha asked with some curiosity, "The Pure Land wasn't like this before, was it? That Shinigami?"

"He quit." Bane picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "That guy stepped down, so I guess I've taken over the position of Grim Reaper. But I'm still a bit different from him."

For example, Death cannot awaken the souls of others in the Pure Land.

Bane can do this, probably because he possesses the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit.

Therefore, the Grim Reaper is very lonely in the Pure Land, while Bane can sit here and chat with Madara Uchiha over tea.

Madara Uchiha rarely confided in anyone. Previously, he only respected Hashirama Senju and was able to communicate with him on an equal footing.

Now, he was a complete failure, and with his soul returning to the Pure Land, he opened up and poured out his life story to Bane.

Although Bane knew a little about Uchiha Madara, upon closer reflection, it was only superficial. He found it quite interesting to hear this once-powerful figure in the ninja world recount his story, and occasionally chimed in with a few words.

After Madara Uchiha's enthusiasm waned, Bann finally brought up the topic: "I admire your talent. Would you be interested in working for me?"

Madara Uchiha was stunned for a moment. He wanted to say that he was already dead, so what was there left for him to do?

But then I thought about it again, and the fact that the Spirit Lord could say that meant he didn't care whether he lived or died.

There must be a way to keep him "alive".

However, in the end, he shook his head and said, "No need. From the moment I chose to return from the mortal world, I had already let go. Now that my soul has returned to the Pure Land, I should just quietly accept this ending."

"Really? That's a real shame," Bane said with a hint of regret.

Madara Uchiha is a talented person, but since he doesn't have this idea, he won't force him to do anything.

"The tea is finished. Being able to pour out my heart one last time can be considered as finally putting an end to my last obsession. Thank you for your hospitality, Spirit Lord." Uchiha Madara stood up and thanked Ban.

Bane nodded slightly, and then said, "You may go now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Madara Uchiha felt a strong sense of drowsiness wash over him, and then gently closed his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, his soul dissipated, transforming into a stream of light that drifted away from here, merging into the eternal slumber of the Pure Land.

Bane drank another cup of tea by himself, then smacked his lips somewhat listlessly and said, "Uchiha Madara's soul has returned to the Pure Land, letting go of everything. The Eye of the Moon's plan has also vanished. The ninja world has lost some of its fun."

Although he had only been in the ninja world for a short time, he had almost completely disrupted all the progress here.

It's quite poignant to think about it now. With Madara Uchiha's eternal slumber, Bann lost much of his interest in the ninja world.

Moreover, he had also quietly thought things through here. He had already acquired most of the valuable items in the ninja world. He guessed that Zoro and the others outside were probably doing their final cleanup.

Once he has resolved this surging and terrifying spiritual power and is able to return to the mortal world, he can leave after taking care of some final matters.

Upon reflection, he realized that he had nothing to be nostalgic about in this world, and even missed his old friends like Kuzan and Sengoku-sensei.

Putting those thoughts aside, Bane sat quietly under the tree and continued to channel the terrifying spiritual power within him.

Meanwhile, in the present world.

The Land of Fire, Konoha Village.

Jiraiya was sitting on the roof of the Hokage Building, looking at the scenery of Konoha Village while writing and drawing in his notebook, as if recording his inspiration.

After returning from Amegakure, Jiraiya took another long vacation, no longer playing the role of a ninja, and began to gather material for his book.

Perhaps it was because he was getting old, or perhaps it was because he knew that Orochimaru was in Ryuchi Cave but he could no longer catch up with Orochimaru, or perhaps it was because Tsunade had become the Hokage in the village, making Jiraiya somewhat reluctant to leave.

In short, there are many reasons why Jiraiya did not leave Konoha after giving himself a break, but instead stayed in the village.

"Hey, Jiraiya? You're there, right?"

Tsunade's voice came from the window below the rooftop, which was the Hokage's office.

Upon hearing the call, Jiraiya responded, "Yes, what is it?"

"As expected, what are you doing sitting on my head every day?" Tsunade said, somewhat annoyed.

Every day when she comes to the office, Jiraiya, like a ghost, absolutely has to sit on the roof of her office.

"I don't want to go to your office, otherwise you'll definitely assign me a whole bunch of messy things. And I don't want to be too far away from you. This place is the closest I can be to you, isn't it?" Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh.

Tsunade blushed slightly upon hearing this.

Ever since Jiraiya returned alive from Amegakure, his personality seems to have changed drastically. Although Tsunade had noticed Jiraiya's feelings for her a long time ago, Jiraiya never really showed them and kept them hidden in his heart.

Tsunade also has a memory she can't let go of, so she never shows anything to Jiraiya.

But things are different now. Jiraiya is becoming more and more blatant in his speech, which makes Tsunade feel a little embarrassed. But at the same time, she also has a faint sense of anticipation.

"You bastard, what nonsense are you spouting again? Do you want to get punched? Tsunade is a serious crime for harassing the Hokage!" Tsunade suppressed her emotions, forced a smile, and yelled.

"Hey, don't you think what you just said was romantic? I'm going to write it in my book," Jiraiya said with a bit of smugness.

"Are you writing those frivolous books again? Can you please be a little more mindful of your status? It's embarrassing to be a fellow Sannin like you," Tsunade said, somewhat annoyed.

"This time it's different." Jiraiya said very seriously as he jotted down his cheesy pickup lines in his notebook, "This time I'm writing a love story about a middle-aged man."

"A middle-aged man's love story?" Tsunade asked in surprise.

"That's right, I've written so many books, but I've never written about my own romance before, so I'm the male lead," Jiraiya said frankly. After a slight pause, he smiled and added, "By the way, you're the female lead."

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Hey!" Tsunade got flustered and was about to get angry, but then she suddenly laughed.

A moment later, Tsunade leaned against the window, looking at the Hokage Rock across the way, and said softly, "You're all so old, don't you feel ashamed?"

"People never know when they will truly understand themselves. Maybe I was like that before, until this time, when you became Hokage and I returned to the village. I suddenly realized that I think I finally understand myself. How should I put that feeling?" Jiraiya put his pen in his mouth, sat cross-legged on the railing, touched his chin, and pondered for a while.

Then, he smiled and said, "You've finally faced your true feelings, haven't you? It was then that I realized we're both this age, and if I keep these thoughts to myself, I'm afraid I'll never be able to express them to you, Tsunade."

A gentle evening breeze blew past the window, causing the silky pale golden hairs by Tsunade's ears to brush against her delicate and beautiful face, bringing a slight smile to her lips.

"You're talking nonsense again," Tsunade chuckled softly.

"I bet you're laughing, aren't you?" Jiraiya looked up at the distant horizon and said, "That means you quite like hearing these things, so I'll say them to you often from now on."

"Idiot," Tsunade muttered to herself.

However, she quickly changed the subject, saying, "The old man is planning to reveal Naruto's identity."

"Now that things have come to this, he's only thinking of doing this now. Doesn't he think it's too late?" Jiraiya said, slightly annoyed.

But after a pause, he sighed and said, "Does this also prove that he has successfully persuaded the village's advisors and higher-ups?"

"Hmm." Tsunade responded, her tone tinged with helplessness. "What can we do now that he's spoken? He can conjure a moon in the sky and wipe out Amegakure with a flick of his wrist. What can we do? Faced with such absolute power, we have no choice but to comply, don't we? While he's still willing to do this in a gentle way, let's just go with the flow."

"Looking at it from another angle, handing over these dangerous tailed beasts to the Spirit Lord might not be a bad thing. The ninja world might be different without them. The tragedy of the Jinchuriki will not continue to happen." Jiraiya clicked his tongue and sighed.

Although this matter was unavoidable, the good thing was that the Spirit Lord did not only covet the tailed beasts of Konoha; he treated them all equally and was interested in all nine tailed beasts.

With the Spirit Lord's abilities, there's nothing in the ninja world he can't obtain if he's interested.

That's why Jiraiya thought it was a good thing to confiscate all the tailed beasts in the ninja world, so that everyone might be more accepting of peace.

Although the First Hokage's ideals were good, the subsequent Shinobi World Wars proved that his methods were not very effective.

The tailed beasts have not become a force for peace; on the contrary, they have become targets of contention, sources of conflict, and weapons of war.

As the saying goes, "He who possesses a sharp weapon will naturally have the will to kill," whether or not there is a tailed beast in the village is definitely a factor that can influence whether or not a war will break out!

After a moment of reflection, Jiraiya said, "Naruto has already completed his Sage Mode training and successfully mastered it, even more perfectly than me. He truly is a genius, hahaha."

"In that case, I'll leave this matter to you. Pick a time to go to Mount Myōboku to pick him up, and then take him to Ryūchi Cave," Tsunade said immediately upon hearing this.

Hesitation only leads to more trouble. If Naruto goes back to the village again and sees Kurama, those stubborn old leaders might change their minds. Rather than that, it would be better to let Jiraiya take the lead.

"As expected, you always manage to give me these kinds of troublesome things," Jiraiya said with a hint of helplessness.

"If you handle this well, I might give you a reward when you come back," Tsunade said, pursing her lips and making empty promises.

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiraiya suddenly appeared upside down in front of the window, excitedly saying, "It's a deal! You're Hokage now, you can't go back on your word!"

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya hanging upside down in front of her, smiled, and gently placed a finger on Jiraiya's forehead, saying softly, "Don't worry."

But the next second, her gaze turned sharp, and with a flick of her finger, she sent Jiraiya flying out of the window.

"Idiot." Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, who had been thrown out, shook her head with a smile, and then closed the window.

(End of this chapter)