13 Jiraiya and the Ame Orphans

Around ten minutes before Dango left his realm...

"Sensei!" Three youngsters called out as they burst through a door, revealing a man with white, spiky hair.

Looking up from his desk, their sensei replied, "Hm? What is it?"

Their sensei replied, "Hm? What is it?"

"Nagato wanted you to tell us another story of yours! But with action!" Answered a kid with orange hair while pointing to a red-haired boy on his right.

"I did not! Yahiko, you wanted a story!" Nagato interjected.

"Sensei, I can confirm. Yahiko was the one that wanted the story." A girl with blue hair said, backing up Nagato's statement.

"Konan! Nagato!"

The three youngsters were the future founders of the Akatsuki; Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. They were quite the colorful bunch. Their sensei was none other than Jiraiya of the Sanin.

"Okay, okay. No need to fight. I'll tell you a story that I experienced right before the Second Shinobi War was officially beginning. Let's move to the dining table."

Once they all sat down at the dining table, Jiraiya started telling his story.

He spoke of how he and his teammates, Tsunade and Orochimaru, had found a carriage that was destroyed in an explosion with a young child being the sole survivor. Surprisingly, the explosion was a blessing in disguise as the toddler was unknowingly being kidnapped. He spoke of how he befriended the toddler who didn't understand the concept of death.

After he gained the toddler's trust, Jiraiya returned him to the child's home, splitting off from his teammates.

When they entered the home, Jiraiya found the house empty, devoid of any life. If it weren't for the child confirming that it was indeed his house, Jiraiya would have thought he had entered an abandoned house.

According to the child, his mother had gone on a stroll earlier in the day. When he tried to look for her, he was unknowingly kidnapped by some adult who promised to find her. As for their father, Jiraiya figured out that he had died on a mission a few months prior. As clever as he was, Jiraiya assumed that the mother had likely abandoned the child or died during the stroll.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya had to soon leave for his mission as it was the original reason why he and his comrades arrived at Amegakure. Pitying the child, Jiraiya made a promise to them.

He promised that he would come back and bring the child to Konoha after he completed the mission. Perhaps it was because he knew he was an orphan, but the child responded to Jiraiya's promise with joy and excitement.

Jiraiya then departed from the child and returned to his teammates. Soon after, the camp they were staying at was attacked. Jiraiya passionately praised how he and his comrades contributed the most in defending the camp and fending off the attackers.

When he finished the story, Yahiko cheered and pleaded for him to tell another story. Nagato looked at him with hopeful eyes that shared Yahiko's desire. However, Konan just sat there, deep in thought.

"Is there something wrong, Konan? Did you not like the story?" Jiraiya asked as he noticed his purple-haired student.

Looking up at Jiraiya, Konan shook her head, "No! It was a good story. It's just... Didn't you already complete your mission? Did you already bring him to Konoha? What happened to him?"

Hearing her questions, everything finally came back to him. Jiraiya abruptly stood up, knocking his chair over. He had a horrified expression plastered on his face. He had just talked about Dango but had forgotten about his lonely situation!

"I forgot about him!" Jiraiya blurted out his realization.

"What?!" The colorful trio shouted in unison.

"I gotta go check! It's been two years!"

"We will come with you, sensei!" Yahiko suggested.

"Yeah!" The other two agreed.

"Okay, then. Let's go! Follow me!" Jiraiya agreed as he quickly made his way to Dango's house as the orphans followed behind him.

Quickly, they flickered their way to Dango's house. Thankfully, Jiraiya still remembered where it was located.

The Toad Sage knocked on the front door several times, but there was no response. Signaling to his students to be careful, Jiraiya picked the door's lock and successfully opened it.

When Jiraiya stepped inside, he suddenly found it difficult to breathe as his body felt slightly constricted. He quickly inspected his body but found nothing constricting him. More worried about Dango, Jiraiya didn't care about it and continued making his way inside.

"Dango? Are you there?" He called out.

The orphans silently followed behind him. Yahiko and Konan didn't notice any changes to Jiraiya, but it was different for Nagato. He could barely sense something wrapping itself around his sensei, but couldn't see what it was.

Nagato was about to reach his hand towards the mysterious phenomenon, but someone stopped him. He turned his head and saw Yahiko's questioning gaze. Knowing the reason behind Yahiko's actions, Nagato felt a bit shameful. Konan looked at the two with a worried expression.

What Nagato saw was Dango's cursed spirit; Hex. If it weren't for the Rinnegan, Nagato would have been clueless like his teacher and friends. Even then, the Rinnegan could barely see it thanks to its ocular prowess.

As Jiraiya kept calling out for Dango, the more worried he became. He hoped Dango managed to stay alive after all this time. Yet the silence slowly increased his doubt.

Eventually, Jiraiya made his way to Dango's room and entered inside. He quickly scanned the room but found no one. Just as he was about to leave and check the other rooms, a boy stepped out of the darkness and appeared in front of him.

"Mister Jiraiya? Is that you?"

Jiraiya instantly recognized the boy in front of him as Dango. He was surprised to see his wish come true.

"You came back, Mister Jiraiya! I knew you'd come back!" Dango said as he shined a bright smile, further increasing the guilt in Jiraiya's heart.