Toad Sage's End.
(Neji POV, Konoha)
It started by mistake mostly.
I knew that despite my talent with the Byakugan, my ninjutsu was simply not up to par in comparison.
Despite my prowess in close quarters combat, I was not at the level of Guy sensei, to be able to rely on it without worrying.
I tried filling the missing parts by learning to wield multiple weapons, but it was simply impossible to close the gap between more powerful opponents with just another weapon. This is when I remembered what the Hokage did to Iwa.
If I couldn't bring myself to my opponent's level, I would drag them down to somewhere below mine. The only thing now was the moment.
Mulling over my options, I accidentally reported late for duty that day, catching lady Hinata already inside the office, talking with the Hokage. It was the moment I remembered that lady Hinata had started to train in medical ninjutsu.
It was the day my interest was ignited, to learn how to turn the most useful shinobi tool against its user. How to turn a shinobi's body against its owner.
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(Jiraya POV, Konoha)
'That goddamn kid. To think he would do something so vicious. A double-layered poison to leave me in this situation.' – Jiraya thought as he found himself with his shoulders against the wall.
As his face contorted, another grunt came from him as the figures surrounding him came closer.
Brutal punishment befell Jiraya the toad sannin, inside an open bathhouse, the poison preventing him from not only doing his 'research' but also removing any control he had over his bowel movement.
(A/N: Yep, Jiraya the Toad Sannin got caught peeping by shitting his… towel I guess unless he was completely naked. This segment was just for a little fun, do not take it seriously.)
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(3rd Person POV)
Jiraya contemplated on how to approach Amegakure. He knew it would be bad to go into hostile territory on his own, especially given the fact that this was a mission given by the Hokage.
While Jiraya was sure he was being used, he was not sure whether it was for Kei or the village. Even though they had clashed more than once, Jiraya knew that Kei had greatly increased the power of Konoha as a whole, the problem standing in the way he did it.
'Well, it is a great chance to investigate the leader of Akatsuki, not to mention Kei's connection to this Red Demon. As long as I can prove they are working together, or they're the same person, it will shake his political power in Konoha. It will give Tsunade a chance to regain her footing. Whether I want or not, I have to go.' – Jiraya thought as he looked at the darkening sky outside.
Sighing, Jiraya made his preparations and made his way toward Ame, throwing one last look towards Konoha as he resolved himself to return once again, making a silent promise to a certain someone within those walls.
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It had all happened within the span of a few minutes. Meeting his students, demanding answer's from them, getting attacked by them, and paying the price for his confidence in his own blood. It was how this wretched mission had gone for Jiraya, driving him into a corner after corner with no hope of winning.
During his battle his chakra had been acting erratically, his body had continuously encountered internal problems. While not fatal, it was essentially killing him in this fight. Muscles locking up after engaging in taijutsu, chakra diverting from the pathway, and harming his internal organs.
It was the second time Jiraya had experienced those symptoms, the first being minutes after he left the Hokage's office.
For as long as the fight dragged on, Jiraya fell deeper and deeper into a disadvantage, trying to discover what his opponent, his former student had done to him.
'So much power within those eyes.' – where the thoughts inside Jiraya's head at the moment.
It was to be expected from someone wielding the eyes of the so-called Sage of Six Paths, the god of all shinobi. It was the moment that Jiraya remembered the words of the prophecy once dictated to him by the Great Toad Sage. One day he would have to make an important choice… and the time had arrived.
… But it didn't take long for him to question his decision.
A hand crushed his throat, making it impossible for Jiraya to utter even a single word from that moment on.
As Jiray enforced his resolve, he channeled what little chakra he had remaining in his body to his hand, trying his utmost to write a message in Fukasaku's back… only for his hand to go limp, the hand being the same right hand that was injured in the Hokage's office.
Unknown to him, the choice the Great Toad Sage had spoken about had already been made when he lost his left arm instead of hir right one, causing the arm where the poison originated from to be the first to stop working.
'It wasn't an antidote, merely a suppressant that made it look fine on the outside. It seems this is as far as I go.'
Jiraya thought, feeling the force of the attack descending upon his back, granting him considerable pain for as far as he could feel, breaking the pavement below him and sending Jiraya deeper and deeper into the lake, his eyes closing slowly, regret following right behind him as he was unable to even warn the people of Konoha of what monster was hiding into their midst…
As he was almost dead, Jiraya felt a strange force slowly pull him, slowly guiding his dying body towards the shore.
'Too late…' – Were the thoughts in Jiraya's mind as he lost consciousness, his airways being completely filled with water, now completely filling his lungs and suffocating the aged shinobi.
As the deceased Jiraya was brought to the shore, his figure still submerged a few cm below the water, a figure reached its hand out as it spoke.
"Sorry, but on the off chance of your body being somehow recovered… please disappear." – The figure said as a white cube appeared around the deceased body of Jiraya, making it disappear with a flash of white light.
(A/N: The original title i put to this chapter was 'Icha Icha Discontinued'.)