--------------------------------P.O.V Jiraiya---------------------------------------
Sarutobi Hiruzen, my teacher, contacted me a few weeks ago.
Not for a regular mission.Not for a threat from another village.
But about my goddaughter, Narume Uzumaki.Officially dead for years.
He had summoned me back then, right after her supposed death.
But I arrived too late. She had already been buried.
I learned the details much later. The context. The mistakes. The silence.
We knew the twins' situation wasn't ideal, but Hiruzen assured me everything was under control. So I trusted him. And that trust brought us here.
I lost a goddaughter before I even had the courage to play my role.
After that, I tried taking care of Naruto for a while. But even if his memories had been sealed, I never found the strength to tell him I was his godfather.I believed I no longer had the right to.
And then, a few weeks ago, I received a message from my teacher.Narume had returned.
Alive… or something close to it.
An impossible story. A dead girl brought back to life. Commanding an army of dead beasts. No chakra. No signs of life. If it hadn't come from Hiruzen himself, I would've laughed it off.
But in his words, I felt exhaustion.A weariness I hadn't sensed since Minato's death.
So I accepted.
He warned me: she was unstable. Dangerous. Violent.
But in my head, I minimized it.She's just a child, I told myself. My goddaughter. I'll be able to talk to her.
What a mistake.
Our first encounter could've been my last.
I saw her at a public bath. I was perched in a tree.Yeah… spying. I mean, gathering research material for my next literary masterpiece.
I sensed her approaching, but I didn't react. After all, she'd have to climb to reach me. And I was confident I could dodge anything.
But it wasn't a kunai.It was a blade of dark energy.
I didn't even have time to react before it sliced past my face.I toppled backward—straight into the bath.Then got pummeled by angry women. Naturally.
When I climbed out, I noticed the tree where I'd been. It was rotting.A streak of necrosis. Decay.Exactly like Hiruzen had described.
That's when I understood.
And I went after her.
When I caught up, I reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. Just a simple gesture.
But the moment I lifted my arm, I was blasted backward.
I barely had time to cross my arms in defense. It didn't help.
The feeling reminded me of sage chakra—Or that oppressive force Nagato used to channel through his body.
But it wasn't chakra.
It was something else entirely.
A soul-deep impact.Like a psychic resonance. The kind you feel with Yamanaka techniques.
I stood back up, more cautiously this time, and called out to her.
The first time, she ignored me.The second time, I called her name.
That's when she stopped.
She turned around, and I froze.
She didn't look like Naruto.
She looked like Minato.Except for her hair—a pale blond, almost white.
Her eyes were blank. Expressionless.But I could tell she was judging me.
When I offered to go into town, she finally responded.
Her first words were that she knew who I was.
I didn't know if she recognized me as Jiraiya of the Sannin… or as her godfather.
She stepped closer.
"Don't resist."
I felt something surround me.
And then, in the blink of an eye, the plains vanished.
We were somewhere else.
A quiet alley on the edge of a small village.No witnesses. No sound. Just her… and me.
She had teleported us.
No hand seals. No tags. No contact.
A completely different system of power.And without any of the known limits of ninjutsu.
She stared at me. Still calm. Still unreadable.
I raised both hands.
"I mean you no harm. I swear."
She didn't reply.
I'm terrible with silence, so I tried humor. Maybe it would chip the ice.
"Minato would've been impressed by that little trick, you know?"
Her eyes narrowed.Just slightly. A small reaction.
But it was there.
She knew.
I think she knew everything.
I changed the subject.
"You want something to eat?"
She hesitated. Then nodded.
That led us to a high point above the village, sitting together with a small box of sandwiches between us.
She took a bite. Chewed. Then stopped.
Calmly, she set it down and murmured:
"Just as I thought. I've lost my sense of taste too."
Her words sank in.
She probably hadn't eaten anything since her… resurrection.
And still, she stood there like it meant nothing.
This girl… she unsettles me.
But this was my chance to learn more about her.
And maybe, finally… do what I should have done from the beginning.