Chapter 94: Can You Guarantee She Will Never Return to Her Own Time?
At the edge of the training ground, an Anbu materialized from the shadows.
"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya broke into the Anbu base demanding to see Jia. He refused to leave despite our persuasion and even fought with the shinobi on duty. He has been subdued."
'So that's why his emotional feedback spiked just now,'Stelle mused.'He found out Jia was missing and came looking for her.'
"Bring him here."
Not long after the Anbu vanished, Jiraiya came running, his haste evident in the beads of sweat dotting his forehead. The moment he saw Jia on the field, his expression tightened with an exceptional tension.
He had arrived just in time to witness the aftermath of her one-handed seal training. Jia was now practicing with a sword, held awkwardly in her left hand. It was clearly her first time attempting such a thing. Her posture was clumsy, her swings riddled with openings. She moved like a toddler just learning to use chopsticks, completely lacking any semblance of accuracy.
Her swordsmanship was a chaotic mess. The loss of her right arm had utterly destroyed her body's natural balance. When she swung the blade, her entire frame swayed as if she were drunk. Forget forcing Uchiha Kagami to defend himself; she could barely remain steady on her own two feet.
Driven by a desperate eagerness, she lunged too hard, her momentum betraying her. She pitched forward, the sword in her hand nearly slicing her own leg as she crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. With a flick of his wrist, Uchiha Kagami used a kunai to parry the blade, knocking it safely aside and preventing her from being injured by her own weapon.
Only then did Jiraiya understand why she wasn't practicing against a simple wooden post. It was to keep her from hurting herself.
Jia pushed herself up from the dirt, a flicker of disbelief in her eyes. She seemed unable to process how utterly useless she had become. Those eyes, usually a mask of emotionless calm, flooded with an intense, raw despair. Just as quickly, the despair receded, replaced by a stillness that was deeper and more chilling than death itself.
"I have already lost my qualification as a weapon..." she whispered, her voice hollow. "But... Big Brother wants me to live..."
"Get up," Uchiha Kagami commanded, his tone as cold as steel. "Continue."
The sight shattered something in Jiraiya. He couldn't bear to watch another second. He stormed onto the training ground, his voice ringing with accusation as he confronted the Uchiha clan head.
"Kagami-sama! Why are you forcing Jia to train? Her injuries just healed! She hasn't even adapted to her condition yet. She should be resting!"
Kagami's voice was glacial. "Others have the right to rest. She does not."
"Why?" Jiraiya shot back. "Just because she's not from our world? She's still an Uchiha! She's a Konoha ninja! She should be protected! Why does even the Uchiha Clan Head hold such a prejudice against her?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Jiraiya froze, the accusation turning inward. What right did he have to talk about prejudice? Wasn't he the one who had harbored the most? If it weren't for him, how could Jia have lost her arm in the first place? She had been such a powerful Jonin... a force of nature.
He was the most detestable one of all.
Jiraiya's righteous anger collapsed, leaving him stammering. "But... Sarutobi-sensei clearly said she could live in Konoha as an ordinary person. And... I can take care of her. She doesn't have to be a ninja. Even if she must train, at least give her some time to recover!"
Uchiha Kagami saw the desperate hope in the younger man's eyes and felt compelled to shatter it. "It is precisely because she is not from our world that she can never be an ordinary person," he said, his voice low and deliberate. "You've guessed it yourself, haven't you? The situation in the Konoha she came from... it isn't good."
He took a step closer. "She could follow your arrangements. She could stay peacefully in this village as a civilian. But what happens if one day, she returns to that world?"
Kagami's voice dropped further, each word a perfectly aimed dart. "What happens to a tool that has lost its utility, Jiraiya? Is it destroyed? Or is it simply 'recycled' as waste?"
The simple, brutal questions bypassed all of Jiraiya's defenses, piercing straight into his heart. The root of the problem was laid bare before him, a bloody, unavoidable reality he was now forced to confront. Terrible images flashed through his mind—of Jia, broken and alone, being discarded by a world that no longer had a use for her. He staggered back, his breath catching in his throat.
Uchiha Kagami advanced, closing the distance between them. He leaned in, his gaze boring into Jiraiya's. "Can you," he asked, his voice a near-whisper, "ensure that she will never go back? For the rest of her life?"
The words exploded in Jiraiya's ears like a clap of thunder.
No. He couldn't.
She had appeared in his world without warning; no one could guarantee she wouldn't vanish just as suddenly. A horrifying realization dawned on Jiraiya: he couldn't protect her. He couldn't ensure she grew up happy. The distance between them wasn't just a matter of miles; it spanned the vast river of spacetime, crossing an entire timeline.
No one could help her. No one could save her.
Except herself.
She only had herself.
With a grim, almost masochistic resolve, Jiraiya forced his eyes open, forcing himself to watch the lone figure on the field. He watched her fall and get up, again and again. He watched her swing the sword, the unsteady blade sometimes nicking her own arm, drawing thin lines of red.
He couldn't help but ask himself: could he really only stand by and do nothing?
No. There was still something he could do.
Jiraiya turned, strode over to Stelle, and bowed deeply. "Hokage-sama, please allow me to practice with Jia. I beg of you."
"Are you sure?" Stelle regarded him with a renewed interest. A true warrior was one who dared to face a bleak life head-on. It seemed Jiraiya was, at his core, a true warrior.
"I can agree," she said, "but on one condition. Tsunade must be present whenever you train. Her Medical Ninjutsu and quick reactions will be necessary."
As for Orochimaru, it was best he remained at the research institute. Exceptionally clever people could be toxic; a safe distance was always wise.
And so, Jia's sparring partners for her left-hand sword adaptation became Jiraiya and Tsunade.
On the very first day, Jiraiya was cut by Jia's wild, uncontrolled blade.
On the second day, terrified of hurting him again, Jia turned the sword toward herself. Jiraiya lunged to stop her, and both ended up injured. If it hadn't been for Tsunade's lightning-fast intervention, the wounds would have been far from minor.
After several grueling days, her swordsmanship finally gained a measure of accuracy. The debilitating instability caused by her missing arm began to fade.
Everything seemed to be improving. But then, Jiraiya came knocking on her door again.
"Hokage-sama, is it possible for Jia's Three-Tomoe Sharingan to be upgraded to a Mangekyo?"
Stelle paused, setting down the dango she was eating. "Regarding matters of the Uchiha clan, shouldn't you be asking Kagami? Why come to me?"
"Because it's an Uchiha clan secret," Jiraiya said, scratching the back of his head. "It would be rude for an outsider like me to ask him directly. Sarutobi-sensei just got married, and I don't want to bother him with small things. You, Hokage-sama... you must know."
The once loud and boisterous young man had become remarkably thoughtful and steady. It seemed the recent ordeals had truly forced him to grow.
Stelle considered it for a moment before deciding to tell him. "It's not exactly an unspeakable secret. Once an Uchiha's Sharingan evolves to the Three Tomoe, it is indeed possible to take the next step and awaken the Mangekyo. However, not everyone is qualified to do so."
She leaned forward slightly. ", the conditions for awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan are incredibly harsh. It can only be unlocked by witnessing the death of a close relative or someone you hold precious, and by experiencing the deep pain of that loss."
Stelle's gaze became distant. "Currently, in our Uchiha Clan, only Kagami has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. He awakened it from the immense shock of witnessing Tobirama-sensei die while covering their retreat."
Jiraiya hadn't expected the awakening conditions to be so cruel. He stood there, dazed.
"I thought... I thought there might be a way to help Jia awaken it," he finally managed, his voice strained. "If she awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, she would have the power to protect herself. And..."
He clenched his fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white from the force.
"The Mangekyo Sharingan is so precious. If she awakens it, then even if she returns to her original world, the Uchiha clan there will have to protect her. She won't be alone anymore."
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