Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

Jiraiya stared at Naruto, who, despite losing his Flying Thunder God technique and being isolated and helpless, remained calm and even had the leisure to mock him, and felt a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and awe).

That's right! The second time!

Jiraiya first used the "Toad Ladle Prison" in front of Naruto when he rescued Konan from the brink of death in Amegakure.

It was Jiraiya's experience of using "Toad Ladle Prison" to save Konan, who had been marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, that led him to conclude that Naruto's Flying Thunder God had the same weakness as Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's disciple, had privately told him about the methods to counter the Flying Thunder God Technique.

That is to restrict the sensory abilities of the user of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Once the caster's perception ability is effectively restricted, the caster will be unable to activate the Flying Thunder God Mark outside of their perception range.

While it cannot prevent the caster from continuing to use Flying Thunder God, it can control the range of Flying Thunder God to a certain extent, trapping the caster in a limited space.

This information about the Flying Thunder God Technique was top-secret information known only to Jiraiya, who had taught the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Naruto can now only use the Flying Thunder God Technique within the barrier of the "Toad Prison".

Even though Naruto had already sensed something was wrong after only his second encounter with "Gamabunta," he was already deeply trapped in the battlefield that Jiraiya had prepared for him, and it was too late.

"Naruto! As your teacher, I will teach you one last lesson—a ninja's life is made up of information!"

Jiraiya watched Naruto's every move with his toad-like eyes that had transformed when he entered Sage Mode. Jiraiya knew Naruto's fighting style very well and knew he had to finish him off here. If Naruto escaped, the "Toad Prison" would never be able to imprison him a second time!

"I'll return those words to you verbatim."

In response to Jiraiya's words, Naruto simply met Jiraiya's gaze calmly.

In Jiraiya's view, Naruto should be anxious about the current predicament.

However, Naruto possesses just as much information about the Flying Thunder God Technique as Jiraiya!

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, after the battle between Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake in the Kamui dimension ended, Obito, who had returned to the battlefield from the Kamui dimension, was finally able to be sensed by Minato Namikaze, who had been resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

Minato Namikaze demonstrated both the advantages and disadvantages of the Flying Thunder God Technique to Obito Uchiha. The advantage was that the Flying Thunder God mark would not dissipate even if the user died, making it a haunting nightmare for enemies. The disadvantage was that Obito's perception was limited by other dimensions such as "Kamui," making it impossible to perceive the Flying Thunder God mark. Without the perception of the Flying Thunder God mark, Obito could not use the Flying Thunder God Technique to enter the Kamui dimension of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

It was based on the information that Minato Namikaze told Jiraiya that "even if you are marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, you cannot enter the other dimension through the Flying Thunder God" that led Jiraiya to use "Gama Gourd Prison" to pull Naruto into the barrier located in the other dimension inside the gourd toad's stomach.

Even regarding the information about "Gamabunta," in Jiraiya's understanding, he only first showed this ninjutsu to Naruto when he was in Amegakure.

Naruto shouldn't be able to fully acquire the characteristics of "Gamabunta".

But Naruto knew almost everything about Jiraiya's various ninjutsu techniques.

Rather than Jiraiya concluding that the "Toad Lair" technique could effectively limit Naruto's use of the Flying Thunder God Technique by saving Konan, it's more accurate to say that Jiraiya's actions were not the reason for this conclusion.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Naruto was inducing Jiraiya to use "Toad Prison" to pull both Naruto and Jiraiya into a "desperate situation" where neither of them could get any support.

Such an "eager" invasion of Konoha led Konoha to believe that Konan possessed crucial information related to Naruto. It also prompted Jiraiya to consider why Naruto, who feared Konoha obtaining his information through Konan, would be "forced" to allow Jiraiya to take Konan away when they were in Amegakure.

They went to induce Jiraiya to realize the necessity of the "Toad Ladder" barrier technique against Naruto.

And everything turned out very well in the end, didn't it?

If there is a ninja in the current ninja world who considers himself an "intelligence lifeline," then that person can only be Naruto.

Jiraiya, of course, was unaware of this; even if Jiraiya racked his brains, he could never have guessed Naruto's source of information.

He was simply following his own plan, issuing Naruto a final ultimatum before officially taking action:

"It's not too late to turn back now, Naruto. I can promise you that I can persuade Konoha to spare your life. Afterwards, I will slowly enlighten you. Once you truly understand the mistakes you made, I will atone with you—Naruto, I don't want to kill you. Surrender! Fighting against Konoha and the Land of Fire with your own strength will only lead to defeat!"

Perhaps it's because of Sakura and Kakashi, or perhaps because Naruto is Minato Namikaze's only bloodline, or perhaps because after killing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Nine-Tails, which may one day be resurrected somewhere in the ninja world, will cause the other four great nations to abandon the contracts they made with the First Hokage and prepare to take the Nine-Tails, which is no longer controlled by the Jinchuriki, into their possession, leading to a turbulent political situation among the five great nations in the future.

Jiraiya still held a sliver of hope for Naruto, hoping that the pain would come to an end.

But these words, spoken by Kakashi to Naruto, were better than those spoken by Jiraiya.

"You really are that kind of person, Jiraiya-sensei. You did nothing when you should have done something, but when everything was beyond saving, you appeared in front of everyone, shouting 'righteousness and the future,' without hiding your killing intent—no wonder you chased Orochimaru your whole life, and until you were killed by Sasuke, you couldn't make him understand you, couldn't gain Orochimaru's approval, and couldn't bring him back to Konoha no matter how hard you tried."

The disciple's death.

The brutal killing between the master and his best friend.

Jiraiya was nowhere to be seen, and he was unable to make a decision when he had the choice.

When news of their deaths arrived, Jiraiya became even more convinced of the truth of the "toad's prophecy" and entrusted his entire fate to them.

They never considered whether the prophecy was wrong, but instead regarded Nagato and Minato Namikaze as "not the true children of prophecy" and accepted their deaths as a matter of course.

His actions were seen by everyone as utterly irresponsible.

They ignore the problems at hand because of empty prophecies, and arrogantly believe that all problems will be solved when the prophecy comes.

His idealistic personality led him to also choose other idealists as children of prophecy.

Nagato is like that.

The same applies to Minato Namikaze.

Akatsuki, who wanted to end violence peacefully and naively believed that as long as they were inclined towards peace, they could overthrow Hanzo's regime in Amegakure without bloodshed, treating politics as a game.

The price was that Nagato lost his best friend, lost the true "Akatsuki", and became a seemingly ridiculous and stubborn "god", but in reality, he had become a tool for the resurrection of Uchiha Madara.

And he was well aware that after his wife became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she was treated unfairly by Konoha and was even imprisoned in a barrier for many years, monitored and restricted by the Anbu.

Minato Namikaze still blindly believed that sealing the Nine-Tails inside Naruto would make Naruto a hero.

The son of a hero is not necessarily considered a hero.

Minato Namikaze should have known this better than anyone else—the impact of Sakumo Hatake's death on Kakashi Hatake. As Kakashi's teacher, it was Minato Namikaze's responsibility for a long time to think about how to help Kakashi get out of his mental turmoil!

Despite the various facts around him providing references and comparisons, Minato Namikaze still unhesitatingly abandoned rationality and pursued only ideals and emotions.

He was able to survive the Nine-Tails' attack sixteen years ago and become the Hokage to teach and protect Naruto.

However, he chose to die with Kushina Uzumaki in a double suicide pact.

However, even if he didn't live for Naruto, Minato Namikaze had already noticed Obito Uchiha's abnormality during the Nine-Tails' rampage, when Obito was acting under the name "Madara" and wearing a mask.

However, they still ignored the crisis involved.

Kushina, a member of the Uzumaki clan with a strong vitality, had to die after her Tailed Beast was removed from her.

When Minato Namikaze, who was capable of surviving and handling all the problems, still chose to die for love, he not only failed as a father, but also as a Hokage.

Even Naruto, who was entrusted with the future by Jiraiya at the cost of his life in the original work, and who was recognized by Jiraiya for the third time as the "Child of Prophecy," was also an idealist. Knowing the truth about Itachi's massacre of the Uchiha clan, and despite knowing Sasuke's pain and ignoring the erroneous decisions made by the Konoha leadership, he still insisted on Sasuke's return to Konoha—

"I am not like you; I am not an idealist who rejects facts."

That was Naruto's answer.

The most ridiculous thing in the world is that idealists entrust the future to other idealists.

Without practice and disregarding facts.

Even after experiencing peace, chaos will eventually return.

There is a reference to this in the past of the ninja world, and that reference is named—Hashirama Senju.

"Kid, you have no idea how much effort Jiraiya has put into the ninja world!"

Faced with Naruto's merciless sarcasm towards Jiraiya, Fukasaku, the toad perched on Jiraiya's right shoulder, couldn't help but speak up.

"Efforts without value will not be recognized by anyone other than oneself. Only a toad, who is not human, can express his recognition without any pressure when he is detached from the matter. Jiraiya-sensei, think carefully about the people around you. Apart from toads, not only Orochimaru, but even Tsunade has not fully recognized you, has she? You should be aware of this as well."

However, Fukasaku's explanation that he helped Jiraiya only made Naruto's sarcasm more aggressive.

Kato Dan has been dead for decades, and Jiraiya, who should have stepped forward at crucial moments but always disappeared because of the so-called prophecy, has never been able to replace Kato Dan in Tsunade's heart. In Tsunade's eyes, Jiraiya has shown no growth and no responsibility, so naturally she cannot fall in love with him.

Even in the original work, before Tsunade finally tried to transform her decades-long friendship and familial affection for Jiraiya into love before he infiltrated Amegakure, it was only a vague budding idea, and she didn't even have time to form a clear thought.

If Tsunade's decision was truly without any hesitation, she wouldn't have given herself time to think and planned to wait until Jiraiya returned from Amegakure before speaking.

Ultimately, this led to their separation by death.

Until the Fourth Shinobi World War, when Kato Dan, resurrected through Edo Tensei, lightly kissed Tsunade before his soul departed, the lingering ambiguity between Jiraiya and Tsunade was completely severed.

Even after his death, Kato Dan chose to entrust his chakra to Tsunade;

Jiraiya's choice to die while trying to deliver the unclear information about Pain's Six Paths, ultimately failing to save Konoha from destruction.

This also confirms Jiraiya's failed life.

Even the so-called "Three Ninja" title was a "humiliation" bestowed upon Jiraiya and others by Hanzo of the Salamander out of pity for the losers.

For an idealist, failure is the norm.

"Is this what you think, Naruto?"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto. After three years apart, Jiraiya was finally able to understand Naruto's true thoughts.

"If I could finish writing sooner and return to Konoha sooner..."

"Your arrival won't change anything."

Jiraiya's idea was interrupted by Naruto without hesitation.

It's pointless to imagine that everything that has already happened can't be changed. It only allows losers to absolve themselves of the reasons for their past setbacks and irresponsibly shift the blame to others.

In Jiraiya's vision, he remained a master representing morality, while Naruto became a stubborn disciple who could no longer tolerate him.

A ninja is someone who knows how to endure.

This idea aligns well with Jiraiya's definition of a ninja's life.

But enduring to the point of losing control of his own life is not the outcome Naruto wants.

Ultimately, even in his own ideas, Jiraiya still blamed all the mistakes on Naruto.

He truly lives up to his reputation as the guy in the original work who could secretly love Tsunade for years while ignoring her inner pain and saying that he would "kill her" if she ever betrayed Konoha.

"Before I defected from Konoha, I had a dream in which I successfully eliminated Konoha's prejudice against me and became Hokage."

Naruto's sudden change of topic led Jiraiya to believe that Naruto was showing weakness.

He hurriedly pressed, "If that's the case, Naruto, why did you still defect from Konoha?!"

However, this was ultimately just a misunderstanding on Jiraiya's part.

"Do you think your intelligence-gathering abilities are without reason?"

Naruto asked Jiraiya a question in return, and Jiraiya's expression already gave Naruto the answer.

"Don't you know perfectly well? Asking questions you already know the answer to only makes me think you're hypocritical."

Ultimately, the reason that led Naruto to defect was that Iruka, who was originally Naruto's childhood savior, died for some unknown reason on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage.