Chap.104 It was my people all along

Jiraiya was secretly surprised that despite following the Amegakure ninja for several minutes, no attack or ambush occurred. It seemed that they were actually leading him to their leader. The three arrived at a tall tower in the central area of Amegakure, which faced west and had several offices inside.

-"This is it," the rain ninja indicated, pointing to the double door that led to the most important room in the tower.

Jiraiya nodded and as he approached the door, he raised his alertness again, ready to react the moment he sensed something was amiss. He entered and saw the equivalent of the Hokage's office, but more spacious and tidy with shades of gray and thin pipes on the sides. Two people were looking at him with little interest.

-You took too long, Jiraiya," he heard from one of them, in a familiar voice.

-What's going on here? -Jiraiya could see what was in front of him, but he couldn't make sense of it.

Tony was sitting drinking some kind of tea next to a blue-haired kunoichi who was making origami with one hand and eating a chocolate frog with the other, who he recognized as his former apprentice, Konan.

Why is it that whenever Tony is around someone is eating chocolate frogs in his presence? It couldn't be a coincidence...

-Konan? You've become quite a woman, but I heard you died," Jiraiya commented as he tried to make sense of the scene and took a seat, "And what are you doing here, Tony?

-Stopping you from sending everything to shit with your selfishness- that was what Tony wanted to say, but instead he answered- I came to get information from my spy.

-Konan is your spy? -Jiraiya opened his eyes and his gaze went to Konan, who nodded calmly as he finished eating the chocolate frog.

It wasn't polite to answer with a mouth full of food.

-So you're the angel-sama the Amegakure ninja talk about? No, wait, answer me this first: what about Yahiko and Nagato?

-Dead -Konan used a single word to sum up the situation after he finished eating and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

Jiraiya's expression became complicated and sad when he heard that his students died.

-What happened? -He asked wanting to know more of the story, "And how did you end up becoming Tony's spy?

-It all happened with Hanzo's ambush... -Konan began to explain the circumstances of Yahiko's death, how she and Nagato suffered from her loss, the change in Nagato's behavior, their estrangement due to the difference in ideals despite seeking the same peace, how she met Tony and they got closer, etc.

Konan spoke for half an hour at a leisurely pace.

-So it's true, Nagato was really Pain -Jiraiya's expression turned dark- His plan would cause countless casualties and the idea of everyone understanding each other through pain is completely misguided, I can understand why you would distance yourselves.

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes, he didn't believe a word this man said!

What was someone like him going to understand? It was like saying that you go along with someone in feeling, how true it is, only the one who says it knows.

Of course, later Jiraiya started to raise the doubts that Konan and Tony expected, but he was silenced when Konan said looking him in the eyes:

-You never came back and I had to depend on Tony, what did you expect?

Tony could almost swear he heard the weight of guilt hit Jiraiya with a resounding slap, but he didn't feel bad for him for a single second.

Does that feel bad for you? You didn't seem to have a single remorse for what Naruto had to go through during his entire childhood that you were fully aware of, you old bastard.

-Wait, you explained how Yahiko died but not Nagato -Jiraiya realized there was a gap in the explanation of the events.

-Look at this -Tony intervened for the first time between the reunion of student and sensei, extending the mission scroll he got from Tsunade.

Jiraiya took it and read the scroll. It was legit, but the contents of the mission seemed too vague, almost as if....

Jiraiya looked up and looked at Tony uncertainly. It couldn't be, could it?

-You guessed it," Tony nodded, "I killed Nagato and destroyed the Rinnegan," his voice expressed no guilt or remorse, like someone killing a rabbit to cook it.

Jiraiya clenched the scroll in his hands and gave him a hard look, but he felt strange to see that Konan didn't seem to have the slightest grudge with the murderer of one of his two best childhood friends.

-You didn't come here just to get information, did you? -said Jiraiya trying to calm down and not make a big fool of himself.

-Actually yes, it was just that Nagato somehow discovered my undercover meeting with Konan and I was forced to act," Tony lied without even blinking.

For some reason, he was happy to see Jiraiya's reaction to his words.

Perhaps he detested this man more than he knew himself?

-No, Tsunade told me you were strong, but Nagato had the Rinnegan and you couldn't have beaten him in such a short time. He also had the Pains backing him up, it's too much for you.

Tony raised an eyebrow, it seems that as Konan said, Jiraiya was indeed immature but not a complete idiot. He deduced the situation perfectly, as he was in fact right. It wasn't him who killed Nagato, but Neferpitou. And it was Youpi who took care of the Pains.

-You're underestimating me by a very wide margin, Jiraiya," he replied with obvious dissatisfaction in his tone, "Konan can vouch if you need validation so badly.

Jiraiya looked at Konan and she nodded calmly.

-In fact, he finished the fight with Nagato in less than an hour. Keep in mind that the Rinnegan was seriously draining Nagato, despite having the physique of an Uzumaki, he was practically skin and bones. Once his real body was located, he was quite vulnerable," he explained as he used his paper jutsu to make a miniature version of Nagato's current appearance.

Jiraiya examined the figure closely and ended up looking away. The rib bones were visible, the cheeks were sunken in and he had several rods stuck in his back.

-I could have found another way," he complained childishly.

-Maybe," said Tony with a shrug, "But if someone points a gun at me with intent to kill, I kill him.

Another way was to watch you die, but Tsunade and the others don't deserve to go through that pain just for you. It would have been so easy to let them kill you and then intervene....

Tony couldn't help but sigh, he was too soft hearted at times. Like when he thought of Kurenai's unborn baby and got involved in the fight with Akatsuki's zombie duo.

-And how do I know you don't have the Rinnegan with you? -Jiraiya asked sharply.

-That's the best part, I don't need you to believe me.

Jiraiya's expression changed and the murderous intent began to focus on Tony.

Wait, did he say the last part out loud?

-Show me Nagato's body and let me search you," Jiraiya demanded as he stood up, "The Rinnegan is too dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands.

Tony looked genuinely perplexed at Jiraiya. He had saved him from his death, he had unhesitatingly destroyed the Rinnegan to prevent disasters out of greed and hunger for power, he had even saved Konan in a way so that he could live a happy life.

And Jiraiya... did he dare to doubt him?