Jiraiya lay in his hospital bed, staring at the ceiling with the frustrated energy of a caged animal. His entire body was immobilized—ribs wrapped, arms splinted, legs elevated. Even breathing required careful attention to avoid aggravating his injuries.
More than ten days, he thought bitterly. Naruto said I need more than ten days of bed rest. And knowing that kid, he'll check. Probably has some kind of sensing technique that lets him know if I try to sneak out early.
The door opened, and a medical staff member stepped inside—a young chunin who'd been assigned to monitor the legendary Sannin's recovery. His face carried that particular expression of someone about to deliver news they suspected wouldn't be well-received.
"Jiraiya-sama," the chunin said carefully. "Lord Hokage is here to see you."
Jiraiya's good eye—the one that wasn't swollen shut—narrowed with immediate suspicion. Hokage? That old bastard Hiruzen has the nerve to show his face here?
"Tell him I'm not seeing visitors," Jiraiya said flatly. "Tell him to go back wherever he came from."
The chunin blinked, clearly shocked. "But... but Jiraiya-sama, it's the Hokage. You can't just—"
"I can, and I am." Jiraiya's voice carried steel despite his immobilized state. "No visitors. Especially not him."
The medical ninja shifted uncomfortably, his chakra signature spiking with anxiety. Jiraiya recognized that fear—the distinctive terror of someone caught between two powerful people with no good options.
Poor kid, Jiraiya thought with grim amusement. Stuck between a Sannin and... wait.
Wait.
The fear signature was wrong. This wasn't the nervous respect-fear that Hiruzen typically inspired. This was something sharper. More immediate. The kind of fear that came from direct, recent trauma.
What the hell happened while I was unconscious?
"Hokage-sama," the chunin said to someone outside the room, his voice trembling slightly. "Jiraiya-sama says he doesn't want to see you. He requested that you... that you leave."
A pause.
Then Naruto's voice, carrying clearly through the door: "Okay. I'll go in myself."
The chunin's chakra signature spiked with pure panic. "Y-yes, Hokage-sama! Of course!"
Jiraiya's brain stuttered to a halt.
Hokage-sama. The chunin just called Naruto 'Hokage-sama.'
That's not possible. Hiruzen would never abdicate. The old man loves power too much. Even when Minato was chosen as Fourth, Hiruzen only stepped aside because he had to. The moment Minato died, he reclaimed the position immediately.
So why is this medical ninja calling Naruto—
The door opened, and Naruto walked in wearing the official Fifth Hokage's robe. The white and red fabric flowed around him like water, the kanji for "fire" prominently displayed on his hat. He looked every inch the village leader despite his youth.
Jiraiya's mind went blank.
"Didn't I say I was gone?" Jiraiya called out, his eyes still closed, assuming it was Hiruzen. "Old man, why are you still coming in here?"
"It seems," Naruto's voice said, carrying a dangerous edge of amusement, "that the kick was still too light. You're in good spirits now."
Jiraiya's eyes snapped open.
Naruto stood beside the bed, arms crossed, the Hokage's robe settled around his shoulders with the weight of office. The afternoon sunlight streaming through the window illuminated him from behind, creating a halo effect that should have been comical but somehow wasn't.
"You... you... you..." Jiraiya's mouth opened and closed like a suffocating fish. Words failed him completely.
"Why, is there a problem?" Naruto asked, his tone pleasant but his eyes watching Jiraiya with sharp attention.
Two days, Jiraiya thought frantically. I've been in the hospital for TWO DAYS. How did everything change in two days? What happened? Where's Hiruzen? Why is Naruto wearing the Hokage's robe? Did I hit my head harder than I thought? Is this a genjutsu?
He tried to form chakra to disrupt potential illusions, but his depleted reserves barely flickered. The pain that shot through his ribs from the attempt confirmed this was definitely real.
"You're curious, aren't you, Jiraiya?" Naruto's smile widened slightly, though something cold lurked beneath the friendly expression. "I can see it on your face."
"Curious?" Jiraiya managed to rasp out. "That's... that's putting it mildly, kid. What the hell happened?"
Naruto moved closer to the bed, his presence somehow larger than his physical form. "Since you're curious, I'll explain. It's quite simple, really."
He paused, and Jiraiya realized with a chill that Naruto was choosing his words carefully. This wasn't casual conversation. This was a performance, a test, maybe both.
"I killed Sarutobi Hiruzen," Naruto said, his voice flat and matter-of-fact. "So I became Hokage. Standing before you now is Uzumaki Naruto, Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure."
The words hung in the air like thrown kunai, sharp and unavoidable.
Jiraiya's pupils contracted to pinpoints. His heart rate spiked—the medical equipment beside the bed started beeping faster, tracking his sudden physiological response.
"You... killed... Hiruzen?" Each word came out separately, like Jiraiya's brain needed to process them individually. "That's... that's treason. That's regicide. That's—"
"Justice," Naruto interrupted coldly. "That's what it was."
"But he took care of you!" Jiraiya's voice rose despite the pain it caused his ribs. "Hiruzen watched over you your whole life! He promised me he would! He said you were safe, that you were being looked after, that when I returned, I could take you as my apprentice and—"
"Stop." Naruto's single word cut through Jiraiya's protest like a blade. "Just stop."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"You trusted him," Naruto said, his voice tight with controlled anger. "You trusted Hiruzen to take care of me. And then you left. For over ten years, you stayed away, traveling the world, gathering intelligence, writing your books, chasing prophecies. All while I was here. Alone."
Jiraiya opened his mouth to respond, but Naruto wasn't finished.
"You believed him. You believed his reports, his promises, his assurances. Even now—even NOW, after I've told you I killed him—your first instinct is to defend him. To question me. To assume he was telling the truth."
The accusation in those words hit harder than any physical blow could have.
"Naruto, I—"
"You believe in Sarutobi Hiruzen so much?" Naruto's eyes were cold. "Then you should continue believing in him. I'm sure his ghost appreciates your loyalty."
He turned and walked toward the door with long, measured strides.
"Wait!" Jiraiya called out, straining against his immobilized body. "Naruto, wait! Let me explain—"
But the door had already closed.
Jiraiya lay there, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. The medical equipment beeped steadily, tracking a heart rate that refused to settle.
I screwed up, he realized slowly. I screwed up badly.
Minato... Kushina... I'm sorry. I failed your son. And I didn't even realize it until just now.
Back at the farm, Naruto stood in the training clearing and tried to calm the anger burning in his chest.
He defended Hiruzen. Immediately. Without question. Without asking what happened. Just... blind loyalty.
Naruto's fists clenched, and the ground beneath his feet cracked from the unconscious pressure.
Nine-Tails, supervising the evening feeding from the cabin porch, looked up sharply. "Problem?"
"Jiraiya," Naruto said shortly.
"Ah." Nine-Tails nodded understanding. "The godfather who wasn't around. Say something stupid?"
"Defended Hiruzen. Said he took care of me. Said Hiruzen promised I'd be safe."
Nine-Tails' tails lashed behind him, a sign of agitation. "Idiot. The old pervert's an idiot. Want me to visit him? I can be very persuasive about correcting misconceptions."
Despite himself, Naruto felt a small smile tug at his lips. "No. Let him think about it. When his bones heal and his brain catches up, maybe he'll ask the right questions."
"And if he doesn't?"
Naruto's smile faded. "Then I'll befriend him anyway. But it'll take longer. Fifteen minutes instead of ten."
Nine-Tails snorted. "Merciful of you."
Naruto dropped into the first position of Iron Body training, forcing his breathing to steady, his mind to clear. The anger would pass. It always did. What remained was the work—the endless, demanding work of training.
He'd been practicing for perhaps twenty minutes when the System's voice resonated through his consciousness.
[You've achieved spirit-energy-body unity,] the System observed. [One golden mark complete. Your foundation is solid. It's time for the next phase of your development.]
Naruto paused mid-stance. "Next phase?"
[Exposure to different training systems,] the System explained. [When you were younger, I took you to meet Shi Hao. That encounter taught you valuable lessons about humility and the vastness of true power. Now, you're ready for another journey.]
Understanding dawned. "You want to send me to another world."
[I want to give you the opportunity,] the System corrected. [Experiencing different power structures, different philosophies, different peaks of achievement—this is essential for someone who wants to transcend their origin realm. You cannot understand eternity if you've only ever seen mortality through one lens.]
Naruto considered this. The memory of Shi Hao remained vivid—that small boy with strength that dwarfed Naruto's own, who'd beaten him soundly and taught him the critical lesson that he wasn't the strongest. Not even close.
That lesson had driven him to train harder, to push further, to never rest on his achievements.
"What world?" Naruto asked.
[We'll select randomly,] the System said. [I have access to countless realms across the multiverse. Some are similar to yours, some radically different. Are you ready?]
Naruto took a deep breath, centering himself. "Yes. Random selection."
The air around him shimmered as the System activated its dimensional scanning protocols. Naruto felt energy patterns flickering past him like shuffled cards—each one representing an entire universe, an entire reality, waiting to be selected.
[Selection complete,] the System announced after a moment. [Congratulations, Naruto. You have been chosen to visit the world of "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations." This timeline represents a possible future branching from your current reality, approximately fifteen to twenty years ahead.]
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