"Over here!"
Naruto squeezed through the crowd, his small body allowing him to dart around among the adults.
He waved to Sasuke behind him, signaling for him to follow.
The execution platform was already surrounded by people, their chatter and noise filling the air.
The stationed ninja kept the onlookers several meters away from the platform.
Naruto and Sasuke managed to get to the front of the crowd.
Seeing them, a nearby adult couldn't help but remark, "Whose kids are these? What are they doing here?"
This comment drew the attention of several others.
Naruto responded by making a face at the man.
"Kids, this isn't a place for you."
"Yeah, go home."
"Where are your parents?"
Annoyed by the surrounding voices, Naruto couldn't help but shout, "My dad is the Hokage!"
His childish voice actually made the people around them quiet for a few seconds.
"Is he really the Hokage's kid?"
"Why is he here?"
"It's not good for children to see things like this."
One kind-hearted person crouched down and said to Naruto and Sasuke, "This isn't a place for kids. You should leave."
Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads in unison and said, "No!"
The person tried to scare them, "The man on the platform is going to be beheaded. It's really frightening."
Naruto didn't mind at all and didn't want to argue with these people.
Sasuke pulled him away, and the two of them dashed through the crowd, squeezing into the front row in another area.
They had indeed sneaked out.
Initially, when they heard about the commotion here, they wanted to come and see for themselves, but their families had firmly refused.
So, after some discussion, they decided to run off together.
How could little kids understand what an execution meant?
They just thought it was something fun and exciting.
Looking up at the platform, they saw a man kneeling at the center.
"Who is that?" Naruto asked.
"No idea," Sasuke shook his head.
Then, recalling something, he added, "I think he's a bad guy!"
"A bad guy, huh…"
Naruto's childish face showed a thoughtful expression as he stared at the white-haired man kneeling on the execution platform.
Jiraiya, at this moment, was somewhat dazed.
He hadn't slept well in prison for days, plagued by nightmares.
Strangely, in those dreams, Minato wanted to kill him.
Yahiko and Nagato also wanted to kill him.
He thought that if a person were to die at the hands of their own students, that would be too tragic.
So, Jiraiya always believed that Sarutobi-sensei's death might not have been a relief.
That morning, the ninja had dragged him out of his cell, his hands and feet bound in chains.
He had been escorted from the prison all the way to the execution platform, countless people watching him along the way.
Their gazes made him feel as if needles were piercing his back.
He had experienced being paraded through the streets before—but back then, it was as a hero who had defended the village in war, receiving the villagers' praise and respect.
Back then, whoever saw him would respectfully call out, "Lord Jiraiya."
But how had things come to this?
The murmuring voices around him were dense and noisy, and he couldn't make out what people were saying.
Yet, he desperately wanted to know.
Were they cursing him, or did they believe he was innocent?
An inexplicable panic crept into Jiraiya's heart.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he realized he couldn't accept dying like this.
He had always believed that the value of a ninja's life wasn't determined by how they lived but by what they accomplished before they died.
If this was how he was going to die… did that mean he was a complete and utter failure?
A small stone was thrown onto the execution platform, striking Jiraiya on the head.
Dazed, he snapped back to reality.
His gaze swept over the dense crowd, all pointing and whispering about him.
The sea of people made him feel dizzy and lightheaded.
Then, among them, a black-haired little boy appeared in his view.
His face bore six whisker-like markings, his features still soft and youthful.
In his hand was another stone, which he threw at Jiraiya.
A nearby ninja immediately stepped in, reprimanding Naruto and Sasuke.
"Whose children are these? Who brought them here?"
But no one in the crowd responded.
"He's a bad guy!" Naruto pointed at Jiraiya and shouted loudly.
Just then, the ninja in charge of this area quickly approached. He immediately recognized the two children.
"Young Master Naruto, Young Master Sasuke, what are you doing here?"
Naruto… Naruto…
Jiraiya stared blankly at the little boy, a storm of emotions crashing through him all at once.
He lowered his head, his messy white hair falling over his face.
Suddenly, a deep chuckle escaped his lips.
The laughter grew louder and louder, nearly manic.
The surrounding people all thought he had gone mad.
In the end, Naruto and Sasuke were forcibly removed from the area by the ninja in charge.
They were still too young—such a bloody scene could be too much for them.
"Let us go! Why can't we watch?"
"We want to fight the bad guy!"
"Let go of us!"
The two were dragged to the back of the crowd, both fuming with frustration.
They had worked so hard to squeeze their way to the front!
"Young masters, you can't stay here. Go home now!"
"We don't want to go home!"
"Who are you to tell us what to do?"
The ninja felt a headache coming on and asked, "Did anyone come here with you?"
"None of your business!"
"Go away!"
After a bit of struggling, Naruto realized their protests weren't working and changed tactics.
"Who is that guy, anyway?"
"You mean the prisoner?" The ninja thought for a moment before answering, "His name is Jiraiya. He's a rogue ninja from the village."
"He's a bad guy, right?" Naruto asked.
The ninja hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, he's a bad guy. He even opposed Lord Hokage."
Naruto immediately clenched his small fists. "Anyone who goes against my dad won't get away with it!"
Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! Don't stop us, we're going to fight the bad guy!"
The ninja chuckled. "Don't worry, we won't let him go. Today is his execution day."
Naruto asked again, "What does 'execution' mean?"
"Uh… it's a way to punish bad people."
"Oh, I see! Then we want to execute him too!"
"Yeah, we want to do it too!"
The ninja sighed helplessly. "That's not something just anyone can do."
Just then, a sharp screech echoed from high above, piercing through the air and making everyone's ears ache.
All heads turned upward.
A massive, monstrous bird was circling in the sky, its powerful wings stirring up strong gusts of wind.
The crowd noticed it as well, and a wave of unease rippled through them.
The ninja's expression changed drastically. "Young Master Naruto, Young Master Sasuke, go home right now! Don't run around!"
With that, he leaped back onto the execution platform.
"Alert! Stay on guard!"
Naruto and Sasuke remained where they were, tilting their small faces up to stare at the giant bird in the sky.
The harsh sunlight shining down from above made them feel a little dizzy.
"That's a huge bird…"
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