Chương 198: The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Ends (2-in-1)
The ending of Bleach has left many readers feeling sentimental. Just like fans of the series in another timeline, these readers have grown deeply attached to the story.
"*Bleach* has ended..."
"Such a shame. Like other shonen series, this one also had the main character's plot armor. Otherwise, Aizen would have easily defeated all the Soul Reapers."
"Yeah, it doesn't make sense. Aizen's crazy regeneration abilities were somehow neutralized by a mere poison?"
"I think it was fine. At least it wasn't predictable. I thought Ichigo would just overpower Aizen after training, which would have been boring."
"But Gin truly cared for Rangiku. All those years of following Aizen were just to take back what was stolen from her and fulfill his unrequited love."
"Yeah, Gin's death was well done. Honestly, he didn't appear that often, so my attachment to him isn't as strong. But just look at what happened with *Naruto*. The Porter is getting flamed."
"Serves him right! How could he kill off Jiraiya?!"
As the comments suggested, *Naruto* fans were furious with the Porter. After a long series of updates, the story had finally reached the arc where Jiraiya infiltrates the Land of Rain.
Upon entering, Jiraiya discovered that the leader of the Land of Rain was his former student from the time he earned the title "Legendary Sannin." However, facing his former pupil, now wielding the Rinnegan, Jiraiya found himself outmatched, even after using Sage Mode.
Despite his best efforts, Jiraiya was overwhelmed. Initially, he was fighting one Pain, but soon three Pains appeared, and after losing his left arm, the number of Pains increased to six...
This development had readers on edge.
"How could this be? Jiraiya is Naruto's teacher! He can't die!"
"You said 'can't,' but remember, this manga is written by the Porter, who's notorious for not sparing characters."
That comment reminded another reader of a crucial point. The Porter wasn't known for letting characters off easy. Realizing this, their anxiety grew.
As Jiraiya gave it his all in battle, his efforts seemed futile against the power of the Rinnegan. Even after his throat was crushed, he pushed through, bringing a glimmer of hope to the readers.
Could it be that the Porter was showing mercy this time? Could Jiraiya escape?
Unfortunately, the Porter, or rather Kishimoto, dashed their hopes. Instead of some miraculous escape, Jiraiya used his last moments to carve a secret message into a toad's back. He was then struck down and sank into the water.
"The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant, ends here... A fitting conclusion, I suppose..."
As Jiraiya sank, a smile appeared on his face. Was he smiling because he had initiated a new chapter, the Tale of Naruto Uzumaki? Or was it because he was finally free from his burdensome life? Most likely, it was the former.
"Damn it! Porter!!!"
Fans erupted in outrage after reading the latest chapter.
"They killed off my Pervy Sage!"
"The flashback scene of Jiraiya's life made me cry!"
"Heartbreaking..."
"I can't believe I cried over the death of a pervy character at my age..."
Indeed, both in this timeline and the previous, Jiraiya was a beloved character. He wasn't a main character in *Naruto*, but his own assessment of his life was that he never truly succeeded at anything. His life was filled with unfulfilled endeavors: writing his book, chasing after Tsunade, finding the prophesied child, and trying to bring back his old friend Orochimaru.
In the end, even his life ended without much fanfare, with his death being described in the "Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant."
Yet, despite all this, many fans saw him as one of the coolest characters in the series. He never gave up in the face of his perceived failures. Unlike Tsunade, who turned to alcohol, Jiraiya used his courage and smile to bring back Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage and protect Konoha with a sense of duty.
He was a great mentor.
"Truly worthy of the title 'Gallant.'"
"It's a shame. One of the few people who genuinely cared for Naruto is gone."
"At first, I thought Jiraiya's red lines on his face were weird, but now they feel like tears of blood from his lonely life."
"Even in the end, Jiraiya never got together with Tsunade!!!"
Jiraiya was a tragic hero, yet his death wasn't as meaningless as he believed. Though he seemed to have failed in his life, he had a significant impact on the ninja world. Konan, Yahiko, Nagato, the Fourth Hokage, Naruto...
In the world of Naruto, no other teacher had a 100% success rate in producing such powerful figures. Though he didn't succeed in turning Orochimaru from his dark path, win over Tsunade, or stop Nagato's descent into madness, Jiraiya was a hero.
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Not only did fans react to Jiraiya's death, but even from afar in Sakura Country, the investor Senju Danzo expressed dissatisfaction and called to complain, hoping Ren could rewrite the story. To this, Ren firmly stated that he had integrity. Jiraiya's death, in Ren's view, was a pivotal moment in the entire manga, at least in Ren's opinion. Anyone who has watched *Naruto* would remember this scene, even if they forget most of the other plot points.
When Ren first started working on *Naruto*, he hesitated for a moment about whether or not to kill Jiraiya. In the past, when he read *Naruto* fanfiction, he hoped the authors would change Jiraiya's fate, so he could be satisfied. However, when it was his turn to decide Jiraiya's fate, Ren hesitated. From the bottom of his heart, Ren wanted Jiraiya to be there as Naruto grew up, to see him get married and have children, to see Naruto become Hokage, to reunite with Tsunade and Orochimaru, and more.
But Jiraiya's death was a destiny foretold; the toads predicted that Jiraiya was the guide for the Child of Prophecy, and his choices would lead to the destruction or revolution of the ninja world. Jiraiya did guide the Child of Prophecy, not with his words or actions, but with his death. He solved the mystery of Pain's Six Paths with his life, leaving hope and a chance for Naruto and Konoha. Jiraiya demonstrated his ninja way with his life, giving Naruto one last lesson, and his death eventually led to the defeat of Pain.
If Jiraiya didn't die, many subsequent plotlines couldn't unfold. Imagine, during Pain's invasion, if Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto faced the Six Paths of Pain, four of them would have been more than enough to deal with the enemy. With Jiraiya and Tsunade knowing Pain's secrets, they could potentially defeat one of the Pains easily. Thus, Pain's invasion of Konoha wouldn't have been so impactful. Additionally, Orochimaru's later character development was influenced by Jiraiya's death.
So, Ren ultimately decided to kill Jiraiya.
While *Bleach* reached its conclusion and Jiraiya's death shook the fans, *Your Lie in April* continued to progress, laying down more hints and details. Claire handled these intricate aspects remarkably well, even Ren had little to critique. The changes in background shadows matched the characters' emotions. Piano-playing details were so precise that even fans who loved hands couldn't resist. Even minor characters were well-drawn, with expressive faces and richly detailed scenes. Fans praised Claire and, by extension, acknowledged Ren's teaching abilities. As a result, many fans continued reading the story.
In last week's fourth chapter, Kousei was struggling with his inner demons, leading to his failure in the competition as he couldn't hear the piano. Although Kousei and Kaori's later performance moved many in the audience, by competition rules, stopping mid-performance meant disqualification. Would they continue the competition?
With this question in mind, many readers turned to today's fifth chapter, only to be caught off guard by the opening scene. Instead of the expected competition setting, they found themselves in a hospital. Kaori was lying in a hospital bed, causing many readers to feel a sudden sense of foreboding.
"No way, no way! Is this going to be one of those cliché teenage love stories where the girl has a terminal illness?"
"Or maybe a car accident?"
Readers speculated wildly. But fortunately, through the dialogue between the visitors and Kaori, they learned that she was hospitalized due to anemia, which eased their concerns. It would have been disappointing if the story had taken a typical tragic turn at this point.
The story continued. Due to the disruptions in the competition, Kaori lost her chance to advance to the finals. Kousei felt deeply guilty, believing that if Kaori hadn't chosen him as her accompanist, she might not have been disqualified. This left him in a state of deep depression for some time.
However, while Kousei was walking home from school, Kaori unexpectedly appeared in front of him, playing hopscotch with some children. After some playful antics, Kaori made her request for a 'get-well present' and Kousei's 'apology'—she wanted him to enter the piano competition. Faced with Kaori's request, Kousei felt lost again, doubting his abilities. Despite momentarily escaping his childhood trauma during the previous competition, he hadn't fully broken free.
"We're only fourteen; let's just jump in with both feet... like this... jump!"
With these words, Kaori leaped off a bridge! Next to this scene, Ren had Claire write a disclaimer, warning readers not to imitate the action, recalling an incident from his past life where a similar scenario led to trouble for a certain franchise.
Seeing this scene, many fans felt moved by Kaori's actions and her words.
"Yeah, we're only fourteen. If only I had taken a chance when I was young..."
"Pursue your dreams while you're young, and go for it!"
Some readers commented online. Kaori's actions seemed to have a similar effect on Kousei, helping him come to terms with his feelings. He also jumped off the bridge after her. As the two smiled at each other in the water, many readers felt their hearts touched and thought, "This is what youth is all about!"
However, some readers had an epiphany.
"Whoa, this feels kind of sweet."
"Sweet? How?"
"I think Kaori was waiting here on purpose! If you look at how Kousei felt guilty and down after Kaori lost her chance to advance, and then see him smiling after this scene, doesn't it seem like Kaori's plan worked?"
"Yeah, I feel like Kaori likes Kousei. In the second chapter, it seemed like there was a love triangle with Watari, but now it seems Kaori might have just said she liked Watari to get closer to Kousei."
"Definitely. Under the tree, when Kaori said, 'From now on, you'll be my Friend A,' I had the same feeling."
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