"Damn it! Using a sealing technique is so unfair—one more time, untie me and let's go another round!"
As the mist cleared, Sasuke—whose limbs had been sealed so he'd lost control of his body—shouted in frustration.
"Sasuke-kun, are you still a school kid who hasn't graduated?" Karin grumbled, veins popping on her forehead. "You're the one who wanted a two-on-one fight and told Hinata and me to go all out. Now you've lost and you're trying to cheat your way out?"
Sasuke's expression went rigid.
Hinata, who had just landed on the ground, kindly advised him, "Sasuke-kun, you really need to learn to keep your temper in check. Every time you get a power boost, you let it go to your head. That's a major weakness."
Sasuke's face turned bright red.
Click! Click…
Just then, the sound of a camera shutter kept going off.
They saw Izayoi snapping shots of Sasuke's embarrassing pose while shaking his head, sighing, "This won't do, Sasuke. I wanted to get some cool photos of you, but you got taken down in fewer than ten moves. How lame."
"S-shut up!"
At this moment, Sasuke wanted to crawl under a rock. If he'd known it would end like this, he'd never have been so careless. Next time he fought Hinata and Karin, he definitely wouldn't use Fire Release—and hand the advantage to those two with their incredible sensory abilities.
When Karin finally released the "Four-Limb Weighting Seali", Sasuke—too embarrassed to face the trio and afraid Izayoi might keep mocking him—prepared to vanish with the Body Flicker Technique.
"Hold on—don't leave yet." Izayoi immediately called out, "Your chakra's huge right now, so you can help me out."
Then, turning to the two girls, he said, "Hinata, Karin, I need your help, too."
"Yes!"
Hinata and Karin nodded at once.
"Tch…what's the hurry?" Sasuke muttered under his breath. "It's not like you don't have a place to stay."
Hearing that, Izayoi teased him: "Oh? Don't tell me you can't bear for me to move out?"
"Who—who can't bear it?!"
Clearly caught, Sasuke snarled in indignation, "I can't wait for you, you nasty jerk, to hurry up and move out—so you'll stop harassing me every day!"
"Don't worry. My new place is massive. There'll be a big arena where you can come fight or crash anytime you want."
"Hmph…like I care."
With that sort of tsundere attitude, Sasuke, along with Hinata and Karin, followed Izayoi to the center of Konoha.
By now, Izayoi's new house had basically finished growing (since it wasn't a skyscraper), and two more professional crews were on-site working on the interior.
Izayoi's team of four performed the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu to assist these crews, also "learning by doing." That way, if something ever broke in the future, they could handle repairs themselves.
Simultaneously, Izayoi consulted with the underground modification crew to incorporate certain mechanical elements and some ninja tools into the structure.
Unlike other rowdy "Rookie Nine" who'd be more trouble than help, these four were all geniuses the pros loved having around. A single explanation was enough for them to understand and rarely mess up, speeding up progress significantly.
At this rate, Izayoi's new home would be done well before December.
…
Amegakure, Land of Rain.
Pouring rain battered down.
"Move! Spread out! Even if we die, we must deliver this intel to Lord Raikage!"
Several figures in raincoats raced along a muddy path, the leading one barking orders. Obeying instantly, his comrades split in different directions.
One figure slipped into a narrow alley. Beneath the trembling hood, a mask was faintly visible. From the commander's words, it was clear they were Kumo Anbu.
Biting his finger so the rain wouldn't wash the blood away too quickly, this Kumo Anbu formed seals and slammed his hand on the ground. "Summoning Technique!"
Poof! A gray wolf appeared in the alley.
The Anbu pulled out a scroll, about to stuff it into the wolf's mouth—when a giant shadow covered both man and wolf.
Boom!
A massive ox dropped from above, crushing them on the spot. The wolf didn't even have time to vanish back to its summoning realm.
Standing on the ox's head was a man with orange hair and a missing-nin headband, his expression emotionless. Animal Path.
Elsewhere, another Kumo Anbu didn't even get a chance to summon. A piercing hum came from behind—several tracking missiles launched toward him. It made no difference if he used Body Flicker or tried zig-zagging; he couldn't escape those missiles.
With no other choice, he spun around to release Lightning Release, hoping to knock them down.
Rumble…
When his lightning struck the missiles, the Anbu realized too late he'd grossly underestimated their destructive power. Blinding flashes of flame devoured the raindrops, enveloping him. Once the explosion died, he lay on the ground near death, clothes in tatters.
In the next instant, someone dropped down from above, landing a final blow on his neck.
It was the Asura Path.
The remaining Kumo Anbu were similarly killed off by the Six Paths of Pain in various ways.
Some had all their chakra drained by Preta Path before having their necks snapped. Others were swallowed by the King of Hell. Another got his soul ripped out—dying while Pain extracted the entire mission briefing and details of their infiltration into Amegakure.
Only the squad leader managed to escape the village.
He finally appeared at the base of a rocky mountain, leaning against it, panting heavily. Beneath his mask, relief flooded his eyes.
Then a cold voice brought him crashing down from relief to terror:
"Banshō Ten'in."
Invisible force, like a giant hand, grabbed hold of the squad leader, lifting him slowly into the air. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free of the unseen "divine hand."
Above him, partly hidden by the heavy rain, a figure in a black robe patterned with red clouds floated down. Purple ripple-patterned eyes radiated a chill authority. Gazing down at the captive Anbu, Tendo Pain said impassively, "This cat-and-mouse game ends here."
He raised his hand to the Anbu and whispered, "Shinra Tensei."
What happened next was truly bizarre. A large section of the rain-filled sky simply vanished. The floating Anbu commander hurtled downward into the rocky mountain, which shattered on impact. The ground sank in a wide circle. Yet strangely, no dust cloud lingered; it was blown away by that invisible storm in an instant.
Having killed the Anbu commander in one blow, Tendo Pain didn't leave immediately. He glanced at a nearby mountain and said calmly, "Come out, Jiraiya-sensei."
At his words, a tall figure in a rain cloak appeared at the top of the mountain. Lifting the hood revealed a head of long white hair—Jiraiya.
"So it really is you, Yahiko!" Jiraiya said in a conflicted tone as he looked up at Tendo Pain hovering in the air. Suddenly, he raised his voice, "Yahiko, what happened all these years?!"
Tendo Pain did not strike at Jiraiya. Instead, he drifted downward to stand across from him. "You've been sending shadow clones to gather the information you wanted, haven't you… Jiraiya-sensei?"
"That's why I'm asking what happened over the years!" Jiraiya demanded sorrowfully. "Are you Yahiko, or Nagato? And that 'Angel of Amegakure'—that's Konan, right? Why did I get news of your deaths back then? If you didn't die, why not come to Konoha for me? And why did you form Akatsuki in the first place? Plus, what really happened with Hanzō and Danzo? Why did you ally with Orochimaru to attack Konoha and abduct a Wood-Release ninja and steal the Scroll of Seals?!"
These questions had haunted Jiraiya for a long time.
If not for going to find Tsunade, he'd have come straight to Amegakure after the Konoha Crush to see for himself.
Initially, he doubted all three of his students could still be alive. He suspected the person who killed Nagato might be using the Rinnegan or some other power to turn his pupils into puppets. So he proceeded with utmost caution, sending only shadow clones to infiltrate Amegakure.
But as more data came in, he had to accept that his three pupils had indeed survived. They must have encountered something—or someone among them had changed drastically—because they were no longer the people he knew.
Pain stared blankly at Jiraiya's questions. But when he heard Jiraiya mention abducting the Wood-Release user and stealing the Scroll of Seals, even that deadpan expression on Pain's face finally cracked.
The corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly, as though wanting to defend himself. He said flatly, "I'm glad Danzo is dead, but that wasn't my doing. I've never even been to Konoha."
"What?"
Jiraiya blinked, then eyed the shattered mountain. He sighed in disappointment.
"Whether you're Yahiko or Nagato, my students in the past never lied. It seems you really have changed. There's evidence of your Rinnegan-based jutsu left at Konoha. It matches exactly how you killed that Anbu just now. This special ability of yours—clearly the Rinnegan—so don't even try to deny it."
"… …"
For the first time in his life, Nagato felt the frustration of having no words. He truly couldn't understand: if someone with Sage Eyes is roaming around, then aside from himself, that person should be unbeatable.
Why would such a powerhouse stoop to petty "dirty tricks"? Isn't that the behavior of the weak or small-minded?
Why did fate grant that person a second set of Rinnegan, pitting him against Nagato in a "god-level" trial? Must he, a champion of justice, defeat that "dark representative of humanity" to become the genuine savior?
Trying to salvage his image in front of his old teacher, Tendo Pain said arrogantly, "A god has no reason to lie. With my power, I don't need to team up with anyone. You've investigated Akatsuki's intel, so you should know that Orochimaru is a rogue we're hunting down. The one who allied with him, killed Danzo, abducted the Wood-Release user, and stole the Scroll of Seals is a mysterious individual possessing a second pair of Sage Eyes—a nemesis fate has arranged for me."
"Nani?! A second pair of Rinnegan?!"
Jiraiya's eyes flew open in shock. But he quickly realized something else and wore an odd expression. "Wait—wouldn't that make it the seventh pair of Rinnegan?"
"…"
Pain had been rendered speechless more times today than in his entire life since his transformation. His divine dignity crumbled even further.
But facing the teacher who had once mentored him, he could only explain patiently: "Those bodies embedded with black rods are just my puppets."
Hearing that, Jiraiya's face turned sorrowful. He murmured, "So…you really are Nagato."
Tendo Pain gazed blankly into the rain. "I'm using Yahiko's name to become a god—bringing true peace and wiping out endless war."
"And so you're targeting Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki in your organization, right? You plan to collect all the Tailed Beasts?" Jiraiya demanded. "But the peace you get by violent control is never true peace."
"That's only because you see no further than that," Pain replied impassively. "That's the difference between mortals and a god. No one in the ninja world but that mysterious man understands me."
"Only he's worthy to be my opponent," Pain continued. "Go home, Jiraiya-sensei. You've gathered plenty of intel. My real foe isn't the Five Great Shinobi Nations—only that rival fate assigned me. If you remain unsatisfied, even though you're my teacher, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Leaving that warning, Tendo Pain floated upward, heading back toward Amegakure.
"Nagato—I will stop you!" Jiraiya shouted at his back. "Correcting my students when they go astray is my duty as their teacher!"
Pain ignored him.
Watching him vanish into the rainy skies, Jiraiya muttered somberly, "Someone else out there has a second Rinnegan…a hidden manipulator. I never imagined the situation was this dire."
Jiraiya felt all kinds of emotional turmoil. At first, he blamed everything on Nagato's Rinnegan. But now he'd learned the Akatsuki leader really was his pupil.
Yahiko's death must have changed Nagato—this so-called Child of the Prophecy—immensely. From the conversation and his own observations, Jiraiya realized Nagato wasn't entirely extreme; he'd just taken a wrong path. Jiraiya trusted his students' words.
And that's why it all felt even worse. There weren't just one pair of "Sage Eyes" in this world—there was a second pair. That person, unknown even to Nagato, was behind the Konoha Crush plan.
Why did he kill Danzo? Why seize Yamato, the Wood-Release experiment? Why steal the Scroll of Seals and so many other jutsu scrolls?
Akatsuki sought Tailed Beasts, trying to enforce a twisted "peace." So what was this mysterious person's goal? The unknown is always most terrifying.
After talking with Tendo Pain, Jiraiya had concluded that the person with a second pair of Sage Eyes was now the most dangerous individual in the ninja world.
Deciding he needed to wander again in hopes of unmasking this figure, he let out a Poof! and vanished in a cloud of white smoke.
It turned out he'd been just a shadow clone.
Little did either Pain or Jiraiya know that, far off in the distance, another pair of eyes had been watching them all along—a Wood Clone of Izayoi.
~~~
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