"They are..." The six figures in the smoke gradually revealed themselves. They were six orange-haired men, wearing identical Black Cloaks with Red Clouds. Their expressions were equally cold and merciless, their faces similarly pierced with varying numbers of metal rods, and they all... had Rinnegan.
"Six pairs of Rinnegan!?" Shima cried out.
"So you all came..." Jiraiya smiled grimly, his gaze sweeping over the six Pains before finally settling on the short-haired man standing at their center.
Deva Path Pain.
"As expected of one of the Three Sannin. You possess enough strength to warrant the Six Paths of Pain attacking together." Deva Path Pain's voice was as cold and emotionless as the winter wind.
At the same time, Asura Path Pain stretched out both hands—
Click, click, click. Two rings of missile launchers mechanically unfolded from his arms. They ignited, and a barrage of missiles rained down on Jiraiya.
Konoha, Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage puffed steadily on his pipe as usual, reading through a thick scroll in his hands. After a long while, he set the scroll down and tapped the ash from his pipe onto the desk. His eyes beneath the shadow of his hat were deep in thought.
Sasuke Uchiha...
His teacher had said that when the Third Hokage had first absorbed Naruto's [memories], he had harbored the intent to kill [Sasuke Uchiha].
Even though Sasuke had not done anything yet.
Because what the Third Hokage hated most was those who betrayed the village.
Not only had Sasuke Uchiha betrayed the village, he had even entertained the dangerous idea of [destroying Konoha]... This had made the Third Hokage, who had spent most of his life in wartime, consider eliminating the problem before it could become a future threat.
But...
"Ah..." The Third Hokage sighed softly and leaned back in his large chair.
He was old, after all. He was no longer as bloodthirsty, nor was he decisive enough... As he thought this, the Third Hokage once again recalled the disciple who had once made him proud during the Konoha Crush Plan.
Although Naruto's memories did not contain the details of the battle between [him] and [Orochimaru], what kind of man was the Third Hokage? From the fragments Naruto had heard about that battle, intentionally or otherwise, he had roughly deduced its course.
If I had used the Reaper Death Seal from the beginning, it would not have been just my hands...
The setting sun was red as blood. The crimson glow of dusk poured through the massive floor-to-ceiling window into the office, burying the Third Hokage's face in shadow. Only the ember of his pipe flickered in the darkness...
Sage Art: Great Breakthrough!
It was impossible to see how Jiraiya formed his hand seals. His chest suddenly swelled, and then a violent gale charged headlong into Asura Path Pain's barrage. The missiles were blown apart in midair by the dragon-like wind, drifting and swaying down to the ground before exploding everywhere with a series of bangs.
Whoosh—
Jiraiya's figure nearly became an afterimage as he charged through the dust and smoke toward the outermost Pain—the Animal Path Pain who had arrived first!
A direct elbow strike!
One instant ago, Jiraiya had still been more than ten meters away from the Pains. The next, his elbow was only a centimeter from Animal Path Pain's face.
How terrifying were the body and taijutsu enhanced by Sage Mode? In Naruto's [memories], Jiraiya had once instantly defeated a Pain. Now, he was practically doing the same thing.
If this elbow landed solidly, even if it did not blow off Animal Path Pain's head, that body would at least lose all ability to fight.
But Pain was Pain. Jiraiya was fast, yet Pain's reaction was not slow either. The Rinnegan spun!
Deva Path Pain raised his hand. "Shinra Tensei!"
Just as Jiraiya's elbow struck Animal Path Pain's face and its force was only half unleashed, he felt an irresistible repulsive force appear from nowhere. Yet his expression did not change, as if he had anticipated this. In the instant the repulsion flung him backward, he wrapped his legs around Animal Path Pain's neck—
Then, using the powerful repulsive force acting on himself, he viciously swung Animal Path Pain behind him with his legs locked around his neck!
Jiraiya was sent flying backward after Animal Path Pain.
[Animal Path Pain's abilities: 1. He can summon powerful creatures without hand seals; 2. He can directly summon the other Pains to his side.] [Deva Path Pain's abilities: 1. Shinra Tensei, which produces immense repulsive force and rebounds all physical attacks; 2. Banshō Ten'in, which produces immense attractive force that is nearly impossible to resist; 3. Chibaku Tensei, which creates a gravitational core that draws in rocks and other matter from the ground to form a massive meteor for attack, or directly pulls enemies into the core to kill them.]
Jiraiya landed. Relying on the formidable strength of his body in Sage Mode, he immediately leaped toward Animal Path Pain farther behind him. He completely ignored the other five Pains and focused solely on this one.
[Hell Path Pain's abilities: 1. After grabbing an opponent by the throat, the opponent cannot break free, and he can summon the King of Hell to interrogate them; 2. He can summon the King of Hell to revive all other injured or even dead Pains.]
Jiraiya took out a scroll and tossed it to Fukasaku on his shoulder. "Old man!"
Fukasaku did not know why Jiraiya was doing this, but their understanding told him what Jiraiya wanted. He caught the scroll and immediately unfolded it—
Jiraiya leaped toward Animal Path Pain. At that moment, Animal Path Pain had only just hit the ground in midair. Jiraiya's landing was precise. He twisted his body in the air and brought down a powerful axe kick, accurately shattering Animal Path Pain's back as he rolled across the ground.
Almost at the same time, the scroll landed on Animal Path Pain's back. Fukasaku gave a low shout: "Seal!"
Ninja classroom.
The little ninja students had long since left. In the empty classroom, Iruka gathered the sheets of paper from the desks one by one. Following his instructions, the students had written down, "If tomorrow were the end of the world, who would you most want to be with?"
"Sasuke again..." Iruka put away Sakura Haruno's sheet and shook his head helplessly.
Sasuke's effect on these little girls was far too terrifying.
"Huh? Naruto Uzumaki?" Iruka was surprised. He glanced at the desk, thought back, and muttered strangely to himself, "Isn't this Hinata's? The Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter actually... Naruto?"
After staring in astonishment for a moment, Iruka shook his head and put it away. Just as he was about to continue, he remembered something. He went around the other desks and ran directly to Naruto's seat. Picking up the sheet there, he read aloud:
"If that time really came, Kurama would probably be the only one certain to stay with me."
Iruka smiled in amusement. "So it was only the Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter's one-sided feelings... Haha, boys and girls really are impossible to understand..."
"But... who is Kurama? Does Naruto have a friend like that?"
After thinking for a long time without finding an answer, Iruka shook his head and continued collecting the papers.
"What is going on? You seem to know a great deal about us." Deva Path Pain's voice sounded not far behind Jiraiya. Jiraiya turned around and smiled. "After all, I'm facing the legendary Rinnegan. Did you think I would come here without making any preparations, Yahiko? Or... Nagato?"
Deva Path Pain remained expressionless.
Jiraiya lowered his center of gravity. The battle was far from over.
Before you continue