The Rain Still Falls

"Shinra Tensei!"

As expected, the moment Jiraiya's hand burst through the earth and seized Deva Path Pain's right ankle, a massive repulsive force erupted in a spherical field, collapsing the ground beneath them. Jiraiya, still buried in the soil, was helplessly crushed backward through the dirt.

[Deva Path Pain's weakness: the release of Gravitational Manipulation and Repulsive Force Manipulation has a cooldown period of at least five seconds.]

But at the same time, a steel wire shot up from the ground beneath Deva Path Pain's feet. Tracing its source, Jiraiya yanked hard on the wire as he was flung away, and with a sharp snap, the wire coiled around Deva Path Pain's body.

Had he already set that while underground?

Deva Path Pain's expression remained unchanged. Hell Path Pain stepped forward, Black Rod in hand, to cut the wire. Jiraiya rolled as he landed, and the two toads on his shoulders instantly formed hand seals for Fire Style and Oil Style:

"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

A dragon-like torrent of flame roared toward the bound Deva Path Pain and the advancing Hell Path Pain.

Hungry Ghost Path Pain moved forward, opening his absorption field.

A volley of kunai coated in Wind Style chakra followed the flames.

Asura Path Pain simultaneously launched a salvo of missiles.

"Too slow," Deva Path Pain said coldly. "Shinra Tensei!" The immense repulsive force instantly snapped the steel wire coiled around him and sent the kunai and missiles hurtling back at Jiraiya with even greater speed.

"You're the one who's slow." In Sage Mode, Jiraiya's movement blurred into a phantom. He dodged the incoming projectiles in an instant and, in less than a second, closed the distance to Hungry Ghost Path Pain.

His fist came down.

Deva Path Pain leaped back a few meters.

Facing Jiraiya's punch, Hungry Ghost Path could only tilt his head slightly, barely dodging—then bang! His face caved in on one side, and he was knocked to the ground.

Frog Kumite!

"You seem pretty confident in your physical strength in this state, Jiraiya-sensei." Asura Path Pain's face pressed close to Jiraiya's—three faces in one: a smile on the front, anger on the right, indifference on the left.

The smiling Asura Path Pain's body clicked and clanked with mechanical shifts. His arms coiled around Jiraiya's, and more mechanical arms tore through his clothing to embrace Jiraiya.

Jiraiya retreated hastily, but his left arm was caught.

Asura Path Pain's face was utterly cold. A blinding light shone from the gaps in his mechanical body.

No way!? Jiraiya's mind raced. In a flash, he activated Needle Jizo, wrapping his body in white hair as much as possible.

Boom...

A small mushroom cloud rose above the forest.

The dust and smoke slowly cleared.

Jiraiya crouched on the ground, battered and broken. His clothes were shredded, his left arm severed at the elbow, blood pouring freely... The two toads lay limp on his shoulders, seemingly unconscious.

"Ha... ha..." Jiraiya gasped heavily. His injuries were severe; he could barely maintain Sage Mode. He looked ahead—the charred Asura Path Pain lay naked on the ground, still staring at him with wide eyes.

"So he used a Self-Destruction Tactic..." Jiraiya struggled to recover his strength.

"You're not the only one who can use smoke to your advantage, Jiraiya-sensei." Pain's voice came from behind Jiraiya.

Snap.

Hungry Ghost Path grabbed Jiraiya from behind, locking his arms in a bear hug, rendering him immobile.

Deva Path Pain and Hell Path Pain emerged from the shadows ahead. Hell Path Pain stepped forward, pulled a long metal saw blade from the back of the prone Asura Path Pain, then clasped his hands together. Asura Path's form vanished, and moments later, he stood again, completely unharmed.

Hell Path's resurrection ability...

Jiraiya watched helplessly.

Hell Path Pain held the saw blade, while Deva Path Pain aimed a Black Rod at Jiraiya. Then Human Path Pain appeared from somewhere at Jiraiya's side, saying coldly, "Do you choose to have your soul extracted, or..."

Hungry Ghost Path Pain behind Jiraiya frantically absorbed his chakra.

"Oh, I still get a choice?" Even in this desperate situation, Jiraiya managed a bitter laugh. He stared coldly at Deva Path Pain, at that face—Yahiko's face. "I remember the Nagato I knew was a gentle, sensitive boy. Not someone who'd say things like that."

"..." Deva Path Pain remained silent.

In a tall tower in Amegakure, a gaunt red-haired young man sat on a grand chair. His brows and eyes were hidden beneath thick, long hair, his face unreadable. Only his cold voice echoed:

"You didn't come spouting these grand ideals when we needed you most. What's the point of saying them now, Jiraiya-sensei? Just die quietly. This world is already rotten beyond salvation... A world that doesn't understand true pain has no grasp of peace. I will become a god and make the whole world feel that bone-deep agony. Only then will true peace have soil to grow in."

"God? Pain? Peace?" Jiraiya smiled bitterly, a trace of regret and guilt flickering in his eyes. The Sage Chakra in his body was being frantically drained by Hungry Ghost Path behind him.

"That's right. With these eyes, I am a god." Deva Path Pain's gaze grew colder. "And you will die at the hands of a god."

"That... I can't agree to." Jiraiya desperately forced the Sage Chakra in his body—straight into Hungry Ghost Path behind him!

What... The other Pains watched in shock as Hungry Ghost Path, who was absorbing Jiraiya's chakra, began to turn into a frog!

"Looks like Sage Mode is dangerous too... but this is the end." Human Path Pain reached out and grabbed the top of Jiraiya's head!

Thump! Thump!

Jiraiya's heart spasmed violently. Something innate was slipping from his grasp... his soul.

Ninja Academy.

Shikamaru yawned, tears welling at the corners of his eyes, still wearing that lazy expression. Passing by the classroom's back door, he happened to glance inside and saw Naruto sitting alone at his desk, flipping through something.

Curious—Naruto had seemed different lately—Shikamaru walked in and said, "Hey, Naruto, outdoor class is about to start. Hurry up... Huh? '300 Basics of Ninja Knowledge'? Naruto, since when do you actually read textbooks?"

"Ah... huh?" Naruto snapped to attention, saw it was Shikamaru, and frantically stuffed the scroll into his bag, flustered and annoyed. "Why do you walk so quietly!"

"Huh?" Shikamaru pulled a funny face, one eye wide, the other squinting.

Naruto felt a little embarrassed under his gaze and scratched his head. "I just thought... if I want to be a real ninja, this stuff is probably pretty important."

"You... really have changed..." Shikamaru said thoughtfully.

"Ahaha, yeah, maybe..." Naruto awkwardly changed the subject. "Let's go to outdoor class!"

"Just in case..." Deva Path Pain waved his hand twice, and two Black Rods shot toward the two unconscious toads on Jiraiya's shoulder. Thump, thump—they pinned through and lodged into the shoulders of the Hungry Ghost Path Pain behind Jiraiya.

Hungry Ghost Path Pain slowly began turning into a stone toad.

Jiraiya's soul wrestled with the Human Path Pain's chakra, but his consciousness was steadily slipping away.

Just then, all the Pains, including Deva Path, suddenly froze in unison, their focus wavering for a single instant.

Right then!

Bam, bam! The two toads on the Black Rods vanished in puffs of white smoke.

Behind Deva Path Pain, Fukasaku and Shima burst from the ground, palms pressed together! Jiraiya had bought them all this time to gather Sage Chakra—all for this jutsu!

"Sage Art: Duet!"

An immense wave of sound, driven by colossal Sage Chakra, swept toward the five Pains like a hurricane.

Heaven and earth turned upside down.

The five Pains were instantly trapped in a genjutsu prison, collapsing to the ground in the real world.

"Huff... cough..." Jiraiya breathed heavily, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Are you alright, little Jiraiya!" Fukasaku and Shima strained to maintain the genjutsu, worried about his condition.

"I'm fine." Jiraiya bandaged his severed left arm, then staggered over to stand before Deva Path Pain.

Looking down at Yahiko's face, Jiraiya lowered his eyes in silence. After a few breaths, he crouched, took the Black Rod from Deva Path Pain's hand, and stabbed it into his own right shoulder.

Sage Chakra surged upstream!

"There, huh..." Jiraiya tossed the Black Rod aside, stood up, and turned to look at a tall tower deep within Amegakure.

The sky was darkening, visibility poor—only a faint silhouette of the tower was visible—but Jiraiya knew Nagato was there.

The rain kept falling.