Pain

Just as Hyuga Homura finished speaking, a series of whooshes rang out. Shuriken made of paper came flying in every direction.

Though woven from nothing but paper, the shuriken were every bit as sharp as steel. Amid a clatter of metallic impacts, they scattered all five of them.

"Wait... These shuriken! This is bad! Look out! They're all Explosive Tags!"

Hyuga Homura cried out in alarm. The next moment, a rumble of explosions filled the air. Flames flashed, and the ground cracked. A stone wall shot up from the earth, only to be blown to pieces by the Explosive Tags.

Watching the exploding shuriken, Uchiha Shūichi, who had been keeping a low profile, felt a slight stir in his heart. These Explosive Tags seemed a little weaker than ordinary ones.

"To be precise, these Explosive Tags seem hastily made, as if corners were cut. They must have been created directly by the enemy's secret technique."

The sound of flapping wings came from above. Wings made of white paper beat through the sky like an angel's. A striking purple-haired young woman with a somewhat cold expression slowly descended.

"Konan... So it really is you!"

Jiraiya had just used Earth Style Ninjutsu to block the explosion. His expression was resigned, yet also held a trace of relief as he looked at the young woman before him.

"It's been a long time, Master Jiraiya! Have you brought these Konoha shinobi here for the Rinnegan and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, too?"

Konan's voice was clear, her gaze cold as she looked at everyone. The smoke had now cleared, and Uchiha Shūichi and his squad had formed a battle formation.

The Konoha shinobi squad was made up entirely of elites, with even the weakest being a Special Jonin. Though Yūhi Kurenai had been left in a terrible state by the barrage of exploding shuriken, she had suffered only minor injuries and was still fit to fight.

"I only want to find out what you're trying to do! Konan, where's Nagato? Why did the Rinnegan appear in Yahiko? What happened to you all back then?"

"And the Akatsuki Organization... Why has it become such a terrifying organization?"

"It seems you already know quite a bit, Master. We were too naive back then, and that's what brought disaster upon us!"

"As for the Akatsuki Organization and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, they're simply a means of strengthening our power. We only want the Land of Rain to have the right to say no to the other great shinobi villages!"

The Akatsuki Organization's plans had not yet begun to unfold. They had not even gathered all their members, let alone started collecting the Tailed Beasts. Naturally, Konan wasn't going to reveal everything.

If she exposed the organization's goal of collecting all the Tailed Beasts, combining them into the Ten-Tails, and using its terrifying power to bring an end to war, the allied forces of the Five Great Shinobi Villages would be at the Land of Rain's doorstep in less than a week.

Under the circumstances, Konan naturally chose her words carefully. Jiraiya immediately furrowed his brow.

"No... That can't be. I don't believe you'd gather so many dangerous shinobi just to protect the Land of Rain!"

"What exactly are you planning?"

Konan let out a long breath, looking somewhat relieved.

"As expected, I can't hide anything from you, Master Jiraiya!"

"If it were only for the Land of Rain, one pair of Rinnegan would be enough! I know my own students, which is why I'm certain your goal is about more than just the Land of Rain!"

Every shinobi had a certain capacity—or, more accurately, ambition, or some kind of goal.

Jiraiya knew his three students well. If they survived, they were destined to make their mark on the grand stage of the Shinobi World.

They would either bring peace to the world or bring it to ruin. Either way, settling down quietly in the Land of Rain was never an option.

After all, Jiraiya had chosen his students with precisely that in mind!

The Great Toad Sage's prophecy about the Child of Prophecy had set Jiraiya's standards for choosing students absurdly high. And anyone who became his student, so long as they didn't die young, was bound to have a major impact on the world.

Konan, whom he had taken on as a student almost as an afterthought, was an exception. As for Nagato and Yahiko, Jiraiya believed that as long as they were alive, they would never give up on trying to change the world.

That was simply Yahiko's nature. As for Nagato, those Rinnegan meant he could never hide away in the Land of Rain for the rest of his life.

"That's enough, Master Jiraiya!"

With a cold snort, a shinobi with orange hair, a blank expression, and iron studs covering his face slowly walked down from the building.

Several others followed behind him. They were dressed alike, had the same hair color, and wore the same iron studs on their faces. All had blank expressions, and their most striking feature was their purple Rinnegan.

"The Rinnegan... There are six of them?!"

"How is that possible?!"

The shinobi under Uchiha Shūichi fell into a panic. Jiraiya's eyes also showed his confusion.

"What's going on? Why are Nagato's eyes here? And who are they? How can there be so many Rinnegan?"

"You have too many questions, Master Jiraiya. Besides, do you really think I'd reveal my secrets?"

Pain replied coldly. At that moment, Uchiha Shūichi spoke up as well.

"Lord Jiraiya, they're not alive! They must all be human puppets!"

"I can tell with my Sharingan. They aren't breathing through their mouths or noses, and their hearts aren't beating! The only reason they can move is the Chakra transmitted through those black rods!"

Right away, Uchiha Shūichi told Jiraiya what he could about the situation. Jiraiya's expression changed as he looked at the leading figure, Deva Path Pain.

"Human puppets?! Does that mean something happened to Yahiko? This is just his corpse... Are you the one controlling these human puppets, Nagato?"

After a moment of silence, Deva Path Pain slowly spoke.

"That's right. It's me, Master Jiraiya."

"What happened to the Akatsuki Organization? How did Yahiko die?!"

"You'll have to ask your Konoha Village about that, Master Jiraiya!"

Though Deva Path Pain still wore the same blank expression and his voice didn't change at all, Jiraiya felt a chill run through him. Beneath those flat words, he could hear a deep hatred.

"Konoha?! What does this have to do with Konoha? Was it someone from Konoha who killed Yahiko?"

"I heard that Hanzo of the Salamander was the one who wiped out the Akatsuki Organization back then..."

"It wasn't just Hanzo of the Salamander!"

Konan cut Jiraiya off, her gaze growing colder.

"The Root Organization of Konoha was involved too, along with its leader, Shimura Danzō. They wiped out the Akatsuki Organization together!"