Border of the Land of Rain

The sensation of spatial displacement from the Flying Thunder God Technique was more intense than ever before. Ling felt as if his body were being forcibly dismantled and reassembled, a violent wave of dizziness and nausea battering his brain. This ultra-long-distance jump, with its vague target coordinates, placed a burden on his spirit and chakra far exceeding any previous attempt.

When his feet finally touched solid ground, he stumbled, nearly dropping to one knee. He forced himself to steady his stance and scanned his surroundings.

He was in a desolate, mountainous region. The sky was gloomy, with lead-gray clouds hanging low, and the air was thick with the scent of damp earth and a faint, lingering trace of blood. In the distance, muffled explosions rumbled, coming from the very direction where the Anbu's chakra trail had ended in his perception.

He had arrived: the border of the Land of Rain.

There was no time to rest. He immediately suppressed his presence, expanding his Sage Body's sensory range like a spiderweb to its maximum extent. The chakra fluctuations in the wind were chaotic and violent, interspersed with several signatures he recognized—Jiraiya's vast, warm sage chakra, which now felt sluggish and disordered; Tsunade's life-force-filled chakra, which was like a candle in the wind, so faint it was barely detectable; and... Naruto! That chakra, though small, was as distinct as the sun, and currently fluctuating wildly!

They were still alive! Ling's heart settled slightly, but then tightened again. Surrounding those familiar signatures were several others—cold, eerie, and filled with a destructive will. These chakra signatures felt strange to him; they didn't feel like living people, but rather like... some kind of precisely controlled puppets, yet their power was absurdly high.

He moved rapidly toward the source of the battle, his figure vanishing after a few leaps among the jagged rocks.

The closer he got to the battlefield, the heavier the air became with slaughter and despair. The ground was riddled with massive craters, jagged tears, and scattered, strangely shaped shards of black metal. The surrounding trees and rocks were twisted and corroded in an unnatural way.

Finally, he lay silently on the edge of a cliff and looked down.

The valley below was in ruins.

Jiraiya was half-kneeling on the ground, his long white hair stained with grime, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. The two toad sages, Fukasaku and Shima, stood on his shoulders, but the aura of all three was severely withered. Tsunade lay not far from him, her chest heaving, her long golden hair disheveled; she was clearly incapacitated.

As for Naruto, he was being shielded behind Jiraiya's body. The little boy's face was streaked with tears and rage, and he was screaming hoarsely at the figures in front of them.

Their opponents were six individuals wearing black cloaks embroidered with red clouds. They hovered in mid-air, expressionless, their eyes a bizarre, purplish hue marked with concentric ripples! The leader, a man with short orange hair, was slowly raising his hand, aiming it at Jiraiya and Naruto on the ground.

Pain! And that Preta Path who could absorb chakra, along with the others...

Ling's pupils contracted sharply. Was this the "monster" the Anbu had spoken of? Those "black things"? These guys' eyes... he had never seen such eerie ocular powers!

"Give up, Master Jiraiya." Deva Path Pain's voice was devoid of emotion, like a god passing judgment. "Before a god, all resistance is futile. Hand over the Nine-Tails jinchuriki; it is your only path to survival."

"In your dreams!" Jiraiya forced himself to stand, his hands struggling to form a seal. "As long as I have a breath left, I will never hand Naruto over to you bastards!"

"Stubborn." A terrifying gravitational force began to gather in front of Deva Path Pain's palm!

Almighty Push!

Jiraiya's body was dragged uncontrollably into the air. He fought with all his might, but it was as if he were trapped in an invisible quagmire.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto cried out, moving to rush forward.

Now!

A cold light flashed in Ling's eyes! Without a moment's hesitation, his hands completed the seals in an instant!

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

A flash of golden light, and his figure appeared like a ghost in front of Naruto, his left hand scooping the boy up and pressing him tightly against his chest. Almost simultaneously, he splayed the fingers of his right hand, aiming them at the gravity-stricken Jiraiya!

Not an attack, but—Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Lock (Simplified)!

Four pale green chakra chains manifested out of thin air. They did not wrap around Pain, but instead precisely coiled around Jiraiya's waist, the powerful sealing force instantly severing the terrifying gravitational pull acting upon him!

Jiraiya felt his body lighten and fell from the air, caught by Fukasaku who followed close behind.

The sudden turn of events brought an instant silence to the battlefield.

The Six Paths of Pain turned their heads in unison, those Rinnegan eyes coldly focusing on the suddenly appeared Ling.

"Big brother!" Naruto recognized the person holding him and cried out in surprise, then added with a sob, "Quick, save Pervy Sage and Granny Tsunade!"

Ling did not look back, his gaze locked firmly on Deva Path Pain. Feeling it at close range, that cold, vast pressure—as if it did not belong to this world—was even more intense. The Nine-Tails chakra within him even gave a tremor of agitation and... wariness?

"Another annoying insect." Deva Path Pain's voice remained flat, but he raised his other hand.

Ling didn't even think; he activated the Flying Thunder God again while holding Naruto!

Whoosh!

The ground where they had just been standing was instantly crushed by an invisible, massive force, forming a deep crater in the shape of a palm!

Such a fast attack! And it required almost no seals! Ling felt a chill in his heart. This was unlike any enemy he had ever encountered.

"Distract him!" Jiraiya shouted, enduring his injuries. "His technique has an interval!"

Ling understood instantly. He pushed Naruto toward a safe area behind him: "Stay there and don't move!"

Before the words had faded, he vanished again. This time, he appeared at the side of the Preta Path Pain! This guy could absorb chakra; he had to be dealt with or restricted first!

However, the moment his kunai was about to pierce the Preta Path's neck, the female-bodied Pain (Human Path) turned its head with incredible speed, one hand reaching directly for Ling's head!

Ling could even feel the soul-draining suction coming from that hand!

He was forced to abandon the attack and activate the Flying Thunder God again, narrowly avoiding the strike.

"Useless." Deva Path Pain watched the constantly flickering Ling with indifference. "Under the vision of the Rinnegan, your speed is meaningless."

He raised his hand again.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A repulsive force even more terrifying than before erupted from his center! This time, it was an indiscriminate, omnidirectional attack!

Ling's pupils shrank violently. He could feel that the range and power of this attack were too great; he wouldn't be able to escape the blast radius with the Flying Thunder God in time!

He slammed his chakra into his feet, anchoring himself to the ground, while condensing his remaining sage chakra in front of him to form a thin layer of defense!

"Bang—!"

It was as if he had been struck head-on by a high-speed train; Ling was sent flying by that irresistible force, slamming heavily into the rock wall in the distance. A sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. The spare kunai and Military Ration Pills he had been carrying scattered across the ground.

"Big brother!" Naruto screamed in terror.

"Kid Ling!" Jiraiya was also frantic with worry.

Ling slid down from the rock wall and knelt on one knee, coughing violently as his chest burned with searing pain. He looked up at the slowly approaching Six Paths of Pain, whose Rinnegan seemed to embody the indifference of the entire world.

The gap... was too vast.

Is this the power that could trap the Sannin? This feeling of being rejected by the entire world...

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, yet his gaze did not waver in the slightest. He could not fall here; Naruto was still behind him.

He took a deep breath, endured the excruciating pain, and slowly straightened his body. His left hand quietly formed a special seal, connecting with the Eight Trigrams Seal on his abdomen.

It seems I have no choice but to play that trump card ahead of schedule.