Land of Rain Border

The spatial distortion caused by the Flying Thunder God Technique was more intense than ever before. Ling felt as if his body had been forcibly taken apart and put back together. A violent wave of dizziness and nausea crashed through his mind. This long-distance teleportation to an imprecise location placed a far greater strain on his mind and chakra than any previous attempt.

When his feet finally touched solid ground, he staggered and nearly dropped to one knee. He forced himself to steady his stance and quickly surveyed his surroundings.

He was in a barren stretch of mountains. The sky was overcast, with lead-gray clouds hanging low, and the air carried the damp smell of soil and the faintest trace of blood. Distant, muffled explosions rumbled from the direction where the Anbu's chakra trail ended, according to his senses.

He had made it to the border region of the Land of Rain.

There was no time to rest. He immediately suppressed his presence and spread his Sage Body's sensory range as far as he could, like a vast spiderweb. The chakra signatures carried on the wind were chaotic and violent. Among them were several familiar presences—Jiraiya's immense, warm Senjutsu Chakra, now sluggish and unsteady; Tsunade's life-filled chakra, as faint as a candle flickering in the wind; and... Naruto's! His chakra was weak, but as vivid as the sun, and now surging wildly!

They were still alive! Ling felt his heart settle for a moment, but then it leapt again. Several cold, bizarre chakra signatures filled with destructive intent were wrapped around those familiar presences. They felt strange—not like those of living people, but more like... some kind of precisely controlled puppets. Yet their power was absurdly strong.

He raced toward the direction of the battle, vanishing among the craggy rocks after just a few bounds.

The closer he got to the battlefield, the heavier the bloodlust and despair in the air became. The ground was covered in enormous craters, gouges, and scattered fragments of oddly shaped black metal. The surrounding trees and rocks had been unnaturally twisted and corroded.

At last, he silently crouched at the edge of a cliff and looked down.

The valley below was in ruins.

Jiraiya was kneeling on the ground, his long white hair caked with grime and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Sage Fukasaku and Shima stood on his shoulders, but all three of them seemed badly weakened. Tsunade lay not far away, her chest heaving, her golden hair disheveled. She had clearly been rendered unable to fight.

Naruto was being fiercely shielded behind Jiraiya. The little boy's face was streaked with tears and contorted with fury as he screamed something at their opponents.

Their enemies were six people wearing black cloaks embroidered with red clouds. They floated in midair, their faces expressionless and their eyes an eerie purple, ringed with concentric ripples. At their head was a man with short orange hair, slowly raising his hand and aiming it at Jiraiya and Naruto below.

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

Ling's pupils contracted sharply. Were these the "monsters" the Anbu had mentioned? The "black things"? He had never seen such a bizarre dōjutsu.

"Give up, Jiraiya-sensei." Deva Path Pain's voice was devoid of feeling, like a god passing judgment. "All resistance is futile before a god. Hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. It is your only chance to survive."

"Never!" Jiraiya forced himself to his feet and struggled to press his hands together. "As long as I have a breath left in me, I'll never hand Naruto over to bastards like you!"

"Foolish to the end." A terrifying force of attraction began to gather in front of Deva Path Pain's palm!

Banshō Ten'in!

Jiraiya's body was dragged helplessly into the air. He fought desperately against it, but it was as if he were trapped in an invisible swamp.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto cried, rushing forward.

Now!

A cold light flashed in Ling's eyes. Without hesitation, his hands formed seals in an instant!

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

A flash of golden light, and he appeared before Naruto like a ghost. His left arm swept the little boy up and held him tightly against his chest. At almost the same instant, he spread the fingers of his right hand and aimed them at Jiraiya, who was being pulled by the force of attraction!

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

Four pale green chakra chains appeared out of nowhere. Rather than binding Pain, they wrapped precisely around Jiraiya's waist. Their powerful sealing force instantly cut off the terrifying attraction acting on him!

Jiraiya felt the weight lift from his body and fell from the air, where Sage Fukasaku caught him.

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

All Six Paths of Pain turned toward Ling at once, their Rinnegan fixing on him with a cold stare.

"Brother!" Naruto cried in delight when he saw who was holding him, then his voice turned tearful. "Please save Pervy Sage and Grandma Tsunade!"

Ling didn't look back. His eyes remained fixed on Deva Path Pain. Up close, the cold, boundless pressure, as if it didn't belong to this world, felt even more overwhelming. Even the Nine-Tails Chakra inside him stirred uneasily...and seemed wary?

"Another pesky bug." Deva Path Pain's voice remained calm, but he raised his other hand.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ling activated the Flying Thunder God again, Naruto in his arms!

"Whoosh!"

The ground where they had stood collapsed under an invisible force, leaving behind a massive crater shaped like a palm print!

That attack was fast! He barely needed to form seals! Ling's heart tightened. This enemy was unlike any he had faced before.

"Keep him distracted!" Jiraiya shouted, fighting through his injuries. "His technique has a cooldown!"

Ling understood at once. He pushed Naruto toward a safe spot behind him. "Stay there. Don't move!"

Before the words had left his mouth, he vanished again. This time, he appeared beside Preta Path Pain! The man could absorb chakra; he had to be taken out or restrained first!

But just as Ling's kunai was about to pierce the back of Preta Path Pain's neck, the feminine-bodied Pain beside him—the Human Path—whipped around with unbelievable speed and reached straight for Ling's head!

Ling could even feel the pull of the force on that hand, a force that targeted the soul!

He had no choice but to abandon his attack. The Flying Thunder God activated again, letting him dodge by the narrowest margin.

"It's useless." Deva Path Pain watched Ling flicker in and out of sight with cold indifference. "Your speed means nothing against the Rinnegan's field of vision."

He raised his hand again.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A force of repulsion even more terrifying than before erupted from him, blasting outward in every direction! This time, it was an indiscriminate, all-encompassing attack!

Ling's pupils contracted. He could tell that the range and power of this attack were too great; there was no way the Flying Thunder God could get him out of its reach in time!

He abruptly poured chakra into his feet, anchoring himself to the ground, while gathering what little Senjutsu Chakra remained in front of him to form a thin barrier!

"Bang—!"

As if struck head-on by a speeding train, Ling was hurled through the air by the irresistible force and slammed into a distant cliff. Blood surged into his throat, and he spat out a mouthful. The spare kunai and Military Ration Pills he carried spilled across the ground.

"Brother!" Naruto cried out in terror.

"Ling!" Jiraiya shouted in alarm.

Ling slid down the cliff and dropped to one knee, coughing violently as his chest burned with pain. He looked up at the approaching Six Paths of Pain. Their Rinnegan seemed to hold the cold indifference of the entire world.

The gap between them...was too great.

Was this the power that had trapped the Sannin? This feeling of being rejected by the entire world...

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, but there wasn't a hint of retreat in his eyes. He couldn't fall here. Naruto was still behind him.

He drew a deep breath and slowly straightened, enduring the pain. His left hand quietly formed a special seal, connecting with the Eight Trigrams Seal in his abdomen.

It looked like he had no choice but to use that trump card early.