As the two exchanged meaningful glances, the situation between Pain and Zabuza took a sudden turn. Pain, who had been relatively still, abruptly made a much larger movement, and Shu instantly activated the Summoning Technique.
With a bang, a thick cloud of smoke rose. Everyone watched intently, expecting some rare summoning beast to appear. To their surprise, however, what emerged was not a beast but a person—a woman, with the same orange hair and cloud-patterned robe.
The moment the woman appeared, she stood beside Pain. Her eyes bore the same concentric rings of the Rinnegan. At this sight, Jiraiya was utterly stunned. After all, the Rinnegan was the rarest and one of the most powerful of all Dōjutsu, yet now it kept appearing one after another. That was impossible to ignore.
Jiraiya wanted to ask something, but the woman clearly had no intention of giving him the chance. She slammed her palm against the ground and shouted, "Summoning Technique: Six Paths Beasts!"
Uchiha Itachi and Orochimaru watched from the side, both looking astonished. They were thoroughly familiar with the Summoning Technique, but this was their first time seeing one that required so few hand seals and no blood offering.
The instant her words fell, black markings spread across the ground, gradually forming a complete formation. Then a tremendous bang rang through the air, and a gigantic, vicious hound appeared amid white smoke.
Uchiha Itachi could not help frowning at the sight. The vicious hound was enormous, fully the size of two adults, and had three hideous heads. Its mouths gaped open, saliva dripping from sharp fangs, and a long, razor-sharp black spike protruded from its head.
Most importantly, its eyes bore the same concentric rings as Pain's. In that instant, Jiraiya realized something was wrong. He also sensed how dangerous