"How? Six Rinnegans?"
"This can't be possible!"
"Who exactly are you people?"
"Where's Nagato?"
"Konan, what have you done?"
Seeing six Pains appear at once, each with a Rinnegan.
Jiraiya became unsettled.
Well, the Rinnegan was just too famous.
Let alone seeing six of them appearing all at once!
Even Orochimaru had been startled when first encountering the Six Paths of Pain.
"Teacher, hand over the Nine-Tails!"
"This is your last chance..."
Konan withdrew from the encirclement and gave her final warning.
Truthfully, she didn't want to kill this former teacher.
But if he insisted on protecting the Nine-Tails and opposing Nagato...
Then she would have no choice but to strike mercilessly...
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Jiraiya immediately rejected without hesitation.
"In that case, then attack!"
The Deva Path Pain coldly ordered.
In an instant, all six Pains surged forward at once, converging on Jiraiya.
A fierce battle officially began...
On the edge of the battlefield, atop a tall building.
Shimoku silently watched this intense battle unfold.
To be honest, Shimoku admired Jiraiya more than Pain—he respected loyalty and righteousness.
However, from the perspective of his own Homura Hidden Village.
Each strong ninja lost from Konoha meant one fewer threat to his village.
For the sake of his village, it was best to send this Pervert Sage straight to the Pure Land (a Buddhist realm of peace).
In short, as previously stated.
In the Ninja World, there is no right or wrong—only differences in stance.
Not long after.
Another familiar figure appeared beside Shimoku.
"It's already started?"
"I guess I arrived late!"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, watching the battle ahead with a mocking smile.
"He's an old acquaintance of yours. Won't you lend a helping hand?"
"An old acquaintance back then, but what does he mean to me now?"
Orochimaru stubbornly maintained, deliberately acting indifferent and aloof.
"Pfft!"
Shimoku mentally rolled his eyes.
If he hadn't known beforehand that it was Orochimaru who leaked the information earlier, he might've actually believed him...
This Lady Serpent was truly not being honest!
"Jiraiya won't defeat the Six Paths of Pain..."
"That's true indeed. Without sufficient intelligence, anyone facing them would end up at a disadvantage."
Orochimaru nodded in agreement.
The Six Paths of Pain had truly unique and incredibly powerful abilities.
It was naturally difficult for anyone to withstand their assault upon first encounter.
Especially when Jiraiya had to fight all six alone—an immense pressure indeed.
After all,
not every ninja could pull off what that punk, Shimoku Uchiha, did.
...
The battle between Jiraiya and the Six Paths of Pain grew increasingly intense.
From the very beginning, the Six Paths unleashed their full power.
Fiercely attacking Jiraiya nonstop.
Jiraiya himself didn't dare hold anything back either.
He immediately summoned Elder Fukasaku and Elder Shima—the Toad Sage couple from Mount Myoboku.
With assistance from these two Toad Sages.
Jiraiya barely survived the first wave of attacks, avoiding being instantly killed by the Six Paths of Pain.
Still, he found himself in dire straits.
Overwhelmed by the strange powers of the Six Paths of Pain, he grew frantic, constantly finding himself in life-threatening danger.
He didn't even have time to form Hand Seals, channel natural energy, or activate Sage Mode…
It hadn't even been two or three minutes!
And yet Jiraiya's body already had fresh wounds across it.
His left arm had even been dislocated once.
Luckily, he quickly popped it back into place.
Thankfully too, the Animal Path's summoned beasts
were rampaging elsewhere in Konoha,
held back by Elder Toad and the other two toads.
Otherwise, Jiraiya might have already fallen…
"Little Jiraiya, you must retreat now!"
"These six together are just too strong!"
"You can't defeat them all by yourself…"
Perched on Jiraiya's right shoulder, Elder Sage Fukasaku quickly urged.
Based on their earlier clash, he had already made his judgment.
The enemy's strength was beyond what Jiraiya could handle alone!
Facing two or three individually might still offer a chance.
But fighting all six at once?
Even with both him and his wife assisting, there would be no hope of victory!
"Dear, why are you so cowardly?"
"This isn't cowardice, dear! I'm speaking the truth. I don't want little Jiraiya dying here…"
"Well then, try harder! You've been sluggish from the start!"
"Dear, what are you saying! I've been doing my best already!"
In just a few words,
the toad sage couple began bickering again.
As if this wasn't a battlefield, but rather their own home.
"Alright, please stop arguing."
"I won't retreat."
"This is Konoha itself—I have nowhere left to fall back to."
"Besides, their real target should be Naruto. Even if I retreat, they might not spare me anyway!"
"And if I do end up defeated…"
"Please take the Gourd Toad back with you—Naruto is inside him…"
"That boy will trouble you then…"
After struggling to deliver his final instructions,
Jiraiya launched another offensive.
He knew clearly that without entering Sage Mode, he absolutely couldn't match these six opponents.
Therefore, the only way forward—
was to feign breaking through, trading injuries for damage, desperately killing one or two of them first,
then seeking an opportunity to turn things around…
Perhaps by then, reinforcements from his village would arrive?
"He's starting to go all-out."
"Indeed he is."
Shimoku egged on once more:
"Really won't help? Don't worry, if you choose to intervene, I definitely won't stop you."
Orochimaru:…
"This truly is your absolute last chance, you know?"
"You're joking, Shimoku…"
Orochimaru shook his head, remaining unmoved as ever.
In his eyes, giving them that warning out of past connection had already been his biggest compromise.
If that fool Jiraiya really died here,
that would simply be his destined fate.
To attain the pinnacle of Ninjutsu, to uncover the scientific truth.
He wouldn't act recklessly.
"Fine then, let's keep watching the show."
Shimoku shrugged indifferently.
After all, it was just a show to watch.
Of course, it would be even better if this performance could get a bit more intense.
Ideally giving Jiraiya the chance to activate Sage Mode.
That way he could witness it firsthand as well.
Exactly what wondrous aspects did Mount Myoboku's Sage Mode possess?
...
The battle unfolded practically identically to how Shimoku had predicted.
With assistance from two Toad Sages, Jiraiya fought desperately.
He directly eliminated Pain's Human Path and crippled half of the Animal Path's body.
At the same time, his left forearm was shattered by the Asura Path,
and a large gash opened across his abdomen, blood flowing nonstop...
He was obviously gravely wounded, having lost most of his combat power.
"So it seems this is where it ends."
"Never thought... my final moments would be in my own village!"
Half-kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach,
Jiraiya sighed weakly, breathing shallowly.
Still, at least he had eliminated two of them—quite an impressive feat.
Perhaps it could alleviate some pressure on the village.
...
"Incredible teacher indeed!"
"Even in such desperation, he managed to kill two opponents..."
Looking at the fallen Jiraiya, the Deva Path of Pain softly murmured in admiration.
But admiration was one thing.
Mercy wasn't something he'd grant.
Immediately, he first issued orders to the Naraka Path,
commanding it to recover the corpses of the Human Path and Animal Path for resurrection.
Then, he turned to give instructions to the Asura Path.
"Go ahead. Disable his limbs—just make sure not to kill him."
"After the Human Path revives, we'll extract the boy's memories and control him."
"Bring back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
In an instant, the Asura Path bared its grin and leapt toward Jiraiya.
It stretched out its five-clawed arm and fiercely slammed downward,
preparing to disable Jiraiya's limbs and capture him alive.
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