Sakura clenched her fists.
She had appeared in the footage again—
and her adult self looked almost the same as before.
Would she still be that useless?
This time…
She had to do better.
No more crying—
Please, future me, show some decent performance!
Chōji: "Shikamaru, look! It's you! You're so handsome when you grow up!"
Tenten: "I wonder if I'll become really pretty when I grow up too. I can't wait!"
But Shikamaru only looked grim.
His future self clearly held an important position.
As expected—
He never got to live the carefree life he wanted.
Kiba: "Don't worry, Akamaru. Since Shikamaru appeared, we'll see what we look like soon too!"
Root Base
"Jiraiya is dead?"
"Good, good. All the people I hate are finally dying.
If only that brat Tsunade—who stole the Hokage seat from me—could die early too."
Upon learning of Jiraiya's future death, Danzō didn't mourn.
He was ecstatic.
Across the other villages, once they heard Jiraiya would die at Pain's hands—
Everyone grew curious about this "Pain."
After all, they still didn't know the man currently shown in the footage was Pain.
Rain Country – Akatsuki Base
Tobi: "Leader! Amazing! You defeated one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya!"
Deidara: "As expected of Leader-sama… but if it were me, I could've handled him too! Hm!"
Itachi's expression didn't change, but inwardly he was relieved.
He hadn't expected Akatsuki would actually attack Konoha one day.
Fortunately, by that time Sasuke had likely already defected, so he wouldn't be in danger.
Nagato stared blankly.
Jiraiya… dead?
Killed by him?
What could possibly have happened in the future?
Why would he ever kill his own teacher unless forced?
The Footage Continued
[Konoha Intelligence Division.]
[Yamanaka Inoichi was probing the memories of a Rain Village ninja.]
[His progress halted—the memories were protected by a genjutsu barrier.]
[Konoha Forensics Department.]
[Shizune was examining a corpse.]
[Judging from its appearance, the corpse clearly belonged to the same group as the one invading Konoha.]
[A box beside her was filled with black rods extracted from the body.]
[Analyzing the powdered residue, Shizune made several discoveries.]
[Codebreaking Division.]
[Shikamaru: "The code said the real body isn't among them. If so, all six Pains are illusions."]
["Maybe it's a jutsu cast by some other woman in Akatsuki, with someone attacking physically from behind."]
[Sakura shook her head. "That sounds far-fetched. According to Lord Fukasaku…"]
["Jiraiya-sama was actually killed by these six individuals using weapons."]
["But after defeating three of them, those three resurrected… it's unbelievable."]
["It's like a genjutsu!"]
[Shikamaru nodded. "Akatsuki can't be understood by common sense—after all, they even have immortals."]
[Images of Hidan and Kakuzu flashed through his mind.]
[Shiho: "Until more intel comes in, we should at least consider all possibilities."]
[Shikamaru nodded again. "Agreed."]
[Sakura grew serious. "Before Naruto returns from training, any information on Pain is valuable."]
The Shinobi World
"It's confirmed now. Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, really dies to this Pain in the future."
"Yes. And we know for sure now, Pain is an Akatsuki member. Also, there seems to be a woman in Akatsuki too."
"But something is strange… they talk about three being defeated, then six again, but they're all called 'Pain.' How many Pains are there!?"
"Regardless, Akatsuki seems far stronger than we ever imagined."
Rain Country – Akatsuki Base
Nagato lowered his head.
Now he could confirm it.
His teacher—Jiraiya—was truly killed by him in the future.
But why…?
On the Road Back to Konoha
Jiraiya stopped walking.
"So… in the future, I really get killed by Nagato, that kid?"
"He surpassed me, huh? But why does my heart feel so unpleasant…"
Konoha – Chūnin Exam Arena
Naruto clenched his fists, filled with rage.
"How dare he!
How dare he!
HOW DARE HE KILL PERVY SAGE!"
"PAAAIIIIN! I'll never forgive you!"
The feminized Naruto, trembling with fury—
was… too cute.
Everyone around froze, stunned.
Then, the footage continued.
[Mount Myōboku.]
["Whew—"]
[Naruto sat drinking tea with Fukasaku.]
[Fukasaku's wife picked up a sack and prepared to head out.]
["I'll go fetch some fresh ingredients."]
[Naruto instantly wore the most despairing expression.]
["Not her dark cooking again! Noooo!"]
[Fukasaku: "Dear, make sure you get ingredients that boost stamina."]
Chūnin Exam Arena
"AAAHHHH!"
Naruto grabbed his golden twin ponytails in disbelief.
"What's going on!? Pain is invading the village—shouldn't I be protecting Konoha!?"
"Why am I in some place I've never been before!?"
"Why am I drinking tea with a toad!?"
"Hey! Future me! Konoha's in danger—get back and protect it!!"
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