"Because you can't withstand my full power, you need to take a shortcut," Nine-Tails stated. "Just like the original concept of Demon Fox Mode, the Tailed Beast Ball isn't even close to my full strength. But it's a shortcut that allows you to use my power for your own purposes. This should be enough. You're going to spit this power back out eventually anyway, so stop complaining and use it already." Kurama could sense Naruto suppressing his nausea.
Konan recalled how Zetsu had once described this technique to her, back when Nine-Tails used it against Itachi Uchiha during their battle.
"He's actually going to use that technique here—in this village!" she shouted at the ninjas blocking her path. "Scatter now! None of you can survive this attack—it will destroy every last one of you!"
"It's too late now. This is what you wanted, Nine-Tails—show me your full power!" Naruto thought.
"Tailed Beast Ball!" Naruto roared, unleashing a beam of pure destructive energy. Everything in its path was obliterated in an instant, the village crumbling before such immense power.
******
Jiraiya sat inside the esophagus of a giant toad, surrounded by a simulated acidic environment resembling stomach acid. It was as though he was stranded on an island engulfed in corrosive liquid.
The wounds on his body had been caused by strange black chakra rods wielded by that ponytailed attacker from their earlier fight.
"I can't believe he actually charged headfirst into my giant toad's stomach," Jiraiya murmured weakly. "Even harder to believe is that I actually managed to capture one of them."
"Are you alright, child?" Shima asked, her voice filled with concern.
Jiraiya nodded. "I'm fine." Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation surge through his entire body. "My chakra is in chaos—I can't control it anymore!"
Jiraiya groaned in pain, curling his body while the black rod remained embedded within him.
Fukasaku narrowed his eyes at the rod and yanked it free:
"This is it!" he exclaimed. "They not only look bizarre but also appear in overwhelming numbers. And now they're wielding these terrifying weapons. These guys aren't human—they must be something else entirely."
Jiraiya gazed down at the lifeless form of Pain before him. "I guess this one is the real Nagato," he muttered to himself.
Pain's Amegakure forehead protector slid off, revealing a familiar scar on his forehead—one that stirred old memories.
"No! Now I remember! This isn't Nagato—it can't be!" The toad perched on his shoulder blinked in confusion. "A long time ago, I crossed swords with this very man. Not long after I followed the Great Toad Sage's guidance from Mount Myoboku to journey across the land, I was attacked by a ninja from the Fuma clan. I gave him this scar right here on his forehead."
"Then why would he be here?" Shima pressed impatiently.
Fukasaku held his head:
"The more we uncover, the less we seem to understand about Pain."
Jiraiya's expression turned serious:
"If the prophecy is true, I must uncover the truth. I must face them again. I won't let you two suffer because of me. Return to Mount Myoboku now."
Fukasaku reluctantly said,
"Have you lost your mind, kid? If you head out now, you probably won't make it out alive! There are still several guys out there with the Rinnegan. He won't fall for your trap again—he hasn't pieced everything together yet! We need to run while we still can!"
The entire chamber began to quake violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
Jiraiya firmly shook his head.
"You might be right. If I head out now, I probably won't return. But this may be my only chance. I have to find out his true identity. And Naruto is still out there. If they can't catch me, they'll go after him! Right now, Naruto is either still fighting or looking for me. He wouldn't just leave me behind and run—he knows me too well! Without me there, he'll get captured! I need both of you to take this corpse back to Konoha and report all of our findings to Lady Tsunade."
"If that's all, I can handle it on my own," Fukasaku said, still unwilling to leave.
Just as Jiraiya was about to argue, Shima spoke up.
"You better not miss dinner!"
Fukasaku grinned.
"Don't worry—we won't. We'll finish up and head straight back with the kid."
---
##Outside Amegakure##
Pain and his companions turned their heads, staring at their village—or more precisely—at the massive crater in its center.
Jiraiya had somehow managed to escape from his attack and even took away one of his bodies—one Pain still hadn't located yet.
And if that wasn't bad enough, just minutes ago, he and his remaining comrades had narrowly avoided an unexpected blast.
A mini-sized Tailed Beast Ball had detonated at the village's edge, ripping open a trench nearly two hundred meters long, obliterating everything in its path—buildings collapsed, devastation everywhere. It was devastation incarnate.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki…" Pain muttered under his breath, because only one person near Amegakure could pull off an attack this big.
As he and his companions surveyed the ruined battlefield, waiting for Naruto's appearance, Jiraiya and Fukasaku emerged from the water behind them. Fukasaku summoned a giant shuriken, which Jiraiya caught and hurled toward the bald Pain.
Thanks to shared vision from another companion, the bald Pain narrowly avoided the strike. Jiraiya carefully observed the six people before him and suddenly realized something.
"I get it now! They're all ninja I've seen before! It must be them! I know who you really are, Pain!"
At that moment, the bald Pain launched an attack against Jiraiya—using pure taijutsu—the same attacker who'd torn off Jiraiya's arm earlier.
He grabbed Jiraiya by the throat and slammed him to the ground, then pierced his body with a black chakra rod. "Damn it! I have to tell Elder Fukasaku! I have to make him find Naruto and tell him to get out of here! But my throat..."
"Ero-Sennin!"
A violent gust of wind howled through as countless Rasengan hurtled toward the circle of Pains surrounding Jiraiya, forcing them to retreat.
Naruto landed heavily on the ground and dropped to his knees beside Jiraiya.
Gasping from the toll of the battle and Nine-Tails Chakra use, Naruto gasped between ragged breaths, "Ero-Sennin, it's me—Naruto! What the hell did they do to you?!" But Jiraiya gave no reply.
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