"Jiraiya, you should be grateful to me."
Orochimaru didn't care about his anger and chuckled, "If I hadn't spent so much effort salvaging you, you'd be lost forever. I gave you a chance to return to this world, what more are you dissatisfied with?"
Jiraiya stared at him with lifeless eyes. "If you still value our past friendship, don't disturb my peace..."
"Turning your forbidden soul-defiling technique into charity... Orochimaru, you really do have a sharp tongue."
"Peace?"
Orochimaru sneered. "Only the living have the luxury to pursue such things. I understand what the Pure Land is like better than you do."
"Jiraiya, you're no less attached to this world than I am."
He gazed at his longtime friend and rival, his tone laced with subtle disappointment. "What have you accomplished in your life?"
"You ran around for decades, burdened by some beast's prophecy. You trained a bunch of disciples who either want to kill you or destroy Konoha. In the end, you were sent to die by Shimura. Jiraiya, how is there a failure in this world worse than you?"
"Even that old man Hiruzen is better than you. At least I gave him a proper funeral. What do you have?"
Jiraiya remained silent.
He too had questioned whether his life had been a failure, but he carried no regrets.
He had done all he could. Isn't that what being a shinobi means? Doing your best, completing your mission. The results aren't something you get to choose.
Seeing Jiraiya's silence, Orochimaru became even more irritable. His expression twisted, he flicked out his tongue and pointed outside. "See that? Shimura is using your death to attack the Hidden Rain Village. As the person involved, shouldn't you go say hello?"
Kabuto coordinated by raising his fingers, and Jiraiya was forcibly propelled out of the corridor, forming hand seals midair.
"Fire Release: Big Flame Bomb!"
Boom—!
A massive explosion erupted, raising a mushroom cloud into the sky. Both friend and foe were caught in the blast. Jiraiya's body was blown apart, only to reassemble again.
"I didn't expect to see you again, Jiraiya."
The layers of Wood Release peeled open, and Yami looked up at Jiraiya standing on the wall, smiling.
"I've wanted to beat you up for a long time!"
Jiraiya had long known that Yami didn't like him.
Their ideological differences and conflicting personalities weren't a recent thing.
Honestly, given Yami's temperament, Jiraiya wouldn't have been surprised if he'd suddenly leapt out to kill him back during his years wandering the shinobi world.
But now that he was already dead, and believed that Nagato was the child of prophecy who would not bring hope to the world—but destruction—he was willing to stand on Yami's side.
"Yami! The Six Paths of Pain share vision. Even if one is destroyed, they can be revived. We have to find the real body!"
Jiraiya's voice rang loud and clear across the battlefield.
The Six Paths of Pain's expressions changed at the same time. Tendo Pain looked toward Orochimaru with dark eyes.
You must be a damn traitor.
He spilled crucial information in the first few seconds.
Just then, Jiraiya's body trembled, and his eyes turned lifeless again.
"...I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama, Pain-sama."
Kabuto struggled to control the technique. "Jiraiya is too strong. This summoning almost restored his full power. It's difficult for me to restrain him."
As he spoke, Jiraiya had already arrived in front of Yami and threw a punch.
The two exchanged a series of rapid blows. In just a few moves, Yami gained the upper hand. He blocked Jiraiya's fist with his arm, reached out, grabbed his head, and yanked it downward.
Bang—!
Bang!
Bang—!
Three consecutive, powerful knees crushed Jiraiya's body, and then the hand holding his head unleashed a burst of force.
Jiraiya's head exploded like a watermelon.
This legendary Sannin was no different from a Genin or Chunin in Yami's hands—at least when it came to taijutsu.
In under ten moves, he was torn apart.
Even though this was an Impure World body, for many shinobi, such a body was indistinguishable from a living one, sometimes even stronger.
Yami slowly separated his hands. Dust Release barriers disintegrated Jiraiya as he smiled coldly at the sinister-looking Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sensei, thank you for helping me fulfill that long-held desire. I feel much better now after beating up Jiraiya."
"As a reward, I'll let you die quickly today."
Orochimaru's expression darkened. He ordered Kabuto to summon Jiraiya back before he could be sealed.
This was one of his most prized pieces. As for stronger candidates for Impure World Reincarnation, although he had ideas, he didn't have the necessary sacrifices prepared yet.
"This Yami..."
Orochimaru gritted his teeth. He realized that every time Yami displayed his strength, it surpassed his expectations.
Is Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode really this powerful?
Or is it just that Yami himself is that strong?
"Shinra Tensei!"
A surge of repulsive force struck, flinging Yami backward.
Tendo Pain finally took action, the chakra rods on his body continuously receiving chakra from afar. The other Paths froze.
"It's pretty strong, but that's all. They're not your real eyes, so you can't draw out their full power."
As his body soared high into the air, Yami still had the presence of mind to critique the technique.
Shinra Tensei can dominate the skies. All things are drawn to the heavens.
With his control over gravity and repulsion, Pain stood invincible among shinobi.
But to someone who also possessed the Rinnegan, Pain—no, Nagato—was only drawing out 30–40% of the eyes' true potential.
The advance of the Human and Animal Paths halted. Pain had clearly heard Yami's words.
The Rinnegan isn't his?
In the distance, Nagato, who was controlling the puppets with full concentration, suddenly opened his eyes. Konan asked anxiously, "Nagato, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
The frail Nagato took a deep breath. Under his control, Tendo Pain spoke clearly, "Yami, what do you mean by eyes that don't belong to me?"
"What are you trying to say?"
Orochimaru, who was just about to have Kabuto retreat, stayed put. His eyes gleamed with interest.
Noticing Pain's changed expression, Yami smiled faintly.
"The downside of being a wild child is... you know nothing about the secrets of this world."
"Stop playing games," Pain said coldly.
The boy didn't mind his tone and began calmly explaining what should be common knowledge.
"Thousands of years ago, the Sage of Six Paths founded the shinobi world. His descendants inherited portions of his power."
"The Uzumaki and Senju clans possess strong life force and vast chakra reserves."
"The Uchiha and Hagoromo clans have extraordinary spiritual power. The Uchiha have Sharingan, while the Hagoromo clan developed secret techniques to control the mind... though they vanished during the Warring States era."
Yami looked mockingly at Tendo Pain.
"Nagato, do you know why you three survived?"
"Beyond Jiraiya's excessive sentimentality, your identity as an Uzumaki was the main reason Tsunade held back. He convinced Orochimaru not to kill you."
"Then explain this to me—how did someone from a clan known for physical vitality awaken a dōjutsu bloodline?"
Confronted with Yami's question, the light in Tendo Pain's eyes flickered. Orochimaru was deep in thought as well. In the end, he gave Pain a greedy glance and quietly ordered Kabuto to withdraw him.
Meanwhile, Nagato thought carefully.
The awakening of these eyes had indeed been strange. More importantly, using the Rinnegan consumed chakra, not just required it.
Rather than a blessing, they were more like a curse.
But he had no choice. He needed the Rinnegan's power to fulfill Yahiko's dream.
His hesitation vanished. His mind hardened like steel.
"Deliberate lies meant to confuse the ignorant!"
Tendo Pain's cloak fluttered despite the still air. His lavender Rinnegan eyes radiated oppressive force. The other Paths began surrounding Yami.
"What does the Rinnegan have to do with bloodlines? That's just your speculation."
"You can never comprehend the power of pain. I've lived through too many wars, and through that pain, I've surpassed my human limits."
"I see."
Yami nodded, as if enlightened. "So whoever suffers the most is always right. No wonder a small country with limited population has such a narrow perspective."
Pain's chest tightened in fury.
That tone. That attitude of superiority...
He had heard it countless times.
The shinobi from major powers who treated Ame as a battleground never viewed its people as human—just livestock to be slaughtered.
"Yami, you'll pay dearly for your arrogance!"
Nagato lost all interest in speaking. The Six Paths of Pain moved simultaneously.
Whoosh—!
Countless tree roots surged from all directions, swept by violent winds, while missiles rained from Shurado.
"Universal Pull!"
Tendo Pain stretched out his hand. Gravity pulled Yami's body into the epicenter of the attacks.
But right before the explosion hit, Yami vanished and reappeared on a nearby wall.
"Flying Thunder God..."
Tendo Pain frowned. Human and Animal Path charged in instantly.
Bang!
Yami kicked Human Path away. Hungry Ghost Path leapt forward, attempting to grab and drain his chakra.
They weren't afraid of death. As long as Naraka Path remained, they could be revived.
"...It's disgusting to be hugged by a man's corpse."
Disdain flashed in Yami's eyes. He shook his shoulders, and an invisible force smashed Animal Path away like a ragdoll, sending him flying into the distance.
"Summoning Technique!"
The Four Paths (excluding Naraka and Human) were already powerful individually. But their true threat was their shared vision and teamwork.
The flying Hungry Ghost Path was instantly summoned back and reappeared beside Yami. Green chakra snakes had already touched his skin.
Suddenly, the snakes were absorbed through Hungry Ghost's palms.
"You like absorbing? I'll let you absorb as much as you want."
Yami shifted his focus. He didn't convert the natural energy from the environment into Sage Mode chakra. Instead, he let the Hungry Ghost absorb it directly.
Soon, its face distorted, covered in white scales.
Animal Path's expression changed. He tried to summon Hungry Ghost away, but it was already too late.
Crack!
Fine cracks spread across Hungry Ghost's body. Its skin turned pale before it shattered like porcelain.
Hungry Ghost could absorb chakra, even Sage chakra.
But directly absorbing raw natural energy? That would lead to fatal backlash.
The other Pains immediately charged in to pin Yami down. Tendo Pain pulled the fragments of Animal Path toward him. Naraka Path chewed them and spat them back out.
"Restored."
"You really are a menace..."
Yami silently acknowledged that Pain's use of the Rinnegan was better than Madara's, who still relied on his Mangekyō for combat.
The Six Paths gathered again, and Nagato's confidence surged. Tendo sneered as he rose into the air.
"Yami, don't think six-on-one is shameful. It's my respect for you—my strongest opponent."
"Now… feel the pain."
Nagato's condition was far better than when he attacked Konoha and fought Naruto.
He hadn't exhausted his chakra fighting an entire village. He hadn't used Super Shinra Tensei.
Most importantly, knowing that someone as strong as Yami might appear, Nagato had taken plenty of medicine from the Great Snake King to replenish his vitality.
He was confident he could eliminate the greatest threat to peace.
Yami laughed.
"Shameful? I never thought so."
He slowly clenched his fists. The green flames around his body flared up violently.
One after another, Wood Style Shadow Clones emerged behind him—thirty-six in total—surrounding him in a circle. Each one opened its eyes and charged toward the Six Paths in groups of six.
"Now it's six against one on your side too, Nagato. So please, don't call me shameful."
Pain's face fell.
But this was just the beginning.
In front of every Pain, one of Yami's clones began forming hand seals.
"Wood Release: Wooden Golem Technique!"
The massive flowers dotting the battlefield transformed into wooden golems. With each step, the ground trembled.
"The 'god' of Ame, come experience how the true god of the shinobi world fights."
Yami's tone was calm, laced with mockery.
But to Pain, it felt chillingly familiar.
That same indifference—the same cold arrogance—he himself had shown others.
Yami… does he also consider himself a god?
The sky darkened as a giant wooden fist came crashing down.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)