"What did you say! The Rinnegan?"
After the banquet, Jiraiya, Karin, and Naruto sat around a crackling campfire, sharing information in the flickering light.
Naruto had started by telling Jiraiya-sensei the intelligence he had obtained during his interdimensional journey.
When hearing that the "Akatsuki" organization's base was located in the Land of Rain, Jiraiya's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he remained silent.
However, when Naruto mentioned that the Akatsuki leader "Pain" possessed the legendary dōjutsu called the "Rinnegan," Jiraiya's expression immediately transformed.
This was the first time Naruto had witnessed Jiraiya-sensei display such profound shock and disbelief.
"What's wrong, Jiraiya-sensei?" Naruto showed a concerned expression, though he already harbored suspicions about the cause.
Jiraiya-sensei might actually know this Pain personally.
"No... it should be a coincidence... that's not right either..." Jiraiya muttered to himself, his mind flooding with memories of Nagato's face, smiling and calling him sensei with genuine affection.
Back then, he had taken three disciples in the war-torn Land of Rain: Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko.
These three disciples were all war orphans, left parentless by the endless conflicts.
Among them, Nagato happened to possess those legendary Rinnegan eyes.
At that time, Jiraiya had regarded him as the "Child of Prophecy" mentioned by the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku. But later, to prevent Konoha Village officials from developing dangerous ideas about Nagato's Rinnegan and to allow the three disciples to grow independently without political interference, he had chosen to leave the Land of Rain.
He had never imagined that this farewell might be forever.
After that departure, he had lost all contact with the trio and mistakenly assumed they had all perished in the ongoing war.
Now receiving news about the "Rinnegan" again... how could Jiraiya possibly remain calm?
"Jiraiya-sensei!" Naruto's suddenly raised voice snapped Jiraiya out of his troubled muttering.
The older man looked at Naruto with obvious anxiety etched across his features.
"Naruto, this time, please let me accompany you to the Land of Rain."
Hearing Jiraiya-sensei's earnest request, Naruto didn't press him for details. He could clearly see that his mentor harbored deep, personal feelings about this situation.
"Alright."
Karin, who had been listening quietly beside them, looked back and forth between the two men before speaking up with determination.
"Naruto-san, please allow me to come along as well."
"No!" Before Naruto could refuse, Jiraiya spoke first with firm authority.
"Eh? Why not, Jiraiya-sensei?" Karin looked at him with obvious dissatisfaction.
Speaking of relationships, although Jiraiya had initially claimed he "wasn't good at dealing with little girls," during the month Naruto had been absent, it was Jiraiya who had been effectively "raising the child."
Perhaps he saw Kushina's shadow reflected in Karin, or perhaps there were other reasons for his protective instincts.
In any case, Jiraiya had genuinely treated Karin as another new disciple to educate and guide.
This included water walking techniques, advanced chakra extraction methods, and various ninjutsu. All the foundational knowledge Jiraiya hadn't had sufficient time to teach Naruto individually was carefully passed on to Karin during their extended time together.
In truth, Naruto hadn't really lacked this formal education due to his unique circumstances.
During their month of cohabitation, Karin had also accepted this teacher Jiraiya's kindness with genuine gratitude.
She was even more relaxed and natural in Jiraiya's presence than around Naruto, displaying the innocent "charm" a young girl should possess.
"Karin, you don't yet possess the ability to protect yourself adequately. This trip to the Land of Rain will be fraught with extreme dangers. You'd be safer staying here and waiting for our safe return."
Due to her learning progression, Karin hadn't yet mastered advanced ninjutsu techniques, not even basic summoning jutsu. Jiraiya's protective decision wasn't unreasonable.
Hearing this exchange, Naruto seemed to recall something important and directly reached into the sealing space within his body to retrieve three distinctive fruits.
They were the ink bottle-shaped "Ink-Ink Fruit," the completely golden fruit with skin resembling layered feathers from an "unknown bird species," and the black and red "unknown canine species" fruit.
Karin was about to voice further protests but found herself interrupted by Naruto's unexpected action. Both her and Jiraiya's attention immediately shifted to these unusual items.
Jiraiya reacted first with recognition.
"These are... the fruits from that other world you mentioned before?"
"That's right. These are Devil Fruits."
Jiraiya and Karin examined these three mysterious fruits with intense curiosity. They had heard about these legendary fruits that could grant supernatural powers when consumed from Naruto's previous detailed accounts.
At the same time, Jiraiya could faintly sense an entirely foreign type of energy he had never encountered before emanating from the surface of these three fruits.
Its fundamental nature felt remarkably similar to the natural energy he had experienced during his sage training, but with subtle yet significant differences.
"Here, this one is prepared specifically for you," Naruto said, handing the previously selected Ink-Ink Fruit to Jiraiya-sensei while explaining the crucial differences between "Logia," "Paramecia," and "Zoan" type classifications.
Whether this particular Ink-Ink Fruit could dramatically increase combat effectiveness remained unclear, as Paramecia fruits possessed an incredibly wide range in terms of both upper and lower power limits.
However, Naruto wasn't giving it to Jiraiya purely for combat enhancement. He genuinely wanted to see if this great literary figure could use this ability to literally "materialize" the plots and characters from his famous books.
This could be considered Naruto's personal pursuit of literary achievement.
The real focus, however, was on those two Zoan fruits.
"Karin, I must remind you that a person can only consume one Devil Fruit in their entire lifetime," Naruto said seriously.
"If it were possible, I would prefer to bring you a Logia fruit instead."
"But unfortunately, I only managed to bring back these three fruits this time."
Karin held the golden and black fruits in her small hands, examining them with careful attention.
"Perhaps later I can locate a superior Logia fruit for you... but you must decide for yourself whether to eat one of these."
"I want to eat it!" Karin declared without any hesitation whatsoever.
Naruto had explained to them that Zoan fruits' primary characteristic was dramatically enhancing the user's physical fitness and reaction capabilities after consumption.
This way, at the very least, she could accompany Naruto-san to that dangerous Land of Rain.
Having been separated from Naruto for an entire month, Karin absolutely refused to be left behind again after only two days of reunion.
"...Alright then, choose one for yourself."
Naruto didn't expect the young girl to contribute significantly to actual combat. At the very minimum, if they encountered serious danger, being able to escape in time would be beneficial.
Karin looked back and forth between the "bird" and "canine" fruits several times, carefully considering her options before finally selecting the "bird" fruit.
This was also the one Naruto secretly hoped she would choose.
After all, transforming into a bird would at least provide natural flight capabilities, making emergency escapes far more convenient.
But Karin's reasoning for choosing the bird was refreshingly simple: because this fruit appeared prettier than the alternative.
Jiraiya continued holding the Ink-Ink Fruit without consuming it, seemingly lost in contemplation, while Karin bit into her chosen fruit the very first moment after making her selection.
Then her entire face scrunched up dramatically, as if she had just eaten something with an absolutely revolting taste.
This familiar scene made Naruto laugh heartily. He was grateful he had simply swallowed his entire Devil Fruit whole back then.
Then, under the fascinated gazes of both Naruto and Jiraiya, Karin's entire body began radiating brilliant golden light.
Her arms rapidly transformed into a magnificent pair of enormous wings, and her complete form quickly shifted toward that of a majestic bird.
But this bird proved far more spectacular than any of the three had initially imagined.
After releasing a clear, resonant bird cry that echoed across the water, a large avian form emitting radiant golden light appeared suspended in mid-air.
For several moments, all the residents of the newborn Uzushio Village turned their amazed gazes skyward.
Even Naruto and Jiraiya's expressions showed genuine surprise at the transformation.
The giant bird's wingspan measured approximately ten meters across, with several ethereal chains hanging gracefully from its tail feathers, bearing remarkable similarity to the Uzumaki clan's legendary Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Compared to Karin's original modest height of only 1.6 meters, this giant bird's magnificent form was obviously far more impressive and powerful.
"Really... hit the jackpot," Naruto said slowly, looking up at Karin as she illuminated the night sky like a miniature sun floating above them.