Chapter 246 – Pain's Assault (Part I)
"Lady Hokage, an urgent report from the Hidden Cloud Village," an Anbu member announced.
Tsunade frowned deeply after reading it.
"Is that Raikage truly useless? How could the Jinchūriki of his own village be captured by a mere brat?" Tsunade said irritably.
"Summon Jiraiya here," she ordered, pulling a small toad from her drawer.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
The small toad puffed into smoke and vanished.
Meanwhile, Naruto was training Sage Mode with Toneri at Mount Myōboku.
"Jiraiya-sama, Lady Tsunade requests your immediate return," the little toad said in a worried tone. Jiraiya nodded, and in the next moment, his body turned into smoke and disappeared from the training grounds.
The moment he arrived inside the Hokage's office, Jiraiya immediately asked, "What's going on?"
"The Akatsuki have successfully captured the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki. Their next target is Naruto," Tsunade said gravely.
"I didn't expect him to be captured as well…" Jiraiya muttered, shock filling his face.
Killer B was no ordinary shinobi. Though not as famous as Minato or A, his strength was undeniable.
As a Perfect Jinchūriki, he was a nightmare on the battlefield. Jiraiya had met him before and knew well that the combined power of Killer B and the Eight-Tails was monstrous. But even he had been defeated.
"Did Pain personally go after him?" Jiraiya asked.
"No. The culprit was Uchiha Sasuke."
"That boy is already that strong?" Jiraiya said, unable to believe it.
He never had a particularly good impression of Sasuke and never expected the boy to surpass Naruto so quickly.
"He has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan," Tsunade said.
"Mangekyō Sharingan? The same eyes as the legendary Uchiha Madara?" Jiraiya's brows tightened.
"Yes," Tsunade nodded calmly.
"No wonder… So, what do you need from me?" he asked.
"Pain is extremely dangerous. I need to create a strategy that minimizes damage to Konoha while also protecting Naruto," Tsunade said.
Jiraiya nodded, then began explaining in detail his battle with Pain—the abilities of each body and all the hypotheses he had formed.
"So you believe the six bodies were merely puppets?" Tsunade asked, supporting her chin with her hand.
"Yes. But each of them possessed very strange abilities—especially the one named Yahiko," Jiraiya said with a heavy frown.
"If even you were defeated, then sending ordinary shinobi is out of the question," Tsunade said grimly.
"What about Kakashi? If he steps in, we might stand a chance," Jiraiya suggested.
"Kakashi is away on another mission. It seems I will have to deal with this myself," Tsunade said decisively.
"You? Then who will maintain Konoha's stability? You're the Hokage," Jiraiya scolded lightly.
"I know what you're trying to say. But even with Sage Mode, you couldn't defeat Pain. I don't see anyone else capable of stopping him," Tsunade said, looking straight into his eyes.
"There's still Naruto. I believe in him," Jiraiya replied with confidence.
"You're certain?" Tsunade asked skeptically.
"He has already mastered Sage Mode—completely, in perfect form. With his enormous chakra reserves, Naruto's power now is no less than mine," Jiraiya said proudly, though tinged with emotion.
"Jiraiya, this isn't something we can take lightly," Tsunade said, still frowning.
"Relax. Let him handle it. And don't forget—Toneri is always by Naruto's side. And that boy possesses an extremely dangerous pair of eyes," Jiraiya said seriously.
"That's impossible. Toneri was born without eyes. His parents told us that themselves," Tsunade replied in confusion.
"I have no reason to lie to you. From what I saw, his eyes are in no way inferior to Nagato's Rinnegan. His eyes are bright blue—beautiful and dazzling," Jiraiya explained slowly.
That truth only came to light after Toneri successfully mastered Sage Mode and his Tenseigan's evolution reached a higher state, making the eyes finally visible.
Toneri never meant to hide them. He simply grew accustomed to keeping them closed, and because Hatake Yusuke once advised him not to rely too heavily on that ocular power.
Besides, Toneri wasn't the type to show off, so it wasn't surprising that even Tsunade knew nothing about it.
"Could it be… the Tenseigan?" Tsunade murmured to herself. She had heard of them—from Yusuke.
"Tenseigan?" Jiraiya scratched his head, trying to recall. "Never heard of it."
"That's normal. Before evolving, that dōjutsu was known as the Byakugan," Tsunade explained.
"How mysterious… So the Byakugan can evolve? I've never heard of the Hyūga Clan having such a technique," Jiraiya said, looking bewildered.
"I didn't know either. All this information came from Yusuke," Tsunade replied.
"In that case, it's actually good news," Jiraiya said.
"Indeed. Because the Tenseigan is said to rival the Rinnegan," Tsunade agreed. Even she hadn't expected the situation to develop like this.
"The Tenseigan can rival the Rinnegan?" Jiraiya frowned. "The Rinnegan has only appeared once in the entire shinobi world. But the Tenseigan comes from the Byakugan, and almost every Hyūga has Byakugan. How can it be comparable?"
"Calm down. According to Yusuke, the birth of the Tenseigan is far more difficult than the Rinnegan," Tsunade explained, understanding his confusion.
"Then… what's our next step?" Jiraiya asked.
"For now, let's leave it to Naruto and the others. I'll consult with Yusuke later and hear his thoughts," Tsunade said.
"That's good. If he steps in, this problem might be resolved quickly," Jiraiya said with a faint smile.
"Him? I don't know… I'm not entirely convinced. If Yusuke was indeed saved from that place, then they definitely have a method to restrict even his power." Tsunade spoke with caution in her voice.
"You may be right. Alright, I'll head back," Jiraiya said.
His body dissolved into smoke, returning to Mount Myōboku.
He observed Toneri carefully, trying to sense anything unusual—but found nothing odd.
"What's wrong, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, staring at Jiraiya in confusion.
"Stop talking and get back to training! Look at Toneri—he's progressing way faster than you! You need to master Sage Mode fully as soon as possible. Akatsuki is already on their way to Konoha!" Jiraiya shouted, his voice sharp.
"What!?" Naruto froze, eyes widening.
"No! I need to go back to Konoha right now!" Naruto said in panic.
"Useless. If you return now, you'll accomplish nothing. Focus on your training. Don't act recklessly, or you'll just end up as target practice," Jiraiya scolded firmly.
"What's that supposed to mean, Pervy Sage!? I'm strong now!" Naruto yelled defiantly. "I haven't even tried yet—how can you be so sure I won't win!?"
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