Chapter 52
JIRAIYA—The Toad Sage
One incident. One. That was all it took to shift the mood within the village. Just as hope, and laughter had begun to return to the streets of Konoha, tragedy had struck once more as the leader of the Akatsuki chose to make an appearance himself.
Pain.
He had heard whispers about the man and his legendary prowess, yet even now, Jiraiya could barely fathom the true extent of his prowess. He himself was strong, yet this person had faced not just one but two kages, along with a very well-motivated Hikari Hyuga, all at once, and had nearly killed them all.
Even now, despite a week since that ominous day, Tsunade and Hikari were still fighting for their lives, yet thankfully the Mizukage had finally gotten enough strength back to tell exactly what had transpired that day.
Jiraiya stood in her room as Shikaku sat beside her. And though she had woken up, the fight had left its scars on her. That once glistening skin was now marred by patchy fibrosed scars that ran up her arm and neck, yet thankfully spared her face.
"Thank you for saving Ao and Chojuro's lives," she began, and even in her current state, she still cared about her subordinates, which was so unlike her predecessors, who had drenched Kiri in a blood bath.
"As your newfound allies, it was our duty," Shikaku answered, as the woman smiled.
"Though I do believe it is time for you to lend us your aid as well," and the atmosphere in the room changed at once.
"How are Lady Tsunade and that boy?" she asked with genuine concern.
"Not good," and Jiraiya was tired of wasting time. If only he had returned to the village a few days prior, or if he had accompanied Tsunade on this trip, then all of this could have been avoided.
He should have been there. Yet he was not, and she had suffered because of it.
"Both of them are still fighting for their lives, so we need you to tell us everything about what happened that day, along with everything that you have on the shinobi named Pain," and that face beside him. Jiraiya was certain that it was Konan. One of her former students, and if those orange hairs were anything to go by, then Pain could only be him.
Yet it was impossible. He had heard rumors about Yahiko's death years ago from his sources within Ame. He was dead, and yet it had to be him.
"Of course," she agreed, and her voice was rather raspy and hoarse from the fight still.
"It was the blonde girl who sensed them first during our final meeting. Two shinobi, belonging to the Akatasuki, were closing in on the location of the Sanbi, and the mention of Ino brought down the mood of the entire room.
"Ino Yamanak, I believe her name was. We sent her to call on reinforcements, and given that I am sitting here, she must have succeeded," she whispered, frowning.
"Where is she?" she asked, as Shikaku's lips narrowed, and the jounin commander lit up his cigarette and gave a long and sad sigh.
"I am afraid that she died," and now the Mizukage was surprised.
"How?" she asked.
"One of them intercepted her while she was running to call for reinforcements. Her message barely made it through, but they captured her and then killed her later," and Jiraiya's grip on his shoulders tightened, and he did not have the heart to meet Shikaku's gaze.
The Nara, the Yamanaka, and the Akimichi clans were quite close to one another, and Ino had been as much his daughter as she was Inoichi's. Her pain was a blow to all three clans, and the whole village mourned her death, just as they had hoped to celebrate her engagement.
And to think that it had been caused by his own former student. It was a painful and shameful moment for him. If this truly was the work of Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato, then as their sensei, it was his responsibility to stop them, and he would carry it out.
"That is a shame," the woman added solemnly.
"She seemed like a good person," and Shikaku nodded.
"She was, and that is why we need your help," and she nodded.
"Yes, so she detected them, and so we all headed in their direction. Hikari was the first to get there, of course, and there we found three members of the Akatsuki. One of them was Kakuzu, and Hikari called the other one Hidan," and they had found only the remains of Kakuzu on the battlefield.
"Though there was one other person there. One wearing a strange orange mask, yet he did not fight at all," and both he and Shikaku exchanged glances at that.
"Hikari asked us to leave it all to him and asked us to secure the three tails. We listened, of course, and just as he was about to win his battle, he appeared," and there was a shudder in that tone as she mentioned him.
"Pain," he called himself, and those fists balled.
"Even at first glance, I could tell that he was in a class of his own. So, as Hikari finished up his fight, we engaged him in a battle only to learn that Pain is not actually one shinobi. No, it is six," and Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.
"The six paths," he whispered as those eyes fell onto him quickly.
"Yes. Hikari called them as such as well, and each of them possesses special abilities," she began, and picked up the notebook given by Shikaku, and began to scribble down.
"It would have been impossible to face them, but Hikari was able to spot their weaknesses and come up with a viable plan. It was hard, but by the end of it we had him and his men trapped within that dome, so that I could destroy them all at once using my Boil release," and that was exactly what they had managed to piece together as well.
"It should have worked, yet somehow that masked man appeared within that dome and took him away," and once more the masked nin was proving himself to be more than just a simple member of the Akatsuki.
Hikari had had a few encounters with him before and had called him the 'most dangerous' man of the organization in his reports, and Jiraiya was beginning to understand why.
"My jutsu had made the very air poisonous, and it became so corrosive that it even began to eat away at my own skin," and she showed them her arm.
"At that, your Hokage began to take all of it into her own body just to save my life. But by then, I had passed out," and with that, she handed Shikaku back the board.
"I have written down the details of our plan, and the skills of all the six paths. This is all I can give you. I can only hope that it was enough," and with that they nodded.
"It will be," and just as they were about to walk out.
"One more thing," and he stopped and turned around to face her once more.
"During the fight, your Hokage called him out by two different names," and she was rubbing her chin now.
"Initially, it was Yahiko, but later she called him out by a different name," and he felt a chill run down his spine as their eyes met.
"A different name?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Yes. I believe it was Nagato...."
.
.
.
"So, what do you think?" Jiraiya was going over their plan for the second time and was greatly impressed by how quickly Hikari had reacted.
Given that he had just faced two S-ranked nins, yet still he was able to plan all this and execute it. This was a testament to his prowess.
"It could be him," he finished as they sat in Tsunade's office, hoping to hear any other news.
"But I still cannot understand why Nagato would do something like this," and Shikaku breathed out a puff of smoke.
"I guess the why no longer matters, does it?" he whispered as he looked out the window.
"He may be one of your former students, but he has killed one of ours," and Jiraiya bit his lip at that.
"When Hikari wakes up, he will go after him, and he will kill them all," Shikaku finished as Jiraiya glanced at him.
"And none of us will stand in his way," and he would not either.
"Let me go to Ame," he asked, and the answer was a quick shake of his head.
"I am afraid I cannot let you do that. The village has just lost two S-ranked shinobi. The people are afraid, and only your presence within the village provides them with solace. We cannot let you leave," and he had to investigate this.
"I can't sit here and do nothing. I have to find out if Pain really is Nagato, and if so, as his sensei, it falls upon me to stop him," and Shikaku shook his head.
"I can't let you go, Jiraiya-sama. Iwa and Kumo have reached out to inquire about the alliance. The daimyos have gathered to discuss the issue of the Akatsuki as well. It is entirely possible that a five-kage summit may be called. You must be here for such a thing," and he scoffed.
"But I am not the Hokage, Tsuna..." and the words halted on their own, as he grit his teeth.
"Yes, you are not the Hokage yet. But if Lady Tsunade does not wake up soon, the mantle will fall to you, and you will have no choice but to accept," and Jiraiya hated being put in this situation.
"I understand," and with that, he rose and made to leave the office, which felt quite cold and different because of Tsunade's absence.
"Lord Jiraiya," Shikaku whispered just as he was about to leave.
"Ino's funeral is set for tomorrow. It would be good for the morale if you were there as well," and he was not fond of funerals. One could say he loathed them with all his heart.
"But Hikari has not woken up yet," he answered.
"We cannot wait anymore...."
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.
Orochimaru would be lying if he said that he had not expected this. Still, he was not surprised when he felt the space behind him contort as the entire world shifted in the blink of an eye.
"You are quite a hard man to find," that familiar voice came in, as he sat there in his chair with multiple IV lines attached to his now useless arms.
Kabuto shifted from his side as he tried to summon his guards, yet he stopped him, knowing that such a thing would be futile in the end.
"There is no need for that," he whispered, and his glasses-wearing apprentice nodded hesitantly, as Orochimaru smirked.
"I was expecting you," and already the whispers about the battle between Pain and the two kages had reached his ears, and he knew exactly why the masked man was here.
"Good. Then I won't have to explain myself," and now he had walked forward and stood in front of him.
"Can you do it?" he questioned, and conventionally speaking, what he was asking for was quite impossible, yet he had never let that stop him before. But still, even he had his limitations.
"Not in my current state," he said, pointing towards his lifeless arms.
"If I am to have a chance at doing the impossible, then I must be at my full power," and the masked man nodded.
"So be it. You will have your arms but nothing more, and then you will help us," and Orochimaru smiled.
"Of course, but given your dilemma, I think you might need me for a lot more than that...."
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