"This place… is it some kind of barrier?"
The long-haired man—one of the Six Paths of Pain—looked around warily. Suddenly, the stone beneath his feet corroded and collapsed, forcing him to leap away.
At that instant, from Jiraiya's shoulder, Sage Shima flicked out her tongue, wrapping it around a nearby pillar to anchor herself and lend Jiraiya momentum. Jiraiya thrust out his left hand, forming a Rasengan with one hand, and charged forward.
"Rasengan!"
The spiraling sphere slammed directly into the long-haired man's chest, launching him backward and hurling him into the pool of acid within the barrier.
Jiraiya landed on a stone platform by the acid pool, crouching low, chest heaving as he watched the bubbling, corrosive liquid churn below.
"Finally… within the barrier, I managed to take one down."
Moments earlier, Jiraiya had gone through a brutal fight.
He had clashed head-on with this long-haired Pain, and in order to restrain him, he was forced to enter Sage Mode, summoning the two Great Toad Sages—Fukasaku and Shima—from Mount Myōboku.
But during the summoning, his hands had been occupied, and his opponent had countered by calling forth an onslaught of strange summoned beasts one after another.
Though Gamaken had arrived to assist, the enemy's summons were vicious, resilient, and relentless. By the time Jiraiya finally completed his Sage Mode, Gamaken was covered in wounds. Before vanishing, he apologized weakly for his "uselessness," though in truth he had fought valiantly to the very end.
With the Toad Sages' help, Jiraiya had managed to defeat three of the Pains.
But just as he was preparing to withdraw, a fourth Pain suddenly appeared behind him—the Explosive Pain—and ambushed him.
"Sensei," the man had said coldly, "you should never let your guard down against any opponent."
And indeed, Jiraiya had let his guard down for a split second.
BOOM!
His left arm was caught in the explosion—blown apart instantly. Jiraiya was sent flying, crashing down onto the surface of the sea. Blood spurted from what was left of his arm, staining the water crimson.
"Ugh!" He clutched the wound, groaning in agony.
"Kid! Your left arm!" shouted Fukasaku in alarm.
Before long, all six Pains appeared before him. A fierce battle followed, ending with Jiraiya being driven into the depths of the sea.
Yet even as he sank, Jiraiya refused to yield. He pulled the long-haired Pain underwater, dragging him into the Toad Barrier—a hidden, sealed-off domain used by the toads of Mount Myōboku.
The remaining five Pains outside lost track of his chakra, unaware of what had happened within. Inside, Jiraiya launched a surprise counterattack—one-on-one.
With a burst of chakra, he struck once more.
"Rasengan!"
The spinning sphere slammed into his foe, sending him crashing into the pool of acid.
Now gasping for breath, Jiraiya knelt by the acid pool, pain coursing through his body, his missing arm throbbing with every heartbeat.
"Well done, Jiraiya boy!" croaked Fukasaku proudly.
But just then—a sudden shift.
The long-haired Pain burst up from the acid, arm raised. From his sleeve shot out a slender black chakra rod, whistling through the air straight toward Jiraiya.
Instinctively, Jiraiya raised his remaining arm to block—
SHUNK!
The rod pierced clean through his forearm and shoulder, pinning him in place.
For a brief moment, Jiraiya's body went numb. A surge of weakness swept over him, blood spilling from his lips as he collapsed against the wall.
The long-haired Pain, having spent his final strength, fell lifelessly before him.
Sage Shima called out in concern, "You alright, boy?"
Jiraiya coughed, spitting up blood. "Barely… hanging on."
He winced as he moved his arm, snapping the black chakra rod in half. But as he broke it, a surge of chakra pulsed through the remnants lodged in his body.
Instantly, his body convulsed in pain. "My… chakra—it's gone chaotic!"
Fukasaku glanced at the embedded fragment, frowning. "Because of this thing, eh?"
He quickly leapt down, pulling the remaining black chakra rod from Jiraiya's flesh and tossing it aside.
Shima eyed it warily. "What are these people? Their real bodies are already strange enough, and their weapons—these things—are downright unnatural. They're not human. Not anymore."
Jiraiya closed his eyes, his face pale, breathing ragged. He tore out the last fragment embedded in his arm and let his arm hang limply.
He remembered what that headscarf-wearing Rain ninja had said earlier:
"No one's ever seen him. No one even knows what he really looks like. Some say he might not even exist at all."
Jiraiya's mind churned with unease.
The face of the Pain he'd fought—the so-called Deva Path—it was unmistakably Yahiko's face. But Yahiko had never possessed the Rinnegan.
Just then, the acid had corroded away the fabric headband on the dead long-haired Pain's forehead protector. The cloth slid off, revealing his full forehead beneath.
Jiraiya's eyes widened as he stared—
Recognition struck like lightning.
He knew that face.
And the shock left him frozen where he stood.
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