"Jiraiya-sensei."
Pain raised his eyes to look at his former teacher and said, "Our matters have nothing to do with you anymore. The path we walk now is not a divergent one. The true god should take His place, and naturally, He should walk the path He is meant to..."
"You are my disciples!"
Guilt and unease flashed across Jiraiya's face, "The toad from Mount Myoboku told me you were dead. I always thought you were no longer in this world. If I had known you were secretly harmed by Shimura Danzo at that time..."
"It doesn't matter."
Pain was indifferent to his teacher's guilt and continued, "Anyway, we've already grown up. I'm very grateful that Jiraiya-sensei once took care of us, but ignorant and foolish children have to become adults and set out on their own after experiencing pain..."
"And I..."
"Just underwent a transformation after experiencing pain."
"Transformed from a mortal into a god."
Whoosh!
A shadow fell beside them!
It was none other than Kakuzu, who had been unknowingly punched away by a wooden figure!
Pain paid no mind to the miserable state of his subordinate and simply spoke to his teacher about his psychological journey, "Once you become a god, all you say and think will be considered from a god's perspective..."
"Your subordinates..."
Jiraiya even glanced at Kakuzu.
"It doesn't matter."
Pain's voice remained emotionless, only his tone began to reveal a trace of superiority as he continued, "Jiraiya-sensei, you are only a mortal, and reaching this stage is already quite remarkable. It is indeed difficult for you to understand a god's thoughts..."
"Don't you care about them?"
Jiraiya again looked at Red Sand Sasori and Orochimaru being beaten by the wooden figure in the distance, "Kagura's power is strong. What he possesses is a power comparable to the Rinnegan..."
"No one can rival these eyes."
Pain immediately interrupted his rhetoric about god and began to argue, "Heaven granted me these eyes to end the chaos in this world. No power can rival the power contained in these eyes, not even the First Hokage's Wood Release..."
"But..."
Jiraiya seemed even more concerned than Pain about the members of the Akatsuki Organization.
Mainly because his old friend, Orochimaru, was among them, and he was a bit worried about his friend's life being snuffed out by Akihara Kagura because he had just witnessed Akihara Kagura crushing Orochimaru to death once.
This scene was always a bit bizarre.
As the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, Pain didn't care about his subordinates and only wanted to reminisce with his teacher about his transformation of thought.
As Jiraiya, who came to solve the Akatsuki Organization's trouble, their discussion veered, and he started caring about the lives of the Akatsuki members.
Just at this moment.
Hiruko, belonging to Red Sand Sasori, flew over, tumbling to the ground but still intact. Even though this Red Sand Sasori was fighting so hard, he still didn't reveal his true form!
"..."
Jiraiya suddenly felt even more worried.
Because if only Orochimaru was left, it felt like that day again, where he had to worry about which of his disciples and his friend could survive.
"Pain!"
Hiruko from Red Sand Sasori climbed up and spoke up, "Hurry up and finish off that little brat! Orochimaru can't hold on for much longer!"
"..."
Pain's expression changed slightly.
Just moments ago, he was explaining his divine ideology to his teacher, acting like a deity of the Ninja World, and now his subordinates' defeat had lowered his tone.
"Are you still not done talking?"
Akihara Kagura's voice came through. He had already defeated the pretend-playing Orochimaru and used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to instantly appear beside Jiraiya.
"Hmm..."
Akihara Kagura glanced at Pain, then turned to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya-sensei, maybe we overestimated the strength of the Akatsuki Organization. Except for Orochimaru, everyone else just seems strong; this organization feels like a child's play..."
"..."
Pain's hand slowly clenched into a fist.
Akihara Kagura seemed unaware of Pain's actions and continued, "They look flashy, like street magicians, enough to scare the weak, yet none of them can last in my hands; they're a bit like con artists."
"..."
Pain could feel his fist hardening.
Akihara Kagura was still spewing venom, utterly unconcerned about Pain's feelings, "I haven't even used Sage Mode yet. I could probably kill everyone here within a minute, including the two hiding in the cave..."
"..."
Pain immediately felt his fist hardening even further.
If it weren't for him being older than Akihara Kagura and being Kagura's senior brother, he would really want to battle Akihara Kagura!
Since Pain had considered his spirit to have ascended to a divine level, he had never been so angry. This new junior brother of his teacher's sure had a sharp tongue!
Of course.
This junior brother was not just sharp-tongued.
Truthfully, his strength was also formidable. He had already defeated Orochimaru, Kakuzu, and Red Sand Sasori even before Pain could have a proper chat with Jiraiya-sensei.
"In the cave... two people?"
Upon hearing Akihara Kagura's words, Jiraiya suddenly realized a possibility!
If Konan hadn't rushed out with the members of the Akatsuki Organization, she must be inside. Why would she stay inside?