The Animal Path, riding the giant bird, swept past Tobirama Senju's head, and, merely using the "bird eggs" thrown by the summoning beast, it completely shattered Tobirama Senju's Edo Tensei body.
Although Tobirama Senju, under Orochimaru's control, failed to intercept the enemy, the intelligence about the enemy's arrival was successfully received.
On the outer sea.
The group waiting for Orochimaru to scout was becoming restless. Hyuga Shin'ichi had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring over a small boat, and everyone had gathered on it for a brief rest.
Orochimaru, who was concentrating on controlling the Edo Tensei, suddenly opened his eyes, already aware of the enemy's approach. However, he had no intention of alerting Hyuga Shin'ichi and the others. He glanced at the people resting on the small boat and placed his hand on the boat's side.
At the same time, a small white snake crawled out from Orochimaru's sleeve, dropped into the seawater, and disappeared.
The sound of the white snake entering the sea was very faint, covered by the pounding rain. However, at the instant the white snake entered the water, Hyuga Shin'ichi seemed to sense something. He suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the calm-faced Orochimaru, and abruptly said:
"Lord Orochimaru, since we are now partners, shouldn't we work together in good faith?"
"What you're doing will chill your allies' hearts!"
Orochimaru thought his movements were secret, but how could his small actions escape the sight of the Byakugan? Although Hyuga Shin'ichi appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, a portion of his attention had always been focused on Orochimaru.
How could Hyuga Shin'ichi genuinely trust someone like Orochimaru without taking any precautions?
"Heh heh, do you still have the leisure to worry about me?"
"The enemy is about to arrive. You should focus your attention on them instead."
Orochimaru, seeing his small movement exposed, was unconcerned. He looked toward the direction of the Hidden Rain Village and then spoke in a serious tone.
As he spoke, Orochimaru's body suddenly dispersed into countless small white snakes. These snakes scrambled out of the small boat, one after another, and plunged into the sea.
"White Snake Substitution? When?!"
Jiraiya, hearing the commotion, looked at the disappearing Orochimaru and stood up abruptly, his face filled with disbelief. He hadn't sensed Orochimaru performing any jutsu, yet Orochimaru, who had just used Edo Tensei right in front of him, had vanished without a trace.
Everyone on the boat heard Orochimaru's warning and stood up immediately, becoming vigilant.
Hyuga Shin'ichi, now standing, cast a thoughtful glance at the sea surface before turning his head toward the direction of the Hidden Rain Village.
As they spoke, the Animal Path, riding the giant bird, was getting closer and closer. Hyuga Shin'ichi slightly narrowed his eyes and just managed to see a black shadow beneath the dark clouds on the horizon, speeding toward their location.
The flight's speed was extreme. At the same time, the Animal Path also spotted the small boat on the distant sea. Knowing they were intruders in the Land of Rain, its speed increased slightly, and simultaneously, the Animal Path quickly began forming hand seals.
The movement on the horizon naturally drew the attention of Hyuga Shin'ichi's group. Just as the giant bird flew over their heads, the rider dropped more than twenty "bird eggs" toward the sea surface.
These "bird eggs" were enormous, likely three to four meters in diameter. From the perspective of Hyuga Shin'ichi's Byakugan, these "bird eggs" contained a huge amount of unstable chakra. With just a glance, Hyuga Shin'ichi had already predicted the impending danger.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!"
Blazing red light erupted from the bird eggs, covering the entire sea area in just a moment. The shockwave formed by the explosions momentarily dispersed the rain clouds that perpetually covered the Land of Rain. The sky-high flames formed a mushroom cloud, resembling a nuclear explosion, and huge waves were stirred up on the sea, surging toward the Hidden Rain Village's coast.
After a long time, the explosions gradually subsided, and a few pieces of broken wood floated on the sea surface.
"Summoning Jutsu!!"
At the same time, the Animal Path standing atop the giant bird had completed the hand seals. With a low shout from his mouth, the figures of the other five Paths also appeared beside him.
The moment the fire below subsided, the Six Paths of Pain simultaneously leaped down from the sky.
"Clap—"
A series of light sounds emerged as the Six Paths of Pain landed on the sea surface one after another. Led by the Deva Path, the Pains gathered at this sea area looked around, searching to see if anyone could have survived such an attack.
However, what the Six Paths of Pain didn't notice was a black shadow slowly surfacing from under the sea. This black shadow quickly swept past the Deva Path's feet and arrived behind the Animal Path.
"Splash—"
"Swoosh, swoosh—" Just as the Six Paths of Pain were searching for the whereabouts of any survivors, a subtle sound of water breaking suddenly rang out. Simultaneously, two sonic booms caused the Deva Path to quickly turn and look behind him.
They saw two toad tongues flying out from the sea, directly wrapping around the Animal Path's legs, instantly dragging the Animal Path beneath the sea surface.
"Glug—" The Animal Path's head was submerged in the seawater, but at the same time, the other Pains, whose vision was connected, were able to see the scene underwater through the Animal Path's perspective.
The one who attacked the Animal Path was a massive toad. Before the Animal Path could even form hand seals to use any jutsu, the toad's tongue curled around it, directly swallowing the Animal Path whole. The toad even let out a burp, spitting out countless bubbles.
...
Inside the esophagus of Mount Myōboku's Rock Dwelling Toad.
The baffled Animal Path fell directly into the Rock Dwelling Toad's stomach. The moment he "landed," he seemed to fall into a puddle of water, but this water was highly corrosive, "acid." Implementations that fell into the puddle inevitably got soaked in the liquid, and the acid corroded the large areas of the Animal Path's skin.
If it were an ordinary person, such a burn would surely drive them mad with pain, completely incapacitating them. However, the Animal Path, being a corpse, acted as if nothing had happened, completely unfazed by the various pains coming from the wounds.
What made the Animal Path uncomfortable, however, was the surrounding environment. The toad's stomach was pitch black, and even the Animal Path, possessing the Rinnegan, couldn't clearly see the surroundings. While the Rinnegan granted the "host" many powerful jutsu, it was inferior to the pristine Byakugan and the evolved Sharingan in basic observation.
In this darkness, the Animal Path couldn't even spot the enemy.
But one thing the Animal Path could confirm was that he had been swallowed by a toad and needed to get out quickly! The Animal Path planned to use the Summoning Jutsu inside the toad's body. If he could summon a large summoning beast, it would definitely burst the enemy open.
Just as the Animal Path was rapidly forming hand seals to escape, a faint presence suddenly emerged from a dark corner and rapidly approached him.
"Can't hold back?!"
Although the Animal Path's vision was obstructed in the dark environment, his sensory abilities as a ninja did not disappear. However, because the Animal Path was fundamentally a corpse/puppet, he lacked a sense of smell, and his skin could not sense temperature, humidity, wind direction, etc.
In the Animal Path's perception, the enemy approaching him had a very faint presence, which he could only barely sense with full concentration.
"Rasengan!"
Jiraiya's low shout echoed in the relatively confined space. The pale blue chakra quickly condensed into a sphere, exposing itself within the Animal Path's sight.
However, by the time he saw the Rasengan fully formed, it was already too late to dodge. Jiraiya instantly appeared in front of the Animal Path and slammed a Rasengan directly into the Animal Path's abdomen. The terrifying force immediately knocked the Animal Path flying, smashing him against the toad's hardened stomach wall, after which he dropped weakly into the acid puddle.
The contact between the flesh and the acid in the toad's stomach produced a chilling "hissing" sound. Only after his attack succeeded did Jiraiya pull out a torch from his robe, illuminating the dark, confined space.
Glancing at the corpse floating in the acid, a look of increased seriousness appeared on Jiraiya's face.
....
A few minutes earlier.
"BOOM!!!!"
As the bird eggs exploded on the sea surface, the small boat carrying Hyuga Shin'ichi and the others was instantly engulfed in flames.
Hyuga Shin'ichi reacted incredibly fast. The moment Orochimaru fled and concealed himself, he realized the enemy was approaching. The instant the giant bird dropped the bombs, he quickly connected his chakra to Shisui, Guy, and Kakashi, and immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport all three of them away from the spot.
Shin'ichi did not take Jiraiya with him using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
However, even facing the enemy's sudden, terrifying offensive, Jiraiya was able to calmly respond.
After Shin'ichi and the others disappeared, Jiraiya didn't bother to complain. He immediately tilted his body and plunged into the sea. At the same time, he rapidly formed hand seals, summoning a toad to swallow him as he submerged, thereby defending against the giant bird's "bomb attack."
Once the explosions on the sea surface gradually subsided, Jiraiya quickly launched a counterattack. Simultaneously, Hyuga Shin'ichi abandoned Kakashi and the others and returned to the battlefield alone, with Jiraiya as his Flying Thunder God anchor point!
...
A toad slowly surfaced from the sea, then hopped onto a floating piece of wood.
The Deva Path and the other five Pains seemed to notice something, all turning to look at the toad that surfaced. Under their gaze, the toad opened its mouth, and an arm reached out, propping itself on the sea surface before slowly emerging.
Jiraiya, with his white hair and wooden clogs, stepped out of the toad. He looked up at the five figures dressed in red cloud-embroidered black robes and was momentarily stunned.
Although outnumbered, Jiraiya's expression quickly returned to its usual composure. His gaze swept over the figures, and he said with some surprise:
"Rinnegan... they all have the Rinnegan..."
"Who exactly... are you people?"
As he spoke, Jiraiya's eyes settled on the Deva Path. That face... was somewhat familiar to him, but he couldn't immediately recognize that the person was Yahiko, whom he had mentored for a time.
And just as Jiraiya spoke to ask, a figure manifested from the void, appearing silently by Jiraiya's side.
Sensing the movement next to him, Jiraiya glanced sideways. Recognizing the newcomer, he complained:
"Shin'ichi... you idiot, why did you run away without taking me?"
"Fortunately, this old man reacted quickly, or I would have died there!"
Shin'ichi, hearing this, scratched his ear and casually explained: "With your strength, how could you not handle an attack like that?"
"Besides, if I had taken you with me, how would I have come back?"
The Flying Thunder God Technique ultimately had conditions for use. Hyuga Shin'ichi didn't have the skill to place a marker directly on the sea surface. And if he had left a kunai, who knew how deep that kunai would have sunk by the time he returned? Rushing back to the surface would surely result in the Six Paths of Pain beating him up like a dog falling into the water!
How could Shin'ichi allow himself to fall into such a passive situation?!
Jiraiya understood Shin'ichi's thoughts; he had only complained out of habit, hoping to use that way to alleviate the heavy sense of pressure the enemy was exerting.
Not to mention... being stared at by five enemies possessing the Rinnegan, even Jiraiya felt pressure and discomfort.
"Intruders... are there only two of you left?"
The Deva Path clearly had no intention of engaging in a deep conversation with Jiraiya and Hyuga Shin'ichi. He looked indifferently at the two people talking, suddenly extended his hand toward Hyuga Shin'ichi, and in the next moment, a massive gravitational pull drew Hyuga Shin'ichi's body forward.
"Huh?"
The Deva Path's attack was sudden. The power of Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull) was impossible to guard against. At that moment, Hyuga Shin'ichi completely lost control of his body and was drawn directly in front of the Deva Path.
Simultaneously, a black receiver rod fell from the Deva Path's sleeve, grasped in his hand. As Shin'ichi's body was pulled closer, the Deva Path swiftly thrust the black rod, aiming directly for Hyuga Shin'ichi's heart.
Nagato showed no restraint toward Hyuga Shin'ichi or his former master, Jiraiya. His very first move was aimed at killing the enemy.
Between Shin'ichi and Jiraiya, he chose the younger Hyuga Shin'ichi. In Nagato's view, a kid of Hyuga Shin'ichi's age couldn't be too strong. From a strategic perspective, reducing the opponent's effective fighting force as quickly as possible was usually the optimal solution.
Therefore, Hyuga Shin'ichi became the primary target the Deva Path wanted to eliminate.
"Shin'ichi!!!"
The Deva Path's technique was strange, having no signs or warnings when activated, not even requiring a hand seal. Jiraiya watched anxiously as Hyuga Shin'ichi was about to have his heart pierced by the enemy, letting out a worried cry.
But just as the black rod was about to sink into Shin'ichi's chest, his figure suddenly vanished from the spot. Immediately afterward, Hyuga Shin'ichi's figure reappeared beside Jiraiya.
Shin'ichi, who had jumped out of the spatial rift, seemed to have completely lost all his inertia for some unknown reason. He landed steadily on the sea surface, his expression calm as he looked at the five Pains nearby.
"Hmm?"
Jiraiya felt that something was off about Shin'ichi. He glanced at Shin'ichi, who had suddenly appeared beside him, and murmured.
"This guy... a Shadow Clone?"
Jiraiya thought to himself. Before he could dwell on it, he saw Hyuga Shin'ichi suddenly charge toward the enemies in front of him, looking like a mindless brute.
"Hmph!"
However, what Jiraiya noticed went unnoticed by the Deva Path and the others. He was still surprised at how the opponent had disappeared when he saw Hyuga Shin'ichi charging toward him.
Letting out a cold snort of disdain, the Deva Path extended his hand again, aiming at Hyuga Shin'ichi:
"Shinra Tensei!"
.........
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