"Have you noticed?" At that moment, Fukasaku on Jiraiya's right shoulder spoke up to remind him.
"Notice what?" Jiraiya was a bit confused.
"When we got their back earlier, you picked the target and attacked from his blind spot, correct? During that time, one of the other guys was watching us the whole time."
"It's their eyes... All three have the same eyes! If the three of them can share what they see with each other..." Thanks to Fukasaku's reminder, Jiraiya finally uncovered the secret of Pain's shared vision.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Location of Team 7]
Sasuke sat cross-legged on the grass, hands resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the screen, pupils slightly contracting.
He hadn't expected that the role of the Toad Sages went far beyond simply helping someone maintain Sage Mode.
They could coordinate in battle and even help analyze the opponent's intelligence—simply all-purpose!
He couldn't help but look toward Naruto, a surge of envy welling up in his heart.
In the future, these two Toad Sages seemed to have followed Naruto.
Now he felt even more of a hurry about finding the two Toad Sages.
He didn't know whether Mount Myoboku had any other toads that could use Senjutsu.
While Jiraiya had said that Mount Myoboku had many toads, only a few could use Senjutsu. So if he could find them to help, his Sage Mode training could advance by leaps and bounds in a short time.
On the screen—
Jiraiya was already feeling immense pressure. With no way to break the deadlock, he felt that if he didn't escape soon, he would surely die here.
"Fall back for now, Jiraiya-boy." Fukasaku suggested.
"Alright." Jiraiya didn't waste words. His body instantly turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished from the spot, retreating directly along the pipes on the wall.
Animal Path Pain and the others who noticed this didn't immediately pursue. They watched the place where Jiraiya had disappeared for a moment before chasing after him.
But while Jiraiya and the Toads claimed to be retreating, they were actually discussing countermeasures while running through the pipes; clearly, they weren't truly fleeing.
Because they hadn't yet obtained more intelligence on Pain, and combined with the Toad Sage's prophecy from before, Jiraiya was certain that this was the moment when he had to make an important choice.
So he had already made up his mind: he had to figure out all of this.
After running an unknown distance, the one man and two toads decided to fight the Pains once more using Genjutsu. They had realized that since Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were ineffective, Genjutsu might still have a chance.
After agreeing on a tactic, the two Toad Sages began to chant continuously, the sound waves carrying far along the pipes.
Meanwhile, Animal Path, Human Path, and Preta Path Pain, who were chasing from behind, froze in place the moment they heard the sound.
Animal Path Pain even pressed itself against the outer wall of the pipe, listening carefully to the source of the sound.
"This is... the croaking of frogs..."
"It's coming from in there."
The Pains fixed their gaze on the entrance directly ahead; it was pitch black inside, and the croaking of frogs kept coming from within.
The three Pains no longer hesitated and quickly rushed toward the entrance.
Just as they caught sight of Jiraiya and the two Toad Sages, a Shadow Clone hidden on the side quickly struck. "Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
Seeing this, Preta Path Pain quickly broke away from the group, stood in front of the fire release, and extended its hand to absorb the Ninjutsu.
"Good! My gamble's a success!" Jiraiya and the Toad Sages standing in front were overjoyed.
They had already deduced that each Pain possessed only one unique ability, so they planned to use Fire Release to restrain Preta Path Pain.
And Human Path Pain, after being kicked flying by Jiraiya in Sage Mode earlier, was now temporarily unable to open its eyes.
The Shadow Clone hidden on the other side continued to attack. In order to dodge the Ninjutsu, Human Path Pain inadvertently sank its body into the Dark Swamp on the ceiling; fortunately, Preta Path Pain caught Human Path Pain's body, allowing it to escape unscathed.
In other words, with a well-planned ambush, the frontline battlefield was now left with only Animal Path Pain fighting Jiraiya.
Jiraiya suddenly leaped up and kicked Animal Path Pain, interrupting its casting of the Summoning Jutsu.
Seizing the opportunity, the Toad Sage increased the intensity of their chanting.
Soon, all three Pains were caught and fell in a Genjutsu.
Looking at the three Pains trapped by the Genjutsu, Jiraiya couldn't help speaking before delivering the final blow. "You are inside a Genjutsu paralysis that binds your psyche. Now none of your bodies, including your main body, will be able to move."
---
[Land of Rain. Amegakure]
Looking at the screen, Nagato was somewhat shocked. He hadn't expected that Jiraiya would discover that the Pains were puppets so easily.
And judging from Jiraiya's words on the screen, he had even inferred that "his" true body had also actually been caught in this Genjutsu!
As expected of Jiraiya-sensei.
However, Nagato soon frowned.
This also reminded him that among conventional Jutsu, Genjutsu was indeed somewhat of a counter to him, especially this kind of Genjutsu that could directly target the true body through the puppets.
Although his Six Paths of Pain were strong, they were essentially puppets, extensions of his Chakra. If someone used Genjutsu on the Pains, his true body would also be affected.
Fortunately, that guy Obito didn't seem to have a high level of Genjutsu mastery, otherwise, it would be even more troublesome.
Looking at him, Konan guessed why Nagato was troubled and said softly, "It's alright, Nagato. With me by your side, even if you are caught in a Genjutsu, it can be quickly broken."
Nagato gave a slight nod.
Nagato nodded slightly. In all likelihood, his self on the screen had also dispelled the Genjutsu in this way.
Meanwhile, on the screen—
"Jiraiya-sensei... I didn't expect a Genjutsu like this from you." Nagato's voice came through a Pain.
"I thought I taught you... never to let your guard down, no matter who your opponent is, Nagato..."
The scene shifted out of the Genjutsu world. In "reality," all three Pains had fallen to the ground with blades in them.
"It's done..." Jiraiya looked at the Pains on the ground with a complicated expression.
And thinking the battle was over, he turned and walked toward the side passage, preparing to leave the base.
But having walked no more than a few steps, the expression on his face abruptly shifted, his pupils constricting slightly. A voice came from behind him, sounding as if it were right next to his ear: "Didn't you teach me to never let down your guard... Jiraiya-sensei?"
Behind him, the fourth Pain—Asura Path Pain—had appeared.
BOOM!!
With a single strike, Jiraiya was blasted flying, his body smashing through the wall without stopping, falling onto the water on the outskirts of Amegakure, and only managing to stop after sliding for dozens of meters.
Even more shocking was that his left arm, along with the cuff of his sleeve, had disappeared, and blood kept dripping onto the water surface.
Just as Jiraiya and the Toad Sages were thinking, six black shadows leaped out one after another from the breach in the wall, landing on the buildings on the ground in different poses.
"In attendance... The Six Paths of Pain!"
Seeing this, the man and the two toads were shocked. They couldn't believe that the three Pains they had just managed to deal with were now standing in front of them completely intact, and three new Pains had appeared as well.
The battle between Jiraiya and the Six Paths of Pain continued, but the people of the Shinobi World watching the screen knew that this was merely Jiraiya's final death struggle.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Jiraiya himself watched the battle on the screen and couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that in this future battle, Nagato still went easy on me. Although Tendo Pain appeared, Jutsu like Shinra Tensei weren't used."
Hiruzen also sighed, "You fool, why did you have to go to such lengths for that vague prophecy? Even if the Six Paths of Pain appeared at the same time, if 'you' really wanted to leave, you should still have been able to."
Tsunade chimed in, "In fact, if 'you' had survived, you would have been able to protect the village better." But she quickly shook her head. "Still, who could have imagined Tendo Pain to be so strong."
Meanwhile, on the screen, the battle was nearing its end.
"Puchi—!" x5
Five Pains struck Jiraiya down from the air, and five black rods pierced through his body from behind.
Due to excessive blood loss Jiraiya's gaze became blurry, and his consciousness quickly began to slip away.
Scenes like a slideshow quickly flashed before his eyes: Tsunade punching him away, the defecting Orochimaru, the deceased Hiruzen, and Minato.
"How pitiful... that this will be the ending to 'The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant.'"
"What a worthless story..."
But just then, Minato's voice suddenly appeared in the scene. "No, I don't think so. This tale is wonderful!"
Minato held The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi and said to Jiraiya, "Each chapter reads like one of your numerous legendary exploits. It's almost like an autobiography."
"The main character of this book... I thought his determination to never give up was really cool... He's a lot like you, Sensei!"
The Jiraiya in the scene was somewhat embarrassed by the praise. "Y-You think so...?"
"So I was thinking. I really hope my unborn child can become a shinobi just like this main charater! Which is why I'd like your permission to name my son after him."
"Naruto... It's a wonderful name." Hearing their conversation, Kushina came out of the kitchen.
After that, Jiraiya's memories kept flashing through bits and pieces of his time with Naruto.
"Never go back on your word and never give up..."
"Naruto, If that's your ninja way... Then as your mentor... I have no business whining."
"For everyone knows that a student inherits his ninja way from this teacher!"
Amidst the shocked gazes of the people of the Shinobi World, the fallen Jiraiya on the screen, relying on his tenacious willpower, opened his eyes once again and, supporting himself with his right hand, barely managed to lift his head.
Seeing this, Fukasaku immediately jumped in front of him and had Jiraiya carve the intelligence code onto his back.
Meanwhile, the Pains who had already turned to leave discovered that Jiraiya wasn't yet dead. Tendo Pain turned its head to look at this with deep eyes, "I was sure his heart had stopped. Quite obstinate, isn't he?"
Then with a final cannon blast from Asura Path Pain, the now-immobile Jiraiya, along with the rubble, gradually sank to the bottom of the water.
"Naruto... You are the Child of Prophecy, I'm sure of it now. I entrust you with the rest!"
"'The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant'... Now it'll end a bit better I hope."
"The final chapter will be..."
"'The Frog in the Well Drifts Into the Great Ocean.'"
*****
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