Fukasaku sighed:
"Listen well, young Jiraiya. You really must learn to use Sage Mode on your own by now."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jiraiya replied, stepping out from the shadows of the broken wall. "You know I wish I could, but compared to both of you, I've still got a long way to go."
At this moment, Jiraiya's nose had grown larger and rounder, his face covered in warts and wrinkles, a long, goat-like beard hanging from his chin, his bulging eyes like a frog's.
Fukasaku looked around curiously:
"Come to think of it, where is that Rinnegan user? I haven't seen a trace of him."
Shima shook her head:
"Perhaps we're just getting too old for this."
Jiraiya scanned the area warily, anticipating Pain's sudden attack:
"He's concealed within his summoning beast. That creature can camouflage itself perfectly into the environment, making it extremely difficult to detect."
Shima glanced at Jiraiya in curiosity:
"Like a chameleon?"
"I've already partnered with Gamariki to establish a Sensing Barrier, but—"
"It won't help!" Shima interrupted, quickly forming hand seals with her hands. "If it's alive, we'll find it soon enough!"
"Don't strain yourself, old woman, or you'll only add more wrinkles," Fukasaku joked playfully, prompting an angry roar from the female frog.
"By the way, Jiraiya, I understand why you need our help since that guy's tough to handle—but why are you even fighting him?"
Jiraiya shrugged:
"Well… He was one of my students."
Fukasaku stared at Jiraiya in shock:
"That's definitely not Yahiko, or else you'd already be flattened into paste by now… Which means—" Realization struck—his eyes widened suddenly.
"The Prophesized Child?" Shima asked in disbelief. "Then why would you fight him?"
Jiraiya wasn't sure how to respond:
"Unfortunately, he didn't turn out to be the person I hoped he would. And I heard he was already dead, so I told myself this 'Pain' couldn't possibly be my student."
Fukasaku quickly moved past the topic:
"At any rate, if he hasn't chosen the right path, then we must eliminate him!"
Shima snorted in disdain:
"That prophecy is nothing but the ramblings of an old fool, just like all those other stories from before! Enough talk—we're wasting time. Let's go!"
Sticking her tongue out, a tooth-filled face appeared on its tip. She scanned the area and pointed roughly in one direction:
"Found him!"
Her tongue shot forward rapidly, extending far and wrapping tightly around something seemingly invisible.
Her tongue secreted a corrosive liquid, revealing Pain's chameleon, before slamming it down onto the ground.
"Old man!"
Fukasaku's tongue shot out of his mouth, powerful and razor-sharp, cutting through the pipes on the wall, the chameleon, and the ground beneath.
The chameleon vanished within a puff of smoke.
"So this truly is the Rinnegan… the legendary eye. Truly terrifying."
"So *he's* the Child of the Prophecy."
Jiraiya nodded. Pain clapped his hands.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, two more figures appeared before Pain, each kneeling on one knee.
One was tall and muscular, with orange hair tied into a short ponytail; the other was just as tall but extremely thin, with long orange hair flowing behind him.
Both had black metal rods impaling their faces and wore shredded Amegakure forehead protectors along with Akatsuki's black robes adorned with red clouds.
Shima fixed her gaze on them:
"This is the person who will destroy the world..."
Jiraiya's face mirrored the expressions of the two frogs perched on his shoulders.
"...Yes, and as his teacher, it's my duty to stop him."
---
(Naruto VS Konan)
The rain had long stopped. Naruto sat quietly on the rooftop, in a fox-like posture, gazing up at Konan soaring freely in the sky.
At first, she launched several small-scale attacks using paper weapons, all of which were blocked by Naruto's three-tailed cloak. Meanwhile, Naruto used the moment to build up chakra to transform into Four-Tails and prepare his newly developed ninjutsu.
Eventually growing tired of endless waiting, he decided to do some target practice. He gathered wind-chakra at the tips of his tails and fired toward Konan, trying to knock her down while wearing down her stamina before unleashing his ultimate technique.
"What is he doing?" Konan muttered to herself while dodging Naruto's ranged attacks. "The Nine-Tails *should* be a being consumed by malice and wrath. It wouldn't be able to resist attacking me relentlessly while recklessly squandering its strength. But he's just sitting there waiting. He's fallen right into my trap—but why do I keep getting this ominous feeling?"
"How are you holding up, kid?" the Nine-Tails asked from within Naruto's mind, continuing to steadily channel more chakra into Naruto's body so that when the fourth tail emerged, he wouldn't immediately lose control and ruin the entire plan.
"I feel great—and about ready to punch your voice out of my head," Naruto growled mentally. Shaking, he reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a handful of soldier pills, swallowing them all in one go. "Don't tell me how I'm supposed to feel right now—I already know."
"Don't tell me when the tail appears either. If you do, my focus slips, and I won't be able to perform that new precision-based chakra technique—I'll completely lose it and go feral."
"Fine, fine, brat," the Nine-Tails grumbled, focusing instead on steadily increasing the flow of power. "Show that woman no mercy. I don't want my container getting beaten by someone who throws paper scraps... I've still got plans to devour you and finally gain my freedom. I refuse to be ripped out of you only to become someone else's pawn."
Countless sheets of paper rose from all directions around the skyscraper where Naruto sat, so many that they completely blocked his vision.
And among those ordinary sheets were also numerous explosive tags.
Konan gaped as she constructed a massive dome from paper and Explosive Tags, completely enclosing Naruto within it. "Let's see if you're truly as strong as your tailed beast," she muttered, forming a hand seal and manipulating the swirling papers to close in on Naruto.
"You want to blow me up? Like hell that's happening!" Naruto fumed silently, before releasing a deafening roar. A powerful surge of chakra burst outward, blasting all the papers—and the hidden Explosive Tags—with them into the sky, scattering them everywhere.
Konan gaped in shock as the papers were shredded and sent flying in all directions. Some hung suspended in the air, while others clung to nearby buildings.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>