Pain flashed through a sequence of seals. Gravity gathered in his palms like a five-pointed star, then wrenched a massive slab up out of the earth.
Ore glittered inside the rock, veins of metal catching cold light. Even Pain's face tightened. The weight was far beyond common stone.
Jiraiya had pursued them to the outskirts by now. One look at the metal-rich boulder and his expression hardened.
What a monstrous technique.
He did not rush in. If that thing dropped on him, he would die. His fire style would take too long to melt it, and if he heated the boulder red hot only to let it fall, he might burn Vincent alive as well.
Pain spread his hands and whipped the slab toward Vincent.
The boulder screamed through the air and fell like a thunderhead, blotting the sky above Vincent.
Vincent's eyes narrowed. He was not sure a single blow would pulverize it.
"Serious Punch."
He drew his right fist to his hip, then drove it down into the ground at his own feet.
Boom.
He had measured the strike. The earth collapsed into a deep, clean shaft.
He dropped without hesitation.
A heartbeat later, the boulder annihilated the spot where he had stood. The impact hurled a wall of spray and shattered stone high enough to scrape the clouds.
The shock made Jiraiya's heart clench. He had no time to fret over Vincent. He sprinted straight for Pain.
He had stayed for one reason only: gather intelligence on Pain or end him here.
Five of the Six Paths lay broken under Vincent's fists already. Only Yahiko's Deva Path remained.
So this is his core. Repulsive force they call Almighty Push and that eerie pull.
And the cooldown. In that exchange with the kid, he used push and pull again and again. By my count the minimum interval is five seconds.
Jiraiya muttered while running, chakra coiling through sage-lined muscles as he chased the Deva Path's retreating back.
Where is the kid…
Fukasaku glanced toward the impact site. No movement. Worry drew lines across his face.
Old man…
Shima's voice dipped, then steadied. Whether he lives will come down to his fortune, but he is strong. Even that might not finish him.
Jiraiya's eyes flickered. Pain of his own tugged there, and he forced it down.
Let us hope so. Casualties in war are inevitable. May Lady Luck stand by him.
His tone was low, but his pace only climbed. This chance would not come twice. It was Konoha's fate on the line, perhaps the whole shinobi world. If he let himself be chained by sentiment, everything Vincent had just done would be for nothing.
He moved like a frog, springing from trunk to trunk, each leap carrying him farther. The Deva Path came back into sight, closer with every bound.
Stop.
Jiraiya shouted. A blue sphere spun into being behind his right hand, swelled in an instant to the size of a house.
Jiraiya-sensei.
Seeing the Sannin close, Yahiko relaxed a fraction. The feral edge dropped from his face. His gaze was flat and cold.
Jiraiya-sensei, you have meddled too deeply. I will not leave you alive.
His voice held no warmth. Teacher and student might never have existed.
Yahiko, what happened to you? Where is Nagato? Is this his will too? And Konan… did she agree to this? What are you trying to do?
Jiraiya's questions tumbled out, raw and urgent.
Jiraiya-sensei, you already know the answers. They are in your heart.
We have simply carried the creed you gave us to its end.
Pain gave riddles, not explanations. He stood and watched his former master across the gap.
My creed?
Jiraiya frowned, mind searching backward.
It seems you have forgotten it, he sighed. His eyes sharpened with killing intent. But we have inherited your will. So now…
A black receiver clicked into his hand.
Allow me to end you.
He vanished. Shadows of him hung in the air.
He is coming, kid.
Fukasaku's tone cut hard. He had already seen the flicker.
Come on then.
Jiraiya slammed his palms together. A dome of force bulged around him.
Clang.
The receiver struck sparks from the barrier. A blink later the rod punched through, and Pain surged in.
Strong. Do not meet those black rods head-on, little Jiraiya. Dodge them.
Shima's warning hissed in his ear as her fingers wove signs.
Those things scramble chakra. If they pierce you, you will be helpless in an instant.
Jiraiya's eyes fixed on the oncoming thrust. Under the calm his focus hardened to steel.
Understood.
Then let your teacher give you brats a real lesson.
He slid into a low stance, one hand forward, one back.
The Deva Path flashed into range. The rod stabbed for Jiraiya's shoulder.
Frog Kata.
Jiraiya's arms flowed. He brushed the thrust aside with a palm heel, then struck the air itself.
Pain's sleeve flicked. A second rod slid into his left hand, and both speared for openings.
Pressure spiked. Jiraiya's forearms blurred, parrying and slipping, never letting the metal bite. Natural energy coiled along his skin as the frog sage art turned defense into attack, invisible force carrying past his reach to slam into Pain's guard.
The first clean exchange began.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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