Hidden Rain Village.
Tendo Pain stood atop a high platform, gazing out over the village below through his Rinnegan eyes.
"Konan, once the rain stops, use your jutsu to locate the intruder."
Behind him, Konan began preparing her sealing technique.
"Leave it to me," she replied calmly.
As she spoke, Tendo Pain formed hand seals, preparing to end the Rain Tiger at Will Technique that blanketed the entire Hidden Rain Village.
The Rain Tiger at Will Technique was a massive-scale sensory jutsu. The rain created through it could detect any chakra it touched—if anyone unfamiliar was within the village, Pain would know. Earlier, when Jiraiya emerged from the toad's stomach and stepped into the rain, his presence was immediately sensed—a strange, powerful chakra had entered the village. Now, Pain was ending the technique to allow Konan's magic to take over.
With the final seal complete, Pain muttered, "It's done."
At his words, Konan began the Dance of the Shikigami.
Her body dissolved into thousands of fluttering paper sheets, which began to fold rapidly into paper butterflies. The moment the rain ceased, a swarm of these paper butterflies burst from the platform and dispersed across the Hidden Rain Village like a graceful, coordinated ballet.
Elsewhere in the village, Jiraiya had conjured a toad to create a disguised bar. Posing as the bartender, he had already captured two ninjas working for the Hidden Rain Village.
One of them refused to speak, so Jiraiya sighed and used the Frog Transformation Technique, instantly turning the uncooperative shinobi into a small frog.
The other man, wearing a turban, panicked at the sight. Terrified that the same fate awaited him, he quickly spilled everything he knew before Jiraiya could lay a hand on him.
From this ninja, Jiraiya learned about Hanzo—the once-feared "Demi-God" of the Shinobi World.
The same Hanzo who had nearly killed him, Orochimaru, and Tsunade all those years ago… had been defeated by Pain.
The turbaned ninja spoke in reverence. "Lord Pain is like a god. Of course he defeated Hanzo."
Jiraiya wanted to ask more, but the ninja clearly didn't know anything else useful. He was just a small-time shinobi caught in a storm far beyond his understanding.
After thinking it through, Jiraiya made a decision: he would meet this self-proclaimed "god" face-to-face.
But first, he needed to prepare for the worst.
He exited the toad's false bar and made his way to a hidden frog altar. There, he summoned Gamayin from his own mouth, and had the toad unroll the scroll containing the key to the seal on Naruto Uzumaki's Nine-Tails. Jiraiya placed the key there as a precaution—if he didn't make it back, Gamayin could enter Naruto's body and unlock the seal when the time came.
Jiraiya believed Pain was powerful—possibly too powerful. This was his safety net.
With that precaution in place, he took the turbaned ninja and ventured deeper into the Hidden Rain Village, toward its tallest tower—toward Pain himself.
Meanwhile, Konan's paper butterflies continued fluttering throughout the entire village.
At the base of the tallest platform, a frog emerged quietly from the water. After checking the surroundings and confirming no one was around, it opened its mouth and extended a hand. The turbaned ninja Jiraiya had been using as a puppet climbed out of it.
He gave the frog a kind look and said, "You should return to Konoha now. Find Ibiki—he's already been briefed."
The frog gave a small croak, indicating understanding.
It turned out the turbaned ninja had been under Jiraiya's control all along.
"Thanks," Jiraiya whispered as the frog disappeared back into the water.
He once again took control of the turbaned ninja and glanced around, satisfied with the disguise.
"Perfect. Just need to keep this up a bit longer…"
But as he turned to leave, two paper butterflies appeared behind him. Konan stepped silently from behind a dark pillar.
High above, on the central platform, Konan looked toward the long-haired version of Pain and said quietly, "I've found him. It's Jiraiya-sensei."
The long-haired man's expression softened with nostalgia.
"Jiraiya-sensei… I've missed him."
Konan asked, "What do we do now, Pain?"
The man responded coldly, "He's no longer one of us. There's nothing left between us but closure. We kill him. I've already activated this body. From this point on, he's an intruder."
"Understood," Konan nodded. "I'll lead the way. I'll engage him until you arrive."
"Good," he said, watching her paper aircraft float away. "If you can kill him before I arrive, all the better."
With that, he leapt after her, following the path of her paper creation.
Back below, Jiraiya—still cloaked as the turbaned ninja—walked through the village streets.
Suddenly, sheets of paper swirled into the air and engulfed him completely.
In seconds, he was fully wrapped.
Konan emerged from the shadows, forming the paper into razor-sharp blades.
Just as she was about to strike, Jiraiya erupted from the ground behind the cloaked ninja.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A torrent of fire surged from his mouth, burning through the paper blades and slamming Konan into a nearby wall. The flames scattered the papers and filled the air with thick smoke.
Freed from Jiraiya's control, the turbaned ninja dropped to the ground, trembling, panting for air.
Jiraiya stepped forward, rising from the ground, eyes narrowed and alert.
Konan leapt back through the haze, landing gracefully. Her voice was cold and steady:
"Toad Flat Shadow Manipulation Technique?"