The rainless night over Amegakure's outskirts was unnaturally still, every shadow pregnant with danger. Jiraiya moved with the patience of a predator, his body disguised in the squat form of a toad as he crept through the shattered terrain. His senses were honed to the edge—he knew well that even the smallest mistake here could end his life.
If they discover me too early, the whole mission fails, he thought grimly. Nagato won't give me a second chance.
This was no ordinary infiltration. The Akatsuki had already been forced to abandon their previous stronghold in the Land of Rain. After Konoha's strike, their vigilance would be doubled. Even Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, had to admit he was gambling with his life.
Meanwhile, deep within the new stronghold, Konan entered the chamber where Nagato sat suspended in his mechanical throne. His skeletal frame was thin, but his Rinnegan gleamed with the cold radiance of eternity.
"Are we launching the attack on Konoha?" Konan asked softly.
Nagato's lips moved in a whisper that was almost a prayer. "The time has come. The world has grown complacent. They have forgotten fear… forgotten pain. I will remind them. Only through fear can true peace be forged."
His words reverberated with conviction, chilling in their certainty. Konan's eyes lowered. She did not argue.
Before more could be said, the ground shifted. From the soil rose a pale figure—Zetsu. His eerie grin curled across his face.
"Jiraiya," he reported, "has already infiltrated the base."
Konan stiffened, startled. "So soon? We just relocated!"
Nagato's expression hardly changed, though a flicker of emotion passed through his Rinnegan. "Jiraiya-sensei…" His voice was both cold and reverent. "It seems destiny insists on testing us again."
"Will you send the Six Paths?" Konan asked.
"No." Nagato's chair creaked as his body lifted, supported by the artificial limbs crafted from Zetsu's flesh. He began to float upward, Rinnegan glowing brighter. "This time I will go myself. For my teacher, there will be no proxies."
Konan's mouth tightened, but she did not stop him.
Far outside, Jiraiya advanced deeper. He still believed his infiltration was unnoticed. His toad disguise croaked softly as he moved, a small sound drowned in the silence of stone corridors. But Bai Zetsu's presence made stealth meaningless.
Jiraiya's sharp eyes caught a figure descending from the air ahead. The chakra aura alone was enough to make his blood run cold.
No… it can't be—
Nagato floated toward him, skeletal frame clad in the black cloak of Akatsuki. The glow of the Rinnegan cut through the shadows.
"So," Nagato said, his voice carrying easily across the distance, "Jiraiya-sensei. You survived our last encounter. But this time, there will be no escape."
Jiraiya dropped the disguise, his body expanding back to human form. His white mane rustled in the air.
"Nagato… you've changed so much. You're nothing like the boy I once taught." His voice was heavy with grief.
"Spare me your sermons," Nagato replied, Rinnegan widening. "All things are guided by heaven."
A crushing gravitational pull seized Jiraiya, dragging him toward Nagato's waiting hand.
"Tch—" Jiraiya bit down and slammed his palms to the earth. Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld! The ground churned into a sucking mire, anchoring him in place.
But Nagato was not the broken cripple Jiraiya had last seen. Zetsu's prosthetics, grafted with Senju cells, had restored his legs and multiplied his power. The pull of his Banshō Ten'in was overwhelming. Jiraiya was ripped free and hurled toward him.
Moments later, black receivers stabbed through his hands, pinning him to the earth.
Jiraiya gritted his teeth against the pain. "Nagato… your power—"
"This is the power of a god," Nagato declared. His voice trembled with pride. "No mortal can comprehend it."
Jiraiya stared at him with unyielding sorrow. "No… you're wrong. Power like this will only drown the world in chaos."
"Enough!" Nagato drove another receiver into Jiraiya's side. Pain tore through him, chakra pathways disrupted.
Nagato raised his hand, palm hovering over Jiraiya's head. "Today will be your end. I will claim your soul and your secrets."
Chakra gathered for the Human Path extraction—
And then, a flash of gold split the air.
A shuriken whistled past, followed by a golden blur that drove a kick into Nagato's chest. The impact hurled him back across the hall, smashing stone as he skidded to a halt.
Jiraiya gasped. "That teleportation… Minato's technique… Naruto!?"
Naruto stood before him, golden cloak blazing, whisker marks deepened, eyes sharp. "Heh. You're lucky I wasn't a second later, Ero-sennin. I'd be cleaning up your corpse."
Despite his pain, Jiraiya barked a laugh, tears pricking at his eyes. "You've grown, Naruto. You've really grown."
Naruto knelt, yanking free the receivers embedded in Jiraiya's body. Chakra flared as he suppressed their corrupting influence.
Nagato rose in the distance, calm once more, though his gaze sharpened at the sight of the boy. "The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki… You've saved me the trouble of coming to Konoha. I will capture you here."
Naruto smirked faintly. "Confident, aren't you? Is that because of those new legs of yours?" His eyes flicked down. He'd already seen the grafted flesh, the Zetsu prosthetics.
"You think that makes you invincible?" Naruto's cloak flared brighter. "Let me teach you otherwise."
Nagato's hand swept out. "Banshō Ten'in!"
The pull dragged at Naruto, the ground trembling. Jiraiya shouted in warning, but Naruto simply braced himself, golden flames surging. A Mini Tailed Beast Ball spun to life in his palm, even as his body was reeled in.
Nagato's eyes narrowed. That chakra…
"Shinra Tensei!"
Repulsion met destruction. The resulting explosion devoured the chamber in light and thunder. Even Jiraiya had to shield himself, the force staggering him.
When the smoke thinned, Jiraiya gaped. "Naruto… you've mastered the Nine-Tails' chakra… and the Flying Thunder God?" His heart swelled with disbelief and pride. Minato… your son has surpassed you.
Across the field, Nagato's expression darkened. "So. You truly command the Nine-Tails now. Impressive… but useless."
He clapped his hands together. The Rinnegan blazed.
"Chibaku Tensei."
A black sphere rose into the sky, radiating crushing gravity. Earth and stone ripped upward, dragged into orbit around the growing core. Jiraiya's body lifted helplessly, caught in its pull.
Naruto crouched, his cloak anchoring him to the ground, but even he felt the inexorable tug. His jaw tightened. So this is Chibaku Tensei…
Kurama's voice rumbled within. You know how to deal with this. Blow it apart before it grows.
Naruto's hand flew to his chest, drawing deeper. Dragon Vein Sage Mode merged with the Nine-Tails' chakra, his aura igniting like a second sun.
A massive Tailed Beast Ball swelled in the fox avatar's jaws, its diameter over ten meters. The ground cracked under the weight of its power.
Jiraiya's eyes widened in awe. "Nine-Tails' chakra… fused with Sage Mode… Naruto, you really are the Child of Prophecy."
With a roar, Naruto hurled the colossal sphere upward.
The Tailed Beast Ball soared toward the black core of Chibaku Tensei. Light flared as the two forces neared, their clash bending the air itself.
The battlefield was drowned in radiance, as if the heavens themselves were tearing open.
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