Chapter 82: Renji Is the Real Villain
"Renji?"
Jiraiya's eyes widened, disbelief tightening his throat. For one impossible moment, the man before him wasn't Hasumi Maki—the Akatsuki monster—but Renji, his-dead student.
Then reason hit him like a bucket of ice water.
Renji was dead. He had touched the boy's cold, lifeless body with his own hands. The memory was still raw, carved deep into his heart.
The man standing before him couldn't be Renji. No matter what illusion his mind wanted to believe.
Even if Maki was using jutsu that belonged solely to Renji, that didn't prove anything. Maybe he'd stolen them—just like he'd somehow mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. That was a forbidden jutsu of Konoha, one that no outsider should be able to use. And yet, from the very start, Maki had wielded it effortlessly.
This man was a pit of secrets wrapped in a smile.
"Hasumi Maki," Jiraiya growled, his tone low and sharp. "Why can you use Renji's jutsu?"
He wanted to keep his voice steady, but inside, his mind was chaos—storming through every strange moment, every detail he'd ignored about Renji. Each one now returned, screaming at him.
"Oh? That question?" Maki's tone dripped with amusement.
His eyes lit with childish delight as he leapt down from his perch, landing soundlessly before Jiraiya. He began pacing, a finger pressed thoughtfully to his chin.
"Did I forget to mention that?" he asked, tilting his head as though genuinely confused. Before Jiraiya could answer, he snapped his fingers. "Ah! That's right—I did! Silly me."
Maki stopped pacing. His expression flattened, his tone calm and almost too casual. "Plot twist: I'm not actually his brother."
The words hit Jiraiya like a punch. His breath caught, his pulse stopped. Cold spread down his spine like creeping frost.
"In fact… I am Renji."
"BWAHAHAHAHA!"
The laughter that followed was shrill and manic, echoing through the steel chamber like glass shattering. Maki laughed until he nearly doubled over.
"Oh, just kidding! Or am I?" He wiped a tear from his eye. "It's just that... he forgot who I was."
Then, suddenly—too suddenly—his laughter died. He looked at Jiraiya with a grave sincerity that was far more unsettling than his madness. "No, I'm not lying. Renji is my little brother. My other half. He's me."
Jiraiya's heart pounded. He couldn't tell truth from lie anymore. Maki's every word felt like a blade twisting between delusion and fact.
"Ugh, explaining details is boring," Maki sighed, waving his hand. "Let's just say we're one and the same. He's the version you liked... and I'm the version you hate."
He crossed his arms in mock frustration, pouting like a child. "And it's so unfair! Everyone adored Renji—'poor Renji, the prodigy'—but me? 'Kill Maki, the monster!' It's not fair! He's done worse things than I ever did, but I'm always the villain!"
The pout evaporated, replaced by a smile sharp enough to cut steel. "That's right. Renji is the real villain."
He reached into his pouch and pulled out something small—fleshy, wriggling, grotesque. A tiny "modified human," crushed into a thumb-sized lump.
"Let's play a game," he whispered, holding it before Jiraiya's face. "Guess who?"
The mass twitched. Jiraiya's gut churned. It was unrecognizable—just a mangled piece of meat—and yet, a strange, unbearable ache pierced his chest, squeezing his heart until he could barely breathe.
He froze. His lungs burned. The pain grew sharper, stabbing until it forced air back into his body.
Maki sighed in disappointment. "Boring." With a flick of his wrist, the tiny thing began to expand—stretching, cracking, mutating—until a massive beast stood before them, roaring so loud it shook the walls.
Its gaping jaws dripped with saliva. Its warped face was horrifyingly familiar.
Maki leaned in, whispering mockingly, "Want a hint? It's the only woman you ever loved. Ring a bell?"
He grinned. "It's Tsunade!"
He patted the beast's head. "Aw, don't be shy! She's happy to see you!"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +5,000,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +5,000,000]
[Chakra (143,489,002 / 200,000,000)]
Jiraiya's eyes blazed red with fury. Losing her had scarred him—but seeing her defiled like this shattered something inside.
"It's a pity," Maki murmured, watching with detached curiosity. "She doesn't even recognize you."
He tilted his head, voice turning venomous. "They say love isn't about looks, right? That it's what's inside that matters." He gestured toward the drooling monster. "So tell me, Jiraiya—still in love now?! AHAHAHA!"
His laughter echoed, feeding on Jiraiya's rage.
"Oh, but wait—there's more!" Maki pulled more fleshy dolls from his pouch: Kakashi. Might Guy. Asuma. Each one grew, twisting into monstrous parodies of their former selves.
Maki walked proudly between them, tapping their grotesque features. "Recognize them? I made sure to keep their iconic details! Tsunade's seal, Kakashi's mask, Guy's hair—so thoughtful, right?"
Then he lifted his hand. From his palm, a slit opened—and within it, a single Sharingan blinked awake.
Jiraiya's teeth clenched so hard his jaw cracked.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +5,000,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +5,000,000]
[Chakra (148,489,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Ah, that's the look I wanted," Maki purred. "That hatred. Keep it coming!"
Then, in a mocking tone, "Oh, and by the way—Renji's the one who did this." He smirked. "Not me."
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +5,000,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +5,000,000]
[Chakra (153,489,002 / 200,000,000)]
Jiraiya's mind screamed. Lies within lies. Truths twisted into poison.
"The Tsunade, Kakashi, and Guy in Konoha right now?" Maki whispered. "All mine. Perfect clones."
He grinned wider. "Don't worry—they'll blend in fine. By the time anyone notices, it'll be far too late."
Jiraiya's stomach turned. The enemy wasn't outside the walls—it was already inside. Konoha was rotting from within.
"Do you want to know why we killed the originals?" Maki asked softly. "Because they discovered our secret."
He leaned closer, his breath cold against Jiraiya's ear. "We're not human."
"So of course, they had to die. Can't have secrets spreading around." He chuckled. "But don't be lonely. The rest of your village will join you soon enough!"
He took a step back, laughing manically as the monstrous clones surrounded Jiraiya.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000,000]
[Chakra (154,489,002 / 200,000,000)]
"But you can't stop them," Maki said coldly.
A pulse of frost spread through the air. Jiraiya felt his body freeze—not outside, but from within. His organs turned to ice. His chakra pathways locked solid. Move, and they'd shatter. Stay still, and he'd die slower.
"See? You can't even save yourself," Maki said, almost pitying. "Maybe I should keep you around instead. A modified Jiraiya would be so useful against Naruto."
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +100,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +100,000]
[Chakra (154,589,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Goodbye, Jiraiya."
Maki reached forward—only for a Rasengan to explode into his chest.
The impact was thunderous, a vortex of chakra shredding through him.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +2,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +2,000]
[Chakra (154,591,002 / 200,000,000)]
He flew backward, crashing into the wall, his wound already knitting together mid-air.
Jiraiya knelt, trembling, blood pouring from his mouth.
Fire Chakra. He'd forced Fire Chakra through his system to melt the ice—knowing it would destroy him in the process. The Rasengan was his last defiance.
Maki's grin returned. "You've never seen this one, have you?"
He clasped his hands. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground erupted. Trees burst upward like spears, filling the tower in an instant.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +10,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +10,000]
[Chakra (154,601,002 / 200,000,000)]
The tower collapsed under the force. Jiraiya was pinned, crushed under a forest of roots and steel.
"How…?" he gasped. "That's… Senju Hashirama's… Wood Release…"
Maki's chakra surged, distorting the air itself. He looked more like a god than a man.
'Not human…' Jiraiya realized. 'He meant it.'
Maki appeared before him like a wraith. His palm touched Jiraiya's head.
Darkness. Pressure. The tearing of the soul.
The last thing Jiraiya saw was fire devouring the forest—then a wave of ice washing it away, erasing everything.
He was gone.
Before dying, he had silently undone his summoning, ensuring Fukasaku and Shima escaped. It was his final act of defiance.
...
Maki reappeared atop Amegakure's iron tower, where Pain and Konan waited.
"Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin," he said calmly, "is confirmed dead."
He held a new, finger-sized modified human—Jiraiya—rolling it casually in his palm.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000]
[Chakra (154,602,002 / 200,000,000)]
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000]
[Chakra (154,603,002 / 200,000,000)]
'That Malice Value… from Konan and Nagato?' Maki smirked. 'Still sentimental. No wonder Nagato's so easy to manipulate.'
"Someone's coming," Maki murmured, and vanished.
A moment later, Black Zetsu emerged from the shadows.
"Jiraiya is dead," Pain said flatly. "It's time to capture the Nine-Tails."
"I won't be joining that," Black Zetsu replied, his gaze drifting upward. "There's another fight that interests me more."
Pain looked at him silently.
Black Zetsu smiled darkly. "The duel between Itachi and his brother… Uchiha Sasuke."
"Orochimaru's already been killed by Sasuke," Black Zetsu went on. "The boy's potential is… fascinating."
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