Pain glanced at Jiraiya one last time. Without a moment's hesitation, he vanished into the shadows with a few leaps, leaving Jiraiya stunned.
Huh?
Jiraiya blinked.
What was happening? Was his home base being raided?
Indeed, Satoshi had gone to raid their home base.
His target was deep within Akatsuki's base, the core that controlled the Six Paths of Pain—Nagato's true body.
Deva Path pursued him relentlessly from behind, issuing commands through his chakra rod.
No matter what, Satoshi must be stopped.
Around a corner in the passage, Asura Path's arm produced blades, slashing fiercely at Satoshi.
Summoning Jutsu!
As the smoke cleared, an iron-walled toad appeared. It raised its arms, blocking Asura Path's attack.
"This one's yours, I'm going to raid their home base."
—
Deep within Akatsuki's base, Nagato sighed.
Konan asked, "What's wrong, Nagato?"
"Satoshi is getting closer to us."
Hearing this, Konan's face showed worry. At the same time, she found it a bit strange.
Nagato's location was top secret, known only to him and Pain. How did that Konoha ninja manage to bypass all the illusions and accurately find the correct route?
Jiraiya-sensei certainly hadn't taught them that trick.
"It's alright." Konan comforted Nagato.
"With the Six Paths of Pain assembled, even if that kid is strong, he's absolutely no match."
Within the base, Satoshi, whose steps had been delayed, was finally caught.
Several figures radiating a cold, oppressive aura surrounded him, raising their black receivers and simultaneously thrusting them at Satoshi in the center.
Puff... Puff...
Smoke exploded, and shattered rocks flew. But what Pain's bodies hit was only a Shadow Clone that instantly dispersed.
Nagato asked, "Where is Satoshi? I can't find him."
"Don't worry."
Konan carefully sensed her surroundings and said, "I've inserted a large amount of origami into the base. I'll find him soon."
"Found him! He's very close to us."
Konan informed Nagato of the location.
Summoning Technique!
Nagato gathered the Six Paths of Pain before him. "Go, he's up ahead."
Konan said, "I'll go help."
Nagato nodded.
The Six Paths of Pain once again precisely blocked Satoshi's path.
Satoshi did a backflip to evade Naraka Path's grab.
"This is troublesome. You six old geezers ganging up on an eighteen-year-old kid like me, do you have any shame?"
Summoning Jutsu!
Bang... Bang... Bang...
Huge smoke clouds accompanied by deafening thuds exploded one after another. All the fighting toads from Mount Myōboku had arrived.
Gamabunta, with a pipe in his mouth, squinted at Satoshi. "Kid, you really know how to find trouble for us. Last time it was Tailed Beasts, now it's a monster with the Rinnegan."
"Then I'll let the great toad..."
Satoshi hadn't even finished his sentence when Gamabunta interrupted him irritably, drawing his sharp greatsword.
"Brothers, attack!"
The toads swarmed forward, wielding their weapons and fiercely poking the Six Paths of Pain.
Shinra Tensei!
Deva Path was expressionless, pushing his single hand forward. An invisible repulsive force erupted with a roar.
Gamabunta, who was at the very front, was violently sent flying by this immense force, crashing heavily against the passage's rock wall, sending rubble cascading down.
Animal Path seized the opening to quickly form hand signs, and slammed his hand on the ground.
Summoning Jutsu.
A centipede, a splitting dog, a rhinoceros, and a bull emerged.
The toads and the summoned beasts fought fiercely, their collisions deafening.
Seeing this, Konan's body once again transformed into countless sheets of origami.
"Conserve some Chakra, I'll take care of these things."
The next moment, countless sheets of origami flew towards the toads.
A pair of origami wings unfolded on her back, and sheets of origami stuck to the toads' bodies. Each sheet of origami transformed into an explosive tag and detonated, causing the toads to let out miserable cries.
Boom... Boom...
A continuous series of violent explosions erupted among the toad masses.
"Damn it."
Golden eyeshadow appeared on Satoshi's face, and Sage Mode activated instantly.
Wielding dual swords, he charged in and out of the summoned beast horde, slaughtering them mercilessly.
The last rhinoceros tried to charge, but Satoshi sent it flying with a powerful side kick, crashing it heavily against the wall.
Wild Lion's Mane Technique!
Just then, Jiraiya finally arrived. His long hair instantly wrapped around the last summoned beast.
Satoshi, with unspoken understanding, brought his sword down, delivering the final blow. At the same time, he retreated a few steps, standing shoulder to shoulder with Jiraiya.
"I'm not late, am I?"
"Just in time."
Jiraiya scrutinized the Six Paths of Pain. Each had a slightly different appearance, but all had several chakra rods embedded in their bodies. Moreover, some of them looked increasingly familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
"Pain... there are six of them? That's quite troublesome."
"Let's finish this quickly. Fukasaku, Shima, I'm counting on you."
"Understood."
The two Toad Sages landed on Jiraiya's shoulders, assisting him in gathering Senjutsu Chakra.
"Satoshi, I need a little time."
"No problem."
Satoshi closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again, instantly entering Sage Mode.
Jiraiya: ...
The moment Jiraiya focused on preparing to enter Sage Mode, Preta Path, who had been lurking, pounced from the shadows behind Satoshi, wrapping his arms around him like iron clamps.
Preta Path's face, for the first time, revealed a twisted and triumphant smile. He began to frantically absorb the Chakra within Satoshi's body.
However, Satoshi also smiled. Surging natural energy mixed with his own Chakra, like a bursting flood, poured madly into Preta Path's body.
Preta Path's body twitched violently. His Chakra absorption ability failed in the face of the massive influx of Senjutsu Chakra. His body rapidly petrified, eventually turning into an ugly, grayish-white stone statue.
Satoshi spun around, delivering a powerful whip kick. With a crisp crack, he shattered Preta Path's stone head like a watermelon.
Satoshi's hands instantly clasped together, and vast Senjutsu Chakra furiously gathered.
Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
No longer ordinary flames, but a torrent of crimson-gold fire imbued with violent natural energy.
The flames surged like a tsunami, carrying terrifying heat, illuminating the entire passage in golden-red. It swept towards the remaining Pain bodies.
Summoning Technique!
A bubble appeared in front of the flames. It barely withstood the first, most scorching wave of fire.
But the power of the flames was beyond imagination. The bubble rapidly evaporated, and the violent flames licked at the crab's shell.
In just a few seconds, this powerful summoned beast let out a painful shriek, its entire body rapidly turning red from the high temperature, becoming a charred corpse.
However, this time was enough for Pain to act.
Asura Path raised his arm, which split open, and several miniature missiles, their tails spewing flames, whistled as they shot towards Satoshi.
Satoshi, at this moment, leaped into mid-air, about to form hand signs.
"Watch out!"
Jiraiya's furious shout rang out, and at the same time, his snow-white long hair shot out. It instantly wrapped around Satoshi's waist, yanking him violently back to the ground.
Bansho Ten'in!
Almost simultaneously with Satoshi's landing, Deva Path's cold, emotionless gaze locked onto him.
He raised his palm towards Satoshi, and a massive gravitational force instantly pulled Satoshi's body towards him.
Naraka Path watched from the side, ready to extract his soul as soon as he flew over.
Satoshi frantically pulled out a handful of kunai and threw them.
Whoosh... Whoosh...
The kunai, with sharp whistling sounds, shot into various corners of the passage, embedding themselves in the rock walls, the floor, and even the ceiling.
Just as Naraka Path's cold fingers were about to touch Satoshi's clothes—
Whoosh!
Satoshi's figure vanished into thin air.
"How can this be?!"
Behind Deva Path, next to a kunai embedded in the rock wall, Satoshi's figure flickered into existence. He brought his sword down fiercely on Deva Path's unguarded back of the neck.
Shinra Tensei!
Deva Path's reaction was incredibly swift. Almost instinctively, a powerful repulsive force field instantly erupted with him at its center.
The moment Satoshi landed, his hands once again formed hand signs, targeting Naraka Path, who had been hiding in the back, responsible for repairing the other Pain bodies.
[Takemikazuchi: After locking onto a target with one's gaze, it can instantly anchor its spatial coordinates, making it unable to move or change form.]
Sage Art: Water Release: Water Dragon Severing Wave!
A ferocious water dragon, formed by a torrent imbued with violent Senjutsu Chakra, let out a deafening roar. It opened its massive mouth, composed of countless rapidly rotating sharp water blades, and instantly swallowed the unsuspecting Naraka Path.
Naraka Path's body was violently churned in the water blade storm, turning into a pile of shattered debris and black receivers.
Smoke and water vapor slowly dispersed.
In the center of the battlefield, two of the Six Paths of Pain were gone.
Preta Path and Naraka Path.