But—
Since the masked man who could control the Nine-Tails was not Uchiha Madara, yet clearly an Uchiha…
Then—
Who exactly was that masked man?
The image continued playing.
[Jiraiya possessed the body of a Rain Ninja genin, but was soon discovered by Konan.]
[Konan launched a sudden attack. Jiraiya reacted instantly, countering with a Fire Release jutsu.]
[Konan frowned slightly. "Toad's Shadow Manipulation Jutsu?"]
[Jiraiya wasn't surprised at being discovered. "I meant to lure Pain out, but I didn't expect you to take the bait."]
["Your techniques have sharpened… and you've become a fine woman, Konan."]
["I thought you three had died. Didn't expect you to turn into floating sheets of paper!"]
["Tell me—who is Pain?"]
[Konan: "It has nothing to do with you, Jiraiya-sensei."]
[The two engaged in battle.]
[Konan was quickly subdued by Jiraiya.]
[Jiraiya: "Among the three of you who loved origami, you were the gentlest. What about the other two? What happened to Nagato and Yahiko? The rumors of their deaths are fake, right? So Pain must be one of them!"]
Across the ninja world, countless people grew anxious for Jiraiya.
"Didn't expect this woman Konan to be Jiraiya's disciple."
"Jiraiya, Pain actually has six bodies!"
"Jiraiya, all six Pains are corpses! Asking who Pain is won't help!"
"They're all controlled by your disciple—Uzumaki Nagato!"
"Finding the Pains is useless—you must find Nagato's real body to defeat him!"
Amegakure — Akatsuki Base
Konan and Nagato watched with complicated expressions.
Jiraiya was their teacher.
If the images were correct…
Soon Jiraiya would be killed by the Pains under Nagato's control.
The screen continued.
[Flashback, over a decade ago.]
[Orochimaru and Jiraiya were on a mission in the Village Hidden in the Rain.]
[Orochimaru: "Kill them? I've seen many war orphans—their lives never end well. Might as well kill them now. It may actually be a mercy…"]
Konoha — Chūnin Exam Arena
Orochimaru suddenly understood.
"So it was those three kids!"
"Jiraiya, do you regret it now?"
"If you had listened to me back then and killed them, Konoha wouldn't be destroyed in the future, and you wouldn't be killed by your own disciple."
"But to think those children founded such a terrifying organization as Akatsuki."
"Oh right—I was also part of Akatsuki once."
Amegakure — Akatsuki Base
Deidara: "Leader! You almost got killed by Orochimaru back then? Let me go finish him off! Hmm!"
Sasori: "Count me in when it's time to kill Orochimaru."
Nagato: "Because of the scroll, everything must be planned carefully. There are still the top ten rankings ahead—perhaps we will learn even more."
"For now, we must watch the entire sequence before acting."
Outside Konoha Village
Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh.
The image continued.
[Animal Path Pain suddenly appeared. "That is the answer we arrived at, Jiraiya-sensei."]
[After a brief exchange, Jiraiya and Pain began fighting.]
[Animal Path Pain: "Sensei… you are still just a mere human. But after experiencing endless pain, I transcended humanity and continued to grow."]
[Jiraiya: "What did you say?"]
[Animal Path Pain: "Yes… I have transformed from a human into a god. Once one becomes a god, all thoughts and decisions arise from a god's perspective. You, still a mere human, cannot comprehend my words."]
Across the ninja world—
"This guy… what is he saying? This is peak chūnibyō."
"Did I hear him right? Nagato just called himself a god!?"
"Everyone in Akatsuki seems pretty chūnibyō. Remember Deidara yelling 'Art is an explosion!'?"
"Well, in the previous image he was talking about making everyone in the world 'carry a bag of rice up a flight of stairs' or some nonsense. Makes sense."
Inside the Shinigami's Stomach — Reaper Death Seal
Kushina Uzumaki raged, pounding her fists.
"That shameless brat! Calling himself a god!?"
Minato: "No need to get worked up."
Kushina: "Minato, did you forget? This guy bullied Naruto in the previous scene!"
Minato broke into cold sweat.
So she had been holding that grudge all along…
The screen continued.
[Jiraiya: "Didn't expect you to become this twisted."]
[Animal Path Pain: "Humans cannot see the greater truth. But a god can. Because I am a god, I realized I can achieve what humans cannot—an evolution beyond mankind!"]
[Jiraiya: "What is it you want?"]
[Animal Path Pain: "To put an end to this world filled with endless war. That is a god's duty."]
[Jiraiya: "Then why collect the Tailed Beasts?"]
[Animal Path Pain: "Since you're about to die, I'll tell you my true objective."]
["By using the power of the Tailed Beasts, I will create a new forbidden technique—a weapon capable of destroying even a great nation in an instant. The ultimate forbidden jutsu weapon."]
Shock spread across the ninja world once more.
"Akatsuki really IS after all the Tailed Beasts!"
"And they want to build the strongest forbidden jutsu weapon!?"
"Any one Tailed Beast can destroy a village effortlessly—what about a weapon powered by all nine!?"
"We must stop Akatsuki no matter the cost! Otherwise the world is done for!"
Inside Naruto's Seal — Iron Gate of the Eight Trigrams
Kurama slammed his claws against the bars furiously.
"That bastard wants to turn me into a weapon!?"
"And that masked man who controlled me is also a member of Akatsuki! If it's just me, I might get controlled again."
"…Do I really need to cooperate with that brat Naruto?"
Hidden Cloud Village
Gyūki: "Bee! I don't want to become a weapon."
Killer Bee: "Relax, bro! As long as I'm here, that ain't happening—yo!"
Gyūki: "Bee… you're the reliable one. When Akatsuki comes, let's show them our power."
Killer Bee: "Already got a rhyme ready for the battle, yo!"
The other Tailed Beasts reacted similarly.
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