Whoosh. The wind kicked up sand and dust, sweeping it across the ancient city.
Amidst the swirling sandstorm, a figure in a black robe with red clouds walked through. Arriving at the border, Pain's expression was impassive.
"So this is the place? The Seireitei!"
Through Pain's eyes, Nagato saw the vast desert and the silhouette of the ancient city in the distance.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. After defecting from Konoha, he established the Seireitei. His strength is beyond Kage-level."
"He has at least three Kage-level subordinates. When did such a figure emerge in the shinobi world?"
Nagato's eyes were filled with caution. Even with the Rinnegan, the most powerful Kekkei Genkai in the shinobi world, he could still feel a sense of mystery and pressure from the outline of the Seireitei. The sand swirling in the air seemed to be imbued with a strange energy.
"This is a jutsu similar to the Sensing Rain Technique."
The Sensing Rain Technique was one of the Rinnegan's abilities, allowing him to infuse his chakra into the rain to detect any intruders entering Amegakure. The sandstorm now served the same purpose; the moment Pain crossed the border, he would be discovered.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what a mysterious man." Pain stepped directly across the border, his body gradually levitating. The encroaching sandstorm was instantly blocked as if by a barrier. From a distance, Pain could be seen flying towards the city, the sand parting before him.
"It's time to begin with the Seireitei and show the world the existence of the Akatsuki."
A dark purple light suddenly flashed within the Seireitei, and a demon with a fanged mask shot out to block Pain's path, its tone hostile.
"You there, the flying man. This is the Seireitei. State your identity."
"Is this an Oni? The priestess of the Land of Demons, Shion, has the ability to foresee the future and control spirits. It seems she also possesses Kage-level strength." Pain calmly regarded the demon, which was at least Jonin-level, and casually pressed his right hand down.
"But they are all just ants."
Boom. The next moment, the fanged demon dissolved into green smoke and vanished into the sandstorm.
Inside the Seireitei, Shion, who had been sitting with her eyes closed, snapped them open. Her purple pupils were filled with killing intent. Her white hair flew up behind her, and the tiles beneath her feet turned a strange, dark purple.
"This intruder is strong."
"An intruder? Besides Sasuke, someone else dares to break into the Seireitei and even kill your demon general?" Haku was astonished.
Currently, Minato, Kakashi, and Orochimaru were in Otogakure, preparing to move the village. Rock Lee was away on a mission, so the Seireitei was short on top-tier fighters.
"Immediately notify the Nine-Tails and Zabuza in Hueco Mundo. I'll go and meet him first," Haku said with a frown, his voice cold.
"You? That man is definitely much stronger than you," Shion said, shaking her head.
"Don't worry, I'll just test the waters," Haku said with a slight smile. "You know my strength. Even if I can't win, I can escape."
When facing an unknown enemy, the most important thing was to gather intelligence. Shion was one of the Seireitei's trump cards and couldn't be played easily. Haku was undoubtedly the best choice to scout the enemy.
"The Seireitei..." Pain drew closer, the outline of the ancient city becoming clearer.
Soon, the residents and guards within the city spotted him. Suddenly, the air above frosted over, and a figure shot out from the palace, riding an ice hawk towards Pain.
"It's Lord Haku!" Cheers erupted from the city below.
"Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, Kage-level strength," Nagato thought, recalling the intelligence in his mind with a cold smile.
"Intruder, state your name," Haku said coldly, facing Pain from a distance, his eyes wary. The man before him had orange hair, with black rods and nail-shaped chakra receivers piercing his face and body. He looked bizarre. Haku could feel an immense pressure from him.
"Hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Pain's voice was icy as he met Haku's hostile gaze.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?" To Pain's surprise, Haku tilted his head, a look of momentary confusion on his face.
The Nine-Tails? Isn't that the Tenth Espada who just lazes around Hueco Mundo, eating and waiting to die? A Jinchuriki... that's the host of a Tailed Beast. Is he talking about Lord Naruto? But Lord Naruto isn't a Jinchuriki anymore! This guy's information is seriously out of date.
"I think you've come to the wrong place. There is no Nine-Tails Jinchuriki here," Haku said with a straight face.
"Then I'll kill you first," Pain said flatly.
Swish, swish, swish. In an instant, several figures appeared behind him: the Animal Path, Human Path, Asura Path, Naraka Path, and Preta Path. The six of them turned to face Haku, their chakra exploding outwards.
"Six of them? None have any life signs. Are they puppets?" Haku's expression was grim, and frost began to form around his body.
"Five-Fingered Flying Missiles."
The Asura Path was the first to attack, breaking open its own wrist and launching several missiles at Haku.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki." Snow mixed with frost fell from the sky, and the scorching desert weather was replaced by a sudden, biting cold.
Whoosh. A wave of frost swept over the incoming missiles, freezing them solid before they fell to the ground.
"Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. It looks decent," Pain said, his expression unchanged. He stood in the air with his hands behind his back, making no move. But this only made Haku more cautious. To remain so calm after seeing his Shikai... this intruder was clearly very powerful.
"Summoning Jutsu." The Animal Path formed hand seals, and in an instant, three giant centipedes lunged at Haku. Their massive, fifty-meter-long bodies and ferocious faces drew cries of terror from the residents below.
"One is a puppet with a modified body, and the other is a summoning specialist? If you think you can defeat me with just this, you're dreaming."
"First Dance, White Moon." A circle of ice hundreds of meters in diameter shot up from the ground with Haku at its center, freezing the three centipedes in place.
"Next Dance, White Ripple."
He pointed the tip of his blade forward, and a powerful wave of cold air shot towards the Deva Path. Haku could clearly see that this Pain was the center of the group. If he could take him out, the battle might become easier.
However, to his surprise, Pain remained motionless from beginning to end, looking completely unconcerned.
"So confident?" A sense of unease suddenly washed over Haku.
The next moment, he saw the wave of cold air dissipate right in front of Pain, without any warning.
"What's going on?" Haku was horrified. As a master of ice, he couldn't even sense how the cold air had vanished.
"Mechanical Armor." At that moment, sharp saw blades emerged from the Asura Path's back, and its body transformed into a deadly weapon.
Swish. A black rod shot down from the sky, aimed at Haku's chest.
"I can't let it hit me." Alarms blared in Haku's mind, and he quickly formed an ice wall in front of him.
Crack. The black rod lodged itself in the ice wall.
"Almighty Push." With an indifferent voice, a powerful repulsive force erupted from a distance, instantly shattering the ice wall and sending Haku flying back several meters.
Stab. The Asura Path's blade immediately found its mark on Haku's body. Several more black rods rained down, piercing straight through him. Haku's body fell limply from the sky.
"It's over," Pain said, looking away from Haku and down at the Seireitei below, his voice indifferent.
"Hand over Uzumaki Naruto."
In Konoha Village.
"It's confirmed. Otogakure was founded by Orochimaru. They're currently in the process of a large-scale migration, and their destination is likely the Seireitei." In the Hokage's Office, Tsunade and Jiraiya sat on the sofa, discussing the situation gravely.
"It seems Orochimaru is now a full member of the Seireitei. In the end, he chose to stand against the shinobi world," Jiraiya said, looking as if he had aged ten years.
The Seireitei hadn't hidden its purpose, but it had been relatively quiet for the past few months. Now, judging by Otogakure's large-scale movements, they were about to make their real move. The migration had also attracted the attention of the other ninja villages. Although Otogakure was a small village, it was rare for any village to move so openly. On their journey, ninja from other countries had tried to test them, but they were all dealt with. This had made the other villages suspicious.
Otogakure's actions were undoubtedly making enemies of them all. What gave them the right to be so arrogant? Had they gone mad? Countless ninja were dispatched to gather intelligence.
"Minato and Kakashi are with them. This means that right now, the only ones in the Seireitei are Naruto, Shion, the Nine-Tails, and one other mysterious powerhouse. This might be the best time to gather intelligence on them," Jiraiya said, looking at Tsunade with a serious expression. "We are destined to clash with the Seireitei. We know nothing about them, but Naruto knows Konoha very well. This is not good news for us."
"But you know Naruto's strength. Infiltrating the enemy's headquarters is not a wise choice. You could be killed," Tsunade immediately refused, frowning. "Konoha can't afford another loss, Jiraiya."
"So we just sit here and wait to die? If things continue like this, Konoha will be destroyed by the Seireitei sooner or later," Jiraiya retorted. "We have no choice, Tsunade. We have to fight."
Silence fell in the Hokage's Office. Tsunade was clearly torn.
The Three Legendary Sannin were once famous throughout the shinobi world. But at some point, Orochimaru had defected, she had left, and Jiraiya had also left the village under the pretext of a mission. The Sannin were no more. Now, Orochimaru had completely turned traitor, and she and Jiraiya were the pillars of Konoha, facing an even more powerful enemy. An enemy so powerful that they had no confidence at all.
In terms of strength, Naruto alone could match all of Konoha's top fighters, not to mention that the Fourth Hokage and Kakashi had also defected. In terms of forces, the Seireitei's Kage-level shinobi now far outnumbered Konoha's, and they even had the war machine, the Nine-Tails. To be honest, what did Konoha have to fight the Seireitei with?
"Let me go. If I can make it back alive, I can bring back useful intelligence that will give Konoha an advantage in the coming war," Jiraiya said, standing up. He looked out the window at the beautiful village under the setting sun and smiled brightly. "Even if I don't come back, my death can serve as a warning to the shinobi world, letting all the villages know the terror of the Seireitei. That way, the Five Kage Summit can proceed smoothly." Jiraiya's tone was calm; he had clearly accepted the possibility of death.
"Jiraiya, you..." Tsunade looked at him, her eyes filled with sorrow. She knew she had no reason to refuse anymore. Konoha needed more information about the Seireitei.
Sensing the increasingly somber atmosphere, Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed foolishly. "Hahaha. Don't worry. My strength may not be on par with Naruto's, but I can still escape if I need to. As for you, Tsunade, if I can make it back..." Jiraiya trailed off. He looked at Tsunade, whose expression was just as complicated as his. A thousand words turned into a sigh. "Never mind. I'm leaving."
Jiraiya had never hidden his affection for Tsunade. She had always held an extremely important place in his heart. But he had missed his chance. When Tsunade had become Dan's lover, Jiraiya had prepared to bury his feelings. Now, even though Dan was dead, he had never seriously expressed his feelings to her.
First, because Tsunade's heart still belonged to Dan. Second, because she would never accept his philandering nature. Since it was bound to fail, why not just keep his feelings to himself?
More importantly, Jiraiya saw finding the Child of Prophecy as his mission. He carried the fate of the entire shinobi world on his shoulders. That was why he had placed his hopes in his students. He never expected that all of them would defect. The blow to him was immense. It even made him wonder if he was a failure.
And because of that, he thought, "What right does a failure like me have to love?"
He walked dejectedly towards the door. Behind him, Tsunade's expression was complicated, a mixture of relief and disappointment.
Creak. The door opened. Jiraiya took a step out, but then he suddenly remembered what Sasuke had said to him that day.
"Jiraiya-sensei, don't be bound by the prophecy anymore. Step out of your well, see more of this world. Don't waste your talent any longer. What Konoha needs now is Jiraiya, not the Toad Sage of the prophecy."
Jiraiya's expression turned bitter, and a sense of confusion rose from the depths of his heart.
"Was I wrong?"
Looking back, he had spent half his life chasing after the prophecy, but all the students he had taken on had defected from Konoha and were now set against the shinobi world. It was clear that everything he had done was likely a mistake.
"Perhaps I really was wrong," Jiraiya took a deep breath, the image of Sasuke appearing in his mind. He remembered sharing an ice cream with him on the streets of Konoha. Sasuke had a cold expression on his face, but he had secretly sniffled. The cold-faced Sasuke was soft on the inside. The gentle Naruto was cold on the inside. But he had never noticed the changes in his students.
He was a failure as a teacher.
Perhaps he really should, as Sasuke had said, cast aside this mission that weighed him down and live for Konoha and for himself, just once!
At that thought, Jiraiya's heart suddenly felt lighter. He turned around, his expression serious. "Tsunade, if I make it back alive this time, will you give me a chance?" It was the first time Jiraiya had ever looked at Tsunade with such a fiery gaze. The intense emotion made her feel a little flustered.
Without waiting for her answer, Jiraiya laughed heartily and turned to leave. For him, the answer was no longer important.
"Alright!" Just as his back was about to disappear, Tsunade's voice reached him clearly.
Jiraiya's body froze for a moment, then he laughed and left, walking resolutely out of Konoha.