Staring at Rinjin scratching his head with that sheepish grin, Tendo Pain—under Nagato's control—instinctively stepped back.
Keeping this distance from Rinjin wasn't a joke.
If he wanted to, he could obliterate every Pain body here in a heartbeat.
But Rinjin had zero intention of attacking.
His only goal was keeping Jiraiya alive. Everything else? Not his problem.
Ever since his run-in with the Sage of Six Paths, Rinjin had decided to stick with the original plan—whether he could revive Mizuguma or not.
The Sage had probably seen straight through his scheme anyway, so right now, playing it steady was his best move.
Meanwhile, watching Rinjin hold back, Nagato exhaled slightly.
Shinra Tensei had cooled down—at least Tendo's structural integrity was temporarily secure.
But Nagato wasn't the type to sit around waiting for death or show mercy.
His heart had died the moment Yahiko was murdered by Takigakure's leader!
If he could bring himself to strike down his beloved teacher Jiraiya, what was one measly Rinjin?
With that thought, Nagato immediately multitasked, controlling all Six Paths of Pain.
Gakido surged forward, forcing Jiraiya back.
Tendo unleashed Banshō Ten'in again.
Ningendō, lurking in the shadows, exploded forward and drove his palm toward Rinjin's chest.
Chikushōdō's hands blurred through seals as the massive hell hound—dragged back from death—charged ferociously at Jiraiya.
The coordinated assault looked complex but happened simultaneously at lightning speed.
The freed-up Gakido ignored Jiraiya entirely. Instead, he flickered behind Rinjin, arms snaking under his shoulders to lock him in place.
At the same instant, Ningendō's palm connected with Rinjin's chest.
"Soul Extraction!"
A pitch-black soul—utterly unlike any normal person's—slowly emerged from Rinjin's body, drawn out by Ningendō's technique.
Seeing this, Nagato pushed aside his confusion and forced Ningendō to increase the extraction power.
Rinjin just stood there like an idiot, watching without the slightest resistance.
The last guy who'd messed with his soul was the Shinigami, and He'd ended up getting his grass-covered tongue sliced off.
Nagato might call himself a god, but obviously, he wasn't one.
As Ningendō exerted more force, the hand touching Rinjin's soul suddenly underwent a transformation that made anyone watching feel their skin crawl.
Dark crimson spots—embodying humanity's deepest greed and hatred—seeped out from beneath the skin.
At each spot's center, tiny writhing tentacles sprouted like weeds swaying in a hellish breeze.
Up close, these black tentacles bristled with countless indescribable eyes and mouths.
They layered over each other, twisting and contorting without a trace of beauty—one glance was enough to make your scalp tingle with revulsion.
Across the skin's surface, dark red patches spread rapidly like infectious rust...
At the village center in the distance:
Nagato—whose expression hadn't shifted since the battle began—suddenly flushed bright red.
He could feel it...
A nauseating, dizzying wave of corrupt energy was coiling around his body through some unknown connection.
Outside, Konan—standing beside Nagato—suddenly noticed the black rods piercing his back were undergoing a horrifying transformation.
At the rods' far ends, away from Nagato's back, tiny writhing tentacles had materialized from nowhere.
Their squirming surfaces were covered with various fang-filled mouths, gnawing at the black rods while simultaneously tearing at each other.
Witnessing this scene, Konan's blood ran cold.
She didn't know this was Rinjin's resentment fused with the Divine Tree's source power, but every instinct screamed that this thing was absolutely terrifying!
Without hesitation, Konan struck. Her razor-sharp paper shuriken instantly severed the dense mass of black rods on Nagato's back.
Sparks flew as the rods yanked at his back muscles, forcing Nagato to grit his teeth and grunt in pain.
Seeing Nagato's flushed face, Konan spoke urgently:
"Nagato, we need to retreat!"
Nagato started to respond when blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Rinjin's soul was truly a forbidden zone—he was getting a brutal firsthand lesson in that now.
Unwillingness flashed in his eyes, but Nagato finally nodded weakly, agreeing to withdraw.
...
Back on the battlefield:
Tendo Pain suddenly lunged forward, snatching both Gakido and Ningendō by their collars.
His arms flexed, hurling them both backward.
Then Tendo spread both hands, targeting the still-dazed Rinjin and Jiraiya.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Devastating repulsive force erupted outward, accompanied by massive dust clouds, instantly blasting Rinjin and Jiraiya into the distance.
As the dust cleared, Jiraiya and Rinjin climbed out of the rubble, both looking toward Tendo's former position.
The spot was completely empty—not a trace of Tendo remained.
Jiraiya slapped his thigh in frustration:
"Damn it! We let them escape!"
Rinjin rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Come on! We already scored big on this trip—what more do you want?"
He dusted off his clothes and stood up, heading toward Takigakure's center.
"Let's go see if there's any more intel we can dig up."
Jiraiya quickly nodded, canceled Sage Mode, and hurried to catch up.
Their intelligence haul from this mission was already substantial.
On Jiraiya's shoulder, Shima Sennin was first to cancel her summoning jutsu and return to Mount Myōboku.
With the battle over, she had to rush back and prepare dinner for her husband and child!
Fukasaku Sennin wasn't in any hurry to leave. He lightly pushed off with his legs, hopping from Jiraiya's shoulder to Rinjin's.
"Little Rinjin, come eat dinner at Mount Myōboku later—the missus has already gone back to prepare it!"
Having lived over eight hundred years, he was sharp as a tack and could easily read Rinjin's true purpose in following Jiraiya.
Spacing out and slacking off most of the time, taking pressure off Jiraiya at crucial moments, keeping his main focus on Jiraiya...
...
Faced with Fukasaku Sennin's invitation, the first image that flashed through Rinjin's mind was a plate of writhing, plump white bugs.
The next second, Rinjin shuddered and shook his head with a strained smile, politely declining.
Bugs are so cute—why would anyone want to eat bugs?!
Mount Myōboku is absolutely barbaric! I'll represent Shikkotsu Forest in wiping you guys out!
Regarding Rinjin's inner monologue, both Katsuyu Sennin and Chōmei gave him enthusiastic thumbs up.
Chatting casually about nothing important, Jiraiya and Rinjin quickly finished searching the tall tower at Takigakure's center.
The result was predictable—they found absolutely nothing.
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