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"But you're no match for Pain," Fuwan stared intently at Jiraiya.
"Well, maybe there's a chance?" Jiraiya felt Fuwan's judgment was too rash.
"He killed Hanzo," Fuwan reminded him.
Jiraiya shrugged. This time, he didn't argue back.
During the Second Shinobi World War, he, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had fought Hanzo together—yet none of them could defeat him. The title of "Sannin" given to them after that battle was a constant reminder that they had lost.
However, Jiraiya had grown much stronger since then, both in experience and power.
But since others refused to acknowledge that, there was no point in explaining further—they wouldn't listen anyway.
"Konoha, as a whole, does not fear the Akatsuki or Pain," Jiraiya stated.
"Do you intend to drag Amegakure into another war?" Fuwan snapped.
The others in the room looked at Jiraiya with complicated expressions.
"We're not warmongers. On the contrary, what we're doing is preventing a greater war," Jiraiya replied.
"What do you mean?" Fuwan frowned.
"Konoha won't interfere recklessly, but the truth is, Akatsuki has already meddled in the affairs of a major shinobi village… Based on my investigations so far, Akatsuki is also targeting Konoha. My evidence is that two of the attackers who assaulted the Hokage were members of Akatsuki, and their methods were identical to how they infiltrated another major village." Seeing Fuwan's lingering distrust, Jiraiya added, "We're not targeting Amegakure. Our only enemies are Pain and Akatsuki—nothing more."
"Is everything you're saying true?" Fuwan questioned skeptically. "Amegakure is just a minor village. After the Second Shinobi World War, we've only focused on rebuilding and survival. We have no strength to contend with major villages—why would we provoke them?"
"That's what we thought too, but didn't Hanzo do exactly that last time?" Jiraiya glanced at the others. "Time is running out. I just want to ask—can you tell me anything about Akatsuki?"
Fuwan's expression shifted several times before he finally shook his head. "I've never heard of what you just described. If anything, you know more about Akatsuki than we do. We can't provide any useful information. Besides, Akatsuki members rarely stay in the village. I've only seen a few of them… Does anyone else know anything?"
Fuwan turned to the others.
"Well… I know a little. Their members seem to change frequently. Also, their abilities are… unusual. If possible, it's best not to provoke them," a middle-aged man with a thick beard spoke up.
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, considering the fact that Akatsuki included Orochimaru and Danzō. Even if he didn't know the others' strength, they likely weren't far behind.
Akatsuki had always operated in the shadows, never revealing themselves fully, so few knew of their existence.
Jiraiya scanned the room again, but no one else offered any further details. He couldn't help but feel disappointed.
If even Amegakure's own shinobi didn't know much about Akatsuki, he would have to investigate them more thoroughly in the future.
"What about Pain?"
"Hmph, Pain's strength is beyond your imagination. Let me put it this way—even two Hokage wouldn't be able to defeat him!" Fuwan declared.
Jiraiya opened his mouth to argue but then remembered the current Hokage was Tsunade.
Two Tsunades' combat ability was indeed debatable—at the very least, they wouldn't stand a chance against Danzō and Orochimaru combined—so he nodded in reluctant agreement.
"You've been saying Hanzo was killed by Pain. I want to know—how did he die? Did Pain use some kind of scheme, or was it a direct fight?"
"He was completely outmatched. Pain is strong… stronger than anyone can imagine. If I were you, I'd leave Amegakure immediately. No matter how powerful you are, going after Pain and Akatsuki alone is impossible. There's not even a sliver of a chance," Fuwan warned.
Jiraiya's expression darkened.
Hearing Fuwan's words, he began to suspect that Akatsuki and Pain might be beyond his capabilities. But the information he had on them was still too vague to be useful. For a moment, Jiraiya hesitated.
Just then, a paper butterfly fluttered past the lamplight, heading toward the door—before someone swiftly burned it to ashes.
"Damn it! Pain knows we're here! Everyone, run!" Fuwan roared.
Jiraiya hesitated briefly but quickly steeled his resolve.
If Pain really was coming, he didn't mind "meeting" him face-to-face.
---
"Discovered!"
Countless sheets of paper flew back into Konan's body as she turned to Pain.
This version of Pain looked entirely different—his bright orange hair was tied into a ponytail, and his sharp gaze pierced through the night sky.
"What about the other Akatsuki members?" Pain asked.
"Orochimaru and Danzō have gone missing. Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori have already eliminated their targets and are moving to other hideouts. As for Yoshida Shin—"
"What about him?"
"After killing his target, he decided to stop for food," Konan said with a strange expression.
"Food?"
"He's at a street stall. Completely ignoring the next mission location." Konan frowned.
The label of "slacker" was instantly stamped onto Yoshida Shin.
Did he have no professionalism at all? How could anyone be this lazy?!
"Contact the Akatsuki members who are still reachable. Tell them to regroup immediately. No matter what, the intruder must be eliminated!" Pain growled.
"Understood."
"After this, you don't need to return. And… be careful." Pain said.
Konan nodded before her body dissolved into countless sheets of paper, scattering in all directions.
Pain leaped down from the heights, vanishing into the night.
---
"Boss, two more octopus balls, please!" Midorima called out with his mouth full of ramen, not forgetting to wave at the stall owner.
He had no idea how "octopus," a creature that lived in the ocean, had made its way to Amegakure.
Sure, the village was constantly raining, but it only had an inland lake. Then again, after some thought, he shrugged it off.
Not every "beef ball" was actually made of beef. So, if "octopus balls" were made of some other meat, who cared? It was just a marketing gimmick.
As long as they tasted good, that was all that mattered.
And these octopus balls were delicious, especially with the dipping sauce.
The only annoying thing was that paper butterfly fluttering around him. If he weren't busy with other matters, he would've burned it to a crisp already.
"Here you go, sir… That butterfly's been flying around—doesn't it bother you?"
"Can't let an empty stomach ruin the mission, right? It's not like I can blame you for not feeding me well if things go south," Midorima said as he took the octopus balls, his eyes fixed on the street outside.
He was hoping for a "chance encounter" with Itachi here.