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Even an "invincible" defense like [Shinra Tensei] means nothing when the repulsive force is weaker than the blow it faces.
Deva Path Pain's face tightened.
The oncoming blast wasn't slowing it was condensing the very air between them into something solid, crackling with threads of lightning.
Behind him, the fabric of space buckled where his own repulsion should have borne the load. Thought outran time; in the heartbeat before sound arrived, he already knew the rearward pressure was collapsing.
BOOM!
The charged wave of will and chakra, the [Energy Cannon], plowed straight through him like a tireless tunneling shield, boring a blazing corridor through the storm drains. It punched out beneath the open sky and hammered the lake outside Amegakure, turning night into brief daylight.
A wall of rain lifted and then fell all at once a downpour in a single breath.
Back in the underground reservoir, a yawning passage now connected directly to the lake. The metal at its edges glowed a dark, dying red.
Five armored puppets regrouped at Neji's side, each bearing a broken body the other Paths. Neji flicked his hand, dismissing the puppets in curls of smoke, then stepped into the air and drifted toward the breach.
Beneath a shifting mound of rubble, a slab heaved. Gamaken shoved the rock aside, shield braced, revealing Jiraiya safely tucked beneath him.
Blood traced a line down the toad's brow; his weapon arm was split by a deep gash.
He had pinned himself and Jiraiya in place with his trident through the worst of the shock, but a flying stone had torn his arm, forcing him to yield ground.
Even so, in the final second, he'd curled over his summoner and taken the hit.
Jiraiya saw the wound and drew a steadying breath. "That's enough, Gamaken. Head back. What comes next… isn't your fight."
"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama. I'm still not strong enough…" Gamaken murmured.
Poof! Smoke swirled; Gamaken returned to Mount Myōboku.
Jiraiya stared at the gaping tunnel to the outside, awe tugging at his features.
He had the truth now the Akatsuki's real faces and aims. Mission accomplished. He could leave.
But the upheaval he'd just witnessed would change the shinobi world's course. He set his jaw, pulled a scroll from his hip pouch, and began to write swift, dense cipher strokes across the parchment, everything he'd learned preserved.
He smeared blood across his hand, slapped it to the stone, and summoned a small toad. He tied the sealed scroll to its back.
"Get this home. No matter what."
Poof! The messenger vanished. Jiraiya exhaled, half the weight lifted from his shoulders the final half still ahead.
He vaulted into the newly carved corridor, eyes on the lake. No sign of Yahiko's body… or [Nian].
He formed seals, slammed his palms down.
Poof! Poof!
Two elder sages perched on his shoulders Fukasaku and Shima.
"Little Jiraiya, we caught the gist," Fukasaku said. "Looks like you're set on seeing this through."
"Don't fret. We'll back you up," Shima added.
Jiraiya nodded, gaze hard on the light beyond. "Their fight decides everything for me. I'll need your help."
He hesitated, just a moment. The force of that last strike… How much power did he still hold back?
"Don't overthink it, Little Jiraiya," Fukasaku chided.
"Be careful. Make your preparations,"
Shima said. "That one."
"Right," Jiraiya whispered. "Let's begin."
He split off several shadow clones, then started drawing in nature energy. His Sage Mode wasn't perfect, too slow to enter in a blink, so the clones would cover the gaps. Preparedness was a shinobi's first lesson. He steadied his breathing and moved out with his doubles into the rain.
Inside Amegakure, the uproar stirred the village. Civilians fled indoors, doors barred, faces pale. Patrolling Ame-nin surged to respond and were stopped by whirling sheets of paper that gathered and folded into Konan.
"Hold position. Do not interfere."She rose into the air, watching the distant lake. That battle was beyond Ame's reach, for now. She could only keep the village calm… and watch.
Neji hovered above the lake's ragged crater. Water rushed in, churning into a vast whirlpool.
Not enough to erase him. Through the Tenseigan's sight, he found the body lying quietly on the lakebed.
When the vortex finally stilled and the surface smoothed, a figure rose from below drenched, unbowed. Droplets fell in silver threads as Deva Path Pain fixed his gaze on Neji.
"Impressive," he said. "I didn't expect another true threat in this world. Erase you… and nothing will stand in my way."
The overwrought bravado made Neji want to pinch the bridge of his nose. Hearing it in person was worse than reading a dossier. He tilted his head, a sigh ghosting behind the mask a trace of pity in his eyes.
"How tragic," he said softly. "A man marched by a false beacon chasing a destination that doesn't exist."
"Pain— no," Neji corrected. "Nagato. Did Yahiko's death take your compass with it?"
Pain's face remained smooth. Even with the other Paths destroyed, he showed no fear. Neji's words slid off him. He knew he'd be misunderstood. Gods were not for mortals to comprehend.
"False?" Pain's voice cooled. "You cannot grasp my greatness. I am a god. You… are only a man."
"Those who bar a god's path are annihilated. You will be no exception."
He lifted his hand, judgment poised."Tell me… are you prepared to receive a god's punishment?"
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