Kiyosuke stretched his hand into the falling rain, his chakra immediately exposed to Pain's perception.
Atop the tallest tower in Amegakure, the man with the Rinnegan slowly rose to his feet. His voice, deep and commanding, echoed:
"Someone has infiltrated Amegakure, Konan."
Sheets of paper, each the size of a palm, fluttered into existence around him. They gathered and formed the figure of a blue-haired beauty. She nodded lightly.
"I'll go check it out."
With that, she dissolved into countless slips of paper and drifted away.
"Come on," Kiyosuke said. "We'd better find another battlefield. Fighting here isn't an option."
"You're right."
Jiraiya got up, following Kiyosuke into a deserted tower. On the way, the rain that had been falling without pause finally ceased. But this wasn't a good omen—if the rain had stopped, it meant Pain no longer needed it to sense their movements. He was about to strike with full force.
...
"It's been a long time, Jiraiya-sensei."
Sheets of paper swirled together, forming Konan. Wings spread wide at her back, her lower body dissolving into drifting fragments, giving her the appearance of a figure sculpted from paper. Hovering in the air, her eyes carried a touch of nostalgia.
He had once been her teacher—the teacher of all three of them. Now, they stood on opposite sides of the battlefield.
"Oh? If it isn't Konan."
Jiraiya looked her up and down, his expression complicated. But he still forced a grin.
"You've grown into quite the beauty."
The corners of Konan's lips curved slightly.
"You haven't changed at all. Still the same as always."
For her, the sight brought back memories. Back then, Jiraiya had been like a father to the three of them—teaching them ninjutsu, teaching them how to survive, caring for them with everything he had.
Without him, she, Nagato, and Yahiko never would have survived in the Land of Rain.
Even though Yahiko had died, they were still grateful to Jiraiya.
But for the sake of a new world, she and Pain had no choice but to stand against their former teacher.
...
"Jiraiya-sama, I didn't think you had such a beautiful disciple. I thought your only students were Minato and Naruto."
Kiyosuke chuckled softly. His presence alone kept Konan from letting her guard down. He was Konoha's strongest shinobi, someone far beyond her ability to face.
Though in Pain's eyes, no enemy mattered.
"They were my students when I was young," Jiraiya said. "The very first ones I took in. But I never imagined they'd walk this dark path."
If even gentle, obedient Konan had joined Akatsuki, then Yahiko and Nagato must have too…
His eyes darkened as he drew in a breath.
"Konan, where are Yahiko and Nagato?"
"That has nothing to do with you."
"Then I'll ask differently. Where is Pain?"
"You don't need to know."
Konan's body slowly rose higher, like the people of Amegakure called her—a heavenly angel, suspended in the air. Sheets of paper circled her, forming massive wings that spread and aimed down at Jiraiya and Kiyosuke.
The papers folded themselves into sharp arrows and rained toward the two men.
...
"This kind of ability is nothing more than a joke to me."
Kiyosuke stepped in front of Jiraiya, exhaling a stream of fire that reduced the paper arrows to ash.
"Toad Oil Bullet!"
Jiraiya spat out a torrent of oil, coating Konan's body and rendering her unable to manipulate her paper. Kiyosuke immediately halted his flames. If he used fire now, it would burn Konan alive.
"Wild Lion's Mane!"
Jiraiya's long hair stretched out, lashing upward to bind Konan in midair.
"That's it. You can't attack now."
He gave a wry smile.
"Brilliant, Konan. To come up with such a technique—it lets you mimic Kiyosuke's body in a way. But once you turn into paper, your weaknesses are glaring."
Konan's secret ninjutsu, Dance of the Shikigami, allowed her to break her body into countless sheets of paper that could move, reshape, and combine freely. It granted immunity to physical attacks. But against fire and liquid, it was utterly helpless. Her weakness was even greater than Kiyosuke's.
"Well? Now that you're soaked in oil, you can't disperse your body anymore. You always loved origami… out of the three of you, you were the gentlest. Tell me—where are Nagato and Yahiko? The rumors of your deaths were lies, weren't they? So then… which of them is Pain?"
Jiraiya's voice carried a heavy sadness. He didn't want to see his disciples walk down this twisted road.
If Konan was willing to repent now, he would give them the chance to turn back.
"Since you've brought Asakawa Kiyosuke here with you," Konan said coldly, "what is your true purpose?"
Kiyosuke raised his hand.
"Me? I'm just here to protect Jiraiya-sama. I don't trust your group one bit, and it looks like I was right. You're really planning on killing your teacher."
Konan's silence pained Jiraiya.
He gave a bitter laugh.
"Ah… it seems I've truly failed as a teacher, Konan."
No, you were the best teacher, she thought.
But…
We've grown up, sensei!
She said aloud:
"If you had listened to Orochimaru back then and killed us when you had the chance, none of this would be happening today."
"I never once thought of killing you. I taught you ninjutsu. That makes you my disciples—without question. But to attack me without even a word of warning… that wounds me deeply as your teacher."
"This is the path we've chosen."
Konan's voice was firm.
...
Kiyosuke looked up at the high platform nearby. A shadowed figure began to walk forward.
"What drove you to choose this path?"
"Because of this world!"
An orange-haired figure stepped from the shadows. His Rinnegan blazed with indescribable pressure as he looked down coldly at the two men.
Jiraiya's gaze fixed on him. The boy's appearance had changed greatly, his face marked by unfamiliar piercings and decorations. But those eyes—the Rinnegan—left no doubt.
"Despite the changes, those eyes… there's no mistaking it. Nagato. It seems you haven't grown in the right direction."
Jiraiya's heart ached. He had believed that the child who inherited the Sage of Six Paths' eyes—the one the Great Toad Sage had prophesied—would change the world for the better.
But instead, Nagato had walked into darkness.
Out of all his students, Jiraiya had placed the highest hopes on him, because of his unique gift and those legendary eyes.
Now it seemed… he was wrong.
"What happened to you? Nagato… how did you become like this?"
"You don't need to know. You're nothing but an outsider."
Pain's voice was quiet and cold, as if he were speaking to a stranger on the street.
And yet, this was the man who had once been his most respected teacher.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Pain pressed his hands into a seal. A massive lobster appeared at his back, its jaws spewing a torrent of water that forced Jiraiya and Kiyosuke to leap to higher ground.