"Holy sh*t, what the hell is that."
"Holy sh*t!"
"Hol— Jonin Habara."
As Habara and his companions walked through the streets of the new city, they naturally caused quite a commotion. Or rather, if Kakashi and Kushina Uzumaki hadn't been flanking him, more than one person would have certainly reported him to the authorities on the spot.
The Transformation Technique was, after all, just a transformation technique… It couldn't alter the fundamental essence of a ninja—or in Habara's case, perhaps it should be said, it couldn't alter the fundamental essence of a Tailed Beast. Consequently, the moment any sensory-type ninja glanced his way, they were instantly startled by the immense and volatile chakra radiating from him.
It didn't even require specialized sensory ninja; any regular ninja, if they got close enough, could feel a burning or stinging sensation emanating from Habara. Thus, Habara found himself in a state where shockwaves rippled everywhere he went.
"Speaking of which, is it really alright for you to appear in your own image like this?" Kakashi suddenly asked as they walked. "If the previous enemy was specifically targeting you, won't they cause some unexpected trouble when they find out you're not dead?"
"That's not really a problem," Habara replied. "Do you think the opponent will believe their own eyes or intelligence coming from Konoha? My death couldn't be faked; my corpse very likely fell into their hands. Under those circumstances, how could they possibly believe I'm still alive? … They'll inevitably conclude that the 'me' appearing now is an imposter, merely a fabricated front engineered by Konoha to stabilize morale and maintain the pressure of high-end combat power against other villages."
The events of that battle were undeniable. The riskier Nagato's victory, the greater the damage he sustained, the more firmly he would believe Habara was truly and completely dead. Otherwise, could a mere Konoha ninja severely wound him, a self-proclaimed "God," through feigning death? Someone would actually have to believe such a story, especially when Habara's body had likely already been turned into a functional figure.
As long as Nagato's intelligence wasn't fundamentally flawed, he wouldn't believe the Habara appearing in Konoha was the real Habara. Because even Habara himself had to admit, he had indeed died once already.
Therefore, swaggering around openly now wasn't really an issue. As long as he didn't directly confront Nagato again, his actual situation would be difficult to expose.
"Rather than worrying about what actions the enemy might take because of this, it's better to worry about my current condition… Lady Kushina, is there any way to restrain my chakra somewhat? This 'shock everywhere I go' situation isn't sustainable," Habara asked, frowning.
"Holy sh*t" was practically becoming the standard greeting he received. Habara felt like he was constantly being cursed at.
"No problem, that's not difficult at all," Kushina agreed that this issue needed resolution, and promptly. Otherwise, Habara moving around the city would easily place an excessive burden on the local sensory barrier network. She believed the personnel responsible for managing the barrier had likely already reported intelligence along the lines of "A Tailed Beast might have escaped" to the Hokage.
A signal source like Habara, as reflected on the sensory barrier, was probably comparable to a small sun—blindingly bright.
Later, when Habara met with Tsunade, he provided a detailed account of the previous battle, describing the abilities of the Rinnegan one by one. Previously, he couldn't explain because he couldn't reveal his intelligence source. Now, having obtained the most accurate firsthand information at the cost of his own life, he naturally shared everything he knew.
The Asura and Animal Paths weren't the main focus—one could launch missiles, the other could summon dozens of colossal beasts. The Preta Path could absorb all ninjutsu and chakra. The Human Path could extract souls and read memories. The Hell Path possessed suspected resurrection capabilities. As for the Deva Path… Shinra Tensei, Bansho Ten'in, Chibaku Tensei—these three techniques alone spoke volumes.
"Meaning, you consecutively fought seven enemies possessing the Rinnegan?" Tsunade asked.
"It should just be one person," Habara clarified. "The first six could each utilize a portion of the Rinnegan's abilities; they should be puppets controlled by the main body. When I found the enemy's main body, I could clearly see he had suffered severe injuries to his lower limbs, making movement very inconvenient." Habara believed Tsunade had likely already reached a similar conclusion beforehand.
If there truly were seven pairs of Rinnegan, Habara wouldn't even need to bother playing the game anymore. Black Zetsu would die from sheer happiness; with so many backups, his mother could be resurrected no matter what, perhaps even seven times over.
However, Habara ultimately refrained from revealing Nagato's specific origins. He was somewhat concerned that the Hokage, considering the potential future threat Nagato posed, might decide to eradicate the problem at its root right now… Nagato was difficult to handle. Hadn't Habara just suffered a defeat and not yet had time to summarize the lessons learned? Even if Konoha was willing to engage in a desperate, all-out battle immediately, Nagato still had the possibility of escaping. Letting Nagato flee and go into hiding was arguably worse than letting him remain concealed within Amegakure.
"According to Habara's account, those Rinnegan possess ocular power exceeding all limits. They truly sound like the eyes belonging to the Sage of Six Paths, the creator of the world… Why do you think he targeted you? Was it out of hostility towards Konoha?" After grasping the strength of the Rinnegan, this was Tsunade's primary concern.
Habara shook his head; he genuinely didn't know the answer to that question. "Perhaps it was merely due to my status as an enemy. Someone might have placed a bounty on me in the black market, and this mysterious enemy was simply collecting payment for a kill. Or perhaps he has designs on the entire ninja world and identified me as a stumbling block… Looking on the bright side, if someone possessing eyes like that is plotting something, they surely wouldn't be targeting only Konoha."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. Although Habara's last statement was logical, it was hardly comforting.
If a person were naturally born with the Rinnegan, then compared to Habara's theory of 'killing for bounty money,' the idea that they harbored immense ambitions seemed far more credible. In that case, what could those ambitions be? To overthrow the entire ninja world? "In any case, the enemy is in the shadows, while we are exposed. We must strengthen our intelligence gathering efforts in this area moving forward. On the other hand, we needn't be overly anxious about this enemy. Now that Habara has clarified his abilities, we simply need to implement targeted preventative measures… There's only one condition: even if we end up at war with this mysterious individual, the battlefield absolutely cannot be Konoha or this city beneath my feet," Tsunade stated, letting out a long sigh.
Honestly, the Rinnegan was indeed terrifying. But the advantage was that Habara had figured out its capabilities. Doing the math, only the abilities belonging to the Deva Path were truly game-breakingly overpowered; the rest were manageable. As for the fearsome Deva Path, its chakra was ultimately finite.
In essence, Tsunade's meaning was simple: the hidden mysterious individual was likely an enemy. His abilities were terrifying, but life in Konoha had to go on. Strengthening their vigilance would suffice.
As for Habara's blood feud… Habara wasn't dead yet, was he? And even Habara couldn't defeat the opponent. Talking emptily about revenge was meaningless.
"Make yourselves stronger, make Konoha stronger, and naturally, we will fear no enemy. Let us all strive towards this together, gentlemen."
"Yes, Lady Hokage."
The Hokage concluded with fine words, but Habara still sensed her deep helplessness regarding the situation. Just imagine, if the First Hokage were still alive, would Konoha tolerate such an affront? Regardless of what Rinnegan you possessed, you'd be guaranteed to go blind upon meeting the First.
However, it was good that the Hokage wasn't acting rashly. Calm, steady action was always preferable to recklessness. Moreover, according to Habara's judgment, since he had already "died," Pain would have no reason to make a move against Konoha in the short term. For a period in the near future, everyone could likely coexist in peace.
During this time, he naturally had to continue enhancing his own strength. The next time they met, he absolutely could not die again… Alright, truthfully, he no longer feared death itself (since he'd just come back). What he actually feared was being sealed.
Subsequently, Kushina helped resolve Habara's issue of being the "Holy Sh*t Man." The matter wasn't complicated; she simply applied a special sealing formula to Habara. This formula utilized his passively leaking chakra to form a closed barrier around his vicinity, preventing ordinary people from sensing the Nine-Tails' exaggerated chakra presence.
Unexpectedly, Habara had barely finished this treatment when he was immediately summoned by Tsunade again.
"Lady Hokage, are there any further questions or anything missed?" Habara hurried to the Hokage's office.
"There is indeed one matter. Previously, I dispatched Tenzo to search for your whereabouts and sent Jiraiya to trace any clues left by the enemy. After learning you had revived in such an unbelievable manner, I immediately recalled both of them. Tenzo is currently on his way back, but Jiraiya hasn't sent back any message…" Tsunade appeared deeply worried. "Could Jiraiya have encountered the Rinnegan user? Without intelligence support, he would have almost no chance of victory."
Habara thought to himself: Jiraiya saw the Rinnegan long ago. Upon hearing the word 'Rinnegan,' he most likely headed straight for Amegakure… The situation was indeed somewhat dire.
"Lady Tsunade, after fighting me, the enemy will definitely enter a period of weakness for some time. Therefore, it's highly unlikely they would directly engage Lord Jiraiya. If Lord Jiraiya hasn't sent word back, it's more likely he encountered other enemies."
Habara had died and revived; he experienced no recovery period or weakness. His strength was undiminished, his chakra even stronger. His resistance, tolerance, adaptability, and a whole series of other metrics were now incomparable to before. After all, he was no longer human.
But Nagato was different. He had overdrafted both his chakra and the Rinnegan's power in that battle. He definitely needed a period of rest. Thus, Jiraiya wasn't necessarily in a hopeless situation.
"Let me handle this. I will depart immediately to search for Lord Jiraiya," Habara decided after a moment's thought, concluding his own action would be the most reliable.
"Are you alright to go now?" Tsunade asked.
"Of course, no problem, Lady Hokage. Please rest assured. I won't make the same mistake as before."
"Very well then. We can only rely on you at this time."
"I'll depart immediately."
Habara had only just revived, and already he was rushing off on another mission. It couldn't be helped. Jiraiya had potentially encountered danger precisely because he was investigating Habara's disappearance. In such circumstances, Habara felt obliged to help if he could.
"Huu…"
Jiraiya inhaled deeply, then exhaled sharply, finally managing to regain a semblance of steady breathing.
He was still stranded within the Land of Rain, currently hiding inside a hollow tree. He looked quite battered; one side of his body was stained with blood, indicating a considerable injury—when fighting Orochimaru, he had subconsciously held back his strength. The consequence of insufficient ruthlessness was injuring himself. Techniques like "Goemon", the Jiraiya of this period wouldn't use against Orochimaru.
"Even though it wasn't complete Sage Mode, I never expected Orochimaru to be able to command natural energy… Due to carelessness, I ended up being the one taking the heavy hit."
Sage Mode was an extremely high-level ability; commanding natural energy was anything but easy. He hadn't expected so many individuals to walk this path in recent years. It was too unscientific. Was learning Sage Mode now as simple as learning to sing, dance, and rap? Could one master it after just two and a half years of practice?
"Will Orochimaru pursue relentlessly? He definitely will. That means I can only stay here for a short while. Three hours… no, I'll leave after two hours."
Jiraiya knew he should move immediately, but his physical condition didn't permit it. He absolutely had to rest for a while… If it came down to the absolute last resort, he might have to rely on Reverse Summoning to escape.
However, Orochimaru's nose proved far more sensitive than Jiraiya had imagined. Although the Deva Path hadn't relayed information to Orochimaru in time, Orochimaru still managed to find Jiraiya's hiding place shortly after, relying on his own tracking abilities.
Just as Jiraiya was drifting off, nearly asleep, Orochimaru's voice abruptly echoed within the tree hollow, "Truly a rare and pleasant spot. It couldn't be more perfect… as your burial place."
"Orochimaru… You're a bit too fast. Why are you in the Land of Rain?" Jiraiya still wanted to clarify Orochimaru's connection to Habara's disappearance.
"I won't answer repeated questions. If you wish to make those your final words, it would be quite pitiful." Despite saying this, Orochimaru indirectly revealed a sliver of information, "I have a rough idea why you came to the Land of Rain. But unfortunately for you, the person you're looking for is likely already dead."
Jiraiya's brow furrowed. "You really do know something…"
"And you… no longer need to know anything at all."
Just as Orochimaru took a step closer to Jiraiya, a kunai suddenly shot from behind him. Orochimaru sharply tilted his head; the kunai grazed past his cheek, leaving only a shallow, bloody trace on his skin.
Orochimaru extended his tongue, licking the bead of blood seeping from his cheek, before leisurely turning around.
"An uninvited guest? Who could it be?"
The newcomer lowered the massive umbrella held over their head, then stepped into the tree hollow. Next, they pulled back the hood of their raincoat, revealing their face.
This person was somewhat peculiar, wearing a raincoat yet still carrying an umbrella. Wasn't that redundant? Did they perhaps not want a single drop of rain to touch them?
"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Orochimaru. It certainly has been a long time."
Habara had first teleported to the Land of Fire border, then rushed headlong into the Land of Rain. His speed was undeniably fast, allowing him to arrive just in time to catch this dramatic scene unfolding.
"Habara…"
A trace of utter disbelief flickered in Orochimaru's eyes.
This tree hollow, at this moment, could probably be designated a historical landmark and start selling tickets. Within a short span, it had somehow crammed within it three ninja capable of commanding natural energy and utilizing Sage techniques. Afterwards, it could totally be named the "Cave of the Three Earthly Sages."