Chapter 133:
Jiraiya pressed his hands together in a prayer seal, while the two Toad Sages stood on his shoulders, warily eyeing Naruto. The heavy tension spread throughout the area.
Before entering Sage Mode, Jiraiya had to maintain the prayer seal with both hands for a period of time. Because of this, he couldn't use many of his jutsu during the transformation process—making that moment the weakest he could be.
That's why Jiraiya rarely used Sage Mode. Another reason was because he hated how he looked in that form—he thought it was just too ugly.
"When I was training in sage arts on Mount Myōboku, I already knew how powerful the two sages were," Golden Naruto said, slapping his palm to the ground. "Summoning Technique!"
Although Naruto also had toads he could summon, in this case—as Jiraiya's opponent and facing the two sages of Mount Myōboku—he obviously wasn't about to summon toads. If he did, the first thing they'd do is betray him.
"That's—" Jiraiya and the two sages simultaneously lifted their heads, gasping in shock. "The Nine Tails!"
"Naruto… You actually released the seal yourself?" Jiraiya looked at Naruto and said.
Naruto ignored him. Standing atop the Nine Tails' head, he said, "Kurama, I'm counting on you."
"Hmph." Kurama gave a disdainful snort but still obeyed Naruto's command.
"This is bad! Run, Jiraiya!" The elderly female toad slapped Jiraiya on the face, urging him anxiously.
"Don't worry, my dear sages. When it comes to running, I'm actually quite confident," Jiraiya replied as he bolted.
He said that, but how could a human's stamina compare to a tailed beast's?
"Tongue Binding Jutsu!" The elder lady toad's tongue suddenly extended—it was so long that even Orochimaru would weep with envy.
Her tongue wrapped around the Nine Tails, spraying a paralytic poison continuously.
"How's that, dear?"
The bound Nine Tails struggled fiercely, letting out an earth-shaking roar.
"It's not enough! Keep running, Jiraiya!"
"Huh?" Jiraiya, who had just taken a moment's rest, started sprinting again with long strides.
"Not done yet, Little Jiraiya?"
"Almost there—" Before he could finish, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Naruto had appeared directly in his escape path.
Naruto in front, the Nine Tails behind.
"Jiraiya, this is the end."
"Hmph… You're right, it is the end, Naruto!" Jiraiya sneered. His Sage Mode was finally complete.
"So this is your Sage Mode…"
"Impressive, right?" Jiraiya couldn't help but boast.
"Still hideous, though."
"Hey! How can you say that!" Jiraiya looked at Naruto before him and recalled the time they had left the village to train together. "Naruto… are you really not going back to the Leaf Village?"
"Mm." Naruto nodded.
"In that case, there's nothing more to be said." Now in Sage Mode, Jiraiya leapt high into the air, bouncing across the sky. "From this point on, ninjutsu is no longer necessary—Sage Art: Goemon!"
In midair, Jiraiya and the two sages on his shoulders performed a powerful combo Sage Art.
Jiraiya's oil, the old male sage's Wind Release, and the old female sage's Fire Release.
Naruto remained unmoved, standing still, as Kurama appeared before him, mouth wide open, gathering a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"You can actually match the Nine Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb…" Naruto looked up at Jiraiya in the sky. "But how many more times can you use a jutsu like that?"
Using the shockwave from the clash between the Tailed Beast Bomb and Goemon, Naruto lifted his gaze again—but Jiraiya had already vanished from the sky.
"He chose to flee?" Naruto chuckled softly, catching a raindrop falling from above. "Let's go back, Kurama."
Kurama looked at Naruto.
Even though Naruto had become a perfect jinchūriki, it didn't mean Kurama had accepted him. Their relationship was still one of cooperation—nothing more.
"Hmph."
Kurama snorted coldly, and his massive form slowly vanished.
"Now then… it's your turn." As Naruto finished speaking, he suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of the newly arrived Jar Merchant and Boruto. "I've been following you two since my fight with Jiraiya. Who are you?"
"Calm down, Naruto." The Jar Merchant stepped forward to shield Boruto. "We're here to join you."
Not all stories are about justice prevailing. Not all protagonists are on the side of justice. The Jar Merchant only knew one thing—sticking close to the protagonist made life easier.
What? Neji? Who? Ne-who? Neji what? Never heard of him.
"Join me?" Naruto looked at the two in front of him. With Kurama's sense for good and evil, he didn't detect any malice from either of them. "The Akatsuki isn't a group that just anyone can join."
The rain in Amegakure fell harder. Just as Jiraiya was about to leave the village, he suddenly came to a stop.
"The Six Paths of Pain, present."
The six members of Pain appeared, forming a formation before Jiraiya.
"Pain… the leader of the Akatsuki? And six of them?" Jiraiya stared at the six who blocked his path.
"Hey, Jiraiya. Look at their eyes," the old female sage reminded him from his shoulder. Only then did Jiraiya notice—all six of them had Rinnegan eyes.
"The Rinnegan! The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths… and there are six pairs at once!" Jiraiya gasped in disbelief, turning his gaze to the one standing at the center. "That face—you're Yahiko, aren't you!"
"As expected of my former teacher. But Yahiko died long ago. The one before you now is Pain—a god," the Deva Path said coldly.
"Cut the crap, Yahiko! The Rinnegan should've belonged to Nagato! What the hell is going on here?!"
Pain didn't waste words. The six Paths of Pain simultaneously launched their assault.
"Damn it!"
Facing six Rinnegan users, with no knowledge of their individual abilities—even in Sage Mode and with the help of the two sages—Jiraiya struggled.
"Yahiko! Why do you have Nagato's eyes?!"
"Even if you find out… you won't make it back to the Leaf."
Even though he pieced together some things during the fight, Jiraiya was ultimately unable to change his doomed fate.
"I really messed up this life…" With his body pierced by the black rods made from Yin-Yang Release, Jiraiya knelt on the ground, blood at his lips. He murmured, "Tsunade rejected me again and again… I couldn't stop my friend… I couldn't protect my teacher… My students either died or became rogue ninjas… The Great Toad Sage's prophecy… was it wrong after all? I still have… a student who wasn't a real student…"
He thought of Sasuke—an orphan raised by the Leaf after his clan was wiped out. He had been Naruto's teammate and rival back when Naruto was still in the village. When Jiraiya arrived, the boy had pestered him, insisting on becoming his disciple.
"Hey! Little Jiraiya, are you okay?" the old male sage asked anxiously.
"Sages… this is my last request… Please get the intel back to the Leaf…"
"Little Jiraiya!"
"Go… now, sages…" Jiraiya's life force was fading fast.
"Don't worry, Jiraiya! I'll get the information back to the Leaf no matter what! Let's go, dear!"
After the two sages fled, Jiraiya's Sage Mode dissipated.
"You're really stubborn, Jiraiya-sensei." The Deva Path, who had originally turned to leave, returned to stand before Jiraiya. "Looks like those two old toads got away. But that's fine. Even if they know the truth about the Six Paths of Pain, it won't change Konoha's fate."
Back in his normal form, Jiraiya's life force grew even weaker. His vision blurred.
"Is this it…" Just before collapsing, Jiraiya caught a glimpse of Naruto rushing toward him. "In the end… the one I failed the most… was Minato. I couldn't protect Minato… and now I couldn't protect his son either…"