In the village ruins, Tsunade leaned against broken rubble.
Currently, she used one hand to cover her abdomen, pierced by a steel pipe. Her body was turning withered and frail.
"To protect so many subordinates in that instant... truly worthy of being Jiraiya-sensei's comrade."
Pain descended from the sky, a black rod extending from within his robe.
"However, your path only leads you this far!"
With that, he raised the black rod, aiming to pierce Tsunade's head.
Just as the immobilized Tsunade was about to be impaled, a white-haired figure flashed by, shattering Pain's black rod, then grabbing his arm and hurling him away.
"Mmm..."
Tsunade, her eyes cloudy, struggled to lift her gaze. Hazily, she glimpsed the fluttering empty sleeve. "Jiraiya... you came to get me? I'm sorry... I couldn't protect... the village."
"What foolish talk! Open up and eat this!" Jiraiya turned, holding an emerald-green seed and stuffing it into Tsunade's mouth.
Then he used Frog Kata to sever the steel pipe, extracting Tsunade and carrying her on his back.
"Now, I leave it to you!"
He waved his sleeve, releasing Shima, Katsuyu, and a small snake.
The three Holy Land's summoned creatures nodded at Jiraiya. Simultaneously rearing up, they slapped the ground with three interwoven summoning seals.
Poof!
Massive smoke rose from the ground. Emerging from the billowing dust and smoke were the figures of three giant creatures.
"Too late?"
The girl standing atop the giant slug's head spread her Observation Haki across dozens of kilometers in an instant.
From the feedback, Konoha had indeed been invaded by Pain.
But due to the intel she had disclosed earlier, the village had modified its barrier defenses.
Thus, the opponent's wide-area attack didn't erupt directly within the village, and the villagers' lives were preserved.
As for damaged buildings and wealth... well, being alive was the greatest fortune.
"Where is that bastard Pain?! How dare he cut off Pervy Sage's arm!"
From the other end of the smoke, a somewhat hoarse young voice shouted from atop a giant red toad.
The two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, pulled at him from both sides, their dissuading words constantly echoing.
"Hmph, as usual, causing trouble for others, dead-last!"
From the deepest dust cloud, on a blue giant snake, stood a black-haired boy.
Leaning on his sword with one hand, his crimson eyes pierced through the dust, fixed intently on his two companions ahead.
"Long time no see, Naruto, Sasuke!"
A swift wind blew, carrying dust and Sakura's voice.
Revealed within the crater were three summoning creatures, and the boy and girl standing proudly atop these powerful beasts.
"This... this is!!!"
Konoha's surviving defensive Ninjas, treated by Tsunade, arrived at the crater's edge.
Seeing the reunited Team 7 and the massive summoning creatures beneath them, some older Ninjas lost themselves, memories of the past surfacing in their hearts.
Unable to hold back, tears welled in their eyes.
A low voice, suppressed cheers for that title that once shook the ninja world and protected Konoha, escaped their lips:
"—The Sannin!"
Perhaps the legends of the past had faded, but now a new generation of pillars had quietly grown.
From now on, Konoha would once again be the central nation that shook the world and commanded respect across the seas!
"The Nine-Tails... finally appears!"
Pain, strengthening his legs with Chakra, ran back.
Behind him, spiral distortions slowly appeared in space. Obito descended again with the Akatsuki's members, preparing to gather their strength to besiege Naruto.
"Ara ara, if it isn't Uchiha Obito-san, who murdered his teacher and framed his clan?"
Sakura narrowed her jade-green eyes, smiling. "What's wrong? Done with your role-playing game? Finally satisfied with your dirty fantasies about Rin-senpai in your Genjutsu, willing to face reality now?"
Sakura is precisely dancing in the minefield.
Already backed into a corner by Sakura's intel leak, now having his scars reopened, with his dark history paraded before everyone repeatedly, Obito snapped, furious. "Haruno Sakura! I'll kill you!!!"
His Mangekyo spun to its limit. Kamui activated instantly, carrying him across the distance to grab directly at Sakura's heart.
"Leave him to me!"
Sasuke flashed behind Sakura using the Body Flicker Technique, placing a hand on her shoulder.
The one responsible for his family's and the Uchiha Clan's plight… Sasuke naturally wanted to deal with him personally.
He lightly closed his eyes. Natural Energy around him gathered towards his body for a moment.
Then dragon horns grew from his head. His pupils became slitted and tinged with purple. Sakura-colored scales rapidly covered his entire body. A dragon tail drooped to the ground.
He raised a hand with sharp claws, dragging them across his scaled chest.
Instantly, an ear-piercing screech spread from him as the center.
[Sage Art: White Rage Technique!]
Senjutsu Chakra mixed with the high-frequency vibrations of sound waves, incessantly eroding any lifeform that perceived these waves.
Uchiha Obito's forward charge faltered. His limbs felt as if tightly bound by heavy pythons, crashing to the ground.
"A bit noisy."
Sakura raised a hand, snapping her fingers twice in front of Sasuke.
"Tch, you can still move?!"
The boy averted his gaze, secretly clicking his tongue.
But such sounds couldn't escape Sakura, sensing her surroundings with Observation Haki.
"You... deliberately included me in the technique's range?"
The girl lifted her chin, looking down at the boy. "Quite ambitious, kid. Want to spar somewhere after this is over?"
"Haha, you two go spar. I'll take this first win!" Naruto laughed, taunting the two.
He descended from above, holding two Rasengan in both hands, aiming to smash them onto Obito on the ground.
Seeing their retreat path about to be cut off, Pain decisively raised a hand towards Obito.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
The concentric circles in his eyes emitted a mysterious, powerful light. With Pain's cold command, invisible gravitational force surged.
A clear, sharp sound rang out. Obito, along with dust in the air, was pulled by the gravitational force, flying back towards the group.
Naruto's two Rasengan slammed into the ground, blasting out two craters.
"Don't embarrass yourself if you're useless. I don't want to fail the capture mission because I have to save you!"
Pain casually waved downward. Obito, mid-air, abruptly changed trajectory, crashing onto the ground beside the Akatsuki's members.
"Now, it's your turn, Nine-Tails!"
Amidst shrill sounds of tearing air, four Pain bodies shot towards Naruto.
Each extended a black rod from their hands, tips condensed with Yin-Yang Release capable of suppressing Chakra Flow.
However, as the light streaks shot forth, the phantom light of Space-Time Ninjutsu flashed and vanished.
A hand pressed down on Naruto's head, shoving his body out of the black rods' attack range.
A giant sword imbued with fierce Haki swept in a circle, severing all the black rods.
"His name isn't 'Nine-Tails'! He has a name, Uzumaki Naruto!"
"So, could you stop insulting my friend?"
Chiseled to the extreme, Conqueror's Haki (surged. The will of a ruler stirred towering airwaves.
Wrapped in dark lightning, it stunned the entire audience.