The battle between Jiraiya and the Six Paths of Pain was fierce, still, Hyuga Shin'ichi had no intention of joining the fray, merely monitoring the entire battlefield from afar using his Byakugan.
He possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Jiraiya also carried his marked kunai. If Uchiha Obito intended to interfere with the battle, Shin'ichi could use the Flying Thunder God to arrive at Jiraiya's side instantly and provide assistance.
Moreover, judging by the current state of the battle, Jiraiya was actually gaining the advantage, not the Six Paths of Pain.
With the aid of the two Toad Sages, Jiraiya's current state could be considered "Perfect Sage Mode."
The biggest weakness of Sage Mode is not the difficulty of controlling Natural Energy, but rather the requirement for the user to remain perfectly still to gather it. This means the time a user can stay in Sage Mode is limited.
However, Jiraiya's chakra was now linked with the two Toad Sages, allowing them to gather the Sage Chakra for him. This meant Jiraiya's Sage Mode had no time limit; he could freely use Natural Energy without worrying about his power being depleted.
Coupled with the fact that Jiraiya's "kill order" against the Six Paths of Pain coincidentally suppressed some of their most troublesome abilities, the current situation was very advantageous for Jiraiya.
Being able to eliminate three of the Paths of Pain was sufficient proof of Jiraiya's power. However, correspondingly, as the number of puppets decreased, Nagato's control over the remaining three would greatly increase, and the chakra distributed to them would also become stronger.
Jiraiya did not fully understand the enemy's secrets and was currently pondering how to deal with the remaining three opponents.
He had some understanding of the Deva Path's jutsu—a troublesome character who could control attractive and repulsive forces. Based on previous displays, whether it was Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, or even powerful Senjutsu, they would all be repelled by the opponent's repulsion force.
However, Hyuga Shin'ichi's previous attack on the Deva Path had served as a reminder to Jiraiya: this force of the opponent seemed incapable of being used at all times; there was a short "cooldown period" in between. Jiraiya, however, could not accurately grasp how long this interval was.
At the same time, Jiraiya also had suspicions about the Preta Path's power.
This plump ninja seemed capable of absorbing ninjutsu. The opponent could not only absorb the chakra from ordinary ninjutsu but even Senjutsu, which was how they blocked the earlier Sage Art: Goemon.
Upon careful thought, the ninjutsu characteristics of two of the enemies had been grasped by Jiraiya. Conversely, the Human Path, who had always been protected by the Deva Path and the Preta Path, had not yet made a move. Jiraiya was highly wary of this individual's techniques.
For a ninja, the unknown is the most terrifying thing.
While the Deva Path and Preta Path's abilities were indeed difficult and tricky to deal with, Jiraiya could at least try to think of appropriate countermeasures for them. Only when facing the Human Path, whose information was unknown, did Jiraiya know neither how to target nor how to defend against him.
Therefore, he could only try to lure the Human Path into attacking by targeting the Deva Path and the Preta Path, allowing him to observe closely.
Of the remaining three, Jiraiya naturally focused on the Preta Path, who showed the most obvious weakness.
None of the Six Paths of Pain possessed the kind of strong Taijutsu prowess one might expect. Against that strange ninja who could absorb ninjutsu, the best countermeasure was naturally Taijutsu.
On the sea surface, Jiraiya, who had quickly analyzed the current intelligence, slightly hunched over, and his long hair, which was usually draped behind him, suddenly inflated.
Sage Art: Needle Jizō!
Following Jiraiya's rapid hand seals, he flung his hair back. Innumerable hair needles shot through the air, aimed directly at the Deva Path, the Human Path, and the Preta Path.
The densely packed hair needles, like senbon, were incredibly potent due to the added power of Sage Chakra. No doubt, once hit by this attack, the body would certainly be pierced through.
Facing Jiraiya's attack, the Deva Path remained composed. This technique, though seemingly powerful, was an attack that could be effortlessly broken by the Deva Path, who controlled Shinra Tensei.
With a simple gesture, the dense hair needles were blocked by an almost transparent wall of air. With the power of Needle Jizō alone, it was simply impossible to break through the defense of Shinra Tensei.
Jiraiya was not anxious. This attack was never primarily aimed at the Deva Path; his purpose was merely to force the Deva Path to release that strange repulsion jutsu once. The Deva Path's reaction was exactly as Jiraiya had initially envisioned.
"The opportunity has appeared!"
"Here we go!"
Jiraiya softly murmured to himself, then immediately dashed toward the Preta Path's location.
The Pains' formation was carefully considered: the Deva Path, descending from the air, stood in the front; the Preta Path was positioned in the middle, and the Human Path stood in the rear.
To attack the central Preta Path, Jiraiya had to cross the foremost Deva Path. Thus, after accelerating for several meters, Jiraiya leaped high into the air, attempting to jump over the Deva Path's head and directly attack the Preta Path with Taijutsu.
Although Jiraiya's idea was good, in the actual combat, he seemed to have forgotten the Deva Path's other ability.
"Banshō Ten'in!" (Universal Pull)
Jiraiya had just sprung into the air, preparing to leap over the Deva Path's head to assault the Preta Path, when the Deva Path suddenly reached out toward the airborne Jiraiya. A powerful, attractive force dragged Jiraiya rapidly toward the Deva Path's location.
"Huh?"
Jiraiya quickly adjusted his posture in the air. Sensing the anomaly, he decisively changed his strategy, condensing a Big Ball Rasengan (Ōdama Rasengan) in one hand, and using the downward pull, he slammed the Rasengan directly toward the Deva Path.
"Hmph!"
The Deva Path could not use Shinra Tensei to repel Jiraiya's attack at this moment, but facing the aggressive incoming Big Ball Rasengan, there was no panic on his face.
Just as the Rasengan was about to smash into the Deva Path's head, the Preta Path suddenly rushed in front of the Deva Path. Raising its hands, it immediately began to absorb Jiraiya's chakra.
Simultaneously, the Human Path coordinated with the Preta Path. While the energy of the Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand was being absorbed, the Human Path had already arrived behind Jiraiya, clasping its hands and fiercely slamming them against Jiraiya's back.
"Their speed increased?!"
With the number of manipulated puppets reduced, the precision also greatly increased. Jiraiya could clearly feel that the movements of these three had become much faster, more fluid, and agile. Jiraiya, who failed to adapt quickly enough, suffered the backlash of underestimating the enemy.
"Bang!!!!"
The Human Path's heavy strike directly sent Jiraiya plunging into the sea. However, what surprised the Human Path was that its forceful blow did not seem to cause irreparable damage to Jiraiya. He hadn't heard the sound of bones breaking.
In Sage Mode, Jiraiya's defense had increased significantly; the strength of his body was no longer that of an ordinary ninja. If the Asura Path, who possessed monstrous strength, had used such a Taijutsu attack, it might have caused Jiraiya some trouble, but relying solely on the Human Path... it fell far short!
Jiraiya, who retreated into the sea, repeated his tactic. Shima-sama, on his shoulder, spat out water blades, pressuring the Pains and attempting to divide the three individuals with their diverse abilities.
However, Nagato seemed to have anticipated Jiraiya's intentions. The Pains cooperated flawlessly, maintaining their formation despite the frequent water blade attacks. Jiraiya's plan was thus thwarted.
And as the Deva Path's power recovered, after briefly sensing Jiraiya's location, the Deva Path immediately used Banshō Ten'in on Jiraiya underwater.
The attractive force could even penetrate the seawater and transmit directly to Jiraiya's body, which was something Jiraiya still hadn't figured out about the jutsu's mechanism, even after fighting for so long. As his body was pulled toward the surface, Jiraiya once again condensed a Rasengan.
"Puff—"
The moment Jiraiya's body was sucked out of the sea, he swung the Rasengan toward the Deva Path. However, before the Rasengan could get close, Jiraiya suddenly felt a terrifying, repulsive force enveloping him.
"Buzz—" With the pouring of power, the Big Ball Rasengan was instantly shattered by Shinra Tensei, and Jiraiya himself was flung backward, flying away even faster than he came in.
"Boom!!"
Even when a high-speed projectile hits water, the recoil is immense. Jiraiya completely lost control of his body, tumbling several times on the sea surface before gradually regaining control.
Just as Jiraiya's figure was about to stabilize, the Preta Path silently appeared behind him, wrapping its arms underneath Jiraiya's armpits and pinning his neck.
"!!!"
Turning his head slightly, Jiraiya caught a glimpse of the person controlling his body. Just as he prepared to struggle, the Human Path suddenly appeared, slamming one hand toward Jiraiya's abdomen. Simultaneously, a blue ethereal soul body was pulled out a short distance from Jiraiya's abdomen by the Human Path.
"Wuwuwu—"
The moment the soul's body was pulled out, a low sob came from it. Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise, and he reacted swiftly. Instead of countering the Preta Path behind him, he quickly grabbed the Human Path's hands, preventing the soul body from being completely extracted.
Although Jiraiya had never encountered a situation like this, he had a subtle premonition: if the opponent succeeded, he might die!
Even though Jiraiya hadn't seen this jutsu before, he understood the perilous situation he was in and the potential grave consequences if the jutsu was completed.
"If it's pulled out, I'll die..."
Jiraiya exclaimed inwardly, exerting force with his hands. However, the Preta Path was constricting his neck, and Jiraiya could feel his chakra being absorbed by the opponent. His body's strength grew weaker and weaker. The intense feeling of suffocation and weakness caused a huge alarm in Jiraiya's heart.
As Jiraiya's physical strength waned, his contest of strength with the Human Path also shifted to a disadvantage. Another short section of the soul's body was pulled out. It now looked almost identical to Jiraiya's form.
"Is this my soul?"
"There's a jutsu like this?"
Jiraiya speculated, trying to exert force, but the sense of weakness prevented him from doing so.
The three remained locked together, sinking into the sea.
Facing imminent death.
Scenes from Jiraiya's past life suddenly flashed through his mind. At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to his youth, when he had just become the Third Hokage's disciple, a spirited and ambitious young man.
The time spent training with the Third Hokage was busy, yet there was a feeling of "peaceful years" about it. Looking back now, that period was the happiest time of his life.
Jiraiya vaguely remembered peeking at Tsunade bathing, only to be punched away by her. At that time, he was also on the brink of death, just like now.
"Jiraiya?"
"Jiraiya!!"
A vision of a young Tsunade appeared before Jiraiya's eyes. She was draped in a bath towel, her hair wet, shouting his name. She must have just emerged from the bath and, in her anger, had not held back. Tsunade, after realizing what she had done, was naturally worried about Jiraiya's safety.
"Tsunade.... I'm sorry...."
The apology came from Jiraiya's mouth—words he had never said to Tsunade in his youth, but now, did he finally have the chance to apologize?
"Jiraiya!!!"
The hallucination of young Tsunade vanished from Jiraiya's sight, replaced by Shima-sama's toad face.
Opening his eyes, Jiraiya realized that Fukasaku-sama was cradling his head, floating on the sea surface, while Shima-sama stood on his chest, shouting his name and slapping his face fiercely. The stinging sensation on his cheek slowly brought Jiraiya back to reality.
"Gurgle gurgle—"
A faint noise came from the sea. Jiraiya glanced sideways and saw that the surrounding seawater had been dyed bright red with blood at some point.
The remnants of the Human Path and the Preta Path slowly floated up from the sea. At the same time, a familiar voice sounded from behind Jiraiya:
"I thought you could handle it all by yourself."
"You were a bit overconfident, Jiraiya-sama."
Hyuga Shin'ichi stood behind Fukasaku-sama, holding a kunai, his body surrounded by emerald green chakra. As he spoke, he squatted down and looked at the somewhat weakened Jiraiya.
Fukasaku-sama and Shima-sama had both dismounted from Jiraiya, meaning he had naturally withdrawn from Sage Mode. Having had such a massive amount of chakra absorbed by the Preta Path, Jiraiya was naturally no longer as energetic as before.
"Was that you?"
Jiraiya looked at the floating remnants of the Human Path and the Preta Path on the sea and asked weakly, his mouth slightly agape.
"Who else would it be?"
"I was watching the whole time."
Hyuga Shin'ichi smiled at the question, his answer matter-of-fact.
The moment Jiraiya was restrained, Hyuga Shin'ichi sensed that something was wrong. As the three of them plunged into the sea, Shin'ichi quickly took action.
Evidently, neither the Preta Path nor the Human Path had anticipated Shin'ichi's sudden appearance. Engaged in a struggle with Jiraiya, they were easily struck down by Hyuga Shin'ichi, who had activated the Fifth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
Once in the Fifth Gate state of the Eight Inner Gates, Shin'ichi's Taijutsu completely overwhelmed the Preta Path and the Human Path. Facing Shin'ichi, who suddenly flashed in with the Flying Thunder God Technique, they could not resist and were instantly turned into remnants beneath his kunai.
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