Having failed to find Uchiha Obito's corpse, Hyuga Shin'ichi concluded that he must still be alive. Although this judgment lacked significant direct evidence, Shin'ichi trusted his intuition and believed that Obito was a formidable opponent.
While they failed to eliminate Obito, the mastermind, it didn't mean Hyuga Shin'ichi and Jiraiya left empty-handed. With all Six Paths of Pain defeated, Nagato had lost his powerful guardians. Now was the opportune moment to destroy the Rinnegan.
The most core element of Uchiha Madara's Moon's Eye Plan was not Uchiha Obito, nor was it Black Zetsu, whom he considered an embodiment of his will, but Madara's own pair of Rinnegan.
If they could destroy the Rinnegan, preventing Uchiha Obito from using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique (Rinne Rebirth), the Moon's Eye Plan would have no chance of completion.
With Obito's current abilities, he could not collect all nine Tailed Beasts, and without the Rinnegan, he couldn't summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, making it impossible to recombine the Tailed Beasts into the Ten-Tails.
Destroying the Rinnegan would be equivalent to utterly demolishing Uchiha Madara's Moon's Eye Plan.
Hyuga Shin'ichi held no desire for those eyes. Due to differing constitutions and talents, even if he could seize Nagato's eyes, he would not choose to transplant them into himself.
What was truly powerful was not the Rinnegan itself, but the exceptional ninja possessing it.
Furthermore, Shin'ichi's goal has always been singular: to live freely and comfortably in this world. Becoming a host for the Rinnegan would only make him a prime target for ambitious individuals, which was not what Hyuga Shin'ichi wanted.
Truthfully, if he hadn't foreseen Nagato's future attack on Konoha with the infamous line about "a bag of rice," Hyuga Shin'ichi would not have wanted to fight him.
If he hadn't known Uchiha Obito would instigate the great Fourth Great Ninja War, Hyuga Shin'ichi wouldn't have cared whether he truly wanted to create a world with Rin.
Shin'ichi couldn't gamble; he couldn't risk the chance that he wouldn't survive a conflict like the Fourth Great Ninja War.
For his own sake, and for the Hyuga clan's sake, eliminating the threat of Nagato here and now would be the better choice.
Near the coast of Amegakure (Village Hidden by Rain).
The heavy rain had not ceased. At this moment, Hyuga Shin'ichi and Jiraiya had left the battlefield and were rapidly moving toward a high tower within Amegakure.
Using the chakra-conducting black receiver rod from the Animal Path's corpse, Hyuga Shin'ichi had back-traced Nagato's location and was now rushing there with Jiraiya.
As the two approached Amegakure, the figures of Nagato and Konan finally entered the range of Hyuga Shin'ichi's Byakugan.
After locking onto their location, Shin'ichi slightly slowed his pace.
Jiraiya noticed this and, after a brief moment of contemplation, had the two Great Toad Sages, Shima and Fukasaku, assist him in preemptively entering Sage Mode.
Amegakure was, after all, the enemy's headquarters. Jiraiya was afraid of encountering more formidable enemies within the village. Seeing Shin'ichi's cautious demeanor, Jiraiya naturally intended to adjust his state to the absolute best.
About fifteen minutes later, Hyuga Shin'ichi and Jiraiya arrived at the clearing in front of the tall, windowless iron tower. Exchanging glances, they both saw a hint of solemnity in the other's eyes.
Looking up, the pair noticed a few narrow air vents nearly twenty meters above the ground. Those vents likely served as the tower's only entry and exit point.
To Shin'ichi and Jiraiya, the tower was a custom-made fortress. An ordinary person would not even be able to reach the entrance, let alone enter the tower.
To ensure he wouldn't be disturbed while controlling the Six Paths of Pain, Nagato not only had Konan guarding him but had also built himself an easily defensible "signal tower."
"How should we proceed?"
Jiraiya's tone was deep. Facing the tower, he seemed to lose his resolve and proactively asked for Hyuga Shin'ichi's opinion.
Jiraiya could roughly guess that the enemy was already aware of their presence. The tower had only one entrance, and a rash intrusion would certainly lead to an ambush.
Jiraiya had learned a hard lesson fighting the Six Paths of Pain, so he dared not be overconfident now. Although Shin'ichi was young, Jiraiya's intelligence naturally led him to believe that Shin'ichi possessed more information than he did. In the face of such a decision, Shin'ichi's thoughts and advice might be more valuable than anything he could think of.
"We should just destroy the tower directly."
"We don't need to trouble ourselves with an assault."
While Nagato's puppets, the Six Paths of Pain, had all been defeated, this did not mean the Akatsuki had lost its ability to fight back.
Don't forget that Konan was still guarding Nagato. This was the woman who nearly killed Obito with hundreds of billions of explosive tags. To underestimate her would be fatal.
While the defensive capabilities of Jiraiya in Sage Mode were strong, even he would be overwhelmed by billions of explosive tags.
If possible, Shin'ichi did not want the battle to escalate to that level.
The best option would be to instantly kill Konan, preventing her from using her ultimate move.
However, Konan was not easy to kill. Her secret technique, the Dance of the Shikigami (Shikigami no Mai), was very powerful, allowing Konan to achieve an "elementalization" of her body, much like a Logia-type user in the One Piece world—though Konan's body transformed into paper instead of an element.
Ordinary Taijutsu held no threat to Konan. The better choice was for Jiraiya to use a powerful Fire Release to destroy the tower and the people inside it simultaneously.
Furthermore, Konan was not the only one with formidable fighting power; the crippled Nagato also possessed some fighting capability. If his body were pierced by Nagato's black receiver rods at close range, Shin'ichi could not guarantee that his body wouldn't be controlled by the enemy.
Jiraiya looked at the tower and nodded silently after hearing Shin'ichi's suggestion.
As Jiraiya began forming hand signs, the Sage Toads Shima and Fukasaku, after helping Jiraiya enter Sage Mode, also cooperated with him to form their own seals.
Jiraiya intended to use Sage Art: Goemon to instantly melt the tower into iron slag. He was unconcerned about what was inside.
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
Jiraiya's hand signs were fast. As he spat out toad oil from his mouth, the Sage Toads, Shima and Fukasaku, standing on his shoulders, almost simultaneously blasted fire and wind toward the iron tower.
The moment the three jutsus merged, Goemon erupted with terrifying power.
The burning toad oil instantly engulfed the iron tower. Reinforced by the Wind Release, the flames were ferocious, and in just a few seconds, the tower's metallic skin glowed searing red.
Jiraiya felt the flames were insufficient and was about to add more power when a "whooshing" sound suddenly echoed in the sky. Looking up, everyone saw paper drifting down with the rain.
"What is that?"
Jiraiya was puzzled by this sight, having never witnessed such a scene before. But Hyuga Shin'ichi, seeing the sky full of white paper, immediately knew whose jutsu it was.
"The Dance of the Shikigami, I see."
"Jiraiya-sama, be careful."
Shin'ichi's gaze narrowed. Just as he finished speaking, the countless pieces of paper in the sky suddenly began folding themselves rapidly. In mere moments, the endless paper transformed into countless paper shuriken, which flew rapidly toward Jiraiya and the others, much to their surprise.
"!!!"
Even Jiraiya had never encountered such a miraculous ninjutsu. Seeing the paper shuriken flying toward them, Jiraiya abruptly changed the direction of his oil spray. The two Sage Toads, Fukasaku and Shima, reacted with perfect synergy, redirecting their Fire and Wind Release to follow Jiraiya's oil spray.
The raging flames instantly engulfed the incoming paper shuriken. The papers in the sky were incinerated by Jiraiya's Fire Release and reduced to ashes.
After a short while, Jiraiya finished his technique, but the oil he had sprayed was still tightly coated on the iron tower. The blazing toad oil continued to bake Nagato's hiding place even after Jiraiya stopped the jutsu.
"So powerful."
Seeing Jiraiya effortlessly neutralize Konan's assault, even Shin'ichi couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Only by witnessing it firsthand could one truly understand how powerful Jiraiya was in Sage Mode.
A Fire Release of this magnitude was likely unmatched in the current world. Perhaps only Uchiha Madara from that era could release a Fire Release ninjutsu comparable to Goemon.
The enhancements from the two Sage Toads, Fukasaku and Shima, were far more than just maintaining Sage Mode. Honestly, Hyuga Shin'ichi couldn't imagine what other ninja, besides a perfect Jinchūriki, could rival the current Jiraiya.
Konan's jutsu was indeed powerful, but against Jiraiya, it might not be very effective.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"
As Shin'ichi was contemplating this, soft sounds echoed in the sky. Small white paper fragments slowly converged in the air. In just a few moments, Konan's figure slowly materialized in the air in front of Jiraiya.
Konan had short blue hair, a light blue paper flower on her head, and wore the Akatsuki's signature red-cloud black cloak. There was a look of persistent sorrow in her eyes, lending her a touch of intellectual beauty.
As her body materialized, the converging paper fragments did not diminish. Soon, they formed large wings behind her.
Konan's body was wet; the heavy rain seemed to have soaked her paper, but this extent did not appear to affect her technique. As Jiraiya focused on her, Konan slightly bowed her head, looking down at Jiraiya and Hyuga Shin'ichi.
While Jiraiya had failed to recognize the Deva Path (Yahiko) instantly when they first met, he immediately recognized Konan now.
Perhaps it was simply easier for Jiraiya's mind to remember women than men...
Or perhaps he had already recognized Yahiko, and therefore had a psychological expectation for meeting Konan now.
Seeing Konan appear, Jiraiya's eyes softened a bit.
Akatsuki... Konan was a member of the Akatsuki organization.
He didn't know what his three disciples had gone through after separating from him in Amegakure, but one thing Jiraiya had to accept was that his disciples had seemingly become enemies of Konoha—and his enemies.
"Konan... Is that really you, Konan?!"
Jiraiya spoke, questioning her. Though he already knew the answer in his heart, he still wanted to hear her confirm it.
"Long time no see, Jiraiya-sensei."
Konan's original intention was to intercept Jiraiya and Hyuga Shin'ichi to buy Nagato enough time. Thus, she naturally answered Jiraiya's question.
"....."
Jiraiya-sensei...
Such a familiar address.
Konan's figure overlapped with the girl she once was. Jiraiya's eyes finally showed more warmth. Looking at Konan, who had grown into a beautiful woman, Jiraiya couldn't help but smile:
"After all these years, Konan, you've grown into an excellent ninja!"
"Are you the only one here? What about Nagato and Yahiko? Did they join the Akatsuki too, like you?"
Though Jiraiya had already recognized the previous opponent, the Deva Path, as Yahiko, he still pretended not to know now, trying to extract information from Konan.
The former bond between master and students did not blind Jiraiya. He knew exactly where he was and what he was doing.
"Yahiko... haven't you already met him?"
"Yahiko and Nagato originally founded the Akatsuki. Naturally, we are all members of the Akatsuki."
Speaking of Yahiko, a flicker of sadness crossed Konan's eyes.
Thinking back... one of the murderers who caused Yahiko's death was a Konoha ninja. The Jiraiya in front of her must be acquainted with that Konoha ninja, right?
However, Konan's thoughts did not drift far. Discussing Yahiko, she did not become overly emotional.
Shin'ichi, sensing Konan's emotional fluctuation, sighed inwardly: "Yahiko died after all, and it was still connected to Danzō, wasn't it?"
"Some things still follow their original course. Can I only change the people and events around me...?"
Sensing Konan's emotional shift, a strange feeling arose in Shin'ichi's heart. Destiny felt like a genuine force, guiding everyone along a predetermined path.
"I've met Yahiko?"
"...."
"Then what about Nagato?"
"What is the deal with those Rinnegan ninja? Was that Nagato's doing?"
After receiving Konan's verbal confirmation, Jiraiya suddenly came to understand many things. The only thing he couldn't grasp was how the enemy managed to create so many "puppets" with the Rinnegan.
He already faintly suspected that all of this originated from Nagato.
"Nagato?"
"He is fine, but he doesn't want to see you right now."
Konan spoke dismissively, with no intention of revealing Nagato's location.
However, Jiraiya was not so easily fooled. He looked up toward the "vent" of the high tower, his tone solemn:
"He's up there, isn't he...."
"Nagato!"
Jiraiya had already learned from Hyuga Shin'ichi how the enemy controlled the puppets. Konan, without the Rinnegan, was clearly not the one manipulating them. Hearing Konan say Nagato was also in Akatsuki, it was easy for Jiraiya to conclude that Nagato was the puppeteer.
The whole reason they were there was to find the "Puppet Master."
Noticing Jiraiya's gaze, Konan's expression remained unchanged. She simply waved her hand, and the wings behind her shot out countless paper arrows, raining down upon Jiraiya and Shin'ichi.
Clearly, Jiraiya had touched upon the person Konan did not want him to reach.
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