what if Naruto saved the life of jiraya from pain(Nagato) attack Edit

# Chapter 1: Premonition of Peril

Crimson rain pelted the fractured earth. Through sheets of water, a silhouette staggered forward—white hair matted with blood, face carved with determination. Jiraiya's fingers trembled as he etched final symbols into his own skin. Around him, six shadowy figures closed in, their rippled eyes glowing an unnatural purple against the storm.

"PERVY SAGE!"

Naruto bolted upright, sheets twisted around his limbs, sweat streaming down his face. The cry died in his throat as his eyes darted wildly around the familiar shadows of his apartment. Dawn had barely broken over Konoha, casting his room in a pale, ghostly light. His heart hammered against his ribs like a caged animal.

The same nightmare. The third one this week.

He dragged a shaking hand through his damp blond hair and stumbled to the window. The village lay peaceful below—shopkeepers raising shutters, early risers ambling through streets dusted with morning light. Nothing like the endless rain and violence of his dreams.

His knuckles whitened against the windowsill. "What's happening to you out there?"

---

The Hokage's tower stood silent as Tsunade flipped through the intelligence report, her amber eyes narrowing with each page. The cup of sake beside her sat untouched—a rarity that spoke volumes. Dawn shadows stretched across her office as she reached the final document, then slammed it down with enough force to crack the desk.

"Shizune!"

The door slid open instantly. "Yes, Lady Tsunade?"

"Get me the latest communications from Jiraiya. Everything we've received in the past seventy-two hours."

Shizune's expression tightened. "That's just it, my lady. There's been nothing since his confirmation of entry into the Hidden Rain four days ago."

The Fifth Hokage's gaze drifted to the window, to the distant horizon beyond which lay Amegakure. "That old fool," she whispered, fingers reaching unconsciously for the sake cup. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

---

The training ground erupted with the impact of Naruto's Rasengan against the boulder, stone fragments exploding outward in a cloud of dust. He'd been at it for hours, pushing himself beyond exhaustion. Anything to escape the images haunting his sleep.

"That's the third boulder today," Sakura's voice cut through his concentration. She stood at the edge of the clearing, medical pack slung over one shoulder, concern etched across her features. "At this rate, there won't be any left in Konoha by sunset."

Naruto forced a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Just getting some extra practice in. You know me."

"I do know you," she replied, stepping closer. The morning light caught in her pink hair as she studied his face. "I know when something's eating you alive. You look like you haven't slept in days."

His smile faltered, crumbling at the edges. "It's nothing."

"Naruto." Her voice softened as she placed a hand on his arm. "I've never seen you this rattled. Not even before facing Akatsuki directly."

The touch broke something in him. Words tumbled out before he could stop them. "It's Pervy Sage. I keep seeing him—fighting, bleeding, dying. Every night, the same dream. It feels—" his voice caught, "—it feels real, Sakura. Like I'm watching it happen."

Her green eyes widened. "A premonition?"

"Or maybe I'm just going crazy," he laughed hollowly.

"When did these dreams start?" Her tone had shifted, medical training taking over.

"Four nights ago."

Sakura stiffened. "That's when Master Jiraiya's communications stopped."

Naruto's head snapped up. "What?"

"I overheard Shizune telling Lady Tsunade this morning. He infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village and then went dark." She grabbed his wrist. "Naruto, we need to speak with the Hokage. Now."

---

Tsunade's office door slammed against the wall as Naruto burst in, Sakura half a step behind him.

"Where is he?" Naruto demanded, blue eyes blazing with intensity. "What mission did you send Pervy Sage on?"

The Hokage's expression darkened. "This is confidential information, Naruto. You can't just—"

"I've been dreaming about him dying!" The words exploded from him, raw and desperate. "Every night—the same rain, the same enemies with weird purple eyes. He's in trouble!"

Tsunade froze, sake cup halfway to her lips. "Purple, rippled eyes? You saw this in your dream?"

"The Rinnegan," Sakura whispered beside him.

A heavy silence fell as Tsunade rose from her desk, moving to the window with the weight of decision on her shoulders. "Jiraiya infiltrated Amegakure four days ago on an intelligence mission. His target was the Akatsuki leader known only as Pain—rumored to possess the legendary Rinnegan."

The blood drained from Naruto's face. "The dreams are real."

"Not necessarily," Tsunade countered, though doubt shadowed her eyes. "But the timing is... concerning."

"I need to go after him," Naruto stated, not a request but a declaration.

"Absolutely not." Tsunade's voice cracked like thunder. "Amegakure is notoriously isolationist. Foreign shinobi are killed on sight. Jiraiya was the only one with the infiltration skills necessary to—"

"He's going to die if I don't!" Naruto slammed his palm on her desk, chakra flaring blue around his fingers. "I don't care about protocols or politics! If these dreams mean anything—"

"They might not mean anything!" Tsunade snapped, but her resolve was visibly wavering.

Sakura stepped forward. "Lady Tsunade, with respect, Naruto's connection to Master Jiraiya runs deep. If he's sensing danger through his dreams, we shouldn't dismiss it. The timing alone is suspect."

Tsunade sank back into her chair, lines of exhaustion etching deeper around her eyes. "Do you have any idea what you're asking? To send Konoha shinobi into hostile territory, potentially sparking an international incident, based on a dream?"

"Not just any dream," Naruto insisted, leaning forward. "This feels different. It's like I'm there with him. Please," his voice cracked, "I can't just sit here waiting for news that he's dead."

The Hokage's gaze shifted between them, then to the portrait of the Fourth Hokage on the wall. Something in her expression softened almost imperceptibly.

"You two aren't enough," she finally said.

Naruto blinked. "Does that mean—"

"It means I'm authorizing a covert extraction team," she cut him off, already scribbling on a scroll. "Unofficial. Unsanctioned. If you're captured, Konoha will deny all knowledge of your mission."

Hope surged through Naruto like lightning. "Thank you, Granny!"

"Don't thank me yet." She fixed him with a steely glare. "This isn't a rescue mission. It's reconnaissance and extraction only. You locate Jiraiya, you get him out. No heroics, no confrontations with Akatsuki if it can be avoided."

"I understand."

"Kakashi will lead the team," Tsunade continued, sealing the scroll. "You'll need his tracking abilities. Sakura for medical support, and—" she hesitated, "—Sai for aerial reconnaissance and his Root training in covert operations."

Naruto nodded, tension coiling in his muscles. Every second felt precious, wasted.

"You leave at midnight," Tsunade concluded. "Full stealth protocols. Prepare accordingly." Her eyes softened slightly. "Naruto... bring that perverted old fool home safely."

"Count on it," he promised, already backing toward the door. "I won't let him die. Not while I can still do something about it."

The golden light of Konoha's afternoon slanted across his determined face as he departed, mind already racing with preparations. Behind him, in the Hokage's tower, Tsunade stared at the portrait of her old teammate, sake cup trembling slightly in her grip.

"What are you facing out there, you old fool?" she whispered to the empty office. Outside, storm clouds gathered on the distant horizon, moving steadily toward the Land of Fire.

# Chapter 2: Journey to the Hidden Rain

Midnight painted Konoha in shades of indigo and silver. Four shadows converged at the eastern gate, moving with the practiced silence of predators. No farewells, no ceremony—just the soft rustle of supply packs and the almost imperceptible clink of weapons being secured.

"Everyone ready?" Kakashi's voice barely disturbed the night air, his visible eye scanning each face in turn.

Naruto tightened his headband with a sharp tug. "We've wasted enough time already."

"Four minutes ahead of schedule is hardly wasting time," Sai corrected, his smile empty as moonlight. The ink-stained scrolls at his hip gleamed dully against his black attire.

Sakura adjusted her medical pack, green eyes sharp with focus. "The weather forecast shows storms moving toward Amegakure. If we push hard, we can use the cover."

Kakashi nodded and turned toward the vast darkness beyond Konoha's walls. "Then we move. Formation B, communication by hand signals only once we cross the border. Our mission exists in the shadows—let's make sure we stay there."

They disappeared into the night like whispers, leaving nothing but disturbed leaves spiraling in their wake.

---

Dawn broke reluctantly through a gunmetal sky as they crossed the fire country's border. They had traveled without rest, chakra-enhanced muscles burning with exertion. The landscape had transformed around them—lush forests giving way to rocky plains scored by ancient battles. The first hints of persistent moisture clung to the air.

Kakashi signaled a brief halt atop a jagged outcropping that offered both cover and vantage. Raindrops spattered against stone in irregular patterns, the advance scouts of the coming deluge.

"We're approaching the outer boundary zone," he said, unrolling a weatherproof map across the stone. "The Hidden Rain exists in perpetual isolation. Their borders aren't just physical—they've developed sensory barriers that detect chakra signatures."

Sai crouched beside the map, pale finger tracing the concentric defensive rings. "Intelligence suggests a three-tiered system. Outer perimeter tracks large chakra deployments; middle zone detects individual signatures; inner ring identifies foreign chakra patterns."

"How are we supposed to get through all that?" Naruto demanded, frustration edging his voice.

"By not going through," Kakashi replied. "We go under." He tapped a location marked with faded ink. "Old smuggling tunnels from the Second Shinobi War. Most were collapsed, but my ANBU files suggest this network remains partially intact."

Sakura frowned. "If we know about them..."

"So do they," Kakashi finished grimly. "But they can't monitor everything. Rain Country was the battleground for too many wars—its earth is honeycombed with secrets."

The rain intensified as if in challenge, drumming against their shelter. Naruto turned his face into the wind, eyes narrowed against water and memory. "These nightmares—they're getting worse. Clearer. Last night, I could hear his voice."

The admission hung in the rain-heavy air.

"Naruto," Sakura began carefully, "have you considered that this connection might be related to the Nine-Tails?"

His hand unconsciously pressed against his stomach. "What do you mean?"

Kakashi exchanged glances with Sakura before answering. "Jinchūriki sometimes develop sensory abilities that extend beyond normal perception. Your connection with Jiraiya runs deep—he's one of the few who truly understood the sealing techniques used on you."

"You think I'm sensing him through the Nine-Tails?"

"It's possible," Kakashi replied, studying Naruto's reaction. "What exactly are you seeing in these dreams?"

Naruto's expression darkened. "Rain. Endless rain. Jiraiya fighting six different people—but they all have the same eyes. Purple with rings. They keep coming at him from all sides. He's in Sage Mode, but—" His voice caught. "He's not winning."

Sai, who had been scanning the horizon with a small pair of field glasses, suddenly stiffened. "Movement. Three o'clock, 800 meters."

Conversation evaporated as they melted into defensive positions. Through the intensifying downpour, dark silhouettes moved with mechanical precision along the distant ridge—a Hidden Rain patrol.

"They're early," Kakashi murmured. "Route's been changed. We need to move—now."

---

The tunnels reeked of stagnant water and decay, barely wide enough for single-file movement. Roots had broken through in places, creating natural handholds in the crumbling earth. Each step released clouds of ancient dust that clung to sweating skin and dampened clothes.

"Comforting," Sakura muttered, eyeing the sagging support beams. "I love the possibility of being buried alive while on a rescue mission."

Sai's pale face looked ghostly in the dim light of Kakashi's small electric lantern. "These passages were built for smaller shinobi. The average height during the Second War was—"

"Not helping, Sai," Naruto growled, ducking beneath a particularly low-hanging beam. "How much further?"

"Another kilometer," Kakashi replied, voice muffled through his mask. "The tunnel network should branch near the southern reservoir. From there, we'll have three possible exit points."

The earth shuddered around them. Dust cascaded from the ceiling.

"What was that?" Sakura hissed, hand flying to a kunai.

Kakashi held up a hand for silence, head cocked. Another tremor, stronger this time. Not an earthquake—something rhythmic. Deliberate.

"They're scanning," he whispered. "Seismic chakra pulses to detect hollow spaces."

Naruto's eyes widened. "They know about the tunnels?"

"They know something's not right." Kakashi's expression hardened. "Move. Now."

They abandoned stealth for speed, racing through the disintegrating passageway as dust and debris showered around them. The tunnel forked ahead—left passage collapsed, right barely holding. No choice. They plunged right as the ceiling behind them gave way with a thunderous roar.

Daylight pierced the darkness ahead—a ragged opening where erosion had eaten through the tunnel roof. Kakashi leapt through first, followed by Sai, who immediately flattened against the soggy earth, scanning for threats. Sakura emerged next, helping to haul Naruto through just as the remainder of the passage collapsed.

Rain assaulted them instantly—not the gentle precipitation of Fire Country but savage, driving sheets that reduced visibility to meters. They had emerged in a muddy depression ringed by the skeletal remains of battle-scorched trees. The air tasted metallic, saturated with chakra residue.

"Where are we?" Naruto shouted over the downpour.

Kakashi was already oriented, compass in hand. "Outer defensive ring, southeast quadrant. We're in."

Sai pulled a scroll from his waterproof case, brush moving with swift precision. "I'll send reconnaissance." The ink-creatures—birds with elongated wings—spiraled upward through the rain, almost invisible against the storm-black sky.

"We need cover," Sakura urged, medic's instincts assessing their deteriorating conditions. "This rain is infused with chakra—it's designed to drain stamina."

They found shelter beneath the hollowed trunk of a massive fallen tree, its interior remarkably dry despite the deluge. Kakashi immediately established a perimeter of nearly invisible wire traps while Sakura distributed soldier pills.

"The rain is part of their security system," she explained, wringing water from her pink hair. "It's subtle, but there's chakra running through every drop—probably feeding information back to a central command."

"Like a sensory net," Kakashi agreed. "Ingenious. Hard to infiltrate a village when the very sky is watching."

Naruto paced the confined space, restless energy crackling around him. "We're wasting time. Jiraiya could be—"

"Getting ourselves captured won't help him," Kakashi cut in sharply. "We wait for Sai's intel."

As if summoned, one of Sai's ink-birds spiraled down through the rain, dissolving into a black puddle as it touched the shelter floor. Sai pressed his fingers to the ink, eyes closing in concentration.

"Three patrol units within a two-kilometer radius," he reported. "Heaviest concentration to the north. The village center is approximately five kilometers northwest, surrounded by industrial structures." His eyes opened, expression grave. "I've detected signs of recent battle. Major chakra disturbances at the northeastern quadrant."

"Jiraiya," Naruto breathed.

Sai nodded. "The residual chakra signature matches the profile in our records. Sage chakra, distinctly his. But it's not alone—it's intermixed with at least six other powerful signatures."

"The six figures from your dream," Sakura whispered, looking at Naruto.

Kakashi studied their surroundings, calculating. "How recent?"

"Within the last twelve hours," Sai answered. "The rain has diluted much of it, but the disruption patterns in the buildings suggest an ongoing situation."

Hope and dread collided in Naruto's chest. "He's still alive."

"For now," Kakashi cautioned. "But we need to move quickly. The Hidden Rain's defensive network gets denser the closer we get to the center." He traced a route on their waterlogged map. "We'll need to split up."

"No way," Naruto protested instantly. "We stick together."

"We'll be detected immediately as a group," Kakashi countered. "Their sensors are calibrated to identify clustered chakra signatures—standard practice for detecting infiltration teams." His finger circled two approaches. "Two smaller units have a better chance of slipping through."

Reluctance etched itself across Naruto's features, but tactical sense won out. "Fine. What's the plan?"

"Naruto and Sakura will approach from the east—your chakra signatures have been seen together often enough that they register as less suspicious. Sai and I will circle to the northwest."

"And if we find him first?" Sakura asked.

"Emergency extraction only," Kakashi emphasized. "No engagement with the enemy unless absolutely necessary. We rendezvouz at these coordinates in three hours, with or without Jiraiya."

The rain intensified outside their shelter, beating against the hollow log like impatient fists. Through the curtain of water, the industrial silhouette of the Hidden Rain Village loomed—a twisted forest of pipes and towers belching steam into the perpetual storm.

Naruto stared into the downpour, blue eyes reflecting the distant lightning. "I'm coming, Pervy Sage," he murmured. "Just hold on a little longer."

Kakashi surveyed his team one final time, memorizing their faces in case the worst should happen. "Move out in five minutes. From this point on, we're in enemy territory—trust nothing, verify everything." His expression softened slightly. "And come back alive, all of you."

As they made final preparations, the rain whispered secrets against the ancient log—tales of wars fought, blood spilled, and the approaching confrontation that would alter the destiny of the shinobi world.

# Chapter 3: The Hidden Rain's Secrets

Metal pipes glistened like wet serpents overhead, dripping condensation that mingled with the relentless rain. Naruto pressed his back against cold steel, counting heartbeats as a patrol passed below—three shinobi in respirator masks, eyes constantly scanning through specialized goggles.

"They've got tech I've never seen before," he whispered once they'd passed. His blonde hair was plastered to his forehead, the orange of his jacket muted to a dull rust by the artificial gloom.

Sakura crouched beside him, her medical pack sealed in waterproof wrapping. "The Hidden Rain developed in isolation during the wars. They're decades ahead of Konoha in some areas." Her fingers traced a nearby conduit pulsing with faint blue energy. "These pipes aren't just for water—they're channeling chakra throughout the village."

The rain hammered against the metal walkway as they navigated the labyrinthine industrial zone. Towering edifices belched steam into the perpetual downpour, creating a hazy curtain that obscured the village's true dimensions. Every few hundred meters, massive screens displayed propaganda imagery—stylized clouds, rain, and occasionally, a silhouette with rippled eyes.

"Look," Sakura hissed, pulling Naruto into the shadow of a ventilation unit.

Below them stretched an open market area. Citizens moved mechanically through their daily routines, heads bowed beneath identical umbrellas. Their faces carried the hollow-eyed weariness of chronic suffering—shoulders hunched, voices subdued, eyes darting nervously toward the upper levels where occasional patrols passed.

"They look like prisoners," Naruto breathed, blue eyes darkening with empathy.

"They might as well be." Sakura's voice was tight. "No one enters or leaves the Hidden Rain without permission. Most citizens haven't seen sunshine in years."

A commotion rippled through the market. People dropped to their knees, heads touching the wet pavement as a slender figure drifted overhead—a woman with blue hair adorned with an origami flower, her black cloak emblazoned with red clouds.

"Akatsuki," Naruto growled, muscles tensing beneath Sakura's restraining hand.

"Wait," she commanded. "Look how they're acting."

The citizens' posture wasn't just fearful—it was reverent. Whispers threaded through the crowd as the woman passed overhead on what appeared to be paper wings.

"The Angel brings word from God."

"Has Pain decreed something new?"

"Blessed rain that washes away impurity."

The woman disappeared into the labyrinth of towers, leaving ripples of nervous conversation in her wake.

Sakura's expression was grim. "They don't fear them—they worship them."

"God? Pain?" Naruto's face contorted with disgust. "What kind of twisted—"

"Information is power," Sakura cut him off, already scanning for an approach vector. "We need to know what we're dealing with."

---

The tavern stank of industrial solvents and cheap sake. Rust-colored water pooled beneath sodden boots as laborers sought brief respite from the endless work shifts. Naruto and Sakura had transformed their appearances—his blonde hair now brown, her pink locks darkened to an unremarkable black. Factory worker uniforms completed their disguise.

"Been stationed at the eastern filtration plant for three months," Naruto was saying, perfecting the bitter edge of a disgruntled worker. "Security's tighter than a miser's wallet since those explosions last week."

The weathered foreman across from them grunted, eyes bloodshot from cheap liquor. "Pain doesn't tolerate dissent. Makes examples of troublemakers." He leaned closer, voice dropping. "Though there's whispers the explosions weren't internal—some say a Konoha spy infiltrated."

Sakura feigned casual interest while sliding another cup toward him. "Konoha? All the way out here? Must've been some spy."

"One of their legendary ones, if rumors hold water." He drained the cup in one swallow. "White-haired giant with red marks on his face. Fought like a demon before Pain himself descended."

Naruto's knuckles whitened around his cup. Sakura's foot pressed against his beneath the table—a warning.

"Pain actually showed himself?" she asked, mastering her tone. "Thought he only appeared for major threats."

The foreman snorted. "Six times over, if you believe the witnesses. Those who saw it say he fights with six different bodies, all with those eyes. The Rinnegan."

"And this spy?" Naruto struggled to keep his voice level. "They catch him?"

A shrug rippled the man's rain-slick coat. "Nobody knows. The Angel ordered the sector sealed. Maintenance crews report massive damage to the northeastern industrial district. Whatever happened, it was no small skirmish."

"And Pain—this God of yours," Sakura probed carefully. "What exactly can he do?"

The man's expression shuttered, sudden fear replacing drunken candor. "Questions like that get people disappeared." He stood abruptly, chair scraping against concrete. "I've said too much already."

As he staggered away, Naruto leaned toward Sakura. "Jiraiya was here. Recently. And he fought Pain directly."

"And lived, apparently," Sakura added, her eyes tracking movement around the tavern. "But something's not right. If Pain is as powerful as they say, why hasn't he—"

"He's toying with him," Naruto cut in, rage simmering beneath his whisper. "Drawing out the hunt."

Sakura's hand covered his, her grip firm. "Don't lose focus. We need more information before we make any move."

A trio of shinobi entered the tavern, their sensor equipment gleaming beneath rain-slicked cloaks. The patrons tensed collectively, conversations dying.

"Time to go," Sakura murmured.

---

Kakashi slid through shadow with practiced silence, Sai a whisper at his back. They had penetrated deeper than expected, exploiting a blind spot in the sensor network where industrial waste-water interfered with chakra detection.

"Ahead," Sai breathed, ink-black eyes fixed on a decrepit building nestled between processing plants.

The structure appeared abandoned—windows boarded, entrance collapsed. A convincing facade. Kakashi's Sharingan pulsed beneath his headband, detecting the subtle chakra threads woven through the apparent rubble.

"Genjutsu," he confirmed. "Sophisticated."

They approached from blind angles, using the rain's rhythm to mask their movement. Kakashi formed subtle hand signs—the countersigns for a specific intelligence network, known only to deep-cover operatives. For three agonizing heartbeats, nothing happened.

Then a shimmer distorted the rain. A figure materialized from the rubble—gaunt, dressed in Hidden Rain attire, face hidden beneath a rebreather mask.

"Konoha has no business here," the figure rasped in a voice corroded by chemicals.

Kakashi kept his posture non-threatening. "Jiraiya of the Sannin."

The name acted like a key. The figure's posture shifted fractionally. "Follow. Quickly."

The interior belied its external appearance—clean, dry, equipped with surveillance technology beyond Konoha's current capabilities. Screens monitored various sectors of the village, while specialized equipment hummed with purpose.

Their guide removed his mask, revealing a face mapped with old scars. "Matsuri. Jiraiya-sama's contact for the past eighteen months."

"He's alive?" Kakashi asked immediately.

Matsuri's expression tightened. "For now. Pain is hunting him personally. All six Paths."

"Six Paths?" Sai questioned, setting up a quick perimeter detection seal.

The informant activated a holographic display—six distinct figures, all with the same rippled purple eyes. "Pain isn't one person—he's six bodies, all controlled by a single will. Each Path possesses different abilities."

Kakashi studied the projection intently. "The Rinnegan. I thought it was just legend."

"Very real. And devastating." Matsuri pointed to each figure in turn. "The Deva Path manipulates attractive and repulsive forces—essentially gravity control. The Asura Path transforms its body into mechanized weapons. Animal Path summons creatures. Human Path extracts souls. Preta Path absorbs chakra. Naraka Path controls life and death."

Sai made rapid notes in his specialized ink. "Weaknesses?"

"Limited range between the Paths and their controller. Five-second cooldown between the Deva Path's major techniques." Matsuri hesitated. "Jiraiya-sama discovered something critical before he was compromised—something about the true nature of Pain."

"What?" Kakashi pressed.

"I don't know. He was going to transmit the information when the Paths found him." Matsuri's fingers flew across a console, bringing up a map with a pulsing red indicator. "Last confirmed location. Sensor readings suggest ongoing combat, though significantly reduced from earlier peaks."

Kakashi committed the coordinates to memory. "Is extraction possible?"

Matsuri's grim expression provided the answer before his words. "Pain has never failed to capture a target once personally engaged. Even for someone of Jiraiya-sama's caliber..." He trailed off, then suddenly stiffened, eyes locked on a detection meter. "You didn't come alone."

"A small team," Kakashi acknowledged.

"Including the Nine-Tails jinchūriki." It wasn't a question.

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "How did you—"

"Unique chakra signature. Our sensors detected it the moment you entered the outer perimeter." Matsuri's expression hardened with urgency. "You need to extract him immediately. Pain's primary objective has always been capturing the Tailed Beasts."

"We're not leaving without Jiraiya," Kakashi stated flatly.

"Then you condemn both to capture." Matsuri thrust a small data device into Kakashi's hand. "Everything we know about Pain's abilities. Now go—I've delayed the alert as long as possible."

---

Naruto and Sakura rendezvoused with Kakashi and Sai in an abandoned processing plant, rust-eaten machinery looming like prehistoric skeletons around them. The constant drumming of rain against metal roof panels created white noise that masked their conversation.

"They're calling him a god," Naruto reported, disgust evident in his voice. "This whole village worships him like some kind of deity."

"Because he presents himself as one," Kakashi replied, activating the data device. A three-dimensional map of the village materialized, with several areas highlighted in pulsing red. "Pain rules through a combination of fear, religious devotion, and absolute surveillance."

Sai studied the map with analytical precision. "The northeastern industrial sector shows extensive structural damage consistent with high-level combat."

"That's where Jiraiya engaged Pain," Kakashi confirmed. "According to our informant, he discovered something critical about Pain's true nature before he was compromised."

Sakura hovered over the hologram, medical mind categorizing possible injuries. "How many opponents?"

"Six bodies, all controlled by a single entity. Each with different abilities, all bearing the Rinnegan."

"The six figures from my dreams," Naruto murmured, a chill racing down his spine despite the humid air.

"The strange thing is," Kakashi continued, "according to all intelligence, Pain could have captured or killed Jiraiya hours ago. Instead, the conflict has been drawn out, moved systematically through different sectors of the village."

"He's being herded," Sai concluded. "Like prey."

"Or he's leaving us a trail," Naruto countered, blue eyes suddenly alight with realization. "Pervy Sage knows we'd come for him. He's breadcrumbing his way through the village, leaving evidence of his discoveries."

Before anyone could respond, Naruto suddenly doubled over, face contorted in pain. His fingers dug into his abdomen where the seal pulsed beneath his clothing.

"Naruto!" Sakura was at his side instantly, medical chakra already flowing from her hands.

"It's not me," he gasped, eyes flashing between blue and crimson. "It's him—it's Jiraiya. I can feel him." His head snapped up, gaze fixing on a point beyond the walls. "He's using Sage Mode—massive chakra output. He's fighting right now!"

Kakashi made an instant decision. "Sai, aerial reconnaissance. Confirm location."

As Sai's ink birds took flight through a broken skylight, Sakura unrolled her medical pack with practiced efficiency. Bandages, blood pills, chakra stimulants, antitoxins—she arranged them in precise order.

"Expectation of major trauma," she explained, catching Kakashi's glance. "Multiple penetrating wounds, chakra depletion, possible organ damage."

"He'll need immediate extraction and stabilization," Kakashi agreed, already formulating approach vectors. "We'll need a diversion—something to draw attention away from our exit route."

Sai dropped silently from the rafters. "Confirmed. Heavy combat, northeastern quadrant. Six distinct chakra signatures versus one. The solo signature is fluctuating between normal and Sage chakra patterns."

"He's losing control of Sage Mode," Naruto translated, face pale beneath rainwater and sweat. "He's running out of time."

Kakashi laid out the plan with rapid precision. "Sai, you'll create the diversion—multiple ink beasts attacking the southern sensor hub. Sakura and I will extract Jiraiya once you and Naruto engage Pain."

"No," Naruto cut in, voice hardening with authority that startled them all. "I'm going for Pervy Sage directly. None of you can sense him like I can."

"The moment you get close, Pain will detect the Nine-Tails," Kakashi countered.

"Good." Naruto's eyes burned with determination. "Let him come for me instead of Jiraiya."

Before Kakashi could object further, Naruto went rigid, eyes widening in horror. The color drained from his face as his hand clutched at his heart.

"Naruto?" Sakura gripped his shoulders. "What is it?"

When he looked up, terror and rage warred in his expression. "His chakra—it's fading fast. He's dying, Sakura." His voice broke. "Jiraiya is dying right now."

No further discussion was needed. The team moved as one toward the exit, determination etched on each face. As they melted into the perpetual rainfall, the drumming of water against metal transformed in Naruto's ears—no longer ambient noise but the countdown to his master's final heartbeats.

# Chapter 4: Confrontation with Destiny

The northeastern district erupted in a symphony of destruction—concrete shattering, metal screeching, water hissing into steam. Lightning split the rain-choked sky, illuminating the nightmarish tableau below in strobing flashes of electric blue.

Naruto's heart slammed against his ribs as they raced across rain-slicked pipes. The Nine-Tails' chakra roiled inside him, responding to his panic like a storm to atmospheric pressure.

"There!" he shouted over the downpour, pointing toward a half-collapsed industrial complex where chakra signatures flared like colliding stars.

Kakashi's Sharingan blazed crimson through the sheets of rain. "Six distinct signatures surrounding one. Jiraiya's chakra is fluctuating dangerously."

They dropped to a precarious landing on a twisted catwalk, the metal groaning beneath their impact. Below them stretched a battleground of apocalyptic proportions—ruptured pipelines gushing water, craters filled with smoking debris, walls reduced to rubble. And at its center, a scene ripped straight from Naruto's nightmares.

Jiraiya stood amid the carnage, his white mane matted with crimson, face transformed by the jutsu that had earned him legendary status. Sage Mode twisted his features into something feral and amphibian—bulbous nose expanded, lines deepened, eyes yellowed with horizontal pupils. But the transformation was incomplete, flickering like a dying light bulb as his chakra reserves depleted.

"He's at his limit," Sakura whispered, horror threading her voice.

Around him circled the Six Paths of Pain—each bearing the same rippled purple eyes, each moving with the eerie synchronization of puppets guided by a single mind. Their black cloaks, emblazoned with red clouds, danced in the violent wind that accompanied the storm.

One body lay motionless—the Animal Path, Naruto realized from Kakashi's briefing. Another dragged a mangled mechanical arm—damaged but not defeated. The remaining four showed various degrees of injury, testament to Jiraiya's incredible battle prowess even when outnumbered.

"That one's the leader," Kakashi indicated the central figure with spiky orange hair and multiple facial piercings. "The Deva Path. Primary offensive capabilities."

As they watched, Jiraiya staggered backward, his right arm hanging uselessly at his side. Blood poured from a puncture wound in his shoulder, mingling with the rain to form pink rivulets down his torso. Yet his left hand still worked, fingers weaving a complex sealing pattern against his own chest.

"He's coding something," Sai observed. "Using his own body as the medium."

The Deva Path stepped forward, palm extended toward Jiraiya. The air around his hand distorted with invisible power.

"We're out of time!" Naruto's voice cracked with desperation. "He's preparing to use his gravity technique!"

Kakashi's hand landed on his shoulder, grip like iron. "Stick to the plan. Sai, diversion now!"

Sai's brush danced across his scroll with impossible speed, ink creatures springing to life—massive tigers and hawks that launched toward Pain's flanking Paths. Kakashi vanished in a blur of movement, reappearing behind a pile of rubble closer to Jiraiya.

"NOW, NARUTO!" he shouted.

Something snapped inside Naruto—the fragile cage of restraint he'd built around his emotions. The Nine-Tails' chakra responded to his rage like a starving beast to fresh blood. It erupted from him in a blinding flash of crimson, his skin burning as the first tail manifested in a shroud of bubbling chakra.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" The roar that tore from his throat barely sounded human.

Six heads swiveled in perfect unison, twelve ringed eyes fixing on the new threat with mechanical precision. The Deva Path's expression didn't change, but his focus shifted, palm now oriented toward Naruto.

"The Nine-Tails jinchūriki," he intoned, voice flat as undisturbed water. "Timing that defies coincidence."

Naruto launched himself from the catwalk, the force of his jump buckling metal beneath his feet. He hurtled toward the Deva Path like a crimson comet, claws extended, fangs bared.

"NARUTO, NO!" Jiraiya's voice broke through his rage, weak but electrifying.

The Deva Path's palm pulsed with invisible energy. "Shinra Tensei."

Reality warped. Gravity inverted. Naruto's body arrested mid-leap, then blasted backward with catastrophic force. He crashed through three walls before skidding to a halt in rubble-strewn water, blood streaming from his nose and ears. But the diversion had worked. For that critical instant, Pain's attention had shifted.

Kakashi materialized beside Jiraiya, supporting his massive frame as the Sage Mode flickered out completely. "Got you, old friend."

"Kakashi?" Jiraiya's voice slurred, eyes struggling to focus. "What the hell are you...?"

"Extraction team," Kakashi replied, already moving them toward cover as Sai's ink beasts engaged the flanking Paths. "Courtesy of your most stubborn student."

Recognition flared in Jiraiya's blood-streaked face. "Naruto? He's here?" Horror replaced confusion. "Get him out! Pain wants the Nine-Tails—"

"That's exactly what he's counting on," Kakashi grunted, ducking behind a collapsed water tower as chakra rods whistled through the air where they'd stood seconds before.

Sakura dropped from above, landing in a splash of rainwater beside them. Her hands glowed immediately with healing chakra as she assessed Jiraiya's catastrophic injuries.

"Multiple penetrating wounds, severe chakra depletion, internal hemorrhaging," she cataloged clinically, though her voice trembled. "I need to stabilize him before we move him or he won't survive transport."

"We don't have time," Kakashi warned, as the whine of charging energy announced the Asura Path's approach.

Sakura's eyes flashed with determination. "Make time."

Across the battlefield, Naruto pulled himself from the wreckage, the Nine-Tails' chakra already healing his shattered bones and ruptured organs. Through the crimson haze of his vision, he saw Kakashi and Sakura working over Jiraiya's prone form. Alive. The Pervy Sage was alive.

The Deva Path observed him with detached curiosity. "Your intervention was predicted, Naruto Uzumaki. The cycle repeats—student rushes to master's aid, perpetuating the chain of hatred."

Naruto spat blood, rising to his feet as a second tail manifested in his chakra shroud. "You talk too much."

The Paths converged, surrounding him in a perfect hexagon. Each pair of rippled eyes studied him with the same emotionless intensity.

"Surrender the Nine-Tails willingly," the Deva Path continued, "and your comrades may leave with your master's body."

"Counter-offer," Naruto snarled, chakra claws extending from his fingertips. "You leave now, and I won't tear you apart limb by limb."

A sound emerged from the Deva Path—so unexpected that Naruto faltered. Laughter. Dry and humorless as dead leaves rustling.

"Your master discovered something he should not have." The Deva Path gestured, and the Human Path stepped forward. "The secret of Pain. For this, he was sentenced to death. You share his fate."

Naruto's gaze darted to where Sakura hunched over Jiraiya, her hands slick with his blood as she worked frantically to close his wounds. Kakashi stood guard, Sharingan spinning as he tracked incoming threats. Sai circled overhead on an ink-bird, dropping explosive tags to slow the Paths' convergence.

They needed time. Naruto locked eyes with Kakashi, a silent understanding passing between them. The copy ninja nodded once—imperceptible to anyone else.

Naruto turned back to Pain, dropping into a wide stance. His hands formed a familiar cross-shaped seal.

"MULTI-SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

The battlefield erupted with hundreds of snarling, crimson-shrouded Narutos. They launched in every direction, engaging each Path simultaneously. The real Naruto dropped back, hands trembling as he attempted something he'd never fully mastered.

"Focus," he whispered, trying to steady his breathing despite the chaos swirling around him. "Focus like Pervy Sage taught you."

Natural energy. The lifeblood of Sage Mode. Jiraiya had begun his training, but Naruto had never completed it. He didn't have the toad contract or the proper technique. But he had something Jiraiya hadn't counted on—the Nine-Tails' enhanced sensing abilities.

As his clones battled furiously, buying precious seconds, Naruto closed his eyes. He reached beyond the rage, beyond the fear, tapping into the primordial energy that saturated the rain-soaked battlefield.

Across the ruins, Sakura's hands blurred with medical precision. "Severe puncture wound through the lower abdomen—likely pierced the intestinal wall. I need to close this before sepsis sets in." Her voice remained steady despite the explosions rocking the ground beneath them.

Jiraiya's eyes fluttered open, consciousness returning in fragments. "The message," he croaked, fingers scrabbling at his bloodied chest. "I encoded it..."

"Don't try to talk," Sakura ordered, pushing more healing chakra into the gaping wound in his shoulder.

"No—listen!" He seized her wrist with surprising strength. "The secret of Pain. It's not six bodies—it's one controlling them remotely. And I know who it is. I know the real Pain."

Kakashi deflected an incoming chakra rod with a kunai. "Save it for when we're clear!"

"There won't be another chance!" Jiraiya coughed, blood spattering his lips. "It's Nagato—my student. The Rinnegan is his, not theirs. These six are just corpses—paths for his chakra. That's why they have shared vision."

Understanding dawned in Kakashi's visible eye. "That's why you weren't killed immediately. He's your student—he's hesitating."

A bitter smile twisted Jiraiya's bloodied face. "Not hesitating enough."

In the center of the battlefield, the Deva Path suddenly stiffened, head tilting as if listening to an unheard voice. His ringed eyes widened fractionally—the first genuine emotion he'd displayed.

"The jinchūriki..." he murmured. "He's attempting Sage Mode."

The five remaining Paths disengaged from the shadow clones, moving with renewed urgency toward Naruto's position. The Deva Path raised both hands, chakra swirling visibly around them.

"Chibaku Tensei."

The very fabric of reality seemed to warp. Debris began rising from the ground, orbiting an invisible center point directly above Naruto. Concrete, metal, water—all defied gravity, spiraling upward to form a growing satellite of destruction.

"What the hell is that?" Sai shouted from his aerial vantage.

"His strongest technique," Kakashi replied, hoisting Jiraiya's massive frame across his shoulders. "He's creating a micro-gravitational field. We need to move—NOW!"

Sakura applied a final field dressing to Jiraiya's worst wound. "He needs a hospital!"

"He needs to not be crushed by a miniature moon!" Kakashi countered, already moving toward their escape route. "Sai, extraction!"

The artist swooped down on his largest ink-bird, gathering Sakura and the wounded Jiraiya in one smooth motion. They rose shakily into the rain-lashed sky, the bird straining under the weight of three passengers.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed over the howling wind. "We need to go back for him!"

Kakashi's grip on her arm prevented her from jumping. "He knows what he's doing. Trust him."

At the epicenter of the growing gravitational vortex, Naruto stood perfectly still. His shadow clones had all vanished, victims of the Paths' coordinated assault. The red chakra shroud flickered around him, fighting against the pull of Pain's technique.

But something was changing. The crimson energy receded, replaced by a subtle golden glow. His whisker marks darkened, eyelids rimmed with rusty orange pigmentation. Not perfect Sage Mode—not by any measure—but enough.

The Deva Path observed this transformation with clinical interest. "Imperfect Sage Mode. Impressive for one untrained, but futile nonetheless."

Naruto opened his eyes—now yellow with horizontal bar pupils, just like his master's had been. Enhanced senses flooded him with information: his team's chakra signatures retreating to safety, Jiraiya's flickering but stable life force, and the strange emptiness within the six bodies surrounding him.

"Corpses," he whispered, the realization hitting him like a physical blow. "You're just puppets."

The Deva Path's expression didn't change, but the gravitational force intensified, debris swirling faster overhead.

"The real you isn't even here," Naruto continued, newfound clarity cutting through his previous rage. He looked directly at the Deva Path. "Nagato."

For the briefest instant, all six bodies froze simultaneously. The gravitational pull wavered, then redoubled in strength.

"So Jiraiya shared his discovery," the Deva Path said. "It changes nothing. Your capture is inevitable."

Naruto smiled—a feral, confident smile that would have made Jiraiya proud. "Maybe. But not today." His hands formed a rapid sequence of seals. "Today, I'm taking my master home."

The ground beneath him erupted as a massive toad appeared in a swirl of smoke—not a combat summon, but a messenger toad wearing a small vest. Gamakichi.

"Yo, Naruto! What's with this crazy weather? The elder sent me to—WHOA!" The young toad's eyes bulged at the sight of the six Paths converging. "What the hell is going on?"

"Reverse summon!" Naruto shouted, clinging to the toad as the gravitational pull intensified. "Get us out of here, NOW!"

Gamakichi didn't need to be told twice. His webbed hands flashed through seals as the Paths closed in. The Deva Path lunged, hand extended toward Naruto's throat.

Their fingers were inches apart when Naruto and Gamakichi vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the Deva Path grasping at empty air. The gravitational technique collapsed, raining debris back onto the devastated battlefield.

For several moments, the six Paths remained motionless, ringed eyes staring at the space where Naruto had been. Then, in perfect unison, they turned toward the direction Sai's ink-bird had fled.

"They have escaped," the Deva Path stated flatly. "With knowledge of our true nature."

Through his puppets, miles away in a hidden tower, the emaciated figure of Nagato closed his eyes. Blood trickled from his nose with the strain of controlling six bodies simultaneously at such distance.

"Let them go," he whispered, voice barely audible over the life-support machines keeping his frail body functioning. "Our paths will cross again. And when they do..."

In the tower's shadows, paper rustled as Konan stepped forward. "Shall I pursue them?"

"No." Nagato's sunken eyes opened, the Rinnegan gleaming in the dim light. "Jiraiya-sensei has earned his reprieve. The Nine-Tails jinchūriki will return to us willingly. After all..." A hollow smile touched his bloodless lips. "Pain is the greatest teacher."

Miles away, beyond Amegakure's borders, Naruto materialized alongside Gamakichi in a forest clearing where his team waited with the gravely wounded Jiraiya. Rain still fell, but gentler here—natural precipitation untainted by chakra.

"NARUTO!" Sakura's relieved cry carried over the patter of raindrops on leaves. She knelt beside Jiraiya, hands still glowing with healing chakra.

Naruto staggered forward, the imperfect Sage Mode fading as quickly as it had manifested. His body felt like one massive bruise, chakra pathways raw from channeling both the Nine-Tails and natural energy simultaneously.

He collapsed beside his master, taking in the extent of Jiraiya's injuries with horror-stricken eyes. "Is he...?"

"Alive," Sakura confirmed, exhaustion evident in her voice. "But we need to get him to Lady Tsunade. These wounds... they're beyond my current abilities to fully heal."

Jiraiya's eyes fluttered open, focusing with difficulty on Naruto's face. "Kid," he rasped, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. "You idiot. Why'd you come?"

Naruto grasped his master's massive hand, tears mixing with rainwater on his whiskered cheeks. "Because you would've done the same for me, Pervy Sage."

A weak chuckle escaped Jiraiya's lips, triggering a spasm of coughing. "Damn right I would."

Kakashi approached, his normally slouched posture rigid with urgency. "We need to move. Pain may have let us go for now, but we're still in hostile territory."

Naruto nodded, newfound determination hardening his features as he looked down at his wounded mentor. The timeline had changed. Destiny had been rewritten. In this world, Jiraiya would not die at Pain's hands.

"Let's go home," he said, as Sai created a stretcher of reinforced ink. "We've got a lot of work to do."

# Chapter 5: Retreat and Revelation

Golden light pulsed from Naruto's skin, natural energy crackling around him like lightning dancing across storm clouds. The imperfect Sage Mode transformed his features—eyes morphing into toad-like horizontal slits, whisker marks deepening against sun-kissed skin. Rain hammered against his upturned face, each droplet exploding into microscopic prisms as it struck his chakra-suffused body.

"You're just puppets," Naruto snarled, voice resonating with newfound power. "Just empty shells!"

The Deva Path tilted his pierced face, watching Naruto with cold, concentric eyes. "Impressive. You've glimpsed the nature of Pain without proper training." His voice carried the flat echo of abandoned temples. "But understanding will not save you."

Naruto's hands flashed through seals faster than untrained eyes could follow. "Earth Style: Swamp Trap!"

The saturated ground beneath two of the Paths liquefied instantly, swallowing them to the waist in chakra-infused mud. Simultaneously, Naruto launched forward, golden chakra coalescing around his right fist. The Deva Path raised a pale hand.

"Shinra Tensei."

Invisible force slammed into Naruto like a tidal wave, but instead of flying backward as before, he anchored himself with natural energy, feet skidding only inches across the rain-slick concrete. A triumphant grin split his face.

"That the best you got?"

Across the devastated battlefield, Kakashi's Sharingan widened in astonishment. "He's countering Pain's repulsive force with natural energy," he murmured. "Not even Jiraiya could do that."

Sakura's hands never stopped their healing work on Jiraiya's mangled shoulder, but her emerald eyes darted to the fight. "We need to go—NOW! Naruto's buying us time!"

"And I'm not wasting it." Kakashi's fingers blurred through seals. "KAMUI!"

Space-time warped around the Asura Path as it charged toward them, its mechanical arm transfiguring into a multi-barreled cannon. The distortion swallowed the incoming attack, redirecting it into another dimension. With the immediate threat neutralized, Kakashi turned to Sai.

"Cover us! Northwest exit, then rendezvous at point Epsilon!"

Sai's brush danced across his scroll, birthing a swarm of ink creatures that spiraled into the storm-black sky. "Go. I'll create a diversion."

Jiraiya's massive frame hung between Kakashi and Sakura like a broken marionette, blood seeping through hastily applied field dressings. His eyes fluttered open, consciousness returning in fragments.

"Nar...uto," he croaked, voice barely audible above the battle. "Don't let him..."

"Save your strength," Sakura commanded, green healing chakra pulsing from her fingertips into his worst wounds. "Naruto knows what he's doing."

The ground trembled as Naruto and the Deva Path collided in a catastrophic explosion of competing energies. Buildings crumbled. Water pipes ruptured, geysering into the air. Through the chaos, Kakashi spotted their escape route—a maintenance tunnel entrance half-hidden behind collapsed scaffolding.

"THERE!" he shouted, dragging Jiraiya's weight toward the opening. "NARUTO! FALL BACK!"

The young jinchūriki heard, but extraction wouldn't be simple. The six Paths had him surrounded, moving with uncanny coordination. The Human Path lunged, palm aiming for Naruto's head—a soul-extraction technique that meant instant death.

"Not today!" Naruto snarled, dropping instantly into a sweep kick that took the Path's legs from under him. "I've got friends to protect!" He formed his signature cross-shaped seal. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Twenty identical Narutos erupted into existence, creating instant chaos. As they engaged the Paths in a whirlwind of golden-hued combat, the real Naruto locked eyes with Kakashi, nodding once.

Kakashi's hand dipped into his utility pouch, extracting three specialized smoke bombs—ANBU-issue, developed specifically for retreat from superior forces. "Cover your eyes!" he shouted, hurling the spheres in a precise triangular pattern.

They detonated simultaneously, releasing not just smoke but a chakra-infused miasma that disrupted visual tracking and sensory abilities. Through this swirling vortex, Naruto bounded backward, golden energy leaving phosphorescent trails in the air as he rejoined his team at the tunnel entrance.

"GO GO GO!" Kakashi urged, already pulling Jiraiya's massive form into the dank passageway. Sakura dove in next, medical pack clutched against her chest. Naruto followed, casting one final defiant glare at the Paths emerging from the smoke cloud.

The maintenance tunnel plunged straight down for thirty feet before leveling into a horizontal shaft barely tall enough to stand in. Brackish water surged around their ankles, carrying the industrial waste of the Hidden Rain into underground reservoirs. The stench of chemicals and decay clogged their nostrils.

"Where does this lead?" Naruto demanded, the golden glow of Sage Mode illuminating the tunnel's crumbling walls.

"Overflow system," Kakashi explained between labored breaths. Jiraiya's weight strained even his considerable strength. "Connects to the main drainage canals, then out beyond the village walls." His masked face turned back. "They'll be right behind us."

As if summoned by his words, a thunderous impact shook the tunnel. Dust and debris showered from the ceiling. The Paths had found their escape route.

"Move faster!" Sakura urged, taking more of Jiraiya's weight onto her own shoulders. Medical chakra still flowed from her free hand into his worst injuries, her face pale with concentration. "I can feel his vitals dropping!"

They staggered forward through knee-deep water that grew progressively deeper. The tunnel widened into a junction chamber where five identical passages branched outward. Kakashi paused, Sharingan scanning each option.

"This way," he decided, choosing the second passage from the left. "The water flow is stronger—it'll lead to the main drainage canal."

Behind them, splashing footsteps echoed with mechanical precision. The Paths, moving in perfect unison.

"They're gaining!" Naruto warned, the golden energy of Sage Mode flickering as exhaustion set in. "I can buy you time—"

"No!" Sakura snapped, green eyes flashing with determination. "We go together or not at all!"

The tunnel suddenly shuddered, concrete cracking underfoot. Up ahead, daylight glimmered through a massive grate—their exit to the main canal—but the collapsing passageway wouldn't hold long enough to reach it.

"Naruto," Kakashi barked, "Wind Style, now!"

Understanding flashed across the young shinobi's face. His hands formed seals, chest expanding with chakra-infused breath. "WIND STYLE: GALE FORCE THRUST!"

The concentrated blast of wind ripped through the tunnel, slamming into the grate with enough force to tear it from its moorings. Simultaneously, the roof began giving way, massive chunks of concrete plunging into the rising water.

"GO!" Kakashi shouted, hurling himself and Jiraiya's limp form through the newly created opening. Sakura leapt after them, Naruto bringing up the rear as the tunnel collapsed completely, temporarily sealing the pursuing Paths behind a mountain of rubble.

They emerged into a vast canal—fifty feet wide and churning with storm-fed currents. Rain still fell in sheets, but here, beyond the village's core, it was natural precipitation untainted by Pain's chakra. The canal's concrete banks rose twenty feet on either side, leading eventually to the village's outer perimeter.

"We're... not clear yet," Kakashi panted, positioning Jiraiya's unconscious form against the sloping canal wall. "Pain can... reform the Paths... if damaged. We've only bought... minutes at most."

Sakura dropped to her knees beside Jiraiya, hands instantly aglow with healing chakra. "He's going into shock. Multiple organ systems failing." Her voice remained clinical, but fear shadowed her eyes. "I need to stabilize him or he won't survive the journey back to Konoha."

As she worked, Jiraiya's eyelids fluttered. A groan escaped his blood-flecked lips. "Naruto..."

"I'm here, Pervy Sage," Naruto answered instantly, dropping to his master's side. The golden glow of Sage Mode had faded, leaving him pallid with exhaustion. "Don't talk. Sakura's going to fix you up, and then we're getting you home."

Jiraiya's massive hand shot out with surprising strength, seizing Naruto's wrist. "Listen to me," he rasped, each word a monumental effort. "What I discovered... about Pain..."

"We know," Kakashi interjected, keeping watch on the collapsed tunnel entrance. "They're corpses. Puppets controlled by someone else."

"Not... just anyone." Jiraiya coughed, blood spattering his chin. "Nagato. My student."

The name fell like a stone into still water, sending ripples of shock through the group. Naruto's eyes widened, incomprehension written across his features.

"Your... student?" he echoed. "But why would he—"

"War orphan... from Amegakure," Jiraiya continued, each word clearly costing him. "Extraordinary chakra reserves. And the Rinnegan... thought it was just mutation at first... but the power..." Another wracking cough interrupted him. "He was... supposed to be... the child of prophecy."

Sakura looked up from her medical work, lips pressed into a thin line. "You need to stop talking. Your lung is punctured, and you're losing blood faster than I can replace it."

But Jiraiya's grip on Naruto only tightened. "The controller... stays hidden. Bodies are just Paths... extensions of his will. That's why... shared vision. All six pairs of eyes... connected."

Naruto leaned closer, absorbing every labored word. "How do we stop him?"

"Find the real body. Nagato... crippled years ago... needs machine support now. Can't move much." Jiraiya's focus began to drift, consciousness slipping. "Konan... paper jutsu... she protects him..."

"Konan?" Sakura questioned. "The woman with blue hair?"

Jiraiya managed a weak nod before his head lolled back, strength evaporating. "My students... all three... thought I could... break the cycle..." His voice faded to a whisper. "Failed them..."

Suddenly, the canal water erupted fifty yards downstream. The Animal Path rose from the churning depths, summoning scroll already unfurling. Behind them, debris shifted as the other Paths began breaking through the collapsed tunnel.

"We're surrounded," Kakashi stated flatly. "Naruto—tell Gamakichi to ready for reverse summoning."

"We can't," Naruto protested. "In his condition, the stress of summoning might kill him!"

Sai dropped from the stormy sky, riding an ink-eagle that dissolved as his feet touched the canal bank. "Three Paths ahead, three behind. They're herding us."

Desperation clawed at Naruto's insides as he looked from his gravely wounded master to the converging threats. They'd come so far—he couldn't lose Jiraiya now. Not when they'd changed fate itself to save him.

"Sai," he said suddenly, decision crystallizing. "How many ink beasts can you create at once?"

The pale artist tilted his head, calculating. "With my remaining chakra? Perhaps thirty. Why?"

A familiar, foxy grin spread across Naruto's exhausted face. "Because we're going to make Pain chase shadows."

Understanding dawned in Sai's expression. His brush flew across his scroll, ink creatures springing to life—tigers, birds, serpents, each molded with a small portion of chakra to make them detectable to Pain's sensory abilities.

"Create six that look like us," Naruto instructed, helping Kakashi lift Jiraiya's massive form. "Send them north along the canal. The rest scatter in every direction."

Sakura finished a final burst of healing chakra, sealing the worst of Jiraiya's wounds. "This won't hold long," she warned. "He needs Lady Tsunade."

"Then let's not keep Granny waiting," Naruto replied, supporting one side of his master while Kakashi took the other.

Sai's ink creatures launched in all directions—a confusing swarm of black shapes disappearing into the rain. Among them, six figures that perfectly mimicked Team Kakashi carrying a large form broke away northward, drawing the attention of the nearest Paths.

"East," Kakashi directed, leading them toward a narrow service ladder barely visible in the canal's concrete wall. "The border's three kilometers that way. Once we cross it, we're out of Pain's sensory range."

They scrambled up the ladder, Jiraiya's unconscious form an almost impossible burden. Muscles screaming, lungs burning, they emerged onto a desolate industrial plain dotted with abandoned processing plants—the outskirts of Amegakure, where civilization gave way to neglected wasteland.

Rain fell in blinding sheets as they staggered eastward. Every step was an act of defiance against exhaustion and gravity. Jiraiya's breathing grew increasingly labored, his pulse weakening beneath Sakura's monitoring fingers.

"His condition's deteriorating," she reported grimly. "Internal bleeding's resumed."

"Keep moving," Kakashi ordered, Sharingan scanning continuously for pursuit. "Pain's sensory network doesn't extend much further."

Behind them, explosions lit the storm-dark sky—Sai's decoys engaging the Paths. The artist himself flew overhead, maintaining the last of his ink-birds on reconnaissance duty.

"Five hundred meters to the border," he called down. "Pain has realized the deception. Three Paths heading our way."

"We're not going to make it," Sakura stated, the clinical detachment of her medical training giving way to fear.

"Yes we are." Naruto's voice rang with absolute conviction. His hands formed a familiar seal. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Ten identical Narutos popped into existence, immediately taking defensive positions around the group. "Get Pervy Sage to the border," the real Naruto commanded. "I'll hold them off."

"Naruto, no—" Sakura began.

"This isn't up for debate!" For an instant, his eyes flashed crimson—the Nine-Tails' influence surfacing with his emotions. "I didn't come all this way to lose him now!"

The clones fanned out, preparing for the approaching Paths. Kakashi hesitated only a heartbeat before nodding sharply. "Three minutes. Then you run—with or without us."

"Deal."

As Kakashi and Sakura continued eastward with Jiraiya, Naruto turned to face the pursuing Paths. His chakra reserves were critically low, muscles trembling with exhaustion, but determination burned in his eyes like blue fire.

The Deva Path appeared first, gliding across the sodden earth with unnatural grace. Behind him, the Human and Preta Paths advanced in perfect formation.

"Your persistence is... unexpected," the Deva Path observed, head tilting slightly. "Jiraiya has taught you well."

"Yeah, he has," Naruto shot back, clones shifting into fighting stance beside him. "Lesson one: never give up on people who matter to you!"

The Paths attacked in synchronized precision, moving like aspects of a single entity. Chakra rods materialized in the Deva Path's hands, lethal projectiles hurtling toward Naruto's vital points.

Three clones intercepted, dispelling in clouds of smoke. The real Naruto ducked beneath the Human Path's soul-extraction technique, while two more clones engaged the Preta Path with taijutsu to avoid having their chakra absorbed.

"Lesson two," Naruto continued, voice strained as he narrowly avoided a potentially fatal blow, "always look for an opponent's weakness!"

He drove a kunai into the Human Path's blind spot—a technique Jiraiya had drilled into him during training. The blade sank deep into the corpse-puppet's shoulder, temporarily disrupting its movement.

"And lesson three," he growled, gathering the last dregs of his chakra, "know when to make a strategic retreat!"

The remaining clones converged on the Paths, latching onto them with iron grips. Naruto's hands flashed into a final seal. "CLONE GREAT EXPLOSION!"

White light obliterated visibility as the shadow clones detonated with catastrophic force. The concussive blast flung Naruto backward, tumbling across the muddy ground. Pain's Paths, while not destroyed, were momentarily disabled—limbs severed, bodies shattered.

Naruto staggered to his feet, vision swimming. Blood dripped from his nose and ears, chakra pathways raw from overexertion. But ahead, through the curtain of rain, he could make out Kakashi and Sakura crossing the border marker—a simple stone obelisk carved with both Rain and Fire Country symbols.

His job done, Naruto lurched into a stumbling run after them. Behind him, the broken Paths were already beginning to reform, black chakra rods pulling shattered limbs back into place. But the border stood between them now—a political boundary Pain wouldn't cross without serious consideration.

Beyond the marker, Kakashi had laid Jiraiya on relatively dry ground beneath the shelter of a massive fallen tree. Sakura knelt beside him, hands glowing with the last of her medical chakra as she fought to stabilize his failing systems.

"Status?" Naruto demanded, collapsing beside them.

"Not good," Sakura answered honestly, sweat beading her forehead despite the chill. "I've sealed the major hemorrhaging, but he's lost too much blood. His chakra network sustained severe damage. And there's some kind of toxin in the chakra rods Pain used—it's interfering with his natural healing."

Naruto's hand closed around Jiraiya's massive, calloused fingers. "You can't die, Pervy Sage," he whispered. "Not now. Not after all this."

Jiraiya's eyelids fluttered, but didn't open. His breathing had grown shallow, pulse thread.

"We need to keep moving," Kakashi stated, pulling a food pill from his utility pouch and swallowing it grimly. "Pain may respect the border for now, but he won't give up. Not with both Jiraiya and the Nine-Tails jinchūriki as targets."

"He can't be moved again," Sakura protested. "Not without proper medical transport. The next jostling could rupture everything I've managed to repair."

Sai landed beside them, the last of his chakra-infused ink dissolving from his final reconnaissance bird. "Eight kilometers northwest—a ranger outpost for Fire Country border patrol. They'll have communication equipment, possibly medical supplies."

"Then that's where we're heading," Kakashi decided. His hands moved through seals, summoning his ninken pack. Pakkun appeared at their head, nose already twitching at the heavy copper scent of blood.

"Yo, Kakashi," the pug greeted, taking in their battered condition with an experienced eye. "You look like hell."

"I need your pack to form a medical transport sling," Kakashi instructed. "Jiraiya needs to be carried without jostling."

The ninken needed no further explanation. Within minutes, they had arranged themselves in a formation that allowed Jiraiya to be transported on their backs, distributing his weight evenly while keeping him level.

As they prepared to move out, Naruto took one last look back toward Amegakure. Through sheets of rain, he could just make out six silhouettes standing at the border marker, watching. Waiting.

"This isn't over," he promised, both to himself and to the distant figures. "I'm coming back for you, Nagato."

They retreated into Fire Country territory, cloaked by intensifying rain and encroaching darkness. Kakashi led, Sharingan active despite his dwindling chakra reserves. Sai flanked right, last kunai held ready. Sakura walked alongside the ninken transport, monitoring Jiraiya's vitals with each step.

Naruto brought up the rear, body moving on autopilot while his mind processed everything they'd learned. Pain was Nagato. Nagato was Jiraiya's student. The child of prophecy gone terribly astray.

Three kilometers from the border, beneath the relative shelter of broadleaf trees, Jiraiya stirred one final time. Naruto was at his side instantly.

"Pervy Sage? We're in Fire Country. You're safe now."

Jiraiya's eyes opened halfway, unfocused but seeking. His cracked lips moved, voice barely audible. "The book..."

"Your new book?" Naruto asked, leaning closer. "Don't worry about that now."

"No..." Jiraiya seemed to gather his remaining strength. "My first book. The one... named after..."

"Named after me," Naruto finished, understanding dawning. "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi."

A ghost of a smile touched Jiraiya's bloodied face. "Code... in there... for you..." His massive hand weakly squeezed Naruto's. "Proud... of you... my boy..."

His eyes rolled back, body going completely limp. Sakura's hands flew to his neck, checking for pulse. The grim set of her mouth told Naruto everything before she spoke.

"He's slipped into a coma. Chakra networks shutting down to preserve brain function." She looked up, rain mingling with tears on her face. "If we don't get him to Lady Tsunade in the next twenty-four hours, we'll lose him."

Naruto stood, a terrible calm settling over him. "Then we don't have time to waste."

As they continued their desperate journey through the darkening forest, the rain gradually eased, giving way to fragmented moonlight filtering through the canopy. With each step, Naruto mentally reconstructed the battle, the revelations, the sheer impossibility of what they'd accomplished.

They had changed destiny. They had rescued Jiraiya from certain death. But as his master's life hung by an increasingly fragile thread, Naruto realized that cheating fate came with its own terrible price—one they hadn't finished paying.

# Chapter 6: The Master's Wisdom

Dawn broke over Fire Country in fractured shafts of amber light, piercing the canopy of ancient trees like divine spears. The forest floor remained in shadow—cool, damp, and perfect for a team desperately trying to vanish. Kakashi crouched at the mouth of the cave they'd discovered an hour before dawn, his silver hair matted with dried blood, single visible eye scanning the tree line with the mechanical precision of a veteran.

"Anything?" Naruto's voice rasped from behind him, thick with exhaustion and dehydration.

"Nothing yet." Kakashi didn't turn. "But Pain isn't the type to abandon a hunt. Especially not with two prizes like you and Jiraiya."

The cave delved thirty feet into the hillside—a natural formation expanded long ago by Fire Country scouts as an emergency outpost. Rough-hewn wooden support beams prevented collapse, while the narrow entrance remained hidden behind a strategic arrangement of boulders and native foliage. It wasn't much, but it was defendable—a crucial consideration with half their team incapacitated.

Deeper inside, Sakura knelt beside Jiraiya's massive form, her face ghastly pale in the light of Sai's improvised lanterns. Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the cave's chill, hands trembling slightly as they hovered over the Sannin's chest, emerald chakra pulsing in weakening waves.

"We need to stop," Sai observed, kneeling beside her with a canteen. "You're at your limit."

Sakura's hands didn't waver. "Five more minutes," she insisted through gritted teeth. "I've almost stabilized his central chakra network."

"And then what?" Sai's question held no judgment, just the flat practicality that defined him. "You've already exceeded standard medical field protocols by sixteen hours."

Naruto pushed away from the cave entrance, stalking toward them with barely contained fury. "What are you saying? That we should just let him die?"

"I'm saying," Sai replied, meeting Naruto's blazing eyes with unnerving calm, "that Sakura has kept Jiraiya-sama alive through three techniques that aren't supposed to be performed outside of hospital settings. She's burning through her own life force now."

The accusation hung in the damp cave air. Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but Sakura cut him off with a sharp exhale.

"He's right." Her hands finally dropped, chakra flow ceasing as she slumped backward. Sai's quick reflexes caught her before she hit the cave floor. "I've done everything I can without killing myself in the process." Her green eyes, bloodshot from chakra overuse, lifted to Naruto's. "He needs Tsunade. Nothing less will save him now."

Naruto crashed to his knees beside his mentor's still form. Jiraiya's face had taken on a waxy pallor, chest rising and falling in shallow, labored movements. Blood-soaked bandages wrapped his torso, shoulder, and right thigh—evidence of wounds that would have killed a lesser man hours ago.

"How long does he have?" Naruto's voice cracked.

Sakura accepted the canteen from Sai, drinking deeply before answering. "Forty-eight hours. Maybe less. I've sealed the major hemorrhaging sites and purged most of the toxin from Pain's weapons, but..." She trailed off, professional detachment crumbling. "His chakra pathways sustained catastrophic damage. They're collapsing inward. Without Tsunade's specialized technique—"

"We're three days from Konoha at normal pace," Kakashi interrupted, joining them from the cave entrance. "Carrying a wounded man, avoiding detection? Four, minimum."

Silence stretched between them, heavy with impossible mathematics.

"Then we don't rest," Naruto declared, surging to his feet. "We move in shifts. Two carry, two scout ahead. No stops except to check his condition."

"We'll still lose time on terrain," Kakashi countered, though his tone held no disagreement with the principle. "The direct route crosses two major rivers and a mountain range."

"Then we don't take the direct route." Naruto's eyes gleamed with sudden determination. "The outpost you were tracking, Sai—it had communication equipment, right? We radio ahead, have Granny Tsunade meet us halfway."

Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly—the equivalent of shocked approval from the habitually reserved jōnin. "That could work."

"Brilliant," Sakura breathed, color returning to her face with renewed hope. "If we push hard, we could rendezvous within thirty-six hours. That's well within the window."

A faint rustling drew their attention back to Jiraiya. The massive shinobi hadn't moved, but a subtle change had come over him—a tension in his muscles, a different quality to his breathing.

"Sakura?" Naruto questioned urgently.

She was already at Jiraiya's side, fingers pressed to his neck. "Heart rate increasing. Blood pressure rising." Her free hand lifted one of his eyelids. "Pupillary response improving. He's fighting his way back to consciousness!"

As they watched with collective breath held, Jiraiya's fingers twitched. His cracked lips parted, a rumbling groan emanating from deep in his chest.

"Should we wake him fully?" Naruto asked, poised to act.

Sakura shook her head sharply. "Absolutely not. Every moment of consciousness burns chakra he can't spare." Her clinical gaze softened. "But the fact that he's surfacing at all is a good sign. His will to live is extraordinary."

While Sakura performed another check of Jiraiya's vitals, Naruto noticed something odd—a subtle bulge beneath the blood-soaked flak jacket that didn't match the Sannin's injuries. Acting on instinct, he carefully slid his hand into an interior pocket.

His fingers connected with something cylindrical and solid—a scroll case, secured with a basic blood seal.

"Look at this," he murmured, extracting the container. Rust-colored stains marred its surface—Jiraiya's blood, partially activated the seal already. "He was carrying this inside his jacket."

Kakashi moved closer, eye narrowing as he examined the case. "Security seal. Sophisticated work—that's Jiraiya's craftsmanship. Designed to open only for specific chakra signatures."

Naruto rolled the case between his palms, a frown creasing his whiskered face. "Why would he carry something this protected? And why didn't Pain take it?"

"Perhaps he didn't know it existed," Sai suggested. "Or perhaps its contents were meant for Konoha intelligence, not worth the additional effort during combat."

"Try opening it," Kakashi urged. "If it's blood-sealed, it likely recognizes you."

Naruto pressed his thumb against the half-activated seal, channeling a whisper of chakra into the matrix. The response was immediate—geometric patterns flared with blue light, spiraling across the case's surface before dissolving with an audible click.

The end cap loosened, allowing Naruto to extract a tightly rolled parchment. As he unfurled it on the cave floor, their collective confusion only deepened. The entire scroll was covered in seemingly random numbers and letters, arranged in no discernible pattern.

"It's encoded," Kakashi stated unnecessarily, crouching for a closer look. "Not standard Konoha cipher either."

Sai studied the patterns with professional interest. "Root uses similar displacement techniques. Each character references a position in a master text, rather than having intrinsic meaning."

"A book code," Kakashi translated, glancing at Naruto's blank expression. "But which book?"

Naruto's fingers traced the strange symbols reverently. "He was trying to tell us something before he lost consciousness. Something about his first book."

Recognition flashed in Kakashi's visible eye. "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. Of course." His voice softened with something approaching sentimentality. "The protagonist who inspired your name."

"You think that's the key?" Sakura asked, joining them after ensuring Jiraiya was stable.

"It has to be," Naruto said, certainty flooding him. "It's the perfect cipher text. Not widely read, personally significant to both of us, and something I'd immediately understand."

"Only one problem," Kakashi pointed out. "We don't have a copy with us."

Naruto's momentary excitement collapsed. "Right. Stupid of me."

"Not stupid at all," Kakashi corrected. He tapped his temple beside his visible eye. "Fortunately, I've read it. Twice. The Sharingan retains perfect recall of text."

Hope reignited in Naruto's chest. "You can decode it?"

"Not quickly," Kakashi cautioned. "Without the physical book, I'll have to reconstruct it from memory, page by page. That will take time."

"Time we don't have," Sakura reminded them, glancing meaningfully at Jiraiya's prone form.

"Then we multitask," Naruto decided. He carefully rerolled the scroll, securing it in his own pack. "Kakashi-sensei works on breaking the code while we travel. First priority is reaching that outpost and contacting Konoha."

A faint smile curved beneath Kakashi's mask. "When did you become so decisive?"

Naruto's gaze drifted to Jiraiya. "I had a good teacher."

---

Sunset painted the western sky in violent hues of crimson and gold when they finally reached the border outpost—a sturdy two-story structure nestled against a sheer cliff face. The Fire Country banner hung limp in the still evening air, its embroidered flame emblem darkened by gathering shadow.

"Empty," Sai reported, dropping silently from the roof after completing his reconnaissance. "Recently abandoned. Perhaps within the last twenty-four hours."

"Tactical withdrawal?" Kakashi questioned, Sharingan scanning the structure for traps or signs of combat.

"Negative. Equipment remains in place. Personal effects gone. Orderly departure."

Naruto shifted impatiently, adjusting his grip on the makeshift stretcher bearing Jiraiya's massive form. "Does the radio still work? That's all that matters."

Upon entering, they found the outpost eerily pristine—scrolls neatly arranged on shelves, weapons racks fully stocked, even fresh rations in the kitchen area. Only the fine layer of dust suggested human absence.

"They left in a hurry," Sakura observed, running a finger across a half-written mission report abandoned mid-sentence. "But not because of attack."

Kakashi located the communications station in a small room on the second floor. Ancient equipment hummed with steady power—a generator somewhere still functioning. His fingers danced across the controls with practiced efficiency.

"Konoha Emergency Response, this is Kakashi Hatake, identification code Alpha-Seven-Zero-Tango-Echo, requesting priority channel to Hokage. Repeat, priority channel to Hokage." Static crackled from the speakers, punctuated by fragments of voice too distorted to understand. "Konoha Emergency Response, do you copy?"

More static, then a sudden clearing of the channel. "Copy Alpha-Seven-Zero-Tango-Echo. Authenticate secondary clearance."

"The willow bends but does not break," Kakashi responded—the week's verification phrase.

The voice on the other end changed, tension evident even through the distortion. "Kakashi, this is Shizune. Where are you? We've been trying to reach your team for days!"

"Border outpost Echo-Nine. We have Jiraiya. Critical condition, requires immediate medical evacuation."

A sharp intake of breath carried across the connection. "Jiraiya-sama is alive? Confirm status!"

"Alive but fading," Kakashi reported grimly. "Sakura's kept him stabilized, but he needs Tsunade within the next thirty-six hours or we lose him."

The line went silent for several heartbeats. When Shizune's voice returned, it carried the crisp efficiency of emergency triage. "Understood. Transmitting coordinates for rendezvous point. Lady Tsunade is already mobilizing with medical team."

"Already?" Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "How did you know to prepare?"

"We didn't," Shizune answered, voice dropping. "We're mobilizing for defense. Akatsuki intelligence suggests imminent attack on Konoha. All available jōnin recalled from field missions eighteen hours ago."

Ice formed in Naruto's stomach. "Pain," he whispered. "He's changed targets."

Kakashi's grip tightened on the radio transmitter. "Shizune, be advised—the Akatsuki leader Pain possesses the Rinnegan. Six bodies, shared vision, gravity manipulation capabilities. Jiraiya discovered his identity—former student named Nagato."

The transmission crackled with interference—or perhaps stunned silence—before Shizune responded. "Understood. Transmitting rendezvous coordinates now. Tsunade will meet you there in twenty-two hours."

As the coordinates flashed across the communications terminal, Sakura was already plotting their route on a map unfolded across a nearby table. "It's doable," she concluded. "Rough terrain, but we can make it if we push through the night."

"Then that's what we do," Naruto declared, already moving to prepare Jiraiya for transport.

---

Midnight found them halfway to the rendezvous point, traversing a narrow mountain path illuminated only by fragmented moonlight filtering through racing clouds. The air thinned with elevation, each breath burning in oxygen-starved lungs.

Naruto and Sai bore Jiraiya's stretcher, having relieved Kakashi and Sakura an hour earlier. The copy ninja walked ahead, Sharingan active despite the chakra drain, while Sakura brought up the rear, monitoring their backtrail for pursuit.

"How's the decoding coming?" Naruto called forward, adjusting his grip on the stretcher poles.

Kakashi didn't break stride. "Slowly. The cipher uses page numbers, line positions, and word counts. Without the physical book, I'm reconstructing from memory."

"And?"

"I've decoded about twenty percent. Enough to confirm it's information about Pain's abilities, weaknesses, and something about 'the original body.'" He glanced back, visible eye creased with skepticism. "You're sure you don't remember any of the book? You were named after the main character."

Naruto's face flushed with embarrassment. "I, uh, never actually read it."

"You..." Kakashi's step faltered momentarily before resuming. "Jiraiya based a complex cipher on a book he assumed you'd read, and you never bothered?"

"He gave me a copy years ago!" Naruto protested. "I just never got around to it, okay? Between training and missions and Akatsuki hunting me, literature wasn't exactly a priority!"

Ahead, the path widened into a small plateau—one of the few level spaces on the entire mountainside. Kakashi signaled a brief halt, allowing them to set Jiraiya's stretcher down on relatively even ground.

"Ten minutes," he announced. "Water, rations, stretcher rotation."

While Sai removed a scroll to consult their position against the rendezvous coordinates, Sakura crouched beside Jiraiya, hands glowing with diagnostic chakra.

"How is he?" Naruto asked, the earlier irritation evaporating in renewed concern.

Sakura's expression remained carefully neutral—her medical face, revealing nothing of her inner assessment. "Holding. His circulatory system is responding to the blood pills, and the cerebral edema has reduced slightly."

"In normal human language?"

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "He's stubborn as hell and refusing to die. Just like someone else I know."

Naruto managed a weak grin in return. "Guess that's where I get it from."

As he spoke, a faint stirring drew their attention. Jiraiya's fingers twitched against the stretcher canvas, followed by a flutter of eyelids. A low groan rumbled from his chest.

"He's waking up," Sakura whispered, immediately shifting to monitoring position. "Heart rate increasing, breathing deepening. This is good—controlled regaining of consciousness rather than traumatic emergence."

Naruto crouched at his master's side, one hand closing gently around Jiraiya's massive fingers. "Pervy Sage? Can you hear me?"

Jiraiya's eyelids lifted with obvious effort, revealing bloodshot eyes that struggled to focus. Recognition dawned slowly, like sun breaking through storm clouds.

"Kid?" His voice emerged as a cracked whisper, barely audible above the mountain wind. "You... actually did it."

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, throat suddenly tight. "Told you I would."

A weak smile curved Jiraiya's pale lips. "Always... were a stubborn brat."

Sakura moved to intercede. "Jiraiya-sama, you need to conserve your strength. We're meeting Tsunade in less than a day, but until then—"

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly, a spark of their usual mischief returning. "She's gonna be... so pissed... having to heal me again."

Despite everything, Naruto laughed—a sound of pure relief that echoed off the mountainside. "Yeah, well, she can add it to your tab."

Jiraiya's expression sobered, focus sharpening despite his weakened state. "The scroll... in my jacket. Did you—"

"We found it," Naruto assured him. "Kakashi-sensei is working on the code now."

"Good." Jiraiya's massive chest expanded with a labored breath. "Information about Pain... crucial for what's coming."

Kakashi approached, crouching beside them. "We received word from Konoha. Defense preparations underway. They're expecting an attack."

Alarm flashed across Jiraiya's features. He attempted to rise, only to be gently restrained by Sakura's firm hand on his uninjured shoulder.

"Pain... changing targets," he rasped. "Going after... the village directly."

"Why?" Naruto demanded. "If he wants the Nine-Tails, I'm right here!"

"Strategy." The single word seemed to drain Jiraiya of strength. He sank back, eyes closing momentarily as he gathered himself. "Draw you in... home ground advantage. Or... punishment."

"For escaping with you," Naruto finished, stomach dropping. "He's attacking Konoha because we rescued you."

Regret shadowed Jiraiya's face. "My students," he murmured. "All walking paths... I helped create." His hand tightened around Naruto's with surprising strength. "But you... you're different. You finished the book."

Confusion furrowed Naruto's brow. "What book? The Gutsy Shinobi?"

A weak chuckle escaped Jiraiya. "My life's work, kid. Finding... the answer." His gaze intensified, burning with feverish clarity. "Breaking the cycle of hatred. I failed with Nagato. Thought he was... the child of prophecy. But it's you, Naruto. Always has been."

The weight of those words settled on Naruto's shoulders like a physical burden. "I don't understand."

"You will." Jiraiya's voice strengthened momentarily, as if drawing on reserves of willpower deeper than physical stamina. "You will because... you already carry the answer. In here." His massive hand lifted with trembling effort to touch Naruto's chest, directly over his heart.

"But Nagato has the Rinnegan," Naruto protested. "I don't have anything like that kind of power!"

"Power?" Jiraiya's laugh dissolved into a coughing fit that brought fresh blood to his lips. Sakura immediately moved to stabilize him, hands pulsing with healing chakra. When he continued, his voice had weakened to barely more than a whisper. "Power never... saved the world. Only destroyed it. What you have... is greater."

Before Naruto could ask what he meant, Jiraiya's eyes slid closed, consciousness slipping away as quickly as it had come. For one terrible moment, Naruto thought he'd lost him—until Sakura's reassuring nod confirmed he'd simply returned to healing sleep.

"We need to move," Kakashi stated quietly, respecting the moment but aware of their pressing timeline. "Every minute brings us closer to Tsunade."

As they prepared to resume their journey, Naruto remained beside Jiraiya's stretcher, the Sannin's words echoing in his mind. Something fundamental had shifted between them—the dynamic of student and teacher transforming into something deeper, more equal. No longer just the perverted mentor who had taught him techniques, but a man who believed in him with absolute faith, who had entrusted him with a legacy greater than jutsu or combat skills.

"I won't let you down," Naruto promised softly, adjusting the blanket covering Jiraiya's massive frame. "Whatever answer you think I have—I'll find it. I'll use it. I'll save Nagato if I can, destroy him if I must."

The journey resumed, their pace quickening as they descended the mountain's eastern face. Dawn gradually lightened the horizon to their right, bringing with it renewed determination and the promise of Tsunade's healing skills just hours away.

It was Sai who noticed it first—a distant rumble like summer thunder, except the sky remained clear of storm clouds. They paused on a ridge overlooking miles of forest stretching toward Konoha, invisible beyond the horizon.

"What is that?" Sakura whispered, hand instinctively reaching for a kunai.

Kakashi's Sharingan narrowed, focusing on the distant treeline. "Not thunder."

As they watched, a brilliant flash illuminated the horizon, followed seconds later by a concussive boom that shook the very mountain beneath their feet. Birds erupted from the forest canopy in panicked clouds, their distant cries carried on the wind.

"Explosions," Naruto breathed, dread coiling in his stomach. "In the direction of Konoha."

"Pain has begun his assault," Kakashi confirmed grimly. "Earlier than intelligence suggested."

Another explosion bloomed on the horizon, larger than the first. Even at this distance, they could see the massive dust cloud rising above the treeline—the signature of a catastrophic attack.

Naruto's hands clenched into white-knuckled fists, nails biting into his palms until blood welled between his fingers. Every instinct screamed at him to abandon everything and race toward his village, toward his friends facing an enemy of impossible power. But a single glance at Jiraiya's still form on the stretcher froze him in place.

"What do we do?" he asked, the question directed at no one in particular.

Kakashi's answer came with the weight of command and experience. "We stick to the plan. Get Jiraiya to Tsunade. Then we face Pain with everything we have."

As they continued their desperate journey toward the rendezvous point, more explosions illuminated the distant horizon. Each flash, each thunderous boom twisted in Naruto's gut like a physical blow. Pain wasn't just attacking his village—he was announcing his presence, ensuring Naruto would know exactly what was happening.

It was bait in a trap. And despite recognizing it, Naruto knew he would eventually bite. He had to. Because some things were worth walking into hell for—his master, his friends, his village. All the precious people that made up his "answer" to the cycle of hatred.

Behind him, secured in his pack, the partially decoded scroll carried Jiraiya's final gift—the key to defeating Pain. Ahead lay Tsunade and the chance to save his master's life. And beyond that, a confrontation that would determine not just the fate of Konoha, but perhaps the entire shinobi world.

# Chapter 7: Race Against Destruction

The forest blurred into streaks of emerald and bronze as they tore through the canopy, each footfall barely connecting with branch or bark before launching forward again. The thunderous booms had grown more frequent over the past hour—concussive waves rippling through the air like invisible tsunamis, bending treetops and sending wildlife fleeing in panicked exodus.

Naruto led the charge, chakra flaring in volatile bursts that left scorch marks on the branches beneath his feet. His eyes had taken on a reddish tinge—not quite the Nine-Tails' crimson, but something between human and beast, caught in the purgatory of barely contained rage.

"We need to maintain formation!" Kakashi shouted, keeping pace two lengths behind. "Breaking ranks won't get us there faster!"

"Tell that to Konoha!" Naruto snapped back, not slowing. "Those aren't warning shots, Kakashi-sensei. He's tearing the village apart!"

Another earth-shattering boom punctuated his words, followed by a column of dust visible even at this distance—ten miles and closing. The rendezvous with Tsunade had been rendered moot by events moving faster than intelligence. Pain hadn't waited. The assault had begun.

Behind them, Sai and Sakura navigated the complex burden of their stretcher cargo. Jiraiya's massive form remained secured to a reinforced ink-beast—part stretcher, part guardian—that bounded through the forest with surprising grace despite its burden.

"His vital signs are spiking," Sakura called forward, one hand glowing green against Jiraiya's chest even as she matched pace with the group. "Heart rate elevated, breathing irregular. I think he's responding to the battle!"

As if summoned by her words, Jiraiya's eyes snapped open—bloodshot but startlingly lucid. His massive hand shot out, seizing the edge of his improvised transport.

"Stop," he commanded, voice stronger than it had any right to be.

"We can't stop now!" Naruto shouted back, not slowing. "Konoha is under attack!"

"STOP!" The word carried such authority that all four shinobi instinctively froze mid-leap, landing in a loose circle on a wide branch halfway up a towering oak.

Jiraiya struggled to sit upright, brushing aside Sakura's restraining hand with gentle firmness. Blood immediately soaked through his bandages with the effort, but his face showed only grim determination.

"If you rush in blind," he rasped, "you die. Simple as that." His eyes locked onto Naruto's. "And I didn't survive Pain just to watch my student throw his life away."

"But the village—"

"Will still be fighting when we arrive," Jiraiya finished. "Pain doesn't annihilate. He makes examples. Prolonged, visible, theatrical examples."

The Sannin's words hit with the force of physical blows, slicing through Naruto's frantic momentum. He dropped to a crouch beside his master, hands trembling with barely contained energy.

"Five minutes," Jiraiya continued, shifting to address the entire team. "Give me five minutes to tell you what you're facing. It might be the difference between victory and watching Konoha burn completely."

Kakashi gave a single sharp nod. "Information is more valuable than speed at this point."

Jiraiya's face contorted with effort as he fully sat up, leaning against the massive tree trunk. Fresh blood bloomed across his torso bandages, but his eyes remained clear, focused.

"Six Paths," he began without preamble. "Each with distinct abilities, all connected through the Rinnegan's shared vision. You can't hide from one without hiding from all of them."

His massive hand traced shapes in the air, recreating the figures from memory.

"The Deva Path—orange hair, facial piercings. Controls attractive and repulsive forces. Shinra Tensei creates repulsive force; Bansho Ten'in creates attractive force. Think of it as push and pull, but with enough power to level mountains."

"That's the one who nearly crushed me," Naruto muttered, the phantom sensation of gravity inverting still fresh in his muscles.

"He's the primary combat Path, but with a critical weakness," Jiraiya continued. "Five-second interval between major techniques. Time it right, strike in that window, you might land a blow."

Sakura's medical mind immediately cataloged the information. "So his techniques have a cooldown period?"

"Exactly. And the more powerful the technique, the longer the recovery." Jiraiya coughed, a wet sound that brought fresh blood to his lips. Sakura moved to help, but he waved her off. "No time. Next is the Preta Path—ability to absorb any chakra-based technique. Ninjutsu is useless against it."

"So taijutsu only," Kakashi concluded.

"For that one, yes. The Human Path extracts souls with a single touch—instant death. Specializes in intelligence gathering. The Animal Path summons massive creatures—all sharing the Rinnegan and linked to the shared vision network."

Another distant explosion punctuated his explanation, this one close enough to shower them with disturbed leaves and debris. Naruto tensed, but didn't move.

"The Asura Path," Jiraiya pressed on, "transforms its body into mechanized weapons. Missiles, blades, multiple arms—a living arsenal. And finally, the Naraka Path—controls the King of Hell entity for interrogation and resurrection."

"Resurrection?" Sai questioned, breaking his usual stoic silence.

"If you destroy one Path but don't eliminate them all quickly enough, the Naraka Path can restore them." Jiraiya's expression darkened. "That's why my solo assault failed. I took down three, but the remaining ones retreated and restored their numbers."

Kakashi absorbed this with the calculated precision of a veteran strategist. "Priority target becomes the Naraka Path."

"Followed by the Deva Path," Jiraiya confirmed. "Without those two, the others become manageable."

Naruto's mind raced, assembling the tactical puzzle. "But they're all controlled remotely by Nagato, right? Why not just find him directly?"

A grimace of pain crossed Jiraiya's face as he shifted position. "Nagato won't be anywhere near the battle. He's physically frail—crippled years ago in another conflict. He operates from a secure location, protected by Konan and likely miles from the engagement zone."

"Konan—the woman with blue hair," Sakura recalled. "Paper jutsu user."

"One of the most lethal kunoichi you'll ever face," Jiraiya confirmed grimly. "Don't underestimate her because she's not one of the Paths. Her paper techniques can slice through steel, create perfect clones, or transform into explosive tags without warning."

Another distant boom shook the forest. This time, Naruto couldn't contain himself. He sprang to his feet, vibrating with barely leashed energy.

"This is great intel, Pervy Sage, but we need to MOVE!"

To everyone's surprise, Jiraiya nodded. "We do. But there's one more thing you need to understand, Naruto." His voice took on a different quality—softer, heavier with meaning. "About Nagato himself."

Despite his urgency, something in his master's tone made Naruto pause.

"Nagato didn't start as a monster," Jiraiya said, eyes distant with painful memory. "He was an orphan, parents killed in front of him during the war. His Rinnegan awakened in trauma. When I found him, along with Konan and their friend Yahiko, they were starving children trying to survive in a war zone."

The revelation landed like a physical blow. Naruto sank back down, eyes wide.

"I trained them," Jiraiya continued. "Taught them ninjutsu, philosophy, my beliefs about breaking the cycle of hatred. Yahiko formed the original Akatsuki—not as criminals, but as revolutionaries seeking peace through understanding rather than military dominance."

"What happened?" Naruto whispered.

"Yahiko died. Betrayed and manipulated by Hanzo of the Salamander and someone else lurking in the shadows. After that, Nagato changed. The Deva Path—the one with orange hair—that's actually Yahiko's body, preserved somehow through Nagato's techniques." Jiraiya's voice cracked with emotion. "He's using his dead best friend as his primary weapon."

The horror of this revelation silenced them all. Even the distant sounds of destruction seemed to momentarily fade.

"He believes pain is the only true path to understanding," Jiraiya finished. "That only through suffering can people comprehend each other. It's a perversion of everything I taught him, twisted by grief and loss."

Naruto's hands clenched into fists, nails biting into palms. "So he attacks Konoha to make everyone suffer? How does that break any cycle?"

"It doesn't," Jiraiya said simply. "That's the tragedy. He's perpetuating the very cycle he once sought to end." His massive hand rested on Naruto's shoulder. "And that's why it has to be you who faces him, Naruto. Because you still believe there's another way."

The weight of this statement hung in the air between them—master to student, legacy to inheritor.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "We've taken our five minutes. Time to move."

With renewed purpose, they resumed their headlong rush toward Konoha. Jiraiya insisted on traveling more upright on Sai's ink-beast, supporting himself despite Sakura's protests. Every movement clearly caused him agony, but his eyes remained fixed forward, determination radiating from him like physical heat.

They crested a final ridge two miles from Konoha's main gate, and collectively froze in horror.

The village—their home—was unrecognizable.

Massive craters pockmarked what had once been densely packed buildings, as if giant meteorites had struck in precise, devastating pattern. The Hokage Tower listed drastically to one side, its upper floors completely sheared away. Plumes of smoke rose from at least twelve distinct locations, black against the afternoon sky. The great stone faces of the Hokage Monument remained intact, impassive witnesses to the destruction below.

"No," Naruto breathed, the single syllable containing universes of anguish.

Sakura's hand flew to her mouth, tears immediately welling. "How many civilians were evacuated?" she managed through trembling lips.

"Not enough," Kakashi answered grimly, Sharingan spinning as he surveyed the damage with tactical precision. "The attack came faster than intelligence predicted."

As they watched, a massive explosion bloomed near what had been the village center—a perfect sphere of compressed force that expanded outward, pulverizing everything in its path. Buildings, trees, infrastructure—all vanished in the rippling shockwave.

"Shinra Tensei," Jiraiya identified, face ashen beneath his red markings. "He's going all out."

"MOVE!" Naruto roared, launching himself down the ridge with reckless abandon. The others followed, struggling to maintain formation as they navigated the increasingly devastated landscape.

They encountered the first defenders at the village perimeter—a battered squad of chunin maintaining a defensive position around injured civilians. Their faces transformed at the sight of approaching shinobi, hope briefly overriding exhaustion.

"Kakashi-senpai!" The squad leader staggered forward, blood streaming from a gash across his forehead. "Thank the gods. We thought no reinforcements were coming."

"Status report," Kakashi demanded, all business despite the chaos.

"Six hostiles, moving independently through the village. They've been searching for something—or someone—building by building." The chunin's gaze shifted to Naruto, recognition dawning. "They've been asking about the Nine-Tails jinchūriki."

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya interrupted, his massive form commanding instant attention despite his injured state.

The chunin's eyes widened at recognizing the legendary Sannin. "Hokage-sama is coordinating defense from the emergency bunker beneath the Monument. She's deployed Katsuyu throughout the village for healing and communication."

A series of explosions rocked the ground beneath them—closer than before, moving in their direction.

"They know we're here," Sai observed calmly, ink brush already dancing across a fresh scroll. "The shared vision network has identified us."

Naruto's muscles coiled like compressed springs. "Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting them down."

"No," Jiraiya's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "You can't engage all six simultaneously. Not even you, Naruto."

"I can't just—"

"Listen to me," Jiraiya interrupted, intensity burning in his bloodshot eyes. "I need to reach Tsunade. Not just for healing—I have intelligence that might change the outcome of this battle. Information about Nagato's techniques that I didn't have time to encode fully."

Kakashi immediately grasped the strategy. "Split up. Sakura, you and Sai get Jiraiya to the emergency bunker. Naruto and I will engage the Paths, create a diversion."

"No," Jiraiya countermanded, surprising them all. "Naruto goes with them."

"What?" Naruto whirled, betrayal flashing across his features. "I'm not running from this fight!"

"You're not running," Jiraiya corrected, voice steady despite the blood now soaking through his bandages at an alarming rate. "You're ensuring the survival of the one person who might actually know how to defeat Pain."

"That's you!" Naruto protested.

A strange smile crossed Jiraiya's face—part pride, part sorrow. "No, kid. It's you. Always has been." His massive hand gripped Naruto's shoulder with surprising strength. "I need to tell Tsunade what I've learned, and you need to hear it too, before you face Nagato. One chance, Naruto. We get one chance to do this right."

Another explosion rocked the ground, close enough to shower them with debris. Through rising dust clouds, six silhouettes appeared—spaced precisely, moving with inhuman coordination, ringed purple eyes gleaming with cold purpose.

"Pain," Kakashi identified unnecessarily, sliding into combat stance.

The Deva Path stepped slightly forward, orange hair vibrant against the gray devastation. His gaze fixed unerringly on Naruto, recognition and something else—something almost like satisfaction—crossing his pierced features.

"The Nine-Tails jinchūriki returns," he stated, voice carrying easily across the rubble-strewn space. "As predicted."

"Naruto," Jiraiya urged, voice dropping to urgent whisper. "Go. Now. This isn't the confrontation—not yet. Get to Tsunade with me."

The hardest battles, Naruto had learned over years of training, weren't against enemies but against one's own instincts. Everything in him screamed to stand and fight, to unleash the rage building like pressurized steam behind his ribs. To make Pain pay for every shattered building, every injured villager, every moment of destruction visited upon his home.

But Jiraiya's grip anchored him to rationality—the trembling, blood-soaked hand of his master who had risked everything to bring them this intelligence.

"I'll hold them," Kakashi declared, Sharingan spinning into Mangekyo formation. "Long enough for you to reach the Monument."

"Not alone," Sai countered, already summoning a massive ink-beast that rose like a sentinel beside him. "I will remain as well."

"No," Naruto interrupted, decision crystallizing with painful clarity. "I need you both with him." He nodded toward Jiraiya. "Your ink-beasts are the fastest transport available, Sai. And Sakura needs backup in case they break through."

"But who will create the diversion?" Sakura demanded.

Naruto's smile was razor-sharp as he bit his thumb, hands flashing through familiar seals. "Who said anything about a diversion?"

He slammed his palm against the ground. "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

The explosion of smoke cleared to reveal not one toad, but three—Gamakichi, now massive compared to his earlier appearance, flanked by Gamatatsu and Gamahiro, the latter brandishing enormous dual blades that gleamed in the smoke-diffused sunlight.

"Yo, Naruto!" Gamakichi called, taking in the devastation with widening eyes. "What the heck happened here?"

"Pain happened," Naruto answered grimly. "And I need your help to keep him busy."

Understanding passed between toad and summoner without further explanation. Gamakichi turned to his brothers with curt nods. "Battle formation. Full assault."

"Cool!" rumbled Gamatatsu. "Can I have a snack first?"

"NO!" came the unanimous response.

Naruto turned back to his team, decision made. "Get Pervy Sage to Tsunade. I'll keep all six Paths focused on me and the toads."

"Naruto..." Jiraiya began, concern warring with pride on his battered face.

"I'm not engaging directly," Naruto promised. "Just keeping their attention. Hit and run, like you taught me." His blue eyes hardened with resolve. "Besides, someone needs to show this guy what happens when you mess with our village."

A complex emotion crossed Jiraiya's face—something between fear and pride, tinged with something deeper that might have been love. "Be careful, kid. These aren't ordinary opponents."

"Neither am I," Naruto replied with grim confidence. He turned to the others. "Go. Northwest approach to the Monument should be clearest. I'll make enough noise that they won't have attention to spare for you."

Kakashi studied his former student with a measuring gaze, then nodded once—the gesture conveying both approval and caution. "We'll reach you through Katsuyu once we're with Tsunade. Don't engage longer than necessary."

"Thirty minutes," Naruto promised. "Then I disengage and join you, whether they follow or not."

The Deva Path had begun advancing during their exchange, the other five Paths fanning out in perfect formation behind him. "Your strategy is transparent," he called, voice echoing with unearthly calm. "Shall I pursue the wounded Sannin, or the Nine-Tails jinchūriki? An interesting tactical question."

"Let me answer it for you," Naruto snarled, leaping atop Gamakichi's massive head. Blue chakra began swirling around his extended hand, condensing into a spiraling sphere. "RASENGAN!"

The toads launched forward with ground-shaking force, Naruto's attack aimed directly at the Deva Path. As predicted, Pain raised his hand, repulsive force field already forming.

"Shinra Tensei."

The invisible wall of force collided with Naruto's attack, nullifying it completely—exactly as planned. In that moment of focused attention, Sai's ink-beast shot in the opposite direction, Jiraiya secured to its back with Sakura and Kakashi flanking in protective formation.

Pain's ringed eyes tracked the movement, calculation evident in his expression. For one heart-stopping moment, Naruto feared he'd miscalculated—that Pain would ignore the more obvious threat and pursue his injured former teacher.

Then the Deva Path's attention swung back to Naruto, cold purpose hardening his features. "Very well. The Nine-Tails first. The wounded Sannin will not escape the village regardless."

Relief and dread mingled in Naruto's chest as all six Paths oriented toward him and the battle-ready toads. He had succeeded in becoming the primary target—exactly as intended.

Now he just had to survive long enough for Jiraiya to reach Tsunade and complete whatever plan the old pervert had conceived.

"Alright, Pain," he called, voice carrying across the devastated landscape as he dropped into combat stance atop Gamakichi's head. "You wanted me? You've got me. Let's see if you're as tough as everyone says."

The Deva Path's lips curved in the barest suggestion of a smile. "This world shall know pain. Starting with you, Naruto Uzumaki."

As the six Paths launched their coordinated attack, Naruto caught a final glimpse of his team disappearing into the labyrinth of ruined buildings, bearing his injured master toward potential salvation. A strange calm descended over him—the clarity of absolute purpose.

Thirty minutes. He'd bought them thirty minutes with his promise.

He intended to make Pain regret every single one of them.