Jiraiya understood better than anyone just how powerful the Six Paths of Pain truly were.
The odds of returning alive from this mission were slim.
In fact, coming to Amegakure alone could hardly be called a wise decision.
After all, Jiraiya was not Naruto.
He did not possess the cheat-like trump card known as the Nine-Tails’ Rampage, nor did he have a technique like the Rasenshuriken, which boasted terrifying destructive power against a single target.
Even his Sage Mode was incomplete compared to Naruto’s perfect transformation.
However, there was one crucial difference between them.
To Naruto, Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were merely senior disciples who had studied under the same master—people he had never personally met.
To Jiraiya, they were once his precious students.
They were talented children upon whom he had placed his hopes for the future.
One of those students had suffered a wound so deep that he had strayed from the path, becoming a pawn in the hands of sinister people without even realizing it.
Jiraiya could never simply turn his back on him.
No matter how dangerous this battle became—
No matter how great a price he had to pay—
Jiraiya had to stand before Nagato with his own two feet and speak to him one more time.
Properly.
Honestly.
As his teacher.
“Things are only going to get harder from here, Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama…”
Jiraiya kept every muscle in his body ready for battle as he spoke quietly to the two Great Toad Sages perched upon his shoulders.
“There’s some information I haven’t had the chance to tell you yet.”
Across from him, the Deva Path spoke without the slightest change in expression.
“You began by defeating the Animal Path, then immediately sealed it away.”
A slender black chakra receiver slowly emerged from the right sleeve of his Akatsuki cloak.
“Does that mean the Naraka Path will be your next target, Jiraiya-sensei?”
The instant the black rod appeared, a faint light flickered within Jiraiya’s eyes.
Although his attention sharpened, a smile remained upon his face.
“I’d certainly like that.”
His gaze swept across the remaining Pains.
“But are you really going to stand there obediently and let me seal him?”
“So you truly do know a great deal about us…”
The Deva Path paused.
His Rinnegan grew even colder.
“Where did you obtain that information?”
Then his voice returned to its usual emotionless tone.
“Not that it matters.
You will die here today.”
“Is that any way to speak to your teacher?”
Jiraiya carefully observed the five remaining Paths.
The Deva Path.
The Asura Path.
The Preta Path.
The Human Path.
And the Naraka Path.
Ordinary ninjutsu would be absorbed by the Preta Path.
Long-range attacks would be intercepted and worn down by the Asura Path’s mechanical weapons.
If he engaged them in close combat, either the Human Path or the Naraka Path could restrain him—and allowing either one of them to grab hold of him would be disastrous.
Then there was the Deva Path.
Its control over attraction and repulsion was troublesome enough on its own.
What a ridiculously well-balanced team…
The Deva Path raised his right hand.
“Banshō Ten’in.”
An immense gravitational force descended the moment those words left his lips.
Jiraiya’s body was immediately dragged forward against his will, hurtling directly toward the Deva Path.
The sharp black receiver remained raised in Pain’s right hand, aimed directly at Jiraiya’s body.
“Jiraiya-chan!”
Fukasaku rapidly formed hand seals.
He opened his mouth and released a powerful sphere of senjutsu-infused wind pressure.
The projectile followed the flow of the gravitational pull, gaining astonishing speed and destructive force as it shot toward the Deva Path at the center of the attraction.
At the same time, Shima extended her tongue.
Whip—!
Her long tongue shot backward and wrapped around a massive tree.
However, the Preta Path immediately leaped in front of the Deva Path.
He spread both hands.
The senjutsu wind projectile vanished into his palms in an instant.
“What?!”
Fukasaku’s eyes widened.
He had never imagined that the Rinnegan could absorb even his senjutsu.
CRACK!
The enormous tree bound by Shima’s tongue was torn out by the roots.
Jiraiya brought his palms together while still being pulled through the air.
“Sage Art: Wild Lion’s Mane Jutsu!”
His long white hair erupted from both sides of his head.
The hardened strands stretched across the battlefield and coiled around more than a dozen nearby trees.
Scrape—!
Jiraiya’s heels finally touched the ground.
He leaned his upper body backward as the gravitational force continued dragging him toward the Deva Path.
The dozen trees wrapped within his hardened hair shook violently.
Earth churned around their roots.
Jiraiya formed another seal.
“Sage Art: Super Added-Weight Rock Jutsu!”
His center of gravity suddenly plummeted.
BOOM!
Both of Jiraiya’s legs sank deep into the ground, burying him all the way to the knees.
At nearly the same moment—
Fwish!
Fwish!
Two shuriken coated in razor-sharp Wind Release chakra shot toward the Deva Path.
With the powerful gravitational pull accelerating them, the destructive force behind the two blades could not be underestimated.
The Deva Path swung his raised hand downward.
“Shinra Tensei.”
The gravitational pull instantly transformed into overwhelming repulsion.
The two shuriken reversed direction and flew straight back toward Jiraiya, whose legs were still buried in the earth.
Jiraiya slammed both hands together.
“Sage Art: Grand Earth-Style Wall!”
RUMBLE—!
Three enormous earthen walls rose from the ground in front of him.
BANG!
BANG!
The two Wind Release shuriken pierced directly through the first wall.
Then through the second.
Only when they struck the third wall did they finally lose their momentum and remain embedded within its surface.
However—
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
A storm of missiles, rockets, and other mechanical weapons followed close behind.
…
Behind Konohagakure, within one of the village’s secluded training forests—
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
A large number of Narutos rushed toward their target.
Then, from high above—
“U-ZU-MA-KI NARUTO BARRAGE!”
One Naruto plummeted from the sky at tremendous speed.
Bam!
The moment he struck the target—
Poof!
His body disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
The remaining Narutos landed one after another.
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Clouds of white smoke erupted across the clearing.
When they finally dispersed, only one Naruto remained.
“Haa… Haa…”
Naruto bent forward, both hands resting upon his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.
However, it did not take long before he straightened up and formed another hand seal.
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
Poof!
A single shadow clone appeared on his right.
Naruto extended his right hand.
A visible mass of chakra rapidly gathered within his palm.
The clone reached toward the sphere, using both hands to pull and twist the rapidly rotating chakra in several different directions.
The chakra’s rotation became irregular.
Chaotic.
Complex.
An enormous amount of power gradually condensed within the sphere.
Poof!
The shadow clone disappeared.
Naruto gripped the completed sphere of chakra and charged toward a large tree.
He drove his palm into its trunk with all his strength.
“Rasengan!”
BOOM!
Wood splinters exploded in every direction.
A deep crater appeared within the tree trunk.
Crack… Crack-crack…
Fractures spread through the wood.
A moment later—
CRASH!
The entire tree collapsed.
Naruto fell backward onto the ground as well, completely exhausted.
He remained there for a while, breathing heavily.
Eventually, his eyes drifted toward the horizon, where the fiery-red setting sun met the distant mountains.
“So beautiful…”
Naruto murmured.
He raised one hand to shield his eyes from the crimson light.
Once again, the question that had haunted him for the past several days surfaced within the mind of the six-year-old boy.
He now possessed memories that had crossed through time.
But what would happen if he simply followed the same path as before?
Shadow Clones.
The Rasengan.
The Rasenshuriken.
If he learned all the same techniques and walked down exactly the same road—
How would he be any different from the person he had originally become?
And if nothing changed…
Would the ending not remain the same as well?
His tailed beast would be extracted.
And then—
He would die.
Naruto could not forget the terror he had felt when he first saw the enormous Demonic Statue within his future memories.
He could not forget the moment the monster known as the Ten-Tails was revived.
Nor could he forget the way the resurrected Uchiha Madara had toyed with all nine tailed beasts as though they were nothing more than helpless animals.
The shock and fear he had felt at those scenes remained deeply carved into his heart.
Am I really going to fight enemies like that in the future?
Is the future nothing but a dead end?
“…”
Naruto stared blankly at the setting sun.
He remained there for a very long time.
Just as he had done many times over the past several days.
Eventually, he slapped both hands against his cheeks and rubbed them forcefully.
When he lowered his hands, the hesitation within his eyes had disappeared.
A fierce determination burned in its place.
“I’m going to become Hokage!”
Naruto clenched his fist.
“If the future me couldn’t make that dream come true…”
His lips curled into a fearless grin.
“Then I’ll be the one to do it!”
He formed a hand seal.
“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Countless Narutos appeared throughout the clearing.
Some held shuriken and kunai as they practiced throwing techniques.
Others stood before trees, attempting to climb their trunks using only chakra beneath their feet.
Several sat cross-legged upon the ground, quietly refining and controlling their chakra.
The largest group each held a leaf in one hand, practicing the fundamental exercises for chakra nature transformation.
As for the original Naruto—
He remained alone in the center of the clearing.
Once again, he extended his right hand and began attempting to form the Rasengan without the assistance of a shadow clone.
…
Inside the Hokage’s office, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Naruto’s relentless training through his crystal ball.
A silent smile appeared upon the old man’s face.
He rose from his chair and slowly walked toward the window.
Outside, the setting sun was about to disappear beyond the horizon.
The village of Konohagakure stretched beneath the crimson evening sky, bathed in the warm glow of twilight.
As Hiruzen gazed upon it, he remembered the future fate of his youngest son—
Sarutobi Asuma, who was destined to fall in battle.
The old man’s eyes softened.
“The King of Konoha…”
…
The smoke and dust finally dispersed.
The Deva Path looked down at the muddy, crater-filled battlefield.
There was no trace of Jiraiya’s body.
Only the broken remains of an earthen figure lay where he had been standing.
“An earth clone…”
The Deva Path spoke indifferently.
However, the moment those words left his lips—
CRACK!
The ground beneath his feet suddenly split apart.
A hand burst from the earth—
And seized his ankle.