"Aha ha ha! The Hidden Rain Village is truly a wonderful place! To think there are so many beauties here!"
Inside a brothel in the red-light district, Jiraiya was grinning ear to ear, flanking himself with two scantily clad, mature women. At this moment, the expression on his face wasn't a facade; he was genuinely thrilled. Even the sake in his cup tasted significantly better than usual.
After all, the pressure back in the Hidden Leaf Village had been far too intense lately. He spent every day either cleaning up messes or maintaining contact with the other three Great Nations. He barely had time to peek at the women's bathhouse, let alone relax. To be more precise, under the watchful eye of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, he didn't dare overstep his bounds by even a fraction.
As the saying goes, desire is like a spring, the harder you suppress it, the more violently it rebounds. Furthermore, since this was being billed as official expenses, he naturally intended to enjoy himself to the fullest. As for the mission? That could wait until after he'd had his fun. He was already in the Hidden Rain; a few more hours wouldn't make a difference.
However, Jiraiya likely never dreamed that because he hadn't used a Transformation Jutsu, he would happen to run into an acquaintance on the street, one who promptly reported this news to the true ruler of the Rain, Nagato.
Just as he was getting into the spirit of things, a figure suddenly walked in from outside, greeting him in a voice devoid of any emotion: "It's been a long time, Jiraiya-sensei."
"Hm?!"
The moment he saw the visitor's face, Jiraiya's surging libido and slight alcohol buzz vanished without a trace. He shoved the women aside, lunged up from the floor, and questioned in a low voice, "Yahiko! It really is you! Why are Nagato's Rinnegan eyes in your head? Did something happen between you two?"
"Heh, you're just the same as ever, hardly changed at all. Yes, a lot has happened since you left. Yahiko is dead, killed by the hands of Danzo and Hanzo. Now, the one controlling him is me, Nagato."
Unlike the original timeline where he remained shrouded in mystery, Nagato was straightforward about his identity this time. Simultaneously, he had the Six Paths of Pain surround the establishment from top to bottom.
"What?! Yahiko is dead?" Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock.
"Indeed. Not only is he dead, but almost every single member of the original Akatsuki who followed him is gone as well. Tell me, why does Konoha, which you described as the embodiment of justice, do such filthy, despicable things in the shadows? Why is it always the good people who get hurt in this world, while the shameless scoundrels live on comfortably?"
Nagato unleashed a barrage of questions without hesitation. Initially, thanks to Jiraiya, his impression of Konoha had been quite positive. But after encountering Danzo, that view had done a total 180-degree turn.
Combined with Allen's influence, he had finally realized that no ninja village had a clean slate; every single one of them had hands stained with the blood of countless innocents. Especially during wartime or secret missions, slaughtering entire villages to ensure one's tracks were covered was commonplace. If that weren't the case, there wouldn't be so many commoners seeking trouble with ninjas the moment they awakened Nen, even sacrificing their lives just to take a shinobi down.
"I... I didn't know."
Jiraiya sighed helplessly, finally understanding why the Akatsuki, a group of ninjas, would choose to stand with the Resistance.
But Nagato had no intention of letting his former teacher off so easily. He continued on his own: "You didn't know, but I do. It's because ninjas and ninja villages are, by nature, deformed, twisted, and pathological products. Without you, the rule of the Daimyos and nobles would have collapsed long ago. As representatives of a decaying old order, all ninja villages, including Konoha, are destined for destruction. Since you've come to the Hidden Rain, it must be to gather intel on us. In that case, you might as well stay here forever."
With the final word, the Six Paths of Pain attacked in unison. The Asura Path, possessing Monster Strength, rushed forward without a word, aiming to tear the opponent's arms off. Jiraiya, clearly unaware of these puppets' specific abilities, nearly had his entire arm wrenched off, barely escaping via a Substitution Jutsu.
The Animal Path was not to be outdone, rapidly summoning a swarm of giant beasts to conduct an indiscriminate, carpet-bombing style attack on Jiraiya's location.
"It seems you've grown strong, Nagato!"
Under the siege of the Six Paths, Jiraiya finally realized his estimate of the mission's danger had been far too conservative. The bizarre abilities of the Rinnegan, in particular, were nearly impossible to guard against. Even his own chakra was being siphoned away by the Preta Path. At this rate, he'd be dead in a matter of minutes.
"Stop struggling, Jiraiya-sensei. It's meaningless. I already know everything about your capabilities, while you know nothing of mine. The outcome of this battle was decided from the start," Nagato said nonchalantly.
"What? You know everything about me?" Jiraiya's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Controlling the Deva Path, Nagato gave a slight nod. "Correct. Because Allen is also a member of the Akatsuki. All of your trump cards were seen through by him long ago. Not just you, the remaining four Great Nations are nothing more than lambs waiting for the slaughter in the eyes of our Akatsuki. You are only being allowed to linger because you still have a use. Otherwise, the world would have been completely overturned long ago."
"Dammit! That guy again!"
At the mention of Allen's name, Jiraiya's face turned ghastly. Ever since Allen had threatened to "nuke" Mount Myoboku into a flat plain, all the toads, including the Great Toad Sage, had severed their ties with the shinobi world. Even he could no longer summon Fukasaku and Shima to help him enter Sage Mode.
"Heh, it seems he truly has given you an unprecedented headache. I'm curious, when the Samurai were pushed into a corner by you ninjas back in the day, was it a similar situation to what you're facing now?" Nagato asked curiously while maintaining the assault with the Six Paths.
By now, Jiraiya didn't have the spare energy to speak. Without the ability to absorb natural energy, he couldn't even counter the Preta Path's absorption, let alone the Deva Path's Rinnegan abilities, Bansho Ten'in and Shinra Tensei.
Everything he was doing now was merely the final struggle of a dying man. He didn't even have the time to record intel, much less send it out. For a moment, this boisterous member of the Sannin finally realized that this would be his grave, and a profound sadness washed over his face.
Not long ago, Orochimaru had personally killed their teacher. Now, he was about to play out the exact same scene.