"Jiraiya-sensei..."
Jiraiya's brow furrowed very tightly as he stared at the row of mysterious Pain with identical eyes before him, then asked: "Who exactly are you all?"
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
The Six Paths Pain figures moved quickly, landing simultaneously before Jiraiya and staring at him expressionlessly. All six began forming hand seals together—a strange black seal mantra was pressed to the ground, spreading across the entire toad stomach wall. Flashes of light appeared, and from their midst emerged another figure.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Jiraiya's pupils drastically contracted—he couldn't help but cry out: "You are... Nagato!"
The newcomer had red hair covering his eyes, his body emaciated to just bones, with a pair of strange eyes identical to the Six Paths Pain. He stared sharply at Jiraiya and said flatly: "Jiraiya-sensei... it's been so long since we met!"
He was Jiraiya's student, Uzumaki Nagato!
Jiraiya's heart shook violently. He never expected that the student he took in and taught while wandering before was actually an Akatsuki member. Not only that, he immediately turned to the distance, staring at Konan who also wore the red cloud robe.
He remembered now. Long ago when he traveled, he took three students: one named Yahiko, one named Konan, and one more was Nagato.
"Have you remembered now, Jiraiya-sensei?"
Nagato coughed lightly, his Rinnegan eyes staring at Jiraiya with very complex emotions. Toward Jiraiya, he felt gratitude, but as Akatsuki's leader, there were things he had to do. Not just for himself, or for that figure behind the scenes, but also for Yahiko who was no more.
He wanted to create a perfect world, a world without pain!
"Nagato, release Naruto!"
Jiraiya also showed a complex expression. He didn't expect the three children who were once so innocent and full of affection for the world could change like this. It had to be acknowledged, the fundamental foundation of the Naruto world was indeed full of darkness and hatred.
Though the One Piece and One Punch Man worlds were also chaotic, compared to the Naruto world, they were still far brighter.
"It's too late, Jiraiya-sensei."
Nagato needed body support from the Six Paths Pain; his body appeared to have major problems, looking very weak as if he could die at any moment.
"I want to build a world that is purely good, a world without killing, without war... and of course without suffering. Building such a world requires sacrifice, and I must obtain the Kyuubi Jinchuriki! Even if it means sacrificing myself..."
Suddenly Nagato took out an old oil lantern from behind his robe, blew on it gently, and a flame lit on its wick. The flame's color instantly changed to deep green, appearing like ghost fire. This lantern seemed to have its own life, automatically floating to his shoulder and burning eternally without extinguishing.
"This is the reward I got from the Gold List... the Everlasting Lantern!"
Nagato appeared to be explaining, but also as if muttering to himself: "My body can no longer support me to do many things, but this lantern can let me continue completing my work. As long as the lamp doesn't go out, I won't die! Sensei, this world has too much pain—only through destruction can rebirth be obtained... do you understand?"
Jiraiya gritted his teeth: "I don't understand, Nagato! Don't be stubborn—you can still turn back! Hand Naruto over to me, come to Konoha, Hashirama-sama can also build a peaceful world!"
Nagato slowly shook his head: "Peace means there must be war first—too many people will die, and too many will fall into suffering. Sensei, this is a vicious cycle—even Senju Hashirama can't stop it!"
Jiraiya shouted: "Then what are you doing now? Sacrificing Naruto? Haven't you killed enough people?"
Nagato answered: "Compared to a great war, the deaths of this handful of people are nothing. Some sacrifices are necessary!"
As he said this, he didn't want to talk more. His time was limited.
After lighting the Everlasting Lantern, Nagato seemed to regain vitality. He no longer needed Pain's support and stood upright on his own legs. His hands moved fast as shadows forming seals.
"This is bad!"
Jiraiya's face changed drastically. Though he didn't understand what the opponent was doing, it clearly wasn't good.
Sure enough, when Nagato completed his seal, the toad stomach walls around them began trembling violently.
"Kuchiyose: Gedo Mazo!"
A towering giant demonic statue rose from the ground, piercing through the giant toad stomach wall from Mount Myoboku. The statue stood upright as tall as a mountain, massive chakra energy raging around it, with a very terrifying statue face.
Along with that, Deva Path directly threw Naruto who was in his hands toward the statue's large mouth.
Jiraiya's eyes reddened with full anger. At this time the Gamaguchi Shibari technique could no longer be maintained and shattered completely, revealing the outside view.
"This is bad!"
The other ninjas of course saw the Gedo Mazo's appearance—all their faces changed drastically.
Kakashi activated Mangekyou Sharingan, trying to use Kamui to suck the Gedo Mazo into another dimension, but he found himself unable to do so; instead his eyes felt extremely painful and bled.
Guy at this time also realized the gravity of the situation. He no longer held back—his hand directly pressed the point on his chest to make a final struggle.
"Hachimon Tonkō: Shimon (Eighth Gate)... OPEN!"
Instantly, red vapor roaring like great waves exploded from within his body. Unmatched pressure swept to the surroundings—this terrifying gust of wind made everyone forced to glance at him.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
That aura...
In the distance, Hashirama and the other two who were "training" Gin and Enel sensed this aura, and their faces instantly changed drastically. They were all very familiar with this aura. This was the red vapor from Hachimon Tonkō.
That red vapor billowing high was like red clouds piercing the sky. This was the final glory of a taijutsu fighter, as well as Guy's most brilliant peak moment. In this second, Konoha's Green Beast finally metamorphosed into Konoha's Red Beast!
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
This red vapor had changed Guy's hair to blazing red, his eyes also blood red. His body made cracking bone sounds from being unable to bear the burden of this massive power. However, at this time he couldn't feel that pain at all.
In his eyes, there was only Naruto who was almost swallowed by the Gedo Mazo.
*WHOOSH!*
Guy's speed was already as fast as instant teleportation. With just one small step, he was already in the air, reaching for Naruto. At the same time, the red vapor on his body distorted and transformed into a giant red dragon that roared fiercely.
"YAKAI (NIGHT GUY)!"
At the cost of sacrificing his own life, Guy directly released his final ultimate move. The space around him distorted violently, and the air instantly became a vacuum. He intended to completely destroy the Gedo Mazo with his own power.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Successive explosions sounded like thunder in the air. Compressed air shockwaves struck the Gedo Mazo, incinerating everything they passed into nothingness.