"That is the answer we arrived at ourselves, Jiraiya-sensei."
At that moment, a voice filled with authority suddenly rang in the ears of Jiraiya and Konan. A figure with blond hair, Rinnegan eyes, and a body studded with black rods appeared before them.
"Your appearance has changed drastically, but those eyes... You're Pain, aren't you, Nagato? It seems you haven't developed in the right direction. What exactly happened?"
Jiraiya was incredibly curious about what had transpired with the trio over the years, what could have possibly happened to transform them into their current state.
"You don't need to know, after all, you're just an outsider."
"You've changed, Nagato."
"Summoning Jutsu."
With a clap of his hands, Pain summoned a giant crab from a seal on the wall behind him, which spat a bubble towards Jiraiya.
"Bubbles, huh? As expected of my student to know my weakness, are you trying to wash away the oil with bubbles."
At that moment, Konan emerged from the bubbles.
"Konan, stand down."
The Animal Path Pain commanded.
"Yes."
With that, Konan flew off into the distance.
And the crab Summoned Beast launched an attack on Jiraiya.
"Lion's Mane Technique."
Jiraiya clasped his hands, and his hair instantly grew longer, binding the crab and tearing it apart with a single pull, turning it into a puff of smoke that returned to the summoning world.
But Jiraiya's attack didn't end there. In the smoke left by the crab's disappearance, his hair transformed into a giant serpent, lunging out of the smoke and biting towards the Animal Path Pain.
"Nagato, I want to ask you a few things. How is Yahiko doing?"
After restraining Nagato, Jiraiya immediately voiced the doubts in his mind, as he had yet to see Yahiko.
"There was indeed such a guy."
Hearing this from the Animal Path, Jiraiya's brow furrowed slightly, sensing that something was amiss.
"He's long been dead, that guy."
"Nagato, what exactly happened to you? You weren't like this before."
Jiraiya truly didn't understand what had happened to make Nagato turn out this way.
"Nothing much, just experienced war. Many people died here, and that pain made me grow."
"What do you mean?"
"Ignorant and foolish children, after knowing the pain of Akatsuki, will grow up, both in speech and thought."
Animal Path Pain spoke with an air of superiority, as if he knew all the great truths of Akatsuki.
"So you think abandoning the memories of friends is what you call growth?"
The current Jiraiya simply couldn't comprehend what Nagato's thoughts were.
"Teacher, you are but a mere mortal, while I, having experienced endless pain, have transcended above mortals and continued to grow."
"What are you saying?"
"That's right, I've evolved from a mortal into a god.
Once one becomes a god, everything they say and think is considered from a god's perspective. Teacher, you're still just a mortal, it's normal for you not to understand me."
"I can't believe you've become so delusional."
By now, Jiraiya knew that he couldn't bring Nagato, who had gone astray, back to the right path.
"Things that mortals can't recognize, I can see clearly after becoming a god. So, precisely because I am a god, I realize that I can do things mortals can't. Simply put, it's evolution."
"What exactly do you want to do?"
Jiraiya asked again.
"To bring an end to this war-torn world, that is the duty of a god."
"If that's your goal, why collect the Tailed Beasts?"
"Since you're going to die anyway, I'll tell you my real purpose."
Animal Path Pain, or rather Nagato, said this with considerable confidence, believing his power had already surpassed Jiraiya's by a great deal.
"By using the sealed Tailed Beasts to create a new forbidden jutsu, with that technique, it would only take a moment to destroy even a great nation, the most powerful forbidden jutsu weapon."
"The Ten-Tails?"
After hearing Animal Path Pain's words, Jiraiya asked back.
Hearing these three words, both Nagato, who was manipulating Animal Path Pain from behind, and Konan, who was watching from the sky, furrowed their brows tightly.
"I didn't expect you, Jiraiya-sensei, to know about the Ten-Tails, but yes, it's the Ten-Tails."
Animal Path Pain said.
"I can't believe what Satoru said was true."
Jiraiya instantly felt an immense pressure bearing down on him.
"How could such a thing bring an end to war? It would only intensify the chaos of war."
"All the countries are fighting. How can we end these battles quickly, Jiraiya-sensei?"
"That's exactly what I want to ask you."
Jiraiya's tone was already a bit annoyed. He felt that Nagato was being unreasonable, but he couldn't just give up on him.
"Answer my question."
"Just provide forbidden weapons to the warring countries. The countries with weapons will definitely use their power."
"What do you mean?"
Jiraiya asked, hands on his hips, puzzled.
"Billions of people will die instantly, and then people will be afraid. Both people and countries will understand pain. That fear will suppress war, and war will disappear. This world is moving towards stability. Pain will make the world grow, just like I did in the past. To make the world grow, think, and move forward, we need a god because the world is still a child."
Nagato's words were incredibly arrogant.
"To make the world grow, you teach it pain. Is that your mission?"
"Exactly, because I am a god who believes in pacifism."
"You've become quite the joker, Nagato."
Jiraiya's lips curled into a mocking smile. Despite causing so much chaos and death, he claimed to believe in pacifism. It was laughable.
"To me, you will always be a small, unchanging existence."
"Hahaha, summoning technique, being treated like a child by a child. I'm no longer human. The blood and tears of anger, once one of the Sannin, now a sage, the toad of Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya-sama is…"
Before Jiraiya could finish, the toad beneath him moved, causing him to fall flat on its back.
"You haven't grown at all, still as clumsy as ever."
(End of Chapter)