"What?! Dead?!" Jiraiya trembled slightly, his eyes widened, then he asked with a touch of sadness, "Where are the others in your Akatsuki organization?"
"They're out on missions."
"Is that so..." Jiraiya fell silent for a long time, then asked, "What are you collecting the tailed beasts for?"
The Preta Path's face was as calm as an ancient well, and he responded lightly, "Naturally, for peace."
"Peace? Don't make me laugh!" Jiraiya roared, "You're snatching tailed beasts and harming Jinchuriki everywhere, what kind of peace is that?!"
"Jiraiya-sensei, you wouldn't understand. True peace can only be achieved through a world under strong control. We want to use the nine tailed beasts to gain the greatest power and thereby suppress war." The Preta Path said expressionlessly.
"Ending war with strong control? That's impossible. To end war, people must understand each other."
The Preta Path looked at Jiraiya indifferently and continued, "Teacher, do you know what war is? War, in short, is the slaughter of lives like grass, endless hatred, and... incurable pain."
"Everything I've experienced has finally opened my eyes. Humans are foolish creatures who can never understand each other. Teacher, can you understand what I'm saying?" The Preta Path tried to persuade Jiraiya; three years of master-student bond wasn't so easily discarded.
"I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand!" Jiraiya growled. He couldn't grasp what this disciple was saying. This disciple was completely different from his former student.
"Is that so? Teacher, you still don't understand me. If that's the case, then let's decide the victor with war." As soon as he finished speaking, the Preta Path clapped his hands quickly onto the ground.
Black patterns spread across the ground. After the white smoke dissipated, various summoned creatures with Rinnegan appeared, in large numbers.
There was the giant crab that had just been sent back, the terrifying split dog with three heads that appeared with a roar, the chameleon that was constantly hiding its form, the prehistoric bird with a sharp beak soaring in the sky, a centipede as thick as a python, a chubby panda, a mighty rhinoceros and its relative the buffalo, and a giant lobster.
And all of them had Rinnegan in their eyes.
"This, this is like a gathering of monsters!" Jiraiya exclaimed, "That Nagato has grown so fast. Not like some foolish disciple who causes worry."
(Naruto, who was training at Mount Myōboku, suddenly sneezed a few times, looking completely bewildered.)
"Jiraiya-sensei, I'm going to attack now."
As soon as he spoke, a giant chameleon suddenly appeared beside Jiraiya. Its enormous, sticky tongue shot out and curled towards Jiraiya.
Whoosh!
Jiraiya dodged to the side, thinking how close that was. But he was quickly attacked by other summoned creatures and fell into a disadvantage in just a moment.
"This won't do! How can a teacher be defeated by his student?" Jiraiya bit his finger and also used the Summoning Technique to summon Gamaken.
"How about this? A simple Summoning Technique, a teacher is still skilled at it." Jiraiya laughed heartily, displaying the gentle smile of a teacher that said, "Your teacher will always be your teacher."
"Jiraiya-sensei, has anyone ever told you that you're childish?"
"Hmm, I forgot."
"You probably forgot selectively."
"Haha, you caught me." Jiraiya scratched his head and gave a wry smile, showing no tension of a life-or-death battle.
"Boring," the Preta Path said indifferently, then controlled the nine summoned creatures to launch a fierce attack on Jiraiya.
Jiraiya and Gamaken struggled to deal with these summoned creatures, and a question flashed through Jiraiya's mind: "Why is he only using the Summoning Technique?"
In Jiraiya's memory, Nagato was a calm young man who would never make such a rookie mistake as underestimating his opponent, especially one of the legendary Sannin.
"There's something wrong!" Jiraiya thought instantly.
However, it was too much for just him and Gamaken to deal with nine summoned creatures possessing the Rinnegan, along with the Preta Path's intermittent attacks. He was in a difficult spot and had no immediate solution.
"I have no choice but to borrow the power of the two Great Sage Toads and enter Sage Mode," Jiraiya murmured.
"Gamaken, I'm going into Sage Mode. I'll leave his attacks to you. If possible, focus on dodging." Jiraiya instructed.
"Yes, even though I'm clumsy, I'll try my best," Gamaken said honestly.
Whoosh!
Gamaken pushed off with its hind legs and immediately leaped into a nearby passage, and disappeared at full speed. While he didn't know why the Hidden Rain Village had so many passages, they were a great help.
"Are you just going to run away? Jiraiya-sensei?" the Preta Path said coldly, sending his summoned creatures to cautiously investigate. He himself remained hidden, using the chameleon.
During this time, Jiraiya and Gamaken faced many life-threatening situations, but they managed to escape unharmed each time using Shadow Clones.
Finally, when they finally found Jiraiya and Gamaken, Jiraiya had just entered Sage Mode.
"Gamaken, thank you. Let's go back. It's enough now, I can handle this here!"
Gamaken nodded and returned to Mount Myōboku. His strength was insufficient, and he wouldn't be much help even if he stayed.
Boom!
After Gamaken disappeared, Jiraiya's aura suddenly began to surge. As his aura fully erupted, the entire area was filled with the rustling sound of wind, forcing all the Rinnegan summoned creatures back.
Red markings gradually appeared around his eyes, looking very much like a toad's. At the same time, two tiny Blue elder toads stood on Jiraiya's shoulders.
"Where is this place? It's so dark," Sage Shima said, looking around dissatisfied.
"No, dear, look at those monsters." Sage Fukasaku said with some surprise, pointing at the eight summoned creatures that appeared before them, and exclaimed, "Those eyes, don't they look like the legendary Rinnegan?"
"The Rinnegan! The legendary supreme eyes. They really exist!" Sage Shima cried out, but quickly reacted, "Then these must have been summoned by the Rinnegan users. But where is the caster?"
"Uh. There's also a chameleon, and it's currently hiding somewhere. The caster is on it, and that caster is actually my disciple." Jiraiya said sheepishly, feeling a sense of inexplicable sadness.
"Your disciple? Could it be the Child of Prophecy?" Sage Fukasaku recalled the Great Toad Sage's prophecy and couldn't help but ponder, "It seems this is not a good change."
A moment later, Sage Fukasaku said solemnly, "Jiraiya, attack!"
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