THIRTEEN
Ame: Part III
Jiraiya and the woman starred at each other for sometime before one of them spoke up.
"I thought you were dead, Konan," Jiraiya smiled, "I was trying to bait this Pein guy but I got you instead."
"You're god angel!" the shinobi said.
"Oh? Your an angel now too?" Jiraiya laughed.
The shinobi stood up and started running towards the young woman, "He's an intruder and must be killed!"
"Leave now," Konan stated.
"Yes!" the shinobi replied as he jumped away.
"Who or what is Pein?" Jiraiya asked Konan.
"You don't need to know, sensei," Konan replied as white angel wings made out of paper started to form around her, "I must kill you, that is God's will."
Suddenly a bunch of paper shards shot towards Jiraiya, but he slid out of the way before they hit him. He spun around and prepared his jutsu. He shot a bunch of oil towards Konan out of his mouth. The woman threw her hands up in front of her face to block the oil but it was no use, she and her paper were soaked in oil. Before she knew it, there was a white whip flinging past her, then something wrapped around. She looked down and saw the Jiraiya had used one of his hair jutsus to bind her.
"Your paper can't unfold if it's soaked in oil!" Jiraiya explained, "You always did love origami. I remember you were the kindest out of all the kids. What happened to the other two? It was rumored they were dead but I guess those are lies as well?"
Jiraiya waited for a reply but when none came he continued, "I knew it."
After a short silence, Jiraiya continued to talk, "Pein. He is one of them, isn't he?"
"What do plan to accomplish but revealing yourself to us again?" Konan finally asked.
"Not what you think… At least not if you are part of the 'Akatsuki'," Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the purple haired girl, "I heard you were all dead, but to think this is what really happened."
"You must be thinking, 'If I had only listened to Orochimaru,' aren't you?" Konan asked, "But you didn't. You chose to save us and now we must make his plan a reality."
"Then Pein must be him," Jiraiya assumed still starring up at the purple haired shinobi.
Jiraiya closed his eyes as he remembers training the three young kids from the rain village. Konan, Nagato and Yahiko. He sighed and continued, "A few years after I left, I started hearing your names come up occasionally. Any time there was trouble, whoever opposed your side would end up dead."
"You have no idea what happened to us after you left, sensei," the purple haired girl said coldly.
"Your right, I don't," Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, "But I have no doubt in my mind that what the Akatsuki is doing, is wrong!"
"That's your opinion," a voice called out, "Jiraiya-sensei."
Jiraiya glanced over to where the voice came and saw a young man in an Akatsuki cloak. He had orange hair pulled back into a ponytail with a bang falling over his hitai. The man also had purple ringed eyes.
"You've changed a lot but those eyes are still the same. So your Pein, eh Nagato?" Jiraiya asked, "I guess you didn't grow up like I hoped you would. What happened to you three?"
"You don't need to know. You are just an outsider, remember?" the man replied.
Jiraiya shook his head, "You've really changed, Nagato."
The man didn't reply but clapped his hands together in front of his face and a summoning seal appeared behind him on the pipes he was standing in front of. Then a large crab like creature appeared out of the seal. The creature shot water bubbles from its mouth hitting both Konan and Jiraiya. The white haired man was able to jump out of the way, but releasing his hold on the woman.
Bubbles? Since he is my student he would be going straight for my weakness. He wants to wash away my oil.
"Konan, you fall back," the man ordered and she did as she was told.
The creature suddenly appeared before Jiraiya and raced towards him. Jiraiya clapped his hands together then made several hand signs. The long white hair became extremely long and wrapped around the creature, holding him down. The creature continued to struggle, breaking several hair strings. Then there was a puff of smoke and creature disappeared. Using the puff of smoke Jiraiya created large dragon made of hair and went straight for the orange haired man. Once the man was caught in the hair, Jiraiya used this time to get more information.
"Nagato, there are a lot of things I want to ask you. What happened to Yahiko?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yeah, I remember that guy. That guy… he died a while back," the man said coldly.
"Nagato… you… what the hell happened to you?" Jiraiya's eyes widened at the man's indifference towards his old friend.
"Nothing, I merely have been engaging in battle. Too many people have died in the place. Their pain is what made me grow up," the man stated.
"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya asked.
"Even an ignorant and foolish child can grow up once they know pain," the man continued, "One's words and one's thoughts will change accordingly."
"Are you saying that casting aside you feelings for your friends is apart of growing up?" Jiraiya asked.
"Sensei, you are still merely a man, but in those endless years of pain, I continued to grow and ceased to be a man," the man explained.
"…What…" Jiraiya replied dumbfounded.
"Yes… the man… became a God," the orange haired man stated, almost like he was proud.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at the strange man. How could a man like this believe he had become a god? A god would not do the things that he and Naruto had done. A god would not do the things that he is planning. How could this man believe he is a god?
"Now, that I am a god, the words and thoughts are those of a god," Pein continued, "Sensei, you are still merely a man, I can not expect you to comprehend that which I say."
"… You have fallen so far," Jiraiya shook his head.
"Things that I could not understand as a man, are clear to me as a god," Pein explained, "And since I am a god, I can do things that are impossible for a man. To put it simply, this is evolution."
"What exactly are you planning to do?" Jiraiya questioned.
Pein closed his eyes and sighed at his past sensei. Oh how he loathed explaining things to those who don't understand, "I shall put an end to this pitiful world, where men do nothing but fight. That is the work of a god."
"If that's you goal, why do you need the Bijuu?" Jiraiya pushed.
"You are going to die at any rate, so I shall allow you to hear my true objective," Pein nodded.
"…" Jiraiya gave the man a questioning look.
"I intend to use the Bijuu to create a new Kinjutsu, one that will lay waste to an entire country in one blow. This jutsu will be unprecedented in power and magnitude."
"How do you intend to use that to put an end to fighting? Surely such a weapon would only cause fighting to escalate!" Jiraiya exclaimed.
"The nations fight amongst themselves…what is the quickest and simplest way to end to this Jiraiya-sensei?" Pein countered.
"That's what I am asking you! Answer my question!" Jiraiya replied.
"The answer is simple, to grant the warring countries this Kinjutsu weapon. Once they have the weapon, someone is bound to use it," Pein tried to justify.
"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya doubted.
"Hundreds, of millions of people shall be whipped out in an instant, then the masses shall live in terror!" Pein continued, "People, countries, the world… they shall know pain!"
Jiraiya continued to stare at the man, trying to comprehend just exactly what Pein was trying to do. He didn't understand. Pein sensed this and continued to explain.
"The fear shall act like a deterrent. The conflict will end. One might say that the world is on the path to stability, that the world is growing up," Pein prolonged, "Pain forced the world to mature, the same was it did to me. The hand of a god is necessary to guide the world, to set it on a path to maturity. The world is still a child."
"You intend to teach to the world about pain, to force it to mature, that's would so called duty?" Jiraiya questioned Pein in a very harsh tone as he started to realize what Pein was planning.
"Indeed," Pein nodded, "I am a god who believes in the principle of peace."
"What does any of this have to do with Naruto? Why did he join you?" Jiraiya's tone suddenly got bitterer when it comes to his student's son and his godson.
"Naruto?" Pein confirmed, "He's my prized student. He has gone through so much pain in his life. He has matured. He understands pain and wants other so feel the pain, like I do."
"That's not the kid I knew," Jiraiya shook his head.
"Than you must not have seen the true Naruto then. The Naruto that went through so much pain and abuse as a child, only to have the council give him up when we went to obtain him. "
"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya asked.
"The council of Konoha knew we were coming and summoned you and Naruto back to fight us," Pein explained.
Jiraiya smirked at the man, "That's some sense of humor you go there, Nagato."
"UGH!" the man exclaimed as the hair he was trapped him suddenly spiked out through his body, but with a puff of smoke the man was replaced by a log.
"Over here, sensei," a voice called out.
Jiraiya looked over and saw that man a moved across the opening they were in and saw standing on some pipes on the wall.
"So, that's why you summoned the Kuchiyose," Jiraiya observed as he hair shrunk back to normal.
"From where I stand you are an insignificant existence that has failed to mature," Pein described
"Gahahahaha!" Jiraiya laughed at the man as he clasped his hands together and made the correct hand sighs, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A large puff of smoke appeared around Jiraiya.
"A kids like you threatening me, like I am kid too! I was never a man to begin with!" a voiced from inside the smoke.
When the smoke cleared, Jiraiya was standing there in his show off pose, "Tears brimming with blood! Sennin of the legendary Sannin! Toad demon of Mount Myouboku! I am Jiriaya-sama!"
But before he could finished whatever he was standing around moved around causing the legendary Sennin to fall flat on his face. Suddenly there was a larger puff of smoke around Pein and a large chameleon appeared underneath the man. The chameleon had Rinnegan eyes like his master. Pein sighed at his old sensei's tactics.
"You truly have been unable to mature. You are still as foolish as ever," Pein shook his head.
"Oi! Watch it Gamaken-san! Stop moving around when I am striking a pose!" Jiraiya shook his fist.
When the smoked around the white hair Sennin finally cleared, it was revealed that he was standing on top of a large toad. The toad was purple with black stripes making a U shape starting from one eye underneath his chin then up to the other eye. He was wearing a black kimono like outfit with a white sash. He was also carrying a yellow plate as a shield and a black spiked sasumata as his weapon.
"You're the one who's a clumsy oaf…" the toad spoke in a deep voice.