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In an instant, the Great Eight-Span Bird was struck with such devastating, overwhelming force by the Morning Peacock that its entire body caved inward, the impact cratering its feathered form. The colossal creature crashed to the ground and immediately went still, its life extinguished in a single, decisive blow.
Might Guy's own condition, however, was equally dire. The Eight Inner Gates technique granted its user absolutely monstrous, awe-inspiring power. But that power came at a steep, brutal cost to the user's own body. The Morning Peacock required the opening of the sixth gate in order to be executed, making it one of Guy's ultimate, finishing techniques. And yet, the entirety of that devastating assault had been completely and utterly absorbed by this single massive bird.
Where in the world had that creature even come from? After plummeting back down to the earth, Might Guy's physical state was severely compromised. Miraculously, he had not sustained any broken bones. But his arms now hung limply at his sides, so heavy and exhausted that he could scarcely lift them.
Witnessing this scene, the expressions on Mei Terumi's and Jiraiya's faces darkened considerably. A taijutsu technique capable of obliterating an Eight-Span Bird in a single, catastrophic strike was an exceedingly rare and precious asset. Furthermore, this was an Eight-Span Bird, a creature with the ability to continuously regenerate and resurrect itself. The sheer, unfathomable power contained within that attack must have been absolutely staggering.
Had it connected directly with Pain, even if it had not killed him outright, it would have undoubtedly inflicted catastrophic, grievous wounds. Yet, through a cruel twist of fate, the entire attack had been intercepted and nullified by a mere summoned bird.
"How are you holding up?" Jiraiya asked urgently.
"It's nothing." Despite his words, Might Guy's brow was knitted in a tight, agonized knot, and sweat was pouring from his face in rivulets. It was plainly, painfully obvious that this was anything but "nothing."
"Get over here this instant! Once I've finished stabilizing Lord Hokage's condition, I'll treat you immediately," Tsunade interjected sharply.
"I'm really fine—"
"I said get over here!" Tsunade cut him off with a voice like a cracking whip, her eyes blazing with a fierce, uncompromising intensity. "We are fighting a war we cannot afford to lose! Every single shinobi on this battlefield is a precious, irreplaceable asset! Treating your injuries now will be far more effective than letting you stagger around pretending you're fine!"
Might Guy's expression shifted subtly, and after a tense, silent moment, he nodded in reluctant acquiescence.
Pain cast a cold, disdainful glance at the lifeless Eight-Span Bird sprawled upon the ground. A derisive snort escaped him. At that very moment, a figure bearing an unnervingly close resemblance to Orochimaru emerged slowly from the depths of the forest.
"Is that you... Orochimaru?" The moment Jiraiya laid eyes on the approaching figure, his entire body went rigid with shock. Tsunade, still in the middle of desperately treating Hiruzen, was no less stunned. The three of them had grown up together, had fought side by side through countless battles. They knew each other more intimately than almost anyone else in the world.
They were also fully aware that Orochimaru had once been a member of the Akatsuki. But hadn't he long since abandoned that organization?
"That is not Orochimaru. Look closely at his face. There are black rods piercing through his nose and lips... That thing is no longer Orochimaru," Mei Terumi warned, her voice sharp and alert. This was critical intelligence that Midorima had provided her with.
These black protrusions on "Orochimaru's" face were, according to Midorima, designed to receive chakra transmissions. As for precisely where that chakra was being transmitted from, Midorima had not elaborated in detail.
"Then he is..."
"The Animal Path. I take it the two of you have already made his acquaintance," Pain stated calmly.
Even as he spoke, the Animal Path was already in the process of summoning the other four Paths of Pain, assembling them in a tight, formidable formation around Pain.
"Our situation has just become extraordinarily precarious," Jiraiya muttered, a cold prickle of dread crawling across his scalp. If they had only needed to contend with two or three of the Paths of Pain, victory might still have been within reach. But now, with all Six Paths of Pain gathered together in one place, their collective, synchronized combat power had multiplied exponentially.
Meanwhile, their own effective fighting strength consisted only of himself and Mei Terumi. Tsunade, though uninjured, was completely occupied with tending to Hiruzen and, now, Might Guy as well. She was effectively removed from the equation. In the span of mere moments, the balance of power had shifted drastically, catastrophically against them.
"There is no room for retreat here," Mei Terumi stated flatly, voicing the cold, harsh, inescapable reality of their situation.
A faint, grim smile flickered across Jiraiya's lips. "Then... we'll just have to hold the line ourselves and pray that the Raikage and the others catch up to us in time!"
With that, he bit his thumb and slammed his palm onto the ground, executing the summoning jutsu. A thick plume of smoke erupted, and when it cleared, Fukasaku and Shima were perched once more upon his shoulders.
The instant Fukasaku's eyes landed on Pain, his expression hardened into one of grim, unwavering resolve. He had never personally clashed with Pain in direct combat before, but he had heard Hiruzen Sarutobi describe the man's terrifying, godlike abilities in vivid, chilling detail.
"Jiraiya-boy, what is the meaning of this..." Fukasaku began, his voice tight.
"Forgive me for summoning you both again. I truly had no other choice... As you can plainly see, our current situation has become utterly dire," Jiraiya replied with a strained, weary smile. It was a smile that fooled no one.
"All of you?" Fukasaku's gaze swept across the devastated clearing. His eyes immediately locked onto the prone, bloodied form of Hiruzen, with Tsunade kneeling beside him in frantic concentration. His voice sharpened with alarm.
"What in the world happened to Hiruzen?!"
"He's been wounded," Jiraiya replied.
"This situation is truly grim..." Fukasaku muttered, his jaw clenching.
"Tell me, should I address you as Yahiko? Or by some other name? I have heard that Yahiko died long ago," Jiraiya said, turning his attention to Pain, who had descended back to the ground.
"Call me Pain. And as you said, Yahiko is indeed dead," Pain replied.
"Very well, Pain. Even though you are not Yahiko, I am absolutely certain that Yahiko was deeply connected to you... He was not the sort of person who would slaughter the innocent for the sake of his own ambitions..." Jiraiya was deliberately attempting to stretch the conversation, to buy as much time as possible. Facing the full might of the Six Paths of Pain with only himself and Mei Terumi as active combatants, their odds of victory were vanishingly slim. Their only hope was to hold out until the Raikage, the Tsuchikage, and the others could reach their position. He could only pray they would arrive in time.
"Innocent? You dare speak to me of innocence? Tell me, can any single person standing on this battlefield—including you and the Hokage lying there—honestly claim with a straight face that their hands are clean?" Pain demanded, his voice dripping with cold, biting sarcasm.
Mei Terumi shot a quick, uneasy glance at Jiraiya. She had no rebuttal to offer. In the world of shinobi, every warrior's hands had been stained with blood. It was an unavoidable consequence of their existence that they had, at some point, taken the lives of civilians caught in the crossfire.
"None of us here are truly innocent. The genuinely innocent ones are the civilians who are dragged, helplessly, into the horrors of war. They should never have to suffer its devastating consequences," Jiraiya countered.
"No one is born a weapon of war. When I was a child, I was exactly the kind of 'innocent' you speak of. Yes, I was one of those 'innocent people dragged into war' that you mention so piously. And now you expect me to say, 'Because you yourself have suffered, you should understand the hearts of the innocent more deeply'? Is that what you were anticipating?" Pain fired back, his question cutting like a blade.
"Is that not the truth?" Jiraiya challenged.
"Of course not! Since you have already acknowledged that your own hands are stained with the blood of the innocent, have you ever truly paused to consider the lasting impact your actions have had upon their lives? You can claim, 'I have made countless efforts to atone for my past sins.' And then what? Do the wounds you inflicted upon those people simply vanish? You understand all of this perfectly. And yet, you still choose to act as you do. I suppose, in the eyes of the Great Shinobi Villages, the wars they wage are not truly wars at all. They are, instead, acts of 'righteous justice,' are they not?"
Pain's face was a mask of pure, unadulterated contempt.
Jiraiya's expression flickered with unmistakable discomfort. He could not find the words to refute Pain's accusations.
"However, attempting to cover up one mistake with yet another mistake only results in compounding the error twofold. Furthermore, this is not a problem without potential solutions," Mei Terumi interjected.
"And what solution would you propose?" Pain asked.
"Unite all the shinobi villages. Establish a new, overarching organization to maintain balance among the various powers and prevent the outbreak of war," Mei Terumi explained. This was, in fact, the very same proposal that Midorima had once presented during the Five Kage Summit.
"A fine and noble idea. But I have one question. In this grand organization of yours, who exactly would hold the ultimate authority? Would it be the Five Great Shinobi Villages? Or the smaller, surrounding villages? And if the interests of the smaller villages required the Five Great Nations to make sacrifices of their own, would you truly, willingly agree to such terms?"
"That... well, when the time comes, we will find a way. After all, these matters can only be resolved by sitting down and engaging in genuine, earnest negotiation," Mei Terumi replied.
"Sit down and negotiate. How very civilized. But tell me... do you genuinely expect me to believe that?" Pain retorted, his voice sharp and mocking.