"That guy Kagura..."
Jiraiya's eyebrows furrowed as he recalled their encounter ten years ago.
Back then, he had met two disciples, originally intending to have a good chat with them about their matters and to discern their purpose with the Akatsuki Organization...
However...
It seemed that something went wrong at that time.
At that moment, Jiraiya still didn't know what the Akatsuki Organization's true purpose was, but he knew that his disciple, Akihara Kagura, was more extreme than the Akatsuki Organization. Coupled with the news of Orochimaru's defection from the Akatsuki Organization, Jiraiya wasn't in the mood to continue probing into the truth about the Akatsuki Organization...
After all...
No matter how extreme the purpose of the Akatsuki Organization...
Could it be more extreme than what Akihara Kagura intended to do?
Over the years, Akihara Kagura seemed to have been corrected, or at least he believed Kagura had been corrected, only to find out that Kagura had secretly colluded with the Akatsuki Organization...
"It seems we can't let Jiraiya-sensei leave today."
Pain's Rinnegan gazed calmly at Jiraiya and spoke, "To prevent the secret of Kagura being a member of the Akatsuki Organization from being leaked, we have no choice but to keep our teacher here..."
"When did this happen?"
Jiraiya wanted to understand the situation clearly.
Akihara Kagura held an important position in Konoha, was extremely powerful, and possessed many of Konoha's secrets, even rivaling the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
When the first Hokage Assistant, Shimura Danzo, betrayed Konoha, it paled in comparison to the threat of the second Hokage Assistant, Akihara Kagura, betraying Konoha!
Moreover...
Is there an issue with the position of Root Leader?
The first Root Leader colluded with Orochimaru, and the second Root Leader colluded with the Akatsuki Organization?
"Ten years ago... or perhaps even earlier..."
Pain simply didn't hide from his teacher, as he never was good at lying: "Uchiha Obito introduced him to join the Akatsuki Organization. When we met ten years ago in front of Yahiko's grave, Kagura had already joined the Akatsuki Organization..."
"And even when we clashed before, Kagura deliberately held back and let us go; all of this happened right under Jiraiya-sensei's nose..."
"Earlier than that?"
Jiraiya's face grew grimmer.
If it were ten years ago, Jiraiya still had some expectations in his heart; however, if it was earlier, and even involved collusion with Uchiha Obito, then this matter had completely gotten out of Jiraiya's control!
No wonder...
No wonder the past Hokages always failed to hunt down Uchiha Obito!
According to the information provided by Tsunade, while the past Hokages pursued Uchiha Obito and investigated the Akatsuki Organization, they never made any progress. Occasionally, things would arise in the village that all five Hokages had to handle together, preventing them from focusing solely on hunting down traitorous ninjas...
"Ten years ago, we made an agreement together."
Pain looked at Jiraiya and softly continued, "The Akatsuki Organization would support Akihara Kagura to become Hokage, and Akihara Kagura would support the Akatsuki Organization in capturing the Tailed Beasts of the Ninja World..."
"Wait a minute..."
Jiraiya quickly interrupted Pain, raising his eyebrows in surprise: "This kind of thing... feels somewhat familiar..."
"..."
Pain and Konan hesitated, seemingly also feeling it was familiar.
This...
This seems a lot like a repeat of Shimura Danzo and Salamander Hanzo's plot?
The Land of Rain hardly ever has sunny days in a year, and yet there's nothing new under the sun!
Back then, Shimura Danzo colluded with Salamander Hanzo to usurp the Akatsuki Organization for the Hokage position; now, Akihara Kagura is colluding with the Akatsuki Organization to overthrow the Ninja World for the Hokage position?
The position of Root Leader is becoming more absurd with each generation...
Is one generation stronger than the last?
"However..."
"Back then, Jiraiya-sensei should be thankful for Kagura."
Pain looked at Jiraiya, shaking his head and softly said, "We originally planned to kill you, but Kagura stopped us because he needed Jiraiya-sensei's support to become Hokage..."
"Ha, should I thank him as well?"
Jiraiya patted his head, not considering this as a stroke of luck. Instead, he felt relieved by the arrangements the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had made before his death, sighing as he said, "The old man not making him Hokage was indeed a wise decision..."
Fortunately.
Fortunately, I chose Tsunade.
Otherwise, who knows what could have happened!
"Never mind, let's not talk about him for now."
Jiraiya decided to drop the topic about Akihara Kagura for now, planning to discuss it further with Tsunade back in Konoha: "Let's talk about the Akatsuki Organization first. The Akatsuki Organization has been continuously collecting Tailed Beasts in the Ninja World. What exactly is their purpose?"
"A terrifying weapon of war."
Pain didn't deny his plan, proactively revealing, "Once all the Tailed Beasts in the Ninja World are collected, it would be possible to create a weapon capable of threatening the entire Ninja World. This weapon could kill everyone in a city with a single strike and easily obliterate a great nation..."
"At that point, peace will descend."
"Anyone who tries to start a war will feel the pain of war. Tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people would be killed. Humanity will understand the horror of war, dreading the ruthlessness it brings. From then on, there will be a deterrent for peace in the Ninja World, and people will be too afraid of the war weapon's threat to start wars."
"This idea is too extreme..."
Jiraiya frowned, trying to refute this disciple's bizarre plan: "To prevent the pain of war, you threaten to kill billions first to prevent war from breaking out..."
"Our plan is already quite moderate."
Pain shook his head, giving a reality-based example: "In comparison, the idea suggested by Kagura, to kill all the Ninja World people and regularly cleanse the Ninja World population, would more easily cloak the Ninja World in despair, wouldn't it?"
"..."
Jiraiya found himself unable to argue.
Compared to Akihara Kagura's proposed plans, the Akatsuki Organization's plan seemed more moderate, even having a touch of humanity.
"No, that's wrong!"
Jiraiya promptly dismissed that thought from his mind, quickly saying, "No matter whether your plan's harm to the Ninja World is measured at a hundred or fifty, it still constitutes great damage. Such so-called plans are unacceptable..."
"This is not true peace."
Jiraiya looked at Pain and continued in a solemn voice: "Nagato, this is merely compromise under threat, nothing more than false peace under the rule of power..."
"Humans are weak and ignorant."
Pain shook his head again, seemingly without hope of correcting Jiraiya's thinking: "God uses scars and pain to stimulate growth and thought, and so-called falsehoods and compromises ultimately stem from divine guidance..."
"Jiraiya-sensei."
"In the end, you are nothing but a weak mortal, unable to comprehend the thoughts of a god. Only those as powerful as me and Kagura can see that this is the right path."
"The weak all perceive our plan as too terrifying."
Pain continued to cite Akihara Kagura's joining the Akatsuki Organization as an example, observing the anger on Jiraiya's face, "But true strong people have chosen to agree with and join us..."
"..."
Jiraiya, strangely, found himself at a loss for words.
This tall, white-haired man sighed, a sense of melancholy creeping into his heart: "I really didn't know, did I? My own disciples have been secretly doing something behind my back, but there is no doubt that you all have already strayed onto the wrong path..."
Jiraiya looked at Pain, earnestly advising, "Just because you and Akihara Kagura agree on doing the same thing doesn't mean it's the right thing..."
"Then, Jiraiya-sensei..."
Pain's eyes fixated on Jiraiya, his expression growing colder, "How do you think you're right, and how can you stop us? Both for me and Kagura, everyone in this world is weak and feeble..."
"Did you forget?"
"Jiraiya-sensei..."
"My body carries the Sage Eye granted by heaven, and Kagura possesses this world's unique Sage Body..."
"The Sage Body and Sage Eye symbolize the Six Paths Sage, who created the Ninja Sect in ancient times to bring peace to the Ninja World. When the Sage Eye and Sage Body unite..."
Pain looked at Jiraiya as if observing a powerless ant: "Jiraiya-sensei, how can you possibly resist the Six Paths Sage?"