Naruto: Reborn in His Younger Self

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"Is this... a barrier?"

The long-haired man looked around warily. Suddenly, the stones beneath his feet corroded and collapsed, forcing him to leap into the air.

At that moment, Shima, standing on Jiraiya's right shoulder, extended her tongue and wrapped it around a wall pillar to anchor him. Jiraiya quickly formed a Rasengan in his left hand and charged straight at the long-haired man.

"Rasengan!"

The spiraling sphere struck the man's chest, blasting him directly into the acid pool inside the barrier.

Jiraiya landed on a stone platform above the corrosive pool, crouching slightly as he observed the bubbling acid below. His breathing was heavy.

"Dragged him into the barrier... finally killed one."

The battle had been brutal.

First, Jiraiya faced the long-haired man alone. To subdue him, he had to enter Sage Mode and summon Fukasaku and Shima, the two Great Toad Sages.

But summoning required both hands, leaving him vulnerable. The long-haired man had summoned multiple creatures to attack him in the meantime.

Toad Gamaken had been summoned to assist, but the enemy's summons were relentless—one after another, they kept coming.

Jiraiya barely held on until he fully entered Sage Mode. Gamaken, battered and bruised, had apologized before leaving, blaming himself for being ineffective. But in reality, he had fought just as fiercely.

Later, Jiraiya encountered three Paths of Pain. With the help of the two sages, he managed to defeat them.

Just as he thought it was over, a fourth Path of Pain—the Asura Path—suddenly appeared behind him.

Damn it. A sneak attack.

And then it spoke.

"Sensei, you should never let your guard down against any opponent."

Jiraiya had said those very words before.

But this time, he was the one who had been careless.

Boom!

His left arm was blasted off by the attack. Blood sprayed from the remaining stump, staining the water below as he fell into the sea.

"Cough!"

Jiraiya clutched his left side in agony.

Fukasaku's voice was filled with alarm. "Boy! Your left arm!"

The remaining five Paths of Pain emerged, and the battle resumed. Jiraiya fought with all he had but was ultimately struck down and sent plunging into the water.

In a last-ditch effort, he used a barrier technique to trap the long-haired man inside a Toad Gourd Prison, severing the link between him and the other Pains.

Jiraiya emerged from the shadows for a surprise attack, taking him on one-on-one.

"Rasengan!"

The spiraling sphere struck the enemy's chest, sending him crashing into the acid pool.

Jiraiya stood over the pit, gasping for air. His right arm throbbed with unbearable pain.

Fukasaku nodded in approval. "Well done, Jiraiya."

But then—

Splash!

The long-haired man leaped out of the acid pool. His right hand shot forward, a slender chakra black rod extending from his sleeve, aimed straight at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya instinctively raised his right hand to block it.

Stab!

The rod pierced straight through his arm and shoulder.

Instantly, Jiraiya felt his strength draining. He coughed up blood and collapsed against the wall, panting.

The long-haired man finally succumbed to his injuries, his lifeless body falling forward.

Shima, still perched on Jiraiya's shoulder, cried out in concern. "Jiraiya! Are you alright?"

Jiraiya took a shaky breath, spitting out blood. "I can still fight."

His arm trembled as he struggled to snap the black rod.

But the moment he broke it off, a sharp, unsettling sensation coursed through him. The remaining black rod embedded in his body pulsed with an eerie chakra.

Jiraiya shuddered, his voice weak. "My chakra… it's being disrupted."

Fukasaku peered at the black rod with a serious expression. "This thing… is interfering with your chakra flow."

Without hesitation, he yanked the remaining piece out of Jiraiya's body and tossed it aside.

Shima, still in shock, muttered, "Who the hell are these guys? Their bodies are weird, their weapons are even weirder… Can they even be considered human?"

Jiraiya, still struggling to stay upright, recalled the words of the turban-wearing ninja he once met:

"No one has ever seen him. No one knows what he looks like. Some even say… he doesn't exist at all."

A sinking feeling gripped his heart.

The face of the Deva Path was unmistakable—Yahiko.

But Yahiko never had the Rinnegan.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The headband of the dead long-haired man—its bindings corroded by the acid—slipped off, revealing his forehead.

Jiraiya took a closer look.

His eyes widened in shock.

He recognized him.

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