Character Information:
(Y/N): Your Name
(L/N): Last Name
(E/C): Eye Color
(F/C): Favorite Color
Naruto and Kakashi entered Tsunade's office. It had been a couple of days since they had gotten back from their mission involving the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki.
When the blond boy entered, he saw that Sakura, Sai, and (Y/N) were already there, along with a couple of toads.
Shizune and Minerva were both standing next to Tsunade who was sitting at her desk.
Naruto realized that everyone was staring at him. He raised an eyebrow as he took a step forward towards Tsunade's desk.
A small, elderly toad then spoke up. He had white hair.
???: So this is Jiraiya boy's student, is it?
Tsunade: Yes. This is Naruto Uzumaki. The child of prophecy you spoke of.
Naruto: What's with the old geezer frog? Who's he?
Tsunade: Pipe down. Watch your mouth, Naruto. He is one of the two great sages of Mount Myoboku, Lord Fukasaku. He traveled all the way here just so that he could speak with you.
Fukasaku: Well, to be more accurate, I'm a Great Sage Toad, but never mind that. It doesn't matter. Answer me this. Are you really Jiraiya boy's student, or aren't you?
Naruto: Jiraiya boy? A boy?! Don't treat the Pervy Sage like a kid! Who does this geezer frog think he is, anyway?
(Y/N): Naruto!
Tsunade: I told you already, watch your mouth!
Shizune: Naruto, he's the one who taught the Sage Jutsu to Lord Jiraiya. He's Jiraiya's master.
Naruto: <surprised> Huh?
Fukasaku: <laughing> So you call him the Pervy Sage? I've never heard a more fitting name for Jiraiya boy.
Naruto: What does this geezer sage want? What did he come so far to talk to me about?
Fukasaku: <sighs> I'm not exactly sure where to begin this, but let me see... I suppose the most important thing is... I'm afraid Jiraiya boy has died in battle.
Naruto: <shocked> Huh...?
He took a step back, trying to balance himself.
Naruto: What are you talking about?
Everyone stared at Naruto, sympathetically.
Fukasaku: I know that this is very sudden, so I understand if you don't believe me. For some time now, rumors had been circulating that the leader of the Akatsuki was operating out of the Village Hidden in the Rain, so Jiraiya boy went there in person to verify whether those rumors were true.
Sakura: The leader of the Akatsuki was in the Hidden Rain Village?
Sai: As I recall, that village is difficult to infiltrate. It's entirely closed off from the outside world.
Kakashi: Yes, but Master Jiraiya was exceptionally skilled in infiltration and espionage tactics.
(Y/N): So I take it he found the leader?
Fukasaku: Yes. Pain was former student of Jiraiya boy's from many, many years ago.
Sakura: He was his student? What do you mean by that?
Fukasaku: I don't know the particulars, but Jiraiya boy called him Nagato.
Minerva: I remember there were mentions of Jiraiya taking up students back during the Second Great Ninja War.
Tsunade: Yes. The Hidden Rain Village had become a battlefield, and Jiraiya took some war orphans under his wing.
Minerva: I thought they had died...
Tsunade: Apparently they did not. Who would have imagined those kids...
She closed her eyes, unable to finish her sentence.
Kakashi: But to defeat a shinobi as powerful as Jiraiya... How did this Pain accomplish such a feat?
Fukasaku: It was because Pain possesses the Rinnegan.
Minerva: <shocked> What did you say?!
Kakashi and Shizune both looked as shocked as Minerva was. (Y/N) widened his eyes.
(Y/N): Minerva, a while ago you said there were rumors that Jiraiya-sensei had taught a student with that...
Minerva: Yes, but I had no idea it was true... This is...
Sakura: <confused> Rinnegan?
Minerva: It's an ocular jutsu said to have been possessed by the father of all shinobi the Sage of the Six Paths.
Shizune: But I believed that it was nothing more than a legend.
Fukasaku: The fabled ocular jutsu, the Rinnegan. Its power was supposedly beyond anything you could imagine. But there's more.
He told them what Jiraiya had discovered.
Kakashi: There were six of them with the Rinnegan? How can that even be possible?
Fukasaku: I don't know. Perhaps there's some trick behind it.
(Y/N): Do you know anything, Minerva? You've researched all about this.
Minerva: I've never read or heard anything about being able to do that. There's no way there was actually six people who awakened it either... In all of the stories about the Sage of the Six Paths, he alone possessed them.
Fukasaku: I believe that Jiraiya boy discovered the secret behind the six of them in that final terrible battle. But...
He sighed again and closed his eyes, seeming to remember what happened in the fight.
Fukasaku: Even after he had his throat crushed by Pain, and he knew the end was near, Jiraiya boy left a message before collapsing. This is his message.
The toad took off his cloak and turned around, showing his back which had numbers carved into his back.
It read, 9, 31, 8, 106, 7, 207, 15.
Shizune: It's a code.
Fukasaku: I'm sure he did this to prevent Pain from catching on. And that's everything I know about Jiraiya boy's efforts.
The toad put his cloak back on.
Tsunade: I wonder what he was trying to tell us. Maybe we can decode this. Then, hopefully, we'll understand.
(Y/N): We have to try.
Naruto: <looking down> You let him go. Is that right, Granny?
Everyone stared at Naruto, frowning.
Tsunade: <regretful> That's right.
Naruto: Why would you ever let him do something so risky? You knew Pervy Sage better than anyone, Granny! How could you send him somewhere so dangerous alone?!
Kakashi: Stop it, Naruto! You of all people ought to know Lady Tsunade's feelings.
Naruto clenched his fist as he grit his teeth. He turned around and opened the door to the room.
Naruto: Dammit.
Sakura: Naruto, wait. Where are you going?
Naruto: If the Pervy Sage had been the Fifth Hokage, he wouldn't have let Granny Tsunade take a risk like that. Never.
He walked out of the room.
Sakura: Naruto!
Tsunade: Don't, Sakura. Enough. Just let him be for now.
Sakura: But milady...
(Y/N) put his hand on her shoulder.
Kakashi: My apologies, Lord Fukasaku. I'll arrange for Naruto to—
Fukasaku: That's quite all right. But about that child of prophecy vision I mentioned earlier. I can see that this child truly loved and admired Jiraiya boy. It makes me hope more than anything that he is the child of prophecy.
Minerva: Is there any other clues that Jiraiya left for us, Lord Fukasaku?
Fukasaku: Ah, yes, it is best if we discuss that. In addition to the message he put on my back, he's given us other leads, as well. A Hidden Rain ninja that Jiraiya boy managed to capture is inside the belly of that frog.
He motioned over to a blue frog that was sitting next to him.
Fukasaku: And one last thing remains.
He made a hand seal and summoned a toad with a cork in its mouth.
Fukasaku: Inside this toad is one of the bodies of Pain that Jiraiya boy managed to kill. One of the six.
Tsunade: <gasps> Pain's body?
(Y/N): For real?
Minerva: This is excellent. Jiraiya made sure he left us with lots of leads to go off on.
Tsunade: Of course he did...
...
Tsunade, Shizune, Minerva, (Y/N), Sakura, and Fukasaku were in an examination room.
The toad had just spit out Pain's body on the table. He had long orange hair, black piercings all over his body, and distinctly purple eyes.
Fukasaku: This is Pain.
Shizune: The ripple pattern on the eyes...
Minerva: That is indeed the legendary Rinnegan... I can't believe it...
Fukasaku: If we study his body, I believe we may find clues on how to defeat Pain.
Tsunade: A shinobi's corpse is full of information. We'll need skilled medical ninja, and then we'll launch a full autopsy on him immediately.
She looked at Shizune, who nodded.
Shizune: Right. I'll take care of it.
Tsunade: We'll also need your knowledge, Minerva. Anything you can find on the Rinnegan would be extremely helpful.
Minerva: Of course. <sighs> Never would I have imagined my study of myths would actually prove useful.
(Y/N): And one of our enemies has it, too.
After that, the group stood outside of the Hokage residence, saying goodbye to Fukasaku. He handed Tsunade a picture of the code on his back.
Fukasaku: I will return home now, but let me know what you find. Since Jiraiya boy's student is here, you can send him to contact me at Mt. Myoboku.
Tsunade: Thank you very much. I promise you we will find a way somehow to defeat Pain.
Sakura looked down at the ground and put a fist to her chest. She looked concerned.
(Y/N): Worried about Naruto? I am, too.
Sakura: I feel awful. To lose somehow that close to him is... I'm sure you know how it feels.
(Y/N): I don't know about that, to be honest.
Sakura: What do you mean? You lost Minerva's sister who was your master.
(Y/N): I know, but... I could barely mourn her because Itachi almost immediately wounded me, and then I lost all of my memories... When I relived that day, I did mourn her then, but... It's just not the same, I don't think. That connection I had with her it...it's still there, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's as strong as Jiraiya's and Naruto's was.
Sakura: Even still...
(Y/N): We don't have to know exactly how Naruto feels to support him. We just have to be there for him.
Sakura: <nodding> Y-Yeah. Of course.
Tsunade: Come, you two. There's work to be done still.
...
Shikamaru was in Tsunade's office with Sakura. It was dark outside now.
Shikamaru: What? You want me to do this now?
Tsunade: That's right. Take that over to them right away.
She was referring to the picture of the code on Fukasaku's back.
Shikamaru: But the guys in the Cypher Division don't work this late. Lady Hokage—
Tsunade: Then summon them and tell them it's on my orders. I'm putting you in charge. Get that message decoded.
Shikamaru: Look, I know this is an important encryption, but can't you ask someone who isn't on a mission right now?
Tsunade walked out of the office without saying anything.
Shikamaru: Wait! Where are you going? I actually came here on other matters. I—
Sakura: Shikamaru.
Shikamaru: But...
Sakura: Lady Tsunade has been very busy all day.
Shikamaru: Well, the same goes for me.
Sakura: Shikamaru, please don't. She's been through a lot, and she's just...mourning.
Shikamaru: I get that, but can't (Y/N) do this? Where is he anyway?
Sakura: He's working with Minerva right now. There's a lot that needs to be done, and it has to be done with urgency...
...
(Y/N) yawned and stared at a book in the Konoha library. It was the middle of the night, and no one save him and Minerva was in there.
(Y/N): Are you sure we can trust what's written in these books? I mean, summoning something called the King of Hell sounds fictional and sort of goofy.
Minerva: We were instructed to record everything the legends say about the Rinnegan, even the "goofy" parts. Besides, I'm sure if you encountered this King of Hell, you would be singing a different tune.
(Y/N): I guess...
He continued reading, before rubbing his eyes.
(Y/N): Surely we can pick this up tomorrow, right? I'm so sleepy.
Minerva: Hmph. You just haven't become accustomed to staying up all night reading like I have. Child's play for me.
(Y/N): Well, I'm not you.
The two read in silence for a while, until the white haired male flipped to a page with an image of a mural of the Sage of the Six Paths.
(Y/N): Hey, Minerva?
Minerva: What?
(Y/N): Do you think the Sage of the Six Paths actually existed?
Minerva: I see no reason why he wouldn't have, especially now since the Rinnegan is confirmed real.
(Y/N): Does that mean the Rabbit Goddess is real, too? I mean, she was his mom.
Minerva: I don't know... There's been a lot of strange things happening. I wouldn't be surprised, in truth.
After a little while longer, Minerva stood up and held up the book she was reading.
Minerva: Hmm... Write this down, (Y/N). I read this book before but I needed a fresh reminder so I'm not spouting random bullshit off the top of my head.
(Y/N): Okay. What is it?
Minerva: According to this book, the Rinnegan allows its user to use something called the Six Paths Jutsu.
(Y/N): Six, huh? And from what Lord Fukasaku said, there were Six Pains...
Minerva: There is the Deva Path, or Tendo, which allows the user to manipulate repulsive and attractive forces.
The younger male wrote that down in his notebook.
Minerva: There is the Asura Path, or Shurado, allows the user to create and use mechanized, almost futuristic, weaponry.
(Y/N): Futuristic? What the hell?
Minerva: There is the Human Path, or Ningendo, which allows the user to read someone's mind and taking their soul.
(Y/N): Holy crap.
Minerva: There is the Animal Path, or Chikushodo, which allows the user to summon different kinds of giant animals to use.
(Y/N): Giant animals? Nani?
Minerva: There is the Preta Path, or Gakido, which allows the user to ability to absorb all chakra forms, which includes nearly all ninjutsu.
(Y/N): Good Lord. How the hell is any of this real?
Minerva: There is the Naraka Path, or Jigokudo, which allows the user to call upon the King of Hell, which can be used to pass judgement or to heal damage gained.
(Y/N): I can't with this anymore. How the shit are we supposed to beat Pain if he can use all of these powers?
Minerva: I don't know... Perhaps if we take out each Pain one-by-one, we can stop him. Which reminds me, that must be why there's six Pains. Each body can use one of the Six Paths.
(Y/N): Well, that was obvious the moment you said there was something called the Six Paths Jutsu.
Minerva whacked his head.
Minerva: Don't be a smartass!
(Y/N): <rubbing his head> I guess that explains where the Sage got his title from. I just thought it was to sound cool.
Minerva scanned through the book she was holding again.
Minerva: Huh. This book also says that there may be a secret seventh ability of the Six Paths Jutsu.
(Y/N): A seventh? Why is it called the Six Paths Jutsu then?
Minerva: Because it's a secret, duh.
(Y/N): Breh.
Minerva: Anyway, it does say it may or may not exist, but right it down anyway. Tsunade said we should make note of every little thing about the Rinnegan.
The white haired male flipped through a book and raised an eyebrow.
(Y/N): Everything, huh? This book says there was a talking parrot who awakened the Rinnegan two thousand years ago.
Minerva: Yes, everything. And obviously that never happened. If it did, I may as well just explode and die.
(Y/N): How dramatic of you.
...
A day passed of more research, before everyone was called into Tsunade's office.
Fukasaku and Sakura were there, as well as Naruto (who looked to be much better now), Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Shiho of the Cypher Division. They had successfully decrypted Jiraiya's code.
Fukasaku read the sentence they found out loud.
Fukasaku: "The real one's not among them".
(Y/N): <sweat dropping> You really got the code from pages in Jiraiya's smut books?
Shikamaru: <sweat dropping> Y-Yeah... Don't remind me.
Sakura: I'm sorry you had to go through that.
Minerva: Even I've never read one of his books. And that says a lot.
Naruto: None of that matters now. Geezer Sage, what do you think? Does it make sense to you?
Fukasaku: I'm not sure. It's still all too unclear to me.
Shikamaru: But you do have some hypotheses, though, right?
Fukasaku: I've already told you absolutely everything I know about Pain. He seems to be able to come back from the dead, so I hesitate to give you mere conjectures.
Minerva: <to (Y/N)> That sounds like the King of Hell to me.
Fukasaku: Under these conditions, it's still mighty dangerous to take him on. We must first uncover his secrets.
Kakashi: How are the other investigations going? The autopsy, the interrogation, and the research?
Sakura: It looks like the first two are going to take a little bit longer.
Naruto: Like how much longer?
Sakura: I can't really say. I don't think that they even know. Ibiki had to even put the interrogation of Yugen's henchwoman on hold.
Naruto: What do you mean? While they're goofing around, we're losing time.
Sakura: Interrogation aside, an autopsy requires detailed cell and tissue analysis, and enzyme extraction. It all must be detailed. Doing all those things takes time.
(Y/N): If they rush on that, it could screw everything up, and ruin one of our best leads.
Tsunade: It'll be a week at the soonest before it's all done.
Naruto: <sighs> That long?
Shiho: Now, now, Naruto. You don't have to be so disappointed.
Kakashi: What about your research, Minerva?
Minerva: (Y/N) and I have recorded as much as we can of the legends and myths involving the Rinnegan. Well, we can't be sure their all myths now, but that's besides the point.
Tsunade: What have you found?
Minerva: The most important I think is the abilities granted to Rinnegan users called the Six Paths Jutsu.
Naruto: Six Paths Jutsu?
(Y/N): They're all almost god-like abilities. It only shows just how much harder it'll be to fight Pain. Even with this knowledge, we still haven't found anything that hints at how to counter them, if there even is a way.
Sakura: Six Paths Jutsu, huh?
(Y/N) and Minerva explained to them all what each of the Six Paths Jutsu was. Needless to say, they were all shocked.
Shikamaru: All of these sound like something out of a fairy tale.
Minerva: Well, it's no wonder why people considered it a myth. To be fair, we don't know if any of these things are true—
Fukasaku: No, no. From Jiraiya boy's battle with Pain, I can confidently say that most of these are true. The animal one, the chakra absorption one...
Naruto: They're real?! No way!
(Y/N): This isn't good, then.
Minerva: We still haven't done all the research we can. Perhaps there is a story or details hidden in a book on how to combat this jutsu.
Shikamaru: So what should the rest of us do until everyone's done with everything?
Tsunade: Shizune is heading up the autopsy, so it should be quicker than usual. But we'll just have to wait.
Naruto: No. I'll go make 'em speed up.
Sakura: Naruto, if you get in Shizune's way, you are so gonna get it.
Naruto: I will avenge the Pervy Sage. I can't just sit around here doing nothing.
Everyone stared at Naruto.
Fukasaku: But listen, Naruto boy. Now that we've deciphered the coded message, there's nothing else going on that involves you right now.
Naruto: So what about it? What are you trying to say?
Fukasaku: You're definitely not strong enough to defeat Pain yet.
Naruto: What did you say?
Fukasaku: You know I'm right, especially after what your friends have just told us about his powers. Even Jiraiya boy couldn't defeat him. And if he couldn't, you think you could?
Naruto: Well... Guess not.
Fukasaku: If you were to fight him now, you would merely die a senseless death.
Naruto: So what are you saying, Geezer Sage? I should just totally forget about avenging the Pervy Sage?
Fukasaku: I said no such thing. Being asked to come here was quite opportune. You see, for a long time I'd been planning on coming to speak with you, Naruto boy.
Naruto: Huh?
Fukasaku: Tell me, then, do you want to come and train in Sage Jutsu under my guidance?
Naruto: Train in Sage Jutsu?
Kakashi: I see. Naruto learning Sage Jutsu. Good plan.
Naruto: Is Sage Jutsu really that awesome?
Minerva: Yes. Jiraiya was the only one capable of using it in this village. The Fourth Hokage did learn it, as I recall, but his paled in comparison to Jiraiya's.
Tsunade: And remember, Pain defeated Jiraiya, who had summoned Lord Fukasaku and Lady Shima. That means that at this point, there's not one person from the Hidden Leaf Village who could possibly defeat Pain.
(Y/N): If I still had my alien powers, I could maybe stand a chance, but...
Minerva: Well, you don't. Yugen really did fuck us in the ass with that move she pulled, but we just have to make do with what we have.
Fukasaku: <sweat dropping> What colorful language you have...
He turned to Naruto, his mood suddenly changing.
Fukasaku: I'm as furious as you. I too want to avenge the death of my student, Jiraiya boy. I believe that the only one who can do that is you, Naruto boy.
Naruto: Me?
Fukasaku: You do want to avenge Jiraiya boy, yes?
Naruto: You better believe I do.
Fukasaku: Then come along with me now. I'll teach you Sage Jutsu at Mt. Myoboku. The same way I hammered it into Jiraiya boy, I'll hammer it into you, if that's okay.
Naruto: Will it let me win? Could I stop Pain?
Fukasaku: No guarantees. It all depends on you, Naruto boy.
(Y/N): If anyone could do it, Naruto could.
...
The group walked out of the Hokage residence. (Y/N) rubbed his head.
(Y/N): So while Naruto gets a cool power-up I get to sit in a library reading for a week?
Minerva: Yup! Sounds like my dream!
(Y/N): Ugh.