003 Naruto: Starting with Infinite Chakra

The moment Jiraiya's fingertips brushed against the damp steel walls, the distinct scent of rust and rain filled his nostrils—the signature aroma of Amegakure. Holding his breath, he expanded his sensory net in Sage Mode, chakra signatures flickering in his mind like fireflies on a summer night.

"Something's not right." Fukasaku, perched on his shoulder, tapped his forehead protector with a webbed finger. "The range of the Rain Tiger at Will Technique has increased fivefold since last time, and there's an irregular chakra flow in the southwest quadrant."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, his soaked white hair clinging to his mask. The towering steel spires of Amegakure loomed through the downpour like the fangs of a great beast. From a third-story vent, a faint trace of violet chakra seeped into the rain—exactly the same color his informant had described in their final report two months ago.

"Prepare for reverse summoning," Shima croaked, her long tongue coiling around a drainpipe. "Jiraiya-chan, on the count of three—"

A whisper of air sliced toward his nape, faster than a kunai. Jiraiya spun, unfurling a scroll mid-motion. Sealing formulas blossomed in the air, forming a triple-layered barrier that froze twelve poisoned shuriken in mid-flight. From the shadows, a metallic clicking echoed as three figures slowly emerged from a puddle—masked, heavily modified, their chests housing eerie crimson reactors.

"Human bodies turned into mechanized puppets?" Jiraiya bit his thumb, blood arcing through the rain. "Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"

His silver mane lengthened instantly, hardening into thousands of piercing needles that shot forward, tearing through the downpour. The first enemy barely raised a mechanical arm before being impaled, but what oozed from the wounds wasn't blood—it was thick, violet liquid.

Fukasaku barked a warning. "Don't touch it! That's a mutated form of Hashirama's cells!"

The reactors in the remaining two puppets began to overheat, chakra surging dangerously. Without hesitation, Jiraiya formed a single-hand seal, summoning the esophageal walls of the Great Toad's stomach. The moment the fleshy barriers erupted around them, he seized both elder toads and leaped into a swirling void—Myoboku's exclusive reverse summoning technique, allowing short-distance teleportation via natural energy.

...

The damp underground tunnel smelled of mildew and iron. Jiraiya ignited a faint glow at his fingertips, illuminating a three-dimensional map on his scroll. They were thirty meters below Amegakure, lost in an abandoned drainage network.

Shima's nose twitched. "Blood... mixed with—salamander toxin?"

Turning a corner, they found themselves ankle-deep in thick, coagulated blood. Seven Ame-nin corpses lay contorted in unnatural angles at the junction, each with half a test tube embedded in their napes. Fukasaku peeled back an eyelid with a chakra scalpel, revealing an intricate ripple pattern etched across the iris.

"Mass-producing defective Rinnegan?" Rain dripped from Jiraiya's forehead protector. "So the 'Eye of God' project is real, after all."

...

Breaking through twenty-seven layers of encrypted barriers, they finally reached the central chamber. The digital clock on the wall showed 4 minutes and 30 seconds until the chakra reactor's detonation. Jiraiya's gaze swept across the room—metal shelves stacked with research logs, and in the center, a pulsating containment unit filled with five vials of that same violet liquid.

"That's..." Fukasaku leaped to the top of the unit, eyes widening. "The natural energy inside is going berserk! Use a sealing scroll, quick!"

Jiraiya had barely unrolled his scroll when the entire chamber trembled violently. Cracks spread across the ceiling like a spider's web—then, with a sharp burst, Konan's paper wings sliced through the concrete, sending a blizzard of six billion explosive tags cascading into the room.

"I knew you'd come, Sensei." Her voice was calm, woven into the fluttering paper. "But this time, you won't leave with anything."

Jiraiya chuckled. His fingers tore open his cloak, revealing intricate sealing formulas etched across his chest. Sage chakra surged through his network, roaring like a great river.

"Remember that river where I taught you to fold paper boats?" He slammed a palm onto the ocean of explosive tags. "Sage Art: Goemon!"

A tidal wave of toad oil erupted, igniting instantly as fire release jutsu fused with the inferno. The rain evaporated in an instant. Konan's gasp was lost in the deafening explosion. As Jiraiya burst through the inferno, the sealing scroll clutched tightly in his burned fingers, his right arm was charred to the bone—but the intelligence he carried remained intact.

Fukasaku worked swiftly to close his ribs with medical ninjutsu, but Shima's gaze was fixed on the eastern sky.

"Look! The rain is breaking!"

Jiraiya squinted through the blood and smoke. The storm clouds that had shrouded Amegakure for thirty years were dissipating, a single ray of sunlight piercing through the gloom. His throat burned with the taste of iron, but he clenched the teleportation tag in his palm and shattered it just before the space-time vortex closed.

...

The acrid scent of disinfectant filled his nostrils. Jiraiya stirred, recognizing the sterile air of Konoha's hospital just before a familiar set of footsteps approached.

Tsunade's fist slammed into the bedframe, shaking the entire floor—but when her hand landed on his shoulder, it was light as a feather.

"If you'd dared to die in that place..." Her golden hair trembled in the morning light. "I would've donated all your royalties to the orphanage."

Jiraiya coughed, raising his bandaged hand. The sealing scroll glowed faintly in his palm. Tsunade's pupils contracted as she caught sight of its contents—the complete records of the 'Eye of God' project, along with a single vial of violet liquid.

According to the research, this substance—blended from Hashirama's cells and Rinnegan chakra—was the very core of Pain's Six Paths.

And now, Konoha had it in their hands.