pi N to Multi-pi N Scattering in the 1/N_c Expansion

We extend the 1/N_c meson-baryon scattering formalism to pi N to multi-pi N case. We first show that the leading-order large N_c processes proceed through resonant intermediate states (e.g., rho N or pi Delta). We find that the pole structure of baryon resonances can be uniquely identified by their (non)appearance in eta N or mixed partial-wave pi Delta final states.