The scene of Tendō Pain escaping with a sack of rice slung across his shoulders was captured by a hidden photographer and spread to thousands of households across the shinobi world.
The villagers who had been glued to the live broadcast nearly dropped their jaws when this absurd spectacle unfolded before their eyes.
"Is that… Pain?"
"Wait, isn't he the one who claimed to be a god? Why is he running away… with rice on his back!?"
The crowd erupted in disbelief.
Absurd. Unbelievable. Ridiculous.
The once oppressively divine image of Tendō Pain now contrasted violently with his current disgraceful retreat. His flowing cloak, his stern Rinnegan eyes, the eerie authority that once silenced nations—now reduced to the image of a desperate thief escaping with food.
"What god? He looks more like a common rice thief to me!"
"Yes, yes! A rice thief who can't resist rice!"
Laughter exploded in living rooms and marketplaces alike. The suffocating tension Pain had instilled earlier dissolved, leaving only mocking humor and dramatic irony.
The self-proclaimed God of Akatsuki—reduced to a Rice Thief.
…
In Konohagakure, the reaction was even more striking.
Orochimaru stared at the grainy television screen, his golden snake-like eyes narrowing in disbelief. The image of Pain, his so-called leader, carrying rice as he fled, burned itself into his mind.
"This… this is unbelievable." Orochimaru murmured, his usually calm, cold tone tinged with genuine shock.
For as long as he had known him, Pain had always been aloof—untouchable, a figure of overwhelming authority and mystery. Yet now, to see him debased, carrying food like a starving bandit fleeing from the law…
It was laughable. And yet, Orochimaru's sharp mind immediately began piecing the reasoning together.
The Land of Rain had long suffered food shortages. The rice market was collapsing. Starvation threatened to cripple the fragile nation.
'So that's it. That's why he risked his dignity to snatch rice.'
But what shook Orochimaru more was not Pain's desperation. It was the one who had forced him to such a state.
Namikaze Mirai.
Only Mirai could drive the man with the legendary Rinnegan into such an embarrassing display.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed further. He had once clashed with Tendō Pain. Even resisting one Path alone had been nearly impossible. The Six Paths together? That had been inconceivable.
And yet Mirai—Mirai had cut their number down, destroyed their composure, and forced them into a retreat.
"Mirai-kun… just where are your limits?" Orochimaru hissed, half in awe, half in envy.
On the screen, Tendō Pain struggled, his cloak flapping as Mirai closed in from behind.
…
"Damn it!"
Tendō Pain's teeth clenched in fury as he sensed Mirai's chakra rapidly approaching. This battle had spiraled into a nightmare.
First, the Shuradō had been obliterated instantly when Mirai descended like a thunderbolt, reducing the Six Paths to Five. Then, without warning, Ningendō was taken out in some mysterious fashion, cutting their numbers further.
Though Jigokudō could have restored them, the corpses lay unrecovered, beyond Nagato's control. The losses were irreversible.
Two corpses gone, their links severed.
Now only four Paths remained. And with every clash, Mirai pushed them harder, faster, with no signs of faltering.
Nagato's fingers dug into his chair back in Amegakure as his real body coughed blood, hatred surging through his frail form.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Animal Path slammed his palm down, blood dripping from his bite. Fwoosh! White smoke burst forth, and a massive lizard with the Rinnegan materialized, roaring as it blocked Mirai's advance.
Nagato's jaw tightened.
If all Six had been present, he would have shown Mirai the true terror of the Rinnegan. But crippled as he was, his only choice was retreat.
(T.L Note: Bro selectively forgot that he was six to begin with, Mirai beat him down to his current state)
Still, his fury burned hotter than ever. This humiliation would not be forgotten.
'Namikaze Mirai… from this day, you are the greatest enemy of Akatsuki.'
'A man who must be crushed at all costs.'
And worse, Nagato understood Mirai's real aim. He remembered that chilling moment when Mirai's hand had almost seized Tendō's eyes mid-battle. The Rinnegan… Mirai's hunger for them had been unmistakable.
Nagato trembled with rage.
"My eyes… are not yours to covet."
More beasts were summoned in a desperate attempt to hold Mirai back. Enormous dogs split and multiplied, a bird soared into the clouds, a chameleon camouflaged into the terrain. One after another, they swarmed to delay his relentless pursuer.
Tendō vanished into the mist, still clutching the sack of rice.
…
Mirai, standing atop the crushed remains of the giant chameleon, let out a low breath. He could have pushed harder, broken through the summoned beasts, and perhaps caught Pain. But something about the whole encounter gnawed at his thoughts.
Through his Bio-magnetic Perception, he had sensed nothing alive from the Paths he fought. No bio-magnetic field. No cellular activity. No trace of life.
That could only mean one thing.
"Corpses." Mirai whispered, his eyes sharp.
If they were corpses, then the Rinnegan they bore were not genuine. Merely puppets.
Puppets controlled by someone else.
"The true enemy isn't here." Mirai muttered. "The one pulling the strings… that's the one I want."
His gaze gleamed coldly. The Rinnegan—such power, wielded through mere shells. If the real eyes were obtained…
"Only such eyes are worthy of being dug out."
…
Back in Konoha, at the Umbrella Research Center, Orochimaru's fascination reached new heights. Two of the fallen Paths lay stretched upon the anatomy beds before him—Ningendō and Shuradō.
His tongue flicked across his lips in anticipation.
"Magnificent!" Orochimaru hissed. "Such craftsmanship… such possibilities."
The Ningendō's corpse was pristine, killed by Mirai's magnetic fluid at the microscopic level. No external wounds. A perfect specimen.
But Shuradō was another matter. The Path had been annihilated by Mirai's impact, reduced to fragments and machinery, only its head remaining intact.
And yet, it was precisely this that thrilled Orochimaru. Shuradō was not a human body at all, but a technological marvel disguised as one.
Hidden within its frame were weapons: rocket launchers, concealed blades, even what appeared to be a primitive laser device.
A fusion of shinobi art and advanced science.
If such technology could be replicated and mass-produced…
Orochimaru's grin widened. "Perfect humanoid soldiers."
…
Meanwhile, back in the Land of Rain, Pain distributed the rice he had salvaged to starving villagers. As his followers bowed and thanked him, he tried to reassure himself that this deed would reinforce his godly image.
But that fragile hope crumbled when Konan arrived.
"Konan," Pain said, trying to mask his exhaustion. "The people… they must be rejoicing, yes?"
Konan's expression faltered. For a moment, she hesitated.
"Tell me." Pain pressed.
"...Nagato, something has happened." she finally said. Her voice trembled with conflicted emotion. "The scene of you carrying rice in the Land of Fire… it was captured by a hidden photographer. It has spread across the entire shinobi world."
Pain froze.
"The people of the Land of Rain… they too have seen it." Konan added softly, her paper wings lowering. "They… they're calling you… the Rice Thief."
*****
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