"Water Shadow, shall we return together?"
Rasa turned to Ameyuri Ringo and asked.
Saitama Uchiha had just withdrawn from here.
In truth, he hadn't sustained serious injuries. He simply chose to withdraw strategically since he was unable to fight all Five Kages at once.
Therefore, there was still a risk of a counterattack, so they needed to remain extra cautious at this moment.
Noticing that Raikage, Hokage, and Tsuchikage had already departed one after another, Rasa decided to travel with Mizukage—for both their safety, as she was the weakest of the Kage.
"Okay, no problem."
Ameyuri Ringo initially refused but quickly realized why Kazekage wanted to travel together. After thinking it over, she agreed.
She was the weakest among the Five Kages. If enemies ambushed her on the way back to the village, there was a high chance something could go wrong, which would greatly affect the future alliance.
This time, she had taken four Jonin with her. Among them were two ninja from the Hozuki clan—by far the strongest—who were assigned as her personal guards, but they were killed instantly by Saitama's jutsu earlier.
As for the remaining two ninja:
One was from the Mizunone family but hadn't awakened his Ice Release ability; he was talented in medical techniques and played the role of healer within the team.
The other specialized in sensing abilities, though his combat effectiveness was equally low.
"Well then, since our goals more or less align, we should naturally move forward together. We must remain extra vigilant regarding Akatsuki's next moves."
Rasa nodded slightly, offering a smile.
He had become Kazekage precisely because of his great generosity—he wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics at a time like this.
Traveling together was purely out of consideration for mutual safety.
Because right now, his sole objective was to eliminate the Akatsuki Organization and kill Saitama Uchiha.
After reaching an agreement, the two quickly departed from the Land of Iron together.
However, both Rasa and Ameyuri each left behind one Jonin to handle message deliveries and maintain communication with the Land of Iron.
Mifune's corpse had already been discovered, which became yet another troubling matter.
But as Kage, they didn't need to worry about such details. Compared to the grand scale ahead, this was nothing more than a minor issue. Leaving their subordinates behind to wrap things up was already entirely sufficient.
Their immediate objective was naturally to return home, assemble their village's forces, and then await the official alliance ceremony.
After a brief exchange, Rasa decided that he and Ameyuri would take a boat from the coastline of Bear Country, then transfer across the sea to the Land of Wind.
This route bypassed most of the journey directly, effectively avoiding some unknown dangers.
With so many recent incidents, both had become extremely cautious—not even slightly careless.
...
Konoha Village.
Konoha Village had been completely laid to waste by Pain's enhanced [Shinra Tensei]. Only the iconic Hokage Rock remained—the entire village was now unrecognizable.
"Nagato!"
Jiraiya clasped his hands in front of his chest, and his face rapidly aged as he prepared to enter Sage Mode, strange warts appearing across its surface.
"This is your idea of peace? Rebirth through destruction? It's a complete deviation from your original ideals!"
He glared at the fully appeared Six Paths figure before him, his anger shared by everyone else present.
This former disciple had completely strayed from the right path, now endangering the entire world.
"Master Jiraiya, this is merely the first step in my plan. To achieve our ultimate goal, some sacrifices are necessary."
Deva Path stood at the center of the six figures, sunlight radiating behind him. Light beams shot out from around his body, faint halos forming — an almost surreal sight.
"Is that so? In your world, these are just 'sacrifices'?"
Jiraiya glanced around, sadness deepening in his eyes, his tone extremely heavy.
"Teacher, there's no need for more talk."
Minato gripped a kunai, slightly lowering his stance, clearly preparing to attack.
"I understand..."
Jiraiya nodded, then stomped hard, kicking off his wooden sandals and standing barefoot on the ground.
"Guy, I'll brief you about our enemies first."
Minato withdrew his gaze and turned toward Guy.
Among those present, only Guy currently lacked information about Pain.
And since he was staying to help fight, it was important to share this intel to avoid any disasters.
"The six individuals before you aren't actually alive — according to our current intelligence — but rather puppets of the true Rinnegan wielder."
Minato spoke softly, his words fast yet clear.
"I've already fought one of them — the slightly plump figure standing at the far right."
Guy listened carefully, his eyes having remained fixed on that particular figure since their appearance.
When he heard Minato's explanation, his expression showed surprise.
"That pair of eyes is called the Rinnegan — the legendary Eyes of the Immortal Sage. And through those eyes, these six opponents possess many abilities... Got it?"
"I understand now. During my previous fight with one of them, I felt something was off, but never imagined this."
Guy nodded, memorizing all the information Minato had just shared.
Their abilities posed a major challenge to his taijutsu fighting style. Without this intel, even he could end up in real danger.
"Well then... Here I go!"
"Got it!"
Tsunade and Guy responded aloud, then assumed their stances.
No need to hesitate further — the Pain figures ahead were already showing signs of movement. Minato didn't waste time either, stepping forward and dashing out.
Whizz! Whizz! WHOOSH!
Tsunade and Guy followed in formation, one on each side of Minato.
[Summoning Jutsu!]
Animal Path leapt forward, landing on the ground with both hands slammed heavily against its surface.
Roar!
With a burst of white smoke, a massive figure appeared.
A monstrous bull with huge curved horns.
And in the very moment of its appearance, it burst through the smoke, charging straight toward the three approaching ninjas.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It slammed onto the ground with a heavy thud, its muscles twitching violently.
"I'll handle this!"
Seeing the summoned beast, Tsunade's eyes lit up with confidence. Letting out a shout, she quickened her pace and rushed forward ahead of the others, directly confronting the bull.
Pa!
Her foot struck the ground, instantly cracking the surface as she used the momentum to leap high into the air.
Boom!
The next second, her fist smashed down onto the bull's head.
The full power of [Monster Strength Fist] erupted instantly. The bull slowed for a moment, its skull letting out a sharp crack.
Puff!
It crashed face-first into the ground, flipping over itself.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Minato and Guy dashed past from the side without any hindrance.
Dealing with a summoned ninja beast like this required absolutely no effort from Tsunade—it only slightly slowed her speed.
Swoosh!
She kept charging, hot on the heels of the two ahead.
Seeing that the Animal Path's Summoning Jutsu had no effect, Nagato hidden behind it chose not to summon again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
[Asura Path] extended both arms forward. Slits opened along its limbs, launching numerous missiles trailing exhaust fumes.
At the same time the Asura Path attacked, the Animal Path leapt backward, landing at its original position.
"Watch out!"
Minato narrowed his eyes and threw a kunai at the precise moment.
Shwip!
The kunai narrowly missed the missiles while spiraling forward.
"Just simple ninja tools won't stop a Taijutsu specialist like me!"
Guy stared at the incoming missiles, bent his body, and suddenly changed direction mid-motion despite moving at high speed, twisting into a '7'-shaped path.
Shwip! Shwip!
Minato vanished from the spot and reappeared immediately behind the missiles, catching the still airborne kunai.
Meanwhile, Guy moved quickly too, dodging sideways before returning to the front of his previous trajectory.
BOOM!
The missiles finally exploded where the two had stood moments ago.
[Opening Gate], open! [Healing Gate], open! [Life Gate], open!
Instantly after dodging the enemy's missiles, Guy activated the Eight Gates Release Technique once more. A powerful aura surrounded him, boosting his speed significantly in an instant.
"I won't let you treat Konoha ninjas like us lightly!"
Twisting from behind Minato, Guy didn't follow him directly but instead ran around the enemy in a curved arc.
From Guy's perspective, since Hokage was leading the frontal assault, handling attacks from the flank was clearly the most effective tactical choice.
He set his sights on the Deva Path—the one he'd fought earlier.
"I've entered attack range… So then…"
Minato plunged both hands into his gear bag and pulled out a staggering number of kunai, gripping them firmly.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A storm of kunai flew through the air toward Pain—but the targets weren't the six bodies themselves; instead, they landed directly on the nearby ground.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique?"
The Deva Path locked eyes on those kunai and raised both hands forward.
"Universal Pull!"
He activated a jutsu aimed straight at Minato.
Swoosh!
However, Minato was well-prepared. Almost simultaneously, he vanished from his spot and reappeared elsewhere, skillfully dodging the attack.
Boom!
On the other side, Guy and Preta Path collided.
His Taijutsu was extremely powerful, but Preta Path wasn't weak either.
As one of the frontline tanks and close-range fighters among the Pain group, Preta Path's body had been extensively modified by Nagato, becoming as tough as steel.
[Rasengan]!
Before Pain could react, Minato relocated again. This time, he got even closer to his opponent.
Without hesitation, he closed the distance in a flash, launching his attack directly at Deva Path right in front of him.
Bang!
An invisible wall suddenly appeared before him, completely blocking the Rasengan from advancing even an inch.
At the same time, his offensive rhythm came to a halt.
Swoosh!
A black rod stabbed toward him, but it landed on empty space.
Minato activated his ninjutsu once more, disappearing from his original position.
He locked eyes with Deva Path, deep in thought.
This move was extremely powerful—nearly absolute defense. Therefore, it definitely had a cooldown period and couldn't be used continuously.
Several days ago, when he discussed with Jiraiya-sensei, they had basically confirmed that it had a cooldown period—very short, but definitely existing.
"Let's test it with a ten-second cooldown first!"
He quickly settled on a longer window—ten seconds—as his starting estimate.
Ding!
They passed each other once more, both attempting to strike. However, their kunai and black rods struck midair, creating sparks without hurting either side.
At this moment, the advantages of Flying Thunder God became apparent.
Just as Deva Path turned around preparing for a follow-up strike, Minato vanished again, reappearing beside a kunai not far away.
And there, near Human Path and Naraka Path.
"This is getting tricky—they're too flexible; I need to find a way to counter them."
Nagato flicked his hand, instantly extending the black rod like it had eyes behind its back, blocking behind himself just in time.
Behind him, Tsunade had already arrived and threw a punch.
Boom!
Tsunade's fist smashed into the black rod.
Crack!
Although the black rod was strong enough, it still struggled to withstand Tsunade's monstrous strength.
Instantly, cracks formed along the rod. Deva Path didn't dare continue resisting and quickly discarded the weapon before jumping backward.
At the same time, Asura Path in the rear launched numerous missiles, providing fire support to push Tsunade back.
Rat-tat-tat!
Activating his ninjutsu to leave Deva Path's front line, Minato swiftly exchanged blows several times with Human Path and Naraka Path who were standing nearby.
Noticing that these two puppets had never engaged in direct combat, he seized the chance to launch a probing attack.
According to known intelligence, these two might be the breakthrough point since they didn't possess the same level of combat power as the others.
Clang-clang!
The puppets counterattacked together, two black rods effortlessly parrying Minato's kunai strikes.
Though not quite as skilled in Taijutsu as others, Human Path and Naraka Path were still formidable in hand-to-hand combat.
Nagato's body modifications made them nearly as capable as elite taijutsu specialists, allowing them to fight impressively when manipulated.
[Rasengan]!
The moment the kunai was blocked by the Black Rod, Minato twisted his body and pressed his left hand toward Deva Path.
Whoosh!
Deva Path dodged, while Naraka Path increased pressure from both arms, pushing down on Minato.
"Controlling so many battle puppets simultaneously in battle without even a hint of delay—it's incredibly detailed. Each battle puppet moves like an experienced ninja."
As Minato faced the enemy's movements, he glanced to his side—first at Preta Path clashing with Guy, then at Deva Path, whom he had shaken off earlier and who had since collided with Tsunade. From this, he came to that conclusion.
Even the strongest puppet masters would eventually face mental exhaustion when controlling multiple battle puppets, causing confusion during combat.
Yet Pain showed none of that.
This alone demonstrated the immense power of the Rinnegan from another angle.
"Four seconds!"
And at the same time, he didn't forget to keep counting.
Though attacking other Paths of Pain, Minato still kept in mind Deva Path, currently known as the strongest among them.
During this period, if the opponent were forced by Tsunade into using [Shinra Tensei] again, then the cooldown time would start from that moment.
But it hadn't happened yet—so Minato kept counting, waiting until ten seconds had passed before launching another full-scale attack to force the enemy into using that technique defensively.
When the fifth second arrived, Tsunade charged forward again, dodging Asura Path's attack and aiming a punch straight at Deva Path.
Smack!
Minato focused on two things at once: keeping watch on Deva Path while bending low to avoid Naraka Path's arm strike. Then, he stabbed backward with his kunai, burying it into the attacker's arm.
Hiss!
The kunai carried chakra with a serrated edge—an application of Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation that made the weapon sharper.
So, Minato twisted his wrist, rotating the kunai within the enemy's arm.
Instantly, half the wrist was severed.
Swoosh!
Previously evading Human Path rushed forward, delivering a powerful kick aimed at Minato who was still bent low.
Whizz!
Without hesitation, Minato vanished from sight.
His intention behind attacking those two was to probe their specific abilities.
But now such attacks were completely ineffective.
One of these two possessed the ability to 'resurrect' other Paths—that fact was already known.
And eliminating him must come first before dealing with the rest of the enemies.
It was a strategy he and Jiraiya had agreed on to deal with Pain.
"Tricky opponent."
Originally, Minato planned—if he couldn't identify which Path held the resurrection ability—then eliminate the other two unknown threats first. But they proved hard to deal with.
Because the other Paths subtly protected these two all along.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Asura Path, transformed into a mobile artillery turret, continuously fired missiles for fire support. Whether near Deva Path, Preta Path, or Human Path, it always managed to intervene precisely at critical moments, driving Minato and others back.
Once again, the missiles sent Minato—who had just reappeared—retreating, halting his assault on Human Path and Naraka Path.
Boom!
Under Minato's gaze, Deva Path activated [Absolute Defense] again, blocking Tsunade's Full-Power Strike and sending her flying back.
"Six seconds!"
Six seconds in—no need to test from ten anymore.
Minato's eyes narrowed. He shifted his position again.
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