"...Nagato..."
The name, spoken by Shura, exploded over the battlefield like thunder. For Nagato, manipulating Deva Path from the shadows, the blow was even more devastating than the world-obliterating golden pillar moments before.
Deva Path's face, composed of Yahiko's corpse and meant to be expressionless, seemed to stiffen for an instant.
Through Deva Path's Rinnegan, Nagato stared fixedly at the figure wrapped in dark red Chakra, his inner shock like a raging tidal wave.
For the first time, those Rinnegan held not indifferent divinity, but an almost human-like shock and incomprehension.
'How could he know?!'
Far away, deep in the dense forest, Nagato's main body, tightly protected within the paper tree, was as if struck by lightning.
Violent, uncontrollable coughs wracked his frame once more. His emaciated body curled in pain, and a tearing agony radiated from the points on his back where the black rods connected him to the Gedo Statue.
"Cough…! Cough, cough! Cough...!"
"Nagato!" Konan's anxious voice came through the paper wall, thick with worry, "What happened? Your reaction is very wrong!"
Nagato gasped for breath, forcibly suppressing the metallic taste in his throat and the palpitations that threatened to burst from his chest.
He couldn't answer Konan. His mind was a chaotic whirl, with only one thought echoing madly:
'How could Shura possibly know!'
'He not only knows the Pains are puppets, he knows about the Rinnegan, he knows about Uchiha Madara, he even knows my real name!'
'Shura-'
'This mysterious man, just who is he?!'
'How much more does he know?!'
The fear of being completely seen through, of having no secrets left, coiled around Nagato's heart like a cold serpent.
Combined with the earlier 'Divine Punishment' attack from the heavens, which is unfathomable and undefendable, the power and unfathomable intelligence network Shura had displayed made Nagato feel a strong sense of trepidation for the first time.
"Konan-" Nagato's voice, transmitted through the Animal Path, held a barely perceptible hoarseness and fatigue, "Prepare to retreat."
"Retreat?" Konan's voice was full of disbelief.
"But-"
In fact, the battle seemed to have just reached its peak. Even with two Pains lost, Deva Path's full power hadn't yet been displayed.
"Execute the order!" Nagato's tone was uncharacteristically sharp and forceful.
Shura's main body hadn't even appeared. He couldn't take the risk, especially not with the body crafted from Yahiko's corpse, the Deva Path. It absolutely could not be lost here!
On the battlefield, Deva Path slowly suppressed the tempest within him. The Rinnegan returned to their cold stare, though the residual shock deep within couldn't be completely erased.
He stared at the airborne 'Shisui', his voice low, carrying the calm before the storm:
"Those who recognize this face either died long ago in that rainy night battle, or were Konoha or Amegakure's Ninjas who participated in that fight."
He paused, the icy killing intent in his Rinnegan mixed with a thread of inquiry.
"What is your connection to Konoha's Shimura Danzo?"
This guess wasn't baseless. Danzo and his 'Root's' activities in the Land of Rain during the Third Great Ninja War weren't absolute secrets, and Nagato was deeply familiar with their dark and ruthless methods.
Danzo and his Root's Ninjas were directly involved in Yahiko's death.
But immediately, Nagato dismissed the thought himself.
'No, Shura attacked Konoha Village, stole the Byakugan from the Hyuga Clan's main family, fought the Third Hokage and Konoha's elites... An enemy of Konoha couldn't be connected to Danzo.'
'Wait-'
'The Kumogakure's bounty-'
Nagato suddenly recalled the scattered intelligence about Shura circulating in the underground bounty exchange. Besides the descriptions of his signature fox mask and immense power, there were indeed some confusing bits of information, including vague mentions of 'operating under Danzo's name'.
At the time, both he and Konan had assumed it was a mistake in Kumogakure's intelligence or an attempt to frame Danzo, and hadn't looked deeper.
'Could it have been true after all?'
'Did Shura truly have some unknown connection to Konoha, to Danzo?'
No matter how he thought about it, Nagato couldn't figure out the link between Shura and Konoha.
But one thing he was sure of: 'Shura must have extremely deep ties to Konoha! Whether hostile or… some other relationship!'
Just as Nagato's thoughts raced, trying to find a thread of clarity in the chaotic clues, Menma, controlling Shisui, spoke again.
"Shimura Danzo is nothing but a rat in the gutter, a pitiful wretch lost in his laughable Hokage dream. He is not worthy of any connection to me." The disdain in the words was undisguised.
The cold voice held a detachment that looked down upon all living beings, "The Ninja World holds no secrets from me."
The statement was arrogant to the extreme, as if he were the true god of this world!
Then, that proud, cold voice continued, dropping a piece of information that shook Nagato's very soul even more:
"Including the true cause of death of your dear friend Yahiko, and the other original members of Akatsuki."
Deva Path's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
"That so-called 'voluntary sacrifice' tragedy, which strangled Akatsuki's initial ideals in their cradle, killed Yahiko and many Akatsuki's members, and made you fall completely into the abyss of pain-"
Menma's voice paused, as if savoring the other's silent tremor, before slowly dropping the true bomb.
"The true mastermind who orchestrated it all… has actually always been by your side. Playing with your hatred, using your power, to achieve his own ulterior motives."
"What did you say?!" Deva Path's voice lost its composure for the first time, filled with suppressed shock, anger, and a trace of panic he himself hadn't noticed!
'Always by my side?'
'The true mastermind?'
'Not Hanzo? Not Danzo? Not Konoha?'
'Then who?!'
Nagato's mind went blank for an instant, before the image of a mysterious figure with a spiral mask, who called himself Uchiha Madara, involuntarily surfaced.
'Him?'
'That man who appeared when I and Konan were at our most desperate, who told them the 'truth', guided us towards the plan to collect the Tailed Beasts, provided funds and technical support… Uchiha Madara?'
'The timing of that man's appearance was too coincidental. His power was immense yet his movements elusive. He held a deep obsession with the Uchiha Clan and Konoha...'
Nagato had been suspicious of this shadowy figure.
He felt this man's appearance was too convenient. His goals seemed grand yet vague. His words and actions were full of strangeness.
But at the time, Akatsuki was nearly destroyed. He bore a sea of blood and hatred towards Hanzo and Danzo, so he desperately needed power and allies.
Combined with the man's display of Space-Time Ninjutsu and his knowledge of the Uchiha Clan and the Sharingan... Nagato had felt compelled to temporarily believe and cooperate with him.
'Could it be… could it be that Yahiko's death, Akatsuki's destruction, was actually-'
Nagato's breathing grew heavy. Inside the tree hollow where his main body resided, the air seemed to freeze.
Konan, sensing the abnormal emotional fluctuations from the Pains outside and Nagato's increasingly unstable Chakra, felt her unease peak.
"Nagato? What's wrong? Your Chakra is fluctuating violently!" Konan, keenly aware of his abnormality, asked, her usually cool face etched with worry, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Nagato didn't answer. His entire being was immersed in the massive impact and doubt.
He didn't fully believe Shura's words, but this sudden accusation was like a poisonous seed, instantly taking root and growing wildly in his heart!
All the suspicious points from his past interactions with Uchiha Madara now replayed with stark clarity.
"You think you can shake my will with a few words meant to sow discord?" Deva Path's voice was still cold, but he no longer referred to himself as a god.
Menma watched Deva Path with interest, not particularly caring whether Nagato believed him or not, simply dropping the seed, "Believe it or not, it's up to you. The truth does not change because it is denied."
"When you stare into the emptiness beneath that mask, consider this: who truly benefited from Akatsuki's transformation? And who is it that guides you down this path destined for destruction?"
Deva Path did not answer.
Beneath the cover of the dark red Chakra, the corner of 'Shisui's' mouth curled into an unseen arc.
'The goal was achieved.'
'I've caused some trouble for that guy, Obito. It's better not to let him get too comfortable.'
Just then, a flash of red light appeared on the horizon.
Menma, controlling Shisui, looked up towards the western edge of the sky. A glint of amusement seemed to pass through those dark red eyes.
"Oh? It seems that person is very angry," He said cryptically, a tone of mockery in his voice, "I hope you don't get caught next, Nagato."
As the words fell, before Nagato could digest their meaning, the dense dark red Chakra enveloping Shisui receded like a tide, flowing back into the seal on the back of his hand.
As the vast, savage Chakra dissipated, Menma's will also instantly withdrew, as if it had never been there.
Shisui grunted, regaining control of his body. But the huge disparity in power left him feeling weak.
He lost control and fell from mid-air.
He twisted his body with difficulty in the air, finally managing to stabilize his posture enough to land staggering on the ground, falling to one knee, breathing heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
Shisui lifted his right hand, looking at the slowly fading dark red seal, his expression extremely complex.
At the same time, the nine powerful masked summoned creatures also rippled and vanished into thin air, as if melting into the atmosphere.
The battlefield suddenly became empty and silent, leaving only the giant charred crater, the ravaged ground, the hovering Deva Path, who is also silent due to shock and doubt, and the stiffly standing Animal Path Pain, who had lost most of his summoned creatures.
Shisui forcibly suppressed his physical weakness and inner turmoil, warily looking at the Pains, then instinctively looking in the direction Shura had last gazed.
Almost the moment he looked up, a vast, furious, terrifying aura swept over like a tsunami from the western horizon!
At the far edge of the azure sky, a dark red dot was expanding at an alarming speed!
In just a few seconds, the dot's outline became clearly visible!
It was a giant, dark red Chakra-coated warrior god!
It had wings on its back, wore a tengu-like helmet, its face was ferocious, and the right-handed wing held a Chakra sword larger than its own body!
Where it passed, clouds were torn apart, and the air whistled shrilly!
'That's… Uchiha Hikari's Susanoo?!' Shisui's pupils contracted sharply.
Hikari, manipulating the Complete Body Susanoo, shot past like an avenging meteor, skimming just a hundred meters above Honmatsu City!
The massive air currents formed shockwaves that pressed down. Roof tiles in the city rattled, trees swayed violently. The commoners, oppressed by this god-like pressure, fell to their knees in terror, muttering prayers as if witnessing a deity's descent or a demon's wrath.
The commoners of Honmatsu City had never seen such a sight. They dropped to their knees as if worshiping a god.