The air inside the hideout shifted—pressure bending, twisting, then snapping back into place.I felt it before it happened.
A gravitational pulse.A tug in my chest.A ripple of chakra that answered a call I hadn't even spoken aloud.
My fingers curled slightly.
"Come."
The world stirred.
A tall figure materialized before me—silent, expressionless, and unmistakable. Pale skin. Orange hair spiked upwards. Dozens of black chakra receivers embedded along his body. The familiar black cloak with red clouds draped over him like a storm waiting to fall.
The Deva Path.My first and only Path of Pain.
He opened his Rinnegan eyes.
He didn't kneel.He didn't bow.
He simply existed—connected to me on a level deeper than flesh.
My will.My eyes.My hand in the world.
But I immediately noticed the difference.
He was alone.
Nagato had six.
I had one.
The system's message echoed again in my memory:
"You currently possess only the Deva Path.Additional Paths must be purchased with Reputation Points."
I exhaled slowly.
"Six Paths… one down, five to go."
It wasn't ideal—but it was workable. Unlike the original Nagato, my paths weren't tethered by distance or chakra strain. The system had rewritten that limitation entirely.
The Deva Path could walk across the entire planet and never lose connection to me.
Good.
I needed that advantage, because the next problem struck me as soon as I pushed my wheelchair toward the hideout entrance.
Outside…there was nothing but green.
Endless green.
A sky choked by thick jungle canopy.Damp air.Insects humming like a living wall of sound.A heat that clung to my lungs like wet cloth.
A rainforest.
Dense. Untamed. Isolated.
I wasn't near a city or a road or even a remote village.I was in the middle of nowhere—far from civilization, far from witnesses, far from Reputation.
"So the system gave me a base," I muttered, "but it didn't give me neighbors."
Annoying.
But not hopeless.
I summoned the Deva Path closer, studying him through both physical sight and our chakra link. He was strong enough to flatten a small town with a casual Shinra Tensei. He could fly. He could move at incredible speeds.
He could spread the name of the Akatsuki.
But the question hung over me like a storm cloud:
"Where am I? What version of DC is this?"
There were dozens—comics, animated shows, movies, multiverses.Some worlds had Superman from day one.Some had Batman barely starting out.Some had gods walking the streets.Some had apocalypses waiting to happen.
I needed information.
And information required proximity to people.
"Points…" I whispered. "How do I earn points…"
I opened the system panel again.
[Reputation Generation]
You gain RP whenever:
People learn of the Akatsuki.
The Akatsuki causes impactful events.
Your actions influence major players of the DC world.
Your image, symbol, or ideology spreads.
"So no killing random wildlife," I sighed. "Good. That would have been pathetic."
The path forward was obvious:
I needed eyes on me.I needed witnesses.I needed rumors.
The Deva Path alone could accomplish that.He didn't need food, water, rest, or protection.
He needed direction.
I closed my eyes, letting chakra senses expand outward through him—reaching past the hideout, past the trees, trying to find a pulse of civilization.
At first, nothing but wilderness.
Then—
A faint hum.
Electricity.Engines.Infrastructure.
A city.
Far, far away… but reachable.
I opened my eyes sharply.
"There. That way."
The Deva Path turned without hesitation.
But before sending him off, one more thought hit me:
I still didn't know what world this was.
It could be:
Gotham
Metropolis
Central City
Star City
A mixture of many
Or somewhere completely unexpected
I needed my Path to observe. To listen. To gather intel. To see who lived there. Who ruled it. Who watched from the shadows.
I placed a hand on the Deva Path's shoulder—feeling the cold, emotionless steadiness of his form.
"You are my voice," I whispered. "My first step. My first strike."
He stared forward, expression blank.
"Go. Walk into the world. Show them… Pain."
He launched upward in a blur, breaking through the canopy, vanishing into the sky to scout the nearest city—unknown, dangerous, and perfect.
I watched the disturbance in the leaves settle.
Alone again.
But not powerless.
"As long as even one Path walks the earth," I murmured, "the Akatsuki breathes."
And soon…
The points would start rolling in.