Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 450 Let the World Feel Pain

[Report from No. 6: The Hell Path has been fleeing under the cover of the Hungry Ghost Path, and has now reached South C District.]

"It seems he wants to save the animal realm. Let him come; I'll stay here. You all focus on dealing with the hungry ghost realm."

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"Tobirama, your apprentice is dying, aren't you going to send a clone to check on him?"

"...Just watch. But be careful, he probably has a suicide jutsu up his sleeve."

"Hmph, I'm not stupid."

"I'm telling you to prevent him from destroying the evidence; he'll definitely retain that kind of technique."

"...Tsk, so he knows he's shameful."

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[Report from Number 3: The Heavenly Dao suddenly ascended into the sky; its speed was too great for us to stop within our attack range!]

〖What?〗

Tobirama, who had remained calm and composed, could no longer sit still. He looked up and discovered that the Heavenly Path was indeed floating in the sky, and was even rising higher. Among the attacks aimed at the sky, only Jiraiya, who was standing on a toad, reached the highest point, even forcing the Heavenly Path to dodge by twisting and turning in the air. However, the toad's jumping ability has its limits. When Jiraiya failed to bring the Heavenly Path down even from his high vantage point, the most troublesome situation was about to occur.

"Bang!" The Human Path, which had broken in two, turned into smoke and disappeared. The Animal Path, which Shizune and her team were studying not far away, also disappeared. It seems that, just as they predicted, even if all the Pains died, Nagato, as the original body, still possessed all the abilities of the Six Paths of Pain.

The enemy was well-prepared; even now, Tobirama hadn't pinpointed Nagato's exact location, only deduced a general area. Otherwise, he would have already led his forces there. His plan was to capture all the Pains and then use the remains of the Deva Path to negotiate with Nagato. It was despicable, but he wasn't as soft-hearted as Naruto. The enemy had infiltrated Konoha and caused such devastation; giving Nagato even a chance to speak was already the limit.

"Tsunade, prepare for the impact." Tobirama called for reinforcements while informing Tsunade of the situation. The Deva Path's abilities do seem simple, but if the power of a technique is amplified infinitely, it's no different from a Tailed Beast Ball! Judging from the amount of chakra he's gathering and his actions in recalling the other Pains... is he planning to destroy Konoha?!

Don't even think about it!

"What impact?" Tsunade had just confirmed the casualties of the entire village when she received Tobirama's report, and she was completely stunned.

"Lady Tsunade, Pain has suddenly retreated; only the Deva Path has flown over the village," the slug responsible for relaying the message reported the unexpected situation.

As one of the legendary Sannin who had survived death, Tsunade had unwavering faith in her sixth sense. She looked up into the sunlight, but could only see a tiny black dot. The dot seemed insignificant, yet a profound unease rose within Tsunade. Even her great-grandfather had said there would be an impact; the enemy hadn't truly retreated, but was preparing something huge!

"Slug, protect everyone!"

Tsunade gave the final order and charged forward without hesitation. No matter what kind of technique the enemy intended to use, she would not back down if she could at least offer some resistance. However, her path was blocked. Two ANBU-style ninjas stood in her way, preventing her from advancing.

"Excuse me, Lord Hokage, please do not approach in that direction!"

"Get out of the way!" Tsunade frowned, intending to force her way in, but just as she raised her fist, Tobirama's voice came through her earpiece again.

"Xiao Gang, don't move."

Four beams of red light shot into the sky, perfectly surrounding the Heavenly Dao in the heavens. Immediately afterwards, a red wall that rose straight into the sky appeared before Tsunade's eyes.

"This is... the Four Red Sun Formation?"

The barrier, which was said to require four Kage-level experts to activate, suddenly appeared in the heart of Konoha.

At this moment, within the barrier where Nagato was hiding, five Pains emerged from the smoke. Three were destroyed, one was half-dead, and only the Hell Path, which had been trying to avoid the battle, remained largely unscathed. Nagato himself had summoned them; even if it revealed his location, he had to do it. With all six Paths of Pain present, the invasion of Konoha had been so passive. The Konoha's counterattack was stronger than expected, and even the Deva Path had nearly been destroyed.

Konoha's individual soldiers might not be strong enough, but when they unite and launch tactical attacks, even Pain couldn't withstand such a relentless onslaught. Moreover, he suspected this group possessed all his intelligence; otherwise, how could they have accurately pinpointed his weaknesses without any probing? Who leaked the information? Itachi? Impossible, he hadn't displayed the full power of the Six Paths in front of Itachi. So who was it?

Forget it, that's not important anymore. Only by using that technique can he eliminate the most ninjas in the shortest amount of time. Besides... a large country like Konoha has always disregarded the lives of people from smaller countries. People like Jiraiya are ultimately a minority. Only by making them personally experience the pain of loss will they wake up from their arrogance!

Seeing that five of the six Pain had returned, Konan immediately saw through Nagato's plan and anxiously tried to stop him, "No! That technique will shorten your lifespan!"

But the only one standing in the Hell Path also collapsed in response. Was it because all the power was concentrated?

"Do we really have to do this no matter what, Nagato?"

“I can’t forget Yahiko’s pain,” Nagato said.

In the distant sky, the Heavenly Dao, poised to strike, delivered its final judgment upon Konoha.

"From this moment on... let the world feel pain!"

Super Shinra Tensei!

While Konoha was in chaos, Mount Myōboku remained peaceful and serene.

The figures of a man and a frog darted across the Toad Oil Waterfall, the sounds of fists clashing echoing through the air. Mount Myōboku, with its enduring legacy, truly possesses many wonders. Compared to the limbless serpents, the toads, with their four limbs, have far more combat skills. Even Sasuke had to admit that Fukasaku was a worthy opponent.

However, their battle was interrupted by a voice—it was the frog in charge of guarding the roster. Its appearance immediately gave Sasuke a bad feeling.

"Huh? Could it be..." Naruto's voice unusually impatient, "Pain has attacked?"

"Lord Fukasaku, something terrible has happened! Kousuke, who was in charge of liaison, has disappeared from the roster!"

As expected, it came so quickly? It's only been a week, right?

Only then did they realize that Gamabunta was missing from the giant toad, presumably summoned by Jiraiya. These seniors were really something, failing to inform him immediately after such a major incident... Well, he's dead now; if anyone should be notified, it would be Sasuke. They didn't know Sasuke's current strength and needed to conceal the news of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's replacement, so... it was reasonable that they didn't say anything.

However, this does not mean that Sasuke can accept such protection with a clear conscience!

"Have the Second Hokage summon me, immediately."