The possibility was terrifying.
Just thinking about it was enough to make them feel suffocated.
How could such a horrifying organization exist in the Shinobi World?
Namikaze Minato wasn't the only one who reached that conclusion. Nearly everyone else had thought of the same thing, and their guesses were almost identical to his.
The Akatsuki Organization had beaten the entire Shinobi World into submission and taken away their Tailed Beasts.
More than eighty percent of the Shinobi World's strongest fighters had probably been slaughtered.
Otherwise, how could the villages have tolerated having their Tailed Beasts taken from them?
That was the only conclusion they could reach, since none of them knew the full story.
"You've become this brutal, yet you still call yourself a god who brings order to the Shinobi World? Nagato, just how far have you strayed down this twisted path?"
Jiraiya sighed.
"So Naruto really is your target?"
Tsunade still knew very little in the video. She continued probing Deva Path Pain, trying to confirm his intentions.
"Conflict will soon erupt everywhere. The flames of war will spread throughout the world, and we will control those wars. If you cooperate with us, we may be willing to spare you."
Through Deva Path Pain, Nagato revealed his plan.
"Given the current situation, you should already understand how powerful we are."
Tsunade's fury exploded.
"Don't underestimate the Five Kage!"
"Our ancestors spent generations pursuing peace and doing everything they could to preserve a stable life. Nothing you terrorists say will convince us to let you destroy it!"
Deva Path Pain opened his Rinnegan and stared at her coldly.
"Do not be so arrogant."
A terrifying surge of Chakra erupted from his body and swept outward in an instant.
"What horrifying Chakra…"
"So this is the power of the Rinnegan? It's completely different from every form of ocular power we've seen before."
The surrounding Anbu stared in shock.
"Your peace was built upon violence against us!"
Deva Path Pain was equally furious.
He spoke for the blood and tears of the smaller shinobi villages that had never been given the chance to cry out in pain.
The great nations and the Five Great Shinobi Villages treated smaller countries as boards upon which they played their games.
They were the true disease poisoning the world.
Tsunade had no answer to that accusation.
"Konoha's actions in the past were not entirely justified," she admitted. "But I will never forgive what you're doing."
"Watch your words. This is your final warning from a god," Nagato said coldly. "Tell me where Naruto is. Speak!"
Even in the face of that threat, Tsunade displayed the unyielding resolve expected of a Hokage.
"We will gather every ounce of strength we possess and defeat you. That is all. And there is one thing you are completely wrong about. The thing you desire will never fall into your hands!"
"If you believe Konoha's shinobi can protect Naruto forever, then…"
Nagato began.
"No. Naruto is strong."
Tsunade cut him off.
At that moment, however, the Six Paths of Pain extracted the truth from Shizune's memories.
Uzumaki Naruto wasn't in Konoha.
He was at Mount Myoboku.
"It seems Naruto isn't here," Deva Path Pain said coldly. "He's at Mount Myoboku."
Once they learned his location, the Six Paths of Pain began withdrawing. Even the enormous Summoned Beasts were released from their summons.
"Mount Myoboku… the village of the toads?"
Deva Path Pain quickly made his decision.
"Remaining here any longer would be a waste of time. Before I leave, may I ask one final question? Is the Chakra gathered beneath your feet meant to counter my technique? It appears you have discovered how my power works. But before overwhelming strength, all resistance is meaningless."
"You great nations have already proven that yourselves. You still imagine that you are the protagonists of this world, believing death remains far beyond your reach."
"You have become shallow and complacent, drowning in peace. Those who kill will eventually be killed. Hatred binds both sides together."
Through the vision of the Rinnegan, Deva Path Pain could clearly see the Chakra concentrated beneath Tsunade and the others' feet.
They had likely gathered it there to prevent Shinra Tensei from blowing them away.
For the first time, everyone watching the diary saw the world through the Rinnegan.
It resembled a world of black and white.
Like the Sharingan and Byakugan, the Rinnegan could see Chakra.
Chakra invisible to ordinary eyes stood out with perfect clarity before it.
"War always brings death and suffering to both sides," Nagato said.
"That's nothing but nonsense," Tsunade shot back. "The great nations have suffered too. Stop using the past as an excuse to continue doing this."
Deva Path Pain gave her a cold glance.
"Foolish."
"Feel the pain. Contemplate pain."
His body rose straight into the air.
Everyone's eyes widened.
They remembered this scene.
It had appeared in one of Kaede Kitahara's earlier diary videos, and the image had left an unforgettable impression on them.
The moment when Deva Path Pain destroyed Konoha with a single attack had arrived.
"Accept pain. Understand pain."
"Accept pain. Understand pain."
"Those who know no pain can never understand true peace!"
Deva Path Pain soared high above the village.
At the same time, the Animal Path summoned every remaining Path out of the Hidden Leaf Village, including the Asura Path, whose body had already been shattered.
"What is happening?"
Konan asked.
"He's going to use that."
The Animal Path answered.
The people of Konoha thought the Six Paths of Pain were retreating.
They believed the enemy had given up.
They thought they had won.
All they could see was Deva Path Pain growing smaller and smaller against the vast sky.
Meanwhile, at Mount Myoboku, Uzumaki Naruto finally received news from Konoha.
Mount Myoboku had also discovered that the messenger toad responsible for communication had been killed.
Shima finally saw Konoha's current condition.
Beneath the blazing sun, Deva Path Pain opened his Rinnegan.
His expression remained cold and detached, making him look like a true god.
Only Konan objected.
Using this technique would shorten Nagato's life.
But Nagato refused to listen.
Deva Path Pain gathered all the power of the Six Paths of Pain into himself, determined to unleash the attack regardless of the cost.
"So this technique has limitations too. That explains it."
Jiraiya murmured to himself.
No wonder Nagato hadn't used this attack during Jiraiya's battle against the Six Paths of Pain in the Land of Rain.
The technique shortened his lifespan.
Or perhaps only a Shinra Tensei fueled by the sacrifice of his lifespan could achieve such overwhelming power and earn him the title of a god among men.
The strength Deva Path Pain had displayed during his battle against Hatake Kakashi hadn't been nearly enough to justify such a title.
"That makes sense. There truly is no invincible Ninjutsu. Every technique has a weakness."
Uchiha Itachi spoke quietly.
He had always believed there was no such thing as an invincible Ninjutsu, only an invincible shinobi.
Even someone as powerful as the Six Paths of Pain couldn't possibly be flawless.
Now Itachi understood.
Pain did possess weaknesses.
They were simply weaknesses that ordinary people had no hope of exploiting.
Even the five-second interval between Deva Path Pain's techniques appeared to be a vulnerability, but how many people could actually take advantage of it?
"Is that attack really so powerful?"
Unwillingness crept into Uchiha Sasuke's voice.
He had always believed the Sharingan was the strongest dōjutsu.
He refused to accept that another dōjutsu kekkei genkai could surpass it.
The Sharingan could evolve into the Mangekyo Sharingan and eventually the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Those were the true treasures of the Uchiha Clan.
Yet not even the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan possessed a dōjutsu capable of destroying an entire village.
The scale of such power went beyond everything Sasuke understood.
His pride allowed him only to mutter under his breath.
Could the Sharingan truly be inferior to that ridiculous Rinnegan?
"Senpai…"
Uzumaki Naruto sighed, unable to find the words.
He had endured similar pain.
Yet he had chosen a completely different path.
Namikaze Minato desperately considered how he might counter a Shinra Tensei of that magnitude.
He could think of almost nothing.
One attack brought heaven and earth crashing down.
At most, he could use the Flying Thunder God to escape and save himself.
Actually resisting the technique seemed nearly impossible.
In the video, Deva Path Pain's figure was almost completely swallowed by the sun.
His voice remained calm.
"I will never forget Yahiko's pain. From this moment onward, the world shall know pain."
"Shinra Tensei!"
A deafening roar erupted.
Terrifying repulsive force swept across the village in an instant.
All of Konoha was destroyed.
It was as if the village had been struck by a catastrophic earthquake and erased from the earth in a single moment.
[Another disaster caused by Danzo.]
A comment from Kaede Kitahara suddenly drifted across the video.
Everyone froze.
What did this have to do with Danzo?
They couldn't understand.
"Wait… It's possible. Yahiko's death…"
Jiraiya spoke abruptly.
He suddenly remembered that Nagato had once been an extraordinarily gentle child.
Why had he become this?
There was no doubt that Yahiko's death had dealt Nagato a devastating blow.
Nagato had even gone so far as to turn Yahiko's corpse into Deva Path Pain, desperately pretending that Yahiko still existed.
He wanted to use Yahiko's power to change the world.
He wanted more people to know Yahiko's pain.
He wanted the world to experience suffering so that its people would learn to treasure peace.
But one crucial question remained.
How had Yahiko died?
Even now, Jiraiya didn't know.
He only knew that Yahiko had died suddenly.
Deva Path Pain had never explained it.
Nagato had never revealed the truth either.
Could they now make a reasonable deduction?
Was Danzo directly connected to Yahiko's death?
Jiraiya suddenly remembered something Kaede Kitahara often wrote in the diary.
Whenever something terrible happened in the Shinobi World and no one could find someone to blame, Danzo had probably done it.