The words themselves were perfectly calm, yet when Deva Path Pain spoke them, they sounded like a roar from the depths of hell, carrying an overwhelming sense of menace.
That was probably because he had just flattened all of Konoha with a single attack.
Then everyone saw the Six Paths of Pain outside the village rise to their feet again.
Clearly, unleashing a Shinra Tensei on that scale required the combined power of all Six Paths of Pain. It also demanded an enormous price, such as shortening Nagato's own lifespan.
Of course, that could be considered a fortunate problem to have.
Most people couldn't destroy an entire village in an instant even if they burned away every last year of their lives.
Now that the Massive Shinra Tensei had ended, the Six Paths of Pain had awakened once more.
What shocked everyone even more was the sight of the Asura Path, whose body had been smashed beyond use, being completely restored by the Naraka Path's King of Hell resurrection technique.
It only took a few moments.
The Asura Path was repaired as easily and conveniently as a tool being fixed in a factory.
"We have to find a way to kill that Pain first."
Cold sweat ran down Hatake Kakashi's back as he watched.
How were they supposed to fight this?
Unless they killed the Naraka Path, they could battle the other Paths to the death, only for them to be restored moments later.
How could anyone possibly win?
It seemed completely unsolvable.
"No. Even getting rid of that Pain won't be enough, because the one controlling it is Nagato."
Uchiha Itachi had reached the same conclusion, but he immediately looked one step deeper.
The Naraka Path appeared to be the core of the formation, but the real problem was Nagato, the one capable of creating the Naraka Path in the first place.
"So the best way to defeat the Six Paths of Pain is to eliminate Nagato behind them," Uchiha Itachi said.
Nagato's true body would probably be extremely difficult to deal with, especially since he possessed the Rinnegan.
Even so, it was the only solution.
Fighting the Six Paths of Pain, which were practically no different from Summoned Beasts, would never solve the real problem.
They could simply be revived again and again.
To catch the bandits, first catch their leader.
That was the only way.
Unfortunately, there was no good method of doing so.
Under normal circumstances, Nagato's real body was probably hidden somewhere in the Land of Rain, undoubtedly protected by the Six Paths of Pain.
Nagato's own strength remained unknown, while the Six Paths of Pain alone were already incredibly troublesome.
Ultimately, the greatest problem was that the Six Paths of Pain were simply too powerful for Itachi to handle.
Super Kage Level.
According to Kaede Kitahara's classification system, even if Itachi had been perfectly healthy and at his peak, he still would have been an entire major level below Nagato.
It was like the difference between Itachi and an ordinary Jonin.
Whether he used Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu, Itachi could kill such an opponent instantly.
"What a headache."
Uchiha Itachi still couldn't think of any way to deal with Nagato.
"Why did you have to go that far?"
Konan's face was filled with sorrow.
The thought of Nagato sacrificing part of his lifespan made her heart ache.
There had been no need for this.
All he had to do was capture Uzumaki Naruto, and their mission would be over.
None of this had been necessary.
Of course, Konan didn't know that Tsunade's words had nearly driven Nagato mad with fury.
What did she mean by saying that the great nations had suffered too, so everyone should simply let the past go?
The invading great nations had lost far fewer people than the smaller nations they used as battlefields.
Even if the casualties had been equal, the people of those smaller nations had been innocent victims caught in disasters that had nothing to do with them.
How could Tsunade dismiss their suffering so casually?
Her Talk Release had failed to resolve anything.
It had only made the conflict worse.
Tsunade had never truly viewed the world from the perspective of a weak nation.
Her birth, talent, teachers, and abilities had naturally placed her among the powerful people of the world. She didn't understand the grief and suffering of the weak.
Or perhaps she did understand, but in the heat of the moment, the truest thoughts buried in the depths of her heart had slipped out.
That was fundamentally different from Uzumaki Naruto, who could genuinely understand the pain of others because he had once been weak himself.
That was why Naruto's Talk Release so often persuaded others.
Tsunade's Talk Release, on the other hand, had immediately produced the opposite effect. She had enraged Nagato so badly that he was willing to shorten his own life just to destroy Konoha.
The only answer Konan received came from the Animal Path.
"Because this is my justice!"
With that, the Animal Path was thrown straight into the ruins of Konoha.
It was obviously the same tactic they had used when first invading the Hidden Leaf Village.
"When all of his Chakra is concentrated solely into the Deva Path, the power of his Ninjutsu becomes enormous, but so does the risk. Compared to the last time he used this technique, the other five are recovering more slowly!"
Konan suddenly seemed to realize something.
"I'll keep watching over you from now on. No more paper clones."
Everyone fell into thought after hearing that.
Konan had probably never imagined that anyone else would hear those words. She had spoken without trying to hide anything.
Uchiha Itachi was the first to understand.
"Kekkei Genkai Disease?"
Itachi himself suffered from Kekkei Genkai Disease.
His body had been ruined by awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan at such a young age.
Following that logic, if the Mangekyo Sharingan placed an enormous burden on its user, then it made sense that the legendary Rinnegan possessed by the Sage of Six Paths would place an even greater strain on the body.
"So just like the Mangekyo Sharingan, every use carries an immense burden?"
Namikaze Minato narrowed his eyes.
That explained a great many things.
Despite possessing such overwhelming power, Nagato had remained quiet for all these years. He had simply recruited followers and ordered the Akatsuki Organization to gather the nine Tailed Beasts.
The tremendous burden of the Rinnegan was probably directly responsible.
A dōjutsu like that had to place enormous strain on the body.
After unleashing a Shinra Tensei powerful enough to cover the entire village, even the speed at which Nagato restored the Six Paths of Pain had slowed.
To everyone else, their recovery still seemed unbelievably fast and frightening.
But in Konan's eyes, it was clearly much slower than before.
"So that's what it was!"
Jiraiya suddenly remembered something.
In the previous alternate timeline, when Six Paths Naruto found Nagato during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Nagato had looked unbelievably frail and obviously malnourished.
Yet Nagato was a member of the Uzumaki Clan.
That clan was famous for its powerful vitality and exceptional physical constitution.
The few members of the Uzumaki Clan in the Hidden Leaf Village all possessed remarkably strong bodies.
Uzumaki Naruto's massive Chakra reserves at such a young age were inseparable from his Uzumaki bloodline.
But how old was Nagato now?
Had he even reached thirty?
And yet he had already weakened to such an extent.
The realization felt similar to when they had first learned that Uchiha Itachi suffered from Kekkei Genkai Disease.
"So that's why Nagato never travels in person and created these Six Paths of Pain instead?"
At that moment, Jiraiya felt as though everything had finally fallen into place.
Most of the Six Paths of Pain seemed to remain in storage as well. Usually, only one of them moved around outside.
Jiraiya had originally assumed that Nagato simply didn't need more than one Path for ordinary tasks.
But now it seemed more likely that his body simply couldn't endure the strain.
Judging by Uchiha Itachi's condition, Nagato might even die on his own one day.
Meanwhile, the Animal Path that had been thrown into Konoha was already forming hand seals in midair.
"Summoning Jutsu."
In an instant, all Six Paths of Pain were summoned to her location.
"So all six of them are gathered here."
Shima found the situation incredibly troublesome.
Just then, Tsunade descended from above and landed between the two sides.
"I am the Fifth Hokage."
Tsunade glared at the Six Paths of Pain, struggling to catch her breath.
"You have trampled upon the treasures and dreams our predecessors left behind. I will never forgive you. Here and now, as Hokage, I will settle this with you."
Deva Path Pain actually smiled faintly when he heard her words.
"It seems you have begun to understand pain. But you are not the one I came for. The one I seek is…"
Before he could finish, the newly restored Asura Path moved.
Its entire body shot toward Tsunade like an arrow released from a bow.
A thunderous crash rang out the next second.
Uzumaki Naruto shattered it with a single blow.
"You came for me, didn't you?"
Uzumaki Naruto was beyond furious.
At that moment, everyone remembered a ridiculous joke Kaede Kitahara had once mentioned in his diary.
Killing Intent Naruto.
In other words, Naruto with the intent to kill.
After seeing all of Konoha destroyed, Uzumaki Naruto had entered his most powerful state.
That was right.
Uzumaki Naruto's strongest form wasn't Sage Tailed Beast Mode.
It was Killing Intent Naruto Mode.
Only in this state could Uzumaki Naruto truly draw out every ounce of his potential.
"There's no need for Konoha's Hokage to deal with these people."
Uzumaki Naruto stood in front of Tsunade and spoke in a cold voice.
"Granny, step aside and take it easy. Go drink some tea."
"Naruto!"
Tsunade stared at him in shock.
The Tsunade watching the diary was even more stunned.
She found it difficult to connect this dependable man with the careless little brat from the earlier video, the one who hadn't even managed to learn the Rasengan yet.
Back then, she hadn't believed a single word when Uzumaki Naruto declared that he would become the Fifth Hokage.
She had only accepted the possibility after learning from the diary that he would become the Seventh Hokage in the future.
But it wasn't until she witnessed this moment that the truth finally felt real.
The village had encountered an unprecedented catastrophe.
All three men Tsunade might have relied upon had fallen in battle.
The Old Man, Jiraiya, and even Hatake Kakashi from the younger generation were all dead.
Konoha itself had been flattened.
And in the midst of that devastation, Uzumaki Naruto appeared.
His arrival filled everyone with confidence.
That blond hair, his voice, and even his appearance made Tsunade think of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
A tiger father would never raise a dog for a son.
As expected of the Fourth Hokage's child.