"Shut up!"
Jiraiya picking up Yahiko pushed Nagato into a fit of rage.
In Nagato's eyes, Yahiko's death was inextricably linked to Jiraiya's naive pronouncements.
It was Yahiko's death that made Nagato completely reject Jiraiya's ideas.
People cannot understand each other; no one can truly empathize with another's experiences.
As Nagato's expression changed, Jiraiya, Konan, and all the Ninja following Jiraiya behind him, all blanched.
"Nagato!"
"General Commander!"
Nagato, having fully unleashed the power of the Asura Path, unleashed a barrage of artillery fire at Jiraiya.
Konan could never stand by and watch Jiraiya die in front of her; she didn't attack Nagato, but instead shot out countless sheets of paper, wrapping Jiraiya in layers.
The giant cocoon made of white paper was sent flying, and the Konoha Ninja, who were ostensibly guards but in reality observers, could not remain indifferent to Jiraiya's plight.
After embracing the giant cocoon, he left a threat and scurried away.
"Hidden Rain Village, you just wait!"
In the command center, medical Ninja opened the paper cocoon, revealing Jiraiya inside.
He had extensive burns all over his body, countless tiny holes, and almost all his internal organs were damaged to varying degrees; not a single bone was intact.
If Jiraiya hadn't realized the danger and dodged the central impact zone, and Konan hadn't helped block some of the damage, Jiraiya would likely have been instantly killed.
The Asura Path itself was the most powerful of the Six Paths of Pain, second only to the Deva Path.
After retracting Nagato's main body, he could unleash his full power at any time and place; Nagato's furious attack meant that Jiraiya's thick skin was the only reason he didn't die immediately.
It wasn't that Jiraiya was truly weak; if he entered Sage Mode, Jiraiya could contend with the current Nagato, but the Six Paths of Pain's abilities were almost all instantaneous.
Against Nagato, Jiraiya wouldn't have time to enter Sage Mode; being able to form hand signs for a Ninjutsu would be a good outcome.
Hand signs, after all, were for the weak; battles between the strong never involved hand signs.
It was all about the instantaneous abilities and Taijutsu of both sides.
The events within the Allied Forces were quickly relayed to Tomoki, who was now awaiting Tomoki's instructions on how to deal with Hidden Rain Village.
Tomoki was indeed not in Konoha at the moment, but he hadn't truly abandoned everything and become uninvolved.
Whether it was Konoha or the Allied Forces, Tomoki remained fully aware of all matters.
The "Heaven's Eye" could not only function as a spy satellite but also possessed all the capabilities of a communication satellite.
After learning what had happened, Tomoki was indifferent to Jiraiya's usual self-destructive tendencies, but for the sake of Konoha's reputation, action against Hidden Rain Village was necessary.
A few tenths of the resource points originally allocated to Hidden Rain Village were reduced and given to Konoha as compensation.
This kind of insignificant punishment was not cared about by Nagato, nor by Hidden Rain Village.
As the only Ninja-controlled nation in the Ninja World, Hidden Rain Village was already not particularly interested in these things; had Nagato not sought his own path to peace within the Shinobi Alliance.
Hidden Rain Village might not even have participated in this operation.
After resolving a minor issue, Tomoki was more concerned about another matter.
This information didn't come through Konoha's channels, but rather from a message delivered by White Zetsu.
Tomoki was wandering the Ninja World, using only a Transformation Jutsu, disguised as an unremarkable young man.
The White Zetsu spread throughout the Ninja World had long since discovered Tomoki's whereabouts.
And just recently, White Zetsu brought Tomoki a message: Obito had started causing trouble in the Land of Demons.
Black Zetsu informed Tomoki of Obito's actions mainly because he was afraid Tomoki would misunderstand.
His current behavior was a preemptive warning to Tomoki: if anything unexpected happened later, it had nothing to do with Black Zetsu; please, sir, don't blame me for it and go bother the Tailed Beast.
Tomoki sent White Zetsu away with a simple message: "Understood."
What was important wasn't the event itself, but Black Zetsu's attitude.
It seemed the threat Fugaku delivered last time was very effective; the current Black Zetsu was much more obedient, understanding who the true benefactor he needed to curry favor with was.
Although Tomoki knew about Obito's plans, he didn't pay much attention to them; the Shinobi Alliance could handle it later.
The Land of Demons bordered the Land of Earth, which would give the Shinobi Alliance something to do in the future.
Tomoki, who was traversing the Ninja World almost like a carpet-bombing, had now reached the Land of Rice Fields.
Tomoki slowed his pace slightly, intending to meet an old acquaintance.
It wasn't Kakuzu or Sasori, as so much time had passed, Kakuzu had long since gone to explore another market.
Kakuzu, having mastered core sales skills, had long since conquered the markets of one small country after another.
Kakuzu had indeed caught a good time; the Shinobi Alliance established by Tomoki significantly reduced the difficulty of Kakuzu's conquests.
Many Ninja Villages had abandoned their original countries, and even those that remained in their own countries were indifferent to the nobles' pleas for help.
Following Konoha's intelligence, Tomoki quickly arrived at a flat area that appeared to have nothing but low vegetation.
Although there was nothing there, and even using his Sharingan revealed nothing amiss, Tomoki was certain that Orochimaru, or rather Uchiha Un-chidori's, base was nearby.
This was why Tomoki placed such importance on research; often, technological breakthroughs brought a dimension-reducing strike to others.
The residents of the Ninja World, unaware of the 'Heaven's Eye' hanging above them, even Orochimaru, did not use the methods Tomoki had in his previous life.
Ninja were also human and could not live on dirt; Konoha had long since analyzed that Orochimaru's base was nearby.
And indeed, Tomoki merely wandered around the vicinity for a while and soon met the person he wished to see.
"Hokage-sama, Lord Orochimaru requests your presence at the base for a discussion."
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