"Tell me where Uzumaki Naruto is, and I will spare your lives."
Inuzuka Tsume burst out laughing.
"God? An angel?"
"These guys are really crazy!"
Beside her, cold sweat trickled down Aburame Shino's forehead.
"Still, the members of the Akatsuki Organization really do possess some unique abilities. They're going to be quite troublesome…"
Inuzuka Tsume snorted coldly.
"Hmph! We absolutely have to stop them!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, Iruka Umino was responsible for evacuating the elderly, the sick, the injured, and the innocent villagers.
He had just managed to escort the final group of Academy students to safety when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Huh?!"
Before he could even turn around, the hand he had reached toward his kunai pouch was suddenly seized.
A bone-chilling sense of fear instantly spread throughout his body.
"Who are you?!"
The voice that followed was completely emotionless, as if it belonged to some divine being detached from all human emotion.
"Tell me…"
"Where is Uzumaki Naruto?"
Iruka's heart trembled.
As expected… They're after Naruto.
He knew that escaping death was highly unlikely.
Yet, at the moment when death was approaching, Iruka instead revealed a relieved smile.
"Heh…"
Pain's Deva Path frowned slightly.
"Were my words funny?"
Iruka turned around and looked at him as though he were staring at a divine statue.
An unprecedented and terrifying pressure enveloped him.
The Rinnegan of the Six Paths Sage seemed mesmerizing, like two black holes, yet at the same time, they carried an overwhelming presence like a towering mountain capable of suppressing all living beings.
And yet, the fear in Iruka's heart suddenly disappeared.
"It's not funny."
"It's hilarious."
"You may possess power that resembles that of a god, but unfortunately, you fundamentally don't understand what it means to be human."
"Naruto…"
"He isn't just my student. He's also my comrade, my friend, and…"
Iruka's smile became gentler.
"He's like my own child."
"Have you ever seen a parent betray their own child?"
At that moment, not only Pain's Deva Path but even Nagato, who was controlling everything from behind the scenes, couldn't stop his pupils from contracting.
Although he called himself a god, Nagato was ultimately still a human being.
For an instant, he seemed to return to his childhood—to that life-or-death moment when his parents had desperately fought to protect him and told him to run.
A wave of grief and anger that he had not felt in years rose within his heart.
But that grief soon transformed into overwhelming rage.
Pain's expression, however, remained eerily calm.
"You see Uzumaki Naruto as your own child?"
"Then…"
"If I kill you, shouldn't he understand what pain is?"
Iruka smiled faintly.
" Naruto already understands pain very well."
"How many people in this Ninja World have never experienced pain?"
"What truly matters is the choice you make after experiencing it."
"Kill me."
"I'm only a useless ninja from Konoha."
"If I can die protecting Naruto, then that will be the most meaningful death I could ask for."
"I'll die with a smile."
Pain's expression remained cold.
A black chakra rod suddenly appeared in his hand.
He swung it violently toward Iruka!
Whoosh!
Just before the rod could strike, a hand suddenly appeared and firmly caught it.
Unbreakable.
Iruka stared in surprise.
"You… You're…"
"Kakashi?!"
Kakashi Hatake spoke in a deep voice.
"If you kill this man, Naruto will be devastated."
"As his teacher, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch my student experience that kind of pain again."
A ripple finally appeared in Pain's Rinnegan.
"Kakashi Hatake…"
"I've heard of you."
Kakashi smiled.
"Really? That's quite an honor."
Then he looked at Iruka.
"Iruka, leave."
Although Iruka was worried, he knew there was nothing he could do.
If he stayed, he would only become a burden.
He nodded.
"Kakashi… Be careful!"
"I know."
Iruka glanced at Kakashi one last time, gritted his teeth, and left to continue protecting the children.
Pain's Deva Path watched him leave without expression.
"You're an important figure in Konoha."
"You should know the whereabouts of the Seven-Tails and Nine-Tails."
"Tell me."
Kakashi suddenly swung his kunai, knocking away the incoming black chakra rod.
Pain immediately retreated at incredible speed, leaving two deep grooves in the ground beneath his feet.
Kakashi slowly lifted the forehead protector covering his left eye, revealing the blood-red Sharingan.
"Just as Iruka said…"
"You really don't understand anything."
"What kind of teacher would betray his own student?"
A faint emotion seemed to surface in Pain's heart, but his face remained as cold as the sky.
"In that case…"
"You can die too."
Kakashi's Sharingan began to release a powerful ocular technique.
He lightly spun the kunai in his hand before gripping it tightly.
Taking a deep breath, he stared directly at Pain.
"Maybe I'll die…"
"But your plan will never succeed."
Boom!
At the same time, both of them erupted with powerful chakra.
They charged toward each other at incredible speed!
---
Meanwhile, Tsunade stood atop the Hokage Building, watching the battle unfolding throughout the village.
Her brows were tightly furrowed, and her expression grew increasingly serious.
"It seems we've still underestimated Pain's strength."
"To cause this much panic and chaos throughout the entire village…"
Shizune hurriedly replied,
"Fortunately, we conducted emergency drills beforehand, so everyone responded very quickly."
"There was some initial panic, but the situation is gradually coming under control."
"However, we still don't know the full extent of Pain's abilities. Something unexpected could happen at any moment."
"Lady Tsunade…"
"I was wondering whether we should call Jiraiya back."
"And what about Naruto and the others?"
The Anbu standing behind them immediately became tense.
"Hokage-sama, we should definitely recall Jiraiya."
"But Naruto…"
"Under these circumstances, bringing Naruto back would be far too dangerous!"
Tsunade hesitated.
In the original story, calling Naruto back to Konoha had already been an extremely risky decision.
At that time, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and even Kakashi were not in the village.
But things were different now.
All of them were still here.
The situation had completely changed.
Shizune thought for a moment before saying,
"The Anbu are right. Naruto is safest on Mount Myōboku."
"The battle in the village is gradually coming under control, and with Jiraiya here, we should be able to handle everything."
Tsunade sighed.
"Very well."
"For now, we won't call Naruto back."
Just then—
"Hokage-sama!"
A communications ninja hurried forward.
"We've received a report from Kirigakure!"
"They're also under attack by the Akatsuki Organization!"
"The enemies are Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Itachi!"
Tsunade's expression hardened.
"As expected…"
"This time, they're fighting with everything they have, as if they've been backed into a corner."
"However, Kirigakure has the Mighty Man and his team there."
"Iwagakure and Kumogakure have also sent reinforcements."
"So there shouldn't be any major problems."
She immediately turned toward Shizune.
"Shizune, tell the toads stationed in Konoha to immediately use the Reverse Summoning Jutsu and bring Jiraiya back!"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
Ever since Naruto and Jiraiya had left the village, Tsunade had kept several toads from Mount Myōboku hidden in Konoha as a precaution.
That way, she could summon them back immediately during a crisis.
Without any hesitation, Tsunade quickly formed a series of hand seals and activated her technique.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom!
In an instant, a gigantic Katsuyu appeared in front of the Hokage Building.
Its enormous body was almost as large as the Hokage Building itself, perhaps even larger!
This was the full power of Tsunade's summoning technique.
"Lady Tsunade, what's happening?!"
"There's no time to waste!"
"Katsuyu, quickly split up and protect the ninjas and villagers!"
"Surround the entire village of Konoha!"
"Yes, I understand!"
Shortly afterward, the enormous Katsuyu rapidly divided into countless smaller slugs.
It was as though a small mountain had suddenly collapsed.
Tens of thousands of smaller Katsuyu spread in every direction, flowing through the village like a surging tide.
At the same time—
BOOM!
________________________________________
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