After finishing the segment on Nagato "awakening" the Rinnegan, the screen stopped introducing Nagato's life story and went straight to the main topic.
In the scene, Konan and the Six Paths of Pain stood at the edge of a forest, with the corpses of several shinobis wearing Konoha forehead protectors lying scattered around them.
Those among the audience watching and were quick on the uptake immediately realized that this was going to cover Nagato's invasion of Konoha.
[Speaking of which, in the decades after Hashirama died and the "Uchiha" went into hiding, though the overall combat power of shinobis was not exceptionally high, the battles were still quite thrilling; intelligence gathering, observation of details, tactical deception, and strategic execution—none could be overlooked.]
[However, it was precisely the Six Paths of Pain's invasion of Konoha that reminded the entire Shinobi World of the godlike power that had existed decades earlier. The kind of strength that allowed a single person to take on an entire village, exemplified by Hashirama and Madara.]
[Nagato really was impressive. Controlling six "characters" by himself and nearly clearing Konoha in one go.]
[And it was from this point onward that power scaling truly began to break. Peak Kage-level and Super Kage-level fighters emerged in abundance, mechanically complex fighters and stat monsters alike vied for the spotlight. So if you didn't have Kage-level strength, you'd be embarrassed to even greet people outside.]
Ordinary shinobis across various timelines of the Shinobi World were instantly rendered speechless, their faces cycling through several colors.
'Stop, please—no more...'
If you weren't at Kage-level, you couldn't even step outside? Then what were they supposed to do, just give up on living?
Meanwhile, on the screen—
"From here on, we'll be splitting into two teams: diversion and search."
"Diversion will be made up of Shurado (Asura Path), Chikushodo (Animal Path), and Gakido (Preta Path). Search will be Tendo (Deva Path), Ningendo (Human Path}, and Jigokudo (Naraka Path). Konan, you're with the search team." Tendo Pain spoke without expression.
"Understood."
The people of the Shinobi World watching the screen felt their scalps tingle. Hold on, what exactly was Nagato doing here? It looked like seven people, but wasn't it really just him and Konan? Who was he briefing so seriously to?!
In the scene, as Tendo Pain's pupils contracted, the spherical barrier protecting Konoha—from underground to sky—instantly appeared on the screen.
"As planned, we will launch Chikushodo into the Hidden Leaf's aerial space. We will confuse the enemy by not giving them an accurate count, and wait for Chikushodo's summoning," Tendo Pain continued.
"I was told Itachi and Kisame infiltrated quite easily?" Konan asked, a bit puzzled.
"Itachi once belonged to the Leaf's ANBU Black Ops. He knew the method to get through the barrier. And... I have my own way of doing things."
"Starting here, the world shall know pain!" As Pain's iconic words fell, Naraka Path Pain hurled Animal Path Pain high into the sky, where it crashed directly into the barrier.
The sensor corps of Konoha detected something amiss, but because only Animal Path Pain had breached, they sensed only one intruder.
But the instant Animal Path Pain landed, it summoned the other five Pain puppets into Konoha. Once they were all in position, the Six Paths of Pain scattered in all directions.
The first to strike was Asura Path Pain; its arm splitting open to unleash multiple missiles into the sky, which rained down on Konoha's buildings, triggering violent explosions and clouds of smoke.
Animal Path Pain followed up by summoning massive creatures to rampage through the village.
Preta Path Pain demonstrated the ability to absorb Ninjutsu, while Human Path Pain—wearing a serene smile—placed its hand on a Konoha shinobi's head to extract information.
Aside from Naraka Path Pain, whose abilities hadn't yet been shown, and Tendo Pain, who had already demonstrated its devastating Shinra Tensei earlier, the abilities of the other four Pains shocked the watching Shinobi World beyond measure.
[The Six Paths of Pain are composed of six corpses modified by Nagato. He inserted black rods and nail-shaped chakra receivers into their bodies and faces to transmit chakra.]
[One exceptionally convenient ability of the Six Paths of Pain is their shared vision, which completely eliminates the possibility of a sneak attack from behind.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade stared at the screen, watching the Six Paths of Pain lay waste to Konoha, her expression grim.
Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, smoke curling up and obscuring half of his face.
"Just Tendo Pain alone could destroy Konoha, and there are five other Pains on top of that. These puppets also have different abilities, and working together, they're overwhelmingly devastating." Tsunade's tone was unbearably heavy. "And that's not even counting Nagato's actual body, plus Konan on the outside with six billion Explosive Tags. With this lineup, they could probably wipe Konoha out several times over."
Hiruzen slowly exhaled a plume of smoke again, which drifted through the air like his scattered thoughts. "Can Guy… really hold them all off?" His voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
The Sky Screen had previously said that with all Eight Gates open, Guy stood shoulder to shoulder with the gods.
Meanwhile, the Six Paths of Pain proclaimed themselves gods, and that claim wasn't entirely unfounded. Plus, there were six of them, each with different abilities and shared vision. How many could Guy handle alone?
---
[Land of Lightning, Kumogakure. Raikage's Office]
A stood at the window with his arms crossed, his eyes filled with growing wariness.
"The Six Paths of Pain… missiles, summoned beasts, Jutsu absorption, intelligence extraction…" He listed each ability one by one, as if conducting a tactical analysis. "And that's not even counting Tendo Path's Shinra Tensei, plus the Naraka Path Pain whose abilities we haven't even seen yet."
Dodai was taking notes rapidly at his side, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Raikage-sama, the Six Paths of Pain's abilities are too well-rounded; long-range, close combat, defense, support, intelligence… there's virtually no weakness."
A gritted his teeth: "Which means if they came to Kumo, we wouldn't be able to stop them either. Push the border sensor barrier to maximum output. Any abnormal chakra fluctuation gets reported immediately."
Dodai nodded: "Yes, sir."
---
[Land of Earth, Iwagakure. Tsuchikage's Office]
"Six Paths of Pain…" Ōnoki muttered. "Just those corpses alone could throw an entire village into chaos. And on top of that, Nagato himself and Konan…"
Kitsuchi, on the side, asked: "Father, if they come to Iwagakure—"
"There is no 'if.'" Ōnoki cut him off, his tone decisive. "We cannot let them into Iwa. The contingency plan for evacuating civilians has to be triggered while they're still on the perimeter. Strengthen border patrols—especially aerial surveillance."
---
[Land of Wind, Sunagakure. Kazekage's Office]
Rasa sat in his office, looking far less tense than the other Kage. He had already made up his mind: if Nagato himself came with the Six Paths of Pain to Sunagakure, there would be no fight. He'd simply hand over the One-Tail.
Why even bother fighting? It's just a Tailed Beast—take it.
If the sky falls, let Konoha hold it up.
---
[Land of Water, Kirigakure. Mizukage's Office]
Mei sat with her legs crossed, but her usual composure was gone. Her eyes were fixed on the Six Paths of Pain on the screen, her gaze filled with caution.
"Paths of Pain…" she murmured. "Wait for the screen to finish showing this. At the very least, we need to know their weaknesses."
On the screen, Konoha had descended into chaos under the sudden assault. Explosions, screams, and pounding footsteps tangled together; the streets were full of panicking villagers and shinobi running in every direction.
Just then, a giant centipede lunged toward an elderly woman and a young child. And just as the two were about to be crushed, a figure appeared in a flash and struck the summoned centipede square on the head.
"Cha!"
Sakura's fist slammed into the centipede's skull, and the enormous creature's whole body dropped as though struck by a sledgehammer, crashing to the ground and throwing up a cloud of dust.
The surrounding buildings trembled from the impact.
---
[Land of Waves, Tazuna's House]
Naruto leapt up from the tatami mat, pointing excitedly at the screen: "That's so cool, Sakura! You—you killed that giant centipede with one punch!"
Sakura herself was stunned. She stared at her future self on the screen, taking a long moment to process it.
"I… I'm that strong in the future?"
Her voice carried a mix of surprise and uncertainty. She had been training in the Strength of a Hundred Seal for a while now, but she had only used it in real combat once—against Zabuza—and it was a far cry from what she was seeing on the screen now.
Sasuke also glanced at her: "Not bad."
*****
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