The battle was over.
Or rather, mostly over.
Of the Six Paths of Pain,
only the Deva Path remained.
The other five were utterly destroyed.
On Konoha's side,
three clan leaders and sixteen jonin had fallen in combat.
Tsunade lay critically injured, Jiraiya suffered broken arms, and Sarutobi was nearly drained of strength...
It was nothing short of a tragic sight...
Now,
the Deva Path gazed at the corpses around him and couldn't help but utter a word of praise.
"Teacher, you've managed to push me, the God of Order, this far. You should be proud..."
Jiraiya: "Cough, cough—Are you Yahiko or Nagato?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you've lost..."
"Pfft! Don't kid yourself, lady!"
Tsunade spat furiously.
With her legs trembling beneath her, she struggled to stand up from the ground.
But before she could fully rise,
she collapsed again...
Deva Path: "There's no need to struggle. Before absolute power, everything becomes meaningless!"
You call that absolute power? You're nothing but a brute!
"You're wearing forehead protectors from Amegakure, aren't you?"
"Don't think you can just escape after committing such atrocities against Konoha."
"In the future, Amegakure will pay an unbearable price for this!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared furiously, clearly issuing threats.
Looking upon his beloved village—painstakingly built and now reduced to ruins—
how could he not feel enraged at this arrogant enemy leader?
The Deva Path sneered coldly.
"As expected, you remain conceited."
"With power, you can do as you please and look down on small nations..."
"As long as you believe yourselves to be the main characters of this world,"
you won't even consider your own deaths!
"Calling peace a game while spreading war and slaughter to other countries."
"If you take lives, eventually yours will be taken too!"
"Hatred binds both sides together."
"So long as war rages, both sides will suffer injury, loss, and unbearable pain..."
"This is a nightmare without end!"
Jiraiya: "So this is your reason for starting another war? How foolish!"
Sarutobi: "An absurd theory! Jiraiya, did you really teach such a twisted disciple?"
Tsunade: "Nonsense! Our village, our great nation, suffers equally too! Don't use such excuses, bastard!"
All three fired back furiously.
Clearly, suffering only makes people more irritable.
Deva Path:
"Equal suffering? That's laughable."
"How dare you claim equal pain when you've never been on a battlefield yourselves?"
"Then let me show you what true suffering looks like!"
Orochimaru: "Already resorting to verbal sparring? How pitiful!"
"But truthfully, they all make quite convincing points..."
"This flourishing Konoha has truly never experienced the pain of Amegakure."
Shimoku: "Anyone can preach about what's right."
"Strength alone decides who will suffer in the end..."
Orochimaru: "Lord Shimoku sees things very clearly. Tell me, in the end, who will truly feel the pain?"
Shimoku waved a hand, cutting him off:
"No more enduring pain, and no more spreading it either. Soon, everyone will end up as hollow as Pain..."
"However, it looks like Pain is about to unleash his ultimate strike."
"Prepare the defenses."
Orochimaru was taken aback: "Ultimate strike? So you're saying he still has hidden cards to play?"
"Just watch. The climax is about to begin..."
Shimoku's eyes sharpened, and his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly blazed to life.
He was already ready to summon Susano'o for defense.
After all, even with his Immortal God Body, while he wouldn't die from taking a direct hit from Pain's ultimate technique...
Getting torn apart still hurt like crazy!
Shimoku had no masochistic tendencies and had no intention of tanking attacks head-on.
...
Inside the barrier.
Faced with Deva Path's declaration,
Sarutobi and the others didn't take it seriously at all.
They all thought that a lone Pain wouldn't make much of a difference anymore.
Instead, they focused more on
the several other enemies beyond the barrier.
However, they clearly didn't realize
that the deaths of the other five Pains had allowed Nagato
to channel all his energy and chakra into the Deva Path.
In preparation for that forbidden jutsu!
The next moment,
Under the watchful gaze of Jiraiya and the others,
Deva Path suddenly surged upward.
A force erupted beneath his feet, creating whirlwinds and waves,
lifting his entire body into the air.
Higher and higher he rose—until there was no ceiling left!
"Accept suffering! Understand suffering!"
"Only those who comprehend pain can grasp true peace!"
Witnessing this eerie spectacle,
Jiraiya and the others felt an ominous chill creeping into their hearts.
Jiraiya: "Wait, Yahiko! What are you planning to do now?"
Veteran Sarutobi immediately saw through Pain's intent and couldn't help but exclaim:
"This is bad—he's unleashing a massive area-wide jutsu!"
At the same time,
Outside the barrier, Konan, realizing what Nagato intended, shouted desperately:
"No! Don't do it! That technique drains your life force!"
"You mustn't use it!"
Hearing that, the words jolted Sarutobi and the others inside the barrier.
A jutsu that sacrifices one's lifespan to perform—how devastating could that be...?
Could it possibly destroy the entire Konoha in a single strike?
Who could possibly survive that?!
"Stop him quickly!"
"We absolutely cannot let him complete it!"
Sarutobi roared, blazing with fury.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
The Deva Path had risen to hundreds of meters high—already immune to most attacks.
Ordinary ninja techniques simply couldn't reach such heights.
As a result, all the Konoha shinobi
could only watch helplessly as the Deva Path hovered above, gathering power for his ultimate move.
...
Now floating high in the sky,
Deva Path hesitated not at all.
Today, he would make Konoha properly experience what true suffering really meant!
By then, he'd see if the Konoha ninjas still dared speak such arrogant words!
"Let the world taste suffering!"
[Ultimate Shinra Tensei – Activating]!
The next moment,
Blinding white light erupted, like a blazing sun descending upon the world, instantly consuming everything!
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