Chapter 144:
"Hinata, you're not my match."
Golden Naruto said this while continuously dodging Hinata's pale and powerless taijutsu attacks.
"Why, Naruto? Why did you betray the village?!"
If anyone in the entire Hidden Leaf Village was most heartbroken by Naruto's betrayal, it was undoubtedly Hinata.
"Hinata, as the princess of a prestigious clan, there's no way you could ever understand how I feel!" Naruto dodged her attack once more, then widened the distance between them, forming a Rasengan in his hand. "Step aside, Hinata. Next time, I won't hold back."
Hinata glanced behind her at Tsunade and Sasuke, then looked resolutely at Naruto. "I won't step aside. Even if I have to break your legs, I will bring you back, Naruto!"
"Rasengan!"
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"
Chakra in the shape of blue lion heads formed around Hinata's hands.
Although her words declared her determination to bring Naruto back no matter what, the reality was clear—Hinata simply wasn't strong enough to be his opponent right now.
"Naruto..." Hinata murmured as she stared into Naruto's eyes.
Just as she was on the verge of collapse, Naruto suddenly leapt away.
Sasuke's transplant surgery was complete.
Rubbing his eyes, Sasuke looked at Naruto through his Eternal Mangekyō. "So this is the world as seen through the Eternal Mangekyō..."
A fully manifested Susanoo cloaked Sasuke's body.
"Summoning Technique!"
The Nine-Tails appeared beneath Naruto.
Fighting Obito, Kakashi instinctively glanced at the two newly arrived powerhouses. "Susanoo and the Nine-Tails... Sasuke and Naruto, huh?"
Obito didn't take this moment to ambush Kakashi—perhaps, deep down, he still wanted to defeat Kakashi fair and square at least once.
"Ready, Kakashi?"
Hearing Obito's prompt, Kakashi looked at him and said, "You didn't attack me when you had the chance."
"To beat you, I don't need a sneak attack!"
Elsewhere, the Nine-Tails fired one Tailed Beast Bomb after another at Susanoo.
"It's useless, Naruto." All of them were deflected by the Yata Mirror.
"The Uchiha are so damn annoying!" the Nine-Tails grumbled angrily.
"Sasuke, your Yata Mirror can only protect you, right? My goal has never been to kill someone protecting the Hidden Leaf. I want to destroy the village itself!"
Though the Tailed Beast Bombs didn't hurt Sasuke, who was protected by the Yata Mirror, their deflections still landed within the village, causing yet more destruction.
Looking at Naruto, Sasuke said, "Naruto, if you just leave now, I'll let you go."
"Let me go? Don't be ridiculous, Sasuke."
With a sigh, Sasuke's Susanoo drew the Totsuka Blade.
A spiritual weapon capable of sealing a target in an eternal genjutsu.
"Naruto, this thing gives me a really bad feeling," the Nine-Tails said.
Beasts always have a sharp instinct.
Hearing that, Naruto had no choice but to start taking Sasuke seriously.
"Naruto!"
"Pain, you're here."
Naruto looked at Deva Path Pain floating beside him.
"That's the spiritual weapon that can eternally trap someone in a genjutsu. Give it to me. You go destroy the Hidden Leaf."
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, then decisively turned and left.
It was never about killing someone—Naruto's goal was the destruction of the village itself.
"Pain, you're that brat from back then..."
Back when Jiraiya had rescued Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko, Orochimaru and Tsunade had been there too.
"Seems you still remember."
Facing what amounted to nearly half of the Hidden Leaf's top-tier combat strength, Pain still appeared utterly calm.
"Do you know him, Lady Hokage?" Guy asked Tsunade. "Who is he?"
"Mmm. I vaguely remember... seems like—"
"I am the god who brings order and justice!" Pain cut her off.
"Doesn't seem very normal to me," commented Guy—the least normal person himself.
"What is your real goal, Pain?!" Tsunade demanded.
"Only through pain can the Five Great Villages learn to respect it." Deva Path Pain slowly rose into the sky. "The Akatsuki's goal is to bring peace to the world!"
"Don't be ridiculous! What you're doing now isn't peace at all!"
Floating in the air, Pain looked down at Tsunade. "If it's for eternal peace in the future, then this temporary suffering is worth it."
"That's nonsense! Stop using excuses like that to justify what you're doing!" Tsunade shouted back.
"Hmph. Absurd." Pain looked at the crowd below, then slowly extended his right hand. "Itami o kanjiro (Feel the pain), Itami o shire (Know the pain), Itami o ukeirero (Accept the pain), Itami o rikai shiro (Understand the pain), Itami o shiranu mono ni, shin no heiwa wa wakaranai (Those who don't understand pain can never know true peace!)"
"What are you doing, Pain?!"
"From now on... let the Hidden Leaf feel true pain!" Bathed in sunlight, Pain looked every bit the god he claimed to be.
Although this jutsu would drain what little remained of Nagato's lifespan, he no longer cared. After all, he had already found his successor: Naruto Uzumaki.
As a fellow member of the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto would surely be able to withstand the power of the Rinnegan.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The earth trembled and homes were flattened.
This story teaches us one thing: If you're not the protagonist, don't try acting like one. Not only will you enrage your enemy, you'll also give them time to cast their ultimate move.
At Ichiraku Ramen, the Jar Merchant put down the trembling Boruto he'd been carrying, wiped the sweat from the jar on his head, and said, "Thank goodness I ran fast."
As soon as Boruto was set down, his legs gave out and he sat on the ground, mumbling, "So this is the kind of enemy my dad used to face..."
The entire Hidden Leaf Village was reduced to rubble. Thanks to the Nine-Tails' protection, Naruto was unharmed. Konan, who was airborne, was also fine. Sasuke and those around him were unharmed due to Susanoo's protection. And for some inexplicable reason, Ichiraku Ramen—as well as the Jar Merchant and Boruto hiding inside—were also perfectly fine.
"Wh-What the hell is this..." Tsunade looked around. "The village is gone! Unforgivable! I will never forgive you, Pain!"
Thanks to Katsuyu's protection, the core forces of Konoha's ninja still survived this catastrophe.
As Tsunade stood seething, a wailing cry interrupted her.
Might Guy was on his knees, tears pouring dramatically from his eyes as he pounded the ground and sobbed, "The village... the village I love is gone..."
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