Looking at the navigator who suddenly vanished before his eyes, Pain pondered.
"Is this the power of this world?... It's somewhat similar to Minato's ability in my previous life… However, one relies on Chakra hand seals… and the other relies on the power of a Devil Fruit…"
"Relatively speaking, the power of Devil Fruits seems more convenient… I don't even need to form hand seals to use a jutsu…"
Pain formed hand seals again, releasing the Rain Tiger at Will Technique. In Pain's perception, he noticed that although the navigator disappeared instantly, every brief stop behind an enemy was still within his perception. The navigator's enemies were the pirates who had fled in a panic from the bar earlier.
Through his perception, Pain confirmed that the navigator had not taken the opportunity to leave; he was indeed helping to get a ship ready. This was because, at present, it seemed only the pirates' ship could barely manage to sail and travel long distances.
Pain moved quickly in the direction of his senses. By the time he reached the seaside, the battle was already over. The pirates who had escaped from the bar earlier had thought they had survived a calamity and could get away from the devil in their hearts. But fate seemed to play a joke on them; they were caught by the navigator before they even boarded their ship and their lives were quickly ended, with no room for resistance.
Pain looked at the pirates sprawled on the ground and his first thought was that their strength seemed too weak.
"If these pirates represent the basic power of this world, then it doesn't seem like much?…"
But then, considering the navigator's ability, it seemed this world wasn't that simple after all. Pain looked up at the navigator, who was also on the pirate ship, observing Pain with a thoughtful gaze.
Pain leaped onto the pirate ship and calmly praised the navigator's strength, whose gaze had not left him.
"A clean and decisive battle. Although these pirates are weak, it also shows your unique side… You still have one chance to choose now…"
"Leave… or follow me to find the end of this world…" Pain said expressionlessly.
The navigator did not answer Pain directly, but instead asked, "What is your name, and where are you from?"
"Pain, from the land guided by God."
"Pain?…"
"The land guided by God?…"
"This Pain indeed has many differences from this world… Could he truly not belong to this world?…"
Although the navigator had appeared indifferent to Pain's questions to the pirate leader earlier, he had listened carefully.
From those questions, it was clear that Pain was "ignorant" about this world; otherwise, how could one explain the common-sense questions Pain had asked, which everyone in this world knew? Amnesia was impossible, and the abilities Pain displayed seemed unrelated to Devil Fruits and unlike any power known in this world.
As the navigator pondered, he realized that the man in front of him, who called himself Pain, was truly like a mystery—a mystery that the navigator felt willing to try and solve, even if following this person was dangerous.
Thinking this, the navigator had no other questions, because he knew that he would eventually learn the answers to these questions simply by staying with Pain.
"My name is Rosiel Reno…"
"You can call me Reno. I just turned 21 this year. You've basically seen my abilities… My other abilities are all reflected in my navigation skills…"
"The ability I'm using now comes from a Devil Fruit I ate a few years ago. I didn't know the Devil Fruit's ability when I ate it…"
"Through my Cultivation over these past few years, I've basically figured out my Devil Fruit's ability. I call this Devil Fruit the Flash-Flash Fruit…"
"The fruit's ability allows me to instantly flash anywhere within a ten-nautical-mile radius, centered on myself, by thought or sight… With my diligent Cultivation, perhaps the distance will be much greater than it is now…"
"Although I don't understand you… I still hope to follow you to the end of the world, to places I've never been before…"
"I have a feeling… following you will be very dangerous… but the achievements I can gain should be enough to make this life worthwhile…"
"If you don't mind, please accept my allegiance… at least in loyalty, I won't lose to anyone…"
Reno sincerely expressed his inner desire, looking at Pain with expectant eyes, awaiting Pain's decision. Pain looked at the young man who met his gaze with resolute eyes, and he already had a very high opinion of Reno. This should be a man who hoped to stand above others through his own abilities.
Pain carefully observed Reno. Reno had a full head of silver hair, encircled by a hair tie of unknown material around his hairline. His silver hair and the extra hair tie fluttered in the wind, and combined with his resolute eyes and handsome face, he appeared heroic and dashing.
He wore a fitted gray vest with a pendant on his chest, which was either a pocket watch or a compass. On his feet were high-top leather shoes, made from an unknown beast's hide, paired with his windbreaker pants, making him look simple yet elegant.
Pain said nothing more and walked directly into the largest room on the pirate ship. Inside, he found paper and a pen from this world. Although he was not used to the pen from this world, he managed to draw what he wanted on the paper.
There were two pieces of paper. On them were drawings of black robes with red clouds, and the style of the rings Pain had used in his former organization, with different characters on each ring.
They were: Zero, Sky, Azure, Vermilion, White, North, Jade, South, Three, and Xuan [in no particular order]. Holding the finished drawings, Pain walked out of the room and handed them to Reno, who was at the bow, enjoying the sea breeze.
"Find a clothing store and a jewelry store, and have these made according to these two blueprints…"
Reno took the blueprints and examined them carefully.
"These things will take time. If we're going to find a place on this island to make them, it will probably take about seven days. Can you wait?…"
"Ah… go…" Pain replied.
A flash of white light, and Reno was gone.
Pain turned and walked into the largest room, thinking that there were still seven days. During this time, he could fully familiarize himself with his and Yahiko's new bodies in this world, and at the same time, increase his Chakra reserves. After all, his current strength as a Special Chunin seemed severely inadequate in this unknown world.
Pain formed hand seals and entered a state of Cultivation. After repeated attempts, he found that although he only had the Chakra reserves of a Chunin, this new body seemed to have brought about a transformation different from his previous life.
Firstly, Pain had already discovered during his attempts to refine Chakra that the speed of Chakrarefinement was now three times faster than in his previous life. This speed both surprised Pain and made him feel the immense power of the Six Paths Sage.
Secondly, Pain felt that no matter how he refined Chakra to fill his Chakra reserves, even at three times the previous speed, his body seemed like a bottomless pit, absorbing as much as he refined, yet he felt as if his body hadn't gained much Chakra.
This discovery led Pain to two possibilities. The first possibility: this body could not store Chakra, and the refined Chakra was quietly dissipating throughout the body.
The second possibility: this body was very powerful, powerful enough to rival Naruto's body in his previous life, capable of accommodating an unimaginable amount of Chakra. Consequently, even though the Chakra refinement speed was three times faster than before, the amount of Chakra refined in a short time was merely a drop in the bucket for his current body.
Pain stopped his Cultivation and walked out of the room, once again performing the Rain Tiger at Will Technique. The Cultivation time was less than two hours, but he clearly sensed that the range of the jutsu had increased.
Although not by much, it had indeed increased. From this comparison, Pain could confidently conclude that his body belonged to the latter type, similar to Naruto. Pain was not too surprised by this conclusion, as the Six Paths Sage had told him before he entered this world that this new body would no longer be like his old one.
Previously, using the Six Paths abilities would shorten his lifespan, and the Six Paths abilities required vast amounts of Chakra to truly display their power. Therefore, Pain felt it was only natural that his body belonged to the latter type.
After clarifying the characteristics of his new body and getting a definite answer, Pain decided to use the remaining time to diligently refine his Chakra reserves to enhance his own strength.
The body's characteristics could not be fully understood in a short time, and in this unknown world, strength was the most important thing.
Time passed quietly with Pain's Cultivation, and seven days quickly went by. In these seven days, Pain finally refined his Chakra reserves to the critical point between Special Chunin and Special Jonin.
Although it was the critical point between Special Chunin and Special Jonin, Pain knew that the Chakrareserves in his body were definitely not comparable to those of a Special Chunin or Special Jonin from his previous life.
If he had to put a number on it, Pain felt that his current Chakra reserves should be about three times more than that of a Special Jonin from his previous life.
He also discovered that during these seven days, his body did not eat or drink and felt no hunger or thirst. Pain believed this might be another characteristic of his body. Pain got up and walked out of the room; Reno had already been waiting outside for a long time.
Reno had actually returned half a day earlier than expected. During these seven days, Reno had not been idle. Besides completing the tasks Pain had assigned, he had also collected some necessary supplies for his sea voyage in the town.
Reno handed the finished clothes and rings to Pain. Pain chose two sets of clothes and two rings, giving one set of clothes and a ring to Reno.
Pain examined the clothes and rings in his hand. The material was completely different from his previous life, but the quality was better. Looking at the familiar rings and clothes in his hand, it couldn't help but stir up hidden memories.
"From now on, we will have our own organization, named [Akatsuki]!…"
"I am the leader of the organization, code-named [Zero] Funeral… You are the first to join the organization… code-named [Azure Dragon]… signifying the Azure Dragon of [Akatsuki]…"
"The moment you put on these clothes and wear the [Azure] ring signifies… that you and I bear the same destiny… From now on, no matter what happens, betrayal of the organization or comrades is absolutely forbidden…"
"If you betray the organization and your comrades… that is tantamount to betraying God's guidance and destiny… No matter where the traitor is, they will be hunted down worldwide by the entire organization…"
"Do you understand?…"
Pain looked directly into Reno's eyes as he spoke these ceremonial words, aiming to emphasize the meaning of the attire. Reno nodded, indicating he understood, and awaited Pain's instructions.
"Get dressed and prepare to depart…"
To be continued…