Click.
Click.
Click.
Accompanied by faint footsteps, three figures slowly made their way toward Tanzaku Town.
As the largest entertainment district within the Land of Fire, Tanzaku Town had long since grown into a sizable city.
Yet compared to its usual bustling atmosphere, the town now lay in complete desolation.
Within dozens of miles, not a single soul was to be seen.
"I never imagined Konoha would one day end up like this…"
"When I was still a bounty hunter, I came here once. Back then, this place looked completely different."
A black-clad shinobi with eerie green eyes spoke slowly, his tone tinged with nostalgia.
Beside him, a man wearing a black cloak patterned with red clouds snorted coldly.
"These great nations are always so self-righteous. They start wars recklessly for the sake of profit."
"They leave the people of smaller countries with no way to survive, while enjoying everything with a clear conscience."
"They should've tasted what it's like to have the flames of war burn on their own soil long ago."
As the two spoke, a woman with blue-purple hair and a paper flower adorning her head gently descended from the sky.
"Nagato, Kakuzu. There are a large number of Konoha shinobi stationed in the town ahead."
"Rough estimate—over three thousand."
Hearing that, Kakuzu rubbed his chin.
"More than three thousand Konoha shinobi?"
"That's a bit troublesome."
Even with his five hearts, facing over three thousand shinobi head-on would leave him with no chance of survival.
Konan thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Give me some time. I can set up explosive tags around the area first."
"When we detonate them together, we can take advantage of the chaos to launch our attack."
Nagato frowned slightly. "How many explosive tags would that take?"
Konan smiled. "Don't worry. Explosive tags aren't an issue at all."
The corner of Kakuzu's mouth twitched, a bit pained. "Is there really no other way?"
"Why don't we wait for the main force? If we time it right, they should arrive by tonight."
"Lord Yuzuru gave us three thousand men. We should make use of them."
Just as Konan was about to speak, Nagato waved his hand.
"The three of us are enough. We'll end the battle before the main force arrives."
"The pain of war only needs to be felt by these Konoha shinobi."
With that, Nagato stepped forward.
When he reached the outer wall, his right arm transformed directly into a laser cannon.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, a massive breach was blasted open in Tanzaku Town's walls.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Alarms instantly rang through the air as Konoha shinobi rushed up onto the walls.
But when they saw that there were only three attackers, they were all stunned.
Only three people?
What the hell was the Hidden Cloud Village thinking?
Only some of the higher-ranking shinobi stationed there wore grim expressions.
Compared to ordinary shinobi, they knew far more.
If the Hidden Cloud Village had only sent three people, it meant these three were anything but ordinary.
Fortunately…
Everyone's gaze shifted toward a burly man with white hair standing nearby.
His expression was grave, his eyes unblinking as he stared at the approaching enemies.
After coming closer, Nagato raised his head and looked at the man for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Jiraiya-sensei, long time no see."
Hearing this, Jiraiya spoke in a deep voice, "Nagato, Konan… why are you here?!"
"Where's Yahiko?"
After the Second Shinobi World War ended, he, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had prepared to withdraw from the Land of Rain.
On the way, they encountered three youths: Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
Upon seeing Nagato's Rinnegan, Jiraiya regarded him as the Child of Prophecy spoken of by the Great Toad Sage and spent three years teaching the three of them.
After he left the Land of Rain, he never heard any news of them again. He never expected to see his former students here.
"Jiraiya-sensei, Yahiko is dead."
Nagato's words made Jiraiya's pupils shrink sharply.
"Yahiko is dead?!"
"That's right," Nagato said calmly. "He died at the hands of Konoha shinobi."
Jiraiya's heart sank as an ominous feeling rose within him.
Still unwilling to give up, he asked, "What exactly happened? Wasn't there some kind of misunderstanding?"
"Misunderstanding?"
"Hahahaha…" Nagato laughed a few times before his voice suddenly turned cold. "During the Third Shinobi World War, Yahiko, Konan, and I came to Konoha's camp together, hoping to resolve the war through dialogue. But Shimura Danzo suddenly attacked us."
"If Yahiko hadn't fought to the death, Konan and I wouldn't be alive today."
After hearing Nagato's account, Jiraiya fell silent.
He knew Shimura Danzo well enough.
Seeing Nagato's Rinnegan, it wouldn't be surprising for him to do something like that.
"Nagato, I'm deeply sorry about Yahiko. But war leaves everyone helpless."
"We don't want tragedies like this either. We feel the same pain you do."
"No one wants war. We should all try to understand each other."
As Jiraiya finished speaking, Nagato's expression grew dangerously calm.
"Jiraiya-sensei, from what position can you say something like that?"
"You say no one wants to start wars, yet every war is led by you great nations."
"You say war is unavoidable, but every battlefield is always in our small countries."
"You say you feel the same pain as us, yet we cling to life amid ruins, constantly afraid of being slaughtered like stray dogs by passing shinobi—while you enjoy warm homes, fine food, and idle chatter."
"When the war ends, you all return to your own nations. We can only weep over the corpses of our loved ones in our destroyed homes."
Nagato's voice was as cold as midwinter, each word carrying a bone-chilling chill.
Sensing the killing intent growing heavier around Nagato, Jiraiya said urgently, "Even if mistakes were made in the past, our original intention has always been to pursue peace, hasn't it?"
At that, Nagato suddenly lost interest in continuing the conversation.
"Ridiculous…"
He gave a contemptuous smile, slowly rising into the air until he became a black speck.
"Only those who share the same pain can truly understand one another."
"Without understanding the pain of war, you cannot understand true peace."
"So…"
Floating high above the center of Tanzaku Town, Nagato raised both arms.
"From this moment on, let the world feel pain."
"Shinra Tensei!!!"