Crack.
Whoooosh—
In that instant, the air seemed to freeze.
Even the endless rain overhead—
stopped mid-fall in the strangest way.
As if something had arrived…
…something even the rain feared.
Thump.
Thump.
Heartbeats grew louder.
No—more accurately—
every other sound vanished, leaving only the pounding of hearts.
"So… it's here."
Konan's tense body loosened, but worry rose in her eyes anyway.
"Pain's been deployed too often… your body… can you still hold up?"
Of everyone, she understood Nagato's condition best.
Worse. Rotten. Failing.
Like an old man at the end of his life—barely any vitality left.
And every time Pain moved, it consumed Nagato's life.
Or rather—
every time Pain acted, Nagato paid for it.
A cruel equation.
That was why she'd come personally.
Kai felt it too.
The playful look on his face faded, replaced by something sharper.
But his mind went somewhere else entirely:
"Where the hell is that creepy music coming from…?"
What—did top-tier characters in this world get a personal BGM like Qiao Feng?
If so, "Madara" really got done dirty.
No music. Just getting smeared with toad oil and forced into heartfelt conversations.
Hah…
Kai exhaled slowly and looked up.
They'd fought long enough.
The real main act had finally arrived.
Above, on the shattered base of the entrance tower—
six figures stood like ancient divine statues, silent and unmoving.
Uniformly wearing black cloaks with red clouds.
Under the rain that had frozen in midair, they didn't even twitch.
Like the environment had no authority over them anymore.
In those cloaks were faces—cold, blank, lifeless.
Six of them stared down with eyes that held no emotion.
But—
those six pairs of eyes were reflected clearly in the rain curtain.
Black pupils surrounded by deep purple ripples.
Ring after ring.
Cold. Hollow.
Like they reflected endless destruction and rebirth.
The Rinnegan.
The transplanted Rinnegan of "Uchiha Madara."
Now, those six sets of Rinnegan looked down over the ruined battlefield.
Or rather—
they looked at Uchiha Kai.
There was no anger.
No killing intent.
Only godlike detachment—
a divine gaze from above, watching insects below.
As if he were truly a god controlling everything.
"They're finally here!"
Kisame took two deep breaths. The dryness in his body eased a little.
He grabbed Samehada and used it to prop himself up, edging closer.
"I want to see just how strong Akatsuki's leader is—strong enough that even my lord fears him!"
"Pain-sama!"
Nearby, Zetsu let out a shrill cry.
But his tone was noticeably lighter now.
Anyone could hear it.
He was relieved.
Compared to them, Itachi was far calmer.
"Rinnegan… the true leader of Akatsuki."
"So he finally makes his move."
Itachi wiped the blood from his lips and steadied himself.
He'd always known Akatsuki had a real leader—
one even the masked man feared.
And he remembered what the masked man once said:
This leader's combat power was not below his.
So Itachi had always wondered what kind of existence could earn that evaluation.
But he'd only ever seen imagery—through the Demonic Statue.
Never the real thing.
Now, seeing them in person…
a thought flashed through Itachi's mind:
The masked man was bragging.
Just this entrance pressure alone—
was leagues beyond the masked man, beyond "Uchiha Madara."
What kind of final boss shows up and gets a Tailed Beast Bomb to the face, or gets smeared in toad oil?
Hummm—
Instinctively, Itachi activated his Mangekyō, staring hard at the six men above.
But he saw only blur.
No humanity.
No living aura.
Like cold machines.
But they couldn't be machines.
So…
Was Pain really a god?
The thought startled him so badly he almost flinched.
"…Hm?"
Then his peripheral vision caught Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sama… does he know Pain?"
Not far from Itachi, Jiraiya—still scribbling like a madman—looked up and froze.
With the rain suspended, he could see them clearly.
Especially the blond one at the front.
Jiraiya's pupils shook violently.
"Y… Yah… Yahiko?"
That hairstyle.
That face.
Sure, the guy was older now and loaded with piercings—ears, lips, nose—
but the features were unmistakable.
It was the war orphan Jiraiya once took in:
Yahiko.
"If he's Yahiko… then she…"
In an instant, Jiraiya's mind raced.
His eyes snapped to Konan.
"Konan…? Long time no see. You've grown into a young lady…"
But as he looked, his brows drew together.
Doubt thickened in his eyes.
"No—wait!"
"Those Rinnegan belong to Nagato!"
"So why are they on Yahiko?!"
"And Yahiko was supposed to be a bright, sunny kid!"
"Did… Yahiko and Konan kill Nagato? No… that doesn't make sense. Their bond shouldn't—"
He couldn't understand it.
But he still forced himself to warn Kai.
"Be careful! They have the Rinnegan!"
"That's the strongest dōjutsu—above Sharingan and Byakugan!"
He pressed his hands together again, beginning to gather natural energy.
With the Rinnegan on the field, escaping cleanly was going to be difficult.
"Jiraiya-sensei…"
Yahiko murmured, his eyes showing not the slightest ripple.
He only glanced at Jiraiya once before ignoring him completely.
From the beginning, his focus had been on Kai.
With a cold, detached tone, he said:
"Your Sharingan…"
"…is unusual."
"So you're crediting everything to the Sharingan? That works for me."
Kai nodded—didn't deny it.
Instead, he invited him casually:
"Hey, blondie. Come down and chat."
Come down. Chat.
Everyone present went blank.
Who would've thought—
facing a godlike man, Kai wouldn't fear him at all, and would instead invite him like that?
Konan frowned, remembering the exact same scene earlier.
Her gaze drifted to Kai.
For his age, aside from being short, he was already handsome.
Sharp features, still a little boyish.
If you… rua him, would he be soft?
"What am I even thinking?!"
The moment she realized where her thoughts went, embarrassment rose hot in her chest.
"This brat pulls that line on men too—when he grows up he'll definitely be a scumbag!"
She was way too weak against cute, soft little brats.
"Achoo."
Kai sneezed. His ears warmed slightly.
Someone talking trash about me?
Uchiha rebound.
At that moment, the one who'd been watching from above finally moved.
Pain jumped down, floating in midair as he spoke in a heavy, divine voice:
"Let the world… feel pain—"
He didn't finish.
"Huh? That's wrong!"
Kai shot up into the air, frowning as he yelled:
"It's supposed to be—'A bag of rice can carry how many floors?!'"
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