[Deva Path Pain suddenly launched the Almighty Pull technique at Kakashi, who dodged using a lightning clone.]
[Before fully understanding the opponent's ability, Kakashi's usual tactic is to test with clones and taijutsu.]
[At this moment, the Akimichi father and son appeared using their multiplication technique to assist. Deva Path quickly dodged, but Asura Path's body was smashed by Choza's fist.]
[After two rounds of testing, Kakashi basically figured out Deva Path's power: controlling gravity and repulsion, with about a five-second cooldown.]
[Knowing this, Kakashi immediately made a plan. The strategy was simple: he would make a feint attack while the Akimichi father son duo would launch a sneak attack.]
[However, their attack speed was still a bit slow, and the Akimichi's Double Human Bullet Tank were blasted away by Shinra Tensei.]
[But Kakashi had a backup plan. The chains held by the Akimichis trapped Deva Path, and during the five-second cooldown, Kakashi prepared his final Raikiri strike.]
[What was meant to be a carefully calculated finishing move unexpectedly failed—Ashura Path wasn't dead and blocked the lethal blow for Deva Path. At the same time, Shinra Tensei's cooldown ended, and its powerful repulsion turned the surroundings into ruins. Kakashi was trapped under the rubble, unable to move.]
[Clearly, Deva Path was shocked by their coordinated attack: this man's on-the-spot analysis and overall battle planning were terrifying.]
[Deva Path dared not approach again and fired a nail projectile at Kakashi, finishing a long-range kill before confidently retreating.]
[But even Deva Path didn't expect that Shinra Tensei just now was weak—none of the three died.]
[Kakashi used Kamui to divert the nail and told Choji to report the situation to Tsunade.]
[At this moment, Ashura Path, holding onto his last breath, launched a missile chasing after Choji. Kakashi, using his remaining chakra, forced Kamui to send the missile to another dimension.]
[Choji was saved, but Kakashi exhausted his chakra and died.]
"Is it true? Did Kakashi just die like that?"
"Wasn't the screen saying Kakashi was the Sixth Hokage? How did he suddenly died?"
Earlier, when he saw Pain's Deva Path shoot nails at Kakashi, the Fourth Hokage, Minato, was very tense.
But the next moment, when Kakashi and the Akimichi duo weren't dead, he relaxed.
Then the screen seemed to toy with him—after saving Choji, Kakashi died, and it was a frustrating death, using up all his chakra.
"With Kakashi dead, does Konoha still have any ninja who can stop Pain?"
He knew that in later generations, the Fifth Hokage was Lady Tsunade.
Tsunade was one of the Legendary Sannin, equal in fame to his sensei.
But her main skill was medical ninjutsu, and her attacks relied mostly on brute strength.
It's not that brute strength was useless, but compared to other Hokage, her fighting style was too simple and easy to counter.
Anyway, Minato didn't believe Tsunade could win against Pain.
"By the way, I've felt something strange since earlier. Pain's Six Paths—the Deva Path, Asura Path—these don't seem like normal names for people. Plus, with their shared vision, I feel like Pain's Six Paths are more like puppets."
Watching Kakashi fight the Deva and Asura Paths, Minato found it suspicious.
Both the Deva and Asura Paths had the Rinnegan, so there shouldn't be such a big difference between them.
If it were their own abilities, maybe, but earlier the screen said those were abilities granted by the Rinnegan.
If the Deva Path and Asura Path were real people, that would be a bit unreasonable.
But if they are puppets, then it makes a lot more sense.
"So, behind the Six Paths of Pain, there's another mastermind controlling these six puppets?"
"I hope the screen will reveal him later. This person is truly a poison threatening the peace of the ninja world."
[From how Kakashi used Kamui to transfer the nails, it shows he wants to live, but he values his comrades' lives more, especially the young seedlings of Konoha. This is exactly the quality that the Will of Fire promotes, and it proves Kakashi is qualified to become Hokage.]
[When Tsunade learned of Kakashi's death, she bit her lip tightly and punched a pillar in the Konoha office, releasing her grief with brute force.]
[If Jiraiya was Tsunade's beloved, then Kakashi was her strongest support after she became Hokage.]
[Kakashi's death also meant Konoha's last line of defense was broken.]
[The dead Kakashi arrived at the crossroads between life and death. Old bonds appeared one by one—Obito, Rin, and Teacher Minato. At the deepest point, he even saw his father, Sakumo.]
[Father and son had a heartfelt talk, and Kakashi untied his mental knot. Just as he was about to leave with his father, a green light grabbed him.]
[It turned out that in the real world, Naruto had defeated Pain and fooled Nagato with his words. Using the Rinnegan's technique, Nagato revived everyone who died in the battle.]
[When Kakashi opened his eyes again, shocked but ignoring his discomfort, he quickly found Naruto.]
[When Naruto was so tired he almost fainted, a broad shoulder appeared before him.]
[Kakashi gently said, "You've gotten heavier."]
"So, the one controlling the Six Paths of Pain is called Nagato?"
The Fourth Hokage, Minato, muttered Nagato's name, realizing he hadn't heard of him before.
But it didn't matter. Starting tomorrow, he would send out all the ninja he could to search the ninja world for this Nagato.
If they couldn't find him, fine. But once they did, Minato would eliminate the threat before it could grow.
After learning the name Nagato, Minato felt less anxious.
He carefully watched Naruto on the glowing screen, a happy smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Heh, just as expected of my son."
"Tch, Nagato really is useless. He used the Rinne Rebirth to revive all the dead people of Konoha. So why did he still go to Konoha? Could it be that he's just there to be a stepping stone for our protagonist?"
Second Hokage Time-Space.
Madara Uchiha watched Nagato's fate with dissatisfaction.
Can't win? Then just run away.
Victory and defeat are common in the way of the ninja. Even someone as powerful as Uchiha Madara during the Warring States period would fight if he could, and run if he couldn't.
Not running isn't impossible either — using ninjutsu to die together with the enemy.
But sacrificing yourself to revive others?
What kind of move is that?
In his view, Nagato's behavior was just downright ridiculous.
Seeing Madara look down on Nagato like that, Tobirama shot back, "No matter how ridiculous Nagato is, isn't he still someone you chose?"
"To be precise, it was the dying me who chose him, not the me of now. Those are two different things. Besides, even if he was my choice, that doesn't mean he was especially outstanding. Most likely, he was the only option left in a desperate situation."
"."
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