Jiraiya stared at Naruto for a moment before speaking.
"Kid... that's the most arrogant thing I've ever heard you say. Even you've never been this audacious before."
He ran his hand through his hair and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"I don't even know what to say anymore—you always surprise me. I ought to give you a proper scolding right now, but I have more important things to handle. I need to go oversee the battle on the northeastern battlefield."
"Then how about I wait for your return and spar with you then?"
"There'll be time. Don't rush it. But you'd better focus more on yourself for now."
With that, the two Frog Summoners disengaged their Summoning Jutsu and returned to their respective worlds.
******
Konan walked to the top floor window of the tower where Pain's Six Paths stood, standing beside the Asura Path and gazing out over Amegakure and the surrounding lake.
Both remained silent—the truth was, she had already told him that their "Uchiha Madara," whom they had been allied with, had been killed by Naruto.
The Akatsuki organization's once-grand ambitions were now shattered, leaving only the two of them behind, as if fate had decreed it.
Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu—they were all gone.
But this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts.
Likewise, the impending fall of Sunagakure to Konoha wasn't their immediate concern either.
Once Sunagakure fell, the path toward Amegakure would be wide open, bringing war straight to their doorstep.
In truth, war had already arrived.
That damned opportunist, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki! He believed he could profit from their conflict with Konoha in Sunagakure by seizing Amegakure while they were preoccupied.
From atop the tower, the scene in the distant horizon was clearly visible. Enemy camps stood bold and exposed. They displayed their presence openly, watching hungrily.
Amegakure had already been surrounded—no one could traverse the lake to reach the village at its center.
But for Nagato, those enemies stood no chance of reaching this place.
Unless the Tsuchikage himself showed up, no one could withstand the wrath of his divine power. They assumed their distant position gave them safety, thinking that as long as they blocked passage across the lake, they could observe the village and strike when ready.
"The Naraka Path has already headed to the battlefield and will soon arrive," the Asura Path said to Konan, even though Nagato himself was in the next room. She understood why he did it this way—why he chose to speak through Yahiko's body. She knew how much he cherished Yahiko, and perhaps he believed speaking through that body would bring her some solace.
"Do you want me to accompany you?" Konan asked dutifully. Comfort wasn't what she needed—her sole wish was to ensure Amegakure's safety. Battling for the village gave her greater peace than anything else.
"No, Konan. One person alone can destroy an entire ninja village, just as easily as they can wipe away a camp. Stay here with me. When I begin my chakra-based attacks, gather all the villagers to a vantage point where they can see Iwagakure's encampment."
The Asura Path kept his gaze fixed on the enemy camp. "I'll show those who've forgotten my strength the true face of a god's wrath."
Years of war had left the villagers in a constant state of fear, so he had to act with swift decisiveness—minimizing casualties while restoring morale.
He needed his followers to have unwavering belief in his vision. To change this world, he required the people's support.
Someday, they would live under the sunlight, instead of surviving miserably beneath storm-laden skies.
Konan nodded as she watched sunlight pierce through Amegakure's perpetual cloud cover, revealing a rare glimpse of brightness. Then, just like the night before when Nagato had summoned Pain's Naraka Path onto the tower, Asura Path vanished within a puff of smoke.
Even if outnumbered, as long as the enemy did not discover the secret behind the Six Paths of Pain, Nagato would remain undefeated.
******
The world war was about to erupt, and Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, believed he had no need to take sides in the coming conflict.
No matter who won or lost, war always produced losers—even the victors carried lasting wounds.
And whoever prevailed in this war, whoever proved the strongest among the ninja, would be the ultimate victor, regardless of their role in the battle.
So why not let Iwagakure sit back and reap the rewards? Even if Konoha's ninjas still had enough strength to head toward Amegakure after conquering Sunagakure, they would surely be battle-weary.
At that point, Iwagakure could wipe out both Amegakure and Sunagakure at once, redrawing the borders of these two countries entirely.
Iwagakure had previously started wars, even triggering the Third Great Ninja War, all for this very moment. Now, the opportunity lay right before them—victory was within reach.
Amegakure was small; its best ninja had already died on the battlefield. They continued resisting futilely in Suna's wastelands, defending a village destined for destruction.
Normally, an assault on a major ninja village required at least a three-thousand-man unit, but this time they sent only a thousand-strong rapid-response force.
Such a tiny village stood no chance against any of the Five Great Countries, especially when determined to destroy it. Worse yet, it had suffered heavy losses during the war and had been invaded a year earlier by Jiraiya, Konoha's Jinchuriki, and an unidentified ninja.
The current plan seemed simple enough: Earth Release specialists would construct a wide bridge across the lake surface, with the bridge hidden just below the water, allowing them to cross undetected and use Earth techniques to deflect distant attacks from the village.
Of course, the actual situation was far more complicated, but essentially, that was the core strategy.
The camp's terrain made it naturally defensible, requiring only basic Earth Release techniques to establish a formidable defense.
Therefore, when scouts spotted a lone figure walking through the camp, everyone grew tense. Sensor-type ninja detected only one person nearby, yet the chakra reserves were astonishingly vast—enough to rival the entire unit combined.
"Prepare for battle!" shouted a red-clad Iwagakure ninja, readying himself to issue attack orders. "This must be the figure calling himself 'God,' right?"
"I heard he used just one jutsu to destroy Sunagakure and start a war."
"That's impossible. It has to be a trap. There's no way a ninja that powerful could exist in this world."
"No one can be that strong. That's just a myth."
As the figure drew closer, his appearance became clearer. He was a short, elderly man with wild orange hair, an "X"-shaped scar on his chin, wearing a black robe adorned with crimson clouds, his eyes tightly shut.
*Is that Danzo Shimura?*
"No way. He died several months ago."
That was Danzo—no, not quite. Or rather, it was what remained of him. Now, he had become the Animal Path of Nagato.
Nagato, through the Animal Path, addressed the gathered Iwagakure ninja:
"Do you so-called villages truly value peace? The peace agreements you sign are nothing but masks concealing your ambitions. Behind the scenes, you grow stronger, researching even more dangerous ninjutsu and tactics, all in preparation for conquering your opponents in the next war."
Kitsuchi stood at the forefront of the unit. Tall and muscular, with a thick beard, he bore a striking resemblance to the Tsuchikage. His arms were crossed over his chest, face stern. The surrounding ninjas whispered his name among themselves. He was both the commander of this unit and the son of the Tsuchikage.
"You're the leader of Amegakure?" Kitsuchi asked, not lowering his guard in the slightest. "Who do you think you are? Seriously? You came here alone to fight a thousand shinobi? Do you think you're some kind of Hokage?"
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