Kakashi and the others left the village with expressions of helplessness. In just three short days, they had managed to uncover nothing.
However, these three days did provide them with some insight. It was clear that something about this village wasn't right. The village leader had directly claimed that the village was based on the powerful Wood Release ninjutsu created by Uzumaki Tō.
Furthermore, when questioned about the whereabouts of Uzumaki Tō, the leader seemed completely clueless. This alone made Kakashi and the others feel uneasy.
On the balcony of the highest tree, Uzumaki Tō furrowed his brow as he watched Kakashi and the others leave. Standing beside him was Tsubaki, who now wore a solemn expression.
"Are those two teams led by Might Guy and Kurenai's squad?" Tō asked as he pulled out a map.
Tsubaki nodded and said, "Your disciple, Yakumo, really is skilled with her genjutsu. If Zabuza hadn't saved those guys, they'd have been dead at Might Guy's hands. His taijutsu is incredibly strong."
Tō gave a slight nod, smiling faintly. Guy's taijutsu is one of the few that could truly rival mine. Luckily, they managed to escape. I told them—never get too close, never get caught."
Tsubaki smiled bitterly. "Those young hotheads, how could they resist challenging the beast of Konoha?"
Hearing this, Tō chuckled, then stretched his neck and said, "I need to leave for a while. Pain may take this opportunity to capture Naruto. I have to check the situation. After all, Pain might not win. With Jiraiya, Kakashi, Asuma, and Guy all involved, and the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Naruto, his strength won't be anything to dismiss. If the Nine-Tails' full power is unleashed, even Pain might be overwhelmed."
Tsubaki nodded thoughtfully and then asked, "What about you? If it were you, could you defeat that team?" His eyes held a bit of admiration.
Tō smiled faintly. "Don't forget, I, too, have Wood Release. Even if the Nine-Tails fully erupts, I have a way to handle it. Do you think I could defeat them?"
Tsubaki was speechless for a moment.
When Kakashi and the others met up with Might Guy, the frustration on their faces was evident. Especially Guy, who was feeling down.
"I didn't expect the people from that organization to be so skilled," Guy said, his voice laced with disappointment. "They even managed to save those people from Yakumo's genjutsu!"
Yakumo nodded vigorously in agreement.
Kakashi gave a wry smile and said, "Compared to you, we've made no progress. Now what do we do? The Five Kage Summit will probably be called soon."
"Kakashi, I still think the one who saved those people from that organization looked a lot like Zabuza!" Might Guy suddenly said, catching everyone off guard.
Kurenai and the others paused in surprise.
Neji, after a brief silence, muttered, "Based on the description, that person couldn't have been Zabuza. Zabuza always carries his sword. That person didn't, and his water style wasn't as strong either. But the taijutsu was similar to yours, Sensei."
Kakashi nodded. "It might not have been Zabuza, but we can't rule out the possibility. After all, Tō's situation is something most people can't understand."
He glanced at Naruto, who sighed and said, "If Zabuza had learned Tō's taijutsu techniques, even if he fought Sensei Guy, he wouldn't have lost!"
Neji was taken aback but quickly realized what Naruto meant. After all, it was said that Tō's taijutsu could suppress Tsunade's monstrous strength. He could even fight Might Guy to a standstill without opening the Eight Gates.
"Who's there?" Kakashi suddenly shouted, his senses alert as he spotted something in the woods. He immediately launched three shuriken in that direction.
The two groups quickly stepped back, with Neji and Hinata activating their Byakugan to scan the forest.
The first to react was Kiba. He froze, his voice filled with disbelief. "No way, three corpses? But why are they moving?"
Kakashi was momentarily stunned.
Just then, the Six Paths of Pain—Human Path, Hungry Ghost Path, and Deva Path—slowly emerged from the trees. Neji furrowed his brow, muttering, "These aren't corpses. They have chakra flowing through them, but it's faint, almost like a blur."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, then stepped forward and said, "So, you're members of the Akatsuki?"
Deva Path, Pain, stepped forward, a cold smile on his face. "Konoha's Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, and... the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto."
As soon as Pain finished speaking, the Beast Path quickly formed the hand seals for summoning. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke erupted, and a grotesque bird and a pack of shadow dogs appeared!
"Everyone, be careful. These members of the Akatsuki are not easy to deal with!" Kakashi warned as he quickly formed the seals for Raikiri.
Kakashi was fast, instantly appearing next to one of the shadow dogs. He swung his Raikiri and cleaved through the dog's body. But to his surprise, the dog split into two and rushed in different directions.
"Might Guy's Strong Fist!"
At that moment, Lee and Guy launched flying kicks from both sides, sending the two shadow dogs flying. Kakashi trusted Guy and Lee, and they made a quick team-up.
Without hesitation, Kakashi darted toward Pain, his Raikiri poised to strike.
Pain narrowed his eyes, and the Hungry Ghost Path leapt into the air, throwing a powerful punch at Kakashi.
But Kakashi's speed was overwhelming. He quickly dodged the punch by tilting his head, and his Raikiri was almost within reach of Pain.
Pain snorted, and his eyes flared with power. A sudden, overwhelming force pushed Kakashi back.
Boom...
"Kakashi!"
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto and the others reacted immediately, looking anxiously at Kakashi, who was suddenly slammed into a tree. He then exploded into a cloud of smoke, revealing it was just a shadow clone.
At this moment, even Pain was taken aback. He thought to himself, Fast reflexes. I didn't expect him to immediately use a shadow clone the moment I appeared. He's clearly testing my abilities. Tō was right, these people are all incredibly strong.
Kakashi appeared from behind a different tree, explaining, "The one in the middle must have some secret technique that allows him to push people away."
Pain smirked coldly, and the two shadow dogs that were kicked away earlier reappeared, along with the grotesque bird. Together, they rushed toward Guy and Lee.
TenTen and Neji exchanged glances and quickly joined the battle, while the rest of the group began dealing with the summoned creatures.
"Summoning Jutsu!" The Beast Path formed hand seals again, summoning even more creatures, including a massive bull and a giant centipede.
Meanwhile, behind Asuma and the others, a missile suddenly came flying toward them. Thankfully, Asuma's quick reflexes allowed him to counter by launching a flying kunai.
Boom! The missile exploded just as it hit. The one responsible for launching the missile, the Deva Path of Pain, stepped forward.
"I must admit, Tō was right. You guys are indeed formidable. But... that only matters depending on the person!"
With that, all five of the Six Paths of Pain activated their abilities and launched a combined assault.