The enemy was too fast.
Their strength and combat experience were on another level. In the middle of the fight, they knew so little about their opponents that even Tendo Pain was defeated before he could launch any real attacks.
"That's the Yellow Flash for you," Orochimaru mused, a smile playing on his lips as he stood outside the Four Red Yang Formation. He complimented Minato Namikaze for taking down Tendo Pain so decisively.
It had to be said…
To Orochimaru, the young man who had once taken the Hokage title from him deserved praise. Pain was no pushover.
Even weakened from using the Super Shinra Tensei, he shouldn't have gone down so easily. Yet, Minato had finished him in just a few moments, and the blond youth with the Edo Tensei cracks on his face looked completely relaxed.
Jiraiya clenched his teeth and glared at Orochimaru. "That's because Minato knows our chakra can't keep this barrier up for long," he shot back angrily. "Taking Yahiko out quickly was the smart move."
"Is that so?" Orochimaru recalled the intel Obito had shared about Nagato and squinted. "But Pain isn't just Yahiko..."
Inside the formation, Minato looked at Tendo Pain with some surprise. He didn't think a single Rasengan should have been enough to take out someone as strong as Pain.
But Tendo Pain had collapsed. The moment he lost his ability to fight, it was as if his life was forfeit. Confused, Minato pulled a black rod from Pain's body.
"This is..."
"Summoning: King of Hell!"
Suddenly, Nagato gritted his teeth and summoned the giant head of the King of Hell. Its long tongue wrapped around Pain's body and pulled it into its mouth.
Once Pain was gone, Nagato lost both his shield and his support. Even with the six paths of the Rinnegan, he would be quickly overwhelmed by the three Hokage. He had to repair Tendo Pain, and fast.
Unfortunately, the three Hokage weren't about to let him. They didn't know his plan, but their goal was clear: defeat Nagato before the Four Red Yang Formation collapsed. Unlike the Edo Tensei bodies, their own chakra was finite.
"Nagato!"
From above, Konan flew in hastily, her paper wings flapping as she raised a palm toward the three Hokage, scattering sheets of paper into the air. At this moment, she had to stand in for Pain and protect Nagato.
Konan's palm split into countless sheets of white paper, each carrying an explosive tag as they rushed toward the three Hokage.
She was met by a single, casually thrown kunai. It had an explosive tag of its own and soared directly into the storm of paper.
Tobirama Senju didn't even look back. He sprinted toward Nagato, his fingers forming a simple hand seal.
"Tandem Explosive Tags."
The next moment, countless explosive tags erupted. A wave of fire surged through the sky, the blasts spreading in every direction. The force of the explosion threw Konan back, forcing her to spread her wings and retreat higher into the air.
"Konan!" Nagato instinctively looked up.
But Hashirama Senju was already leaping in from below, his fist cocked back for a punch. Nagato fired a laser from his Asura Path arm, but the attack was instantly crushed by overwhelming force.
That was… monstrous strength.
Nagato flew backward, coughing up blood, shocked by the First Hokage's power. As he frantically summoned chakra to defend himself, two kunai landed beside him. Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze appeared via the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato blasted them both away. But even that wasn't enough.
Hashirama, the God of Shinobi who had ended the Warring States Period, was already rushing him again. Against three Hokage, Nagato had no choice but to fight desperately.
"Pain!"
From the mouth of the King of Hell, a fully restored Tendo Pain emerged, a black rod in hand. He intercepted Hashirama, giving Nagato a precious moment to breathe.
"What is going on?" Hashirama looked at the revived Pain with curiosity. Resurrected?
"It's probably a puppet," Minato's voice called out.
The blond Hokage, who had just defeated Pain, was the first to realize it. His eyes locked onto Nagato as he held up the black rod he'd pulled from the body. It wasn't a weapon; it was a chakra receiver.
Pain… no, Yahiko… was not a real person. He was a puppet. A puppet controlled by Nagato.
Yahiko had died long ago.
"He isn't a puppet!" Nagato roared, his eyes bulging as he desperately transmitted chakra to Tendo Pain, forcing the body to fight Hashirama as if it were alive.
"Right now," Nagato's voice shifted from a roar to a quiet, firm tone, as if trying to convince everyone—and himself. "He's still alive. We're all still alive."
A look of sadness crossed Minato's face. Nagato could argue, but everyone understood what was happening.
"What's going on?" Jiraiya's heart lurched as he watched the exchange inside the barrier, shock and pain gripping him.
The day had been a relentless series of shocks for Jiraiya. First, he believed his three dead students had returned, only for them to become enemies he was forced to fight. And now, the truth was shifting again.
Yahiko was dead, and Nagato had turned him into a puppet?
"I see... so that's how it is," Hashirama sighed. He grabbed Pain's black rod and slammed the body into the ground.
Thud.
Pain's body crumpled once more. In a taijutsu battle, he was no match for the seasoned God of Shinobi.
"Turning your dead friend into a puppet…" Hashirama pulled the chakra receiver from Pain's body, his gaze shifting to Nagato. "Trying to convince yourself he's still alive..."
Nagato's hair fell over his face, as if the dream he had constructed for himself over the years was finally shattering.
How nice it would have been if all three friends were still alive in this world.
No need to face the painful past or carry the burdens of the future.
If only the three of them could have stayed in Akatsuki, living within their old friendship, following the man they all admired.
"Nagato," Jiraiya looked at his student, his voice laced with pain. "What happened? What is going on?"
Nagato didn't answer. Maybe he didn't care. Maybe answering didn't matter anymore.
The red-haired man stood alone, his Rinnegan looking vacant through his bangs.
"Still resisting?" Tobirama's eyes narrowed.
By now, it was obvious. Nagato could not win. He seemed to have given up the moment his constructed dream was broken. Because what was the point?
Trapped by the barrier, he couldn't escape. Surrounded by three Hokage, not even the Rinnegan could save him.
"What now?" Minato asked, looking at the others.
Whether it was Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, or Jiraiya, everyone seemed to be considering their options.
Capture him alive? He seemed to have stopped resisting, so that was possible.
Or should they kill him? If so, now was the perfect opportunity.
"Should we kill them?" Tobirama gripped his kunai. As Konoha's Second Hokage, he was always pragmatic. He never gave enemies a second chance and always dealt with risks before they could grow.
"If we kill him," Tobirama said, looking at Hiruzen, "then that organization of missing-nin should fall apart, right?"
Hiruzen fell into thought. In a way, he was right. If Akatsuki's leader dies, the organization dies. But the missing-nin in Akatsuki were all dangerous.
If they scattered, they'd be even harder to track—especially with someone like Obito in the mix. Hiruzen considered his options, wanting to get more information about Akatsuki's members from Nagato.
But Orochimaru spoke first.
"Of course not," he said with a smile, finally revealing the dagger he'd kept hidden. "Because the true master of Akatsuki has been controlling everything from the start. The one I wanted to use Edo Tensei to deal with was never Nagato."
"!!!"
Nagato's face changed instantly. The defeated young man looked up, but he understood. Orochimaru had betrayed them; of course he would expose the real secret behind Akatsuki.
"The master isn't Nagato?" Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru in shock.
"Then who is it?" Tsunade was also uneasy. Nagato's power had been overwhelming. He had nearly defeated all four of them.
No—in reality, with just one puppet, he had almost defeated them all. If not for the barrier, Konoha might have fallen. Nagato was only defeated by three former Hokage, and even now, he wasn't completely finished. He still had the strength for a final, desperate fight.
There was no way someone that strong was just another pawn, was there?
"It's me."
A familiar voice whispered by Tsunade's ear. It was a voice she knew well, one that had often comforted her. Whenever she heard it, her heart seemed to lighten.
"Tsunade, watch out!" Orochimaru shouted, a rare flash of panic in his voice—a tone that didn't suit his rogue status. It wasn't just because of their past friendship; he knew Tsunade's medical skills would be crucial in the dangerous battles to come.
But his warning was too late.
The enemy appeared too suddenly. By the time he was at Tsunade's side, his palm struck out and sent her flying.
Blood sprayed from Tsunade's mouth as she was thrown through the air. The attacker's fingers sliced through the air, catching a single drop of her blood. Taking it seemed more important than attacking again.
At that moment, with Tsunade knocked away, one corner of the Four Red Yang Formation broke. The barrier shattered.
But compared to the barrier breaking, it was the person who had appeared and attacked Tsunade that truly shocked everyone. The eyes of every Konoha ninja went wide.
Even the Edo Tensei-revived First Hokage was stunned.
"How… is it possible?" Jiraiya stared at the newcomer. His mind went blank. The moment the man struck, it shook him more than seeing Nagato's trio revived.
"How could it be…" Blood trickled from Tsunade's lips as she clutched her chest in disbelief.
The instant she saw the newcomer—the instant she heard that familiar voice—her heart turned to ice and plummeted into an endless void.
But the man's expression was perfectly calm. His mood always seemed to be this way. He was always calm in any situation—no matter if it was life or death, war or peace, betrayal or loyalty.
It was as if there was nothing left in this world that could move him.