After administering first aid to Hinata and Iruka Umino, Sakura Haruno leapt alertly beside her master, Tsunade, ready to fight at any moment.
She turned her gaze toward the orange-haired man before her, whose fiery passion reminded her of Naruto. With a skeptical expression, she spoke:
"Just moments ago, you attacked Konoha. You claimed that people can never truly understand one another. You said that only through powerful methods of suppression and intimidation can fear be instilled in hearts. Only pain can bring fleeting peace."
Gazing at the pink-haired girl, who appeared to be roughly the same age as he was before his death, Yahiko felt a bit numb. Though they shared identical appearances, his airheaded nature made it hard to connect him to Pain.
Tobirama sighed calmly, then remarked, "Had you been born in our era, you might have surpassed Madara Uchiha, becoming my brother's closest friend—a harbinger of the apocalypse."
Hashirama scratched his face awkwardly. Yet, this young man truly shared his temperament. As Tobirama had said, had they lived in the same era, they might well have become close friends.
Yahiko glanced at the Second Hokage, then at the flustered First Hokage.
"Huh?" The airhead tilted his head, looking confused.
The Second Hokage sighed. "I was referring to your naivety."
"..."
Please, Second Hokage-sama, don't be so dead serious with your sarcasm!!
Hashirama-sama is going to get depressed again!
The young Obito Uchiha inwardly complained about the Second Hokage-sama, who didn't particularly care for their Uchiha clan.
The old man really is getting shot down left and right, isn't he?!
Keeping Yahiko in this state of confusion wasn't sustainable. After preparing him mentally, Minato Namikaze outlined the general trajectory of Akatsuki's development following his death.
Yahiko's shock was palpable.
His sacrifice, intended to ensure that Nagato and Konan survived, had instead become a shackle binding them. Akatsuki had transformed into an evil organization pursuing "world nuclear peace" through extreme means.
But what was even more devastating...
To achieve this goal, Nagato had turned against the entire world. He recruited Missing-nin from every major village, attacking ninja settlements, slaughtering Jinchūriki, and collecting Tailed Beasts.
Even Jiraiya, who had tried to persuade them toward the path of righteousness, met a tragic end.
Hearing all of this, Yahiko's emotions surged uncontrollably! He never imagined Nagato would become this way.
Surrounded by the furious faces of Konoha, the village lay in ruins beneath the Wood Release's protection. No one here could forgive or even comprehend Pain's actions.
Yahiko had become the target of everyone's anger.
His mentor had been killed by Nagato, and Yahiko knew he couldn't absolve himself.
"Nagato and Konan were my family. His current state must be tied to the choices I made back then."
Yahiko declared, "I cannot make Konoha forgive them, but I will do everything in my power to undo this."
Yet, in this moment, Yahiko mirrored Naruto Uzumaki's recent confusion about peace and his own purpose, sparked by Pain's relentless questioning.
Beyond a body reanimated by Edo Tensei and a soul trapped here, what right or means did he have to speak of making amends for Konoha's losses?
Just consider Jiraiya-sensei's death alone...
The three of them bore an unconscionable burden of guilt, with no path to retreat.
What on earth should he do?
Yahiko was at a loss.
Then, a hoarse voice suddenly appeared beside them—
"Which one of you has Jiraiya's belongings?"
A man emerged from a vortex in the void, wearing an orange-yellow mask.
Though the mask's design was different, Yahiko instantly recognized this man!
"It's you!!"
Years ago, this masked man had approached Nagato, knowing he possessed the Rinnegan. His words had been nothing short of mind-bending brainwashing!
He had claimed that where there is victory, there must be defeat; that as long as cause and effect exist in the world, suffering will inevitably follow; that only if everyone in the world were dreaming could the chain of cause and effect be severed, bringing happiness to all. It made him sound utterly insane!!
Yahiko's expression shifted from shock to fury.
"You deceived Nagato and the others, didn't you?!! When I was alive, I prevented Nagato from meeting you again. How much did you have to do with Konan's capture and my death back then?!"
He stared intently at the orange-yellow mask.
"And! Who the hell are you?!"
By now, many in Konoha knew this man was Obito Uchiha, who claimed to be the Fourth Hokage's most special spy within the Akatsuki organization.
"I'll answer you briefly," Adult Obito said. "The abduction of Konan back then had nothing to do with me. It was the result of a conspiracy between Danzō Shimura and Hanzō of the Salamander."
"Danzō Shimura?!" Tsunade exclaimed in shock. "You say this incident involved Danzō Shimura? Is that why you killed him?"
Adult Obito: "Not only that. During this Pain operation, the one who prevented Naruto from returning early and killed the communication toads at Mount Myōboku was also him."
The other Konoha ninjas were no longer calm.
"But why?!"
"Killing the toads at Mount Myōboku? To prevent Naruto from returning to Konoha early?!"
This intelligence was clearly extraordinary. If Naruto had returned sooner, the village's losses could have been reduced by at least half.
"How could Elder Danzō Shimura do such a thing?"
"Exactly! He's a Konoha elder! Even if he's ruthless, he wouldn't go so far as to..."
The Adult Obito let out a cold laugh. "Once you see his corpse, I doubt you'll be saying that anymore." That one-armed Sharingan would surely send shockwaves through Konoha's ninjas.
Indeed, with the looming crisis of Pain, though they learned of Danzō's death through Sai, they hadn't yet had time to investigate the Root division. Only the ANBU and the Hokage knew of Danzō Shimura's death, the one-armed Sharingan, and Hashirama's cells.
"To secure his chance at becoming Hokage, Danzō Shimura believed any sacrifice for Konoha was justified. As long as Akatsuki didn't truly take the Nine-Tails, a few deaths were insignificant."
Finishing his words, he turned his gaze back to Yahiko.
"Your death isn't entirely unrelated to me either. When Kyūsuke led men to rescue you, I intervened to stop them. And despite knowing about Danzō and Hanzō's plan, I chose not to inform you."
Yahiko glared at him fiercely.
"So ultimately, you were the one who manipulated Akatsuki and Nagato?"
On this point, Obito Uchiha did not deny it.
"Enough talk," the Adult Obito Uchiha addressed Tobirama. "I have suitable material here for the Edo Tensei Reincarnation."
With that, he retrieved a White Zetsu from Kamui's Dimension.
"This entity is called White Zetsu and appears identical to a living person yet is not alive. It is the optimal material for Edo Tensei Reincarnation."
Tsunade instantly grasped his meaning.
"You want to desecrate the souls of the dead?!"
"Not Edo Tensei Reincarnation. True resurrection."
"What do you mean?"
"The Rinnegan possesses the power to resurrect the dead."
"!!"
Tsunade and the Konoha ninjas present were stunned beyond belief.
But the few from another world had already anticipated such an outcome.
"The Rinnegan does indeed possess the power to resurrect the dead. It's just that Pain and Nagato used it incorrectly before!"
The young Obito Uchiha explained, "When we time-traveled to Konoha's founding era, Naruto's mission scroll contained a mission reward!"
His voice drew the others' attention to him.
"Among them was a B-rank mission offering a mission reward for—the true method to revive Izuna Uchiha."
The Konoha ninjas were confused.
"Who is Izuna Uchiha?"
"Irrelevant," Tobirama Senju replied. "Just an arrogant, overconfident formidable opponent."
To be called formidable by the Second Hokage, this person must possess extraordinary strength!
Tobirama motioned for Obito Uchiha to continue.
Obito nodded. "The intelligence stated—the true method to revive Izuna Uchiha is combining the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's Edo Tensei technique with Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan."
"Pain's Rinnegan belonged to Madara Uchiha."
Adult Obito continued, "Back then, Madara Uchiha activated his Rinnegan and placed the eye with Nagato, who possessed both the Senju lineage and the Uzumaki bloodline."
Tobirama Senju instructed Tsunade to send people to retrieve the ninja genetic records stored in Konoha Hospital's archives. He asked the young Uchiha Obito,
"The question is, how did you convince Nagato to use his ability?"
"No persuasion was needed. I only needed to obtain Madara's eye. Naturally, someone would be willing to use Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth Technique to resurrect Jiraiya."
The jumbled information left Yahiko utterly confused, but at least one phrase registered...
"Revive Jiraiya-sensei?!! Is that even possible?!!"
Adult Obito nodded.
"I'm going to find Nagato now."
He glanced at the Edo Tensei version of Minato, as if by accident.
"Consider it one act of atonement—from me to my counterpart in this world."
With that, he vanished before the others could process his words.
Using Kamui's dimension, he disappeared before their eyes.
Minato Namikaze pondered the words spoken before his departure.
…
"No need to persuade him. I know that obtaining Madara's eyes is enough. 'Naturally, someone will be willing to use the Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth Technique to revive Jiraiya.'
...Consider it one form of atonement between 'myself' and 'my counterpart in this world'."
He vaguely guessed the Adult Obito's plan.
...
Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki had reached Nagato's hiding place.
It was a massive artificial tree crafted by Konan using the Sacred Paper Emissary Jutsu, within which the two concealed themselves.
"So you are... the real Pain?"
Like himself, a disciple of the Pervy Sage.
Like himself, a man bearing the Uzumaki Clan bloodline.
Naruto Uzumaki stared at the figure before him, now barely clinging to life, and shock still gripped his heart...