"Run!!"
Adult Obito carried the Masked Man's corpse on his back and called for Kakashi, Minato-sensei, and the original Akatsuki members to evacuate.
Minato knew the power of Super Shinra Tensei. He didn't need Obito to say anything before he was already helping first-generation Akatsuki members like Kyūsuke and Daibutsu retreat as quickly as possible.
The second-generation Akatsuki members had never seen their leader unleash his ultimate move, but an S-rank Missing-nin's sense of danger was one of the things that kept them alive. They didn't need anyone to tell them. They fled faster than rockets!
The original first-generation Akatsuki members seemed to understand that they should retreat, but they still couldn't help looking back to see what "Nagato" was trying to do.
Kyūsuke shouted, "What is Nagato doing? Why is he flying into the sky?!"
"Could everything that happened today be a dream?" a ponytailed man from the original first-generation Akatsuki asked the black-haired companion beside him. "Maybe we just fell asleep after the celebration? Otherwise…"
"Enough with the 'otherwise'! Move!!" Adult Obito grabbed the two of them and ran.
Black Zetsu was still trapped inside his Kamui's Dimension, so he couldn't use Intangibility lightly. And the attack range of Super Shinra Tensei was on a level capable of destroying all of Konoha!
Even the second-generation Akatsuki members needed about a minute to evacuate.
The first-generation Akatsuki members in this parallel world needed even longer.
Fortunately, Nagato still had a long speech to give, which barely gave them enough time to get away.
"As the leader of Amegakure, you failed to bring happiness or stability to this village, or to this country. Instead, you drew the great nations here and turned this place into a battlefield, using war to increase the number of missions for ninjas."
Those pale purple Rinnegan looked down at Hanzō of the Salamander below.
"We once trusted you so deeply, you, the leader of Amegakure, the man known as a Demi-God."
"And yet you deceived us in the most despicable way."
Inside Young Obito's Kamui's Dimension, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan all wore grave expressions. The current situation was becoming harder and harder for them to understand.
But it was not hard for them to realize that the person outside was not someone's shadow clone or Transformation Technique. He was undoubtedly the real Nagato!
Thinking back to how Nagato had just believed he had killed Yahiko, then used the power of the Rinnegan in agony to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, a guess close to the truth began forming in their minds.
"You said that because we were students taught by Jiraiya, a Konoha ninja, you couldn't trust us. But in truth, you were afraid Akatsuki would one day threaten your position."
"You feared Akatsuki's growth. You feared that the world Yahiko described would make you lose your status and your sense of glory. So you used Konan as a hostage and tricked me and Yahiko into coming alone to meet you."
Hanzō asked, "Do you hate me?"
"Hate?" Nagato sneered. "For a god who can truly save the world, that emotion is meaningless."
"Hanzō, even you, who were called a Demi-God, are nothing but a mortal."
"But through endless pain, I have grown beyond mortals. I have transformed from a mortal into a god!! With the power of a god, the identity of a god, and the mission of a god, I will put an end to this war-torn era."
The Akatsuki members who had already escaped to a safe distance, along with the Konoha ANBU who had withdrawn with them, silently looked up at Nagato in the sky. Their hearts were filled with too many emotions at once, and for a while, none of them knew what to say.
Hanzō raised his head to look at the red-haired man in the sky. Those cold purple eyes did not seem to see him, but they were not the eyes of a merciful god looking upon all living beings either.
"End war? What gives you the right to say that?"
"By creating the ultimate weapon, one that can destroy a nation and kill thousands of ninjas in a single strike, and making everyone feel fear."
"!!!!"
Hanzō, the Konoha ANBU, the first-generation Akatsuki members, and Danzō and Izuna Uchiha inside Kamui's Dimension were all deeply shocked! They had never imagined someone could say such a thing so calmly.
Nagato said, "Only by knowing enough pain can the people of this world stand on the same level and think about one single problem! Those who do not know pain can never know what true peace is!"
"Once they understand pain, they will fear its return. From then on, there will be no more war in this world, and it will grow toward stability and peace."
Hanzō had no idea what to say after hearing that. In the end, he could only say, "You really are a madman."
"It is simply because you are a mortal, and cannot understand the thoughts of a god."
Nagato said,
"Feel pain."
"Experience pain."
"Accept pain."
"Understand pain."
"Those who do not know pain will never know what true peace is."
"This world will know what true pain is, here and now."
A pure white light spread outward from Nagato as its source.
Yahiko shouted, "No! When I talked about companions understanding each other's pain, that isn't what I meant!!"
Konan and Nagato stood beside him, watching the other Nagato outside Kamui's Dimension. Like a pale flame, he did not illuminate the darkness of the world. Instead, he devoured everything, turning it all into nothing. Everything returned to emptiness. All things were lost.
The Nagato outside…
Had lost his way!
But at this moment, those inside Kamui's Dimension could not stop anything.
They could only hear his words clearly.
"Shinra Tensei."
The world seemed to lose all sound.
After a delay of three to five seconds, a deep, muffled boom suddenly rang out.
Boom!!!
This place that made Nagato and Konan feel such hatred, the place where they had once lost Yahiko, was wiped clean by Nagato in such a way that its former appearance could no longer be seen!
Even the endless rain was pushed away by Shinra Tensei.
Invisible, intangible power swept through everything.
The first-generation and second-generation Akatsuki members were all seeing a Shinra Tensei of this level for the first time.
Even people like Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, Kisame, and Itachi were stunned speechless, unable to describe the shock that power brought them.
There was no need to mention how the first-generation Akatsuki members and the ANBU brought by Danzō Shimura felt at this moment!
Because the area itself was open, it was not like the other parallel world where Pain used this technique to attack Konoha, destroying every building and turning the village into a massive ruin, bringing the collapse and despair of people's homes being destroyed in an instant.
But this technique was more than enough to crush Hanzō of the Salamander, who had overestimated himself and failed to dodge from the beginning, leaving him with only one breath before everyone's eyes.
Of course, after using Super Shinra Tensei, Nagato's red hair turned snow-white, and his body became even thinner and more withered than before.
Even though Konan quickly used Sacred Paper Emissary Jutsu beside him, wrapping him in countless snow-white sheets of paper like white wings, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan inside Kamui's Dimension could see everything clearly.
"Nagato!!"
Yahiko shouted, wanting to leave this place.
Young Obito granted his wish and transferred everyone inside Kamui's Dimension to Minato-sensei's side outside.
Seeing this world's version of herself, Konan suddenly realized that she and Nagato had been tricked by Minato Namikaze! The so-called "this world's Konan" was still inside Obito's Kamui's Dimension, so "Obito" had to be revived, but what he had clearly meant was the childhood Obito Uchiha standing in front of them!
But this was not the time to hold Minato Namikaze accountable for deceiving them. After all, his student and son really had saved this world's versions of them, and…
Prevented Nagato's severe injury and Yahiko's death.
Seeing Yahiko alive again, Konan, now thirty-two years old, felt a lump in her throat. It took her a long while before she finally called his name.
Yahiko was not stupid either. Through this series of events, he had guessed that the Konan before him, and the Nagato over there, had probably already lost him.
He had clearly wanted them to live better lives, yet because of his own naivety, they had become the ones in the most pain.
Minato Namikaze, Adult Obito, and Adult Kakashi noticed the young man who looked somewhat like Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke, but this was not the time to ask about that.
After all, this was hardly the first or second surprise Naruto and Obito had brought them.
Yahiko turned back to look toward Hanzō of the Salamander.
Nagato, utterly exhausted and with all his hair turned white, stood in front of Hanzō of the Salamander.
"I no longer care whether I hate you or not. But your existence will only obstruct the development of Amegakure and the peace and stability of the Land of Rain. So…"
A black chakra rod pierced through the flesh and skin of Nagato's palm and grew out from it.
Nagato snapped it off and held it in his hand.
Pfft.
The rod stabbed into Hanzō's heart, delivering the final blow to the man clinging to life.
"Your era is over, Hanzō."
Watching the light in Hanzō's eyes gradually fade, Nagato declared his defeat.
The torrential rain had never stopped, drenching every member of the first-generation Akatsuki. No one stopped that Nagato. After witnessing the power of Super Shinra Tensei, they felt no joy or excitement. Instead, they shared the sorrow in the hearts of Nagato and Konan from the other world.
That Nagato returned from the battlefield, so thin that Yahiko found it shocking.
His cheeks were sunken, and beneath his open red-cloud robe, every rib was clearly visible.
"Yahiko."
Seeing a living, breathing Yahiko from another parallel world…
Nagato finally understood the meaning of the A-rank mission scroll's time travel.
To personally make up for the deepest regret in his and Konan's hearts…