Someone attacked Konoha!
And they'd already completed a round of devastating strikes. This was Naruto's immediate thought—and the thought of every Konoha ninja at that moment.
All at once, the ninja belonging to Konoha rushed toward the source of the explosion. Protecting Konoha was the mission and responsibility of every Konoha ninja.
Just as the Konoha ninja raced toward the attack point, Asura Path Pain—wearing a black cloak with red cloud patterns and sporting a distinctive bald head—looked at the house before him that had been destroyed by his missile barrage. He observed the collapsed Konoha villagers beneath the rubble. The corner of his mouth curved into a sneer.
Then Asura Path Pain leaped high into midair. In his cold smile, he whispered, "Let all of this be destroyed. Feel the pain, you humble insects."
After this declaration, Asura Path Pain dove downward. Without hesitation, he fired another missile salvo. This was his unique attack capability. To be precise, each of the Six Paths of Pain possessed specialized combat abilities.
The missile fired from his body. Asura Path Pain's right hand clenched into a fist, detached from his wrist, and shot forward like a cannonball toward the Konoha houses below.
Under the thunderous explosion, houses collapsed in a straight line. Flames shot skyward. Black smoke billowed upward in massive clouds.
Nearby ninja rushed over. Seeing this devastating scene, they immediately flew into rage. Then they set their sights on the instigator of all this destruction—Asura Path Pain.
Almost simultaneously, the Konoha ninja attacked.
Various ninjutsu, kunai, and shuriken rained toward Asura Path Pain.
"Evacuate the villagers first! Leave this enemy to us!" At that moment, two figures appeared in front of the Konoha ninja, looking at Asura Path Pain with serious expressions.
"Lord Jiraiya! Lady Tsunade!" Seeing the speakers' faces, the Konoha ninja stopped their attacks. They began quickly evacuating villagers to prevent casualties during the coming battle.
The arrivals were Tsunade and Jiraiya. The two had been repairing Tsunade's house together—Jiraiya enjoying this precious time alone with her. Suddenly, Asura Path Pain had attacked Konoha.
This irritated Jiraiya tremendously. Such a perfect atmosphere, completely ruined.
"It's from the Akatsuki." Looking at the distinctive cloak worn by the figure before him, Jiraiya recognized the attacker's identity instantly.
"Jiraiya-senpai, Tsunade-senpai." At this moment, Kakashi and Mitarashi Anko also arrived at Jiraiya and Tsunade's side. They looked solemnly at Asura Path Pain, who was reinstalling his detached fist mechanism.
"Kakashi's here too. Are you ready to fight?" Jiraiya glanced at Kakashi, then fixed his eyes on Asura Path Pain.
Kakashi nodded with grave seriousness.
"Sensei! We're here!" Shizune and Sakura also arrived at that moment. They called out to their teacher, Tsunade.
Tsunade glanced back and spoke quickly with authority. "Shizune, Sakura—help treat the injured. Bring them to a safe place for medical attention."
"Yes, ma'am!" Shizune and Sakura nodded immediately.
They looked at the houses that had been bombarded by Asura Path Pain's missile attacks. All structures within a twenty-meter radius had collapsed. Konoha ninja were carrying out injured villagers one by one from the rubble.
Seeing this scene, Shizune addressed Sakura with clinical efficiency. "Sakura, help me. Let's treat the injured villagers quickly."
"Yes, Shizune-senpai." Sakura nodded heavily, her expression determined.
"Carry the wounded to a safe area!" As an experienced medical ninja, Shizune had dealt with scenes like this before. She immediately instructed the Konoha ninja on where to place casualties after rescue.
The rescue work began in earnest.
As for Asura Path Pain, he watched this scene with detached interest. He didn't act immediately. His task today was to wait for Konoha's Hokage to appear.
Then, if possible, kill him.
As for the ninja before him, they were merely bonus targets.
"It's Hokage-sama! Lord Hokage is here!" The Konoha ninja immediately relaxed upon seeing Naruto arrive.
Naruto's figure materialized in front of Jiraiya and the others. As soon as Naruto appeared, Black Zetsu also emerged beside him. Having bathed under the waterfall and sensed the familiar chakra signature, Black Zetsu had hurriedly dressed and come to observe the excitement.
"That's one of the Six Paths of Pain—Asura Path." Black Zetsu glanced at Asura Path Pain, then at Naruto.
Naruto nodded. He glanced at Black Zetsu and asked with surprise, "Why are you still so dark? Didn't I tell you to bathe properly?" Black Zetsu beside him wore clothes now, but his exposed head and hands remained pitch black.
It seemed Black Zetsu hadn't taken the bath seriously at all.
Hearing Naruto's words, Black Zetsu's expression darkened further. Now? At such a moment, this is what you choose to discuss? Shouldn't you deal with Asura Path Pain first? When Konoha's fate hangs in the balance, you suddenly care about my skin color?
However, seeing Naruto's completely relaxed expression—clearly not taking Asura Path Pain seriously at all—Black Zetsu understood. With Naruto's strength, Asura Path Pain probably wasn't enough to constitute a real fight. So Black Zetsu said helplessly, "Naruto, this is my natural skin color. I was originally this dark."
"Sorry. I didn't realize you had naturally dark skin." Naruto spoke to Black Zetsu in an apologetic tone.
"It doesn't matter. Naruto, shouldn't you eliminate Asura Path Pain now?" Black Zetsu suggested pointedly.
As for Asura Path Pain and the Akatsuki in general—they'd originally been Black Zetsu's tools of manipulation. Now that he no longer needed to use the Akatsuki's power, Black Zetsu didn't care about the organization's continued existence.
"You..." Seeing Black Zetsu's appearance, Asura Path Pain's face showed visible surprise.
"Naruto, watch how I deal with this guy!" Jiraiya called out eagerly. His body moved, rushing toward Asura Path Pain.
First, Asura Path Pain had attacked Konoha, causing casualties among the villagers. Second, Jiraiya wanted to demonstrate his strength in front of Tsunade—to let her know he remained powerful.
Naruto wasn't concerned when he saw Jiraiya charge toward Asura Path Pain. Instead, he was sensing their surroundings carefully. He detected no other strange presences. In the Boruto world, the information he'd learned indicated that when that world's Naruto was absent, all Six Paths of Pain had attacked Konoha simultaneously—not just Asura Path alone.
In the Boruto world, Jiraiya had died at the hands of Pain.
However, according to the normal timeline development, the Six Paths of Pain shouldn't attack Konoha this quickly.
Yet Naruto understood that because of the System's emergence, his life had undergone tremendous changes. Because of this, many things around him had shifted. For example, in this world, Obito, Itachi, and Kisame were already dead.
The Six Paths of Pain shouldn't be attacking Konoha yet.
But now, with Naruto's changes creating butterfly effects.
Perhaps because of these variables, Nagato couldn't wait any longer. He'd sent Asura Path Pain to attack Konoha.
However, from this action, Naruto could see that Nagato lacked true confidence. If he'd been confident, he should have deployed all Six Paths of Pain directly to destroy Konoha with overwhelming force.
Instead of sending a single Asura Path Pain to die like this.
"Let me, Jiraiya, send you to the Pure Land, you bastard who dared attack Konoha!" Jiraiya rushed toward Asura Path Pain with righteous fury.
Asura Path Pain sneered contemptuously. He extended his hand and rushed toward Jiraiya. His modified body technique carried tremendous power in both hands as he grabbed for Jiraiya's arm.
At that moment, a phantom appeared beside Asura Path Pain. The phantom gradually solidified, revealing Naruto's face. Naruto wore a faint smile. He extended his hand casually and grasped Asura Path Pain's arm.
In an instant, Asura Path Pain discovered with shock that his arm couldn't move. It was held gently but completely immobilized by Naruto. Trying to press downward even slightly proved impossible.
This person before me—this Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Fifth Hokage—is actually stronger than me... A shocked expression appeared on Asura Path Pain's face.
"Jiraiya-sensei, leave this one to me. I'll take him away. Otherwise, he'll damage every plant and tree in Konoha. The aftermath here is yours to handle."
After speaking to Jiraiya, Naruto simply grabbed Asura Path Pain. Lifting one foot, Naruto appeared high in the sky while carrying his prisoner.
Taking another step, the figures of both Naruto and Asura Path Pain vanished from everyone's sight.
Looking at Asura Path Pain being carried away by Naruto, Jiraiya suddenly felt deflated. He withdrew his hand awkwardly and returned to Tsunade's side. "Actually, I could have handled it without Naruto's help."
Tsunade gave Jiraiya a pointed look but ignored his protest. Instead, she spoke with some concern, "Naruto is alone. There won't be problems, will there?"
After all, when Naruto had fought with her, it seemed he'd been toying around deliberately—using that high-frequency vibration technique to embarrass her before winning.
Thinking this way, Tsunade realized she didn't actually know what Naruto's true strength was.
Regarding Tsunade's worry, Kakashi smiled immediately. "Senior Tsunade, don't worry about Naruto. What you should worry about is how long that enemy can last against him."
Seeing Kakashi's complete confidence, Tsunade's worry dissipated. Kakashi treated Naruto like family. He would never mislead her about his safety. Thinking this, Tsunade said decisively, "I'll go check on the wounded."
After speaking, Tsunade walked away and began treating casualties.
"I'll help you!" Jiraiya hurriedly followed Tsunade's figure.
Mitarashi Anko glanced at Kakashi. "Kakashi, let's go compile the casualty list. When Hokage-sama returns, we can hand over the report."
"Right." Kakashi nodded in agreement.
In the sky above a wilderness area, Naruto appeared with Asura Path Pain in his grasp. He threw Asura Path Pain to the ground below. "Now, let me experience your power firsthand."
After speaking, Naruto's Hokage robe billowed backward dramatically. His figure stepped upward through the air. His body activated at full power. A form over two hundred meters tall appeared before Asura Path Pain.
Seeing the giant Naruto, Asura Path Pain's pupils constricted. But then he felt overjoyed. With Naruto enlarged like this, his target is more obvious. This benefits me.
Thinking this, Asura Path Pain raised his right arm and aimed at Naruto.
Missile Launch!
Asura Path Pain's body had undergone extensive modifications by Nagato. This technique weaponized his severed wrist through transformation. Chakra concentrated at the incision point. The small-scale explosion produced tremendous thrust—enough to smash boulders like cannonballs.
Asura Path Pain's right wrist clenched into a fist and shot toward Naruto's chest at supersonic speed.
Facing this supersonic projectile, Naruto also threw a punch.
When the two fists met, a massive shockwave erupted. The air itself screamed. Then everyone could clearly see Asura Path Pain's right wrist weathering rapidly under Naruto's fist—aging a thousand years in an instant. Under the wind pressure from Naruto's punch, it dissipated like smoke.
One move. Asura Path Pain lost a fist.
Losing his right wrist didn't stop Asura Path Pain's assault. In fact, having his wrist already separated from his arm saved trouble. He pulled out a row of missiles from the incision point, aimed them at Naruto in the sky, and began his shelling bombardment.
Facing the dense rocket barrage, Naruto punched at the spinning warheads. Explosions sounded continuously. Flames bloomed spectacularly before Naruto's eyes.
For several moments, Naruto maintained a vigorous posture in the air—moving left and right, weaving through the artillery fire with fluid grace.
Seeing his attacks produce no effect, Asura Path Pain immediately lowered his head and activated the laser cannon mounted in his skull. Immediately, his head opened like a blooming lotus flower. Laser fire shot from within his cranium. Combined with the rockets from his arm modifications, he fired everything at Naruto simultaneously.
"A self-propelled humanoid weapon?" Seeing this display, Naruto felt genuinely surprised.
No wonder he couldn't sense any life force from Asura Path Pain's body at all. It turned out his entire form had been transformed into something barely human.
In the wilderness below, flames and gunpowder smoke filled the air. Where shells fell, gravel exploded upward. Vegetation turned to ash.
However, no matter what Asura Path Pain attempted—even when he manifested six arms simultaneously—he still couldn't hurt Naruto at all. With each punch and kick from Naruto, rockets and laser fire were annihilated one after another. They could only be reduced to gorgeous fireworks.
"Time to end this."
With a soft whisper, Naruto's figure vanished from the curtain of flames. He appeared behind Asura Path Pain. Then he threw a punch.
With this strike, Naruto held nothing back.
In an instant, the space around his fist seemed struck by tremendous force. It compressed like a mirror, making an overwhelmed cracking sound. Then it shattered like glass.
Simultaneously, Asura Path Pain was also crushed into fragments.