"What's going on?! What happened?! Why did something explode behind us?!"
"No, no, no, no! Nanami! Nanami and the others were over there!"
"Damn it! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"
After the flames surged into the sky and the massive shockwave swept outward, considerable chaos instantly broke out among Akatsuki's combat personnel.
They had only been crudely integrated into one group. Just a few days ago, many of them had not even known one another.
They could not possibly face this sudden change with the same calm as shinobi from the same village.
For a time, some people broke away from the formation and tried to rush back to check on their wounded companions. Others, after realizing their companions had sacrificed themselves, went red-eyed with rage and charged at the masked Root shinobi without caring about anything else.
The scene immediately fell into chaos.
Even though Yahiko and Konan, who were in the middle of it, were already doing their utmost to gather the team back together, they still could not stop Akatsuki's members from acting on their own and exposing huge openings to enemies filled with killing intent and malice.
Seeing this, Nagato gritted his teeth.
Relying on the power of flight granted to him by the Rinnegan, he rushed ahead of the other Akatsuki members and arrived in front of the masked Root members.
Then he roared at these tools, whose emotions had long since been erased, leaving behind only loyalty to Danzo and obsession with completing their mission.
"No matter what force you come from, I will make you and the village behind you pay the price for this!"
"You are welcome to try."
The Root members showed no emotional fluctuation.
They raised their hands toward Nagato, who had taken the initiative to rush forward, formed a simple combined attack formation, and launched their assault.
"Earth Release: Collapsing Rockfall!"
"Earth Release: Mountain Closing Technique!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Plain Burning Technique!"
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"
The earth burst apart.
A huge fissure opened like an enormous mouth, swallowing Nagato in one bite before rapidly closing, artificially creating an enclosed underground space.
At the same time, the Fire Release and Wind Release users poured scorching flames and roaring winds through the gaps deliberately left by their Earth Release companions, trying to burn Nagato, who had been sealed inside, directly into ash.
"Get lost!"
It was still the same plain Shinra Tensei.
It was still that irresistible field of overwhelming repulsive force.
Rock and soil exploded into dust that filled the sky. The blazing firestorm was easily torn apart into faint wind and sparks.
The wielder of the Rinnegan spread both hands and looked coldly at the Root shinobi who had been sent flying.
"If you think Akatsuki will not kill just because we pursue the ideal of peace, then you are terribly mistaken!"
"Bansho Ten'in!"
"Guh—"
Two female Root shinobi who had been knocked back to a closer distance were pulled toward Nagato from afar.
Then, under the horrified and incomprehending gazes of the onlookers, Nagato used the ability of the Human Path and forcibly pulled their souls out of their bodies.
In front of both Root and Akatsuki, he began reading the memories inside their minds.
"This mission is to infiltrate the Land of Wind, collect relevant intelligence on Sunagakure, and dispose of several spies who have worked for too long and begun developing thoughts of their own. Understood?"
"What's going on?! Why did the cursed seal Lord Danzo set suddenly fail?!"
"No, impossible. Absolutely impossible… How could Lord Danzo lose to a fifteen-year-old brat…"
"Lord Danzo is dead. Root has also been taken over by the cowardly and incompetent Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. We cannot go back. If we go back, we will no longer be able to avenge Lord Danzo…"
"'Sora' contacted us. He said he had thought of a plan to take revenge on Rei Kaguya, who has already become the Fourth Mizukage, and told us to go to the Land of Rain to find him…"
"Akatsuki is an organization Rei Kaguya has invested in heavily? I see. Destroying the subordinates he poured effort into is equivalent to cutting off Rei Kaguya's wings and limbs. Sora's brain is still useful…"
"Did Ryunosuke's self-destruction succeed? Then the shinobi of Amegakure and Hanzo should arrive as well… Lord Danzo, we are about to take the first step in avenging you."
The memories ended there.
But for Nagato, this information was already enough for him to understand the situation he and Akatsuki were in.
And to understand deeply just what kind of crisis they were facing.
Nearly three hundred Amegakure shinobi had already surrounded this area.
Hanzo of the Salamander, praised as the demigod of the shinobi world, had personally joined this encirclement.
Akatsuki's noncombatants had suffered heavy losses in the enemy's suicidal explosive attack.
And the combat personnel could not possibly withstand the siege of enemies several times their number for long.
No matter how one looked at it, this was a killing trap specifically designed for Akatsuki.
"Amegakure shinobi? So this is the choice made by Hanzo of the Salamander, the man once known as a demigod of the shinobi world, the hero who once launched a Shinobi World War against the surrounding great nations with grand ambition for the future of Amegakure and the Land of Rain?"
"And Konoha… Konoha again. It is always you…"
"Because you are powerless to take revenge on an enemy as strong as Rei Kaguya, you naturally shift that hatred onto us, people you think you can bully?"
Nagato slowly tossed aside the bodies of the two Root shinobi who had already lost their lives.
In his pale purple Rinnegan, anger and hatred were clearer than ever.
"On the surface, you advertise yourselves as the invaded party, as victims of war, yet in truth, you do things even more disgusting than rotting meat in a trash can…"
"The pain you felt during the Third Shinobi World War truly was not enough."
"As long as I live, I will make you repay this grudge in equal measure."
Nagato flicked his sleeves.
Two black rods with sharp tips slid into his hands.
The red-haired boy clenched his weapons and leaped toward the Root members who had once again surrounded him.
He knew very clearly that he had to deal with these cold, emotionless, and cruel Konoha shinobi first before he would have a chance to return and support his companions, who were about to be surrounded and slaughtered by Amegakure's shinobi.
The faster he dealt with them, the higher the number and possibility of companions he could save.
And before that, he could only place his hopes on Jiraiya-sensei, Yahiko, and the others, hoping they could hold back Amegakure's offensive.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
A Root member used this ninjutsu, which was extremely difficult and possessed very high killing power.
For a moment, another black wall formed from lethal hidden weapons surged toward Nagato from above like a storm.
But this kind of attack could not trouble Nagato.
He pushed both hands outward.
The repulsive force field of Shinra Tensei very easily broke the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, along with several ninjutsu mixed into the rain of hidden weapons.
Immediately afterward, he kicked off the ground, preparing to attack the Konoha shinobi charging at him from ahead.
Slash.
A chained kusarigama attacked from an extremely tricky and unpredictable angle, perfectly landing in the gap after Shinra Tensei had been released.
Although Nagato did his utmost to dodge the moment he sensed the vicious wind approaching, the sharp blade of the kusarigama still cut open his shoulder.
What followed was a dizzying spin, then a chilling numbness that spread through his entire body.
"As expected, that technique of yours is not flawless, brat…"
Hanzo of the Salamander, wearing a breathing mask, flashed out from behind a Root shinobi.
He looked down coldly at Nagato, who had lost his balance and fallen into the muddy water.
"Han… zo…"
Numbness and suffocation swept toward Nagato like a tide, making even saying the visitor's name difficult.
Seeing this, Hanzo nodded in satisfaction and pulled back his kusarigama with a swing of the chain.
"If you want to blame someone, blame the person who suggested that Akatsuki return to the Land of Rain.
"If you had not approved his proposal, and had instead chosen the already neutral Land of Iron as your future base, I would not have taken action against Akatsuki."
"Unfortunately, you brats made the wrong choice. In that case, I cannot allow you to continue existing on the soil of the Land of Rain."
Listening to Hanzo's words, Nagato struggled to lift his head from the puddle he had fallen into and spoke in broken gasps.
"The Land of Rain… is… our homeland…
"Why… are we not even allowed… to return to our homeland… and fight for its peace?"
"The Land of Rain does not need a second shinobi organization outside Amegakure."
Hanzo stepped forward and raised the kusarigama in his hand toward Nagato.
"You crossed a line you should not have crossed. So you must atone with your lives, brat."
"I once… respected you, Hanzo… the man who fought so hard to make the Land of Rain stronger…"
Nagato looked at the kusarigama in Hanzo's hand, its blade faintly glowing with a ghostly blue light, and panted with difficulty.
"Why would a man like you… have such a narrow capacity?"
"After I send you to the underworld, think about that question together with your companions."
Hanzo's face turned cold.
He swung his kusarigama down toward Nagato.
But just as he was about to cut off Nagato's head, he encountered the repulsion of Shinra Tensei once again.
However, because the poison had already sunk deep into him, this repulsive force field only blocked Hanzo's slash.
It no longer had enough strength to make him retreat even one step.
"Tch. Your death throes look truly ugly, brat."
Hanzo frowned and raised his kusarigama again.
But this time, before he could swing the blade, he saw the shadow under his feet rapidly expanding.
He raised his head.
A gigantic red toad, as large as a small mountain, was falling from the sky.
"Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!"
Boom!
Amid the earth-shaking impact, Hanzo used the Body Flicker Technique to leave Nagato's side.
Then he stood behind several Root shinobi who had stopped moving and frowned together with them at the toad that was extremely familiar to everyone present.
"Hah. I thought you summoned me again for some other boring thing. Didn't expect it would actually be to fight this annoying old salamander again, Jiraiya!"
Gamabunta licked his palm and excitedly drew the short sword at his waist.
As for Jiraiya, whose hair had been half burned black and whose cloak and clothing had been badly damaged, he stood beside the fallen Nagato with a bitter smile.
Half embarrassed and half guilty, he asked, "Nothing serious, right, Nagato?"
"Jiraiya… sensei…"
Nagato looked at the man before him, who had abandoned his disguise.
With complicated emotions, he called out the other party's name.
"Sorry. I failed to notice in advance that the guy had explosive tags wrapped around his body. His self-destruction injured more than a dozen companions in the organization, and it also forced you to face so many troublesome enemies alone…"
Jiraiya bit his finger and began drawing a new summoning formula on Nagato's body with blood.
"Jiraiya… sensei… what are you… doing?" Nagato, whose consciousness was already somewhat scattered, barely managed to ask.
"The poison you have been hit with is troublesome. I will temporarily send you to Mount Myoboku and see if Shima-sama and the others have a way to detoxify you… Relax. I will deal with our own Konoha problem properly."
"But… the Amegakure shinobi…"
"Reverse Summoning Technique!"
White smoke burst open.
Nagato's figure vanished from the battlefield, where the rain was gradually growing heavier.
Jiraiya then leaped onto Gamabunta's head and looked coldly at Hanzo, who had likewise summoned his own salamander.
"It has been many years since we last met. Looks like the demigod of the past has fallen, Hanzo."
"Toad brat, are you going to stand in my way again this time?"
Hanzo stared at Jiraiya's face.
For a moment, he felt emotional at how quickly time had passed.
For another moment, he felt displeased.
"Was the lesson I gave you three back then not enough?"
"That was then. This is now."
Jiraiya formed the Tiger seal, which symbolized Fire Release, and pushed back without the slightest fear.
"Last time, I fought for my village's mission.
"This time, I fight to protect my disciples' dream.
"But regardless of which time it is, I have no reason to retreat before you, Hanzo."
"Then die together with them, toad brat. This time, there is no snake brat skilled in poison and no slug girl skilled in detoxification to clean up after you."
Hanzo of the Salamander drove his venomous salamander, Ibuse, toward Jiraiya and Gamabunta.
Attacking alongside him were the remaining Root remnants present.
"To think you would join hands with Akatsuki, an organization supported by Kirigakure. It seems Konoha has completely fallen under the corruption of Hiruzen Sarutobi and you disciples of his.
"Traitor Jiraiya, die here. Let your death become the starting point and declaration of us Root believers purging Konoha."
The Root shinobi "Sora," who was being impersonated by White Zetsu, said this while throwing a shuriken at Jiraiya.