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Buildings folded like cards, flattened and shoved aside by colossal beasts.
Massive craters pockmarked the streets.
Walls crumbled. Dust billowed.
Screams of terror and agony filled the air.
"Mom!"
"Dad!"
"Where are you?"
"Where are you?"
A small child stood alone in the center of the ruins, lost. Tears blurred his vision. His tiny frame trembled.
In the distance, drawn by the crying, the Hellhound emerged. Jagged teeth, slick with blood and gore. A rancid breath huffed from its maw. It sniffed low, its form materializing through the swirling dust.
The boy froze. His red, swollen eyes stared at the monstrous thing before him. Fear stole his voice. His whole body shook.
"ROAR!"
The Hellhound shrieked. Gleaming fangs lunged for the boy.
The boy stood petrified, utterly paralyzed.
Blood sprayed across his face.
He flinched—the sudden, searing warmth shocking his system, jolting his soul back into his body. Gentle hands pulled him into an embrace. A scented handkerchief wiped the blood from his cheeks.
Through the fluttering cloth, he saw who held him.
"The… the Hokage…"
Tsukimi Heshu patted the boy's head, then handed him over to an arriving Konoha Military Police squad. Heshu vanished.
Cradled in a ninja's arms, the boy stared blankly at where Heshu had been.
The Hellhound's massive body was now impaled by a giant spire of ice. Frost rapidly encased it entirely. A crisp CRACK echoed, and the beast disintegrated into a shower of glittering, crystalline shards.
Elsewhere in Konoha, a centipede with a thrashing body scaled a tall building. Dripping fangs stabbed towards a little girl cowering inside a room.
"Bastard!"
Sakura leaped high. Her fist slammed into the centipede's carapace with devastating force.
"SCREECH!"
The creature writhed, contorted, then fell still.
Sakura nimbly hopped onto the windowsill, gathering the terrified girl into her arms. After passing the child to a relief team, Sakura surveyed the devastated village, her heart heavy. Cries of pain and loss echoed around her. She bit her lip, then shot toward the Hokage's vantage point.
"Hokage-sama!" Sakura landed lightly, urgency in her movement. The spot beneath the Hokage Monument offered a full view of the carnage. "Hokage-sama, let me try the Summoning Technique!"
Many were injured. The medical corps was stretched thin. Frontline fighters couldn't afford to have medics trailing them.
"Yes!" Heshu met her gaze, his expression utterly serious, filled with trust. "I believe you can."
Tears welled in Sakura's eyes, the village's suffering already a weight on her heart. She nodded firmly. Lady Tsunade, I can do this. I will help the Hokage. I will help Konoha!
Hands forming seals, she focused. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Black contract markings spread from her palm. Lady Katsuyu! Please, lend me your strength!
POOF!
A massive burst of white smoke erupted.
The tail of a gargantuan slug landed, pressing down on a crowd of ninja.
"What is this?"
"So heavy!"
Sakura stared, speechless. She'd never summoned Katsuyu at this size before.
"Lady Katsuyu…" Sakura's eyes shone.
"Sakura-chan," came the slug's gentle, resonant voice. "How impressive. You've grown so much."
The ninja pinned beneath her felt a sudden change.
"What's this?"
"My chakra… it's recovering?"
"My wounds…"
Surprise and relief bloomed on their faces.
Katsuyu began to split rapidly, countless smaller segments scattering across Konoha, heading toward every combat zone and every injured shinobi.
"Sakura," Heshu said, ruffling her hair. "Well done."
Sakura smiled through her tears. "Mhm!" It was a powerful feeling—knowing she could make a difference.
From his high perch, the entire situation of Konoha flowed into Heshu's mind.
"Intel correction!" Heshu shouted. "Relay this: There are eight attackers total. That includes the masked man from Akatsuki."
"Understood."
The Yamanaka clan handled communications, instantly relaying the update to the front lines.
"Eight of them?!" Dread settled in. One Path of Pain was trouble enough. Eight seemed impossible. A new wave of anxiety washed over the defenders.
The Animal Path's massive summons rampaged unchecked.
"Nara Sōsai," Heshu said, "You have command here."
As Hokage, he should have stayed to coordinate. But the situation demanded his direct intervention.
"Hokage-sama!" Sōsai stepped forward.
"I trust you to handle it." Heshu offered a brief smile and vanished.
For some reason, a cold knot of unease tightened in Sōsai's chest.
Heshu reappeared high above Konoha. He saw it all clearly: the rampaging beasts turning his village to rubble, the six Paths of Pain reaping lives with detached efficiency.
Ice-blue light erupted from his hands.
"ROAR!" "SCREECH!"
The cacophony of beastly cries made the earth tremble.
Kakashi, locked in combat with the Deva Path, felt the shift.
Countless summons were instantly pierced. Gigantic ice spikes speared them to the ground. Frost surged, encasing them completely. Crystalline shards filled the air like a blizzard. All the summoned creatures vanished in an instant.
The Animal Path, far below, looked up at Heshu and snorted. Hands formed another seal. "Summoning—"
"Ghk!"
An ice spear transfixing its throat. CRUNCH. A massive, intricate ice flower blossomed violently from within the Path's body, tearing it apart. Even the Naraka Path's revival ability would be useless here.
Under Heshu's will, a giant ice flower began to grow at the center of a ruined street. Countless vines, woven from pure frost, snaked into the air.
WHOOSH!
A thick vine lashed out like a whip, severing an Asura Path's arm.
"Persistent pests!" Konan's voice was cool. Dozens of explosive tags fluttered from her hands, clinging to the icy vines.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The vines shattered, only to reform instantly from the swirling frost. Heshu's chakra and attacks were in a state of [Mugen]—truly limitless. As long as he willed it, this Ice Blossom's assault would never end.
The Pain Paths, once the scourge of Konoha, were now forced on the defensive. Vines whipped through the air with sharp cracks. Some playfully harassed and entangled the six Paths and Konan, while others tenderly lifted civilians and injured ninja to safety.
"The Hokage is incredible!"
"He turned the tide in an instant!"
The Konoha shinobi, who moments before had been scrambling, now found themselves with breathing room. The entire battlefield had become a one-versus-all spectacle: the Ice Blossom against Akatsuki.
"SHINRA TENSEI!"
A powerful repulsive force erupted from the Deva Path, blasting the encroaching vines away. His gaze fixed on Heshu in the sky. Decision made, his body began to rise.
"Nagato!" Konan called out, but he was already ascending beyond her reach.
"Konan-nee." Hanataki appeared beside her, giving her shoulder a reassuring pat. "Don't worry. Nagato-nii knows what he's doing." Even he didn't sound fully convinced. Nagato was… unpredictable. The moment you thought he'd destroy the world, he'd try to save it.
"Tsukimi Heshu," the Deva Path intoned, floating before him. "You are strong. But to defy a god is your inevitable failure."
Heshu: "…"
In the art of pretentiousness, Heshu thought, I hereby name you the strongest, Nagato.
"We're all just people," Heshu countered, aiming straight for the core. "The one who deludes himself into calling himself a god is the real joke."
The Deva Path stiffened. "You are wrong! I am a god!"
Heshu: "…" I really don't want to talk to this chuunibyou.
The Deva Path was undeterred. "Only by knowing pain can you begin to comprehend the power of a god!"
Heshu: "…"
"From endless pain, I transcended mortal suffering."
"I evolved from man into divinity!"
Heshu: "…"
"This world is but a child. Only pain can make it grow!"
"Therefore—"
The Deva Path slowly spread his arms.
"Know pain."
"Experience pain."
"Accept pain."
"Understand pain."
"Those who do not know pain can never know true peace!"
Emotion churned violently behind the Path's eyes. Visions of his childhood, of loss, flashed through his mind—through Nagato's mind. It only solidified his resolve. The pain they suffered… he would ensure no future generation felt it. A world tempered by pain would renounce war. Peace would be eternal.
This was divine will.
On the ruins below, Hanataki and Konan watched.
Hanataki extended a hand. The fine hairs on his arm stood on end. A subtle vibration trembled through the air. It grew stronger. And stronger.
He took Konan's hand. In the next instant, they were far from Konoha's borders.
"Nagato…" Konan looked up at the distant figure in the sky, her expression complex. She never questioned right or wrong. She only knew she was Nagato's partner. She would always stand by him.
"Pain!" Heshu flashed before the Deva Path, gripping his wrist. "You won't succeed here!"
"SHINRA TENSEI!"
A wave of repulsive force washed over Heshu. He didn't budge.
Momentarily startled, the Deva Path drove a black receiver rod toward Heshu's chest. Heshu caught that wrist too. The rod stopped a centimeter from his heart.
Suddenly, the hand Heshu held began to flicker, turning translucent.
The Deva Path's eyes widened. "Nani?"
The black chakra rod vanished from his grip. Then, he watched, stunned, as his own hands began to fade from view. His vision went dark. Utter blackness. His Rinnegan should perceive everything. This could only mean one thing: there was nothing here to perceive.
"He's… gone?"
"Where did he go?"
Above Konoha, the Deva Path had vanished without a trace.
Konan gasped. "Nagato!" She tightened her grip on Hanataki's hand. "What happened?"
"Must be a space-time ninjutsu," Hanataki explained calmly.
Down below, the remaining Pain Paths were now thoroughly bound by the Ice Blossom's vines.
"Woo! The Hokage won!"
"I knew it!"
"What's Akatsuki compared to our Hokage!"
Seeing the Deva Path disappear and the others captured, the Konoha ninja erupted in cheers.
In the distance, Hanataki watched the celebrating villagers, a cold smile twisting his lips.
"Rejoicing too soon," he murmured. "You trash."
So the Deva Path was gone. So what? He was still here. And he hadn't even started.
Within the confines of Heshu's Storage Space, the Deva Path's consciousness surveyed the endless void.
Hanataki could deduce it was a separate dimension. The Deva Path—Nagato—could analyze it too. The Rinnegan allowed passage between spaces. He shouldn't be trapped.
But Heshu's Storage Space wasn't a standard dimension. It was a sealed, folded box—a space to which only Heshu himself held the key. Thus, even with the Rinnegan, Nagato couldn't come and go freely. He was trapped in a realm he had no authority over.
"Hanataki." Konan's voice was tight with worry.
"Don't worry, Konan-nee." Hanataki smiled, gently pulling his hand free. A flash of golden light.
Konan's heart lurched with sudden, inexplicable panic.
"It's the masked man!"
The Konoha ninja recognized the new arrival. He now occupied the space where the Deva Path had been, facing Heshu.
"Let's end this today," Heshu said, his voice flat.
Hanataki scoffed. "Who ends whom remains to be seen."
On the command platform, Nara Sōsai opened his eyes. Intelligence gathered from observing the Six Paths confirmed one thing: one person was still missing. The one controlling them all.
"Shisui, Ayako, Jūri. You three, with Hyūga Tenri. Find the location of the remaining Akatsuki member. He can't be far." Sōsai ordered. Whoever controlled the Six Paths would be formidable. Only a team of that caliber could handle it. With the Hokage on the front lines, their duty was to eliminate any threats behind him. Sōsai's gaze was steely with resolve.
A pillar of golden light, searingly bright, erupted.
Golden flames wreathed Hanataki's form. A beam of concentrated energy shot from his hand toward Heshu.
A small, deceptively delicate lotus of silver fire met the beam head-on.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave bloomed outward like a mushroom cloud.
A silver streak and a golden streak clashed, entwined, moving faster than the eye could follow. To the observers below, it was merely two ribbons of light—one silver, one gold—constantly colliding in the sky.
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