Meanwhile, on the other side.
Atop the tallest gray building in Amegakure,
Pain silently watched the dark distance, observing all movements throughout Amegakure with the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
But just then, suddenly,
In the distant darkness,
A dazzling blue-white light instantly shot up into the sky, dyeing the entire night sky!
Immediately after, an ear-splitting roar of combustion reached them—
Boom!!!
Even from this far away, they could still clearly feel the incredibly intense, scorching pressure!
Pain slightly furrowed his brow, his eyes flickering.
A seemingly unconscious sound of confusion escaped his lips.
"...Huh?"
Hearing this sound, Konan beside him immediately noticed something unusual and asked:
"What's wrong, Nagato?"
"..."
Pain slightly turned his head, looked over, and a hint of gravity appeared in his eyes as he said:
"Konan, did you notice..."
"In the time since Kyo joined the Akatsuki, his strength... has actually continued to grow at a rapid pace!"
"—?!"
Hearing this, Konan's breath momentarily stalled.
"Huh?"
"You mean... he's still getting stronger?"
"That's right."
Pain silently nodded, then said solemnly in a deep voice:
"Ever since he first entered Amegakure,"
"My Rain Tiger at Will technique has many times sensed him."
"But only tonight did I suddenly discover... his current aura, its level of power, has long surpassed before."
"It could even be said, he's completely changed."
"Even that blue-white fire style technique he just used... its power amplification is so obvious."
"He is definitely getting stronger!"
Pain's eyes flickered as he spoke with conviction.
"..."
As the words fell, Konan was instantly stunned, completely speechless.
She didn't know what to say anymore.
Unbelievable.
A boy whose original strength was already enough to instantly kill a Kage-level powerhouse... is still growing rapidly???
If these words hadn't come from Nagato,
Konan absolutely wouldn't believe it.
But,
Nagato's sensing ability had never been wrong.
That means—
This Kyo has indeed been getting stronger ever since joining Akatsuki!
'What kind of monster is he...'
Just as Konan was lost in thought,
Pain beside her suddenly turned around again, looking back into the distant darkness, and then spoke flatly with his back to Konan:
"Never mind."
"Perhaps this is a good thing too."
"With a powerful genius like him supporting Akatsuki's progress, our path can go further."
"Peace in the Shinobi World may also be one step closer."
Pain spoke calmly.
Konan beside him slightly lowered her eyes.
But just then,
Suddenly, two presences rapidly began approaching the building at high speed!
"?!"
Before Konan and Pain could react,
The next moment—
Shing!
The sound of wind rang out, the rain was cut off!
Kyo, dressed in black, had directly appeared before Konan and Pain!
His left hand held an open umbrella, but in his right hand... he carried an unconscious man!
'Huh?!'
'That attire is—'
'A Sunagakure's Anbu!?'
Pain and Konan's pupils slightly constricted, both recognizing him at once.
At this moment,
Kyo casually threw the man to the ground, then smiled as he looked at them.
He raised the umbrella in his hand and chuckled lightly:
"Twenty-one people, all completely suppressed."
"This man seems to be the leader of their operation this time. As for the others, I've already locked them all up."
"As for interrogation and such, I'll leave it to you."
"I'm off."
As the words fell, Kyo didn't even look at their reaction,
Just slung the umbrella over his shoulder and leisurely walked away, departing freely.
From start to finish,
He hadn't even given the two leaders of Akatsuki a chance to speak...
"..."
The scene instantly fell into an eerie silence.
Pain and Konan first looked at the unconscious Sunagakure's Shinobi on the ground,
Then, they looked up at Kyo's departing figure in the distance, and finally... they looked at each other, both dumbfounded.
'Huh?'
'What's going on...?'
'Didn't I just tell him about the enemy invasion a few dozen seconds ago?'
'This...'
'All suppressed just like that???'
'He easily dealt twenty-one elite Sunagakure's Anbu with just one blue-white fire style technique?!'
'This guy's Dojutsu...'
'Just how far has it already reached...'