Flashback
"Well, now that we know each other, we can start the way a jonin from my village would... with your introductions."
Those words only confused the three kids standing in front of the white-haired man. None of them understood what he meant.
"But sir, we don't know what you mean. We're not from Konoha," said the only girl in the group.
"Well, in that case, I'll start, and maybe that'll give you an idea," the man replied. "My name is Jiraiya. As for my likes... honestly, I wouldn't even know how to answer that. I think being surrounded by beautiful women would probably be the best answer."
That earned all three kids a drop of sweat.
"As for my dislikes, I hate arrogant people, and I hate those who look down on others just because they have a clan or a name backing them up. And my dream is power... to bring peace to a world full of hatred," Jiraiya finished, making the three kids go quiet at the last part.
Outside, the rain kept falling against the small cabin roof, the sound of the drops filling the silence that followed Jiraiya's introduction.
One of the children had a distant look in his eyes, something Jiraiya noticed right away. He could not stop himself from asking what was wrong when the place grew too quiet.
"Did I say something wrong?" the oldest of the group asked impatiently, bothered by the strange expression on the boy's face.
"We somewhat have the same dream, sensei," the child replied. "I want to achieve peace too."
But unlike you, I am willing to do anything, at any cost, to make it real. Even if it is evil, if it sets the course, I will do it, Damon thought to himself.
That answer caught Jiraiya off guard and made him smile, but before he could say anything, the same boy spoke again.
"I won't rest until I make sure you get to see peace in this world. That's a promise."
Jiraiya placed a hand on the boy's head and gently ruffled his hair.
"I believe in you, Yahiko."
After saying that, Jiraiya gave them a wide smile, and it quickly spread to the three children in front of him.
Amegakure
Those were the thoughts that came to Damon's mind as he saw the village through his domain of the sky.
"Never would I have thought you would have been part of that sacrifice too, Jiraiya-sensei."
The whole Rain Village was quieter than usual. There were no normal villagers going about their day, no open stands, nothing. Everything felt empty and silent... but not dead. Amegakure was no innocent village. It had become a nest of mercenaries, criminals, missing-nin, and people who had learned to survive through violence after being broken by war.
But the feeling of something very bad about to happen could be felt around the village, and it became even clearer the moment you looked up. The sky itself was strange; enormous black clouds were forming, and the air felt heavier.
Inside all that silence, only two figures could be seen: Konan and Nagato, planning their attack on the Hidden Leaf. Little did they know Damon was already one step ahead. They soon realized this.
The rain stopped falling, immediately catching Nagato's attention as he opened his eyes in shock before saying, "Konan, somebody has infiltrated... and I just lost control of the rain."
Those words felt heavier as Nagato realized someone strong enough to completely overthrow his control of the rain was now walking through the village.
With Damon
Damon was walking through the village covered by a dark gabardina, while the large white she-wolf kept pace beside him. Everything around was destroyed and in bad condition due to the effects of the previous three wars, but Damon had no time to focus on that. Even if he wanted to, Amegakure was a sacrifice he had made to set the world on one course that he would eventually break.
"I still can't believe all this was on purpose... do you realize this could end really badly? Not only that, but doing something like this goes against all the teachings of Hagoromo," Kurama shouted.
"I know that well, Kurama, and that is why the old man was never successful with peace. Love and fairy tales will not get you peace," Damon said harshly.
"I thought I told you already. I don't care if I have to stain my hands with innocent lives and manipulation to complete my goals."
"You created Akatsuki," Kurama said, finally putting the pieces together, his voice full of anger. "Are you out of your mind? Do you know what happens if they gather all the Bijuu?"
"Yeah, I know," Damon answered, annoyed. "I don't need you throwing it in my face. Life is not all sunshine and flowers. I tried everything I could to bring peace, and in the end I ruined the lives of two innocent people just to chase that goal..."
Damon's tone darkened.
"Thousands of deaths are already on my shoulders because of bad choices. I don't need anyone reminding me of it every damn second."
He began stepping away from the giant cage inside his mind, but before disappearing from the mental space, Kurama's deep voice stopped him one last time.
"Just don't screw this up again, Damon. If you do, there's no going back. This is your last chance."
"I know," Damon answered before vanishing.
Kurama stayed quiet. He did not want to admit it, but Damon was right.
Then everything fell silent.
It had not been long since they left the Hidden Leaf. Damon had decided to take matters into his own hands before Nagato did something he would later regret again. He had only left a note on Tsunade's desk explaining his departure. He only hoped she would follow him.
Kaia felt the discomfort. Without saying anything, she stayed close to Damon as they moved deeper into the village.
Then Kaia felt killing intent so sharp it made her nervous. She moved behind Damon and turned her head to see where it was coming from, but what really shocked her was Damon himself. His eyes, which had been as blue as the sky, were now red with slit pupils.
An orange-haired man wearing a black cloak with red clouds slowly descended from above. His purple eyes, with black rings around the pupil, were impossible to mistake.
Kaia quickly moved to Damon's side and growled at the intruder. Even if she was unsure, she still kept her guard up in case the man with those strange eyes attacked him.
"Damon, this is serious. The Rinnegan is not something to take lightly," Kurama said.
A bitter laugh escaped Damon.
"I know those eyes very well, Kurama."
Pain observed Damon and the enormous wolf beside him carefully, but made no move. Not long after, he was surrounded by five other figures, all with the same eyes.
The legendary Rinnegan.
"Naruto Uzumaki, what a surprise. I didn't expect you here. Nevertheless... hand over the Kyubi," the leader said in a flat voice while extending his hand toward Damon and beginning to gather chakra.
Damon knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the Rinnegan well enough to react instantly, jumping back as far as he could so he would not be dragged toward the group of six. That single action visibly surprised Pain. He had not expected Damon to recognize the technique before it was even used.
This was going to be harder than he thought.
The only explanation Pain found for that was Jiraiya. Somehow, before dying, the old man had managed to warn his student about their abilities.
He was wrong.
Kaia had never seen eyes like that before, but she could feel the power coming from them, and it was not small. It made her nervous. She could not remember ever seeing a Greek god with that kind of power in their eyes, and seeing it in a mortal made even less sense.
Damon started studying the different Paths, because he knew what each one could do, and his main objective was the Naraka Path. It did not matter how many times he defeated the others, as long as Naraka stayed around, they could keep coming back. The problem was figuring out which of the six it was. He ruled out Yahiko, his former body, since he had already seen that one use gravity, which made him the Deva Path.
That was a problem.
He kept repeating it in his head, making guesses based on the formation they were using. Just by looking at it, the safest guess was that Naraka would be somewhere in the middle or near the back. Right now the important thing was to get close without all six noticing him. That should be easy enough... he was not called a ninja for nothing.
Damon thought of that in less than two seconds.
He reached into his kunai pouch and pulled out a very particular weapon, one with three prongs. Then he threw it straight at the Deva Path, who casually stepped aside to avoid it.
"You will never be able to defeat a go—" Pain started to say, but stopped the moment Damon vanished in a red flash and reappeared beside one of the other Paths with a strange look in his eyes.
Damon slammed a Rasengan into one of them, blowing apart its chest in a shower of strange mechanical pieces. The second that happened, Damon's eyes widened.
Asura...? Shit, he thought.
He had not expected that.
Putting one of the most offensive Paths in the back line had been a good move. Before he could fully take advantage of the surprise, one of the other Paths attacked him. Damon tried to defend himself by holding the Rasengan in his right hand, but at the same time one of the other Paths grabbed his arm. Without wasting a second, Damon grabbed the Preta Path's hand back and slammed his elbow into its face with the same arm it was holding. Then he used the momentum to throw it away as hard as he could.
The instant he landed, Damon did not waste the opening. He still had a chance to get rid of the Deva Path, the strongest one, and he was not going to let it pass. He formed another Rasengan in his left hand and launched himself at full speed toward Deva.
"Shinra Tensei," Pain said without moving a muscle, blasting Damon away.
Damon regained his balance in midair and landed on the ground, skidding back a little from the force of the technique. He stood up, placed one hand on his neck, and cracked it.
"Seriously?" he asked calmly, trying to bait Pain a little, though his mind was already focused on something else.
Pain looked down at Damon with the same cold, unreadable expression.
"You still do not understand, Uzumaki Naruto."
His voice remained calm, almost bored, as if the battle itself had already been decided.
"You stand there thinking skill, speed, and tricks can bridge the gap between us... but they cannot."
"A man can challenge another man. A shinobi can kill another shinobi. But you..."
His Rinnegan narrowed slightly.
"You are standing before a god."
The ruined streets trembled beneath the pressure of his chakra.
"No matter how many surprises you hide, no matter how much power you think you possess, you will never reach me. The moment you stepped into this village, your defeat was already decided."
Then Pain looked at the destruction around them without the slightest concern.
His eyes shifted back to Damon. "Know pain, accept Pain"
"You cannot defeat me, because you still think like a man... while I have become something far greater."
Damon couldn't help it, he laughed right in Pain's face. "Not even real gods talk this much when they're trying to convince people they're gods. That's a lot of bullshit coming from a so-called god."
"Looks like your so-called brother picked up some questionable habits," Kurama said with open amusement.
Damon did not answer. He simply began lightly spinning a kunai in one hand while keeping his eyes on every Path without missing a single one. Asura, Deva, and Preta were down. That left three more.
What will you do now, Nagato? Damon wondered to himself. Bring back one of the Paths... or keep Naraka hidden?
"Well, looks like you need some assistance, Leader-sama."
The new voice cut through the battlefield just as several sharks burst from the flooded ground in front of Damon, tearing toward him at incredible speed.
Damon clicked his tongue the moment he recognized the chakra behind the attack.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
LMAO aint gonna lie, I can't take pain seriously hahaha
25 stones next chapter
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