Following behind Pain and Konan, they entered the present-day Konoha through its original village gate.
And then—they were struck by the sight before them.
This was the Hidden Leaf Village, once hailed as the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Its prosperity—
Its liveliness—
It far surpassed anything they had previously imagined.
The streets of Konoha were now bustling with life. Shops lined both sides, travelers and locals wandered freely, sightseeing and shopping.
Thanks to Konoha's recent policies—
Combined with its unification of the Five Great Nations—
It had drawn the eyes of the entire shinobi world.
Countless people who had never once stepped foot in Konoha were now flocking to the village.
Some came as tourists.
Others came to evaluate whether Konoha was suitable for settling down.
In short—today's Konoha had become the de facto capital of the shinobi world.
People from every corner of the continent flowed in constantly.
And on the faces of these countless people, Pain and Konan saw no trace of suffering.
Everywhere they looked—
They saw only smiles. Genuine smiles.
A peaceful, beautiful atmosphere enveloped the village.
"Pitiful."
"All of this is nothing but an illusion."
Pain stood atop a rooftop, overlooking the vibrant village below.
His voice was low and heavy.
To him, the smiles of these people—the peace of Konoha—were just façades.
Like flowers reflected in a mirror, or the moon in water.
A fragile dream.
An illusion that could not withstand the weight of reality.
Pain believed only shared suffering could bring about true understanding and unity.
Konan stood beside him.
She heard his words, but did not argue.
Then, Pain prepared to rise slowly into the air, intent on flying above Konoha.
He wanted the entire village—
Every man, woman, and child—
To feel pain.
He would use Konoha as a warning to the rest of the shinobi world.
But—
Just as Pain began to ascend, the Fifth Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, appeared.
"Yo."
"Don't just go flying around in someone else's village."
Naruto looked at Pain and Konan with mild exasperation.
He had known about their arrival in the Land of Fire the moment they crossed the border.
But since they hadn't made a move, he had decided not to confront them.
Yet now, watching Pain float upward like a sack of rice being lugged upstairs—how could he ignore it?
Konoha was still under major reconstruction. New infrastructure was being built everywhere.
And if this guy launched another Shinra Tensei from above?
Wouldn't all of Naruto's efforts be wasted?
So of course Naruto had to step in.
Pain and Konan looked at him now—at the blond man wearing the white Hokage cloak—and instantly recognized him.
The Fifth Hokage. Uzumaki Naruto.
Pain stepped forward and spoke:
He intended to capture Naruto.
And destroy Konoha.
Naruto merely smiled in response.
"A god, huh?"
"You think the Rinnegan alone makes you divine?"
He scoffed.
And just like that, words turned to combat.
In the end, the outcome was inevitable.
Naruto overwhelmed both Pain and Konan with his unmatched strength.
The Six Paths of Pain—
And Konan, the Angel of Amegakure—
Together, they couldn't even match Naruto alone.
After their defeat, Naruto dispatched his shadow clones across the land to hunt down and dismantle the remaining factions of the Akatsuki.
And just like that—
The Akatsuki was no more.
They had surrendered completely.
And in the face of such a situation—
The true masterminds behind the Akatsuki, Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu, were completely stunned.
There was nothing else they could do.
As Naruto's momentum toward unifying the Five Great Shinobi Nations became unstoppable, Black Zetsu had no choice but to instigate war.
It was he who single-handedly triggered the Fourth Great Ninja War.
However—
With the combined might of the Five Great Nations backing Uzumaki Naruto, the war was swiftly and overwhelmingly suppressed.
Uchiha Madara never even got the chance to complete his resurrection.
By this point, Naruto—serving as the Fifth Hokage—had already fully unified the shinobi world.
And with that, he began to sense something greater—
A force beyond the current dimension.
Trusting his instincts and defying even the so-called will of the heavens,
Naruto quickly grasped the power to travel between dimensions.
But before stepping beyond the bounds of his world, he chose to settle all unfinished matters.
He released Kaguya Ōtsutsuki from her prison—
And then, using overwhelming power,
He subdued her.
Instead of sealing her again, Naruto gave her a new role:
The guardian of Konoha.
Only after resolving every last threat…
Did Naruto finally prepare to wield his dimensional powers—
And set foot into the next world.
...
TN:
Wow~! That seriously happened, right? 😳
I mean, a series of smaller chapters suddenly appeared, and it all just directly and hastily led into a New World. I didn't even know this was going to happen!
But considering the pace at which he was gaining power, introducing the multiverse was basically necessary to keep the story moving forward. 🌌
Still, the Narutoverse plot ended rather abruptly! The battle between Naruto and the Akatsuki wasn't even described—and Madara was completely skipped!
Feeling a little empty here~ 😔
...
This is what I warned you about~ 😓.
...
TN:
♾️ Support me on P-com/LordMerlin
[💎 Every 300 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]