Things you never had were not worth regretting when you lost them.
Most of the shinobi didn't have the luxury of complicated emotions.
They were simply relieved and overjoyed that Uzumaki Naruto had arrived at the critical moment, destroying the crisis and saving the entire village along with everyone inside it.
Only Konan stood frozen in shock.
Her eyes were filled with panic as she stared at the sky.
"Pain!"
"How could this be…?"
"What kind of power is that?!"
Despite her shock, Konan's reaction was incredibly fast.
She immediately grabbed one of Pain's bodies and flew out of the village at full speed.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi Hatake immediately reacted.
However, Jiraiya was currently trying to enter Sage Mode, while Tsunade was protecting the surrounding villagers using the secret techniques of the Shikkotsu Forest.
Only Kakashi had enough time to act.
But he had also recently suffered severe injuries during his battle with Pain.
"There's probably no time for anyone else to catch up…"
"There's no other choice."
Kakashi suddenly activated the visual power of the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye.
"Kamui!"
The power of Kamui finally erupted.
That damned spinning vortex began to rotate violently, unleashing a terrifying spatial force that distorted everything within Kakashi's field of vision.
And its target was Konan!
"Hmm?!"
Konan immediately sensed the danger.
Her expression changed as she rapidly flapped her paper wings and changed direction.
She disappeared from the center of Kakashi's Kamui field of vision.
"Damn it!"
Kakashi was already breathing heavily.
His Kamui had not yet fully developed, and trying to target a freely flying opponent made it even more difficult.
But he refused to give up.
He relentlessly pursued Konan with his gaze.
Everywhere his vision reached, space twisted violently, creating a terrifying distortion in the air.
"There!"
Kakashi finally seized an opportunity.
Kamui erupted once again, and he was about to completely twist Konan's body into the distorted space.
Suddenly—
Another figure appeared directly in front of his field of vision.
The figure blocked Konan.
Kamui's power erupted.
The spatial distortion instantly tore through the figure's head.
"This…"
Kakashi's expression changed.
He immediately closed his right eye, dropped to one knee, and gasped for breath.
The person who had suddenly intervened and taken the Kamui attack for Konan was one of Pain's bodies.
The Asura Path.
Even after completely exhausting his chakra, the Asura Path had ultimately managed to survive the attack long enough to protect Konan.
"Did I fail?"
Despair filled Kakashi's heart.
His chakra was completely depleted, and he could no longer activate Kamui again.
Just then—
A figure descended from the sky.
Boom!
Naruto lost control of his descent and nearly crashed into the ground.
"Naruto!"
Tsunade and Jiraiya shouted simultaneously.
Kakashi also stopped pursuing Konan and turned his attention toward Naruto.
"Naruto…"
"I'm fine…"
Naruto slowly stood up.
"I just used too much chakra."
Tsunade immediately grabbed Naruto's hand and began examining his condition.
"The movement you used just now…"
Naruto smiled slightly.
"Ah, that was the result of my training at Mount Myōboku."
He clenched his fist proudly.
"It's currently my strongest trump card!"
Jiraiya couldn't help but stare at him in amazement.
"Even Sage Art doesn't possess that kind of terrifying power, Naruto!"
"How did you develop such a technique?!"
Despite his exhaustion, Naruto wore a proud smile.
"Perverted Sage, this is the ultimate technique I developed by combining Wind Release Chakra Mode with Sage Mode."
He paused dramatically.
"I named it…"
"Wise Wind Mode!"
Jiraiya and the others were stunned.
"Wise Wind Mode?!"
"You actually mastered the combination of Wind Release Chakra Mode and Sage Mode?!"
"But you've only been training at Mount Myōboku for less than a month!"
Naruto rubbed his nose and chuckled.
"That's called talent, Pervy Sage!"
Jiraiya was still shocked.
But at the same time, he felt an overwhelming sense of pride.
He suddenly burst into laughter.
"You're absolutely right, Naruto! You really are the greatest genius the shinobi world has ever seen!"
"At this point, you've completely surpassed even me, your teacher."
He paused.
"And perhaps you've even surpassed Minato."
Tsunade also relaxed.
She nodded proudly.
"Ah, I agree."
"Naruto, you're now unquestionably the strongest shinobi in Konoha."
"And you're also the hero who saved the entire village!"
Naruto's heart trembled.
The strongest in Konoha…
The hero who saved the village…
Is that really me?
His eyes began to sting.
He almost cried.
But he stubbornly held his tears back.
Kakashi gave a bitter smile.
"Ahem… Ahem…"
"Although I'd love to keep praising Naruto, I don't think this is the right time."
He glanced toward the direction in which Konan had fled.
"Konan took one of Pain's bodies with her."
"So things might not be as simple as they appear."
Jiraiya immediately asked:
"Which one did she take?"
Kakashi thought for a moment.
"It should be the Naraka Path."
"The Naraka Path?"
Tsunade frowned.
"According to our previous intelligence, it possesses the ability to summon the King of Hell."
"It can apparently determine whether someone's words are true or false."
"But it may also possess other abilities that we haven't fully discovered yet."
Jiraiya's expression became serious.
"Konan specifically chose to take that Pain."
"There must be a deeper reason behind it."
"I'll go after them."
Tsunade immediately became worried.
"Jiraiya, you can't go alone."
Jiraiya smiled faintly.
"Tsunade, you need to stay here and protect and heal the entire village."
"Kakashi is seriously injured, and he has already used the ocular power of his Mangekyō Sharingan. It will be difficult for him to fight again."
"And Naruto has exhausted a tremendous amount of chakra saving the village."
He looked toward the direction Konan had fled.
"So, who else can pursue her besides me?"
Before Tsunade could stop him, Jiraiya clasped his hands together and began running after Konan.
"Jiraiya!"
Naruto watched his teacher's departing figure.
He immediately gritted his teeth and forced himself back onto his feet.
"Naruto!"
Tsunade looked at him.
"Don't tell me you're planning to…"
"I can't leave Pervy Sage alone!"
Naruto's expression became determined.
"He could be in danger!"
At that moment, the Great Toad Sage's words echoed in Naruto's mind.
This is my moment to make a choice.
I will never allow Pervy Sage to be harmed!
"But your chakra…"
Tsunade tried to stop him.
"It's fine, Tsunade Grandma."
Naruto looked back and smiled.
"Did you forget?"
"I still have the power I inherited from you."
The diamond-shaped seal on his forehead began to glow faintly.
Tsunade's heart stirred.
"I understand…"
"You're going to release the seal?"
At this point, she had no reason to stop him.
"Go, Naruto."
"Go help Jiraiya."
"Defeat the enemy and save the village."
Tsunade looked at Naruto with pride.
"Go."
"Become the hero and savior of Konoha!"
Naruto turned around.
He clenched his fist tightly and raised it toward Tsunade.
"Yeah!"
---
Meanwhile…
Konan had flown to the outskirts of Konoha.
She immediately placed the Naraka Path on the ground.
"Nagato, are you alright?!"
Nagato's voice came from the Naraka Path.
"…I didn't expect Uzumaki Naruto to become this strong."
"I miscalculated."
"I underestimated him…"
"Cough… cough…"
"Nagato!"
Konan's expression filled with worry.
"Are you alright?!"
Nagato remained calm.
"At this point, there's only one thing we can do."
"Fight to the death."
He suddenly brought his hands together.
Boom!
The Naraka Path also began forming hand seals and activated its ability.
A moment later—
The King of Hell appeared behind the Naraka Path.
Its enormous mouth opened.
Then, one after another, the fallen Paths of Pain emerged from its mouth.
They had been revived.
"Nagato…"
Konan stared at the revived Pain bodies.
"Do we really have to keep fighting?"
"Our current situation is extremely unfavorable."
"Perhaps we should retreat first and come back later…"
Nagato slowly shook his head.
"Konan…"
"Do you really think we can retreat from here so easily?"
Konan fell silent.
She understood what Nagato meant.
Konoha had suffered catastrophic destruction.
The village would never simply forget what had happened.
And now that Naruto had returned, the situation had completely changed.
There was no longer any guarantee that they could escape safely.
The battle was far from over.
________________________________________
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