Chapter 142 (Patreon)

For several moments, the battlefield fell completely still.

Pain remained silent, and none of the Akatsuki members behind him made a move.

At the same time, more than a dozen figures appeared behind Yujiro.

Minato arrived first, followed by Fugaku, Shisui, and Itachi.

Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived moments later, along with Kakashi, Might Guy, and even Yamato.

The strongest shinobi from Konoha’s other clans were still on their way.

“So this is the Akatsuki...” Jiraiya’s expression grew solemn as he studied the group before him.

The moment he saw the Deva Path and Konan, however, his heart sank.

So this was why Yujiro had stopped him from investigating them...

“Konan! Yahiko!” Jiraiya shouted. “Why are you with the Akatsuki? What happened to you two all these years?”

In the distance, Konan lowered her gaze upon seeing him.

The Deva Path stared at Jiraiya without emotion.

“Yahiko died a long time ago. The one standing before you now is Pain.”

“Pain...?” Jiraiya stared at him in disbelief. “Yahiko, does that mean you’re the leader of the Akatsuki?”

“The leader of the Akatsuki...” A faint, mocking smile appeared on the Deva Path’s face. “Is that what you believe?”

“You once taught us that only by understanding one another’s pain could people find hope and live together in peace.”

The Deva Path’s voice remained cold, but his eyes slowly lowered.

“After you left, we continued to believe in those words. We tried to make others understand our pain, put an end to the hatred in their hearts, and build peace together.”

Beside him, Konan’s shoulders began to tremble.

“What happened after that?” Jiraiya asked urgently.

“They continued to see us as a threat and tried to eradicate the Akatsuki.”

The Deva Path raised his head once more, his voice now utterly devoid of warmth.

“That was when I realized your vision of peace was wrong.”

“We lost many of our comrades because we believed in that mistaken ideal...”

His Rinnegan fixed upon Jiraiya.

“So I finally understood. Only by forcing our enemies to experience true pain will they understand the value of peace!”

“People will only cherish peace after they have experienced true pain themselves!”

Jiraiya could not answer him.

The others also fell silent, unable to find the right words to refute him.

“So that’s your excuse for murdering innocent people?”

A mocking voice suddenly broke the silence.

Everyone’s attention shifted toward Yujiro.

“They are obstacles that must be removed,” the Deva Path replied indifferently. “Once my goal is achieved, this world will know eternal peace.”

“So until then, you’ll continue killing innocent people?”

“That’s right.”

It was exactly as Yujiro remembered.

Yahiko’s death had driven Nagato into darkness, and countless innocent people had died by his hand along the way.

Even his former teacher, Jiraiya, had eventually been killed by the Six Paths of Pain.

Later, during Pain’s invasion of Konoha, Nagato had unleashed a massive Shinra Tensei without hesitation, destroying the village and killing countless people. Kakashi had also lost his life during that battle.

Had Naruto failed to reach Nagato with his words, none of those people would have returned.

Kakashi would have remained dead as well.

“In that case, I won’t have any reason to hesitate when I kill you.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“Enough talk,” the Deva Path ordered coldly. “Attack Konoha!”

The Deva Path immediately moved toward the right flank, leading the other five Paths away from the main battlefield.

Yujiro followed without hesitation, allowing their battle to separate from the others.

He might as well see what Pain was capable of.

As for the Akatsuki members who remained behind, Minato and the others could deal with them.

If Yujiro resolved every threat by himself, Konoha’s shinobi would eventually lose their sense of danger. This attack was also a valuable opportunity for them to gain real combat experience.

As for the possibility of the Akatsuki successfully breaking through Konoha’s defenses...

That was impossible.

“Summoning Jutsu!”

The Animal Path rapidly formed hand seals before slamming its palm down.

Several enormous summoned beasts appeared amid clouds of smoke and charged toward Yujiro.

At the same time, weapons unfolded from the Asura Path’s body, unleashing a barrage of attacks in his direction.

“Storm Release: Devouring Thunderflame!”

Yujiro raised his right hand and closed his fingers toward the Animal and Asura Paths.

A torrent of dark lightning and searing thunder-flames came crashing down from the sky.

Boom!

A deafening explosion shook the entire valley.

The Animal and Asura Paths were swallowed by the blast. By the time the violent lightning dispersed, both bodies had been completely vaporized.

Yujiro had destroyed two Paths of Pain with a single technique.

In the next instant, three more Paths rushed toward him from different directions.

Just as they were about to reach him, Yujiro spoke calmly.

“Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!”

A pale white light emerged from Yujiro’s body.

The light formed a sphere around him before rapidly expanding in every direction.

All three approaching Paths were instantly caught within it.

Their bodies were broken down to the atomic level and disappeared without leaving a trace.

Yujiro released the technique and nodded in satisfaction.

“Dust Release is quite useful for catching an opponent off guard.”

In less than a few seconds, Yujiro had destroyed five of the Six Paths of Pain.

Only the Deva Path remained, silently observing him from a distance without having made a move.

Far away, atop a mountain, Nagato sat hidden inside an enormous paper tree Konan had created with the Dance of the Shikigami.

Black chakra receivers protruded from his body as he channelled his chakra through them to control the Six Paths of Pain.

The moment he felt his connections to five of the Paths disappear, his expression changed drastically.

“In less than ten seconds, Yujiro destroyed five of the Six Paths,” Nagato said gravely.

“As expected...” Masked Obito stood beside him, his voice cold. “Yujiro’s strength is impossible to measure.”

However, Obito’s chakra felt strangely unstable.

One moment it was calm, and the next it surged violently.

“Keep him occupied with the Deva Path. I’ll support you immediately.”

With those words, space twisted around Obito’s body, and Kamui pulled him away.

Back in the valley, the Deva Path finally began its attack.

The Deva Path possessed only three primary methods of attack, and Yujiro was curious to see whether any of them could move him.

A black chakra receiver formed in the Deva Path’s right hand.

He raised his left palm toward Yujiro.

“Universal Pull!”

A powerful attractive force immediately seized Yujiro’s body.

He could clearly feel the force trying to drag him forward.

But...

Was that really all?

Yujiro remained where he stood, genuine surprise appearing in his eyes.

He had only recently begun learning how to control gravity, yet the Deva Path’s command over gravitational force felt unbelievably weak.

It could not even compare to Yujiro’s own beginner-level control.

Yujiro was not the only one surprised.

The Deva Path stared at him in disbelief.

Why had Universal Pull failed to move him?

It was a technique that had never failed before.

Yujiro suddenly pushed off the ground with both feet.

Instead of resisting, he allowed the force of Universal Pull to carry him forward, sending him hurtling toward the Deva Path at even greater speed.

Seeing Yujiro rapidly approaching, the Deva Path immediately thrust both hands forward and activated another power of the Rinnegan.

“Almighty Push!”