Cough, cough, cough
A man's heavy coughing echoed from within a large tree, indistinguishable from its surroundings.
Following the coughing, a cold, female voice spoke:
"Nagato, take a break. You've come a long way, and your body is already exhausted."
Nagato, with his red hair and emaciated body, stifled a few more coughs before shaking his head.
"No. I've already detected the traces of the Six-Tails' chakra. It won't be long before we find the Jinchūriki."
While White Zetsu was excellent at gathering intelligence in fixed areas like the Five Great Shinobi Villages, tracking a constantly fleeing Jinchūriki was a different matter. At best, they could narrow down a general region, but continuous pursuit was difficult.
Pain was now in that region and had found a lead.
Knowing Nagato's stubbornness, Konan didn't press the issue any further. Instead, she asked:
"Do we need to move forward again?"
Nagato nodded.
"Half a kilometer ahead."
Konan nodded back and raised her hand.
The large tree that had concealed them, undetectable even to the Sharingan, instantly dissolved into countless sheets of paper, scattering into the air.
In no time, the tree vanished.
In its place, countless paper fragments floated gracefully, creating an unusual scene of beauty.
Konan controlled part of the paper to lift the bed Nagato was sitting on, while the rest scattered in all directions, acting as eyes and ears to monitor the surroundings.
In this manner, they swiftly covered the half-kilometer distance.
Once again, Konan used her Shikigami no Mai, transforming the sheets of paper back into a lifelike tree, concealing them both inside.
Nagato suddenly looked up, his voice cold and emotionless: "I've found him."
Simultaneously, far away, Pain lifted his head and gazed at the towering mountain ahead, his expression indifferent: "I've found him."
...
"They've arrived."
On Mount Katsuragi, where the bait had been laid, Gensou, reclining in a chair that Hotaru had thoughtfully brought out, was basking in the warm sunlight when he suddenly opened his eyes. He turned his gaze, looking down at a figure clad in black with red clouds who had just arrived outside the mountain.
As expected, the big fish had taken the bait.
Gensou slowly stood up and, without turning around, gave instructions to Hotaru and Utakata beside him: "Stay here. Don't go outside."
Before either of them could respond, Gensou vanished in an instant.
Hotaru and Utakata exchanged puzzled glances.
It wasn't until the sound of a tremendous explosion echoed from outside Mount Katsuragi that they, along with Tonbei, who had rushed out at the noise, instinctively looked toward the source.
Only then did they understand the true meaning behind Gensou's earlier words.
It was a nice day.
The fresh breeze, filled with the fragrance of grass, made the body feel at ease.
However, Pain, though human in appearance, was merely a corpse, long dead.
Unable to experience the beauty of the world, he sought solace in its opposite—bestowing suffering upon the world.
True peace could only be achieved through true understanding and pain.
This was the belief he had always held.
It was also his motivation for being here today, to capture the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
However, before Pain could take action, a figure leaped down from Mount Katsuragi, exuding an aura so overwhelming that it stopped him in his tracks.
"Gensou?"
The moment Pain saw the man's face, a flicker of surprise crossed his usually emotionless expression.
The same look appeared on Nagato's face, miles away.
He couldn't comprehend why Gensou, who was engaged in tense skirmishes with the Five Great Nations, was now here.
Gensou had come from the direction where the Six-Tails Jinchūriki had been hiding.
When did Gensou start involving himself with the Six-Tails Jinchūriki?
Or... had he taken an interest in the tailed beasts?
Nagato's gaze grew cold.
Beside him, Konan's expression tensed as well when she heard Nagato mention the name of a man who had no business being here. She glanced at Nagato, then carefully scanned their surroundings.
A person's reputation cast a long shadow.
Both she and Nagato had witnessed the abilities of "Uchiha Madara" firsthand.
Now, with Gensou, who was equally famous as Uchiha Madara, suddenly appearing, they had no choice but to take this situation far more seriously than they would with any other shinobi.
"Pain? Leader of the Akatsuki?"
Hearing Pain call his name, Gensou nodded, unsurprised, and casually asked a question in return.
Pain, his expression having returned to its usual stoic state, didn't deny it.
His voice was flat, devoid of emotion: "You shouldn't be here right now."
"No."
Gensou smiled faintly.
"It's the right time, the right place, and... the right person."
"My target is you, Pain."
As his words fell, a cold wind howled.
If it were anyone else, being targeted by someone like Gensou would undoubtedly stir panic.
But Pain remained as calm as ever.
Confident in his Rinnegan, he listened to Gensou's declaration and asked calmly: "Why?"
Inside the disguised tree, Nagato's gaze seemed to pierce across miles to focus on Gensou.
He needed an explanation.
An explanation for why, after all his careful planning, designed to pit Gensou's forces against the Five Great Nations while Akatsuki remained hidden, this plan would have to be scrapped after he killed Gensou.
Gensou gave him an answer.
"The Rinnegan."
At this, Pain lowered his eyelids, disappointed:
"Another ignorant fool coveting the Rinnegan."
Was this really someone on the same level as Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara?
Compared to Uchiha Madara, who had found him and planned meticulously for years to achieve a great vision, Gensou's ambition seemed so small.
Gensou chuckled and shook his head.
"Ignorant? No. It's precisely because I know so much that I've taken an interest in the Rinnegan."
"Especially after learning the truth about the Rinnegan and the Eye of the Moon Plan involving the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Pain had been about to make a move.
In his mind, even a figure as strong as Gensou was no different from any other misguided individual. Strength alone wasn't enough to warrant further discussion.
But at that moment!
Upon hearing Gensou mention "the truth of the Rinnegan," "the Infinite Tsukuyomi," and "the Eye of the Moon Plan"—separate phrases he understood, but together forming a mystery—Pain's sharp instincts sensed something was amiss.
The Rinnegan has a truth?
How could there be something he, the wielder of the Rinnegan, didn't know?
Was Gensou bluffing?
But someone like him wouldn't need to lie.
Pain—no, Nagato—paused, as if something had clicked.
It was like small, insignificant questions he had ignored for years were suddenly connecting, forming a much larger problem that had always been lurking beneath the surface.
But it was still submerged, with only a faint outline visible, not the full picture.
And so...
Pain looked at Gensou, his tone, for the first time, wavering as he asked:
"What are the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan?"
(End of Chapter)
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"What are the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan?" Pain asked, word by word.
Gensou looked at Pain and replied, "You, who possess the Rinnegan and founded the Akatsuki, don't know?"
Why should I know?
A flicker of confusion crossed Pain's eyes.
Then he heard Gensou continue:
"Then what is the purpose of capturing all the tailed beasts?"
Naturally, it was to create the ultimate tailed beast weapon, to conquer the shinobi world and bring about true peace.
Pain thought this to himself without hesitation.
However, he didn't say it out loud.
Not only because the plan to capture the tailed beasts was only halfway through and revealing the final objective would be premature, but also because there was something unusual in Gensou's words.
'Gensou knows a secret behind the Rinnegan, but it's completely different from what I know. It's not about a tailed beast weapon but about something called the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan!'
For a brief moment, Pain's face showed a hint of confusion.
Although he didn't know exactly what Gensou was talking about, why?
Why, as the wielder of the Rinnegan, did he not know these things?
Or could it be that Gensou's information was incorrect? Or was Gensou deliberately trying to mislead him?
"Seems like you know nothing."
Noticing the change in Pain's expression, Gensou smirked.
As expected, Pain, who fancied himself a "god," was kept in the dark all along, merely a pitiful pawn in Uchiha Obito's grand scheme.
By mentioning the Eye of the Moon Plan now, Gensou wasn't just curious about Pain's reaction.
It also aligned with the persona he had built for himself.
After witnessing the "Eye of the Moon" Plan on the Uchiha Stone Tablet, "he" became increasingly interested in the idea. A world under the Infinite Tsukuyomi aligned perfectly with "his" vision.
Thus, after careful consideration, "he" decided to implement the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Even though the Akatsuki were also collecting tailed beasts and their leader possessed the Rinnegan, it seemed highly likely that they were also pursuing the Eye of the Moon Plan. Still, "he" intended to seize control of it.
After all, there could only be one leader of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. With "his" character and stature, how could "he" let someone else take the lead?
And so, this scene unfolded.
Having honed his performance skills in the game of wits with the system, Gensou now found it effortless to play his role in the Eye of the Moon Plan.
At that moment, Pain's expression darkened.
'You know nothing... you know nothing...'
Gensou's mocking, condescending words echoed in his mind.
Pain looked at Gensou once more.
Through Gensou's gaze, he felt as though he was being seen as a pitiful fool.
A pitiful fool?
This was the first time anyone had ever looked down on him like this, especially after he had already accepted himself as a "god."
At that moment, a massive surge of chakra pulsed through Pain's cold body via the black rods. He raised his head, the swirling purple Rinnegan emanating a powerful pressure as he locked onto Gensou. He coldly asked:
"I'll ask you one last time. What are the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan?"
No one could regard him as a pitiful fool.
Even if someone dared, he would strangle them until they changed their mind.
Therefore, he had to know the truth behind the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan!
He had to know how much had been hidden from him all along!
'Uchiha Madara!'
In Pain's mind, the image of the man who had helped him develop the Rinnegan and contributed greatly to rebuilding the Akatsuki emerged.
If what Gensou said was true, then the biggest suspect was that man.
Faced with Pain's repeated questioning, Gensou, sticking to his persona, responded indifferently:
"I thought you were the player, but it turns out you're just a pawn. And if you're just a pawn, then there's no need to explain."
"Your Rinnegan... I'll take it."
With those words, Gensou wasted no more time. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Pain, his five fingers spread wide, reaching for Pain's neck as though the man was nothing more than an afterthought.
Pain didn't flinch, though a subtle ripple stirred in his Rinnegan.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A tremendous repulsive force exploded from Pain's body, sending Gensou flying backward.
As Gensou was hurled through the air, he twisted his waist and landed on the ground, his feet digging into the earth as he skidded backward for about twenty meters, creating a long trench in the process, before coming to a stop.
"As expected of the Rinnegan."
Amidst the cloud of dust, Gensou pulled his feet from the ground and calmly remarked.
He had intentionally taken the Shinra Tensei head-on to test whether his current strength could ignore its effects.
It seemed that, for now, the Rinnegan, a powerful symbol of the Ōtsutsuki clan, was still something that even he couldn't fully negate.
Though he wasn't injured, he had still been repelled.
Swish! Swish!
Suddenly, a sharp sound cut through the dust cloud ahead.
Gensou looked up to see several small missiles shooting out from the cloud at high speed, heading straight for him.
They were too close to dodge.
Gensou watched with calm eyes as he swiftly extended his hands, catching all the missiles in his palms and crushing them with his fingers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions erupted in his hands.
Once the explosions had subsided, Gensou dusted off his hands. Aside from a bit of soot, there wasn't a single scratch on him.
"If that's all you've got, this battle will end very quickly."
A gust of wind swept through, clearing the dust. Gensou looked at Pain, stating the truth with calm certainty.
Pain gazed seriously at Gensou.
Up until now, no one had survived a direct hit from Shinra Tensei unscathed. Gensou was the first.
Before now, whether it was Kakuzu, Orochimaru, or any of the Akatsuki members or Jinchūriki he had personally subdued, none had withstood Shinra Tensei without suffering serious injury. Afterward, they either submitted or were thoroughly defeated.
"No wonder you're a man spoken of in the same breath as Uchiha Madara. In that case..."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
One after another, figures emerged from the smoke around Pain.
The Hell Path, the Human Path, the Preta Path, the Animal Path, and the Asura Path, which had already appeared and attacked.
Amidst the drifting smoke, six figures clad in black cloaks with red clouds gradually became visible.
The Six Paths of Pain had fully assembled.
After the first exchange, Nagato, having realized that Gensou far surpassed any opponent he had faced before, didn't hesitate to go all out.
Standing at the forefront, the Deva Path Pain looked at Gensou and declared:
"After I defeat you, I'll extract the truth of the Eye of the Moon Plan from your soul."
Gensou smiled lightly.
"That's too much trouble. You'd never be able to accomplish it, not even in a lifetime."
"How about I find your real body and tell you myself?"
(End of Chapter)
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