"No, Nagato! If you use that move, you'll—" Konan's usually calm face showed rare urgency and worry.
"There's no need to stop me." Tendo's voice was cold, but there was a hint of warmth in it.
Only when speaking to Konan did the frozen heart of Nagato reveal even a sliver of light.
High above, Konan looked at him, wanting to say more, but the words wouldn't come out. She could only watch him bitterly. "You've barely held on after fighting for two days. If you use that technique now, your body—"
"I'll be fine. I can still keep going." Nagato's eyes, through Tendo, met Konan's. "Konan, come back. You'll be affected too."
Konan pressed her lips together but said nothing more.
She gave Tendo one last deep look, then spread her wings and flew toward Nagato.
After this, Nagato's body would be left in a state of total weakness. When that happened, she would be the only one who could take care of him.
Under the vast blue sky, with not a cloud in sight, the sunlight bathed everything in warmth. In that moment, it almost felt like Nagato was standing in the sun—peaceful, gentle… beautiful.
He closed his eyes and took it in.
"Such warm light… and yet all I feel is cold." Nagato murmured.
The sky stretched endlessly above him, glowing with warmth, shining on everything below. And yet, he couldn't feel it.
Rather than this sunlight, he would rather be in the Land of Rain… under the cold rain, where a bold boy once dreamed, where a gentle girl made her own choices, where a shy and quiet version of himself once stood… and where a perverted yet kind teacher once guided them.
The Land of Rain was cold. It rained every day. But inside that small house, there had been warm lights, warm friends, a warm teacher… everything he had ever wanted.
Even the light of this clear sky couldn't compare to the warmth of the Land of Rain.
"But… it was taken away." Nagato opened his eyes. His Rinnegan reflected the brilliant sky, yet beneath it, he felt like a stain upon its brightness.
"Sensei, the moment Yahiko died, the warmth of the Land of Rain disappeared."
"It hurts… my heart… it hurts so much… Where were you then?"
Nagato knew he had no right to blame Jiraiya. He knew he shouldn't.
He lowered his gaze, looking down at Konohagakure, bathed in the same light. It stood out so clearly, so vividly.
"I'm sorry, sensei. But even now, I still believe… this world is twisted."
"This twisted world is unnatural. As long as that unnatural distortion exists, peace will never come."
"Only those who have felt true pain will understand what this twisted world has done."
"The price."
"An unreasonable distortion, an unreasonable price, and... everyone's pain."
"Yes... even a child will grow after experiencing pain. So... let this unreasonable world truly feel that pain, let that distortion be engraved into everyone's heart."
"Only those who understand pain will genuinely reject that kind of irrationality."
"The world is unreasonable... so..."
"Let the world feel pain!"
"Almighty Push!"
Down below, Jiraiya and Tsunade's eyes widened in shock as they watched an immense amount of chakra in the sky continue to expand. That overwhelming power exploded invisibly, wiping out everything on the ground in an instant.
Jiraiya had no thoughts of escape—there was no way to avoid a jutsu of this scale.
The moment he sensed that chakra, his first action was to release the Summoning Technique. In the stunned gazes of Fukasaku and Shima, he sent them back to Mount Myoboku.
Then, while his Sage Mode was still active, he formed hand seals at top speed. Despite Tsunade's resistance, he used Earth Release with all his strength to send her safely underground as the ground trembled violently.
The next moment, the surging chakra engulfed him, and his figure disappeared into the dust and smoke.
Tsunade clenched her teeth tightly, her eyes turning red. Protected by Jiraiya's full efforts, she formed a hand seal, unleashing all the chakra stored in her Yin Seal.
"Medical Ninjutsu: Creation Rebirth!" she shouted. "Please, let me make it in time!!!"
It was too fast.
If this were happening somewhere else, she might still have time to complete her jutsu. But she was right at the center of the battlefield, at the very core of the explosion. Even she couldn't estimate how many lives were at risk.
Right now, all she could do was pour all her strength into her jutsu—saving even one person would be worth it.
But... would she make it in time?
She didn't know. All she could do was watch as Jiraiya was swallowed by the chakra, watch herself sink underground, and watch that unstoppable, overwhelming chakra descend upon Konohagakure.
She couldn't protect them...
The sheer power and range of this jutsu were more than enough to completely erase Konohagakure. Even Tsunade, despite her immense resilience, found it hard to withstand.
And she had Creation Rebirth active... If it was hard for her, how could an ordinary ninja possibly survive?
Her hands trembled as she formed seals, desperately wanting to continue using Creation Rebirth to protect as many people as possible.
But Jiraiya had miscalculated—
Even though he had sent her underground, the power of Almighty Push was too overwhelming to fully avoid.
She barely endured the first wave of impact, but before she could cast another jutsu, an invisible force crushed the ground around her, threatening to grind her to dust.
Was Konohagakure... really finished?
Under the crushing force, Tsunade felt dazed.
She couldn't believe Konohagakure might be destroyed under her watch.
How... how could she ever face her grandfather?
As that thought crossed her mind, a small yet unwavering voice echoed in her ears. It was faint, but it carried an incredible strength, instinctively drawing everyone's attention toward the Hokage building.
A light, not particularly bright, flickered there—
And as Almighty Push reached its peak, that voice grew even stronger.
"Sage Art: Slug Great Healing!"
Across the battlefield, the slugs, who had been bracing themselves against the impact, suddenly froze.
They didn't even have time to react to who had spoken—
A surge of powerful Senjutsu chakra swept through them, making their bodies expand dramatically.
This boundless chakra, an endless well of energy, told them exactly what they needed to do.
Throughout Konohagakure, countless slugs, each about the size of two people, lowered themselves.
They didn't even have time to think about who had activated Sage Mode—
In the despairing gazes of the surviving ninjas, the slugs wrapped themselves protectively around them, curling up and pressing against the ground.
Above them, in the sky, the figure of Pain took a deep breath.
As his chakra drained, he slowly descended to the earth—watching as Konohagakure vanished under his jutsu.
Wreckage? No, that's not the right word. "Wreckage" describes something messy, but right now, Konohagakure isn't just in ruins—it's completely gone.
It was like a basketball had slammed into mud, leaving a perfect imprint. The land where Konohagakure once stood had turned into a massive, perfectly shaped half-circle crater. The buildings were crushed and pushed to the edges, utterly destroyed. In a way, you could say this was the most "neatly arranged" the village had ever been.
But… something felt strange.
Tendo looked at the ground in front of him, his expression dark. Scattered across the area were countless white-and-blue slugs, each as big as two people. Some were spread out, while others were clustered together. Anyone who didn't know better might think they had stumbled into some kind of slug territory.
As he was thinking this, two slugs closest to him lifted their heads slightly. Their antenna-like eyes trembled.
Tendo frowned.
It was as if his frown had triggered something—suddenly, the two slugs rippled, and then, from within their bodies, two familiar figures stepped out.
Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Tendo clenched his fist, his voice filled with disbelief. "They actually… survived that jutsu?"
He looked at the countless slugs spread across what used to be Konohagakure. An idea formed in his mind—one so unbelievable that even he had trouble accepting it.
Could it be… that someone used the Summoning Technique to summon an enormous number of slugs in an instant… and protected everyone in Konohagakure?
That's impossible!
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