Genma's trio immediately said, "You guys have worked hard. Leave the next part to us—we'll definitely find Kabuto and kill him!"
The other shinobi all chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! You fought just now, so it's our turn to shine. Move out!"
Under Asuma and Genma's lead, the village shinobi began a manhunt for Kabuto.
Yamato went to report to Tsunade-sama.
As for the one controlling Pain, and Konan who left earlier—no need to worry about them. Jiraiya is going after them. If even Jiraiya can't find them, no one else will.
Either way, the defensive battle against Akatsuki's invasion was finally over!
At that moment, Tenten guided her iron sand over and immediately locked onto Natsuki, dropping down beside him.
"Natsuki, are you okay?"
She hurriedly looked him over from head to toe. Thankfully, it seemed like only minor injuries—though he was drenched in sweat and clearly exhausted, probably from burning through a massive amount of chakra.
For a moment, Tenten couldn't help feeling distressed.
She knew Natsuki was strong. The fearsome opponents that gave others nightmares were "no big deal" for him most of the time.
But this time was different—the first time she'd seen him spend so much. The enemy must've been terrifying. Just thinking about it scared her. Thank goodness he was safe.
Shino said, "Don't worry, Tenten. Natsuki defeated the strongest one, the Deva Path Pain."
Tenten didn't care about that. "As long as Natsuki is safe, nothing else matters."
Everyone froze. It felt like a mouthful of dog food was being shoveled into their faces—awkward to eat, awkward not to eat, and thoroughly uncomfortable.
Natsuki didn't stand on ceremony and simply leaned into Tenten's arms. "Tenten, I'm gonna rest a bit… Oh, and give me some water. I've been thirsty for ages."
Smiling with crescent eyes, Tenten summoned water with (Kuchiyose no Jutsu) Summoning Technique and personally helped him drink.
Everyone silently rolled their eyes and looked away, done with the dog food.
Fortunately, Natsuki still remembered business. "Where are Kakashi-senpai and Obito?"
Sasuke pointed. "They were fighting over there, then both vanished. Must've slipped into that (Kamui) space to keep going. Old friends—and old love rivals—won't finish in a hurry. We'd help, but we can't enter that space."
Tenten listened with a blank face. Friends? Love rivals? Space? What were they even talking about?
Natsuki wasn't worried. Inside (Kamui) space, there's no Kamui intangibility. Kakashi shouldn't lose easily to Obito, and Obito probably wouldn't go for the kill against Kakashi.
For all his harsh words, Obito still cared on the inside.
If he truly wanted revenge, he would have killed Kakashi long ago.
In any case, those tangled grudges and complicated emotions weren't something Natsuki could—or needed to—understand. He wasn't going to encounter that kind of situation.
Just then—thud!—Kakashi suddenly tumbled out.
He shouted, "Obito! I won't give up stopping you! I won't let you keep going down the wrong path!"
No one answered. Obviously, Obito had used the chance to throw Kakashi out of (Kamui) space and then fled.
No one knew exactly how Kakashi had tried to persuade him, but judging from Kakashi's miserable state, the two of them must have fought hard inside that space—who knew who actually had the upper hand?
Sasuke spoke up. "Kakashi, you didn't keep him?"
Kakashi shook his head. "Obito's far stronger than before. Even without intangibility, I still took a big beating. I tried my best to stop him and told him everything I know, but in the end he ejected me. I don't know if he'll stick to his original choice. Hah… I'm so useless."
Everyone was silent, unsure what to say.
If you haven't lived it, don't talk about how to fix it.
Kakashi would handle his own business. If he needed help, everyone would help—that was enough.
"Right… what's the situation outside?"
"Oh, it's like this…"
Shino gave a brief rundown—for Kakashi, and also so Tenten could catch up.
When they finished, Kakashi and Tenten both looked incredulous, their eyes lingering on Natsuki like he was a monster. It was just too outrageous.
They hadn't expected that kind of battle to break out while they were away.
What kind of crater had that blast left? They'd have to go check later—pretty sure it'd be shocking.
As for Kabuto snatching the Deva Path's body—no one really cared.
The Rinnegan wasn't on Pain's body anyway.
Now there was only one remaining worry—the last and most important one: did Jiraiya find Nagato?
At that moment, Jiraiya—who was on everyone's mind—finally discovered a massive tree in the forest made of paper. He tore open a gap with his hands and slipped inside.
As soon as he entered, he saw an exhausted Konan and a red-haired man as thin as a rake.
"Konan. Long time no see—you've grown into an excellent young woman."
Jiraiya offered the casual praise, then looked at the redhead. "So, you're Nagato? What happened to you?"
Nagato was skin and bone, with black receivers stuck all over his back and some kind of device beneath him. He looked like a dying cripple—no one would ever guess he was the mastermind behind Akatsuki.
Jiraiya's heart ached. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what are you here for now? To kill us?" Konan's tone was stiff.
"Konan, how could I kill my own students? I came to talk." Jiraiya shook his head.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I understand everything Ōbu said."
Nagato's voice was low. "We won't abandon the plan to create a tailed-beast weapon. Only by making the world feel pain—understand pain—will people cherish peace and yearn for true peace. Once they truly know the same pain, even if they can't understand one another, they will still maintain peace. That's why collecting the Tailed Beasts is imperative."
Jiraiya still shook his head. "Nagato, only by mutual understanding and tolerance between people can the world know true peace. What you're doing won't work."
Nagato replied, "Jiraiya-sensei, under Yahiko's leadership, we tried that for so long. Reality answered us with betrayal. Your words are too idealistic—the real world is cruel. Precisely because people can't easily understand each other or truly reach peace, we must make them comprehend pain. Once they do, even without mutual understanding, peace can still be achieved. So gathering the Tailed Beasts is nonnegotiable."
(End of Chapter)
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